Discovery Balls

We have an upcoming 6 hour drive and my daughter is in that stage where she refuses to sit still. She just wants to run. To make the trip go a little easier I have been researching some new activities fit for a 16 month old that we can take in the car with us. I will be posting several of them here in the next couple of weeks. First up... discovery balls.

They are just like stress balls, but filled with different substances so she can discover the different textures and squishy-ness levels. So far the one filled with beans is definitely her favorite. These were a very quick project and cheap too.

To make your own you will need:

balloons

filler (beans, rice, flour, etc.)

funnel (optional)

My only cost was a pack of 20 helium quality balloons I bought for $1. Helium quality balloons are nice because they are thicker and less likely to pop a hole, but any balloon would work.

Now fill your balloons up one by one. If you do not have a funnel, it is easiest if you have a helper who can shove the stuffing in while you hold the opening open. If you do have a funnel, simply stuff the spout in the opening and fill the funnel with your filler a little at a time. You'll need to continually push the filler inside the balloon down to create a little well and stretch your balloon out. Also you'll probably need to shake the filler down the spout because it tends to get a little jammed up in the spout.

When you reach your desired size, tie off and enjoy.

I have seen these balls decorated with hair and faces and it comes out pretty cute. Also one blog suggested filling with playdough which I think would be a cool substance to play with.

***Also, if you decide to make these and let young children play with them, be careful not to let them use the discovery balls as a chew toy.

Another Scarfette

I crocheted another scarfette recently. I love it because it is a fairly quick and easy gift. Maybe one of these days I will make one for myself...

The basic idea is just take any scarf design that you like, shorten it, and add buttons to one end. I used this scarf pattern.

Monkey Bread

I tried a new recipe for hubby's Birthday breakfast and it was a hit (and super simple too). I found it on The Jones Way...

2 small tubes refrigerator buttermilk biscuits OR 1 tube Pillsbury Grands buttermilk biscuits
3 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/2 C. pancake syrup
1/3 C. packed light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Instructions:
Spray a fluted pan with non-stick spray. Combine the melted butter and syrup in a small bowl and set aside. In another bowl, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon. Place about half of the syrup mixture in the bottom of the pan. Then sprinkle half of the brown sugar mixture on top. Lay the biscuits on the bottom of the pan, overlapping edges (closely together) to form a ring. Top with remaining syrup and sugar mixtures. Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 1 minute in the pan, then invert onto a serving platter and enjoy!

USA magnets

Hubby loves maps, history, and all that stuff so I knew he would love this as a gift. It is a puzzle made out of a map of the United States with magnets attached to the back of each piece. Great for hubby and great as a teaching tool later for my little girl.

Here's how I pulled it all together for less than $8. I started with a poster map I bought for less than $2 at a local teacher/homeschool supply store. I don't have a picture of the poster because I had to cut it up before I brought it home in order to keep it a secret from hubby. From there I glued the map in sections onto cardstock I already had on hand using rubber cement. It is best if you cut the map up as little as possible before this step because it makes it a lot easier.

After the glue has dried, cut all the states out. I found that sometimes it was a lot easier using these tiny craft scissors on some of the more "squiggly" states. By the way... if you happen to get tired of cutting and accidentally cut the tail off of Alaska at the very end, it is an easy fix. Simply glue the state onto another piece of cardstock and cut it out again. It will be a little thicker, but not enough to matter.

Next you will laminate your states. I found a genealogy and copy center which has self-service laminating machines at a good price. I chose to use hard lamination which is a bit more expensive but apparently it works better with thicker products. It cost me a little more than a dollar to do this. Next cut out your states leaving a bit of a border.

Add strips of magnets to the back of each and your project is complete! I bought this roll of magnets from Lowes for about $3.50 and had some left over as well.

I think it would be cool to do this same project using family pictures or significant landscapes as well. Oh the possibilities... 

Birthday Coupon Deals

source

Hubby's Birthday is just around the corner and just in time I happened upon a blog post by Deal Seeking Mom listing out a bunch of restaurants which will give you free stuff for your Birthday if you subscribe to their fan clubs online. Here are the Birthday deals we have received so far...

Baskin Robins--- free scoop of ice cream
Texas Roadhouse--- free appetizer or sidekick of ribs w/ purchase of entree
Famous Dave's--- buy one entree get one free (up to $15 value)
Red Robin--- free gourmet burger
Del Taco--- free premium shake (vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry)
Noodles & Company--- free entree or trio (up to $7.50 value)
Happy Sumo--- $15 off next purchase
Dairy Queen--- $3 off an 8-10'' blizzard cake
Wendy's--- $1 off any combo meal

Not all of the sites give you a Birthday "gift", but most of them immediately send you some kind of deal via email...

Famous Dave's--- free burger or sandwich w/ any purchase $5 or more
Red Robin--- $3 off total purchase
Del Taco--- 2 free chicken soft tacos
Texas Roadhouse--- free tater skins, cheese fries, baby blossom, fried pickles, or rattlesnake bites w/ purchase of entree
Wingers--- $5 off take out purchase of $20 or more
Wendy's--- $1 off any premium sandwich
Dairy Queen--- Buy one medium blizzard treat get one free (they sent me two of these)
California Pizza Kitchen--- $5 off purchase of $20 or more
Quiznos--- $1 off a regular or $2 off a large sub
Happy Sumo--- 2 for 1 (limited to certain days of the month)
Baskin Robbins--- buy one cone in the flavor of the month get one free

Ham Sliders

I had some leftover ham in my freezer from Christmas (yes you heard me. Christmas.) and I figured it was about time I used it up. I went searching for a good ham recipe and found these delicious looking sliders. So I gathered my ingredients and made some up for lunch. They were so good! I will definitively be making these again.

The original recipe makes 24 sliders, I only made 5 to serve my husband and myself. Also, I strayed from  the recipe to use up what I had on hand.

5 dinner rolls
sliced honey ham
5 slices Swiss cheese
mayonnaise

1/2 Tablespoon yellow mustard
1/4 cup melted butter
1/8 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
a couple dashes of onion powder

Cut the rolls in half and spread mayonnaise on the top and bottom of the inside of the roll. Layer ham and Swiss cheese and close up the sandwich. Place all of the sliders close together on a baking sheet and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the rest of the ingredients together in a small bowl and pour over the top of all of the sliders. Let the sliders sit for about 10 minutes then cover with aluminum foil and bake for about 12 minutes until cheese is melted. Uncover and cook for about 2 minutes longer to crisp the tops. Serve.

This week around the www...

The RedBall Project is done by artist Kurt Perschke all over the globe. I love this one where the ball is squished between two buildings in Taipei.

 This wall art is pretty cool and I would love it in my home somewhere.

 Soule Mama made an ice rink in her back yard. How much fun would that be?

 These teapots are so cute! Now if only I had a railing...

 I love books that aren't books.

And lastly, legos. Who doesn't love legos? And apparently they can be used to fix up old walls.

Crayon Holder

I haven't felt like doing much lately so when inspiration hit I got right to work. I wanted a little pouch to hold a couple of crayons and paper to carry around in my purse for my daughter. She is 1 and has just begun to color so I didn't want to have a ton of crayons in the holder-- actually I'll probably only keep about three. I also wanted a little place to hold small pieces of paper or this cute little notebook I bought 3 for $2 on sale at Target.

I didn't write up a real tutorial for this little holder because I was hurrying and there are a ton of tutorials floating around if you are wanting to make something similar. My measurements for the two main pieces were 10 3/4 x 6 1/2 and for the strip holding the crayons in place is a folded over piece that was 10 3/4 x 4 1/2. The final piece is the 2 1/2 x 3 3/4 tab to hold the velcro that keeps the holder together. I used velcro specifically because I thought it would be easy enough for me daughter to handle herself.

And there you have it. A quick and cute little holder for my budding artist.