Christmas Subway Art

As a gift for my cousin, I designed this Christmas subway art.
Buy it here http://www.etsy.com/shop/StuffbyMamaShona

 

P's First Day of 2nd Grade

Today I put my little man on the bus for his first day of 2nd grade!  Hard to believe he's a 'big kid' already!  Two  years ago, when he was in Kindergarten I got to walk him to the bus stop, and he was so little then! Last year I had to work on his first day of school, so I felt horrible! This morning, he was all business!  He was so excited to go to school! I hope his enthusiasm for school continues, but I'm sure it will wear off at some point [like when he's 16].

 Last night was Back to School Night & Open  House. He was so excited for school after he put his things away and met his teacher! I fell in love with her room! TONS of wonderful books! So excited for him!

 My little man...

-Mama Shona :)

Grandma's Apple Butter

There is no butter in apple butter.  The name come from the smooth, buttery texture. Apple butter is wonderful on buttered toast. Mmmm!  My grandma used to make it all the time, then she quit.  A couple years ago I decided it was time to learn.  As much work that goes into it, it is relatively easy to make!

You will need:
8-10 Medium Apples [I use Granny Smith]
Sugar
Cinnamon to taste

Preheat Oven to 225.

Boil apples until soft.
Extract pulp.  Mix 1 cup apple pulp to 2 cups sugar.
Cinnamon to taste.
Put mixture in a flat pan and bake for 1 hour. [I use two pyrex pans, and put a cookie sheet underneath incase it boils over.]
Mixture will thicken and turn brown.
Spoon mixture into 1/2 pint jars.  
I use the waterbath method of securing the seals.  

4H Project -- Crayon Canvas Art!

This is a very easy 4H project. My seven year old did most of the work himself, with only 'minor' help from Mom.

What you need:
Crayons
Glue Gun & Sticks
Canvas
Blower Dryer

Directions:
Sort the crayons out by color. Then line the crayons up in desired order and position them on the canvas.  Parker and I chose to line them up along the top of the canvas because it was the easiest thing to do.

 Now that the crayons are all placed on the canvas, take it outside with your blow dryer and a cardboard box.

 When the crayons start too get a glossy, shiny look to them the wax will start dripping!

 This was my view as the canvas holder.

 He had a lot of fun doing this!

As you can see it was hot out, and the longest part of the process is melting the wax...poor kid started sweating!

 But the finished product is so cool!

 

Frozen Watermelon Pops!

So easy, so good!

I found this idea in the thirty-one summer 2012 catalog...

Cut your watermelon into triangles, insert craft sticks and freeze! DELICIOUS!
A healthy treat the kids will love! (Mom, Dad, and the grown ups will love this too!)

Bunny Pops!

I found this kit at Super Saver, too cute to pass up!

Cute, quick, easy AND cheap thank you gift!

I am finishing up my 80 hour Supervised Participation, and wanted to make a cute yet useful thank you gift for my cooperating teacher.  Some of my friends have made these, and they were too cute not to do!  I found the flag on Pinterest and then went with it...

I found these super cute insulated cups at Dollar General for $2.50,

Crystal Light packets for $3.13 at the grocery store, and I had the lemonade and raspberry ice packets at home already.  

 Add packets to the cup, with this super cute flag, and there you have it! So for a little over $5, I have an adorable thank you gift to give to my cooperating teacher!

Easter Cards!

I love Shutterfly!  Check out these ADORABLE Easter cards I just made!

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AbNHDFq0bN2bCMg&cid=SFLYOCWIDGET

So lucky to have you in class!

Lucky Charms $3.50

Brawny Snack Size Resealable Baggies $1
Off Brand labels $4.99

Adorable St. Patrick's Day gift for kids in your classroom...priceless!

I saw a fancy idea on Pinterest, and made it my own.
First I used MS Word and made my labels, then printed and stuck them onto the baggies.  Filled the baggies with 1/2 cup of Lucky Charms and voila, an adorable and CHEAP St. Patrick's Day gift!

Click here to get this label.
Parker's had the same graphic, but said "I thank my "Lucky Charms" we're friends." Click here to get that label.

Today was a PERFECT day to fly a kite!  My sister was over with her kids, so I took the boys outside and we put the kite in the air! Flying a kite with the kids took me back to when I was a kid and made me realize how much I appreciate the simple things in life!   Often times the simple things are overlooked, but they really are what make every day special. 

-Mama S

O'fish'ally the best!

I am a strong enough person to admit that I am a Pinterest.com junkie!  I found this super cute idea for a teacher valentine gift, and it cost virtually nothing!

All you need is a computer [which you obviously have if you are reading this], printer, goldfish crackers [or you can use Swedish fish candy], and a ziploc baggie.


The whole thing took less than an hour to do!

-Mama S

Click to get the O'fishally the best tag.

Finger Painting Masterpiece!

Once again, I found this idea on Pinterest, and had to try it out!

(What did we do before that website?)

Materials needed:

Canvas [I bought a 16 x 20" canvas that was stretched over a wooden frame]

Washable Finger Paint [I used Crayola]

Masking Tape

Step 1:

Tape off what you are making.  I taped the lettering off and my son did the rest. 

Step 2: 

Put finger paint onto palette...I used a pumpkin divider plate of my son's.

Step 3:

Begin painting your masterpiece...

Finished! Now be patient and let your masterpiece dry... Then SLOWLY peel up the tape...
 

First the "L"

 Then the "I"

 "L"

Voila!

This is a gift for my cousin's daughter. Parker and I hope she likes it!

Happy Painting!
-Mama S