Picture Wreath, a gift to end all gifts!

As the holiday season approached, I began to rack my brain...what do we give those people in our lives who have everything?
I was browsing through Pinterest and came across a picture of a picture frame memory wreath, and I knew this was the gift!
Here is the  blog:  http://www.infarrantlycreative.net/2012/10/picture-frame-memory-wreath.html

I loved the idea of all the frames and it looked amazing. When I started shopping for supplies, I realized that the number of frames needed would definitely push me over budget. So, this is what I came up with...

I bought the grapevine wreathes (like in the original), however instead of frames I bought Balsa wood from the craft store, some Mod podge, and a good quality glue gun from the hardware store. I also bought a roll of "burlap" like ribbon. I wanted my gift receivers to be able to display them throughout the year, so went with a brown color instead of a Christmassy color.

I had my husband cut the Balsa wood  into 2 1/2" X 2 3/4"  "squares". Balsa wood can be purchased in different sizes sheets. I found some cut into long strips, and we just had to cut those once.

I then printed out pics onto white card stock, I used the wallet print feature when printing. Wallet size prints were larger than my squares, I just trimmed each, using one square as a template.

Gathering the pictures was the most difficult part of this project. It is so hard to choose. I printed out way more pics (45) than I could fit! I made two wreaths, and used more on one than the other. If you stack them just right, you can fit many!

After the pics are cut to size, I "painted" mod podge on the wood squares and glued the pic to it and then applied a layer of mod podge on top of the pic for a nice smooth matte finish. Took a few minutes to dry.
I waited about 30 minutes before gluing all the picture squares to the wreath, just to make sure all the mod podge was dry!

**Before you begin gluing the picture squares to the wreath, set them on the wreath and work on placement.

After gluing all the pics on the wreath, I made a large bow with the ribbon and glued it gently to the top of the wreath. I didn't want the bow to interfere with viewing any of the pictures. 

I made one for each set of grandparents and they were a HUGE hit! Tears were shed! 

I will definitely be making one for myself! 

*Minus the cost of the card-stock and glue gun and glue sticks, both wreaths together cost @ $26!*

Zacchaeus, wee little man in the tree

This is my kiddos' third year in AWANA and Bible Character Night is always a favorite. This year my son couldn't decide between the talking donkey, the burning bush, and Zacchaeus.

We went with Zacchaeus.  {Luke 19: 1-10}




We used items we had on hand and this costume cost nothing!
We used the biblical clothing we had made 2 years past. (See Jonah blog post) (Hint: use a scarf or small towel for head covering, and a large towel for robe)












I wanted my son to be able to "put on " the tree. So with a paper grocery bag we made him a vest, which became the base /trunk of the tree.

I had been collecting paper towel rolls for awhile and used about 9 for the branches. I unrolled them loosely, so that they still remained somewhat curled. I then just started stapling the "branches " here and there on the vest,  concentrating in the front around his chest area.
Once the branches were in place, I took our "seaweed " (green plastic tablecloth from the Jonah costume) {you can also use leaves cut out of construction paper}  and cut it up and stapled leaves to the branches.
 
Next was Zacchaeus' legs. I used a pair of my youngest son 's pants and stuffed them with craft paper,  leaving some hanging out for feet. I used flesh color socks to cover the craft paper feet and stapled the straps of a pair of small sandals to both the sock and craft paper feet.


I used binder clips to clip the legs to my son's clothes. I clipped them near his chest to give the illusion that he was in the tree. When putting on the vest I gently rested the front flaps on the legs and let the branches and leaves cover the binder clips.
The costume was a hit!

Bible Character *Noah in the Ark*

Last week I posted our first Bible Character Night at AWANA  2010.

Last year, my son decided he wanted to be Noah. Unfortunately, he decided less than a week before character night. With all our other activities we had about one evening to make the costume.
I grabbed out the trusty biblical clothing and suspenders and a box and with my son's help we came up with Noah in his Ark!

 Noah 2011

My son had an animal coloring book that was put to good use! He colored all the pics that had 2 of each animal, we cut them out and glued them to the boat.

I made the top of the ark by bending a piece of cardboard and stapling the sides to the main part of the ark.
I was so proud of my son, he made most of the ark, other than the major stapling.

My son has been putting a lot of thought into what Bible character he would like to dress up as this year, I am in the process of planning it out! TBA!

Bible Character Costume

If your kids' schedule is anything like my kids', AWANA is beginning. With AWANA night, comes all kinds of fun! This will be my kids' third year and our whole family looks forward to it! Memorizing God's Word, hanging out with friends, and not to mention being blessed with an occasional date night, while my kids are at AWANA!
One of the activities that my kids look forward to is Bible Character Night.
These are the characters they were from AWANA 2010. I will be posting AWANA 2012 next week!

 Jonah in the belly of the great fish!

With the help of my creative husband and my dramatic son (he was 5) we made Jonah come to life!
*I had made "biblical" costumes for each of my kids for a play they had been in. I  bought a cheap brown/tan fabric and cut 2 rectangles (the length was just a few inches shorter than my kids' heights) and then stitched the rectangles together leaving an opening for their head, arms, and legs. Then we just tied a rope around their waist. *

The Great Fish was a little more tricky.
I bought a large plastic bucket from Walmart and cut the bottom out. With a pair of suspenders and some fabric, we pulled it together.

I bought a bolt of (the cheapest) blue fabric and just draped it inside the bucket and used binder clips (many) to clip the fabric inside and then let the excess fabric hang out . I made a tale and stuffed it, and stitched it to the end of the fabric in the back.
I didn't want the tale to drag, so we used fishing line to tie the tale to the back of the bucket.
We made felt eyes and stitched them in place.
We also used a little bit of red fabric to give the inside of the mouth a realistic look.
To put Jonah in the fish, my son stepped into the bucket and we used the suspenders clipped to the bottom of bucket, 2 front clips and 2 back clips. It took some shifting, but we were able to find a balance.
With scrap white felt, my husband made some fish bones to toss on my son. My husband also was the brains behind the seaweed! He bought a plastic green table cloth and cut out a leaf looking chain. (Like you would cut out a paper doll chain with the hands still connected).

**  Our costume of Jonah made it into the Modern Kiddo 4th Annual Modern Kiddo Handmade Costume Parade this year! *
Check it out! http://modernkiddo.com/4th-annual-modern-kiddo-best-homemade-costumes-parade/
Under Awesome Expressions!

Hannah

My daughter's name is Hannah and she wanted to be Hannah. She was named after Hannah who prayed without ceasing for a child.

So, we made her Cabbage Patch Baby a onesie that said Hello My Name is Samuel in the same form of a name badge.





I also made her a baby sling to match her head covering.

Both their costumes were a hit. Hannah even wore her costume to a fair and won a prize!

A Family ART Wall

My kids are forever weighing down our fridge magnets with their latest artwork. I wanted them to be able to display their work in a nice and tidy manner and that is when I came up with our ART wall.

I found clipboards at the local dollar store and we made the A R T letters from items we had around the house.


The A was cut from a cereal box and wrapped with yarn

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  The R was made from craft popsicle sticks.









The T was also cut from a cereal box and then my 7 year old made a collage in the T shape with ripped out pieces of a magazine.  I just asked that he use pieces that were brown, yellow, turquoise.



















We put up the A R T and 5 clipboards one for each of us (Parents like to doodle too).  All hung up using command strips. My husband is super hesitant of putting holes in the walls,  so command strips have become a close friend.

It turned out better than I expected. The kids love showing off their work and everyone loves admiring each others masterpieces!

Our Homeschool Room

We moved into a new home toward the end of the last school year. I was in such a hurry to finish out the school year so that we could unpack and make our home livable. That the school room was thrown together.

By the end of the summer the schoolroom was in shambles. It had become a dumping place for anything that did not have a home.

This year I knew that for us to have a successful year I need to be organized and so did our schoolroom!

Here our a few pics (and some tips) from our schoolroom.

This is my 6th grader's corner of the room. I bought the vintage desk (for $30) and had my husband gave it a new life. There is a bookshelf right next to her desk for easy access to work and supplies.

 This is my 3rd grader's corner. We were blessed with this desk by a kind stranger. It too, needed some TLC. He also has a bookshelf near. The bookshelves were found on Craigslist for $28 for both! Love a bargain!

These clipboards each hold a weeks worth of lessons. My kids love free days. So, I post 3 weeks of lessons at a time. They are able to see how much work is assigned each day for each subject. They have the option to work ahead if they like (provided they understand the current days lesson and have no corrections) in order to have a free day (mainly Friday {s}).

 The timer was my husband's idea and it has worked great so far! There were times in the past where my kids wasted time (la la gagged is the words we use).
They would take way more time than needed to finish a lesson because they were daydreaming, doodling, taking a unnecessary bathroom break, etc.
So, I have allotted a certain amount of minutes (normally 45) for each lesson. They set the time at the beginning of each lesson and whatever work is not completed by the time the timer dings, it is now homework! Homework is to be done after school and normally cuts into the extra curricular time. Guess what?? There has been no homework, so far this school year!

I have a 16 month old, that is too old to stick in a playpen and to young to actually "do" school. So we have a Pre-Pre-school corner set up for him. It keeps his attention long enough for me to assist with questions and teach at least one subject. Then it's nap time for him as they finish up journal or any lessons. Then I finish teaching during a very blessed 2 hour nap!










We have a large low window in the room, and I had been racking my brain on what I should put there!
Well, one day on one of our family walks there was this unusual piece of furniture in a driveway with a FREE sign! It was the perfect height and size! Talk about being blessed! We cleaned it up and put it to good use! It is not the prettiest thing, but for the price and function I will take it!  Notice, the shine'y' printer. I had been waiting for a wireless printer to go on sale...$34.99 at Target! I can print from my smart phone!



This is my corner of the room, and this desk is my fav! So, I had been thinking about a workstation for myself that took little space, but still practical. When I thought... a hospital bedside table!

My father-in-law works in the medical field and this treasure was in the trash! He cleaned/oiled it up and viola! It slides out to accommodate more work space and....  


                                                                                                      It slides out to reveal a storage area!


I am so happy with the way the schoolroom came together. The kids were all excited about their own spaces  and the organization of everything! It made it so calm and easy to get all our work done!

 

Baby Bunting Embroidery

         Our extended family was blessed with a new baby boy this spring,  and I wanted to make a personal gift. I had seen embroidery announcements displayed on an embroidery hoop and that is where I got the idea to make this particular gift.

The baby 's room is decorated with neutral colors. So I wanted to pick colors that would match.

I used felt that I had on hand and cut them into all the same size triangles.

** Before I started stitching, I took the inside ring of the embroidery hoop and used it to trace a circle of thin cardboard and a circle of brown craft paper. These are used to complete the project.  (picture # 3 & 4) ** (You can use a cereal box for a sturdy thin piece of cardboard)

I arranged the triangle bunting at an angle before stitching it to the fabric.

As I stitched down the bunting down (one stitch in each triangle )  I made sure to stitch between each triangle. I also started stitching in the front, and finished in the front. (Making sure to knot both ends)  Stitching  it this way  gave the illusion of a hanging bunting. 

After the bunting was in place I stitched a lower case j (the baby's first initial) . I used the French knot stitch to stitch the entire letter.

To finish up the project, I used the cardboard circle and fit it into the back if the embroidery. (#3) Then I hot glued the excess fabric to the cardboard and inside rim of the back of the embroidery.

Then I wrote a small note on the craft paper circle and glue that to the outside rim of the back of the embroidery. (#4) This gave it a nice finish look.

I tied a ribbon to the top, so that it can be hung up.  

This project was simple, fairly quick to complete and it can be personalized for any occasion. 

Fireworks Cake

The kids and I whipped up this fireworks cake for dessert the other night.
I used white cake mix and vanilla white icing.
We used red, green, blue,  and yellow food coloring for the fireworks.
Once I poured the cake batter, I just dropped a dot of each color food coloring and let the kids go crazy with a toothpick. *My instructions to them were: take your toothpick (we used long ones) and start in the middle of the food coloring dot. Then with a light touch, "stretch" the color out.
Then once I iced the cake, the kids did the same thing to the icing.
It was so simple and came out "so cool" according to the kiddos.
Thinking about making some blue and red firework cupcakes for the 4th of July.

Caramel Apple "Egg Roll"

To make 8 Egg rolls you will need
3 medium size green apples (I used Granny Smith) peeled and diced
8 egg roll wrappers
1 1/2 teaspoon of butter (soften)
1 tablespoon of granulated sugar
1 tablespoon of cinnamon
Caramel sauce
Cooking spray


Preheat the oven to 400.
Once the apples are peeled and diced lay them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Coat the diced apples with butter.
Then coat the diced apples with the sugar then the cinnamon.
Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until apples are tender.

*Leave oven on after you take apples out.*

Lay out egg roll wrapper. Drizzle caramel sauce and spoon about a tablespoon of apples and roll wrapper up like a burrito.
Lay out a new piece of parchment paper and generously spray with cooking spray.
Lay each egg roll on the parchment paper.
Once all the egg rolls are rolled and on the baking sheet. Spray a generous amount of cooking spray onto all egg rolls.
Bake for @ 7 minutes each side. Or until golden brown.

Serve right out of oven with vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

Eggplant Baked Egg rolls

So, One night for dinner, I made chicken fried rice and wanted something to partner it with.
So, rummaging through the freezer were a package of egg roll wrappers. Normally, I make egg rolls with a coleslaw mix (cabbage {green and purple} and carrots) and sometimes I throw in ground beef and/or turkey.
This day, I had none of these ingredients!
What I did have was an eggplant, a bunch of green onions and a bag of snack size carrots!
They were a hit!

For a dozen egg rolls :
1eggplant
1 1/2 cup shredded carrots
1 bunch of green onions (about 5 or 6 onions)
1 1/2 to 2 (you can add more, to taste) tablespoons of soy sauce
 1 to 11/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
12 egg roll wrappers
Pam or other cooking spray of your choice
Preheat oven to 350
1. Dice the eggplant and green onions
2. Shred the carrots
3. Saute the eggplant, carrots and onions
4. Add the soy sauce and garlic powder
6. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray (generously with cooking spray)
5. Spoon about 2-3 tablespoons of the eggplant mixture onto an egg roll wrapper
6. Roll the wrapper (like a burrito)
7. Line up filled and rolled egg rolls onto baking sheet
8. Once all egg rolls are on baking sheet spray the egg rolls with cooking spray
9. Bake in oven for 7-8 minutes,  then flip egg rolls and bake for another 7-8 minutes until both sides are golden brown and egg rolls are crispy
10. Serve with your favorite sweet and sour sauce and enjoy!

My creative seven year old son blessed me with an awesome Mother's Day gift. A Mike Wazowski (from Monsters Inc.) "Trophy ".
I was just in awe of his creativeness!  On the back of the Monster 's Inc. card he wrote "Happy Mother's Day. You are a terrific MOMster"!

He used a rubber ball for the body. Benderoos for the limbs and microphone. Modeling clay for the ears. An empty tennis ball tube for the stool and slipped in construction paper with a "laugh collecting" canister, like in the movie!

DIY Jewelry Box

The kiddos and I made grandma a jewelry box from an old book.

I used an exacto  knife to cut out the pages leaving a quarter inch on all sides. It is not exact because you are cutting through so many pages, but it turns out just fine.

Once all the pages are cut through, I "painted " on mod podge on the outside pages, while I used a heavy object set on the book to press the pages together. I applied another layer after the first layer dried.

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We glued buttons over the writing on the front and side cover.
If you want to create a "secret" stash box. The leave it looking like an ordinary book.
The kiddos filled the jewelry box with homemade jewelry.
Grandma loved it!

Mother's Day Journal

My kiddos and I  had been thinking about what to give grandma for Mother's Day. What do you give to a grandma who has pretty much everything?
Then I saw this idea on Instagram http://abeautifulmess.typepad.com/my_weblog/2012/05/make-your-own-instagram-journal.htm from A Beautiful Mess.

I knew she would love a prayer journal and candid pictures of the kiddos. I used pictures uploaded from my cell, not all Instagram photos. I don't have Photoshop, but my husband recently downloaded Picasa 3 from Google for free and it works great. Picasa 3 has a collage template that I used.

 I used a composition notebook for the journal base. (I buy tons of them for pennies right before school begins every Fall). I printed out the collage in color on regular printer paper and glued (I used Mod Podge Glosss)  it to the front cover of the notebook. I folded in the edges and glued them down as well. Once the picture was secured to the front cover, I used the craft sponge on a stick to "paint" the Mod Podge Gloss on the actual picture. This gave the front cover a nice glossy look, like it had been there all along,

I love the way it turned out! We each wrote a special Mother's Day note along with a favorite verse. It is being sent off in the mail today!
Happy Mother's Day!