Seed Bombs for the End of year class party!

This year for the end of the year class party we made seed bombs. Ace wanted to earn one of the earth rangers badges so we thought up this project. Not only was it fun to make but we knew we would be providing more wild flowers for the bees in our area. I am pretty sure Ace enjoyed it only because he got to make mud balls in the kitchen.

What you need to make Seed Bombs

• Crayola Air dry clay
• Newspaper
• Water
• Soil
• Native perennial wild flowers seeds

Before you start you will want to research which native perennial flowers are best in your area. Something that is a high in pollen but that already grows locally in your area.  For North America some of the best ones are Shasta Daisy, Lavender, Purple Coneflower, Poppy and Butterfly Weed. For our seed bombs we used Shasta Daisy, Lavender and Poppy seeds.

First get out an old mixing bowl, pail or container. Mix in 1 cup of water, a golf ball size of the air drying clay and slowly add in one finely shredded newspaper sheet. The idea is to make a sort of thin "glue" similar to paper mache. Mix this all together until the air drying clay is dissolved.

Then add in about 4 cups of soil. Other recipes call for compost or other such things but we just used left over potting soil I had in the garage. Mix all that together and it should be like mud dough consistency.

Once you have done this you can either divide the mud dough into three equal pieces and put in separate containers or you can make this recipe over again for every type of seed your using depending on how many you plan to make. You want to make sure that each seed bomb only has one type of seed in it to help it thrive and survive. If you plan on making this over again or you have three separate containers its now time to add the seeds! We choose to divide the mud dough into three separate containers.

 

 Then add in your seeds and mix it around. We added 3 packets of seeds to our mud dough. Then you can start rolling out your mud dough into little balls!

This was Ace's favorite part as you can tell. We made ours the size of a meat ball but you can make them any size you want.

 

 Once you have made all your mud balls you need to leave them for 24 to 36 hours to dry. They should dry like hard balls that do not crumble apart. Then add how ever you want to a cello bag and add in your double sided printable with instructions on where and how to print and you done! I unique awesome looking year end class gift that also benefits the environment.

We planted some of our seed bombs at the beginning of June, most had bloomed and grown into flowers by late summer. We had a great bee garden this year and hope they all come back again next year!

To purchase this double sided seed bomb printable ---> Seed Bomb Printable

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No Mess Camping Smores!

Our family lives to camp. We would camp all summer if we could. One of our family's favorite foods while camping is s'mores, but the mess little ones makes while eating s'mores is not my favorite thing to clean up. The marshmallows hardens making the mess impossible. So we came up with a way to enjoy them and make them less messy. Here's what you need.

 

• Disposable Grilling Tray or an old cookie sheet.

(I forgot our camping cookie sheet at home so we got tray at the park store)

• Tin Foil

• Marshmallows

• Milk chocolate chips or a Hersey bar

• Waffle Ice cream cones or Bowls

On this night we had the waffle bowls. First put two layers of tin foil over the Grilling tray

or cookie sheet and then place the waffle bowls on top.

 

Then you can get the kids to start putting in marshmallows and chocolate chips and fill them up as much as you want. We learned after making these bowls for the first time you want to put the marshmallows on the bottom or the chocolates burns a little. Once they have added all the marshmallows and chocolate the want break up the left over bowls and add them to the bowls.

Then place the tray over the fire preferably over the hot coals and not the flames. We let ours sit for about 10 minutes before they were all melted. You want to check the bottom of the waffle bowls though a few times to make sure they are not getting burnt and move the tray if needed if they are.

Once they are melted and have cooled a bit, give the kids fork to eat them. I showed my kids how to eat what was in the bowl first and then to eat the bowl last. If you want to use the Waffle Ice Cream cones, just fill the ice cream cone with marshmallows and chocolate chips and then wrap them in tin foil and place them on the tray over the coals. Both are WAY less messy then the original way and they are just as tasty! Enjoy!

 

For those of you with trailers or who just love to camp, check out the FREE camping printable below!

To download visit the FREEBIES page ----> HERE!

First Communion Centerpieces

During this busy communion season I have had a lot of requests on how to use my first communion centerpiece circle printables. After writing out instructions more then 10 times for customers I decided it was time to make a tutorial & here it is!

First thing you do is pick out which centerpiece printable set you want, I have quite a few in the shop to choose from and then purchase it here ---> COMMUNION CENTERPIECES

Once you have purchased the design you want, edit it in adobe reader to say your child's name and then print it out at a third party printers for best results like staples or office max. I suggest printing it on cover stock vs card stock. Its thicker and sturdier but be warned its harder to cut with out having a really good pair of scissors. So unless you have a great pair of craft scissors then just get the communion centerpiece circles printed on 100 lb card stock. Decide how many Communion party centerpieces you will need and print out how many you need.

Now for the fun part, head to the dollar store! All the supplies in the picture below I bought from the dollar store. Its spring time so the dollar store is packed full of things you can use for your centerpieces. Here is a list of what I purchased there.

• Shish Kabob sticks
• Light blue pail (One for each centerpiece you plan to make)
• White shredded tissue
 

























Once you have all your supplies together, cut out the Communion circles and tape them or glue them to the Shish Kabob sticks and fill the pail with the shredded white tissue paper, make sure its packed tight so the Shish Kabob stick will stick firmly into it.

























Then place the Shish Kabob stick with the communion circle on it into the pail. Trim the Shish Kabob stick at the bottom to the desired height you want the communion circle centerpiece to stick out of the pail.

You can use one of the circles from the printable set to make a centerpiece like in this example below.


or you can use all three communion centerpiece circles in the pail and make a centerpiece like in this example below.


Here are some examples of the other designs I have in the shop to give you some first communion centerpiece ideas! Hope you enjoy my little tutorial!

Rainbow Loom Printable Organizer

I designed something new in the shop a few weeks ago for all the Rainbowloom crafters out there. The idea for this came from my Husbands little cousin out west who a year ago when we went to visit was drawing on a piece of paper out little boxes marked A or B or C in each of the boxes. Then she had 3 or 4 different piles of sorted colors and she put one color pile in box A and another in box B and so on. When I asked her why she was doing this she said to keep her color bands organized so she didn't screw up the pattern of colors in the bracelet she was making. For the whole week we were visiting every time she started making something with her Rainbow loom she would go through this process again of drawing out the boxes and writing out the letters. At that point I thought I should design something so she didn't have to do this each time, put it in my to do list and forgot about it for a while.

 

Then a few months ago our 6 year old Ace started getting interested in Rainbowloom and asked for a Rainbow loom for Christmas. So we got him one and all of a sudden these boxes on paper with A or B or C started to appear again but made by him this time.

 

So I asked Ace if I could make something that he could use over and over again instead of wasting paper each time he wanted to make a ring or bracelet to organize his rainbow loom elastic bands colors would he like that. Ace replied "yes as long as you make it for boys" So I designed a double sided band organizer for the rainbow loom bands to keep the colors organized when working on patterns and tutorials! Here is the design I made for Ace.

Now Ace can choose as many colors patterns and easily place them on the Rainbow Loom in the correct order using his own personalized band organizer! This picture shows both sides but what I did after I ended up printing him one was putting them back to back and laminating it so that it would last a long time even through his wear and tear.

Each design in the shop can be personalized easily in Adobe Reader by you int he comfort of your own home instantly! Once you purchase and download, you open it in Adobe Reader and type in your child's name in the highlight text field save the file and print! Here are some of the other Rainbow loom organizer designs in the shop available. Happy looming!!

Easter Egg Hunt Ideas

In our house my kids are either BFFs or they are fighting about everything. Certain days like holidays and such I really don't enjoy playing referee. So I try and come up with ways to set my kids up to succeed and get along. From the beginning after our second child Terror came along Easter was one of those days where all the kids did was fight about who had more eggs and who stole each others eggs etc. Of course the oldest Ace would get the most and Terror would scream and cry cause he was not as fast as Ace. When little Miss arrived and there was three of them fighting over Easter eggs I knew I had to change the dynamics of the day to make it enjoyable, instead of a screaming, crying day. So for the last two years I have color coded the eggs in the house. I put the jelly beans or chocolate eggs into those plastic color eggs from the dollar store and then hid those around the house.

Everyone gets the same amount of eggs to find and they can find their eggs at their own pace with out the worry someone is going to steal their eggs and ruin their fun. Less fights everyone is happy its a win win for me. Even though Little Miss does not know her colors very well yet Terror and Ace will let her know if she touching on of their eggs and because the "Easter Bunny" set the rules they all seem to comply with grace instead of screaming about it. After Easter is over we leave the plastic eggs out on the porch for the Easter bunny to pick up for next year. (really I pack them away in the garage)

To purchase this printable for your own kids following this link ---> Easter Egg Hunt Printable

How to make your own Photo Ornaments

This year for Christmas I wanted to try something fun to make my family for Christmas. So I decided to make these wooden photo block ornaments. Each of my kids faces got their own side of the block and then one picture of the three of them together. They were such a hit that after Christmas I received so many messages from people who saw them and wanted to order them from me. I thought I would make a tutorial on how I made mine instead (just seems easier on me).

LIST OF MATERIALS YOU WILL NEED

• Wooden Blocks (how ever many you are making)
You can buy these wooden cubes at Michaels I am told or you can have them cut at home depot like I did. Just buy a 1.75 inch by 4 foot square board of wood and ask the gents at the back to cut it into 1.75x1.75 inch cubes.
• A roll of twine or ribbon (what ever color you like)
• Some acrylic paint for the edges (again what ever color you are going with)
• 1 inch Screw Eye hooks (they have gold and silver)
• Matte finish Mod Podge
• A size 16 flat paint brush for the Mod Podge
• A size 4 flat paint brush for the acrylic paint
• A good pair of craft scissors or a cutting slicer
• Photos printed into 1.75x1.75 size. I made a template for 4 1.75x1.75 squares across and 6 down on a 12x8 JPEG (I have a listing in my Etsy shop to drop your photos into the template for you with the designs I have used here and send you back a ready to print hi res JPEG. To check it out click here -----> Photo Block Ornaments drop in photos )



STEP ONE
Well this one is easy. Send the photos to print. I designed the top and bottom of my photo blocks and then used photos for each side but I had all of them printed as one 12x8 photo as you see below. Costco online one hour photo on the matte finish. Easy peasy.

 

 

STEP TWO
Cut out all the squares on your photo with good craft scissors or a cutting slicer. I placed every square photo over each block in its final location to make sure the cut was perfect and trimmed off extra that I thought was not lining up properly. It is WAY easier to do several of these at once because of the drying time you can work on others while others dry.


STEP THREE
Once you have all the squares cut out put them a side. Using your size 4 flat paint brush paint all the edges of the each wooden block with the color you will later use on the trim.


STEP FOUR
Now use your size 16 flat brush to start Mod Podging on your photos to the wooden block. I suggest putting the glue on the block instead of the photo for two reasons. Reason one is because it for some reason sticks and holds on way better when applied this way and two cause you can move the photo into the perfect position better as it does hold it well but allows for more controlled movement. I did two sides at a time on each block and then let them dry while I did 2 more sides on another block.



STEP FIVE
 Once you have placed the photos and the designs on all 6 sides Mod Podge all over the photos and the block as neatly as possible but make sure to coat them well. Again I did two sides at a time and then let that dry cause if its too stick and you touch it you will leave a forever fingerprint in the glue on your nice wooden photo ornament.


STEP SIX
Once all the sides have dried and you have Mod Podged all sides to seal the ornament like the picture below you can see a bit of the acrylic paint peeking through. I found that the look just wasn't right for what I was going for with out the painted trim. Using your size 4 paint brush start to roughly paint a trim around every photo. I did not try to make it a straight neat line but more of a rough brushed look.



STEP SEVEN
Once the paint is dry you can Mod Podge it again to seal the paint or you can leave it as is with one coat of Mod Podge and then painted trim its up to you. I Mod Podged it again. Then using a ruler diagonally across the top of the photo block from one corner to another find the middle of the wooden block and use a pen to push the tip into the middle point. Take one of your eye hook screws and screw it into the pen tip hole. Then take a piece of the twine and tie it on the eye hook and your done!
I made a ton of these this year as gifts. The ones with my three kids was for everyone in each of our families, but I also made ones just for each grandparent. One with my kids and just their grandma and on the bottom Merry Christmas Grandma. Some more examples as show in the picture below as to how you can use these photo block ornaments as keepsakes and gifts for different occasions.

This one I made for my mother. Its pictures of her parents who have long since passed away. I thought it would be nice if they could hang on her Christmas tree so their memory could be with us at Christmas even if they can't. I place one picture of each of them alone and the two pictures of them together. On the bottom I designed a beautiful quote to tie it all together.

This one I made for a friends baby. It had 2 pictures of him and then 2 sides that had designs on them. One side was his name and then other was his full name, date of birth, weight and height. Then the bottom and top just had the chevron design.

And there you have it how to diy and make personalized photo block ornaments!

How to take care of your pet garden snail!

My oldest LOVES snails. Every day on the walk from the bus stop to our house he picks up several and moves as many as he can off the sidewalk to make sure no one steps on them. Our front porch was becoming littered with snails so I decided to let him bring in a few (meaning 2 max) of his favorite garden snails and keep them as pets. He was so excited and thought this was the greatest decision I had ever made as a mom lol!

So I researched as much as I could cause I didn't want to harm them by bringing them in.



WHAT YOU WILL NEED
If your only planning on having one or two snails then the below instructions will work but I have also included the modified instructions as most little snail keepers end up collecting more then just two and soon you have a heard of snails (or in snail technical terms a escargatoire of snails) in a tiny space and will need to upgrade so plan accordingly.

• 1 Gallon tank either plastic or glass with a lid. The picture above show the 1 gallon tank we started with. Snails can climb vertically so you must have a lid on the tank to keep them safe. The lid must have air holes as snails do breathe but the holes need to be small enough that they can not get through. If you plan on having more then two snails I suggest getting a 5 gallon tank cause they will breed.

• Soil. Now here is where things get a bit tricky. I wanted to have living plants in the tank with the snails so that it was like their own environment. Being a snail pet owner beginner I went out and bought organic Potting soil thinking cause its organic it would be safe for the pet garden snails but once we finished making our Snailarium and put the snails in you could see they did not like the potting soil. So I went to the local pet store and bought some Reptile "soil" but as it turns out when I got home and read the package its really shredded coconut fibers and the snails did not like it either. So back to the drawing board. What we ended up doing was putting 1 inch of the potting soil on the bottom and then 2 inches of plain old dirt we dug up under our grass in the backyard. The snails enjoy this combo a lot better and the live plants we planted in the tank are doing well and have rooted.

• Live plants. This is your choice. You can decorate the tank how ever you like. Leave it with just plain dirt, add live plants and a little a little shelter what ever you would like. I suggest not using fake platic plants as they might be pointy and the snails don't like that. For our starter 1 gallon tank we used Ivy for the live plants and they are doing well. We also added a little terra cotta pot for them as a shelter which they all seem to enjoy. When we transferred them to the 5 gallon tank we added a few more terra cotta pots, some more Ivy, and some fist size rocks to make their habitat more interesting. I also cut a strip of grass from our front lawn so they would have dirt area and a grassy area to enjoy.

• A small shallow water dish. For this we use the lid of a water bottle and filed off any pointy parts. It was small enough to have water in it but not big enough to flood the tank if it tipped over.

Thats it! In total I think the set up once I finally got it right was about $35



HOW TO CARE FOR YOUR PET GARDEN SNAIL

Snails are pretty easy to care for. They like decomposing fruits and veggies so anything your about to toss in the green bin or garbage is good. I keep a bag of Romain lettuce on hand just for them though and it lasts a few weeks. I have thrown in baby carrots, apples and cucumber as well. I have read somewhere that you need to boil the carrots first so snails can eat them, but this I found to be untrue. I put a full baby carrot in there and in 2 days it was completely gone. I add water every few days to the water bottle lid which is like their little water dish and I keep the soil moist at all times. Not wet ot he point of mud pies but damp. You will need to clean the sides and top of the tank once a week as they leave poop every where. So far I have only had to clean the glass and lid on the big 5 gallon tank and not had to change out the soil as the plants and grass take care of that mess.



IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER

Snails do not like to be in direct sunlight and are nocturnal. Its important not to put them in a spot that gets any direct sunlight as they will spend too much time in their shells sleeping and will not eat enough. In the spring and summer they will breed as snail are hermaphrodites but need another snail to mate, so if you have two in a tank you will end up with baby snails! So far we plan to collect the babies and keep them in a different tank until they are big enough to go back outside. They will need about two inches deep of soil to bury their eggs. Every once and a while give them a little chalk for calcium to help keep their shell healthy. Also if you keep them some where too cold they will hibernate. They will cover the opening into their shell with a thin layer of mucus and go into a deep sleep. Snails can see but they can not hear so putting them in a noisy area of your house will not bother them at all. Ours are in the kitchen in a shaded spot.

Hope you enjoy your snails as much as we do! Here is Herman he is the most social of our bunch. He never seems to get frightened when we walk by or when I am putting lettuce in the tank. In fact he is quite nosy and seems to follow my hand with his eyes to see what I am doing! He is also not camera shy at all :)