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Thursday, September 23, 2010

A Love Story


 A Love Story


The last few weeks my 2 year old and I have been collecting buckeyes at our favorite creek spot.
We brought them home and have put them in a bowl in the kitchen.
While doing laundry one morning, a buckeye fell out of my husbands jeans.

Later that evening...

Me:   "Hunny, a you had a buckeye in your pocket. So you knew they were considered to be "lucky?"

Brian: "Hmm, no actually I didn't know that."

Me:  "Sooo  why do you have one in your pocket?"

Brian:  "Because you found them."



That's Love


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Monday, September 13, 2010

Dinosaur Themed Playdate

Lots of streamers (may have went overboard) but I was going for a jungle look with red lava

This was the Dinosaur Sensory Bin play area (my mom lended me her house plants for a more jungle feel)




For every party I throw, I cover our coffee table with easel or butcher paper, and set out a bowl of crayons, just for a fun extra element to the party. For this party, I freehanded a brontosaurus and my friend did a T-Rex for me (because I would not have been able to pull that one off!) I had them laminated and then picked up some of those new dry erase crayons so they could color the dinosaurs and then I'm able to wipe them clean afterward and start anew!

Yay for friends who draw better than you do! haha! Seriously Tiffany (a fellow themed party lover, crafty, artsy, wonderful momma) did a great job! Visit her blog for lots of fun and educational ideas for toddlers!
I velcro'd the T-Rex to the fridge.


I keep window markers in L's bathroom at all times, but I wanted to welcome our friends to use them!



These "Dinosaur Eggs" were the playdate favors. These were made using homemade COFFEE DOUGH.
Since they are easy to break open, I stuck prizes inside them (either mini dinosaurs or plastic diamonds) for the kids to "excavate" and find.

Each child got their own dinosaur egg

L opening his dinosaur egg









Some of my friends have sent me pictures of their kids opening their dinosaur egg!


"M" opening her egg



Its a baby dinosaur!



"G" opening his egg



Its a diamond!




Party Food and Drinks
(which regrettably I didn't get pictures of)

Dinosaur shaped pb&j's
Dino Eggs in the Nest (grapes on shredded lettuce)
Lava Juice (red fruit punch)



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Friday, September 10, 2010

How to get Bulk Size Rolls of Crafting Paper for FREE



   I stumbled upon
 one of the  greatest crafting secrets of the century!
and I couldn't wait to share it with you!





Your newspaper is printed on huge spools of paper that look like this:


When the spool is running low on paper, they don't let it run completely out. When they replace it with a new one, the old one still has LOTS of paper left on it. They will have lots of different sizes.
They sell these rolls VERY VERY cheap (less than 10 dollars and often only $1.00-$3.00 dollars)
OR very often you can get them for FREE!



So call your local newspaper and ask them if they sell the ENDS OF THE NEWSPAPER ROLLS.





If you aren't asking for a truck load and just want a few, they will often just let you have them, which is what the friendly dude at our local newspaper did!
I fit as many as my trunk would hold and are giving them to friends!


Their is enough paper on each roll for a years of crafting and art projects, and we've used a ton of it as packing paper! (seriously they are huge)
ohhhhhh the possibilities!


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Thursday, September 9, 2010

Beeswax Bowls




I found this tutorial for Beeswax Lanterns on a great blog called Morning Sun Rae. I had to modify it a bit because I didn't have but a couple bars of wax. So I couldn't make big lanterns BUT I did make little Beeswax Bowls! They are so cute, and smell delicious!

You can use the tutorial I mentioned above, but I will also try to easily sum it up. I apologize for the "how to" pictures. They aren't the best quality because I had my husband take pics with his Iphone instead of our big camera. ohhh well.

What you Need
 Beeswax (bars or pellets can be found online or at craft stores like Hobby Lobby)
Crock pot or double broiler
balloons
water

What you Do

1. Melt your beeswax in a double broiler (or crockpot)


2. Fill your balloons with cold water. Small balloons if you have a small amount of wax and a bigger balloons if you have more wax to dip your balloon in (I guess thats probably a "duh" huh? haha! ANYWAY...)
You want the balloon itself to be round
(they aren't all round when filled with water so test them first before tying them off)


3. When your wax has reached 150-160 degrees F you can start dipping your balloon into the wax.
*I highly suggest protecting your skin as much as you can in case your balloon pops in the wax (which mine did the first time!) You definately DO NOT want to be splashed with hot wax!

*To prevent your balloon from popping:
Do not overheat the wax (don't bring it to a boil)
Don't touch your balloon to the bottom of the pan

IF IT DOES POP
*I hope you didn't get burned!
*Remove any balloon pieces from the wax and wait for it to remelt 
then try try again!

Yes, I know I look crazy but I was terrified of popping the balloon in the lava wax! When my balloon actually DID pop I was soooo glad I was rediculously overprepared!

Dip your balloon in the hot wax (don't touch the balloon to the bottom!) for a few seconds and lift out. Let the wax harden for a few seconds then dip again. Continue this process for about 10-20 dips or so. More dips (layers) for bigger balloons.

Make sure you are dipping to the same line each time




4.  After you've finished dipping your balloon and its hardened a bit, use a warm plate or a warm frying pan to create a flat bottom for your bowl. Set your balloon carefully onto the pan or plate for a few seconds to melt the bottom flat.  (sorry, forgot to take a picture of this step!) When its hardened, set your balloon onto a flat surface to see if it stands straight.




5. Let it harden for about 5-10 minutes.

6. Then take your balloon over the sink and while holding the wax end, pop your balloon
My husband actually stayed up later than he would have normally, just so he could be the one to pop the water balloon! haha! No i'm not kidding! He did a fantastic job LOL :)



7. Ok, now you want your bowl to have a smooth, pretty top, SO using the technique you used to flatten the bottom of the wax bowl, you'll do the same for the top. Turn your wax bowl upsidown and gently press it onto the warm plate or frying pan (just a few seconds!) This gives it a nice smooth rim!

AND THERE YOU HAVE IT!


I took two of those bowls and poked two holes on either side to tie off small rope for a handle. These are hanging in my kitchen and I will be getting little LED lights to set in them so I can use them like candles. I'm sure they will glow beautifully!




Not sure what to do with the rest of them. Gift them perhaps!



Here they are with a tea light candle at night. I'll be buying LED lights for future use but I just couldn't resist seeing what they would look like lit up! I love the warm glow! I hated to blow them out, but definately didn't want to risk melting the bowls!



Can't wait to make MORE!
I need more beeswax AND food coloring to dye the wax orange to make some for halloween!

I also plan to make some bigger ones and when the leaves start changing this fall, I'll collect some of them to modge podge onto the bowls (or lanterns I guess they could be called if I make the bigger ones next time)

I love love love working with natural materials!
It is so fun to create!


Linking up at


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