An Easy Birthday Banner.

This Birthday Banner took about an hour to make.

I used some twine and strung up the #3 flag I had made out of Kraft Paper. Then I just started tying ribbon to the twine. I alternated lengths and tried to have a variety of thicknesses.

I already had about half of the ribbon from another project. I hung all those ribbon and then I was able to judge what other colors I needed.

I spent about $10 on new ribbon. I couldn't resist adding those fun pom-poms!

I love this project because it didn't take forever. Plus, I can reuse all the ribbon by either untying the ribbons or cutting them off the twine.

Simple, right?

The Simplicity Month. Gardening with Milk Crates.

I really want to grow some veggies this Summer. But, we are moving in June. What to do?

Container Gardening.

Most of our pots are already inhabited by some Herbs. Buying lots of pots can get expensive very quickly. So, I decided to use what we already have...

Milk Crates.

My Mother found 8 crates along side the road, last year. She gave them to us, but I hadn't found a really good use for them.

Enter Landscaping Fabric.

I bought a 50 foot roll that is suppose to last 15 years (so I can reuse the crates for several years). The Landscaping Fabric keeps all that precious soil INSIDE of the crate. 

I cut a large piece of the fabric for each crate and put it inside. Some people staple or sew the fabric around the crates. I was out of staples, so I didn't bother.

I had originally thought of drilling some holes in some extra tubs we have laying around. But, the crates completely eliminated the need to drill any holes for drainage. Wahoo...less work for me.

After I put the Landscaping Fabric in the crates, I filled each one with a mixture of Potting Soil and Compost. I bought the bags at the family-run Hardware Store, down the street. These are the bags I bought....

I mixed all the Potting Soil and Compost one of those blue tarps. Each time, I dumped half a bag of Potting Soil and half a bag of Compost and mixed in a 1/4 of the Lobster Compost.

I planted (from seed) Arugula, Radishes, Turnips, Cabbage and a Basic Salad Mix. The seeds were left over from our failed Microgreens Experiment.

I'll add some Tomato and Pepper plants soon.

I love the fact the crates have handles, so they will be easy to move to our new home. Crossing my fingers that this works!

I'll keep you updated.

Cost

Crates. Free.

Landscaping Fabric. $11 for 50 feet.

2 Bags of Potting Soil, 2 Bags of Compost and 1 Bag of Lobster Compost. $40.

Seeds. Free.

Roasted Cauliflower and Butter-bean Soup. Gluten-Free.

I am always on the look out for a new Soup Recipe.

This one didn't take much effort and was easy to do with kiddos underfoot.

Roast veggies at 400 degrees (Cauliflower and Onions). 

Add Stock and Beans and Herbs. 

Blend. 

Bam. You are done.

I used Butter-beans instead of Limas (since that is what Papa Bear came home with) and I snuck in some Dandelion Greens.

Pretty darn good. Although, next time I'll blend it much longer.

You can see the Recipe I adapted right here.

A Simple Lacing Activity. Fruit. Ages 2+ and Up.

Last Halloween, when Nye-Nye got dressed up as a Fruit Fly, I created a Trash Bag Stroller for the Del Ray Halloween Parade.

My Sissy helped me created several Fruit Peels using card stock, Sharpies and watercolors. I drew out the shapes in pencil and then went over them with a Sharpie.

Aunt Mimi cut out the shapes and then I painted them with the watercolors. It took about an hour to make them. 

I liked how they looked, so I didn't want to throw them in the Recycling Bin, after Halloween was over. 

Recently, I figured out a new use for them.

"A Lacing Activity."

All I had to do was use a hole-punch around the edge and then tie a ribbon around one hole.

I say "all I had to do is" but honestly, those little suckers are hard to punch. As you can see, I haven't finished the Banana Peel or the Apple Core. The paper was closer to cardboard weight and hurt my hands to punch through...so spending 5 minutes here and 5 minutes there may be the way to go.

I can't wait until Nye-Nye expresses more interest in lacing. Then, I'll create some more with a different theme.

I think this is such an easy, cheap Activity for Preschoolers.

The possibilities are endless!

Marshmallow Snowmen.

In honor of Northern Virginia's Last Snowfall of 2014 (hopefully), I wanted to share these cute little Marshmallow Snowmen.

Nye-Nye made them way back in December, but I never shared them. My Mama was visiting and had great fun making her own.

All you need is a bag of large marshmallows, tons of tooth-picks, pipe-cleaners, markers and some white glue. Cloves are optional.

We stuck a tooth-pick (or 2) connecting the head to the belly. Then another tooth-pick (or 2) from the bottom up to the belly. 

More tooth-picks became the arms. 

Cloves made nice eyes, noses and nipples (totally my then 2 1/2 year old's idea).

Nye-Nye had a terrific time wrapping the pipe-cleaners into scarves and adding details to each face. 

I twisted pipe-cleaners into a loop and stuck the on top of each head, so we could hang them from our Christmas Tree. 

They kept coming apart when we hung them, so I just added some glue between each marshmallow. Problem solved.

Can't wait to make another set next year!

Office Supplies. The Best Birthday Presents for Kids.

Okay. Maybe this might not be true for all kids. But, most of them LOVE post-its, right?

Pens, note-pads, return address labels, business cards. All cool stuff.

Recently, I created a Mail Center for my soon-to-be three year old. She's really been into envelopes and making cards. So I created a whole box just for her.

It has everything she would need to mail off a card. I had some return address labels made that she puts on EVERYTHING.

She spends probably two hours each day working on her cards. It's definitely worth the headache of organizing all the cards, stickers and pieces of paper strewn around the house every night.

Today, her business cards arrived.

Yes, I ordered business cards for a three year old.

She has spent hours playing with my Mother's business cards. So, I figured a card with her photo on it, would be tons of fun.

I was right.

She refused to let go of them today, when we went to the playground. She ran around, climbing things and sliding down the slides, all the while clutching a stack of business cards.

It's gratifying to see something that cost so little money (and took such little effort) could bring such Joy to my daughter.

There have definitely been several projects that took A LOT of effort and time on my part, which she played with it for a grand total of five minutes.

I am going to bed one Happy Mama.

I wonder how long it would take her to start handing out her cards.

Snow Jewels.

It's still snowing. When it stops, we'll try these puppies out.

Giant Snow Jewels.

They look much prettier in real life. Can't wait to see what Nye-Nye's reaction will be to them.

Making them was easy. I just filled up balloons with water and some food dye and then put them in the freezer.

I put them in over-night, but you only need 5 or 6 hours for them to freeze.

Then, all that is left to do is cut a small hole in the balloon and peel it off.

And, enjoy!

Here are some Tips (I learned the hard way)...

1. Put food dye in FIRST. I attempted to fill up the 11 inch balloons with water, before I put in the dye. The water just sprayed about and the balloon deflated.

2. Use a bathroom faucet to fill them. It's been way too long, since I've made water balloons. You need to make a seal and my kitchen faucet just wasn't cutting it.

3. Remember they will freeze however you lay them down. Whoops...space is at a premium in our freezer, so I squeezed two of them in an awkward spot. When they were frozen, I couldn't get them out. Papa Bear had to work really hard to yank them out of the door shelf.

4. Be careful peeling over the balloons, your hands will get messy. The food dye dyed my hands, which wasn't a big deal. But, if it is for you, I should recommend you wear gloves.

I was inspired by the wonderful Growing a Jeweled Rose's Post on Snow Jewels. 

Looking forward to putting them into action!

Activities for Babies: 9 Months. Light and Shadow Baby.

This activity took exactly two minutes to set-up.

When the box from Amazon arrived of transparent folders for Nye's Light Box, I decided to hang them temporarily for the Baby. I added the packing pillows, since they are so fun to touch.

I used my favorite....electrical tape to stick them to the door.

The shadows were so beautiful!

Now, I'm not going to say this kept her captivated for an hour. But, five minutes here and five minutes there is fine in my book. Especially at this age.

I'll leave them up for a few more days and then cut them into different shapes for the Light Box.

I'm sure they will make another appearance (in a different form) on the door soon.

Month of Love. Community Sponsored ART.

You've probably heard of Community Sponsored Agriculture. You may have already participated in one.

But, have you heard of Community Sponsored Art?

It's the same concept as Community Sponsored Agriculture. The shareholder puts up a certain amount of money in the beginning of the Season and at agreed upon intervals, receives a share. Of veggies or in this care...Art.

I am so excited to hear about Station North CSA. For $300, shareholders will receive 6 pieces of work from local Baltimore artists over a 5 month span.

"At each presentation even, 4 CSA artists will give short presentations on their work and shareholders will rank their preferred artists. Ranking is used to ensure that shareholders aren't getting a box of kale when they'd rather have beets. These events are also an opportunity to network, mingle, and meet CSA artists."

"Community Sponsored Art"....what a brilliant idea!

It's a win-win for everyone.

Sadly, all of the shares of this round are sold-out. But, be on the look-out for their next offering. Hopefully, this idea catches on elsewhere.



**** The photo is of a painting I collaborated with my daughter on last year.

Activities for Babies: 9 Months. Goop

A box of corn starch.

Warm water.

A few drops of food dye.

Bam.

Oodles of messy, goopy, SAFE fun for babies. Plus, even slightly older siblings can find it's Solid-to-Liquid-back-to-Solid Nature intriguing. (it's still a big hit with the almost 3-year-old). Love this stuff!

Turning Your Front Yard Into A Garden.

I got Dreams.

Glorious Garden Dreams in the middle of the Winter.

Sigh.

I have been pouring over photos from the lovely book I received for Christmas. "Edible Landscaping With a Permaculture Twist: How To Have Your Yard and Eat It Too."

Michael Judd is a local boy (from Frederick County) who spent many years in Mexico and Nicaragua learning  about and experimenting with Permaculture. He is a genius at turning Yards into low-maintenance Gardens and Orchards. No weeding, no watering (except for in the beginning). Seriously, why Garden any other way?

He's transformed the Gardens at Volt.

You may have heard of that place.

I listened to him speak at the Holistic Family Health Conference in Frederick, last Spring. He's a dynamic speaker. When he mentioned an upcoming book, I was thrilled.

The book didn't disappoint.

Gorgeous photos. Clear directions. And, brilliant ideas.

I am all about digging up that grass and planting useful and beautiful plants.

Even though, I was familiar with a lot of what was in the book, it was great to see more examples of "Herbal Spirals," learn about growing Mushrooms and be given so much information of Uncommon Fruits that grow well in this region.

Judd's section on Rainwater Harvesting, Swales and Rain Gardens may completely change your relationship with your Yard.

I had never heard of a "Hugelkultur" (which is a shame because it's a terrific concept and would have been helpful to know about when my Sister had all these fallen down trees in her Yard).

If you are in Maryland or Northern Virginia, you are in luck. He does 1 1/2 hr-2hr consultations starting at $175 (depending on where you are located). His schedule fills up fast, but now is the perfect time to have him come out and brainstorm with you on how to transform your Yard into a beautiful, edible Landscape.

Early Mother's Day present? Or maybe forget that fancy bouquet and expensive dinner this Valentine's Day? Hmmmm....

We will be moving from one rental house to another this Summer, so planting much is out of the question. But, there are always Mushrooms...

Frozen Fun.

If you are currently experiencing some SERIOUSLY COLD WEATHER, this may be a fun activity for your Kids.

Frozen Ornaments.

The sky is the limit with different themes. But, we made these before Christmas and used Cranberries and Pine Cones.

You could some small toys or other materials from Nature, whatever your Child is interested in right now. We used a Muffin Tin because that's all we had. But, a Bundt pan works better (and stays frozen longer...we learned that the hard way the first time we made these). 

Throw in all the materials, add some twine or ribbon and water and put Outside for a bit. And Voila!

So pretty in the Sun, don't you think?

Calendar Project. 2013 Photos in Review.

Not sure if this is a Tradition I can sustain, but I am hoping! For the second year in a row, I made Calendars of photos of the previous year. We gifted them to Grand-parents and ourselves. 

I've been pretty happy with the quality of Shutterfly's Calendars (although, because I also use it as my Planner and was in CONSTANT use, the photos became a little scratched).

The first year I made them, I consistently uploaded and added the photos every Month. It made it crazy easy in December to place my order. 

Last year, January through March got uploaded and arranged. And, then you know...My heavily pregnant Self got too busy with the Sassy Toddler. So, the Calendar Project got shelved.

December rolled around. I was determined to finish the Calendar. I stuck the Eldest in front of the T.V. and put the Baby to bed early and then I stayed up very, very late to finish the Project. I think it took about 5 hours. 

The hardest part was narrowing it down to my favorite 5-6 photos from each Month. It was a challenge to make sure both Kiddos got equal-ish face-time. I also have a tendency to take mostly vertical photos. Not a big deal until you have a horizontal slot to fill.

Anyway, I HIGHLY recommend a Calendar Project (even if you don't have Kiddos). So many of us take tons of photos and never print them. This is a way of having some of your photos printed and displayed. It makes a sweet Gift that's both practical and frugal. The best kind, right?

Farewell 2013. You were very good to our Family. Thank-you.

***A big Thanks to my friend Erin for taking the gorgeous, amazing Birth Photos that I will treasure until my last Breath.  She had never been present at a Birth before and was totally game on a days notice to come shoot an "Un-medicated Birth Center Birth."

And, also a big Shout-out to another extremely talented friend, Hilary Flynn, who shot the Baby's lovely Newborn Photos and some excellent photos of my Big Girl.

How lucky am I to have such talented friends? Very lucky.