Make Your Own Tambourine

I found a new blog this evening called The Little Craft Box. I'm going to make this tambourine with Ash. He loves to make music on his drums so I think this will be a huge hit! I think this is the type of project that all preschoolers would really enjoy! I can't wait to see what else The Little Craft Box has in store!

No Knead Bread

Who doesn't love the smell of fresh baked bread!?! My grandma used to make bread when I was a little girl and it was such a special treat. Bread making seemed so intimidating to me but by MIL told me about this no knead bread which seemed doable plus they call it EASY no-knead bread.  Easy is right in the name so how hard could it be!?! I found the how-to for  no knead bread on Mother Earth News. I have to say it is divine! It takes a little time to let the dough rise (12-18 hrs.) but mostly you just mix stuff up and let the dough do the work. I will definitely make this yummy bread again! You should make it, too! Happy bread making!!

Road Trip to California

We took a road trip this weekend to Sacramento to visit some of our family. I wasn't so sure how the long drive would be with the boys. My boys are active little things and we basically spent two days in the car to get there and then two more to get back. Thankfully, the kids were great and I loved having everyone stuck together. It was a sunny 60 degrees while we were there and we've returned home to a snow storm. We weren't expecting that. Hmmm...California Dreaming!
During our visit Aunt Barbie took us to this adorable little town, Folsom, so we could go to all the shops. They had the coolest little shops with painted furniture, vintage items, adorable crafty items, etc. I seriously wanted to move into them and call them home. While out and about we found this super cool vintage typewriter and had to pick it up for our cousin Stephanie. She loved it! Her crush on vintage typewriters is inspiring me! I can't wait to see what I do with all of this inspiration!
*The photo above is of the typewriter we found for her. She did some magically cool thing to the photo. Isn't it vintagy fun!?!

Furniture Refinishing Inspiration

I found one of my dream jobs! (I have many for example being a singer/songwriter...I can't sing or write a song which creates a problem for this dream.)  I found this awesome website Refreshed Decor. They take all of those great pieces with such potential that you see around the junk shops and turn them into fabulous! They are in Arizona so if you're local you could swing by and pick up one of their pieces. If not you can become a stalker of their site and use it for inspiration like me.
Such inspiration!

Happy Valentines Day!

We celebrated a little today and will a little more tomorrow. Hope you all are have a wonderful Valentine's Day with your sweethearts!

*I made the chocolate chip scones and they are delish! Aren't my boys cute....and crazy!?!

Friday Night Fun

Gray & Micah are up snowboarding so Ash and I have the evening to ourselves. I told Ash we could do anything he wanted to do and he said play glass of water. The glass of water game is where I put a bowl with some water in it on the floor on a beach towel and he sits and plays with plastic toys inside the bowl. Simple, but I guess it's the simple things in life right!?!

Car Bags

My boys will tell you how grumpy I get when my car gets filled with all the stuff that just "had" to go with us in the car. All that stuff always seems to get left behind for me to drag back into the house. So being the ever so crafty mama, I decided that we would make car bags! Here are the car bag rules: you can put whatever you need for the outing in your bag; all items must find their way back into the bag when we arrive at home; the bags must be brought back inside of the house where the contents are promptly put away. Can't you just feel my happiness!?!

What you will need:
canvas bags *I got mine at Michaels they came in a pack of 3. Now the grown-ups have a bag, too. Sadly, my husband can tell you how grumpy I get, too.
fabric paint
cars & trucks with cool treads
paper to put in the bag to protect from bleeding paint

1. Cut & fold paper to lay flat inside of the bag to prevent bleeding through. *I used left over wrapping paper from Christmas.

2. Pour paint onto flat plates to drive cars through. This makes for a nice even coating of paint on the treads.
*Insider tip: take the cars for a painted test drive before you go for the real thing. Not all treads turn out as cool as you may think. Sometimes there is one part that sticks out father than the rest so you could just get a set of lines instead of tire tread.

3. Drive away....

4. Leave to dry.

5. Pack them up & take them for a car ride.

Ninja Valentines

Gray and I have made his Valentines since he was a preschooler and so it's kind of our thing each year. However, each year it gets harder and harder to come up with something cool. This year, I think we came up with a winner....Ninja Valentines!

To make this you will need:
card stock *You could use construction paper, but I think it will be a little too flimsy.
stapler
adhesive dots *You could just glue them on but Gray likes how they make the ninjas pop out from the paper.
ninja cut outs
individually wrapped Life Savers

1. Cut some purple card stock in 2 1/4" wide x 4 1/2" long. *I can't believe how blue it looks! Seriously, this is a dark purple!

2. Make a 1/2" fold at the bottom.

3. Fold the top over the bottom leaving just a smidgy hanging over the bottom fold.

4. Open the fold and fold the top again this time just a smidgy over lapping the bottom fold.

5. Place Life Saver in bottom fold and staple.

6. Tuck top fold into bottom.

7. Take adhesive dot and apply to back of ninja. Press ninja onto front of valentine. *Gray wrote his To: & From: on the back.

I'm actually going to make the same valentines for my students, but instead of ninjas I'm going to put hearts on the front of mine. I made my ninjas using my Silhouette, but you could use stickers instead and they would be just a cute. (I mean cool!)

Chocolate Chip Scones

One word...yum!!! I can't wait to make some of Beth's (from The Stories of A to Z) chocolate chip scones. Don't they look delish!?! While you are there check out her super cute decorating ideas! I love all of her PB knock-off ideas!!