Bed Canopy

I found this idea on the Roberts Crafts blog, http://robertsmediateam.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default, and thought it was super cute! It's a canopy from IKEA and decorated with fabric and mod podge.

Here's a link to the instructions:

http://wondersinstructions.blogspot.com/2009/07/bed-canopies.html.

I've heard that the canopies at IKEA are very inexpensive, but I haven't actually been there yet, so I don't know for sure. There are a lot of other great ideas on the blog, I just really liked this one.

Repurposing clothes

I found out about this website from a friend and I LOVE it! You can use your old clothes (or your husband's old clothes) to make cute clothes for your kids. There are a ton of ideas. Go to www.makeitandloveit.blogspot.com to check it out! I might actually dust off my sewing machine and use it!

Fun recipe

I didn't know if you guys wanted recipes posted on here or not, but I really love making oatmeal packets for my kids and I wanted to share the recipe. It's a recipe the kids can help make. It's way cheaper than store-bought oatmeal packets and you know what's in them!
Here's the basic recipe (makes 8 packets):
3 cups quick cooking oats
salt
snack-size zip baggies

Make oat flour by putting 1/2 cup of oats in blender. Blend on high until powdery. Repeat with another 1/2 cup. If you have a food processor, then you can do the 1 cup in one batch.

Place in each baggie: 1/4 c. oats, 2 Tbsp. oat flour, and 1/8 tsp. salt.

To serve: Empty packet into a bowl and add 3/4 cup boiling water. Stir and let stand 2 minutes. Add more water for thinner oatmeal, or less water if you want it thicker.

Serve plain or add sugar or honey to sweeten it.

Also, you can add other ingredients to the baggies to make fun flavors. Here are some ideas to get you started:
Apple Cinnamon- 1 Tbsp. sugar + 1/4 tsp. cinnamon + 2 Tbsp. dried apples
Brown sugar/Cinnamon- 1 Tbsp. brown sugar + 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
Brown sugar/Raisin - 1 Tbsp. brown sugar + 1 Tbsp. raisins
Health Nut- 2 Tbsp. wheat germ
Fruit and Cream- 1 Tbsp. non-dairy creamer + 2 Tbsp. dried fruit
S'More- 6 miniature marshmallows + 1 Tbsp. chocolate chips

Enjoy!

Kids craft ideas

My kids love doing art, so it's something I try to do with them as much as possible, but I'm always in need of more ideas. I found this website and I absolutely love the ideas! You can search for craft ideas by age or theme. There is a list of recommended books for some of the craft ideas, so you can read a great book with your little one and then do a craft that goes along with it. The website is http://www.firstpalette.com/home.html. Enjoy!

Toy Bin Labels

I've been wanting to make these for a while now. I hate just throwing my kids' toys together in one big box because they just play with the same ones over and over unless I introduce new toys to them. I found that if I group the toys by a theme (i.e. animals, transportation, music, etc), it is much easier for me to just get those toys out for them to play with. Then when they are bored, we clean up those toys and switch them out for another group. But, I wanted to make cute labels for them. I want to do a red, white, and light blue theme for their room, so I opened up my Photoshop program and made some coordinating labels. I set the size to 4"x6" at 300 dpi. After printing them out on regular white computer paper (the toy bins are also white...if they weren't, I would have used card stock to make them opaque), I cut them out and taped them to the bins with clear packing tape over the labels. I am actually going to redo these using clear contact paper instead because the packing tape left ridges on the surface, but other than that, they are just how I wanted them to be!

Nicholas wanted to model the effectiveness of the bins. He is showing off his "transportation" toys!

Easy, Easy Kitchen Curtains

I love that kitchen curtains don't have to be too fancy. When I'm in my kitchen, I want to be able to see out the window as I'm cooking, doing the dishes, or whatever. But, I also like a little privacy.

(This is the best before picture I have of this window.)

I was reading up on different window treatments when I discovered this idea and adapted it to my situation. I just bought some tension curtain rods and some cafe rod clips, though regular drapery clips would work, too. Then I took some cloth napkins that we got for our wedding (and never use) and clipped those on to the hooks to use as my curtains. We're going for a blue and white kitchen, so I think these work beautifully!

Other variations on this idea are using bandanas or tea towels. I think each window (I have two of them in the kitchen) cost about $6.00 each because I already had the cloth napkins.

Easter eggs with a gospel message

I've been searching for ideas on how to make Easter fun while keeping the focus on Christ. Here's one of the ideas I found. I made mine today and was really excited to share it! I plan on using it for FHE on Monday or on Easter morning.
Each egg has a scripture and an item to represent the scripture. You open the eggs in order. Here's the list of scriptures and items:

Egg #1- Matthew 26:39 - Sacrament cup

Egg #2- Matthew 26:14,15 and Zechariah 11:12-14 - 3 dimes

Egg #3- Matthew 27:1,2 - Knotted twine

Egg #4- Matthew 27: 24-26 - Piece of soap

Egg #5- Matthew 27: 28-30 - Red velvet

Egg #6- Matthew 27: 31,32 - Small nail

Egg #7- Matthew 27: 35-56 - Pair of dice

Egg #8- Matthew 27: 50-54 - Small rocks

Egg #9- Matthew 27: 58-60 - White cloth

Egg #10- Matthew 27: 60,65,66 - Large stone

Egg #11- Mark 16:1 and Matthew 28:2,5 - Bay leaves

Egg #12- Matthew 28:6 - This egg is empty to represent the empty tomb