NO SEW! Little Girl Bow Holder

This is a bow holder I made for my little girls room. I do not enjoy sewing to much so I made this with hot glue instead.

Do you think she has enough bows and flowers?!

Good thing I make these myself!

The board is actually a foam mat that you get for presentations.

I used a piece of scrap fabric and stretched it over the board and glued it into place. Then I used ribbon to create a criss-cross pattern over the board front. I glued those into place as well.

I used ribbon to make a hanger and that was it!

FREE BOSCH Mixer

Do you want to win a FREE Bosch Mixer? Of course you do! Visit http://dealstomeals.blogspot.com/. This is the best site! This website has GREAT recipes, food storage ideas, homemaker ideas and it helps you save money at the grocery store. What more could you ask for? You have to check this out. I am really into bread lately and I am so excited to try some of the bread recipes they have. I will be sure to post as i make them and let you know if they as good as they look.

Cincinnati Chili, Easy Style

I made a new recipe last night, Cincinnati Chili, the super easy version. We have always thought it looked interesting so we decided to just try it! I was super yummy and my 9 year old even liked it! So here is the recipe you you would like to try it. Made enough for 5-6 servings. Leave a comment if you have some ideas.

1 lb ground beef

chopped onion or dry onion, whatever amount you like

1 can tomato sauce

1 tsp cinnamon

1 pkg chili seasoning

1 can kidney beans (if desired)

1 can stewed tomatoes (if desired)

water

spaghetti noodles, cooked

Brown meat and drain fat. Add all except water and mix well. Add water to desired consistency. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes. Serve over noodles. top with cheese, onions, sour cream, whatever you like!

Summer Activity Jar

Do your kids wine like mine do?

YES?!

Well here is a small idea to give you SOME reprieve.

A Summer Activity Jar that your kids can reach into every day and find a wonderful surprise.

Start by planning out your summer. I printed out blank calendar months and filled in any summer plans; ie. swimming lessons, vacations and camps. Next I added all the other things that happen in town; ie. free movie festival and Home Depot/Lowe's kids clinics.

Then I made a list of other fun stuff we can do this summer. I made categories and color coded them. I had 5 categories.

1. Crafts

2. free stuff to do at home

3. free stuff to do outside of the home

4. stuff we have to pay for

5. food

I cut small pieces of paper and wrote on each piece what the activity was. The reason I color coded (besides being anal) was so that at the first of the week I could pick out one paper per color and put them in the jar. This way I know what we will be doing that week and I can plan in advance in case I need to get supplies.

Next I decorated my jar. I had this one in the cupboard. it had been used for several activities and worked perfect for this one. I could have used a clear pasta jar or pickle jar just as easily. I cut out some vinyl on my cricut and added some ribbon to brighten it up.

And here it is! The kids love it and it gives them something to look forward to every day. Here are some of things I have in the jar.

1. Make a volcano or other science experiment

2. Make giant bubble wands out of wire

3. Plant flowers in Tera cotta pots that kids have painted

4. Backyard camping

5. Sidewalk paint

6. Pudding painting, fun and edible!

7. Water balloon fight

8. Wash the cars

9. Go to the movies, FREE or payed

10. The dollar store – give the kids a few dollars and let them go nuts!

11. The drive in movies

12. Roller skating

13. Bowling – check for discount nights/family nights

14. Make cookies

15. Make cupcakes and decorate

16. Make homemade ice cream

17. Lowes/Home Depot kids workshop, most Saturdays (at home page enter in search “kids workshop”)

18. Library

19. YMCA/community pool

20. outdoor Hike

21. Pet store

22. the Lake

23. nature preserve

24. Kids Free Movies

25. Go out for ice cream

26. museum

27. Make an indoor fort

2x4 Father's Day Gift

I made this for my Hubby for Father's Day.

So cute! I got the idea from How Does She?

I also made this for my sisters birthday. A variation on the father's day gift.

Dry Erase Family Calendar

I have wanted to have a "real" family calendar for awhile now and I decided to just DO IT!

I recently got a Cricut and decided to put it to the test. In retrospect I should have done some things differently, but oh well! Live and learn!

I started by finding a cheep frame. I got mine from Kirkland's Home. It was on sale already and I had a $5 off coupon also. So it ended up being only $6!

I took the back off and took the original picture out of the frame. Then I mapped out what I was going to do on paper. It was a good thing I did too! I made several mistakes before I got to the actual glass. When I had it figured out I drew my design onto the cardboard mat provided in the frame. This way all I had to do was follow the lines.

Finally I started cutting my vinyl. I cut them by hand (should have used the cricut!), and applying them.

This is what it looked like while in the process and when I was done. I am going to flip the glass around so that the vinyl is on the BACKSIDE of the glass. This way I can use a dry-erase marker on the front and not damage the vinyl. Next I cut out our family name, I made sure to do it in mirror image so that it is readable once I flip the glass.

Whalla! The lines aren't super straight and I would have done a few things differently if I could do it again (which I can thanks to the magic of vinyl!), but I like it. I chose a white background so as not to distract the eye.

My First Post!

I am starting a Crafter's Club! Yeah! All this stuff in my brain NEEDS TO GET OUT! Hope you enjoy. I will also be posting other stuff I make that you might like to look at. This is new for me so bare with me!