Easy-Access Paint Storage for Touch-ups

I saw this great idea on Pinterest for storing small amounts of paint in baby food jars to use for touch-ups. I finally did it, but re-used my kids' empty milk cartons from "free lunch at the park". I simply peeled off the milk label, washed out the carton, and labeled them with a sharpie- all important info, including which rooms they match. Then I swiped a little dab of the paint on my finger to put on the lid. SO simple!

I am hoping this works out and keeps the paint fresh. The nice thing about this is that they are small enough to store inside the house in a cupboard or on a shelf for quick, easy access whenever you need them. Also, inside they are in controled temperatures so the paint doesn't freeze or bake. Yay! Thank you Pinterest, for a great idea!

Pin It Pin It

DIVA Birthday Party on a Budget

My daughter turned 8 last month, and she wanted a "Diva" themed party. You can go different ways with that theme, like "Rock-Star Diva", "Barbie" or "Fashionista". We called ours a "Diva Dance Party".
I found lots of ideas on Pinterest, of course; then added a few of my own...

Diva Invitations
I made the invitations myself with inspiration from one I saw on Pinterest. 
I have a wonderful, easy, and inexpensive program called Scrapbook Boutique that I use to make invitations and scrapbook pages. I love to google free and inexpensive digi kits online, to use for my projects. I found this zebra one while doing the Diva invitations.

Diva Cake
My good friend, Joanne H. did the cake. (I can do simple cakes, but Joanne does the beautiful, fancy, professional kind.) It's a chocolate cake, iced with white buttercream, and black fondant for the zebra stripes. Mmmm... It was diva-lishous!!

Diva Decor and Party Supps
I got the table covering, plates, napkins, cups, and pink serving bowls at Wal-mart. The rest came from Hobby Lobby. I made the chair-back cover years ago, and the "Birthday Diva" sash is from Hobby Lobby. I made the "Happy Birthday" banner myself with 12x12" scrapbook paper, black ribbon, and letters printed off the computer.

  

Diva Party Food

Easy store-bought kettle corn, homemade pink Rice Krispie treats, homemade chocolate-dipped strawberries, and strawberry lemonade Crystal Light to drink.

 

Diva Party Favors

I found these darling little paper "purses" at Hobby Lobby, so I dressed them up, each with a personalized "thank you" tag and a handmade flower clip attached. (I made the tags with Scrapbook Boutique; and the clips from dollar store flowers, double-pronged alligator clips from Sally's, and black feathers & jewels from Hobby Lobby.) Inside each "purse" I put a candy bracelet & a few other small candies (all from the bulk section of Winco). *Girls will add more to their purses during one of the games... 

Diva Games!!

Upon arrival the party guests got to choose a "purse", and I wrote their name on it with a black sharpie. (We then left them on the counter for later.) With my tween daughter & niece and 2 teenage nieces helping, we split the girls up to do their nails, a little makeup, and glitter spray in their hair. 

Then we did some Taylor Swift karaoke singing.

*I had arranged for a couple of my teenage neighbor girls on the high school dance team, to come teach the little girls some dance moves. But they had forgotten they had an backpacking overnighter for "girls camp" and had to back out. Karaoke took the place of the dancing, and was just as fun.

I had found a few games through Pinterest that I thought we might play, but the timing was perfect for just one of them. "Pass the Purse"... A BIG HIT with these little girls! 

In this game, all girls sit in a circle on the floor with their little "purse" favors in front of them. They pass the purse while music is playing, (like "hot potato"). When the music stops, the one holding the purse gets to choose one thing out of it to put in her own "purse". I had enough for one each of 4 small favors: a nail polish, a lip gloss, a colored fake-hair attachment, and a little note pad.

 

Where to Find Stuff for a Diva Party?

I shopped around for the best prices on stuff including our only party store in my town, and ended up finding most of what I needed from Hobby Lobby, Walmart, and Ross.

Hobby Lobby- purses, hair attachments, note pads.  Ross- nail polish & lipgloss. *I should've gone to Burlington Coat Factory instead for the nail polish & lipgloss. Was just there and saw more for less $! Oh well. These ones were cuter anyway! 

 

This party was super fun to do, and very memorable! Good luck if you decide to do a DIVA PARTY!

Pin It

Hello from Angela

Hello friends! I'm ANGELA, and it's been a long time since I've posted on this blog. 

After 12 years of my comfy life as a stay-at-home-mom, the economy left us in dire circumstances; and I had to jump back into the working world. Only this time, as a working MOM. It has pretty much "rocked my world" these last couple years, and I had to put blogging [and myself] on the back-burner. :(

Life is crazy as a working mom, and the "juggling act" sends my anxiety level sky-high for 9 months. But I have no room to complain... My husband has a good job, our 4 children are all school-aged now, and I work for the school district doing something I love. (I'm a sign-language interpreter.) It's one of the BEST outside-the-home jobs a mom could ever have (working the school schedule). I feel SO very blessed! 

I'm loving my summer break, and working my tail off to get caught up on all the things I've neglected for the 9 months I work. (Last summer I was recovering from hysterectomy surgery, so maybe I'm really catching up on 1 year + 9 months of neglect.) Needless to say, I have tons of organizing to get done this summer, and I've been working on it every chance I get (between birthdays, baptisms, family reunion, camping, errands, playdates, and keeping my kids on top of their daily responsibilities). I've got lots of things to post on this blog, but my family and home will always take precedence. Hence the reason I've not posted for a long time. 

Stay tuned... I have a few things to share in the coming days and weeks, and I'm hoping to have a chance to do so! 

Pin It

End of School Gifts {2013}

My friend Keva had this cute sign on her door to usher in

 Summer Break-so CUTE!

The Busdriver Gift

Smore's Kit: King size chocolate bar, 

package of marshmallows & package of graham crackers

Teacher Gift

A rainbow of Hairclips

Pin It Pin It

Kids Jello Cups

In efforts to save money on my kids' lunches; 

I'm making and stocking up again on the Jello Cups.

I mix the jello according to the package and then
 put the mixture into these 3 1/4 oz. Portion Cups

[I get the portion cups at a local store called Cash and Carry but Costco sells the 2 oz. size]. 

Out of 1 package I can get 8 cups worth.

Store bought= $2.00 + tax (for 8/Walmart pricing)

Homemade=    $0.68 + tax (for 8/ Walmart pricing)

It will add up too quick so this is a great savings. 

Plus you have the option to mix flavors if you're feeling wild and crazy!

I LOVE saving money!!!

Pin It Pin It

Homemade Outdoor Window Cleaner

The DIRTY windows drives me nuts!

 Its been awhile since I attempted to clean them. 

So I found a solution to this problem: make some Window cleaner!

I have posted the recipe for you below(I got it from here):

1/2 bottle (3.5 oz) of Jet Dry

4 Tbl. Alcohol

1/4 cup Ammonia

1/4 cup powdered Dishwasher Soap (I used Walmart brand)

2 gallons HOT water

Dissolve the Dishwasher Soap into the Hot water. 

Then add the rest of the ingredients into a plastic bucket or tub. 

TO CLEAN: 

Step 1: Spray the window with the hose

Step 2: Wipe the window down with a microfiber 'mop" in the cleaning solution

Step 3: Spray with the hose again. 

Air dry. 

**TIP: I found that I had better results when I used a squeegee
to remove the excess water instead of just letting it air dry.

Pin It Pin It

Heather's {Bath Salt}

Bath's are so soothing.

Between the cold weather and my latest hardcore workouts,
I have needed some extra soothing!

I found this recipe but then added my own touch. . .

Heather's BATH SALT RECIPE

2 cups Kosher salt

6 cups Epsom Salt

1 (26 oz.= 3 cups) Calgon

2 cups powdered milk

1 (4 oz.) soap bar "Kiss My Face" Olive and Lavendar-grated

Directions: Mix all the ingredients together then
add 1/3 to 1/2 cup to bath water.
[This batch will fit into a 1 gallon ice cream bucket]

Tips:
Salt: detoxifies and exfoliates the skin
Epsom Salt: helps the body absorb magnesium, relieves pain/cramps, removes toxins from skin
Calgon and Powdered Milk: makes the skin soft
Pin It Pin It

Foiled {NAME} Art

My friend Tristin just had their only girl so I made something 

special & personalized to add to the baby room.

Start with a piece of scrap wood.  

Draw their name(I used vinyl to make it easier)with pencil. 

Trace over the penciled name with dimensional paint.

Let dry overnight.

Cover the entire board with a thick coat of Mod Podge.

Lay a piece of aluminum foil over the image and press around the "paint" using a q-tip(or your finger). 

This helps to not tear the foil.

Keep going until its all done.

Fold the extra foil around the sides of the scrap wood to finish it off.

Pin It Pin It

Guess the Gift

Our daughter is away for a little bit and I just wanted to send her some Love from home. 

I used her name as inspiration.

There is a gift that equals each letter of her name.

A= "apple" cider and "abuelita" hot chocolate.

[John 7:37]

 U= "U" get to decode a message. Go here to print the key.

[Bible Dictionary: Urim and Thummim]

D= "dough"

[! Nephi 17: 12]

R= "read" letters from each member of family and a book.

[John 15:11]

A= "almond" caramels

[Psalms 119:103]

I added scrapbook paper to the inside of the box to make it fun.

I wrapped each one with white paper, put a letter to represent her name and a scripture. She has to look up the scripture, guess what it is then she can open it. I got that idea here.

Pin It Pin It

HaPpy VaLentInE'S DaY

I love putting "love" notes under each chocolate for my loved ones.

Pin It Pin It

Love Note 3-Paper FoldOut

I just made an accordion paper fold message. 

Tape the bottom flap to 3x5 card and tie up with string.

 Remember to seal it with a KISS!

Pin It Pin It