Come Together Kids

10 Fun Ideas for your next Cookout

2012-05-25T00:00:00.003-04:00

This weekend marks the "official" start of the Summer Barbeque season. To celebrate, I've put together these 10 ways to make this year's cookouts more fun than ever!

First, let's start with the fun foods...

Wouldn't these cookies be so much fun at a cookout?

They're really easy to make .

You just put them together

using all store-bought ingredients

(they don't require any baking at all!)

Find out how we made them HERE.

Perfect for Memorial Day,

Fourth of July or any time

you're feeling patriotic,

these cute strawberries

make a tasty BBQ treat!

Simple directions HERE.

For a fun way to get the kids (and adults)

eating some more fruit,

make this awesome Watermelon Shark

The picture above shows a shark that I made,

but I used the tutorial from HERE at Sun Scholars.

When the burgers are done but the grill is still hot,
make up a few of these campfire cones.
Start with chocolate chips and marshmallows,
then add in some extras like peanut butter,
bananas, nuts, berries, etc.
Get all the details HERE.

Finally, if your cookout continues after the sun sets,
make up some of these glow-in-the-dark drinks.
You just need two cups (one clear, one regular)
and some glow sticks.
Your beverage never actually touches the glow stick
and you don't break them open,
so it's totally safe (but super cool!)
Check out the simple instructions HERE.

Now, let's move on to the activities! The following activities are easy to make and set up, so the kids can play while the adults enjoy their cookout in peace. Check them out...

What's just as much fun as water balloons,

but last a lot longer?

These spongeballs!

They're really easy to make and unlike a water balloon,

they can be thrown over and over again!

Directions to make them are right HERE.

Nothing keeps kids occupied like bubbles

and this refill station is the perfect

solution to spilled bubble juice.

Just pass out a bunch of bubble wands

and you're good to go!

Check out two recipes for homemade

bubble solution HERE.

Speaking of bubbles,

these bubble snake makers are

a ton of fun.

You just need an empty water bottle,

old washcloth, a rubber band

and some liquid dish soap.

Get the easy tutorial HERE.

This is such a simple idea for a scavenger hunt

but it's so much fun.

Just give each kid several paint swatch cards

and have them search for things that match.

Check out our post on it HERE.

Finally, one of our favorites, these marshmallow shooters.

Use a plastic cup (or empty yogurt container)

and a balloon to make these cool launchers.

You'll be amazed how far they can shoot.

Whether you make up some targets

or just let there be a free-for-all,

these will be a huge hit.

Simple directions are HERE.

Okay, there you have it. Five fun foods and five fun activities to make your next cookout a hit for both kids and adults.

Sharing our fun cookout ideas at:
Here Comes the Sun
Tatertots and Jello
The Frugal Girls
Six Sisters' Stuff
I heart Naptime

Sad Realization (and cute School Project)

2012-05-24T15:31:00.001-04:00

Yesterday, I realized something that made me rather sad. It's not that my kids are growing up too fast (which they are), it's not that every time I look in the mirror I see more gray hairs (which I do), but the realization that I came to is that

my oldest daughter is just like me.

Why is that such a bad thing? Because, along with a love of reading, a love of creative projects, and the ability to plan out some fun get-togethers,

my daughter has also inherited

my undesirable traits

of forgetfulness and procrastination.

I will readily admit that I'm not the most organized person. I try, I really do, but I'm terrible at remembering to RSVP or bring back library books on time. I always wait until the last minute to do things. I think many times I come up with my most creative solutions at the 11th hour, but you can pretty much count on me to be a frazzled mess at 2 in the morning before any big event or deadline.

Unfortunately, it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks and this old dog has just come to accept that she works well at the last minute and the chaos that sometimes results is just a fact of my life. It was a little sad though, to see my puppy acting the same way.

Here was the situation yesterday...

My third grader had two projects due this week ~ an oral book report and a quilt that reflects our family values. According to her, the book report was due on Thursday and the quilt project was due Friday. I had been helping her to break it down into parts so both would be completed in time. (See, I'm trying overcome my natural procrastination tendencies here!)

What follows is a brief timeline of the day...

11:30 am ~ I'm at her school ( I work there part-time) and after seeing her teacher in the hallway, I learn that we were mistaken, the quilt project is due first! Instead of having two more evenings to get it done, it was due the next day. (YIKES!) I realize we're going to have to scrap our plans to do a glue batik project like we'd be planning and come up with Plan B.

1:00 pm ~ I get off work and go right to JoAnn Fabrics to pick up the materials for Plan B ~ prequilted fabric and some Heat n' Bond.

1:30 pm ~ I get home and outline some square shapes on some white cotton fabric and get out the colors of acrylic paints she'll need

4:30 pm ~ My daughter gets home on the bus. ( A big downside to not starting school until 9am is the late dismissal time). As she comes up to the door she has a slightly worried look on her face. "Um, Mom, I made a mistake, my quilt and report are due tomorrow and my book commercial isn't due until Friday. "

4:45 pm ~ I explain to my daughter my thoughts for Plan B ~ paint the pictures on squares of fabric like planned, but then cutting them out and ironing them onto quilted fabric. She agrees and gets to work sketching her pictures onto the quilt squares so she can get ready to paint them. Meanwhile, I get my younger two kids set up with something so they'd stay out of our way so we can work. (I'm not going to lie, I gave them each a bowl of dry cereal, turned on the TV downstairs and told them they could watch all the iCarly and Victorious that they wanted!)

5:15 pm ~ I quickly heat up some frozen kid dinners that I keep on hand for emergency situations like this and feed my younger two.

(At this point, I start taking a few pictures when I realize I can turn the madness into a blog post! ;) )

6:00 pm ~ My daughter is hard at work painting all the different animals and symbols on the squares. (Each one represents a different family value that she researched and felt reflected our family). I'm helping her paint the solid color backgrounds (Each color is also symbolic.)

Notice the apple core? I told her she couldn't eat dinner until the painting was done.

6:30 pm ~ All the painting is done and she and I break for something to eat.

6:55 pm ~ The paintings are dry and I iron some Heat n' Bond Ultra hold onto the backs and cut out the squares.

7:15 pm ~ She helps arrange the quilt squares onto the prequilted fabric.

7:30 pm ~ She works on writing all her research notes into paragraph form, while I iron on the squares. We wait for the paint to dry on the two squares we'd forgotten about and then put the Heat n' Bond on them.

7:40 pm ~ While she continues writing up her research, I iron the last squares on and trim the edges. (We were going to sew on binding but nixed that idea and just left them unfinished ~ still looks fine!)

7:55 pm ~ She's finished writing up her report and hot glues some loops of ribbon on the top of the quilt. I dig around the craft room and find a dowel rod that's the perfect size.

8:00 pm ~ Quilt is finished, report is written and we're all done by bedtime! (Phew!!)

I'm proud to say that this mother/daughter procrastination team came through okay. The quilt turned out adorable and she didn't cry once during the process (which if any of you have a sometimes emotional 9 year old, you know that's an accomplishment!). I'm also proud to say that I only hollered a few times myself when she started to get sassy and whine that she was tired of working and wanted to watch TV with her brother and sister. ( "Don't you start that with me! You put a bee on your quilt to show that the value of perseverance and hard work is important in our family. Now stop your whining and start working hard!")

How about you? Have you noticed that any of your less desirable character traits are showing up in your own kids?

Grilled Cheese Crescent Bites

2012-05-23T16:24:00.000-04:00

Like most kids (and many adults), my children love grilled cheese sandwiches. There's something about the ooey, cheesy goodness that just brings comfort and happiness to your kitchen, especially on a dreary day. While my kids like eating the grilled cheese sandwiches I make, I'm not really comfortable letting them stand in front of a hot frying pan to make their own. We decided to come up with a more kid-friendly version they could help make using another one of their favorite ingredients ~ crescent rolls!

Check out our awesome bite-sized version...

They're easy, yummy and perfect for kids and adults!

Here's what you need:

Don't you love two ingredient recipes? Get yourself some KRAFT Singles (the best for grilled cheese making!) and a package of crescent rolls. If you're lucky, you'll also be able to enlist the help of a talented young chef.

Here's what to do:

1. Unwrap your cheese slices and pop open your can of crescent rolls. (Anyone else get slightly freaked out when opening a can of rolls? The anticipation of the "pop" when I push down on the container always makes me anxious ~ it's worse than opening champagne)

You'll use a half slice of cheese in each roll. We folded them into halves, then quarters, and then in half again before putting it on the crescent roll.

Baking together and a lesson in fractions! :)

2. Next, begin rolling up your dough with the cheese inside.

3. Put the rolls on a baking sheet and brush with melted butter. (optional, but yummy). You could also sprinkle with a little extra parmesan cheese, garlic salt, etc.

She loved this step!

4. When they're all buttered up and ready to go, put them in the oven and bake as directed for the crescent rolls. (We baked ours for about 13 minutes)

5. Serve with some tomato soup and you're good to go!

We'll definitely be making these again, they were a huge hit with the kids. My oldest daughter also made a great point while eating hers. She said these would be "really good for a party if you have a lot of people because you could make a whole bunch of grilled cheeses at once and they would all be the right size." I totally agree with her!

A quick cute story... When she was younger, my daughter was convinced the sandwiches were called "Girl" Cheese and insisted that I needed to make something else for her brother instead. Even though she now knows the correct pronunciation (and allows her brother to eat them), we still call them "Girl Cheese Sandwiches" as a family joke whenever I make them. When we made this new version the other night and my son ate about 6 of them, we jokingly said we should call our new recipe "Boy Cheese Bites".


One happy boy with his "Boy Cheese Bites"

"As part of the DailyBuzz Moms Featured Publisher Community,

I received a coupon for free Kraft Singles and a stipend."

Sharing our yummy bite-sized Grilled Cheese at:
Somewhat Simple
Here Comes the Sun
Tatertots and Jello
Frugal Girls
I heart Naptime

Kid-Friendly Outings, Trips and Vacations across the U.S.

2012-05-23T08:37:00.000-04:00

Welcome to our latest Themed Collection!

Some of the best times I've had with my kids

have been on our many outings and trips.

Whether it's discovering new places together

or sharing with them a place I've been to before

and seeing it through their eyes,

getting in the car for a new adventure is always fun!

Let's use this link party to share

all of our kid-friendly road trip adventures!

Think of it as our very own travel guide.

Share your posts about the places

you've gone with kids.

Include zoos, museums, parks,

historical places, amusement parks,

local attractions, etc.

If you've gone there, your kids liked it,

and you wrote a post about it,

share it here!

A few guidelines:

1. You can link up as many outings and trips as you want, as long as they are kid-friendly. To help keep this collection easy to navigate, please keep your title brief with the name of the place, the city and the state.

For example,
Herr's Snack Food Factory
(Nottingham, PA)

2. Please don't link up your business, shop or unrelated posts.

(To keep this collection a relevant & helpful resource, I'll delete any unrelated links)

3. As with all my link parties, this one will be on-going,

so you can link up your new ideas at any time

and stop back often for fresh inspiration.

4. By linking up, you're allowing me permission to feature your photo

and a description of your project in a "5 Fun Ideas" Featured Post.

(With a link back to your full post, of course)

5. Finally, the more people who know about this collection,

the better it will be. Help spread the word by including

a text link back to Come Together Kids.

Spread the word even further by sharing

this post on Facebook or Pinterest!

Banana "Ice Cream" (made from bananas ONLY!)

2012-05-20T23:51:00.000-04:00

We really like bananas here. They're pretty inexpensive compared to some other fruits and all three of my kids like eating them. Like most kids, my three also really like ice cream. So when I saw a cooking segment on the Today show last spring showing how you can make "ice cream" from frozen bananas, I was all over it. We made it several times last year and just made our first batch of the summer this weekend. It's really yummy and hard to believe you can get the creamy texture of ice cream from only bananas.

Check it out...

Here's what to do:

1. Get some bananas. We used several "extra ripe" ones that I found marked down at the produce market, but any ripe bananas will work.

2. Peel the bananas, cut them into approx. 1/2" slices, and put them on a tray.

3. Pop the tray in the freezer for a few hours until the bananas are frozen. (Once they're frozen, you can also put them in a bag to use later).

I realize these two photos look the same, but take my word, these are the frozen ones.

4. Put your bananas in a food processor or blender. (NOTE: I used a blender because that's what I have, but I think a food processor would have worked much better. I had to keep pushing the frozen bananas down in the blender so the blades could reach them and it took a little longer for them to reach the right consistency)

5. Start mixing. First the bananas will just get chopped up.

6. But as you keep mixing and scraping down the sides, it'll get creamier and creamier.

I swear I didn't add anything else ~ this is just bananas!

7. You can eat it right now, just out of the blender/food processor, and it'll be like a soft serve custard.

My girls liked it soft-serve.

8. Or you could put the mixture back in the freezer where it will get harder and more scoopable like regular ice cream.

My son liked his more like regular ice cream

You can also mix in other ingredients when it's in the soft-serve state ~ we like to add in peanut butter, chocolate chips or chopped nuts - YUMMY!!

Sharing the creamy, frozen banana goodness at:

Today's Creative Blog

Activities & Projects with Children's Books

2012-05-09T23:15:00.000-04:00

Welcome to our latest Themed Collection!

Spending time reading books with your kids

is one of the best ways to

promote a lifelong love of reading

as well as future success in the classroom.

There are so many amazing kids' books out there

and so many amazing parents and teachers

who have created some fantastic activities,

crafts, and projects

to go along with those books.

Let's use this link party to share

and be inspired by those ideas.

Link up any children's book-related posts

you might have.

It can be a craft, an activity, a game, etc.

as long as it ties in with children's books.

A few guidelines:

1. You can link up as many ideas as you want, as long as they relate

to the theme of children's books.

2. Please don't link up your business, shop or unrelated posts.

(To keep this collection a relevant & helpful resource, I'll delete any unrelated links)

3. As with all my link parties, this one will be on-going,

so you can link up your new ideas at any time

and stop back often for fresh inspiration.

4. By linking up, you're allowing me permission to feature your photo

and a description of your project in a "5 Fun Ideas" Featured Post.

(With a link back to your full post, of course)

5. Finally, the more people who know about this collection,

the better it will be. Help spread the word by including

a text link back to Come Together Kids.

Spread the word even further by sharing

this post on Facebook or Pinterest!

American Visionary Art Museum (Baltimore, MD)

2012-05-07T22:02:00.000-04:00

One of the activities in my Year of Valentine's gift for my kids was to go to a museum. This month, it was my youngest daughter's turn and I wanted to go somewhere we hadn't been before. I decided to take her to the American Visionary Art Museum (AVAM) in Baltimore's Inner Harbor. It had been years (like, way before I had kids) since I'd been and her first time. It was a HUGE hit and she declared it "the coolest museum ever". I really think I have to agree with her.

The museum has some of the most unique and creative pieces that I've ever seen. From the AVAM website is this "definition" of visionary art.

"Visionary art as defined for the purposes of the American Visionary Art Museum refers to art produced by self-taught individuals, usually without formal training, whose works arise from an innate personal vision that revels foremost in the creative act itself."

You're not allowed to take photographs inside the actual museum, but many of the things we saw outside will give you a taste of what's indoors.

There's the outside of the museum itself, all covered in a sparkling mirrored mosaic...

There's a sculpture garden just filled with creativity.


Check out the big birds' nest balcony and sparkly mosiac egg.

For a 6 year who loves sparkles, this was just awesome!


More sparkles! :)

Not sure whose expression is cuter ~ the bird or my kid?

I even loved the welcome mat reminding museum-goers to smile as they entered the museum.

Look closer at what it's made of...

In the words of my daughter, " Oh, Em, Gee!"

Once inside the museum (where photos aren't allowed), the "OMG's" and "Check this outs" continued. There's a replica of the Lusitania made out of nearly 200,000 toothpicks, all sorts of mixed media art, and so much more. One of my favorites were some intricately embroidered pictures, about the size of a playing card, made from the threads of socks by a prison inmate. Just amazing stuff!

Check out the American Visionary Art Museum website for more details about pricing, hours, exhibits, etc. It's definitely a great place for both adults and kids to visit if you're in the Baltimore area. Even if you just stop by to see the fun sculptures outside in the courtyard (FREE!), it would make a kid's day. It's within walking distance of the National Aquarium and Maryland Science Center and a short drive from many other attractions.

To end our Mommy/Daughter day out, we also went to the top of Federal Hill right next to the museum. There's a paved walking path, a fenced playground and a great view of the Inner Harbor.

Sunday Snapshot ~ Frogs & Toads

2012-05-06T23:03:00.000-04:00

Every night for the past several weeks, the noise from the frogs and toads in our backyard has been growing louder and louder. We have a pool in our backyard and it's amphibian party central as they all come out to talk to their friends and find their soulmate. I'm not joking when I tell you sometimes I have to close the doors and windows in the evening, just so I can hear the TV.

This weekend, we took the cover off the pool and worked to turn the water from swamp green to a shade more appealing for human swimmers. In doing so, the kids found several of the nighttime partygoers sleeping off the night before in the nooks and crannies of the pool and filter. They had no problems scooping up the critters and putting them in buckets, empty coolers and containers so they could watch them for awhile. The kids would let them go after a few hours of observations, only to find the same ones back for more fun again the next day.

My son gets up close to this little guy.

My brave oldest daughter lets a frog hop right up her arm!


My youngest was hesitant to touch one, but finally got in on the fun.

We found several different types. We think they were all toads, but some were bigger than others, some were jumpier than others, some had different patterns and markings and some even had sticky pads on their feet. Regardless of their species or classification, the kids had fun and as long as none of their new friends were brought into the house, I enjoyed watching them too!

Campfire Cones

2012-05-03T23:32:00.002-04:00

Over Spring Break a few weeks ago, I took the kids camping. I'll be honest, we weren't totally roughing it ~ our cabin had heat and electricity (and even a little fridge and microwave). Despite those "luxuries", I knew I wanted to do most of our cooking over the campfire. We cooked hot dogs and chicken and roasted TONS of marshmallows (seriously, like 2 whole bags between the four of us!). However, for a more "gourmet" dessert, I decided to combine the ingredients of our Campfire Bananas with Quirky Momma's great idea to make Smores in a Cone! Let me tell you, they were AWESOME!

Just take a look...

Here's what we used:

   * Sugar Cones
   * Peanut Butter
   * Mini Marshmallows
   * Chocolate Chips
   * Bananas
   * Aluminum Foil
            (to wrap them in)

Here's what to do:

1. Chop up the bananas and get some marshmallows and chocolate chips ready. ( I liked using these ingredients on a camping trip because they don't need to be refrigerated and you can easily slice the bananas with a plastic knife ~ oh, and the fact that they're really, really yummy together!)

2. Spread some peanut butter on the inside of the cone, then put in the bananas, marshmallows and chocolate chips.

3. Wrap the whole cone in aluminum foil, then put in over the hot coals for 5-10 minutes or so, turning every so often.

"Come on, Mom, you're taking pictures of clumps of foil!"

4. Unwrap your cone, check to see that everything's ooey, gooey, and melted... then dig in and enjoy!

The combination of the melted peanut butter, chocolate and marshmallows with the warm bananas was just awesome. Making it in the sugar cone gave it all a nice crunch and made it a little less messy than a regular s'more. (At least for some of us)

The smile says it all!

Of course, an 8 year old boy can succeed in getting a very chocolate-y face and fingers, even with a handy cone holder!

Thanks Rachel at Quirky Momma for the awesome idea!

Sharing the ooey, gooey awesomeness at:

The Frugal Girls
Ladybird Ln.
Tatertots and Jello
Lolly Jane
Here Comes the Sun
Six Sisters' Stuff
I heart Naptime
Under the Table and Dreaming
Craft-O-Maniac
Skip to My Lou
Today's Creative Blog

Dresser Revamp (with fabric and liquid starch)

2012-05-02T07:04:00.002-04:00

Over the past few weeks, I've been one busy little bee around the house. I've ripped up the gross wall-to-wall carpeting in the girls' room and the master bedroom, painted the master bedroom and master bath, hung new curtains, helped put up new closet doors and made a headboard (post to come on that!).

However, the project I'm most thrilled with is this dresser revamp! A long time ago, I saw a show on HGTV using fabric and liquid starch to "wallpaper" a room. (article here) While a whole wall of fabric wasn't something I was interested in, I thought the technique might work on furniture too. Guess what? It totally worked and turned out so awesome! I seriously think this is my new favorite technique and I'm going to be going around liquid starch-ing fabric on everything now.

Check it out...

Isn't it awesome? I think the cute plaid and the little butterflies almost look painted on, but it's really just fabric that was cut to fit and adhered with liquid starch. It's so cute and so cheerful and so boutique-ish ~ but it was super inexpensive and really easy!

Check out this transformation...

Can you see why I'm so excited and thrilled with this project? I got the dresser for just $30 at Goodwill. I could tell it was a really good-quality dresser and it was in great shape, but the brown wasn't what I wanted for the girls' room. I primed and painted it white, then added the fabric and wow, what a transformation!

It took me a couple days to paint it, but less than an hour to add the fabric, so if you already have a plain dresser, you could totally do this in an afternoon.

Here's what I did...

1. I painted the dresser with two coats of Zinsser Cover Stain Primer . I read that this primer works really well without sanding (because I hate sanding!) and it really did a great job. It covers great and dries really quickly. However, I'd forgotten how badly oil-based paint smells. This stuff really stinks, so definitely do it in a well-ventilated area.

2. Next, I painted the dresser with two coats of regular, white, semi-gloss paint.

The girls were BEGGING to help, so I let them paint the insides of the drawers. Unfortunately, they quickly lost interest and I ended up painting the rest of the insides of the nine drawers myself.

3. Now for the fun part. We chose a pretty fabric that went really well with their new pink and green bedroom and I picked up some liquid starch. ( Not every store carried it, but I finally found it at Walmart for under $3). It's also online here on Amazon but it's a little more expensive.

4. Measure the size of your drawer fronts then cut the fabric just slightly smaller than the measurements. (You'll want it about 1/8" -1/4" shorter all the way around).

5. Next, pour some liquid starch into a bowl and dip the fabric in. You'll want it completely saturated, but not dripping, so put it in, swish it around, then wring it out.

6. Then simply smooth your wet fabric onto the drawer fronts. Put it on, get it in place, then smooth it out to get rid of any wrinkles or air bubbles. Because your fabric is slightly shorter than the drawer fronts, you can wipe off any extra liquid starch that is pressed out when you're smoothing out the bubbles.

7. Put your drawers aside to dry. It was a nice sunny day when I did this project, so I set them outside and it was dry in less than an hour. The fabric will feel much harder and stiff once it's dry.

8. While I was waiting for the fabric to dry, I spray-painted the hardware a dark pink. (Originally I was going to do them white, but I decided I wanted more of a contrast)

9. When the fabric was dry and stiff, I used an exacto knife to make a small cut where the hardware holes were and attached the handles.

10. That's it! Pretty amazing isn't it?

A few notes:

I did have a little bit of puckering of the fabric on the first two drawers I did (similar to what you would get when using ModPodge). However, once I took my time to really smooth out the fabric and go from side to side, all the way across, I had virtually no wrinkles on the later drawers.
So far it seems to be holding up great. The fabric will only come off if you purposely get your fingernail under the edge or corner and pull it up. However, if you want it to be extra durable (and not removable at all), I'd think you could put a clear sealer on top.
According to what I read about putting the fabric on walls, when you're ready for change you can easily remove it by carefully pulling it up the material and then wiping down the surface with regular water to remove the starch residue.
I'm seriously going to be trying this technique on other things too. I love that you have so many options with all the different fabric patterns and you don't have to worry about seams like you would using smaller sheets patterned paper. Most fabrics would be wide enough that you wouldn't have a seam at all.

Sharing our liquid starch transformation at:

Someday Crafts
Somewhat Simple
Gluesticks
We like to Learn as we Go
The Frugal Girls
Happy Hour Projects
One Artsy Mama
Ladybird Ln
Tatertots and jello
Lolly Jane
Here Comes the Sun
Six Sisters' Stuff
I heart Naptime
Under the Table and Dreaming
Brassy Apple
Craft-O-Maniac
Skip to my Lou
Today's Creative Blog

First Communion Party Ideas

2012-05-01T22:10:00.000-04:00

This past weekend, my son made his First Holy Communion. In keeping with some of the traditions I started last year with my oldest daughter, I made a few little things to help him (and our guests) celebrate and remember this special day.

Here's my handsome little guy all dressed up.

For the party afterwards, I made several dozen cupcakes and served them on a three-tiered cupcake stand I made myself.

Here's another post showing how I made a similar stand last fall. This one was the same except I made it with three tiers since I was expecting more guests. I saved a lot of money by not buying a cake from the bakery (total cost was about $15 for about 50 cupcakes, frosting, cross picks and stand) and it was easy for the guests to serve themselves. Plus, my nine year old daughter got the chance to frost the cupcakes herself ~ she was thrilled to have such an important role for the party and they turned out quite well.

I wanted my son to have a special keepsake from his important day, so I made this table runner that all the guests could sign.

I made a similar version in pink and gold (full tutorial HERE) for my daughter last year and I love the way they both turned out. It was fairly simple to make and looked nice on display during the party. Once everyone wrote their messages, it became a great keepsake that will last forever (yet it's not bulky and can be folded up and stored away).

Finally, I used cardstock to make these cute favor boxes that could be placed together to form a cake.

Once again, it's very similar to the one I made last Spring for my daughter, but using blue instead of pink (post HERE). I simply used the template I found HERE to make the boxes, added some patterned paper and little decorations, and filled with little treats and candies.

My son really enjoyed his First Communion day and I loved being able to make a few little things to make his day even more special and memorable (plus I saved a few bucks too!)

Not sure where he came up with this pose, but he kept doing it all day long!

5 Creative Gifts Kids can make for Mother's Day

2012-04-20T22:41:00.001-04:00

Mother's Day is coming up in just a few weeks and a homemade gift will always make a mom feel extra special. Here are five cute & creative gifts kids can help make for their moms or grandmothers.

1. Fingerprint Candles

We made these cute candles for the grandmothers last year. They can be made with painted fingerprints or just regular drawings of any kind done on tissue paper. They're inexpensive and surprisingly easy to make (but they look super cute!)

2. Handprint Trees or Footprint Butterflies

Going along with the Fingerprint Candles are these two cute Springtime projects using handprints and footprints. We made ours for our own home using fabric on canvases, but they can easily be adapted and created using pretty paper or even paint.

3. Photo Bookmarks

If you know a mom who likes to read, these photo bookmarks would make a great gift. Let the kids have fun posing and then make up a few bookmarks to tuck in the pages of a new book or to go along with a gift card.

4. Glue Batik Artwork

Last year the kids and I had making several projects using glue batik. (see the projects HERE and HERE). One of my readers was inspired by our projects and made her own glue batik pictures, put them in frames and gave them as gifts.

5. Year of Dates - (Make-your-own Scratch offs)

This Valentine's Day gift was a huge hit with my kids and we're having lots of fun doing something special each month. I'm sure any mom or grandmom would love knowing they can scratch off a new activity to do each month.

I hope you found some creative inspiration with these 5 cute gift ideas. I also hope if you choose to make any of them you have as much fun as we did. I'm sure any mom who receives one of these homemade gifts will be thrilled to get something specially made by the kids in her life.

Sharing at:

Tatertots and Jello
I heart Naptime
Under the Table and Dreaming
Craft-O-Maniac
Skip to My Lou

Herr's Snack Factory Tour (Nottingham, PA)

2012-04-10T09:17:00.000-04:00

Another trip we took over Spring Break was to the Herr's potato chip factory in Nottingham, Pennsylvania. It's a real, working factory making all sorts of chips and snacks and the tours are FREE! It's about an hour north of Baltimore and an hour south of Philadelphia, so it would be a fun side trip if you're near either of those cities.

Nope, my son didn't suddenly turn into a girl.

We had a friend with us and my son wasn't feeling photogenic

at picture taking time.

The tours are free (woo hoo!) but they recommend calling ahead or registering online since they can only accommodate a certain number of people at a time. Our tour started with a short movie about the history of the company and then we had a tour guide lead our group of about 25 people through the factory.

Cameras aren't allowed inside the factory itself (you can see a few pictures here) but on the day we went we were able to see them making pretzels, corn chips, popcorn and potato chips. You're usually just feet away from the big machines and conveyor belts (usually behind glass). The kids and I loved watching everything being sliced, mixed and packaged up. Our tour guide also told us some interesting tidbits ~ like the fact that the snacks that fall onto the floor during the packaging process are fed to cows on a nearby farm!

After we watched and learned about them making the potato chips, our tour guide went out onto the production line and scooped up a tray of still-warm chips that we got to sample (HUGE hit with the kids!). At the end of the tour, we all also got a free snack size bag of chips (and lots of regular sized snack foods in all sizes available for purchase).

The whole tour lasted about an hour. On the day we went, we stopped first at Annie's Playground to play and have a picnic lunch, but there's a cafe/snack bar there at the factory if you wanted to eat before or after your tour.

I've known about this Herr's factory for years (maybe from a Girl Scout trip ages ago), but when I was in the gift shop I saw this book with all sorts of factory and company tours from all over the country. It looked to be really informative, telling the cost, about the tours (like whether it was the actual factory or just a demonstration), etc. Even if you're not here on the East Coast and able to check out this potato chip factory, I'd definitely recommend seeing if there is a similar tour near you ~ the kids and I loved it and it was a great way to take a look at all that's involved behind the scenes.

Tulips at Sherwood Gardens 2012

2012-04-09T22:53:00.000-04:00

Every year since the kids were babies, we've welcomed Spring with a visit to the beautiful Sherwood Gardens in Baltimore, MD. The gardens are nestled among the stately old mansions in the Guilford section of Baltimore City and it's free to the public. Each year, nearly 80,000 tulip bulbs are in bloom as well as gorgeous azaleas and dogwood trees.

This year the tulips bloomed a little earlier than usual (thanks to the unseasonably warm weather we had in March), but the timing was perfect for a visit during our Spring break last week. Because of terrible seasonal allergies, my son opted to go visit his grandparents for the day instead of dealing with an afternoon amongst all the pollen. However, the girls and I packed a picnic lunch and had a really nice day admiring the many varieties of tulips and even climbing a few trees (the girls, of course, not me!)

If you're ever in the Baltimore area this time of year, definitely go check it out. There are many different varieties of tulips that are planted, so the blooms last for several weeks. Directions and more details can be found HERE.

Here's just a few of the many, many pictures I took during the couple hours we were there.

Hope you have the chance to welcome Spring in your area as well.

6 Fun Ideas for Easter

2012-04-02T08:01:00.000-04:00

My kids are off on Spring Break right now and we'll be doing several Easter-themed projects and activities this week. However, since there's often a lag between us doing the projects and me having time to post about the projects, I thought I'd first share these fun activities that we did last year.

1. What's better than marshmallow peeps and chocolate? Only marshmallow peeps DIPPED in chocolate! They're really yummy and the kids loved adding spring-colored sprinkles. Here's how we made them ~ Chocolate Covered Peeps.

2. Have you ever tried glue batik? It's a really neat art technique that's perfect for kids and it's a fun way to make some Easter fabrics. Check it out ~ Glue Batik Easter Fabric

3. Once you make some fun Easter fabrics, add them to a ready-made table runner to personalize your Easter dinner or buffet. Look how we did ours ~ Easy Easter Table Runner

4. Instead of plastic easter eggs, whip up some of these cute felt bunny bags. They require only a little bit of sewing, and they look adorable. Here are the directions ~ Felt Bunny Treat Bags

5. Once you've made your felt bunny bags, how about using them for a scavenger hunt? We did it on Easter morning last year and the kids LOVED it! Here's how we did ours ~ Easter Morning Scavenger Hunt

6. For a fun twist on egg decorating, color on warm eggs with crayon. The wax melts onto the egg to make the colors even more vibrant. Check it out ~ Melted Crayon Easter Eggs.

I hope you found some fun ideas that you might want to try with your kids this year. Look forward to some more Easter related posts coming soon as we do them!

Paint a Shower Curtain Mural

2012-03-31T20:12:00.000-04:00

We just started our Spring Break and the kids are already itching for something to do. Today's activity was fun and super inexpensive (I'm talking $1!!). While my son played downstairs, the girls and I created this fun Spring mural on a shower curtain. We had a good time painting it and now our bathroom has been spruced up with a touch of Spring.

Check it out...

And here's how our "canvas" started out...

That's right, we used a cheap shower curtain liner from the Dollar Store. ( I'm sure you could upgrade to a fabric one or a heavier weight one, but this worked great for us and we can afford to make new ones whenever we want!)

I just spread out an old sheet on the floor, spread out the shower curtain liner, and we got to work. We used a bunch of acrylic paints I had on hand and painted on a whole Spring scene ~ a tree, birds, butterflies, bumblebees, flowers, caterpillars and even a hummingbird! To personalize our mural, I painted on a "carved" heart with the kids' names on it.

Here's a few "close-ups" of the details.

Isn't it cheery? It really brightens up our bathroom and the kids love it (and I do too!). Every time my youngest daughter comes out of the bathroom she says, "That just makes me happy". At just $1, I know we'll be making more for each season and for different themes.

Sharing our fun new decor at:
I heart Nap Time
C.R.A.F.T.
Kids Co-Op
Craft-O-Maniac

10 Clever Solutions for Kid-Related Problems

2012-03-31T17:20:00.000-04:00

Let's face it, parenting can be tough. Every day we face any number of challenges and we don't always have easy solutions. I may not have the answers for the really big issues, but I have collected several great tips for many of those little annoyances that can be just as challenging when you deal with them day after day.

The best part? Most of these tips are simple, easy, why-didn't-I-think-of-that solutions to common problems you'll come across during your crafts, projects and day-to-day life. Many thanks to several awesome kid-centered bloggers for their input and great advice.

The Problem: It's a nice day, the kids are outside blowing bubbles, but within minutes, someone's bottle of "bubble juice" spills. Now a kid is crying, you're trying to refill it and spilling more than you're getting into the bottle. Pretty soon, the fun day of bubbles is full of tears and spills.

The Solution: Get an inexpensive plastic container with a faucet and re-filling bubble containers is a breeze. Plus, you can make your own bubble solution and save a few bucks too!
(Tip and bubble recipe from right HERE at Come Together Kids)

The Problem: After a fun afternoon of crafting, there's glitter everywhere.

The Solution: Two awesome moms gave this solution ~ use playdoh to clean up the sparkles! Just press the playdoh onto the glitter and it'll pick it right up. Now your craft space is sparkle free and you have some fun glitter playdoh to play with!
(Thanks Jamie, from Hands on as we Grow and Esther from Creativity My Passion)

Photo from Creativity My Passion

The Problem: Your kids have just worked hard carefully layering colored sand into a Sand Art masterpiece and put the lid on. Unfortunately, within minutes, the jar has been jostled and all those pretty layers turn into a muddled mess.

The Solution: I'm not going to give away the secret, but here's a hint... all you need is some glue to keep the layers in place. Check out Kristen's great tip at Busy Kids = Happy Mom!

The Problem: Your little ones are hard at work using pattern blocks and making fun pictures and shapes. Then someone bumps the table, all the pieces shift and the beautiful design is all messed up.

The Solution: Take a look at the sticky trick MaryAnne came up with HERE at MamaSmiles to solve the problem. Now the pieces stay in place and the kids can make elaborate pattern block creations without worrying about shifting tiles.

The Problem: You want to make some fun melted crayon molds, but the thought of peeling off all those crayon wrappers has you looking towards other projects instead. (If you've ever spent an hour unwrapping crayons and picking bits of crayon out from under your fingernails, you know exactly why we need a better solution!)

The Solution: Check out this clever solution Cari shows us at Time for Play. All you need is a container of water and your work is done for you.

The Problem: Your children like to show off their independence at breakfast and pour their own syrup. (or salad dressing at lunch, or Parmesan cheese at dinner, etc.) Unfortunately portion control has not yet been mastered and their food is soon swimming in syrup or other condiments.

The Solution: Take a few minutes to pour single serving sizes in individual containers. (We used the plastic baby food containers) Then set out their plate and let them pour away to their hearts content.
(Tip from right HERE at Come Together Kids)

BONUS food-related tip suggested by several clever bloggers... Use kitchen shears to cut your young children's food. Works great on chicken nuggets, fruits, veggies, pizza, etc and it's way quicker than a knife and fork.

The Problem: Your preschooler keeps trying to string beads, only to have a tough time managing holding the string and getting the beads on.

The Solution: Deborah at Teach Preschool. offers this tip... tape one end of the string to the table! Now your little one only has to hold one end of the string and they have their other hand free to pick up beads and string them on.

The Problem: Your kids leave the lids off their markers and they've dried out.

The Solutions : We have two solutions for this dilemma. The first tip is from Valerie of Inner Child Fun

"When markers start to dry out, dip the tips into white vinegar and set so that the tips are standing up. Wait about 5 minutes, then blot the marker tip on some paper until the color starts to show. Place the cap back on, and let sit overnight"

Another tip is from Trisha at Inspiration Laboratories.

"When markers start to dry out, you can also dip the tips in water and paint with them. It will have a watercolor effect"

The Problem: Your kids stuck some crayons in their pockets and now they've gone through the washer and dryer!

The Solution: MaryAnne from Mama Smiles has the following suggestion...

If you dry a load of laundry with a crayon, you can get it out by running the load through a HOT wash with a little laundry detergent and some oxiclean. Toothpaste and a toothbrush works wonders at getting crayon out of a dryer drum. It even smells nice. Run a load of rags to remove any remaining crayon/toothpaste before running a load of clothes you care about. I once washed and dried FOUR crayons that my darling daughter had put in her pockets. I hadn’t even thought to check her pockets, as she was only one and I didn’t think she knew what pockets were for…

Check out MaryAnne's other awesome kid-related laundry tips HERE

The Problem: Your child has a special day,trip or event coming up and you are constantly bombarded with "How many more days until..." questions.

The Solution: Make this cute little stand they can use to countdown to the big day.

(Idea and Tutorial HERE at Come Together Kids)

Well, there you have it! Weren't these 10 solutions clever? I hope you've found some great tips you can use to make your life a little easier (and give you more time to focus on the trickier problems like sleeping through the night, potty training and picky eaters!)

Sharing our clever solutions at:

I heart Nap time
C.R.A.F.T.
Craft-O-Maniac

Lisa Leonard Designs Giveaway Winner

2012-03-28T21:35:00.000-04:00

Well, it looks like this time the early bird gets the worm. The winning comment was chosen by random.org and the lucky winner of a $50 gift card to Lisa Leonard Designs is...

Entry #2 which was this one by Heather...

Look at this pretty Tiny Twig Necklace that Heather said was her favorite. So pretty!

Heather, I'll be emailing you tonight to let you know that you won, and I'll pass along your info to Lisa.

For all my other readers who didn't win, don't forget that you still have a few days to use the special discount code Lisa gave my readers for 20% off. Use code SHOPPING20 (expires 3/30/12). Treat yourself to something special (or email a link to your favorite piece and the code as a gift hint!)

Thanks to everyone who participated and a special thanks to Lisa for this opportunity.

Magic Crown Mirror (and Mirror, Mirror movie Giveaway!)

2012-03-28T07:00:00.000-04:00

When I first saw the trailer for the new Mirror Mirror movie, I knew a trip to the theater would be part of our Spring Break plans. Snow White was one of the first movies I saw in the theater myself as a little girl (when it was re-released in the 70's, not the original in 1937!) and I knew my own kids would love seeing a "real-life" version of one of their favorite animated movies. The movie comes out on March 30th and it's rated PG, so it'll be perfect for my family.

Then, shortly after I saw the trailer, I was contacted by the makers of the movie to come up with a craft or project inspired by the Snow White story. Seriously, how cool is that? One of my projects connected to a major motion picture? It's the closest I'll ever come to being a movie star!!

Now, before I get to my project, here's a brief synopsis (check out the amazing cast!)

One of the most beloved stories of all time is coming to life in the motion picture event for the whole family, Mirror Mirror. A fresh and funny retelling of the Snow White legend, Mirror Mirror features breakout star Lily Collins (The Blind Side) as Snow White, a princess in exile, and Oscar®-winner Julia Roberts as the evil Queen who ruthlessly rules her captured kingdom. Seven courageous rebel dwarfs join forces with Snow White as she fights to reclaim her birthright and win her Prince in this magical comedy filled with jealousy, romance, and betrayal that will capture the hearts and imaginations of audiences the world over. The film also stars Armie Hammer (The Social Network) as the Prince, and Nathan Lane (The Birdcage) as the hapless and bungling servant to the Queen.

And you have to check out the Mirror, Mirror website. You can watch the trailer for the movie and your kids can play in Snow White's virtual dressing room, choosing their own outfits and hairstyles for the princess. Oh, and check out the Social Queen tab on the website ~ it's a clever little clip showing the Queen using all sorts of social media! Of course, you can follow and "like" Mirror, Mirror on Facebook yourself and even see what they have on Pinterest!

Now for my Mirror, Mirror inspired project...

I knew right away that I wanted my project to have some sort of mirror. I also knew that I wanted this mirror to be very special, even magical, just like the one in Snow White. The girls and I love the way it turned out (my son thought it was cool, but preferred to just let his sisters use its magic!)

Check it out...

First, we have this lovely maiden.

She's sweet and kind,

but is she the fairest in the land?

I don't know,

let's consult with our magic mirror...

The lovely maiden peers

into the magic mirror and...

Indeed, she is the fairest in the land!

A lovely princess wearing

a gorgeous, gem-studded crown!

And look, the magic mirror will work on all the

lovely maidens in the castle.

The magic powers of the mirror

will even work on the royal kitten.

It even makes a tired mommy look a little better,

but you'll just have to take my word on that one!

This mirror is such a fun little addition to the girls' bedroom and it was so inexpensive and easy to make! (The only hard part was trying to photograph it! Have you ever tried to take a halfway decent picture of a mirror without getting yourself or the room behind it in the shot? It's really tough!!)

Here's what to do...

1. Find a mirror that's big enough to include a life-size crown. I lucked out and found this mirror at Goodwill for just $8. With a little bit of pink spray paint, it was perfect!

2. Next, gather your supplies ~ some glitter glue, some sparkly gems, and a hot glue gun. (I found all these gems at the Dollar Store.)

3. Have your child stand a normal distance away from the mirror, and use the glitter glue to draw the size and position of the bottom of your crown so it will "fit" on their head when they look in the mirror.

It's a little tricky to see, but notice the curved line?

4. Then, using hot glue, begin attaching the gems to the mirror until your crown is full of sparkling gems and jewels! (I originally planned on just using the glitter glue to attach the gems, but it was taking forever to dry, so I moved on to my handy glue gun instead!)

5. Next, I just outlined around the gems with the glitter glue to add a little more sparkle and substance to our crown.

6. Finally, tie a bow with some sparkly ribbon (mine was also from the Dollar store) and attach it to the back of your mirror so you can hang it up.

7. That's it! Hang up your mirror and enjoy a little magic each time you catch your reflection and see the princess within!

So how about you? Will you be seeing the Mirror Mirror movie with your family when it comes out on March 30th? How would you like a cool prize pack to go along with it?

The generous folks at Relativity Media have put together this great prize pack for one lucky winner:

$25 Fandango gift card
Tshirt
Apple Snow Globe
Lip Balm
Mirror Compact
Tote Bag

Open to U.S. Residents only. Ends April 4, 2012.

To enter, just leave me a comment on this post. (It can be about anything ~ your favorite Snow White memory, your plans for the Mirror, Mirror movie, your thoughts on our Magic Mirror!)

For additional entries, share this post. (You'll see share buttons on the tab on the right side of this post and a Pinterest button right below the post). Leave a comment telling me where you shared it, Facebook, Twitter, etc. One comment for each share.

Finally, make sure you check out these other fantastic projects inspired by Snow White and Mirror, Mirror that are being shared this week!

Rub-on Personalized Mirrors @ The Mom Creative (3/23)
Mirror, Mirror Ornament @ 733 Blog (3/26)
Snow White Subway Art @ Tatertots and Jello (3/27)
Puppy Love Bubble Potion @ Pink and Green Mama (3/29)
Queen's Palace/Castle Project @ The Chocolate Muffin Tree (3/30)

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Relativity Media. However, all opinions and the mirror project are 100% mine. (The two lovely maidens and the royal kitten are mine too!)

Sharing our fairytale magic at:

A Turtle's Life for Me
Sun Scholars
Tatertots and Jello
I heart Nap Time
C.R.A.F.T.
Craft-O-Maniac

Basketball Krispie Treats

2012-03-25T23:13:00.001-04:00

Last Spring, when my son played Little League Baseball, I made these cute Baseball Treats for his team. This Spring, he played basketball for the first time and I wanted to make a similar treat for his last game this weekend. They were really fairly simple to make and they were a big hit with the kids. They'd also be fun for a March Madness party or any sports-themed event.

Here's what you need: (makes 24 treats)

8 cups Rice Krispie cereal
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
1 bag marshmallows
orange food coloring (optional)
orange melting chocolates
brown melting chocolates

Here's what to do:

1. Just like with regular Rice Krispie treats, melt your butter and marshmallows in a large pot over medium heat. (Add some orange food coloring if you wish to tint the treats themselves. )

2. Remove from heat, then stir in your 8 cups of cereal. Stir until the cereal is coated with your marshmallow mixture, then spoon into greased muffin tins. Use a piece of waxed paper coated with cooking spray to push the mixture into the muffin tins.

3. Allow the treats to cool in the tins as you melt your orange melting chocolate. (I have this Chocolate Melting Pot that I love for this kind of treats. It keeps the melted chocolate at the right consistency so I can dip a whole bunch of treats without reheating.) Dip one side of your Krispie Treats in the melted orange chocolate (I dipped the smoother side that was pressed against the bottom of the tin).

4. As the orange chocolate is cooling, melt your brown chocolate for the lines. (When I made the Baseball Treats last year, I attempt to pipe it on using a ziploc bag and it was really tough. This year, I used these Mini Decorating Squeeze Bottles and it was SO much easier. I just melted the chocolate, then poured it in the bottle.)

If you're just serving the treats on a tray at a party, I'm sure you could just use regular frosting instead of the chocolate. However, the chocolate lines are great if you're packaging the treats up because they won't smear.

Excuse the crappy picture, it was late at night and I didn't see how blurry it was.

5. Next, just squeeze on your lines on the basketballs. I simply made a cross, then two curved lines on either side.

6. It went super quick with that squeeze bottle and I cranked out 24 cute basketballs in no time.

7. I made up a simple little bag topper (printable here), then packaged up two basketball treats in a sandwich bag for each teammate.

Funny little story: When I showed the bags to my son, he didn't understand it at first. I had to explain that "had a ball" is an expression meaning "had a good time". As he was passing out the treats, he explained the expression to each kid to make sure they understood.

Sharing our slam dunk at:

Brassy Apple
Craft-O-Maniac
Under the Table and Dreaming
The Girl Creative
Lines Across My Face
A Turtle's Life for Me
Sun Scholars
Tatertots and Jello
One Artsy Mama
I heart NapTime
C.R.A.F.T.

Getting Ready for Spring with Miracle-Gro® Expand ‘n Gro™ Concentrated Planting Mix

2012-03-22T06:55:00.001-04:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Scotts® for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

We're now on week two of some unseasonably warm weather on the East Coast. Often here in Maryland, the first day of Spring is chilly, cloudy and damp. This year, however, the temperatures have been in the 70's and the sun has been shining almost every day. Not only has this perfect weather quickly pushed aside my normal late-winter blues, but It's also got me thinking about Spring planting several weeks earlier than usual.

You see, every year around Mother's Day, the kids and I usually go to a nearby garden center and pick up some pretty flowers for our hanging baskets and large flower pots on our back deck. They love picking out the colorful flowers and they REALLY love getting their hands dirty as we put in the plants in the containers. With these warm days we've been having, I was inspired to run out and pick up a few early season plants and get a jump start on this year's planting. Not only can I now look out my back window and see some pretty pansies and snapdragons, but it gave me the chance to try out the new Expand ‘n Gro™ Concentrated Planting Mix by Miracle-Gro®.

I was familiar with the regular Miracle-Gro® plant foods and I'd always been impressed with how great my flowers looked after I used it. This new product is a little different and is a great alternative to native soil or regular potting mix. A few of its features...

-Up to 3X the Flowers and Vegetables!* (*versus native soil)
-Significantly improves soil for multiple years
-Concentrated planting mix expands up to 3X when water is added
-Feeds for up to 6 months
-All natural fibers hold up to 50% more water than basic potting soil

It's that last feature that I think will be great for me. You see, sometimes I forget to water my plants as often as I should. When we were planting our flowers in the Expand 'n Gro mix, I could see how much water those natural coconut coir fibers absorbed and held. While I know I won't be able to neglect my plants completely, I'm comforted by the fact that mix will help hold onto the water that I do give them. That feature, coupled with the Miracle-Gro® plant food that's in the mix, is sure to bring the kids and I gardening success!

Check out this short video clip that explains this new planting mix...

And now look at the fun we had planting with it...

See? Even our new kitten enjoyed the planting. Oh, and the snapdragons? Such fun for the kids! They're like pretty little flower puppets. I'm really looking forward to seeing this burst of Spring color now every time I look out my back door.

Do you like gardening or planting with your kids? Leave me a comment (one per person, please) letting me know your favorite thing about gardening and how you would use Expand 'n Gro at your house. One lucky commenter will be chosen at random to receive a sample size bag of Miracle-Gro® Expand ‘n Gro™.

Lisa Leonard Designs Giveaway

2012-03-20T08:00:00.000-04:00

Almost everything I do here on my blog has been focused on the kids. Whether it's a craft, project, activity or recipe, it's usually done with the children in mind. Sometimes, though, after the kids have had their fun, it's nice to focus on the moms (or grandmas, or teachers). That's why I'm so excited to share this great giveaway from Lisa Leonard Designs.

Lisa creates the most gorgeous

sterling silver and fine pewter jewelry and gifts

with her team in San Luis Obispo.

She's also a busy mom with two boys of her own

and I can see that "mother's touch"

in all of her handcrafted pieces.

Many of the pieces can be hand stamped

with your children's names

or a special word or phrase.

I love that their simple designs would look great

with the "mommy uniform" of jeans and a t-shirt,

yet look equally as lovely on those special occasions

when we get the chance to get a little more dressed up.

Take a look at just a few of her gorgeous pieces...

I love this "my treasure" necklace...

And these connected hearts? How pretty!...


Or this "key to my heart"?...

And then there's these "heartstrings"...

Seriously, there are just so many really gorgeous

necklaces (and bracelets, keychains, and more!)

Now for the great news...

Lisa is giving all of my Come Together Kids readers

20% off anything in her shop

(use code shopping20 ~ expires March 30th)

and...

She's giving a $50 gift card to one lucky reader!!

How cool is that? And just in time for Mother's Day, too!

We're going to make this giveaway

really easy to enter

with just two simple requirements.

1. Visit Lisa Leonard Designs ,

look at all her lovely pieces

and leave a comment

telling which one is your favorite {one entry}

2. Sign up for Lisa's newsletter on her website

and leave a comment telling me you did {one entry}

The following aren't requirements

and won't count as entries,

but would be very appreciated!

Check out and "like" Lisa Leonard Designs on Facebook
Check out and "like" Come Together Kids on Facebook

When commenting, please make sure your profile

is linked to your email address or

you leave a way for me to contact you in your response.

The giveaway will end at midnight (EST) on Mon. March 26th

and the winner will be chosen at random

and announced on Tuesday, March 27th.

In the event that I don't hear back from the winner

by Sat. March 31st,

a new winner will be chosen at random.

Sunday Snapshot ~ Savoring the Moment

2012-03-19T00:22:00.000-04:00

     A couple months ago, I came across this wonderful post by Glennon on Momastery. If you haven't read it yet, you should. It's a wonderful read, and talks about the many daily challenges of motherhood.   She admits that it's not every moment of every day that we treasure, but those special moments when we can put aside all the chaos around us and truly see and appreciate our children and our lives.
      Every since I read that post, I've been more aware of those special moments in my day ~ those times when the usual noise and frustrations fall away and I have a moment where I see my kids in a special light.
     So I'd like to share some of those moments. Maybe it'll be every Sunday, maybe it'll just be when I get the chance. And even though I realize that these posts will be more as a way for me to capture this time in our lives, I hope they inspire you to be aware of the special moments in your day as well.

Now, after all that, here's the first moment that I'm going to share. We've been enjoying some unseasonably warm weather this past week, with temperatures up in the 70's some days. On Saturday afternoon, the kids went out in the backyard to play. They'd been out there for a little while and I hadn't heard any fighting or complaining (that, in and of itself is something to savor! ;) ) I walked out to see all three of them working together to build a "mud mountain" in the horseshoe pit.

They were just so happy there in the mud. Maybe it was because seeing them brought back my own happy mud memories, or because the sun was shining, or because there wasn't any fighting or bickering, but I could care less about the dirty clothes and realized that this was a moment I truly wanted to savor!

How about you? Have you had any moments like this recently?

Fun Photo Bookmarks

2012-03-17T22:34:00.000-04:00

Once again, it's thanks to Pinterest that I was able to do a fun little project with my kids. Several weeks ago, Pinterest led me to these awesome bookmarks at Creative Family Moments. So easy, so fun and so perfect for my book-loving kids. However, like so many of my pins, I had the idea there ready and waiting for the right opportunity to use it.

When it was my daughter's turn to host her book club and we decided to do the poems of Shel Silverstein, I remembered the bookmarks and knew they be perfect. One of Silverstein's collections of poems that we read is called Falling Up ~ it goes right along with our fun bookmarks.

Check them out...

Aren't they fun?

I pretty much followed the original tutorial, with just a few small changes.

Here's what I did...

1. Take a photo of the child posing as if they're holding onto a rope and hanging down. (I had the kids stand in front of a white sheet because I thought I'd be using my computer printer and wanted to cut down on the ink used).

2. Print out your photos. I ended up finding a special on 4x6 prints at my local store, so I just did that instead of using my home printer, but either would work.

3. Cut out as close as possible around the photo of your kid.

4. Using a glue stick, mount your photo to card stock to make your bookmark a little sturdier. However, DO NOT glue down the hands, only the head and body. Then cut out around the photo again.

5. Next, you'll want to slip in your tassel between the photo and the cardstock backing (that's why you didn't want to glue that part down). Visit Heather's original post for a great tutorial on making the tassels. She explains it really well and has great pictures and instructions.

I just tried to look at the hand position and then placed my tassel so it looks like the kids were really holding it. Then I put some glue on the cardstock and some on the photo and smushed them together. After it was good and stuck, I trimmed off the excess string on the other side.

6. Finally, I cut out a piece of contact paper to cover the back and front of the bookmark. I adhered it to both sides, smoothed it down and cut out around the bookmark, leaving about 1/8" or so around the edges.

That's it! Aren't they fun? The kids love seeing themselves hanging down from the page.

Oh, and if you're looking for some fun poems that the kids will love, definitely check out Shel Silverstein's collections . We have all of them and they were a big hit with the 8-9 year olds in my daughter's book club. The girls really loved the silly humor and they each had several favorite poems that they shared.

Here is the book club in action...

And the books that we read. Each girl could choose a book and then shared their favorite poems...

Sharing our fun bookmarks at:

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MORE Melted Crayon Canvases

2012-03-14T16:09:00.000-04:00

Several weeks ago, I shared the Melted Crayon Canvas I made with my youngest daughter. It was so much fun and turned out so cute, that I decided to do it with my oldest daughter and several of her friends at her Book / Craft Club. The girls (all nine of them!) had a lot of fun choosing their colors and designs and were thrilled with the finished canvases.

I made just a few little changes from our original project so it was more manageable for a group. I only took a few pictures of the process this time (because I had nine giggly girls to manage ;) ), so you can check out my original post if you want more details.

To prepare, I bought 4-5 boxes of 64 Crayola crayons and separated them in bowls by color ~ reds, oranges, yellows, etc. I also had pieces of contact paper cut in squares for the shapes and stencils that they could use to make their initial, a heart or a star.

Because I didn't want all of the girls wielding their own glue guns to attach the crayons to the canvas, I had them use glue dots instead. The dots held just fine and held the crayons in place right away (without having to wait for regular liquid glue to dry). I'd still recommend a hot glue gun if you're making just one by yourself, but for kids, the glue dots are the way to go.

I also gave each girl the option to put a shape or initial on their canvas, or just use the crayons. All of them chose to put something on their canvas They cut out their own shapes after tracing onto the contact paper and then put them on the canvas.

Finally, because I had some problems the first time with the melted wax seeping under the contact paper, I used hot glue to seal around the edges of the stencil. I just ran a line of hot glue around the top and sides of the shape. You don't want the edges of the stencil to be raised or the melting crayon wax won't flow over it, so I held the tip of the glue gun right on the canvas so the glue line was as flush with the canvas as possible. (Hopefully I'm explaining this okay, I wanted to take a picture but things were just a little too hectic at the time.)

Here's all the fun they had during the process...

Sharing at:

A Turtle's Life for Me
The Frugal Girls
C.R.A.F.T.
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