Adorable, Quick and Easy Valentine Box

Valentine's Day is quickly approaching.  Are you ready?

I'm rarely fully ready for any of the holidays, but this one always seems to sneak up on me.  Yeah, because you know it's never on the same day each and every year. {There goes that sarcasm again.}

A couple of years ago I was completely unprepared.  There was so much going on at the time and making a box to for my kids' Valentine's to go into just seemed like a complete waste of time and energy.  And that year Baby #3 was taking some pretty nasty chemo, so energy was really low. Thankfully, I have some really amazing friends and neighbors that look out for me my kids.

So, armed with gifted stickers, the kids and I started looking around the house for a box to decorate.  Should have been an easy enough search, but we came up with nothing.  Then one of the kids spotted (one of the many) Huggies wipe boxes in the living room.   Using very little in terms of time and supplies, we were able to come up with some pretty cute boxes to sit on the kids' desks at school to contain all their little friends' Valentine's Day cards.

While it's a simple and really fast project, it gets the job done.  Plus, it's durable and can be reused for several years.  (Making me seem more prepared than I actually am.  Bonus!!)

Cutting the center rubber out of the center despencer area to make it easier for little people to put those cute V Day cards inside the box. 

If you really want to get fancy, decoupage the outside with some pretty scrapbook papers and stickers.  The sky is the limit with these little gems, so have fun and be creative!  Plus, if you decide to make one of your own, please post a picture on my Facebook page.  I love seeing other people's creativity!

Keep loving Life!

Easy Way to Bag Rose Bush Clippings

Fall is just around the corner. I can feel it .... even though it's been above 90 degrees so far all this week. So the temperature hasn't cooled off much yet, it's still the beginning of September. Getting a head start on the outside clean up work seems appropriate, so I hit the front flowerbeds. (Either that or I'm just looking for something different than cleaning another bathroom... again!)

The flower beds have really gotted out of hand this summer. Both Knockout rose bushes I have LOVE where they are and grow like crazy. Big bonus since they fill the space and give us color all summer long. Downside?  It's always a challenge getting all the clippings in the yard bags and ready for trash day pickup. Those thorns hurt, friends!

Yesterday I had an 'aha' moment! 

Here's what I did:

Take one yard waste bag and open it up with some scissors. 

Lay it out close to where the clippings will be cut.

Start piling up the clippings within the bounds of the bag. 

Now you can roll one edge over the thorn filled clippings and really squish it all down. 

This step can be done several times until you feel like you have as much in the bag as possible.  The layers of paper the bag is made of helped add some much needed protection from thorns.

Next and final step will more than likely require an assistant. 

Gather up your nicely rolled up full bundle of stickery clippings and slide it into another (intact) yard waste bag. It was a little tricky getting it all tucked in and started- kinda like getting tights on a toddler.  But, once started, the rest of it just slides right in. 

No one to help lend a hand? Have some twine on hand and tie the bundle at both ends. This would hold it all together. Then lay it on the ground and work the second bag around one end and up the bundle of clippings. 

Try it out and let me know how it works for you! 

Getting Organized for School: Part 2

I laid the ground work for this series Monday with Part 1.  Go take a look at that if you haven't, yet.

Today is all about the calendar!

It's taken a few years to figure out a good system for me, but here are a couple of things that have consistently helped me the most.

Wall Calendar

I'm such a visual person that I have to have a wall calendar in a very obvious, in your face spot.  And, since I spend a lot of time in the kitchen, that's become the calendar's home.

It has morphed a bit over the years that we've been here, though.

 These white board calendars were purchased from Walmart a few years ago.  I'm sure I didn't spend more than $12 per board. {I'm pretty cheap when it comes to things like this.}  I have LOVED having two boards!  My original intent was to switch the boards back and forth as the months changed.  I even put them up on the wall with the Velcro Command Strips so it would be very easy to rotate them.  And it was.  But, I got tired of doing that and now every other month the months are backward.  No big deal to me.

Why two months?  Well, I was constantly not prepared for the start of the next month.  It really bugged me!  I would make overlapping plans or I would procrastinate on getting the next month written up and miss an appointment.  Having two calendars allows me to start planning for the next month and keep it visual.

Ok.  So, having two months up has worked well.  The clutter at the bottom was starting to really get on all our nerves.  I thought the Rust-Oleum Magnetic Paint would be the help I was looking for.  Sadly, it wasn't.

While technically the paint works, it's not worth the money or the time.  Yes, it will hold magnets on the wall, but even the stronger magnets won't hold an appointment post card to it.  I also had to put several more layers of paint up than what were recommended.  Now I have a ridge where the black paint is.  Lesson learned, though.

When I figure out my alternative method, I'll be sure to share.

This is what I now have on my wall.

It's not a complete Command Center, but what I have is working nicely.

I also added this little dry erase board in between the larger boards.

It has really helped to have a place to quickly glance at and see the highlights for the current week.

Now that we have the wall calendar covered, let's move on to electronic.

Electronic Calendar

Having an IPhone, I was using the calendar app that came with it.  It was fine.  Had all the features I needed - calendar, location, multiple alarms, and so forth.

What it lacked was being able to connect with my husband and others.  Maybe I didn't know how to use it to it's fullest potential, though.

Now we use Google Calendar.

The set up definitely works for me.  Our local church group is able to post different activities on the calendar and it automatically goes to my phone.  Whenever Kevin adds an event or appointment to his phone it automatically goes on mine and vise a versa.  I get to color code the events so I can glance and quickly know if an event pertains to family, church, school or work.  (Visual, remember)  It has made things so much easier for me to keep and stay on top of my life and my family's.  It also keeps Kevin and I from double scheduling our life.  

These are all very simple, inexpensive fixes to such a big part of life!  While the family Command Center is still a bit of a work in progress, what I have is working.  Working so well I rarely miss an appointment or special event.  The older kids are able to add school activities as they come up and help keep our life a little less stressful with fewer last minute surprises, too.

Now that you see what I do, I'm curious what everyone else has come up with to keep your events organized.  Do you keep a calendar or two (or three!) on your wall?  Which app do you use on your phone?  Or are you one of those people who can keep it all tucked away in your mind and never miss a beat?  Share and let us all know what you do!  Hop on over to My Life on Facebook and comment or post a picture.

Look for the next on Friday!

Creating Extra Drying Space for Laundry Day

I'm pretty inconsistent around here when it comes to laundry.  I'm either doing load after load in one day (because I've put it all off waaaayyyy too long) or I'm doing a couple loads a day (because I've vowed to never again let it get out of control again..... um..... again).   One thing that is always consistent is I never have enough space to hang the clothes to let them dry.

I got this little contraption from Costco last year and it has helped - especially for all those pants I need to dry but don't want to put on hangers.

All the overflow inevitably goes in doorways.  While that works nicely, all the doorways that have trim around them are to rooms that require privacy multiple times during the day.

 And I have to fix this multiple times a day.....

I stumbled upon such an easy and low cost solution it's crazy!

Tension rods!

You know the ones you used for a shower curtain?  We actually had two in our house not being used. (I'm beginning to think I'm on the edge of hoarding.)  When I stumbled upon them one laundry day, the light bulb went off.  I found a couple of areas that were mostly out of the way, put the rods up, and proceeded to hang clothes.

No more having to pick clothes up off the floor {as much} for me.  Plus, these are very easily relocated if needed.

Laundry day just got a little easier! (And that's always a good thing!)

What do you do to help you on laundry day?

Graham Cracker Crust Made Easy

We had company this weekend.  Great company.

The menu for the night?  Potato Soup, 2 Bean Chicken Chili, all the fixin's, Fresh Fruit, Blackberry Cobbler and Cherry Delight.

All easy enough and super yummy.

It was the first time I used my food processor to make a homemade pie crust.  My kids that were standing around watching were quick to let me know that Nonnie (my mother) does this better.  Even though they were right, I still felt very accomplished once finished.

Next on my to-do list was making the Cherry Delight which has a graham cracker crust.  This is my least favorite crust to make because it's time consuming and messy.  You know - putting the crackers in a gallon size bag and pounding away with either my fists or rolling pin.  But, since it's one of our family's favorite recipes - guess that make's it a labor of love.

So, after making one dessert, I was dreading moving on to the next dessert.  Until I had an 'AHA!' moment while cleaning up my food processor.  If I could make pie crust dough in it, why couldn't I make my graham cracker crust with the help of the food processor?

And it worked!!!  Yay!

Just add your graham crackers to your food processor.

Pulse for a couple of seconds.

Add your melted butter.

Pulse for a couple more seconds until well blended.

Now all you have to do is spread the mixture in a pie pan of your choice.

EASY!!

So, is this something everyone else has been doing for years and I'm just late to the party?  Or do you have another way to make crushing the graham crackers super easy?

Family Scrabble Picture

I really like crafting.  Did you know that?  I mean, I really like crafting.

But unfortunately, I didn't do many handmade gifts this Christmas.  Maybe next year (or this year?), but November and December were just way too busy to try and get much done in the crafting department.

I did get one handmade gift in.  I loved doing this!  It turned out just like I had hoped, and I think the recipients liked it, too.

I was able to get 12 grandkids' names and a few extra words fit.  Limited places if there are any more kids born.  {Keep that in mind Melissa.}

The project took two games to complete because of the letters needed.  The frame is a simple shadow box purchased from Joann's Fabrics and Crafts.  Letters are hot glued onto the board and then the board is hot glued onto the back ground of the frame.  Very simple construction.

TIP 1:  When purchasing a second set of letters or a whole game, make sure the tiles are the same.  Mixing tiles from an older game and newer game will be glaringly evident.  Not a pretty finished product.

TIP 2:  When using hot glue, place the glue no the back of the letter tiles and not on the board.  This will help eliminate the strings of glue on your finished project.  You could also use wood glue, rubber cement, or something similar.

TIP 3:  Shop around for games and tiles.  I found my second game at a local thrift store.  If you prefer, extra tiles by themselves can be purchased through Amazon.com.  (See Tip 1 when making purchase.)

TIP 4:  Be prepared to play around a little with the word placement when doing this project.  It helps to get all your words planned, make sure you have enough tiles for all the words you want, and then start placing them on the board.

TIP 5- Walk away.  Seriously.  There are going to be times when it gets really frustrating.  You will have several words or just that ONE LAST WORD that won't fit anywhere.  This is the perfect time to take a 10 minute break.  It's amazing what new ideas will come about after a coffee or snack break.

The projects using this game fascinate me for some reason.  I have several projects pinned with the Scrabble game theme just waiting for me to find the time to do them.  One day.....

Bowling Pumpkins

We are in full holiday swing around here.  Seems like as the kids get older, the costumes get a little more complicated and involved.  It's all good as long as we start working on them early enough.  (Not always the case each year, but we are getting better.)

This year I was in charge of the game for my son's preschool class.  Since there are 7 little boys in that one class and no girls, I wanted something that involved lots of movement.  And, after doing some searching online and on Pinterest, I decided to do a little bowling.

Such a quick and easy project!  You'll probably even have all the supplies on hand.

Whatcha Need:

6 paper towel rolls
14 sheets of orange construction paper
1 sheet of green construction paper
Tape
Permanent marker

Whatcha Do:

Tape 2 & 1/3 sheets of orange paper together.

Roll the orange construction paper around a roll of paper towels.

Repeat for all 6 rolls.

Cut the green construction paper into 6 equal squares and draw stems on each one.

Tape the cut out stems on the orange 'pumpkins'.

Use a permanent marker to draw faces on the 'pumpkins'.  Then set them up to play.

Use a ball to knock the pumpkin pins over.

My little helper - the king of photo bombs!

The game seemed to be a big hit with all the boys at the party today.  Hooray!  They then played tackle bowling with the pins just before we decided it was the end of their party.  Such is life with little boys, right?!

Enjoy your Halloween!