How to Grow Grass for Easter Table Decor

Last week I was sent a little reminder on my Google calendar telling me that it was time to start my Easter grass! Do you use the Google calender?  I have just started to play around with it , and I am really liking it.  I still love my bright and happy planner, but you have to actually open it to be effective, you know?!  LOL  Some days I appreciate the reminders coming to my phone about events and important things like Easter grass:)  This is actually only the second time I have grown it.  Most years, I forget until it is too late!  Not this year, thanks to the reminder I sent myself! 

 You still have time too, just start your own in the nest couple of days.   It actually only needs about 10-14 days to grow.

Before you know it, you will have this:

(source)

Can't you just see some pretty pastel colored eggs nestled in there?  Beautiful.

So here are the super easy directions.

How to Grow Grass:

*You can use wheat or regular grass seed to do this.  I have plenty of wheat in my food storage for making bread, so I use that.  If you choose to use grass seed--then skip the soaking and go to step 2.

1.  Soak your wheat overnight, or at least 5-8 hours. Just put them in a bowl and cover them with an inch or two of water and leave them on the counter.  This is not necessary, but it really helps the wheat to sprout quick.  

2.  Prepare your container.  I am using a shallow dish, but a planter or bowl would work great too.  Fill it with some potting soil.  You could put rocks on the bottom for drainage, but since you will only be growing the grass for a few weeks, I don't really thing that is necessary.  Just be careful not to over water.

3.  Sprinkle your wheat (soaked and drained) or grass seed over the dirt.  Be generous with the wheat /seeds, then the grass will come up nice and thick.

4.  Sprinkle everything with water and lay plastic wrap loosely over top. This will have a greenhouse affect.  Put in a sunny spot (by a window).  I only keep the plastic wrap on for a day or two--longer than that and you may get mold.

5.  Everyday sprinkle the seeds with water---or use a spray bottle.  Your kids will love to do this for you!

Just be sure to keep it moist, but not too wet and your grass will grow!

This is just day 4...

Pretty easy, huh?!

I am so excited for Easter this year!  Not only did I remembered to grow grass:) but my sister Erin and her darling little family will be here!  Yipee!

Create: Crayon Cars

I have seen these adorable crayon cars on serveral sites and thought this would be a craft I could interest my boys in, so I purchased this Nordic Ware Sweet Rides Classic Car Pan on Amazon.  I figure with 5 boys we will use this cake pan lots over the years--and not just with crayons!

(uh not sure what was up with Coleman here--that is life with boys--one minute mad the next forgotten, thank heavens:)

How to Make Crayon Cars:

1. Peel the paper off of the crayons. Sitting around peeling the paper off of the crayons together was fun at first, but became a little tedious after awhile.  The younger boy lost interest, but my older boys plugged along and I have to say I enjoyed working with them on this little project.    We sorted the colors so that the final cars would be different shades of the same color.
2. Break the crayons up--or just use broken ones like us:)  When we did have to break crayons my little boys loved to help!
3. VERY IMPORTANT STEP: spray your car shapes with cooking spray to help the cars come out of the pan easily.
4. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. 
5. Fill the pans with crayon bits and pieces. Here they are ready to go in the oven

6. Bake for about 20 minutes- We noticed that as the crayons melted, they sunk down and we had to quickly add more. 

All 5 of my boys had fun looking in the oven window and watching the crayons melt, swirling into a puddle of wax.  Who knew this would be so exciting!

7. Carefully, remove from oven when they are all fully melted. Allow them to cool. They shrink a bit and easily come out of the pan.

And Viola--you have crayon cars! 

Ours are now proudly displayed on each of my boys desks and inside our crayon bucket. 

The army truck is my favorite! We actually didn't plan it that way we just had leftover green and then a bunch of brown that we weren't being used so we just tossed them into the last mold and hoped for the best! It was a surprise when it turned out perfectly "camo".

Crayon Cars were crossed off our Summer Bucket list and considered a success! Fun times!

Welcome February with a DIY Valentine Banner

I get so excited for this time of year! I think Valentines is one of my favorite holidays! I know that may sound silly but I adore all the love letters, sweetness and of course the chocolate involved! We have lots of family Valentine traditions and I have some new ideas to add to this year's celebrations--can't wait! Last year I had several emails asking where I purchased the' Love' sign gracing my mantel. I am happy to say--that I made it and it was pretty easy to do. It is the first thing I whip out after I box up all the Christmas stuff. I know I jump the gun a little with the Valentines decor, but I don't care--I love it! Anyway, I made the banner a few years ago while my babies napped. If you are in the crafting mood, give it a try--just be sure to use a sharp exacto knife (that was my only frustration)! Makes a huge difference! Enjoy!

You will need:
Stryofoam board from a craft store
Exacto knife
A can of spray adhesive
Decorative scrapbook paper
Ribbon

1-First print of the letters L O V E as big as you want from your computer (make sure to bold them--one per page). I used a simple font with straight lines, because I am not too skilled with an exacto knife:)
2- Carefully cut out your printed letters and two matching heart shapes (I just freehanded those hearts)
3-Trace the letters onto the decorative scrapbook paper that you want to use and cut them out.
4- Trace the letters onto the styrofoam board and using a SHARP exacto knife carefully cut them out.
5-Use the can of spray adhesive (found at a scrapbook store) and attach the decorative patterned letters onto the styrofoam board. I did this outside so I wouldn't spray glue all over my house.
6-I have a scrapbook tool that pokes holes and that is what I used to create holes in the tops of the hearts and letters. I then threaded some red ribbon throughm, tying little bows on either end. The bows hide the push pins I use to attach it to the top of the mantel.

Happy happy Valentines Day Month--let the Lovin' begin!

How do you celebrate Valentines Day/ Month?

DIY: The Easiest Pillow You Will Ever Make!

I LOVE the holiday pillows in the Potterybarn catalogue, but I don't want to spend the $39-$49 price tag, you know? Although, I have to admit that I do splurge on Potterybarn pillows sometimes, but ones that I can leave out for longer than a month.

BUT, I am happy to report that thanks to Whitney's brilliant idea, I have found a way to have holiday pillows at a fraction of the cost! AND you will not believe how easy this is!

First: You need a place mat. I got this one at Target for $3.99.

Make sure the place mat is double sided like this:

Next grab a seam ripper and pull out a couple of inches of the hem on one of the sides. Just enough room to get the stuffing in.

I bought this polyester fiberfill at the fabric store for $4 and only used about a third of it. So I guess I can make some more pillows:)

After you have filled it up, carefully pin the open hem. Then simply sew a straight line with your machine (or you could do it by hand) on the very edge to match the rest of the hem.

AND....viola you have a cute holiday pillow!

A beautiful Christmas pillow that no one would ever guess was a place mat in a former life! Super easy, inexpensive and cute! My kind of craft!

Merry Christmas and happy sewing:)

DIY: Vintage Inspired Flower Headbands

While I was in Utah I bought this headband at a little boutique. It was defintely overpriced, but I bought it anyway, because I loved it and I thought I could use it as a pattern to make more. Being the Mother of 5 boys, I am not sure why I thought I needed to make more ...but o well, I did:) Sometimes I just get in the mood to make somthing and not just paper airplanes, you know?!

It was fun figuring out what I needed at the craft store and one evening when the boys were all tucked in bed, I made a bunch of red ones.

I kept one and then gave the others away to my Young Women at church, and sent some off to my sisters and nieces who had birthdays.
I need to make more for the rest of the birthdays now:)
This is what I did:
1. Picked up supplies at the Hobby Lobby (craft store).
*Suede material in red and green
*Wire hair bands (set of 3 for $1.99)
*Hemstich
*Pearls (for center--found in the beading dept)

2. Gather supplies at home:
*glue gun
*BBQ/candle lighter
*Needle and thread
*Cardstock for pattern

3. Cut the cardstock to make a pattern of 2 small pointed leaves and 6 little circles going down in size starting at about 2.5 inches across. You can see my "pattern" in the top left corner of the picture.

4. Using the patterns trace the circles and leaves on the smooth side of your suede fabric and cut out.

5. With the BBQ/candle lighter, lightly "burn" the edges of the fabric circles so they slightly curl up all the way around.

6. Next carefully wrap the wire headbands with hemstich tape and secure on the ends with a dab of hot glue from your glue gun.

7. Thread your needle with a light cream color thread and sew the pearl on top of all 6 circles laying on top of each other from largest to smallest.

8. Attach the petals to the bottom of the flower and then attach the flower onto the middle- lower side of the prepared headband with your hot glue gun.

and...Viola, you are done!!

Now does anybody know of some good craft ideas that my boys would enjoy??

Right Now...

I am forgoing Menu Monday ...

because this Mama is going out of town this week and we all know that the Daddy does not cook in no uncertain terms. Lets just say that our pantry is well stocked with cereal and snacks, the fridge is full of easy to grab fruit, and the freezer is stuffed with frozen pizza and taquitos. I will be missed (hopefully) but my boys won't be hungry:)

I am getting ready to go to Utah for BYU Women's Conference

and to spend time with my sweet family and some dear friends.

I CAN NOT WAIT!

In preparation I got out my rarely used sewing machine and made some cute notebook covers. I had seen these on a certain online shop and could never order them before they would sell out. Then the price was raised to $30 with shipping. At that point, I started thinking I could make one myself and went to the local fabric store. After weeks of putting it off, one day I finally studied the picture and thru much trial and error figured out how to do it. Don't look close, the seams are not perfect, but I had so much fun creating something from scratch! It was very exciting for me to actually use my sewing machine too!

Aren't they fun?
I am looking forward to lots of note taking in one of these!

I don't have a pattern, but if anyone wants the measurements, email me at melandboys@gmail.com

I have got to go pack! yipee!

Create --Body Scrubs

I am very excited about this Do-it-Yourself idea I saw on the Martha Stewart website. Don't you just LOVE to use a good scrub and feel soft and radiant all over? It is a great way to get ready for Summer! I happen to have all the ingredients on hand, so now I just need to find the time to make it up. These would make great gifts for your girlfriends birthdays, don't you think? The instructions are here.

Speaking of creating--watch this--inspiring! The message, the pictures and the music--just BEAUTIFUL!!