Tip: Finishing What You Start

Guess what happened last week.

My daughter came down with STREP!!!  Yay!

No no, you misunderstand... I wasn't happy she was sick.  Although, between you and me,  I don't mind a day from time to time where she lays around on the couch in full lethargy mode.  No, it wasn't the illness that made me happy.    It was the fact that I finally had the opportunity to try out one of my favorite ideas I've ever pinned!!


(no original source available... what does "uploaded by user" mean?  Because that was the "source" given for the photo I had repinned.  So many things to learn about Pinterest! If you know the original source please let me know so I can take this whole mini-rant out and just list it)

I loved the idea of writing on the bottle when she had taken her twice-daily doses of antibiotics.  I mean, ten days is a looooong time.  And after a few days they all start mixing together.  And, of course, after one day the kid is bouncing around like they've never even heard of strep so it's though to keep up on the medicine sometimes.

So I was excited to try out this idea and it did NOT disappoint!  No more trying to remember when I took her in to the doctor, when she started the antibiotics, if she had taken it that morning or not, counting on my fingers to see when she could stop taking it....it was all right there on the bottle!  And making those "Xs" every day was very gratifying.

I also made a little line with the Sharpie where her dose was supposed to be.  I was sick of squinting and turning that little cup until I found the 7.5ml line.  

So... had you seen this already?  Do you already do this?  Do you think it's as clever as I do?  

Viva la Pinterest!

Link parties I participate in: Tip Junkie, Someday Crafts, Tatertots & Jello, I Heart Naptime, Lolly Jane, Be Different Act Normal, Craftomaniac, Today's Creative Blog, Flamingo Toes, Skip To My Lou, Thrifty Decor Chick

Lucky Printable

As I mentioned in my St. Patrick's Day mantel post earlier this week, I made this printable.  Don't you love that Colbie Caillat/Jason Mraz song?  My husband can sing.  I can't.  But if I could even come close to singing you can bet that we would be singing it at our 50th Wedding Anniversary party.

As promised, here are the printables for you to download.  Right click on the image you want, save it and print it!

Lucky in Love 5x7

Lucky in Love 8x10

Link parties I participate in: Tip Junkie, Someday Crafts, Tatertots & Jello, I Heart Naptime, Lolly Jane, Be Different Act Normal, Craftomaniac, Today's Creative Blog, Flamingo Toes, Skip To My Lou, Thrifty Decor Chick

St. Patrick's Day Mantel

Before we get to the photos, let me start by saying I'm not Irish.   My husband, children and I have no Irish blood coursing through our veins.     In the past, our St. Patrick's Day celebration has usually consisted of trying to remember to wear something green and maybe turning the milk for our cereal green that morning.

This year, however, I've decided to not pass up the opportunity to let my family know how lucky I feel to have them in my life.  Rather than focusing on the leprechauns and whatnot,  I'm using it as a way to express my happiness in my good fortune.... them!

So, here is my official St. Patrick's Day mantel:

I should also explain that my daughter is currently OBSESSED with rainbows.  She draws 20 a day.  All of her flowers have rainbow petals.  She writes her name with each letter a different color in true ROY G BIV fashion.   So I thought, why not make a gigantic rainbow for the mantel?  I mean, right?   Luckily (haha) I had some of this scrap wood in the garage from the boards I make for Landee On Etsy.   I just cut them all to the same length, painted them up and leaned them against the wall.   My daughter was ecstatic!

And, did you get that the white bunches of fake flowers are supposed to be like clouds?  It's ok if you didn't.  But yeah, they are. 

 I added a printable (which I will post later this week for download once I resize and stuff):

Then I painted this chevron board and added some vinyl.  I know, so tender right? :)

So there it is. 

It's so bright and bold.  A total departure from my usual decor but, you know what?  I.  Love.  It.  

Don't be surprised if my whole house goes rainbow.

Link parties I participate in: Tip Junkie, Someday Crafts, Tatertots & Jello, I Heart Naptime, Lolly Jane, Be Different Act Normal, Craftomaniac, Today's Creative Blog, Flamingo Toes, Skip To My Lou, Thrifty Decor Chick

Nightlight DIY

My six year old daughter slept on her brothers' floor for about a year.  Before you start asking the obvious questions, yes, she has her own room and yes, she has a bed.  And no, her brothers didn't really want her in there (but they were very tolerant...usually).

She claimed it was because it "wasn't fair" that she was the only one who had to sleep alone at night (the boys share a room, Mom & Dad share a room.  It makes sense, I guess) but the reality was she would get scared.  She would rather sleep on a hard floor with her brothers than in a comfy bed all alone.

Lately she has started sleeping in her own bed but insists that her closet light stay on all night.  The few times that I have gone in and turned the closet light off after she has fallen asleep have inevitably led to her showing up at my bedside at 3am asking if she can sleep in my bed because she had a bad dream.   So yeah, apparently a little light OR her brothers' snoring keeps bad dreams away.

Fine.   Then let's at least make a nightlight that is adorable, right?

{Note: I had repinned this idea from someone a while ago labeled as a "wedding decor idea" but as I went back for instructions the link went nowhere.  The photo was watermarked diyordont.blogspot.com but as I searched that site I couldn't find it!  So I made up how I figured it was made.}

Supplies needed: 

A 35 count strand of white Christmas lights

Tissue paper or crepe paper

Hot glue gun

I had this folded crepe paper left from when I ordered it to make a bunch of crepe paper flowers from Martha Stewart's latest craft book.  That was an epic craft FAIL, by the way.  They are ridiculously hard to make!   So I was glad to use it for this project.  It says on the package "flame resistant" which is good news.  If you use tissue paper do so at your own risk!  I can't imagine a fire issue with these but you never know.

Anyway, I chose the colors that went best with my daughter's bedding (below).

Here are my step-by-step instructions for this project.  After gathering all supplies it took me about an hour to complete.

I then hung the strand up with clear tape from her curtain rod.  I ran the cord down behind the long curtain to the plug and used a timer so the lights will turn on automatically at about 7pm and off at 5am.

It is the PERFECT amount of light.  And it's like a cool party atmosphere in her room every night.

After gathering the supplies this took me about an hour to complete.  I'm thinking these might be fun for a future teen birthday party, wedding reception,  baby's room, romantic dinner for two, funky Christmas decor, etc.  Just switch out the colors of the paper and it will totally change the look!

Link parties I participate in: Tip Junkie, Someday Crafts, Tatertots & Jello, I Heart Naptime, Lolly Jane, Be Different Act Normal, Craftomaniac, Today's Creative Blog, Flamingo Toes, Skip To My Lou, Thrifty Decor Chick

Valentine Specimen Art: A Silhouette Tip

As I was looking through some Valentine Round-up posts a while ago, I ran across some adorable free printables by Aimee at Sprik Space.

I had a vision of her cute Be Mine printable made out of vinyl and slapped onto a board!  Well, not a vision exactly, but it definitely sparked some inspiration in me.  My kitchen was sadly lacking in Valentine's Day decor so I created it with a nice aqua background to go with the color scheme I have going on in there.

I created it using red and white vinyl in my Silhouette.

TIP: The key to doing it in two colors is to cut it out in white and red vinyl and replace the one white heart with a red one before applying the transfer tape on the top.  Luckily the blade leaves a nice little outline to follow on the backing so you can get it lined up perfectly.  

I then applied the red words separately.  Worked like a charm!

By the way, Aimee has a neat option on her website to buy a commercial license to any of her designs for a very small amount of money.  So I bought the "rights" to this image and it's for sale in the Etsy shop if you're interested/don't have a Silhouette/can't live without it!

I also made one in pink.  The possibilities are endless with this design!

Link parties I participate in: Tip Junkie, Someday Crafts, Tatertots & Jello, I Heart Naptime, Lolly Jane, Be Different Act Normal, Craftomaniac, Today's Creative Blog, Flamingo Toes, Skip To My Lou, Thrifty Decor Chick

A Healthi-er Veggie Dip

With the Super Bowl coming up this weekend, I thought I'd share my FAVORITE veggie dip.  

The only problem is, like all the meals I make,  it's very labor intensive and requires a million ingredients.  ::ahem::

Are you ready for the recipe?

Yes.  That's it.   You mix yummy cottage cheese with the veggie dip of your choice.  NOT straight Ranch, mind you.  But a ranch veggie dip.

I love it because it significantly reduces the calories/fat grams while still keeping the delicious ranch taste we all know and love.   My six year old daughter will occasionally eat it with a spoon.  And by occasionally I mean always.  I don't recommend this but it's a good indicator of how good it really is, right?

So if you're having a little Super Bowl party, whip some of this up with your choice of fresh veggies (broccoli is particularly good with it), and you can feel better about the other assortment of pigs-in-their-blankets,  Taco Bites (have you tried those?????  TDF), and meatballs you've been noshing on.

Have a great Super Bowl weekend!





Link parties I participate in: Tip Junkie, Someday Crafts, Tatertots & Jello, I Heart Naptime, Lolly Jane, Be Different Act Normal, Craftomaniac, Today's Creative Blog, Flamingo Toes, Skip To My Lou, Thrifty Decor Chick