SRKindredSpirits

This year I made serving stands for my mom, sisters, and sister in laws for Christmas. They were so much fun to make and pretty easy too.  I started by shopping thrift stores. I tried to buy a tea cup or small dish or plate as a topper, two vases or candle holders (turned upside down) and three plates - small, medium, and large, for each serving stand. I actually didn't buy dishes with the thought of my siblings taste in colors at all - I just randomly purchased plates, and cups that I thought looked unique.... the shopping part was fun! After I got everything purchased, I took an evening and started putting different plates together. I kept trying different colors and patterns, until I got a set that I liked. Then I stacked them together and started doing the same for the next one, etc. After I decided on the colors and plates for each serving stand, I started gluing them together. I used gorilla glue for glass and pottery that dried clear. The tr

Today is the first day of Spring. So to kick it off with some fun, we made little bird nests. One of our favorite things about spring (besides the warm sunshine and flowers popping up), is listening to the birds chip! What you need: Small party/paper plates paper/plastic Easter grass Graham crackers Icing Peeps Little eggs (we used mini malt ball eggs) Other spring candy and edible glitter or decorating candy Brake graham crackers in half and use icing to stick them together and to the plate. Use 2 halves in an upside down v shape to make the roof. Put the Easter grass inside to make a nest. Add eggs and put a peep (aka bird) on top of the eggs. Let the kids decorate their birdhouses with the candy. (Use the icing to stick the candy on) It's  fun to see each kids creativity and the kids always have lots of fun! Enjoy!

Home decor doesn't have to cost much. There are many DIY projects that you can do to make your home look great! I wanted to make a letter using the initial of our last name "K"! Materials needed for project: - Letters (you can find these at hobby stores) - Old Song Book. - Hot Glue Gun - Hot Glue - Scissors 1. Like every good craft project, gather all of your materials.  2. Begin by tearing out pages of an old song book.  3. After your pages are torn out of the book, use your scissors to cut the margins and page numbers off the paper. You mainly want just words or music notes showing. 4. Roll your paper. You can either roll them tight or loose, depending on  your preference. Try to roll them approx. the same size. -I know, easier said than done! 5. As you finish rolling your paper strip, grab your hot glue gun and put a small amount of glue onto the remaining edge of your paper strip.  6. Continue rolling your strip in

Fireworks are a beautiful and fun part of many celebrations, but not something you want kids to make themselves. However, even very young explorers can experiment with these safe underwater 'fireworks'. I have to admit, when my oldest daughter (who loves science experiments) wanted to try this one, I wasn't too sure - but even my hubby and I thought this was pretty cool! What You Need water oil food coloring tall clear glass another cup or glass   Create Fireworks in a Glass Fill the tall glass almost to the top with room-temperature water - (about 1" from the top). Pour a little oil into the other glass. (1-2 tablespoons) Add a couple of drops of food coloring. We used one drop each of Blue, Green, Yellow and Red, but you can use any colors. Briefly stir the oil and food coloring mixture with a fork. You want to break up the food coloring drops into smaller drops, but not thoroughly mix the liquid. Pour the oil and coloring mixture into th

Cool Simple Science Experiment ...... ......to do with the kids   What you need:   small bowl or lid for each kid toothpick for each kid milk dish soap food coloring   pour just enough milk into the lid to cover the bottom then add two or three drops of food coloring around the sides (see picture below)     Next, put dish soap on the end of a tooth pick (I use Shaklee dish wash concentrate - it is all natural, safe, nontoxic, and super concentrated!)    insert the toothpick with soap side down into the middle of the milk.  Hold the toothpick still and watch it swirl                 Even the two year old thought it was pretty cool!   We dumped ours out and done it a few times - the kids had so much fun choosing different color combinations.      

At our house - we like to keep Christmas simple, relaxing, cozy and fun! Welcome ....... please step on inside....   I have a milkjug at the entrences to the house and shop - I love the look and change out the ribbon and plants every season! I love our fireplace - we use it for all our heat. Every year at Christmas and Easter, we take our family pic by it. (All the picture frames are second hand, which I cover in twigs from the trees) Our tree - I don't like cluttered, so we mostly do lights, and tinsel with just a few bulbs and a handful of orniments - I hang christmas cards and photos on the back of the cupboards in the dinning room - when I was a kid, my mom would hang them on the doorways - I know to some, it may seem sloppy, but I like walking by and seeing family and friends for the month of Dec.! the garland and lights on the kiten banister match/wrap around to the ones on the fireplace mantle - The kids make gin

Around Christmas time, I usually try to send out family pictures and write a letter about that years happenings - well this year, I couldn't seem to get 'in the mood' to write.... that is until I saw this on Pinterest !  (For a FREE template download like the one above, please visit My 3 Monsters blog ) Although, I did not use the template- I started playing around. Here is what I came up with and I love it.... it is short and to the point!

Every fall - we get apples from Michigan, picked fresh off the tree's - at a very nice price I might add. My sister and husband make quite a few trips up there and always come back with bushels of apples, pears, sweet cherries, plums, peaches, grapes, and other fruit. On their last load they brought back 600+ bushel of apples! I always buy both Gala and Golden Delicious apples each year. The Gala are mainly saved for eating - these are about 6 weeks old now, and still keeping great in the garage. The yellow Golden Delicious is what I make my applesauce, apple butter, apple pie filling and apple cobblers with - they are sweet enough you only need to add a very little amount of sugar! OK, so now for the quickest apple cobbler - here we go - You need two round pie crust's - I buy them at Aldi, as I do not like the mess that making homemade pie crust's make - They come in a box of 2 and are around $1.79 per box. Place a pie crust in the bott

A List of Uses for Shaklee Basic-H  Since there are over 1,001 uses it has been difficult to compile a complete list. So, here are a few to start! First, how should Basic-H generally be used? The genius of Basic-H is that it makes water, the “universal solvent,” penetrate dirt and grime more quickly while then rinsing away easily and leaving no toxic residue. Intensely concentrated, Basic-H’s cleaning power is unleashed when it is diluted in water to the strength required for the cleaning job at hand (spot-test first). GENERAL USES FOR BASIC-H2 and Basic H the Classic  CLEANING JOBS: 1/2 to 1 teaspoon to a quart of warm water WINDOWS, MIRRORS: 2 to 4 drops to a pint of water FLOORS: 2 tablespoons to 1 gallon of water BASIC-G AND BASIC-H CONCENTRATE: 3 Cups H to 1 Cup G (this mix will be diluted in water as needed) OTHER USES FOR BASIC-H Some of these uses are not approved by Shaklee. You can see their official ways to use Basic-H and

                                                                I have a jewelry box that sits on top my dresser. It really isn't too bad looking......until you open the lid!  The part I've always disliked about a jewelry box was that the necklace's are always tangled and I can never find a matching pair of earrings!  I've been brain storming for a while about this, so finally decided to do something about it!  I found a plastic coated wire hanger, an old picture frame (minus the glass and backing) black spray paint and a piece of window screen. I painted the old picture frame black and let dry, then hot glued the screen to the back of it. I used wire cutters to cut the clothes hanger and bent it with a pair of pliers, so that the wire would bend around the back of the frame and hot glued them into place. (the large one at the bottom for the necklaces and the small at the top for anklets and bracelets)  I also cut the hook from the hanger to use to hang my

My 9 year old daughter has always loved taking pictures (something she gets from me....). However, this year she is really doing a great job at getting unique, good quality pictures!  I thought I'd share a few...... Dandelion's.....I personally have never thought of taking a picture of dandelions, but then, -they are the 'flowers' that mommas get the most bouquets of! I thought this single dandelion was so pretty! This whole picture shouts out...."A beautiful Spring Day!" Rocks, even they look good in a picture! OK, so I thought this picture was so cool! -she has always had a 'thing' for clouds! We love our sunsets! Yes, she wouldn't be herself with out her cats!  Crab Apple trees in bloom on the hill -(again with the clouds!) Phlox.... she may not like perennials the way I do, but she does enjoy taking pictures of them! And..... this is my absolute favorite!!!!!   ....my raspberries at night (-I may have to