Busy Book

So I wanted to sew a quiet book, but I'm not a seamstress by any means, and all the tutorials I found seemed pretty intense. So I was over joyed to find this awesome tutorial for a busy binder! I really had a good time putting this binder together. It kept me busy for awhile, so hopefully it will be worth it.

What you'll need: a folder, box colored pencils, zipper pouch, file folders, beads, items for I spy bag, hot glue gun, magnets, velcro, envelopes. 

I spy bag: I purchased my Eye Spy bag at the dollar store. It is pencil bag. I also bought two packages of beads from the dollar store. My little princess and I filled it with beads and items I found around the house. For example, key, safety pin, Barbi shoe. After we filled it, I sealed the zipper with hot glue to make sure my little princesses can't unzip the bag an sprinkle goodies all over the place.

Colored Pencils: I cut the colored pencil box, like the tutorial suggests. Then I covered the colored pencil box with sticky laminate paper. (The kind you line drawers or shelves with.) I finished it off by placing velcro dots to the back of the box and the folder, so my little princess can pull the box off and put it back on. I'm a little concerned the lid is going to fall off, so I will probably secure the lid with a strap of some sort. Maybe something with a magnet or velcro. What do you think?

File Folder Games: For these I did an online search for Black and White File Folder Games. I only have a black and white printer, so I found some games I wanted, printed them off, colored them, cut them out, and had them laminated. You don't have to laminate the file folder games, but they will last longer if you do. I put quite a bit of effort into coloring the games I printed, so I want them to last for awhile.

Magnets on the ship game

 Once I got home, I placed magnet backings** on the ship game and velcro on the alphabet game.

 To hold the pieces for the games, I hot glued envelopes to the back of the file folders. I also used the sticky velcro piece to keep the envelope closed so we don't loose any pieces in the madness of my diaper bag.

So there it is! A relatively inexpensive, no-sew busy book. I'm really excited to give this a whirl on Sunday.

I linked up to Frugal Friday.

** Just a little side note: After my princesses played with this, I discovered magnets were a horrible idea. I will be replacing the magnets with velcro.

White Chicken Chile

So this is an amazing recipe that everyone should try. It is soooooo easy, and quick, and I love it. I paired it with sourdough bread, guacamole, sour cream, and cheese. Enjoy!

Tried, Tested, Approved

Last night I made this delicious Broccoli  Chicken Cheddar Croissant Braid. It was a big hit, and we even ate it again tonight! One thing to watch out for is cook time. The first time I took it out it was doughy, but I put it back in and , so you might need to cook it longer than the recipe suggests. It is a really quick and easy recipe. Follow the directions spot on and you cannot fail!

Butterfly Toes

This was a really fun project. We made a set of Butterfly Feet for my hubby's office! The girls had a ton of fun getting their feet painted. So much fun in fact that I couldn't get a picture of me painting their feet for fear acrylic paint was going to end up all over my counter and clothes. (Acrylic paint doesn't come out of clothes, and I don't feel like scraping it off my counter. I know, not a fun mom.) But they did turn out super cute. The original pinterest pin has the feet on canvas, but I used stuff I had on hand.

 So I used acrylic paint, pipe cleaners, card stock, paint brush, and an old frame.

 I painted my little princesses' feet. It was hard because they're squirmy, but we got it done.

 I cut pipe cleaners to roll them for the antennae. The original pin uses thumb prints; I think both ideas are cute. Although the pipe cleaners get smashed in the frame, they still look cool.

Final product. I like it!

Cream Cheese Wontons

I made stir fry last night, and I decided to pair it with some cream cheese wontons. I've never done it before, but I found this lovely little recipe. The real perk is its a weight watchers recipe so it is lower in calories than other recipes. I made a couple adjustments like dropping the crab because my hubby doesn't like crab.

The edges got a little crispy, but they were still pretty tasty.

Pipe Cleaner Rings

So it's a random crafty find! Cute flower rings out of pipe cleaners. I stumbled on this link and it is an awesome tutorial for a flower ring. So I decided to make my little princess some rings today. Unfortunately, I only had one color. I'm sure it works better with three different colors, but she loved it none the less. And it is a fun, quick, easy project!

Pipe Cleaners

Twist them together to make the set look like whiskers.

Wrap it around the finger you want to wear and twist.

Start to roll the edge of pipe cleaners to the center of the ring.

Finished product!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Link Party!

Wednesday Wowzers. I just linked up some of my latest creations! Check out all these awesome ideas. More inspiration for pinning.

Magic Hearts

So I'm not a huge fan of Valentine's Day. It's just not a day that's really that important to me. (It does have special meaning because that is the holiday I started dating my husband many moons ago, but other than that I just don't get to into it.) This is no excuse for my kids to not be into it, so today we made Valentine Magic Hearts. Featured on http://preschoolalphabet.blogspot.com.

It's actually quite simple. All you  need is a white crayon, thick paper, a heart stencil (unless you can freehand. I don't trust myself), scissors, and watercolors.  1) Cut out some heart shapes, preferably on thick paper. I used card stock. You can use regular paper, but the watercolors will soak it. 2) Draw a design with the white crayon. 3) Paint over it with the watercolors to reveal the secret message.

My little princess loved watching the watercolor slide off the crayon. We made cute little messages and this afternoon, I'll let her hang them on the doors. Maybe she will have a better attitude about Valentine's Day than I do.

Lunch!

Pintrest is my new go-to place for recipes. I have discovered some very delicious creations! Some I have excelled at, others I've bombed, but it's fun to try new things. Today for lunch I made these delicious wraps inspired by Rachael Ray.

I wrapped them in some foil and brought them to my honey so my little family could have picnic in a park. It was delightful and the wraps were so yummy! Mine didn't turn out as pretty as Rachael's but they sure did taste good!

I do have to admit, I made one alteration to the recipe: I added ranch dressing. And next time I think I might add some finely sliced onions. Hmmmm. I can't wait to do this again. . . . I might even try it again tomorrow.

Cereal Organizer

Since joining Pintrest a mere month ago, I have completed many projects. Unfortunately, I had the idea for this blog after I completed most of them, so I don't have pictures. And we all know that really good blog posts include pictures. So here is my first posted (pictured) project.

For the New Year I get sort of cleaning crazed, and I decided to reorganized a closet that I normally just shove things in. I wanted magazine holders, but I wasn't going to spend 5-7 dollars a pop for something no one sees but me. Queue this awesome pin for DIY Magazine Holders! And the best part part: they are made out of cereal boxes.

I don't know about everyone else, but my family eats a ridiculous amount of cereal, so I always have boxes lying around. One change I made to the original post is I used laminate paper to cover the boxes, so I skipped steps five through 6 because didn't have to glue paper to the boxes. You can get laminate paper (the stuff you line shelves or drawers with) at thrift stores for like 50 cents. And since its sticky, it's super easy to cover the boxes. I just wrapped mine like Christmas presents.

After creating a couple of these awesome magazine holders, I reorganized my closet from this ugly BEFORE

To this amazing AFTER!Yes, there is more stuff in the closet than before and there is more room. Organization just feels good!

My Obssession!

I have recently discovered Pintrest. I held off for a long time, not wanting to give into another form of distraction. But when I signed up, I realized this is not just a distraction, it is a motivator. Since becoming a member I have started and finished many amazing projects that I wouldn't have known about without Pintrest. So I want to chronicle my Pintrest adventures here on this blog. I hope you all enjoy the journey!