Last Minute Fix

So, my stepdaughter has a trick or treat event going on at her school this evening.. and we spent a greater portion of the afternoon getting her all dressed up, and made up, etc... in time for my husband to get home and bring her. Well, half hour until he arrives.. whoops.. no trick or treat pail and she didn't want to bring a walmart bag with her (I didn't blame her lol) so I went into her room and dumped out her tin icarly bucket full of junk, (yep, another mess to clean later.. oh well) and had her go to town ripping construction paper. It was easy, a little tape and a little creativity can go pretty far. And, as an added embellishment, we taped on a bat from the bat-mobile project I worked on a couple years ago. I didn't get a picture of her.. (go figure) but she is going as a devil, so we stayed with the red and black theme.   The best part of this project is.. nothing is permanent.. just rip off the construction paper and the pail is still in good shape. I am sure you could do the same method, with an old oatmeal container or anything of that sort, by punching holes in the sides and stringing something through them.. possibilities are endless. Happy Halloween!

homemade playdoh

I just whipped together a pretty cool recipe I found on Pinterest for Play-doh. SO easy.. literally took less than 10 minutes. It is seriously soft, and DOES NOT SMELL like the store bought kind.. which makes it all the  more better.  Here is where to find the recipe: DIY play-doh. Mine turned out great, and when my 1 yr old tried tasting it (oh, and he did.. lol), I had nothing to worry about because I knew EXACTLY what was in it.

no envelopes? no problem!

for my stepdaughters party we did the movie ticket invitations. Tomorrow is the day she hands them out to her friends. But, of course, I never got envelopes for her invitations. Oops. So what do we do? well, go to the cupboard and grab the rest of the microwave popcorn, thats what. Popcorn and movies go hand in hand right? I know what you're thinking.. how do bags of popcorn substitute envelopes? here's how:

Simple! I know its not much, but just a little tape and a bag of popcorn, but hey, whatever works. And how many people get a treat before they even know if they are coming to the party? I think its a bonus. ;)

wishy washy

About 2 weeks ago, our washing machine decided it did not want to drain anymore. My husband managed to kind of fix the problem, but blowing air into the hose and getting things moving. This continued pretty much every load, so I have been working real hard at not doing so much laundry (i.e. reusing bath towels, re wearing jeans, only washing shirts, socks and undies, or anything that is completely soiled, etc) to take it easy on the washer. Then a couple days ago, it started to drain,t hen stopped, started and stopped and started to smell. Like maybe it was a belt burning or something.. We just bought this washer in April of this year. So, luckily, we are still under warranty. Thing is, they won't be coming by until next Wednesday to look at it. Hopefully whatever damage is done, it is a defective issue that will be covered. Meanwhile.. we are still collecting dirty clothing.. which means, before next Wednesday, a trip to the laundromat is required. Is it sad that I am actually looking forward to this? *I* get to get out of the house and NOT feel guilty about it, because, after all, I am doing chores. I foresee about an hour of nonstop reading pretty soon. :)

pumpkin pie egg nog milkshake

Very simple recipe. Sorry for no photographs of the yumminess. I had not taken a pictures before we drank it down.

All you need is:

VANILLA ICE CREAM
EGG NOG
CANNED OR FRESH PUREED PUMPKIN
PUMPKIN PIE SPICE (OR ANY KIND OF SPICE THAT SUITS YOUR NEEDS)

Mix ingredients together in a blender. No measurements, I just eyeballed the amounts. Of course, if you like your milkshake thin, use more ice cream.

Its a Mickey Mouse, CLUBHOUSE...

And... I bet now you have that song stuck in your head right? Sorry.. lol. :) My babies first birthday is coming up super fast, and naturally, MMCH is his favorite show so of course, I am going in that theme. Its a fun theme to work with, what with all the circles and bright colors.. super easy. So, as an added touch, I pulled out my trusty cricut, and made red and yellow circles, in various sizes, to mimic the floors and paths on the show. But instead of making paths in my house (that wouldn't last long what with 2 toddlers running around now) I placed magnets on each and every one, and utilized the side door in our dining room, that just so happens to be white, just so happens to be aluminum, and it also just so happens that we NEVER use it, so it will be the perfect backdrop for Mr. Mans birthday chair. I have them all currently scrunched up toward the top of the door, out of little people's reach until party day, but do have plans to arrange them accordingly. Here is a sneak peak:

My favorite part of this project? It is double duty.. Since they are all blank, I will be sure to find another use for these already prepared magnets. :)

Movie Theater Party

Planning for childrens birthday parties can be alot of fun, and stressful at the same time. I have 2 October birthdays to plan for.. one coming up fast. My stepdaughter told me she would like a movie themed party at the end of this month, so what better way to invite guests, than with tickets?? All I did, was make a template in my computer paint program (since I am not lucky enough to have a photoshop, gosh I would love to have that!), then I printed them out on red cardstock. Cut out each ticket and attacked the corners with a hole puncher. Thats it. Super simple. Now I just have to print out the party details for the reverse side, which we will just adhere with glue stick. By we, Stepdaughter will be 10, she will be helping. ;)

Kids Crafts

I have nothing new to post, so I thought I would share various things I would like to do with my kids.. hopefully really soon. Let me introduce you, to one of my PINTEREST boards. Hopefully Pinterest will help me keep my kids busy, instead of just keep me busy on the internet, pinning things, and finding myself very unproductive.. It is highly addicting, but such an awesome site! I love all the ideas that people put out there.click here to see my kids crafts board on pinterest.com 

Another shelf redo

quick and easy shelf updo

I am just rummaging through my house, and repurposing old things to make into new uses... We don't have a ton of money, so I try to make do with what we have on hand.. its actually kind of fun. Living frugal is a challenge, but a FUN challenge. The picture frame I had made a couple of years ago, I used random letters from scrapbook kits and my cricut, and a picture frame I had purchased at the dollar tree, some white paint for the frame, and it was a nice little touch for our entryway, at our last apt. Well, since I had no use for it here, in our new apt, I thought it would look good on our black bookshelf, in our living room. I also grabbed the baskets from my laundry area, that were meant for holding wash rags, and other various cleaning supplies, but instead, just collected random clutter (still better than clutter laying around, but oh well lol) and place them in front of my picture. Well, thats one shelf that looks halfway decent. Now to figure out what to do with the other 5 shelves... :\ Here is how it turned out (it literally took me 2 minutes.. too easy)

I finally did it!

I opened up an ETSY shop! The only thing I have in there as of right now, is crayons. I plan on adding to the shop at a later date (maybe holiday ornaments, or the like) but its a start. YAY! :) I don't expect leaps and bounds, but it is something to feel proud of.

Thanksgiving Day Crayons

In an attempt to make a few extra dollars for holiday spending, I decided to try to jump on the etsy bandwagon. I still have not opened my shop (procrastinate much?) but I WILL be doing that very very soon. I am etsy shy. I better hurry up though, Its already October, and since I have a ton of turkeys and pumpkins, I might want to get them up on site. Someone else suggested maybe even selling them on Facebook. I am really close to doing that. I already have a facebook fanpage (with 8 followers.. go me!) so I am considering posting on there for orders. If you are interested in my FB page, just come on over and "LIKE" me. Thanks for subscribing!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Creative-Ideas/150604811617988

Monogram Plate Decoration

I have been seeing a TON of twine or yarn wrapped letters lately, some on their own, some on wreaths etc... and I just LOVE them so much that I had to try one for myself. I didn't want to run out and spend any money so I decided to use what I had laying around the house. I first took apart a diaper box, and traced out an "M" and cut it out. Then found some twine and started wrapping and gluing. (I used a hot glue gun, this made the project much easier, and faster) The wrapping only took about 20 minutes or so, as I didn't do it thorough. I thought it would be OK to leave a little of the brown cardboard visible, as I was going for a rustic look anyhow. I then found some old wire garland for a mini christmas tree, I thought it was perfect for that little Oomph on the M. Afterward, I hot glued the letter down on a decorative plate. The plate is plastic so it is really really light (good for hanging). To finish off the project, I added old, no longer smelly potpourri around the entire plate. Thats it. Very easy. Hot glue a ribbon to the back, and hang. Or just get a plate stand, and add to a mantel or shelf arrangement. I may make more as gifts.