Homelessness Awareness plus Super Saturday Sale.... A Day Early!

The next 2 days are very busy days for me so lucky for you I am holding my Super Saturday Sale a day early! Today and tomorrow you can receive FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING with coupon code JUNE13 in my Etsy shop. The first 3 sales will receive a free gifts worth up to $10! Plus the 25% donated to the Oklahoma disaster relief fund will be from the normal retail price not the sale price!

Since I like to keep my blog personal and I share my life with all of you, I wanted to blog a little bit about what I am doing tonight. My church organized a Box City to be held tonight in the park across the street from the church to bring awareness to homelessness in our area. For those of you who don't know what a Box City is, Box City is a group of people that are homeless and living in boxes. People have the stereotypical picture in their mind of what a homeless person looks like, a dirty old man drinking a bottle of liquor or a lady pushing around a shopping cart filled with any belongings she can find. Now close your eyes and picture this in your mind, a little girl holding her favorite blankie holding her mommy's hand standing in the park trying to figure out where they are going to sleep tonight. That was Lily and I last summer. 

As the economy continues to go into a downward spiral, the rate of families with children becoming homeless  increases at high rate. Homeless people are not the stereotypical people that media has embedded into our brains.  Each homeless person is a human being and yes there are the ones looking to get drunk or high and take people's money but there is also families out there losing their homes to foreclosure or eviction due to lost jobs, injuries or other circumstances.

My story is a very personal one that I am not going to share at the moment except to say that we became homeless due to circumstances that were out of my control. I was left with almost no money and no where to live. With no place to go, we stayed with a family friend for a couple of weeks but that was just a temporary solution so that we weren't sleeping in my car. I fought with the county's social services to try and get help but all they saw was that the previous month I had made over $336 which is the max amount you can make in our county for a 2 person household to receive assistance. It did not matter to them that circumstances left me with almost no money, no inventory to continue my business and no place to live. Everything to the government is what is on paper only. I called every charity agency in the area but was told I could only be helped if I was on county assistance. It finally took me calling every agency I possible could to get the attention of social services. Finally I was put into contact with a homeless shelter in my area called Family Promise of Warren County. 

Family Promise of Warren County is a shelter for families with children. Once Lily and I were accepted into the shelter (there is an application process to be sure that you are able to follow the shelter's rules), we were able to have a place to sleep every night, food to eat and people to assist me in getting my life in order and finding a permanent place for Lily and I to live. At Family Promise, the families sleep at churches that volunteer their space and food for dinners every night. During the day the parents and young children go back to the center to work on their exit plan while the school age children go to school. The goal for the children is to keep them safe and give them a normal routine. We were blessed to meet many wonderful people through this program.

Lily and I were in the shelter for 5 months before we were able to get our own apartment. During that time, I continued to fight with the county government to help us. I know that when you look at me, speak to me and know my job/educational background the perceived notion is that I can take care of myself and my family. People don't see the whole story and with government workers don't want to hear the whole story. No one wants to be in the situation I was in but I was in it. I was going to fight tooth and nail to get the help I could for my daughter and I. 

Lily at Easter

We were able to get help temporarily which during that time I worked for the social service department as part of the program to help people get on their feet. The program is called Work First where you either enter a school program to learn a trade or work for a local agency while looking for a job. Well I wasn't given the choice of schooling or working for them, I was told that I was working for them or they were going to drop my aid. So I went to work for them but after about a month I found out that the painful stomach attacks I was having was gallstones and I needed to have my gallbladder removed. So I stopped working for them and had my surgery while trying to get my business started again
. During that time, the agency moved from one location to another and my Work First worker quit or got fired. Guess who got the brunt of that result? Me! The new worker said there was no paperwork of why I hadn't been there since January so I was being cut off which meant they were no longer paying my rent for the apartment Lily and I lived in. So I was on my own to make my money but starting a business over from scratch takes a lot of work and adding other life circumstances like my mom having a stroke and heart attack into the mix and you realize that you never know what each day has in store for you. 

So as I struggle to make sure Lily and I don't end up where we were last summer, I am shouting from the roof tops that homelessness can happen to anyone, at anytime, at any place! Seeing devastation from a tornado, the economy continuing to get worse and many other circumstances needs to be on the minds of everyone that we all need to be aware of what is going on in our country, to our own people!

Well that is my plans for tonight, we are sleeping in the park so that everyone in town (which is located across the street from the county courthouse and most government agencies) can understand that homelessness is taking place right where they live and these people are real. Have a great weekend everyone!

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cake

In the beginning of the month I bought a box of Gluten Free Hodgson Mills Vanilla Cake Mix to give a try since Lily and I like to bake. Well I am never one to read the directions until I am about to bake... big mistake! I didn't realize that I need buttermilk for the recipe which I am not a fan of at all and that YOU add your vanilla flavoring. It is a good thing that I had just enough left. I guess we have gotten spoiled with all the cake mixes that have most of the ingredients just add milk and eggs, stir and bake. 

So I gathered all the ingredients that I had to make this cake and made a few changes.  Instead of buttermilk, I would use Almond milk. Since I am not a vanilla cake person, I need to spice up the cake a little bit. The recipe on the box said I could add powered chocolate which I had none BUT I had chocolate chips! 

So the mixing process went well at first.... after 10 minutes of mixing with my handmixer there was still lumps. The directions didn't say whether there would or should be lumps so I kept mixing until my arm hurt. Then I was done... it was what it was at this point. Into the oven it went. Since my rectangle pan has gone missing, I used my square pan. The baking time called for 20-25 minutes but mine took about 50 minutes to bake which could be the combination of the square pan and the almond milk.

The cake looked really yummy, smelled really yummy but would it taste really yummy? I topped the cake with a vanilla icing and since I am the world's worst icer, I added sprinkles. The taste test....

Meagan: thumbs up Lily: thumbs down!

To me the cake was nice and moist and tastey. To Lily the cake was just yucky and she wanted some other dessert. 

Dr. Seuss to Brighten Your Wednesday

Today is Inspirational Wednesday and I came across this picture yesterday on Pinterest in the Do It Yourself section but the quote is what spoke to me. I am a HUGE quote person because words speak to my heart. I know that people have the sayings like "sticks and stones may break your bones but words will never hurt you" or "Actions speak louder then words" but to me words speak to your heart and soul in a way that actions will never be able to. 

I am an avid book reader and have been since I was young because the words on those pages told me things that adults couldn't show me. Even now, I become enraptured in a story because those words are showing and telling me that someone in my life has not been able to. Lily has inherited my love of books especially Dr. Seuss books so this quote by him seems very fitting at the moment. As a single mom that works for herself, there are always mountains to climb and stresses to relieve. Some days are easier then others but each day has its challenges especially on one income. Each day has its small blessings that I get to look forward to as I  am on my way to great places.  As the Dr. Seuss says, today is my day and my mountain is waiting to be climbed! Go climb your mountain today!

Being Skinny is Not Being Healthy

All my life I have been what is considered skinny and never thought about it until I started gaining weight recently. As a child and teen, I was a dancer, gymnast and cheerleader which kept me in shape though that came with its own issues (anorexia). As an adult, I just kept up the same eating regime though as each year past I have gotten lazier and lazier. The thought of exercising exhausts me let alone actually getting off my extremely comfortable reclining chair, turning off the tv and moving around. I have had more injuries to my body as an adult then I did when I was as a competitive cheerleader (yes all those Bring It On movies they are real cheerleading competitions!)  Even more injuries since Lily was born such as a torn ACL in my left knee that has now been torn twice because I was afraid to have surgery the first time. 

Now I am dealing with  weight gain and feeling sluggish all of the time since I had surgery to remove my gallbladder in February. I went from 115 pounds (yes I know skinny) to 130 pounds in just a few months (yes I know still on the skinny side). The weight gain isn't the real problem, it is the exhaustion from doing anything, the fact that I can't get through the day without my body shutting down and taking a nap (I try to fight it but usually can't) and that I don't have the money to buy a whole new wardrobe. When I split my jeans at a barbecue on Sunday that was it!(Those jeans are going to be made into a handbag and apron to be blogged about another time) After yesterday's festivities, I am determined to take control back of my body.

So I am putting myself on a Get UP and GO campaign. I know that part of my problem has been that I just don't feel like doing anything so now is the time to push past all of that NO NO NO I hear in my head. Eating healthy is just a portion of what needs to be done (I am a pasta/carb-o-holic). I am going to research some diets that fit into my gluten-free eating lifestyle so that I can feel good with what is going into my body. 

My big challenge which I am going to document for June is going to be to take 1/2 hour-1 hour each day to exercise. I am going to walk on days that it is not raining (in more recent years June has been rainy for Jersey). I am going to force my butt out of bed early in the morning to start my day off with yoga. In between all of that I am going to try out different workouts to see which one I like the best. I see the advertisments on tv all of the time like the Insanity work out, Zumba and bunch of others. So instead of buying them, I am going to rent them from my library, rent them from netflix and borrow them from friends. Not every workout is for everyone so I need to figure out which one or ones work for me. 

I hope you will enjoy reading about my journey to take back my body. Tuesdays will be about healthy living and will still feature gluten free product reviews and recipes along with other great tips!

Have a wonderful Tuesday and smile!

Happy Memorial Day

I know that Mondays is Kid's Day and in a way this is going to encourage you to teach your children the meaning behind that day off of school. Memorial Day is more then a day off of school, picnics and barbecues or sales at the mall. This is the day to remember those who have served our country and protected us during times of battles, wars and more recently terrorists attacks. These soldiers, without a second thought, went out and put their lives on the line for the citizens of the United States. Some of these soldiers have come back to their families and are happy to be home, some of come back with physical or psychological injuries and some of come back and were laid to rest. All of these service men and women have committed selfless acts because they felt it was their duty. Now it is our duty to honor these wonderful people in return. 

I have 2 dear friends that served in the Marines and my sister's best friend is currently stationed in Germany with the Air Force. The armed services is an important thing in our lives because we know what these soldiers go through. I encourage all of you to do something for one of these soldiers. If you know one then hug them or call and thank them today! Whether you do or don't know a soldier personally, you can still reach out and touch one with your heart by writing them a letter. There is an organization called Operation Gratitude that you can write a letter to a deployed soldier, wounded soldier or veterans. When they are away from their family, receiving a letter from someone that expresses gratitude and appreciation goes a long way to them. It takes just 5 minutes and your children can draw a picture or write a letter too! 

For more information about Operation Gratitude or to see where you can send your amazing letters please click on any of the links or the picture. 

Super Sale Saturday 40% off for the Weekend

Its Saturday which means... Super Saturday Sale! 

This weekend we are offering 40% off in our Etsy Shop with coupon code REMEMBER13 for the entire weekend! We are extended the Super Saturday Sale until Tuesday at Midnight for Memorial Day. 

Please don't forget that any purchase you make 25% is donated to the Oklahoma Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. Even with the sale this weekend, I will donated 25% from the original listing price so that we can raise more money for those residents who lost everything. 

Pancakes with a Bacon Surprise

Since I missed Thirsty Thursday's recipe, I am going to give you a review and link to this delicious Pancake with a Bacon Surprise recipe. I am a self-admitted Pinterest addict with all the delicious recipes and awesome DIY ideas and crafts. I came across this recipe for Pancake Dippers by the Lady Behind the Curtain and fell in love! This is pancake strips with a strip of bacon hidden inside. I love love love to dip my bacon in syrup so this was finger food at its best! 

My first take at making Pancake Dippers

Once a week, Lily and I have breakfast for dinner because it is the one time that I can get her to eat meat. To her bacon, pork roll and sausage do not count as meat so we eat it at breakfast for dinner. The recipe is simple and easy with step by step pictures to follow. The recipe calls for a squirt bottle to help get an even strip of pancake batter on the griddle but I did not have an empty bottle so I used a spoon. I was fine with using a large spoon. The thing I did learn was that you have to be very quick to get the pancake batter and bacon set up. 

The dippers were a huge hit with Lily who asked for seconds! Now I know that it is not the healthiest thing to eat but it is the yummiest breakfast food ever! Click any of the links or here to see the recipe: Pancake Dippers Recipe 

The Balance Of Life for a Mommy Artisan

I know that today is supposed to be Thirsty Thursday but I haven't had time to really cook or bake this week... or at least from scratch. Like my title, I am trying to find the balance of my life as a single mom and a  small business owner. I think every small business owner has this dilemma but when you add single mom and artisan and the dilemma worsens. As an Artisan, we run our business on a daily basis plus create everything for our business to sell. As a mommy, we have a little human that counts on us for everything including love and attention. Lately, my struggle has been to spend more time with Lily doing things with her rather then let her sit on the computer or in front of the tv while I work the day away. (Don't judge me because none of us are a perfect parent!) Part of the problem with the balance is that Lily went from a full-day Kindergarten to a half-day Kindergarten in January. So I went from 8 hours to work without her to 4 hours which doesn't give me much time to get anything done..... or at least that is what I thought. 

I found the 15 minute rule works great when I am trying to work as efficiently as I can while Lily is in school. The 15 minute rule is that I work on something for only 15 minutes at a time. In that 15 minutes, I put all my focus and energy on that task so that I can do the best I can. Now this doesn't work in everything I am doing  when I am in creative mode but when it comes to the computer work, the 15 minute rule is working great!

Lily and I love our home pedicure nights!

When Lily gets off the bus, I tend to do my house cleaning and chores so that she can "help" me. She loves to help me clean which is a big help to me. I have implemented the 15 minute rule when cleaning too. Lily loves it because she thinks it is a race to clean up. Race against who or what, I am not sure but she has fun which is the best part of it. Plus I set aside Lily time so that we can spend time doing something special. Whether it is watching a movie, creating a craft, baking a treat or something else, that time is all about Lily and Mommy. I am slowly finding my balance and sometimes I need a reminder that I Lily wants Mommy time not business Mommy time. 

Each day is a work of Art so go out and create your beautiful day!

Donating to Help Oklahoma Residents

In a time of tragedy and disaster whether it is natural or terrorist, people come together to help each other. It is amazing how people will come together to help people that they don't know, have never met or will never meet because they need help. Last year, I experienced this with living in New Jersey and getting hit with Hurricane Sandy. We were at my church at the time the hurricane hit and a huge Oak tree came down across the street and landed in the front yard of the church. That caused the power to be out for almost 2 weeks and community to bond in the fellowship hall of the church that cooked 24/7 for anyone that needed to eat because they had a gas stove. From that moment, Lily and I stayed at the church and helped serve people all day and night. I crocheted by candle light when we had no people to serve and bonded with a town that became my family. 

I am unable to go out to Oklahoma to help the people hit by that tragic tornado to help them physically but I am going to help in a way that I can right now. I am donating 25% of all my sales until June 30th to the Red Cross Oklahoma Disaster Relief Fund. I know that it is not much but I something I learned is that a little bit is better then nothing. I am extending this offer in any of my shops: Etsy, The CraftStar, My Website and another websites that I am selling on. 

People who wish to make a direct donation can support American Red Cross Disaster Relief, which helps provide food, shelter and emotional support to those affected by disasters like the recent tornadoes in Oklahoma and Texas as well as disasters big and small throughout the United States by visiting redcross.org, dialing 1-800-REDCROSS or texting REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

As New Jersey shows, it takes months or years to recover from a natural disaster but Oklahoma will go get through it with the help of kind hearts. I will treasure those moments for the rest of my life because it came at a time of devastation as people lost their homes to flooding, hurricane winds or fire as an aftermath of the storm. Please help in any way that you can because you never know when it may happen to you. We are people with hearts that help each other so come and join us and pay it forward!

I Found an Awesome Gluten Free Website

I am always on the hunt for gluten free recipes and websites which Pinterest and Twitter have been a great resource for recipes and tips. One issue I have come across is that that some of the websites that people link to their social media either don't exist anymore or haven't been updated in 2 or more years. With the community of Gluten-Free members growing daily, there is more recipes and packaged food coming out in the market so outdated websites just don't help! Either updated or take it down (just my opinion)! 

Well I came across I'm Gluten Free Baby website through twitter and fell in love with the design of the website, reviews of the gluten free foods and recipes that are organized on the right hand side. I have more then a few recipes bookmarked to make over the coming weeks. Her blog posts are infrequent but at least they are there and up to date! Check out her website and try a recipe!

I'm Gluten Free Baby Website

Kids Upcycled Crayon Cookies

As I was cleaning through Lily's 100s of books on Saturday, I found a book I bought at a used book sale months ago called Kids Create! Art & Craft Experiences for 3 to 9 year olds. There is a ton of simple, easy crafts geared towards holidays, seasons and different materials to keep kids creating all year round. So my Monday goal is going to be to take a different craft each week from the book, Lily and I will create and critique to directions and design. Also, we will suggest some changes or other options to the designs.

This weekend we started with an easy craft, Upcycled Crayon Cookies, that was served two purposes in our lives. One, it took all the little pieces of crayons and put them to good use. Two, it gave Lily something to do for nearly 3 hours! I am going to give you the directions and leave my critique and suggestions until the end of the post.

Supplies:

Broken Crayon and Crayon pieces

Cupcake Cup Liners

Muffin Pan

Oven

Directions:

1. Gather the broken crayons and have your child peel the paper off the crayons. (This is what took Lily hours to do!) ADULT: preheat oven to 400 degrees when your child is nearly done with their pile.

2. Line the muffin pan with the cupcake cup liners.

3. Place the crayon pieces in the cupcake liners. I put about 5-6 pieces in each liner. 1/2" or smaller is better for melting the crayons evenly.

4. Place the muffin pan in the oven and bake for 3-4 mins. You do NOT want to melt them completely because the colors will mix to black/brown. You want them just nearly melted and still a bit soft because the pan will help to finish the melting process.

5. Let the crayon cookies sit for 6 hours to set and harden.

6. Give to the kids for a brand new crayon to color you a picture!

The Critique: The process was fun for Lily to see her crayons become something new. She got frustrated with the Crayola Crayons because they use a glue to hold the wrapper on the crayon which was difficult for her tiny fingers to peel them off. I used pieces that were 1/4"-1" or larger. That was a big mistake because the smaller pieces melted quickly and the large pieces didn't want to melt. So when the cookies came out, it looked like most of them were black so I was worried. Once I took them out of the liner and flipped them over, I found all the colors were on the other side! So pretty and swirled around colors. My other direction change was that the timing was 5 minutes for baking but after 3 minutes my oven was smoking from the melting of wax. So I suggest only 3-4 minutes for baking. 

Overall the craft was fun and something that can be used again and again in the future! 

May Day 33% off Super Saturday Sale

I am just loving how easy it is to have a sale in my Etsy Shop with their super easy coupon code maker! It is Saturday which means Super Saturday Sale! Today you can get 33% off anything in my shop with coupon code MayDay33 and if you put in the note to seller that you read this on my blog I will send you a special free gift along with the discount! Have a Happy Saturday!

Win a Free Artisan Soap! Freebie Friday

Who doesn't love to win something? I know that I love that feeling that I get, that warm wow I am a winner feeling that radiates through my body and smile when I win something! Since the Powerball and Mega-Million lottery jackpot is SOOOOO big right now, I am going to give away something special on my blog! No I can't afford to give away free money but I can give you something that handmade with my own two hands! 

So here is the giveaway.....

For the first 10 comments on this post, I will be giving away an artisan or felted soap in the scent of your choice! Please be sure when you leave your comment that I will be able to get in touch with you to send you the soap. I will be holding this giveaway for 1 week so be sure to be in the top 10 comments!!

You can choose from the following scents: Island Coconut (tropical getaway), White Tea Ginger (one of my favs!), Men's Coldwater (for attracting the women), Women's Lovespell (based off Victoria Secret's perfume), Lavender (for relaxation), Citrus Enegry (a boost for you), Oatmeal Almond Honey (one of my popular scents), Cucumber Melon (my favorite!), Shea Butter (for sensitive skin), and Honey Vanilla (my other popular scent). You can choose either the felted version or the artisan (naked) version of the soap! 

Enjoy your freebie friday and please share this with others! 

Lemon Raspberry Water Recipe

Since in the working world Thursdays are Thirsty Thursdays, I am putting my own twist on Thursday blog posts by posting recipes! Some will be drinks, some food and some other fun edible treats!

If you read my previous posting about these body cleanse water recipes, you will know that I have been testing each of them. So far I have tried the Strawberry Lime, Lemon Raspberry and Blackberry Sage. The Strawberry Lime was good until you reached the bottom 1/4 because the Lime became overwhelming so maybe less Limes in the next batch. The Blackberry Sage was to seedy for me because you have to mush the berries to get the flavor. I ended up using a mini strainer every time

 I poured a glass of the water. The Lemon Raspberry was really good except next time I am going to take the peel of before I put it in the water because it left an after taste that i did not like.

Here is the recipe for the Lemon Raspberry:

1 Lemon Sliced

1 pt raspberries smashed/mushed

10 cups of water

3 sage leaves chopped

1. Slice, smash and chop your ingredients

2. add them to 10 cups of water and let it sit overnight

3. Drink and be Healthy!

Everyday is a New Beginning

When I saw this quote on Pinterest yesterday, I knew that it was speaking to me because I was in a state of frustration in my life. I try to keep positivity  in my life as much as I can but I am a human and have my breaking points. As a single mom that works from home, I have my highs and lows. I absolutely love being able to get Lily off the bus everyday, attend the programs during school hours that most parents miss because they are working, taking Lily to the park when it is quiet and letting her play without fear of the older kids and so much more. At the same time, I struggle with the balance of working and family time and sometimes I don't realize that work is getting more attention then it should at that moment. The factor of business being slow doesn't help this balance. There are nights that I get so frustrated at my slow times and bills stacking up that I want to throw in the towel but there is always something that reminds me that I have a talent and gift that I get to share with others. Not everyone has the talents that I have so I am the lucky one to share them with others. 

So when the day is tough, no matter what time of day it is, just take a deep breath and remember there are many things in your life to be grateful and they outweigh the bad things. Each day is a new start and each moment is a new beginning so re-start your day with a new beginning now and smile because you are unique and amazing!

Cookies Cookies by Finnoula Louise A Gluten Free Cookie Recipe Book

This blog post is an inspirational story for the parents of gluten-free kids and everyone who bakes gluten free! Cookies Cookies was created, written and illustrated by a little girl that lives with Celiac Disease. This inspirational little girl is Finnoula Louise who is 7 years old and is so adorable, kind and inspirational! 

Finnoula Louise wrote her first book at the age of 6 when she was just a Kindergartner. The book is called Aminals Animals is about the world of animals through the eyes of a 6 year old. This book received the Mom's Choice Awards Silver Recipient Award for being a wonderful first words book.

 After her wonderful success with Aminals Animals, Finnoula created the book Cookies Cookies: A Year of Holiday Treats! The book highlights each of the major American holidays with a special gluten free cookie and a little quip from Finnoula. At the end of the book is tips for kids and parents for baking the cookies. The recipe for the gluten-free sugar cookies was cretaed by Chef Shaun Vanclief. 

The upcoming holidays featured in the book. 

I met Miss Finnoula when I was attending my last show of the holiday season. It was the first time I had attended this show which has gotten rave reviews in the past and ended up set up next to Finnoula's book table. Her mom explained to me about Finnoula's love of books and writing and how she wrote both the books on display. My golden rule when attending shows is that I must make money before I spend money or I would go home in debt. Well I made an exception this time because I believed in supporting a little girl with a dream and drive. Before I found out that I needed to eat gluten-free, a dear friend of mine was on a gluten-free diet so I bought her the Cookies Cookies book. Then I saw the kit that Finnoula was selling that included her Cookies Cookies book, cookie cutters, a mini rolling pin, measuring spoons and cups and a book/marker kit for another child to write their own book! I was sold because Lily loves books!

The kit that Lily will one day inherit!

The more I speak about gluten-free eating and bring it into our house, the more Lily is conscious about eating gluten-free. We have made these cookies twice already and have been a big hit each time. I don't have the heart to use the kit because it is so cute and I don't want to get it all messy. I may end up saving the kit until Lily is old enough to be on her own and give it to her as a housewarming gift from her youth. Yes, I am nostalgic like that! This summer we plan on writing her own book now that she is getting better at her writing skills. (I am sure that will be a another blog post in the future) Her book is proudly displayed along with a couple of other of my go-to cook books for gluten-free and vegetarian meals. 

As an adult, I have wanted to write a book for many years but never had the courage to take on such a feat. This little girl has written not one but two books and received an award already as she lives with a disease the needs to be monitored daily. She is an inspiration to each and everyone of us that we have control of our lives so do something great and Pay It Forward! 

You have buy either of Finnoula's books if you follow this link: Finnoula Louise on Amazon or clicking any picture or blue link in the blog post. Please support the drive of an amazing little girl!

Kid's Chore Flower with Removable Petals

Chore Flower

This cute flower came home to me from Lily's class on Friday as a Mother's Day gift but I thought this would be a cute idea for preschooler/grade school kids to use as a chore chart! The flower was made from a paper plate, paper, crayons and a stapler. For Mother's Day, each petal was a chore or something cute like sing mommy a song and give mommy a kiss. I want to have Lily make these each week as a way to get her to do her chores every week. We have removed 2 of the petals and she was so excited each time and keeps asking to do more! What a great motivation for kids and a way to keep them creative!

removable petals

 Now in class, the chores were printed off the computer and glued onto the petals but I think as a way to save paper, I will be just writing the chores on each petal. My second suggestion/edit to the flower is that instead of using a stapler to attach the petals, I will be using tape as a safety issue. Lily is my daughter which means she gets hurt just sitting still so exposing her to staples is the introduction to cuts on her fingers and her no longer liking the chore flower.

The back of the plate

Supplies:

Paper Plate

Paper to make petals

Tape to attach the petals

Crayons

Directions:

1. Cut out the flower petals and write the chores on the petals.

2. Have your child color the plate center and petals.

3. Tape the petals onto the plate.

4. Hang somewhere accessible for your child.

Enjoy the responsibility your are giving your child!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms and Dads that are Mom and Dad! It is a special blessing to be a Mom  to a child and spend those special moments with them. Hope you have a wonderful day!

*I will now moving my Kid's Day to Mondays so that I can spend my Sundays with my daughter. Look forward to a fun craft for tomorrow!

Mother's Day Sale Super Saver Saturday

Its Saturday which means it my Sale day! Super Saver Saturday!!!

Today's sale is $10 off when you spend $25 of more in my Etsy shop! Plus you will receive a free gift. The coupon code is MOMMY30 which you enter when you check out. I am extending this sale to run for the weekend and expires Sunday at 11:59pm EST. Hurry and treat yourself to a special gift now!

Handmade Bath Salts in an Upcycled Jar DIY

What mom, at any age, doesn't love a handmade Mother's Day Gift? Every mom loves a handmade gift from their child because they know it was made with love. These cute little jars filled with handmade bath salts are quick and easy to make with items you find at the grocery store, craft store and around your house! The jars are old jars I had around the house because I never throw out something that I could use again. So there is a mason jar, salsa jar and pickled cabbage jar. I made these 3 jars from bare nothing to decorate, filled and ready to give away in less then an hour. 

Supplies

Supplies: (to make one jar)

1 jar (thoroughly cleaned so that you don't have a lingering food smell)

Hot Glue Gun

Ribbon, Buttons or anything else you want to decorate the jars 

1 cup Epson Salt

1/2 cup fine Sea Salt

1/2 cup coarse Sea Salt

Food Coloring

Essential Oil (you can find this at Michael's in the soap making section)

Plastic Wrap

Spoon to add to the jar at the end

Directions:

1. Decorate the jar as you wish for it to look. I used scrap ribbon from other projects, buttons and a flower from an outfit that my daughter out grew. Be careful with the hot glue gun and don't let children help with this part!

Decorated Jars

2. In a bowl combine the salts and mix well so that the different salts are disbursed evenly.

3. Add 5-6 drops of food coloring. You will see the food coloring create dime size balls of salts and you will press down on these as you mix the salts so that you have the coloring spread evenly. Keep adding drops of food coloring until you reach your desired color. It took me about 15 drops of food coloring for the batch for 3 jars. 

Add Food Coloring and Mix Well

4. Add 5 drops of your essential oil (I used Oatmeal Honey Milk from Bramble Berry because I received as a sample in one of my orders). Mix around like you did with the food coloring. I used a total of 10 drops for the batch I made. 

Add Essential Oil and Mix Well

5. Add the salts to the jar and cover with plastic wrap. Since I wanted to add a vintage spoon to each of my jars, I secured the spoon and the plastic wrap with a thin piece of ribbon (2 in 1 solution). 

6. Give your mom this cute gift!

I hope you enjoy this gift idea! I had a little bit leftover and Lily took a bath with the salts and loved it so you can use this for kids and adults alike!!

My Black Thumb

Most people brag that they are green thumbs and can grow all these amazing plants and flowers.... that is NOT me!! I love flowers (hence Lily's name after Calla Lily) and have attempted to grow plants in the past which have been an epic failure. No matter how much sun I gave the plants, watered them and tried to love them... my poor plants would just die. 

As the mother of a vegetarian, I wanted to be able to grow some of my own vegetables so that Lily always had a snack throughout the summer. Plus this would give her a self of responsibility (since I tend to take care of her Hamster, Stinky, more then she does) by helping me with watering and loving the plants. Of course, I am hoping that at the end of the season I will have a sense of accomplishment and boost to my ego by actually growing these plants. 

Heirloom Tomato

Sage

So... to the plants! I am starting off with a heirloom tomato plant since this is Lily's favorite type of tomato, a sage plant because I love to cook with it and add it to my water for a little flavor and lastly Zinnia flowers only because when I bought soaping gloves the packet was included free (love me some free items!) I am using Miracle Grow soil with the amazing Miracle Grow nutrients already in it. The tomato plant was so easy to plant in the big pot because it was in a biodegradable pot! I love how eco-friendly that is!! The sage plant was an easy transfer and the seeds for the flowers I just sprinkled over the soil as directed (not pictured since it is just soil. 

I will be tracking our progress of how we keep these plants alive... hopefully! Wish us luck and I hope this inspires you to try and grow a plant or two!

Give A Little of Yourself

Something that I have learned in my life is the kindness of others, especially strangers is something that lasts with person til their last day. There is always the battle of remembering the good and remembering the bad and what stays with a person. Well in the end, people remember the good and kindness of people more then the bad things that have occurred in their life. 

My life has been one of highs and lows but it has been the kindness of other people that have helped me get through the lows and celebrate the highs. With my mother's recent medical issues, I have seen how people have a huge heart especially strangers that have helped my family and I. The warmth thoughts and feelings a person gets when receives this kindness resonates everyday. To me, this begins the start a trend of pay it forward. When you give yourself, you can influence others to do the same. This is what has happened to me....

Everything that other have done has encouraged me to use my gift and skills to do selfless acts for other people. I am going back and forth on 2 different ideas. My first idea is to crochet baby blankets for babies with special needs and preemies. I had 2 babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) so I know this experience of taking a baby home weeks or months after they were born and still have the special gifts they were given. These keepsakes are something that means so much to parents of these special babies. My second idea is to crochet prayer shawls for people in the hospital or hospice. After my experience with my mom, this is also something that means alot to me because a blanket doesn't always keep them warm. Many times they are in those hospital gowns which have no sleeves and the hospital is cool. The prayer shawl will keep them warm and comfortable in the times that they need. 

So what do you think about which idea I should choose? What kind of selfless acts do you practice in your life?