HOW TO: TY Beanie Baby Dog Costume

Monday, October 31, 2016

How To: Create a Beanie Baby Costume 
Happy HOWL-O-ween! 
This super SIMPLE 90s throwback costume has been floating around the internet for awhile and I finally decided to try it!

Last year, we did something a little more elaborate. This mother of dragons was veryyy happy with our little costumes hehe


This year, with Winston's surgery...I decided to keep things very simple! And I love crafting so yay!

There are SO many different ways you can make this... some people PRINT it on cardstock (and include a little poem on the inside. So cute).
But I actually wanted to make a felt tag for comfort and durability.

I found a great tutorial that includes the TY template...but I changed things up a little to make it easier.


Materials needed:

  • Red Felt
  • White Felt (with Sticky Back!  Available at Joann Fabric)
    If you can only find regular felt, you will need a hot glue gun to attach the letters
  • Red Ribbon
  • Scissors
  • Printer (to Print out Template)
That's it! 

The HOW TO:
  • Print TY Logo. Since I have three pups, I printed different sizes for them. 
  • I cut out the heart and traced it on felt with a chalk pencil. Or you can simply tape your template to the felt and cut it out. 
  • Once you have your heart, you can move onto the letters. Tape them to felt and cut them...or trace them onto felt and cut them. NOTE: Since I used a white felt with a sticky back, it was easiest for me to trace the letters onto the sticker stick backwards. I included a pic which will hopefully make it clear.
  • Remove sticker backing from letters and place on red felt
  • Cut hole for ribbon (or you could glue it to the back). I chose to create a small loop...and use more ribbon to create a big loop (a "collar") that goes around their neck. This helps the TY tag face forward without twisting around. 

Trace & Cut out heart

Created the TY letters on sticker felt by tracing them backwards on the sticky side. 

Cut out letters, remove backing and attach to heart. 


7 Simple Clean Eating Tips

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

How to get results:

If you kinda do it... it kinda works.
If you REALLY do it... it REALLY works.
#InFitnessandInBusiness


When I talk with my friends who aren’t familiar with the idea of a Eating Clean (AKA: Clean Eating) they assume it’s probably some extreme diet, tough to keep up with over the long-term, and perhaps even expensive for one reason or another. Not true at all..

I follow the clean eating philosophy because it’s so EASY to follow and because it hasn’t made my grocery bills sky rocket higher (We've actually SAVED money by sticking with the basics)
So what can you do to get a flatter more toned stomach by following a few simple clean eating tips without even jumping onto the clean eating bandwagon?
Simply try these 7 simple clean eating tips and watch your stomach get flatter and your abs look more toned in no time at all.

  1. I don’t drink carbohydrate drinks (aka:sports drinks) ...or soda!
  2. Eat less refined sugars.

    Now this doesn’t mean I don’t eat sugar overall. I eat plenty of sugar that comes from fruits, other natural food sources. The key here is to cut out white processed sugar from your daily dietary habits as much as possible.
  3. Avoid artificial flavors and colors.

    This is pretty simple to do by simply avoiding processed foods. If you can’t pronounce the name of something in your food or have no idea what it is then it’s probably processed.
  4. Don’t eat processed foods.

    If you don’t know whether the food is “processed” then just check the nutrition label and read the ingredient list. If anything sounds non-natural, manufactured, you have no idea what it is, or you can’t pronounce it then it’s probably processed food on some level.
  5. Eat more fruits and veggies.

    Your mom had a point when she used to tell you this as a kid and even perhaps as an adult
  6. Eat more lean protein.

    Lean protein include things like salmon and chicken. Lean protein builds, fuels, and maintains lean body muscles. Lean body muscles are what help give people a very lean and toned look.
  7. Drink more water.

    Drinking more water actually helps the body retain less water weight.

If you want more tips/guidance/accountability...if you want sustained weight loss, belly fat loss, and to get a flatter sexier tummy by New Years...Message me for details on my next fitness/wellness group. 





Finding an Easy (and Fun) Balance Between Health and Fitness

Tuesday, October 25, 2016


Fall is my FAVORITE time of the year... besides the obvious reasons (weather, leaves, coziness, the BEST clothing & my birthday of course)

....It's the time of year I started (and completed) my transformation with Brazil Butt Lift & P90X

What crazy person commits to a workout program during arguably the most challenging time of year (Oct/Nov/Dec)?

This girl

I wasn't a fitness expert or even fitness enthusiast...but I did have a DESIRE to be healthier...to learn how to eat right... and to be able to confident in my own skin...

So while everyone else was munching on Halloween candy...prepping for a big gravy laden Thanksgiving...and Christmas cookies galore...

...I was getting my daily workouts in
...planning & prepping my food
...enjoying sweet treats in MODERATION

...and slowly but surely...week after week...I was seeing RESULTS (both on the scale & in my abilities!)

Was it easy? Actually no, it wasn't.

But I've learned some things along the way that have been things EASIER. I've also learned that the secret ingredient to success is some good ole fashioned accountability.

So..if you happen to be crazy like me...if you want to feel GOOD in family holiday pics...or are simply FED UP with the way you've been doing things...

....I'm hosting my next fitness accountability group. A fun, easy balance between HEALTH and LIFE.

This program will incorporate a lot of the things that help ME stay on track (from easy to decipher recipes, tips on meal prep, LAUGHTER & FUN, accountability, and of course..the support of a sisterhood).

If you THINK this MIGHT be the thing to help you get out of your funk, then I am your wingwoman.

This is a no pressure situation (I love to work with women who are EXCITED- so I will never push you before you're ready  )



ALL of my coaches & customers welcome. If you are currently working with a coach, please check in with them to see what kind of wellness programs they offer

The Teal Pumpkin Project: Allergy Friendly Halloween

Saturday, October 22, 2016

Keeping it Teal!   If you've haven't heard of the Teal Pumpkin project, I'm really excited to share what it's all about ...and give you some ideas on how to implement it for Halloween!
2016 will be the third year this has been promoted and it's really simple!


So many children (and adults) have mild to life threatening allergies ...food sensitivities...or just flat out don't want to have a house full of sugary temptation on November 1st. As a health & fitness coach, I promote BALANCE! I'm all about having a treat here & there....but NOBODY needs 10 lbs of chocolate in their house haha

If you or your child does have an allergy (peanuts, soy, dairy, gluten, eggs, etc...), October 31st can be a serious buzzkill.

The Teal Pumpkin Project is a campaign encouraging families to paint a pumpkin TEAL and hand out non-food items (instead of just traditional candy) so that everyone can safely enjoy the fun!

A Teal pumpkin on your porch lets families know that you have some allergy free options.

Honestly, I think this is brilliant. There are plenty of houses handing out traditional candy that will be devoured.... but when they get something fun like bubbles, stamps, snap bracelets, etc... the fun can last a little longer. (And children who can't eat candy get to participate in the festivities!) 


Sometimes the prizes are more coveted than the candy!
I snagged a blank chalkboard pumpkin at Michaels & added my Allergy Safe message with chalk markers

DECORATING:

This is the fun part! There are endless ideas on Pinterest that you can simply convert to a teal color scheme.
Everything from adding faux flowers, stamping it with cool doodles or designs, modge podging it with fun paper, keeping it simple...or even buying an already painted pumpkin at Micheals.

I'm all about creating something I can use again and again. I deciding to go with three simple designs

-- Mummy Pumpkin (using a prepainted Teal pumpkin, gauze & googly eyes)
-- Yarn (wrapping a white pumpkin with teal yarn)
-- Paint & Glitter (creating an "ombre" effect with different shades & glitter)
White Pumpkin: Wrapped in yarn & used a dab of hot glue on the bottom to hold it in place. 

How to Make Teal Paint

  • Two parts Blue
  • One Part Green
  • Dab of Yellow
  • Dab of White
I went with more mint/aqua colors...just cuz. 


Paint away! You can add glitter to wait paint or use modge podge/glue to hold it on!
Mummy Pumpkin: Wrap in gauze. Secure with hot glue. Add googly eyes with hot glue

Non-Food Ideas:
  • Mini Bottled Water (Florida gets HOT even on Hallow's Eve)*
  • Glow sticks*
  • Spooky Toys (Vampire teeth, spider rings, etc)
  • Mini notebooks*
  • Slap Bracelets
  • Sticky hands *
  • Kazoos, whistles, bells
  • Beaded Neclaces, halloween jewelry
  • Crowns
  • Sidewalk Chalk
  • Bouncy Balls
  • Coins! Real or fake
  • Temporary Tattoos & Stickers
  • Pencils, Pencil Toppers, Erasers
  • Glow-in-the-dark ANYTHING
  • Play-doh*
  • Halloween Mini Kaleidoscope*
  • Poppers
  • Mini Slinky
  • Novelty Stampers* (I loved these as a kid!)
  • Bubbles!* I got Halloween themed ones but you can get mini white wedding ones and draw a ghost on them!

    * = What we are handing out! I added some links to make shopping easy!

    You can find all of these at Target, Michaels, Amazon, dollar store, party store, etc... And if you shop now, you can usually find a great deal! I always Google Michael's or Joann Fabric's Coupons before popping into the store. 


    Winston is healing from eye surgery. More on that in another post!
I absolutely love this idea and you can get as creative as you want. It's a great way to get people talking and raise some awareness.
  








- THEME BY ECLAIR DESIGNS -