Fall Giveaway!!

I love scarf season!!

Enter our Fall Giveaway for a chance to win any scarf from us, Crafty Senoritas!! Yes that's right ANY scarf. Any of our infinity scarves, kids and adult sizes, and even our new girly ruffle scarves! Don't see a color you like? Let us know when you win and we will create one just for you!!

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mini Birthday Hat Clips Update!!

Jeez, things have been busy over here at the Crafty Senoritas. Projects galore trying to be completed, our etsy shop has had a major overhaul of new items added. So many fun things!! Well I posted about my mini Birthday Hat Clips a while ago and thought I should do a little update. Few people were wondering if I still make them since it's been a while since the post. Well.... Yes I do! I love these adorable little hats. Such a fun accessory for a special day. You can purchase them thru our etsy shop or right here from our blog, just send us a note at craftysenoritas@gmail.com. 

For fun I thought I would share some of the darling clips that have been made!!

Most of you will recognize this clip! It was the one that started it all. My daughter's first birthday.

Yup, that's my daughter.

Vintage Ballerina

Purple Princess

Vintage Lace

 Leopard Minnie Mouse

 Frilly Pink

 Lady Bug

Bumble Bee

 Cupcake Sprinkles

This is the clip I made for my daughter's second birthday, to match her dress I also made her. Such a sassy lil girl still. But oh so cute!!

Seriously aren't these clips the cutest?!! I just love them and I'm so excited to make one for my little girl every year until she decides she's too old. 

So start planning, if your like me you already have, ha ha. Find that perfect outfit (or make one) and order your mini birthday hat clip today!!

Custom Clip $10

Shipping $5.50

**shipping is priority 2-3 business days**

Kitchen Sneek Peek

So I have been working on my kitchen for a while now. It's been a slooooow process. We don't have enough money to do all the things that we really want like, tile backsplash, granite counters, new cabinets, new appliances. I finally had enough of my boring kitchen. So I started thinking of ways to make it different without hardly any expense. We have oak cabinets which are fairly new. They are beautiful but I'm pretty sick of oak. It's just never been my style. After looking at different ways to update original cabinets I decided the best choice for us was to stain them. I found some awesome tutorials on a stain called General Finishes. Amazing stuff!! I'll share links and pictures once they are done. Something I finished recently was the 'backsplash.' Now tile isn't super expensive, but it was still money we don't have. I did however have paint and thought a stencil would be cheap. So thats what I did. I stenciled a backsplash. It's not perfect and I would totally prefer tile but it looks pretty cool. If you want a super cheap way to update your kitchen try a stencil backsplash. 

Damage to my wallet: 5$

Can't beat that. The stencil was the only thing I bought specific for this project. and I just used paint I already had on hand. 

More sneek peeks to come as I complete my cheap kitchen update.

Easter Chicks

Ok. So I know its not Easter anymore, but we got chicks this year for Easter and I just love having them. They have been very fun and not so fun at the same time. I have been wanting chickens for sooooooo long. I know I'm weird. See I'm a cat person..... I know right? And my husband is a cat hater. So my dream of having a kitty was brutally squashed when we got married. So for a while I was thinking I wanted a dog. But my husband is not much of a animal person, so our ideas of how it should be taken care of and other things was a battle as well. Soon I simply gave up my fight of wanting animals, mostly because I figured I would be a rude wife and just go get the animal of my choice when we were settled in life and I was ready to take care of an animal. Having kids and the older I get the less and less I wanted a dog. I still want a cat but shhh don't tell my husband. When it was time for us to buy our first home I learned that my husband is not so much and animal hater he just wants land and space for them. Since it was our first home and I knew it would be a while before we would be able to afford that kind of space I started looking into chickens. I've wanted them but thought my hubby would think I was weird. haha. But turns out that was an animal he didn't mind getting now. After a ton of research and asking neighbors and family about chickens. We decided it was time, and we headed to our local feed barn to pick some up. I was going to order some from an online hatchery but decided I wasn't that picky and it was easier to just go to the feed barn. They had three kinds, Araucanas, Rhode Island Reds and Welsummers. Araucanas lay blue-green eggs, RIR lay brown eggs and Welsummers lay dark brown eggs. We got one of each and 2 RIR's. 

Aren't they just the cutest little fluff balls? Black one is the Araucana, yellow with the brown strip is the Welsummer, and the other two are the RIR's. 

My sister knew we wanted chicks and was at a company party where they were giving them away for free. What she didn't know was that same day we were picking up our own chicks. She decided to keep them and since they live in an apartment they will live at our house until they get a bigger place. She doesn't know what kind they are but they are a funny little group.

 This is Minnie.

My daughter named this one after Minnie Mouse. (she loves Disney)

 This one is Ontruck.

My son named this one. Don't ask where he came up with that name.

 This is Copper.

And this is Penny.

 My sister named hers...

Brown one Rolo

Black one Fritter

and Yellow one Custard.

We have 7 chickens at our house now.

They have grown so much and are starting to enter their ugly stage, but their fun personalities are starting to come out too. We have been working on their coop taking it a little at a time. It will hopefully be done soon cause I'm want my garage back. The nights are starting to be warm enough for them to stay out at night!! Wahoo. No more chicken poo garage. 

So if you are thinking about getting some chickens make sure you do your research before hand. Chickens are not for everyone. They are a lot of work in the beginning stages and messy. But as they grow older and you move them to a coop. They become a lot less work AND they will give you beautifully delicious eggs! They help with compost too. My husband is super excited about doing compost for our garden. I love pets that give back. 

Here are some great links to help you get started.

MyPetChicken.com

BackYardChickens.com

Nesting and Spring Cleaning

So we have been pregnant over here at the crafty senoritas. We were pregnant at the same time even, with due dates only days apart. We even had a friend who was pregnant with twins, with a due date the same day as well. Unfortunately she had her twins at 25 weeks and they have had a rough battle which they have been overcoming one day at a time. I, shortly before she had her twins, lost my baby to a miscarriage. Not my first experience with that either. We went from 4 babies to one, Ashley was now the only one expecting. A few months after my miscarriage I ended up pregnant again. Which was good news, but I had my sister's wedding I was suppose to decorate for in only a few weeks away. Battling morning sickness while trying being a wedding planner is not an ideal situation. Then once the wedding was done, I started having spotting. I was so not happy at this point, thinking that I was losing the baby again. I had 3 ultrasounds in the first couple months because I kept having signs of a threatened miscarriage. But gratefully the baby was fine each time and I am now in my 20th week of pregnancy. Ashley just had her baby, early. I think he was 6 weeks early, but baby is fine and mom is healing. So needless to say things have been a roller coaster over here at the Crafty Senoritas. So blogging has not been a priority and I apologize to those who still follow us. Hopefully we can start getting back up to speed, with no more unwanted complications. (crossing fingers) In my past pregnancies once I hit half way I would start having simple complications. Simple, but complications are complications. So far all my complications have been at the beginning and things have been getting better as I get further into it. Hopefully this keeps up.

Ok. So has anyone ever experienced 'nesting.' I haven't with my other pregnancies. I would get this burning desire to have the whole house carpets professionally cleaned, but that's about has far as the nesting would go. With this pregnancy..... it's a whole other ball game. I think I caught 'spring cleaning fever!!!' I have been DEEP cleaning like every day and if I don't, I get grouchy. WHAT?!!! That's like oil and water right there. I hate cleaning. If I could hire someone to do it for me I would. I guess I'm just lazy, it's sad. But seriously I loath cleaning. It's just a part of life and that's fine but I hate it regardless. So me getting grouchy because I didn't DEEP clean is crazy. I think my husband is wondering what happened to his wife. Bahahaha. She's been taken over by a crazy pregnant lady. Mu ahahaha. So I've hit my pinterest boards and looked for tips on how to clean things faster. I've tried a few lately with success and failure as well.

I'll share what I've learned. Homemade Laundry detergent. I used to do liquid Homemade detergent but have since been converted to the powder form. Only reason is it's easier to store and the liquid seems to lose it's cleaning power the longer it sits. With the powder I can make a huge batch ahead of time and I can store it in smaller containers, so it takes up less space. I have a small laundry room so space is definitely hard to come by. I got a recipe from a friend who has a picky husband and she said he loves this recipe. Well I took it home and lost it on the way to the store...... figures. I could remember the ingredients but not how much I needed of everything. I have pinterest on my phone so while I was at the store, standing in the laundry isle, I did an emergency search. I found this recipe here at How Does She? Pretty sure it's the same recipe if not super close to it. Only thing I would recommend is sticking with the Zote soap. I've used the Fels Naptha but I like the Zote a bit better, just a personal preference. I ground up my soap, which is the hardest part, and mixed everything in a 5 gallon bucket. Once mixed, I stored most of it in a Jar and the remaining I used the empty purex crystals bottles. I have a ginormous washing machine and dryer. It's the biggest size you can get before you go industrial, so I seem to use a bit more soap than a standard size machine. I found coffee scoops at my local dollar store that measure 1/8 cup. Perfect amount for my machine.

Shower Cleaner- Half Dawn dish soap and half vinegar in a fillable dish scrubber. I keep it in the shower and wipe down the walls every time I shower. I've noticed it keeps the soap scum and hard water spot at bay. I still clean the shower with cleaner but I don't have to scrub off soap build up and water spots.

Streak Free Window Cleaner- I didn't follow this recipe exactly and it didn't work as well. I had some areas on my window that dried with spots. I don't use powder dish detergent. I've made my own and I hate it. So I used some of my homemade laundry soap to see if that would work. Not so much. Next time I'm going to try liquid dish soap. If that still doesn't work I'll give in and buy a box of powdered detergent. I'm cheap what can I say, that and I like to use what I already have on hand. Also I could cut the recipe in half because I don't have a ton of windows so that would save some money too.

Homemade Dish Detergent-I tried a few different recipes. Conclusion: I works just like the cheapest powder detergent and it cost more to make. I did not like homemade dishwasher detergent. I always had a nasty film and the dishes weren't getting clean. I thought it might be my washer starting to crap out on me. So I tried cleaning it, I tried adding more citrus acid to the mix because here in AZ we have really hard water. I went and bought some different types of detergent. I what I learned was the expensive stuff is expensive for a reason. At least for dishwasher detergent. Once we switched back to our previous method of cleaner our dishes have been fine. The come out sparkly and CLEAN!! I do like using vinegar as a dishwasher machine cleaner. About once a month I run the machine empty with vinegar to keep it clean. I use to buy the machine cleaners but now I don't have to. Vinegar works just as good.

Amazing Grout Cleaner!!!-seriously this stuff is amazing. It really, really works. The best stuff I have found!! Just trust me and try it, you will be amazed.

Clean Blinds-I found a tip for cleaning blinds. They use and old sock and vinegar. I don't know what it is with ppl and old socks but whenever they suggest to use an old sock for something it never works out for me. It just makes things worse. Maybe its just me. After some trial and error I found a system that works for me. First I get my trusty vacuum and its brush attachment, then I attack the blinds starting from the top and sliding down (blinds are closed facing down) then I switch them to facing up and start from bottom and slide to the top. This get most of the dust off. Then I spray them with my water vinegar cleaner (one part water, one part vinegar) and with a damp rag wipe the blinds down. This has been the fastest, less messy and easiest way for me. After I clean the blinds I clean the window.

Window Track Cleaning-My window tracks were looking pretty nasty. Vacuuming was just not cutting it anymore. So I found some tips on how to clean those. Most said to use Q tips and vinegar. I started doing that then quickly learned I was going to need a whole box per window. No thank. Some other people said use a toothbrush. So I dipped my cleaning toothbrush in vinegar and tried that. It got most of the dirt and grime but I couldn't quite get the tight corners. That is when I used the Q tips. After a good scrub I took a paper towel and wiped up the excess vinegar and dirt. Now they are all sparkly and clean. Ask Anna has some great tips for deep cleaning window too.


So this is what I have learned so far. I have more to do and more things to try. Come back soon for more tips and new posts. I have been crafty up a crazy too. New car seat cover, new kitchen crafts, fun stuff I hope to get posted soon.

I'll leave you with one of my favorite pictures of my 2 1/2 year old daughter. We were in the kitchen cleaning up after breakfast and she dragged her chair from their room all the way into the kitchen, plopped in from of the garbage can, demanded a scrubby and went to "cleaning." This sassy lil' girl loves to help and clean. She doesn't get that from me. But I just love love love that she loves to clean and help. She has her own little broom and scrubbies. I give her a spray bottle with water so that she can 'help me clean.' I hope she keeps that joy and happiness always. She is my inspiration and helps me 'enjoy' (sort of) cleaning a little bit more. Also she is the tornado in our house. She makes a bigger mess than the rest of us put together. Ha ha. So when she wants to help I gladly except. My sweetheart son isn't very messy and hates to clean like me. So he does his chores and thats good enough for me. Who wants to clean up after their slob sister anyways. :)

Happy Chinese New Year

I worked with a wonderful lady in my church this last year and she was from China. She taught me how to make pot stickers last year and taught me about Chinese New Year and a little bit about her culture. I love most asian food. So my husband decided he wanted to start a fun family tradition and make some kind of asian dish on Chinese New Year each year. February 10th was the New Year this time and we missed it cause too much was going on. So we celebrated a couple days late. I wanted to share my friends recipe and how she taught me to make them. They are so delicious!!!

Pork Pot Stickers

1 pkg. ground pork (avoid lean, because the fat is what makes them bursting with juice)
Napa Cabbage (chopped, about 2 cups)
Fresh Ginger (grated, about 2 tablespoons)
2-3 garlic cloves (minced)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 egg
Salt (about 1/2 tablespoon)
1 pkg of gyoza/potsticker wrappers

Add all the ingredients in a bowl and mix together.

For the ginger I take about one chunk. Then I peel it and grate it over the bowl.

For the garlic, I take each clove and crush it with my knife. This causes the peeling to just fall off easily then I mince it up and add to the bowl.

 These are the type of wrappers I used. I got them at my local asian market. There are just over 50 in the package.

 Once the ingredients are all mixed well I start filling the wrappers. I use about a tablespoon of filling and plop it in the middle.

I have a bowl of water handy and dip my finger in the water and spread it around the edge. Just enough to dampen the dough. This makes it stick together easier when you fold it.

 Crease only one side of the dumpling and pinch it together. Having only one side creased creates the curve so they will stand up nicely in the pan.

 Continue to make more once you have enough to fill your pan add about a tablespoon of oil to the bottom and brown the bottoms of them slightly. Once the are nicely browned get your lid and about 1 cup of water ready. Pour the water into the pan and quickly cover with the lid. Be careful cause if there is some oil left in the pan, (there usually is) it will splatter.

 Once covered cook for about five minutes. The goal here is to steam all the water out and get the bottoms back to slightly crunchy. My potstickers needed a little bit more time to cook cause I could tell the tops weren't quite done. So I added 1/4 cup more water and that did the trick.

We don't eat all fifty in one meal so I finish the rest of them, place them on a cookie sheet and freeze them. Once frozen I put them in a ziplock bag and save them for another meal. They cook up the same way as if fresh. (Brown the bottoms, then toss in the water and steam)

Here are some other recipes we found and made this year to go with our potstickers.

Chow Mein
Fried Rice