I tend to take my bath with bubbles, but lately I have discovered essential oils, salts, and herbs. It has taken my bath from ho-hum to deserving of a Calgon commercial. Plus salts have a wealth of health benefits that bubbles just can’t seem to live up to – throw in the herbs and oil and, well…no contest! One trip to your local health food store is all it takes....
(Try our recipe for Chocolate Zucchini Bread) When I planted my garden, I didn’t think it was a big deal to plant 3 zucchini plants. I love zucchini and I thought the more the better. Well… they grew big right away and I ended up pulling one of them to make room. The zucchini started to come slowly and I thought having 2 plants at this point was okay. But now they are growing like rabbits....
They invited Caspar Babypants, pictured above – a fabulous children’s music celebrity (and lead singer of The Presidents of the United States!), to host a concert at the event. He knows how to get the kids bee-boppin’! He can play some mean Beatles songs! I was happy to provide a fun and festive kid’s craft table as well. We made bell ringers, beaded pipe cleaner bracelets, tinsel snowflakes, and ribbon & lollipop stick wands!...
Chocolate crackles are a traditional party treat in Australia. Around the holidays, I especially miss my home country and want to eat all of the traditional foods we make. This year I decided to make not only traditional chocolate crackles but also turn some into wreaths that are perfect for your holiday parties. Christmas chocolate crackle wreaths Kids are going to love helping to make these because licking the spoon/s at the end is the best part....
Garlic Parmesan Crockpot Chicken and Potatoes: Classics combine into a tasty main dish and side. Find the tutorial over at Damn Delicious. Creamy Cilantro Lime Chicken: If you love cilantro, you’ll love this creamy chicken dish. Find the tutorial over at The Recipe Critic. One Chicken, Two Meals: Turn one chicken into two meals with this delicious recipe set! Find the tutorial over at Make and Takes. Slow Cooker Chicken Marsala: This classic Italian dish is made simple in the crock pot....
Crochet Watermelon Coasters for Summer Sippin’: Rest a glass of lemonade on these adorable DIY crochet watermelon coasters. Easy to crochet and adorable. Puffy Paint Watermelon Craft: This kid’s craft from Crafty Morning is really fun and easy to make. Your kiddos will love it. Watermelon Wrapping Paper: Dress up some wrapping paper with these cute watermelon stamps from Inner Child Fun. DIY Watermelon Serving Tray: Craft this amazing watermelon serving tray to help you entertain guests all summer long....
To help you celebrate even more, here are 50 Crafts and Activities to Explore Our 5 Senses! Sense of Smell: Pink Peppermint Play Dough: Kids will love playing with and smelling this sweet pink peppermint play dough. It smells divine! Exploring Sense of Smell: This sense of smell activity is so much fun for kids of all ages. Use everyday household items to experiment with. Smelly Potions: Experiment with things that smell by mixing up some smelly potions....
9 NOW Ideas for Simple Fall Decor How-to White Wash a Pumpkin: I am loving the white washed looked of these faux pumpkins. Simple, chic, and gorgeous. (via Tidbits) DIY Fall Oak Leaf Wreath: Every home needs a fall wreath, or two. This oak leaf wreath is neutral and will go with any decor in your home. I love the natural look. (via Hymns and Verses) Thanksgiving Centerpiece: This is the easiest fall time centerpiece!...
Supplies: Wooden window frame with glass removed Optional – sand paper and paint (if your frame needs a makeover) Foam core board – enough to fit all the panes of your window Thin quilting batting (I used leftover pieces of Warm & White) – enough to wrap around foam core Fabric – enough to wrap around foam core Ribbon Decorative brads Stapler Glue gun or fabric glue Small nails and hammer Hooks (optional)...
One of our first art journal pages was all about our hands. I love that on this one page I have their hand sizes, handwriting, and thoughts all recorded to look back on – so cute! Start by tracing your child’s hands upside-down on the page, with thumbs and pointer fingers touching to form a heart shape in the center. I traced their hands with pencil, and they traced over the lines with marker or oil pastel....
Baking and decorating cookies is a Christmas tradition that we definitely follow and enjoy every year, regardless of age! We just look forward to baking together, all 3 generations. And when cookies are involved, it is so easy to get kids to help in the kitchen! Yes, that’s the magic word: cookies! They will drop anything they are doing and come running :) After all, the reward is so precious: dozens and dozens of cookies, not to mention the excitement around icing, frosting or powdered sugar when it comes to decorate them....
The great news is that these two things don’t have to be mutually exclusive. There are a myriad of ways to go green and be the hostess with the most-ess. But often the biggest impact will come from thinking small: that is, reducing the amount of waste from your fête. I’ve picked just a few key areas to green-appease with relative ease: THE INVITES Evite’s are an obvious option for reducing waste when it comes to letting guests in on the who, what, where, why and when, but they often lack a personal touch (and don’t always match the color scheme you had in mind)....
Thanks to a reader email, I received an message asking if our cake mix cookies could be turned into a pizza cookie. I didn’t know if it could, so I HAD to try it out for myself! And I’m so glad I did, it’s such a fun recipe. There’s so many fun ways to decorate this delicious dessert. You could make it with all sorts of fresh fruit, dried fruit, or even lots and lots of chocolate candy!...
These are super simple to make, adding just a little festive touch to your gift. Use them as greeting cards or even gift tags for all of your wrapped presents. Supplies for Washi Tape Trees: washi tape – all colors cardstock paper or pre-folded cards scissors – optional Cut your cardstock paper in half and fold it again in half to create a card. Pull off a piece of washi tape and measure it to your card....
The sun is shining outside, and if you are spending time outdoors tending to your garden and pruning your vines or bougainvillea keep a few branches aside, cut a few flowers from the garden, and help the kids make these pretty crowns to wear while they play hide ‘n go seek, or other fun outdoor activities. As you can see we did this activity right after swimming so please excuse the wet messy hair....
The goal of this project is to illustrate the letters of your first name, nickname, or last name to express parts of your personality. It’s fun, and sometimes challenging, to think creatively about how you can turn objects into letters. This project works well on a long strip of paper. We drew our name illustrations on half sheets of letter-size white card stock. Gather some drawing and coloring supplies – we used a combination of colored markers, black Sharpies, crayons, and colored pencils....
Cork Stamped Flowers: Wine corks are an idea material for stamping. Add a little pastel paint and you’ve got a gorgeous spring bouquet that won’t wilt! Find the tutorial over at Happy Hooligans. Wine Cork Vases: A wine cork vase is such an elegant touch to add to your decor. Find the tutorial over at Design Improvised. Handmade Wine Cork Earrings: The contrast of thread and cork makes for such an adorable earring!...
The other great thing? It’s easy to double, and you’ll want to because it’s sure to be popular. Especially for a potluck recipe. It might just become your favorite potato salad too! I don’t care much for mayo-based potato salads. While I like a creamy dressing, the mayo feels a bit too heavy to me. So usually I opt for a salad more along the lines of a German potato salad made with an herb vinaigrette....
Supplies for Holiday Wipe-Off Advent Countdown: 14×14 inch metal piece – I bought this red metal wipe off board from Target. But you could simply buy a sheet of metal from a hardware store. Something magnetic and wipe-able. 12×12 piece of cardstock paper, any style exacto knife and cutting surface – I just used a cork board trivet sticky back magnets black number stickers black dry erase marker First, you want to cut out 25 flaps to your cardstock paper, using your exacto knife and cutting surface....
We chose to add lavender essential oil drops for our jars as this scent is our family’s absolute favorite aroma! It’s so calming and soothing, especially during night. Supplies: Carrier oil: 1-2 inches safflower oil – this is your carrier oil, almond oil or baby oil can be used as well Essential oil: 15-20 drops essential oil – for aromatherapy and fragrance Jars: any jar will work with a small opening at the top Sticks: rattan reeds or bamboo skewers optional: 90% proof alcohol – helps the oil travel up the sticks faster...
