Gainfully Unemployed

DIY Votive Candle Holders

2014-01-04T13:37:00.000-08:00

Okay, if you're like me, you have a love/hate thing going on with Pinterest. Who knows how many hours of my life have been wasted scrolling for projects I, (if truth be told), will never get around to. It has also made me fearful of throwing away random items, such as old spaghetti sauce jar because one magical day, I will need like a dozen of them for a DIY project. And thank goodness that site made me hoarde away those old glass jars because you and I are about to give our kids the easiest project culminating in a most beautiful result.

You'll need:

Glass jar, cleaned
Glitter
Modge Podge
Ribbon

Before the kiddies can begin, you'll need to remove the label and glue from your old glass jar. For easy instructions on how to do so, click below.
http://akagainfullyunemployed.blogspot.com/2012/11/diy-snow-globes.html

After you've cleaned and dried the jar, have your little one brush glue on the inside of the jar.

Make sure the entire inside of the jar is covered with glue.

Pour your favorite color of glitter inside the jar, screw the lid on...

...and let your little one shake, shake, shake!

Your jar will now look like this:

Yes, I'll admit, it's not very attractive. But if you used modge podge, it will dry absolutely clear. The screw threads around the mouth of the jar bother me, so, to help hide them, I tied a length of ribbon around.

With votive candles

My camera did no justice to these DIY candle holders. We put them on our dinner table when we had family over the other night and they were shocked to learn my little ones had made them. We were actually commissioned to make more!

Enjoy!

DIY Cute Snowman & Reindeer Decoration

2013-12-09T12:18:00.000-08:00

Here's an easy and cute diy Christmas project. I must note, however, this project is probably better suited for kids who are a tad older than my preschool aged children. It' just as important to note that it's also perfect for adults who are looking for any excuse to exercise their inner child. ;)

You'll need:

Glue

Googly eyes

Mini pots

Paint - brown, orange, red, & white

Paintbrushes

Pipe cleaners - brown

Pompoms

Ribbon

Toothpicks

We'll be making the snowman from an upside pot, so when painting the pot white, make sure to paint the bottom. For the reindeer, the pot will the upright, so, be sure to paint the inside of the pot as well.

For the snowman, I used the toothpick to paint his coal eyes and smile. I used a small paintbrush for the carrot nose and used the toothpick to add the black details.

To make the earmuffs, cut a length of pipe cleaner and glue pompoms to the end of it. Then glue the pompoms to the snowman.

I used 2 lengths of ribbon for the scarf. The first piece wrapped and glued around the perimeter of the pot. The second I tied into a knot and glued to the first piece.

You can play around with different facial expressions. Below are a couple that my girlfriend made:

These are super cute, the pix don't do them justice!

Now for Rudolph!

Paint a small, red circle on the bottom of the pot for Rudolph's nose. Glue googly eyes at the top for, duh, his eyes.

Googly eyes make everything cuter!

Cut 2 identical lengths of pipe cleaner for Rudolph's antlers. Make them a little longer than the actual height that you want. Cut a few more smaller lengths of pipe cleaner for the tines. Twist them onto the original 2 pieces. Glue them to the inside of the pot.

Alternatively, you can cut even longer pieces of pipe cleaner and bend them into a repeating zigzag pattern.

And here's the whole gang!

For some reason, the pic shows the little guys quite grainy, but, they are super cute and would love to adorn your house for the holiday season!!

Enjoy!

Japanese Noodles

2013-11-05T13:15:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, I invited some friends over to the house. Since I'd be busy cleaning the house while keeping an eye on my energetic little boys, I knew couldn't spend too much time or effort making lunch.

Enter this easy Japanese noodles recipe. It's perfect for causal entertaining. I made the sauce first thing in the morning, while the boys were occupied with breakfast. When my guests arrived, I simply boiled a pot pasta and added it to the sauce. Done. Easy. Loved it.

You'll need:

12 ounces thin noodles
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons sugar
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 Tablespoons pure sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon hot chili sauce (or more if you like, I kept it mild for the kiddies)
4 Tablespoons canola oil
1 Tablespoon hot water (resevered from pasta water)
4 whole green onions, slice thin

Bring a pot of water to boil, add pasta and cook according to the directions on box.

Add all ingredients, (except the noodles and green onions), in a large bowl and whisk together. If you're making the sauce ahead of time, you can add the hot water to the sauce when you're ready to serve. The hot water helps to get the sauce to the right consistency.

Once the noodles are cooked, add to bowl. Add half the green onion; mix well. Sprinkle remaining green onions on top.

It's delish just like this, or...

...you can add chicken...

...or shrimp...

...or both!!

Enjoy!!

Honey Facial Cleanser

2013-10-16T13:01:00.000-07:00

So, I woke up one morning and felt I was transported back to my teenage years. As I looked at my face in the bathroom mirror, I was horrified to discover that during the night, my face had broken out. I'm mortified just sitting here typing about it.

I jump onto Google to try to find a solution. I was repeatedly asked, by the articles, for my face type. Oily? Normal? Dry? Combination? I didn't know, my face didn't come with any labels!! All I knew was that I had a very specific problem that needed to be taken care of yesterday.

I found an assortment of strange homemade remedies that used a wide range ingredients such as toothpaste, witch's hazel, lanolin, and dried hibiscus. I didn't want to drive all over the DC Metro area looking for items on a pimple inspired scavenger hunt.

Okay, okay, I did, (and still do) have toothpaste on hand on a daily basis. I just wasn't crazy about simply addressing the issue after it erupted on my face. I wanted to stop this nonsense from ever happening again.

In my continued research, I stumbled across a site that sang the praises of the honey mask. It was gentle and effective enough so it didn't matter what type of face you had. And it only had one ingredient. Simple...I loved it.

Honey is the natural choice to clean your face:

It is antibacterial and anti-fungal, meaning it will disinfect your skin and help bring you back to your beautiful, glorious self.
It helps detoxify by soaking up impurities.
It posses antioxidants, which can help protect/repair your skin from sun damage.
It contains bee pollen, propolis and beeswax - think exfoliate!
It leaves your face feeling incredibly soft!

When selecting your honey, please be sure to pick up raw honey. The honey at the grocery store has been filtered, heated to temperatures high enough to loose it's beneficial nutrients & enzymes, and/or is watered down.

Also, a lot of the grocery store honey does not have any pollen in it. This honey has been ultra-filtered to remove any of these identifying markers. Pollen is the only fool-proof way to determine where exactly the honey came from. According to foodsafteynews.com, "It is a spin-off of a technique refined by <countries> who have illegally dumped tons of their honey - some containing illegal antibiotics - on the U.S. market for years.

Not exactly stuff I want all over my face. (Or in my body for that matter!!)

For this remarkable Honey Facial Cleanser, you'll need:

Your favorite raw honey and a spoon!

Scoop out about half a teaspoon.

You don't need exactly half a teaspoon, just enough to cover your face.

Please make sure to tie your hair back before applying the honey. Needless to say, it is very sticky!!

Put the honey in the palm of your hand and mix it with your finger for a few seconds. The honey will become lighter in color and will spread more easily on your face.

Spread the honey all over your face, be sure to massage that honey goodness in!!

Leave it on your face for 10-15 minutes. (You can wash it off immediately, but, I recommend leaving it on for a few minutes.)

Rinse and enjoy!

Try this honey cleanser once a day for two weeks. I wasn't brave enough to post a before & after picture, but, if you are, send them my way. I'd love to post on the site!!

Energetic Body Scrub

2013-08-03T04:25:00.003-07:00

If you know me, you know this, I love coffee. Throw in a little French Vanilla, and I'm in Heaven.

So, when I came across a diy coffee scrub, I had to try it. After using the scrub, I found I had immediate results. I was afraid I had some sort of positive placebo effect going on in my mind, but hubby confirmed that I now posses smoother skin. :)

You'll need:

3 tablespoons brewed coffee grounds
1 tablespoon salt

Brew 2 cups of coffee using 3 tablespoons of your favorite coffee. Once the coffee is brewed, dump the grounds into a bowl. Add 1 tablespoon salt. Mix.

Use these grounds within 20 minutes of brewing coffee. After that, oxidation sets in, essentially meaning the grounds have gone stale.

Hop in the shower, rub all over, and rinse.

Make sure you have a mesh net over the drain to catch all the grounds.

Coffee grounds have magnesium, vitamin E, and have antibacterial properties. In addition to all these perks, you also have a cup of coffee waiting for you when you hop out of the shower.

Enjoy!

Colorful, Fun Bread!!

2013-07-31T11:51:00.000-07:00

Here's a fun twist to an immortal, albeit, a sometime boring staple. Grab a bread recipe, a couple bottles of food coloring, and your favorite little helper to make some colorful treats.

First, prepare your favorite Italian or French dough as the recipe dictates. If you don't have a favorite recipe, here's a link to quite a few: http://allrecipes.com/recipes/bread/

After you prepare the dough, let it rest for at least a hour.

After the dough has risen, divide the dough into equal parts. The number of balls depend on how many colors you want to work with.

Place one ball on a slightly floured mat and set the rest aside. Add a few drops of coloring.

Knead the coloring into the dough until the color is evenly spread.

It'll take about 5 min of kneading. Most of that 5 min, the dough will look like this.

Hang in there. Eventually, the dough will look like this.

Repeat this process with the remaining balls of dough.

Now it's time to call your little one. Have them roll out each ball of dough.

Roll out to the size of your baking pan.

Brush a thin layer of water on top of the dough.

Place dough strip in baking pan. Repeat process with remaining pieces of dough, firmly placing each color on top of the previous one.

Here's an example of another bread Archer and I worked on together. Here he rolled little pieces of dough and put in this small cake mold. We skipped the layer of water in this one. The water layer helps keep the different layers of dough together to prevent air holes. Press the dough in tightly and you should be fine.

Allow your dough to rest again for at least a hour then bake in oven as directed by your recipe. When the top is golden brown (though that's a little hard to see when working with colored bread), and the bottom sounds hollow when tapped on, it is done.

Here it is cut open, just beautiful!

The kids loved eating their colorful sandwiches and buttered toasts. I have to say, at times I felt as if I was going to bite down into a lovely piece of colored white cake, but, rest assured, the food coloring will not change the flavor of your bread.

This activity does take a little more time than others, but both my little ones loved helping me make the bread dough, and then rolling and shaping the dough into the molds. Plus it gets them acclimated to cooking at an early age, which is very important. :)

(Oh, and did a fail to mention, you get lots of yummy bread at the end.) :D

Enjoy!!

A Fun Fix for a Missing Zipper Pull Tab

2013-05-14T04:09:00.000-07:00

Poor Alexander. Being the second baby means means not getting the same one-on-one attention that big brother did as a baby. It also means trying to play keep up with Archer and wearing lots of hand-me downs. Since Archer had such an extensive wardrobe as baby/toddler, I haven't had much need to buy Alexander new clothes.

On a recent rare occasion when I did buy Alexander a new hoodie, I felt like the universe was telling me I should just stick to the hand-me downs. Why? Well, when I got home, I noticed that the pull tab for the zipper was missing. Sure, I could have driven back to the store to get a replacement, but it was some distance from my house and I really didn't feel like doing that.

Instead, I drove to my local Michael's, with 40% coupon in hand, and bought a little motorcycle charm. (Archer loves all things automotive.) Using two pliers, I pinched the metal link that came with the charm around the crown, (tab holder), of the zipper.

It's a little hard to see, but, here's a pic of the charm and hoodie.

Also a little hard to see, but here is the new and improved hoodie.

I honestly think that the hoodie with the charm zipper is an improvement over the original because it personalized it based on Alexander's love of motorcycles. I love this idea and think I may "loose" other zipper pulls, just so I can personalize other items with more meaningful charms. I think your little ones will really like this one!

Enjoy!

I Spy With My Little Preschool Eye...

2013-05-11T04:06:00.002-07:00

Sometime ago, hubby and I were both hit with a nasty bug that was going around. Since we both had appointments with the same doctor in a 30 minute window, our boys had quite a long time to spend in the waiting area.

After what seemed an eternity in the waiting room, Archer could no longer patiently site, he was literally bouncing off the walls, turning the lights on and off, (which garnered nasty glares from the receptionist), etc, and nothing could calm him down. Nothing, that is, until he found a book in the waiting area...Where's Waldo.

For the rest of our time there, he sat glued in his seat, looking for Waldo in a sea of red and white. What a life saver!!

A few days ago, I sat trying to think of a new way to encourage my younger son to talk more, while teaching him new words, colors, shapes, etc. Then I remembered the success we had with Waldo; hence, Baby I Spy!

You'll need:

Large piece of cardboard
Magazine
Scissors
Glue or ModPodge
White Paper (optional)

If you'd like, glue white paper on top of the cardboard to give a clean background. Or, if you'd like, keep the cardboard bare, you'll be covering most of it with pictures anyways!

Flip through old magazines and cut out pictures of different sizes. You'll use the big ones to fill up the space and little ones to fill in the gaps. Focus on what you want to teach your child.

Are you interested in teaching color? Pick pictures that are simple and boast primary colors, (vs all the different hues in between).

What to teach your child about animals? Look for magazines that have a wide array of animal pictures.

What to emphasize healthy foods? Cut up those old Cooking Light magazines you have buried in the garage.

Alexander looking for a the shoe.

Alexander finding the shoe!

Enjoy!

DIY Bird Feeders

2013-02-21T05:18:00.003-08:00

Since winter always means slim pickings for wild birds, I thought it would be nice if the boys made a bird feeder to help the little hungry guys out. It's an easy and fun project. The best part is, the boys can watch the birds appreciate their efforts and they can learn a little about the joy of helping others. :)

You will need:

Empty milk carton, washed and dried

Bird seed

Stick

Ribbon

Scissors

Optional:

Paint

The first fun part of this project is going out and getting a stick!

As you can see, Archer had a lot of fun looking for the stick!

Next, have your little ones paint the milk carton. Mine were too inpatient to wait for me to cover the carton with white paper first. Covering it with paper first makes the paint job look better, but, it does make it less weather resistant. (Once the first rainfall comes, the paper will fall off, but the carton itself will be fine.)

Cut a small hole in the side of the carton and shove the stick in there. Cut a small exit hole on the other side of the carton and shove the stick through that. Make sure the hole you cut is smaller than the stick. This way the stick will be secure and won't fall out. Cut two small holes on the top and the carton and loop a length of ribbon through. Tie a secure knot.

Cut small holes next to the stick. Don't cut them too big or the seed will fall out!!

Stick a funnel into the spout of the carton and pour birdseed in. If you'e having the kids help with this part, please do this on a hard surface; do not do this on a rug or carpet. No matter how careful you are, some seeds will fall on the floor.

A lot of birdseed fell in our case!!!

Hang your bird feeder outside and wait for the animals to come!!

Okay, so this is not a bird, but, a hungry woodland creature is a hungry woodland creature. :)

Enjoy!!

DIY Scratch Off Valentines

2013-02-06T04:34:00.001-08:00

In a couple of weeks, Archer will be at his first Valentine's Day party, thrown by his preschool; and of course, no Valentine's Day party would be complete without Valentine's Day cards. No surprise here, Archer selected a box of Angry Birds Valentine's to hand out to his classmates.

I thought, however, it might be nice if Archer made a card for his teacher. To make it a little different, we hid Archer's message to her behind a scratch off.

To make your own scratch off, you'll need:

liquid dish washing soap
paint

Yup, that's it - 2 things. It's a pretty simple and fun idea, and I'm pretty you have at least one of things items on hand. :)

Mix two parts paint with one part soap. Gently mix, if you mix too hard, your paint will be full of air bubbles.

Archer's Valentine with his message to Ms Miller.

Paint over the desired area. You will need to give it two or three coats.

I made a tester as well.

After painting over the message a couple times, it became clear that the paint Archer chose was not opaque enough. Learn from my mistake, don't try to paint over black marker with neon green!!

So, I painted over the green with silver paint, which wasn't a bad thing. It looks more like traditional scratch off cards.

Archer's message is successfully covered!!

I covered the test message with silver paint as well. Once it dried, we scratched it off...it worked!!

Obviously, this scratch off paint can be applied to more than just Valentine's Day cards. Use it for birthday cards, party invites, save the date cards, etc!!

Enjoy!

DIY - Temporary Tattoos

2013-01-29T06:39:00.000-08:00

I haven't met one kid who doesn't love temporary tattoos. Here's an easy way for you and your kids to make temp tattoos at home.

You'll need:

Cloth
Gel ink pen
Parchment, (or tracing), paper

Optional:

Picture to trace from

Add caption

Of course, the boys wanted an Angry Birds tattoo, so I used an old page from Archer's Angry Birds page a day calender. All my artistic friends out there feel free to draw your tattoos free hand! :)

Cut out a piece of parchment paper and tape it over the picture. Use the gel ink pen to trace over the picture. Use bold lines, it'll transfer better.

DIY Temporary Tattoos!!

Aren't they cute?!

Wet the cloth with warm water. Place the tattoo face down on the skin. Making sure the tattoo doesn't move, gently pat it with the wet cloth for 30 seconds.

The picture will be a mirror image, a good thing to keep in mind if you will be using words.

And voila!!

Remember I said to be careful not to move the tattoo while patting it down?

I was speaking from experience. Luckily, there was still enough ink left on the temporary tattoo to try it again on the other arm. But, if I had done it correctly the first time, the final tattoo would have been darker. Learn from my mistake, these tattoos are much more sensitive to movement than the ones you buy from the store.

I know we've all heard rumors of how people can get ink poisoning from writing on your skin. That's actually an urban myth, click on the below links for more info.

Ink Poisoning: MedlinePlus
eHow Health
LiveStrong

Have fun with this one, enjoy!!!

DIY - Fingerpaint

2013-01-25T04:31:00.000-08:00

So, here we are, "enjoying" our first snowfall of the year. As we recently moved, the majority of our toys and arts & crafts items are still packedaway; I needed an activity to keep the boys busy and my sanity intact. I rummaged through my drawers and cabinets to find items I could use to make a quick and easy project.

DIY fingerpaint is great! You probably already have everything you need to make it, the kids love making it, and then they love playing with it.

Here's what you need to get started:

3 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup cornstarch
2 cups water
food coloring

Combine the sugar, salt, cornstarch, and water in a small saucepan.

Even my younger boy got excited about making the paint!

Over medium high heat, warm mixture until is thickens. Give it a good whisk every now and then.

After a few minutes, you'll be left with a thick, clear paste. Remove pan from heat and allow it to cool.

I made my paint thicker than normal, this way, if the container is knocked over, the paint won't come spilling out. If you want your paint the traditional consistency, remove your pan before it thickens too much. Remember, your paint will continue to thicken as it cools.

Portion your paint into small bowls, jars, etc and add your favorite food coloring. Mix evenly and paint!! We didn't use all the paint we made, so I put in an old glass jar and will save it for another day.

Enjoy!

"Angry Birds" Toothpaste

2013-01-14T05:05:00.000-08:00

Is it okay to lie to your kids? Probably not. But if your kid is crying because he doesn't like the new toothpaste you bought him and you want him to go to bed so you can finally sit down...maybe it's not so bad to stretch the truth sometimes. :)

Apparently, Thomas the Engine is good enough for Archer to watch, but not good enough for him to brush his teeth with. No amount of begging or negotiation on our part could get Archer to brush his teeth, or even calm him down. How dare we replace his old toothpaste with this impostor one!

Well, hubby came up with a great idea. If you've read a couple of my past blog entries, you know Archer is fascinated with Angry Birds. Hubby took an old Angry Bird coloring book and cut out strips from the back cover. He taped the strips to the offending toothpaste tube and voila! Angry Birds toothpaste, and, more importantly, one very happy little boy.

From time to time, Thomas' eyes peek out from the Angry Birds strips. Archer, without getting angry or upset, calmly asks us to fix his toothpaste for him.

I doubt any parents out there are going to get into the bind we did over toothpaste, but the same principal can be applied to different scenarios. As I like to say, "We do what we can with what we have". :)

Offending Toothpaste

Redeeming strips cut from an Angry Birds coloring book.

Toothpaste deemed worthy by Archer.

Enjoy!

The $25 Quick & Easy Reupholster

2012-12-19T15:59:00.002-08:00

Many years ago, B.K., (that's Before Kids), hubby and I bought a cute little dinette set for our condo. I loved the simple, yet elegant lines of the chairs, and the light beige of the seats that went with just about any color theme I had picked for my dining room.

Of course, now I have two very sticky fingered little boys and my light beige fabric was definitely beginning to show it's age. It didn't make sense to buy a new dinette set and I certainly didn't have the money to have the chairs professionally reupholstered. What's a gal to do but go to her local fabric store, keep her fingers crossed and hope for the best?

With one of my best friends and the unscrewed chair bottom in tow, I checked out JoAnn Fabrics' offerings. I was immediately drawn to a beautiful paisley patterned cloth. But the $54.99/yard sticker price had me running to the clearance section!!! There, my friend found dark gray fabric that was perfect for masking accidental spills, and with it's $8/yd price, it was perfect for my budget.

The staff at JoAnn's were really helpful. They patiently explained which type of cloth would be best suited for my project; and since I brought the seat with me, they were able to tell me exactly how much fabric I needed. If you're a novice at fabrics, I highly recommend this store.

Cost:
1.5 yds of fabric (for 4 chairs)................$12
Heavy duty staple gun............................$10
Heavy duty staples.................................$2.25

The staple gun and staples originally cost $20 and $4.50, respectively; but, while we were in line, my friend downloaded JoAnn's mobile app and I got those two items at 50% off. Moral of this story, don't forget to bring your smartphone when you're out shopping!!

Below are the steps we took to reupholster the chairs:

You'll need, of course, your fabric, staple gun, and staples. I used 1.5 yds, but, be sure to measure your seats prior to purchase. I included how much I used to provide you with an estimate.

Next step, unscrew those seat cushions!!

Now lay the right side of the fabric facing down on the floor. Position your seat as show below. It order to keep this project easy for a newbie like me, we kept the old fabric on the cushions. Make sure your old cushions are clean. Stains, obviously, are okay. :)

If you're using a patterned fabric, please remember to have your designs all facing the same direction!!

Staple each side down as shown below. After you've down this, you'll be able to finish stapling each side down without worrying about your seat moving off of the center of the cloth.

After you've stapled down the side, pull the corners tightly back and staple them down.

Repeat this process with the other 3 corners.

And voila!

Sorry, couldn't rotate this pic!!

Here's a side by side comparison of the old and new fabric.

New life breathed into my old dinette set, and for just under $25.

Please check out my very talented friend's website. I think you'll like it.

http://silverlilymoon.com/

Enjoy!

DIY Snow Globes

2012-11-18T04:59:00.001-08:00

Looking for a fun way to spend a lazy afternoon in with the kids? Looking for an easy Christmas project?Make snow globes!

You'll need:

Epoxy glue
Glass jars
Glitter
Glycerin (or baby oil)
Distilled water
Plastic or ceramic figurines
Sandpaper

Optional:
Glasses

You can find glass jars at your local craft store or recycle old glass food jars. I used an old spaghetti sauce jar and an old jam jar. If you go the recycle route, you'll have to first clean and remove the labels from the jars.

To remove the labels, put the jars in a pot of water and dishing soap and bring to a boil.

Once the water boils, remove it from the heat and wait until the water cools enough for you to handle the jar. At that point, use a stiff bristle brush to scrub away the label, glue, and the "best by date" stamp.

Using sandpaper, scratch the inside of your jar's lid and glue your figurines there. Make sure you purchase the quick drying epoxy glue or it may take hours for the glue to dry. I got mine from AC Moore, and using the 55% off coupon I found in the paper, I got it for just under $2.50.

In order to raise up my snowman and elf, I cut the top off of Archer's plastic Danimals smoothie container. I glued glitter on it and now it looks like a snow covered mound.

Alternatively, you can also glue the figurines to the bottom of your jar for a different look.

Hold the figurines in place for a minute or two to make sure it doesn't move while the glue dries. Set bottle aside until the glue fully dries.

After 5 minutes have passed, turn the figurines upside to make sure the glue has dried.

I didn't do this, but I also suggest gently tapping the figurines. I thought my figurines were secure, but as you'll see in subsequent photos, I lost my snowman!!

Fill the jar with distilled water. If you put your figurines on the lid, remember to leave enough room for them when you screw the top back on.

You can either buy distilled water from the grocery store or make your own at home. Just boil water and let it come back down to room temperature.

Add as much glitter as you'd like and about a teaspoon of the glycerin for a small jar, more for a larger one. The glycerin will slow the fall of the glitter and make it look like it's really snowing. If you don't have glycerin lying around, you can also use baby oil. Seal the lid with the epoxy. You can also add glitter to the sides of the lid for a more dramatic effect.

As you can see, my snowman didn't make it into the jar!

You can leave your globe as is or add a base. I glued my snow globe to an old wine glass.

This project might be better suited for older children, but my 3 year did have fun choosing the figurines at the store and dumping the glitter in the jar. And of course, he had a great time shaking the snow globe and watching the "snow" fall once the project was complete.

The great thing about this project is that you don't have to limit this to just Christmas. If you're going to a baby shower, glue a plastic baby to the lid and add plastic baby shower themed confetti to the jar. If it's for Halloween, use a spooky figurine and black glitter. If you're passionate about animals, make an animal themed one. The possibilities are endless!

Enjoy!!

Personalized Ceramic Gifts

2012-10-15T04:24:00.000-07:00

What exactly does one give to the grandparent that truly does have it all? I racked my brain trying to think of what the boys should give their grandpa for his birthday this past week. A google search of grandfather gifts offered up the suggestion of a "I'm the Grandpa" shirt, "World's Best Grandpa", and others of the ilk. I though how much more fun and meaningful would it be if I had the boys make their own "Grandpa" shirt.

But then I envisioned poor Grandpa out in public sporting a shirt that looked like it was designed by a 3 and 1 year old, (you know, since it was designed by a 3 and a 1 year old).

I did like the idea of the boys personalizing the gift for Grandpa, so I decided to pursue that line of thinking. I thought what can I have the boys make that Grandpa can take out from time to time to admire, and would not detract from his style. I thought, how about his very own plate and mug designed by his favorite baby Mondriaans?

You'll need:

Ceramic paint markers - This 4 pack normally costs $15, but using a coupon from the Michael's flyer in the Sunday paper, I was able to get snag them for around $9.

Ceramic dishes - Found the plate and mug at the local dollar store. Can't beat that!

The paint is non toxic, but I still felt a bit ify about having lips or food touching the marker, so....

...I taped off the rim of the mug...

...and covered the middle of the plate with newspaper.

Archer painted the mug and Alexander painted the plate. I think the set turned out really nice!

Bake in the oven at 300 degrees for 30 minutes. I'm not sure if this is dishwasher safe, so I recommend hand washing only.

And of course, this idea is reserved only for the kiddies. You can make your own personalized plates for any occasion. You can design your own wedding shower plates complete with the wedding date painted on the rim; instead of placecards for a dinner party, personalized plates with the guests' names on it; etc. There are a million ways to use this idea!

Enjoy!

Angry Birds Pizza!!

2012-10-02T07:14:00.001-07:00

My three year old loves, loves, LOVES Angry Birds. He loves it so much so, that when I asked him last week if he wanted to eat pizza, he replied that he wanted to Angry Birds pizza. So, I rolled up my sleeves and gave it a crack. Archer loved it, and I think your little one will too!

First, roll out your favorite pizza dough and transfer it to your baking sheet.

No need to make the edges pretty!!

Using a dull knife, sketch out the shape of the red angry bird into the dough. The nice thing with dough is if you make a mistake, it's ok, it's a very forgiving medium. Just be sure not to cut the dough until you're happy with the shape of your angry bird, or you make have to re-roll the dough. Once you have a decent angry bird sketched out, cut it out, and remove the excess dough.

You can see some old sketch marks. That's ok, they'll be covered by the sauce and cheese.

Add sauce and cheese.

Next, add the pepperoni for the birds feathers. You'll have to cut some of the piece to size. Overlap the pepperoni. I find the pepperoni tends to slide towards the edge of the pizza resulting in gaps in the bird's feathers. Overlapping will resolve this problem.

Now it's time to add the bird's features. Use sliced black olives for the bird's eyebrows and pupils. Use mushroom caps for the eyes. For some reason, the grocery store didn't have yellow bell pepper the day I went shopping, so I used yellow squash.

Bake at 425 degrees until the cheese melts and the crust is golden, about 12 min. This pizza does take a little longer to prepare than a normal pizza, but, if your kid loves Angry Birds as much as mine does, it'll be well worth the time.

Enjoy!!

Personalized Name Tags

2012-08-14T06:22:00.000-07:00

Here's a fun and creative name tag to attach to any gifts you may be giving, plus, you'll have a nice little art project for the kiddies.

You'll Need:

3/4 c salt
3/4 c flour
1.5 tsp veg oil
1/4 c water
baking tray
wax/parchment paper
paint
glitter (optional)
strips of wire (optional)
varnish (optional)

Add salt, flour, oil, and water in a large bowl and mix until combined.

Mixing with your hands can be more fun than using a spoon!


Roll out dough and use your favorite cookie cutters to cut out fun shapes.

Cut a small length of wire and curve it into a "U" shape and press the side of your tag. If you don't have wire, you can use a paperclip as well. This piece of metal will provide you a place to tie a string so you can attach it to your gift.

Place the tags on a wax-lined baking sheet and place into a oven preheated to 350 degrees.

Personalize your tag however you'd like, paint, glitter, varnish, etc.

If you have any leftover dough, put it in an air tight container and save for another day.

Enjoy!

Backyard Scavenger Hunt!

2012-08-06T03:53:00.001-07:00

Looking for a fun outdoor activity for your little ones? Try taking your children on a backyard scavenger hunt! This activity will require a little prework on your part.

First, eat 12 eggs and save the egg carton. :)

Next, grab your camera, go outside, and take pictures of 12 different items that your find in your backyard/neighborhood. Make sure these items are small and can fit in one of the hollows of the egg carton.

You'll need an empty egg carton and 12 pictures of items found in your backyard.

I pasted the 12 pictures onto a word doc and shrunk them so that the picture would fit inside the egg carton. Cut out the pictures and glue to the inside of the egg cartoon lid.

Hand the egg carton to your little one and let them go exploring!

And here is a completed scavenger hunt!

Enjoy!

Sneak in Those Veggies!! (With or Without a Pasta Machine!)

2012-07-02T09:09:00.003-07:00

I have a problem most parents experience in preschool aged children...Archer refuses to eat. And when he does eat, he refuses to eat healthy. In an effort to avoid a battle at every meal, I decided to sneak in some veggies into a format I knew Archer would love...pasta!

Making pasta may seem intimidating if you've never made it before, but it is relatively simple to make once you've gone through the process. Granted, it does require more effort that reaching into your pantry and pulling out a box of store made pasta, but the taste of homemade pasta is worth tenfold the effort.

You'll need:

1 - 10oz box frozen, chopped spinach, defrosted
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
5 large eggs
salt

1- Bring a pot of salted water to boil. Once water is boiling, add the package of spinach. Let it cook 45-60 seconds. Pour contents of the pot into colander and run it under cold water for a few sec. Once the spinach cools down, squeeze it until you remove all moisture.

2- Crack the 5 eggs into a bowl, add spinach, and a little salt. Whisk together.

3- Place the flour on a mat or clean working surface, make a well in the flour. Pour in the egg mixture. Slowly push in flour from the inside of the well into the egg and mix. When half the flour is incorporated, start kneading the dough. Once the dough has formed set it aside and scrape away any flour that was not incorporated.

4- Lightly flour your workspace and begin kneading the dough again. Knead until the dough is soft and smooth and just slightly sticky. It should not stick to the counter or your hands. This should take 5-10 min.

5- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

6- Now you're ready to roll out your dough. You can either use a pasta machine or roll it out by hand. A pasta machine will more quickly and evenly roll out the dough for you and will also cut the dough as well.

If you don't have a pasta machine, you can roll it out by hand, but it will take longer and you may not be able to get it as thin as a pasta machine. Flour the dough before rolling to prevent it from sticking.

If you want to roll the dough out by hand, make a small ball out of the dough and flatten it with your hands as shown in the upper righthand side of the pic. Then finish rolling it out with your rolling pin.

Again, a pasta machine will cut the dough for you, but if you doing it by hand, use a knife to cut the dough in your desired shape. (Or with your child's favorite cookie cutters!!)The thinner the pasta, the less time it takes to boil. Also, the thinner the pasta, the less it tastes like spinach and if you're trying to use this to sneak veggies into a young child, this is a good tip to remember. Trust me, thick spinach pasta will be sent back by a discerning 3 year old!!

Enjoy!

Personalized Match Boxes

2012-06-14T05:59:00.002-07:00

Here's a fun, easy project the kids can help you complete. And since Father's Day is right around the corner, these would be great for the kiddies to hand out to daddies and granddaddies.

You'll need:

Modge Podge
Match boxes
Your favorite pictures
Scissors
Small brush
Magnet sheets (optional)

After selecting your pix, (Archer had a lot of fun helping me choose the pictures), use the match box to outline the part you want to cut out.

Using the brush, apply a thin layer of Modge Podge to the front of the match box. Here is a pic of Archer helping me apply the Modge Podge. Firmly press your picture to the match box. Apply a thin layer of Modge Podge on the the picture. Apply a second coat 15 minutes later to seal the photo.

Here's the finished product. I also cut a magnet sheet to the size of the boxes and glued it the back of the boxes. Now these match boxes double as cute magnets. This will come in real handy during a black out and you're looking for matches in the dark. You'll know exactly where they are!

I got a 10 pack of match boxes at my local grocery store for $.69. I bought the Modge Podge at Micheal's for $4.50 after using the 50% off coupon found in the newspaper. The 10 pictures cost under $1. I simply re-purposed a magnet sheet I got in the mail advertising pizza. So all in all, the whole project cost about $6.

Enjoy!

Semi-Homemade Wrapping Paper

2012-06-08T05:19:00.001-07:00

So, I'm the type of person who wraps a gift literally 3 minutes before heading out the door to get to the event. I was recently invited to a birthday party that was to be held on a Wednesday morning, and since hubby would be at work at that time and would not be able to help me get the boys ready, I thought it would be best to wraps the presents the day before.

I go to my stash of wrapping and discover that I only have Christmas paper left. I really didn't feel like loading the kids into the car just to pick up wrapping paper, so I decided to improvise. :)

I measured and cut the paper to fit the gifts and flipped the paper over and had Archer paint the blank side.

Archer loves painting.

Here's the finished artwork.


These gifts look really nice in their Archer originals!

To make the gift more fun for the 4 year old birthday boy, instead of attaching a card, I added a children's book and noted on the inside cover who the gifts were to and from. I also attached a sheet of stickers, because what 4 year old doesn't love stickers? If you're wrapping gifts for a little girl, another fun addition would be to sprinkle glitter to the paint while its still wet. :D

Now, this semi-homemade wrapping paper may not be the most appropriate paper for a child's gift, (and was done since I was in a bit of a pinch), it IS a great idea for wrapping the Father's Day present your child intends on giving his daddy in about a week. You can also use this idea to wrap gifts intended for mothers, grandparents, uncles, aunts, godparents, etc. They love this kind of stuff! ;)

Enjoy!

Homemade Honey & Oil Hair Mask

2012-05-17T05:07:00.002-07:00

Here's a great homemade hair mask that I use to not only condition my hair, but to increase it's shine as well. It takes only 2 ingredients and 30 minutes.

Put 5 tbsp olive oil and 4 tbsp honey in a microwave safe bowl. (Add the olive oil first, that way the honey will glide right off the spoon.) If you have short hair, you can half the amounts.

Microwave honey and oil. I microwave it for 30 seconds, but microwave it to a temperature that works for you. Mix to combine.

Add to hair and scalp and cover your head with a shower cap. If you don't have a shower cap, a plastic bag works great. After 20 minutes, shampoo out. (It may take two shampooing to get all the mask out.)

Prepare yourself for some incredible hair that cost only pennies to get!

Enjoy!

Easy, Homemade Topiary/Mother's Gift Idea

2012-05-07T04:38:00.001-07:00

Topiaries are beautiful pieces of living sculpture that bring beauty to a garden, deck, or house. They can be a bit pricey if you buy them premade at the store, which is a shame because they can be quick, easy, and cheap to make.

To any fathers of young children reading this blog, this is also a great Mother's Day gift idea to help your kids make for mommy.

Here is a step-by-step tutorial on how to make a heart shaped topiary.

You'll need an ivy, metal hanger, a pot w/soil, and a pair of pliers. Optional:floral wire and a stick

Using the pliers, straighten the hook of the hanger. Use the pliers and your hands to shape the rest of the hanger into a heart shape. The heart doesn't have to be perfect because the frame will be covered by the ivy.

You can push the hanger directly into the pot until the heart portion of the hanger touches the soil, or, you can secure the hanger to a stick with floral wire, (or twine, fishing line, etc) and push the stick into the soil.

Plant the ivy in the pot and carefully wind it around the heart frame. Check your ivy once or twice a week and wind any new growth around the frame. Ivy grows quickly, so you should have a full topiary in a few weeks time. You can leave your topiary outside.

Or bring it inside.

If young kids will be making this for Mother's Day, obliviously, there are some steps they will need help with, (anything to do with pliers), but they will have a blast picking out the ivy from the nursery and helping wind the ivy around the frame. This will be a gift any mother would be proud to show off for years to come.

Enjoy!

Easy Ice Cream that the Kiddies can Make

2012-05-01T05:32:00.001-07:00

Nothing is easier than going to the grocery store and picking up a 1/2 gallon of vanilla ice cream; nothing is more fun to eat than ice cream you made yourself.

For this easy recipe, you'll need:
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup of any combination of milk and cream - I like 1/4 cup whole milk and 1/4 cup light cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

1 quart sized Ziploc bag
1 gallon sized Ziploc bag - Use a freezer bag if you have it, it's thicker, therefore stronger
6 tablespoons rock salt
Ice

1 - Put the sugar, milk/cream, vanilla, and salt in the quart sized bag; seal.
2 - Fill the gallon sized bag half-way with ice; add rock salt.
3 - Put the quart sized bag inside the gallon sized one and shake about 5 minutes.
4 - Wipe the top of the quart sized bag and spoon out the ice cream.
5 - Enjoy some delicious, soft-serve vanilla ice cream.

I did this outside just in case the gallon sized bag ripped.

A very happy Archer mixing his ice cream.

A very happy Archer eating his ice cream.

Enjoy!

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Family Pack to Strawberry Festival for $12