Keep on Keeping on

This post contains some sponsored content (or links).

Did you have a good weekend? Were you able to 'break it up' from the everyday?

With the kids back to doing school work, the weekend was a nice break for them from spending their day doing school work. We learned yesterday that the schools will remain closed through April at this time, with a reevaluation towards the end of April. Next week is spring break, so the kids won't have work that week but then will have three more weeks of online learning. They seem to be doing good with keeping up with it and still finding down time.

The weather was pretty good at the end of last week and into the weekend. If we have to be at home, warm and sunny weather is definitely a welcome break. Somehow it makes me feel less 'locked in'. We were able to leave our doors and windows open and get some fresh air in the house. We were able to get out and get some fresh air, on walks and runs. My son got a chance to get out and do a some throwing and a bit of hitting at a nearby field and batting cage. My daughter spent some time playing on the swing set and then did some chalk art on the driveway. Look at the intensity of the colors in that art, I am pleased with the crayola chalk we picked up. (you can see that even following a rain, the color is still pretty intense) On my walks, I took in the sights and sounds of spring. There were daffodils blooming and birds singing, there were people grilling out and and having bonfires. It was also fun to see the different chalk drawings, pictures and encouraging messages. There were several notes written to friends and teachers on the sidewalks. Some made me smile, some made me a little sad - it is not in our nature to be isolated and not interacting, especially the kids.

Being home all day, every day has also caused us to think more creatively with eating and trying to find some old favorites to mix in to avoid feeling like we are always eating the same thing. I also have been saving some new recipes to try that friends are sharing...I am hoping that they leave a review so I know whether to try the recipe or not. I am still trying to cook once and eat multiple times and providing 'flex' options for the protein each night. I am also trying to make sure that we use up everything and don't allow any leftovers or food go bad or be wasted. Last week when I made a chipotle sauce for a restaurant knock off that is a family favorite, I threw in the remaining fresh tomatoes that were starting to get soft and a little bit of enchilada sauce that we had from dinner earlier in the week. Last night, I made homemade drop biscuits (usually use a mix) for having chicken in gravy over biscuits. I made a whole chicken in the pressure cooker and when I cleaned the chicken I set some aside to be used for Chipotle-style bowls and put the rest in the gravy. We are trying to mix up the sweets too. On Sunday, since we couldn't get donuts, we made beignets and this morning we used up some milk to make mini-muffins. When I go shopping (or do grocery pick up), I always include a good amount of fresh fruit, knowing that if it isn't all eaten that we will freeze it. Then, when the fresh stuff is out, the kids can still get fruit by making smoothies. I really appreciate the Ninja blender we got in the fall because each kid can make their own fruit combo and I don't have to hear about she used that or he didn't use that.

The cats are content. They don't seem to mind that we are hanging out more. We continue to tackle our puzzle and to play games. The other night, I even made my kids both answer one of those 'ask your kids' that is out on Facebook. I didn't share their answers on Facebook but I did keep them for my own memories.

This morning, I set an alarm to go to the store. I didn't need it, I was tossing and turning all night worrying about making the trip to the store. Unfortunately, pick up times are all booked so it was the only option that I had. I am trying to stretch time between shopping trips and got a little more than normal today to help facilitate that. They were in stock on most things on my list, except yeast, soap and toilet paper. On other items, I had to use a different brand than normal but things that were out last time I went were back in stock. I'm hoping that I might be able to do a small pick up order sometime early next week to get the couple things that were out of stock and a few things to extend the time to my next visit to the store. Thankfully, I was able to use Scan, Pay and Go and keep my time in the store to a minimum and only handle the groceries once. There were several people at the store wearing masks or scarves to cover their mouth and nose and I saw some wearing gloves as well.

Out of an abundance of caution, I let most of the pantry type items sit outside in my garage for several hours before bringing them in the house. For the refrigerated and frozen, I did what the one doctor suggested and saturated a paper towel with cleaner and gave them a quick wipe down before putting them away. For the fruit, I cleaned it and put it in a bowl, throwing out the original package. I don't know how much is too much or too little. The articles I have read seem to be contradictory (who do you trust - NIH or CDC - normally, I see them both as authorities but the data they have is not consistent) but many have talked about the fact that although the virus can be detected on the different package types that the risk may not be as high because the virus begins to decay right away, so even though it can be detected there is likely a diminishing risk over time; someone would have had to cough or sneeze right on the package or into their hands and touch the package to put virus on the package to be transferred to you; and even then you would have to touch that 'right' spot and then touch your face. So, I feel like giving them a few extra hours for any potential virus to decay before handling the packages again to put them in the pantry and knowing that we aren't going to 'touch' them until we use them which may be a few days or more, I feel I took ample precaution.

How are things in your area? Have you tried any new dishes?

This post contains some sponsored content (or links). All opinions and content are my own.

Create Abilities for Kids

I don't know about you, but my kids are always looking for ways to entertain themselves. They love to create, color, and draw. When they were in preschool, I was always amazed at the ideas that their teachers had for crafts and creative expression.

I like to believe that I am creative, but I think that in reality I am good at creating something when I have an example in front of me. I look for inspiration (or full-blown direction) when I am creating scrapbook pages, decorating a cake or doing a needlepoint. Same is true when it comes to activities for the kids. I am not good at coming up with the ideas, but am great at working with them to complete a craft or activity.

We recently had the chance to check out Create Abilities for Kids.

"Create Abilities for Kids offers a unique solution to busy parents looking for ways to maximize quality time with their young children. [Their] age-appropriate art kits are designed for ages three, four or five. They contain all of the materials and instructions needed to create an art 'masterpiece'. And these all-inclusive kits will be delivered to the subscriber's mailbox each month. This saves the parent time in planning, getting the materials, and doing the prep work because [they've] already done all of that for them."

I really like that the kit comes with everything that is needed for the activity. It even includes the glue and the paint brushes!

My daughter was looking for something to do, so I pulled out one of the kits. It was nice because I could simply open up the zipped storage bag and pull out all of the supplies that she needed. The project that we had chosen was a Cinnamon Acorn. The pieces for the acorn came pre-cut and there was a container of paint, a container of glue and a container of cinnamon. There was also a foam brush and a small paint brush.

Paint the bottom of the acorn:

Sprinkle cinnamon over the wet paint on the bottom:

Place the black diamonds on top:

The finished acorn:

I liked that I was able to set her up with the activity and guide her through each step. She thought it was pretty cool and as she was making it asked if she could hang it in her room when it was done. When she was adding the cinnamon to the craft, she kept saying "I like the smell of cinnamon, it smells so good". It was a simple and straight-forward craft. I liked that the directions were simple and that there was flexibility - she could put the diamonds on the top in whatever way suited her and she could add as much cinnamon as she wanted. There was no right or wrong.

In addition, the instruction sheet also includes some facts to share with your child. These are not only interesting, but can spur additional conversation. On the acorn activity, one of the facts was that a 100 year old oak tree produces on average 2200 acorns. So, we started to talk about how Scrat (from Ice Age) would love to find a mature tree. For all the trouble that he had with that one acorn, imagine if he had an old oak tree around - he would have more than he would know what to do with.

Creative Abilities for Kids offers monthly subscriptions for their kits. You can choose to receive 2, 3 or 4 kits per month and can select them for a 3, 4, or 5 year old. If you have several children that you are buying for, they do offer discounts for kits for multiple children at the same address. Many of the kits are themed around holidays or events - the acorn craft was for the celebration of the start of fall.

With Creative Abilities for Kids, you can have a steady supply of activities and crafts, without having to maintain an extensive amount of supplies or having to buy more than you need of the supplies.

No compensation was received for this post. A complimentary set of kits was provided so that we could experience them and share about our experience. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family.

Getting Creative with Leftovers - Hamburger Buns

I love to host parties and gatherings. I think that it all started as a child, where I would watch my parents host an annual Christmas party and regularly host friends for cards. Of course, the biggest part of any party or gathering is the food. I love making and serving a variety of foods. Frequently, parties are my only chance to make many of the foods that I love and can only prep when I have a large gathering to help me eat them (otherwise, I would seriously over-indulge on many of my favorites).

One of the challenges of hosting a party is having the right amount of food. I frequently find myself with leftovers. I don't want to waste food, so I find myself looking for creative solutions for eating the leftovers without feeling like you are eating the same thing over and over again.

My son's birthday party was last week (I'll have to share the cake) and we did a cook-out. We bought extra buns and had extra meat to go with them until a grill fire resulted in a loss of some heavily sooted/smoked meat. The net outcome was a large amount of buns remaining.

So, my weekly menu moved into creativity mode. How could I use up a number of buns and not feel like the meals were the same every night?

Generally, when I am doing the weekly meal plan and trying to come up with ideas for dinner, sandwiches are not something that comes to mind. I enjoy sandwiches - sloppy joes, cheesesteak, hamburgers, and such. Typically, if I'm having a sandwich for dinner, I definitely want for it to be a warm sandwich - cold cuts are for lunch. But, if you take that same cold cut sandwich and turn it into a Panini - that is dinner! Did you know that August is National Panini Month? I'm thinking it is something about having a warm meal without heating up the kitchen - but that is just my theory.

If you don't have a Panini maker or press, you can actually just double up with a skillet or frying pan to make your panini. Simply prepare your cooking skillet with a bit of oil or spray and put it over medium heat. Add your sandwich and top with the other skillet. Add some weight to your skillet - a can would work. Cook for a couple of minutes, turn and repeat.

I actually have had a grill pan for a while and recently bought a panini press from Pampered Chef. I like that I get the fun grill lines that way. Plus, it is a great way to cook chicken faster.

The great thing about having paninis for dinner is that everyone can customize their sandwich to their likes. I like making mine a bit more fancy, but the kids like theirs more simple - and I can accomplish that without feeling like I am making several meals.

Tonight was panini night. We had the following options to choose from: chicken, pepperoni - regular sliced and turkey minis, provolone cheese, hot pepper cheese, spaghetti sauce, banana peppers, jalapeno peppers, roasted red peppers, and mayonnaise. We served the paninis with red pepper strips, potato chips and homemade onion dip.

My son decided to have a bit of chicken and pepperoni with hot pepper cheese for his sandwich, with banana peppers on the side. My daughter chose simply pepperoni and provolone for her panini. My husband chose pepperoni, hot pepper cheese, jalapeno peppers, and tomato sauce. I went with chicken, provolone, roasted red peppers and mayonnaise.

With my grill pan, I could do two sandwiches at a time, making a total of six sandwiches (the hamburger buns make reasonably small sandwiches). I like how the cheese is just barely melted and the sandwich is warm throughout.

I think that next time, I'd like to use some chicken, cucumber, red pepper strips, tomatoes and a bit of hummus on my panini. Just thinking about the combination of the crunch and the warm, juiciness of the tomato (I love warm tomatoes on a sandwich) is making my mouth water.

What would you put on your panini? You can find some recipe inspiration for paninis like Bacon and Spinach Panini and Turkey Red Pepper Panini on Hormel's website.

(In case you were wondering, we used buns four nights this week - the first night we turned them into garlic bread as a side for our pasta, the second night I made them into personal pizzas, the third night we had egg, cheese and bacon sandwiches, and of course, paninis tonight. We even toasted up a couple one night for a snack with butter and jelly. It was fun finding creative ways to use them.)


No compensation was received for this post. All opinions expressed are mine or those of my family. I am completing this post as a participant in the Hormel Foods Extended Family Blogger program. Hormel Foods provided a thought starter and some of the information for this post.

Displaying Kid's Artwork

I'll admit it, my fridge is crazy full with magnets and papers. There is very little white space.

The side is mostly full of magnets - I must have over 100 magnets on the side of the refrigerator. Many are very useful business cards, but they add up. Many are picture frames. Some are simply souvenirs from trips long ago.

The front of the fridge is where we keep the school calendars, lunch calendars, and newsletters. In addition, this is where the kids proudly display their artwork. It used to be that there were so many pieces of artwork that they would find that the magnet wasn't strong enough to work through the stack of papers. I wanted a solution for hanging their artwork that was neater and still allowed guests to view it all.

Here is what we came up with:

We started with a piece of cardboard and cut it in half. The back of a pad of paper can work nice. Using a hole punch, we punched three holes in the cardboard to align with the holes in a sheet protector. Using three rings, we attached a stack of about 6 page protectors to each piece of cardboard. Then, we used a magnetic clip to attach it to our refrigerator. The kids were each allowed to decorate the cardboard portion of their hanger. Now, when they do new artwork, they can simply slide it into one of the sleeves. Changing pages or flipping through the artwork is easier and I have more white space on the front of the refrigerator (although, many would tell you it is still rather full!).

In addition, the sleeve protectors can easily be moved to three ring binder that we had previously set up to hold favorite artwork and new ones added to the refrigerator.

This works for me!

Drawing Pad iPad App

My son likes to draw and to color. I think he has a little bit of my dad's side of the family in him. There are a number of artistic people in my family. He does a pretty good job, when he doesn't allow himself to get frustrated and give up. I feel that the more that he colors and draws and plays, the more relaxed he will be and the better that he will do.

As such, I try to find things for him to encourage him to create. We have a few varieties of stencils that can be used for both pictures and lettering. I have gotten him graph paper to help him with the different learn to draw books/kits - so he doesn't have to sketch a grid. He has an art kit that has a number of colors and variety of materials - crayons, markers, paints, oils and more. We have coloring books and blank paper tablets.

When I was asked to check out the Drawing Pad App for the iPad, I knew that it was something that would be enjoyed by him (and my daughter too). Drawing Pad is "a mobile art studio designed exclusively for tablets". It comes with a variety of materials to create art with: "photo-realistic crayons, markers, paint brushes, colored pencils, stickers, roller pens and more!"

There is a "drawer" at the bottom that holds all the tools. Select the tool you want and it takes you to another drawer that has all the colors (or varieties - in the case of things like stickers and roller pens). Simply drag the contents to the left or right to see all the color choices. You can also change your paper colors and even include photos from your iTunes account. The eraser options range from small to big and even includes a "crumple" the paper option which starts you over with a blank sheet.

Once your art is complete, you can save it, share it and print it. There are even quick buttons to take you to Facebook and Twitter to share the masterpiece. You can save to your iPhoto Library and to your Drawing Pad Album.

When I asked my son to create a drawing that used a number of tools, this is what he sent me:

Based on this, I think that he likes the stickers and the roller pens the best. Here is what he has to say: "I like how you can pick what color background . I like that there are markers and colored pencils in so many colors. I like how you can save pages."

You can learn more about the Drawing Pad App and purchase it here.


No compensation was received for this post. A free copy of the Drawing Pad App was provided for the purposes of this review. All opinions expressed are mine or that of my family.

Toys 'R Us Deals! - 7/23

A few weeks back, I had received a Toys 'R Us circular that had a $10/$50 coupon attached. I had set it aside, hoping that I might get up to the nearest Toys 'R Us before the coupon expired. As I was cleaning up the counter yesterday, I came across it and saw that it was expiring today. After flipping through the circular and their weekly ad, I decided that when we were out today to go to a birthday party, that I would try to stop by.

I went under the assumption that my total after sales needed to be $50, but after the way that everything rang up, I'm thinking that I could have possibly done a before sale total.

This might look like a Crayola ad, it's not, there just were some great deals from Crayola that I could use.

1 - Crayola Masterworks Art Set 200 pc (reg $34.99, on sale for $24.99)
3 - Crayola Dry Erase Crayons (reg $3.99 each, on sale B1G2)
3 - Crayola Dry Erase Markers (reg $3.99 each, on sale B1G2)
3 - Crayola Doodle Pads (reg $4.29 each, on sale B1G2)
1 - Crayola Dry Erase Crayons and Dual Board (reg $9.99, on sale for $6.99)
1 - Crayola 18ct Kids Paint (reg $5.09, not on sale, but to appease my youngest assistant shopper)
1 - TailBall Outdoor Game (reg ??, on clearance for $7.98)

-$10 $10/$50 coupon from circular

Total $47.84, saved $49.94. The art set is a birthday gift for my niece, who loves to do crafts (shh, don't tell her). The Dry Erase markers are a school supply that we need every year, so I figured that with the B1G2 sale, I would just set the others aside for next year. The Dry Erase Dual Board and Dry Erase Crayons seem like a good diversion to bring along on our vacation - we have many hours in which to provide entertainment. Plus, I just think that the Dry Erase Crayons are an interesting concept. The TailBall game is an attempt to offer my kids one other backyard diversion - so that I don't have to hear that there is nothing to do.

The one thing that we had hoped to get, but didn't was Crayola 48ct Crayons. As my son said, how can they offer 8, 16, 24, and 96 but not have 48 count? Oh well, hopefully someone has them on deal so that we can pick them up for my son's school supply list.

I feel pretty good about everything that I got and really, a savings of over 50% (the $47.84 was only $44.92 before tax) is pretty good.

This post shared at Super Savings Saturday.

Snap Fashion Jewelry - Review and Giveaway

When we received in the mail the Snap Fashion Jewelry Studio kit, from Smart Lab Toys, my kids could not wait to check it out. We only had a few minutes after dinner and playing outside before we needed to head upstairs, so we agreed that we would only make a few snaps to start with.

Making the snaps was (dare I say it?) a snap. The kit comes with a number of pre-cut fabric circles that you can quickly make into snaps. In addition, it comes with a guide that you can use to trace a circle, so you can cut out from any fabric to make your own unique snaps. The cutting guide even has a "hole" to let you view what will be on your button, so if you are using a highly patterned fabric, you can position it just so to get the look that you want.

To make a snap, simply place the fabric "pretty side" down in the snap maker and place a snap dome over top of it. Lower the lever, pushing the dome and fabric down into position. Then, place a snap back onto the lever and push your fabric ends into the dome. Slowly lower it into place, so your fabric doesn't escape and then push down firmly. Use the button on the snap maker to release your snap.

Then, attach your snap to your base and voila! The kit includes two ring bases, so your child can wear the snap as a ring. In addition. it includes five other bases that can be used to make any number of things. The snap bases have a slot through them, allowing you to slide it over ribbons, cords, etc to form bracelets and more.

Fortunately, for the creative challenged, the kit comes with an idea book that has a number of different ideas on how to use the snaps for things like rings, bracelets, lockets, hair flair, key chain, cell phone charms, and more.

In addition, it comes with tools to add flair to your snaps. There are 12 birthstone jewels that can be added to your snaps with glue. There are a number of transfers - including letters, soccer balls, Go Team and more, that with the use of acetone and a parent's assistance, can be added to the fabric on the snap to further personalize the snap. We haven't tried any of these yet.

Like I said, we only made a couple of snaps that first evening, but the next morning, as soon as they were both ready to go, I found them in the kitchen making more snaps. My daughter simply had to have a bracelet and ring that coordinated. Before long, we had used up the fabric circles that came with the kit. We need to head to the fabric store to get some quilting squares or other scrap fabrics to make more snaps.

At this time, they don't have refill kits available, but are planning to make them available by fall. In the meantime, additional supplies can be ordered through customer service.

Would you like to try them out for yourselves? Right now, you can save 25% at Smart Lab Toys by entering BLOGBUZZ at checkout! This coupon code is valid through 6/30/11. In addition to purchasing direct from SmartLab Toys, you can also find Snap Fashion Jewelry Studio at Amazon.com and select retailers. The kit retails for $24.99.

Want to learn more? On their website, you can sign up for their newsletter and find free download-able activities for kids! You can also find SmartLab Toys on Facebook, like them for deals and discounts, playtime ideas and free stuff. You can also find SmartLab Toys on Twitter.

Giveaway!
In addition, I have the opportunity to give away ONE (1) SmartLab Toy, of your choice.

To enter: Visit SmartLab Toys website and leave a comment on this post, letting me know what toy you would like to win, should you win the giveaway.

Additional Entries (be sure to leave a comment for each entry):
Like SmartLab Toys on Facebook.

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Add my button to your sidebar or my blog to blog roll. Leave a link letting me know where you added it.

Share this giveaway on a link-up and come back and let me know where you shared it. (This can be done five times)

The Giveaway will run through May 19th at 6pm and is open to residents of the US/Canada only. Winner will be selected using Random.org random number generator. The winner will be contacted by e-mail (Please make sure that your email address is either in your comment or clearly visible on your profile or blog) and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner may be selected. You may enter as many MamaBzz giveaways for this prize as you would like, but you may only win on one.

No compensation was received for this post. All opinions expressed are my own. I received one Snap Fashion Jewelry Studio kit from SmartLab Toys through MamaBzz for my family to check out, for the purposes of sharing my review. In addition, SmartLab Toys is providing one item for the giveaway.

Playing Dress-Up

My kids love to play dress-up. On any random day, it is not completely uncommon for them to decide it is time to dress-up. I think this is a great way for them to be creative. Plus, it is a great way to entertain them on a cold or rainy afternoon, where playing outside just isn't an option.

Last weekend, my daughter put on her Tinkerbell dress and my son put on his Superman costume. My daughter was upset because Superman and Tinkerbell didn't go together. She thought he should dress up like a Prince or a King, to go with her Princess costume. Eventually, we agreed that Superman and Tinkerbell both fly, so they did go together. We had a babysitter and when we went to pick her up, they both came along and wore their costumes. They told her to let them get in the house before she came in. They quickly came in and put back on the cape and wings that they couldn't wear when they were in the car. When she walked in, they jumped out and showed off their costumes.

For us, the start of our dress-up collection consisted of former Halloween costumes. The collection also includes dress-up clothing that was from a party - my daughter has some from friend's parties and her own and my son has a prince costume from my daughter's party. Others are items that we have picked up in the off-season.

Our most recent adddition is a Toy Story costumes to choose from.


When the costume arrived in the mail, my daughter was sooooo excited. She has been saying since last year, that next year she wants to be Buzz Lightyear for Halloween. She was very excited to try it on. It's a little bit big for her, but I wanted to make sure that it would fit her this fall, especially if it was a cold night and she needed to bundle up. The first thing that she asked about after putting on the costume was where are the wings. Unfortunately, the wings are currently out of stock, so we will have to pick those up later. The next thing she asked was where the laser was. I explained that you couldn't put a real laser on a costume, it wouldn't be safe. She questioned back about why they couldn't have put a light on it. I explained that there isn't power on the costume and you would need power to make it light up. She wasn't happy about it, but she accepted my answer.

I'll probably let her wear it some for dress-up between now and Halloween, as I'm sure that she will want to, but I'm hoping that we can keep from getting it messed up before Halloween. After Halloween though, it will become part of her dress-up collection stored in easy reach for the weekend dress-up days.

No compensation was received for this post. Costuem Discounters provided me with the Buzz Lightyear costume for the purposes of completing a review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Crayola Creativity Pack Giveaway - Last Week!

Tonight's Girl's Night Out Crayola Creativity Cast on Twitter has the theme of Back to School Shopping and Planning Tips. Be sure to join in on the party by going here to RSVP. The fun starts at 9pm Eastern and runs for two hours. Be sure to use the hashtags #gno #crayola when you join in on the fun.

Then, come back here and enter to win the giveaway I am hosting, courtesy of Crayola and MyBlogSpark for one Crayola Creativity Pack.

This is the last of the Crayola Creativitycast and the last of the Crayola Creativity Pack giveaways.

The Crayola Creativity Pack includes the back-to-school list staples like 24-ct. Crayola Crayons, 10-ct, Crayola Markers and 12-ct. Colored Pencils and some of the new, innovative, affordable variations on these classics:
24-ct. Crayola Crayons, the quintessential back-to-school tool that kids love for their vibrant colors, and moms and teachers choose for superior quality and value

• 10-ct. Crayola Markers, with an array of consistent, true colors to complete any task

• 12-ct. Crayola Colored Pencils, which come pre-sharpened with thick, strong lead made to tackle touch projects and art activities

• Crayola Pip-Squeaks Colored Pencils and Glitter Glue, which give children big color in a small size and are perfect for jazzing up art projects with bright, bold, shimmering colors

• Crayola Window Crayons, to help let your little ones transform glass surfaces into instant decorations with bright colors that lay down smoothly, dry quickly, and wipe clean with a damp cloth

• Tadoodles Washable Crayon Buddies, which are colorful little characters that hold a triangular-shaped crayon that twists up when the tip wears down - perfect for little hands!

• Crayola Color Explosion Black Extreme Surprises, which comes complete with a stencil sheet and two Broad Tip Color Explosion clear ink markers that reveal a different surprise design as they´re colored on 18-page tablet

• Crayola Color Switchers, which are dual-ended markers that allow kids to magically change the colors of their drawings with a swoosh of the "color switch" tip

How can you enter?

Leave me a comment sharing your best Back to School Shopping Tip.

For extra entries:
Participate in tonight's GNO party. Leave me a comment letting me know you participated, something you learned or shared and your Twitter ID.

Leave a comment sharing which product in the Creativity Pack you are most excited about.

Follow me on Twitter, tweet about this giveaway using @ABusyMomofTwo and then come back and leave a comment.

Sign up for daily updates or e-mails and leave me a comment letting me know you subscribe.

Add my button to your sidebar or my blog to blog roll. Leave me a comment letting me know you did, with a link to your blog.

Post about this giveaway on your blog with a link back. Leave a comment letting me know you blogged, with a link to your post.

This contest will remain open until August 22nd at 7 pm. I will use a random number generator to select the winner. I will contact the winner by e-mail and they will have 36 hours to respond with their contact information or a new winner will be drawn.

Don't forget to check out my Kroger $30 Giftcard Giveaway here.

Kid's Themed Birthday Cakes

One thing I remember from growing up is my mom making and decorating cakes. She had a shirt cake pan that she used to make a cake for the soccer team my dad coached. I remember her making some sort of a super hero cake - perhaps Batman, for my youngest brother.

When I grew up, I always wanted to take a cake decorating class, but still to this day, have yet to find a class that works for me and my schedule. But, that hasn't stopped me from baking cakes for my kids. Each year, we chose a theme for the party. When the kids were younger, we would choose for them. As they get older we offer an either or choice for them.

Once the theme is chosen, the next two challenges are the invitations (you can read more about the invitations here, as well as keeping costs in line) and the cake.

When it comes to the cake, I explore the web looking for thoughts on what others have done and go from there. I have made two cakes using Wilton pans - the Lightnin' McQueen and the Wiggles car both started with a shaped pan. The others were a combination of pans, trimming and stacking.

So, here are the cakes for our themes from the past few years:

Blue's Clues cake:


Airplane cake:


Cars - Lightnin' McQueen cake:


Elephants cake (big cake/smash cake):


Space cake:


Wiggles cake:

I really enjoy making the kid's birthday cake. First, I find it a great creative outlet for me and I am very proud of my creations. I love seeing their faces light up when they see the completed cake. My youngest, still talks about her Wiggles Cake, 3 months past her birthday. Second, it really is a more cost effective way to do birthdays. Most of the cakes I have made use a single cake mix, although some required two. I make my own butter cream frosting, but you could easily use a couple of tubs of frosting. In comparison to what a bakery or professional would charge, it is inexpensive. Granted, it does take time and planning, but to me it is worth it.

Find out what works for others over at Works For Me Wednesday over at Rocks In My Dryer. Be sure to stop by Life as Mom for her Birthday Cake Roundup on Thursday as well.

Birthday Cakes

Jessica at Life as Mom is hosting a Birthday Cake Roundup on January 29th. Be sure to stop over at Life as Mom on January 29th to check out the entries and share your own handiwork.

I plan to pull together a post with pictures of the assorted themed birthday cakes I have made for my kids over the years - Blue, Airplanes, Cars, Space, Elephants and Wiggles. I have so much fun making cakes for my kids - their eyes light up when they see the cake. My youngest is still talking about her Wiggles cake two months later. I am excited to participate. Be sure to check back later this week for my post.

In addition, Jessica is aksing for nominations for a cake theme that once voted on, she will attempt to undertake. You can submit your nominations here. This might be a great way to get an idea for an upcoming party theme you are planning at your house.

Fun Website Find

Every week in the newspaper, there is a little blurb about new stuff to check out in the Home section. I have found some really interesting stuff in the little blurb. This week was no exception. They featured a site called Spoonflower.

Spoonflower is an online business that allows you to upload a design to be printed on cotton fabric. Yardage of the custom fabric is $18. It sounds though, like you can also get swatches and fat quarters as well for a lesser cost.

The design you upload needs to be no larger than 25MB and at a resolution of 150 dpi ("The print size of your image in pixel dimensions will be 150x the number of inches.") They will tile your design to fill the fabric, unless of course your design is larger than the piece you order, in which case they indicate they will crop from the lower left corner.

I think this has some really great opportunities.

You can use a drawing by your budding Picasso or a photograph that you took or just something that you created in Photoshop or other graphic software. Your design private unless you decide to make it public.

I'd like to suggest that I might use them for a quilt, but I started a quilt nearly 15 years ago and I still haven't finished it. Perhaps I was too ambitious planning to hand piece and quilt a queen size quilt for my first project, but that is a whole other story. Perhaps though, with custom fabric, I might feel that I could stick with simple squares and machine piece it.

I think it might be a fun way to make some custom pillow cases or covers. You could use the fabric in your favorite pattern to make some custom clothing - shorts, skirts, shirts. A crafty person could use the fabric to make some simple curtains for their house.

The company is located in North Carolina. They launched their Beta site in May of 2008, so they are a relatively new online entity, but boast over 10,000 crafters signed up to use the site already.

What design would you use for custom fabric? What would you do with the fabric?

I'm Back...

I wasn't really gone, just really busy. We had a birthday party for my two year old this weekend. Birthday parties at our house are a weekend affair. My family lives about 3 hours away and my husband's family about 8, so they come in for the weekend. I really enjoy hosting parties and don't mind house guests. The kids are still young enough that for the most part, birthday parties are family affairs, but we do have a couple of local friends of the family that we also include.

I don't get to host Thanksgiving at my house, so our daughter's party has turned into what my mom dubbed a practice run for Thanksgiving. We had turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, honey glazed carrots, broccoli and cauliflower casserole, spinach salad, and dinner rolls. It was wonderful. There are a lot of my favorite foods included in a Thanksgiving-style meal and the house smells so wonderful when you are roasting a turkey.

We skipped the pumpkin pie and had birthday cake and ice cream. This year's theme was The Wiggles. I crafted a Wiggles Big Red Car cake, using Wilton's 3D Cruiser Pan. I borrowed the Wiggles from the Big Red Car toy we have. I think it turned out pretty well and my daughter was excited to see the Wiggles on her cake:













I have a lot of fun with birthday party themes. I usually search high and low for ways to capture our theme in a cake. I've never taken cake decorating (but would love too) so I am an amateur to be sure. My husband and I put together a creative, related invitation - for this party, it was Tickets to a Wiggly Birthday Party. We couldn't find Wiggles themed party supplies, so we used Red, Blue, Yellow and Purple napkins and cake plates. We got 4 latex balloons in Red, Blue, Yellow and Purple.

You can see the Solar System cake I did for my son's spaced themed party here.

Now, I guess I will go and try to get ready for my "regular" posts.

Creative Outlets

Everyone needs a creative outlet. I happen to get mine through cooking, through scrapbooking (yeah, like I have time for that!), and through my children. One example of when I get to be creative is at my children's birthdays. Each year we have a theme selected by the kids (okay, we select them when they are young, but base it on their interests). Together, my husband and I come up with an invitation. This is usually me finding samples, examples and suggestions on-line, based on the theme and him putting together the actual invitation. Then, I bake and decorate a cake based on our theme.

Just this past weekend we had an outer space party for my now 5 year old son. We created invitations in the form of a recruitment letter to join our mission leader (the birthday boy) on a space mission. The recruitment letter came complete with an official badge for each invitee to allow access to "restricted areas".

Staying with our theme, the cake was a model of the solar system. It was a lot of fun figuring out how to make the cakes to a reasonable scale (it's the technical nature in me coming out) and then how to decorate them so they looked like the planets. Saturn was a bit of a challenge initially, but I wound up using sugar cookies broken in half to create the ring. From some angles, it looked like a scalloped ring, but from the angle in my picture, it was a rather nice looking ring. I included Pluto, despite its recent downgrade to dwarf planet. I used a combination of mini cupcakes, regular cupcakes, small bowls, large bowls (Pyrex is oven safe, just be sure to preheat) and a Bundt pan to create my Solar System. The Sun was painted with frosting and Pluto, to keep scale, is just dab of frosting. Check out the results here: