christmas vases

This marks the beginning of my many crafts I will be doing for Christmas. I will be having baby #3 around Thanksgiving so I am not going to have time to do them after that. I have about 10 different crafts I want to do. I may be a little ambitious but we will see how many I get done. I work on them at nap time and night time so that's a few hours a day.

*CRAFT TIP: To cover your table before crafting you can use a trash bag cut open or a table cloth from the $1 store. I buy a few every time I go. They come in handy for kids crafts too.

This is my first craft. I found it on Pinterest like most of the others I will be doing. DIY Christmas vases made from wine bottles. Here's the link I used:

http://www.favecrafts.com/Wine-Bottle-Crafts/Snowball-Wine-Bottle-Vases

Here's the finished product:

Materials:

Wine bottles or sparkling apple cider bottles. (Beer bottles would work great too for smaller vases)
White paint or primer
Epsom salts (cheapest at Target on the first-aid aile)
Spray glue (found at any craft store)
Glitter (optional)
Decorative sticks to put in vases (optional)

*I spent about $10 on everything (spray glue, glitter & decorative sticks) I already had bottles, paint and Epsom salts.

I've been collecting bottles for this for several months. If I would have known, I would have only collected the newer bottles because the labels come off MUCH easier.

Step 1 - (the hardest step I think) Remove the labels. I've researched many different techniques for this. This is my favorite. It's easy, it doesn't require any special materials and it works pretty well most of the time.. The older bottles can be stubborn and require an extra step I'll mention later.

To remove the labels, fill the sink with hot soapy water and completely submerge the bottles. My sink is only able to fit 4 at a time. Fill up the bottles with hot water first so they will sink. The soap and hot water should weaken the glue that holds the label on the bottle.

 

Wait 10 minutes then drain the sink. Use the rough side of a sponge to scrape the labels off. Some of them fall off and some require a little more work. For the stubborn ones, I used acetone. You can try nail polish remover or goo be gone or goof off found at any hardware store. I got the acetone at Home Depot for nail polish remover so I had it on hand. But again, if you use newer bottles, the labels will come off pretty easily.

 

 

 

Step 2 - Paint the bottles white. First dry off the bottles of course. Then paint your bottles. I used primer. We had some in the garage and it worked pretty well. It's pretty cheap at Home Depot. You can get a tiny can of it for a few bucks. (Paintbrushes are cheapest there too) I used two coats. It doesn't have to be super pretty because you are going to cover it up with glitter and Epsom salts. Here's Mya modeling the painted bottles :-)

 

 

Step 3 - Spray glue on the bottles and cover with glitter & Epsom salts. Spray glue can be found at a craft store like Michael's. Epsom salts are cheapest by far at Target. They are under $3 for a half gallon size. I used a cookie sheet to put the glitter and Epsom salts in. I covered the tray with foil first then covered it with Epsom salts. I generously sprinkled glitter all over the salts. A little goes a long way so it's really up to you how much you use. 

 

 

 

Roll the bottles around and coat them with the mixture. I had to re-spray some of the "bald" parts where the salts and glitter didn't attach to the bottle then sprinkle more salts and glitter to evenly coat it. As you do more bottles, the salts and glitter kind of stick together and it becomes a little more difficult to get an even coat but they all turned out pretty good.

 

 

 

I also got some little decorative sticks to put in the bottles just like I saw in the website I pinned. You can find them all over these days because the holidays are coming. I got mine at Michael's.

 

 

 I saved the leftover salts and glitter to sprinkle on the tray I will display them on. They would look best in a well lit room where the light can reflect off of the salts and glitter.

 

 

I enjoyed this craft. Even though there were several steps, they were easy. And it didn't require too much talent. Nothing had to be perfect and they turned out great.



give me a break

I shared this at GUM (Growing Up Mom) this morning and thought I would post it for those who are not a part of my MOPS group...

Most days, I am so done by the afternoon that I am snippy, sarcastic and just mean to my kids. Yes, they push my buttons but that's really no excuse for my behavior. I usually lose my temper, yell at them and make them cry and then when they are asleep, the guilt starts setting in. I feel bad for not being patient with them and not being a godly mom, whatever that looks like. It can't be what I'm doing.

Yesterday was another trying day. Both of my girls were getting over being sick so they were both super whiney and crying over little nothing things and fighting and just driving me nuts. I went to my Wednesday bible study just feeling defeated and exhausted and not really even wanting to be there. But then as I was sitting and discussing 2nd Peter and listening to prayer requests, it hit me and I was reminded by the Holy Spirit that I need to give myself a break.

None of us are bad moms, however often we may think so. We are all trying. I find myself making small improvements over time and that is something. I am always praying for patience and wisdom and a new attitude.

I think it's easy for us to tell each other we are great moms and offer grace and encouragement, but it's harder for some reason to remind ourselves of that.

The cool thing is that we get to start over each day with help from the Holy Spirit with a new mindset and a fresh attitude.

So let's not forget that we are all good moms who need to give ourselves a little grace because that is what we receive from God through Christ.

looking back

Luke 9:62 "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

This was Jesus' response to one of the 3 volunteers who asked Him if they could come and follow Him. Jesus knew they weren't ready to make that big of a commitment so he basically told them that they weren't ready. And in order to follow Him, we need to put him first. Not 2nd or 3rd or 4th but first.

I don't think he's literally saying that you can't take care of important family responsibilities like burying your father (mentioned in the story in Luke). What I think he's telling us is that we need to leave all the distractions behind that could keep us from following Him.

When I read this story in the bible, I am reminded of my daughter Winter. I take the girls on mini bike rides around our community. It's not a busy place so it's pretty safe for the most part. The girls love it. Mya is always in the front and Winter is my little distracted one. She is constantly looking behind her. I'm not sure what she's looking at but she rarely looks forward for more than a few seconds. I am constantly yelling at her to look forward. She has almost run into so many parked cars because she's not looking forward. One time she actually did run into a car that was parked. I was in front with Mya and Dan was behind Winter. Evidently he was not aware of her little problem and was surprised to see her run straight into the back of that car. She didn't learn one bit from that either. She still looks behind her all the time and I still yell at her to look forward.

I have so many distractions that steal my focus. Distractions like focusing on how much I have to do, and how tired I am and how badly my kids are behaving, how dirty my house is, all the laundry that I never seem to catch up with and how big my butt is getting. Sometimes I waste so much time in my closet obsessing over an outfit that won't make me look too huge.


What does it mean to follow Him? For me, it means that everything I do in my day to day life should be about Jesus. Living the way He created me to be. That means being a mom who lives for Christ, being a wife who lives for Christ, a daughter, sister, friend, who lives for Christ.

This means putting others first in everything I do. I think the hardest one for me is putting my kids and husband first. I get caught up in how my needs aren't being met and quickly lose focus. What I really should be thinking is, how can I serve my family today? How can I bless my husband and children? There are tons of ways to bless my family. I know my husband likes smoothies in the morning and loves when I make him a salad for lunch. He also appreciates having clean underwear :) I know that all my girls want is to spend time with me, playing, running errands, reading books, or doing crafts. And they don't appreciate my attitude when I do it begrudgingly. That does not make them feel loved.


Sometimes thinking about being more Christ-like in everything I do is overwhelming. There's no way I can just start to be more Christ-like. But if I begin the day with a prayer asking the Holy Spirit to remind me throughout the day to keep focused on that, I think my chances are much greater. And soon, I will get better at it. Month by month, year by year, changes will take place in my heart and my attitude.

homemade croutons

The other day I mentioned to my friend Mari that Vons has not been carrying my whole wheat croutons. She suggested I make them. My response was something like, "Yeah probably not."

I love croutons. I put them on my salads and in my soup. I feel that no salad or soup is complete without croutons. I am a texture person so everything has to have something crunchy in it. And with cold weather just around the corner I will need croutons for my soup more than ever.

This morning, I had too much caffeine so I got into a make-stuff mood and made smoothies, zucchini bread and then thought I would look up how to make croutons. It didn't sound too complicated so I tried it. Here's the link I used for the recipe:

http://m.allrecipes.com/recipe/6887/croutons 

I like allrecipes.com. They have a lot of simple tried and true, passed down from your grandma type recipes.

I usually freeze my bread crusts because no one eats them and throwing them out is such a waste. Unfortunately, our freezer had a meltdown (literally ha!) and we lost everything. So in the future I will already have bread for this so it's basically free! :D

First, I laid out 15 pieces of bread, spread melted butter on both sides, then sprinkled a generous amount of garlic salt on them.

 

Next I cut them up into little cubes and spread them out on two ungreased cookie sheets.

 

I baked them in the oven for 15 mins at 350 degrees and voila! They turned out great.



Now, obviously, you don't have to make this much but as I stated earlier, I LOVE me some croutons! I will eat every last one. Time for lunch. Thanks for the idea Mari!

workin the hat

I have never seen anyone with a greater hat addiction than my little Winter. She loves to accessorize and her favorite accessory by far is a hat. She even loves her bike helmet and hates to take it off when we go inside. Whatever hat she's wearing, she's totally working it.

 

 

Mya may not have the same knack that her little sis has for the whole hat/accessory thing. We will have to work on that a little bit.

fire excitement

Every now and then, the mountains behind our house catch on fire. I'm sure it's arson. There is a giant settling pond that separates us from the mountain so we don't worry about the fires getting anywhere near us. It does make for a great show, however. The fire helicopters that drop water on the fire dip down in our little lake and suck up water with their giant hoses then drop it on the fire. I always wonder if they get fish in their hoses... poor fish.

All the kids in the neighborhood (and adults) can hear the helicopters and see the smoke so they come to our backyard where there is a good view of it all. We have a little fire party and take pictures and get really excited about the free fire show. It's a great way to pass time before bed and it's quite a social event.

Here are some pics from yesterday's fire. We had quite a few neighbors watching with us =)
(No people or houses were harmed and the fire is out now)

 

Mya took this one. What a great little photographer. Nice shot of the reflection of the fire in the water...

mom's whole wheat pancakes

I love going to my mom's house when she is cooking. I know I'm going to love whatever it is. My mom is vegan and constantly making stuff I love. Everyone always asks me what she eats since she's vegan. I think they assume just bread and veggies or something =) but she eats more of a variety of foods than anyone else I know. Here's the latest yummy recipe.

Home made whole wheat blueberry pancakes! I ate like 10.

First you make the mix. You can store it in the freezer in a Ziploc bag or make some pancakes right away by adding 1 cup water to 1 cup pancake mix.

You'll need:
2 cups brazil nuts or walnuts
12 cups whole wheat flour
2/3 cups cornstarch
1/2 cup baking powder (or 1 cup Ener-G powder)
1 cup sucanat (found at whole foods) or 3/4 cup sugar (or use 1/4 cup honey with water when ready to mix)
2 Tbsp salt

To make:
1. Place one cup nuts and 1 cup flour in food processor and whiz for one minute until nuts are as fine as the flour. Repeat with the 2nd cup of nuts.
2. Pour blended nut and flour mixture into a large bowl and add the remaining ingredients.
3. Mix together and store in plastic storage bag in the freezer.

When ready to make, add one cup mixture to one cup water and mix. Then add 1/2 cup blueberries and you're ready to go.

Preheat a nonstick skillet to med temp. Ladle onto hot griddle in 1/4 cup portions. Cook until golden brown on each side.

I eat my pancakes with 100% maple syrup or almond butter or apple sauce.