Hello Dear Reader-

Have you missed me? I have been a bit under the weather and unfortunately that means I have been away from the blog.

But to make it up to you, how about a post full of fun tips and a giveaway that includes THREE new little books from Gooseberry Patch!

Ya see, GP sent me two of their new Tiny Tips Books - Tiny Tips for Get-Togethers and Tiny Tips for a Cozy Home- along with a fun little copy of  Recipes for Warming Hearts and I am giving away a copy of each of these books to one lucky reader!

I just love these little books! They are like little brainstorming starters. They are chock-full of tons of tips, but they also spark the creativity in me and give me other ideas– don’t ya love that?

I  thought it would be fun to share some of the wonderful tips Gooseberry Patch included in these books with you as a part of our Super Mommy Secrets series, so here goes!

1. Cookie Placecards: I LOVE this idea to use cookies as a place setting for each guest at your next get-together! Stack up a sweet little stack  and tie a lovely ribbon– what a neat treat!

These Banana-Chocolate Chip Cookies would be perfect or these Maple Drop Cookies would be just perfect for a fall theme!

Not feeling like being Martha all at once? Why not bake ahead and freeze the cookies. Then thaw the day of and serve right up!

2. Cookbook Storage:  I totally use this tip to store my cookbooks!

You will find several baskets full of cookbooks… and shelves and book stands…

and… ok… I might just need a cookbook intervention… maybe… just not right now, k?

3. Dressing Up a Shelf: I really want to try this tip to add some flair to some kitchen shelves Puddie just hung. I can’t decide if I am going to use homemade paper or some cloth napkins or hankerchiefs .

4. Miss Add and I are going to have to wrangle up some buttons and give these button magnets a try! How cute would those be on the fridge? They would go quite nicely with Miss Add’s first attempt at magnets and we ALWAYS need more magnets to hang up school notices, art projects, church memory verses, etc.

5. Art Gallery: Speaking of which, we have used this tip to make a little clothesline art gallery on our family calendar wall and we absolutely love it!

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6. Unique Serving Dishes: How cool is this idea to use peppers or pumpkins to serve up condiments or soup at your next party?

7. Appetizer Rule of Thumb: It never fails, I have friends coming over and I either make way too much food or too little and since too little is much worst case scenario, I typically overcompensate and make enough to feed twice as many people! That is why I love this tip for appetizers and that it accounts for both pre-dinner and appetizer-only soirees

8. A Quote to Warm the Heart: While quotes aren’t technically tips, I adore them and LOVE that these little books include quotes too… ya see, this is why I always say that GP just gets me.

9. Cupcake Stand: I HAVE to make these cup and saucer cupcake stands… it is a must!

10. Wheelbarrow Planter: We can pretend I will actually follow through on this great idea to use a child’s wheelbarrow as an inviting planter… but truth be told, I probably won’t because it won’t look as pretty with dead flowers inside… but I am sure one of you would create a lovely arrangement!

On a related note, I am sad to report that my second batch of herbs… the ones that I bought to replace the ones I killed earlier in the summer… ya know the ones that were going to make it through the winter… well… let’s just hope I do better this winter than they did. I swear I am not poisoning them… and I DID water this batch… just sayin’

 11. Pot Rack: I just love handing pots! I also think this would be an awesome idea for hanging utensils too on a smaller scale!

12. Scented Fire: Why didn’t I think of this??? I am so going to try these scented fires this winter. I can imagine smells of cinnamon… oh and I wonder if cloves would work???

13. Country Charm: I just love this idea to use vintage every day items to dress up a space. Sometimes we forget that the simplest things make us feel at home.

14: These Boots Were Made for Centerpiecin‘: How cute is this idea to put mason jars in boots as vases for bouquets of flowers? So adorable!

15. Quilt Tablecloth: I have been known to use this tip a time or two! I just love the charm of a comfy quilt as a table cloth.

16. Freezer Paper Table Cloth: On a related note, this idea to keep freezer paper on hand for those messy times is a great tip! And while you are at it, you can make these cool Freezer Paper T-Shirts with the same  stuff!

17. Recipe Art: I will be making these  framed handwritten recipe pieces. I love this idea and it would even be a great homemade gift!

So, there you have a taste of what kind of little nuggets of creativity are hiding inside of the pages of  the new Tiny Tips series. Since these books are well… tiny, I am combining this giveaway with the giveaway of another little gem, Recipes for Warming Hearts which I will be reviewing and sharing with you over the next week…

This lovely little book not only includes our Super Easy Puddin’ Cake, it also has tons of ideas that will help us kick off our homemade Christmas series….

So, what do ya think? Want to win a copy of each of these three little books?

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