Happy Valentine's Day!!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

        Okay so first of all I have to apologize for being a complete and total slacker lately.  I kept meaning to wake up early so I could post these and I could not drag myself out of bed...mornings and pregnancy have not been my friend for the past couple of weeks!  I hope this post makes up for my absence even though you probably have all of your Valentine's written and sent off with your kids to school!  I finally finished my hubbie's Valentine's Day Present!  Total cost??  $1.69...literally...that's buying all the materials.  It did take a lot of time however but hey it was worth it because he totally and completely loved it!  First off go to the Dollar Store and pick up 2 white poster boards for $0.50 each.  If you have a monopoly board you can trace around it or make your square 24x24 inches.  Draw a square in the middle measuring up 3 inches from the sides.

       Next sketch out Lovopoly in the middle with a pencil. I recommend doing everything with a pencil first so that you can erase it and make sure you do it on the non-shiny side of the poster board that way it doesn't  leave smudges when you erase! I made each of my corner squares 3 inches, you know the ones that have Go, Jail, Free Parking and Go To Jail.  So you need to measure a 3x3 inch square on all 4 corners.  Next you need to make 9 rectangles in between each of those squares.  I made mine measuring 2 inches each to give you the right amount of space.  No from your top line measure 1/2 inch down and draw a straight line across, these you will color in with the colors of the properties.  This is where monopoly comes in handy.  I used it the whole time for colors.  Don't forget that Income Tax, Community Chest, Chance, Utilities and Railroads do not have that line across.

       Next I wrote up a list of all the places that had special meaning to us.  You will need 28 special places, preferrably ones that have special memories that you can incorporate into the game.  By the way, I did find the website for the game if you want to purchase it go to www.lovopoly.com. I did use some ideas from there but most of the stuff was fun to just create on my own!  Okay after you have all your memories decide what you want to go where.  Again the board comes in handy.  You will need 2 brown, 3 light blue, 3 purple, 3 orange, 3 red, 3 yellow, 3 green and 2 dark blue properties.  You will also need 4 railroads, I put 4 temples that were special to us.  Then last you will need 2 utilities, I put the hospital and Disneyland.  Now sketch those out and any pictures you would like.  I just tried to think of simple pictures since I am no artist as you can tell :)  I colored in the squares accordingly, wrote the properties and prices.  I also did a 1/2 inch outline of black marker all the way around the outside of the board to make it look more like the real thing.

       Dog House is used in place of Jail

Stop Sign is much easier to draw then that guy from Monopoly :)

Diaper Fund used in place of Income Tax.

       Next you will make your Property Cards.  I apologize that I didn't get pictures for the rest of the tutorial.  For the Property cards I measure them 2x3.  I just colored in a co-ordinating square on the top and wrote the name of each property in the colored square.  For pricing and house information I just used the exact same pricing as they had on Monopoly.  You are almost there!  Next you need to make your Community Chest and Chance cards (I used Feelin' Lucky and Family Treasure).  You will need 32 of these, 16 of each.  You can do more or less but that's what I did since that's what the game had.  This is where your "meaningful places" come in handy.  So for instance I said "Take a trip to Chicho and Cecy's house.  While you are there, steal your first kiss.  If you pass go, collect $200 Love Bucks!"  Or another one was "Head on over to TGI Friday's where you have an awkward run in with an ex.  Pay $50 Love Bucks for emotional distress."  Get creative!  Find ways to incorporate them in, it is well worth it and we all had a good laugh as we played!  The kids loved it too! 

       Okay here is your last part, phew...you are ALMOST done!  Find good pictures of you and your spouse's faces!  Develop them, laminate them and cut them out.  I used the little stands from our Chutes and Ladders game and set the faces in there and that's what we used for our playing pieces!  So fun!  Trust me, your whole family will have so much fun playing this game, especially when they read little things about themselves in the cards :)  I will put some links below to some fun last minute Valentine Printables from other fun websites in case you need a quick fix!  Good luck and enjoy!

- Kristin

Cute "Lovah" Gift Tags From Skip To My Lou

Matchboxes from Inchmark

Elephant Printable from Family Fun

Super Cute Lips from Paper Crafts

Valentine Candy Box (Printable) Family Fun

Valentine's S'mores from Tricia Rennea

Christmas Craft

Christmas Ornaments!

       Hey everyone!  Hopefully you've still got one more craft in you before Christmas!  Even if you don't, you have to try this...it literally took me no time at all, it was so easy.  I am really not just saying that...plus you don't have to wait for it to dry which is my kinda craft because I am kind of lazy that way :)  I had heard about this from a friend but was kind of skeptical because I thought "Floor Polish?? What kind of a craft item is Floor Polish??" But trust me it really does work and the end results are awesome so what do you have to lose :)

       Okay, here is what you need listed below:

                            - Glass Ornaments (Found mine on sale at Hobby Lobby @ 50% off)

                            - Glitter, I had these on hand but I recommend getting a bigger size like Martha Stewart

                            - Pledge Floor Care (with the Blue Lid) there are two kinds and this is the one I chose                        and it worked great, I can't vouch for the other one but I am sure it would be the same. (Heads up, this is $6...it hardly uses any at all for this project, I mean hardly any, but since I have Wood Floors it is a win-win for me to use the rest...however if you don't you can save this for another project).

       Start off by pouring some of the Pledge into each ornament...I did this in each ornament all at the same time using the blue spout so nothing spilled and just stuck each ornament back in the packaging upright so it wouldn't spill.  Then you take each ornament and roll it around until all the inside has been coated by the Pledge.

       Now pour in your glitter...use a lot of glitter to coat the insides...don't be scared to use a lot, if you don't it won't coat as well and then when you pour it back out you still get A LOT out of there...it really doesn't use a lot of glitter, you just want to make sure it's well coated...make sense?  Dump the excess glitter back onto a sheet of paper so you can funnel it back into your Glitter Bottle and use for another project!

       Here you have it below!  Super simple, inexpensive and most of all easy!  I think each ornament would be cute with a bow on top and placed in a fun bowl as well but however you decorate, it will be great!

       Enjoy!!

- Kristin

Bread Braid Tutorial and Thanksgiving Printable

Bread Braid Tutorial and Thanksgiving Printable

       Hey friends!  As promised, here is the braided bread tutorial!  Sometimes I like to see things just to see how they make sense so hopefully this helps you.  Okay first, roll your dough in a large rectangle like it is listed below.  Don't worry about it being perfect...seriously...look at mine, it all turns out fine in the end :)

       Next I like to brush it with a little butter to keep it moist...when I say a little I mean a little...you don't want the inside to be soggy.  Then layer all your toppings as desired.  Next cut slits on the side as pictured below...about 1 inches apart...again, no need to pull out your measuring tape...just eye ball it.  Starting from the short end at the top, fold that in then take the left side and fold over, then the right one over, just like the picture below.  I like to make the ends touch the opposite end of the filling.

       Finish the last short end just the way you started the first end.  Brush the top with butter and cook according to directions.  I like to let mine rise a little before cooking...but it turns out great the other way too if you can't wait a minute longer :)  See how delicious this looks below!  My kids LOVE this sandwich and always ask for seconds.  Add a salad on the side and you're good to go! Now get going!

       Okay, as promised I have a fun Thanksgiving Printable for you...let me explain how it works.  These should print off fine on an 8.5X11 piece of paper...just off of your computer.  Print out a copy of each, or with my family we did 2 copies of each.  The first is your "Thankful" tree and I stuck mine in a sheet protector instead of laminating it but you could do either.  Then cut out each leaf and acorn and each day have your children write something they are thankful for (or you can all decide on one thing and have a leaf for each day of November).  Now you can tape it or attach with glue dots to your laminated or sheet protected tree!  We displayed ours in our kitchen so we can see it throughout the day and be reminded of all the things that we are grateful for!  Why did we print off 2 of each??  We chose 1 family who has done a lot to help us or others and we got it all ready for them, cut out the leaves, put it in a sheet protector etc. and gave it to them so they could share in the fun!  Make as many copies as you would like, share them, have fun spreading your "Thanks" but please remember these are for personal use only, no gain from my pain :)  Send them back here if they want to make copies so you can share the wealth :)  Enjoy!

- Kristin