Tootsie Pop Love!

I know...I'm squeezing this post in at the last hour since Valentine's Day is tomorrow! But my good friend Katie showed me this blog post and I LOVED the idea! You may remember from previous posts, I am not a huge fan of Valentine's Day so I'm not going to break the bank and my back for school parties. So when I saw this I knew I had to do it! So simple!

1. Snap a pic of the little guy holding his arm out (I told him to hold an imaginary balloon.)

2. Use Photoshop or a site like Picnik.com and add your text.
3. Print at the drugstore.
4. Get out your exacto and make slits for the lollipop.

And your kid is ready for the party!

Love it!

Happy Love Day!

For the little mommies...

Once upon a time I bought some flannel. I put those 2 yards of flannel in a bag in a closet and my life resumed. End of story. But then I saw this: 'click here' And then I remembered why I had purchased that flannel at the fabric store clearance sale! I had seen a similar tutorial and I had every intention of making a wrap for my daughter's baby dolls. She is constantly bringing me a doll and a blanket and wanting me to swaddle her baby, only to walk away and to have the doll completely unraveled within seconds!

I owe a big THANK YOU to Leslie at Little Apple Seed for reminding me why I had a bag of flannel in my closet!

I followed her excellent directions:

Here's my 24" x 24" square (cute fabric, huh?)

Before I sewed on the pocket, I grabbed the largest of the dolls to make sure all of the babies could enjoy the comforts of swaddling (this baby is in one of my daughter's preemie outfits. Bittersweet memories!)



All sewn together:



Now here's where my wrap takes a different turn from the tutorial I referenced. I added some velcro:



I used sticky back so it would stay put when I figured out where to place it. Then I sewed the strips on.



I placed a set on the bottom tip and on the pocket:

And then one on each "wing." One on the inside and the other piece on the outside.



And swaddling your baby doll is as easy as 1 - 2 - 3!







And then watch your baby love her baby!





(She was not in a cooperative mood today so I had to sneak up on her and snap a pic while she was in a Little Bear trance!)

Because Super Heros need a place for their cape....

In case you don't know this, now is a great time to hit the thrift stores! Folks have donated to clear their closets for all of the new stuff from Santa. Plus it's a great way to beat cabin fever. It gets the kids out, it doesn't break the bank if I buy a $.50 plastic boat and it keeps an extremely busy 4 1/2 year old occupied for part of the day. (Plus I don't feel bad if I donate it right back a couple of weeks later!)

So thanks to these little escapes to the thrift stores, my project pile has grown! Fun and exciting things are coming your way!

Let's start with this little thing....

It was kind of a mess. It had bright, splotchy, pink paint. And whoever painted it must have done it on newspaper because there was paper stuck to it. But it was half off of $.69 and I had an idea!



I sanded the paint blobs and newspaper off. And then I gave it a coat of primer to try to hide some of the bright pink. And I used my paint pyramids. My brilliant husband got me these for Christmas! Are these perfect for my spray paint addiction or what?!



So after I primed it and sprayed it an off white.



I took it apart....



Modge Podged....



And look how pretty! Perfect for my daughter's room!



I used Command Adhesive strips to hang it. I didn't want to put holes in the door and with the strips I can move it up or down as much as I want.



Now my super hero child has a place to hang her cape and her ever-important purse, that has to go everywhere we go, has a peg as well!

Happy Friday!

Resolutions of the Harried Housewife

It's New Year's Eve so everyone is saying that word: Res-o-lution. Of course, there is the obvious resolution, the "I'm going to lose weight" one. But I'm gonna skip over that and talk about my #1 goal for the year....Get and STAY organized!

I have two kids, a husband, two dogs and a full time job. If I don't stay on top of things, my world can collapse quickly! The weeks when I'm really on top of things and I've spent the weekend meal planning, laundry and wardrobe planning for the coming week, things run like clock work. I love that and my resolution is to have more weeks like that!

So for today's post, I thought I'd share some of the little things that make my life just a wee bit easier. Enjoy!

Let's start in the bathroom.....

For a long time bath toys were the bane of my existence. They drove me crazy! I tried various storage options. Most of them involved suction cup holders that would work temporarily. But one day this idea came to me:

A plastic bucket. I had this from Easter. It's the same size as an ice cream bucket.

Flip it over and drill or poke holes in the bottom.

Now you have a bucket of wet toys to perch in the corner of the tub that will drain on it's own.

This time of year seems to bring an abundance of coffee mugs in gift baskets from vendors and coworkers. I've put some of those mugs to use in the medicine cabinet with the kids toothpaste and brushes.

And also in the medicine cabinet a coffee mug or an old butter container can hold all those tubes and small bottles.

And in the tub, these Link-a-doos clip anywhere and are great for holding shower/bath accessories.



On to the kids rooms...

I discovered these jumbo, 2.5 gallon ziploc bags and I love them!



Perfect for the toys with lots of pieces! And the zipper top makes it kid-friendly. I put games, train sets, Lego sets.... I just seal them up and toss them into the toy box. Takes a little bit of training but the kids eventually start to cooperate and put the stuff back in the bags!



And don't forget the wipe boxes. Perfect for some toys too!



This last idea is a great one for the summer months. If you have kids in and out all day asking for drinks, doing this keeps the beverages coming quickly.

I used these snack containers. They are 9.5 oz each.



I put a cup of sugar and add a packet of kool-aid in the container.



Seal it up and tape the flavor to the top.



And I have Kool-aid ready to mix when the thirsty neighborhood invades my backyard.



These aren't life-changing ideas but I know, in my house, any shortcut helps!
I'd love to hear any household ideas/tips you have to share!

Happy New Year!!

Quick and Easy Gift Idea

If you're like me, you love this time of year and you love giving small gifts to the people you interact with daily and that you appreciate. BUT...it can get overwhelming! Before you know it, you find yourself up to your eyeballs in candy and glue at 2:00 AM wondering what in the bleepity bleep you got yourself into!! So this year I resolved to keep it simple. When I was brainstorming gift ideas and found my mind wandering to big and grand ideas, I'd reel myself back in!

So here's my idea for co-workers, school workers, day care workers, neighbors, etc.

I started with a super easy cookie recipe for Peanut Butter Cup Cookies.



Mix up the dough as directed on the package. Roll into small balls and fill a mini muffin pan.



Bake as directed. Immediately after removing them from the oven, press a peanut butter cup down into the baked cookie.



Let them cool (you can put them out on a patio table or garage if it's 15 degrees out and it will speed up the process significantly!) And carefully remove them from the pan.

Meanwhile... I prepared the bags to put the cookies in. I found these colorful lunch bags at my local grocery store in the card and party aisle (Schnucks, if you're a Missourian!) They were only $.25 each! I wrapped the cookies in plastic wrap and dropped them into the bags.



And to close the bags...

I spray painted a bunch of clothespins. These are $.97 for a pack of 50 at Walmart!



I cut some scrapbook paper and modge podged it onto the clothespins.



After that dried I flipped them over and glued a small magnet onto them.



And once that was all dry, I sanded them a bit and rubbed a tiny bit of distress ink to give them some character. Then I clipped them onto the bag.



Now they have a bag full of goodies and a magnet clip for their fridge!

I have a bunch of these on my fridge and they are great for pictures, lists, coupons,artwork, etc!



Merry Christmas!!