Gift Idea: Brown Sugar Scrub

This gift idea is PERFECT because it is inexpensive and quick to make, and will be sure to bring a smile to the recipient’s face! Is there a gal on the planet that doesn’t love sweet-smelling pampering products?

Make this super-simple brown sugar scrub using basic ingredients and a re-purposed canning or food jar (well-cleaned of course).
Note: I got this project idea from one of my FAVORITE blogs, The Idea Room http://www.theidearoom.net/

Here’s what you need:
1 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons honey

Mix the ingredients together and- that’s it! So easy. Just dress up your jar a bit and give it away or treat yourself. I LOVE this scrub because (aside from being pennies to make) it is natural-edible even, and does an incredible job exfoliating AND moisturizing the skin. Note: It will leave your skin a bit oily immediately after use, so you will probably want to wash with soap after.

Compare this to those expensive scrubs you purchase at bath & body stores.

Please enjoy and let me know how it turns out if you make a batch!
Sarah

Don't Buy, Make your Own- Apple Dippers

It's the age-old dilemma... convenience vs. budget. What’s a girl to do? Do I buy ready- made and save the time, or make at home and save the bucks? Well, here’s a solution without the sacrifice… One of the kids’ favorites for pennies a serving (and not much time at all)! So, without further delay, my latest short cut…

Apple Dippers!

The key to getting those sliced apples to stay fresh is simpler than you think. The secret ingredient? Lemon-lime soda! I use Walmart brand at only $.74 for a 2-liter. Get some apples on sale (get whichever variety is on sale- you should be able to get them for under $1/pound). Slice your apple as normal, place them in a bowl and pour the soda over them, completely covering all the slices. Allow the apple slices to soak for 15 minutes, then remove from the soda and pat dry with a towel.

And that’s it! Use caramel ice cream topping or dips available at the grocery store produce section. Or, for a healthy alternative, try this yummy dip recipe:

Caramel or Peanut butter Dip

1 cup light vanilla yogurt
½ cup caramel ice cream topping OR peanut butter
1 tsp. cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Dip and enjoy!

Hope you enjoy this simple favorite! Thanks for reading!
Sarah

Soft Ginger Cookies Recipe

I had some girlfriends fom church over last night and was looking for a new cookie recipe to try out for the big night (can't let the girls leave hungry, can I?). So I visited my favorite recipe blog, the Farmgirl Recipes http://thefarmgirlrecipes.blogspot.com/search/label/Cookies. And it was on that wonderful site that I found IT- the recipe for the BEST cookies I have ever had! And the girls loved them too!

I tweaked the origial recipe a bit, so feel free to check out the original too!

Soft Ginger Cookies

1 1/2 c. butter
2 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c. molasses ( I did not have this so I mixed 1 part brown sugar & 1 part pure maple syrup to make 1/2 cup).
4 1/2 c. flour
4 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. salt
extra sugar for rolling
1 package almond bark, white candy melts, or white chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl cream butter and sugar. Add the eggs and molasses and mix well. In another bowl mix dry ingredients together then slowly mix dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Roll dough into 1-2 inch balls and roll into sugar. Place on baking sheets lined with parchment paper and bake for 9-11minutes. I baked mine for about 9 minutes--they were just perfect, very soft.
2. Melt your almond bark in a double broiler or microwave . Cut the corner (only a tiny piece, les than a 1/8 inch) of a ziploc bag and fill it with melted candy. Drizzle in a back and forth motion over cookies. Place onto waxed paper and let dry. Enjoy!

It’s Sew Simple- Skirt Tutorial

Got a sewing machine lying around, but don’t know where to begin? Well, as one who despises patterns, (and has a short crafting attention span) I have found many quick and simple sewing projects. So check out this simple skirt tutorial. Note: The fabric I chose was see-through so I added another layer of fabric underneath. You may discount the extra layer or add a contrasting fabric to your skirt for extra fullness and a cute accent.

1. Find a fabric you love in about ¾ to 1 yard length. (Hint: Check out the remnant section of your favorite craft store for major discounts. I got this adorable yellow fabric for about $1.50)
2. Lay your fabric out on a flat surface. Your fabric will come folded in half, so hold the fabric with the fold at the top. Now cut along the fold line.
3. Next, turn your fabric right sides together, and sew along one edge, leaving a ½ inch seam allowance. Trim
4. Now you need to create the bottom hem of the skirt. Depending on the size of the person who will be wearing the skirt, you may want to cut a bit off the length of the skirt. A rule of thumb is: Cut the fabric length 4 inches longer than your desired skirt length. To Since I dislike using pins when I sew, I fold up about ¾ inch from the bottom of the fabric and iron it well. This allows the fabric to stay in place while you sew to create a nice straight hem.

5. Now that you have your hem finished, you will create a gather across the top of the fabric. To do this, adjust your stitch length and width to its highest setting (mine is 5) and stitch across the top of the fabric, about ½ inch from the edge. Now pull one thread from one end of your stitch and allow this to pull (or gather) your fabric together at the top. Gather the fabric to about 2/3 its original length.

6. Next, fold your fabric in half with right sides facing each other and sew together leaving ½ inch seam allowance. Trim
7. Finally, measure the skirt’s wearer around the waist. Add one inch to the measurement and cut. To attach elastic and finish your skirt, find the seam at the side of the skirt. Now take the elastic and make a loop leaving ½ inch overlapping at the ends. Place the overlapping section of elastic over the skirt seam about 1 ¼ inch from the top of the fabric. Sew from the top to the bottom of your elastic. For the elastic casing, fold the top of the fabric over the elastic and sew underneath the elastic around the entire circumference of the skirt. You will probably be stitching over the stitch you sewed for your gather.
8. Yea! Your skirt is now complete!

Let me know if you have any questions or if you try this project I'd love to hear how it turns out!

Thanks for reading!
Sarah

Prioritize

As a mom, I often find myself getting overwhelmed by the constant and immediate needs of my family and household and somehow misssing the big picture as I stumble through piles of dishes, loads (ok, mountains) of laundry, and diaper changings. So I cannot say enough about the wonderful tool I am presenting you with today.



My husband and I find it of utmost importance to have a goal for our family and a plan in place to acheive those goals. Because let's face it... I am called to be the manager of my home, and to me that means assisting in discipling my children, keeping my home and caring for my husband. But all the work I do planning meals, cleaning my home, and homeschooling my children will not matter a bit if there is no PURPOSE behind it. I know that I must be intentional in my roles- which is why my husband and I created a Family Mission Statement.



I keep a (huge) 3-ring binder called the "Cunningham Family Handbook". I use this book for every aspect of running our home- it includes sections devoted to calendars and routines, budget, meal planning, coupons, homeschool planning, and many others. But the very FIRST, and most important page in our handbook? Our mission statement! Creating one was super fun for Hubby and I and has given us a clear picture of where we are headed as a family.





Following is a list of questions to help you create your own family mission statement. I got these from an awesome website, http://www.simplemom.net/. Let's get started:





The process:
Answer a series of questions, perhaps use some web tools, talk over your answers, pray, and write down your short-but-comprehensive mission statement. For fun, you can inscribe this statement somewhere permanent and display it in your home.



The goal:
A timeless, easy-to-read, holistic family mission statement that applies to everyone in the family. This will help you make decisions, feel confident about saying “no,” and be a bit better at focusing on the important instead of the urgent.





Questions
Plan an evening this week to sit down as a couple, and answer a few questions. These questions are not comprehensive — feel free to elaborate on your own, to skip some that don’t seem to apply, and to focus on what’s important for your family. Mostly, these are meant to serve as a springboard to get your thoughts flowing.



1. What are a few strengths of each member of our family?
2. Collectively, we are at our best when we are…
3. Collectively, we are at our worst when we are…
4. If we had a completely free day together as a family, how would we spend it?
5. What are practical ways we can serve each other?
6. What are practical ways we can serve others outside our family?
7. Name three things you think you could do better as a family.
8. What would people say today about our family as a whole?
9. What would we like people to say about our family as a whole in 30 years?
10. If our home could be filled with one emotion, what would it be?
11. Name three adjectives we would like people to use to describe our home environment.
12. If we could name one principle from which we want our family to operate, what would it be?
13. What are the top four priorities we want our family to value?
14. What is the main purpose of our home?
15. What is the secondary purpose of our home?
16. What is the individual purpose in life of each member of our family?
17. What is one way we are unique as a family?
18. Describe the status of our family in 10 years…
financially:
intellectually:
emotionally:
relationally with each other:
communally in our environment:
physically:
spiritually:
19. Where are you as a family in 10 years? What does your home look like?
20. What is the purpose of life?



So I hope you can use this fun but meaningful activity to bring direction, purpose, and unity to your family and home! If you use this, please let me know how it turns out!



Thanks for reading,

Sarah

Bon't Buy- Make Your Own: FRUIT LEATHER

Well, I told you it was coming and here it is: my first in a series of posts to give you simple steps for the make-you-own versions of commonly purchased items. So today I'm starting with something simple and yummy- Fruit Leather! My kids love it, even as much as store-bought Fruit Roll-Ups, which are NOT HEALTHY (anyone that didn't know that?) But their home-made counterparts can be made without sugar and without much work on your part!

Things You'll Need:
4 cups unsweetened applesauce

4 cups fresh or frozen fruit of your choice - All kinds of berries work well, or just plain apple is yummy too!

Spices to taste ( I used 1 t. cinnamon & ground cloves)
1 T. Lemon juice
Optional: honey, sugar, or sweetener to taste (I used 1 packet Stevia)

Note: I used a mixture of fresh and frozen blueberries, which a are naturally sweet, so it is not necessary to add sugar. Taste your mixture and add sweetener as needed.

What to do:

Pour all ingredients into a large saucepan or pot. Allow to simmer on medium high eat until fruit begins to get soft and break apart. Using a blender or a food processor, puree the mixture until smooth. Preheat oven to 140 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet or flat tray with plastic wrap.
Spread the fruit mixture on the plastic wrap (you will want your mixture to be about 1/4 inch thick). Put the tray in the preheated oven. Dry in the oven until you can touch the center of the fruit leather and it does not leave an indentation. It will take approximately 8 to 12 hours for fruit leather to dry in the oven. Remove the fruit leather from the plastic and roll it or cut it into pieces for storage. If you are rolling it use a fresh sheet of plastic wrap to keep the fruit leather from sticking to itself. Store in an air-tight container.

Chalk Board Paint

Chalk board paint is all the rage right now for many household and kid-inspired projects. It can be used for everything from signs to playroom decor to labeling household goods. With its crafty good looks and functionality, chalkboard paint is not only easy to use, but now it's also.... cheap! I don't know about you, but Hubby and I are constantly looking for ways to cut back, simplify, and re-use what we already have instead of buying new. So, this post will be the first of many in which I will offer Make-Your-Own solutions for items we would almost always purchase at the store (some upcoming will be: household cleaners, Lunchables, and fruit leather- among others). So here we go in our fist of many lessons on saving money with home-made (or my new favorite term- "Mommy-made";).

How to Make Your Own Chalkboard Paint
What you need:
1 cup paint (any kind will do- latex or acrylic work well)- The best part is that you can use ANY color
2 Tbsp. Non-sanded grout (I bought a tub for about $4 at Menard’s)
Paint brush, sponge, or roller

What to Do:
Simply mix your paint and grout and apply to your desired surface. This will probably take two coats. I started painting with a sponge brush but found that the best tool for the job was a mini roller.

For the project pictured, I used a cabinet door that came off of a laminate cabinet in my daughters' bedroom. I wanted a way to display my weekly menu in the kitchen and knew repurposing this old door with chalkboard paint would be the perfect solution.

Here's what I did: I sanded the entire door, gave it one coat of spray primer, let tat dry and came back with two coats of spraypaint in my desired color. I prefer Rustoleum brand because it covers very well and dries quickly. Then I taped the edges around my desired chalkboard surface and painted with my chalkboard paint. Finally, I repalced the cabinet door's wooden knob with one more to my taste that can be used to hang keys, etc. So there you go- so simple!

The best part about making your own vs. using store-bought chalkboard paint is that you mix it yourself so you can make it any color to match any color palate or decor! Paint an entire wall in your childrens' palyroom or bedroom and the fun (and cute factor) will be off the charts!

Please contact me with any questions or, if you try this project let me know how it turns out!

Thanks for reading!
Sarah