Menu...

Okay, I know that this isn't a craft, or anything, but, hey, for me it kinda was! Considering the fact that I created this document from scratch, that's considered a craft by me. :D







So, I created this because I've been having a hard time sticking to a menu with my son. I went and bought some laminate (a roll cost about $8 at the university, so I'm sure it's cheaper elsewhere), a plain clipboard, and a dry erase marker. I printed and "laminated" it, then put it on the clipboard. Now, I can put new info on the sheet each week, and not waste a huge amount of paper. If you want to edit my version, at all, please feel free to email me. I can send it to you via Dropbox. :)










All you have to do to download the menu is to CLICK HERE!

Paper Lunch Bag Accessorized!!

I made some gift bags out of brown paper sacs. I'm sure they sell white ones, but I had brown ones. The first thing I did was get a paper sac, some contact paper, and I cut the contact paper into Easter designs. Simple enough. Then, I put them onto the paper lunch sacs. Here is the result:

I'm sorry, it's not a better picture. I scanned it into my computer.

Dying Eggs for EASTER!

I remember growing up, and not being able to afford those expensive egg dying kits. Even still, I’m too broke to afford those really cool ones that let you make eggs gold, or whatever. I can’t help but wonder, though, if I would buy them if I COULD afford them! I still grew up relatively poor, with LOTS of kids, so I am a thrifty person. Here are a few ideas of how to decorate your eggs for less… and it’s still REALLY fun!

1. Get a white crayon, have the kids color on the eggs, and then dip them in the egg dye. Wherever a crayon marked the egg, it stays white.
2. Instead of buying egg dye, use food coloring. You can even get different hues of the same color by adding less or more food coloring.
3. Use coffee mugs for the egg dye. That will make it so it can’t be too deep, and less area for the egg to drop.
4. Cover the table with an old newspaper. This will protect the tabletop, and, hopefully, absorb some of the moisture. If you live where it’s warm outside, just do it outside! That way, anything that spills will go in the grass.
5. Put the egg, with food coloring, into a Ziploc. This will be mess free eggs.
6. Ziplocs also work great for glittering the eggs. Drop in a Ziploc some glitter, then put the wet, dyed egg into the Ziploc. The glitter will naturally stick to the egg.
7. Use the empty egg cartons to store the dyed eggs. This idea also works great if you want to let them dry in the cartons, since they absorb moisture.
8. Paintbrushes are a great way to get the custom look without spending a bundle.
9. I, personally, like to get the cheap stamps from Michael’s crafts or Walmart, and stamp on the eggs directly. I usually dye the whole egg, and then stamp in a darker hue of the same color. Ex: Pink egg, with Red stamp. –I recently got the idea to glue foam stickers to the tops of bottle lids to make stamps. I will be trying it this year! (Website with idea is here.)
10. Stickers are generally pretty cheap, and they make a dyed egg look so NICE. Plus, kids of all ages can use a sticker. :D
11. Place several wet eggs into a dry bowl, then drip food coloring onto the eggs. I like to do this with multiple colors, and it has a really cool effect. You need to take out the eggs fairly quickly, or you will get gathering dye on all the bottom ones (a big ring or a solid, dark section. Not pretty!).
12. Tie rubber bands around the eggs, then drop them into the dye. The rubber bands usually keep that section of the egg white. As soon as the egg dries, take off the rubber bands. Viola!

I hope these ideas help you out. Please let me know how they work for you, and, if you can think of other suggestions, please shoot them my way!

Until next time,

--Danyelle

Dishcloth Bunnies--Great for EASTER!

I recently got asked for some cheap, and easy, crafts people can do with small children. Well, my mom has always made these... well, since I can remember. I tried to take as good of pictures as possible. If you make these, and take better ones, please send them to me so I can post them. I will credit you, of course! I don't have googly eyes or pom poms, but you would add them to this creation (or leave them off if you are making them for REALLY young children that may try to eat them).



Okay, first, you gather your supplies:

Washcloth

Ribbon

Egg

Scissors

Googly eyes and PomPoms (If you're going to add them).

Lay cloth diagonally, and roll from one corner to the next. Your wash cloth should look like this: 

Now, pinch corners together, to make your washcloth look like this:

Fold the top part back, until the corners are about 2/3 the way up. It should look like this:

Tie ribbon around area your fingers are holding it. It should look like this:

Now, you will want to move the stuff around a little bit, so that the face looks more even, and the ears are both facing the same direction. Then, it will look like this:

Put egg in back, and Viola! You are done!

*NOTE: If the egg doesn’t fit, you can gently pull the hole to be bigger. Being gentle is what it’s all about here, or else it will fall apart. *

Tiger's Eggs--For the PICKY eater!

Okay, here's the story behind this one. I first realized that when you baste an egg, it looks much prettier. Then, in highschool quite a few years back, I had a friend over. I was cooking breakfast, when she came in and started ordering me around in MY kitchen. Yeah, it irritated me, too! Anyways, one thing that was GOOD (the ONLY thing, actually) about her trying to run the cooking was that I learned the trick you are about to learn! The reason I say this recipe is GREAT for the picky eater is because my nephews REFUSED to eat the eggs that I made them. I'm not sure why, since they'd liked em like that for YEARS! Anyways, I remembered that irritating day in highschool, and I asked them how they'd like TIGER'S EGGS??? Know what they said? YES!!!! AWESOME!!!

Well, it's quite simple, actually!

What you will need:

• Good frying pan, with a FLAT bottom, not overly curved up edges (no woks or anything like that). 
• VERY small pan lid (I prefer glass because it allows you to see when the egg is done, though my mom prefers a metal one. It's all about preference, here.)
• Plastic cup most the way full of water
• Salt Shaker
• Egg(s)

 Instructions:
Heat stove to med/high heat, and place pan on burner. After pan is heated, crack egg into pan, sprinkle salt onto egg, pour water into pan NEXT to egg, and place lid over egg and water. Watch as the egg cooks, since I'm not sure how long it takes to cook them to YOUR specifications. It doesn't take that long, though. Then, when egg is cooked to your preference, put on plate and serve. Enjoy!

***NOTE***
If you want LOTS of "stripes", apply lots of salt, if you want very little "stripes", apply very little salt. Simple as that.


Pictures were as best as I could get. Hope you enjoy. :D

Christmas Leftovers.....

Okay, so I know Christmas was a few months ago, but some stores are still trying to get rid of their Christmas stuff. Right? Okay, so here are some tips, suggestions, or alternative uses I have for you:

1. Ribbon-- Most of the ribbon doesn't look like it's Christmas ribbon, it's PACKAGE is just Christmas-ish. There are MANY uses for ribbon, a few of which are: Details in crochet/knit blankets, bookmarks & chokers (you can buy ribbon clamps off eBay), hair accessories, etc.
2. Artificial Snow Sheets-- I got bags of this stuff for only $0.50 each, and all it is is sheets of batting. I've been using it for quilts, pillows, etc. I spent HALF of what I'd spend on ONE bag of batting, except I got SIX bags! Talk about a deal!
3. Tubs-- You know, the plastic Rubbermaid storage tubs? Well, they have them color coded for seasons, so this really works after each season. I find that Christmas has the biggest clearance price, though, since red and green are so OBVIOUSLY Christmas!!!
4. Food-- Yeah, as surprising as this may be, there is ALWAYS food that is packaged in Christmas packaging for the season. The expiration date is usually MONTHS out (cereal and such), but it goes on clearance due to the out-dated packaging.This tip is ALSO great for any other holiday. Different holidays have different food items that go on clearance. Like, for example, Gingerbread, Eggnog, or Pumpkin coffee creamer during the Christmas season. Mine STILL isn't bad that I got after Christmas. Has another two weeks left on it! :D
5. Tupperware-- Yup, tupperware. Well, actually, probably not that BRAND, but leftover food storage containers. They overstock on these items, and, of course, a lot of them have Christmas designs on the packaging. Some of them are red and green, or gold and red. Who cares, though, right?
6. Material-- Okay, so the BEST holiday for cheap material always seems to be Halloween, but Christmas has some GREAT leftover material as well. I'm not sure why, but I always find that the panels go on clearance right after the holiday.

I'll leave my tips to that... for now! If you have any additions, let me know! :D

Jell-O Whips

My mom used to have us make these, to make money in our neighborhood. We grew up fairly poor, and these were VERY cheap to make. I'm not entirely sure where she got the recipe from, but it's VERY simple, and yields about four cups worth of drink (more or less, depending on how thick you like it). Two things we learned about this drink: 1. You can alter the recipe to include ANY fruit, really, and it will still taste delicious. 2. You must drink it fairly fast, as it does tend to separate as it thaws.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 Box of diet Jell-o in Strawberry-Banana flavor  (Gellatin, whatever... we always get the sugar-free, cheap brand that's about $0.50 or less. Brand does NOT matter!)
1 Cup boiling water
1 Banana
1-2 Trays of Ice  (More ice equals thicker)

Equipment you will need:
Blender

In a blender, combine boiling water and Jell-O. Turn on lowest setting for about 5 seconds. Drop in banana, and turn onto the highest setting. As soon as banana is pureed, and there are no more big chunks, start dropping in ice cubes, one at a time. Don't put them in too fast, as it will cause the blender to freeze up (hehe... nice way to put it, eh?). If you already did this, simply put a little bit of water into the blender, turn it off, and then press pulse button a few times. This will loosen it up, again. Simply drop in ice until it is as thick as you want it to be.

Pour into cups, and enjoy! Trust me, DELICIOUS!!!!!