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Knit shawl pattern The one thing that I really don’t like about the cold weather is my back being cold. Once my back is cold I cannot warm up. This winter I decided to make a thick knit shawl that I can wear anywhere. It’s perfect for porch sitting, or for wearing out and about. Supplies 3 balls of Lion Brand Re-Spun yarn in olive branch Size US 10 (6mm) knitting needles Scissors Large sewing needle Cardboard 3″ x 5″ (depending on your desired length of tassels) – I cut a piece out of a pizza box lid...

I have been looking for ages for what I would call the best homemade buttercream frosting! Most of the recipes have the same ingredients: unsalted butter, vanilla extract, sometimes cream or milk is added and of course, powdered sugar. Well, here is where everything goes crazy…the amount of powdered sugar J You can find recipes that will vary the quantity of powdered sugar anywhere between 1 cup and 7 cups!...

Supplies for Chalk Pastel Stenciled Turkeys: 12″x18″ construction paper – brown and white scrap pieces of construction paper – orange and red file folder, card stock, or other sturdy paper for the stencil chalk pastels tissue or cotton balls googly eyes glue First, draw the turkey’s head and body shape on brown construction paper. We used our fists and wrists as a guide for the head and neck, which worked great!...

First, you will need to commission some paintings from your child. My little guy made three separate paintings, each with a limited selection of colors: one with red and yellow, one with green and turquoise, and one with blue and purple. We used a heavier art paper, and let him go to town painting and mixing with a large brush. Let the paintings dry completely. If you already have a stack of paintings on hand from preschool or past art activities, those will work, too!...

Cast a spell on your home, both inside and out with this spooky witch decoration. Supplies to make the Paper Plate Witch: Paper plate Black, peach & orange construction paper Green do – a – dot marker Googly eyes Black craft pom-pom Craft scissors Glue stick Directions: We took an 8-inch paper plate in white and a do-a-dot marker to color our paper plate green. You can add dots, or cover it up entirely like my daughter did....

We often end up answering the question for them because they didn’t answer fast enough. But if we just give them time, at least 5 seconds, they’ll have time to process what’s been asked and can give you an answer. Now it may not be the correct answer, but they’ll at least be able to respond. This technique helps children process their thoughts, learn language and speech, and builds self-confidence....

Recipe for Grilled Brussels Sprouts: 25-30 brussels sprouts salt & pepper oil Marzetti® Simply Dressed Balsamic Vinaigrette skewers Wash and dry your brussels sprouts. Cut off the very bottom, about 1/4 inch off the end. Cut them in half lengthwise. Place your brussels sprout halves onto your skewers, leaving a little space between each. If you have wooden skewers, make sure the skewers are soaked with water for 30 minutes before hand to avoid burning on the grill....

Here are Lucy and I crafting for Halloween with our Halloween Thumbprint Cards: We will be showcasing our Craftspiration videos all year long to celebrate holidays and events throughout the year. Yippee!

How to make chocolate Rice Krispies Begin by melting the butter in a medium-sized pan. Add the cocoa powder, and then stir in the marshmallows. Tip: I have an electric stove and kept the heat at medium-low (level 3) for this entire process. This is so you don’t burn the butter, or the other ingredients sticking to the bottom of the pan. Once all of the ingredients were completely melted and blended together I poured them into a large bowl....

Supplies for Tub O’ Fun: pipe cleaners tissue paper beads thread yarn cotton balls popsicle sticks straws recycle items – egg carton, paper towel roll, plastic containers tape kid scissors glue sticks plastic zip bags Plastic zip bags are a must! They help keep similar items together and help everything stay organized. We’ve got 3 months of summer and this tub’s going to get some use, so I’d like to keep it clutter free....

But friends, I have a real love for Cottonelle, having been a user of their wipes from the beginning, I’ve been clean and fresh for years! And I love their new dispenser, even easier. My kids can use it with no trouble at all! Cottonelle is helping us think about a few things: You may be missing out on a better way to get clean than simply using dry toilet paper alone....

It’s great to expose kids to all sorts of different mediums when talking about and learning letters. With these pipe cleaners, you can make them into any shape, so these work well when learning upper case letters and lower case letters. It’s also the perfect activity when teaching a child to write and spell their name, as the pipe cleaners can be moved into any direction. Put two or three pipe cleaners together to make really large letters....

I have a boy, and when he’s not playing video games, laughing hysterically at YouTube videos, or lying in wait with Nerf guns, he’s looking for the next thing to do, the next ‘boy toy’ so-to-speak. Whilst walking the dog the other day we came across some ‘Y’ shaped sticks on the ground and thought they’d be perfect to whip up a couple of slingshots. He has quite a thing for bow and arrows at the moment so I thought he’d get just as much fun out of this....

It couldn’t be simpler, really. This gray yarn ball above was from one of my son’s old shirts, only using the bottom of the shirt up to the armpit. Approx. 5 yards once stretched. The video tutorial I found is over at Jewelry Tutorial HQ. I followed right along. Now I’ve got my nifty new ball of yarn. It’s soft, jersey material, but has more of an industrial type use....

I have been working with my five-year-old niece on her name recognition and words for a while. She is so proud that she can now spell her name and to celebrate we decided to make a Letter Collage to keep in her room. Collages are my favorite – just some painting, drawing, cutting, and gluing and a fabulous art is ready. Projects like our Colorful Paper Gumball Machine Collage, Rainbow Sailboat Collage Art Project are perfect for preschool and young elementary kids who have basic tracing, cutting, and gluing skills!...

I wanted to trade in the ground beef for vegetables and fried fruit in the stuffing. And I wanted it to be spicy. All in all, I was very happy with how the peppers turned out. If you’re looking for a great meatless main dish (add some roasted veggies to round out the meal) or a flavorful side dish, stuffed peppers will certainly fit the bill. Moroccan Spiced Stuffed Bell Peppers Serves 2 as a main dish, or 4 as a side...

I’ve talked about crocheting granny squares before, but I wanted to dive into changing colors for each layer and stitching squares together to form a blanket. I’m calling this my lapghan, as it’s perfect for a lap. But we could also call it a granny patch blanket, as it was fun to bring in a quilting aspect to this blanket as I patched the pieces together. It was my love of quilting mixed with crochet....

I love family celebrations and parties. One of my favorite parts is to think of creative ways to decorate that are personal, inexpensive and fun. These are two centerpieces I’ve done for my children’s christenings. I loved seeing how these simple ideas had people talking, laughing, rotating chairs and visiting other tables to see the different pictures. Project Prep: Count the number of photos you will need. Multiply the number of centerpieces you want by 6 or 8....

I used a tree doily (a pack of 20 for $1 at the dollar store), and some holiday foam stickers (also from the dollar store) to make a quick advent calendar for my 2 year-old son. You can also just cut a tree out of construction paper if you can’t find the doilies, or don’t want to purchase them. Supplies: Construction paper Tree doily or green construction paper Christmas-themed stickers (24) Glue stick Scissors, if needed...

How to repurpose a plastic container into a vase Repurposing plastic containers for fresh flowers is a great project for tweens and teens. Have them pick flowers from the garden or take them to a local farmers market to pick out a bouquet to put into their vase. They’ll love this pretty spring addition to their bedrooms. Supplies Odor eliminator container Scrapbook paper Mod Podge Twine Brush Scissors Instructions Remove the label from the odor eliminator container and clean the container thoroughly with soap and water....