Before you start painting, look at a real American flag or a photo of the flag. Talk about the colors and shapes that you see, then get ready to create your own flag! Supplies: 1 sheet of large white paper (we used 12″x18″ construction paper) 1 sheet of blue construction paper red and white washable tempera paint large paintbrush Q-tip double-sided tape or glue scissors ribbon, yarn, or twine...

The recipe comes from baking wizard, Dorie Greenspan. If you aren’t familiar with her and you like to bake, do a quick Google search and check out her recipes. They rarely, if ever, disappoint. When we decorate chocolate cupcakes at our house in a few weeks, this will be the recipe we use. from Baking: From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan Ingredients: Makes 12 cupcakes For the chocolate cupcakes: 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1/4 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt 1 stick (8 tbsp) unsalted butter, at room temperature 3/4 cup sugar 1 large egg 1 large egg yolk 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract 1/2 cup buttermilk 2 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled...

I’m always trying to think of quick, tummy-filling breakfasts to give my kids a good start for their day. That goes for school days and school holidays. These loaded breakfast quesadillas are just what they need, plus they’re easy to make and a yummy breakfast! Quick and Delicious Breakfast Quesadillas One of the greatest things I started making is breakfast quesadillas. Everyone seems to love them. It’s one way for me to get my pickiest eater to eat more than one food group at a time....

Supplies for Gallon Jug Snow Scoops: 1 gallon plastic jug, empty and dried out scissors (adult needs to cut this) permanent markers Cut the plastic jug (an adult) about 1-2 inches up from the bottom. Then color the jug with permanent markers in any design they want. Use permanent markers or it may rub off with the wet snow. Now let them play! And if you don’t have snow, these would make great Sand Scoops or Dirt Pile Scoops!...

Salmon Pasta with Sundried Tomato Pesto Ingredients You can find our full list of ingredients in the printable recipe card below, but the key items you need are: Salmon Cellentani pasta Sundried tomatoes Sundried tomato pesto – we used a store-bought jar for convenience, but you could also make our homemade sundried tomato pesto recipe Green vegetable Which pasta is best for this recipe? One of our favorites is Cellentani pasta....

I decided to involve my toddler in the project this year and the results are about as cute, simple and inexpensive as can be. Supplies: dried black beans tea light candle glass votive tiny American flags Instructions: Have your child count beans as they put them into each glass votive. This was great fun for me and Audrey. We practiced counting as high as she can, counting by two’s and counting backwards....

Fill each space on the spin-a-story with a new idea or plot twist for your story. Will a magical animal appear? Could a storm or bad luck change your story? Will your story be magical, silly, or full of adventure? It’s up to you! Supplies: Cereal box, or other recycled cardboard 1 sheet 9 x 12” construction paper, any light color Markers or crayons Paperclip Brad (paper fastener) Scissors Glue stick Tape...

You’ll first want to collect, press, and sort your leaves. Then find a fancy pen (I love the silver ink), or you could even paint on your leaves like Geninnie’s Art, where Quince and Quire was inspired. Have fun being creative this Fall!

You might be asking, what does this mean? Well, I have ideas you can take with you when planning your gifts for Mom. Whether you take a class or host the DIY party yourself, here are 3 ways to gift the gift of creativity for Mother’s Day! 1. Develop Your Skills That Take Time Whether you want to learn to paint, watercolor, or even work on your photography, these are some of those creative processes that takes a little time to perfect....

The best part about these snowflakes is how economical they are to create. All you need for one snowflake is 2 silver pipe cleaners and a pair of scissors. Begin by cutting your pipe cleaners. You’ll need four 4″ pieces and five 1 1/4″ pieces. Wrap one of the 1 1/4″ pieces tightly around all four of the 4″ pieces. Then evenly spread out each of the pieces creating a star shape....

I really think I was able to maximize my garden space with the 4×5 foot garden bed I had to work with. I’ll be doing it again next year. It’s fun to take pictures of my garden throughout the season to see what progress it’s made. Here’s what it looked like all summer long: May Veggie Garden: Getting started, just planting. June Veggie Garden: It’s growing! July Veggie Garden: Peas came and went quick....

Supplies for Sack of Gold: black fabric – 8 inch square. No need to sew the sides, I kept it frayed. gold – chocolates, yellow paper circles, or plastic gold coins yellow ribbon – 10-12 inches long Place your gold in the center of the fabric. Scoop up each corner and scrunch it at the top. Wrap and tie around the yellow ribbon, securing the gold in place. Now find the gold!...

Want to make some snow globe place cards with your kids this week? Let’s get started! Step 1: Make your base. We made bases for our snow globes two ways – one messy and painted, one simple and clean. You decide which one works best for you and your kids. For the painted bases, cut a cardboard paper towel tube into “slices” – ours were 1.5-2″ wide. Paint the cardboard rings, inside and out, with your choice of color....

Supplies for Towel Wrapped Bottle: bottle of bubbly – wine, champagne, sparkling cider flour sack towel or tea towel – purchased at the Dollar Store ribbon Place your bottle in the center of the towel. Wrap each side of the towel up the bottle. Tie it all off with ribbon. That’s it! Super easy. What are some fun neighbor gifts you’re giving out this year for the holidays?

Do I have some serious singers in my house!! So of course we are gaga over the animated movie SING! We are having a family night party to watch the movie, along with munching some darling microphone cookies, helping us “SING” along! We’re partnered with Universal Pictures Home Entertainment for a fun movie night, as SING Special Edition is now available on Blu-ray & DVD. My girls already know most of the songs, we’ve been singing them ever since the movie came out, so this is a definite “SING”-along as we watch at home!...

Pool Noodle Flower Craft: Turn a couple of pool noodles into a summertime garden! Find the tutorial over at Premeditated Leftovers. Pool Noodle Ponies: These ponies would be fun to play with both in and out of the pool. Find the tutorial over at Mrs. King’s Music Class. Pool Noodle Water Wall: Set up a water wall on your back porch for hours of fun and discovery! Find the tutorial over at Teaching Mama....

Cake Batter Blondies: Who doesn’t love the taste of cake batter? These cake batter blondies are outrageously delicious. (via Sallys Baking Addiction) Cake Mix Donuts: Needing a quick and easy dessert recipe? You’ve got to try these cake mix donuts. Aren’t they so cute? (via It’s Always Autumn) Apple Pie Cake: Skip the pie crust and go straight for the cake with this apple pie cake recipe. (via Betty Crocker)...

Instructions: First, find 25 Christmas books. It may sound like a lot, but once you start gathering all your holiday books, you’ll be surprised at what you can find! They can be old books you have from around the house or ones you save for just the holiday season. Or you can purchase new books, finding them cheap from the Scholastic book clubs! Wrap them each up individually. You can add a number to each present or let the kids choose which one to open each night....

1. Lots of Laughs There’s just something about family where you can truly be yourself. It makes for such a fun day at Disneyland, sharing so many laughs. We were all without our children, so we all became kids again ourselves! We ran around the whole park, in every line, sharing memories and stories with lots and lots of laughs. 2. Silly Photo Opps Ever since we were little, we have to take silly hat pictures!...

“Paper may be an energy hog, but so, too, are the servers and desktops that make online newspapers possible,” explains Brendan Koerner in a fascinating Slate.com piece. “Researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have estimated that the average server consumes 4,505 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, a figure that includes the power used to cool the hardware.” There’s something to the “subscribe & save” module in more than one way....