Rice Crafting

Have you ever died rice before? think back to your Preschool./kindergarten days. Well I got to thinking the other day how much green rice looks like grass and would make a fun kid project. Of course my little one is still a little on the young side and was set on trying to eat the green rice! Simply start by pouring some plain rice into a zip lock bag and add the color of your choice. I added about 30 drops for my green rice.Mix around the rice until it is the color consistency you like and then pour it out onto a cookie sheet. Let your rice dry for about a day and then you can let your creativity roam free.
Ok for my original idea I had these great tree planned and I would add jelly beans to them and they would simply look amazing… Reality not so much! So I searched  the house and this is what I came up with a shoebox lid, a straw and a pot! Remembering these adorable topiaries I had seen at Rook No. 17, Jenn made these adorable Bunny Topiaries and so I thought I would give it a try with my rice. I simply drew a bunny shape on my lid and cut it out, then added glue and rice.  I covered my straw with some green ribbon and added some yummy  chocolate Easter eggs to my jar. What do you think?
What would you create with a bag of colorful green rice? I still have a bunch so I need some ideas ;)
~Kori

Grocery Flash Cards

If any of you get the Rachael Ray Magazines you probably know they have some of the cutest kids stuff. I love looking at this section in the magazine and wish i had the self control to get on the websites to look. I don't because i know i will buy stuff i don't really need. Well in the newest issue they had a Food Flash Card set and i thought that is perfect for my son. He is really starting to talk and is learning new words everyday. He also gets very bored while I’m grocery shopping and i thought this would be a fun educational way to keep him busy while i shop. Instead of spending $20 plus shipping i decided i would make my own. Wanna see?
Okay so I started out using Picnik. I took a picture i had already saved on there and just changed the exposure. I turned the picture white. I did have to make a few changes using the clone button but i have done this for other things and had one saved. You can use word or any other program your familiar with.

I kept it simple for the cover. I just added font and tried a few different covers.

This is a picture of my magazine showing the cute cards. I loved how they did a letter and a bunch of fruits and veggies that started with that letter but as i was thinking of stuff to use i kept getting stumped. I figured i would keep it simple for my almost 2 year old and do 1 picture for each letter. Below are some of my cards I made up quickly.  

I was only able to do part of the cards cause my husband and i got stumped on F, H, Q, U, V, X, and Z



This is what i have so far and tomorrow i will make it a little bit more sturdy and add colored cardstock but since the move I'm still unpacking and cant find some of my craft stuff. I will add a different color to the back of each picture. Also I’m going to take out the second ring. As we kept printing each letter and putting them on the second ring was just in the way.
This is a work in progress and i need some help thinking of things to add for those other letters. Any suggestions?
-Tara

Clover Ribbon Wreath

I had so much fun making my Valentine cardboard wreath (the price was right too!). I thought I better make one for St. Patrick's Day. I started the same way with a big piece of cardboard. I used a pizza box this time! I debated between a clover and a circle and with my awesome art skills I ended with a oval!!I covered my wreath with some left over white ribbon and then decided I would make a clover out of ribbon. I wanted it large so I cut 4 pieces 17inched in length. I knotted the center of each and shaped then into a heart.Next I bunched them together and added some glue to hold them in a clover shape. My green ribbon had wire so that helped it hold its shape. I added a gold button to the center and glued it onto my wreath. Then just to add some more color I added a bead necklace too. We are now officially ready for the pinch fest!

Celebrations & Giveaways!

Giveaway Now Closed

Well it is official we have been blogging for a full month! Can you believe we have all only know each other that long! Well you guys have shown us so much ♥ Love ♥ this first month and patience! We thought what better then to give you presents! Who doesn't enjoy winning a goodie! Especially when you get to pick it out yourself (our favorite kind of presents).
As we thought of what we could do for prizes we had to look no further then the walls in our houses, Vinyl! We have an amazing friend Holly and she has an equally amazing Business! We have run to her with all of our Vinyl need or just random ideas for signs or gifts and Holly is awesome to help put them into vinyl for us! She has the best selection and price! She has been so sweet to help us pick fonts and colors. We have made numerous orders with her and We have never been let down!  Here are some of her fun items she has done for others…

This is my favorite! How cute is the owl!
I have one of these in my home and I love it! 

How easy to personalize a reception hall with their monogram!

Love this it is the perfect present for anyone
And look at this Baby’s Room She matched the vinyl to the bedding. Love this and my next baby will totally need one!   Plus she has Stick people, for your car! They are 100% customizable! I love the ones on her site and I am pretty positive we need a set of these (Holly, hint, hint!).  

Holly was nice enough to help us celebrate today, she is giving one of our Friends/followers a     $ 15.00 dollar credit in vinyl.    

                                    How does one enter? We are glad you asked!!

                                                               First visit

                       Holly’s site                                                           Or on FaceBook

                                     Holly's Signs Facebook 

Next leave us a comment of what you would get if you won the $15.00. I know its hard but I promise we wont hold you to it if you change your mind! Then leave us a comment and your entered!

                              want 2 extra Entries?

                   1. Become a Mom’s of all Trades follower (if you        already are thank you and just leave a comment that you are!)

                   2. Like Holly’s Signs on Facebook 

                            We will close this on Sunday, February 20th, 2011

We have had so much fun this first month we (including our husbands) have loved login in and watching stats and comments. We love that you guys are now in our little circle of friends! We hope you enjoy all the stuff we have done and can only tell you we have so much more fun stuff coming your way.

Good Luck,
The Mom’s (Tara & kori)

Trash 2 Treasure - Valentines Tray

A couple of days after Kori came up with the Trash 2 Treasure month I was thinking of all the things I throw away that can have double use. This was one of them. If you have kids and you love to go to movies I'm sure you know what this is. My son loves to go see movies with us and so we buy him a kids popcorn try. I normally throw them away but I saved it and turned it into a valentine tray.

I took the kids popcorn tray and painted them the colors i wanted

After the paint dried I covered them in scrapbook paper and filled them with some fun little treats. Nothing to big just a couple of cookies, a red soda and a lil book showing "my valentines" how much I love them. Now I'm only showing you the first page of the book since you wont be able to see the other pages anyways. It was a simple and fast valentine that you can make with a few things you normally would throw away. Why not save some money while you tell someone you love them.

This is not a Trash 2 Treasure valentine but i wanted to show you what i left in my fridge for my hubby to find when he wakes up.

If you like this last idea you dont have to wait for Valentines to tell the people you love how you feel. Something as simple as a soda in the fridge can be appreciated any time of the year. I know my husband loves the little things i surprise him with way more then a huge present.

We hope everyone has a HAPPY VALENTINES! XOXO

-Tara

Checkers Anyone?

I found this old checkers game when we were moving my dad this last week (Not fun!!) But I did score some fun treasures. I was defiantly on a necklace kick these last few days and so of course the checker pieces spoke to me and said…make me into a necklace! What else is a gal to do.
This was my fist attempt I used paper and cut to match my circle. I love that on the back of the checker there is a crown, fun for every Princess.   I added my glossy accent and went onto trying to make sense of my “craft room” or Crap room depending on who you talk to in our house!!

Well little hands had a hard time resisting it and it was a huge FAIL! So I started again! This time I used Fabric and I love the look.  I also browsed around the net and found these fun little treasures, I am always amazed at how many talented and creative people there are out there! I think I need one of each in my house!!

Mason Jar organizer at Liz Marie

Baby Food Spice Jars

Cool Whip Crown

Yes you read that title completely right! Do you have a lot of cool whip containers lying around your house? Well I seem to get oodles and I have a hard time parting with them for the fact that we usually use them as dog food dishes (Panda the Dog gets pretty excited when he sees them!).
I was watching as Miss. A was robbing Panda and wearing his food dish on her head (YUCK!). We are approaching the “Dress up” stage quite quickly and that got me thinking, how fun to turn it into a crown. As I told Tara my idea I got confused looks! But here is a fun little tutorial in all its glory! How fun would these be for birthday parties, or just a rainy day at home. I made a boy and girl one to show how fun they are.
Items Needed:

• Cool Whip container
• Paint or Felt to cover container
• Embellishments
• glue
• scissors/exacto knife

I started by tracing how I wanted the crown on the inside of the dish. Then used a exacto knife to cut off the top part. This way the top of the bowl (finished side) is going to be up against the kids head. Add some spray paint (because it is quicker and I am impatient!) Plus it was a whopping 7 degrees outside!Then comes the fun part add stickers, jewels beads, ribbons, or let the kids have some markers and color their own design.  Here I added some footballs for the super bowl! These are lots of fun and a quick little craft for kids
~Enjoy, Kori

Valentine Day wreath

Valentine,wreath,tutorial,crafts,holiday

Technorati Tags:

Tis the season to start showing some love! I was looking in my box of Valentine decorations when I realized that I don't have any Valentine decorations. So with my budget being around $0.00 I decided it was time to shop in my house!
Supplies needed:
Cardboard                                                                                                       Ribbon/twine                                                                                                  Glue                                                                                                                                               Embellishments (old shirts, beads, felt, buttons)
I started with a cardboard box, left over from our Christmas packages, it doesn't have to be perfect you will be covering it!   And then its time to start wrapping the twineI knew I wanted to add fabric flowers to the bottom and so I didn't bother with wrapping it completely. Now it is time to gather the fun stuff. For me I used some old t-shirts I had and found some beads in a Christmas box.                                                 I rolled some fabric flowers and placed them where I wanted them glued them down. I then added some beads in between the flowers and TA-DA! It is complete and within my budget!! I couldn't resist I had to make another one for my sister! This time I did ribbon and felt roses. For the price you can afford to share with the family and neighbors!