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Make Mint Julep Gelato for the Derby!

May 4, 2012 | Also posted in Topic: food, my food
lemon-and-mint-julep-gelato
For the Kentucky Derby, you need Mint Juleps, right? Well for the Derby, or any time, this is a fabulous ice cream recipe for those Summer (or almost summer) days… This gelato was inspired by our neighbors, Sara & Paul, and their wonderful mint juleps that they make for the Derby.  Their recipe is a little nontraditional, as it calls for lemon, but I like their version even better than then typical Mint Julep drink. Gelato is healthier than ice cream because it has less fat in it, and it’s texture is just wonderful.  And while I… Read on...

Valentine Monster homemade kids cards

February 14, 2012 | Also posted in Topic: craft, Seasonal/Holiday, Tutorials/Tips
Valentine Monster homemade kids cards
Happy Valentine’s Day!  Normally I share Valentines Cards prior to the actual day, to help give other people ideas, but let’s say we ran a bit behind this year.  No matter, sharing now, since the internet is eternal, and this may help someone out next year! So Sunday evening, after a marathon session of watching Series 2 of Doctor Who with the Boy (who between that and Harry Potter is becoming quite the Anglophile), we had the sudden realization that Tuesday was Valentines Day… oops!  I guess we need a bunch of cards for the classmates!… Read on...

Get Creative with The Lorax: The Truffula Tree-Shirt!

February 10, 2012 | Also posted in Topic: craft, Featured Craft, inspirations, Tutorials/Tips
hazel-truffula-tree
I’ve always adored The Lorax, it was probably my favorite Dr. Suess book when I was little.  And what really captured my imagination as a kid were those fabulous Truffula Trees, looking like cotton candy on a stick! So when I was invited to participate in the blog tour in promotion of the new movie coming out (in theaters March 2nd. Visit the official site for the movie preview, pictures, downloads and more!) I couldn’t resist doing a project featuring those wonderful trees. The Truffula Tree-Shirt! This is a simple “Freezer Paper Stencil” project. Just print out the stencil I’m… Read on...

How to: B&W wood photo ornaments and keepsake gift tags!

December 13, 2011 | Also posted in Topic: craft, Featured Craft, Seasonal/Holiday, Tutorials/Tips
star-ornament
I recently did a guest post on the FedEx Out of Office blog, with a tutorial on making personalized wooden ornaments and gift tags from photocopies of your photos and drawings. It’s pretty cool, go check it out: Personalized Black & White Wood Ornaments for all the step by steps. It’s a really neat technique that just uses acrylic gel medium from the art store– no toxic chemicals or anything like that.  The toner from the photocopy remains on the wood, so the white areas of your photo become wood colored,… Read on...

BRAAAAINS! Conehead Zombie… PvZ costume

October 24, 2011 | Also posted in Topic: craft, Featured Craft, Halloween, Seasonal/Holiday, Tutorials/Tips
kids conehead zombie costume from plants vs zombies
The Cutest Little Conehead Zombie: I promised you guys a second costume for The Boy’s halloween (you’ll remember he’s also doing Draco Malfoy, Death Eater), and here it is! He’s a big fan of the Plants Vs. Zombies video game, and insisted on being a Conehead Zombie. We also considered buckethead, but we had the cone, so that sealed the deal. This is easy to put together, and tons of fun. I think this would be a great group costume idea – everyone picking different zombies to play… Read on...

Halloween Costume: Draco Malfoy, The Littlest Death Eater!

October 17, 2011 | Also posted in Topic: craft, Featured Craft, Halloween, Seasonal/Holiday
Draco malfoy, death eater costume
So, The Boy is somehow getting 2 halloween costumes this year.  He’s a big Harry Potter fan, so his first costume is Draco Malfoy, Death Eater. He’s only on book 6, but he has some Legos that have Draco Malfoy in Death Eater garb, so he’s latched on to this idea. So, for his totally homemade/upcycled costume, we have:
  • A robe, made from several old t-shirts.
  • A Slytherin scarf, made from old sweatshirts.
  • A death eater mask, made from a dollar store skeleton mask.
  • A broomstick, made by Dad from an old broom with a custom handle
… Read on...

Dragon*Con 2011 Costume Photos

September 13, 2011 | Also posted in Topic: Halloween, Seasonal/Holiday
Zombie Harry Potter and crew
Finally getting around to posting photos from dragoncon, and there were a ton of great costumes… Here are a few. I’m sure I will never top the popularity of my most famous flickr photo, the Cookie Monster Slayer, but I can dream, right? You can see more at flickr or on my google+ feed.

Awesome Retro Social Media posters

August 5, 2011 | Also posted in Topic: art
twitter2-aaronwood
My sweet friend Aaron (aka Skullx for the old Sluggite crowd) has been posting these on his google+, and they just keep getting better.  You can purchase them in his etsy shop! My favorite are the Twitter ones, but they are all a bunch of fun. While we are on the subject of social media, i might as well plug my own!:
  • I’m enjoying checking out Google+, though I’m not really sure I have the hang of it yet…  If you want to find me there you can find me at
… Read on...

How to make a fun kids graduation hat

May 25, 2011 | Also posted in Topic: craft, Featured Craft
How to make a fun kids graduation hat
Here’s a quick and easy mortar board for those early graduations, like kindergarten and so forth… where they really want to be like the big kids! Hopefully this isn’t too late, I meant to repost this early but you parents know how the end of the school year goes… These mortar board caps are made from poster board and foam core… easy and fun to celebrate a graduation milestone.  I reverse engineered this from the Boy’s last year Kindergarten grad hat. Get all the instructions here: How to make a kid’s mortar board/graduation cap

Little Game Box for your Easter Basket

April 19, 2011 | Also posted in Topic: craft, Featured Craft, Seasonal/Holiday, Tutorials/Tips
Little Game Box for your Easter Basket
The Little Game box downloadable/printable was such a hit at Christmas for stocking stuffers, I did a new cover for Easter! All the cards and instructions can be downloaded here.., then just print this for a new cover for an Easter/Spring look -Easter Cover PDF. This is a great little NON CANDY treat for the Easter basket, and it is great for taking with you on dinners out when you need kid amusement. I’ve included (almost) everything you need to make one for yourself as free downloads! Just grab the file, print, and add your… Read on...