Snowball Fight in a Bucket!

Ever had the urge to throw a snowball at someone...

say...your sister...

and there was just no snow around to do it?

Or you didn't want the hassle of putting on your snow suit,

bundling up with 3 pairs of socks, boots,

long underwear, your scarf and mittens...

then waddling outside in the cold to MAKE the snowballs?

Never fear!

Now you, too, can have an indoor snowball fight!

No cold, wet, messy snow needed!

Start with some styrofoam balls.

These were $4.77 at HobLob before the coupon ($2.86 after).

Some felt sheets 4/$1...can't beat that!

You'll also need a couple paint pens or some acrylic paint and brushes.

Oh...and some hot glue.

Next you need a pail.  I got this one half off so it was $2.50

but it ended up being WAY too small for this size snowball.

I actually found a larger one in the basement that was nice.

Score!

It would be perfect for the next smaller size.

For this size snowball...I cut the felt into these funky

shapes to fit the ball...about 1 3/4" at the widest spot by 4 3/4" long.

You'll need 6 per snowball.

If you're me, you need extras for when you screw up.

It might sound funny to say: center your first piece on the ball...

but you'll see what I mean...it can be lopsided if you try. :)

Follow suit with the remaining pieces...matching up the edges as you go.

The points will come together like this:

Looks like I need some lotion.

For the faces...I had rubbed on some pink cheeks, but

I think the glitter spray paint made them fade away. :(

However, you could dab on some pink acrylic paint...

I had only used a gel pen.  Trust me...that didn't work.

The eyes and mouth were a fine tipped permanent pen.

I used an orange paint pen for the nose.

You could use paint pens for all of it...

or just paint and a brush...or three.

I finished off the balls with some glitter spray paint.

I tried applying glue and glitter.

Ummmm...that didn't work so well.

But I did NOT use the Krylon Glitter Blast -

I think that might be TOO much and cover the face.

I spray painted the pail...this is the Krylon Cherry Red.

Isn't it happy?

I was going to use vinyl for the front of the pail...

but that didn't work out so well.  It didn't want to stick.

That "frame" you see is vinyl...but it may come off at any moment!

The writing, snowflakes and snowball face are all drawn on with paint pens.

They are awesome.

I love them.

A lot.

The felt gives the styrofoam enough weight

to be thrown across the room...

but not enough to hurt or likely break anything.

Not that I'm advocating horseplay in the house.

But not that I can stop it.

You should see the chaos when a grown man and his

18 year old daughter have a marshmallow gun war.

I hide in the bathroom.

I hope your holiday season has started off smashingly.

I know I promised some hot drink mixes...

they are a-comin' folks...

workin' on the last one.

So...what's YOUR favorite hot drink

at Christmas or any time during the winter?



Sloshing it up at these fun parties:

The Dedicated House
Simply {Kierste}
The 36th Avenue
Savvy Southern Style
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Clean and Scentsible
StoneGable
Jennifer Rizzo
At The Picket Fence
Tatertots and Jello
Serenity You
I Heart Naptime
I Should Be Mopping the Floor
DebbieDoo's
Or So She Says
Averie Lane
Dwellings
Love Grows Wild
Life With the Crust Cut Off
Wonderful at Home
Lamberts Lately
Saving 4 Six
From My Front Porch to Yours
Embracing Change
Living Well Spending Less
A Peek Into My Paradise
The Craft Dictator
Crafts a la Mode
Lil' Luna
WhipperBerry
Cheerios and Lattes
Twelve O Eight
DIY Showoff
Carrie This Home
Put A Bird On It
Horrific Knits
Will Cook For Smiles
Live Love Create
Living Locurto
The Scrap Shoppe
3 Little Greenwoods
Lolly Jane
Huckleberry Love
Sew Can Do
Funky Polkadot Giraffe

This project was inspired by something in a catalog from this site.

Be Merry ~ Or Else!

Once upon a time,

there was a girl who loved Christmas.

She decorated and baked...

and shopped and wrapped...

She sang carols and danced...

created hand-made gifts.

She started the countdown in October!

...started planning all the treats she would make.

Then the girl got older...she got tired, and busy.

She still loved Christmas, but things weren't the same.

There wasn't time for all the treat-making

and hand-made gift creating.

All the pretty decorations were there,

but the fun was somehow missing.

She tried to find the merry,

but the merry sometimes got lost in the hustle.

She decided a little reminder might just be in order.

The girl who loved Christmas decided

that this would be the year to bring the merry back.

Friends, family and the Babe in a manger.

Plus all the sparkly, pretty things of the season.

Be Merry!

Take a deep breath, sit down with a cup of cocoa...

enjoy the beauty of Christmas!

...or else...

Or else you might just wake up on December 26th

and realized you missed all the magic.

{for the banner...

I used these cute little canvas pennants I found at Hobby Lobby.

And these adorable teeny tiny clothespins...

they were in the unfinished wood section...

and painted them red and sparkly.

I used an alphabet stamp and ink pad and strung on baker's twine.}

Come back in a few days...I'll be doing some hot beverage mixes that are perfect for giving!

sharing here:

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Clean and Scentsible

Savvy Southern Style

 Simply {Kierste}

DebbieDoo's

A College Care Package

You know...I had this crazy notion that when we sent Sara
off to college we'd have all this extra time to do stuff.

Well, I'm sure we would if we hadn't suddenly become lazy. :)

Okay...I haven't been a complete slacker...
I have managed to get a few things done:
A lampshade, some halloween stuff, and my mixer.

But I had all this stuff I wanted to get done before

she came home for Christmas break.

The half bath redone...a new baker's rack built...an ottoman built...I know...I'm nuts.

And now that is quickly approaching...crazy!

I tell you that...because this post has been sitting in my list for a looooong time.

Full of pictures and nothing else.

Not long after she went to school we sent her a package.

A couple things we didn't have ready before she left...

some stuff we didn't realize she needed until after we were there.

So I included some pictures of her and us...and Taylor...and grandma and poppa.

The little plastic frames are meant to stand on their own...but if you flip them over...

they can be hung on the edge of shelves or whatever...which is what she did.

The big pink frame is sort of custom.  I talked about them in this post.

It started out white...I spray painted it pink then distressed it.

I added the zebra bow.

The zebra mat?

Easy...plain white 5x7 mat {4x6 opening}...drew on the zebra stripes with a paint pen.

If you hadn't guessed...her dorm room is pink and zebra.

The pink chalkboard frame was a picture frame I picked up on clearance...

attached chalkboard vinyl {from HobLob} to the glass...

then tied the ribbon around the frame for hanging before putting the glass back in.

Her package also included some meltaway cookies from Landee See Landee Do.

She had found the recipe before she left for school and we ran out of time to make them.

So I decided I would make her some and send them along.

I had one of these canisters left that I put the cookies in.

The rest we took down when she went.

She can keep her snacks fresh...and everyone knows whose they are.

Sara's Sweets and Sara's Snacks ~ cut out of vinyl.

She started out with banana chips...roasted almonds...and Nature Valley protein bars.

Yum!

The canisters came from Bed, Bath & Beyond and

were pretty reasonable..especially with a coupon!

I didn't get a picture of the last one with her powdered laundry soap.

College kids LOVE getting packages.
No matter what you put in them...but always add some fun.
And home made goodies.

We send cards and notes so she has mail...
but she said "no packages?"
I said, "like what?"
"Oh, anything you see that makes you think of me!"

:)

Do YOU know any college kids that need a pick-me-up?
Some don't get to go home for Thanksgiving...
now would be a great time to drop them a little something.

Sharing here:

Clean and Scentsible

Simply {Kierste}

Stone Gable

The Dedicated House

Honoring Those Who Serve(d)

On this glorious Sunday morning...
just a reminder that freedom isn't free.

 source

There are so many men and women who have
fought and still fight for our freedom.
They deserve our gratitude.

source

Including this guy...

 

and my dad...

 

 

{they were having way too much fun}

 

Thank you to all our troops, past, present and future.

We are forever in your debt.

 

 

{P.S. Don't tell Jon I used this picture of him. :)

I think it's hilarious and it makes me smile...

it makes him wonder why he lets me take his picture.

Besides...shouldn't we all have some JOY?}

Homemade Instant Oatmeal

No, your little eyes do not deceive you.

Homemade instant oatmeal!

Does your family love oatmeal for breakfast on chilly mornings?

Mine does.

All that stuff in those little packets concerned me, though.

I saw a recipe in a Martha Stewart Living

magazine and decided to give it a try.

Sorry, Martha, but I didn't like your oatmeal.

However, I now had a starting point.

The results of my perseverance are delicious and wholesome!

And the flavor varieties are totally up to you!

...other words...endless possibilities.

Okay...I'm sure there is an end somewhere...

but we'd need to find a mathematician to find it.

And I'm fresh out.

Of mathematicians, not oatmeal.

Recipe Time:

Homemade Instant Oatmeal

• 4 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 - 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp vanilla powder if you've got it...it's still yummy if you don't
• assorted dried fruit, seeds and/or nuts

Preheat oven to 350°. Spread oats evenly on large cookie sheet with sides.

Bake until LIGHTLY toasted {about 15 minutes}. DO NOT brown...I learned this the hard way.

Remove and let cool.

Once they are cool...place in food processor until coarsely chopped.

Stir in brown sugar, salt and cinnamon.  Mix in 1 cup combination of add-ins.

The mag suggested things like: toasted almonds, dried apricots, coconut flakes, sunflower seeds, other dried fruits.

I made a batch with toasted almonds and dried cranberries.  Yum.

I also made a batch with toasted pecans and some chopped dates.

 It was good, but the dates kinda melted and disappeared into the mush.

 Hmmm. Very curious.

I think the toasted pecans and cranberries would be good.
{in the next batch I'm gonna try splenda or stevia...I'll let you know how that turns out}

Anyway...back to the recipe...

My husband always uses milk in his oatmeal so this is how we do it (sing it, baby!):

1/3 cup oatmeal mix to about 2/3 cup cold milk.

Heat in microwave about 1 1/2 - 2 minutes until desired consistency.

I like mine a little thicker...so I use less milk.

You could also just use boiling water and let it stand a few minutes.

Blech.  But, hey, it's YOUR oatmeal.



Some thoughts:

I wasn't kidding about browning the oats.

It will make your oatmeal funky.

You may need to adjust the ratio of oatmeal

to milk to get it the way you want it.

I was just telling you how Jon eats his. :)

Have some fun with your breakfast!

What's in your oatmeal?

Dishing it out at these great parties:

Tatertots and Jello

I Heart Naptime

 I Should Be Mopping The Floor

 Stone Gable

DebbieDoo's

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Clean and Scentsible

The 36th Avenue

Anyonita Nibbles

A Beauty Aid For Your KitchenAid

Are you lonesome tonight, is your kitchen a sight?

Or if not your kitchen, your KitchenAid?

Well, step right up ladies and gents...

see the AMAZING, OUT OF THIS WORLD

the KNOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF

Mixer Makeover Kit.

Yours today for the low low low low price of...

just kidding. :)

SPRAY PAINT TO THE RESCUE!

As much as I would LOOOOOVE a new mixer...

mine still works great and I can't bring myself to

shell out the moolah for a new one.

Some time ago I had stuck some vinyl on it

to help with it's appearance...it didn't do much.

And it was a PAIN to get it off!

But, once that was taken care of, I took of the parts that would detach.

The bowl holder, the back cover and the silver band.

Clean the heck out of it.

This stuff works great!

I hadn't realized just how dirty this baby was.

I would wipe it down but there was gunk in all the crevices.

I must have spilled vanilla on it once or twice...it was all sticky behind the band.

Blech.

And then...I think it was cleaner than when I got it!

{I swear this pic didn't look blurry in the camera!}

Then take the sticker off the back.  I used a widget thingy.

But I still couldn't get it all.

See here? The words are still there in some magical "forever" glue.

I had to break out the big guns to get that goo off!

Then I just wiped that area off again with the Krud Kutter.

I lightly sanded all over where I would paint.

Just use a sponge sander.

Use some painter's tape to cover up all the parts that should NOT be painted.

I used a zipper baggie over the motor and tape to secure it.

Make sure you get that little accessory hole on the front!

Yippee!  Here we go!

One coat of primer...then...

She was so pretty after that first coat of black...I almost left it like this.

But, alas, I didn't.

Should have.

Major curses and grumbles ensued.

After the black...I used some vinyl circles I mentioned here.

Smoothed them out all over...

and STILL didn't get them perfect!

Ugh.

The red leaked under some of them...

and the spray paint made the vinyl super soft.

It was a nightmare to take off.

So I had to do some touch up.

Even with the grumbles...I am glad I went ahead with the dots.

A solid color would be pretty...

but it wouldn't have the same character.

I am SOOOO in love with this mixer.

We've spent some quality time together recently

and it might just be "the one."

:)


If you had your choice of colors...
brand new or DIY...
what would your mixer look like?

©Kelly

Sharing here:

At The Picket Fence
Tatertots and Jello
 Fox Hollow Cottage
 Serenity You
I Heart Naptime Sundae Scoop
I Should Be Mopping the Floor
 The Dedicated House
DebbieDoo's
WTFab
Thrifty Decor Chick
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Savvy Southern Style
Stone Gable
 The 36th Avenue
Beneath My Heart
Thrifty Decor Chick
Living Well Spending Less
Glitter Glue and Paint
Wonderful at Home