Hand Bouquet Tutorial

The kids and I made flowers from hand prints for a fun spring art project.  The hubby even joined in this time for the fun!

Step 1:  Trace hands the desired amount of times.

Step 2:  Decorate the hand prints as desired.  The kids and I painted ours and my husband used crayons.

Step 3:  Prepare the center of the flower (if desired).  I colored a drawn circle with a gold crayon and was pleasantly surprised with how it turned out.

Step 4:  Cut out the centers and hand prints.

 Step 5:  Cut out the hand prints and centers.

Step 6:  Glue the desired amount of hand prints to the back of the center one by one.

We experimented with different sizes of flowers.  Here is what we came up with.

This was a fun project, though a little time consuming.  The kids and I painted our hand prints, so it was a 2 day project to wait for the paint to dry and cutting out all of the hand prints.

I hope this inspires some fun spring art projects!

 - Vanessa

Suntanning my Tomato Starts

As I previously mentioned, I am on an heirloom-variety kick this year.  I successfully started 2 types of tomatoes from seed last year.  I keep them on my kitchen table next to a sunny window.  The tomatoes did well last year, however, they were very tall and spindly, and didn't produce much fruit (yes, tomatoes are fruits).  My co-worker at my temp job that I had at the time said that they needed more direct sunlight.  I am trying to put them out on my back porch daily.  

As you can see, the sun is hiding behind the clouds, though is peaking out when the clouds move.  I guess this counts as "direct sunlight," or at least it's as much as I can find here in the Northwest.

Hopefully, my plants will be a bit prettier and will bear more fruit this year.  I'll let you know if this was in deed the issue.

Thanks for reading!

 - Vanessa 

Decorated Paper Easter Eggs

My kids, a couple of neighbor kids, and I made paper Easter eggs to decorate.  My daughter's one is on the top left, my son's is on the top right, and mine is in the center.  I was trying to teach them about about using different mediums to make a piece of art, as well, just to sneak a little education in there.  We used:  stickers, glue, fluffy pom poms, and gel glitter glue pens.  It is funny how each of our personalities came out through our eggs.  My daughter is the busy, energetic one.  My son was not as in to the project as his sister and I and tried to make his a little more masculine by putting an alligator (or is it a crocodile?).

This was a fun and inexpensive art project.  I try to do one at least once a month with the kids.  I just used what we had around the house.  I visit the dollar store whenever my supplies get low.

Thanks for reading!

 - Vanessa

Homemade Icy Gel Pack

I came across this pic and had to share.  I really need to make a couple just to have on hand.  I had a brand name one with the blue gel years ago, as it was given to me after a back injury.  Between my dogs and kids, though, it got holes in it.  I'm assuming that this wouldn't be safe to keep, especially with young kids and animals that could accidentally ingest the gel, so I had to toss it.

After watching Myth Busters the other night, I wouldn't be surprised if salt water would act the same way, as it lowers the temperature that would be needed before the liquid freezes.  It was the episode where they were trying to find the fastest way to chill a 6-pack of beer.

Thanks for reading!

 - Vanessa

Bag Balm - The Cure-All

I'm (hopefully!) at the tail-end of a lingering cold and nearly my whole face is chapped from blowing and wiping my nose.  Last night, I tried some of my lotion for sensitive skin on my chapped and chafed face and got an unpleasant surprise.  My face was now burning on top of everything else.  I asked my hubby if we had any Vaseline or anything and looked around.  That's when I remembered the Bag Balm.

I was introduced to Bag Balm by a boy that I dated in high school's step-dad.  I had gotten burned at work and was prescribed first aid cream.  J recommended the Bag Balm and I was surprised at how quickly that my arm healed!

I use Bag Balm for all of my first aid needs, both for my pets and family.  I have used it for:  burns, scrapes, cuts, chafing, and now chapped skin.  Luckily, I don't need to use it much, which is why I occasionally forget about it.  I really need to pick up more to add to my travel first aid kit.

If you haven't ever purchased Bag Balm, it is normally sold in the pet or pharmacy sections.  It is much cheaper than any other first aid ointment and works wonderfully!

Thanks for reading!

 - Vanessa

Starting a Girl Scout Troop

My daughter, K, will be 5-years-old this summer, so she'll be old enough to join Girl Scouts.  There are few troops in this area, so I am working on starting one, so that she can be a part of it.  Through trying to get the few people that I know with daughters around my girl's age, I found that a girl that I went to high school with would be interested in becoming a co-leader.  I still needed one, so that is great news.

If I can get at least 4 more girls interested in joining, I can register a troop.  It looks like I will be able to easily meet this requirement.  I spent most of yesterday emailing and sending message on Facebook to people that I know with younger daughters, and most of them said that they would be interested.  Plus, if I can get a troop registered by mid-April, they will get a cookie bonus next year.  I have no idea what that means, but it sounds exciting.  I am glad that my daughter will be able to participate in a troop.  At this age, you get so much more out of the Girl Scout experience by being in a troop.

I will update on the progress!

Thanks for reading!

 - Vanessa

Planting Season has Begun!

I love growing plants from seeds/pits!  I love to eat fresh produce from my garden!  I hope to pass this on to my children, so my hubby and I always include them in the process.  I'm really on an heirloom produce kick this year.  Last year, I read about the benefits and history of heirloom produce, so I'm buying everything that I can of the heirloom variety to try it out.

Right now, we are working on starting seeds inside that will need transplanted later, as well as trying out indoor plants.  I had a Christmas cactus for years, but other than that, I've never had an indoor plant.  Nearly a month ago, my kids started some avocado pits as a part of a Cub Scouts Elective.  I'll have to do this again for myself so I can document the (very slow) progress.  I am also going to talk to my grandma about the best way to start a pineapple plant from the saved top.  Every time we have attempted this, they get moldy.  If it is successful, I will document it, if not, this is the last you'll hear about pineapple plants from me.

Thanks for reading!

 - Vanessa

Tiger Cub Scouts Electives 15 and 30

On rainy days and long weekends with nothing to do, I try to help my son out by completing some of his Tiger Cub Scout Electives.  Most of them are easy enough that my younger daughter can participate, too.

On a really rainy weekend, my kids completed Elective 15 and mixed together primary colors to create other colors.  We took it a step further and added black and white paint to make the colors lighter and darker.

I babysat another boy from my son's Tiger Den and had all 3 kids complete Elective 30 by suspending avocado pits in water.  I love gardening and have started being interested in exotic plants.  I also have more of an interest lately in being less wasteful and more self-sufficient.

The boy I babysat's dad was happy that he had a chance to complete a Cub Scout activity.  It is just the 2 of them at their house.  I'm not sure if they filled the cup back up with water and let it grow, like I did with my kids, or if they threw it away.  Either way, that boy gets to mark down the activity and earn an Elective.

The avocado pits form roots very slowly, so this is definitely an activity for older kids, or at least kids with more patience.  We started them just short of a month ago, and they have slight root buds.

Thanks for reading!

 - Vanessa