Craft Beer Collage Wall Hanging

I just love the artwork on craft beer boxes. I came up with this idea to preserve the artwork in a wall hanging. I cut and measured each rectangle and made it into a collage. I went to a resale shop and found a frame. I love the idea of recycling. Thank you for looking!

close up view

Did you find my rock?

I thought it would be nice if I left a couple of rocks on the beach for someone to find.  2 rocks were left on the shore of West Beach at the Indiana National Lakeshore. Comment to let me know if you found it!

Mandala Rocks

I've really enjoyed painting these rocks as it is so relaxing. I will be selling them in a craft show at the end of October. Thank you for looking!

Pumpkin Spice Pretzels

It's that time of year! At Michaels today, I found pumpkin spice candy melts that were on sale for $1.99.  The perfect combination with pretzels!

Melt one bag of Wilton candy melts in a large bowl in the microwave. Watch carefully so it doesn't burn. After melted, add one bag of 15 ounce pretzels. Stir to coat. Spread to cool on a sheet of aluminum foil.  A perfect fall treat!

Wilton Pumpkin Spice Candy Melts

Chicago Cubs Dog Collar

 My dad was a huge Chicago Cubs fan and, knock on wood, they are doing so well this year. I made this Cubs sleeve that slips onto the collar. Let's go Cubbies!!

Bangles and Bracelets

I've really enjoyed making these bracelets. Most of them are made with memory wire, except for the bangle.  Thanks for looking!

An alternative for an electric dog fence

Prior to putting up this fence, we tied our dog to a rope and let him out the sliding glass door of our deck. The rope would always getting tangled in the steps and we would have to go outside and untangle it, not fun in winter months or when you are wearing your pajamas. We didn't want to put up a fence around the entire yard, and researched electric fences. I didn't like the reviews of the electric fences we looked at. I first went to Menards to look at fencing and they had wrought iron fence panels for $64. It was going to be a project a bit more expensive than we expected. My husband and I went to Home Depot and found metal fencing for $30 a panel. Much cheaper than the $64. Our total was about $325 for the fence.

Here are our supplies...

1 gate

6 panels 

9 fence posts which are pounded into the ground. Just make sure you call #811 for locates!

Now we can let our dogs out without the worry of them getting out or tangled. A great alternative!

#homedepot

#hamptonbay

Mind blowing tip for child in pull-ups!

Changing your child's pull up can be time consuming. This tip blew me away. 
Maybe moms know about this trick, but I didn't.

I have 2 teenage girls and wish I knew this when they were toddlers.

I worked in a classroom for children with special needs. A couple of the kids were in pull ups and we needed to assist them in the bathroom. If one of the kids had an accident and the pull-up needed to be changed, I took off their shoes, then pants, put the pull up on, then pulled up pants and then put shoes back on. This was difficult at times because one of my kids had an AFO brace. Sometimes I would have to take off the brace if they had on tight fitting pants. 

 It was such a long process!

A new person was hired for our classroom and I was showing her what we do with the kids. She said, "there is a much easier way to change the pull up." (She used this technique when she worked in day care.) As she demonstrated the technique, I was blown away. This was life changing. Why did I not know this? I could have been using this with my own kids. 
I will try to explain.

Technique

1.  Pull down child's pants or shorts to knee level. No need to remove shoes.  No need to remove a leg brace if they wear one.

2.  Rip sides of pull-up to remove.

3.  Take just ONE leg out of their pants.

4.  (This is the step that is hard to explain without a video.) With pants still on the one leg of the child, start to put the pull-up on as you usually would...(over the pants).  Take "the other leg of the pants" and push it down through the same opening with "the pants on the leg." (confusing I know)

5.   You now can pull "pull-up" all the way.

6. Slip leg of the pants onto the other leg of the child and pull up! Your done. (You may need to take off their shoe depending on how wide the pant leg is.)

I hope this tip helps. I was completely naïve about this. This tip would be good for elderly people as well who wear Depends.

The Best Ketchup Ever! 78 Red Company

Yesterday we went to the Chicago Dough Company for dinner and I had the best ketchup. It is on the sweeter side, and thick. It has no high fructose corn syrup and is all natural. This will definitely be in my house from now on. #78RedCo
78 Red Ketchup

Baby Bonnets, Sun Hat

One of my favorite things that was given to me was a handmade crocheted bonnet for my first born daughter. I don't see bonnets in stores anymore and wish I had a real baby to model for me! Lol! Thanks for looking.

Custom made bonnets on Etsy

Basketball Oreo Pops

I run the concession stand at my daughter's school and today is the semifinals of the girls basketball tournament. I have been wanting to make oreo pops for awhile now and thought of making them into basketballs. I'm going to sell them at the stand today.

The pops were a bit difficult to make. The biggest issue was the cookie falling off of the stick when dipping into the melted chocolate. After doing some research, the trick is to open up the cookie, dip the end of the stick in the melted chocolate then sandwiching the cookie back together over the stick. The melted chocolate acts like glue. Would I make these again? Probably, but it doesn't look as easy as originally thought.

Jello Flavored Popcorn

One of my favorite snacks as a child was Jello flavored popcorn. My mom would make different flavors and it didn't last long in our house with 4 kids! This would make a great Super Bowl Party snack. Just choose the colors of your favorite team and find a flavor of Jello that matches!

Jello Flavored Popcorn

(I'd triple or quadruple this recipe for a party)

8-12 cups air popped popcorn

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1/2 cup sugar

1 small box of flavored gelatin

3 tablespoons of corn syrup

In a small pot melt butter, add sugar, gelatin and corn syrup. Stir constantly until sugars are dissolved. In a large bowl, add 12 cups of air popped popcorn making sure there are no kernels. Pour jello mixture over the top of the popcorn and stir until coated evenly. Pour out popcorn onto a parchment or aluminum lined baking sheet. Bake in a 300 degree oven for 10 minutes. Cool completely. Enjoy!