Ice art !

I Have recently found a butt load of great home schooling resource, Which has been most welcomed. Some of the blogs are design for homeschooling, some not. But that's the great thing about homeschooling, you get to pick and choose and find inspiration any where!

I was lucky enough to stumble on to this great little blog, the playing house .

I found a wonderful outside activity for those hot California days. Ice painting and My kiddo's loved!

It cost next to nothing, The only thing you might need to buy is the craft sticks, but they have those at any $ store.

So first....

You take four bowls with water.

Next you'll add regular 'ol food coloring to each bowl. 

Here's the yellow

Then you pour the color water into ice cube trays and put them into the freezer. Check the tray in about an hour and add a craft stick ( Popsicle stick ) into the middle of each cube.

I forgot to do this, I can't remember what kept me from remembering to check the ice trays... Ah yes! I was trying to kept My kids from eating sand, hahaha!

So I had to jam them in with what little upper arm strength I have. ( note: DON'T forget to put the sticks in)

So after the stick fiasco, we sat on our patio and let the fun begin!

And I enjoyed some lemon aid after My work out! hahaha!

Thanks to Stephanie over at the playing House!

Home made compost bin

I Started my Home made organic garden a few weeks ago and it has been such a joy! There is just something amazingly fulfilling about working something with your own two hands. 

You take more pride in your work and put more value and tlc in it. It is a great why to teach your family to work together and what the fruits of your labor grow ( Literally)

I want to keep My garden Organic to save money, So I decided to make my own compost bin. 

It was sooooo Easy and It's great if you want to teach you kids about Earth science and recycling (home school moment) 

So Here's what you'll will need:

One plastic bin 

I had this one sitting in My garage

Make sure To wash it out

 You'll need a drill, I guess you could use a hammer and nail but that would take Forever and you will probably get frustrated and give up. So try to use a drill.

 Drill in lots of holes because compost needs air.

 The easiest rule of thumb is to mix in equal parts green stuff and brown stuff

Green stuff could be grass clipping or green leafs . Brown stuff could be dead  leafs

 You can add newspaper too. You'll want to add a layer of dirt as well. You throw in a few worms if you want to help out the process.

Last but not least... Food! You can add any can of organic matter to your compost bin. Any kind of fruit or veggie pealing. Any fruits or veggies that have rotted in your fridge any whole wheat bread or oatmeal. Egg shells, coffee grounds. Just so long as there is no meat, oil, or dairy in your pile. If you've added milk to you oatmeal , Your not going to want to use it. Meat and dairy will smell really bad when it decomposes.

You'll want to turn your bin every few weeks.

Most people think that compost piles smell and that you need lots of land to make one, well let me bust that myth. No they don't smell as long as you put the right things in them.

No you Don't need a lot of land at all. I have a little garden and this bin is just the right size for My yard .

Make sure to keep your bin moist and keep the lid on at night so you can keep city critters out of the bin.

Now this was just a starter lesson, If you want to know what to do next there are plenty of great tutorials on you tube! Here's a good one !  

So I hope composting isn't intimidating anymore, and remember compost is not just for veggie gardens, it's great for your flowers too ! Use what you have laying around your yard and kitchen instead of spending money on stinky fertilizers.

I'm linked up here!

Mr. Man party tie tutorial

"Whatch'a doing Mr.Man" is such a cute theme for a little Boy's first Birthday!

One of My creative Besties decided on a Mr.Man party for Her little Guy.

I was all over it! You couldn't keep me away with a ten foot pole, LOL! I love planning parties form start to finish.

So I decided to Make Carter some "Man" Ties, to go with his new mustache 

J /K.

 I love these prints, I wish I had a boy....Maybe someday.

I started out with a template that my husband made for me, Then doubled the fabric and traced on the back side of the print.

 Then you'll need to stitch along the outline.

 Make sure to leave the top of the tie open, That is where you will turn it right side out. Then cut off the excess fabric.

 Then turn right sideout

 Use a pencil or something to poke all the edges out and iron for a more finished look.

To finish in off I sewed on elastic to go round the neck,  this way Carter can ware His ties with any shirt and not lose them. Okay I know this might not seem safe,  but If your child is waring one of these, Your obviously not going to let him hook him self up to anything, make sure to use a soft elastic for this project too.

Anyhoo, These were so much fun to make! I think I'm gonna make some for my girls, How cute would pink poke-a-dot ties be for girl!

Loves It!

P.s. I'll be posting pictures from the party next!

Name wall art

I've been growing bored with my daughters room.

It needed a change and fast. Every Spring I try to add a little something new to every room in the house. Just to encourage change and the newness of Spring without spending a lot of money.

So I decided to cover their name art with new scrapbook paper.

I just traced the old letters, this was done in the wee hours of the morning when everyone was still asleep. So I had my giant craft light on.

All cut out

Then I slapped on some modge podge

Finished product!
Simple...

 Makenna's wall

Madison's wall

The colors worked well with the color of the wall, even though you can't tell from the picture that the wall is a light lime green. I love pink and green! 

upcycle Cheesy accessories

Recently I found these Cheesy Bracelets at my local $ store

I thought What can I do to cover them?

 I found this Lovely Fabric on sale at Joann's the other day and thought "why not?"

First I hot glued a long strip of the fabric to the

back of the bracelet  

 I used Modge Podge to glue the fabric, I just wrapped it then glued a little

more, then wrapped more. It's okay if you get some glue on the fabric because it will dry clear

This is what it looks like before I seal it, The print doesn't match up 

But that's okay with this pattern. Make sure to hot glue the end piece or you'll be sitting there holding it for an hour.

 Here it is with a top coat of Modge Podge to seal it and keep the fabric from fraying.

 All done drying and ready to go on my wrist! 

I love this one! It came out perfect and cost me like $1.50 to make!

I made one for Drea too!

Friendship Bracelets Hahaha!

That's so fifth grade...

Here's where I'm linked up at