One Dollar Wednesday... it's all about FAMILY

I have said it before, and I'll say it again... I have a plethora of picture frames. Yes, they are random as can be. Different colors, different shapes, and different styles. For today's project, I'm focusing on some that I picked up recently at the dollar store/thrift stores.

See~~random...



but, a quick trip out to Spray Paint Place, and they're starting to look a bit more uniform!


I selected some fun scrapbook paper (from my VAST COLLECTION), and proceeded to print out the word FAMILY. Each letter, on it's own piece of paper, and in it's own FONT.


I framed them up lickety split...


and laid them out on the floor, as I wanted them on the wall.


Here's the final product...adding a little color to this quiet corner of my kitchen!

50 Golden Years

Thursday marks my parents 50th wedding anniversary! 50 golden years is a big deal, so a few weeks ago we through them a small party of family and a few friends to celebrate. We had to do it before school started so everyone could attend. I think it turned out well. I started the planning process at the beginning of the year and wasn't feeling super creative. Thankfully there are plenty of creative people out there sharing the ideas on the world wide web. The "theme" was gold, since it was a golden anniversary. The "50" photo collage was Martha's idea, that woman is amazing. I decided to do a mix of color and b/w photos, mainly because I was lazy and didn't want to change them.

My niece made this cute arraignment from pie tins. Isn't it so cute!! You can find the full tutorial here.

I saw this idea last year on Ohdeedoh and bookmarked it, I knew I would want to use it and this was the perfect occasion. Instead of a guestbook, we had everyone "leaf" their thumbprint. We bought a foam board from the dollar store and cut it to 16x20, my husband the artist drew the tree, and my sister in law made the names and date in vinyl. Here is the before.....



And the after. Once it was full we framed it and my parents now have it hanging in their home.

We had a small luncheon with sandwiches, salads, and desserts. I found this fun gold star edible glitter at Hobby Lobby. It was way cute, but since I made the cupcakes the day before it bled a little and wasn't as gold. Lesson learned for next time.

One of my other sister in laws made the cake. SHE MADE THIS.



It was so delicious, yummy red velvet, and an absolutely stunning cake.

I did a DIY favor bar where guests could take a little scoop of gold with them.



We put our projector to good use and my brother made a slide show of the pictures throughout the years. It was great, he had the photos set to songs from the decade they were in. I loved it.

For the centerpieces I found some wood letters at Hobby Lobby, with a little gold paint, and some super glue, they turned out really cute. We added "50" confetti throughout the tables.

These tissue pomanders were fun and inexpensive, but I am not going to lie, they took awhile to make. My sisters, sister in laws, and nieces had a craft night and it took all of us a good 4 hours to make 12 of these. We found the candelabras at the dollar store, and did 2 different sized to signify my Mom and Dad.

Overall it was a great party, it is always fun to get together with family, visit, and eat don't you think?

What I'm working on Wednesday... ready for summer reading?

I am a stickler for Summer Reading. I insist that my two kids that can read ("the Bigs")read for at least 30 minutes every morning...even in the Summer! I cuddle with the two that can't read ("the babies")and I read a couple of their favorites to them. My "bigs" are getting to the age that they put up a bit of a fight. I stick to my guns, and they are generally happy once they "get into" their books. In an effort to stay ahead of the game, I've been doing a little research about Summer Reading.


Hit the Library...


Our local library has a great Summer Reading program. The kids are always eager to get to the library, as soon as school is out, and get started on the program. It starts early for us, May 26th and continues through July 30th.


Check out bookstores...

Sometimes my kids can't find a book they want at the library. Let's face it, we aren't the only Arizonans using books as an excuse to stay out of the HEAT. When that happens, we head to Half Price Books. They have great deals on books and other media.


Online fun too...

There are lots of "reading reward" programs out there too. Barnes and Noble has a program that allows kids to log the number of books that they read to earn free books. Scholastic also offers a "Summer Challenge" for kids to log the minutes they read to win prizes.

Lastly, I think any crafts that we do that relate to reading help to encourage my kids to read more. Here are a few reading crafts that we will be doing this summer...

A story sack.

What is a story sack? It's simply a tote bag that contains a book, and crafts or games related to that specific book. You could use costumes, treats, puppets, and paints. The possibilities are endless.


An elephant parade garland, courtesy of the long thread.com

This garland is to celebrate Elmer by David McKee. This book is a favorite in our house, and will be read numerous times this summer.


Munch, munch, munch...


I LOVE these page corner bookmarks. What kid wouldn't be excited to open the pages of his book to find a monster munching on it? These cuties are courtesy of I Could Make That. Click on the link above for a full tutorial.

What are your ideas/plans for keeping the kiddos reading this summer?

My Favorite Cleaning Supply...

We ALMOST made it through the winter without getting sick...then BAM a nasty cold has hit our house hard this week. First it was the baby, then me, now my hubby too. All I have done this week is wipe noses, wash hands, and try to keep my house disinfected to prevent spreading any more germs. The other day I mentioned I am trying to go more of a natural route when it comes to cleaning, and a few months ago, you may even remember a post about home made cleaners. We have fallen in love with vinegar in my house! You may think "Yuck the smell", but as soon as it is dries the smell is gone.

The other day we bought a giant 2 gallon box of white vinegar from Costco and it listed a bunch of uses for vinegar. I am going to post my favorite 10, there are far more uses than this though!

1: Toilet Bowl Cleaner- Clean & deodorize your toilet bowl by pouring undiluted white distilled vinegar into it. Let it stand about 5 minutes, then flush. Stubborn stain may require a gentle scrub.

2: Ants- Ant invasions can be deterred by washing counter tops, cabinets, and floors with distilled vinegar. This is a lot more pet and child friendly than ant poison!

3: Grass or Weeds- Kill unwanted grass on sidewalks and driveways by pouring on vinegar. Love the alternative to poison.

4: Irons- Remove burn stains from your electric iron by mixing one part salt with one part vinegar in a heated small aluminum pan.

5: Glassware- 1/2 cup of distilled white vinegar added to a gallon of rinse water will remove soap film from glassware and make it shine. I just add it to my dishwasher, no need to buy Jet Dry.

6: Vegetables- Liven up slightly wilted veggies by soaking them in cold water and vinegar.

7: Meat- A marinade of 1/2 cup of your favorite vinegar and a cup of liquid bouillon makes an effective meat tenderizer.

8: Cheese- Keep cheese moist and fresh by wrapping it in a cloth that has been damped with vinegar and sealed in an air tight wrap or container.

9: Onion Odors- Quickly remove onion odor from your hands by rubbing them with distilled white vinegar.

10: Flowers- Add 2 TBSP of vinegar plus 3 TBSP of sugar to a quart of warm water to keep fresh cut flowers blooming longer.

What do you use vinegar for?

Family photo collage

I have wanted a family collage picture for quite some time, but didn't LOVE the standard store-bought ones. I dug out this big old EMPTY picture frame and knew it would be perfect for this project.



Outside for a quick coat of spray paint...



While my picture frame dried, I cut my various scrapbook paper "scraps" into 2 inch squares.



I ordered gobs of black and white photos, and got to work cutting those into 2 in. squares also, with the exception of the center photo, it's bigger~ a picture of me and my sweetie~ and measures 4in X 4in.



I did a little dry brushing around the edges of each photo, and then arranged them in my frame.





I added a poignant vinyl quote on the wall, and hung my collage in the middle. Quick and easy, and dear to me!