DIY Gift Bags

The next time your kids want to color - give them a white lunch bag, some crayons or markers, and tell them to go to town. Save the bag, and you've got a beautiful, handmade giftbag for a gift! If you did the Kid-Safe Luminarias, you've already got the bags!

(a bow would look nice on it, but I don't have any...)

Don't Hide Everything Away

Most things are best kept in an organized bin, closet, bag, whatever. But some items are so pretty, why hide them away? I have an unhealthy perfume obsession. I used to try to find creative ways to store them under my sink. I finally gave up, organized everything else in the bathroom (see "Magazine Racks - Not Just for Magazines Anymore") and left the perfumes out as decoration. (I also have an unhealthy obsession with purchasing cologne for my husband so I put his out too). Perfume designers spend a lot of time and money on designing the damn bottles, might as well enjoy how they look.

Other things that would look nice on display (IF, and only IF, you have the space):
Dolls
Shoes
Earrings
Interesting dishes
etc...

The key is to only display what you have the space to display. I have a small house with very little storage - so a window sill of perfume bottles is about as "displayed" as things will get. Otherwise it will get all messed up and frustrate you. But why spend money on decorations/accents for your home, when you might already have some perfectly wonderful things you could use already in your closet?

Handy-Dandy Cheap Closet Organizers

I'm in love with these two objects:
Wonder hangers and my scarf/belt hanger.

I have a very small closet that I share with my husband. It's very difficult to keep things organized. The single scarf/belt hanger turns this:

Into this:

The wonder hangers I think were one of those "As Seen on TV" ads, but I found mine at Target. They turn the space that 6 hangers would take:

Into the space of a single hanger:

It helps to put similar items on one hanger (i.e. I have all my camisoles on one, running t-shirts on another, etc).

Storage Ottoman for Shoes

As I've said before, I live in a small house with limited storage space. Creativity is key to keeping our sanity. My older daughter has no room in her closet for shoes (it's filled with a bin full of dress-up clothes and a box of out-of-season clothes). We keep her shoes in one of those small storage ottomans. It works great - she just has to toss her shoes in, throw the lid on, and they're out of sight and out of mind.

You'd never know there's 10 pairs of shoes in here :-)

Magazine Racks - Not Just for Magazines Anymore

I recently purchased one of those multi-sleeve magazine organizers for my "office" area (which, in my small house, is just an extension of my living room). I have found it extremely useful for keeping the junk mail separate from the bills; the catalogs separate from the magazines; the holiday cards separate from the IRA statements...you get the gist.

In fact, I love it so much, I just put one in my bathroom. Our master bathroom is tiny, so it seems like there's never enough room. I'm one of those people that prefers things to be out in my field of view so I can get to them easier. I also can't stand putting all my makeup into a bag because it's hard to find stuff easily. I've got a space for my eye shadows, a space for my lipsticks, a space for my hair products, etc etc. And there's a little pencil-holder at the bottom that is a perfect size for makeup brushes.

I also just got one for my craft closet...more to come on that one ;-)

Bins are a Busy Mom's Best Friend

Bins, glorious bins. I use them for everything - especially in the kids rooms. It makes it so much easier to keep the bedrooms picked up without too much difficulty. I love being able to toss things into a little box and have it out of sight and mind. The hardest part with my kids (and me, who am I kidding), is remembering that certain items belong in each bin (i.e. Barbies in one, doll clothes in a nother, batteries in a third, you get my drift). In one kid's room we have one of those pre-made bin contraptions you can find at Target (we lucked out and found ours at a yard sale).

In the other kid's room we made the toys more organized with fabric bins and baskets.

Going to add picture labels to the kids' bins this week, so they have an easier time knowing WHICH bins are for WHAT toys (similar to the dresser drawer labels previously posted here)...

In other rooms, I use plastic shoebox-sized bins to keep my odds and ends organized. I have a small house with no basement or attic, so it's very hard to keep things in the right places. I put all my craft items, batteries, light bulbs, etc into labeled bins above my washer/dryer.

I keep all my sewing supplies in a closet in larger bins, along with one bin for each kid for baby clothes I want to keep for posterity.

Doll Hair Detangler Recipe

My two kids are major doll lovers. But with that comes a LOT of tangled doll hair. After a few months of lovin' from my girls, the poor dolls heads look like rats nets. Over the years, I've tried a variety of methods, and nothing has worked as well as this one (it's a bit modified from something I found on Cookie & Claire).

Here's what you need:
Fabric softener
Water
Spray bottle
Brush

Here's what you do:
1. Mix 4 parts water and 1 part fabric softener in a spray bottle.

2. Spray onto dolls hair.

3. Start brushing.

4. Spray again.

Right side sprayed and brushed, left side not...

5. Keep brushing.

6. Voila! Happy doll and happy girl!

Instant Framed Art

I've already spoken of my love of dry-erase pens (see "In Praise of Dry Erase Pens"). Here's another fun idea for your kids to make instant framed art. When they're done, set it on the mantle...or wipe it away and start over!

Here's what you need:
A picture frame
A white sheet of paper
Dry erase pens

Here's what you do:
1. Put the white paper into the picture frame. We got a few cheap frames from the dollar store, and simply flipped over the cheesy picture that came with the frame.

2. Close up the frame.

3. Color a picture onto the frame glass using dry erase pens.

4. Put the picture on a shelf.

5. Tomorrow, wipe the drawing away and start again!

Edible Paint

What do kids like more than painting? Painting stuff they can EAT!!! 

Here's what you need:
Evaporated milk
Food coloring
White foods (we used white bread, marshmallows, cheese, and cheerios)
Muffin pan
Paint brushes

Here's what you do:
1. Pour a small amount of evaporated milk into each muffin cup - fill up enough cups for however many colors you want to make.

2. Put a few drops of food coloring into each cup - mix and match the colors to make new colors!

3. Start painting :-)

4. Eat your creations!

Recycled Rainbow Crayons

We all have 'em. Those boxes of old, broken, nasty crayons. Hate to throw them out, but the kids of course prefer the new, pretty ones. What to do with them? Make them into NEW crayons! Easy as pie. Actually, EASIER than pie.

(By the way, Crayola had a "Crayon Maker" toy on the market a while ago that used a similar concept. Not sure if it's still for sale. We purchased one (unfortunately). It took about 5 times longer than this to make the new crayons, made fewer crayons at a time, and broke after about 3 uses. Whatever you do, do NOT buy that toy. Total waste of money. If you've got money in your pocket and are itchin' to spend it, buy more silicon trays to make crayons with and a Snikers bar or something).

Here's what you need:
Broken crayons with the wrapper removed
Silicon ice cube tray

Here's what you do:
1. Remove the wrapper from all of the crayons.

(My 2-year-old was able to sweet-talk her uncle into helping peel crayons...)

2. Break the crayons into small pieces.

3. Place the crayon bits into the silicon ice cube tray.

4. Put the ice cube tray on to a cookie sheet.

5. Bake in the oven at 300 degrees for about 15 minutes. You want your crayons to be completely melted.

6. Cool in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Pop 'em out of the ice cube trays.

7. Get coloring!

The Secret to Perfect DIY Bubble Solution Is...

...Glycerin!  Yep, it's just that simple. Mix about 1/4 cup dish soap with 10 oz water. Then add a tablespoon of glycerin. Glycerin slows the rate at which the bubbles dissolve, so they last longer. Have fun! (oh and you can find glycerin at Michael's in the cake-making-supplies section. I've heard you can find it at drugstores too...although it's not technically a "food", it's safe to ingest in case your kids take a sip or get their post-bubble-blowing hands in their mouths).

"I Love You Because..." Board

I've seen variations on this idea floating around the internet. It's such a great way to remind the people you care about that they're appreciated and loved. And I've written before about my adoration of dry-erase pens...and here's another excuse to use them :-)

Here's what you need:
An 8x10 picture frame
Paper
Computer/printer
Dry erase pen
String
Tape/Thumb-tack

Here's what you do:
1. Using your computer, write on a piece of paper "I Love You Because...", and add a lovey-dovey decoration if desired. You're also welcome to use the template below.

2. Print out your design (alternatively steps 1 and 2 can be hand-written or created with stickers, but I took the quick-and-dirty approach).

3. Place the sheet into your 8x10 frame beneath the glass.

4. Hang the frame on the wall.

5. Tie some string/ribbon around your dry-erase pen and tape/tack it to the wall next to the frame, so you'll always have a pen handy to write on it. The dry-erase will wipe right off the glass.

Butternut Squash Soup

Getting kids to eat their veggies is sometimes a challenging task, but it can be easier when they help prepare the meal. And when the meal tastes like pumpkin pie in a bowl...well, yum. A perfect meal for a cold December evening.

This soup is extremely easy to make and easy to tweak to your own personal taste.

Here's what you need:
1 Butternut squash
1 cup milk or cream
1/4 - 1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Here's what you do:
1. Cut the butternut squash in half lengthwise and remove seeds.

2. Place the squash cut-side-down in a baking dish. Fill the dish with about 1/2 inch of water.

3. Cook the squash at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes. You want the squash to be very soft.

4. Spoon the cooked squash out of the skin into a blender. You can run the cooked squash under cold water to make it easier to touch (the inside portion will still remain warm).

5. Pour milk into blender. You can add cream if you want a thicker, creamier soup. You can add more or less milk/cream depending on your taste.

6. Add remaining ingredients. Again, feel free to vary the amounts depending on your personal taste preferences.

7. Blend 'em all together 'til they're all nice and smooth.

8. Eat!

Kid-Safe Luminarias

Luminarias are a lovely holiday decoration that is common here in the desert where we live. The traditional version uses a candle, but obviously we want to discourage the use of fire with small children. This version is fun and easy for kids, and can be used as a decoration or just a fun night light.

Here's what you need:
White paper bag (lunch bag size)
Crayons
Battery-operated candle (I used tea light size)

Here's what you do:
1. Decorate the paper bag with the crayons. The more colors you use, the more vibrant your nighttime luminaria will be.

2. Place the battery-operated candle inside the bag.

3. Wait until bedtime and enjoy!!!

Dough Ornaments

We had some friends over today and had a blast making dough ornaments. The dough is very simple and easy, and it rolls out and cuts just like cookie dough. This project kept four kids, ages 2 to 7, happy for over an hour!

Here's what you need:
4 cups flour (plus a little extra)
1 cup salt
1 1/2 cups warm water (plus a little extra)
toothpick
rolling pin
cookie cutters
acrylic paint
ribbon
Sharpie

Here's what you do:
1. Combine the flour, salt, and water and knead it into a dough ball. Knead for about 5 minutes. If it's too dry (all of the dry ingredients should be combined but not be too sticky), add another tablespoon of water.

2. Roll out the dough. Helps to flour the rolling pin before you roll out the dough.

3. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters.

4. Make sure to add a small hole at the top of each ornament with the toothpick for your string.

5. Bake ornaments on an ungreased cookie sheet for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees, until they're nice and hard. While we were waiting for our ornaments to cook, the kids made Kid-Safe Luminarias.

6. Cool the ornaments and paint them to your liking.

7. You can also write your child's name and the year on the back of the ornament with a Sharpie for posterity. This is especially great if it's a gift.

8. Tie a piece of string or ribbon through the hole and hang on your tree!!