I spy with my little eyes

I wanted Robbie to be able to give a gift to all his little buddies at daycare, but didn't really want to spend a lot of money.  When I saw the idea for making your own 'I Spy' bottles on the Meet the Dubiens blog, I decided to try this out.  I'm so pleased with the results.  My bottles don't look nearly as professional as hers, but I don't think Robbie's toddler friends will care.  

Step 1:  Collect stuff

Fortunately for me, my mother is a collector and was able to send me lots of little goodies to use.  Make sure your stuff will actually fit through the top of the container you are going to fill.

Step 2:  Fill bottle

I used an empty Fiji water bottle because it was a nice size and shape.  I looked all over for containers that would work.  Voss water bottles would have been great, but difficult to locate in my area.  I filled with the items above, miscellaneous "sprinkles" of sequins and confetti, and dry rice.  Be sure to leave room at the top to allow for shaking.

Step 3: Seal and Finish
We super-glued the cap of the bottle.  For added security I wrapped some electrical tape around the cap as well.  I'm less concerned with Robbie's friends ingesting the bottle contents and more concerned about them spilling the contents... 'cause y'know little kids WILL FIND A WAY to make a huge mess given the opportunity.  I took a picture of the contents of each bottle and then laminated the picture and a message together.  This was tied to each bottle.

This craft was super easy to do.  Now that I've made a few, I will be on the lookout for interesting little items for bottles and also for other containers that might work.  Merry Christmas!

[Insert Haircut Pun Here]

Hair today... gone tomorrow?

The Long and Short of It.

 Making the Cut.

How to choose a title.... it's just too difficult.

I decided to donate my hair, which had been growing without a cut for a little over a year.  I researched several programs and decided on Pantene's Beautiful Lengths program.  Unlike Locks of Love, which primarily makes wigs for children suffering from a genetic disorder that causes hair loss, and Wigs for Kids, which primarily makes wigs for children with cancer, the Pantene Beautiful Lengths program partners with the American Cancer Society to provide real-hair wigs to adult women with cancer who have lost their hair during chemotherapy.  This really struck a chord with me as I see myself helping someone who could be just like me, a working mom, a wife, a woman but unlike me is fighting the monster that is cancer.  If such a simple thing such as my hair could help her retain her dignity and make her feel beautiful, then I am all for it.

So, off to the salon with my dearest gal pal Brianna.  Here are some pictures from the cut.

Pre-cut:  My long hair

Banded up into ponytails as per Beautiful Lengths instructions.

Severed ponytails in their plastic bag, ready to be mailed.

New Short Hairdo

Short!

 If you are interested in donating your own hair, please click on the link here and look into the Pantene Beautiful Lengths Program.  I am so glad that I did this!

"But life is a battle: may we all be enabled to fight it well!" ~ Charlotte Bronte

Cute Lunch - A Naughty Pig

If you've never played angry birds, then you probably aren't addicted to angry birds. 

We've played.  We're addicted. Robbie LOVES to play and Sam and I watch in awe as he navigates the screens and throws birds at pigs using the touch screen on my droid.  Here is my attempt at an angry birds pig... as a... well... a sandwich.

First I took a biscuit cutter and removed the inside cutting circle (the 'hole').  I cut two pieces of bread.  I used the 'hole' part of the biscuit cutter to cut a small bread circle from the bread scraps.  I cut two smaller "nostril" holes from that circle using the small end of a Wilton metal cake decorating tip. I used the large end of the tip to cut two bread circles for ears and two mozzarella circles for eyes.

Next, I took the biscuit cutter and cut some meat and cheese for sandwich filler.  We had bologna, Colby, and mozzarella.  I took the bread ears and stuck them between the meat/cheese and "pasted" them into the sandwich using Miracle Whip.

I decided to make the pig green, so I took the top layer of bread and the nose and spread with a very thin layer of miracle whip then topped with green sprinkles.  I added candy eyes to the top of the mozz circles.  Lunch was finished off with some apple slices & caramel dip, some wheat thins sticks, and other lunchy items.

Next time I think I'll make the eyes a little wider set and maybe use mayo instead of miracle whip for the sprinkles....  I'd also like to find a way to make some birds in a way that Robbie would actually eat.... but until then... OINK!