Broken No More! What To Do With Crayon Pieces

I have issues with crayons.  The moment a new box is opened, my son is ripping the paper off and snapping the crayons.  Crayola came out with twist crayons that are awesome, but they didn't solve the problem of what to do with all the broken pieces we've accumulated in the past. 

So, thanks to google, I was able to come up with this solution to our crayon problem and not spend another penny!

1. heat oven to 250F.
2. Get an old baking tin that you don't mind dedicating to your broken crayons or other crafts. Spray with cooking spray and fill each area with crayon bits.  You can either sort by color like I did, or combine all the colors for super wacky crayons.
3. Bake until crayons are melted.

 

4. Place the pan in the freezer for about 30 minutes. 

5. Pop out the crayons and enjoy!

 

Of course my son still figured out how to break them, but at least I can always remelt the pieces into new crayons! 

Other tips: you can melt the crayons in the microwave or another container and pour the melted crayon into candy molds for cool shapes.

Finally, A New Project!

I got the idea for a paper/crayon holder for Jordan from a blog I recently discovered, Just Because I am Me. Since we do so much driving and traveling, I thought it would be nice for her (and eventually Ben) to have something special to take with them. Plus my mom is forever buying the kids small notepads and we need more things to do with them.



I need more practice, but for a first try, with NO pattern, I think it turned out really well. Thankfully my daughter thinks just about everything I make is awesome =)

Upholding Traditions

Last year we made this gingerbread house:


Although it was challenging, only the second one I had ever made, and my child was not quite as patient as I would have liked, I thought that the making of gingerbread houses/objects would be a really fun activity to turn into a holiday tradition.

This year, while visiting the Chicago Botanic Gardens, we happened upon a gingerbread train kit. I LOVED this kit. It came with candy (though I prefer M&Ms so I picked up some at the store), and the icing!


My daughter REALLY wanted gummy bears to be involved in the process, so I decided to use the icing to glue them down, like passengers waiting to board the train. This was a lot of fun and I can't wait to build another one next year! Maybe even do a house AND train.

Another tradition we have started with our kids is the matching PJs. This year mommy and daddy picked out spongebob... I NEVER thought I'd have kids that would love spongebob so much, but they do. Our almost 2 year old breaks out in the theme song multiple times a week. Pictures of said PJS will be posted later, after they have been unwrapped!

We still haven't decided if there will be other traditions started with our family. I do know that I am thrilled to not be traveling this year. As much as I miss my family and friends back in Pittsburgh, I feel so much more relaxed knowing I don't have to pack up and drive 10 hours with the kids! Dave has a church gig this year, so our big meal on Christmas day will be brunch, when he gets home from the church. So far I have apple bread french toast, cinnamon rolls, turkey bacon, eggs, and cut up bananas on the menu. Not sure what else we will have, maybe some sort of apple pastry since we have lots of apples to use up.

In case I don't get on the computer tomorrow, which is likely because I've been a bit of a slacker lately, I would like to wish all of you out there in blog land a very merry Christmas.

Thanksgiving Craft

Why did it take my daughter's speech therapist to do this awesomely cute craft for me to realize you can print holiday coloring pages from Google?! I had a major DUUUUUH! moment recently after trying so hard to find Thanksgiving themed crafts for my kids, and failing, only to have the speech therapist tell me she printed the coloring page from Google images. So yesterday I went online, and Googled "thanksgiving coloring pages" voila! There was this cute little turkey plus many others.

From now on, I will be using google for many of our holiday coloring! Next on our list is pilgrims/indians, and a cornocopia!

My Mother's Day Present

Here is a photo of my wonderful mother's day present... thank you husband and mommy!! My mom was generous enough to pitch in for my very own sewing machine. I LOVE this machine. I am finding that I have a genuine like...maybe even love?? for sewing. Hopefully I can learn much over the next few months and create some gifts for friends having babies, clothes for my kiddos, or other projects that I can find.

One project is to take pants that are too short for Jordan and turn them into capris or shorts that she can wear this summer. We got a lot of cute hand-me-downs from my sister, so I hope to stretch our usage of them! I had a playdate/sewing tutorial a few weeks ago with a friend who has been posting her crafty projects. She suggested a simple way of making capris. I followed her advice, and got some cute buttons to hand sew onto the bottom of the capris to add a personal touch. Here is my finished product!

Do You Think You Can Sew?

Today I picked up 2 big bags of fabric from a fellow Freecycler. Not sure what possessed me to get it, seeing as how I have only sewed a few holes and buttons in my entire life. But I am so very very glad I did. I promptly went out and bought a Sew EZ machine from a Jo-Ann Fabrics store. Obviously, having never sewed with a machine in my life I wasn't about to spent $300 on a LOW end model!! EEK!!

Anyway, I figure I could give cheap-o machine a try and if I actually CAN sew, I will justify the purchase with the hubby later on. So, having a cheap machine, no good scissors (or else failed cutting fabric back in kindergarten), and absolutely NO idea about patterns or how to move the material through the machine, etc.... I made my first project! I OBVIOUSLY need to practice... a lot before I make anything fancy shmancy for my daughter, like a dress or skirt. But I think if I keep trying I might just get the hang of this!

Oh, and my daughter thinks her new pillowcase is the coolest ever. That makes my heart melt!!

Baby Legwarmers by Kate

I have resumed knitting. Now that Ben is sleeping a bit while not on my chest in the evenings, I have a bit of time. Also, knitting keeps me from snacking too much. I had this pair finished, but had not sewn up the sides so I finally completed them. I am about halfway through the first leg on his second pair =)

They are a bit long for him at the moment, but surprisingly a little snug around the thighs. He's a fatty!!

New Hobby

I have decided to learn how to knit baby leg warmers. A friend introduced me to the concept when she gave Jordan a pair of Babylegs. (there are some photos below of Jordan in them). I LOVE them and they are awesome, however I do not have the funds to invest in all the totally awesome patterns available. Recently another friend, who is unable to purchase baby leg warmers online due to her location, asked if she could have some sent over. Trying to be cost-effective, I decided to find a pattern online, tweak it to my liking, and make my friend a pair of baby leg warmers. I have finished one, and although they look nothing like the store bought ones, they do look mighty comfy and warm (much warmer looking than store bought).






I want to embroider some sort of picture or letter or something to put on all pairs I knit, so people know it was me who did them. Any suggestions? I certainly cannot do my initials... = O