A Tale of an Imperfect Blogger Part 2

I will freely admit that a lot of my creative ideas come straight from pinterest.  I will also freely admit that 80% of the crafts that I try either never get finished or don't look at all like the pin.  The other 20% may have a finished product close to what I wanted it to look like but when I take pictures they aren't nearly as lovely as the original pin.  That's because I'm a certified imperfect blogger :)  Maybe someday I will have better photography skills, but today is not that day.

Here are three projects that I pinned, I tried and I found them to be successful.  You can judge whether you think so or not.  I won't mind.  If you click on the links, you'll see the original pinned project.  The pictures in this post are all mine.  Oh yes--I am unashamed :)

#1:  Ice Cream Cone Garland

This was an easy project.  The only downside was that the honeycomb balls had to be ordered in groups of 12.  So, unlike the original project, my garland only has two colors.  I changed it up with lots of different colored cones.

#2:  Pom Poms

Super fun and super easy.  I used my two fingers to wrap the yarn around to make the pom poms and then glued them on to the end of pens.  My kids think they're a riot.

#3:  Yard Jenga

This was the most rewarding to finish.  It is going to be enjoyed for many many years.  This project was a bit time consuming (I about went mad with hours of sanding), but it was so so so worth it.

Now it is your turn.  How many of your pinterest projects are you happy with the end result?

Homemade Gak Fun!

A good friend of mine emailed me a fun link to a craft she did with her kids that was a huge success so I knew I wanted to try it.  This craft did not disappoint and the gak turned out awesome.  The kids had so much fun and it is so easy to do so I knew it was something I wanted to share. 

Since I have two kiddos I doubled the recipe as such, but here is what you would need if you wanted to make one recipe of gak fun.

• 4 oz of white Elmer's Glue (I used the Glue All kind)
• food coloring of your choice
• 1/4 tsp of borax
• access to warm water
• bowl and spoon for stirring
• plastic cup for stirring the borax

Once you have all of your supplies ready to go, take a bottle of Elmer's Glue and pour it in a bowl.

Next, take the empty glue bottle, add warm water and put the lid back on and shake it up.  After you have shaken it, pour it in the bowl with the other glue.  Please don't judge - it was pajama day at our house so my littles are still in their PJs. :)

 

Next, add a few drops to the mixture and stir.

 

 

Now you are ready for the borax mixture.  Put 1/4 cup of warm water in a plastic cup and add 1/4 tsp Borax and stir. 

 

Now pour it into the glue mixture and stir away.  It will get stringy and clumpy which means you are on the way to being done!

Once you have stirred it a little, feel free to use your hands for mixing and squishing it around.  Now it is ready to be played with!  It will then obtain the proper amount of gooey consistency.

Now you or the kids and can play and stretch away! I am telling you, this stuff is so fun!

My daughter gave it two big thumbs up!  After we were done playing with it (and it entertained for quite a while), I put each of their creations into an airtight container to take out for another day.

 

Such a super fun and easy craft!  I am so glad my friend recommended this recipe to me because it is a keeper!  It would make for a cheap and fun gift too.  What fun and easy crafts have you tried that you would recommend?

Phase 2 of Front Porch Makeover

So,we have lived in our house for five years now and we have never really paid much attention to our flower beds.  It just wasn't a priority but this summer we made it one.  We kind of "hit the jackpot" at the end of July when Lowe's had their perennial plants on sale for 1/2 price.  For those who might be new to planting, a perennial is a plant that will come back every year (or ideally it should).  An annual is one that only lasts for a season.  I don't bother to purchase annuals, while they may be pretty, I just can't justify spending the money on something that won't last long term.  We didn't fill up our whole bed space now but plan to add to it gradually. Here are a few pics of the ones we have planted so far:

Looks and sounds sophisticated to me.  I love the deep reddish/purple leaves.   When the buds open there will be tiny florescent pink flowers.

The Pansy is an annual that I received from my kids for Mother's Day.  It should not be flowering still but it has been such a mild summer that its still alive.  The Sedum has a waxy type leaf and just started flowering.

I am not usually one for pink but this Lily makes such huge blooms that are gorgeous.

I have seen these in a deep red as well and they are beautiful.  These will hopefully reseed themselves and fill in around the back of the bed since they grow to be about 16-20 in tall.

This bush will turn a pretty red in fall.

We had these daisies when we lived in our old house and absolutely love them.  They will spread and my hope is that they fill in the area below my windows completely.

This is my favorite!  Makes me want to lay my beach blanket in the front yard and play ocean wave sounds on my phone.  We planted a few others that I didn't photograph because they aren't blooming or looking like anything special right now.  Among them were the Tiny Ghost Asiatic Lily which has a similar color to the above Hibiscus, Coral Bells which look like a maple leaf bush, and a Pee Gee Hydrangea which has large ball type flowers that are white. Now here's to hoping I can keep these alive! A few items on my wish list to add next year are:  White roses (my all time favorite flower), a deep purple lilac bush, and peonies. We took out some prickly bushes before planting and added mulch when finished. Feels great to finally accomplish this project.  I can't wait to see what the plants look like when fully established and larger next year. This completes phase two of my front porch makeover.  Come back next month to see Phase 3.

What are some of your favorite perennials?

15 A game for learning Addition Facts

We are all about games for school in this house.  

Seriously, we play games every single day.  Not your Monopoly and Candyland variety.  Math games for learning addition facts.  For us, this is where it's at.  Seriously, I love this.

My mom had this book chilling on a bookshelf for at least the last decade.  Not once did I pick it up, but daughter found it, and has thoroughly enjoyed flipping through the pages.  I finally took a look, and Oh My Goodness there are so many fun things in there.  This game was found in that book.  It is part of a 5 book series by Southwestern.  

And, here's the game rules:
A board (tic-tac-toe style, with numbers 1-9 in each box)
2 players
3 markers for each player
15 counters for newbie adders

Youngest player goes first, and lays a marker on any number of their choosing (optional: the child sets aside that number of counters).  Players continue to place markers until the sum of their numbers is 15.  Easy peasy.  Brilliantly simple.

You guys, can you see how awesome this game is?  The total can be switched to 21 (or whatever) when kids are ready.  And the game is simple enough that it can be done while out to dinner and waiting on food (or basically anywhere you can have a paper and pencil).

Fabric&Canvas

Fabric and Canvas.  I guess it isn't as catchy as Wine and Canvas (you've heard of that latest trend, right?).  Well it may not be the most popular thing right now, but it should be!  This is such an easy diy makeover and it takes 15 minutes at the most.

I had this canvas that my kids painted a few years ago and I'm kind of tired of it.  But I wasn't sure if I wanted to paint over their "masterpiece" just yet.

So I grabbed a stash of garage sale fabrics.  I was thinking of doing strips of different fabrics but then decided to just use the one navy piece.  It had the linear look that I was going for and it would simplify the project because I didn't have to pull out my sewing machine.  winning.

I then just, simply, wrapped the front of the canvas like a present and used tape on the back to make it stay in place.

I was going to hang it back up in the same spot where it was in my living room, but then I decided to put it up in my bedroom.  I am slowly adding art to the room.  I haven't actually hung anything up on the walls, but I have a little vignette going on the top of my dresser.  The dresser looked liked this for quite a long time with just my little tray on it.

And now it looks like this with layered art from ObviousState and Naptime Diaries and, of course, my fabric canvas.

So.  Have you wrapped a canvas in anything lately?  Or have you been to a wine and canvas event?  Please share!

Workout for Kids and Adults

I am sure that many can relate that it is hard to get your exercise routine in while the kids are awake.  A dear friend of mine shared this website with me that had a fitness workout for adults and kids.  It is a 25 minute workout and I'm not going to lie, it definitely had my heart rate up after it was all over.  My four year old daughter lasted about half of the way through and then said she was tired and then took breaks off and on and my 2 year old lasted through the warm up and then he was off to do his own thing.  He would occasionally stop in to see what us girls were up to. 

I think we will definitely be looking into this during the upcoming winter months to get our blood flowing! I love that it takes some water breaks for the kids just to get them recharged and that it does the appropriate warm up and cool downs.

Click HERE for the website.  Enjoy and get moving!

Do you have any fun ideas to get your kids moving indoors?

A Tale of an Imperfect Blogger

I know that most blogs that I read paint a pretty picture.  "How do they do it all?," we wonder.  Well I'm here to tell you that it isn't possible.  Last week I blogged about my end of summer list and my big plans for my son's birthday party.  I was going to make ninja turtle masks out of felt and make a ninja turtle cake and some really cool ninja turtle shells (all inspired by pinterest, of course).  Well.  The only thing that got marked off of that list was the cake.  And I am not good at cake decorating--however, my kids love the cakes I make and don't care.  But is it something I would normally blog about?  No.  Mainly because my cakes should be on some sort of 'pinterest fail blog'.  

And those felt masks?  Those didn't happen.  I ended up buying these paper ones from wally world.

And the ninja shells.  Well I bought the supplies to make them but my son and his friends were having too much fun swimming so those didn't happen either.  Please don't misunderstand.  I love when I can do a really cute party where all of my ideas fall into place.  But sometimes it just doesn't happen.

All this is to say that I hope we as moms realize that while blogs can be a great source of inspiration, it is ok if we don't do it all.  Or even if the stuff we do is far from perfect.  The important thing to remember is that our kids don't need perfect pinterest worthy parties to be happy.  They just need us to spend time with them, love them and help them grow into loving adults.  And if we can cut ourselves some slack, I think we will be able to do a better job at fulfilling those needs.

Do these look like faces that are disappointed that the oreos aren't labeled as "TMNT Manhole Covers"?

Yeah, I didn't think so either.

15 Minutes of Play

When I was in college, I had a professor who talked about the importance of 'child-led play'.  We all know that children learn by playing, but did you know that child-led play can improve language development?  By allowing children to direct the play they have the opportunity to use language in a different way.

This same professor did a study where a child-parent duo were placed in a play area and the only rule was the parent had to do what the child wanted to do for 15 minutes.  It didn't matter what the child chose, the parent had to do it.  This idea of allowing the child choose what to play and how to play for 15 minutes has intrigued me since I first heard about it.  I know what you are thinking... 'my kid could destroy my house, if I gave him the freedom to choose for 15 minutes' but in all reality that is probably not going to happen.  Although it can seem unnerving to let your kiddo choose whatever type of play they want, it does reveal some interesting things you may have not noticed before.

I have done this free play with my daughter since she was very little (probably well before she understood what was going on).  I start it the same way every time.  I get down to her level, place my hands on her shoulders and ask what she would like to do with me, uninterrupted for 15 minutes.  Her face lights up and she pictures the many things she wants to do.  She almost always excitedly chooses a dramatic play (make-believe) type activity.  She collects her toys, and explains some elaborate story that I can barely follow because it is always so complicated.  To be completely honest, I don't really love make-believe play because my daughter comes up with names like 'La Layna Lydia'.  She will tell me the name, then correct my pronunciation for the next five minutes because I have no clue what she is saying.  However, I look past the minor annoyances of the names and overly complicated storyline, and see that my daughter cherishes this time.  She can play the way she loves to play one on one with me and she adores this time.  We always end in good moods after we are done, and the 15 minutes isn't much time at all.  It is 1% of my day.  I can handle letting my child decide what we do for 1% of the day.  As a side note, not once have we completed those 15 minutes to find our house in total disarray.  It has always been a quick, manageable clean up, because that one on one time with my full attention is what my daughter is most excited about.  

I want to encourage you mamas out there to try this, just once.  Set the timer, turn off your phone and all the other distractions, and engage with your child.  Whatever you child wants to do, for a full 1% of your day, and see what a difference it makes in their attitudes the rest of the day.

Kid Crafts on a Whim

Doing crafts with your kids does not need to be overwhelming or planned out weeks ahead of time.  I have a variety of items stored away in a craft container that I can pull out on a rainy day or on a day that I didn't have time to prepare something ahead of time and the kids are wanting to do something 'artsy'.  My craft container has items such as pipe cleaners, popsicle sticks, acrylic paints, suncatcher paint, paint brushes, small canvases, stickers, markers and other random small items I could possibly use at some point when I need some ideas but don't want to run to the store.  On this particular day, I decided to pull out some plastic suncatchers I purchased a while back at Walmart, suncatcher paint and some paintbrushes. 

I learned a lot about my 2 year old on this day - this boy loves to paint!  He went a little overboard on the paint on his suncatcher but who cares because he was having fun!

My 4 year old was very detailed in her painting skills and wanted to use a lot of different colors.  I was really impressed at how her butterfly turned out.

 

After drying for a few hours they are now proudly displayed on our patio doors.  It was a fun, easy craft that both of the kids enjoyed and the best part is, I have a couple more in my craft box for another rainy day down the road.  Sometimes the simple crafts are the most enjoyable ones. 

 

What simple crafts have you made with your kids lately?

Color and Personality

As I browsed facebook the other day I came across one of "those" quizzes.  You know the ones that entice you to take them while in your head you might be saying this is a bunch of "hippy dippy bologna."  I don't normally take these but every now and then find them fun.  I was lured in by the word color.  I didn't post it to my facebook account and cannot find the test now but I remember I didn't agree with the results.  Color theory was one of my favorite subjects in school.  I have always been fascinated with color and how it may apply to our emotions.  We studied a guy named Max Lüscher  who was a psychotherapist and studied the psychological state of a person based on their personal color preferences. You can read his book called "The Lüscher Test"  if you want to further investigate.  The above mentioned quiz reminded me of the Lüscher color test that we took in school.  The test was based on the colors we chose and the order we chose them.  Then it gave an answer key that supposedly described our personality.  If you want to take your own Lüscher test go here.  The following is a breakdown of colors and just a few of the psychological associations of each.  These were taken from my color theory notes.

RED=ANGER BUT CAN ALSO USEFUL IN DISPELLING NEGATIVE THOUGHTS

ORANGE=POSITIVE,GOOD ANTIDEPRESSANT,RELIEVES SELF PITY

BLACK=MYSTERIOUS,SILENT, PASSIVE

YELLOW-HAPPY,UPLIFTING,SELF-CONFIDENCE (DULL YELLOW CAN BRING ON FEELINGS OF FEAR)

PINK= UNSELFISH LOVE

PURPLE=PEACEFUL,STIMULATE INTUITION AND IMAGINATION,COMPASSION

GREEN=COMFORT,RELAXATION,CALMING(OLIVE GREENS REMIND US OF DECAY AND DARKER GREENS SICKNESS)

BLUE=CALM,RELAXING(YELLOW-BLUE INSPIRES CLARITY AND CREATIVITY)

BROWN=STABILITY, SECURITY

GRAY=INDEPENDENCE,NON-COMMITMENT

WHITE=PURITY,PEACE,COMFORT, FREEDOM (TOO MUCH WHITE CAN BE COLD, ISOLATING)

I have a whole other stack of notes that give the physiological effects of the colors as well but I will spare you the reading time.  I challenge you to take test yourself and see if it accurately describes your personality.