• Sheet metal (I got mine- 24×36 at Home Depot)
• Thin wood-for the frame (I will show a pic later on to explain better. I got this at Home Depot as well. I got just the right amount to fit around all the sheet metal.)
• Wood glue or adhesive or any type of glue really
• Paint and paint brushes
• Ribbon-for hanging it
• Scrabble pieces (I bought 2 games at a thrift store, if you don’t know what I am talking about look at the pictures below)
• Magnets (I used the rolled strip kind)
• Modge Podge
• Some kind of cute paper (Printed mine off my computer)

1. Beautify it-                Print off cute patterns on paper. You could also use cute scrapbook paper, dictionary pages like the one I got this idea from did, you could even paint it! Use your imagination, you’ll come up with something! Here’s my design that I used, red chevron…I’m totally into the chevron phase right now, I love it!

2. Modge Podge it-               Once you have your paper all ready, take your modge podge and paint brush and brush it over the sheet metal. Go paper by paper with modge podge, meaning, put just enough modge podge so that you can put the paper down and you don’t see much after that. If you do the whole thing you will have to put more on. (Look at picture below)

This is the perfect amount of modge podge per sheet of paper.

Lay all your sheets of paper down. I actually wished I wouldn’t of done chevron because once the sheet of paper was done it looked kinda funny.  What’s done is done. It’s still cute, but I would of bought scrap book paper instead. I think it would of been cuter.

3. Stick it-

                  While your modge podge is drying you can start putting your magets onto the back of your scrabble pieces. I used 2 games of scrabble. I was reading through some tutorials of people making these and they bought the tiles online for $10+shipping= $15 or more, or they bought a brand new game for $15 dollars. SERIOUSLY, just buy a used game. It will save you money. I spent $8. The only scrabble games I could find were the ones were it comes with 4 games-Sorry, Clue, Yahtzee, and Scrabble. So I got some other games as well. It was worth it for me, even though I have an extra one…I might just give it back to the thrift store! But most likely you can find a scrabble game for $2-3 dollars at a thrift store.

This magnet roll I got at Hobby Lobby for $2.00 because I used a coupon! Yay! Plus I already had this for another project I was doing.

 

These type of magnets rock, because all you do is….peel and stick. Done. This would be a great part of the project for your kids to do, I’m sure they’d love it!

 

4. Measure it-

Next you’ll want to take your board pieces and measure them to fit your sheet metal. Since my sheet metal at 24×36 I asked the nice man at Home Depot to cut them for me so I didn’t have to when I got home! I told him to cut (2) 24 inch pieces and (2) 36 inch pieces. But I totally forgot that I had to put all 4 boards as the border around it. So when I got home I still had to cut it…sadly. I drew a line where I cut it again.

5. Paint it-

Paint your boards your desired color. I chose gray and made a rookie mistake…it looks like duck tape! I was so sad, but it only looks like duck tape from a distance, luckily.

6. Border it-

Once your paint is dry, it’s time to put your border on. This part was tough for me. I didn’t want to spend money and buy wood glue. I tried to think of everything I could do so I didn’t have to buy anything. I looked through my house and found Seal-All. This is purchased at a some kind of car shop, like O’Reily or Napa. I decided to try to see if it would work, and it did! Hot glue does not work!!! I tried this and the glue dried before I could put it on the sheet metal.

I had to press it down for about 3 minutes for it to dry, but it worked and I’m glad I didn’t have to buy any glue!

7. Hang it-

You’re almost done! All you have to do is hang it up. When I hung mine up I used ribbon. I just used a ton of hot glue. On the back.

This is after it was hung, I forgot to take pictures.

 

I used regular ribbon, then glued it onto another type of burlap ribbon that I had.

8. Scrabble it-

Put your scrabble pieces on.

9. Love it-

Enjoy your new piece of fun artwork for the whole family, and guests as well.

 

Have fun with your spouse and kids while you play scrabble- on the go. Take a turn whenever you have time. Or this can be just to write messages to each other. You could also use this for kids practicing for spelling tests. Again the possibilities are endless! Enjoy!

If you have been reading my posts lately you may have caught on that I’m a big coffee fan.  I’m one of those people that needs to have their coffee in the morning otherwise you don’t want to get in my way.  Just recently I hosted a Dunkin Donuts coffee party that was nice.  During the party we were talking about iced coffee.  We spoke about how hot coffee is great during the winter months but when it comes to the summer there is nothing like an iced coffee to start of your day.  It’s also great for a midday break or when you are hitting the beach or just lounging outside reading a magazine.  Now when I was growing up iced coffee was pretty simple.   You brewed some coffee let it cool a bit then poured into a thermos or some other container.  You added some ice, cream, and sugar and you were good to go.  Nowadays there are so many wonderful flavors of iced coffee out there who knows what to pick.  Here are some great recipes that I would like to share with all of my readers.  Be sure to tell me what you think and feel free to share your own concoctions.

1. Vietnamese Iced Coffee
2. Simple Iced Coffee
3. Maple Vanilla Iced Coffee
4. Dairy Free Cafe Mocha
5. Homemade Frappuccino
6. Iced Hawaiian Coffee
7. Sea Salt Coffee
8. 40 Calorie Cookie Frappes
9. Delicious Frozen Coffee
10. Dulce De Leche Coffee
11. Mocha Java Milkshake
12. Mocha Frappuccino
13. Pumpkin Spice Iced Coffee
14. Vanilla Bean Iced Coffee
15. Nutella Instant Iced Coffee
16. Mocha Coconut Frappes
17. 10 Minute Iced Coffee
18. Instant Iced Coffee
19. Frozen Coffee Ice Cubes
20. Nutella S’More Iced Coffee

21. Dunkin’ Donuts Iced Coffee

Healthy Pasta Alternatives

Give into your carb cravings with these healthy whole-grain choices

Americans eat nearly 20 pounds of pasta a year most of which is the white, refined kind. Unlike whole grains, refined ones are stripped of fiber, vitamins, and nutrients. They trigger blood sugar spikes and crashes, which can lead to overeating and weight gain, says Anne Mauney, MPH, RD. While all carbs cause mouth bacteria to produce cavity-causing acid, refined carbs speed up the process. Switching out regular pasta for these options can save your waistline and teeth.

Veggie Alternatives

Strands of roasted spaghetti squash or julienned zucchini noodles are perfect pasta alternatives. These veggie noodles are similar in texture to spaghetti, but are much lower in carbohydrates and calories and higher in some vitamins, says Mauney, who offers nutritional counseling at AnneTheRD.com. Whereas a cup of spaghetti contains 220 calories, a cup of spaghetti squash has just 42. At that rate, you could have two cups and still be saving calories.

  Barley

Barley is a versatile grain with a hearty, nutty flavor. Sub out white rice or pasta in soups for this delicious whole grain, which is packed with nutrients like selenium, tryptophan and copper. Barley’s fiber boosts intestinal health, may lower cholesterol and can prevent blood sugar spikes. What’s more, it may also reduce the risk of heart disease.

   Quinoa

Quinoa, which is technically a seed, is higher in protein than pasta or other grains, and includes notable amounts of iron and fiber,notes Mauney. Similar in size and texture to couscous, quinoa is complete protein containing all nine essential amino acids. It also has twice as much fiber as most other grains. With a relatively short cooking time, quinoa makes a fast and tasty side dish or stir-fry base.

   Oodles of Noodles

If you’re craving pasta and quinoa won’t do, try soba noodles. Made from buckwheat, soba noodles contain all eight essential amino acids. Look for 100 percent buckwheat soba noodles, as many brands are made with a combination of refined wheat. Many grocery stores also carry whole wheat pasta. Look on ingredient labels for 100% whole wheat or 100% whole grain,says Mauney. “Anything that’s noted as “enriched” or doesn’t say 100% whole has been refined.

Are you wondering what’s new in the world of dishwashing liquid?  Well if you are I would like to share some new products with you that have are being introduced by Palmolive.  Most of you have used or at least heard of Palmolive dishwashing liquid.  Myself I remember seeing their commercials on TV growing up and always wondering what dishpan hands were.  Now that I’m older and have washed my share of pots and pans and dishes I can surely tell you what dishpan hands are.  To me dishpan hands are when your hands get all dry, red, and chafed as a result of washing too many dishes.  The phrase dishpan hands is even in the dictionary.

2 Weeks go we already saw 3 blue eggs size of a quarter. And yesterday I already found these 3 newborn baby birds

Today I took a little peak and saw the babies with their eyes and beaks open waiting for momma to bring them food. They are so cute

• Flatten your dough with a rolling pin.
• Cut a rectangular shape out with a knife. I measured mine. It was 8 inches wide and 9 inches long. (8×9)
• Put in your hand print. (Mom)
• Put child’s hand print in Mommy’s palm.
• Put 2 holes top corners. (If you want to hang it)
• Bake for 3 hours at 150 degrees. I bumped mine up to 200 degrees for the last hour. (It sounds like a lifetime, but it goes by quickly!)

She wiggled and squirmed! But we got it!

• Take it out of the oven and let it cool. It will still be pretty flimsy, be careful.

• Once it is cooled brush a coat of modge podge over the whole plaque. This will give it a glossy look that is in the picture above. Let it dry.

• Start painting the plaque. I advise having the 2 hands 2 different colors so you can see it better. I had 3 different colors. Each layer was a different color. Make sure to go slow and be careful around the corners of the finger. Take your time, you want it to look pretty!

• Once it is painted and dried, take your small paintbrush or mechanical pencil and write whatever words you want up top. I wish I would of put my daughters name, but it wouldn’t of been center, so I just did Mommy and Me.

• Take your small glue stick or pencil eraser and go polka dot crazy. If you want polka dots that is.

• Do one more coat of Modge Podge over the painted project and…….

Tie it like this on the back of the plaque and then hang it up.

When my kids were younger I pretty much had to help them with everything.  Getting dressed, brushing their teeth, combing their hair, and more.  Now that they are older they pretty much do everything on their own. Of course with some needed encouragement, pushing and prodding.  However when it comes to fixing their hair we occasionally have issues.

With my son his hair is short so add a little water and comb it and he looks good.  With my daughter however her hair is long and straight and tends to get all frizzy and knotted at the ends.  Combing and brushing her hair can be quite an experience and time consumer.  She should really be doing this on her own but always ends up asking for Mama’s help at some point.  I was always thinking what if there was a way to make her want to brush her hair.

Well I may or may not have found a solution to this problem.  It is called the scented hairbrush from Sweet Locks. They recently sent me two of their scented hairbrushes to review.  At first I really didn’t get it.  How are scented hairbrushes going to get my daughter interested in brushing her hair?  Sweet Locks sent us over two brushes with different scents.  The sent Cheeky Cherry lime and Strawberry Sweet cake.  My daughter and I didn’t care much for the Cheeky Cherry lime scented brush but the Strawberry Sweet cake brush was very nice.

I was happy to read on the back of the package that there are no chemicals or residue produced when using these brushes. I emailed SweetLocks to double check. They assured me that brushes contain natural fragrances and absolutely no chemicals. The package goes on to say that the scents are released as you brush your hair.  I found that the scents were pretty strong with the brush just sitting in the bathroom.  As a matter of fact they serve a secondary purpose as an air freshener as well. I love the Strawberry Sweet cake smell. It has a nice pleasant odor. However I didn’t like the Cherry Lime scent was not enjoyable to me at all. When I emailed my disappointment to Sweet Locks they assured me that the brushes do take some time to “cure” and overcome the plastic smell of the bladder and some people prefer one scent over another.

As far as the quality of the brush itself is concerned they seem pretty sturdy and have a nice handle.  I would say the size of the brush could be a little bit smaller to make it easier for kids to handle it.  Other than that the brush did a nice job of getting the knots out of my daughters hair. My favorite part it was easy to clean the brush from the stuck hair. For the past few days at least my daughter has shown more interest in brushing her own hair.  The scents that are released do get into the hair, a little bit which is nice.  I don’t allow my daughter to wear perfume at this age so at least it gave her hair a fresh fruity smell.

Bottom line: will this brush keep kids interested in brushing their own hair?  Only time will tell.  For now it seems to be working with my daughter.  I guess we will see what happens if the scent wears off or she gets bored with the novelty of it all.  Overall I think this is a cute idea, cute gift idea and worth checking out. Priced at $12.99 per brush it is not that bad of a deal.  Especially since I have seen brushes sell for twice that in the stores.

See SweetLocks Hairbrushes in action (sorry about the video quality, next time will do better!)

I received products mentioned above for free for a review purpose. All opinions are mine & mine alone

The Village Project Giving Back & Making a Difference

There are moments when greatness speaks to us. Words of wisdom like those of Gandi, “Man becomes great exactly in the degree in which he works for the welfare of his fellow-men.”

Words that inspire and motivate us to create something that pays that inspiration forward. For Mothers Organic it was an African proverb: “It takes a village to raise a child.” From those words The Village Project was established with the purpose of giving back through sponsorships, community work, education and numerous giveaways; which include products from Mothers Organics “mama tested and approved” trusted partners.

The Village Project program is aimed at helping women and children in the U.S. from all walks of life – because even the everyday mama needs help from time to time.

In addition to helping the everyday mama, The Village Project sponsors various community activities and charities to help mothers & children in need – including those living in homeless and women’s shelters.

“There are so many Mothers here at home in the United States that need our help. So many children who still do not have the everyday common necessities,such as clothing, food and diapers. It is our duty as people to give back. Our duty as fellow Mothers to extend a helping hand when another Mother is in need.” – Kelly McKnight, co-founder of Mothers Organic

Giveaway: 1 Lucky reader will win $75 Target gift card or Whole Foods Gift card

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