How to Hang Decorations and Frames with Two Hooks

I can't begin to tell you how many holes used to be hiding behind my pictures and decorations that had two hooks, until I figured out this simple fool proof method.

Start by laying a piece pf painters tape across the back of the frame. Then mark where you want the nail to go.

 Move the tape from the frame to the wall where you want to hang it. (Check that the tape is not crooked with a leveler)

 Hammer your nail or hook into place on both sides and then remove the tape.

Attach your decoration or frame to the wall! Easy Peasy!

DIY Baby Food 101

 

Making your own baby food is super easy. You can choose fresh fruit, vegetables, lean meat, oatmeal, greek yogurt and mix and match them to give your baby a well rounded diet.

 

 When starting with making your own baby food use the KISS principle (Keep It Simple Silly). Choose a single fruit or vegetable, steam it until it is soft and then puree it. The puree can be sectioned in ice cube trays and frozen to store for future use.

DIY Hair Bow Holder

I love easy crafts and this hair bow holder was a piece of cake! My daughter is about to turn 7 months old and we have found ourselves in the world of hair accessories. These darling little bows are just so cute, but they are multiplying and they are everywhere. I needed a cute solution to match her room and keep these accessories under control.

I made this easy DIY bow holder for $16 and with better planning I could have made it for less. I found the picture frame at TJ Maxx for $10, the ribbon and background paper at World Market for $3 each. I am sure similar items can be found at Micheal's and with a coupon this project can be under $10!

You will need:
Picture Frame
Decorative Paper
Ribbon
Double Sided Tape

First cut your decorative paper to fit your frame and place behind the glass. Next wrap your ribbon around the glass and secure to the back of the decorative paper. Finally return the glass, paper and ribbon to the frame, secure into place with the locks on the frame and you are ready to add your bows!! 

How to Make Homemade Almond Joy Body Butter and a Giveaway!!!

Are you looking for a personalized gift this holiday season? This is a great gift idea for the women in your life and I bet some guys would appreciate it after a long summer of grilling and getting their hands dirty. 

My intention was to create a DIY gift of body butter that smelled like a cinnamon roll.... that didn't happen, but my cinnamon roll fail turned into an Almond Joy scented success! Tip #1 is save the cinnamon for body scrubs. The little granules don't melt down and it feels like you have sand in your body butter. I ended up straining my first batch through cheese cloth to get the cinnamon out...

Homemade Brown Sugar Body Scrub

 

An invigorating exfoliator that will leave your skin glowing and smelling delicious for a quarter of the price!

Whether you are looking to have a spa day at home or want to create the perfect gift for friends and family this Brown Sugar Scrub is perfect.

Cilantro Bouquet

 

Flowers, fruit bouquets, chocolate assortments, wine.. All of these things run through my head when I am going to someones house for dinner. What do I bring the host/hostess!?

I decided to go a little outside of the box with my last dinner party outing and had some fun while prepping for a dish I was going to make at their house. As I was gathering all of my ingredients my mind started to go wild with creative ideas of avocado monsters and lime towers. I was making guacamole so I didn't have a whole lot to work with! That's when it hit me, cilantro bouquet! I quickly pulled out a few more items and got to work.

Shoe Redo

I have this super comfy pair of aerosoles that I haven't worn in a long time because the heels look like my dogs used them as a chew toy.

 I saw a great idea on pinterest where someone covered their scuffed up heel in glue and then rolled it in glitter to cover the scuffs. While I was walking through Michael's Craft Store I saw Tulip Fabric Paint in a color close to my shoes! I used painters tape to keep my lines clean.

I painted on three coats allowing an hour drying time between each coat. The photo above shows one coat of paint (notice the scuff marks and tears have already disappeared!) 

The final result! They are not perfect when you look up close, but they look pretty fab on my feet!

Lashes by Latisse

Want eye lashes like Kim Kardashian? You can put on fake lashes...or try Latisse!

I have spent years and lots of money trying to find the perfect mascara, but whenever I wanted my lashes to really stand out I always added on fake lashes. When the advertisements for Latisse started a few years ago I was skeptical, but heard from a few people that it worked. So I finally took the plunge and purchased two boxes (about an 8 week supply) and guess what... it works!!! The photo below are my lashes before and then my lashes after 6 weeks using Latisse. I am now just using it a few times a week for maintenance.

Pinterest Project: Crayon Art

I found another fun project idea on pinterest, crayon art! It looked like a simple enough project, attach crayons to canvas and melt with a hair dryer or put crayons through a glue gun and melt. Above you can see the first method which my sister created this weekend (The top photo she placed pieces of crayon on the canvas which was laid flat and the hair dryer was held above the canvas and the second the canvas was upright to allow the crayon to melt downward). I decided to use the glue gun approach (I only splattered a little across my face, ouch!)

First I went online and googled silhouette stickers. I found a few I liked and printed them out. I then cut them out and traced them onto my canvas. I then filled in the picture with a black fabric marker.

Next, I covered my drawing with cardboard and painters tape.

I set my up my project in a cardboard box and used a blank canvas to test out how the melted crayon was going to flow.

The melted crayon came out in splatters, drips and runs, there really was not much consistency to it. I had to use a pencil behind each crayon to help push the crayon through. As you can see in the picture the process got a little messy (thank goodness it mostly stayed contained in the cardboard box)

Here is my final result!

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Baby its cold outside: what to do with a 7/8 month old

With the winter months upon us several mommies I know with babies in the 7/8 month range are wondering what to do when its too cold to play outside, and with all of the winter germs taking the tots to play groups doesn't seem like the best option.

Here are some ideas to keep the little ones busy and entertained as well as intellectually stimulated:

Crafts: While most crafts are difficult with the 7/8 month age group (since they want to put everything in their mouths) salt dough ornaments are easy to make and with all natural simple ingredients it isn't a big deal if they put it in their mouth.

Art: As I mentioned above babies put everything in their mouths, so traditional finger painting is out. However finger painting with baby food purees is in! If you don't mind getting a little messy, let them finger paint on their high chair table with puree!

Peek-a-Boo: At this age babies are learning about object permanence. (Have you noticed your baby repeatedly dropping things and waiting for you to pick them up? They are starting to learn that things don't disappear when they are out of sight.) Take a small toy and put it where your baby can see it. Then cover it with a towel. Then pick up the towel to reveal the toy again!

Developmental Toys: The ring stacking toy and stacking cups are great toys for the 7/8 months old. My son hasn't yet figured out the stacking cups, but he does enjoy knocking them down after I build a tower with them.

A few other things to try:

Dance Parties: (play your favorite tunes and let them dance around) OK so our 7/8 month old children aren't dancing around the room yet, but they will enjoy bopping along.

Flash Cards: (with colors, numbers and letters) our little ones are like sponges soaking up all of the information around them and while they won't be singing their ABC's anytime soon it never hurts to start familiarizing them with it.

Story Time: Reading to children at a young age helps develop good readers in the future. Right now my son is really into the touch and feel books.

What do you do with your baby? Any great craft ideas or art projects? Let me know!

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Salt Dough Ornaments

I saw this on pinterest and had to give it a try (adding some new twists to make it my own). It looked like an easy project I could involve my seven month old in. Turns out it is a very easy craft project that kids of all ages will enjoy being a part of.

Step one: Gather your ingredients
2 cups flour
1/2 cup salt
3/4 cup water
food coloring (optional)
peppermint extract (optional)

Step two: Mix everything together (I started with the paddle attachment on my kitchen aid and then switched over to the dough hook and let it mix while I set up the rolling pin, cookie cutters etc.) The dough should not stick to your hands.
Step three: Roll the dough, cut it into any shape/size you like and put at least one hole in it to prevent the dough from bubbling

Step four: Add a foot or hand print

Step five: Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes, then if you can dehydrate overnight (if you don't have a dehydrator reduce the oven temp to 150 and leave in for a few hours) as the dough cools it will harden.

Step six: Decorate! Add some ribbon or paint on a message.

Notes: I added peppermint extract to try to make the ornament smell like the holidays. The dough smelled nice before it was put in the oven but the finished product doesn't smell. Next time I might try to add an essential oil instead. Also be sure to press hands/feet/paws deep into the dough or it will be hard to see after it is baked.

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Meal Planning

At my son's six month check up his pedi told us he can now eat what we eat. She said it is really important for us all to sit down to meals together to establish good eating habits for our son. Well, I am not a three meals a day kind of girl. I eat small meals through out the day, an egg white omelet here, Greek yogurt and fruit there and by the time I get home I don't really want to sit down to a typical dinner (usually at that point I want dessert).

In order to start my son off on the right path I knew I would need to make a change, and with only 30 minutes after we get home to prepare dinner to keep our night time schedule on track I knew I would need to do some planning.

I started by making a chart of what foods I had introduced to my son and have figured out he is not allergic to them. It serves as an easy reference point to be sure I offer him a nice variety during the week.

Then I plot out the week writing new foods in red so they stand out in case we end up with any allergic reactions. I use this form. I also plan out the meals for my hubby and I (with only 30 minutes to make them it helps to look at the plan and put anything that needs to defrost in the fridge the night before.) Some examples from this week for my husband and I include taco soup, pecan crusted tilapia with roasted Parmesan potato, and Skinny Chicken Parm. (I'll post the recipes below) Some examples for my son include carrots and rice, pumpkin with greek yogurt and apple and oatmeal (before we know it he'll be eating chicken parm right along with us).

For baby food prep I steam or roast his fruits/veggies and then blend them, depending on the size of the batch using either a blender (I am super lucky to have gotten a vitamix as a gift) an immersion blender or the magic bullet (I really want the baby bullet but can't justify it since I have the other equipment). Then the purees get popped in ice cube trays (either handy ones with lids pictured below) or a regular ice cube tray wrapped with saran wrap (do not use foil it sticks to the food). As you can see below the cubes are easy to store (though they are starting to get some frost in the Tupperware, I may need to rethink that) and I just put the next day's cubes in the fridge at night and they are ready to go for the day!

Recipes: I am the type of cook who just throws in a little of this and a little of that so forgive me if I am not specific on measurements


Taco Soup:
Chicken Breast, Corn, Black Beans, Tomato, Chicken Stock and Taco Seasoning
Put it all in a crock pot and let it cook all day. The chicken will fall apart when it is done.


Pecan Crusted Tilapia and Parmesan Roasted Potato:
Pecans
Tilapia
Potatoes
Parmesan Cheese
Olive Oil
Other Spices

Simply roll the Tilapia in finely ground Pecans and any other spices you may want to add (rosemary is always nice with pecans) Thinly slice the potato and place it in a bag with a little olive oil some Parmesan cheese and any other spices you want to add. Place both on baking sheets and bake it all for 25 minutes at 350. (Don't forget to use cooking spray under the potatoes or they may stick because of the cheese)


Skinny Chicken Parm:
Chicken Breast
Quinoa Flakes
Tomato Sauce
Parmesan Cheese (optional)

Roll the chicken breasts in the quinoa flakes and give them a quick searing in a frying pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Then place them in a pan with Tomato Sauce on the bottom and add a little more on top of the chicken. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and bake for 20 minutes at 350. I served mine on top of brown rice pasta.

Drunk Gummies

This post and instructions on how to make drunk gummies has been moved to my new blog. Check out the post IsoBreathing.com