Reuse before you #Recycle Hacks

Spring is another time when many folks hit the Reset button. There's the rebirth of green stuff (no, not money), nature brings new life and animal babies (so cute!), and Lent gives some people the opportunity to give up a vice. It's kind of like New Year's 2.0.

I know there's a great debate about going green, which I will stay out of, but I love finding cool, crafty ways to save money and create stuff. And if it helps save a little of the planet, all the better! This "Blossom" video caught my attention:



Now, I'm here to tell you about a few fails, but also a fun win in my own video...

First, the fails...

So far, the bread fell apart when I tried to clean with it, but I was probably doing it wrong...

The grapefruit cleaning idea is probably better if you use a grapefruit, but I don't like grapefruit, so I used an orange. It worked better than expected, but also fell apart...



The win! Avocados really do make pink. Not as bright as the above, unless you use a ton more avocados and maybe a better process, but... check out how my shirt turned out!

Trying new things is a fun adventure. And getting the most out of items before throwing them away is a win-win!

#Christmas #Crafts

I always try to make time for at least one craft at Christmas time. But they have to be easy. This year, I needed a gift idea for promoting my books and came up with ornaments! Michaels had lots of ornament crafts to pick from... I chose clear plastic balls to fill and added sparkly pipe cleaners, sequins, snowflakes, ribbon, and other items I could fit into the ornaments along with printed pics of my books with cute characters. Here's how they came out:

They were a big hit!

And here are a few other crafts I've done over the years that were easy and came out pretty well.

our family singing xmas carols--
painted tp rolls with mini printed music
and baby sock hats!

sent away for EDIBLE LABELS--
won a prize for most creative cookies!

reindeer cookies

marshmallow mice--I miss these little guys,
they're so big now!

I've also done wreathes, stockings, hats, and more. So, I'd say Christmas Crafts are a tradition for me.

Do you have any cherished holiday traditions? or favorite crafts?
Happy December!

Water Splatter Art

When my kids were little, they loved doing crafts. That's almost hard to believe now that they are all teens and grown men. 

Believe it or not, there was a time when they got as excited over the craft caddie as they did over pizza boxes.  

One of their favorite summer time crafts was water color splatter art. 

It's a craft that's so easy and great for a rainy day. 

On regular printer paper, let them paint a picture with water color paint. 

Allow to dry, then crumble like you're going to throw it in the trash. Yep, just wad it up in a ball. They can even bat it around for a bit, though if they're like mine, that will mean broken furniture. 

Put the art in a folder and on the next rainy day (a warm one, but without thunder and lightning!) take the water colors out and allow the rain drops to splatter them. 

Lay out on a table covered with a towel (so they don't stick) and allow to dry. 

After they dry, they are softened and even the oddest paintings can become abstract works of art. 

Did you know that most colored pencils work like paint if you dip them in water? 

Sunday is Mother's Day, so...

Winter Break Activities!

Oh no. School's out for two weeks! Time to entertain the kids - or let them play on their electronic brain-scramblers. Unfortunately both of those options are not good!

Here are some suggestions to keep those little brains active over the break:

• Crafts - you can find many easy Christmas/Winter crafts in magazines and online
• Volunteer - most kids don't have any idea that others are suffering in the world. We need to show them how good they have it and that we need to give back.
• Read! - Any time is a good time to read.
• Help Decorate - also a nice time to reminisce when the old decorations they made as little ones come out, especially the ones with their cute little faces on them.
• Help Bake - always fun and they get to lick the bowl.
• Help Clean - not fun, but necessary and they should earn their screen time!
• Play board games - I love playing board and card games. Lots of laughter and good times.
• Family movie nights - cozy, cocoa, cookies, and camaraderie.
• Hide the Pickle - a tradition to find the pickle on the tree each day, friendly competition, ha!
• Make a movie - my boys get wild creative hairs once in a while and want to record their inventiveness... dummies on film to enjoy in perpetuity. Harmless hilarity.
• Thank yous - make sure they thank their relatives for gifts!

We are all open to suggestions if you have any to add! Keeping it merry and bright!

Costumes + Creativity = Confidence

Don't be afraid to be different. Make a statement. Be bold or be shy, but be YOU!

Here are some hilarious (and EASY) costume ideas that might make you think. But these folks were brave enough (and smart enough) to come up with them. See if you can figure out what/who they are...The costume names are listed at the bottom.

There are tons more, but you have work to do!! Tell me others you thought of in the comments first!
Happy Hump Day!

Answers: Cereal Killer, Deviled Egg, 50 Shades of Gray, Identity Thief, Spice Rack, Ceiling Fan (I had the hardest time figuring that one out!), Dust Bunny

Jack-O

When the spooks have a midnight Jamboree
They break it up with fiendish glee
Ghosts are bad, but the one that's cursed
It's the Headless Horseman, he's the worst

...

So when you're riding home tonight
Make for the bridge with all your might
He'll be down in the hollow there
He needs your head, look out, beware

With a hip-hip and a clippity-clop
He's out looking for a head to swap
So don't try to figure out a plan
You can't reason with a headless man

Lyrics borrowed from The Headless Horseman song from Disney's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow cartoon

This is one of my all time favorite Disney cartoons - so fun to watch at Halloween, and scary! Plus Bing Crosby narrates and sings - awesome nostalgia!

To wrap up the week, I'm sharing one of my kid's pumpkin crafts... turns out you can make a pumpkin or jack-o-lantern out of just about anything!


This lovely pumpkin is made from orange cloth wrapped around a full roll of toilet paper. The stem is brown construction paper folded and rolled up. Ta daa!




And check out this cool carved pumpkin trailer from BH&G...



But wait - stop by Marcy Hatch's Mainewords. They have an awesome pumpkin carving fair and she treats us to some great shots of them! Check these pumpkins out from a couple years ago.

People get more creative every year with their carvings. Minions are prevalent again this year. And I love carving - usually mascots from my boys' favorite teams... What jack-o's have you seen?

Happy October!

Cheap and Easy Beach Craft

It's Friday!!! Can I get a woop woop?

On Friday, anything goes- as long as it's fun.

And today, I'm sharing a fun craft.

I'm going to be honest. I am NOT the least bit crafty. All those cool ideas from Pinterest? I am the Nailed It lady, every time. Sure, it looks so easy...until my two left hands start working on it.

Find more hilarious Pinterest Fails at
Just Something (Creative) 

So, when I say, "This is easy." I mean, it is easy. No art degree or June Cleaver status needed.

Last year at the beach, I stopped at the Dollar Tree. I bought a picture frame, three bottles of school glue, and a play bucket. I poured all the glue in the bucket and mixed it with sand from the beach. I smeared it on the frame and let it dry in the sun.

When I got home, I hot glued seashells my kids found on the beach.

I half expected the sand to dry out and crumble off, but it's been a year and it's good as ever.

The trick, I think, was to have much more glue than sand,

My guys from this year's trip in last year's craft, 

You need:
1 cheap frame
3 bottles of glue
1 sand bucket
seashells
hot glue and gun

Oh, and be sure to find us Really Real Housewives over on Pinterest. We're there- screwing up crafts one fluffy bunny at a time.