Fun with the Kiddos

I have been so excited the last few days to see my 12 yr old scrapbooking.  She went downstairs one day and set up a table and all her supplies by herself.  She has been working in our hot basement (no ac in that area ).  She came up yesterday saying "Mom come look at all the cool pages Ive made."  I bee lined it right down to check it all out.  I am so proud to pass along creativity to the girls in any way and there are many different ways this happens.

I have found out by volunteering at school, teaching VBS crafts, and having kids come over that teaching creativity / crafting skills doesnt happen everywhere.  I am currently working and struggling on developing a week of VBS crafts, but I know it is worth every minute of my time to bring the kids something fun.  When I have all the crafts developed I will post some pics and hopefully inspire some others.

Last week, in my quest to bring fun to our family reunion I brought supplies to make...well something entertaining and a little messy.  Last year my second grader made "gak" or "slime" whatever you call it.  She loved it !  She begged to make it over and over again.  I knew that this would be an activity to remember.  So I am sharing with you my recipe for this lovely substance.

SLIME / GAK

1/2 CUP WHITE GLUE
1/2 CUP WATER

Mix glue and water in one container.

1 CUP WATER
1 T BORAX

Mix Borax and water in seperate container.

Use a zipper style bag and add 1/2 cup borax mixture.  Add a couple drops of food color at to the borax mixture or it will be white.  Now add 1/2 cup of glue mixture and watch the change.  Zip the bag shut and have the kids work the mixture til the water is fully mixed in.  Most directions say to drain the excess water, but we found out that the kids who worked it more turned the whole bag into slime that had a better consistency than the drained ones.

One parent said they made it with starch, but it would not wash out of clothing.  I can tell you I cleaned a white shirt covered in it with warm water and dish soap and it is still white.

HAVE A FUNTASTIC CREATIVE CRAFTY DAY !

A very Green Harvest

We had a fantastic time at our family reunion, then we get home and have 3 days to re-coop and hit the road again. UGH !  This time of the year we are jamming every minute with as much fun as possible before school starts and the crops are ready for harvest. 

I have to take care of my own little harvest before we depart for a few more days on the lake.  I came home to find zuchini, green beans, and cucumbers going nuts in my little garden.  I spent hours picking all the green beauties and thought it would never ever end.  My oldest came out to help, surprisingly staying the whole time and having fun as well.  While headed down my little rows of beans I had flashbacks of being just a wee one and picking what seemed to be endless rows of beans for my dad.  We would wait til dark, for the cooler temps, and sit out on the porch snapping beans all nite.  Then next day we would can and can and can.... Unfortunately I just dont have the time or patience to can this week, Im opting for freezing this time.

My cucumbers on the other hand are, for the first year, out of control !  I have never had so many and I was worried after a wood chuck ate half a row.  He must have known that I really didnt need them.  Since many grew too large for pickles I will be taking the delicious cukes with me for snacking.  I had just a few that were a good size to pickle so I decided to try a pre-packaged pickling mix.  I know this doesnt sound very "farmers wife" of me, but sometimes decisions just have to be made.  I have used "Mrs. Wages" brand mixes before and they come highly recommended by me and many others.  The girls and I just broke into a jar and they are scrumptious ( even according to my picky eaters ).

As I savor the aroma of zuchini bread baking away, I encourage you all to get some healthy delicious fresh veggies to cook, can, freeze, and enjoy. 

Have a wonderful day with whatever you decide to do with it !

Off Making Memories

My family is enjoying some fun times for the rest of the week at our annual Christmas in July Family Reunion.  WOW, what a fun time.  It is the first time for my husband and I to try out a pontoon he purchased a couple weeks ago (nothing new or fancy but just perfect ).  This boat has made opportunities for our girls to experience new adventures and I think they are loving every minute of it.  We are having a fantastic time so far and since our internet connection is a little slow Im gonna try to keep you up to date as much as possible with a few pics.  Whether your pics are of the kids eating popsicles in your back yard or from a family vacation they are all to be treasured.

Hope you have a wonderful day !

Enjoy every memory made and take a picutre for me.

Mini Pocket Book

  A few years ago my husband fell through the roof of a barn, 18ft onto cement.  We live in a rural area so he was air lifted to the closest trauma center an hour drive.  I was extraordinarily calm as I drove, praying every second and holding on to faith.  He had a concussion and was in and out of it every minute, in a panic every time he woke up.  I continually answered a barage of the same questions over and over. "how, why, where"  I realized quickly he had lost a few years and I grabbed my purse for some pictures of our kids.  In a few hours he was able to keep it all straight.  We experienced a miracle that day, my husband had no internal injuries from the fall, amazing according to the Docs. 

Well, since purses with built in wallets came out I have not looked back.  The downside to this has been that I dont tend to carry pictures with me anymore.  So here is an easy & cute mini book a friend had in her purse to carry her kiddos pics,  I just had to whip one up. 

1. Score 12x12 double sided pattern paper every 3 inches. 

2. Score this 12x12 at 6 inches on the opposite side.

3. Fold in 12x12 in half on 6" score line.

4. Accordian fold this now along the 3" score lines.

5. Use cutters or punches the cut out the top edges of the middle 2 pockets.

6. Fold corners of outer pockets.

7. Secure edge of outer pockets w/ adhesive (glue dot or thin strip).

8. Make tags from cardstock approx. 2.75" x 5.5" add ribbons to tops.

9. Decorate as desired (stickers, rub ons, ink edges)

10. Cut & cover chipboard 2.75" x 5.75 for back cover.

11. Adhere ribbon tie under rear chipboard cover w/ strong adhesive.

* I made a second chipboard cover for the front but it is not really necessary *

I see this being a nice gift for a grandma or a new mom. 

Have a great day, hope to see you soon.

Memories

Have you ever wondered which side of your family you look like ?  My children love to look at photos and say "I have that nose...and those eyes"  It is so much fun seeing them be silly.  My parents did not take many photographs or have many in  their stash.  Then while trying to organize the photos in their collection I'd ask the identity of people and to my surprise they gave different answers.  I realized real fast how important it is to document our lives for the generations to come. 

Scrapbooking is my biggest passion, an addiction of 11 years so far.  I went through my camera crazy days taking what seemed like a million pictures a month, but I have grown since then.  I have also outgrown the days of printing every picture and making every layout a work of art.  I dont see myself ever being a digital scrapbooker, I love to feel paper, textures, and play with my hands too much.

There are so many tools on the market, most of which are located in my cupboards. Shh dont tell the hubby.   Remember, you only need the basics to begin and the important part is to document dates and names. 

Today Im sharing with you a layout I made with my cousin, who crops with me every Thanksgiving.  She will tell you I did it all, but without her input it never would have happened.   The whole project started when showed her a "peek a boo" mouse I paper pieced, the rest just fell together.   As with most layouts,  I look at this one now and would like to make changes, but Im still learning to outgrow some compulsions. 

Hope you enjoy !

WELCOME

Good morning. Unfortunatly my plans for posting an awesome craft & beautiful photos today have to be put on hold. We have some fantastic group of friends that help on the farm after working their full time jobs. They are all cousins, their mothers sisters from a very large family. The patriarch of this family passed away a week before his 95 birthday. Although we can say he has lived a long life full of love and the Lord, it is always difficult to lose someone. I am so thankful to this grandfather for helping mold these wonderful men in our lives. I know he had a part in making them hard working, respectful, caring, and comical. As I go to pay my respects and support my friends I decided to simply post one of my recipes the boys just love. Hope you have a wonderful blessed day.

STRAWBERRY JELLO CHEESECAKE

CRUST
1 1/2 cups crushed pretzels
4 T sugar
1 stick melted butter
Mix pretzels & sugar in a 9x13 pan, stir in melted butter and press firmly. Bake 350 for 10 minutes and cook completely.

1 8oz pkg cream cheese softened
1 cup sugar
1 8oz container cool whip
1 6oz pkg strawberry jello
2 cups boiling water
16 oz frozen strawberries

Beat sugar into softened cream cheese til combined. Mix cool whip into cream cheese mixture. Spread evenly on cooled pretzel crust. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Dissolve jello in boiling water. Stir in frozen berries. When berries thaw pour jello over cream cheese layer and refrigerate til set.