Quick Thanksgiving Centerpieces

These were quick and easy centerpieces that I made to decorate the tables at Thanksgiving.
Materials
 $1.00 pails from the Target dollar aisle
pieces of styrofoam
glue gun
old yarn or moss
autumn color artificial flowers
Fall pack of scrapbook paper

1. Cut a small cube of styrofoam to fit inside each pail.
2. Put a dab of hot glue at the bottom.
3. Select the scrapbook design you want to use. Cut out design and wrap around pail. Put a tiny bit of hot glue to attach paper.
4. Insert artificial flower
5. Use old yarn or moss to cover the white styrofoam cube. I used some yarn I had lying around because I was out of green moss.
6. I cut out a tiny saying and taped it to the handle of each pail.

                  

Final Product

Quick and Easy Christmas Pins

So I was at Dollar Tree last week and I saw these cute claymation kind of mini ornaments. The 4 pack was $1.00. So I bought a couple of packs. Then I bought the bar pins at Michaels. All you have to do is center the bar pin on the back of the ornament, then peel and stick. Then cut off the fish line loop at the top. That's it your little Christmas pin is done. This is a quick, cheap and easy little trinket that you can give to others during the holidays. I was also thinking that depending on the pin, you could use a black sharpie and add the person's name if you wanted to.   Also, to make the pins more secure you can glue gun the bar pins to the back of the ornament instead of peel and stick. But the peel and stick is great for a kids project. I'm planning to hand these out at the school Christmas party. Maybe I'll create some sort of stand to display them. I haven't decided.  In total I think the total cost per pin is 26 cents.

Dollar Tree ornament pack

Bar Pins 

                       

Peel and Stick

Selection

Front and Back

    

Final Look

Homemade Coconut Lip Balm Recipe with Peppermint and Cinnamon

My daughters and I went to a presentation of Ava Anderson http://www.avaandersonnontoxic.com products a couple of weeks ago and they discussed all the toxic and hazardous chemicals that are found in our day to day skin care products.  We were horrified. Especially since my oldest daughter is expecting and my youngest daughter suffers from severe allergies to most skin care products from soaps to oils. I started  doing some research and I found many sites with recipes on how to make your own products. Stay away from anything that says Fragrance on it stick to essential oils if possible. I decided to do it with my little one Maya that is 9. It was a fun project that also helped her learn some science along the way.  We started with a simple one on how to make lip balm. The first time we tried it we didn't have beeswax but we decided to make it anyways. It turned out very liquidy and the only way to harden it was to keep it in the fridge. Maya didn't mind it, she enjoyed taking it out of the fridge about a zillion times a day and putting it on, but I didn't think that was too practical.

I went ahead and ordered some more ingredients, bottles and small cases from bulkapothecary.com.

We tried the Natural Tinted Lip Balm Recipe found at http://wellnessmama.com/5837/natural-tinted-lip-balm-recipe.

I am inserting  a photo of the recipe that I hand wrote along with a couple of notes.

 

*Make sure you thoroughly wash and dry all the containers you will be using before you start.

*When everything starts melting it takes a while for the beeswax pastilles to dissolve. For a bit I thought I had done something wrong because the shea and coconut dissolve so quickly. However, the beeswax pastilles just took a little longer. When they melt they completely dissolve and no longer look like pieces of rice in your mix.

*Maya and I would have preferred it mintier but my husband David said he liked it like that. He says that he doesn't like having lip balm taste like anything. So I guess we can make different batches for guys and girls. I think next time I'll add 20 drops of the peppermint oil.

*I didn't take pictures while doing it. I'll try next time. You need to make sure an adult is the one pouring the hot liquid mix into the jars. My little girl did the labels and helped scoop some of the ingredients but when it came to heating the liquid on the stove she stayed clear, because it gets very hot.  It did cool pretty quickly.  We tried putting liquid food coloring to tint it but it would not mix with the oil I guess because it's water based, and oil and water don't mix. We tried adding some cinnamon powder to give it a light tint, but I don't think I added enough and when it cooled some of it looked like it had tiny specks of cinnamon on the top. So I have to work out the kinks on that. 

Maya wiped any excess or spilt balm from the sides.  However, it tasted great and was very smooth on the lips. Overall we were very happy with the results.

Our finished product with labels. We called it CocomintC because it has coconut, peppermint and a little cinnamon.

Coconut Peppermint Cinnamon Lip Balm

We use the P-Touch label maker Decomode #1 for the style and font you see on the labels.

Making Vintage Wedding Table Number Frames

Since I was going for a rustic vintage look. I decided to make my own table number frames. I bought some plain wood frames at Michaels about 14 of them. Then I painted and crackled them to make them look old. I got the idea from a great web site. I will try and find it and post the link. I bought all the supplies at Michaels. www.michaels.com

Step 1: Paint frames a dark brown color and let dry. I used Dark Chocolate Acrylic paint.

 Step 2: Pour some white glue to make your own crackle.

Step 3: Paint a thick layer of glue over the wood frames. While the glue is still wet you will paint with your top color.
















Step 4: I used Snow White Acrylic Paint.

 Step: 5 While the glue is still wet. Paint over the glue with the white paint. Then let dry before applying next layer. As the glue dries it will crackle and split the top white paint.

Step 6: I   painted a light layer of  Buttermilk Acrylic Paint to give it that old antique look.

 Step 7: I had printed the table numbers on vintage looking scrapbook paper and then inserted them into the frames. I used different types of papers to give it a bit of an eclectic look. The scrapbook paper was called "Be Mine" stack which I bought at Michaels.

The finished product. I also did the same technique on the flower box bases. I'll post that as well soon.

Planning My Daughter's Wedding

Okay my life just went from planning a princess party in March  for my 9 year old, to planning a wedding in June for my soon to be 26 year old older princess. Yup! That's right, Talk about stress and switching gears, that's my life. Not only that but as a private school owner, this is one of the busiest times of the year with end of school preparations and celebrations.

How do I do it? People ask me this all the time because there is always something happening in my life. Believe me I'm not the kind of person that craves attention or needs to have stuff to do.(Okay maybe I like a tad bit of drama) It's just that stuff finds me.  You know the verse in the bible that says "I can do all things through Christ whose strengthens me, Philippians 4:13", well that's my explanation. I ask God for a daily dose of blessings, protection and supernatural strength and energy to get me through the day.  It really works, there's no other explanation for getting through some of the tough days I go through. Even the tough days I've had to go through with my friends, students, coworkers and family. God helps us on those tough days with a double portion of endurance.  Anyways, I'm getting sentimental when this is a happy occasion. My baby girl is getting married!!!!

I have so much to do!  Invitations, dresses, tuxes, flowers, Djs, food church, reception. AAAAAAHHH!!
I'm sure I'm missing some stuff. Anyways, I'm back diligently on my new friend Pinterest, pinning my life away. I've even learned how to create a secret board. The only problem is I can't seem to be able to show it to anyone secretly. Oh well, I'm sure I'll figure it out.

I plan to post some things as we get them done. Just like I did with the princess party. However, I can't post too much until after the wedding. I don't want to ruin the surprise. For now just pray for my sanity. 

Princess Party March 2013

Sorry the actual pictures are a little late. Life always gets in the way of posting, but here you go. The princess  party was a big hit. The girls looked lovely and we all had a royal time.

Princess Cotton Candy Hats- So fun to make, but the cotton candy starts melting quickly. About an hour later it looked like colored sugar sticking to the side of the cone.

Made some monogram M's and stuck them on to the lollipops. Got the lollipops at Oriental Trading.com

Marshmallow Teacups. These came out so cute. We bought the giant marshmallows at Publix and the mini cupcake liners at Michael's. We added pink frosting on the bottom and on the top to help hold the stirrer in place and sprinkled with princess colored sugar.

The Candy Table- My sister-in-law made the delicious cupcakes and decorated them with mini tiaras. My mom made the table cover with pink tulle on the bottom.

Place Setting for each Princess

Recycled vase made from a Voss bottle and wrapped with decorative scrapbook paper.

Princess Table

Our little princess in front of the castle front that daddy built. Her grandmother Noni made her this beautiful dress.

Princess Maya and her Royal Knight- her brother Matthew.

The princesses looking at the Mirror Mirror wall.

We had a small CD player outside behind the plants and we played a Disney princess CD as the girls entered the castle. I bought a red runway at Oriental Trading that the girls walked on inside the house.

Making their wands.

Making crowns.

The Royal Feast

 

 

 

 

 

Making the treasure chests.

We made different types of tea sandwiches for the girls and cut them out in different shapes using cookie cutters. After they ate they decorated their treasure chests and I let them open them only when they had finished. They were filled with plastic coins, rings and other little trinkets. We cleared out the tables while they were doing the treasure craft and then they played Princess charades and then they had a Princess Dance Fest. Prizes were awarded to the best dancers and best costume.  A friend of ours brought her a pinata so they had a blast in the backyard doing that. All the princesses went home with lots of candy and the stuff they had made in a little princess bag.