Diy- Kids Necklaces

My soon to be 5 year old really wants a mermaid birthday party.  While I am not sure, due to finances, if I am going to be able to pull that off for her, I did hit Pinterest looking for some ideas.  One cute little trend out there is adorable jewelry for the birthday girl to wear one her special day.  I fell in love with some of the pieces I saw, but I am far from rich so they were very much out of my price range. That’s ok though...

No need to BUY when you can DIY!

What I needed:

*Stretch magic jewelry cord (available at Michael’s)

*Beads

*Pendant

*Small pliers

*Jump ring

*Super glue

First, cut a piece of jewelry cord to the length you want your necklace.

Next, add your pendant.  Some pendants (like the one I used) required a jump ring so the pendant will lay flat when you wear it. Using your pliers, slightly pry apart your jump ring.

Put the jump ring through your pendant.

Very gently apply pressure with your pliers, and close the gap in your jump ring.

Put your pendant on the cord.

Now, you can put your beads on the cord in whatever pattern you choose.  Here is where your creativity comes in! Have fun with it!

When you are finished beading your necklace, tie 3 knots on your cord, pulling them tight.

When the knots are pulled tightly, apply super glue to them and continue to hold the cord until the glue has completely dried. (Tip: be very sure there is no glue on your fingertips.  You don’t want to become part of the necklace.)

Once the glue has completely dried, cut the excess ends off. 

It is as easy as that! Great jewelry that the kids adore and you will love the cost! There are tons of great beads and pendants available out there and you can find them to match almost anything you can think of.  Happy crafting!

Let them eat cake!

Because my life isn’t complicated enough, I decided I wanted to add a little bit more to my “I can do that” list. I have always been fascinated with the amazing things that can be done with food and have wanted to decorate cakes for years. I dabbled a little bit at home but I really wanted to find a good class to learn proper techniques.

There are many types of classes out there, but if you are interested beware that classes facilitated by companies that manufacture cake decorating supplies want you to buy lots of “stuff”, most of which is just not necessary. I found a local, independent cake shop that sells many different brands of supplies. They are far from product pushers and they teach you how to get the best results without all of the fancy gadgets. For example, rather than expensive cake cutters, they use a piece of fishing line. It works just as well. The beginners class I am taking is 5 weeks, once a week, and $50 (which I think is extremely reasonable).  I bought about $75 in supplies which is a little on the steep side, but most of the supplies will last a lifetime.  If you are planning on decorating cakes to sell or even just for your family, it really is a great investment.

I’ve been in class for 2 weeks now. The week 1 lesson taught us how to split, fill, and flat frost our cake. Yesterday, for our week 2, we learned how to decorate a very traditional cake with Cornelli lace, sweet peas, and fancy borders.  Here is the result:

I thought it looked so fancy I let it speak for itself

I absolutely love this class.  It is 2 hours and each week and I find myself wishing it were longer.  I can’t wait for the next class, as I am so eager to learn more. I guess we know what my Thursday blogs will be about for the next 3 weeks (smiley face.)

Grapes!

This has been a great year for my grapevine as it is thriving in the very unusually hot weather we’ve had since April.  There are well over 30 large bunches that are ripening beautifully and they taste delicious (not that I have been sneaking a grape or two before the whole bunch is ripe or anything). We inherited the grapevine when we purchased the house and at the time it was loaded with grapes.  3 years later, this is the first time we’ve had a harvest since moving in. 

The beginning- just starting to grow

About 3 weeks later- no color yet

Such large bunches

Today 8/29/12- Almost Ready!

Can't wait to harvest them

It’s been a war against the birds around here.  I’ve found that the birds in a rural area such as ours are much smarter than city birds.  I’ve used metallic tape, hanging cd’s, and huge nets, yet some of those slick little winged pests are still getting in. Hope they are enjoying them as much as they enjoyed eating all my apples. My garden looks hopelessly ridiculous with all the garb hanging around but Mr. Practical and I are determined to get these grapes fully ripe and to the table.

My silly looking garden

The addition of the net has been great 

Being that we did not plant the vine, we really had no idea what kind of grapes they were so I did a little research online.  I’m 99% sure they are concord grapes. The green pulp pops out of the thick purple skin in a perfect ball, which is characteristic of concord grapes, and they taste just like grape juice.

They sure do look like concords

I’m feeling very impatient as fall approaches.  I’m just dying to pluck off those bunches and get to making jelly, juice, and whatever else I can think of. I suppose all good things come to those who wait. I’m even more anxious to blog about what I make with them!

Delicioso!

One of my favorite things when walking into a restaurant is being greeted by a basket of warm chips and some awesome fresh salsa. Rarely are we able to indulge in such a treat. Being on the tight budget that we are, we cook the majority of our meals at home. Opening up a bag of tortilla chips just doesn't seem the same as restaurant quality and at $4 for a bag that is more air than food, satisfying your craving is often a let down. But not anymore!

Making your own chips at home is so easy! They taste incredible and won't break your budget! Here's how you do it:

Start with a bag of corn tortillas. They can be white corn, yellow corn or any color you can find for that matter.

Cut each tortilla into 4 pieces.

Next, in a medium size pan, heat some vegetable, corn, or canola oil on medium/high heat. The amount of oil needed depends on how many chips you will be making but start with at least a quarter of an inch of oil in your pan. Slowly put your tortilla sections in the hot oil using tongs. Be very careful not to splash. That would be painful.

 

Cook until they are your desired crispness and have a nice brown color to them.

Place them on a paper towel or napkin to wick away the extra oil and salt them if you would like.

Serve with guacamole, salsa, or anything your heart desires! Fresh, delicious, and very inexpensive. This recipe cost me right around $2 and the whole family thoroughly enjoyed them!

My Inspiration

The inspiration behind this blog is of course my amazing family so I figured today I would introduce you to them.

The first would be my amazing hubby, Mr. Practical.  I met him in 2001 and after our first date I knew he was the man for me. From day one he has been respectful, gentle, kind, supportive, and the fact that he is dashingly handsome is a bonus. :o) Through all life’s adversity he never waivers in his resolve to be a loving husband who is faithful, understanding, and ever present in our lives.  When you marry you can speculate on what kind of father your partner is going to be but the true test is when it actually happens.  The day Sweet Pea was born he held her for the first time, looked into her eyes, and promised her “I will always love you, I will always protect you.” When Butter Bean was born, he promised the same. Over the years he has proven himself to be the kind of father every little girl wishes for.  He adores his children, takes the same pleasure as I do in watching their little triumphs in life, laughs at just how truly funny they are, understands their quirks and appreciates them for the people they are, and loves them. Important above all else is love.

Sweet Pea is our first.  She was born and within her first breath I finally understood just how meaningful life really is.

My pregnancy was full of complications, gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia, terrible sickness, and general unpleasantness for 9 months.  I did not gain a pound while pregnant with her and within the 2 days after she was born I lost a total of 55lbs. She arrived 3 weeks early after an unexpected induction. Her birth was rather frightening with a momentary shoulder dystocia and a truly scary few minutes while the doctors were concerned she might have down syndrome. While she did not those were very tense moments that we did not prepare for.  In the days that followed I had terrible blood pressure problems and she had a horrible case of jaundice that kept us both in the hospital for 7 days.  The next challenge we would face was her horrible case of baby reflux.  It was very difficult for her to eat, she had a hard a very hard time keeping food down, and not even medication kept her comfortable.

Through it all I still marvel at that little baby.  She was and is so amazingly adorable, smart, independent, funny, inventive, and truly my first little miracle.  She is not the conventional child in any way, shape, or form.  She questions everything that life has to offer and a simple answer will never suffice.  Ever eager to learn, she reminds me of her uncle (my brother).  Always trying to figure out how things work. She’s artistic like her mommy and makes me the most wonderful drawings. Now 4 1/2 years old, she is growing up so fast and I can hardly believe this wonderful little girl sometimes. My heart swells with happiness at the mention of her name.

Then came my Butter Bean. I can think of no better word for this child than joyful.  Although I am a terrible pregnant person in general my pregnancy with her was not nearly as eventful. I had expected her to come early as she did with another unexpected induction, but I dodged many other bullets.  I did not have gestational diabetes again and thankfully did not have pre-eclampsia (a huge fear of mine the second time around.)  Her birth was uneventful. With 2 pushes there she was, my tiny little peanut. Out of the hospital in 24 hours, we went home to start our life as a family of 4.  Butter Bean was an easy baby and I had been so prepared for an experience like I had with Sweet Pea. Now 2, she is the most loveable child you have ever met.  The kisses and hugs flow freely and she is a talker to say the least.  So smart, so funny, so incredible. She seems to be an old soul.  She watches your every move with and inquisitive eye and learns how things work very quickly.  Always in tune with everyone’s feelings, she loves to cheer you up when you are down. She brings joy to our family that cannot be measured.

Together, as life hands us lemons, we always seem to find many uses for them. We are strong and unified.  I would have nothing without the fantastic man I married and the two beautiful children we created. 

Everyday I am overwhelmingly grateful to God for the heaping amount of blessings he has bestowed upon me.