October Sharing Time Week 2

Sharing the gospel helps others come unto Christ.

I will be focusing on how we can be missionaries now and how the children can prepare to share the gospel. You'll need: printable pitcher, blessings wordstrips, orange juice word strips, missionary coloring pages and crayons.

Click here to download the 4 page pdf file with printables. If you have any troubles, email me.

I'm going to use one of my favorite talks about sharing the gospel from Oct. 2000 conference. Read the entire talk here by Robert C. Oaks of the seventy. I loooove his orange juice analogy when it comes to sharing the gospel. I will read portions of the talk w/ the senior primary, but for junior I will summarize with something simple like this:

I had the most delicious orange juice this morning for breakfast. It was so good, I mean it was so sweet and a little tangy and it was sooooo good. I enjoyed it so much, I could drink it all day. This orange juice was so good that everybody should be able to taste it, it's the best. I was going to bring the pitcher and some cups and share with everyone, but then I got thinking. What if some of you don't like orange juice? Would you be mad at me if I brought it? What if it hurt your feelings if I offered you a cup? What if you didn't want to come to primary anymore and be friends if you didn't like the orange juice? I just got so nervous thinking about it that I decided not to bring the orange juice to share. It's the best orange juice that I've ever tasted, but I'm keeping it to myself.

I will discuss how sometimes we treat the gospel like orange juice. The gospel is wonderful and brings us so much happiness, but we are too afraid to share it. Isn't it silly to think that someone wouldn't want to be our friend if we offered them orange juice? We should be excited to share the wonderful things we know about the gospel with all of our friends, just like we would want to share the most delicious orange juice with everybody.

The blessing wordstrips outline some gifts and wonderful pieces of knowledge we have because of the gospel. I will hide them under the chairs and we will discuss each one and put them on the board.

Then, we will talk about how we can be missionaries and how we can share the gospel. Cut out the pitcher and put it on the board. One by one add the orange juice strips until the pitcher is full and discuss each point.

Copy a boy or girl missionary for each child to color w/ remaining time. I found this clipart years ago when I was a CTR 5 teacher. I can't find it again and I apologize about the quality. I have a clearer image in a Microsoft Word Doc, email me if you'd like me to forward it on. I love this art, I wish I new the artist and the link, but I've searched all over the internet and can't find it! Anybody know where it's from? It's fun to color the clothes and draw in the face, kids love it. It's included in the pdf download, but kind of poor quality. Leave a comment if you find it or know the artist, thanks!

Update: Thanks Pam and BSF for finding the link for the artwork! Click here to print the picture. Thanks ladies!

Do you love my free sharing time lessons? I have a question for you about them, click here to respond. Thanks!

October Sharing Time Week 1

Week 1: Following the prophet will help us come unto Christ.

Needed: Giant glasses printed on cardstock and cut out, word strips, light bulbs, blindfold and picture of President Monson.

Click here to download glasses, word strips and light bulbs in pdf format.

(I'm trying out google docs for pdf files. Just click where it says download 1 mb. There are 3 pages. If you have any troubles w/ the pdf print email me, I'll send it to you.)

Display picture of President Monson and discuss how blessed we are to be led by living prophets. Prophets are inspired to speak for the Lord, just like Moses, Isaiah, Peter, Paul, Nephi and Mormon. We sustain the president of the church, Thomas S. Monson, as a prophet, seer and revelator. What does this mean? Place word strips on the board and discuss.

Just like prophets long ago, our prophet testifies of Jesus Christ and teaches His gospel. They denounce sin and warn of consequences and they are even inspired to prophesy future events. We can always trust the prophet, they speak for Heavenly Father and will never lead us astray.

D&C 1:38 "What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same"

We can be safe if we follow the prophet. Our Heavenly Father promises us great blessings if we follow what our prophet says. When we follow the prophet, we are following Jesus Christ.

Today we're going to practice following the prophet. Being a prophet, seer and revelator is like having special glasses, glasses that help you see things that other people can't see. Invite child to come forward and put on the giant glasses and be the "prophet."

Around the room are some hidden truths that our prophet revealed to us at general conference. Invite another child to come up and be blind folded. We can't see these truths, we need to follow the prophet if we want to get to them. The blind folded child will have to closely follow the voice of the prophet in order to maneuver around the primary room and safely get a light bulb. The "prophet" child will walk beside and guide them with their voice.

On the back of each of the light bulbs I will write something Pres. Monson mentioned during general conference, maybe having charity towards others, paying tithing, having family home evening, etc. and as they take each light bulb down we'll discuss if we follow it, how we can follow his counsel and why it's important.

Do you love my free sharing time lessons? I have a question for you about them, click here to respond. Thanks!

Festive Fall Decor

I love seeing all of the festive fall decor popping up on front doors and fireplace mantles. I thought I would take a moment to share my current fall decor in my living room:

Festive right? I call it "Sick Chic." The barfed on quilts, crumpled towels for wiping said barf, t-shirts that got splattered and the focal point; a poor sick baby. What a week! I decided that I'm looking forward to when he's old enough to barf in a bowl or the toilet, I have lots of scrubbing and mopping to do.

So, when I'm done with Sick Chic look, I'll get back to posting some cool things. I've got some new quiet book pages, amazing thrift store makeovers, recipes for lemon linguine and caramel apple cake and some red bean tacos my husband gave 5 stars. I have a boutique tonight that I'm excited for (getting out of the house sounds amazing, plus I love to sell my aprons) and I'll be back with some posts.

Take care, and wash your hands after reading this:)

Hello, Ugly Chair

Hi there. Face it, you are one ugly chair. Your are orange, old and ripping. I don't get the wheels just on the front and you have somebody else's butt print.


Yep, there's the ripping I was talking about.


Your back is in shreds, true.


But you are surprisingly comfy.


I think I will give you a much-needed makeover and stick you in the corner of my master bedroom. Welcome to your new home ugly chair!!

Has anyone seen the show Hoarders? Well, that's my in-laws basement. We really wanted a cool chair for the corner of our master bedroom. We can't drop $400 on something like that, so we decided to go "shopping" in my in-laws scary dive of a basement. We found this antique chair, from a great-grandma who died years ago. Do you think it has potential? It's so comfy, I love how large the seat is.

This is my new fall project! Do you think I can make it look somewhat like this?

Homemade Pizza

Mmmm, homemade pizza. It's so delicious, easy to make, and I always have the items on hand to whip up something yummy. The best dough to use is my Best Ever Bread Dough. Stick with me while I share some tips on making the best pizzas and freezing the dough.

If you have a baking stone from pampered chef it really makes the bottom come out perfect. A large cookie sheet works great too, it just doesn't get as crispy. When you're making homemade pizza with my dough, always cook the dough partially first, then add your toppings and finish baking. This ensures your dough is cooked through and keeps your toppings (like chicken) from drying out.

Preheat your oven to 400*. Roll out the dough on your pan. Take a fork and poke several holes across the crust. Can you see the pokes in my picture? Bake for 10 minutes. While it's cooking, time to start chopping your toppings! Assemble your pizza and bake for 5-7 minutes more until the cheese is melted and the crust is crispy.


I love a classic pizza with tomato sauce, cheese, pepperoni, olives and green pepper. Here are some of our favorite varieties:

BBQ Chicken Pizza: BBQ sauce spread over the crust, cheddar cheese, chicken and red onion.

Garlic Chicken Pizza: Ranch spread over the dough, cheese, spinach, tomatoes, chicken, red onion and minced garlic.

Bacon is always good, you can't go wrong with mushrooms and sausage. I've even done ground beef with yellow onion and tomato. Don't forget the ham and pineapple! You could do all veggies, meat lovers or go crazy and add some spam. I love to use up leftover veggies on pizza, zucchini included. What are your favorite toppings?

Want to have pizza crusts in your freezer for a fast meal? If you roll out your dough and cook the crust for 10 minutes like I described above you can freeze it. Simply let it cool, wrap it securely in plastic or foil and freeze. To cook, I preheat my oven to 400*, layer the toppings right on the frozen crust and cook for 8-10 minutes. Since the dough is halfway cooked, it thaws and gets crispy right in the oven. I like to make half-size crusts and freeze them in bags for quick lunches. Yummier, healthier and cheaper than those crusts in a can huh?

My Best Ever Bread Dough recipe makes 2 large cookie sheet pizzas or 4 thin crust pizzas. I usually half the recipe for our pizza dinner. You could always make the whole thing and make breadsticks for the side, or double and put several crusts in the freezer. Easy!

Also, the picture at the very top I used whole wheat flour. I used 1 cup white flour and 3 cups whole wheat. It turned out great!

Any pizza or dough questions please ask. I made this 4 times last month for dinner, with the variety of pizza nobody cared:)

Want to mix it up a little? Use the same dough and make calzones, check out my photo tutorial here.

Linking up with Family Food Fridays

Baked Ziti (with freezer directions)

First off, I am finally getting around to posting this recipe for my friend Kari. (Why for some reason do I have so many friends named Kari anyway? This is my Provo Kari!) I've made this like 4 times since I discovered the recipe and it is so delicious fresh or from frozen. Above is my pan ready to go in the freezer, below you will see the piping hot pile of delicious pasta. My favorite Baked Ziti recipe comes from Freeze Happy, click for the original, below has my changes. It's easier than lasagna, fancier than spaghetti and you can load this baby up with vegetables!

Note: This recipe makes either 1 large 9x13 pan or 2 8x8 dishes. I always bake one 8x8, and then assemble and freeze the other for later. You can easily double or triple and fill your freezer. Yum!

Husband Rating: 5 stars

8 oz. ground beef
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup diced onions
1/4 cup diced mushrooms
1/4 cup diced green pepper
3 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 lb box of ziti (or rigatoni) noodles
8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1 egg
6 green onions
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese

Cook noodles according to package directions, do not overcook or they'll be mushy when you freeze. In a skillet over medium heat cook ground beef until no longer pink. Add in minced garlic, diced onions, mushrooms and green pepper. Stir in spaghetti sauce, cook and stir for 4-5 minutes. In a mixing bowl stir together cream cheese, sour cream, egg, parmesan cheese and diced green onions until smooth. In your baking dish layer noodles across the bottom, spread white cream cheese layer over the top, then pour red sauce over the top. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350* for 20 minutes covered, and 10 minutes uncovered.

To freeze, cover with foil, label, date and freeze. Use within 3 months. If you want to thaw your ziti, put it in the fridge the night before and bake at 350* for 20 minutes covered and 10 minutes uncovered. If the ziti is frozen, bake at 350* for 50 minutes covered and 30 minutes uncovered.

Apron Fever

I've been sewing like crazy for several weeks now. This weekend was my biggest boutique and boy was it fun:) I sold lots of aprons, handed out lots of cards and met lots of people. I tried to take pictures of everything and here is a little taste. Thanks Utah for having such beautiful weather!


This is my newest apron style. I love the fabric, a little bit Americana and so adorable. It's called Lady Liberty, my favorite part is the little tie on the strap. It needed a little oomph, and yes, it's removable.


I couldn't have a booth without my most popular apron - lemon squeeze. I used a different fabric for the sash this time, love it. This was my first item that sold, no surprise.

I also whipped up a matching lemon squeeze in size small for a little girl. Too precious!


This is another new fabric that I couldn't resist. I love it paired with a soothing blue, I'm calling it Cinnamon Blue. I think a red sash would also look stunning with this fabric. The flower is stitched on and adds that extra little bit of cuteness.


Of course it sold, and I already miss it a little:)


This style, my Rocker Chic apron, continues to be popular. It's pretty edgy and fun. I also sold it in little girls for some mommy and me kitchen fun.



I designed a new apron for all us crafters, it was so handy to be wearing while managing a booth. The deep pockets are perfect for pens, scissors, business cards and goldfish crackers for the little ones. I love the extra long sash and the rick rack. Don't worry, I made extras:)






I didn't get pictures of all my little girlie aprons, but here is a little sample. These cutie pie red polka dots with a sweetheart neckline - cute!


I also switched up my pattern a bit and decided to sell these classic aprons. You know, the above aprons are cute cotton, but they are hostess aprons, or for light cooking. You wouldn't actually make chili or clean out a chicken in one right? I decided we need some functional aprons more on the cute side - enter the classic apron. This fabric is a sturdy-heavy duty fabric that will withstand your constant washing and splatters from chili and spaghetti. Don't be afraid to cook in these, they can handle it. The zebra is fun, the pink is perfect and I love them.

I do need to make a hot pink flower for the top though right? Some people mentioned they just weren't quite girly enough. I'm going to add something, but I'm thinking a huge flower would be perfect.

In yellow, and below in a fun hot pink flower print.


Phew. That's what I've been up to. I didn't sell all my stash, so if you are interested in a particular apron feel free to email me and I will list them for sale after I get my house cleaned, lol.

Which one is your favorite?