Footprint Mother's Day Card

A very simple and yet super meaniful way to show the mother, grandmother or aunt in your child's life, just how special they are. I simply painted the kids feet and let it dry. I cut out each footprint and then together we glued the feet on and wrote a special message inside (this was originally done for my mom's birthday). The kids had a great time helping create the card!

How to Make a Portable Snack Box

photo courtesy of picturesbyann

When I came across Ann's fantastic snack box idea, I knew I had to post about here and inspire you all to go make one of your very own! Ann is a homeschooling mom and spectacular crafter. She is also an amazing photographer as seen here in one of her many collages of Flickr:

She has an Etsy shop, Harvetmoonbyhand, worth a look where she sells among other things, adorable felt food and incredible paper stars!

I made my own snack box after seeing hers, and it was not only fun to make, but super fun to eat! I purchased a jewelry/bead organizer from Wal-mart for around $3 and then fillded each compartment with assorted snacky foods and treats. The lid snaps shut to lock in, ahem, freshness. We tried to save it for a trip to the park, but the kidlets desperately wanted it for dessert of all things, and to share it with their cousins. Wouldn't one of these be so cute as a gift...wrapped with a bow and a cute tag? You could fill it with nuts, assorted popped corn or for the candy lover...(drool) all sorts of sweets!

top row: almonds, smarties, starfish crackers, popcorn, jellybeans

2nd row: popcorn, craisins, maple and brown sugar granola, frosted flakes, sunflower seeds

3rd row: frosted flakes, jelly beans, starfish crackers, smarties, popcorn

bottom row: rainbow fish crackers, sunflower seeds, granola, craisins

Stop by Ann's Flicr photostream and her Etsy shop to see who this amazing idea came from! Thanks to Ann for allowing me to post her gorgeous photos!

Framed Quote - A Personalized Mother's Day Gift

I recently framed a qoute I really liked to give as a gift. I print the quote on heavy cardstock, and backed it with pretty paper and then cut it to fit a 5x7 frame. Simple. Personal. Inexpensive. The quote reminds me, not only of the kind of life I wish for myself, but of the person I gave it to. Quote found via Just Something I Made

I have been on a crafty kick lately, can you tell? I go through phases I guess. Sometimes my hands, well, they just have to craft something!

Muffin Tin Monday - Theme: Under The Sea

Muffin Tin Monday is a weekly blog gathering (here at HCO) of mommies, daddies, and caregivers who serve one meal a week (or more:) ) in a muffin tin! We post submissions (here) every Monday and enjoy sharing and encouraging each with simple and fun muffin tin meals. To submit your muffin tin, just add your blog post's URL in the form below. If you don't have a blog, post it to the Muffin Tin Meals Flickr Group. We try and do themes several times a month - so come join us! And remember, as always, you can be as basic or as detailed as you want!

We went "deep sea fishing" for our Muffin Tin Monday. We had an afternoon snack for our "meal". Now, I am sure you can't find clams, starfish and plankton fishing in the deep sea- but we pretended it was so! Using our pretzels as "fishing rods", we dipped the rod in the peanut butter "bait" and then chose between "starfish", "blue clams", "plankton" (I called them shrimp, but the kids didn't like that) and fishies. My daughter even made up a song about it and I included it for your viewing pleasure!

Best. Muffin. Tin. Meal. Ever.

Simply for the fact that the kids had so much fun! My son said to me as he got up from the table, "Mommy, that was fun!"

Did you make a muffin tin meal this week? Was it "ocean" themed? Won't you share it with us? Just enter the URL in the Mr. Linky form below! Can't wait to see what everyone has come up with...I am thinking of taking a break for about a month from the themes in June, we'll see...

No Need For The Sunday Paper

photo courtesy of one pretty thing

Tomorrow is Muffin Tin Monday and the theme is "Under the Sea". So bring me your muffin tins filled with all things Ocean! Can't wait to see what you have come up with!



This week's links...



Sew, Mama, Sew!: I so want a handmade ruffle top like this one. I need to learn how to sew. If not for my children, then, to make one of these!



One Pretty Thing: Rachel rocks with her Daily DIY's and her "one decorative thing" this beautiful recycled beach glass heart!



Miller Moments: Her great idea for Theme-based Activity Boxes for her preschooler is an idea I will soon implement!



Casa Camacho: Bobbi is super creative and under her "mama's craft's" category, I found this awesome tutorial on how to make hair clips for little girls. (I see lots of these in my daughter's and my soon-to-be-born nieces).

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Today's Scripture:

Hebrews 12:1-12

God disciplines those He loves...

1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
4In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons:

"My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline,

and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,

6because the Lord disciplines those he loves,

and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."

7Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

12Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13"Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.

The House Fairy Came to Visit...

Who is the House Fairy you ask? She is a lady who "works for Santa and checks in on little boys and girls from time to time to see if they have cleaned their rooms. If you know Flylady, then you probably know the House Fairy. She even has a website and you can go visit her there to introduce your kids to this benevolent and most matriarchal of fairies. I "call" her from time to time and she leaves little treats for my kids if they have cleaned their room and made their beds. Her site offers (for a small fee) official House Fairy letterhead and free videos and even a "best rooms" photo gallery. Here is the note the House Fairy left the kids yesterday when we got home from the store:

Why She Works: She makes cleaning up fun and her "system" promotes rewarding children for good deeds and hard work. She is always positive and encouraging

My Only Problem: At some point, like with Santa, I am going to have to her her the awful truth...and she shouldn't be a replacement for parental discipline. :)

Here is a photo of the kids room just after cleaning (my daughter asked me to vacuum, so it would be "extra clean"). Pretty good job if you ask me!

My Favorite Baby Things

A friend of mine is having a baby in the next two weeks and I wanted to get her a gift that was personal and practical. So I filled a small container with a few of my favorite baby things and decorated it "a la Make and Takes". Her Nursery colors are pink and brown. I had something similar to this that I kept in the family room so I wasn't always running to the bedroom for diapers and such. You can find the container at Wal-mart...

Here is a listing of what's inside:

~Huggies Newborn Diapers (they fit girls great and have a little cutout for the umbilocal cord).

~Little Tummies Gas Drops (Helped to ease my daughters colic)

~Burts Bees Baby Wash (BPA, Phalate, and PVC free)

~Bordeaux's Butt Paste (Hands down, the best diaper rash ointment, ever and believe me, I've tried them all!)

~Huggies Wipes with Shea Butter (Travel size - I love the smell and they made changing dirty diapers a little more bearable)

Craft Coardboard Stars from a Toilet Paper Roll

These gorgeous cardboard stars are fairly simple to make and have a definite "wow" factor! I'm using mine to make a mobile in the kids room, but they would make a beautiful addition to any Christmas Tree and I'm sure you crafty ladies out there can imagine other fantastic uses for them! This is definitely a craft for mom (although kids can help sprinkle the glitter). Want to make some?

Things You will need:

- empty toilet paper rolls (each roll makes about one star)

-scissors

- glue, the school liquid variety

- clothes pins

-spray paint (Cheap kind from Walmart in White)

-ULTRA FINE glitter (I used green/white)

Directions:

1. Cut the toilet paper roll into 3/4 inch "rings" (see photo below)

You should be able to get or 6 rings (the almost look like leaves or petals from a flower)

2. Dab some glue on the tip of the ring as such and adhere it to another ring.

3. Use a clothes pin to help them dry and stay together

4. Do this all the way around until you have your desired shape (5 rings make a star and 6 make a flower). Let dry completely.

I made several stars and let them dry completely,before I went on to the next step...

.5. Spray paint each one in whatever color you desire...I chose white

6. Sprinkle it with glitter lay it out on wax paper or somewhere clean, cool, and dry and let dry for an hour.

7. Grab a cup of iced coffee, relax, and marvel at how crafty you are!
Original tutorial and other variations found here.


*Update: Check out the comments for how some readers made this project work for kids
*Also see comments from readers who couldn't get spray paint to work.

In Awe of His Majesty

Earth Day is tomorrow and in honor of that, look who God brought to visit us in our backyard? Perched atop our fence was this beautiful hawk...any idea what kind of hawk it is? Or maybe it is another species of bird...

Muffin Tin Monday Goes AWOL!

Hello Muffin Tin Mamas (or Papa's if you're out there - show thyself!).

This week's theme: Muffin TIn Monday goes AWOL.

Take your Muffin Tin Meal to some place other than where you normally eat it. A bedroom perhaps or to a friend's home...We had a chance this week to take out Muffin Tin Meal outside to our back lawn. After eating we laid down on our blanket and imagined things out of the passing clouds! One was a "power ranger" and another was a "sailboat" and yet another was a "buffalo"! What fun!

My little girl seriously needs her bangs trimmed!

What did you do this week for Muffin Tin Monday? Did you take your Muffin Tin Meal some place interesting? Won't you share it with us? I have put up a Mr. Linky for you, so enter at will! Don't forget that if you did not do a theme this week, you can still enter it in this week as well as any previous muffin tin meal that went "AWOL"!

No Need For The Sunday Paper

Muffin Tin Monday is tomorrow! I have now included Mr. Linky and will also be accepting non-themed Muffin Tin Meals if you happen to do that instead of the current theme. Tomorrow's Theme: Muffin Tin Monday Goes AWOL (Away Without Official Leave - Thanks Ruby!), so take your muffin tin to another place other than where you normally eat them (the car, the park, the backyard, or even a bedroom!) You can also link more than once or from a previous post if you have another post where your muffin tin was served in another location! I am looking forward to tomorrow everyone!

now...on to today's links....

This week has been interesting for links...lots of good stuff out there!

Ever wonder if it's okay to stumble your own post? (ahem, cough, ahem...I did) Grow Your Writing Business answers this question for anyone who has ever thought about it (ahem...)

Heidi at Blue Eyed Blessings is one of my crafting go to's...When I need an idea for something around my house our how to make to rev up an idea that's brewing in my head about a party. I go to Heidi's blog and scour her crafts and creativity posts.

You ladies know how I love literacy. ABC/123 Learning has a fabulous post on how to set up a wrtiting center for your child. It's comprehensive and detailed. Go have a look-see!

Found a new blog friend this week, Teresa at the Tysinger Family Adventures. She shared a post with me that I want you all to read! The Up and Down Obsession With Baby. It's poignant and uplifting and worth the read!

No Time For Flashcards shares a her idea for a Book Festival. You. Your kidlets. A comfy place to read. Lots of books. Sounds great to me!

Design Sponge shares an incedibly creative way to turn a bunch of altoid tins into a message center. Um, so clever!

Did you know that Katy of Sycamore Stirrings is the one who started Muffin Tin Monday?? She passed it on to me last October when she moved to Luxembourg. She has a tutorial for a home puppet theater that I plan to make very soon! If you are still experiencing inclement weather where you, I think this might be a must -have!

Now, I know that a big list, but trust me, they are worth the click over.

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Scripture For Today:

Who we are...

Isaiah 62:12 (NIV)

12 They will be called the Holy People,

the Redeemed of the LORD;

and you will be called Sought After,

the City No Longer Deserted.

Who God is...

63:1(NIV)

Who is this coming from Edom,

from Bozrah, with his garments stained crimson?

Who is this, robed in splendor,

striding forward in the greatness of his strength?

"It is I, speaking in righteousness,

mighty to save."

American Taco Salad

I call it American, because I have it on good authority that pretty much any taco salad is American and not Mexican food. Basically, Americans took all the stuff they love about mexican food and mishmashed it together, because well, we love salads!

That being said, this recipe, which I made just the other night, comes to me from my dear friend Alicia and is so easy peasy. It was a huge hit with my in-laws who are very picky eaters! There are many variations on this particular recipe and I tried looking on the web for ALicia's particular version and it couldn't be found. So I am bringing it to you!

American Taco Salad

Serves: 4

Ingredients

~ 1 lb lean ground beef, ( I use between 3-8% fat)
~ 1 pkg taco seasoning (we used lawry's)
~ 1 bottle Tangy/Sweet n' Spicy French Dressing (can also use Catalina)
~ 8 cups Iceberg Lettuce, chopped (or two bags pre-prepared american style salad)
~ 2 cups shredded cheese (cheddar or pre-shredded mexican blend)
~ 1 bunch of green onions (diced)
~ 2 salad size tomatoes (diced)
~ 1 bag Nacho Cheese Doritos

Directions:

~Cut the lettuce, tomatoes and onions and set aside (or put back in fridge to chill)
~Shred the cheese if needed and set aside
~In a large bowl, mix the taco seasoning into the ground beef before it's cooked.
~In a large skillet, cook the ground beef until it is crumbly
~Crush a large amount of Doritos and set aside (I kind of eye balled this for my preference)
~In another large bowl :), combine lettuce,cheese, onions, tomatoes, meat, and 2/3 bottle of dressing (use more if desired).
~Top with crushed Doritos

Tips, Tricks, & Hints:

~Ingredients can be prepared ahead of time and combined at the last minute, for any easy peasy dinner or quick lunch!
~I put our crushed Doritos on the table, in a bowl and not directly in the salad to prevent it from getting soggy.
~ Is perfect alone, but if you have voracious eaters, serve Spanish rice or beans on the side (or double the recipe)

For more Saturday Salads, check out A Listmaker's Life

Toothpicks + Beads + Styrofoam = 3-D Art

Create a masterpiece with simple items from your art cart and around the house! This 3-D Art activity teaches children a myriad of things including: design, color, fine motor skills, and a sense of accomplishment! Best of all their art can be displayed around the house with out taking up a lot of room!

To create you own bead sculpture, you will need a few supplies:

-Styrofoam of any shape or size (check old DVD player boxes or recent packages received in the mail. I bought (gasp! I know) from the Dollar Tree.

- craft beads (available at any place they sell crafting supplies)

-Toothpicks (Dollar Tree if you don't already have some)

-Glue (any variety, we chose glitter glue)

Cut your Styrofoam to make a small "canvas" to work with. You will see, ours was only a few inches long. Have your child stick a few toothpicks in there. If you want, add some glue to the bottom of the toothpick to give it more stability.

Have your child begin to add beads to the toothpicks, in whatever design and colors suit his/her fancy!

Add drops of glue to the tippy top of the bead towers to prevent all the beads from sliding off. We added glitter glue down the sides and all around the bead towers to give it more stability and texture and visual interest (or just because glitter glue is cool!)

Ta-Da! Our Masterpieces gathered together!

Guest Post at Fave Crafts: Yogurt Cup Bud Vase

I am proud to be a contributor today over at favecrafts.com! In my post(I'm under Green Crafting), I teach you (and your little one, if you so wish) how to craft a bud vase out of a child sized yogurt drink cup. Go now, and check it out, along with the thousands of other crafts and projects that Fave Crafts has to offer! I will also be a contributor in their May Newsletter, so if you want to find out what I will be making, sign up for the newsletter to find out!

From The Archives: Earth Day Craft

Inspired by our re-used no-spill paint cups, we decided to do a project to make the most of this teachable moment about recycling. This project also doubles as a skill builder for preschoolers
(painting inside the circle).

Gather Your Materials:
blank white paper
pen
blue & green washable tempera paint
glitter

Instructions:
~Create the earth "template" by turning a bowl upside down and tracing a circle on the paper. ~Write "Keep Our Earth Sparkling" on the page.
~Paint the sea blue (if you want to emphasize skill building, encourage them to stay inside the earth's circle)
~Paint the earth green
~While still wet, sprinkle with a little glitter
~Let dry

Use this project to educate your kids about why we want to keep our earth sparkling and the benefits or recycling. You can point out the kinds of things we can and cannot (not yet anyway) recycle. And maybe even let them walk a few items to the recycle bin!

Happy Crafting!

Crayon Coloring Technique For Kids

Bored with he same old crayons and blank paper? Try this simple technique to spice up your everyday Art time. Bind your entire box of crayons (we used a fresh 16 count box) with a rubberband and let your kidlets color with it, watching what happens when their colors swirl together!They will have a blast and it will be a break from the norm, which we all know can be a good thing if you are inside for awhile. Below is a photo of the art in motion!

Muffin Tin Monday - No Theme: Mr. Linky Style

Good Morning everyone! Happy, glorious, post resurrection Sunday Muffin Tin Monday! There is no theme today and I added Mr. Linky to today's post, I am getting a lot of Muffin Tin-ers of late and want to see if Mr. Linky works for everyone else the way it works for me...

(clockwise from top right: carrots, smoked turkey, ritz crackers, Peanut Butter with a white choc. chip smile, hershy's itty bitty bar, ranch dip)

Did you make a muffin tin with your little ones? Won't you share it with us? Enter your info below! And let me know via comment if it's not working properly!

Happy Easter: He Is Risen!

He is Risen! His Is Risen Indeed!

My hope and prayer is that all of you will enjoy a blessed Easter. My family and I will be celebrating the day Christ rose from the grave and the reason for the season!

Here are a few links to tide you over until next week:

Colorfool: a doll diaper pattern. Just what I have been looking for!

Annie's Alphabet: Play "I Spy" with pre-selected items set up in and around your home (or in her case, Kitchen!) or Paint with Peeps! What a great way to get an instant bunny print!

Another installment from The Mother Letter Project - Dear 1992 Linda If you don't already know about The Mother Letter Project...go and check it out!

Here is the cake Coach and I made yesterday thanks to Jen at No More Boring Cakes. I've spoken before about her mad skillz and this time around was no exception. My sister turned 30 and to celebrate we had a couples cake decorating party (Not my husband's first choice, but he stuck it out to honor my sister). Jen came and brought her arsenal of tools, products, and incredible knowledge and taught us everything from the very basics of cake decorating (like how to properly ice a cake) to several "wow" tricks that make all the difference! Thanks Jen!

The sign on the cake reads "WELCOME TO KINDER-GARDEN" and is made using edible paper and edible markers. the dirt is a mixture of graham crackers, brown sugar, nuts and fiber one cereal! The soil is crushed oreos. Everything else is fondant and buttercream. The most work involved came from making the fondant bunny. Isn't he so cute? We used tooth picks to make him stand up straight. Thinking back, I should have made him brown to resemble Peter Rabbit. The idea came from a photo found at cake central.

Happy Birthday Little Dude!

4 Years Old...How time has flown by!

Kid Craft: Painting with Plastic Eggs

I've seen many a craft this Spring and Easter Season that upcycle the plastic egg and while I think every single one is adorable, I wanted to see what I could come up with using the eggs themselves as painting tools! I pulled the plastic eggs apart and they dipped half in the paint to make circles! The kids loved it....

But, they eventually begged for paint brushes to paint over their egg-stra special masterpieces! Kids are so fickle!

Early Learning Activity: Begining Letter Sounds and Vocabulary

I have talked before about the importance of literacy and using a wide variety of activities to pave the pathway for a child to learn to read. One of those activities (Thanks to my subscription to the Malbox Magazine and it's online toolbox), is teaching children beginning letter sounds and vocabulary through classification. You can teach them that bike starts with "b" by using vocabulary picture cards and having them match the picture to the corresponding letter. So, to make this activity at home, start with two letters of your choice and a stack of picture cards. YOur child will then seperate the picture cards by what beiginning sound each picture makes (In other words, bird starts with B and house starts with H). Having the picture cards is also a way to promote vocabulary!

And I wanted to also share with you that I have begun to store all of my paper activities in colored pocket folders to 1)make them easy to find and 2) easy to use! However, you will note, in a classic "mommy brain" moment the folder tag read "phonetic awards". It should read phomeic awareness!!

UPDATE: After some thought, I just wanted to encourage you and say that you don't have to have the Mailbox Magazine to do this project. You can type the letters out on the computer and using pictures from magazines or clip art to make your very own activity!

Muffin Tin Monday - Theme: Spring/Easter

Muffin Tin Monday is a weekly blog carnival where, every Monday, we get together and post photos of the Muffin Tin Meals we make for/with our kids! Sometimes there is a theme, sometimes there isn't (Is that proper grammar?). I hope you will consider joining us! All you have to do is post a tin to your blog or the Muffin Tin Meals Flickr group and leave me a comment telling me you did so. Be sure to include a link to the post URL and not just the blog itself!

This week was a little tough for me, not sure why...but I pulled a rabbit out the hat, so to speak and came up with some pretty cute stuff. The kids LOVED it and asked what each one was....My son thought the bananas (bunny ears) were towers!

{clockwise from top left: Blood Oranges (Flower Petals), Toast with Jam (butterfly wing), Yogurt (With a sad little flower on it!), Apple with Butterscotch chips (Ladybug), Toast with Jam (butterfly wing), Sliced Banana (Bunny Ears)}

What did you make this week? Won't you share it with us?!

Muffin Tin Mamas

The Forest Room

Life's a Journey, Not a Destination (they went awol!)

Walders Family

Funny Days With Mommy and Maddie

Adventures of Flake

Mind Games

The Home Teacher

Paid With Hugs

Fun With The Kiddos

A Mommy's Adventures

School In 'R Home

Mommy Guru

On A Whimm

Fancy That

One Tightwad Mama

Hey, I'm Just The Nanny

Mother is Not Concerned

Malia Li'i Kula

Diva Mamma

Casa Camacho

Lovin' Life