Mama's Got Her Genius On

I am no expert on saving money. Blowing through money in the first 4 days after payday and then wondering where all the money went at the end of the month? Yes, got that down.

Every now and then though I see an idea and think that its pretty fun and if I can save some money--well then even better.

I saw this idea somewhere and decided to make it with the kids. This is actually our second round with the homemade easel but the first one was such a big hit I modified it a bit and made another one.

Using the end of a cupboard, cut easel paper into strips and attach at the top. I used masking tape as it peals off easily without leaving any residue. I bought washable markers (crayons were used in the first easel) and taped craft ribbon to the lid and then hung it from the top of the cupboard. Voila.

Ribbon: $.44

Tape: $1 from the dollar store
Easel paper from IKEA: $5.00
Washable markers: $5.99
My farmy easel: $12.43

Now let us compare that to a famous toy store's easel for $39.99 and that is a savings of $27.56!

Let's go get overpriced coffee with our extra money!

5 A Day the 4-H Way

Sometimes I have these flashes of brilliance that even take me by surprise. No kidding. Yesterday I was lamenting to Bestie Shannon that my kids are going to grow up to be serial killers because they don't eat fruits and vegetables and then this morning I got this genius idea (I have yet to test it on them) to make little magnet hands that they could keep track of their fruits and veggies on.

Now while I may be a self-proclaimed genius my art skills are that of a 1st grader so I'm sure you can make these better. Nevertheless, I am seriously patting myself on the back for these beauties!

I covered them in contact paper and slapped some magnets on the back.

Then I used the clip art on my computer to make these little 2x2ish fruits and veggies. I colored them with colored pencils, labeled them and put more contact paper on them. I put a magnet on the back of each. I made 10 different fruits and veggies for each kid and put them in a ziploc (I know, a better mom would have sewed a bag) with their names on them. This picture is a sample of what it will look like at the end of a perfect and ideal day.

Now if I could just come up with a way to get them to eat them without me threatening them I would really be awesome!

Hand Trees

If you follow this blog then you know I only have a crafting label for appearance. I hate crafts. I'm not crafty and when I try to be crafty my crafts turn out lame.

Samuel is a chip off the ol' block and his teachers at school always tell me its like pulling teeth to get him to do the art project for that day. He would much rather play fireman. Amen son.

Well a wild hare got in to me the other day and I totally got my craft on. I had seen these Hand Trees at Bestie Kim's house. I bought the materials and they sat on my kitchen counter until all the stars aligned and I finally made them with the kids. I did them on canvas so they look way cool up on a wall in the family room.

Bird Cakes
We're still in quarantine over here at the Henderson house so in order to help pass the day we decided to make bird cakes for our feathered little friends outside. I mentioned it on Facebook and got lots of requests for the how-to. I just made this crap up so if you've got a better method then by all means share it with the rest of us. When we hung them up outside fussy Hot Jeff, who apparently is like a bird know it all, said they will have a hard time eating out of them. C'mon Hot Jeff, please keep your bird cake criticism to yourself, you're bringin' me down.

Start with a bowl of equal amounts of lard (Mmm) and peanut butter. Stir in a bird food mixture of your native birds' favorite. We used a nutty and dried fruit mixture.

Clean out yogurt containers. Use as binoculars (this part is optional).

Poke a hole in the bottom of the yogurt container and string a string or ribbon through it. We kind of looped ours so that the yogurt container would hang at an angle and for strength. Fill the containers with your suet mixture.

Put the finished product in the freezer for a few hours or overnight.

Hang from the trees and then listen to Hot Jeff ridicule you for your genius idea and for doing wonderfully crafty things with his children. Oh yeah, Hot Jeff, you think you can make bird cakes so much better? Sorry, I digress.

* Yes, those are my kids in their pajamas and yes, it was 3:00 in the afternoon when we were making the bird cakes. Don't judge me.