Baking Soda Clay

I finally tried out a Pinterest project that I wanted to do with the kids. It was Baking Soda Clay. It's very simple to make. Here are the ingredients:

     1 cup corn starch
     2 cups baking soda
     1.25 cups cold water
     Non-stick pot
     Wooden spoon
     Med-large bowl
     Damp cloth, lid or plate

First combine ingredients in a pot and stir until smooth. Cook over low-medium flame, stirring constantly until mixture resembles mashed potatoes. Remove from heat and let it cool in a seperate cointainer covered with a damp towel and voila. Then let your imagination run. Allow to dry for about two days, depending on the thickness of your piece.

We decided to make our pieces into magnents as an activity after Family Home Evening. So we first used a glue gun to glue small round magnents to the back of our pieces and then we got to painting them.

And here are our final results. The easter egg look a like is mine, the green with flowers was made by the hubby and the rest are made by my daughter.

Here they are displayed on our fridge. Can you tell what's missing? Yup one of the magnents. I was so worried Jaimito would break them and then I'm the one who ends up breaking one of Natalie's, and as I type this there's actually another one missing. Yes, I'm ashamed to say I also broke the round one. I feel so bad but I accidently dropped them. Needless to say I'm being super careful with the ones that are left.

Lollipop Center Pieces

Tomorrow is our Primary activity, EL DIA DEL NIñO! I have a lot to do and many ideas.  I went over to my Pinterest account and looked through my Party board and decided to go with this cute project for the center of the tables. Here's a link to check it out. http://www.meetthedubiens.com/2011/06/lollipop-tree.html  

I already had the pots. A very nice lady at a garage sale last year gave me a bunch for free. All I needed were the styrofoam balls and the lollipops. Unfortunately the primary has a tight budget so I wanted to do the shopping at the Dollar Tree store. I couldn't find the styrofoam or the lollipops so I had to improvise, which I don't mind too much because I like to get inspired by pinterest but still do my own thing, not just completely copy all the time. So here's my final project.

Yes I know, it's not as cute as the original but I had to work with what I had and the time I had. I used the bottom parts of the pots instead of the actual pots. I had these flat styrofoam circles which I painted green. I had to buy these lollipops instead and then I just pushed them in the styrofoam.

I was planning on putting fake little leaves on the lollipop sticks but I couldn't get around to it. I'm sure it would have added extra cuteness points.

I still like the result. I think they will look cute on the tables and the kids can snatch the lollipops at the end.

Apple Cider Vinegar in My Hair.

When we first moved in with my mom we discovered that she liked to shower with very low pressure. :( It was horrible, every time we were going to take a shower we would have to change the setting to our liking and then move it back for her. It was an old shower head so it was a very frustrating process.

When we finally moved out we were so excited to finally have a permanent normal pressure shower head all to ourselves!!!!!

NOT! Our new apartment's shower has horrible water pressure. It's my mom's shower all over again except I can't change the setting here. Aaaaaaa it's so horrible. We bought a new shower head thinking it would fix the problem but no luck. (anybody have any recommendations) I'm so miserable, I like me some strong water hitting me on my back. So as a result it's super hard to get my hair truly washed and clean. No matter how long I try to wet it, how much I scrub, how many times I shampoo it, I can't seem to get all the gunk and hair product out. It so reminds me of the Seinfeld episode and I picture Jerry's and Kramer's hair! LOL! Any Seinfeld fans!!!!!!!

Sooooooooooo, I decided to try something I had cut out of a magazine.

First here's a before picture. You can't see it too well but my most troublesome spots are on the top where tons of flakes come out from not being able to get all the product off. (and no it's not dandruff)



You then get a cup of Apple cider vinegar. Use more if you have extra long hair or tons of hair. You pour over wet unwashed hair and then wash and condition as usual. You're suppose to do it once a week according to the magazine's directions.

Please be careful, I unfortunately got some in my eyes and it was not a very pleasent thing. I quickly rinsed my eyes and was fine.

Here are the results. Overall I'm pretty happy of the results . My hair was a lot cleaner but I still had a tiny bit of the flakes but I think that was related to the low pressure. I'm pretty sure that with a stronger water flow the results would've been way better.

I did notice that my hair was super extra shiny, more than the usual. So I liked that. And overall it did feel a lot cleaner and now it's been a few days after and my hair didn't get greasy as fast as it did before. So I think that this might be something I will try to keep up with, minus the vinegar in the eyes!

Hand Made Cards

This past year I had made it a goal of mine to serve others more. To take a moment each week to think of people or members of my church who I can reach out to or help. Sometimes we can't do much or really big things because of our circumstances so it feels like we really aren't doing much. But I told myself that I should start by simply reaching out to people and trying hard to let them know they are cared for or noticed. I know when others have done the same for my family or me it really has meant a lot to me.

So what I had started to do was pray and meditate and let names of people come to my mind. I started calling them even though it felt awkward sometimes or even nerve wreaking. I mean here I was calling people out of the blue, people who I might not have even talked to in awhile or never before. Sometimes I didn't even know what to say but I did have some really nice experiences.

I then moved on to letters and cards. I have to say it has been my most successful work. I have had much success with this and my testimony has been strengthened by many wonderful experiences. I have made new friendships and have gained many new smiles that cheer my days.

The cards that I have been sending where are hand made. I had a stash of them that I had made in prior workshops. But I pretty much ran out of them and I knew I needed some for the coming month. So I busted out the supplies. I use to be a Stampin Up distributor so I have quite a few things to make them with. We have no space in our apartment so they are tucked away in the closets and other areas so busting out the materials is pretty tiring so I had to make sure to make a good bunch to hold me over until the next month or so.

Now I have said before that I love crafts and doing things but I'm not very good at it or very creative. They always end up looking like my 3 year old made them. So I was actually very pleased with my cards.

All the stamps where from sets I bought from Stampin Up. If you like any you might still be able to find them. I did use inspiration by looking at other cards on line and from the catalogue. So that's why I didn't add specific directions or products because my goal was just to inspire you guys and give you some ideas for you to make your own. Usually we just need a little inspirational push and then we create our own treasures!

So enough yapping, here are my cards that will hopefully brighten up some more people's days!  

He is truly watching over me.

Today I had an experience that strengthened my testimony that Heavenly Father is truly watching over us at all times. He truly is aware of each and every child of his. No matter how many zillions of people are on this earth, He hears and knows each and everyone of us.

I've been having a looooooooong week and wasn't feeling good. I had an appointment at Jaime's future school for what I thought would be speech therapy. We are a one car family right now and I couldn't (well didn't want to bother anyone) find a ride. The buses over here don't work like the city ones so that wasn't an option, so in the end I decided I must walk there. It was quite a distance and the roads at a point weren't pedestrian friendly but of we went.

Well we got to the school alive and in one peace but I was super tired! The whole walk there I kept wishing someone I knew would drive by and pick us up.  I then get escorted to a room where I get the news that all I would be doing is signing a couple papers and I would be done! WHAT?! I tell the lady very nicely that I was told that this was an appointment for the actual therapy and that's the only reason I had ventured on this long walk. I can tell one of the ladies feels bad and tries asking the other two if there's any way it can be done today but no luck. At this moment I'm feeling my blood boiling inside but I keep my cool. I sign the papers and I start getting ready to leave. As I walk out the school and start to open the stroller I feel anger building up inside of me. I put Jaime in the stroller and start thinking about how much this sucks! Negative thoughts start filling my head. As I start to slowly walk, dreading the walk ahead of me, I start having even more angry thoughts. I was angry at the school, I was angry at my situation, I was angry I had to walk, I was angry I didn't have a car, I was just full of anger. Then right at the moment where I felt the most angry I heard a car horn. As I turned around I saw my sister in law's face. I can't explain in words what I felt, it was like at the exact moment I felt the most angry my Heavenly Father sent me an unexpected blessing. I felt so happy yet so ashamed. How could have I allowed myself to get so angry at my situation, I felt like I had been so ungrateful with my H.F. I was so relieved, I got into the car still not believing what was happening.

As we drove to my apartment I asked her where she was headed and she said she was going to Target. She said she had been planning to take a different route when she suddenly felt she should go this way instead. She said she didn't know why but she did. I felt something so strong in my heart. I know to many this just sounds like a coincidence or something that I'm making too much of. BUT I know it's not.

I got home and offered a prayer of gratitude. I was thankful that my sister in law was in tuned to the promptings of the holy ghost. I'm thankful she acted upon them. I'm grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who was watching over me even at this most insignificant moment. Even though I didn't think to ask him for comfort, even though I was filled with negative feelings he was there for me. Even though there's plenty of people with real problems, with bigger necessities than me at that moment, I was still important to him. I know he felt my anguish and knew how I felt that he had compassion for how I was feeling that he sent me comfort. I felt it in my heart. I felt his love for me. I received confirmation that he is always there, watching over us, hearing us, ready to bless us at our lowest points. He truly does walk with us.

Why must I judge?

This past conference really opened my eyes and made me realize that I have much to work on. One of those things especially is judging others. Especially after hearing about the bumper sticker that said, "Don't judge me cause I sin differently than you." WOW!

It's crazy how much I judge sometimes, especially 'cause I hate being judged! Ironic huh! Don't we all hate being pre-judged yet we do it all the time. The reason this all came to mind againg was because of something that happened to me this morning.

I was on the Metra riding to downtown with Jaimito. When we were about to get to our destination we decided to stand by the doors and wait for the train to stop. A very well dressed lady stood behind us and I could see her reflection on the window. She was looking me up and down and then looking at Jaimito. Her facial expressions did not look very nice. Immediately thoughts came to my mind. "She must think I'm a teen mom and is judging me." (I get that a lot.) "She must think she's better than me." and so on and on. When suddenly my thoughts were interrupted by her voice. She was now smiling looking at Jaimito saying, "What a cute raincoat you have on, you'll be very well protected if it rains. You're a cute one!" I felt so bad, so guilty. She sounded sincere and as she walked off the train first she smiled at us again. I felt horrible.

This isn't who I wanted to be. Here I was thinking she was judging me when actually I was the one doing all the judging.  I guess I needed something like this to open my eyes and realize that I have a lot of improving to do. And what if she had been judging me? Who cares! Why couldn't I just turn the other cheek and keep going. Was it really going to affect me in any way? Why allow myself to do the same thing.

I'm grateful that my Heavenly Father reminds me each day of the weaknesses I need to turn into strengths. I'm thankful for giving us a prophet and leaders who give us his word to guide us through our mortal life. But mostly I'm thankful for his atoning sacrifice that allows me to repent for moments like this.

Recipe Box

Now that we are not living with my parents anymore I actually have to cook everyday! LOL, that's something I miss from my mama! She cooked most of the time! :( So now I had to pull out all my recipes and look through my stacks of papers with sloppy recipes written on them. After getting some inspiration from Pinterest and some blogs I decided to bust out the craft supplies and make me a recipe box. I had been saving a red plastic cointainer that cost me $1 at Office Max just for this occassion. I was worried that like always my craft projects would end up looking really bad or like if Jaimito made it. But I think it came out pretty good!

First I went through all the recipes I had and decided if I should keep them or toss them. Some I hadn't tried in a long time, others I had never tried so off to the garbage they went.
 

So I busted out a stamp set I had with the cutest chef on it and used that to cut him out and added a platter and made it 3D with some sticky dots.

I typed my recipes out and cut them to fit some old flash cards I had. They actually belonged to my old index roller but I decided to recycle them into this project.

I also embossed the phrase Bon Appetit to put as a decoration.

As you can see I pretty much just used things I had around the house. I used this old divider papers from an old file cabinet thingy and used them to make the divisions for my recipe box. I kept it simple, chicken, meat, ect.

 I would've liked to paint the box a different color but it was plastic and didn't have the right tools to do it so I just cut out some yellow paper and some decorative paper to cover as much as I could. It had some weird indentations and grooves so I couldn't completely cover it nicely.

I also pasted the Bon Appetit with the dots to make it stand out.

This is what the top ended looking like. I added some heart and stripes detail so it wouldn't look too bland.

The stamp set had this cute cheese and grapes stamp that I used for the sides.

 This is the end result. Not professional looking but good enough for me. I was actually happy with my results.

Now it's sitting on top of the microwave and it even matches my towel holder thingy!