Lotion Bars

I recently saw a recipe for making my own lotion bars.  I thought they sounded like a really nice and fast gift.  I ordered all of my ingredients from amazon (surprise surprise).  All you need is beeswax, shea butter, and coconut oil.   My only advice is to get the beeswax in small enough pieces.  I ordered small bars of beeswax (1 oz each) that I roughly chopped before melting.  Jillee used pellets, which melt much quicker. 

I already had these cute molds (I also have the flower mold) from making bird seed favors for my sister's bridal shower.

Beeswax $6.80
Shea Butter $3.00
Coconut Oil $1.90  (Subscribe and Save price)

Total: 11.70 for 6 bars ($1.95 a bar)

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Tomorrow, we will be exchanging valentine's with our homeschool friends.  Every year, I have all good intentions to make something cute, and every year I run out of time.  Well, this year is different!!  I saw a cute valentine card using cookies.  Unfortunately, I can't remember which site I saw this on.  I can tell you that the cookie recipe came from "I am Momma - Hear Me Roar."

First of all, these cookies are amazing!  They are buttery and not too sweet.  I rolled them out pretty thin and cooked them a little longer than recommended because I like a crispy cookie.  I am sure they would be soft if you rolled them thicker and cooked them less.  Also, I am not one to add icing to my cookies, but hey, it's Valentine's Day!

To make the cards, I cute 7 inch squares of paper, and folded the corners in to make an enclosed square.  I also have 12 x 1 inch strips and hearts that I cut out of my scraps.  I used raised tape dots to hold it all together. Cutting and folding all of the pieces was a little tedious, but putting it all together is quick.

I put the cookie in a baggie, which I put in the square; wrap the 12 inch strip around the square and adhere with a tape dot; and adhere the heart onto the strip with another tape dot.

Annnnd, funny side story.  As I am putting the cards together, I hear audrey yelling to help her wash her hands.  And this is what I find. . .

That is green food coloring.  It is everywhere.  She is soaking in the bath tub right now.  Most of it is off, but I think she is going to be slightly tinted for a couple days.

Food coloring can't taste good!  She even has it in her molars. . .  This child keeps me on my toes.

Update On My Craft Obsessions

 I wanted to make Jack a desk that was just the right height so that he would have his feet on the floor for good handwriting.  Somehow I came up with this idea.  4 crates, one piece of plywood and some chalkboard cloth and we have the perfect solution for desk and storage.

 I have a filing cabinet and plastic drawer unit in our bedroom.  They aren't pretty, so I decided to make covers to make them more girly.  The flap on the front lifts up so that I still have easy access to the drawers.

 My newest obsession is acrylic painting.  I took two classes at the Painting with a Twist.  If you have never heard of them, they are a place where you bring your own alcohol and paint under the instruction of an artist.  This was my second painting, a cherry tree in the moonlight.  My first painting was one of those wacky New Orleans shotgun houses. I quickly learned why the paintings don't have straight lines, because it is difficult to paint straight when you are tipsy :o)

 This one I did at home.  I think I need to make the little jazz man's jacket a little bigger/more rounded in the back.

 This one I also did at home.  It is the Philly skyline painted like a sunset and the Benjamin Franklin bridge.  I need to paint the sky but am scared to screw up what I have done so far.  I am going to go with a sunset look, with pink in the low horizon, fading to blues and grey in the higher part of the sky.

 I made a new wreath for my front door.  When you live in the south, you don't get any fall color, so you have to manufacture it.  I also put fake fall leaves in my bushes that flank my front door.  It's kind of a hilarious ghetto fabulous look, and it cracks me up.

And last but not least, I painted this on Saturday.  We held a painting fundraiser in our community, and this is what we painted.

Two Small Projects

I made another taggie gift for a friend.  I liked the idea of a letter for a taggie, but the letter by itself seemed a little small.  This time, I made a mini quilt and sewed a letter on top.  I really like the way it turned out.  I think I will also add a couple linky rings to one of the tags.

This is the invite for my sister's shower.  The verbage was totally "stolen" from online searches, but the crafting was a Krohn original.  I love the kitchen brads that I found in our local scrapbook store.  No two invites were alike, as I had many different brads and two different paper color schemes.

And being the corn ball that I am, I added my "stamp" to the back. 

Audrey Gets a New Bed!

Safety First!

Audrey helping Daddy make her bed

Bryan built Audrey a big girl bed this weekend.  This is the first project for us that wasn't copied from an internet source!  I had this idea to make a bed platform from two storage units, so if we ever get tired of the bed, we can turn it into two storage benches!  The entire unit has an edge, so the mattress doesn't slip off.  Bryan did a great job building it, and I think it looks quite professional!

The finished product

Catching Up. . . Jack's Birthday Party

Jack wanted to have a lego themed birthday party.  I had a lot of fun preparing all of the elements for the party.  I made a festive table scape by making each kid their own lego placemat.  I used lego scrapbook paper and lego stickers and laminated them.  I then put bowls of legos down the middle of the table with some building directions so that kids could build as everyone arrived.

I also made each kid a party hat out of primary colored cardstock and a lego head cut out.  I decorated the room with primary colored pennants and some little mobile like things.

I kept the activities simple, so that kids could just play for part of the time.  I bought extra wheels and basic blocks so that the kids could build cars and take them home, they also played pin the hat on the lego man.  I made pizza dough and the kids got to make their own pizzas, and of course we had cake.  I tried to make a lego brick cake, but didn't quite leave enough time to make the cake, so it was a pretty messy lego brick.

The kids each took home a little goody bag with a mystery lego mini figure, chocolate lego mini figures, sweet tart lego bricks, lego stickers, their placemats, and the lego car that they created.

All of the kids had a really good time, which was nice since most of the kids didn't know each other.  Jack invited Jordyn and Carissa (sisters from the neighborhood), Spencer (Jack's first New Orleans friend that we met at the pool this summer), Seth (a friend from the homeschool group), and Michael and Anna (siblings from the homeschool group).

Our Own Place to Play

Last week, Bryan and Hans built the kids a swing set. They did a great job, and Jack had a lot of fun helping. Audrey even got in on the action with Jack's hammer.

I just love the swing set! We found plans online and bought the supplies, and made it "from scratch." It is very sturdy. There is a tower with a slide coming down from it, a sandbox underneath, and a beam off the side with 2 swings, a baby swing, and a see-saw type swing, which the kids are using above.

The kids absolutely love it, they spend a lot of time out there every day. Ahh, an advantage of being in New Orleans- nice weather in November where you can play outside comfortably.

Why, yes, we are still alive

I am so far behind on blogging, that I am not sure where to start. Needless to say, we have been busy. I have been crafting, giving Bryan honey-do lists, and finding all sorts of places to take the family.

A month or so ago, Jack picked out a pattern and fabric for his costume, which he calls a ninja. I made it and it turned out great! I also made reversible trick-or-treat bags for the kids. I am also using the bags for our trips to the library and church.

Then, I made a book sling for Jack's books. (I will upload a picture of that later) He is so obsessed with books, that he ends up with tons of books in his bed, so hopefully he will put the books in the book sling now instead of sleeping on them.

My most recent project is a quilt for the new baby. I created the pattern myself and backed it with chenille. It is so soft--I need to make one for us to use now. Next, I will be making a diaper bag. I can never find one that I really like, so I am going to create one that hopefully has everything that I need.

I have also kept Bryan busy. The color of our bathroom was driving me crazy. It was a flat finish, slightly dull yellow/orange. I also didn't really like the huge 8ft by 4ft plate glass mirror. Besides, if we were going to paint, we might as well do the whole project! I budgeted $500 for the project, for paint, mirrors and new light fixtures. After our trip to Lowes, we spent $300. We unscrewed the mirror only to find out it had been glued to the wall. Long story short, I ended up calling a local glass shop and found out that it was going to be a dangerous job. No thank you. So we hired them to come out and remove it for $150. Fine-still within my budget. When they came to the house, they found out that Bryan's in the military and they did the job for FREE!!!! What wonderful people! The job is nearly complete. We just need to remove the tape and put up some accessories.

Ok, off the start my diaper bag!!!

Jack The Carpenter Set's Up Shop

Jack has really been into, as my grandfather would say, "Car-penting." The only problem is that Bryan's workbench is obviously too high for Jack to work at. When he helps with projects, he has to stand on a stool. Since Bryan has a couple days off work, he and Jack went to Lowes and bought some lumber and came home and spent the rest of the day building Jack his own.

As you can see, Jack was very excited to have his own workbench. He has spent the last two days playing out there. You might also be able to see the tools. They are real (but kids) tools. Now Jack is busy planning all of the projects he wants to build.

Handy Dandy Family

I have been on a crafty roll. I really like jewelry, but it is just too expensive, so I've decided to learn how to make my own creations. I found a free pattern on Michael's website, bought the supplies, and $13 and 3 hours later I had a new necklace. I like it, but I think it's a bit too big for me. I'll have to find a friend or family member who can pull off big necklaces.

Jack and Bryan were equally busy. Last weekend, the woman at Lowes gave us an extra builder kit to make a picture frame. So Jack and Bryan went out to the workbench, suited up for safety, and built a one-of-a-kind picture frame. (Jack must have learned how to wear his goggles from one of my past students. Why is that they never put them over their eyes???) Jack had so much fun and was so proud of himself.

Oh, and I don't have any pictures, but yesterday we went for a walk through the park (bayou) down the street. It was a beautiful day, the path is nicely shaded, and there was a great breeze. Jack had fun finding all sorts of plants, spiders, birds, and even THREE ALLIGATORS!!!! This freaked me out a little bit. They were literally a foot away from us in the water! Jack was amazed and just wanted to stand there and watch them for a little while, but mom was quite ready to keep on walking. Quietly and calmly. Even if I had the camera, I don't know that I would have had the nerve to stand there and take pictures of them.