Family Rules Project

If you've been around the blog block a time or two, then I'm sure that you have seen the family rules canvases that are super popular right now. I can't be sure where I first saw the idea, but I think that it was over at The Pleated Poppy.

{Photo Credit: The Pleated Poppy}

I loved the idea of it, but it wasn't exactly my style. So, I took the idea and made it my own! Busy Bee, Hubby & I brainstormed and came up with these family rules to live by. The last two are Busy Bee's and possibly my favorite, "Leave a trail of loveness" (loooooove this) and "no coffee in the family room" (don't ask)!

I plan on printing this on canvas and hanging it in our office. I'll let you know how it turns out!

In case you have trouble reading them, here they are:

be kind & speak nicely

share

mind your manners

sing & laugh & dance & play

clean up after yourself

always tell the truth

believe in yourself

be grateful

keep your promises

count your blessings

work hard & play hard

give your best to your guest

no coffee in the family room

leave a trail of loveness

 

Bee Happy,

Easter Egg Hunt Recap

The Easter Egg Hunt turned out to be great fun! We kept it simple and didn't too much planning - knowing that it would be all over in a matter of minutes! We followed it with an ice cream picnic and some of the kiddos stayed around to play!

In case you are planning your own for next year, here are a few ideas!

We created cute carrot shaped favors with Wilton 12 inch pastry bags, some polkadot (of course!) ribbon and some of Busy Bee's favorites - chickadees cheddar cheese snack crackers. For the babies in attendance we filled them with sweet potato puffs by Gerber. And since those babes wouldn't be able to enjoy the goodies in the eggs, we got them little books as a favor too.

We had extra baskets on hand in case our friends forgot theirs and made sure to have a first aid kit handy (although we didn't need it, thankfully).

We filled about 2 dozen eggs per child and one extra large one. We also hid mini bottles of bubbles. We decided against doing a "golden egg" or putting cash in one because we didn't want anybody feelings to be hurt about not getting the "big" prize. All in all, it was a great success and I'm looking forward to next year - and hitting up the clearance department for cute decor!

Bee Happy,

More Rainbow Fun

We finshed off St. Patrick's Day fun with more rainbow activities. First up, we planned a rainbow dinner and made sure to include something for every color. We even had rainbow striped plates!

Next we created rainbow bracelets with colored fruit cereal and string licorice so our creations were totally edible! We took some time to discuss favorite colors and patterns.

We read this book and then took a look at some of Van Gogh's masterpieces and the use of color.

Last but certainly not least was what Busy Bee had been looking forward to and planning for months! We had billed it as a boring plain old vanilla cake with vanilla frosting. If you've been around the blogging block before you know what's coming. If you are offended by technicolored food - click away and come back tomorrow. :)

Here is the finished cake- please keep in mind that I iced it in a matter of 5 minutes while trying to occupy Baby Bee with silly faces and in between having playdates with Busy Bee's neighborhood friends.

If you decide to tackle this cake here are two tips:

use Wilton gel food coloring and be sure to get the ones with "no taste" and

use disposable cake pans (you can use them afterward for crafting purposes)!

We had a few of Busy Bee's friends over for the big cake reveal and I have to say that it did earn me a few points in the "Cool Mom" department.

I'm off to go feed Busy Bee nothing but organic food for the next few weeks to counteract this colorful concoction! :)

Bee Happy,

Rainbow Scavenger Hunt

Today we've been working on rainbow crafts and activities in anticipation of St. Patrick's Day! We started off this morning with a rainbow scavenger hunt! We kept it to one room, the playroom and tried to find items that were solid in color.

My favorite moment was when Busy Bee told the chair to "Say Cheese!" (She took all of the pictures!)

                                  

We also read one of our favorite books...and while I realize that Indigo is missing - it is still a pretty cute read as the rainbow unfolds in the form of a ribbon rainbow!

                                       

What Makes A Rainbow by Betty Ann Schwartz

Check back soon to see our other rainbow crafts and activities!

Bee Happy,

Moose Juice

Busy Bee headed to Grammy's to play

and to celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday.

They put their heads together
and started to think...
not of a treat that you eat...
but of one that you drink.

The ingredients they gathered
and blended and poured.
Tasting the silly concoction,
they were floored!
It was orangy and frothy
and oh so yummy...
and just hit the spot
in their rumbly tummy!

They toasted to Dr. Seuss
the 'Rhymer Extraordinaire',
with a cup full of Moose Juice...
here's the recipe to share!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup orange sherbert
1/2 banana, sliced
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon whipped cream

Directions

1. Combine the juice, sherbert, banana, and extract. Mix it in a blender until smooth.

2. Pour it in a glass and top with the whipped cream. Enjoy! A bendie or silly straw is a must!

Recipe from:

Green Eggs and Ham Cookbook by Georgeanne Brennan

Bee Happy,

Pipe Cleaner Bracelets

I'm not sure why I didn't think of this idea sooner! We love to make jewelry together but threading a thin string can be a bit of a challenge. Enter my stash of pipe cleaners! With a selection of colorful & alphabet beads we created cute bracelets for each other! Be sure to tuck the ends of the pipe cleaner into the last beads so that the sharp end doesn't poke out.

We loved the ease of this project so much that we plan to do it our Spring Tea Party... more on that soon!

Bee Happy,

Mini Rain Stick

When Busy Bee and I were contemplating what to do with an empty oversized Pringle's can, I remembered back to a project that I had done in High School Child Development Class. It was a favorite of mine and will hopefully be a favorite of Busy Bee's.

Materials:

-Can similar to a large Pringle's can or mailing tube
-30-40 nails
-hammer
-dry ingredients such as rice, cereal, beans etc.
-clear contact paper
-decorative scrapbook paper
-double stick tape

and

On the Pringle's can there was a diagonal seam that we followed. We simply  hammered the nails in around 3 of the seams creating a "spiral staircase of nails" inside. No need to be even about anything - just eyeball everything. The inside will look like this:

Fill with about 1/4 of the dry goods.

Using double stick tape, adhere the scrapbook paper to outside of can.

Use the clear contact paper to cover and seal the lid to the can.

Very slowly tip the can from one side to the other and you will hear exactly why this is called a rain stick! Maybe with all of the snow that we have been experiencing, Busy Bee and I are hopeful that a Spring rainshower is just around the corner!

Monday Mission: Frame Homemade Artwork

My mission for this week was to frame some homemade artwork for our bedroom and another piece for Busy Bee's playroom. I chose a floating frame (Target) for ours and a plastic surround frame (for safety) for Busy Bee's. I just love that we will see and enjoy ours every single day and so will Busy  Bee!

In a matter of minutes I had accomplished this week's mission and I can only imagine how proud it makes Busy Bee feel! I know just how proud it makes me!

Week 2: Monday Mission Accomplished!

Bee Happy,

Ice Wreath

It's been perfect weather for this next project! I've been wanting to make one of these for years! I was all set to head to the store for some supplies when it started to snow and I decided to go "shopping" in my own home! Good thing that I did, because I forgot completely about a beautiful wreath that I had gotten on clearance last year. The backside was decorated and I wanted to remove that anyway so that it wouldn't scratch the door.

The leftovers were perfect! I had greenery, red berries and pinecones galore!

You simply take a bundt pan and fill it with your decorative items, add water and freeze!

Once Frozen, run warm water around the outside edges of pan. Your wreath will pop free!

Add a ribbon and hang outside! This is the best pic that I could get because it is coooooold outside!

Bee Happy,

Snow Watch 2010 Chart

Last weekend we started "Snow Watch 2010" and had a blast measuring the snow, creating weather forecasts on the flip video camera (even bundling up and doing them "on location" from our front yard) and updating our Snow Watch 2010 chart! We used 11 cotton balls per page to represent about an inch of snow. Yes, that means that we had about 24 inches of snow! And we're expecting more tonight!

If the idea of cotton balls and glue makes you nervous - as it did me - simply use a strip of foam poster tape. It held the cotton balls and was mess free! Phew!

Don't forget to get a picture of your busy bee beside the chart to show just how high the snow is!

Bee Happy,

Heart Hand Prints

If you are in a pinch for a cute Valentine's Day project, card or gift idea (this would be adorable framed!)... here's a perfect one for you!

Pick two complimentary colors and paint each of your busy bee's hands a different color. Have them place them on the paper in the shape of an upside down heart. Turn it rightside up and you have a heart made from your little one's handprints.

I defined the shape more by writing a special love note message around the edges!

Super simple, yet super sweet!

Bee Happy,

Potato Printing

With a simple heart cut from a potato we created three fun projects.

A Valentine's Day turtleneck.

Heart notecards to give as gifts.

Simple Valentines!

Bee Happy,

Heart Crayons

This is another oldie but goodie! Remember those trays that we used for our homemde gummy candies? Well, I got a second set so that we could whip up some heart shaped crayons.

The first time that I tried this project, I didn't think it was worth the hassle - but I've since learned a timesaving secret... soak the crayons in ice cold water first. Some of them peeled themselves!

Simply take your broken crayon pieces (I save restaurant ones for this purpose) and put them into a muffin tin or candy mold. Put into a 275 degree oven and remove when melted. Let cool and pop them out!

Stop back later for adorable bag toppers that you can print to share your crayon masterpieces with all of your busy bee's friends!

Bee Happy,

'Homemade'Lollipops

Ok, so these sweet lollipops are only semihomemade - but they turned out adorable! You can have these made and cooled in minutes!

Materials
-Jolly Rancher Candies
-Parchment Paper
-Cookie Sheet
-Lollipop sticks

Preheat your oven to 275. Line up 3 candies in a row. You'll probably be able to fit about 8-9 on a sheet and you'll want to stagger them to allow for the stick.

Pop them in the oven for about 5 minutes. They will start to melt and pool. Remove from the oven and insert stick. That's it!! Enjoy!

Look how adorable they look on top of a pretty package!

Bee Happy,

Shrinky Dink Heart Pendant

This is another oldie but goodie!

Materials:
-One sheet of poly shrink
-rubber stamps and inkpad *OR* permanent marker
-markers
-decorative scissors for edging (optional)
-hole punch

Busy Bee made shrinky dink heart pendants today and it was not only super fun, but also a blast in the past for me! We simply stamped a heart stamp with a black inkpad and then colored them in with markers. We used decorative scissors on the edges and finished it off with two holes with our adorable heart punch! Simply add string or ribbon for a fun necklace!

Note: Our designs shrunk to about a third of the original size and took about 7 minutes in a 270 degree oven.

Bee Happy,

Heart Shaped Brownies

Grammybee and Busy Bee whipped up some brownies today, so we decided to surprise Hubby with some heart shaped brownies. Sure, they aren't perfectly heart shaped - but Busy Bee is super proud because she did it herself. We plan to serve them up with hot chocolate for a perfect after dinner desert date with daddy.

Bee Happy,