Snow Day Slime

Last week it snowed.  In Alabama.  This is only the second time we've had snow stick to the ground for more than a day in the four + years we've lived here :)  My boys loved it but refused to stay outside for more than a few minutes at a time so we had to come up with some fun indoor activities.

I've been wanting to make homemade slime for a while and this seemed like the perfect opportunity.  Jeshua of course wanted yellow with yellow glitter :)

I tried making red for Elias but discovered off brand glue doesn't work well.

How to Make Slime
One bottle of white school glue
1/4 + 1/8 c very warm water
glitter
(mix together in a bowl)
3/16 t borax
1/3 c very warm water
(mix together in a separate bowl)
Combine the two bowls together and stir until slime forms

I know these are some weird fractions, but this is how the recipe breaks down for one bottle of school glue.  One recipe made enough to store in a pint size jelly jar with a little left over.

Pineview Baptist MMO Craft Show: November 23, 2013

Here are a few pictures from the craft show we did at the boys' MMO program:

Point Mallard Pickers: August 31-September 1, 2013

Here are a few pictures from our booth at Point Mallard Pickers back in September!

It was HOT!  I'm so glad we paid for electricity and brought a fan and a refrigerator.  During the evening there was a "micro burst," i.e. a sudden very heavy rainfall, and a number of our items and our tent were damaged.  We saved what we could, fixed the rest at home and pretty much broke even for the weekend. :)

I'm still working on getting more items listed on Etsy...some of the items we have left, many we've sold already -- the joys of making and finding one of a kind items.

eb & ezer News

Three exciting things have happened for our home decor business we're dabbling in:

• We made our first sale on Etsy!
• We will now be selling our items at a local pickers store, A New Leaf
• We are applying to be in the NEACA craft show at the end of March with a couple other crafty ladies from our church.  It's a three day show with 25,000 people expected in attendance, so we'll see how this goes!

We also started a Facebook and a Twitter page to keep up with all the happenings.  I'll probably do an Instagram account soon too.  Here's our Instagram account!

Turquoise & Burlap Wreath

I decided with my birthday money this year I wanted to make a burlap wreath for our front door.

I picked up a wire wreath form, burlap fabric (cheaper than purchasing ribbon), and three spools of ribbon:  turquoise burlap, blue & white chevron and blue crystals.  

The burlap fabric v. ribbon is a personal choice -- the fabric is cheaper but it leaves strings.  Also, the wider you cut the fabric the fluffier your wreath will become.

The crystal ribbon proved a bit of a challenge -- I had to weave floral wire through the ribbon to make it sturdy enough to hold its shape.  

I also now know why people charge so much for wreaths at craft shows -- the materials for this (on 40% off sale) were $25.  Four months later I need to take it down and fluff it a bit, but it's still holding up well.

Corban's First Birthday

I've been hesitant to post pictures from Corban's First Birthday because I haven't finished taking photos of all the decorations :)  My mom was in the hospital so Corban's party was pushed back a week and I just didn't get them all done.  So, I have plans to finish them and restage the mantel :)

My sister did his invitation.  I love the grey/green combo.

It is really hard to find boy fabric.  I picked these up at Hobby Lobby and made Corban a bib and bunting for his high chair.

Our friends that came over were on a vegan diet -- I had to come up with foods they could eat as well.  Easier said than done.  I simplified my menu and served fruits and veggies with coconut milk fruit dip and cashew based veggie dip, guacamole, hummus and tortilla chips.  I also served non-vegan cupcakes and mini french silk pies.

There's a reason my mom always decorates my cakes.  My pitiful attempt :)

The cupcakes looked cute though.  I made the sugar using the same color as the smash cake.

Next time I make miniature French Silk pies I need to roll the crust thinner and pipe more filling -- it was too much crust.  And I need to make sure the butter is fully incorporated in the pie filling -- I personally gag biting into butter.

I'll get this post updated as soon as I can with the rest of the decor!

"JOY" Christmas Sign

I made two "JOY" signs this Christmas, one for me and a red one for my mom.  I like hers a bit better:  it's finished :) it's taller and it's lighter.  Hers is made from a dresser drawer pieces, mine is a 2x8.

I'll have to post a new picture of my Turquoise "JOY" Sign now that I finished it soon.

Christmas 2013

This Christmas I kept our decorations simple:  I utilized what we had or I made it myself :)

I decorated the boys' presents with black, white and silver paper and used blue, green and turquoise washi tape, ribbon and bows.

Josh calls this my hippie tree.  Last year we purchased a live tree and a flower pot.  I put the tree outside on our back porch and it's still alive, so I decided to use it again. :) After clearing out all the dead foliage it was pretty scrawny.

Also, if we ever do this again, I'm not purchasing a cedar -- too prickly.  But it was what we could afford.

Last year, Jeshua decided our star needed a tree.  And glitter.  So we made this star, painted it yellow (his favorite color), and added gold glitter.  I haven't found a star I like better, so this works great for now.

Once again, the llama made his appearance in our nativity scene minus one ear thanks to our outdoor cat.  I haven't quite figured that one out yet.  Elias made the yellow star at MMO -- it's the perfect size to add to our nativity.

The only thing I purchased this year was a new stocking for Corban.  With everyone sick I didn't have a chance to get it monogrammed -- I will before next year.  I love hanging them from the curtain rod, but they don't support ANY weight.  I've heard adding a third in the middle helps, but then it'd be in the middle of the nativity.  After Christmas on 70% clearance I purchased six new stocking holders that are flat.  They need painted -- they're an ugly gold.

I painted this "JOY" sign on a scrap of wood from our pile. After Christmas was over, I finished distressing it.

Josh helped me make these book page Christmas trees.  I added lime green glitter to one.

I made this hurricane vase a couple years ago from a flower vase and a candlestick.  I filled with green and blue ornaments and stacked it on top of yellow and blue books for some extra height.

Finally, my mom made this red and lime green mesh wreath for our front door.  I love the green stripes in the red mesh!