If you are local to Orange County, we would love to see you. There are still tickets left for the public performances at Fullerton College Theater. Check out my OCFamily post for more details.

Back to more craftiness next week, until then enjoy the flashback on and one of my favorite Schoolhouse Rock cartoons.

Which Schoolhouse Rock cartoon is your favorite?

Today, it’s Hershey’s chocolate nuggets wrapped in flag labels. They are the perfect bite-size shape for an American flag-inspired design. The best part is that both of them include free printables, and they are easy enough for kids to assemble and make their own yummy patriotic treats.

Get your Patriotic Chocolate Nugget Wrappers here. (I created two different designs.) Cut each rectangle label out, and wrap around each nugget. Secure with tape. Simple as that! They look great in a clear dish together, or try putting a few in a small gift bag and tie up with a ribbon and give them to a friend, teacher, or neighbor. They are perfect for the Memorial Day holiday, or save them and pass them out on the Fourth of July.

However you and your family spend the long weekend, we hope it is a safe, festive, and fun one!

Happy crafting!

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Crazy for Cornbread Casserole Recipe

1 can creamed corn
1 can whole corn (do NOT drain)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 stick of butter, softened (can scale back to 3/4 stick)
1 box of cornbread mix (Jiffy)

• Mix the first 4 ingredients in a large bowl
• Stir in the cornbread mix
• Pour the mixture into a greased 9X9 pan
• Bake for 1 Hour @ 350 degrees F

Enjoy!

This dish tastes great warm or cold. It is a perfect side dish to surprise Dad on Father’s Day or for a buffet party (anyone planning a graduation party?)

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Hello crafty chicas! Don’t be disappointed, but today’s post isn’t a crafty DIY, free printable, or crafty trend. I just had to take a moment to write a personal rant. I absolutely love this picture of my beautiful niece who just ran the Bay to Breakers 12K over the weekend with her father and her 20-something cousin. It is common for participants to dress in costume, and as you can see, my gorgeous niece is dressed as Dorothy. Her father dressed as a scarecrow, and her cousin dressed as the wicked witch.

Ok, first it’s impressive that she ran the whole 12k, as her father struggled to keep up with her. I have run a number of 5K’s with her, and believe me, she is always way ahead of me all the way to the finish line. But every day she inspires me to dig a little deeper, give a little more, enjoy the present more, and not to miss out on how fast my own tween daughter is growing up. Why does she personally do this to me, you may ask?

The most amazing part of this story is that almost exactly a year she was struck with crippling auto-immune condition that left her bedridden for weeks, and needing to learn how to walk again. This was how our summer started last year — in what we coined “hospital camp”.

To see her now standing proudly at the edge of the ocean a year later, victorious in finishing the race, almost brings me tears. Last summer scared us all to the core, and it certainly changed us all in ways I think we still don’t realize. Luckily she recovered, but it was definitely one of the scariest and hardest things we had to go through. I still can’t fathom some days what my sister and brother-in-law had to be feeling as they watch their daughter in so much debilitating pain.

This isn’t meant to be a sad rant, this is a “take inspiration from wherever you can get it, find strength in family and friends, and don’t take anything for granted” rant. If you are going through difficult times, have faith and hang on. Inspiration will come, just be sure to be open to it. We came out of “hospital camp” with the good and the bad, and probably with a stronger bond and will than when we started.

I love giving crafty inspirations on this site. And I love crafting with my tween daughter and niece. The good news is is that we are all determined to make this summer 1000 times better than last summer. So get ready for lots of fun and craftiness coming your way to hopefully make your summer a little brighter and get inspired. Thanks for coming along for the ride. Happy crafting!

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Here is homage to creative uses and recipes for peanut butter cups:

Mini Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes

Recently for my sister’s birthday, I couldn’t resist turning these mini Reese’s peanut butter cups into super cute, super mini cupcakes. Simply squirt a little frosting on top of an unwrapped peanut butter cup, finish off with some colorful sprinkles, and voilá – instant cupcakes perfect for any celebration.

Peanut Butter Cupcakes from Hoosier Homemade

Mini peanut butter cups also make great cupcake toppers, especially for this yummy looking recipe from Hoosier Homemade.

Peanut Butter Cup Surprise Filled Cupcakes from Stop lookin’. Get cookin’.

Or you may want to hide a mini peanut butter cup inside a cupcake for a decadent surprise.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Peanut Butter Cups from How Sweet It Is.

Ok, and if I was going to make my own peanut cups, I think I would fill them with chocolate chip cookie dough too!

Huge Peanut Butter “Cups” from The Purple Spoon

Or deconstruct it in a huge cup like The Purple Spoon did.

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup S’mores from Simple Girl

And I am definitely going to try this at our next campout or backyard BBQ! My mouth is watering right now! Um, why didn’t I think of this sooner?

Justin Bieber peanut butter cup labels from MyHTMdesigns Etsy shop

And I could not NOT include this clever way of personalizing a birthday wish. MyHTMdesigns Etsy shop sells a number of custom designs, but this one is specifically in honor of my tween. She is a proud Bieber fanatic, but I think there should be a choice between Justin Bieber post and pre-haircut styles. = )

Are you as crazy about peanut butter cups as I am? Whether you choose to enjoy them as is, or in these delectable inspirations, have fun with it! Share your yummy ideas below in the comments. Happy crafting!

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I’m over at OCFamily today with this fun pool noodle round-up. Happy Crafting!

It seems like right after Spring Break, summer fever set in and the countdown began! Well, I thought I would create a fun way for her to countdown until summer – perfect for my precocious tween! If you would like to make your own, you can get your free printable below.

Countdown to Summer Printable

Simply print out the Summer Countdown Printable and cut out each colored strip (print out enough copies to count one strip per day left before school is out). For instance, Maggie has 37 days left until school is out, so I printed out 3 copies.

Each colored strip has a funny different saying on it. My tween has decided that every night before she goes to bed, she will tear off of of the chain links and read off the saying to the whole family. Tonight’s was “Hooray, Summer’s closer by one more day!”

After you cut them until, simply connect in a paper chain fashion with a stapler. Then, hang one end onto a ribbon and attach to wall or door in a place that your tween can easily take a chain off a day, until they can finally yell, “Hooray for Summer!”

Hope you enjoy the printable and making your own countdown to summer chain. How are you and your family counting down to the sunny holiday? Share your ideas below. Happy crafting!

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I also had the pleasure over the weekend celebrating a dear friend’s graduation ceremony with my tween. Her daughter and son go to school with my tween, and she just received her Doctorate degree. What an accomplishment! I am so impressed, and I love calling her Doctor now. And as soon as I saw this inspiration on Pinterest, I knew I had to make her a chocolate graduation cap bouquet as a fun and delicious homemade gift.

Here is what I used to make the chocolate graduation caps:

• Dark chocolate mini Reese’s peanut butter cups
• Dark chocolate candy melts
• Lollipop sticks
• Mini M&M’s
• Colored Candy Decorating Pen

I melted the candy melts in the a ziplock bag for a minute, and squeezed the chocolate into small square silicone pan. I used a silicone mold for small brownies, but I know you can buy square candy molds as well. I tapped the mold on the table lightly until the melted chocolate had settled to create even square bars, and put into the refrigerator to set up. These create the top of the graduation cap.

Next, I carefully inserted the lollipop sticks into the top of each peanut butter cup. I used a toothpick first to create a hole, since putting too much pressure sometimes split the peanut butter cup in half. I put on a plate and placed these in the refrigerator for about 5 minutes too to make they were completely set up. Sometimes the heat from my fingers was enough to melt them just enough to want to come off the sticks.

Then it was assembly time. Using the candy writer as “glue” I attached a square chocolate on top of each peanut butter cup. I let the hats sit “upside-down” on a plate until they quickly set up before arranging each peanut butter cup on a stick on a Styrofoam circle that I placed in a small planter.

The last step was adding a stripe of color from the candy decorator pen and attaching the mini M&M at the top. I coordinated the colors to the university she was graduating from. This created the tassel.

After the whole chocolate bouquet was set up, I covered up the Styrofoam with some gift wrap filler paper and decorated the planter to make it even more personal. I love my Cricut machine which is what I used to cut out the letters in adhesive vinyl, but you can use paint pens too.

This one’s for you Miss Cherie! Or should I say “Dr. Cherie”! I loved helping you celebrate your huge accomplishment, and making you a yummy chocolate graduation cap bouquet.

This would make a great unique homemade gift for a graduate in your world, or a party decoration centerpiece for a graduation party. Happy yummy crafting!

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Here’s what you will need:

• Mother’s Day Medal Printable
• 12″ x 12″ patterned scrapbook paper (or you can use the medal strips in the printable)
• 2″ circle punch
• X-ACTO knife or paper cutter
• Glue runner
• Glue gun
• Ribbon (at least 1/2″ wide and 8″ long)
• Pinback
• White cardstock paper
• Scissors

Start by cutting out your circles (front and back for the center of the medal) and your patterned paper strips (for the cool accordion flower edge of the medal). For the circles, print out the medal circle centers on white cardstock paper and cut out. You will need to have a designed circle for the front of the “Best Ever” medal and a solid colored one for the back.

For the outer flower edge, either cut 2 strips of paper from a 12″ x 12″ piece of pretty scrapbook paper 2″ wide or print and cut out the three 8″ strips from the Mother’s Day Medal Printable. The strips can be printed on regular paper for easier folding. When put together, you will end up with a 24″ x 2″ strip of paper.

Fold all your strips of paper into an accordion fold about 3/8″ deep. With a tape runner, attach each strip together until you make a complete accordion folded circle. Here is the fun part, with two hands push the accordion circle together and down until it is flat and creates the cool flower shape. Prep yourself for when you attach it to one of the circles.

Cut a strip of ribbon about 8″ long and fold into a ‘V”. This will be the ribbon that comes down from the medal. You are going to sandwich it in-between the accordion flower and the back circle. Put some glue on your circle from your glue gun, attach the ribbon, and while holding your accordion flower together place on top of the hot glue to secure.

Put some more glue on the back of the front medal circle (with the best ever design) and attach on the front of the accordion flower. To finish up, attach a pinback on the center circle on the back of the paper medal with a little glue from your glue gun. You could also use magnetic tape and create a magnetic medal instead. The last detail is to trim the bottoms of the ribbon into a “V” shape at the ends, and you are done!

The second part of this gift is the “Mother’s Day Mad Libs” paired with a cute picture. One thing I know, grandmas always love pictures of their grandchildren! I found this cute simple frame at Ikea for $.99 and I love that it is two-sided. On the front I put a picture of Maggie, and in the back I slipped in a filled in “Mother’s Day Mad Libs” from her. She had so much fun customizing each one to each of her grandmas. To add some last touches, I decorated the frame with some pretty ribbon, and scrapbook stickers.

You can print out your own Mother’s Day Mad Libs Printable here and customize your own to a special mother or grandmother. I made a pink and blue rose version and a red rose version. If you don’t want to put into a frame, you could cut out and attach it to a blank card for an instant Mother’s Day Card.

Hope you enjoyed this Mother’s Day Tutorial and printables. If you want more homemade gift ideas, check out my Pinterest board here, or my recent OCFamily post on homemade Mother’s Day gift ideas.

You all deserve a medal this weekend for being the best mother or grandmother to your family. We sincerely wish all of the mothers out there a super Happy Mother’s Day! Happy crafting!

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The best part is that I only needed to craft the headband holding the marionette sticks above her head. The rest of the costume came together with clothes she already owned. I spent a dollar on the headband, and a dollar on the balsa wood stick at Michaels. I wrapped the headband in hot pink duck tape, attached about 6 inches of clear plastic tubing from my local hardware store (.49 a foot), and used my glue gun to attach them together. The rest was styling.

I put her hair up into pigtails and curled them with a really small curling iron. I used my liquid black eyeliner to draw on really big eyelashes and creases in her cheeks, and painted on red rosy cheeks with a red watercolor pencil. After she was dressed, I attached yarn from each end of the sticks atop her head to her hands and shoes.

My girl has always been a risk taker in her wardrobe, so I knew she could pull off the costume. Yes, this was a quick and easy homemade costume, but for me the most rewarding part was that we had so much fun working on it, and putting it together. She was so proud to walk into the costume party with her handcrafted costume made with her mom. That’s the part I will always remember – the fun we had working on it, and the gratification of our creative endeavor.

Mother’s Day is around the corner, and I am thankful that my 10 year old can be proud of me and herself. Out of the blue at dinner after the party, she mentioned that she thought I was so pretty that I looked like a model. Now, I know I don’t look like a model, but to hear those words from your daughter’s mouth that that is how she sees you – that is priceless!

The point of my post (and of Club ChicaCircle) is: craft with your daughter. You won’t be sorry for the memories and moments you two can create together. Happy crafting!

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