Most of the crafts I attempt are time consuming, so much so that they usually end up in the big pile of unfinished projects hidden in my crafting room.  So when I found out Angie of Country Chic Cottage and Carolina of Moore Craft Time and Always Expect Moore where going to be spotlighting Craft Quickies I decided to challenge myself to come up with a quick, completed craft.  To up the difficulty I also made it my mission to get rid of some of the recycling items I’ve been squirreling away.

Since the onset of spring I find myself moving our lessons outdoors. Unfortunately with the fresh air comes many creature distractions.  To keep their minds learning we Observe, Document, and Identify the world around us.

One of my goals this year is filling my freezer and pantry with good foods that have been grown and nurtured in our own backyard. Over the years I’ve learned a number of great tips from books, friends, and my own experiences so it seems only fitting that I would share those things here with you.

This final week we’re discussing preparing your beds.

I wish I could say that I’ve gone on a good-for-you, low cholesterol diet that restricts my egg consumption, but yeah, no.  I was out of eggs and craving a citrusy sweet treat, so I threw together these lemonade-like cookies!
  
Hope you enjoy!

Last Sunday my husband and I had some time alone around the house and so we did what we usually do without kids in the house.  He went his way and I went mine, I swear we love each other…truly!  While he sanded, prepped, and admired the lovely piece of furniture you see below (look for upcoming before and after) I put together the, ahem, craft you see above.  I call it a bubble tin, and while it may illicit a number of pornographic nicknames it provided me a chance to play and get creative on a whim, which is something I don’t allow myself to do enough! 

One of my goals this year is filling my freezer and pantry with good foods that have been grown and nurtured in our own backyard. Over the years I’ve learned a number of great tips from books, friends, and my own experiences so it seems only fitting that I would share those things here with you.

This week we’re discussing garden layout.

My home is one with a deep appreciation for all things peanut butter.  This latest creation is no exception and takes the PB&J to a completely new level.  It’s got a nice peanut flavor without all the sugar called for in most recipes.  Of course, if sweet is what you’re after you can always spread on more jelly! 

This week was the start of the SITS Girls and Click it up a notch’s Pin-tastic Pinterest Photography Challenge.  Click here to read all about it.

Today’s assignment was to take advantage of the “golden hour.”  A storm is rolling in right now so instead of waiting for that perfect sunlight I went outside and took advantage of the pre-storm lighting, cool, clean-smelling air, and the creation of an egg.

Here’s a quick homeschooling tip. The next time you’re flipping through a magazine instead of tossing all those subscription cards, also known as blow-ins, into the recycling bin why not put them to work?

Blow-ins make perfect practice tools for writing your name, address, and phone number.  Yes the type is small and it might be difficult for some little hands to write on the lines, but it’s still fun and practical!

I’ve started to collect them and when I need a Mommy break I’ll pull a couple out and have the kids get to work ordering more magazines! 

Check out my Linky Party Page for a list of places

I like to share stories like this one!

One of my goals this year is filling my freezer and pantry with good foods that have been grown and nurtured in our own backyard.  Over the years I’ve learned a number of great tips from books, friends, and my own experiences so it seems only fitting that I would share those things here with you.

This week we’re discussing seeds and why it DOES matter where you get them.

Have you ever had one of those weeks when so many things are happening at once and it’s not really a bad thing but you still feel like you’re being run over by a giant eyeball?  This is one of those weeks for me!

So I thought I’d share a recent craft fail.   It involves Craftsy, expanding foam, and my eternal lack of restraint.

Yes, I said popcorn!  Remember a couple of posts back I mentioned a certain retro cookbook that had apparently been sitting on my bookshelf for some time now?  Well, this was one of the many recipes that caught my eye and I knew the next time we made popcorn I’d have to sit some aside for these out-of-the-ordinary muffins!

While they are savory, it’d only take a handful of chocolate chips, dried fruit, or a vanilla glaze to turn them to the dark sweet side.  Hope you enjoy them!

One of my goals for this year is filling my freezer and pantry with good foods that have been grown and nurtured in our own backyard.  It sounds easy but a project like this requires a large amount of research, planning, prepping, and maintenance.  Over the years I’ve learned a number of great tips from books, friends, and my own experiences so it seems only fitting that I would share those things here with you.
 
Every Wednesday during the month of March I’ll be writing about a different aspect of planning a garden fit to fill your freezer.
 
We’re starting things off by asking WHAT are we going to grow?

I’m trying to think of a viable excuse for my February slacking but I’d rather just admit that I’ve not made ANY progress on ANY of my resolutions this past month outside the blog redesign, and I’m still tweaking it here and there.  Truth be told since the start of the new year I’ve felt like I’m on the verge of a major Fielding* breakdown and it’s only been in this last week that it seems to be passing.

I don’t usually get the winter blues, this is usually my favorite time of year but I think the lack of a real winter filled with snow, ice, and frigid temperatures has brought on my own messed up version of seasonal affective disorder.  I don’t like feeling down so I did attempt to keep myself busy by preparing for upcoming craft shows, see photo above.  Ah well, here’s to a smiley, happy March!

* I was referring to the meltdown that Fielding, played by a very handsome Billy Crudup, has near the end of the movie Waking the Dead.  I both hope you’ve had this feeling so I know we’ve got that in common, but another part of me hopes maybe you haven’t and you can tell me what the secret is…here’s the clip.