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NOTE:  Updated version for 2014 is at the end of the post! I know it's last minute, but this is such a cute little project and a simple way to capture some memories from 2012.  Today the kids are each making a little time capsule out of an empty 2 liter bottle.  We've added a few things to them already, and we'll add a few photos, drawings and knick knacks to them tonight before we seal them up.   Check it out... All you need is an empty 2-liter bottle that's been rinsed out and dried.  Peel off the label and carefully cut out a flap in the plastic where the label was. Next, make a new label for your time capsule and fill out some important things you want to remember about 2012 .  (Printables for the ones we used are at the end of this post!) Add any extra things you want to put in.  We measured and cut out the kids' heights using some ribbon, then put the piece of ribbon in the capsule.  We also traced hands on a foam sheet and cut those o...

I love making recipes that are easy and delicious, but have a cool little twist.  I first found this Saltine Toffee recipe years ago in one of those community cookbooks where everyone submits their favorite recipes.  I love making it because it's so super simple, but tastes absolutely awesome.  (I've heard of it referred to as "Christmas Crack" and I can see why, it's really addicting!)  You wouldn't think saltine crackers would belong in a candy recipe, but the slight saltiness and crunch that they give this toffee is just perfect. Take a peek... Here's what you need:   (It's only 5 ingredients!) saltine crackers (about 1 sleeve of crackers out of a box, plus a few extras) 1 cup of butter (that's 2 sticks) 1 cup of brown sugar, lightly packed 2 cups of chocolate chips, either milk chocolate or semi sweet (that's about 1 bag) approx 3/4 cup chopped nuts (optional) Here's what to do: 1.  Preheat your oven to 400*. 2.  Line a jelly roll pan ...

We've decorated plain candles using the tissue paper technique a few times now and the results have always been cute.  First we made some Artwork Candles ~ we drew our own pictures with markers on tissue paper, then put them on a plain white candle.  Then, for Mother's Day , we used paint to make some cute thumbprint designs which we also put on candles for the grandmothers.  For both of those projects, we used white tissue paper which "disappeared" into the candle as it was fused on.  This time, we used darker blue tissue paper to make some cute, winter snowman candles. Check them out... Cute, aren't they?  I like how we were able to make the handprint snowmen I'd seen done on ornaments, but we did them on candles which can be displayed long after the Christmas trees are taken down.  The dark blue tissue paper also fused into the candle, but the brighter blue color really stands out and shows off the kids' white handprints. Here's what you'll nee...

Need a quick and easy idea for drinks for your kids' classroom party?  Maybe you're having a party at your house this winter and want something cute and simple?  Do you wait till the last minute, but still want something fun?   Check out how I added a little extra cheer to some regular bottled water... So cute and super quick and easy.  I made up little labels that I could cut out and stick on the water bottles using regular clear packing tape.  I opted for this method over printing directly on regular sticky labels for a couple reasons.  One, I can never figure out how to get my images the right size to align properly on the labels.  They're always too big, too small or running off one side.  The other, more practical reason, is by using packing tape over the label, I avoid the chance of the ink running and the image being ruined by a drip of water.  I wouldn't put these bottles in a cooler full of ice, but the image should be fine if j...

I think there are two types of vacuumers.  On the one hand, you have those who have a vacuuming routine and vacuum on a daily or weekly basis as part of their housekeeping schedule.  On the other hand, you have those who pull out the vacuum only on an as-needed basis.  I am definitely in the latter category.  I'll bring out my vacuum when I can actually see the crumbs, fuzz and little bits of this and that accumulating on my carpets or when I'm expecting company and everything gets cleaned up for guests.  Most of the year, my system suits me just fine.  Come December, though, just like Santa I'm hard at work on my own naughty list.  On  that list goes all those things that might bring joy to our faces but dirt to my floors! Now, don't get me wrong, I love the smell and look of our real Christmas tree, making and eating yummy treats, and working on holiday crafts with the kids.   However, all those things on the naughty list means I'm pul...

The kids have been really excited to see the antics of our Elf on the Shelf this year.   Our Elf isn't super fancy in his adventures, but the kids have fun with it nonetheless.  For TONS of awesome ideas to inspire your Elf, make sure you check out our Elf on the Shelf Party .  There are literally hundreds of different ideas you can use for inspiration ~ some are simple, some more elaborate, some sneaky, and some sweet! Here's what our Elf has been up to this week... Day 1 ~ He brought all the fixings for a yummy breakfast!   (more details HERE ) Day 2 ~ He left a message on the bathroom mirror, written in lipstick!   (Since I rarely wear lipstick, the kids asked where he got it.  I proposed that he might have borrowed it from Mrs. Claus and they got a kick out of that idea!)   Day 3 ~ Our Elf was practicing his fine motor skills by stringing Fruit Loops on a pipe cleaner.  Notice how our smart little Elf picked out all the red and green one...

With three kids, I've had many attempts at Gingerbread Houses over the years.  They love the idea of making a house out of cookies and candy, but every year we end up being disappointed by the final results.  We can never get the royal icing to actually hold the walls and roof together so the whole house ends up being lopsided, if we were even lucky enough to get it to stand up at all.  Then, that same darn royal icing ends up dripping and glopping all over the place when we try to attach the candy pieces.  If they don't get too frustrated, they do enjoy the process, but I knew I wanted to come up with a better idea for this year. Check out our houses...   Don't they look cute?  They look like real gingerbread houses and they even SMELL like real gingerbread houses.  We got to plan our designs and choose fun candies to put on them.  They even have what looks like royal icing on them as decoration  ~ but we didn't have to deal with the real th...

Last month, when the kids were off school for Election Day, we worked on a 1,000 piece puzzle of the U.S. Presidents .  We enjoyed doing it and with all four of us working together, we actually completed it in just one day.  However, once it was done, it sat on the floor in the corner of my living room for nearly a month.  The kids wanted to save it and hang it up, but I didn't want to deal with the hassle of using the puzzle saver glue.  I'd tried the glue before  ~ it was kind of messy and I didn't think it held the pieces together all that well.  I knew there had to be a better solution, but it took me a month of stepping around the finished puzzle before it finally came to me ...  Use iron-on adhesive! It turned out awesome and it was super quick and easy to do.  Seriously, like 5 minutes tops!  All you need is some Heat n Bond Iron on Adhesive .  It's meant to be used on fabric (I use it all the time) so you can find it in most fabr...

Last year, our Elf on the Shelf left the ingredients for a special breakfast (see last year's breakfast here ).  It was a huge hit with the kids so he did the same thing this year.  Of course, once morning arrived he couldn't actually move to make the breakfast, but he'd set the table for us and left all the ingredients.  All I had to was prepare a simple, but fun, breakfast.   Check out our special meal... He left me a box mix for the chocolate peppermint pancakes, so that was simple to mix and make.  A little dollop of whipped cream and some red and green sprinkles made them extra special.  Our E lf also left some fun straws to drink our hot chocolate.  The night before, he made some North Pole Grapes and they were ready and waiting for us in the freezer .   C heck them out... They were super simple to make.  Our Elf just rinsed the grapes.  While they were still wet from the rinsing, he rolled them in red decorating sugar and st...

It's December.  How in the world did that happen so quickly?  Somehow, while I've been super busy substitute teaching, soccer and basketball practice shuttling, school project assisting, sibling fight refereeing and just general busy mom-ming, the days, weeks and months have been flying by.   New posts will be coming.  Our Elf on the Shelf returned this week.  I figured out a cool (and super simple ) way to preserve puzzles, discovered  a yummy make-your-own hot chocolate mix, and I have some gift ideas that might be helpful if you're looking for some non-electronic ideas for your elementary schooler.  There are probably even more posts that I've taken pictures for or have in drafts that just got pushed to the side for now (gosh, working out of the home almost full time takes a lot of you). Anyway, I didn't have to worry that I hadn't taken any of the Christmas decorations down out of the attic yet.  The girls decided to decorate the mantle on the...