Flower Headband-You can make

I stumbled upon this flower head band over @ 30 days. Looks super easy and like something anyone could do. Think I'm gonna give it a shot !!

Ok so a few of you were interested in a tutorial for the flower headbands.I've seen a lot out there.There are many good tutes for flower headbands.

This is just my easy, inexpensive version.First, gather these supplies:

Long ago, I got the headbands and flowers at my local dollar store. And I also had the sequins that I purchased at a craft store.Glue gun. Needle and embroidery floss.And you'll need 5 minutes.

1. Grab your headband.

2. Next your flowers.

3. Take your flowers apart. Take the flowers off the stem.Then take the middle part out of the flower (just yank it out).

4. They should now look like this.

5. I used 2 blooms from my bunch. Stack them like so.

6. Now it should look like this.

7. Take your needle and thread. Thread your needle.Tie a knot at the bottom. Start under. Poke through all the layers.

8. Then go back down.

9. Do it a few times. It should look like this.

10. Then grab the headband,position the flower how you want it-I like mine on the side but you can do it however you want-and take the needle and thread and wrap the thread around the headband.

11. Then stitch it a few more times-up and down like before but around the headband now.

12. Once you've done it a few time and it feels secure,on the backside, wrap it around the headband a few more times and tie it off.

13. It should now look like this. If you really want to get fancy, you can add a piece of felt to finish it off. Just cut a circle and cover where you stitched.

14. Get your glue gun. Glue a drop in the middle covering the stitching.

15. Add your sequin.

16. Put it on your daughter's head. Or yours. Or save it as a gift. You get the idea.

Thanks for sharing, 30days.

Glitzy Makeup Box

I have seen these makeup boxes glamed up all over at craft fairs and such. I just love em, and thought, "I can do that". I had my late g-ma's Samsonite make up box and thought I would use that to try. You can also use an old suitcase.

What you need:

Old suitcase, makeup box, anything really

Scrap paper-coordinating styles

Mod Podge ( I used plain & some with glitter for the outer coat)

Foam Brush

Small paint brush

Chenille yarn

Rhinestones/Acrylic Gems

Artificial flower(s)

Tacky glue

To start, wipe suitcase/box clean. Cut scrap paper into various shapes and sizes. I cut mine into different sized squares and rectangles. You can do any shape or just tare your paper. Apply thin, even layer of Mod Podge to back of a piece of paper. Starting on one of the outside edges apply the paper to the box. Continue all over. Its ok if your squares overlap, I prefer this look. Some areas may start to bubble a little, do your best to smooth out with your fingers, but don't worry, after it dries 90% usually go away. Once entire box is covered allow to dry for about 30 minutes or so. Go over entire box with another layer of Mod Podge (this is where I use Glitter Mod Podge) Allow to dry again (30 minutes) I like to repeat this step twice to insure everything is well coated.

Next I work on the handles and covering the rubber edge's of the box. I use my paintbrush to apply a thick coat of Tacky Glue to rubber edge. Start at one end and apply your chenille yarn to the edge. When you get to the end of a row, no need to cut just back track and continue until covered. Do this to all rubber edging.

Once that's complete, use your yarn again to cover the handle. Cut a long strip of your yarn. There is no way to know how much you need, just cut a pretty good piece, you can always tie another piece to it if need be. Start at one end and tie the yarn around the handle. Continue to tightly wrap yarn around handle until entire handle is covered. Tie off the end.

To apply the flower you can use you Tacky Glue or I like to use the wired stem of the flower to wrap around the handle. Then I use more yarn to cover the stem.

Now the glam part. Lay box on its back so fasteners are facing up. Paint a not to thin, but not to thick layer of Tacky Glue to the metal suitcase/box fasteners. Use needle nose pliers or tweezers to carefully apply the rhinestones. If you glue is too thick, be careful because the rhinestones may want to shift a little.

Once completely dry, Wholla, you have a beautiful glamed up Make box or suitcase. Now, what the heck am I gonna do with it ??

Happy Mother's Day Granny- A Crafty Gift Idea

As you know Mother's day (5-9-9) is going to be here very soon. I have to do my gift planning early because my mom lives in Iowa so I have to ship her gift. My Aunt is into making scrapbook canvases as gifts. Matter of fact, she made one for Kellan for his birthday. I am always a fan of personalized gifts, I think they come from a different place in the heart. So I decided to try and make one for my mom for Mothers day.

What you need:
blank canvas, any size
Acrylic paint & brush
Scrapbook paper, lace, colored paper, anything really
Picture(s)
Do-Dads/embellishments; I used letter stickers, card stock embellishments & flowers
Heavy glue, I like Tacky Glue
Ribbon
Picture hanger to attach to back for hanging

As with any craft of this sort, its best to collect lots of different coordinating items and play around with them till you find what looks best for your master piece. Always start with an idea of inspiration. For me, I choose a blue theme. My mom collects blue and white Willow Ware type stuff and uses them to decorate all over her house, so I wanted to make something that would match her decor.

Start by covering your work surface with newspaper. Paint 1-2 coats of paint on canvas, don't forget sides !! Once its good and dry, start to place things on canvas with glueIt took me about 3 coats of paint since I was using such a dark color.

This is a super simple project. My son and I went to Hobby Lobby this morning to get all the goodies I didn't already have. I put paint coats on while he played, and while he napped, I finished. Max 2 hours, but don't tell mom!!

One last note, when making a gift like this, I think is super important to write and date the back so its always noted with love where its from.

This is the one that was made for my son to give another example.

Paci clip

If only I had found this when mine was a baby, life would have been a lot easier !! Thank goodness Create Studio figured it out for the next time.

Supplies:
grosgrain ribbon (preferably double-sided and sturdy)
1 1/2 snap sets (you can get these at Walmart)
1 name tag clip (you can find these on the back of those plastic name badges from any office supply store)
matches
scissors
First, cut the ribbon 9 1/4 inches long and burn the ends slightly to prevent fraying. Put one end through the name tag clip. Pull 1 inch of ribbon through and secure with 1/2 of a snap set (this end does not need to actually snap.)

Next, fold the other end of the ribbon over 1 1/4 inch and attach a full snap set on this side. Be sure to leave a little extra ribbon to hold on to while you're unsnapping the paci since this is the side that will unsnap to hold that beautiful thing!

Tortilla Soup

Whole chicken
2 garlic cloves-chopped
1 medium onion-chopped
2 cans Rotel
¼ cup cilantro-chopped
1 bell pepper (any color) chopped
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
1 pkg corn tortilla’s-cut into strips
Salt & Pepper to taste

Garnish with, all or some of the following:
Shredded cheese
Avocado slices
Sour cream
Cilantro
Chopped tomatoes

Cover chicken with water in large pot. Bring to a boil. Boil about 45 minutes or until juice from chicken runs clear. Remove chicken, cool and debone. Reserve broth in another bowl. In large pot sauté garlic and onion in a little olive oil. Add cumin & chili powder.

Add Rotel, chicken, cilantro & broth. Bring to a boil for 20 then simmer at least 30 minutes. Add more water if necessary.
Arrange corn tortilla strips on cookie sheeted that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake @ 350 degrees until brown.
Fill bowl with soup, top with tortilla strips and any optional ingredients. Enjoy !!

What to do with an old pair of jeans? Make an apron, duh !

Check out Suzanne's Crazy & brilliant idea and she'll walk you thru it, step by step.

Prickly Pear Margarita

I found this post on Mix Mingle Glow. She did a whole post with a fiesta theme. There's tons of great ideas. Kinda makes me want to have a Cinco de Mayo Party !! Check it out to see all of her finds. I had to share my fav part of the post, the drink recipe. Is your mouth watering?? Mine is. Is it 5 yet ??

A Prickly Pear Margarita! Dee. Lish. Wanna make one?

Here’s the recipe:
4 oz. tequila
juice of 2 limes
2 oz. Triple Sec
1 cup ice
1 cut lime
salt
4 oz. Prickly Pear Cactus Syrup, divided

Mix first four ingredients in a blender until ice is crushed to a smooth consistency. Rub lime around the rim of a glasses and dip the glasses into a plate of salt, coating the entire rim. Pour 1 oz of Prickly Pear syrup into each glass. Pour frozen margarita mixture over the top of the syrup and enjoy! Serves 4.

Great Idea !!

What a great gift idea !! This could be changed up many different ways to make it work for any occasion. All it is is a giant frog sand box filled with tons-o-stuff. This was a friend of a friend of a friend on Facebook who's 3 month old daughter received this as an Easter basket from her g-parents. I love it

Thank you Muchkin People

All of you know as a mother to be and a new mom, you get lots of advice. Some of which we all choose to ignore and some is actually good advice. One example of good advice I received was if you find something your baby loves like a blanket, toy, bottle or bear, go buy a million of them. So, for me that advice had really never gone into play until now. Kellan just turned one, and like I am supposed to, because "they" say so, my goal was to promptly switch him from the bottle to a sippy. Well, since I never let him self feed himself the bottle, he wasn't quite savvy with sippy cup even though we started practicing @ 6 months. His g-ma had been letting him drink out of her cup with a straw for months, so I decided since he was so good at that, I would find him straw cup to drink his milk from. 1st attempt was a straw cup from Platex, no worky !!! It leaked when thrown on the ground. 2nd attemt was a straw cup by Munchkin I got at Wal-Mart. It worked pretty damn good. I would leak a little, but it was tolerable since I was able to break my boy of the bottle. Since that one was working and he was drinking all of his liquids from it, I figured I better run out to Wally World (not my favorite place at all) and buy them out !! So I went, they had 2. Went to another, none, Another, none again. What am I gonna do ??

Relief came today as I had nothing better to do and made the journey out of my comfort zone of Rockwall to Mesquite to Babies R us (another non-fav place). At 1st I didn't see what I was looking for, then I saw what kinda looked like it, but different. So I think to myself, "have they change it all together"? Not sure, but gonna try it. So I bought 6. I double checked with the girls (children) up front that if it didn't meet my satisfaction I could bring them back, they said yes. I was on my way. Got home, it was lunch time, hand washed one of my new straw cups, filled it with milk, and handed it to my kid, and...................It worked. I actually think he prefers the "new" construction. Does it leak ?? Not so far. Anyways, this was a very long story, but a very important one in my book. Now that that dilemma is solved, I am sure Kellan will decide he loves the sippy and wants nothing more to do with the straw cup !!

This was the original favorite

This is what I got today

See the little flippy thing that conceals to straw. Very helpful for transport.

FYI, I just went on to the Munchkin web site and they do advertise both and say Wal-Mart carries them ?? I guess some stores just don't carry both??

This recipe has been around in my family for quite sometime. Its always a crowd pleaser. I pretty much always keep the ingredients on hand because its a easy last minute side dish addition to any menu.Pasta Salad

1 pkg colored, spiral pasta, cooked, drained, rinsed, cooled
1 pkg dry powder ranch salad dressing mix
1 bottle Wish Bone Italian dressing (trust me on this one & don't try other brands)
1 jar/can sliced mushrooms
1 can sliced blk olives
1 sm jar sliced green olives

Sprinkle dry ranch over cooked pasta and stir to coat. Add olives and mushrooms. Pour Italian dressing over a little bit at a time. It will taste strong at first, but once the pasta soaks up the dressing it will mellow and may even require more dressing. Taste best if made a day in advance. Serve cold.

Optional ingredients:

Purple onion
Red bell pepper
Sun-dried tomatoes
Artichoke hearts
Yellow squash

Broccoli

Cherry tomatoes
Any or all of these are great additions, if I have, I add it.

Earth Day savings @ Walgreens

To celebrate Earth day, why not save some money !

Save 15% on your in-store Walgreens purchase and 20% off eligible Walgreens-brand products tomorrow (Wednesday) only with this printable coupon. Check out at the photo or beauty department only (?). See coupon for restrictions. When you hand over the coupon, you'll also receive a free reusable shopping bag.

Savings idea: Walgreens brand diapers and wipes are BOGO 50% off.

Thanks to Baby Cheapskate for passing along this deal of the day.

Iron On Applique: Blue and Brown Camo Car, from Sweet & Sassy

Check out Sweet n' Sassy Baby Boutique for this iron on and many, many other goodies. Description

This is an iron on applique patch. It is cute blue and brown camo car. It is one piece and can easily be ironed onto a onesie, shirt or whatever else you might think of. It takes less than a minute to do! You can stitch around it for a more finished look or for extra durability, but it is totally unnecessary. No sewing is required! All you need is an iron! These are very cute, just iron on and they're ready to go. The fabric has been treated to prevent excessive fraying. Application and washing instructions will be included with your applique. Measures approximately 4 1/4 x 3 1/4 inches. Pattern placement may vary. *If you plan to stitch around it, please let me know in the notes to seller section so I can use an adhesive suitable for sewing.


Shipped USPS first class mail

Easy egg carton bugs

I am all for easy and fun kids crafts. Especially ones that use recycled stuff. When I came across this idea, I had to share.

Cut out different sizes of egg cartons for each creepy crawler. We created a Ladybug, Caterpillar, Spider, and a Bee. We used pipe cleaners and googley eyes to make them pop out. Then we actually got out the paints, I rarely do as I fret about mess. But with lots of supervision for my 2 year old, it worked out great.

Jump on over to Make and Takes to see more fun and easy projects.

Tin Can Herb Pots

To celebrate earth day (4-22-09) I was in search of some crafty, earth friendly ideas. One of my favorite sites for ideas is Kaboose. These tin can herb pots are super cute. This project is a little more difficult than some, so make sure to help the young-ins.

What you'll need:
Empty aluminum can
Screwdriver and hammer
Liquitex Basics Gesso
Acrylic craft paints in colors of your choice
Flower stickers (optional)
Acrylic sealer spray, matte finish
Craft or Popsicle stick
Thin cardboard
Pinking shears
Black Sharpie marker
5-10 small rocks, stones or pebbles
1.5 cups Potting soil
4-inch potted herb plant
White craft glue
Water

How to make it:
Completely wash and dry aluminum can. If necessary, sand off any rough edges from opening of can.
Turn can upside down. Parent should use screwdriver or other pointed object to poke holes in the bottom of the can. Use a hammer to tap the end of the screwdriver to make the holes.
Paint outside of can with one coat of Gesso. Let dry completely.
Paint can desired color, repeat coats if needed.
Decorate however you like. Use a thin paint brush for long lines, dip the end of the paint brush into paint for polka dots.
Decorate with stickers if desired.
Spray the outside of the completed can with acrylic sealer spray. Let dry.
Place enough rocks or pebbles in the bottom of the can to form a single layer.
Add enough potting soil to fill the can two-thirds full.
Remove potted herb from its container and transplant into the can.
Fill edges with remaining potting soil, gently pat down so that plant is firmly in the can but not compacted so much that it’s too tight.
Place can on a plate (to catch any water drainage) and add some water to the newly planted herbs.
Paint craft stick whatever color you like. Allow to dry.
Cut a piece of thin cardboard into a small rectangle (about 1.5 x 3 inches) using pinking shears.
Paint both side of the cardboard with Gesso, let dry.
Glue the rectangle to the top of the craft stick.
Use a black Sharpie marker to write the herb name onto the rectangle.
Insert your plant marker into the soil, being careful not to crush any roots along the way.
Place your new garden in a sunny window and remember to water them!

Tips:
A 4-inch potted plant will be enough to make 2-3 vegetable sized cans (15 oz) or one larger tomato sauce type can (28 oz).
This is a great project to teach kids about growing plants, especially edible ones. Take this opportunity to visit your local library and check out a book on simple container gardening or gardening with kids.
Keep the kids involved, be sure they take care of “their” plant. Have them water their plant and show them how to check to see if the soil is too dry or just right by gently touching the soil surface with their finger.
Eat these herbs! Your kids will light up when they get to pinch off a basil leaf to add to your spaghetti sauce.

This would also be a great gift for mom or grandma on Mothers Day !!

Grammy’s Chicken Salad

I got this recipe from a dear friend April who got it from another friend of ours Dawn. It was/is Dawn's g-ma's recipe. All I can say is.... Man, everything taste better with cream !!! I made it the other day for the 1st time and snapped a few pictures to make the recipe a little more exciting.

2 ½ cups cooked & deboned chicken
1 c. celery chopped (optional as my hubby doesn't like celery)
2c. grapes
½ c. sliced or chopped almonds toasted
2 tbls minced parsley
1c mayo
1c whipped heavy cream
Salt to taste
White pepper to taste

To start, cover chicken with water in large pot.

Then bring salted water with chicken to a boil.

While chicken is boiling, about 45 minutes, prepare other ingredients. Chop or slice almonds. Put in baking dish and toast in oven at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Cut grapes into 4's. Mince parsley, chop celery.

Once chicken is cooked and no red juice bleeds out when poked with a knife, remove chicken from water and let cool then debone ( I use both white and dark meat).

Tip: I reserve the broth from the chicken for future use.

In mixing bowl add chicken, grapes, almonds, celery, salt, pepper, parsley and mayo. Mix well.

In very cold metal bowl, whip cream until peaks form.

Gently fold cream into chicken mixture.

Put in serving dish and enjoy.

This salad is great on sandwich rolls, croissants or served with crackers. Will stay fresh in fridge for up to 3 days.

YumYum !!

Cutest Cupcake Toppers Ever

Oh my goodness, these cupcake toppers are to cute. I wouldn't even attempt to make them myself, not when I can go over to Clineffs Confections esty shop and buy em, plus I doubt I could !! Check em out.