Valentine Heart Light Catchers

   I am so happy the way this little project turned out, the kiddos and I spent the afternoon crafting away on these cute little hearts!

What you will need:

Plastic (packaging of some sort to cut up)

Scissors

Card Stock to make a heart templet

Permanent Markers (Sharpies work well)

Hole Punch

Ribbon

I saved some packaging this past Christmas~ it worked perfectly. Cut a square out to work with...




Use your heart template to trace onto the plastic. Cut this shape out.

Color designs and pictures on your hearts with permanent Markers. (remember any words you write will look backwards from one side)

Hole punch near the top center

Lace ribbon through to create a sweet garland, or hang them individually like I ended up doing!

{Hang them in a sunny window and enjoy}

   

Back to School {CUTE} Nails!

                                                      

I have loved this ever since I saw it. The color choices are so pretty together! 

I used Pure Ice Love (pink) and Beware (silver sparkle) 

Hope you love these colors as much as I do!!

{Cute} Decorated Paper Plates~

This isn't an original idea by me... But I saw it and had to try it!

Have you ever wanted to take a cute plate of goodies to a party, someone's house, or as a gift to a friend or teacher, and didn't have a cute disposable plate? Well here is an idea that will save the day in a pinch! You probably even have everything you need right there at home~ I did!

All you need:

1. Cheap paper plates

2. Ribbon

3. Hole punch

4. Doilies (optional)

As you can see, the picture easily explains itself... All you need to do is hole punch evenly around the plate, then weave the ribbon through and tie it into a cute bow. WOW, that was so simple! I added a round paper doily to the plate by just looping a little piece of tape on the underside, to hold it in place. Fill this cute plate with goodies and you are set!

Have fun, and enjoy!!

Felt Fortune Cookies (for Valentine's Day)

So my first grader and I made these fortune cookies for her class from some felt circles, some floral wire and ribbon.  Oh yeah, and THIS tutorial from Martha Stewart.  I love the ideas on her web site.

Her teacher asked the children to make gifts for everyone in the class for a "Friendship Party" they are having on Valentine's Day.  These are just big enough for a Hershey kiss or a Starburst in each one.

My daughter typed a Valentine's day message inside each one and the name of each child sticks out the side.

Aren't they cute? 

Easy and Cheap Laundry Soap

 

Want to know how to make super easy and cheap laundry soap?

All you need is:

1 Cup Borax

1 Cup Washing Soda

1 bar of soap (grated)

Borax and washing soda can be found in the laundry isle of the grocery store. 

 

Step 1:  Have your 7 year old grate the bar of soap. 

 

Step 2:  Measure the borax and washing soda and add to the soap flakes. 

 

Step 3:  Mix it all in a big bowl breaking up any clumps. 

 

That's all!  

I use about one Tablespoon for a regular load and a little more for large loads. 

You can also add several drops of essential oil for fragrance, but we used cinnamon oatmeal soap and it already smells great.

How easy is that!  Now go make some and quit spending too much on laundry detergent!  :)

Butterscotch Chippits

This is one of my all time favorite desserts, it is simple, quick and delicious!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 regular sized package of butterscotch chips

1 package of small marshmallows

Directions:

1- Melt the first three ingredients together over low heat, stirring constantly

2- Let cool for 5 minutes

3- Stir in most of the marshmallows (all if you so desire :) )

4- Spread into an 8x12 sprayed pan

5- Cool completely before cutting into squares.

These should stay refrigerated, but can be out for a little while, they just get a bit soft as they warm up.

Hope you enjoy these wonderful little treats!

Christmas Garland

This Christmas Garland is so easy to make and looks great on a fireplace mantle or draped around your front door.

I love decorating our home for Christmas with real garlands, so when we got our tree this year, I used the cuttings off the bottom to make this garland.  This is just a simple garland, but it can be spruced up with pine cones, lights and ornaments.

Materials needed:

Twine

Floral wire

Cuttings from your tree

Pruning sheers

Instructions:

Cut several smaller branches off your tree and cut the twine to the length you would like your garland to be.  Starting at one end of the twine, lay the cutting on your twine and wire it in place.  Overlap another cutting and continue to wire it.  Continue this until the whole twine is used, overlapping and wiring as you go. 

That's it!  Easy, elegant and beautiful!

Fall Leaf Jar

The kids and I had lots of fun this fall looking for the perfect leaves.  We were finding them everywhere we went and collecting them for crafts and projects.

This is a simple idea using Decoupage to add our beautiful leaves to an empty glass jar for a candle.

These jars were made by my 6 year old daughter, but it was such an easy craft that even my three year old made one!

Mystery Braided Leather Keychain

I made this keychain for my Dad out of some scrap leather and a really neat trick!

Click here to see step by step instructions to mystery braid a single piece of leather.

Retro Yarn Octopus

This was a fun project my daughter and I did together one day.

All you need to make this cute retro yarn octopus is:

• Scissors
• Skein of yarn about 100 yards long
• 3-inch Styrofoam ball or a tennis ball
• 5 feet of yarn or ribbon, for tying the braids (we used rubber bands)
• Tacky glue
• Large googly eyes (we used white and black felt)

Grab another person to help and head over to this website for the instructions.

Have fun.

Easy Fabric Pumpkins

My mother and I have been making these fabric pumpkins for a few years now, but this year my six year old daughter was old enough to help me sew some too!  I just love crafting with my daughter, she's just like me!

Materials needed:

Orange and brown fabric in different sized rectangles

Sewing machine or needle and thread

Orange embroidery floss

Artificial fall leaves and berries

Raffia

Cinnamon sticks

Hot glue gun and glue
Stuffing

We started with a large rectangle of fabric, then folded it with right sides together.

Step 1. Stitch one side on a sewing machine to make an inside out tube like my daughter is holding in the picture.

Step 2.  Using a needle and thread, sew a running stitch along one end. Pull both ends of your thread to cinch up the material and turn it right side out.

Step 3.  Using the embroidery floss, sew another running stitch, this time around the whole top of your material.  Before cinching it closed, stuff the pumpkin.

Step 4.  Pull both ends of the embroidery floss to close up the top of your pumpkin and tie it off.

Step 5.  Using orange floss, make six sections on your pumpkins by wrapping it around the pumpkin and knotting it each time.

Step 6.  Hot glue a twig or cinnamon stick into the top and decorate with leaves, berries and raffia.

These are some smaller pumpkins I made with my daughter's class at school.

We started with a round piece of material about the size of a dinner plate.

The kids sewed around the edge of the circle and pulled it tight, stuffed the pumpkin and glued the stick and leaf to the top.

Witch Doctor Halloween Mask

My husband came home one night from work with a white plastic mask and said there was a mask decorating contest in his office... 

If you know me, you'd know that I couldn't let this one pass me by. 

So, I collected some twigs from our backyard that had fallen from our redwood trees, gathered up some Indian corn and some raffia and heated up the hot glue gun.

What do you think?

By the way... I won!

This is what I started with

Best Ever Popcorn Balls

These are a fun fall treat for a group of kids! (ok, I admit, I ate one too)

5 quarts popped popcorn

3/4 cup light corn syrup

1/4 cup margarine

2 teaspoons cold water

2 5/8 cups confectioners' sugar

1 cup marshmallows

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the corn syrup, margarine, cold water, confectioners' sugar and marshmallows. 
 
2. Heat and stir until the mixture comes to a boil.
 
3. Carefully combine the hot mixture with the popcorn, coating each kernel.
 
4. Grease hands with vegetable shortening or oil and quickly shape the coated popcorn into balls.

Citronella Candle in a Coconut Shell

We love to eat dinner outside when the weather is nice, but unfortunately the flies make it un-enjoyable certain times of the year.  We have to keep a citronella candle lit on our table and when we burn them down to nothing, its easy to make another one!

Here's what you'll need:

Large aluminum can with the label removed to melt your wax

Large pot of boiling water

Large chunk of basic household or candle wax

Cheese grater

Candle wicks with wire (the kind with the little metal circle on one end)

Coconut shell or glass jar (or anything really)

Citronella oil

Glue

Gather your materials together and grate the wax into the aluminum can.

Boil water in a large pot and carefully place the wax can in the pot of water to melt.  Keep stirring the wax to help it melt.

Meanwhile glue the wick inside the coconut shell.

Once the wax is all melted, add a generous amount of citronella oil and stir again.  Carefully pour the melted wax into your coconut shell or jar.

Let it sit undisturbed a couple of hours until it is completely set.

That's it!  A cute citronella candle for our picnic table!

Maple Cinnamon Frosting

I am so glad I found this AMAZING frosting, it is soooooo good! I followed this recipe for the frosting. The link also includes directions for cider and donut cupcakes. I didn't have time to make these to go with the maple cinnamon frosting, so I used a yellow cake mix, followed the directions on the box, but used apple juice instead of the water it called for.

I think the end product was very tasty. I decorated the cupcakes with yellow sprinkles and a small touch of nutmeg. Perfect for a fall birthday (like our family had) or a harvest party!

Grandma's Old Hutch

Just a peek inside my kitchen... I've just finished painting my Grandmother's old hutch to try to update it and make it match a little better in my home.

 

Grandma's old maple hutch before.

Old hutch updated!

And for Halloween... some scaaarrrry silhouettes on my white plates.

All it took was some black paint and some new pulls to bring my grandmother's maple hutch from the 1950's into this century.  Now it matches my kitchen table!

Painted Rock Pumpkins

This is a really easy, cute way to decorate your front porch for Halloween without your jack-o-lanterns rotting before the day arrives!

First we found some large river rocks and the kids painted them orange.
Then I hot glued some cinnamon sticks onto the tops.

Lastly, we painted the faces and some lines to make them look more realistic.

Now you make some!

Fall Leaf Stained Glass

I helped the kids make this beautiful craft this morning after we took a walk to collect some fall leaves.

First we decided on a pattern for the leaves.  Next, we cut a large square of clear contact paper and layed it sticky side up, then pressed each leaf onto the sticky paper.  Then we cut another square and enclosed our leaves inside the two sheets. 

We made a frame for it out of construction paper and hung it in a sunny window.  Isn't it pretty?  I love fall.

Eggplant Hummus

Eggplant Hummus is easy to make and so delicious!

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant, 1 clove garlic, 1/4 teaspoon Salt, 2 Tablespoons Tahini, 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice

Directions:

~ Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees

~Slice eggplant into 1/2 inch pieces

~Lay on a foil covered cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes

~Scoop insides out and place into a food processor (or blender)

(I used the side of a spoon to cut along side of the peel. Be careful, it's hot!)

~Dice garlic up as small as you can (put into a separate small bowl)

~Add salt, Tahini, and Lemon Juice to the garlic, stir well.

~Add the Garlic mixture to your food processor, and blend until smooth

You may want to add more salt, lemon juice or tahini to taste.

Serve with Pita chips.

ENJOY!!!

A Sweet gift for a new Teacher~

I'm so excited to learn S'more!

School is approaching quickly for us, and when I came across this cute gift idea for my children's new teachers, I thought it would be perfect. I found it on I Share Everything on facebook. This is a great place for printables, craft ideas and more, so head on over there and 'like' her page on facebook! Here is the adorable (free) printable package topper.