Spring Cleaning {Washing Machine}

Have you ever looked closely at your washing machine? Three babies later and a few years of built up fabric softener and grime, mine was DESPERATE to be cleaned. I am happy to say that with a few ingredients you probably already have at home and some elbow grease my washer is now looking brand new - ready to tackle a summer's worth of muddy pants, grass and picnic stains!

Supplies:
2 cups Borax
2 cups white vinegar
1 fresh lemon - juiced
2 gallons boiling water
Scrubbing brush or rough sponge, old toothbrush, q-tips

How To
STEP 1: Bring 1 gallon of water to a boil then pour into your washing machine. Add borax, lemon juice and vinegar. Fill with hot water then let run through a cycle on the fastest/most aggressive cycle you have.

Debris and other gunk loosened from the boiling water

STEP 2: Using a scrubbing brush and hot water, remove any stuck-on fabric softener or grime. Using q-tips and rags wipe down the exterior of your washer, paying close attention to the cracks and crevices where dirt collects. For stubborn stains - scrub with a paste made from baking soda and water.

STEP 3: Boil another gallon of water and pour into the washer - paying attention to any areas that were particularly dirty. Full with hot water and run washer again.

{Craft Along} ABC Animal Handprint Book: Week 4

Welcome to the first week of my first {Craft Along} series!!! This week we will be completing letters O-R following the examples given in Red Ted's Art Blog. Find out more about our project {here}!

{WEEK FOUR}

Animals:

Penguin
Quail
Racoon
Snail

Supplies:

Paint (gray, black, blue & your choice for the snail)

Construction paper - white, orange, pink, black

Googley eyes

Laminating sheets

Directions:

NOTE: These letters can be done all in one sitting or one per day to go along with books from the library, coloring pages and other crafts.

GENERAL TIPS:

1. See notes for each letter/animal to help you with your handprint; use a paintbrush to apply paint to your child's hand.

2. Allow paint to dry completely before adding embellishments.

3. Wash and dry hands between each letter.

4. Laminate pages after the paint is COMPLETELY dry then add final embellishments like googley eyes using hot glue onto the laminated pages.

5. We will bind our books when all the letters are done - for now keep the finished pages in a safe place. :)

 

P is for PENGUIN

Paint your child's entire hand black, then place fingers facing the bottom of the page and close together onto the sheet. Allow to dry then embellish with a white oval (stomach), orange beak and pink feet. Laminate and add eyes.

 

 

Q is for QUAIL

Paint the ball of your child's palm blue. Paint the remaining palm and fingers grey. Place their hand with fingers close together facing sideways on the page (thumb at top). Add a circle for the head above the blue portion of the body and a large knob protruding from the skull. Allow to dry then draw feet and add an orange beak. Laminate and add eyes.

 

 

 

R is for RACOON

Paint your child's entire hand grey then with fingers close together and facing down, press firmly onto the page. Allow to dry then enbellish with black oval eyes, black ears, and a large black oval tail with white stripes. Laminate and add eyes.

 

 

S is for SNAIL

Paint your child's palm one color (we chose green), and their thumb only a second color (we chose red). Place onto the page with thumb out-stretched. Allow to dry then draw a swirl to embellish the shell. Laminate and add eyes.

 

 

Sneak Peak {Spring Cleaning: Top to Bottom in 30 Minutes a Day}

Typically, I laugh at Spring Cleaning - I can hardly keep up with the everyday cleaning I have to do. But this year, I am nesting. Still don't have time for hours of cleaning on end but I am nesting... so, being the Type-A personality that I am, I made a list. For the month of April we will be focusing on a different area in our homes, with 3 tasks featured on my blog each week! To get you started here is a chart for your fridge...

 

Snack Time {Bountiful Basket Recipes}

The Basket
Bananas
Strawberries
Bartlett Pears
Granny Smith Apples
Pineapple
Cucumbers
Celery
Green Leaf Lettuce
Zucchini
Russet Potatoes

Recipe Inspiration
Green Smoothie
Banana Chips
Dried Strawberries
Pear Slices with Carmel
Grilled Pineapple
Veggie Pizza
Peanut Butter Fondue
Cucumber Rolls
Apple Feta Salad
Microwave Potato Chips
Baked Parmesan Zucchini Coins

My favorite place to find great new recipe ideas is Pintrest. Just enter the food, recipe or ingredient and within seconds you'll be staring at dozens of new ideas. :)

Brown Sugar Carrot Strings

Do you still have some of those gigantic carrots from the last Bountiful Basket?? The delicious carrot strings are a beautiful compliment to your next meal. Also, if you're lucky your kids may thinks its pasta like mine did!! My picky-eater 3 year old who never eats veggies even ate them! SUCCESS!! :)

Ingredients
1 extra large carrot (or 5-6 medium)
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp brown sugar

Directions
Julianne carrots into thin strips. In a medium saucepan, steam carrots covered with 1 tsp water, butter and brown sugar for 7-10 minutes or until al dente. Stir and serve warm.

Dye your eggs while you boil them

The next time you boil eggs add a few drops of food coloring to the water! When you open your fridge you will be able to tell which eggs are cooked at a glance. Works well for Easter eggs too. Use the base color as a background for other fun add-ons like stickers, jewels, or even melted crayon shavings!!! Now your toddler can enjoy decorating eggs with the worry and mess of dye kits.

HOW TO:
Place cold eggs into a saucepan. Top with enough water to cover the eggs. Add a splash of white vinegar and several drops of food coloring. Cover and simmer for 5 full minutes. Turn off heat and leave covered pan on the burner for 10 minutes. Remove eggs and place immediately into ice cold water for another 5 minutes. Decorate and store in fridge. :)

Jumping In With Both Feet

A few weeks ago a friend compared me to Michelle Duggar. She said, "You are alway so calm with your kids, do you ever yell at them?" My four year old was sitting beside me and wasn't shy to share that I do loose my temper. Why do we put on our "Good Mommy" masks and have an endless resivior of patience anywhere but inside the four walls and privacy of our home? I heard about The Orange Rhino Challage and thought --- there is NO WAY! But after giving it some thought a Still Small Voice began to tug at my heart strings. My boys deserve better than an angry, tempermental, ready-to-snap mommy. We only have so long with them and as memories are being made I want them to be good. I am gonna have to start over at least once, but I something like this is WORTH IT!! Who's with me???

So, I am taking the 365 day challenge --- I am commited to stop yelling at my kids. Find out more about The Orange Rhino Challenge at her blog and follow her on facebook!!

We're back in business!!

Do you have one the the Playskol toddler toys that blows the balls into the air? Fun toy --- that is until you lose a the balls. My son discovered something last week and I just have to share!

Plastic Easter eggs are light enough to float in the air current and small enough to fit through the tunnels without getting stuck! SWEET!! We are back in ball-flying business!

Lemon Infused Vinegar

Before you make your next batch of homemade cleaner, infuse your vinegar with lemon! The lemon will make your home spell fresh and adds a boost of cleaning power!!

Lemon Vinegar
Fill a quart sized glass jar with lemon peels (about 3 lemons). Fill jar with white vinegar and let sit for 2 weeks. Strain vinegar and substitute for plain vinegar in the following recipes...

Homemade Glass Cleaner
1 cup water
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 tsp dish soap

All Purpose Bathroom/Kitchen Cleaner
1 cup vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 tsp tea tree oil

Faucet 'Gunk' Remover
Saturate a towel or rag with undiluted vinegar and wrap around the base of the faucet to remove built up 'gunk'. Let sit for 1-2 hours then wipe clean. Remove stubborn material with a toothbrush. Rinse and dry.

{Craft Along} ABC Animal Handprint Book: Week 3

Welcome to the first week of my first {Craft Along} series!!! This week we will be completing letters K-N following the examples given in Red Ted's Art Blog. Find out more about our project {here}!

{WEEK THRE}

Animals:

Kingfisher

Ladybug

Monkey

Narwal
Owl

Supplies:

Paint (blue, orange, red, black, brown)

Black and yellow construction paper
Googley eyes
Feathers

Laminating sheets

Directions:

NOTE: These letters can be done all in one sitting or one per day to go along with books from the library, coloring pages and other crafts.

GENERAL TIPS:

1. See notes for each letter/animal to help you with your handprint; use a paintbrush to apply paint to your child's hand.

2. Allow paint to dry completely before adding embellishments.

3. Wash and dry hands between each letter.

4. Laminate pages after the paint is COMPLETELY dry then add final embellishments like googley eyes using hot glue onto the laminated pages.

5. We will bind our books when all the letters are done - for now keep the finished pages in a safe place. :)

K is for Kingfisher
STEP 1 (head): Paint 3/4 of your childs palm light blue and 1/4 orange. Place their palm with the orange towards the bottom of the page, leaving room for a second handprint beneath.

STEP 2 (body & tail feathers): Paint your child's palm and fingers (excluding the thumb) to match the first step. Press their hand onto the paper diagonallymatching the colors with their fingers spread slightly.
 

 

STEP 3: Once the paint has dried add feet and a beak. Laminate then embellish with eyes.

 

 

L is for Ladybug

Paint your child's palm and fingers red, excluding the thumb. Place their hand with fingers together onto the paper. When the paint has dried draw a line up the center of their handprint and add spots. Laminate then embellish with eyes.

 

 

M is for Monkey

Paint your child's entire hand brown. Press their hand with fingers facing down on the page. When the paint has dried add a tail and trees. Laminate then embellish with eyes.

 

 

N is for Narwhal

Paint half of your child's palm and fingers dark blue and half white/grey, excluding the thumb, Press their hand sideways (leaving room to draw a tail at the fingertips) with the white side towards the bottom of the page. Draw a long thin line for the "nose", speckle the white with blue dots and add a tail at the fingertips. Laminate then embellish with eyes.

 

 

(ours is upside-down...woops)

O is for Owl

Paint your child's hand any color they would like for their owl. Press their hand with fingers slightly spread and facing downward on the page. When the paint has dried add a triangle nose and dots on the two middle fingers for the feet. Laminate then emellish with feathers and eyes.

 

 

{Muffin Monday} Mocha Chip Muffins

{Mocha Chip Muffins}

 

Ingredients:

1 cup friendship bread starter (or water)
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup strong brewed coffee, room temperature
3 cups {muffin mix} {single batch recipe}
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Mix wet ingredients well then add muffin mix until moistened. Fold in chocolate chips and scoop into lined or greased muffin cups until 2/3 full, and bake at 350 degrees for 18-25 minutes.

Simple Leprechaun Bag Puppets

Your kids will enjoy playing with these fun and easy to make paper bag puppets -- you probably have all the supplies already at home!!

Supplies:
Paper bag
Construction paper (green, orange, yellow and black)
Google eyes
Glue

Directions:
1. Draw & cut out the shapes for a hat, shirt, beard, belt and belt buckle on the appropriate colors of paper. Have children who are able to use scissors safely cut out own their shapes. TIP: to give your beard texture snip thin vertical strips from the bottom to within no less than 1" from the top edge.

2. Paper bag puppet orientation...place the bag flat with the bottom portion facing up and at the top; bag opening at the bottom. When done your child's hand will go into the bag and their hand into the bottom flap to work their puppets mouth.

3. Have your child glue the pieces to their bag...
-belt and buckle onto the hat
-hat onto the top edge of the flap
-beard into the bottom edge of the flap
-shirt on the body of the bag under the flap

4. With a black crayon or marker draw a mouth onto the beard and a nose on the bag between the bead and the hat. Finish by attaching google eyes and curling or crimping the beard.

BLOG SWAP - Welcome Stacey!!!

Hello everyone! I'm Stacey and I blog over at Glued To My Crafts. I'm pretty excited to be guest posting today. Let me start with introducing myself. I'm a mother to a two year old boy who keeps me on my toes and inspires a lot of my posts. I'm also a wife to a wonderful man serving in the Air Force. I'm a girly-girl who loves cooking, crafting and inspiring. Ok, the last one is more of a "I hope I inspire you." My blog is mainly about life experiences, recipes and craft creations. Everything I post can we be recreated with simple, everyday items you probably already have in your house. Even though I'm a shopaholic, I'm all about saving money and using what you have already. I don't spend a lot to be crafty, and neither should you.

If you ever get the chance to stop by my blog, you will see I do A LOT of toddler crafts tutorials. If that is something that interests you, you should stop by!

Here is just a look at what I have shared already on my blog:

Mushrooms & Butterflies out of paper plates. Very simple & easy to put together on a rainy day. Check out the tutorial HERE.

Heal your child's boo-boos with these fun heart shaped heat paks. Find the tutorial HERE.

Got a sweet tooth? I have several recipes on the blog, but this one is one of my favs. Find the recipe HERE.

If you are like me, you are loving the owl craze. So naturally I had to do an owl craft with my son. Find the tutorial HERE

I also love showing off my handmade card creations. You can check some of them out HERE.

Are you getting your Easter Baskets ready already? I have compiled a great list of handmade goodies to put in them HERE.

And before I leave, I want to let you know I have a craft series going on right now. It's already started but you can play catch up on the series HERE. It's 20 days of spring themed crafts to get you ready for spring. Hope you check it out.

Thank you to Rebecca for letting me steal her blog today. Hope I inspired you to check out my blog. Come get unstuck with me! -Stacey

You can follow me via GFC Gluedtomycrafts.blogspot.com
Facebook.com/Gluedtomycrafts
Twitter.com/Gluedtomycrafts
Pinterest.com/Stacey_Gibbon

{Muffin Monday} Lemon Muffins

{Lemon Muffins}

 

Ingredients:

1 cup friendship bread starter (or water)
3 oz intant lemon pudding mix
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
3/4 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1 Tbsp lemon zest
3 cups {muffin mix} {single batch recipe}
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
Mix wet ingredients well then add pudding mix, muffin mix and lemon zest until moistened. Scoop into lined or greased muffin cups until 2/3 full, and bake at 350 degrees for 18-25 minutes.

{Craft Along} ABC Animal Handprint Book: Week 2

Welcome to the first week of my first {Craft Along} series!!! This week we will be completing letters F-J following the examples given in Red Ted's Art Blog. Find out more about our project {here}!

Animals:

Flamingo

Gorilla

Hippo
Impalla
Jellyfish

Supplies:

Paint (pink, black, grey, brown, purple (or your choice for the jellyfish)

Googley eyes

Laminating sheets

Directions:

NOTE: These letters can be done all in one sitting or one per day to go along with books from the library, coloring pages and other crafts.

GENERAL TIPS:

1. See notes for each letter/animal to help you with your handprint; use a paintbrush to apply paint to your child's hand.

2. Allow paint to dry completely before adding embellishments.

3. Wash and dry hands between each letter.

4. Laminate pages after the paint is COMPLETELY dry then add final embellishments like googley eyes using hot glue onto the laminated pages.

5. We will bind our books when all the letters are done - for now keep the finished pages in a safe place. :)

 

F is for Flamingo

Using pink paint, cover your child's entire hand with paint. Keeping their fingers close together, press their hand HORIZONTALLY onto the paper. Have your child use thier fingers or a paintbrush to draw legs, the neck and head. Finally, paint a beak with black or brown paint and water with blue paing. Allow to dry fully.

 

G is for Gorilla

Using black, grey or brown paint, cover your childs palm and fingers (excluding the thumb). Spread fingers slightly and lay hand down VERTICALLY with fingers toward the bottom of the page. Paint a head onto the top of your gorilla. Allow paint to dry then add ears a mouth and nostrils.

 

H is for Hippo

This is a two step animal --- first, paint a heart on the heel/palm of your childs hand. This will become the hippo's head and mouth. Place thier hand HORIZONTALLY onto the paper. Secondly, paint their entire palm and only to the first knuckle crease of each finger (excluding the thumb). This will be the body and legs. Place this hand VERTICALLY with fingers facing the bottom of the page next to the heel of the first imprint and bottom of the "heart". Allow to dry then draw nostrils and teeth.

step one (head & mouth)

step two (body & legs)

 

 

I is for Impalla

Paint your child's entire palm, fingers and thumb brown. Place their hand VERTICALLY on the page with their fingers spread slightly & facing the bottom of the page. Allow to dry before adding a antlers, a nose and a short tail.

 

J is for Jelly Fish

Paint your child's palm and fingers (exluding the thumb) the color of your choice. Place their hand VERTICALLY on the page with their fingers spread slightly & facing the bottom of the page. Add bubbles if you'd like. Allow to dry before adding a mouth. *You can see that I laminated before the bubbles had dried and so they smeared. WOOPS!! When I appoligized, my son was very forgiving he said, "That's okay Mommy, it still looks nice to me!!"

 

{Springtime} Busy Bag Ideas

Here are a few GREAT ideas to keep your kiddos entertained and learning while they play! Each month I suggest a new theme to the moms in the group I swap with to help spur their creativity and also to help avoid getting the same activities every time. It has been a long winter and I am super anxious for warmer weather -- so this month's theme was {Springtime}.

 

If you haven't heard of a {Busy Bag} here is what they are in a nut shell... busy bags are reusable activities for kids that are fun & entertaining yet educational at the same time! Meant assist with independent quiet play and are perfect for the toddler or preschool who is just giving up naptime or for any mom who could use a few minutes of peace during her crazy day.

 

{Egg Shakers}
Babies 6-12 months old

 

Supplies
Regular sized Easter Eggs
Lentils, popping corn, or other small bean
Hot Glue

Directions
Fill each egg with 1 tsp of beans/corn. Place a very small dot of hot glue on the inside edge of the egg (where the two halves snap together) at several different places. Close the egg and allow the glue to cool and harden before scratching off any excess that is on the outside of the egg. Allow your baby to shake the eggs as you listen to music.

{Pretend Flower Pot}
Toddlers 1-3 years old

Supplies
Small flower pot or tin can
Fabric flowers
Wire cutters
Brown playdough (I used "Heidi's Chocolate Playdough" recipe found below)

Directions
Trim the stems of the flowers to the desired length. (OPTIONAL: You may wish to cover any sharp ends with floral tape, and glue the leafs and flowers into place on the stem so that your child cannot remove them as easily.) Show your child how to mash and mold the playdough into the bottom of the flower pot, then how to poke the flowers into the dough to make them stand up. (NOTE: If your child still puts everything into their mouth, you may want to provide an edible alternative to playdough such as the second recipe below.)

TODDLER FRIENDLY CRAFT OPTION: Make your own flowers using pipe cleaners and foam. Glue multi-colored petals onto a two-inch circle of foam. Glue foam leafs to a pipe cleaner, then glue the stem to the back of the foam flower.

{Fruits & Veggies - Where Do I Grow?}
Preschool 3-5 years old

 

 Supplies:
1/3 yd (45" wide) of blue, green & brown flannel per 2 children
20 x 12 inch piece of firm sew-in (non-fusible) interfacing (aka "Pellon") per 2 children
Hot glue
Images of fruits & veggies to trace (optional)
Fine-tip Sharpie
1 box washable markers per child

Directions:
THE BACKGROUND (sky, dirt, tree & bush):
Cut a 12 x 12 inch square of blue flannel to serve as the background for your activity. Cut a 4 x 12 inch strip of brown flannel for the "dirt" or garden area in your activity. Cut out the leafs for a tree, and a bush from the green flannel. Also, cut a tree trunk from the brown flannel and attach it to the tree leaves with hot glue. You may wish to sew the dirt, tree and bush to the background, but I left mine free so that my preschooler could place them where he wanted. *If you do sew the dirt onto the background, leave the top open (like a pocket) so that they can place veggies like carrots, potatoes, or onions "underground".

THE FRUITS & VEGGIES:
With a fine-tipped Sharpie, sketch or trace fruits and veggies onto the smooth side of the Pellon (the fuzzy side will adhere better to the flannel). Allow your child to color the fruits and veggies with their markers, then help them cut them out. Teach your child where things grow --- on a tree, under ground/on top of the ground, or on a bush as they play!

{Playdough Recipes}

 

{Heidi's Chocolate Playdough}
2 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 Tbsp cream of tarter
3 Tbsp oil
3 cups water

In a large pots, sift together dry ingredients. Add oil and water. Stir frequently over medium heat until a firm dough ball forms. Knead on a flat surface, adding flour as necessary until cool and no longer sticky. Store in an airtight container. Makes 5 cups or ten 1/2 cup portions.

{Edible Playdough}
1 box white cake mix
1/2 cup cocoa powder (or 3 oz packet of jello or scent/flavor)
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, softened
3 tsp water

Combine ingredients, kneading well and adding water a teaspoon at a time until desired consistency is reached. Store in an air tight container in the refrigerator. Bring dough to room temperature before using.