fun fall leaf pictures

We made these a few days ago and our little girls loved them and it gave us something fun to hang up showing the changing leaves.  First we went on a little walk and everyone collected leaves, fall flowers, seeds, or small twigs. We brought them home, laid them out on the table and everyone started creating.  We found that it works best if you start to draw your creation and then put a dab of glue on the paper and then stick the leaves, flower petals, or twigs on the paper.  You can them finish drawing details if you would like.  Simple and really fun!

peanut butter acorns

 In celebration of such a beautiful fall day or maybe just because it is Friday, a fun activity with my preschooler became today's great after school snack.  We used our favorite reciepe for peanut butter playdough to create these cute little edible acorns.
After rolling the dough into balls we dipped the top into melted chocolate, and chopped nuts, and finished them off with a little piece of pretzle.

 Fun, fast, easy, and healthy. 

 And a hit with the kids.  What more could a mom ask for.  Happy Fall!!

lunch baggies

The perfect Eco-friendly container that's perfect for lunches or trips to the park.

To get started you will need. Fabric, Ripstop nylon, Ribbon, Velcro: fabric supplies.

1. Cut two rectangles of patterned fabric and ripstop nylon, each 13x7".

2. Pin right sides of fabric together, with nylon on the outside.

3. Fold two pieces of 5" ribbon in half and pin them, centered on each short side. The loop should be toward the inside and approximately 1 1/2" of the tails should be showing (so the tabs can be reinforced when you stitch the Velcro).

4. Stitch each short side using a 1/2" seam allowance.



5. Turn right side out and iron the fabric side on a warm setting.

6. Pin Velcro to each short end on the ripstop nylon side, approximately 1/4" from the seam edge, as well as 1/4" from each raw edge (this will cut down on the bulk in the finished side seam).

7. Stitch Velcro in place using two lines of stitching.

8. Fold in half, right sides together, and stitch down both sides approximately 1/4" from the edge.

9. Turn right side out, press and stitch down each edge with just slightly more than a 1/4" seam, enclosing the inside seam.

These snack baggies are even machine washable- turn them inside out, place an extra piece of loop Velcro over the hook Velcro so it doesn't catch on other items, then Wash and dry as normal with like colors.



pizza lunchables

Okay so my kids love Lunchables but I refuse to buy them. With every kid needing lunch it can really add up. Well we came up with our own version of the Lunchable. Pizza seems to be the number 1 choice at our house so this is what I came up with.  I make the crust and put all the toppings into there own individual bags so that they can assemble thier own pizza at lunch. Plus they are alot more healthy with out all the preservatives.

Recipe
1 1/4 cup warm water
1 tbls yeast
1/2 tbls salt
3 c flour

Place all the ingredients into mixer and let the mixer do the work.  You will know when the dough is done because it will completely pull off from the sides of the bowl.  You want a firm dough not to tough. You may need to add more flour or use less flour. 

Cut and roll the dough into  20 balls and let raise until double 15min or so.

Roll into 6 inch circles and bake for 6 min at 400*

Cool and place in to Ziploc sandwich bags. Place a bag of cheese, bag of pepperoni, a bag of sauce (sauce recipe found at the end of the post).

I place all of the them into one giant Ziploc and place in the freezer. They are great and by the time lunch comes everything is still cold and unthawed. They are even great for the kids for a meal when things are a little crazy. So under one hour and less then $7.00 I have 20 pizza lunchables for the kiddos. They love them and constantly have friends wanting to trade with them.

Pizza sauce
1 8oz can of tomato sauce
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp of brown sugar
Heat all ingredients through and place 1 lg. Tbls into a bag.

paper beads

I remember making these when I was a little girl. So I thought that it would be great to teach my daughter how to make them. Better yet she loved them so much that we are making them for her American Girl Tea Party coming up this weekend. I think that the girls will fall in love with this fun craft. And they can go home and make many more.

Supplies                                

Paper (any kind)

Glue stick

toothpick

scissors

stretchy elastic

To begin you wan to cut your paper into small triangles as show in the picture. A 1/2in x 7 1/2in triangle. Keep in mind that the wider your triangle the  longer your bead and the longer your triangle the thicker your bead.  So it would be fun to have some bigger and smaller.  After you have cut your paper you begin with the fat end as you begin to roll it around the toothpick glue as you go. That will help your bead stay together. Pull it off of the toothpick and you will see that you have a nice hole to thread your bead on to your elastic.

Happy beading!

summer skirt

I found this cute skirt over at MADE and I just had to make one for my daughter. It is the perfect skirt for the summer and so easy to make.

I adjusted the pattern by adding a few more inches to each piece to make it bigger. This pattern is easy to make smaller or bigger as needed.  Click here for the complete set of instruction by Dana from MADE. A great skirt for spinning.

new for you doll clothes

We have a few new contributors here at Simply Home and Family and today we would like to introduce you to one.  Holli has been sharing her ideas with us for about a month and as you can probably already tell, she has a wide variety of amazing talents.  She can decorate, sew, garden, cook, cut and style hair, create fabulous projects with paper and fabric and could easily work as an event and party planner.  One of her many skills involves being able to create really cool stuff out of old, used, or worn out items.  With Holli, recycling, repurposing, and upcycling take on a whole new meaning.  This week as we are sharing ideas for girls, we thought we would share her new etsy shop, HolliCycle. 

She is just getting it started, so there is much more to come, but check out her cute doll clothes.  These little outfits, created from recycled fabric, have been headed out the door in birthday wrappings for a while now but today they are available for all. Thanks for the cute products and ideas, Holli.

peanut butter play dough

This edible play dough mixes food and fun all in one.

Our favorite recipe comes from Disney's Family Cookbook.

Peanut Butter Play Dough

1 1/2 cups instant dry powdered milk

1 cup peanut butter

3 tbsp. honey

Mix all the ingredients together well and knead until smooth.  Store the dough in the refrigerator.

Play, create, eat and enjoy.

Tips:

There are two kinds of dry milk- instant and non-instant.  It is important to use instant.

The instant dry milk granules, may make the dough seem a little lumpy at first

but it will smooth out with kneading.

I like to measure the peanut butter and honey with a 1/4 cup cookie scoop. 

It makes it fast and easy to scoop, measure, drop into the bowl, and clean-up.

family fun at the annual bean auction

As we head into the last month of summer, my kids' anticipation grows for the annual family party, and spending a few days with Grandpa and Grandma on the farm.  The weekend is filled with tubing down the river, checking out the animals at the county fair, and a tent full of giggling cousins. 

The climax of the whole event comes on Saturday when the time arrives for the annual bean auction.  On this day dry beans become just as good as Jack's magic ones. 

This is how it all works:
Every family is asked to donate a few auction items.  The items can be handcrafted, certificates for services, gently used toys and household items or things just purchased for the auction. - This year Grandma is already on her hunt for school supplies, great dollar store finds, and gift basket fillers.

The event begins with everyone purusing through the various products available on display.  Some of the things pictured below include a quilted table runner and crocheted hats from my extremely talented sister in-laws (high ticket items), a great frame filled with pictures of our grandparents, homemade bread and jam, toys and games for the kids, and a box of cereal that went for an amazing number of beans after a bidding frenzy from the college crowd.

After everyone takes a seat, a list of several questions is read.  To all those to whom the questions apply, beans are distributed.  For example, each person who made their bed that morning receives one bean. 
Other questions that might be included are: 
Have you done the dishes this week? - one bean
Are you starting school in the fall?  -two beans 
Did you see the sheep at the fair? - one bean
Have you moved in the last year?  3 beans
What is Grandpa and Grandma's anniversary?  -3 beans and one more if you know how many years they have been married
We usually throw in some questions that have to do with events(good and maybe not so good) in the past year like  -2 beans if you have traveled outside the country this year or -10 beans if your house was flooded this year, etc.
We usually have about 20 questions so some need a cup to hold all their beans.

When the questions end, the bidding begins!  We use two auctioneers to keep the party hopping and children of all ages start bidding for treasures that can only be paid for in the beans that they earned. 
We only have a couple of rules. 
--No combining beans with others to bid but buying something for someone else is totally fine.
--Go easy on the little people and have a great time.

We have a really big family and this is a good way to get to know each other better. This auction is great entertainment for everyone and is good for at least a hour of fun.

gone fish'n

Being a mom of 3 boys and knowing that is hard to find fun projets for them. Lets face it is fun to make cute stuff for girls and ideas are endless. Well I ran across this fun idea      From an Igloo and just had to try it. My boys love fishing. And now they can go fishing rain or shine. I made mine with numbers and letters on the fish so that my youngest can learn as he fishes. You can even make them in plain colors so that they can learn their colors as well.  Or play a math game for the older ones. Ideas are endless.

What you need
*wood dowel
*metal washers
*magnets
*yarn or string
*fabric scraps
*buttons
*drill
*sewing machine and/or needle and thread

We have had so much fun with ours. I hope you have just as much fun.

Happy Fishing!!

car caddy

Picture from handmadebyjill

This fun little carry along is one that any boy would love.  I love this project from the Homemade by Jill. blog.  Check it out;  she has lots of great do it yourself ideas.  

Jill also directed our attention to this cute car mat designed by Lisa Storms from the Fiskars Craft Blog. 
Soo Cute!

picture from fiskars

birthday shirt bonanza

Tutus and TShirts

In the search of a great birthday gift, I loved the idea of a birthday shirt. 

Here are a few of my favorites and where to get them.

These are a hit at a birthday party and  fun to wear for the whole year to come. 

made for you tee

flyduds

happy family