Serving Pink Lemonade

Kid Art Heart Garland

2012-02-09T01:34:00.004-05:00

Once again I was inspired by pinterest! I had thought about making a heart garland to decorate for Valentine's Day--something with hearts and felt probably. And then I spied this sweet idea!

I didn't have any good water colors on hand (the boys had dirtied up all the colors that last time they used them. Why did I even keep them?!) so we pulled out our pink, red, and purple crayons and markers. We even got a red ink pad out for fingerprints!

When we couldn't stand to color any more I cut their art into hearts to hang on some pink bakers twine in the kitchen. The boys love it and so do I!

Valentine Craft

2012-02-06T00:03:00.001-05:00

Valentine's Day is such a fun holiday to celebrate with your children. It's nice to be able to take some extra time to show your sweet kids you love them. But we can do that all the time right? It doesn't have to be fancy or even cost anything. I loved the 10 little tips over at Little Wonders' Days to show your kids you love them. My favorite is warming up a towel in the dryer to wrap them in after their bath. I remember my mom warming up our pajamas in the dryer for after our bath when my sisters and I were little. That was my favorite. And how come I've never done that for my kids? I will now.

This year I decided to pick up those cute little mailboxes at the Target dollar spot for my kids.

My kids have had a blast sneaking little notes into each others mailboxes. They think it's so much fun. I put a little something in their box each night so they have a surprise every morning to look forward to. Among the little notes and treats I've left I've also slipped in a magnetic bookmark, a felt heart pocket, these little felt valentine envelopes, and cupid's bow and arrows. I hope to make this a fun new tradition in our family.

My daughter and I have also been busy planning a Valentine's Day get together for some of her friends like last year. It will be fun.

I spied this simple craft over at Little Page Turners and thought we'd have fun with it. All you need is an empty paper towel tube, some paper, and some paint.

To start, bend your paper towel tube into a heart like this:

Then get your paint ready . . .

Dip your tube in . . .

And you can make the sweetest little hearts. Perfect for Valentine's Day.

Have fun!

What simple things do you do for your kids to show you love them?

Groundhog Day

2012-02-02T15:37:00.002-05:00

Did anyone watch the groundhog this morning? I was dropping W off at school but we listened on the radio--6 more weeks of winter. Maybe that means we'll actually get some winter weather around here this year!

I decided to work on a little Groundhog craft with my boys. I remember doing this as a kid and knew that it would be fun. I know this post is coming a little late in the day but if you need a last minute craft this one is really simple!

Supplies:

disposable cup (styrofoam would work best but we used plastic and it worked)

popsicle stick

image of groundhog (I used this one)

tape,crayons, scissors

Just color your groundhog, cut it out and tape to the craft stick. Then you'll cut a slit on the bottom of your cup big enough to insert your stick. Now the groundhog can pop up and check his shadow!

77 Healthy Snacks

2012-01-30T17:01:00.000-05:00

With the new year in full swing I'm renewing my resolution to feed my family healthy foods. To help me with my goal I've come up with a list of 77 healthy snacks to keep good food in our tummies when we're getting the munchies. I've tried to compile my list using mostly whole foods and as little processed food as possible. I know everyone has a different definition of healthy so keep in mind that this list is made up according to my definition.

And here they are:

1. Apple slices (My kids love apples more than just about anything.)
2. Home popped popcorn (We love to pop ours with coconut oil. Yum.)
3. Celery sticks
4. Hummus and veggies
5. Tuna on crackers
6. String cheese
7. Roasted pumpkin seeds or squash seeds ( I love this recipe.)
8. Applesauce
9. Frozen grapes (These are super popular in the summer at our house. It allows you to stock up when grapes are on sale without them going bad before they can get eaten.)
10. Almonds
11. Craisins
12. Olives
13. Guacamole and chips (Homemade guacamole is easy. Just mash up an avocado and stir in a dash of salt, garlic powder and some dried minced onions. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.)
14. Clementines (These are my favorite citrus to buy because the kids can peel them themselves)
15. Quick fruit smoothie (frozen berries, ripe banana, yogurt)
16. Hard boiled egg
17. Roasted chickpeas
18. Cottage cheese with peaches
19. Cinnamon raisin almond balls (These are quick and easy to make and incredibly delicious. I highly recommend giving them a try!)
20. Fruit leather (We love to make our own using a dehydrator)
21. Crackers and cheese
22. Mini fruit salad (Strawberries, kiwi, blackberries)
23. Dip banana slices in yogurt, roll in coconut and freeze
24. Cantaloupe
25. Apple slices with nut butter, cinnamon, and raisins
26. Yogurt
27. Chips and salsa
28. Whole wheat bread spread with nut butter
29. One ingredient banana ice cream
30. Kefir smoothie
31. Pineapple (Love pineapple)
32. Homemade popsicle (Blend together frozen berries, yogurt and banana, pour into molds, freeze.)
33. Granola
34. Raisins
35. Nectarine
36. Baked cheese crisps
37. Parfait (Yogurt, strawberries, granola)
38. Pickles
39. Homemade Larabar
40. Carrot sticks
41. Grapefruit (My son loves his grapefruit)
42. Cucumber slices
43. No-bake energy bites
44. Grilled cheese sandwich
45. Crackers spread with nut butter
46. Frozen banana bites
47. Trail mix (Make your own by throwing together craisins, almonds, sunflower seeds, and dried blueberries or cherries)
48. Dried apricots
49. Tropical smoothie (Mango, pineapple, strawberries, yogurt)
50. Apple chips
51. Broccoli florets
52. Fruit sushi
53. Blueberries (I love this bite size snack for little mouths)
54. Fruit kabob
55. Baked potato
56. Pink hummus and veggies
57. Frozen pineapple
58. Dried fruit mix
59. Pistachios
60. Kale chips
61. Beef jerky
62. Yogurt frozen
63. Homemade graham crackers
64. Banana (This is my favorite quick snack when I'm hungry)
65. Frozen applesauce slushy
66. Pears sprinkled with cinnamon (My daughter loves this)
67. Oven roasted fries
68. Granola Bars
69. Yogurt bites (You can make your own if you own a dehydrator)
70. Cheese slices
71. Spinach artichoke dip and crackers
72. Watermelon (For added fun, cut into shapes with cookie cutters)
73. Kiwi (Cut in half and scoop out with a spoon)
74. Orange slices
75. Toast
76. Zucchini chips
77. Tortilla and cheese

So . . . what would you add to the list?

What are your go-to healthy snacks?

Valentine's Day Inspiration

2012-01-23T16:19:00.004-05:00

There are so many great ideas out there for Valentines Day. I couldn't help compile a list of a few of my favorites. I hope you like them too and get some inspiration for your own Valentine's Day.

Enjoy!

"I'm wild for you" Valentines @ Design Mom

Heart Breakers @ Made

Printable Valentine Cards @ Junelily

Happy Valentines Day for "crayon" out loud!

How does your garden grow @ Skip to my Lou

I dig you @ Fry Family

Tic tac toe @ Shim & Sons

You make my heart bounce @ The Crafting Chicks

You rock! @ Fiskars

Jungle valentines @ Fiskars

I've have my eye on you @ Dandee

I love you this much @ A Day in my Life

DIY heart envelopes @ Forty Weeks

Printable Valentines Cards @ Pumpkins and Posies

You're the bomb @ Make It Do

Personal Valentines @ Pieces of Me

You are a"maze"ing @ How Does She?

You melt my heart @ Bunny Cakes

Don't you know Valentine's Day is for suckers and other sweets like you @ Bunny Cakes

You're dino-mite @ Pizzazzerie

Wishing you a super valentines day @ Little Bit Funky

Play dough valentine @ g*rated

Stitched heart bookmark @ 30 Handmade Days

Featured

2012-01-20T15:35:00.001-05:00

I'm super excited to have my quiet book featured in Plumetis Magazine this month.

Check it out here.

Fruit Sushi

2012-01-17T15:48:00.001-05:00

Have you ever hear of fruit sushi? My daughter spied it in a magazine quite a while ago and thought it looked yummy. Every few months she'd bring it up, "Mom remember that fruit sushi? We should make it sometime." The last time she mentioned it I committed myself that we would finally make it.

They can look beautiful like this:

Source

. . . But we just went to town with ours. They didn't look nearly as grand but we had a fun time. Last week I bought everything we needed to make our fruit sushi and then for lunch one day we made them up.

We cut our fruit leather into strips and then wrapped them around our sliced up fruit.

We then sprinkled on a little coconut and they made a fun and (mostly) healthy snack. My kids loved it.

What healthy snacks are popular at your house?

Paper Snowflakes

2012-01-11T15:50:00.001-05:00

We've had a pretty mild winter so far this year. When we do get a little snow it never seems to stick around for more than a day You'll never find me complaining about that. The kids are a little disappointed that there is no snow to go sledding in and to build snowmen but I figure we still have at least four more months for that. Me? I'll take all the snow-less days I can get.

So while we're waiting for the snow to come I found this great little tutorial for how to make paper snowflakes at Bon Temps Beignet.

I've never been good at cutting snowflakes out and they never look too good but Liz's simple tutorial makes cutting out snowflakes fun and fancy. My five year old and I have had so much fun seeing what we can come up with. And I won't even tell you the crazy amount of paper we've wasted doing it . . .

Check it out and give it a try. You'll have fun!

Princess Finger Puppets

2012-01-06T17:14:00.000-05:00

A couple months ago I ran into just about the cutest little finger puppets I ever did see. Jill over at Made it on Monday came up with these pretty little princess puppets and I just haven't been able to get over at how darling they are. I couldn't resist making some for my niece for Christmas this last year.

Perfect for a pretty little princess puppet show.

Jill glued hers together but I chose to sew some of the pieces and then use fusible webbing to put the rest of it together. I just can't resist using fusible webbing when doing felt projects.

. . . And a perfect little castle purse to store all those little princesses in.

I used stiff felt for my castle bag and extend Jill's pattern to make the castle a little bit longer.

The best part is that Jill was nice enough to share her patterns with all of us. I just LOVE it when bloggers do that. Thanks Jill! Stop by Made it on Monday to get your own.

I just love these little dolls . . .

Giveaway Winner!

2012-01-04T21:35:00.005-05:00

Are you ready for the My Memories Giveaway winner?

Me too!

Random.org will pick our winner.
And it is . . .

Random Sequence Generator

Here is your sequence:

Timestamp: 2012-01-05 02:22:05 UTC

Who is number 28???

Marla said...wow..so many choices! I really like Bright Christmas and Warm Winter Wishes. Thanks for the giveaway!

Congratulations Marla!

Please email us at ServingPinkLemonade@gmail.com and we can get you set up!

Thanks to everyone who entered, and a big thank you to My Memories for sponsoring this giveaway.

Don't forget that you all can use the coupon code: STMMMS54187 for $10 off My Memories Suite Scrapbook software and a $10 coupon for the MyMemories.com store!

My Memories Giveaway!

2011-12-28T10:15:00.002-05:00

***Giveaway Now Closed***

Back in the day I scrapbooked all the time. I loved developing my pictures (in the days before digital cameras) and then sitting down with my photos, some paper, and glue. It was a great creative outlet. But lately I've been horrible. I rarely print pictures and have only done a single page for
A . . . baby H will be lucky to get any!

I've always been skeptical of digital scrapbooking. I like the process of sitting down with my paper cutter and arranging my stuff on the page. But, like I said, I rarely print photos anymore! Recently, however, I tried out the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software. It was so much fun and easy! In just a few minutes I was able to put together some Christmas layouts!

I think I could get used to this!

And the lovely people over at My Memories have offered to give away the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software to one of our lucky readers! To enter, visit My Memories and choose your favorite digital paper pack or layout, then come back and comment on our blog telling us which ones you loved.

For a second entry "like" My Memories on facebook . . . then come back and tell us in a separate comment.

And for all our readers we have a special $10 off the purchase of the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software and a $10 coupon for the MyMemories.com store! Lucky you! Just enter the coupon code: STMMMS54187.

Contest ends Tuesday, January 3rd, 11:59 MST

We will announce the winner on Wednesday, January 4th.

Good Luck!

Simple Puppet Tutorial

2011-12-19T17:55:00.006-05:00

Alright . . . sorry it's taken me so long to get a tutorial up here! Here is a really basic tutorial for a simple glove puppet. First you'll take two pieces of felt and cut your puppet shape. I use this template.

Next, you'll sew those two pieces together making sure to leave the bottom open.

Now you'll need your creativity! You'll need to cut out pieces to embellish these little guys! For this one I made a really simple ninja (since that's what my boys love these days). Glue them on with some tacky glue and voila! You're done!

My two oldest are designing and making a few of these for A for Christmas. Here are a few of the puppets that we have finished thus far. Hopefully we can fit in a few more before the end of the week!

***For my first set of puppets I used wonder under but then Mr. A pulled a bunch of them off (it's his thing). I decided this time to just use glue even though it will make it a little more stiff.

Homemade Gift: Memory Game & Stick Puppets

2011-12-14T17:40:00.004-05:00

My kids love Star Wars. I'm not even sure how they learned about it in the first place, and they haven't even seen the movies until recently but have loved them just the same.

I really like how Jeanine has her kids make each other gifts for Christmas (see last years here, here, and here) and decided that we would start that tradition in our family this year. When I saw this adorable Star Wars preschool pack I knew it would be the perfect thing for my daughter to use to make my son a gift for Christmas. When I shared the idea with her she was super excited. We decided that we'd use some of the images to make a memory matching game and also some stick puppets.

We fist picked out some card stock and then printed the images on the reverse side.

After cutting out the pieces . . .

we laminated and cut them out again.

Perfect little matching game for any Star Wars lover.

A little jewelry box is just right to store the cards in.

And we've already had fun with the stick puppets (shhhh, don't tell). My daughter insisted on putting on a show for me before we wrapped them up.

My daughter is so excited to give her handmade gift and I can't wait to see the excitement on my son's face Christmas morning.

And for all you Star Wars lovers out there here are some other homemade Star Wars crafts I've seen around:

Finger Puppets

Cookie Cutters

Peggies

Pool Noodle Light sabers

Otter Pop Light saber

Little Stuffed Giraffes

2011-12-07T15:57:00.005-05:00

A couple years ago I saw these cute little stuffed animals over at Make It and Love It and have kept them in the back of my mind as a simple project I'd like to do someday.

Jeanine reminded me of them last year when she had her sons make one for a Christmas gift here. (And I just love the idea of having siblings make homemade gifts for each other. I'm excited to start that tradition with my kids this year.)

Earlier this year I was in charge of coming up with a service project for the women in our church group to do. I then remembered those cute little giraffes and realized they would be simple enough for the women to make together in one night and give to a local children's hospital.

I made up a few samples that I planned on later giving to my son and daughter.

Cute printed fabric on one side . . .

. . . soft on the other.

I drew up a pattern for the occasion--which you're welcome to use if you'd like to make your own.

(Click on picture and then copy and save to your computer. Open in a document and reduce your margins to zero. Expand to 100% and print.)

For the service project I went with polka-dot fabric and a soft fleece on the other side. So many women came to help cut, pin, sew and stuff these little stuffed animals. We had a great time working on them together.

We were able to turn out quite a few in one night. It turned out to be a great service project.

What color are you going to use to make yours???

canvas + maps = art

2011-11-28T05:03:00.002-05:00

Life has been a little busy here with a new baby, new house, and new church responsibilities! I have been trying to decorate the house using as little money as possible which causes a challenge! This project was inspired by Pinterest but I put my own twist to it. For this project you only need a few things:

canvas

maps

spray paint

mod podge

Before you can get started you'll need maps. I decided I wanted to have one where my husband and I met, the next where we married, and the last where we live now. All the maps were free . . . you just have to hop onto that state's travel website and order travel information. They always include a map.

Once I had my maps I was ready to go. First I painted my canvas (with some leftover spray paint in my stash). While I was waiting for those to dry I cut my maps into hearts. I wanted to make sure they were all the same size so I found a template online and printed it to use for my maps.

Now that my paint was dry I positioned my hearts onto the canvas. I just eye-balled it but I think they came out pretty equal. Then I mod podged them on . . . just a thin layer on the back of the map and a thin layer over the entire canvas.

That's it! Ta Da! Now I have something nice and meaningful to hang over our bed. And since I had everything except the canvas on-hand (and I got those for 40% off) this artwork cost less than $10!

Art Kit

2011-11-15T17:35:00.001-05:00

One of the hardest things for me is picking out gifts for my boy's friends. I don't want to be too cheap but I also don't want to spend a fortune. And I want to get something that the child will enjoy.

Mr. W is really into drawing lately--it's all he wants to do! So when he was recently invited to a birthday party we collaborated on a perfect gift . . . an art kit!

We bought a clear plastic box and filled it will art supplies. During the fall "back to school" sales I try to stock up on a few things--notebooks, crayons, markers, etc. So most of this gift we already had on hand! Here is what we put in our "art kit": a notebook, ruler, water colors, pencils, markers, and crayons. The great thing is that you can add anything you want! A few more ideas would be: pompoms, glue/glue stick, googly eyes, construction paper, scissors, or play-doh.

To make it a little more personal I cut the friend's initial out of contact paper and added it to the box.

Mr. W was thrilled with the gift and said that his friend loved it too. Score!

Super Hero Puppets

2011-11-07T04:31:00.009-05:00

My boys are obsessed with super heroes. Are yours?

Way back in March for J's 4th birthday I threw together some super hero puppets and a puppet theater. They were fairly simple (although a bit time consuming) to make and my boys love them!

If you can't tell, I made Superman (who actually has a red cape, not pictured), Batman, Spiderman, and the Joker.

I was informed that they needed some more "bad guys" to fight. So I'm thinking that more puppets are on the list of gifts to make for Christmas. I have a great idea for some Star Wars puppets. We'll see! I can't wait to see what puppet shows they come up with for me to watch!

Most of my details are free-handed but when I get around to making more I will try to make a simple tutorial if anyone is interested.

Itsy Bitsy Spider

2011-10-31T05:38:00.001-04:00

You know all those little spider rings that you get at Halloween time? The ones you secretly can't wait to throw away as soon as your kids aren't looking? This little activity will want you keeping them year round. They're perfect for singing the itsy bitsy spider with you're toddler or preschooler. All you need is one of those little spider rings and a bendy straw and your child can make their spider climb up the water spout all by themselves.

See . . .

The itsy bitsy climbed up the water spout.

Down came the rain and washed the spider out.

Out came the sun and dried up all the rain and the itsy bitsy spider climbed up the spout again.

Happy Halloween!

DIY lacing cards

2011-10-24T02:18:00.002-04:00

At the beginning of October our church held its semi-annual General Conference--2 whole days of listening to inspiring and uplifting messages. I love listening to Conference . . . but with 4 little boys in the house sometimes it's a challenge to actually get to sit and listen. I try to come up with distractions for the boys that will allow us all to listen. One of the things I came up with this year was lacing cards. Mr. J has been bringing home lacing cards from school and loves to do them.

Honestly, this was such an easy project that I don't know why I didn't think of it before! First I got online and printed up several pictures of temples. (I chose temples because I wanted something church related but you could do this for any picture . . . in fact, it might be fun to do pictures of extended family that your kids might not see very often or artwork from your own kids!) After cutting and laminating them, I took my hole punch and punched holes around the edge. I wasn't very exact . . . I just eye-balled it. Then I looked in my ribbon stash for something to use as the lace. I just tied it onto one corner and viola! And just like that I had my own personal lacing cards. I also ended up using some masking tape to tape the end of the ribbon to make lacing a little easier.

My older two boys loved this--and now I stash them in my Sunday bag to bring to church . . . a perfect quiet activity.

Boy/Girl Room

2011-10-17T06:47:00.010-04:00

This summer our family moved to a new home. It was exhausting finding something we loved without getting outbid by someone else, but after six months of searching we finally bought a house. My husband and I have been busy over the past few months peeling wallpaper, painting, decorating and making this home ours. We're still far from finished but it's fun to see the changes unfold.

This home was an upgrade from our previous one, but with much debate I decided that once we moved my son and daughter would share a room for the first time (for a variety of reasons). I almost chickened out, and it took them a while to adjust to sharing, but it has been worth it.

I thought a lot about how I wanted to decorate their room. I wanted it to be cute without being too girly or boyish. I've got the beds done but I'm still working on the decorating part. Here's where we're at so far:

This is how the bed frames started out:

I spied them at a garage sale earlier this year for $5 each. They're solid wood and I still can't believe I got them for such a great price. I knew they would be perfect for our new boy/girl room. My husband worked hard to sand them down and paint them for me.

I bought some inexpensive down blankets for the beds and picked up some pillow forms at Ikea to make pillows. I love pillows!

I was pretty excited to find the matching stripped fabric at JoAnns--one with pink and one with blue. These are just about the simplest pillows you can make. I didn't even cut the fabric. It's one big piece that I sewed into an envelope. Easy.

The girl bed:

The boy bed:

It's a work in progress, but we're getting there . . .

Check out the boy/girl shared room inspiration over at Tip Junkie too!

Homemade Twix

2011-09-30T13:19:00.000-04:00

I came across a recipe for homemade Twix on Pinterest and thought they looked delicious. You know, it's been years since I've had one. And oh how I love a good Twix.

And my daughter . . . she's never, ever had a Twix. Poor girl, I know. It's that whole darn peanut allergy thing. So when I saw this recipe I decided I'd have to try it, and since my daughter loves to bake it was the perfect thing to make together on a quiet afternoon after school.

Ingredients:

Shortbread layer

1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, at room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour

Caramel layer

2 cups caramel, cut into small chunks
3 tablespoons heavy cream

Chocolate layer

3 cups chopped milk chocolate or dark chocolate, melted
1 tablespoon vegetable shortening (optional)

1) FOR THE CRUST: Preheat your oven to 300°F. Spray a 9" x 13" pan lightly with cooking spray, or line with parchment, and set aside.

2) In a medium-sized bowl, beat together the butter, sugar and vanilla. Add the flour. At first the mixture may seem dry, but will come together as you continue to beat at medium speed.

3) Take the dough (it will be somewhat stiff) and press it evenly into the pan. Lightly flouring your fingertips will help with any sticking.

4) Prick the crust all over with a fork. The holes will allow steam to escape and the crust will bake evenly with fewer bubbles.

5) Bake the crust until it's lightly golden brown on top and the edges are deeper golden brown, about 35 to 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately run a knife around the edges to loosen the crust. Set it aside to cool completely.

6) FOR THE CARAMEL LAYER: Melt the caramel and cream over low heat in a small saucepan. Pour the caramel over the cooled crust and set in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill and firm up.

7) FOR THE CHOCOLATE LAYER: Melt the milk or dark chocolate slowly in a double boiler or over very low heat. If it seems very thick, add a tablespoon of shortening to thin it. Pour evenly over the chilled caramel layer and spread to cover all of the caramel. Return to the fridge until the chocolate is well set. Cut into 2" x 2" squares to serve. It's best to store these bars in the refrigerator.

8) These bars can also be cut and dipped in milk chocolate to resemble Twix bars (but I'm in to simplicity and opted for the chocolate layer on top). After the caramel layer has chilled firm, cut down the length of the pan, splitting the bars into two long, narrow bars. Then cut each long strip into "fingers". Dip the chilled bars into melted chocolate and place on parchment paper to set for several hours.

Yum!

I'll be making these again . . .

Scrappy Silhouettes

2011-09-12T05:00:00.007-04:00

I made some silhouettes of my boys a while back and have had several people ask me how I did it. I figured it was about time I made a tutorial on it.

Silhouettes seem to be all the rage these days. I had wanted to make some for my boys' room but wanted them to be a little bit fun at the same time. First let me tell you, I am sure there is some tech-savvy way to do this . . . but you're not going to find those instructions here. I'm all about simple and this was the simplest way I could think of to do this project. I recently re-did the silhouettes (because I needed one for baby H) and I'll give you my step-by-step.

First, you'll want to take a profile picture of your subject. It doesn't have to be a great picture. I took mine on my ipod (because I couldn't find my camera!) before church one Sunday. (I had to take them before church because the boys' hair was actually combed!)

See? Not a great picture in the bunch . . . but that's okay!

Next, after you download your picture, you'll copy and paste it into Word. This is where it gets tricky. You'll want to crop your photo so it's just their head and re-size it to your liking. (To do this you'll right-click on the photo, go down to "size", and then you'll see "crop from". . . just start cropping until you get it right around the head) I tried to make all the pictures about the same size since I was putting them next to each other. (To re-size you'll stretch the photo from the corners.) Once you have the sizing just right you'll bring them up on some cardstock. Here's what I got:

It's okay if the pictures aren't clear . . . all you really need is the outline.

Now you'll get to cutting. I use my cutter bee scissors . . . they are perfect for getting little details--like J's long eyelashes.

Next I wanted to paint them. This is where you can get creative . . . you can paint them any color you want. I chose a neutral brown.

Since I flipped my silhouettes to the white side I just did one quick coat of paint.

Lastly, I looked through my mound of scrapbook papers and decided what I wanted to mount these on. Glue them on with a little glue stick, frame in a cute cheap frame, and voila! You have yourself some new decor!

Back to School Mini Survival Kit

2011-09-05T03:34:00.011-04:00

It seems like just about everyone in the country has started school but us. Out here school doesn't start until tomorrow. I know, it's late.

I'm a leader for our church's 8-11 year old girls group and to gear them up for school we made mini school survival kits last week for them to keep in their backpacks.

To make them, I picked up these Q-tip packs I found at the dollar store. (Can't find cute little cotton swab packs like this? What about a travel soap bar container?)

With the Q-tips taken out they make the perfect little case, just right for filling up with goodies to stick in your backpack.

One kit includes:

2 wet wipes

2 mints

1 hair elastic

1 card for listing emergency information

Several band-aids

Pocket tissues (which were slightly too big to fit in, but we included them anyways)

All nice and snug in a compact little case.

Now we're all ready for back to school.

Interested in assembling your own?

You can print your own labels by clicking on the links below.

First aid kit cover

Emergency information card

First aid kit labels (For Avery labels size 8252)

ABC Flashcards

2011-08-22T05:15:00.003-04:00

It's back to school time! Time to start thinking about letters and numbers, reading and math . . .

Have you seen the Letter Factory flashcards that Jessica from Running with Scissors made?

Yes. She drew these herself. Isn't she amazing?

And even more amazing she's sharing them with everyone. That's right, just head on over to her blog and print out your own for free! Isn't she so nice?

I have my copy all printed out and laminated. I also made a set of upper and lower case letters to go along with our Letter Factory cards for playing all sorts of games.

The Activity Mom also shares a bunch of fun ways to use your new Letter Factory flash cards with your kids. Check her ideas out here.

So . . . what fun games are you going to do with yours? We'd love to hear.

Pizza Monkey Bread

2011-08-15T04:30:00.001-04:00

Have you jumped on the Pinterest bandwagon? I have to admit, I was hesitant at first. The last thing I needed was an excuse to spend more time on the computer. But I finally gave in and it is great! Most of the time I explore on my iPod touch while I'm feeding baby H. I've found some really great decorating ideas for my new house and some yummy looking recipes I'd like to try. In fact, I tried one last night and that is what I'd like to share with you because it was a HUGE success with my boys (and my husband)!

image

This is the basic concept: take your favorite pizza dough, pinch off a small ball, and then flatten it. On your little piece of dough place a piece of pepperoni and a small cube of mozzarella cheese. Then wrap it all into a ball. Brush the ball with garlic butter and place in a bundt pan. Repeat until all your pizza dough is used! Then you bake at 400 for 35 minutes. In the meantime, heat up your favorite pizza sauce for dipping. (Go here for more detailed directions)

I make homemade pizza quite a bit and this was a nice variation on a classic. I'll have to admit, it was a little bit time consuming . . . but the end result--the whole family loving it--would be worth it to do again. In fact, this would be a great meal to let your little ones help you with! My boys would probably love to place the pepperonis and cheese cubes onto the dough!