How lucky am I that I found a box full of white tiles in our garage? A couple years ago, a gal pal of mine, made the most darling tile coasters as wedding favors. Unfortunately, she only used Modge Podge as a sealant and the paper began to peel and tear only after only a few uses. Even though they weren't properly sealed, I loved them and have been dying to make my own.
To make the coasters, I first applied a layer of modge podge to the tile. After cutting the paper of my choosing to size, I placed it centered. Don't forget to smooth out all the wrinkles starting from the middle and push outwards. Once that layer dried, I added another coat of modge podge and let them sit for an hour. After the break I sealed them with two coats (waiting 15 min in between) of Krylon's Triple Thick Crystal Clear Glaze. 24hrs later, I glued a square piece of felt to the bottom.
Here's how they turned out! The vintage ones are most defiantly my favorite. I think I will redo my kiddos Easter picture coaster set. I printed the pictures out on printer paper. The colors are just too grey for my liking. But with some editing and real photo paper they will be turn out just right.
Wow. This week flew by fast. I had so much fun with the kiddos. Our last day of spring break was JAMMED packed full of Easter fun.
In the morning, a local craft store was hosting a Free Kids Craft Day. They had 10 craft tables, some were Easter crafts others were not. One table was a candy necklace project, which I totally plan to steal for Brooklyn's birthday party. We were there for almost two hours, it cost only $10 for both kiddos to do all the projects, and they had a lot of fun. This locally owned craft store has events all the time, I learned. Another kids crafts day is coming up in June.
After the craft day, there was a special viewing of Hop at our local Dollar Theater. Well, not too local. About 45 minutes away. LOL. But I am used to having to drive far for something great!
After Hop, we went to a FREE Easter egg hunt. We've gone to this hunt for the last 6 years. And its still my favorite to attend. They have hot dogs, corn dogs, chips, and juice and pretty awesome prizes all for FREE. Also contributing the radness of it all, is the hunt isn't overcrowded. Our hometowns Easter egg hunt is and I hate it!! Oh and did I mention it is completely FREE!
The kids were so tired by the end of the night. I mean cranky, cry when your sister drops your plastic egg, stomp your feet and yell, TIRED! But I really, really wanted to try out glow in the dark Easter eggs. Guess I will save that for next year :)
I am soo excited for V-day this year because . . . . .
We are celebrating with dinner and a movie. Not any movie though, Lady and the Tramp! One of my all time favorite Disney movies. It was just released on DVD with an great coupon deal.
There is a Lady and the Tramp coupon available. You can save $5 on the 2diskBlue Ray combo pack or $8 off the 3disk combo pack.
You just need to enter a code from a DVD or VHS copy of the movie at Disney Movie Rewards. ( I googled for my UPC)
We are having spaghetti and meatballs for dinner of course, and for desert we are treating ourselves to a sundae bar with all the fixings.
Easy Spaghetti and Meatballs
What makes this recipe so easy, is I use store bought sauce. I would love to make homemade spaghetti sauce, but my kiddos don't like it much. I have to say it tastes better than would be expected from store bought. I think that is due to the sauce simmering for an extended amount of time.
2 (30 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce
2 lbs lean ground beef
2 eggs
¾ cup dry breadcrumbs
¼ cup fresh parsley , chopped
1 garlic clove , minced
½-1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup parmesan cheese
1 lb cooked spaghetti
Directions:
Place sauce in a large saucepan and simmer over medium heat.
In large bowl mix beef, eggs, crumbs, parsley, garlic, salt and Parmesan.
Shape into 18 meatballs.
Place meatballs in simmering sauce.
When sauce returns to a simmer, cover and cook 30-35 minutes (or more!) till cooked through.
Serve sauce and meatballs over warm spaghetti.
Overall great Because I love you day with the kids and Hub.
Lately on Pinterest, I have seen some super fun homemade valentines. I have been dying to make some of our own but T-bird really enjoys to pick out his favorite store bought character valentines. He does love crafting too, though.
I asked T if he would like to make his own Valentine's this year. He said yes with two demands:
1.They had to be AWESOME
2.We had to make a girl friendly one.
T-bird picked out all the outfits himself. I honestly didn't think we would make a Valentine from each costume, but since all the scenes turned out perfect that he I insisted. We uploaded to Picnik because I thought it would be an easier editor for T to use. He picked out everything, the photo effects, clip art, and text. Together with a little help from Google, we came up with the sayings for each.
It only cost $5.36 to have 26 photo valentines printed one hour at Wal-Mart. While waiting T picked out suckers and a special marker to write on the back of them. Once home, I cut two slits, with an exacto knife, above and below his hand. T-bird stuffed the suckers. But be careful with this part, he demolished a valentine on the first try because they rip so easily.
Making these was way easy and super fun. The cost all together, valentines and candy, turned out to be less than $10. Which is about how much it would have cost to buy them. Plus we got some good quality Mother-Son bonding time in there. Not to mention, T-bird informed me these were the COOLEST valentines ever!
I thought I would mention PICNIK is sadly closing soon. But I heard Google owned the photo editor and just moved it to Google+!!! So all you out there wanting to edit photos for free, try Picnik. It is sooo easy and does not close until April 19. Then if you love it, which you will, open a google+ account if you don't already have one!!
If i want a super easy and fast photo editor similar to PICNIK, I now use PicMonkey.
Now we have to make a special Valentine for a visually impared boy in Tanner's class. Tanner has requested he gets a special one with braille. I dont think I can DIY braille, but I am thinking lots of texture. Like a bear cut out of faux fur. Any ideas??? Oh, his party is tomorrow too. Nothing like a last minute deadline.
How awesome are these Valentine's? I channeled my inner elementary school-er and made these valentines with the mustache printable, found here. Great for all ages. Leave for your co-workers with a treat or print for your kiddos classroom valentines exchange!
The truth is I like Valentines Day better than any other holiday. It's not because the pretend romance or the lovey dovey gifts (okay, maybe its the chocolate a little). It is because everything is so pretty. I love Valentine's Day decor!! Red, pink and pastels everywhere; hearts, cupids, puppy dogs with sad eyes.
The thing I love best though, are the Valentine's day cards. Especially vintage ones. They are so sweet. With sayings like, "Wool you be my Valentine? I needle lots of romance" or "I'd be upset if you say no, Canoe be my valentine?" how could you not love them. They really used to know how to charm a lady :)
Aren't they just splendid! Because of my love affair with Valentines day, I have a few different valentine's card ideas. I will post them through out the next week or so. Maybe I will be able to inspire you to make your own homemade cards this year.
To Gnome you, is to love you!
My gnome nephew volunteered to pose for a valentines card! Ain't he too cute!
To create the gnome costume make a cone hat. Cover the hat with felt or any extra material you have lying around. Using the printable below, trace and cut out the beard out of felt. Attach the beard to the hat by string or cutting the side burn area of the beard extra long like I had. Add a few extra touches and Viola!
I am uber busy with all the holiday festivities. I have been dying, all day, to share my cupcakes I whipped up this morning. I gave myself permission to quickly post them just in case there is still someone out there who is in need of an idea, something EASY, YUMMY and FAST. So here ya are copy away..........
I just love homemade gifts. Whenever I receive ornaments made from noodles or homemade fudge or a knitted scarf, I am absolutely gleeful. To be completely honest, these gifts are always my favorite, and most memorable. Not saying I wouldn't be ecstatic for a new sewing machine (hint, hint SmittenHub).
With the economy the way it is, this year may be perfect for a homemade gift exchange. Homemade gifts don't have to be fancy or even perfect. They only have to come from the heart. Think about the gift receiver, and brainstorm some ideas of what they like. Does grandma just adore pigs? Have the kids make a piggly wiggly paper weight. Does your husband love sports? Make him a team tag blanket. The possibilities are endless. If you don't know how to do something, don't be afraid to Google or look for tutorials on Youtube.
This year, the gifts i made varied in difficulty. I hope to inspire you to get out there and craft.
the lovely ladies: Chalkboard Finish Wine Glasses
Have you seen those very charming wine glasses with the stem painted with chalkboard paint? What a great idea right! The down fall is the color: Black. Wouldn't it be cute to match their kitchen decor? So why not put a spin on the idea and add a pop of color with DIY chalkboard paint. You can pick ANY color!
Pick up wine glasses from your local thrift store. I did for $.69 each!! Wash them and let dry. I primed the glasses with a white base coat, using Martha Stewart's new multi-surface acrylic paint. I am not sure if this was necessary. I prime everything. I would rather be safe now than regret not priming later. Next mix your paint. Pick your favorite color or colors (for this set I choose purple jewel-tones). Use any acrylic craft paint. For about every three tablespoons of paint add half a teaspoon of UNSANDED tile grout. After a few tries and research I also decided to add one and a half teaspoons of a water based glazing medium. Stir the paint until hardly no clumps are left. Paint a few coats on the wine glasses with a sponge brush (the two darker colors needed five coats but the two lighter only needed three). Once satisfied, condition the chalkboard finish by rubbing chalk all over it and then wiping it off.
For the studdly men: A Duck Call Lanyard
My husband has been asking me to make him a lanyard for awhile. I was having a hard time finding good directions though. Finally, I ended up using a tutorial by Issak9898 off Youtube. He did a great job explaining the how to's. After watching the video a few times, I finally got the hang of it. I bought 100 ft of paracord here for $8. It made five lanyards. Just in case the hubby's peeking, I don't want to post a picture until after christmas.
the strapping young men: Marshmallow Blow guns
Super Cheap AWESOME present and incredibly easy. One PVC gun cost a whoppy total of $2.64!!! Add a one dollar bag of mini marshmallow and you will be amazed at how much fun your little boy can have with less than four bucks.
You will need:
2 1/2" PVC Tees
2 1/2" PVC Elbows
2 1/2" PVC Caps
2 8" pieces of 1/2" PVC40 pipe
5 4" pieces of 1/2" PVC40 pipe
Now all you have to do is put together the pieces according to the picture below. I don't recommend gluing the gun together. The marshmallow can become very sticking, jamming the gun with too much spit.
Load the marshmallow gun , by placing ONE marshmallow through the top open pipe. Blow as if it were a trumpet. But be careful the marshmallow can come out very quick leaving a sting if hit LOL
For the sugar and spice and everything nice in your life: Homemade Kool-aid lip gloss
To make lip gloss you will need small jars, various kool-aid mix, petroleum jelly, a bowl and a spoon. First add the desired amount of petroleum jelly to a bowl. Warm it up for about forty seconds. Add appropriate amount of kool-aid. Stir thoroughly for a minute or so. Microwave for another thirty seconds. Stir until consistency is just a bit thicker than honey. Easy peasy!
The Droolers: Stocking Caps.
Every little bambino needs a cute hat to keep their ears warm. I recently taught myself how to knit, but before I made hats, scarfs, blankets with looms. Loom knitting is super easy and nobody can tell the difference. Looming is great for kids too.
I made both these hats with my loom. they are infant size. They do have looms that vary in sizes. So you can make adult or kid sizes as well.The pick hat I doubled the rim and the green I did not. I highly highly recommend buying soft and high quality yarn. The Loom Room has a great hat tutorial plus many more.
T-bird picked out all the outfits himself. I honestly didn't think we would make a Valentine from each costume, but since all the scenes turned out perfect that 
