i should be mopping the floor

Gussied Up Dollar Store Candle Holders

I put together a very easy, inexpensive and super sparkly centerpiece that will take my dining table from Thanksgiving all the way through the new year.

I bought a floppity-jillion plain glass candle holders from Dollar Tree {as in $1 each}
....maybe closer to a dozen.
The most difficult part of this was removing the stickers on the bottoms. I soaked them in window cleaner and scraped them off with a kitchen scraper.

I did two versions of these...one with double stick tape and the other with the craft glue pictured above. The double stick tape ones were great...until after burning the candles for a few hours, the tape was so hot that it started to bubble and peel off a bit. So I HIGHLY recommend the glue route.

I used a foam brush to apply a one-inch border to the tops of the glasses.

Then I coated them in glitter. I gave them a good shake and brush off once they were dry.

And there you go.
They were so sparkly and pretty during Thanksgiving dinner.

Now that Thanksgiving is over, I'm going to remove the pumpkins and replace them with silver ornaments up and down the runner...I can't wait to see how the light bounces off of the ornaments and glitter and candle glow. Cha-cha-cha.

I kind of liked how the glitter trails down the glass, even away from the glue.

This was our Thanksgiving set-up...with the kiddie table in front.
Hope all of you are enjoying this wonderful time of the year!

{i linky-party here}

Friday's Freebie: Printable Holiday Paper Doll

Introducing Krissy Kringle...the last in my line of Printable Paper Pals.

She comes complete with festive holiday attire, peppermint-striped jammies and a tray of Christmas cookies...plus a few more fun things!

Paper Pals are designed to be printed on heavy cardstock on an 11x17 sized sheet.

To download, simply click on the image below:

{Kindly give a follow before downloading any of my free printables. Please and thank you.}

To see my other Printable Paper Pals, click here.

To see all of my free printables, click here.

For information on getting the most out of a free printable,

click here {includes extensive printing tips and ideas}.

{i linky-party here}

The Tuesday Ten

Welcome to The Tuesday Ten! I feature my personal top ten favorites from the previous day's party every Tuesday. The readers' favorite links will be featured at the next party. If you haven't had a chance to link up to this week's Mop It Up Monday, you can still get in on the party action here!

Thank you to everyone partying with me this week! If you were featured, feel free to grab a button:

{Simple Glitter Clothespins}
from According to L
I think these would be cute to hang holiday cards with! So sparkly and festive.

{Thanksgiving Leftovers Sliders}
from Will Cook for Smiles
There is nothing better than Thanksgiving leftovers...and love these on a slider! FUN!

{The Menu Planner to Rule Them All}
from The Thinking Closet
I know I'd rule them all if I had this menu planner...wow!

{Hand-Painted 12 Days of Christmas Pillow}

from A Little Claire-ification

This is adorable! She did it as a Target knock-off, but I think I like hers better!

{Twine Time Star}
from House on the Way
I love the rustic, country look of this. And the red & black check ribbon is perfection.

{Christmas Planner}
from A Typical English Home
Perfect to get us through the hustle & bustle and give us time with family this holiday season!

{Frosty Pumpkin Squares}
from Bear Rabbit Bear
These look fantastic! Perfect post-Thanksgiving treat!

{Emma Inspired French Braided Bun}

from Ruffly Ribbons & Ramblings

I seriously think my hair is almost long enough to try this now...yipee!

{Holiday Butter Crescent Rolls}
from Busy Bee's
Homemade crescent rolls can't be beat. These look delicious!

{How to Make a Feather Tree}

from Laurie's Little Bits of Creativity

These look so snowy and white...so pretty!

Mamaw Pie

This Mamaw Pie Post contains affiliate links. I make a small portion when these links are used, at no additional cost to you.

I've been making this Mamaw Pie recipe since I was a newlywed...it's one of our faves. The beauty of it is that it makes two pies and they are intentionally stored in the freezer until an hour before serving. I mean, it's holiday dinner perfection. I just updated this recipe for Mamaw Pie to include a printable recipe card, too.

Mamaw Pie has been in my recipe book for almost 16 years now. It's my go-to pie when I want to wow people with pie awesomeness. It's easy to put together ahead of time and kept in the freezer until needed. The recipe was given to me for a community cookbook I was on the committee for years ago in a small Texas panhandle town where we lived at the time (yay, Mulehoe!). The lady handed me the card and said that her family called this "Mamaw Pie". The recipe card had a different title for it, which is what ended up in that cookbook, but I still call it "Mamaw Pie". I've made a few adjustments over the years, just tailoring it more to our own tastes...but it's still that Mamaw's amazing pie.

Because who am I to take credit away from someone's Mamaw? Grab this recipe below.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE »

Crowd-Pleasing Party Food {Seven Fabulous Recipes}

As promised, below are all of the recipes that were brought to our Girls' Craft Night this month.

The Hot Glue Hotties certainly know how to cook up some fun!

If you'd like to read about our monthly craft group, click here.

For drinks we had iced tea, water and this little gem I like to call
"The Perfect Thanksgiving Drink".
I posted the recipe here earlier this week.

Hot Glue Hottie Carrie brought a fantastic Broccoli Salad.
The recipe for this can be found here.

Hot Glue Hottie Danielle brought a delicious Spinach Dip with bread for dipping.
The recipe for this can be found here.

Hot Glue Hottie Gina whipped up this fantastic little number for our night:
Crescent Jalapeno Poppers
The recipe for these can be found here.

Hot Glue Hottie Suzanne brought Avocado Salsa Cups {A Pampered Chef Recipe}

This recipe can be found here.

One of the most loved {and requested} recipes of the evening was also brought by Danielle.

These are Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts.

The recipe for this dish can be found here.

I put together my Easy Tortilla Roll-Ups for our get-together.

I posted the recipe for these earlier this week here.

{i linky-party here}

Friday's Freebie: Thanksgiving Day Napkin Rings #Printable

My dad is a champion napkin folder...you name it, swans, boats, tents, etc....he can fold a cloth napkin into it. He has a thirty-year-old etiquette pamphlet that he carries around with him from place setting to place setting as he works his magic on table linens {and we generally have 25+ people at Thanksgiving, so it's no small feat}. He is one talented {and patient} man.

Sadly, I did not inherit the ability to fold napkins into anything that resembles something fabulous. I can roll them into a hot dog shape and that's about as far as I get. So, since I'm hosting this year {and my parents have their own "duties" with the turkey they're bringing and whatnot}, I went my own route and created these napkin rings for our table this year.

I plan to personalize them with a white paint pen so they'll act as our placecards as well.

I created some for the kiddie table, too, with Tom Turkey and a big pumpkin on them. They match the placemats I create for my kids and nieces and nephews every year {details on those below}.

To download your own set, click on the image below:

{best printed on cardstock, attaching with double-stick tape around a rolled napkin}

Before downloading any of my free printables, kindly give a follow to my blog. Please and thank you.

As I mentioned before, these were created to coordinate with this year's kiddie table placemat, pictured below {I try to make these so the nieces & nephews have a little something to take home...if I have enough time, I'll try to put a Christmas design on the reverse side so they can use it through December as well}.

If you'd like to order a DIGITAL copy of your own placemat {with personalization, as pictured below}, I'm charging $6 for them. I will send you the 11x17 design for you to print and laminate. It is best printed at a Staples or Kinko's/FedEx and then laminated in their thickest laminate pouches. They always turn out super cute. Last year, the lady at Staples even ordered some for her own kids after seeing them come across the printer!

To order a custom mat, email me at ishouldbemoppingthefloor@gmail.com.

To see all of my free printables, click here.

For information on getting the most out of a free printable,

click here {includes extensive printing tips and ideas}.

{i linky-party here}

Party Food: Easy Tortilla Roll-Ups {with a low-carb option}

I've made these easy appetizers for years. I constantly change up the recipe, based on what is in the pantry at the time or what I'm in the mood for. But this is the basic recipe. It's super easy and can be made the night before. The recipe makes LOTS, too.

You'll Need {low carb options noted in red}:

1 package of large {burrito-style} tortillas, 10 count {for the low carb version, use the low carb tortillas...I used both the regular and wheat low carb tortillas for this recipe...you'll need more than 10 since the tortillas are significantly smaller}
2 blocks of cream cheese, softened {for the low carb version, use the 1/3 less fat variety}
1 {7 oz.} can green chiles
1 small can chopped olives
1/4 cup salsa
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon paprika {I use the smoked variety, which is fantastic}

I throw everything {except the tortillas} in my food processor and pulse it a few times around until it's smooth.

Spread a layer of the filling in the middle of the tortilla.
Try to leave a good size border so the filling doesn't leak out once rolled.

Roll the tortilla tightly, but mindful to keep the filling in place.
{The larger tortillas are much easier to work with...but I need to use the low carb ones!}

Wrap rolled tortillas in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or for at least four hours.
Remove from plastic wrap and slice the rolls every 1 1/2 inches to form your "pinwheels".

Serve & enjoy!
If I'm getting super fancy on ya, I'll plate them on their side {they're laying flat in the above pic} topped with a jumbo-sized black olive and skewered with a toothpick.

{i linky-party here}

{Guest Post: Liz from Love Grows Wild}: Perfect Nest Framed Art

Hello New Friends! My name is Liz, and I write a blog called Love Grows Wild. I am so excited to be guest posting at I Should Be Mopping the Floor today! Kristi is one creative and fun lady!

I am a wife and mother of two rough and tough little boys. I have a passion for creating beautiful things, and at Love Grows Wild I share my crafts, DIY projects, recipes, and organization tips. I've always got a new project up my sleeve, and I love making new friends, so stop by and say hi anytime!

Today I have a super cute project to share with you!

I saw a photo from Daisy Mae Belle and was inspired to create my own "Perfect Nest" framed art.

Here's how I did it:

First I started with an old wooden frame I picked up from Goodwill. I wanted the frame to have an aged look, so I decided to use a crackle paint technique. I painted the whole frame with black acrylic craft paint and then generously applied a crackle medium over the black. Once the crackle medium had dried slightly, I applied a white acrylic paint on top. After a few minutes the crackle started to work its magic, and gave a beautiful aged look to the frame.

Next I created two little birdies for my frame. I drew a simple bird shape onto paper and used that as my template to cut four birds from white burlap, two for the fronts and two for the backs. (I'm OBSESSED with white burlap!) I used my sewing machine to stitch the birds together, leaving the bottoms open. I stuffed the birdies and finished stitching them shut. They were adorable all on their own, but I thought the little guys could use some color. So I gave them some stripes using a fine tipped brush and blue craft paint. (Doesn't this color totally remind you of Kristi's favorite oops paint?)

I found a tiny bird's nest at Hobby Lobby, but couldn't find any eggs small enough to fit in the nest. So I picked up some oven-bake clay and made my own! I just rolled the clay into egg shapes, baked them for 15 minutes, and let them cool completely. They got a blue coat of paint to match the bird's stripes, and to add some dimension I added black and white speckles using a toothpick.

For the word art, I wrapped a piece of muslin around the cardboard backing from the frame and hot glued it in place. I used a Sharpie to write the word "home" (you can see the technique I used here) and used my favorite new letter stamps to write "the perfect nest".

I placed the muslin-covered cardboard back into the frame and hot glued the birdies, nest, and eggs onto the edges of the frame.

The finished frame found a home on a table in my entry where I made a fun bird vignette using feathers, my Sheet Music Eggs, and sticks.

So what do you think? Do you love my little birdies as much as I do?

I want to say a HUGE thank you to Kristi for letting me hang out with you all today!

{big hugs} I've had a blast! I hope you'll stop by Love Grows Wild soon, and you can also find me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.

Have a wonderful day!

Thanks so much for joining me today, Liz! It was an absolute delight having you here. And I'm loving this frame and nest combo...gorgeous. And yes...that's some serious Oops Blue right there...love it!

I adore Liz's style...we have a lot of similarities in our decorating style and I'm super drawn to her stuff. She consistently has awesome projects and ideas that knock my socks off. Some of my favorite "Liz projects" include:

{DIY Ruler Growth Chart and Vinegar Stain}

{Sweater Pillow Tutorial}

{Once a Cork Board, Now Necklace Storage}

Loving it all. You've got to head over to Love Grows Wild and check out all of the awesomeness going on over there. I'm thrilled to have connected with Liz through the bloggy world. Her ideas are fabulous and she's such a sweetie. Thanks bunches for being here today, Liz!

{i linky-party here}