Birthday Book

Hello there!!
Today I want to share a gift I made for Mother Hen last month for her birthday.  As some of you know, Mother Hen travels a lot.  And when I say a lot, I mean A LOT!  She travels all over the country selling Texas Twisters at fairs, normally every weekend from June to October. So when it comes to kids and grandkids birthdays, she has to send cards for most of them.  More than once I've gotten a call from Mother Hen, asking what birthdays were coming up for the next couple weeks.  I really don't mind telling her, but I decided I could come up with something cute to help her keep track of the birthdays.
So I made her a birthday book!  What is a birthday book, you ask?  Well, here ya go!  Prepare for picture overload!

I'm sorry I don't have any before pictures, but I basically took an old photo album that I had, recovered it, and re bound it.  I was initially going to keep the same binding that the photo album had, but after decorating each of the pages, the book was too big.  So I punched holes in each page, attached eyelets, and bound it with fishing wire.  Not my first choice for binding, but it worked!

For the pages, I cut a piece of cardstock to the size of the cover. Then I used another piece of cardstock, cut it an inch shorter, and folded the edges over the back, making a pocket in the front on the right side.  For the left side, I just printed out a calendar for each month, wrote on the birthdays, and glued it on, which covered the folded edges from the pocket side (did that make sense??).

I wanted to have a pocket for each month so she could keep birthday cards in it.  I made a few of the birthday cards, and then bought the rest.  So not only does she have a calendar that she can take with her, but she has birthday cards ready for an entire year!  All she has to do is fill them out and mail them!  I also did the calendar this way so she can write in birthdays when needed.  Our last birthday calendars were missing quite a few grandkids that hadn't been around when the calendar was made. 

So here's how I decorated the pages for each month.  I owe a huge thanks to my awesome sister Jacki for helping me do some of the pages.  I'm pretty sure this would have ended up as a Christmas present for Mother Hen if Jacki hadn't helped me! :)  On the right side of each page, you can see I attached ribbon.  I was trying to figure out how to print on ribbon so I could type the month on each ribbon, but it just didn't happen.  So I just picked ribbon that coordinated with each page.

I finished off the book by adding some ribbon to tie it closed.  It was bound with fishing wire, but the ribbon helped keep it together.

I love how it turned out, and I know Mother Hen really appreciates it!  So what do you think? 
Thanks for reading!!
-Juli-

Linking to these great parties!

Gardening Bucket

My awesome mother-in-law, Vienna, had a birthday last week, and I wanted to share what I made for her. I was originally going to make this for her for mothers day,
but being the procrastinator that I am, it didn't get done in time!
So it ended up being the perfect birthday gift! Vienna loves to garden,
so when I found this idea over at Ladybird Ln, I knew I had to make it for her.
Here's how mine turned out

Isn't it great?? Carlee from Ladybird Ln put burlap around hers, and then made an adorable gardening belt to go around it. My sewing machine is broken, so I couldn't do the belt, and I thought it would add a fun touch to put the grand kids hand prints on the outside. I'm not going to do a tutorial since Carlee already has an amazing one, but I will give you some tips

First off, you don't have to buy your 5 gallon bucket. My husband works at a grocery store, and I had him ask the bakery if they would give us one, and they were fine with it. These buckets have pros and cons. They're free, but the reason I spray painted mine was because it had a huge image on the side reminding you that kids can fall into the bucket and drown.

Can you see it? This was after two coats of white paint!!
That's why I decided to paint it the blue color.
Another con is that it still had a huge label on it (ours was for butter-cream frosting!),
but I used my handy dandy 'Sticky Out' that I used for this post, and it took it off, no problem! Carlee used a Gamma lid for her bucket, which would have been awesome if I could have found one in time, but I couldn't. So I just used the original lid, and it worked fine.

Here are a couple pics of how I put the cushion together

Do you see my favorite new tool I just bought for myself?!!
Can't believe I've never owned one, but I love it! :)

Then I had my husband screw the seat to the lid.

I traced my kids hands onto fabric, mod podged them to the bucket with
a couple extra coats on top, and painted on the wording.
After it all dried, I covered it with a couple coats of clear sealant.

It didn't turn out quite like I'd predicted, but it's fun none the less.
At least it shows I put effort into making something for her. What do you think?

Thanks for reading!!

Juli

Linking to these fabulous parties!

Father Day Ideas #2

Life became a little busy yesterday making these for some of the teachers,
that I didn't post my Father's Day Idea.
This is a simple idea that you could use with about any candy.
I have used it with my daycare kids a couple of years ago.
I like it because the kids can help color, cut (age appro.) and tape the tie onto the candy.
Any parent knows how excited little kids get when giving a present.
And I know that dads like getting them as well.

I just found a coloring page of a bow tie on Google and made it the size I wanted.
I than wrote the saying on the tie with magic marker because it doesn't work very well
after the kids have colored it with crayons. Like I said, the possibilities are endless with the different kind of candies. These are just some that I found on a quick run to the store.
It's also great because you could make the tie smaller for smaller candies to fit your budget.

(Whoppers, Hot Tamales and Reese' Pieces)

I was also thinking about these gifts I made for Teacher Appreciation Week.

If you need to do a lot for a class or group,
it would be easy to switch out this tag and put one for Father's Day.

Do you have any other Father's Day ideas? Let us know. Have a great weekend!

Jacki :)

These Hands Will Hold My Heart Forever!

Every year I try and make something for my Daycare parents on
Mother's Day and Father's Day.
Sometime it's a paper plate with their hands, other times it's candy with a cute saying.
I have done daycare for about ten years, so my ideas are running dry.
I saw this post over at Clean and Sensible and
thought it was something I haven't tried yet.
I'm posting it now for multiple reasons.
First, so we have an archive for next year.
Second, who wouldn't love to get this for a birthday,
anniversary or other important day.

I went to Wal-mart and they had two canvases for, I think, seven dollars.
I painted the canvas white and than painted a red border.
I put the boys hand prints on first, which was
hard with an almost 12 month old. I think it turned out okay though.
After that dried, I Mod Podged the letters and hearts on. I also went over
the whole canvas with Mod Podge, so it would have a glossy look.
I attached a red ribbon on the back to hang.

This didn't take me very long, just the time for drying.
I love that it has the two boys hands on it, the size difference is so cute.
Wouldn't this be fun to give to a Grandma?

Have a great weekend and I will talk to you next Thursday!

Jacki :)

Belated Mothers Day

Hello there and Happy Belated Mothers Day to all you fabulous women!!

I planned to have these Mothers Day gifts ready to share with you
last week, but it just didn't happen.
So I'll share them with you now, and you can use them next year!!

In last weeks post, I told you I was going to make my own version of this vase

Well, I'm not sure it turned out like I wanted, but it's the thought that counts, right??
I made it for my step mom, who between her kids and my dads kids, has 35 grand-kids.
So I had my work cut out for me!!

I had to pick a pretty big vase since I had so many names to fit on it,
and they just barely fit on this one.

I wanted to share this awesome product I found!!
You may all know about it, but this is the first time I've used Sticky Out.

I hate picking off the price tags or UPC labels, and this stuff made it so much easier!
I just put a little bit on the sticker, let it sit for minute or so, and then wiped it right off!!
So much easier!!

So I started off with my trusty mod podge and some tissue paper.
I applied mod podge and the tissue paper in small sections, smoothing it as I went.
I liked the frosty look it gave the vase.
Then I cut out 3 different kinds of flowers with my cricut,
and put each of the kids names on circles for the center of the flower.

Then I mod podged the flowers, along with the words, onto the vase.
I covered it with two coats of mod podge, and am hoping that will be enough to seal it.
Overall I think it turned out really cute, and my step mom loved it!

The other Mothers Day gift was one I found at Our Best Bites.
They had the best idea for tin can treats for mothers day.

I gave these to a few ladies at church, as well as my mom and sisters. They were really easy and quick to make. I also made a few for my son's teachers since this week is teacher appreciation week. You can download both versions from Our Best Bites website. Such a fun gift!!

Well, that's all I have for this week! Thanks for reading!!

Juli

Linking up with
Not Just A Housewife
A Bowl Full of Lemons
Krafty Kat
Funky Polkadot Giraffe

Happy Mother's Day Treats

SORBET, SHERBET, GELATO, & ITALIAN ICE

Thought I would give you some great recipes

to make for your moms or those you honor

this Mother's Day weekend!

Lemon and Orange Gelato

2 cups milk
2 tablespoons orange and lemon zest
5 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
4 tablespoons lemon juice

Scald the milk with the orange and lemon zest in a medium saucepan. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar to blend. Gradually whisk half of the hot milk into the yolks. Return the yolks to the saucepan with remaining milk. Stir over low heat until custard thickens and leave a path on the back of the spoon when you draw your finger across it. Do not let the mixture boil.

Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and chill.

Once the mixture is cool stir in the lemon juice.

Transfer to ice cream maker and process according to manufacturers instructions.

Mandarin Orange Sorbet

Five 11-oz. cans mandarin oranges packed in light syrup
1 C. superfine sugar
3 T. fresh lemon juice

Drain the oranges and reserve 2 cups of the syrup. Purée the oranges in a food processor. Stir in the reserved syrup, sugar and lemon juice.

Pour the mixture into the bowl of the machine and freeze.

Makes about 5 1/2 cups.

Very Berry Ice

2 cups frozen or fresh strawberries or raspberries

1-1/2 cups water

1/2 cup honey

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Partially thaw frozen berries by setting them out in a bowl at room temperature just until slightly icy (about 20 minutes); do not drain thawed berries.

In a blender container combine berries, water, honey, and lemon juice. Cover and blend on high speed about 1 minute or until mixture is smooth. (If you are using raspberries, you may want to strain the mixture through a sieve to remove seeds)

Pour into an 8x4x2-inch loaf pan. Cover pan with foil. Place pan in the freezer and freeze about 6 hours or until mixture is firm.

Remove pan from freezer about 15 minutes before serving. Use an ice-cream scoop or spoon to scoop or scrape ice into serving bowls.

Makes 6 servings

Make-Ahead Tip: Prepare the mixture as above. Freeze the mixture up to 3 days.

Creamy Peach Sherbet

2 cups frozen unsweetened peach slices partly thawed
1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt
2 tablespoons orange juice concentrate
2 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla

In food processor or blender, pulse/ chop peaches. Add remaining ingredients' blend until creamy.

May be served immediately or stored in the freezer until serving time.

Yield: 4 servings.

Other frozen fruits may be substituted for the peaches.

Banana-Pineapple Tropical Sorbet

1 pineapple
2 chopped bananas
3 tablespoons sugar
1 cup plain nonfat yogurt
1 tablespoon honey

Roughly chop the pineapple flesh and put it into the bowl with the reserved juice.

Puree pineapple flesh and juice with bananas in food processor, gradually adding the sugar, yogurt and honey.

Transfer to ice cream maker and process according to directions.

Vanilla Gelato

5 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups whole milk
1 cup light cream
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Combine egg yolks and sugar in mixing bowl. Beat at medium-high speed until very thick and pale yellow in color.

In medium saucepan, heat milk to a simmer. Add half of the milk to the egg yolk mixture; whisk until blended. Stir in remaining milk. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture coats back of spoon.

Remove from heat; stir in the cream. Pass mixture through a fine strainer into medium bowl set over an ice bath to chill. Stir in vanilla.

Freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.

Italian Strawberry Water Ice

2 C. sugar

1 C. water

4 pints fresh ripe strawberries, rinsed and hulled

1/3 C. orange juice

1/4 C lemon juice

Combine sugar and water in saucepan; stir and bring to boiling. Boil 5 minutes. Let cool.

Puree berries in electric blender or force through sieve. Add juices to mixture of the cooked syrup and berries. Mix well.

Turn into refrigerator trays, cover tightly and freeze.

About 45 minutes before serving time, remove trays from freezer to refrigerate to allow the ice to soften slightly.

Spoon into sherbet glasses.

Raspberry Cream Sherbet

1 cup sugar

3 pack frozen raspberries

3 cups half and half

4 egg whites, beaten stiff

1/4 teaspoon salt

Add the sugar to the frozen berries and mash. Put through sieve.

Freeze cream, salt and egg whites to a mush; add the berries and finish freezing.

I hope you all enjoy these!

To all you moms out there, Happy Mother's Day!

'The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world'!

BLESS YOU ALL!!!

Bye 'til next week - - Mother Hen - Barbara

{Simple Adjustable Apron}

Aprons are great. They make great gifts too.
So with Mother's Day coming up I decided to put together a little tutorial
for you all to make one or two for the moms in your lives.

I like my aprons SIMPLE....no ruffles, laces, or bows for me.
I am NOT a froo-froo kinda gal.
I just really like these kind of aprons and they are
GREAT for kids....easy to take on and off....not rings or ties to bug ya up at the neck

I MAY OR MAY NOT be making these to give as gifts for Mother's Day (wink...wink!!!!)

What you'll need:
2 kinds of fabric (one for the front and one for the back)
thread
sewing machine
iron
ironing board
large safety pin
scissors

Step 1: Make a Pattern
I originally just traced the apron I wear when I cut hair and just tweaked it a little.
I like to make my patterns out of butcher paper. If you don't have butcher paper and are wondering what to use you could use newspaper or wrapping paper.

Here's my measurements (you can adjust them to fit the person better)

Step 2: Cut out pattern
*Cut 2 main apron pieces
( I used 2 different fabrics(the teal flower & brown polka dots but you could use one if you'd like)

*Cut 3 inch strips that will be sewn together to make the tie
(I just use the leftover material for this)

Step 3: Pin pieces of apron right side together.

Step 4: Now you are ready to sew
in case you were wondering.....I used 1/4 inch seams just because that's what
my machine is usually set to for my quilting.

*You are going to sew along the edges but make sure to leave openings for the casing for the tie. The picture shows you where to and not to sew

As you can see from the picture I start on the bottom and work my way around.

Step 5: Turn to the right side
Using the opening on the bottom turn apron to the right side and iron seams flat
Make sure to tuck in the raw edges from ALL the openings(there should be 5) and iron them flat
After ironing your apron should look this this.......

Step 6: Top stitch close to edge all the way around....
but don't sew your holes shut on the sides and top. If you do you'll be HATING life cause when you go to put your tie in you'll realize there is not hole for it and then you have to pull out the handy-dandy trusty seam ripper and trust me you DON'T want to do that!!! (you don't have to so this step but I think it just gives it a more finished look)

Step 7: Sew casing
Sew about 1.25 inches from the edge to form a pocket for the tie to reside in.

Step 8: Make the tie
To make the tie cut 4 -5 strips of remaining fabric that are 3 inches wide.
I like my ties really long so I can wrap it around my back and tie it in the front but
you can make your ties as long or as short as you want.

Sew the strips to together to make one really long strip.
Follow the instruction below on the picture to make your tie

Adjust the tie to your liking and there you have it

The Best Adjustable Apron!!!


You can also adjust everything and make mini versions for the kiddos

Hope this was helpful for all who want to make some aprons

LINKING UP TO:
SISTER STUFF
SHARE THE LOVE @ {My Domestic Design}

Mothers Day Ideas

Hello there!! Are you ready for Mothers Day??

I had really great intentions of having all my Mothers Day gifts ready by now, but life has been so hectic lately! I have some great ideas, but just haven't had a chance to start working on them yet. So, instead of showing my mothers day gifts today, I'll just share some ideas I've seen.

First of all, did you see Jessica's Mothers Day cards yesterday?? Adorable, right??

I found these adorable printable cards at Green Jello With Carrots.
I think I'm going to hint to my husband that he should have my kiddos make these for me!

I was going to make these brag books for my mom and mother in law last year, but never got around to it. I might just have to do it this year

Another idea I'm loving is this Mothers Day Coupon Book. So cute!!

Cris over at Crissy's Crafts has some awesome Mothers Day ideas.
The tissue paper covered box is such an easy way to customize any box you have!

This last idea is one that I'm going to make for my step mom.
I think I can make my own version for less than $40! I'm not sure how it will turn out,
but it'll involve my cricut, scrapbook paper, mod podge, and homemade flowers!!!
So check back next week for the outcome!!

So what are your plans for Mothers Day?
Do you have any great ideas you want to share?
Thanks for reading!!
Juli