We recently moved into a new home and immediately started finishing our 2200 square foot basement. After a lot of blood, sweat and money, we are finally done. If you’re thinking about finishing your basement, here’s a basement expense breakdown and how much it REALLY costs to finish a basement. Check it out!

When we started finishing our basement, we tried to make an educated guess as to how much it would cost. It helped us make adjustments along the way so we could try to stay at least a little bit in budget. Here’s how much it all cost. Check it out!

Decide what work you want to do yourself

Although it would be nice if we could just hire out all the work, we knew we could save some money doing some of the work ourselves. So, here’s a list of projects that we decided to tackle ourselves and how much money we saved in the process:

• Electrical: Although not a licensed electrician, my husband decided to do all of the electrical in our basement. He did an amazing job and saved us about $7,000-$8,000 dollars.
• Flooring: I stained the concrete in our basement instead of installing flooring. This saved us a whopping $9,300
• Demolition: We had to knock out some old framing before the framers could come in. So we put our kids to work and this saved us about $600.
• Digging: My husband dug a hole for a new window well and that saved us about $400.
• Painting: This didn’t save us as much money as I thought. We painted our basement ourselves and that saved us about $1,000.

Decide what work to hire out

Let’s be honest, most of the work done to complete our basement was hired out. Some work is best left to the professionals. Even though it costs a lot of money, you just want to make sure it’s done right. Here’s what we hired out:

• Framing
• Plumbing
• Insulation
• Sheetrocking/mudding/taping
• Kitchen cabinet/countertop install
• Backsplash
• Trim/finish work

Total expenses vs what we budgeted

So, let’s get down to the numbers. Here’s a breakdown of everything we spent vs what we budgeted. It was hard to guess exactly how much stuff would cost. But we saved money in certain areas and we actually came under budget which was great!

Tips and tricks we learned along the way

• Money: It will most likely cost more money than you think to finish your basement. We would have definitely gone over budget if we hadn’t done the flooring, painting and electrical ourselves.
• Time: It will most likely take more time to finish your basement than you think. It took us about four months to finish our basement and we were hoping for three.
• Dumpster: Instead of leaving a dumpster parked on our property for four months, we borrowed a dump trailer. This probably saved us about $2,000.
• Basement apartment: If you’re not adding a basement apartment, the cost to finished your basement will most likely be waaaay less expensive.
• Expect hiccups: Inevitably, something will go wrong during your remodel. Our main sewer line backed up and the insulators accidentally blew insulation all over my son’s room.
• Contractor: Consider hiring a contractor. Although I would like to think that we saved money by doing most of the work ourselves, I still wonder if a contractor might have cost around the same.
• Buffer: Budget for lots of miscellaneous expenses. We spent $3,700 on things we just didn’t realize we needed buy.
• Winter: Consider finished your basement in the winter. Subcontractors are usually slow during the cold months and it’s easier to schedule them.
• Investment: All of the money that you are spending to finish your basement will only increase the value of your home. So, it’s worth it in the end.
• Shop around: It’s worth it to get multiple bids on the big-ticket items. Everyone isn’t priced the same.
• Finish work: Spend a little extra money to decorate your basement the way you like it. Here’s some links to some of the items that I bought to decorate our basement: LED bathroom mirror, bathroom vanity light, floor plant, gold cabinet pulls, wooden floating shelves.

I hope this basement expense breakdown helps you as you are planning to finish your own basement. Let me know how it goes in the comments below.

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If you want to elevate the cool factor in your kid’s room and provide more space at the same time, try building a floating loft bed. This is a project easy enough for the novice builder and your kids will LOVE it. Here’s how we did it in three steps.

My sister-in-law thought of the original design for these floating loft beds and so we just copied her. These floating beds are awesome because since they are suspended above the ground, my kids have a lot more space in their bedroom. Check it out!

Gather your floating bed supplies

Before you start making your bed, you need to buy the right supplies. You also want to make sure that you have the person at the hardware store cut all of the wood for you. That will make this project way easier. All of these supplies cost $247 for two beds. Here’s a list of supplies that you’ll need to make one loft bed:

Wood (for the frame)

• 2×4 piece of wood (8 feet long): cut two pieces that are 36 3/4″ long each
• Three 2 x 6 pieces of wood (8 feet long): cut two pieces that are 78″ long and two pieces that are 38 1/4″ long
• One plywood sheet: cut to 74 3/4″ x 38″
• Three 3/4″ x 1 1/2″ pieces of wood: cut two pieces that are 75″ and two pieces that are 36 3/4″

Piping (for the guard rail)

• One 10 foot 1/2 inch pipe: Cut one piece 68″ and two pieces 8″
• Two 1/2″ black iron 90 degree pipe elbows

Other supplies

• Dark walnut wood stain
• Fast-drying polyurethane (warm satin)
• Wood screws 10×3″ (quantity 70)
• Fine thread drywall screws 6×1 5/8″ (quantity 178)
• White paint & paint brush
• Chain 33 1/2″
• Two Quick link chain 5/16″ (1760 lb capacity)
• Two screw eye hooks (700lb capacity)

Here’s the design that you’ll want to follow as you’re gathering and purchasing your supplies. You can also show this to the store clerk to help him visualize what you’re trying to build.

Step #1: Assemble the frame of the bed

Place all of the wood on the ground and assemble it according to the picture above. Make sure you assemble every exactly as pictured. The 2×6 pieces of wood are on the outside, and the 3/4″ x 1 1/2″ thinner pieces of wood go on the inside. The thinner pieces of wood are what the mattress will be sitting on once it’s complete. The two 2×4 pieces go on the inside.

Once everything is assemble on the ground, then you can start screwing everything together. Begin by screwing the 2x6s together on the corners using the wood screws. My husband drilled pilot holes before screwing in the screws to avoid splitting the wood.

Once the outer frame is screwed together, you can screw the inner frame to the 2x6s. We used drywall screws to do this. You don’t have to drill pilot holes for the inner frame if you don’t want. We placed the screws about 12 inches apart on the inner frame.

As a last step to assembling the bed frame, you’ll want to screw together the two 2x4s to the rest of the frame with wood screws. We drilled pilot holes for these as well.

Step #2: Stain the loft bed frame

Place the frame upright on its side and stain the loft frame with wood stain. This will give your bed frame a nice finished look. About 5-15 minutes after you apply the stain with a paint brush, wipe any excess stain with a cloth. We didn’t stain the side of the frame that would be flush against the wall, since you won’t see that portion anyway once it’s hung.

It only takes about an hour for the stain to dry. Once it’s dry, you can apply a layer of polyurethane to add a nice finished, glossy look. The polyurethane takes about 2-4 hours to dry. We just left our frame over night to dry. It looked great.

Step #3: Hang your loft bed

Now that the frame is assembled, it’s time to hang it! Mark on the wall where you want the bed frame to hang. You will want to use a stud finder to make sure you drill the screws into studs. Then, screw the screw eye hook into the ceiling where the corner of the bed frame will hang. My husband used an Allen wrench as an attachment on his drill to screw the eye hook into the wall. Otherwise it’s impossible to do it by hand.

Attach one quick link chain to the hook, then the chain and then the other quick link chain as pictured below.

Next, screw the other screw eye hook into the corner of the bed frame. Make sure you measure exactly where to place the hook. It will depend on where the stud is placed on the ceiling.

Connect the screw eye hook on the bed frame to the chain hanging from the ceiling. You’ll probably need a couple of people to help you hold the bed frame while you do this. Then, attach the rest of the bed frame to the wall using wood screws. Make sure you are screwing directly into studs. My husband screws about four different wood screws into the wall to make sure it was nice and secure.

We also used a leveler to make sure the bed frame was completely level. This part took a little bit of adjusting but it worked out great.

Once the frame is hung, all you have to do is place the plywood into the frame and then the mattress. We painted the side of the plywood that would be showing underneath so it looked a little bit more finished.

The last step is to add the guard rail. Attach the pipe elbows to the three pieces of pipe and insert it next to the mattress on the side. The guy at Lowe’s cut the pipe for us and threaded it, which was super convenient. And you’re done!

Here’s a video that shows how we made this fun loft bed for our kids.

I hope you like making your floating loft bed as much as we did. Let us know how it goes in the comments below. Enjoy!

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Staining your concrete floor isn’t as hard as you might think. With just a few supplies, you can have beautiful finished basement flooring for a fraction of the cost. Here’s all the details on how to stain a concrete floor. Check it out!

For the past two months, we have been finishing our basement. Instead of paying thousands of dollars on new flooring, we decided to try staining the concrete. Sometimes these DIY projects don’t turn out very well, but I loved the way our floors turned out and it was sooooooo much cheaper. Here’s how I did it and how you can do it too.

Gather your concrete staining supplies

I got all of my supplies at Lowe’s but you can also buy these supplies on Amazon as well. Here’s what you’ll need:

• Concrete bonding primer
• Concrete stain semi-transparent
• Wet look concrete sealer
• 18-inch paint roller kit (this makes it go so much faster)
• Broom
• Mop
• Small paint brushes
• Paint brush and roller covers

You really need three paint brushes and three rollers, one for each step. Otherwise you’ll be cleaning out each paint brush and roller before each step. Super annoying.

Prep your concrete

The concrete floor in our basement was in really good shape before we even started staining. All I had to do was sweep really good and then mop any remaining dust particles. We had a few stains on our concrete that we couldn’t remove. But we just left it and the end look was like an industrial-type rustic look.

Step #1: Concrete bonding primer

The concrete bonding primer is a very important necessary step. Don’t skip it! The primer allows for a strong bond between the concrete and stain. Apply a generous layer with a paint roller. I also edge the sides with a small paint brush before rolling the rest to make sure I got full coverage. The primer goes on white and dries clear.

Step #2: Semi-transparent concrete stain

This is probably the trickiest part but it’s still pretty easy. When you buy your stain at the store, it will need to be tinted to the color that you want. We tried three different colors before finally deciding on onyx. It’s a darker color, almost black. But I like the industrial, rustic look it provides.

The instructions on the can say that you can apply the stain with a garden sprayer but it just ended up looking splotchy and ugly. So, I rolled it instead. I did two layers. The second layer really helps even the look of the stain, just like when you paint a wall.

One word of caution, as you roll the stain out, don’t overlap the sections. It ends up making some areas darker than others. It’s pretty hard to avoid overlapping completely, but do your best. I finally got the hang of it after staining 5 rooms, ha ha.

Step #3: Wet look sealer

Now for the final step. Apply a generous layer of wet look sealer over the stain. Made sure there is not puddling. You don’t have to be careful about overlapping the layers on this step because the sealer dries clear. This gives your floor this shiny, finished look and it’s beautiful.

Tips and tricks to staining your concrete floor

• Small supply: Buy a small supply of each layer at first to see how far it goes. I was surprised how much area one can covered.
• Test different stains: We bought three different semi-transparent stains and tested them on the concrete in our storage room. We wanted to make sure we really liked the color.
• Overlapping: I mentioned this earlier, but try to apply your stain in straight even rows that don’t overlap. Otherwise, certain spots will look darker than others.
• 18-inch paint roller: If you’re trying to cover a really large area, an 18-inch paint roller makes the entire process go so much quicker.
• Footsteps: Avoid walking on the stained area before you apply the sealer. It shows footprints really easily and you’ll just have to clean it up again.
• Don’t wait to long: Make sure you apply the stain within four hours but not sooner than one hour after you apply the concrete primer. If the primer totally dries, it won’t bond to the sealer.
• Dry time: The instructions on the can say to wait 24 hours before applying the sealer on the stain, but honestly, I waited about two to three hours and it was fine.
• Stains: Try to get all the stains off your concrete floor before you begin. However, there were a few spots we couldn’t get out and we just stained over it. Although, you can see small imperfections, it just adds to the aesthetic of the industrial, rustic look.

Price comparison: DIY vs professional

Although my finished DIY concrete stain job isn’t perfect, the price tag is. It only cost me $768 for supplies to stain by 2200-square-foot basement. On the other hand, we received a quote from a professional concrete staining company and their quote was $9,900! That’s just as much as getting LVP or carpet.

I hope this gives you a little bit better idea of how to stain a concrete floor. I was pleasantly surprised how ours turned out and I hope your project is just as successful. Let me know how it goes in the comments below.

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If you have ever moved from your home before, you know how much work it can be. But, it doesn’t have to be a terrible experience. With these simple tips, you can move into your home with less stress and more joyful anticipation of these new adventure in your life. Check it out!

Our family recently moved from our beloved home of 12 years to another home 30 minutes away. I was unprepared for how much work it would actually take and how much stuff we had accumulated. Here’s what I learned:

#1: Enlist help

You can’t move your entire house on your own. Don’t be afraid to ask family members, friends and neighbors to help you pack, load and unload. In most cases, people are willing and happy to help.

#2: Give yourself plenty of time to pack

I only had about five days to pack my entire house. I wish I had had a few extra days. From sunrise to sunset, I was packing and it was exhausting. Granted, I was able to do it but it wasn’t fun.

#3: Boxes, boxes, boxes

You are going to need way more boxes than you think. Ask your neighbors, check out dumpsters behind businesses and search Facebook Marketplace. I thought I had more than enough boxes and we actually ran out. You can also buy them online but they’re not super cheap.

#4: Invest in good tape and dispenser

You are going to be taping a lot of boxes. That’s why a good tape dispenser is pretty essential. We went through five rolls of packing tape to pack our house.

#5: Start packing the non-essentials first

Begin packing with your storage room and other items in your home that you don’t use that often. As it gets closer to your moving date, you can start packing items you use on a daily basis such as the kitchen and bathroom.

#6: De-clutter months before

If you know that you are going to moving way in advance, I would start going from room to room in your house and getting rid of junk. This will make packing so much easier when the time comes.

#7: Label every box

Buy a big permanent black marker and write down which room in your new house each box belongs to. Everyone who helps you unload will know exactly where your boxes are supposed to go. Also, close as many boxes as you can so they are easier to stack.

#8: Put your kids to work

If you have kids, don’t do all the work. My kids helped load boxes to the garage, organize their rooms and clean.

#9: Rent or borrow a dump trailer

We parked my brother-in-law’s dump trailer in front of our house. Then, as we were packing, we would throw any junk that we had in the trailer. By the time we were finished moving, we had filled and dump the trailer two times (see the video below). That is a lot of junk.

#10: Donuts for the masses

Make sure you have some kind of refreshments or food for the people who help you on moving day. I ordered 68 donuts and chocolate milk. All of them were devoured. It’s just a nice way to say thanks to the people who take the time to help you move.

#11: Leave clothes on hangers and in drawers

You don’t need to take the hangers off each of your shirts. Just load all your shirts, dresses, etc (hangers and all) in a large box. Same goes for clothes in dressers. Just tape the dresser drawers so they don’t slide open and haul out the entire dresser.

#12: Keep valuables close

Find a special place to put your important documents, money, phone, purse, keys and basically anything else that you absolutely don’t want to lose. You would hate to lose your driver’s license in some random box somewhere in your new house.

#13: Reserve moving van in advance

Sometimes the really big moving vans get reserved first. Also, dollies and other accessories might not be available if you wait until the day before. It cost us to rent a 26-foot Uhaul about $200 for one day.

#14: Borrow trailers from friends

It seems like your giant Uhaul will be enough, but think again. We used four trailers plus our Uhaul in order to get all of our crap loaded. Unless you are moving close and don’t mind making multiple trips, make sure you have enough trailers.

#15: Be ready on moving day

The day that we moved, I did not have any loose items or anything left to pack in our house. EVERYTHING was already in boxes. Because I was so organized, everything in our entire house was packed in moving vans with 45 minutes. People don’t like it when they show up to help you move and you’re not done packing. Do everyone a favor and be prepared or they might not help you next time.

#16: Direct movers as you unload

When we started to unload everything in our new house, I stood at the doorway and told everyone where each box and item was supposed to go. This will make your life soooo much easier when you’re unpacking all the boxes. Everything should be in the right room.

I hope these moving hacks will help as you’re preparing for your own move. Although moving is a lot of work, hopefully this list will make the process a little bit smoother and easier. Let me know if you have any other tips in the comments below.

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I love a good Christmas craft that doubles as a decoration around my home. That’s why you are going to love these Christmas snow jars made from simple Mason jars and other supplies laying around your house. Take a look!

My sisters and I decided to get together to make a Christmas craft/decoration. So, these Christmas mason snow jars were perfect for the occasion. They are super easy but look expensive and gorgeous in any holiday home. In just a few simple steps, you’ll have a beautiful holiday decoration to enjoy all winter long.

Gather your craft supplies

You might already have a lot of these supplies at home. But if not, I purchased the majority of them at the dollar store. Here’s what you’ll need:

• Mason jars (mini, pint and/or quart)
• Fake snow
• Modge Podge
• Berries and greenery
• String or twine
• Fairy lights
• Hot glue gun
• Scissors

Step #1: Apply the Modge Podge and fake snow

Lay out a sheet of parchment paper to keep the glue and the fake snow from getting all over. Apply a thin layer of Modge Podge to the outside of each Mason jar. But don’t apply the glue to the upper lip of the jars. Then quickly sprinkle and gently pat the fake snow over the glue until the entire outside of the jar is covered.

Step #2: Glue decorations to the top

Next, using a hot glue gun, glue the tip of some string or twine to the lip of the jar. Then wrap the strip around the lip three or four times until it is covered and then hot glue the other end to the jar.

Hot glue a small piece of greenery, berries and a small bow (made from the same string) in that order to the top of the jar. You can get creative add other types of decorations as well such as a small ornament or jingle bell.

#3: Add fairy lights

The final step to making your Christmas snow jars is adding the fairy lights. The lights are what give these Christmas decorations a magical touch. There are different colors you can choose from such as warm white, multi-color or cool blue. I prefer the warm white. Since these are LED lights, they should last all season long without having to replace them.

I really enjoyed making these Christmas snow jars. You can play around with the types of jars you use. I liked the look of a mini, pint and quart jars together. But you could also make three quart jar or even just one, depending on the space you are trying to decorate. Anyway, let me know what you thought of this craft in the comments below. Merry Christmas!!

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There is no better time in the history of the world to learn a language! It’s not as hard as you might think. Here’s some super practical tips to learn a language that will have you speaking in no time. Check it out!

I’m 43 years old and I am currently learning Italian (my fourth language). My native language is English (obviously) and I learned French when I lived there as a Latter-day Saint missionary in 2003. Then, about 15 years later, I decided to learned Spanish. Once I felt pretty comfortable in Spanish, I decided to start learning Italian. I have learned a lot of really helpful tips during my language-learning journey. So, I thought I would pass these along to you. Let’s get started!

How to start learning as a newbie

• What is your why?: If you don’t have a strong desire to learn a language, your motivation will sizzle and you’ll stop trying.
• Set goals NOW: What are you going to do every day to learn your language? Write it down. Decide when you want to be speaking conversationally and work toward that goal every day.
• Plan a trip: If you’re going to spend all this time learning a language, make sure you visit a country that speaks that language!
• Learn the fundamentals: Every language has different rules. Some languages use informal and formal, subjunctive, feminine and masculine, etc. Get an overall understanding of how your language works before you dive in.
• YouTube is your friend: There are TONS of videos online that can help you understand the basics of the language you are about to learn.
• Avoid Duolingo: Duolingo and other similar free language-learning apps are designed to keep you on the app instead of actually learning a language. I have lots of friends who have more than a 500-day streak and still don’t speak the language. If you can’t speak the language after 500 days, there is a problem.
• Consider Pimsleur: This program uses the same method we all used when we learned our native language, by listening. I tried Pimsleur when I started learning Italian. I listened to it it everyday on my walks and it gave me a really awesome base to the language.

Listen to your language

• Listen, listen, listen every day: At first you won’t understand anything, but don’t get discouraged. The more you listen, the more your brain will start recognizing words and phrases.
• Duolingo podcast: Even though I don’t recommend the app for learning, Duolingo actually has an awesome podcast if you are learning Spanish or French. They tell more than 300+ stories that alternate between English and Spanish (or French). That way you don’t feel completely lost.
• Daily tasks: Keep a podcast playing throughout your home while doing daily tasks such as cooking, showering, folding the laundry or cleaning. It helps tune your ear to this new language.
• Google translate: When you hear a new word while you are listening, look it up. You’ll remember it later.
• Other podcasts: There are soooo many different language-learning podcasts out there in so many languages. Try them all.
• Movies: Try watching a movie or a cartoon in your language with subtitles in the same language. It’s amazing how much you learn from watching just one movie.

Speak your language

• Speak, speak, speak: I learned French with a small pocket dictionary and that’s it. How did I do that? I spoke French with people on the street every single day for 18 months. As an LDS missionary, we call it S.Y.L. (Speak Your Language).
• Talk to yourself: This sounds weird, but this is a great way to get comfortable speaking before you actually start talking to someone in your language. Try it in the car, in the shower and before you go to bed.
• Sign up for italki: This is an online learning platform that connects students with native language teachers for one-on-one lessons. I have had more than 75 online lessons with teachers from all over the world. All of the teachers are super patient and will accept you at any level that you are at. This is a must!
• Be brave: Speaking your language is the HARDEST part. It’s scary and intimidating. Take a deep breath and do your best.
• Memorize one key phrase: Learn how to say, “I am learning ___________, can you help me?” Every time you say this, people LOVE helping you learn your language. It opens so many doors.
• Find a friend who speaks your language: If this is possible where you live, this will make the biggest difference. Find someone who speaks your language who you can talk to on a regular basis. I have a friend from Chili and we speak in Spanish all of the time together. We go to lunch and other activities and my Spanish has improved by leaps and bounds.

Read your language

• Children’s books: Find some children’s books on Amazon and start reading. These basic books are incredibly helpful.
• Apps: Language-learning apps such as JumpSpeak, Rosetta Stone, Pimsleur, Babbel, etc are great for learning concepts and vocabulary. But they should not be the only way you learn a language.
• Websites in your language: Go online and find different websites in the language you are learning and start reading.
• Cell phone: Change the default language on your smartphone to the language that you’re learning.

Write your language

• Language journal: Start a language journal in which you only write in the language that you are learning. Write about your day, your thoughts, basically anything you want.
• Objects around the house: Write down the names of various objects around your house on small pieces of paper and tape them around your house. Every little bit helps.
• PenPal: Make friends with a native speaker and write him or her letters to practice writing.

I hope all of these tips to learn a language help you on your language-learning journey. Just remember that this is a marathon and not a sprint. Don’t expect to be speaking your new language in one, two or even six months. But with consistent effort, you will be speaking your new language before you know it. Let me know how it goes in the comments below.

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For any Halloween-crazed enthusiasts out there, this haunted drive-in movie is the perfect way to spice up your October decorations in your front yard. It’s super spooky and surprisingly easy to pull together. Check it out!

I put together this haunted drive-in movie for the Scarecrow Festival at Ashton Gardens in Lehi, Utah. This was my 9th year submitting a scarecrow. Although I made this as a scarecrow display, you could easily use it as a yard decoration for your front yard. It’s pretty easy. Here’s how I did it.

Build your character cars

Paint your cars
I decided to use storage tubs instead of cardboard boxes for the cars so they would hold up to the elements outside. I collected seven tubs for free from yard sales. Spray paint each tub a different Halloween color. I used green, purple and orange. I bought a can of spray paint for about $6 on Amazon and I sprayed two tubs with one can.

Decorate your cars
Now that your cars are painted, you’ll need to decorate them like cars. I added the following accessories:

• Wheels – black paper plates with silver strips of paper
• Bumpers – Pool noodles covered with duct tape
• Steering wheels – Black paper plates attached with pool noodles
• Headlights – Small back paper plates with gold wrapping paper circles
• License Plates – Printable Halloween license plates that I designed (download at the end of this blog post for free)

The paper plates ended up being a bad idea because after a couple of wind storms, they fell right off. I would recommend using plastic of some sort and screwing them on really securely.

Add your characters
I needed to make seven Halloween characters to sit in the cars. So, I tried to find items that I already had around the house. I ended up with the following characters:

• Witch – a witch face with a wig and cloak
• Pumpkin – light-up pumpkin decoration
• Octopus – stuffed animal
• Werewolf – old Halloween mask
• Ghost – old bed sheet
• Monster – recycled Halloween decoration
• Cat – old Halloween mask

I attached each character inside each car with a bunch of styrofoam and duct tape. Just get creative.

Set up your refreshment stand

You can create a refreshment stand in a lot of different ways. I scoured Facebook Marketplace until I found an old wooden shelf that someone was getting rid of for free. You can also build your own refreshment stand with some wooden crates and 2x4s. I painted the wooden shelf black and then added all the details.

Here’s the following items that I added to the refreshment stand to make it look like something you would see at a drive-in movie:

• Popcorn boxes – filled with corn puffs
• Vintage popcorn machine
• Glass soda bottles – wrapped with Halloween drink labels
• Life-size skeleton – with a paper bow tie and hat and attached to rebar so it stands up
• Candy bar display – candy boxes covered in Halloween labels displayed on a black sturdy poster board
• Drive-in movie sign – Large poster board with “Dracula’s Haunted Drive-in” written on it and a large arrow pointing to the movie screen

I tried to secure most of the items on the refreshment stand with hot glue but if you can nail them down, that would work better. Some of the items started falling off the stand. I also found the popcorn machine at a yard sale for $10.

Set up the movie screen

The movie screen is probably the easiest part but it did take a little bit of work to find a display stand. Fortunately, I found a tradeshow display stand on Facebook Marketplace. It worked perfectly. If you can’t find something like that, you could use and outdoor movie screen or a couple of heavy duty shepherd hooks and a pole.

I found an extra-large Halloween backdrop of the clown from “It” and attached it to the display stand. Then I added some window curtains to the side and a black blanket at the top.

Once I built all of the elements of the drive-in movie, it was time to put it all together. I was so happy the way of this turned out. And, I was able to find most of my supplies using items I had laying around the house. The entire display only cost me about $100. Hopefully you will have just as much fun as I did creating this fun Halloween haunted drive-in movie. Let me know how it goes in the comments below.

You can download the free Halloween license plate printables below. Enjoy!

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If you’re throwing a carnival, event or birthday party, here are some beginner face painting ideas for kids perfect for the novice artist. They are simple and fun. Your face painting station will be a hit. Check it out!

I am not a super good artist. So when I was asked to be in charge of our school carnival’s face-painting station, I had to get creative. I found some simple designs and compiled them into an easy printable handout. It worked wonderfully and everyone loved it. Here’s how you can do it too!

Print your face painting designs PDF

I compiled 30 simple face paint designs onto two 8.5×11 pages. Just print on your home computer or email it to your local copy store. The designs work for both boys and girls. Most kids are more than happy to choose from these designs. And they are simple enough that even someone who has never done face painting before can do them. To purchase, download and print your PDF, click on the link at the end of this blog post.

Gather your face-painting supplies

You don’t need very many supplies for a face-painting station. And it’s not as expensive as you might think either. Here’s everything you’ll need:

• Face painting crayons
• Table
• Chairs
• Tabletop easel
• Hand mirror
• Wet wipes
• Disposable tablecloth

Set up your face painting station

Set up your station in the shade and out of the sun. You’ll need a small table and at least two chairs (one for you and one for your participant). We had six chairs because we had three face painters.

Cover the table with a disposable tablecloth and place the face painting crayons, hand mirror, wet wipes and print face paint designs on the table. You’ll need the mirror to show the participants their painted face and the wet wipes because the crayons make your hands pretty dirty. We forgot a mirror so we just used our phones.

Display the printed face paint design options on a table easel so participants can choose their favorite while they are waiting in line. I only had a large floor easel, so I attached the designs to a poster board and displayed them that way. But a small table easel would be best.

Start painting!

I was a little nervous at first because I’m not much of an artist, but once I got started, it wasn’t very hard. It was actually really fun. I tried to look at the design each child chose and follow it carefully. A good rule of thumb is to make the design as big as possible on the cheek. I made sure to ask the child which cheek they wanted it on before I started.

I had two teenage volunteers helping me at the face-painting station. Neither of them had an artistic background and they did an amazing job. They painted better than me. Some of the kids wanted multiple images painted on their faces and we just told them they have to get back in line for each image.

I hope these beginner face painting ideas will help you as you’re preparing your own face painting station. Let me know how it goes in the comments below. If you want more easy craft ideas, check out my “Crafts for Kids” idea list.

Click the link below to purchase, download and print your Face Paint Design handouts:

Face Paint Designs PDF

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Everyone loves a good carnival game but the nose pick carnival game has got to be the best. It’s hilarious, easy and fun for the entire family. Here’s how you can make one today for your next carnival, party or family reunion. Check it out!

This game brings a smile to the faces of everyone who plays it. You’re basically picking a witch’s nose in hopes to find a surprise inside. It’s awesome! I made a witch for this carnival game, but you can make a man, monster or whatever you want. Here’s exactly how to make this sweet carnival game today!

Gather your nose pick carnival game supplies

Many of the supplies for this game can be found around the home or in your backyard. I got the wood for free on Facebook Martketplace. Here’s everything you’ll need:

• 5’8″x 2′ sheet of plywood
• Extra plywood for the eyes and mouth
• 2′ two-by-four
• 2 (3’8″ inches long ) two by fours
• Chicken wire
• Screws – Paint
• Two hinges
• Flour, water, paper (for paper mache)
• Two hooks and baskets with handles
• Jigsaw
• Green slime
• Assorted candy or green tootsie rolls

Step #1: Assemble the main wood structure

Using a 5’8″x2′ piece of plywood (or plywood of similar size), cut two 6-inch holes in the middle of the plywood board about 5 inches apart using a jigsaw (see image below). These holes are the nostrils. This is where participants will put their hands to find a treat. Then, screw a 2-foot piece of 2×4 about one inch above the holes.

Attach two hinges on both ends of the two-by-four and then attach two 3’8″ long two-by-fours for the legs. This will allow the game to stand up on its own.

Step #2: Make the nose

Using chicken wire or Styrofoam, form a giant nose that will be placed above the nostrils on the plywood. It’s okay if the nose reaches over the edges of the plywood. It’s supposed to be an oversized nose after all. Secure the wire nose to the plywood with screws.

Complete the nose by covering it with paper mache. First, mix flour and water in a mixing bowl until you reach the consistency of pancake batter. Dip pieces of butcher paper or newspaper in the paper mache and place each piece on the wire nose until it is completely covered. Allow at least 24 hours for the paper mache to dry. Make sure it is completely covered with no holes.

Step #3: Finish the face

Once the paper mache is completely dry, paint the nose and the plywood green. If you’re not making a witch, you can paint it whatever color you want.

Using the extra plywood, cut out two eyes, eyebrows and a big mouth with a jigsaw. Then paint them and attach to the plywood with screws and a drill.

You’re done! When you’re ready to play the game, attach some hooks above the holes on the back and hang some buckets of candy. You can also put candy in one bucket and green slime in the other to make it extra fun.

Kids can line up in front of the game and take turns picking the witch’s nose. The kids will love picking the nose to find out if they got slime or candy. You can have someone sitting behind the game to switch the buckets around for each participant.

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If you’re new at sewing and you want to try an easy project, this DIY scrunchie tutorial is just the ticket. In just 10 minutes, you’ll have your own homemade scrunchie on the cheap. Check it out!

I recently snagged a really nice sewing machine at a yard sale for a bargain! So, of course, I had to try out a new sewing project. Since my daughter loves scrunchies, I thought a DIY scrunchie tutorial would be just the ticket. Plus, it’s super inexpensive and easy. Let’s get started!

Gather your scrunchie supplies

You don’t need very many supplies to make your own scrunchies. Most of the items you’ll probably already have at home. Here’s what you’ll need:

• Scrap fabric
• 1/4″ wide elastic band
• Scissors
• Measuring tape
• Pins
• Sewing machine

Cut and sew the end of the fabric

Any type of fabric will work but I have found that cotton is the easiest to work with while making these scrunchies. You’ll need to measure and cut your fabric so it is 27 inches long and 5 inches wide. It’s easiest to use a cutting mat and a rotary cutter to cut your fabric but scissors and a measuring tape will work too.

Next, fold your fabric in half and sew the two short ends together. Make sure the wrong side of the fabric (if applicable) is facing out.

Prep and sew sides of scrunchie

Lay your fabric on the table with the seam faced down. Fold the top layer up halfway and then fold the upper part of the top layer down halfway. Then fold the bottom layer up over the folded layer in the middle to align with the top of bottom layer (see image below).

Sew open side edge

Pin the two open edges together and now you can start sewing. Starting at the top, begin sewing together the two open edges. Make sure you don’t sew the middle layer that is wedged inside. As you sew down, feed the middle layer down so you can continue to sew the open edges around the complete scrunchie. Leave about an inch and a half unsewn so you can insert the elastic.

Insert elastic and finish

Finally, turn the scrunchie right side out. Attach safety pins to the ends of a 10 1/2″ piece of elastic. Thread one end of the elastic inside the scrunchie until it wraps around back to the same opening. Make sure the other end of the elastic remains outside of the scrunchie. Remove the safety pins and tie a knot with the two ends of the elastic. Sew the remaining inch and a half of the scrunchie and you’re done!

That’s it! I hope you enjoyed this DIY scrunchie tutorial. These scrunchies are perfect for gifts for friends and family, party favors or just for fun. Enjoy!

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All of my kids love playing with sidewalk chalk, so I decided to try making our own DIY sidewalk chalk and it was so easy! Plus, it only requires three ingredients. This is the perfect craft for any kid. Take a look!

Honestly, had I known that making sidewalk chalk was so easy, I would have done it a long time ago. Plus, it’s a super fun craft to beat summertime boredom and encourage creativity and hands-on learning. Here’s everything you need to make your own chalk right now.

Gather your DIY sidewalk chalk supplies

This recipe only requires three ingredients! And with the help of a few other supplies, you’ll have your homemade chalk in no time. Here’s a list of everything you’ll need:

• Plaster of paris
• Mica powder – you can buy this online or at a craft store
• Water
• Molds – you can use Jello jiggler molds, candle molds, silicone baking molds or even silicone ice cube trays.
• Disposable paper bowls and spoons
• Mixing bowl

#1: Mix together ingredients

Mix two cups of Plaster of Paris with 1 2/3 cups of water in a mixing bowl. Then, slowly mix in about one tablespoon of mica powder. Stir until completely incorporated. It should be slightly watery. Make sure you scrape the bottom of the bowl as you mix.

If you want mutiple colors of chalk, separate the mixture into disposable containers before adding the mica powder.

#2: Pour mixture into molds

Lastly, pour the various colored mixtures into your molds. You can use whatever kind of mold you want. I even used Jello jiggler molds and they worked great. Silicone molds work great but if you don’t have that, you can even cover the end of a toliet paper roll and fill that with the mixture. Just make sure you work quickly because this Plaster of Paris is designed to harden within 20-30 minutes.

Remove chalk from molds

Your chalk should harden within an hour or so, but we waited a few hours just to be safe. It was super easy to take the chalk out of the silicon molds. However, it took a little bit more finessing with the firm plastic mold, but we got those out okay as well.

That’s it! Isn’t that super easy? I couldn’t believe how simple and fun this DIY sidewalk chalk craft was. Even my older boys had fun making them. I hope it’s just as fun for your. Let me know how it goes in the comments below.

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Fidget spinners are always a hit among kids and adults alike. But have you ever tried to make a paper fidget spinner? They’re way easier than you might think and they actually work! This is the perfect craft for summer, school, church group or just for fun. Check it out!

It’s always nice to have an arsenal of quick, easy and fun crafts for bored kids laying around the house. This one is great for boys and girls alike and it’s basically just a little bit of cutting and gluing. There are other DIY fidget spinners out there but they can be fairly complicated. That’s why you’ll love these paper fidget spinners. Let’s get started.

Download your FREE paper fidget spinner template

I designed four different colorful fidget spinner templates that you can download and print. Print each page on cardstock so the fidget spinners are sturdy and won’t rip. Pick your favorite design or make them all!

Download your two-page 8.5×11 PDF at the end of this blog post.

Gather your fidget spinner supplies

You might have a lot of the supplies for this DIY project right at home. Here’s the list of what you’ll need:

• Glue dots – you can also use regular glue, but the glue dots make it super easy
• Jump Rings – optional, however these make it spin a lot smoother
• Toothpicks
• Pennies
• Scissors
• Hole punch 1/8-inch – if you don’t have this size, you can make a hole with a toothpick
• Hot glue gun
• Fidget spinner PDF download
• Cardstock
• Gluestick

Step #1: Cut and glue together template

First, you’ll want to print the spinner template on cardstock and cut out each piece. Then, trace one of the spinner templates onto another piece of cardstock and cut that out. You should end up with three spinners cut out. The third piece makes the spinner extra sturdy. Glue all three pieces together with a glue stick and then punch a hole in the middle.

Step #2: Make it spin

Attach three pennies to each of the circles on one side of the spinner using glue dots. You can also attach them with another craft clue but the glue dots are quick and easy. Then, attach three paper circles on top of the pennies with glue dots.

Cut the tip of a toothpick and insert 1/4″ of the blunt end through the hole in the middle of the spinner and thread the jump ring onto the toothpick. Punch a hole in the middle of the remaining two paper circles. Thread one paper circle onto the toothpick so it rests over the jump ring.

Place a glue dot on the toothpick and paper circle and then add a big dab of hot glue. Hold the spinner with the other end of the toothpick and wait for the hot glue to dry. Repeat the same step on the opposite side. Then you’re done!

Step #3: Try out your new spinner!

Put your thumb and index finger opposite each other in the middle and give it a spin! For a homemade paper fidget spinner, I was impressed with how smoothly and long they spin. And it’s something kids can be proud of. I made all four of these spinners and each of them only took about 10 minutes each to assemble.

Here’s an instructional video I put together that explains step-by-step how to make this fun craft.

I hope you have fun making this paper fidget spinner. Let me know how it goes in the comments below.

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If you’re wondering, yes, duct tape wallets are still super cool and yes, you need to learn how to make one right now. So, ignore all those other tutorials online because this one is super easy and only takes about 10 minutes! Check it out!

My husband was actually the first person to introduce me to duct tape wallets when we were dating. He made one right in front of my eyes. It was true love. But, seriously though, they are really easy to make and are perfect as homemade gifts. So, let’s get started.

Gather your duct tape wallet supplies

You’ll just need a few essentially to get started on this exciting craft. Here’s the list:

• Crafting duct tape (two different colors)
• Scissors or Exacto knife (scissors tend to get sticky from the tape, so Exacto knives work better if you have one)
• Measuring tape
• Cutting mat (optional)

You can make these wallets with just plain old gray duct tape, but I prefer patterned tape. Here’s some options:

• Tye dye
• Starry galaxy
• Camo
• Polka dot
• Smiley faces

Create the duct tape fabric

First, you’ll need to create a sheet of duct tape “fabric” that will form your wallet. It’s basically about an 8″ x 8″ square of duct tape with sticky sides together. To do this, cut four 9″ strips of duct tape for the main color of your wallet. Then, cut five 9″ strips of duct tape for the interior color and border of your wallet. Each strip doesn’t have to be exactly nine inches. You can just eye ball it.

Connect the four strips of duct tape of the same color together horizontally. Overlap each strip slightly onto each other until they are all connected.

Then, tape the five remaining strips of duct tape (of a different color) to the sheet of four strips (sticky sides together). Leave about a 1/2″ overhang on the top and bottom and then fold those edges over to form a border.

Trim and fold your wallet

Next, you’ll want to trim off the uneven edges of both sides of the duct tape fabric. It’s okay if it’s not a perfectly straight line. Then, fold the fabric like a hot dog so the open ends are on top. If the sides don’t line up exactly when you fold it, you can trim the sides a little bit more so they’re straight.

Make pocket and close sides

Now, you’ll want to close the sides of the wallet and finish the border. To do this, cut one strip of gray duct tape a little longer than the height of the folded wallet. Then, cut that small strip in half length-wise. Use one of those strips to fold over the left edge of the wallet and close off the left side. Trim the excess.

Before you do the same step on the right side to close it off, you’ll need to form the credit card pocket. Cut two strips of duct tape a little longer than the width of a credit card. Stick both of those strips sticky side together and place on the lower right side of the wallet. Then, seal of the right side of the wallet with the remaining small strip of duct tape and trim the excess.

Cut another piece of duct tape the same size as the credit card pocket and stick it on the lower half of the already placed credit card pocket piece. Add one more strip of duct tape to finish the left side of the credit card pocket.

Duct tape wallet tips and tricks

• Exacto knife: An Exacto knife is much easier to use because scissors get gummed up by the duct tape.
• Measurements: You don’t have to be exact in your measurements. Just use a measuring tape to make sure the beginning strips are 9 inches long.
• Cutting mat: When trimming and cut pieces of duct tape, try using a cutting mat or even a cutting board.
• Kids: If your child wants to participate, try making the duct tape fabric first since that is the most difficult part.
• Great gift idea: Duct tape wallets are the perfect homemade gift for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, birthdays, Christmas or just for fun!
• Additional pockets: If you want to get even more fancy, try adding more pockets on the right and left sides.
• Different colors: Add your own style to your wallets by experimenting with different borders, patterns and colors.

Here’s a video that I made explaining step-by-step how to make these fun wallets.

Hopefully this blog post was helpful for you. Let me know how your wallets turn out in the comments below.

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If you’ve been putting off learning how to make a potato gun because you think it’s too hard, think again! It’s actually super easy and loads of fun for the entire family. Here’s how to make your own spud gun in three easy steps. Let’s get started!

I used to shoot potato guns/cannon/launcher with my family when I was little and I loved it! That’s why I’m surprised it has taken me so long to make a potato gun with my own kids. And to be honest, it was way easier than I thought it was going to be.

What are potato guns?

Potato guns are homemade devices made out of PVC pipe designed to shoot projectiles–typically potatoes–using combustion fuel such as hairspray. The combustion chamber is made of 4″ PVC pipe and the barrel is made of 2″ PVC pipe. They are joined together with reducer couplings. When the hairspray is triggered with a spark, it combusts and shoots whatever is in your chamber out of the barrel and into the air.

Important note: The United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms does not classify spud guns as firearms when they are used appropriately. However, they are considered weapons and can be dangerous. They are used for fun and recreation but are not toys. Use caution as you are building and discharging this weapon.

Gather your potato gun supplies

There are some very specific items that you will need to buy in order to make your potato cannon. Here’s your parts list:

• 4″ pvc pipe for the body
• 2″ pvc pipe for the barrel
• 4″ to 2″ reducer coupling (to attach the body to the barrel)
• 4″ end cap
• BBQ igniter
• PVC glue (pvc cement)
• Epoxy
• Hairspray or spray deodorant
• Potatoes

I spent about $60-$70 for all of my supplies. Honestly, some of the PVC pipes and fittings were kind of hard to find at any hardware stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s. I ended up getting some of them on Amazon. I tried using a different end cap (see the black piece in the image below) because I couldn’t find a PVC one, but that didn’t work very well. My husband went to Home Depot with me and he found the right part right away.

Step #1: Cut your pipes

There are a lot of potato gun gurus out there and they have done a lot of research to figure out the best dimensions of potato guns for optimal performance. Instead of boring you with all of the details of how they figured that out, I’ll just tell you the results. The chamber of the gun needs to be 1 1/2 feet long, while the barrel should be 4 feet long.

Cut down your 4″ PVC pipe to 1 1/2 feet long and your 2″ PVC pipe to 4 feet long. My husband just used a hand saw cut off the excess on the edge of a table.

Step #2: Glue the pipes together

Glue the 4-foot barrel to the 1 1/2-foot chamber with a 4″ to 2″ reducer coupling using PVC glue. Don’t try to use any other glue type such as Gorilla Glue, hot glue or Super Glue. It won’t hold. Spread glue on the inside of the coupling and on the outside of the PVC pipes where the coupling will be placed. You can also wrap the connections with duct tape as well, but it’s not totally necessary.

Next, you’ll want to glue the end cap to the bottom of the chamber using PVC glue. Then, screw on the threaded cap.

Step #3: Install the igniter

The last and most important step in how to make a potato gun is to install the igniter. Using a larger drill bit, drill a hole into the lower portion of the chamber just above the end cap. That way you can push the igniter with your thumb while holding the chamber. Insert the igniter into the chamber so the button is still positioned on the outside. Then seal it to the chamber with epoxy so that it’s firmly attached and there is no air escaping out the sides.

Fire your potato gun!

All done! Now you’re ready to test out your potato launcher. Find a field or a very large area far away from houses and roads. These potato guns can shoot anywhere between 300 and 600 feet! Insert a potato into the barrel of the gun and use an old broom handle or long stick to push it to the end of the barrel. Spray hair spray directly into the chamber for about 2-3 seconds and then quickly screw on the cap. Aim your spud launcher and fire.

Potato gun tips and tricks

• Try using aerosol deodorant instead of hairspray. Sometimes the hairspray gums up the ignitor and it won’t spark.
• Safety first. Gloves and a safety shield over your face isn’t a bad idea. These are guns after all.
• Don’t spray too long. The chamber needs a combination of oxygen and fuel. If you spray too much hairspray into the chamber, it won’t ignite.
• Install an ignitor on the end cap lid. This way, when you spray into the chamber, the BBQ ignitor isn’t getting sprayed on directly.
• Try using a handheld lighter. I haven’t tried this, but I have seen other people un-install the BBQ ignitors and then simply insert a hand held lighter into the whole when you’re ready to fire. You can decide your fuel of choice.
• Allow kids to try with caution. Until you’ve shot your potato gun many times and you’re confident that it is safe, don’t let kids shoot it.
• Fire in a secluded area. As mentioned above, these guns can shoot up to 600 feet. Don’t shoot in neighborhoods, backyards or basically anywhere close to people, cars or houses.
• Never look into the barrel. Treat your potato gun the same way you would a normal firearm. Same precautions apply.
• Other ammo. Potatoes seem to work the best for ammo because they fit tightly into the barrel, however, you can also try a golf ball. Or some even like to use these as tennis ball cannons.

Here’s a video explaining how to make a potato gun and also shooting it. Enjoy!

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Not everything about Halloween has to be spooky and scary. That’s why these DIY Halloween monster decorations are perfect. They are easy to make and perfect props for your front yard this October. Here’s how to make it right now.

Every year, I love making my own scarecrow for a local scarecrow festival at Thanksgiving Point Ashton Gardens. So, this year, I wanted to do something fun and friendly to make everyone smile. That’s how I came up with a monster cupcake stand. It was surprisingly easy and versatile. Check it out!

Gather your DIY Halloween monster supplies

In this tutorial, I am going to show you with some easy steps how to make a monster cupcake stand, however, you can come up with whatever creation you want. Monsters can come in all shapes and sizes, so once you have the basics down, the sky is the limit.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Lemonade stand (I found mine at a yard sale for $20 but you can even make your own if you want)
• Cardboard
• Styrofoam squares
• Foam sheets
• Hot dog roasters (to hold up the pick monster)
• Hot glue gun and lots of hot glue sticks
• Duct tape
• Styrofoam balls (for the eyes)
• Pipe cleaners
• Pool noodles (for the arms)
• Wire
• Pain
• Gorilla glue
• Jumbo pool noodle (for the body)
• Ribbon
• 4-foot rebar (to hold up the blue monster)
• Acrylic paints
• DIY cupcake supplies

How to make the pink monster

Since this monster is essentially hiding behind the cupcake stand, I only needed to make a monster from the head up. This made my job waaaay easier. First things first, is you’ll want to make or buy a generic lemonade stand that your pink monster will be standing behind. Try not to get one too tall. Think kid-sized.

Measure the opening of the lemonade stand and cut rectangle with rounded edges at the top out of cardboard. Trace that shape to make another cardboard piece of the same size. I also added a piece of styrofoam that was the same shape in between the two pieces of cardboard to make it thicker. Then, just duct tape everything together. Cut a styrofoam ball in half and each piece will be the eyes. Draw where you want the mouth.

Then, using foam sheets, cut out the individual feathers, fur or texture shapes that you want to cover your monster. I cut out a bunch of pointy shield-looking shapes of the same size. Then, starting at the bottom, staple or hot glue each shape to the monster head until it is completely covered. Don’t forget the sides. I didn’t do the back since no one was going to see that part anyway.

Next, you’ll want to add the eyes, hair and mouth. You can paint the eyes with acrylic paint and staple some pipe cleaners to the top for the hair. Basically, just do whatever you want. It’s your creation.

How to make the cupcakes

So, if you’re doing a monster cupcake stand, you have to make some realistic-looking creepy cupcakes. Here’s a detailed tutorial of how I made these adorable fake cupcakes. Once your cupcakes are made, glue them to the cupcake stand with gorilla glue.

Duct tape two hot dog roasters to the back of the monster head and push them into the grass behind the cupcake stand. Then, cutout foam letters that read, “Cupcakes 50¢” and hot glue them to the front of the lemonade stand.

How to make the blue monster

When making a cute DIY Halloween monster, you basically just need to find an object shaped like a monster and then cover it with foam and add some eyes. I literally searched my garage until I found a jumbo pool noodle and figured that would do the trick.

First, poke some wire through the jumbo pool noodle for the arms. Then, add two small pool noodles on each side. I pushed the wire through the poodle noodles so it would be more secure and then duct taped the arms to the body.

Then, I did a lot of shaping with styrofoam to form the jawline/mouth, feet and horns. There is no right or wrong way to do this. I added all of these features first with wire and then secured with duct tape.

Then, last but not least, hot glue your blue foam shapes to the monster. I use scissors and made jagged teeth-like strips and hot glued them to the entire body and arms. This is the part that took the longest. But this is also what makes your monster look so unique. I added a different color of foam to the horns to make them stand out.

Then, I used gorilla glue to add on big eye and painted the eye green. For the teeth, I made them spikey and added some braces to make them look like young children. And that’s it! Just keep in mind that you will be using a lot of duct tape and hot glue throughout this entire project.

The final product

Once all of the individual pieces were complete, the last and final part was to put it all together. I tied the blue monster to a 4-foot rebar and placed the pink monster and the cupcake stand right next to him. Finally, I hot glued a cute cupcake in the blue monster’s hand.

This turned out so freaking cute, I couldn’t even stand it. I would love to see your DIY Halloween monster creations as well. Leave a picture in the comments below.

If you’re looking for other Halloween scarecrow ideas to display on your front lawn this year, here’s a bunch that I’ve made in the past. Happy Halloween!

• Witch lawn decoration
• Old Hag from Snow White
• Blobby from Hotel Transylvania
• Forky from Toy Story 4
• Huge spooky tree
• Spongebob Squarepants

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Cold hard cash is just the gift that just keeps giving. But, don’t just give them a wad of bills. There’s lots of fun and creative ways to give money for any special occasion. Here’s 16 creative money gift ideas to get you started.

Money is a great gift for many reasons including the holiday season, wedding gift, new college student, baby shower, family member, milestone birthday, high school graduates, under the Christmas tree and many, many more. Check it these unique money gift ideas.

#1: Money tree

#2: Money box of chocolates

#3: Money balloons

#4: Money origami flowers

#5: Scavenger hunt or treasure hunt

#6: Money lei

#7: Cash pull gift box

#8: Easter cash

#9: Rolled-up bills cake

#10: Cash gift puzzle box

#11: Saran wrap ball game

#12: Money pizza pie gift

#13: Cash birthday card money holder

#14: Hidden candy money jar

#15: In case of emergency money gift

#16: Pez dispenser money gift

I hope you liked all of these clever money gift ideas. They are such great gift ideas that are perfect for any occasion or any age. Let me know if you have any other gift of money ideas in the comments below.

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Whether it’s for decoration, a storefront or just for fun, these DIY fake cupcakes are perfect for Halloween. They are super easy and they look good enough to eat. Here’s how to make these ultra-realistic faux cupcakes.

I make a scarecrow for the Ashton Gardens Scarecrow Festival in Lehi, Utah every year. This year, I decided to make a monster cupcake stand. So, naturally, I had to make some cupcakes to go with it. I found the easiest and most realistic-looking way to make fake cupcakes. And the best part is that I can use them year after year. Check it out!

Gather your DIY fake cupcake supplies

Most of these supplies for your Halloween cupcakes are probably hanging around your house. But there are a few specific items that you might need to run to the hardware store for. Here’s the list of supplies:

• DAP Fast Dry High Strength Spackling (instead of the plaster of paris pictured below)
• Great Stuff Window and Door insulating foam (in the blue container)
• Decorating bags or piping bags
• 1M star piping tip
• Cupcake liners
• Cupcake pan
• Plastic Halloween toys (to decorate the cupcakes)
• Paint brush
• Green, orange, purple, light gold and orange acrylic paint

Step #1: Make your cupcakes

This first step is the easiest. Place your cupcake liners in the cupcake pan. Then, using the insulating foam, fill each of the cupcake liners just to the top of the liner. The foam will expand a little bit as it dries, so you don’t want to fill it too full or not enough. Once you’ve filled all the cupcake liners, set the faux cupcakes aside and allow them to dry overnight. If you don’t want to use insulating foam, you can also try air-dry clay or styrofoam balls.

Step #2: Frost the cupcakes

Once your insulating foam has dried completely, it’s time to frost the cupcakes. But first, you’ll want to paint the tops of each cupcake a light golden brown color. You want it to look like freshly-baked cupcakes out of the oven.

Next is the frosting. You’ll want to use a pre-mixed light-weight spackling. I tried using the powder spackling but it was super heavy and I could never get the perfect consistency. I finally bought the DAP fast-drying high-strength spackling and it was super smooth and lightweight. It looked just like real cupcake frosting. Mix the spackling and your choice of colored acrylic paint and then place the frosting in a decorating bag with a 1M star piping tip.

Slowly squeeze the colored spackling in a circular motion around the top of the cupcake. It should form a tiny mountain on top. The 1M star tip gives the spackling the perfect texture. Then, allow the spackling to cool.

Step #3: Decorate your fake cupcakes

Finally, it’s time to decorate your spooky DIY fake cupcakes with Halloween accessories. I bought a bunch of spider and vampire rings at the Dollar Store and cut off the ring part. I also bought some fake eyeballs and cut them in half. Then, I just glued each one onto the cupcakes with hot glue.

Of course, you can make these adorable fake cupcakes for any occasion, not just for Halloween. They would be perfect for birthdays, Christmas or Valentine’s Day. Display them on a cute cupcake holder. They would also be so much fun as play food for kids. Here’s a short video tutorial showing how I made these cupcakes. Enjoy!

I love how these cupcakes turned out. Let me know how they turn out for you in the comments below. Happy Halloween!!

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Admit it, money is always a fun gift to receive on your birthday. And this do-it-yourself birthday money box makes it even more fun. Plus, you can make it on the cheap in three simple steps. Keep reading to learn more!

Gather your birthday money box supplies

There are a lot of different birthday boxes that you can buy online, but they are kind of pricey. Instead, you can make one at home for basically free. Here’s what you’ll need:

• Small empty cube box of tissues ($1.50 at Walmart)
• Wrapping paper
• Scissors
• Tape
• Printable birthday pull tab
• Utility knife

Step #1: Print and cut your birthday pull tab

The most important part of your birthday box is the birthday pull tab that is connected to the money. I designed my own pull tab that is universal and will work basically for anyone’s birthday. You can print this by clicking on the link at the end of this blog post.

Cut along the lines of the lower part of the pull tab and then leave a little white space as you cut around the “Happy Birthday” and the cake. The plain white rectangle will be taped to the top of the tissue box. You just need to cut one straight line with the utility knife inside the inner rectangle.

Step #2: Tape the money

Whether you’re using ones, fives or ten dollar bills, you’ll want them all taped together on the ends so they form a long stream of money. I ended up getting 15 one-dollar bills out of the bank for this present for my son’s 12-year-old friend.

Tape one of the bill to the end of the Happy Birthday pull tab. Then continue taping the remaining bills on the end of the preceding bill. It should make a long stream of bills connected together.

Before you start rolling the bills together to put in the box, you need to insert bills through slit on the paper rectangle. Then thread that paper up until it reaches the top to the Happy Birthday sign.

Step #3: Insert money and wrap the gift

Lastly, take the long strip of money that is taped together and roll it up from the bottom. Then insert that wad of money into the empty tissue box. Then, tape the paper rectangle to the top of the tissue box. This makes the birthday tab stand up straighter and the money pulls through a lot smoother.

After you’ve inserted the money and taped the paper rectangle, just wrap the present with your favorite birthday wrapping paper. You’ll have to wrap around the birthday tab, since it will be sticking out of the tissue box.

If you want, you could also add some other fun gifts inside of the box with the money such as gum, candy or toys. But, usually, cold hard cash is enough for a birthday present. I hope your money box turns out. Let me know what you thought of this blog post in the comments below.

If you would like to print the birthday money box pull tab, just click on the link below:

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There are so many reasons to give gift baskets to people nowadays. But why not make it extra special by making the basket yourself? A homemade basket of sunshine is just the ticket to putting a smile anyone’s face. Here’s a plethora of ideas and tips to get you started.

Several years ago, I made a box of sunshine for my sister who was going through a tough time. Although boxes of sunshine are cute, they are more suitable as care packages that are being sent through the mail. If I am giving a care package in person, making a sunshine basket is the way to go. Whether it’s a special day, birthday celebrations, get-well gifts, Valentine’s Day, college care packages, office professional staff, special occasion or one of the major holidays, sunshine boxes are perfect for everything. Check it out!

Gather items for your Basket of Sunshine

Of course, it wouldn’t be a sunshine basket unless everything inside was yellow. It’s supposed to “brighten” their day after all. So, the number one requirement is that everything is the basket should be filled with yellow things or mostly yellow. Depending on who you are giving a basket to will determine what you put in it, obviously. But, here’s a list of box of sunshine gift ideas to get you started:

Food

• Lay’s potato chips
• Starburst
• Mambas
• Cubetti wafer cookies
• Juicy Fruit gum
• Twizzlers sweet and sour
• Peanut M&Ms
• Golden Oreos
• Lemonheads
• Country Time lemonade mix
• Funyuns
• Sour Patch Kids
• Dolcetto lemon rolled wafers
• Swedish Fish
• Gatorade
• Butterfinger
• Ringpops
• Lemoncello chocolate almonds
• Fresh lemons

Personal care

• Lotion
• Hand soap
• Dr. Teal’s lemon bath soak
• Loofah
• Make up bag
• Lip balm
• Moisturizing face mask
• Necklace
• Bracelet
• Sunglasses

Home decor/gifts

• Artificial potted lemon plant
• When life gives you lemons wall decor
• Throw pillow
• Citrus candle
• Sun or lemon stuffed animal or plush bear
• Flower arrangements (fresh tulips, daffodils or other flower variety)
• Journal
• Small blanket
• Spot It card game
• Salt and pepper shakers
• Water bottle

Find a cute basket

Once you have everything to go inside your basket, you’ll want to find a cute basket to put everything in. Check out Hobby Lobby or other craft store. You’ll want to pick something that isn’t too large because you’re going to have to fill it. Also, choose a basket that isn’t super deep so that you can see the items when you fill it. I chose a basket that was about 12 inches wide, 15 inches long and 4 inches deep.

Then, buy some yellow and white tissue paper and fill the bottom and the sides. You’ll want it hang over so you can see it.

Add a sunshine gift tag

Now for the most important part, the Basket of Sunshine gift note. This printable tag will complete the entire gift so that it makes sense. I designed a simple sunshine gift tag that you can purchase and download below. It’s about 3.13″ wide and 4.72″ tall. Attach it with some ribbon and you’re down!

Printable Basket of Sunshine Gift Tag

That’s it! I hope you have fun making your sunshine basket for your friend or family member. I’m sure it will bring them loads of smiles and happiness. Let me know how it goes in the comments below.

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There no better way to get in the Halloween spirit and start off spooky season this October than with this classic Halloween neighborhood game. This You’ve Been Booed printable is all you’ll need to get started. Check it out!

Booing your neighbors has been my favorite Halloween tradition in my neighborhood during the month of October for as long as I can remember. As a kid, I always got so excited when we finally got “booed” by our neighbors. That’s why I want to continue this fun activity with my kids and the whole neighborhood as well. Here’s how you can too. Keep reading to learn more.

Print your You’ve Been Booed Printable

The most important part of this fun Halloween game is the instructions so the game can spread to everyone. I designed this super cute and simple PDF printable that can be printed on cardstock paper on your home computer or at your local copy store.

This printable includes three 8.5 x 11 printable pages:

• Instruction sheet
• Window poster (boo sign)
• Gift tags

To print your You’ve been bood printable, click the link at the end of this blog post.

How to play You’ve Been Boo’ed

If this is is your first time playing this fun Halloween game, don’t worry. It’s super easy. Around October 1st, you’ll want to fill a gift basket or boo bags with a bunch of fun Halloween treats and goodies (see below for ideas). Next, attach a “Boo” gift tag to the basket. Then, include the printed instruction page (see below) and window sign in the basket. Finally, leave the basket on the porch of the person or neighbor you are booing and then ring the door and run. Make sure they don’t see you spreading Halloween cheer.

Once your neighbor discovers their surprise, they simply make copies of the pages that you included in the basket. They will hang their “We’ve been boo’ed” sign in their front window and then repeat the process with another neighbor. Hopefully, by the time Halloween arrives, everyone in your entire neighborhood will have been “boo’ed.”

Here’s the fun poem that is included with the instructions:

You’ve Been Boo’ed Gift basket ideas

There’s lots of fun different things you can include in your basket to “boo” your neighbors. You don’t have to spend a lot of money. You can get a lot of fun stuff for cheap at the dollar store. Here’s just a few to get you started.

• Plastic pumpkin bucket or cauldron
• Glow in the dark bouncy balls
• Candy corn plush
• Slap bracelets
• Mini witch hats and cauldrons
• Peanut Butter and Jelly costume
• Indoor Halloween lights
• Halloween squishy toys or other fun toys
• Homemade treats (rice krispies, popcorn, cookies)
• Halloween candy

I hope you and your neighbors have fun participating in these Halloween festivities. It should be a fun surprise and a great way to start a fun Halloween tradition this holiday season. Click on the link below to purchase and download your You’ve Been Boo’ed Printable:

You’ve Been Boo’ed Printable PDF

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Weeds. They are the worst. But the last thing I want to do is spray harmful chemical all over my yard and garden. That’s why this all natural recipe (using ingredients in your own kitchen) is perfect. Check it out!

Every year, my husband and I plant a big garden and every year, it gets over run with weeds. But I am nervous about spreading the harmful chemicals found in commercial weed killers or a store-bought herbicide all over my garden. I literally think they can give you cancer. I feel like you have to wear gloves, long sleeves and a face mask. That’s why this natural weed killer recipe is perfect. I’m confident in saying this is one of the best diy weed killer recipes you will find on the internet. It’s safe and effective. Check it out!

Gather your homemade weed killer ingredients

You only need three simple ingredients to make this weed killer and I am willing to bet you already have them in your home. Here’s what you’ll need:

• 4 cups distilled white vinegar (household vinegar)
• 2 cups Epsom salt
• 1/4 cup Dawn dish soap

You could also use apple cider vinegar, rock salt, sea salt or lemon juice in a pinch. The main ingredient (which is also the active ingredient) is the vinegar. It works in conjunction with the salt to draw moisture from the leaves. The dish soap helps the vinegar solution adhere to the weeds. This solution can kill all types of weeds including broadleaf weeds and poison ivy. Persistent weeds and unwanted plants will be a thing of the past.

Make your weed killer

It’s super easy to make this weed killer. Combine the vinegar, dish soap and the Epsom salt into a large bowl. Mix together thoroughly until the salt has dissolved. Then pour the mixture into a spray bottle and you’re done!

Start killing those weeds

You might want to put a label on your spray bottle so you know that it’s a weed killer. Then, just head out to your yard or garden and start spraying those weeds. Try spraying on a sunny day and spray the entire weed, especially the base so it can sink down to the root systems.

In 24 hours, your weeds should be withered and almost if not completely dead. For best results and weed control, spray the weeds in your flower beds and vegetable garden while they are young weeds. Look at this photo below of the before and after just one day later.

Hopefully this natural weed killer recipe will help you as you’re trying to battle your weeds in your own yard. This is a good organic option to kill those annoying weeds without putting toxic chemicals in your garden. Here’s a short video showing how to make this weed killer for your viewing pleasure. Thanks!

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I think birthdays are super important. That’s why having a DIY birthday plate to celebrate that birthday boy or girl on their special day is just a great way to show that you love them. It’s a super easy tradition to start. Do it in three steps.

I’m all about simple and easy crafts and this DIY birthday plate fits the bill. I honestly don’t know why I didn’t make one of these earlier. It’s just a great tradition to start with your family even if you don’t have kids. Check it out!

Step #1: Sketch your design in pencil on the plate

First, find a plain white ceramic plate that you want to use. They sell of ton of ceramic plates of different sizes at the Dollar Store and second-hand stores. Or you can just buy one on Amazon. Then, make sure it’s washed really well and super dry.

You can think of your own personalized plate design or find a design online and copy it. It also helps to draw your design on a piece of paper first to see if you like the way it looks. When you’ve decided on a design, sketch it lightly on the plate with a pencil.

Step #2: Color in the design with permanent marker

Now that your design is complete, take some colorful permanent markers and start outlining and filling in your design. Go as slow as you want. And don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be perfect. That’s what makes the plate so unique and fun.

Step #3: Cook your plate in the oven

Once you’re happy with your finished product, place your plate in an oven preheated to 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Once the timer goes off, turn off the oven but leave your plate inside until it cools completely. Some of the colors naturally fade after the cooking process but that’s okay. Then, you’re done!

DIY Birthday Plate Tips and tricks

• Black marker: Outline your design with black permanent marker to make it stand out more.
• Mistakes: If you make a mistake, use a Q-tip soaked in alcohol to rub it off and start over.
• Light colors: Light colors like yellow and orange can turn a brownish color after it cooks in the oven. Just keep that in mind.
• Handwash only: If you put your birthday plate in the dishwasher, the design will most likely wash off.
• Birthdays only: Pull out your birthday plate only on birthdays to put the birthday cake on so it stays super special for years to come.
• More than one: Try making multiple plates so each kid has their own birthday plate to show all their friends at their birthday party. Everyone else can use paper plates, ha ha.
• Paint markers: I would not recommend using these, even if they say permanent. I used them the first time trying and they wash right off.

I hope you liked making your own DIY Birthday Plate that you can use the next time there’s birthday at your house. Let me know how it goes in the comments below. Here’s a little video of how I made the plate for your viewing enjoyment.

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The LDS gold plates are something that members and non-members have been fascinated with for years. So, creating a replica of this amazing book of scripture is a great way to visualize the miraculous nature of this ancient artifact. It was easier than I thought. Check it out!

So, as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I work with the youth in our congregation. As part of my calling, I was assigned to give a lesson about how the Book of Mormon came about, including the history of the LDS Gold Plates. It was my first time giving a lesson about this priceless historical record. I thought it would be fun to show them what they might have looked like. They loved it!

History of the Gold Plates

The gold plates are literally plates made of gold that the ancient American prophet Mormon abridged as a record of his people. Joseph Smith, son of Lucy Mack Smith and Joseph Smith Sr., translated the writings on the golden plates into what became the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. It is an ancient record that the angel Moroni allowed Joseph to uncover in a secret place on a prominent hill in Manchester, New York called the Hill Cumorah in 1827.

This new revelation is the keystone of our religion and crucial to our church history as members of the Church of Jesus Christ. Joseph Smith’s history and the story of the gold plates is important to Latter-day Saints and demonstrates the power of God in our lives. Although originating in upstate New York, our church headquarters now remains in Salt Lake City however Latter Day Saints live all over the world.

Gather your LDS Gold Plates supplies

I was able to find everything I needed to make these gold plates at my local craft store. But you can also purchase everything you need on Amazon as well. Overall, everything cost me less than $30. Depending on what you already have at home, it might not cost you much at all.

• Wooden box 6″ wide and 8″ long
• Gold foil cardstock pages
• Washi tape (gold)
• Bendable aluminum craft wire (gold)
• Gold metallic craft paint or spray paint
• Four 2″x4″ strips of thin wood
• Wood glue
• Hole punch
• Drill

Step #1: Prep the base of the plates

The base of the plates is what will represent the sealed portion of the gold plates. Start by drilling three holes into the left-hand side of the wooden box and also the bottom of the left side. This will be where the metal rings will be placed at the end. Make sure you drill holes big enough to fit the metal wire. Then, paint your wooden box and the thin wooden strips gold so it looks like gold plates. Finally, cut and place in place the wood strips. There should be four wooden strips placed on the two wide sides of the base. I placed a bunch of heavy books on the strips to hold them in place until they dried.

Step #2: Cut the paper and attach the rings

Cut the gold foil cardstock so it is the same size as the wooden base which is 6×8 inches. These will be place on top of the base. The metal plates or loose pages, such as the plates of Nephi, were like thick paper and were either made of pure gold or a combination of various metals. The foil cardstock gives these pages the appearance of gold. Punch three holes in each piece of cardstock so it matches the holes on the base.

Then, cut three pieces of gold craft wire to about 12-15 inches each. Trim them as needed. Insert each wire through each page of cardstock and then through the wooden base. Bend the wire inside the box so they stay in place. I used wire that wasn’t gold, so I just added gold washi tape to my wire and it turned out pretty good.

Step #3: Add final touches and reformed Egyptian

Your LDS gold plates are almost done. As a final touch, I decided to add four strips of gold Washi tape to the wooden pieces on the sides to make it pop. It made it look even more gold, which I kind of liked. Then, last but not least, I glued one page of reformed Egyptian onto the first loose gold page. It is kind of cool to see what reformed Egyptian actually looked like. The fact that Joseph Smith Jr. actually translated these Egyptian characters is a testament to me that he was indeed a prophet of God.

Click on the link below to down a sample small characters of reformed Egyptian to print and glue to your plates. Then you’re done!

Where are the gold plates now?

If you are interested in seeing the actual Gold Plates, unfortunately that is not possible. Joseph Smith was in possession of the plates for 18 months and then returned the sets of plates to the Angel Moroni after he was done translating the Book of Mormon. However, he was permitted to show the plates to three original witnesses and eventually eight witnesses to testify of them. The three witnesses of the plates were Oliver Cowdery, Martin Harris and David Whitmer.

According to Joseph Smith history, the translation of the Book of Mormon only took three months. The translation process couldn’t have been completed without the use of a seer stone which was included with the plates. Other items included with the gold plates was the sword of Laban. Joseph’s wife, Emma Hale and Oliver Cowdery are just two examples of people who assisted Joseph in the translation.

If you would like to learn more about the LDS Church and the Book of Mormon you can click here to get your own free copy. To learn more about the translation process, the publication of the Book of Mormon and the history of the church and the prophet Joseph Smith, check out “From Darkness unto Light” by LDS historian, Michael Hubbard MacKay.

Let me know what you thought

I hope you have as much as I did making these LDS gold plates. They are a great way to give an object lesson about the Book of Mormon. Since the weight of the plates was about 40-60 pounds, I also filled a duffle bag full of books that weighed about 40 pounds. Everyone in the class tried picking it up and they were really surprised at how heavy it was.

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DIY Bath bombs are easier to make than you might think. With just a few simple steps and ingredients, you can make your own bath bombs with natural ingredients to share with your family and friends. Plus, I’ve included a printable “You’re the Bomb” gift tag. Check it out!

I’ve always wanted to know how to make a bath bomb. Similar to bath salts, they are a fun project. And guess what? They are actually super easy and a great gift. And homemade bath bombs are so much better than the store-bought versions. Here’s a four-step fool-proof process to make your own DIY bath bombs.

Gather your DIY bath bomb ingredients

Now, a lot of these products might seem kind of expensive at first, they should last you a really long time. Here’s a list of everything that you’ll need to make your homemade bath bombs:

• Citric acid (this creates a chemical reaction in the bath water)
• Essential oils or fragrance oils (choose your favorite scents)
• Epsom salt (fragrance free)
• Baking soda
• Corn starch (this helps hold everything together)
• Food coloring (liquid)
• Baby oil or castor oil, coconut oil or almond oil
• Aluminum molds or silicone molds

Step #1: Mix dry bath bomb ingredients

For this DIY bath bomb recipe, you’ll want to start off by combining all of your dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add 1/2 cup of baking soda, 1/4 cup of Epsom salt, 1/4 cup of cornstarch and 1/4 cup of citric acid. Combine with a whisk and set aside.

Step #2: Mix wet bath bomb ingredients

Next, in a small cup, you’ll need to mix all of the wet ingredients into an oil mixture. Start by adding 1 tablespoon of water, 3 teaspoons of baby oil, 1 tablespoon of your favorite essential oil, 3 drops of liquid food coloring. Mix everything together with a spoon. Make sure that the food coloring has mixed well so you don’t end up with clumps in your bath bombs. You can add only a few drops of essential oils in you want to make them last longer.

Step #3: Combine the wet and dry ingredients

Slowly pour the liquid mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients a little bit at a time. If you pour it all in at once, the carbon dioxide and sodium bicarbonate will activate and the bath bombs won’t fizz. Just a few drops at a time works great. You’ll slowly start to see the fluffy, colorful substance come together. It should have the texture of wet sand.

Step #4: Form your bath bombs

This last step is crucial. I didn’t do it right the first couple of tries and ruined two batches of bath bombs. Using both sides of your aluminum bath bomb mold, scoop a heaping amount onto each half. Don’t pack the mixture into the mold. Then, quickly close the two halves together and press.

Then, holding the mold in your hand, lightly tap both sides of the mold to loosen the mixture. Take off one side of the mold and then gently remove the other side and set it on a cookie sheet to rest.

Refrigerate all of the completed bath bombs in an air-tight container or cover with plastic wrap in a dry place for 24 hours or a couple days until completely dried. If you just leave them on the counter to harden, they will start to sag and droop. They will end up looking like slightly melted bath bombs. Here’s a short video of how I made these colorful bath bombs:

Wrap and add a bath bomb gift tag

If you are giving your DIY bath bombs aways as a gift, I created these adorable gift tags. I made them generic so you can use them for birthdays, baby showers, teacher appreciation week, Valentine’s day and so much more! Just click on the link below to purchase and download your gift tag. They make the perfect gifts.

Click here to download your bath bomb gift tags

Homemade bath bomb tips and tricks

Here’s just a reminder of some dos and don’ts to make sure that your bath bombs turn out perfect:

• Don’t pack into the mold
• Overfill each half of the mold, close and press
• Gently tap the mold before removing it
• Don’t dry the bombs in the mold
• Put the bath bombs in the fridge to dry so they don’t sag or “melt”
• Try using scented Epsom salt instead of essential oils to save money
• Add rose petals, lavender buds or other flower petals for an added depth
• If you don’t own a mold, try ice cube trays, plastic easter egg or a muffin tin
• Experiment with different colors

I hope you liked this tutorial on how to make DIY bath bombs! You’ll be soaking in a warm bath after a long day before you know it. Let me know how this DIY recipe it turns out in the comments below.

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Bingo is one of those games that everyone can play. That’s why, during the holidays, you’ll want to have your own Christmas Bingo printable for all of the classroom, family, neighborhood and work parties you’ll be attending. Here’s how to make one yourself.

Without fail, it seems like I’m always trying to think of a fun game to play at my kid’s classroom Christmas party at school. Well, now I don’t have to worry because I am fully prepared with my go-to Christmas Bingo. Plus I can use it for other parties throughout December.

Step #1: Download your Christmas Bingo printable

I designed this classic Christmas Bingo game with 20 unique playing cards so there is room for everyone to play. It also includes large and small calling cards depending on the size of the group. Just click on the link below to purchase and download your Bingo game:

Click here to download Christmas Bingo

Step #2: Print and cut your Bingo cards

Once you have your PDF, you can send it to your local copy store or you can print it from home. I printed mine on cardstock and laminated each page. That way they will remain durable and last for years to come. Then, I cut out each calling card square and each playing card. You should end up with 20 playing cards and 36 calling cards.

If you want to save on printing costs, you can print the smaller calling cards, which is just one page. Or, if you want larger calling cards, you can print those four pages. Whatever you prefer.

You’re done! Now play your Christmas Bingo printable

That’s it! Of course, I assume you already know how to play Bingo, so I’m not going to explain it. However, to make things more interesting, here’s some ideas for some fun prizes. Kids are much more motivated to play when there are prizes involved.

• 56-piece pop party favors
• 100-pack toy erasers
• Liquid motion bubblers
• 15-pack LED Spinning Tops

Also, if you’re looking for some good place markers while playing Bingo, you can just use anything you have laying around the house. Beans, cereal or buttons work great. But, if you’re at a party, try mini M&Ms or Skittles. Basically, any candy works.

I hope you have fun with this Christmas Bingo printable. Here’s a link to download your Christmas bingo game one more time if you didn’t see it above:

Click here to download Christmas Bingo

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It’s easy to forget to be grateful when you’re stuffing your face with turkey and pie. That’s why this Thanksgiving Gratitude Game is the perfect dinner table favor to help you remember how much you are blessed. It’s a fun and sweet game for the whole family. Check it out!

I made these table favors for our Thanksgiving dinner last year with my family. Everyone loved it and it was so easy. Here’s how you can make your own Thanksgiving Gratitude Game right now!

Download and print your game

First, you’ll need to print out your tags that you will attach to your bag of M&Ms. I designed these tags to be small and simple. They are 2″x 2″ and there are 20 tags to one 8.5×11 PDF. Just print and then cut each one out. You can also send it to your local copy store and ask them to print them on sticker paper. Then you can just stick them to the M&M bags.

Click here to download your Thanksgiving Gratitude Game

Cut and assemble your game

This gratitude game is awesome because it doubles as a Thanksgiving table favor as well. First, you’ll want to cut out each tag either with scissors or a paper cutter. Then, attach the tag to a 2″x3″ resealable cellophane bag. Next, fill each bag with M&Ms. Personally, I love peanut butter M&Ms, but you can choose your favorite.

Play the game!

Once your cute table favors/gratitude games are done. You can place them at each table setting at your Thanksgiving dinner. Then, while every is eating, take turns picking one M&M out of your bag. Then, answer the gratitude prompt on the game. For example, if you choose a red M&M, then name one person you are grateful for. Continue until everyone has had a turn or you run out of M&Ms.

Other ways to use the M&M Gratitude Game

Although, this game is perfect for Thanksgiving, there’s lots of other ways or places to play this game. Here’s just a few examples:

• Christmas dinner
• Camping trip
• Family night activity
• LDS Sunday School, Relief Society, Young Women or Primary Activity Days
• Birthday Party
• Road Trip
• Classroom activity

I hope you enjoy playing this Thanksgiving Gratitude Game as much as we did. Here’s a link to the PDF download one more time in case you didn’t see it above:

Click here to download your Thanksgiving Gratitude Game

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Whether it’s a bridal shower, baby shower or birthday party, sometimes you just want to give your guests a little extra thanks. That’s why this “Thanks for poppin’ by” party favor tag free printable is perfect for almost any occasion. Here’s how you can make one today!

So, I recently threw a baby shower for my friend. I wanted to put together a little treat and a thank you for all of the guests who stopped by. Since everyone pretty much loves popcorn, I figured this would be the best treat. It’s simple, easy and delicious. Here’s how to make one today.

Print your party favor tag FREE printable

I designed these party favor tags so that they can fit on the top of a standard cellophane gift bag. There are five gift tags to a page. Just click on the link below to download your free PDF. I offer this printable for FREE to all visitors of my blog, but if you’d like to show your support, feel free to buy me a taco .

Print, cut and fold your tags

Each gift tag is 5 inches wide and 1.5 inches high (when folded). Just print the above PDF on your home computer or send it to your local copy store. Then, using a paper cutter or scissors, cut out each gift tag. Then, fold on the dotted line.

Attach to your bag of popcorn

You can use a 5×7 or 4×9 cellophane treat bags. Basically, any treat bag that is 5 inches wide or less. Fill them with your favorite flavor of popcorn, fold over the opening and then stable the gift tag to the top.

That’s it! You’re done! I like to place all of my bags of popcorn in a cute wire basket on display at my party. Everyone can grab a sweet treat. This party favor tag free printable is the perfect addition to any shindig. Thanks for reading!

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If you’re anything like our family, you get a ton of packages delivered to your front porch everyday. So, why not thank all those dedicated workers with a delivery driver thank you sign and snack basket. They will love it! Check it out.

So, we get a lot of packages delivered to our house on a daily basis. And sometimes I see these delivery guys out late into the evening and on the weekends. I am so appreciative of their dedicated work. That’s why having a delivery driver snack basket is the perfect way to say “thank you.” Here’s how you can make one too.

Print your Delivery Driver Thank You Sign

The first thing you’ll need is a cute sign to go with your snack basket. You’re in luck. I designed these cute 8.5×11 signs that you can just print at home or at your local copy store. Just click on the link below to download and print:

Click here to print your Delivery Driver Sign

You have three options to choose from: regular, Halloween or Christmas that you can rotate throughout the year. I would recommend printing them on cardstock and laminating them for extra durability. Aren’t they cute?

Find a basket, tray or organizer

The first thing you’ll need is a cute basket to put all of your snacks in. There are lots of options out there, but here’s a few from Amazon that you might like:

• Rolling Metal Storage Organizer – This can be wheeled inside and out of your house easily.

• White Wire Baskets – These white baskets are durable and see-through so the drivers can quickly grab their favorite snack.

• Large Wooden Serving Tray with handles – This shallow tray is perfect for displaying lots of snacks.

If you’re using a tray or a basket, you can either place it directly on your porch, or find some sort of stand that you can place it on so it’s not sitting on the ground. I put mine right on the ground and it seemed to work just fine.

Gather snack and assemble basket

You’ll want to place snacks in your basket that are all individually packaged and won’t melt in the sun. Here’s a bunch of options to choose from.

• Chips
• Fruit Snacks
• Granola bars
• Fruit bars
• Pretzels
• Cookies
• Rice Krispie treats
• Bottled water
• Capri Sun
• Gum
• Protein bars
• Trail mix
• Candy

Honestly, a quick run to Costco and you could get a year’s supply worth of snacks to give to your delivery people. Here’s how my basket turned out. I duct taped some wooden skewers to the basket and to the sign so it would stay upright.

You might want to bring your basket into the house at night so little critters don’t get into it. But, I was super happy with the way it turned out. Honestly, it doesn’t have to be anything super fancy. The delivery drivers are just happy to be recognized for all of their hard work.

Here’s a link to the printable Delivery Driver Thank You Sign one more time if you didn’t see it above:

Click here to print your Delivery Driver Sign

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Raise your hand if you are tired of filling up water balloons or spending money on expensive “reusable” ones. Yeah, me too. That’s why I’m here to show you how to save time and money with home sponge water bombs. Let’s go!

I have spent many, many hours filling up tiny water balloons and they last literally five minutes once they are done. On the flip side, Bunch of Balloons are easier to fill but again, cost a lot of money for a one-time use. As for magnetic reusable water balloons, they will set you back $25 for only six of them. Plus, I heard they are a choking hazard. So, here we are. We have come full circle to the sponge bombs. They are cheap, easy and can be reused over and over again. Check it out.

Gather your sponge bomb supplies

For less than $10 you can make completely reusable water bombs. Here’s what you’ll need.

• Multi-colored rectangular kitchen sponges (3 sponges makes one bomb)
• Elastic hair ties
• Scissors

Step #1: Cut your sponges

Take your scissors and cut each of the sponges into thirds length wise. There’s no need to measure, just eye ball it. You’ll need 9 lengths to make one sponge water bomb. You can make the bombs all one color or multi-colored. It’s up to you.

Step #2: Tie sponges together

Once your sponges are cut into strips, stack them into three rows, alternating the colors to form a checkered pattern.

Then, take a small elastic hair tie and wrap the sponge strips two times directly in the center. If you don’t have any hair ties, you can also use string or a rubber band.

That’s it! Once your sponges are tied together, you can fluff them out a little and spread out the strips. Voila! That was super easy to make a sponge water bomb, right?

Once you’re done, dunk those little suckers (no pun intended, ha ha) in water and start throwing them at the closest unsuspecting target. Now, if you’re thinking, what kind of games can we play with these sponge water bombs, here’s a list of 25 games to play with sponge bombs.

Here’s a little video I made explaining how to make these awesome sponge bombs for your viewing pleasure:

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If you are looking for a cute baby shower party favor idea, these chapstick onesies are freaking cute! They are super easy to make and add the perfect touch to your party. Check it out!

My sister asked me to design these simple cut out baby onesies. They were so simple and easy to make. Plus, they turned out adorable. And you can pick whatever color of paper you want to add your own personal touch. Here’s how I did it.

Gather your party favor supplies

In order to make this baby shower party favor, you’ll need a few supplies. I used a Cricut cutting machine but you can also cut them out by hand if you don’t have one of those.

• Cricut or Silhouette cutting machine or scissors
• Patterned 12×12 inch pink paper or patterned blue paper (regular paper, not cardstock preferred)
• Chapsticks

Download your onesie pattern

I designed this onesie pattern super simple. You can either cut out your onesies using a cutting machine or if you don’t have a cutting machine, then you can cut them out by hand.

Click here for your baby shower onesie pattern

Print and cut your favors

If you have a Cricut, you can use the JPGs that you downloaded above and cut them out. It only took me about 20 minutes to cut out 50 onesies. It was super fast and easy. If you don’t have a Cricut, then, you can print the PDF of the outlined onesies on your home printer. Then, just cut them out by hand.

Insert your lip balms

Now for the last step. Once your baby shower party favor is cut out, just insert the lip balms into the designed slot in the middle of the onesie. Then, you’re done! You can make as many as you want with the downloaded files. Place them in a basket for your baby shower guests to enjoy!

This baby shower party favor is such a fun way to celebrate that friend or family member in your life and their upcoming arrival. Let me know how you like it! Here’s a link to the download one more time in case you didn’t see it above.

Click here for your baby shower onesie pattern

Here’s a little video of how I made them.

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We’ve all been there. I’m talking about those awkward conversations with solicitors at your front door. Well, hopefully these funny no soliciting signs will be just the ticket to deterring unwanted salesmen from knocking on your door. Check it out!

I’m not sure what it is, but our neighborhood is riddled with solicitors. I try to be nice to them but they seem to be getting more and more pushy. So, I thought I would tape a funny no soliciting sign to my door and see if it works. Here’s how you can print your own too!

Download and print your funny no soliciting signs

I was tired of seeing the same signs for solicitors on every door. You know what I’m talking about. The one that says, “No Soliciting. Seriously. Don’t make it weird.” Instead, I went for the humorous route. I came up with eight funny signs that should make every guest at your home chuckle. Here they are:

1. Pork lovers: No solicitors unless you’re wrapped in bacon
2. Polite: Please no soliciting. Thank you.
3. Homer Simpson: No soliciting unless you have donuts
4. Passive aggressive: No solicitors. But my neighbor might be interested
5. Christian: No solicitors. But don’t forget, Jesus loves you
6. Blunt: No soliciting (for reals)
7. Creepy: No soliciting. We are running out of places to put the bodies
8. The Office: No soliciting unless you are selling paper and your name is Dwight

I designed these signs to fit four signs onto one 8.5×11 page. You can print it on your home computer or send it to the local copy store. I also laminated mine for extra durability. Just click on the link below to download and print your own.

Click here to download your Funny No Soliciting Signs

Cut and hang your signs

Once you’ve printed your no soliciting signs, cut them out. I like to use a paper cutter to get a nice straight cut. You should end up with eight total. Then, just get some Scotch tape and tape the sign of your choice onto your front door or in your window.

If you get tired of one sign, you can just rotate it out with another equally hilarious sign. Or give some of your signs away to your friends or neighbors.

I hope you enjoy these funny no soliciting signs as much as I do. My favorite one is, “No soliciting, but my neighbor might be interested.” Which one is your favorite? Leave your comments below. Here’s a link to the PDF download one more time in case you missed it above:

Click here to download your Funny No Soliciting Signs

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If you’re wondering how to make a balloon arch for your next birthday party, baby shower or wedding, don’t stress. You can do it in less than an hour! It’s super easy and it will look fabulous. Check it out!

I have wanted to make an arch made out of balloons for a really long time. But for some reason, I always thought they were too difficult. When I finally committed, I realized that it is super easy and it only took me one hour! Here’s how you can do one too:

Gather your arch supplies

So, there are lots of balloon arch kits that you can buy online. They are pretty convenient because they have all of the different-sized balloons in one convenient kit. I would recommend just buying one of those, but here’s a breakdown of what is in the kit so you can buy the items individually if you want:

• Balloon arch strip
• 36 Latex 12″ inch balloons
• 5 clear confetti 12″ inch balloons
• 2 Latex 24″ balloons
• 27 Latex 5″ balloons
• Command hooks
• Glue dots
• Air balloon pump

Place your command hooks on the wall

Locate the area in your home or venue that you want to hang your arch. Visualize how you want the arch to hang and then hang about three or four Command hooks on the wall accordingly. It doesn’t have to be perfect. The balloon arch is pretty forgiving. Don’t forget to take down any pictures on the wall before you start.

Attach balloon arch strip to two chairs

It’s hard to attach balloons to a free flowing balloon arch strip. Instead, measure out how long you want your arch and then attach the strip to two chairs or stools that are the same distance apart. It will make your life a lot easier. Here’s a video that shows how I did it.

Start attaching balloons to the strip

If someone asks you how to make a balloon arch, the key lies in the balloon strip. It’s just a flat, plastic strip that has holes in it. Place the knotted end of the balloon into each hole. Attach the large 24-inch balloons on each end. Then, start at one end and attach one 12-inch balloon to the top side of the strip, then attach another 12-inch balloon to the under side of the strip. Follow this pattern until you have reach the opposite end of the strip.

Don’t worry about the combination of colors being perfect or if there are gaps in the strip. They will all fill in after you place the smaller 5-inch balloons.

Hang your arch then attach smaller balloons

Once all of the 12-inch and 24-inch balloons have been attached to the strip, detached the strip from the chairs and hang it on the wall. The best way to hang it is to tie a small string around the strip and it attach that to the Command hook on the wall.

Fill up all of your smaller balloons at the same time. Then, take a step back and strategically place the smaller balloons where there are gaps and a need for a specific color. The easier way to attach the smaller balloons to the arch are with glue dots. They are double-sided, clear adhesives that make the balloons look like they are magically hanging there.

Once you’ve attached all of the smaller balloons, you’re done! That’s it! How to make a balloon arch is way easier than you thought, right? I did mine in less than an hour. It was amazing and my two-year-old LOVED it on her birthday.

The best part was that the air-filled balloons lasted so long, I was able to keep the arch hanging up and use it for a baby shower at my house a week later. Win! Win!

Anyway, I hope this explanation of how to make a balloon arch was helpful. Good luck on your next decorating adventure! For more DIY birthday decorating ideas, click here!

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Instead of buying some onesies for your next baby shower, give the new mom in your life something they can’t live without–a Mommy Survival Kit. It’s super easy to make and is sure to bring a few laughs and smiles in the process.

For my cousin’s baby shower, I was tired of giving the same old gift every time. So, as a mother of five, I put together a basket of items that I thought she could really use as a new mom. Not only was the gift practical, it made everyone in the room laugh. Here’s how you can do it too.

Print your Mommy Survival Kit gift tags

The first thing you’ll need to do is print the gift tags that go with each item in the basket. These gift tags are hilarious. I tried to bring in the realities of motherhood in a fun, rhyming way. They turned out pretty fun. Click on the link below to print your gift tags:

Click here for your printable Mommy Survival Kit

Cut and attach tags to gifts

I tried to include items in this survival kit that I can’t live without as a mom. I ended up with the 15 items. Each rhyming gift tag corresponds to a fun and practical gift that every mom needs. Choose all or some of the following gift tags to include in your gift basket for the new mom.

• Lanolin
• Sippies
• Bathtub Crayons
• Sunscreen
• Foot Soak
• Tylenol
• Door Knob Covers
• Band-Aids
• Hand Sanitizer
• Binky Clips
• Toilet Lock
• Gloves
• Macaroni & Cheese
• Magic Erasers
• Super Glue

Just cut the tags into strips and then attach them to the corresponding gifts. My cousin loved reading each of these gift tags out loud as she opened her gift. It was a fun way to celebrate this new mom and make her feel special.

Fill and wrap your basket

I found a cute blue basket to put all of the gifts in. But you can use any type of basket you want. After I filled it with gifts, I wrapped it with some cellophane and finished it off with a bow. Then, the most important part is to attach the Mommy Survival Kit gift tag to the outside of the basket. This cute tag kind of finishes off the entire ensemble.

I was so happy with the way this kit turned out. I hope the mom-to-be enjoys her survival kit too! If you want to download the printable gift tags that go along with this kit, click on the link below. Enjoy!!

Click here for your printable Mommy Survival Kit

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There’s something about a DIY candy bouquet. It’s the perfect gift for almost any occasion. But don’t buy one at the store. Make one yourself and save lots of money! It’s an awesome idea for a homemade gift on a special day. Here’s how to do it right now.

I actually made these candy bouquets for some kids in our neighborhood whose dad had recently passed away. I wanted to make something fun and give them a special gift that would bring a smile to their faces. Well, it worked! It was so much fun. They loved it so much and made them feel so loved. But it’s a great idea for all occasions such as Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day or other special occasions. Here’s how you can make one as well.

Gather your DIY candy bouquet supplies

These candy arrangements are so versatile. You can cater them to whatever the person you are giving them to likes. Here’s the supplies that I used, but feel free to substitute the various candies with whatever you want. I got all of these supplies at the Dollar Stores but you can get them at thrift stores or craft stores as well. Since I already had some ribbon, glue gun and tape at home, it only cost me about $10 for everything!

• Floral block, or floral foam (2.9×3.9×3.9)
• Wooden skewers (or popsicle sticks in a pinch)
• Scotch tape
• Wire-edged ribbon
• Hot glue gun
• 12 regular Airhead candies
• Curling ribbon or pieces of tissue paper
• 15-20 mini candy bars (different varieties)

Glue Airheads to the foam block

This specific foam block (2.9×3.9×3.9) fits three Airheads on each side perfectly. If you can’t find a foam block in these dimensions, you can cut the foam block down to size. Or you can find other candy bars that will fit the dimensions you are looking for.

First thing, I just hot glued each Airhead to the base of the foam block. The Airheads will extend higher than the foam block but that’s okay.

Add your candy skewers

You’ll want to tape a skewer and some curling ribbon to the back of the candy bar that you’ll be including in the DIY candy bouquet. Shorten the skewers that will be towards the front of the bouquet.

Just stick the skewers (with the candy attached) into the foam block a couple of inches. I put the larger candies towards the back and the smaller candies towards the front. Arrange it however you would like. I tried to fill in empty spaces fit as many candies as I could to make it look really full. You can create any color scheme and any favorite treats that you want. Here’s a little video of how I did it.

Add a bow and name tag

To finish on the DIY candy bouquet, I wrapped some wire-edged ribbon around the entire base of the bouquet. Then I just tied a bow in the front. It completed the gift perfectly and it looked so cute. You can also write the name of the person you are giving the gift to and tape it to a skewer and add it to the bouquet. It adds a nice, personalized touch. We gave each kid a small candy bouquet.

There are so many occasions that you can give these gifts. They are great gift ideas. Here’s just a few ideas:

• Birthday gift
• Baby shower
• Bridal shower
• Graduation
• Mother’s/Father’s Day
• Easter
• Funeral
• Christmas
• Teacher appreciation gift
• Baptisms
• Trophies
• Thank you gifts
• Just because any time of year

If after watching this DIY candy bouquet blog post, you decide that you don’t have enough time and you just want to buy one instead, here’s some good options on Amazon:

• Hugs and Kisses Chocolate Candy Bouquet
• Movie night bouquet
• Sweets and smiles candy bouquet for kids
• Birthday Candy bouquet

I hope this blog post was helpful as you’re planning some gift giving for your next happy celebration. Let me know what you thought in the comments below.

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Whether it’s a natural disaster, pandemic or other emergency, home emergency preparedness doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive. And it will give you peace of mind knowing you and your family will be safe. Here’s five tips to get you started today.

So, I think the whole world was given a wake up call after COVID. We realized how quickly the store shelves will go empty and we’re left to fed for ourselves. That’s why thinking about home emergency preparedness is essential. Here’s 6 tips to get you started.

#1: Install used solar panels

Yes, that’s right. You can buy used solar panels and install them yourself. With each panel costing as little as $34, having access to off-the-grid power to your home in case of an emergency is more affordable than you might think. We bought six 240-watt used solar panels from a company in Arizona called SanTan Solar. These panels are recycled when solar farms upgrade to new panels. The panels we purchased have been clean and tested for degraded output. Our panels didn’t have power degration. You can save up to 80% buying used panels whey you compare the price per watt.

According to Consumer Affairs, the average cost to hire a company to install solar panels in the United States is about $12,000 after federal tax incentives. So buying and installing solar panels yourself ends up saving you literally thousands of dollars.

#2: Invest in a solar generator and battery

So, your solar panels are basically useless unless you connect them to the electrical system that will utilized the solar panels. In case of emergencies, you can buy a solar generator and battery and the power in your home. If the entire electrical grid in your area goes down, this solar generator (when connected to your solar panels) can power your furnace and your major appliances indefinitely.  Here’s a simple video on adding a plug generator plug to your house furnace.

Our solar generator consists of a Growatt all-in-one Inverter Charge Controller and a LiFePO4 lithium battery. This generator when used with this particular battery provides enough power to keep your home running during any emergency. Total cost was $2,200. Don’t get stuck with a $2000 dollar generator that is laud and will run out of gas. Solar panels also the the ability to produce power on cloudy or stormy days. Here’s a video showing how my husband ran three fridges and a furnace using this Growatt and lithium battery:

For day-to-day savings on your electric bill, you can hook your solar panels up to a grid tie inverter. These cost as low as $500 for the kit. Depending on the number of panels you buy, this setup could eliminate your power bill. Be sure to follow your local regulations.

#3: Buy gas and water shut off wrenches

If there’s an earthquake or other natural disaster, you’ll want to shut off the water main and your gas to avoid dangerous leaks and flooding. This is a home emergency preparedness tip that many people forget. For less than $15, you can buy a gas shut off wrench that will allow you to shut off the gas to your home. For about $20, you can buy a water shut off wrench that will allow you to shut off the main curb water and waste valves. These simple tools can prevent explosions, flooding and sewage from ruining your home.

#4: Make 72-hour kits for each family member

Every member of the family should have their own 72-hour kit in case of emergency. Each kit should include:

• Food
• Water
• Clothing
• Blankets
• Hygiene supplies
• Survival essentials

You can buy your 72-hour kits online or you can make them yourselves. We made seven 72-hour kits for our entire family and it only cost us about $25 per kit. Store your kits close to an exit in your home for easy access.

#5: Buy short- and long-term food storage

Home emergency preparedness wouldn’t be complete without food storage. The best way to approach this is to buy three month’s worth of pantry food. This is shelf stable food that you will actually eat on a regular basis. We’re talking canned corn, cream of chicken soup, ketchup, mayonnaise, oats, etc. Just grab of few extra of these items everything you go to the store. Or take advantage of a case lot sale at your local grocery store.

Then, you can also buy long-term food storage that has a shelf life of 30 years or more. An example of this is wheat, rice, black beans, and apples slices. If you can build up enough of this storage to last a year, that should be plenty.

#6: Water, water, water

Since, an adult cannot survive more than 3 days without water, you don’t want to be stuck in an emergency situation without it. We have three 55-gallon water containers stored in our garage for that very reason. I found all of these containers as yard sales and the classifieds for $5 each. Pretty affordable. However, if you want to buy them new, they’re not too expensive either. A complete kit including the barrel will set you back about $150. Prepping these barrels and storing them isn’t as hard as it may seem either.

Hopefully these tips are helpful for you as you are considering your own home emergency preparedness. Let me know if you have any other suggestions in the comments below.

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Weddings are a reason to celebrate. That’s why throwing a bridal shower for the bride-to-be is so much fun. Here are some simple yet elegant bridal shower ideas that will impress without breaking the bank. Check it out.

So, I threw a bridal shower for my niece and it was so much fun putting everything together, from the balloons to the food to the party favors. And it all turned out perfect and it was easier to put together than I thought. Here’s some bridal shower ideas to help you with your next celebration.

#1: Simple invitations

You don’t have to print expensive invitations and mailed them out to everyone. It’s totally acceptable to text an electronic invitation to your guests. Plus, you can get the word out much quicker and receive RSVP faster as well. Here’s the invitation that I designed for the party.

#2: Fresh flowers

For just $10-$20 you can get a big bouquet of fresh flowers to put on the buffet table. It adds a touch of elegance and makes the entire room feel welcoming.

#3: A cute color scheme

I’m not sure why, but rose gold just seems like the perfect color for a bridal shower. But whatever color you choose, make sure it connects with all of your decorations from the party favors to the flatware to the punch.

#4: Balloons and confetti

I realized that you can spend a whole lot of money on bridal shower decorations, but sometimes less is more. With just about a dozen balloons and some table confetti, you can brighten up any space. The table confetti brings the entire room together since you can scatter it on the table, the counter and any other gathering area. And balloons aren’t just for birthday parties.

#5: Framed photos of the happy couple

Before the shower, I asked my sister-in-law to send me some photos of her daughter and fiancé. I printed and framed all of the pictures and placed them throughout my house during the shower. It was so fun and personal touch to the shower that everyone enjoyed.

#6: Fancy paper goods

Don’t forget to include the paper goods in your party planning details. It’s the details, after all, that upgrades an average bridal shower to an awesome bridal shower. I found this super cute rose gold paper goods that completed the buffet table perfectly.

#7: His and Her Favorite party favor

Since bridal showers are all about the bride and her fiance, I asked each of them what their favorite treat was. Then I made some labels that said, “His favorite” and “Her favorite” and placed them on a self-sealing cellophane bags filled with the candies. I placed them in a basket on the buffet table. They were a hit!

#8: “Guess who” bride and groom game

Before the shower, I texted the groom and asked him a bunch of questions about the bride. Then, during the shower, I asked the bride the same questions to see how well she knew the groom. Everyone loved listening to the answers and it was fun to get to know the couple a little bit better. Here’s some of the questions that I asked:

#9: Shared lunch menu

Don’t feel like you have to provide all of the food, decorations and all the extras. I recruited my family members to help out with the food and it was so helpful. I asked people to bring a fruit tray, veggie tray, desserts, pasta salad and green salad. The entire spread was so delicious.

#10: Bride-to-be sash

Hopefully, if the bride is a good sport, she’ll be excited about one of these bridal shower ideas. I bought a sash that said, “Bride-to-be” and she wore it during the entire shower. It was fun to put all of the focus on her and get everyone excited about her big day.

I hope these bridal shower ideas will get your excited for the next celebration that you are throwing in your home. Let me know how it goes in the comments below.

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Nothing makes your home feel more merry than a Christmas tree wall hanging. Formed out of all the words that make you think of the holidays, it’s a super easy and festive way to remember the reason for the season. Check it out!

I designed this simple Christmas tree in words that can simply be framed or you can cut it out on vinyl and place it on a wood frame. I love the look of both options. So simple but so cute. Here’s how to do it yourself.

Download your Christmas tree wall hanging printable

I designed this wall hanging in several different formats and sizes. So you can customize it however you would like. But first, click on the link below to download the files.

Click here for your Christmas tree printable

Pick your size and print

Your download will include four high-resolution 300dpi PDF files in 4×6, 5×7, 8×10 and 11×14. Decide which size you want. You can print the PDF directly to your home printer or send it to your local print shop. I like to print mine on high-quality cardstock. You can even laminate it if you want.

Except for the 11×14 printable, you can print all of these on regular 8.5×11 paper and then conveniently cut them to size.

Pick how to you want to use your printable

There are so many things you can do with this Christmas tree wall hanging. Here’s just a few ideas:

As part of your download, you can also use the SVG or EPS file to resize the image and cut it on vinyl using your Cricut or Silhouette. I cut mine out on black vinyl and attached it to a blank wooden plank sign. It turned out so cute!!

I hope you enjoy this Christmas tree wall hanging as much I as do. Here’s the link to download the file one more time in case you missed it above:

Click here for your Christmas tree printable

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Thanksgiving should be a dinner that stands out from all the other dinners throughout the year. That’s why these Thanksgiving dinner table favors will add that special touch to your holiday festivities. Plus, they are super easy. Here’s how to do it.

So, I made these when we had Thanksgiving dinner with my family. Everyone loved them! Although they are super simple, they were a hit. I made sure to add lots of yummy treats inside. Here’s how to do it.

Gather your table favor supplies

These table favors are all about the treats inside. Here’s what you’ll need:

• Mini candy boxes – I bought some cute rectangular boxes from Gygi’s that were 2-1/2″ x 1-3/4″ x 1-3/4. But you can but what size candy box you want.
• Peanut M&Ms
• Dove chocolates
• Lindt truffles
• Fall colored paper
• White adhesive vinyl
• Cricut

Cut and attach your vinyl words

So, I created a file with some fun words for Thanksgiving such as “gobble” and “blessed” and then cut those words out with my Cricut. Then, I created a shadow for each of those vinyl words with different fall colors. Click the link below to download the file for these cutouts.

The white lettering on top of the shadows really made it pop. Then, just glued the lettering to the top of the Thanksgiving dinner table favors. I loved the way that it turned out. And it really didn’t take that long either.

Fill your candy boxes with goodies

The last step is to fill your candy boxes with yummy treats. The favorites were definitely the Lindt truffles. These favors were the perfect little treat for before and after the big holiday dinner.

I hope this helps you as your are planning for your upcoming Thanksgiving dinner. What other ideas do you have to make Thanksgiving extra special with your friends and loved ones? Leave your comments below.

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Everyone loves a good costume contest. But if you’re going to have a contest, you better have some equally awesome costume contest trophies to give to the winners. These mini witch’s cauldron trophies are just too cute for words and super easy to make. Check it out.

We recently had a costume contest with some of the youth from my church. I wanted to make it fun and get everyone excited, so I decided to make these cute trophies for the winners. They are really easy and inexpensive to make. Here’s how to do it.

Gather your costume contest trophies supplies

Believe it or not, I had all of the supplies for these trophies at home already. But if you don’t have everything on stock, they are supplies that are pretty easy to find. Here’s what you’ll need:

Assemble your cauldron

Stuff two crumpled paper towels and stuff them into the mini cauldron. Then break off the end of one of the skewers and nestled it into the cauldron and let it lean on the side.

Place a handful of pony beads into the cauldron until the paper towels are completely covered. Then, slowly pour some Modge Podge over all of the beads until they are covered.

Add your tiny potion bottle

As an added touch, you can tie one of the mini glass bottles to the handle of the cauldron. I filled my glass bottle with a little water, olive oil and food coloring to give it a spooky effect. It turned out super cute.

Print and attach your award labels

Of course, these costume contest trophies wouldn’t be complete without an award to go with it. I designed these cute printable awards. Just cut them out, punch a hole in each one and slip them onto the stirring stick in the cauldron. Super easy. Click on the link below to print your own.

Click here to print your Costume Contest award labels and ballots

I hope you love these costume contest trophies as much as we did. The youth who didn’t win an award even asked me if I could make them their own mini cauldrons because they loved them so much. Let me know how your costume contest goes in the comments below. Check out my complete list of my favorite Halloween decorations for your home.

Here’s also a video that I made explaining how to make these cute cauldrons:

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I’m always up for a good Dollar store hack, so when I saw these adorable Halloween greeting cards, I took matters into my own hands. Here’s seven ways to upcycle these cute cards to make your house even spookier. Check it out.

I don’t typically mail out Halloween greeting cards to people, but when I saw these, I thought, “Man, I could make some cute decorations out of these.” And that’s exactly what I did. There’s so many things you can do with them. So let’s get started!

Dollar store hack#1: On the mirror

Sometimes my kids like to buy those Halloween window clings. They are super cute they only last one or two seasons and then they are toast. Instead, I cut off the back of the greeting card and taped them onto the mirror in our kitchen. It turned out super cute. You could tape them to the bathroom mirror as well.

Hack #2: On the chandelier

Just cut the backs off the greeting cards and tape them together. Then, tape a string to the top of each one and tape it to your chandelier. Since these cards are so cute, it didn’t take much effort to make this into a really cute decoration.

Hack #3: On the window

Using the same back-to-back cards that you used on the chandelier, you could also tape them to the window. That way you can see them from inside and outside.

Hack #4: In a frame

These Halloween greeting cards are so cute, you could put them in a frame. Place the framed masterpiece on display on a shelf or use them as centerpieces for your next Halloween dinner party. Super easy and inexpensive.

Hack #5: On the front door

Sometimes the back of the front door doesn’t get much attention. Tape your upcycled greeting cards on the front door to add a little bit of Halloween spirit to your home.

Hack #6: On the railing

I always like to make my railing festive during Halloween and Christmas. Instead of purchasing some expensive decor, these upcycled Halloween greeting cards will do the trick.

Hack #7: As a hanging mobile

With your greeting card covers taped back-to-back, tape them to some twine and hang it from the ceiling or stairwell.

Bonus Hack: Craft it up

I had a bunch of left over backs to the greeting cards. So, for my final Dollar store hack, I cut out the cute Halloween images that we on each of them. My son happily took each one and design his own Halloween poster that he hung in his room.

I hope you liked all of these ideas to upcycling your Halloween greeting cards. Let me know if you have any other upcycling ideas. Try upcycling your Christmas greeting cards as well. If you can’t run to the Dollar store, click here to find some other Halloween greeting cards that I found online that would work just great.

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Some classics never die. That’s why I wanted to recreate a life-size version of the Old Hag from Snow White. Although it took some time, it wasn’t as hard as I thought. Here’s how you can do it too.

This is the sixth scarecrow I have made as part of the annual Thanksgiving Point Scarecrow Festival in Lehi, Utah. This time I wanted to make something that everyone would instantly recognize. Everyone knows the story of Snow White eating a poison apple so, creating the Old Hag was perfect. Here’s how I did it.

Gather your scarecrow supplies

In total, I think I probably spent about $50 in supplies building this scarecrow. But you can get creative if you don’t have all the supplies on hand. Here’s what you’ll need:

I found the basket, apples and the wig at yard sales. Plus, we already had some extra PVC pipe, modge podge and paints on hand at home.

Build your PVC frame

I’m not a very handy person and I was able to build the frame of the scarecrow quite easily. If you do have a PVC pipe cutter though, that will make your life a lot easier. Basically, you just need to cut the PVC pipes and assemble them according to the measurements listed in the image below.

Form, paint and seal the head

You’ll want to take your time on this one. I printed out some pictures of the Old Hag from Snow White to refer to while I was creating my masterpiece.

First, flatten out a large piece of pastilina modeling clay until it’s about a 1/4″ thick and lay it on the face of the styrofoam head. It doesn’t need to wrap around the entire head. Then press the clay into all the grooves of the head so you can see the form of the face.

Next, using the image of the Old Hag, use the remaining modeling clay to create the face. I ended up carving into the mouth and eyes of the styrofoam to make it look as realistic as possible. Since pastilina modeling clay doesn’t harden, you can take as long as you need to make it look perfect.

Finally, paint one layer of Waterproof Modge Podge onto the entire face. Let that layer dry and then paint another layer. Once the second layer is dry, paint the face. Try as best you can to keep true to the colors of the original Old Hag from Snow White. Once the paint is dry, cover with one more layer of Modge Podge.

Attach head and clothing to the frame

Now for the fun part. Dig a small hole on the back of the head so it can slide onto the PVC pipe connected to the frame. Add some hot glue to ensure the head stays in place. Then, duct tape a pillow to the top of the frame to give the witch a hunchback look.

Then, drape a large black garbage bag over the entire frame and tape it in place with duct tape. Add a wig and black cloak and secure both with hot glue. Screw witch hands to the applicable PVC pipes and wrap with medical tape or paint. Finally, screw a basket and apple to the corresponding hands.

That’s it’s! I was surprised how easily everything came together. We had this Old Hag from Snow White on display in our home and it was fun to see people’s reaction to it. She’s so creepy and scary. This was definitely a fun project to work on. Here’s a video of how I made her from start to finish.

What other fun life-size scarecrow ideas do you have? Let me know in the comments below.

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Family history and remembering our ancestors can be super fun and memorable if you throw a Day of the Dead LDS youth activity. It’s a colorful and memorable way to pay tribute to those family members who have passed on. Here’s how to do it.

As the culminating event during our Youth Temple and Family History Month, this Day of the Dead activity was the perfect way to help our youth remember their ancestors in a unique and exciting way. It was a hit! As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we believe that we will be reunited with our family members after this life. That’s why Day of the Dead or Dia de los Muertos is a wonderful way to celebrate family. Here’s five tips to get you started.

#1: Print your Dia de los Muertos invitation

If you want your youth to get excited about this activity, you need to have a nice invitation. I designed this simple Day of the Dead invitation that is customizable. Just click on the link below.

Click here to print your Day of the Dead party invitation

#2: Go all out with decorations

We held this activity during the end of September. This was perfect timing because there were tons of Day of the Dead decorations at the store. We ended up buying a ton of stuff at the Dollar Store. We wanted to have a few cute decorations as centerpieces for the dinner tables plus other decorations to place around the room. Here’s some ideas of what you could use for decorations:

• Mexican fiesta colorful banner
• Silk Marigold flowers
• Sugar Skull table centerpieces
• Bride and groom skeleton couple
• Halloween Sugar Skull signs

We placed some cute decorations at the center of each table with some colorful ribbon draped across. Then, I added a life-size skeleton with a cool hat on the stage for everyone to look at when they walked in.

#3: Nachos for dinner

All of our youth voted to have nachos for dinner for our Day of the Dead LDS Youth Activity. As leaders, we were happy because that’s a super easy meal to prepare. Plus, it ended up being so yummy. We borrow some chafer pans from my neighbor and warmed all the hot ingredients until we were ready to eat. Here’s the ingredients for the nachos

• Tortilla chips
• Nacho cheese sauce
• Guacamole
• Sour Cream
• Black beans
• Ground beef
• Spanish rice
• Pico de Gallo
• Jalapeños

We also made sure that the leaders served the youth so they didn’t get nacho cheese sauce everywhere. Plus, we had to ration the ground beef and didn’t want any of the kids taking more than their share.

#4: Ofrenda and speaker

We asked a member from our ward–whose family is from Mexico–to set up an authentic Ofrenda for everyone to look at. Ofrenda means offering in Spanish. It is basically an table that has photos and memorabilia of loved ones in your family who have passed on. Then, this ward member spoke to our youth about the significance of the Day of the Dead and remembering our ancestors. He told some stories about his own family. It was really cool.

#5: Invite youth to share their own stories

One of the coolest parts of our Day of the Dead LDS Youth Activity, was listening to the youth tell stories about their own family members who have passed on. We encouraged each of them to bring a photo of that particular family member and then tell a story about them while they were eating dinner. It was great to see the connections they were making with their ancestors.

#6: Share desserts from family recipes

We also had about 20 of our youth sign up to bring a dessert that is a family favorite or comes from their heritage. When they arrived, they wrote down their name and what kind of dessert they brought and set it in front of their dessert. It was really cool to see all the different desserts that people brought.

Overall, this Day of the Dead LDS Youth Activity turned out to be so much fun. The nachos were a hit and the overall atmosphere was a celebration of family and heritage. It was really cool and a complete success. Let me know how it goes in your ward! If you didn’t see the link to the printable invitation, click on the link below:

Click here to print your Day of the Dead party invitation

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If you love Halloween as much as I do, you know that Halloween decoration ideas for your house are a must. But sometimes it can get a little bit expensive. That’s why I’ve come up with a list of some wickedly-cute ideas that won’t break the bank. Take a look!

So, I just decorated my house for Halloween and it gets more and more exciting every year. Considering I have eight storage boxes full of decorations, I’ve got plenty of Halloween decoration ideas for your house. Check it out.

Tips and tricks for decorating

• Grouping: Find a handful of areas in your home to put decorations like the hallway table, the bathroom, the floating shelves and the kitchen table. Otherwise, it starts to feel cluttered.
• Glue gun: These cheap plastic decorations break sometimes. But don’t throw it out. Keep a glue gun warmed up so you can make quick repairs.
• Inside first: Sometimes it’s easy to get overwhelmed when decorating so worry about decorating inside of your house first, take a day or so break and then start on the outside.
• Theme: If you love witches (I have like 20 of them), then run with it. Fill your house with a theme or aspect of Halloween that you love most.
• DIY: If you can’t afford that $150 Halloween door hanging at the local boutique, save some money and make it yourself!
• Garbage: Throw out the stuff you don’t love. There’s no reason to keep that old, wooden sun-bleached ghost that you found at a yard sale five years ago.
• Store regular home decor: Take your regular decorations off the shelves and put them in a box during October. Your house will feel less cluttered so your Halloween decorations can shine.

Halloween do-it-yourself decorations

• Advent calendar – Just like Christmas, everyone needs an advent calendar for the month of October.
• Life-size Blobby from Hotel Translyvania – With a few pool noodles and hot glue, you can have your very own yard decoration for half the price.
• Monster in the bushes – Grab some giant googly eyes and put them in your bushes
• Hard-working skeleton – Randomly pose your life-size skeleton doing everyday tasks on your front lawn.
• Garage door – Transform your garage door into a Halloween masterpiece
• Witch’s shoes – Take an old pair of dress shoes and transform them into Grizelda’s favorite pumps
• Dead caged bird – Nothing says creepy like an animal skeleton in a cage. This is super easy to make too
• Trash bag spider webs – With a couple snips, you’ll have the coolest webs in town.

Halloween themes for the front yard

Some other Halloween decoration ideas is to decorate your house based on a theme.. Here’s a few ideas to get the juices flowing:

• Abandoned house – Complete with cobwebs, stay out signs, and wood slats across the windows
• Arachnaphobia – Nothing says creepy like giant spiders crawling all over your house and yard
• Haunted Circus – With a couple of canopy pop-up tents and string lights, you can have a bonefide haunted circus that even the Wringling Brothers would approve of.
• Spooky cemetery – The options are endless with those Styrofoam headstones and a fog machine.
• Pumpkin Mania – If you have a garden full of pumpkins, take advantage of this easy way to spruce up your porch for the fall.
• Skeleton Town – You can really go all out with a bunch of life-size skeletons. It’s fun to put them in all kinds of different poses.
• Movie Theme – Beetlejuice, Hocus Pocus, Goosebumps, Hotel Transylvania, Goonies, Stranger Things, Addams Family. Take your pick and get creative.

Keeping it simple

Sometimes simple is better. So here’s some Halloween decoration ideas for your house that are super easy.

• Custom Halloween sign – I ordered an awesome Halloween sign that says, “Loveless Hocus Pocus Co.” and it’s one of my favorite. So easy too.
• Bats – You can buy a pack of 120 of these and just tape them to your wall
• Yard inflatables – These are so fun and so easy. Plus, you have tons to choose from.
• Lighted witch hats – Whether indoors or outdoors, these witch hats create such a cool effect
• Crashing witch – This one’s an oldie but a goodie
• Gnomes – These cute little guys make any area in your home look cute
• Halloween Village – Lemax takes the cake when it comes to villages. They come out with the most detailed and adorable creations. Highly recommend.
• Spell books – I love spell books and potions. They are what I think of when I picture Halloween
• Throw pillows – Nothing scream easy more than a few adorable Halloween pillows on your living room couch.

I hope you liked these Halloween decoration ideas. Let me know what other fun things you like to do to decorate your home for Halloween in the comments below. Check out my complete list of my favorite Halloween decorations for your home.

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Nothing gets you in the October spirit more than a festive and spooky meal. But it’s doesn’t have to be super complicated. Here’s some super easy Halloween dinner ideas that your whole family will love. Check it out!

I love throwing Halloween parties, but sometimes I get burnt out from all the work. That’s why I love these simple Halloween dinner ideas that you can throw together at a moment’s notice. Here’s everything you need to know.

Idea #1: Print your free Halloween dinner menu

To add a touch of fun for your guests, you can print out the fill-in-the-blank menu below. My kids loved looking at the menu and seeing what was to come. You can add fun spooky names to ordinary ingredients to make it more Halloweenie. Click on the link below to download and print your menu. I offer this printable for FREE to all visitors of my blog, but if you’d like to show your support, feel free to buy me a taco.

Click here for your FREE printable Halloween dinner menu

Idea #2: Gather your ingredients

When I said these Halloween dinner ideas were easy, I wasn’t kidding. Here’s what food you’ll need to make this dinner a success:

• Maggot Mix (spaghetti) – Just add a few drops of 1-part blue food coloring and 4 parts red food coloring to a ziplock bag of cooked spaghetti noodles. You can pre-plate the spaghetti with a little noodles, spaghetti sauce and two olives for eyes.
• Witch Fingers (green breadsticks) – I bought my witch fingers at the grocery store already pre-made. But if you’re feeling ambitious, use your favorite breadstick recipe and add green food coloring and an almond at the tip of your breadstick before you cook it.
• Haunted Forest (green salad): Grab a salad mix at the store and you’re done.
• Monster Mucus (grape juice): Any type of grape juice will do. Or you can get Orange Fanta, Strawberry Fanta, chocolate milk. Whatever you want
• Goblin Bites (donuts): Most grocery stores sell Halloween-themed donuts in October. Super easy.

Idea #3: Add some easy Halloween table decorations

It doesn’t take much to add a festive touch to your Halloween dinner. Here’s a few items that I like to place among the plates of food on the table:

• Creepy cloth or table runner
• Flameless flickering candles
• Halloween candelabra
• Skeleton salad tongs
• Plastic skull heads
• Cauldron for serving food
• Halloween serving trays

Idea #4: Make name tags for each of the food items

With spooky menu items such as “Haunted Forest” and “Monster Mucus”, you just have to make a name tag for that. It changes any Halloween party from average to amazing. You can print your own Halloween food labels here.

Idea #5: Set the mood with spooky music

There’s so many fun Halloween music tracks out there and it makes the atmosphere so much more authentic. You can go with popular pop music like Michael Jackson’s Thriller or stick with the creepy Halloween sounds. Whatever you choose, crank it up and soak in the fun.

For an added fun effect, you can also cast a Halloween TV screen saver that displays a spooky scene while playing scary music at the same time.

I hope these Halloween dinner ideas will help you as you’re planning your next spooky meal with your friend and family. Let me know how it goes in the comments below. If you didn’t get a chance to download the FREE printable Halloween menu, here it is one more time.

Click here for your FREE printable Halloween dinner menu

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Sometimes you just want to tell someone how awesome they are. That’s why this adorable donut forget gift tag is perfect for birthdays, graduation, teacher appreciation week or just because. Check it out!

So, I created this gift tag because I was stopping by to visit a friend and wanted to give her something to let her know how amazing I think she is. But I wanted it to be fun and light-hearted. That’s why I love this donut forget gift tag. Here’s how to do it.

Print your donut gift tags

I designed these gift tags with six to an 8.5×11 page. If you’re making multiple, there are various different colors to choose from the spice things up a little bit. Print it at home or send it to your local printer.

So, to download your gift tags, click on the link below. Once you get your PDF, just print and cut out each individual tag. Easy peasy.

Click here to download your Donut Forget Gift Tag

Assemble your gift

Once you’ve cut out each of your gift tags, now is time for the fun part. You’ll need the following items:

• Scissors
• Ribbon
• Hostess Donnettes Variety Pack
• Hole puncher

Cut a 12″ piece of ribbon and tie it around an individual-size package of mini donnettes. Then, punch a hole in one of the gift tags and then tie it to the ribbon. Any color of ribbon will do. Feel free to write a friendly note on the opposite side of the tag before you tie it.

Who doesn’t like donuts? Am I right? That why you can’t go wrong with this donut gift tag. Here’s the link to download your gift tag if you didn’t see it above.

Click here to download your Donut Forget Gift Tag

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Gone are the days when you can’t figure out which plastic cup is yours at a party. All you need is a Solo cup holder with marker. Your guests will thank you when they can easily write their name on their cup right when they pick it up. Here’s how to make your own in three easy steps.

I have to give my awesome husband credit more making these cute cup holders. He got up early on my 40th birthday and made them for me. Although you can actually buy these on Amazon, you can make them for a lot cheaper and they’re surprisingly easy. So let’s get started.

Gather your Solo cup holder with marker supplies

My guess is you’ve probably got a lot of these supplies hanging around your garage already. Here is what you’ll need:

• 2 (1-inch thick) pieces of wood that are 5.5″ x 4.25″
• 2 (1-inch thick) pieces of wood that are 5.5″ x 5.5″
• 1 (1-inch thick) piece of wood that is 4.25″ x 4.25″
• Circular saw
• Drill with 7/16 bit
• Nail gun or small nails and a hammer

Step #1: Assemble your cup holder

After cutting your wood into the correct dimensions using a circular saw, place the smallest piece of wood in the center and then arrange the largest pieces of wood opposite each other and the remaining pieces opposite each other as well.

Then lift the outer wood pieces up on their sides until they are all touching. Using a nail gun, nail all of the pieces together, one at a time until they are all secured. Don’t forget to nail the bottom piece to the other pieces as well.

Finally, drill a small hole into one side of one of the pieces of wood. This will be where the permanent marker will go. My husband used a 7/16″ drill bit. You can’t use wood that is thinner than 1″ thick because you wouldn’t have enough room to drill a big enough hole. You can drill as many holes as you want.

Step #2: Paint your cup holder

The sky is the limit on how you decide to paint your cup holder. I had three different types of paint at my house so I tried all three. My favorite though was the barn wood stain. It was the perfect coloring and looked really nice.

Step #3: Add your lettering

I chose three different things to put on each of my cup holders. If you have a vinyl cutter, you can create your own saying, but if you don’t, that’s okay too. Here’s the sayings that I chose:

• Smiley face
• “Mark a cup & fill it up”
• “You get one cup. So, mark it up!”

Just click on the link below to download the FREE printable sayings. I offer this printable for FREE to all visitors of my blog, but if you’d like to show your support, feel free to buy me a taco .

Click here for your FREE cup holder sayings printable

You can upload them to your vinyl cutter or you can cut them by hand and glue them to your cup holder with Modge Podge.

I love the way these turned out! I am going to put one in my kitchen, one in my camping trailer and then give one away to my mother-in-law. It’s something you can use everyday, at parties or when you’re going camping. Yay!

How did your cup holder turn out? Let me know in the comments below. Enjoy!

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There are tons of ways to make bird feeders for kids, but these two are super easy and don’t require very much work or supplies. We were able to make both of ours in 20 minutes! Here’s how you can do it too.

So, I stumbled upon a big bad of bird seed at the grocery store for only $1.50! I couldn’t pass up such a good deal. Since my son, Pete, is always up for a good DIY project, he joined me in the fun. We discovered how to make two super easy bird feeders in just a matter of minutes. Here’s what we did.

Citrus peel bird feeder

The first bird feeder that we made was a citrus peel bird feeder. It is super easy. Here’s what you’ll need:

• Orange, lemon or grapefruit
• Four 10-inch lengths of yarn or string
• Knife
• Bird seed

How to make it: Take your orange and cut it in half. Scoop out the insides of the orange until you are just left with the peel. With one half of the peel, cut four tiny evenly-spaced holes about halfway down the peel (you don’t want the weight of the bird to pull the yarn through the peel). Then thread each piece of yarn through each hole one at a time. Then tie a knot at the end of each yarn so they won’t pull through. Tie all of the pieces of yarn together and then fill the peel with bird seed.

Popsicle stick bird feeder

One of the other great bird feeders for kids is the popsicle stick bird feeder. Here’s what you’ll need to get started:

• Jumbo popsicle sticks (the colored ones are the best and don’t use regular-sized popsicle sticks)
• Four 10-inch lengths of yarn
• Bird seed
• Hot glue gun

How to make it: First, make the base of your bird feeder by laying down six popsicle sticks right next to each other and then hot glue them together with two additional sticks lying in the opposite direction on both ends. Then, tie the four pieces of yarn onto the ends of two popsicle sticks and glue those to the base. Finally, glue popsicles sticks “log cabin style” until you form what looks like a little basket. Pull the strings together and tie them at the top. Fill your feeder with bird seed and hang it in a tree.

My son was super excited to go outside to hang his bird feeders for kids. They were the perfect addition to our yard. Now, we’re excited to see what kinds of birds make their way over. Make sure you hot glue the popsicle sticks really well, because our base fell through and all the seeds fell to the ground.

What other fun ideas do you have for making bird feeders? Leave your suggestions in the comments below.

More from My Silly Squirts: How to make exploding popsicle sticks

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Everyone loves playdough. That’s why these LDS playdough mats are so much fun. They combine the fun of creating with the love of classic Primary songs. They are perfect for car rides, General Conference, quiet time during Sacrament or just at home. Check it out!

As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I grew up singing songs about Jesus in my primary class. I want my kids to learn them as well. That’s why I thought it would be fun to create to playdough mats that combined the fun of playdough and the joy of music. Even if you’re not a member of my faith, these mats are perfect for anyone, young or old.

Gather your LDS playdough mats supplies

You don’t need much to get started on these playdough mats. All you need is some playdough and the mats! I like to use the Play-doh brand but feel free to use whatever you like.

• 10-pack Play-doh 2oz containers

If you don’t want to buy your playdough, you can also make your own. Here’s an awesome recipe that calls for ingredients that you probably already have at home. Once you’re done, store your homemade playdough in these clear plastic containers or a ziploc bag.

Download your printable playdough mats

I designed these mats with four mats per page, so you can maximize your play time. There are three total pages, so that’s 12 mats total. Once you download your PDF, just print it at home or you can email the file to your local printer. For best results, print your mats on cardstock and laminate each page before you cut them out. I ended up paying just a few dollars to have them laminated and printed at the local copy store. Just click on the link below to download your PDF.

Click here to download your LDS playdough mats

Cut out and start creating

Once you’ve printed and laminated your LDS playdough mats, you just need to cut them out on the dotted lines provided. You should end up with 12 adorable mats.

I tried to make these mats simple enough for all ages. Your kids can add apricots to the tree, rays to the sunshine or petals to the flower. Plus, you can use these mats in a variety of situations, such as:

• Primary class
• Quiet time during church
• Nursery
• Listening to General Conference
• Restaurants
• Home

I hope you like these playdough mats as much my kids and I did. Here’s the link to the printable PDF one more time if you didn’t see it before:

Click here to download your LDS playdough mats

More from My Silly Squirts: Start a Friendship Basket with your LDS Young Women group

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Caramel apples. Costumes. Haunted houses. Yep, it’s that time of year again! Just to make sure you don’t miss out on any of the fun, I’ve put together the ultimate Halloween bucket list. Don’t you just love Halloween?

As soon as I start to see the decorations and costumes for sale at Costco, that means go time for Halloween fun. I can’t help but start planning all the fun parties and crafts with my kids. Halloween is just so much fun. So, if you love this awesome holiday as much as I do, check out my ultimate this of fun things to do this October.

Print your Halloween Bucket List PDF

Here’s a fun and free bucket list for the month of October that you can hang on your fridge. You don’t have to do them all, but if you do, you won’t regret it. Just click on the link below. I offer this printable for FREE to all visitors of my blog, but if you’d like to show your support, feel free to buy me a taco .

Click here for your Halloween Bucket List printable

Spooky snacks and treats

• Graveyard pudding cups
• Caramel apple bar – Don’t forget the food warmers and the caramel
• Spooky bark
• Ghost suckers
• Skeleton charcuterie board – Use the smaller 30″ skeletons instead of the life-size ones
• Mummy Pizzas
• Zombie punch
• Monster munch
• Baked ghost chips
• Frankenstein Rice Krispie Treats

Not-so-scary movies

• Hocus Pocus
• Van Helsing
• Wait Until Dark
• Goosebumps
• Nightmare Before Christmas
• Casper
• Twilight
• The Witches
• A Quiet Place
• Harry Potter
• Ghostbusters
• Beetlejuice
• Goonies

DIY Halloween decorations

• Life-size front porch witch
• Caged bird skeleton
• Blobby and son from Hotel Transylvania
• Witch’s cauldron
• Halloween wall art (six spooky sayings)
• Haunted tree lawn decoration
• Wickedly cute witch shoes
• Life-size skeletons (you definitely need more than one of these)
• Monster door wreath
• Giant spider webs

Wickedly fun crafts and activities

• Halloween advent calendar with a twist
• Simple Halloween carnival ideas
• “Boo” your neighbors
• Visit a corn maze
• Pick out a costume
• Go on a Halloween Scavenger Hunt
• Drive by spooky houses
• Decorate a haunted gingerbread house
• Trick or treat
• Jump in a pile of leaves
• Carve a pumpkin
• Eat candy corn
• Throw a witch’s party
• Volunteer for your child’s class Halloween party
• Bob for apples
• Drive by spooky houses
• Listen to scary music
• Visit a local pumpkin patch
• Look at the scary merchandise at a Halloween store
• Tell ghost stories around a campfire

I hope this Halloween Bucket List gets you excited for this fun and spooky holiday season this October. Let me know if you have any other fun ideas in the comments below. Check out my complete list of my favorite Halloween decorations for your home.

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Now that pandemic restrictions have loosened, more and more people are itching to get out and see the world. Yay! But before you grab your passport and head out, make sure you follow these safety tips when traveling to ensure you have a memorable and problem-free vacation.

Our family is just finishing up our two-month vacation in Costa Rica. It was an amazing trip but we did run into some hiccups along the way that could have been avoided. Here’s some tips to help you so you have a safe adventure with your friends and loved ones.

Before you go: safety tips when traveling

• Documents: Make a copy of your passport and important documents. Even if you don’t lose your passport, many times people ask to see a copy of your passport for excursions, bank transactions and rental cars. Also, keep an electronic copy on your phone for easy access.
• Research your destination: Get to know the area, transportation options, language, food and people. That way, you’re more comfortable and prepared when you get there.
• Facebook groups: Join a Facebook group about the specific area you are traveling too. Here you can ask questions like, “Where is the best place to catch a bus,” or “Is there area safe for kids.” I did this when we went to Costa Rica and it was invaluable.
• Friends and family: Make sure someone back home knows your itinerary and the names and phone numbers of the hotels you are staying at.
• US Embassy: Know the contact information for the US Embassy in the country you are visiting. They can held you recover or get a new copy of your passport if it gets lost or stolen.
• Smart Traveler Enrollment Program: You can monitor safety conditions for specific destinations overseas by signing up for email notifications through the US Department of State.
• Jewelry: Leave your giant wedding ring in your jewelry box at home.
• Consider travel insurance: This can be pricey, but if you’re shelling out a ton of dough for your trip, travel insurance can cover your but in the event of a cancelation, injury or unforeseen circumstances.

At your hotel

• Door jammer: You never know who else has the key to your Airbnb or hotel room door. This gives you peace of mind.
• Safe: Most hotel rooms have a safe. Keep your valuables locked tight.
• Room key: Keep this with you at all times, especially when you’re swimming in the pool.
• Visitors: Don’t answer your hotel room door unless you know who it is
• Close the door: When you enter or leave you room, make sure your door is closed tight.
• Triple check your room upon checkout: My sister-in-law forgot her phone in her hotel room once. She called it when she came back and found it hidden in a crumple of dirty towels on the cleaning lady’s cart!

Sightseeing

• Don’t carry everything together: If you make a mistake and leave your bag on the beach, make sure it doesn’t contain your credit cards, extra cash, passports and phone.
• LOCK YOUR CAR: This seems obvious, but we made this mistake and someone stole our phone, credit card and two tablets while we were 10 feet away from our car.
• Travel pack or cross body bag: Keep the important stuff close in a small purse or pack that you can carry with you everywhere. I use this cross body bag every time I travel and I love it.
• Debit cards: Only use debit cards to make ATM withdrawals because debit cards initiate a transaction directly from your bank account, making it easier for thieves.
• Have a place for everything: The best way to avoid losing your phone or keys is to put it back in the same place every single time.
• Obey the local laws: Our cousin was thrown in a Mexican jail when he tried to drive his 4-wheeler on the beach. Respect the country and its laws and you shouldn’t have any problems.
• Don’t leave items unattended: There are lots of professional thieves out there watching your stuff and waiting for you to turn your back.

Safety with kids

• Crowds: Avoid crowded areas with kids such as farmer’s markets and busy stores. It makes it easier to lose a child
• Buddy system: My husband keeps his eyes on two of our kids, while I keep eyes on the other two and our teenager watches as well.
• Babies: You can say “no” if someone wants to hold your baby. You don’t have to be polite when it comes to your child’s safety. A lot of people wanted to hold my baby in Costa Rica and I would just tell them that she is afraid of people she doesn’t know.
• Toddler hardness: Yes, this is basically a pet leash for your child but if it will keep you two-year-old from wandering away or getting kidnapped, I am all for it.

I hope these these safety tips while traveling will help you on your next trip. Our family loves to travel and for the most part, people are so generous and kind. Plus, there is so much to see out there. Here’s my complete adult travel essentials idea list of everything you need to buy to travel abroad. Let me know how your trip goes and if there any additional tips that you would add. Bon voyage!

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If you’re like me, you have a hard time remembering the birthdays of your friends and family. Well, all of your problems are solved! Here’s a simple Monthly Birthday Tracker poster that you can fill out and hang in your home. You’ll never forget another birthday again!

So, I am sure there are a lot of fancy electronic ways to save the birthdays of all your friends in your phone, but I’m old school. I like having something that I can hold. Something tangible. That’s why I designed this birthday tracker. Check it out.

Download and print in three languages!

Whether you speak English, Spanish or French, I’ve created this poster in three different languages. You can download and print your poster by clicking on the link below. I’ve included the posters for each language in one convenient PDF.

Click here to download and print your Monthly Birthday Tracker

Write down all the birthdays

After you print your poster, take a moment to write down all the names of your friends and family members. You can also use this poster to keep track of the names of the students in your classroom if you’re a teacher. If you’re involved in a youth group or club, this poster is great so you don’t forget anyone’s birthdays.

Hang your poster in a prominent place

Now, this is the most important part, you need to hang your Monthly Birthday Tracker in a place where you’ll see it often. That way you won’t forget anyone’s birthday. And the best part is that you can keep adding names as needed. I love remembering people’s birthdays and this makes it super easy.

I hope you enjoy this monthly birthday poster as much as I do. Here’s the link to download and print your PDF one more time in case you missed it above:

Click here to download and print your Monthly Birthday Tracker

If you’re looking for more fun birthday ideas, here’s a few great links to check out:

• Birthday yard signs with stakes
• Balloon arch kit
• Birthday treasure box

More from My Silly Squirts: Mother’s Day Treasure Hunt

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So you want to learn Spanish? Awesome! One of the best ways to get your feet wet is by simply listening to other people speak in Spanish. Listening comprehension is so important and there are some amazing Spanish podcasts out there that are geared toward all levels of learners. Here’s my top five.

I really started trying to learn Spanish about a year ago. One of the first things I did was listen to Spanish podcasts when I got ready in the morning. At first I didn’t understand nada. But then month after month, I realized that I could understand more and more. Consistency is the key. So, here are my top five podcasts that will get you started off on the right foot.

#5: Españolistos

Level: Intermediate to advanced
Established: October 2016
Episode length: 30 minutes
Topics: Travel, culture, everyday living
Website: https://www.espanolistos.com

The hosts of this podcast are Andrea (Colombian Spanish Teacher) and Nate (American with fluency). They are a cute couple who talk about interesting topics that are engaging and fun to listen to. They currently have 280 episodes that are released weekly so they have quite the following. I like listening to them because Nate’s American accent is easier to understand if you’re just a beginner. Overall, this is a great podcast.

#4: Un día en Español

Level: Beginner
Established: November 2020
Episode length: 5-7 minutes
Topics: Day in the life of Spanish speakers in the U.S. or Latin America
Website: https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/un-dia-en-espanol-spanish-learning-podcast

The great thing about this podcast is that you can listen to an entire story in less than 10 minutes. They speak slowly and clearly and the narrator jumps in occasionally in English to explain. This is a podcast created by the language learning app Babbel. The stories are light-hearted and fun and is the perfect podcast for beginners.

#3: Simple Stories in Spanish

Level: Beginner to Intermediate
Established: February 2020
Episode length: 15 minutes
Topics: Simple stories, fairytales
Website: smalltownspanishteacher.com

This Spanish teacher from Minnesota tells weekly stories and fairytales in Spanish. Her American accent makes it easier to understand. Since the episodes are only 15 minutes long, it’s easy to take a minute each day and listen to one of her stories.

#2: Duolingo Spanish Podcast

Level: Beginner to Advanced
Established: December 2017
Episode length: 20 minutes
Topics: True stories
Website: https://podcast.duolingo.com/spanish

Most everyone has heard of Duolingo the app, but did you know that Duolingo has a podcast as well? This podcast features true stories and provides English narration through the episodes for context. That way you don’t feel completely lost throughout the entire episode. I love the stories that they tell and you get exposed to many different types of Spanish accents.

#1: Learn Spanish and Go

Level: Intermediate to Advanced
Established: April 2020
Episode length: 25-30 minutes
Topics: Travel stories, cultural conversations, Spanish tips, and interviews with Spanish speakers
Website: https://spanishandgo.com/podcast

This cute Mexican/American couple is an entertaining duo that are fun to listen to and easy to understand. I’ve listened to this podcast longer than any other Spanish podcasts. They speak slowly and clearly and choose topics that keep my attention and I learn a lot at the same time. With more than 100 episodes, I’ve listened to almost all of them. Plus, they have additional membership programs and language resources that you can tap into. Highly recommend.

Hopefully this was helpful as you’re trying to explore the various language-learning resources out there. Good luck on your journey to learning Spanish. If you’re looking for other helpful resources to learn Spanish, here’s a few that might help:

• 201 Spanish Phrases You Need To Know
• The Ultimate Spanish Verb Review and Practice
• Speak Spanish in 30 days

More from My Silly Squirts: Five ways I practice Spanish every day

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We all want to do something special for our moms on Mother’s Day and this Mother’s Day Treasure Hunt is just the ticket. It’s that extra little something to show her how much you love her. Plus, kids LOVE treasure hunts. Check it out!

Mother’s Day is the one day each year that I really look forward to. It’s that day when all of your hard work as a mom gets recognized, at least for a moment. So, all you dads and kids out there, this one is for you. You need this Mother’s Day Treasure Hunt. Check it out!

Step #1: Print your Mother’s Day Treasure Hunt

This is the easy part. I’ve compiled this three-page treasure hunt into an easy-to-print 8.5×11 format. It includes an instruction page (so you know where to hide the clues) and two pages of clues (four clues per page). Click on the link below to download your PDF.

Click here to download your MOTHER’S DAY TREASURE HUNT

Step #2: Cut and hide your clues

I’ve designed this treasure hunt so that you all of the clues can be hidden by common items that are found in every home. Take each clue page and cut along the dotted line until you have eight clues in total. Then, hide each of the clues as follows:

#1: Give to your mom
#2: Hide under your kitchen table
#3: Hide somewhere in the bathroom
#4: Hide in the laundry room
#5: Hide behind the TV
#6: Hide in the couch cushions
#7: Hide in the fridge
#8: Hide in the microwave
Mother’s Day Present: Hide in the car

You can make this treasure hunt really hard or really easy for mom. For example, you can hide the clue that mom needs to find in the fridge inside of a container or something. Or you can hide it in plain sight. Whatever you want to do.

Step #3: Surprise mom with a gift

The very last clue of the Mother’s Day Treasure Hunt will lead your mom to the car. You can wrap a present or a fun gift basket or surprise for mom and place it inside. She’s be so excited no matter what you give her. And this treasure hunt will be a guaranteed success.

Let me know how your treasure hunt goes in the comments below. Also, if you didn’t see the link to download your treasure hunt, here it is one more time.

Click here to download your MOTHER’S DAY TREASURE HUNT

Here’s some fun gift ideas that your mom might like as well:

• Funny mug
• Custom mom and children heart puzzle
• Super mom personalized book
• Back and neck shoulder massager
• Warm hug cozy blanket

More from My Silly Squirts: 20 Fabulous homemade Mother’s Day gift ideas

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Backyard string lights are an easy way to glam up your backyard without much effort at all. And you don’t have to spend thousands of dollars an expensive awning or pergola either. This little project cost us about $150 but the results were priceless. Check it out!

I am not the handiest person, so I was a little bit intimidated before I started this project. But after a short trip to Home Depot, I realized this wasn’t going to be as hard as I thought. Plus, I had my husband to help me so that made it a little easier. Here’s how I did it.

Gather supplies for your backyard string lights

Before you can start hanging your lights, you need to gather all of the supplies. You can get a lot of them at Home Depot or Amazon. Here’s what you’ll need:

• 10-foot 1/2″ galvanized steel poles (2) – Make sure your poles have threading on the end so you can cap them off. We needed two for our patio but you may need more depending on how many lights you’ll be hanging. These cost us about $25 each.
• LED outdoor string lights – We got two boxes of 48-foot string lights and these are really high-quality. They should last you a long time. We got these on sale for $40 per box at Costco but you can get them on Amazon as well.
• 2-foot 1″ PVC pipes (2) – You need as many of these pipes as you have steel poles.
• #10 screw hooks – You’ll need about 10 of these.
• 1/2″ squeeze connectors (2) – These will be screwed onto the tops of the steel poles.
• 1/2″ steel pipe coupling (2) – These will connect the steel poles to the squeeze connectors
• Post hole digger – You don’t have to have one of these but it will make the digging part go a lot faster

Step #1: Dig the holes

First you’ll want to figure out how you’ll be hanging your lights so you can determine where to place the poles. We did a diagonal zig zag across our patio and to the house. So we only needed two poles.

Before you start digging, you need to make sure there’s no utility lines in the way. We called Blue Stakes of Utah and they marked our yard. There are similar companies in every state. Ironically, even after they marked our yard, I still ran into two utility lines! So be careful as you dig. It’s a big hassle if you break one of these lines.

Using your post hole digger, dig a hole about two feet deep. You want it at least that deep so that the pole is firm in the ground.

Step #2: Place the steel poles

Once your holes are dug, place the 1″ PVC pipes over the bottom of the steel poles. Then, connect the couplings and then the squeeze connectors to the tops of the steel poles.

Finally, place the PVC pipes with the pole on it into the holes. Fill the holes back up with dirt. Make sure someone is holding the pipes while you fill the hole with dirt to make sure it stay standing straight and tall.

Step #3: Hang the string lights

Yay! Your final step is to hang your string lights. We started on the corner of our home and zig zagged the lights from the house to a pole, back to the house, back to another pole and then finally back to the house. We connected the string light to the house by simply screwing a screw hook below the rain gutter. It was perfect actually.

To attach the string lights to the tops of the poles, simply unscrew the screw that is in the squeeze connector. You can either loop the string lights through and screw the screw back in, or you can screw a screw hook into the hole where the screw used to be. Either works.

You’re done! I was surprised how easy it was to hang these backyard string lights. I was so happy with the results too. It adds such a cozy ambiance to our backyard. We are definitely spending more time back there now. During the winter, we will just take take the lights down so they don’t wear out in the bad weather.

Here’s a YouTube video that I made explaining how we hung those lights.

I hope this was helpful as you’re planning how to hang your own string lights. Let me know how it goes in the comments below.

More from My Silly Squirts: DIY Mudroom shelves using IKEA bookcases

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If you’re looking for a fun, engaging LDS youth or ward activity, a Book of Mormon Murder Mystery Dinner is just what you need. This activity so interactive, plus I’ve already put everything together for you (printables included) so you don’t have to. It’s so fun. You’re going to love it!

The cool thing about this murder mystery is that the clues and the entire storyline come from Helaman 8 & 9 in the Book of Mormon. However, you don’t have to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to play this murder mystery. It’s generic enough that you could throw it for a family or friend party as well. So, just follow these five easy steps below to throw your own murder mystery.

Step #1: Print your Book of Mormon Murder Mystery Dinner instructions

I fully admit that I did not compile this murder mystery. A friend of a friend put together the clues years ago and I redesigned and re-wrote into an easy-to-read format that you can download and print in your own home. First you’ll want to click on the link below to download your PDF of the complete instructions.

Click here to download your Murdery Mystery instructions

The instructions include everything that you will need to complete your murder mystery. It includes:

• Instruction page – This will explain how the murder mystery is going to work.
• Emcee script – Give this page to your emcee. You’ll want to choose someone who can make it fun and exciting (preferably someone who can speak in a British accent)
• Name Tags – Print this page directly onto a label page that has 4″x2″ labels. I designed the page so the names are already laid out in the right dimensions and ready to be printed. If you don’t want to print them on labels, you can just cut the names out and pin or tape them to participants’ shirts.
• Clues – There are three sets of clues that go with each course of the dinner. Cut each individual clue out. You’ll need to cut out as many sets of clues as their are tables.
• Place Cards – You should have six place cards per table. Print out the place cards for each murder suspect, cut, fold and then place on the table.
• Verdict Cards – Print and cut each verdict card to size. Place them in a manila folder marked, “Confidential” and have the emcee show the cards at the end when he/she reveals the murderer.

Step #2: Send out your invites

I designed these vintage Murder Mystery invitations that you can email, text or print. Send them to your guests to get them super excited about this fun evening. This invitation is completely customizable. Just click on the link below.

Click here for your Murder Mystery Dinner Invitation

Step #3: Gather supplies and decorate

As you’re planning to decorate for your murder mystery, picture a1920s lounge. We were expecting a group of about 50 youth and adults. So, we decided to hold our dinner in the Relief Society Room in our building. It was more cozy, easier to serve the food and we didn’t have to deal with a microphone or anything like that. Here’s what we did:

• Centerpieces: Dark green round table cloths, flameless LED candles, fairy lights(most of these items I just borrowed)

• Food: cracker and cheese boards (appetizers), pizza (main course), brownies and ice cream (dessert). We tried to keep the food as simple and as inexpensive as possible and the girls loved it!

• Emcee display: Over-sized armchair, artificial tree, side table, small lamp. This display was where the emcee sat and presented throughout the evening. It gave out such a fun mystery vibe.

Step #4: Tips for during the dinner

In order for the entire evening to go smoothly, you’ll want to have as many leaders helping you as possible. I assigned a table leader to each table. After all of the girls had chosen a place to sit, a table leader placed a name tag on their shirt. We just made sure that we had the same six suspects sitting at each table. We had to do a little shuffling around but it worked. You should have eight table settings at each table: six for the participants, one for a leader and then one extra for people who show up late.

When each course is served, the table leader hands out clues #1 – 3 accordingly. Each person on the table needs to read their clue and then everyone can discuss. By the end of the third clue, as people are eating their desserts, the girls started to get really into it. Everyone was trying to decide who the murderer was.

At the end, one person from each table stands up and gives a guess as to who the murderer is. Then, the emcee pulls out the names of the suspects one-by-one until he divulges the murderer at the end. All of the girls LOVED it!

Step #5: Conclusion

After the murderer is revealed, the conclusion is probably the most important part. I got up and explained to the group that this entire story comes from the Book of Mormon. A lot of them were shocked. Then I encouraged them to read it for themselves in Helaman 8 & 9 and then go and find their own favorite story in the Book of Mormon.

I hope this helps you with your next Book of Mormon Murder Mystery. Send me a message if you have any questions. If you didn’t see the link to the printable instructions, here they are again below:

Click here to download your Murdery Mystery instructions

More from My Silly Squirts: How to throw a Hawaiian Luau

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So you’re thinking about starting a blog? That’s awesome! Congratulations. But before you dive into this new venture, consider these 10 things that I learned after becoming a part-time blogger four years ago. You may thank me later. Check it out.

Being a part-time blogger was never one of my hopes and dreams. But the opportunity kind of just fell in my lap and I realized it was something that I really enjoyed. It all started when my friend asked me if I would write some guest articles for her own blog. She paid me for each article and it was easy. Then I realized, “I could create my own blog.” Then the rest is history. But there are a few things that I wish I would have known before I started. Take a look.

#1: Decide your “why” before you start

Are you in it for the money? Do you like to write? Are you passionate about making a difference in the world? Whatever your reasoning, make sure it’s something that will motivate you because creating a blog isn’t easy. I started my mommy blog because I loved sharing my ideas with other moms. Plus, I really enjoy writing, graphic design, crafting and doing fun stuff with my kids.

Let me warn you though, if you’re solely doing a blog for the money, you’re going to be disappointed. Check out tip #4 below for more details.

#2: Pick the name and focus of your blog carefully

The name. I kind of messed up on this one. My blog’s name is My Silly Squirts because it’s about my five crazy kids. It sounds fun and playful, right? However, the word “squirts” also has derogatory implications and sometimes pulls up inappropriate material in a Google search. Ah geez! So, take your time when choosing your blog name because it’s a huge headache if you want to change it down the road. Trust me. Check out this post from a fellow blogger called, “How to come up with a blog name” for more ideas.

The focus. There are so many different types of blogs out there, it’s crazy. I found a lady who’s entire blog is about how to make fun things out of paper mache. I think the most important thing is that you love what you are blogging about. Otherwise, you’re going to get bored really fast. And also make sure there’s enough to write about within that topic so you don’t run out of content a month into it. Here’s some blog ideas:

• Parenting/Mommy
• Lifestyle
• Fitness
• Travel
• Music
• DIY
• Sports
• Finance
• Politics
• Business
• Movies
• Cars
• News
• Pets
• Gaming

#3: It’s a marathon, not a sprint

When you start a blog, you’re basically starting from square one. And unless you’re a famous celebrity, it’s going to take time to generate followers. Think years, not months or weeks. When I first started my blog, I was getting 20-40 views per day. Now, after four years, I get an average of 650 views per day. I still feel like I’m the tortoise in the world of blogs, but my blog is growing and that’s what matters. Just don’t give up.

#4: Don’t expect to earn tons of money

If anyone tells you that you’ll make tons of money right away as a part-time blogger, they are lying. I made less than $100 in my first year because I knew from the beginning that I was going to be part-time. There’s a reason why not everyone makes a living off a blogging, because it’s really hard. Consider it a hobby and any money that you make will be a bonus!

If you want to earn a living off of blogging, then you have to put in as much time (if not more) as a full time job. Plain and simple. Here’s a breakdown of the money that I have earned for the past four years from ads and Amazon affiliate links:

• 2018: $80
• 2019: $378
• 2020: $2,073
• 2021: $3,642

The reason why I had such a big jump in earnings in 2020 was because I finally qualified to apply for an ad network company called Monumetric. They require at least 10,000 views per month. Before then I was using Google Adsense because they don’t require a minimum number of views per month but they don’t pay very much. Check out this great post about the 15 best ad networks for bloggers for more information.

#5: Be consistent

Publishing blog posts on a consistent basis is HUGE. It boosts your visibility among search engines and social media platforms. Search engines love fresh content. So, if you’re wondering why you’re not getting any views, make sure your are creating new, quality posts on a regular basis.

#6: Learn how to play the social media algorithm game

Pinterest, Facebook, YouTube, Google, all of them run off of algorithms and algorithms dictate whether or not anyone will read your blog posts. So what are social media algorithms? According to the Digital Marketing Institute, an algorithm is a mathematical set of rules specifying how a group of data behaves. In social media, algorithms help maintain order and assist in ranking search results and advertisements.

The problem is, social media algorithms are constantly changing, making it difficult for bloggers to keep up.  However, there are general rules of thumb that you can follow. Check out this blog post “Everything you need to know about social media algorithms” to learn more.

#7: Prepare yourself for burnout

As a mother of five kids, I don’t have time to invest 40 hours a week in my blog. It’s just not possible. So, I made a goal to write at least one blog post per week. That amounts to about 2-3 hours per week. This has worked for me for the last four years.

Even with only working 2-3 hours per week on my blog, I sometimes get a little burnt out. When that happens, I just take a week or two off. I just need time to reset and not think about it. Then, I usually start thinking of blog ideas and get excited about it again.

I always say, “As long as I’m having fun and enjoying it, I’ll keep being a part-time blogger.” And so far, I have enjoyed it. I think it’s fun and rewarding.

#8: Talk to other bloggers

Sometimes you have a question, need advice or your just need support from other bloggers. That’s why I recommend joining a blogger Facebook group. Check out this post, “The 30 best Facebook groups for bloggers” for more information.

#9: Use social media to generate traffic

Social media is a HUGE part of having a successful blog. Make sure you create your own Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and even YouTube account for your blog.

The table below shows the traffic sources from my blog for the year 2021. As you can see, 51% of the views on my blog came from social media websites. Of those 91,302 views, 90,381 of them came from Pinterest. So, Pinterest is a huge resource for getting views for my blog.

#10: Sign up for Google analytics right away

Google Analytics allows you to track and analyze visitors to your website. You can see where your visitors are coming from, how long they are visiting your page, how often they return to your website and much, much more information.

This is a free and invaluable tool for your blog. Plus, if you want to monetize your blog and apply for an ad network company down the road, they will require data from your Google Analytics account.

If you have a sudden dip in traffic on your blog, you can analyze the data on your analytics account and figure out the source of the problem. This has happened to me on multiple occasions as a part-time blogger and I was so grateful that I had analytics to help me. Check out this video, “Analytics for Beginners” for more information.

Good luck!

I hope this information was helpful for you. Although being a part-time blogger can have it’s ups and downs, I really love it. I love sharing my ideas with the world and helping other moms along the way. Let me know if you have any additional questions. Leave your comments below.

More from My Silly Squirts

What happened when Pinterest de-indexed my pins

The post 10 things I wish I knew before I became a part-time blogger appeared first on My Silly Squirts.

A candy lei is the perfect gift for any occasion including birthdays, graduations, Teacher Appreciation Week, bapstisms and Mother’s and Father’s Day. So, let me know show you how to make a cute candy lei in three simple steps.

Honestly, I don’t know why I haven’t learned how to make these before. They are seriously so easy but seem so fancy and fun when you give them away. Plus, there are so many different kinds of gift leis that you can make. Check it out.

Step #1: Measure and cut your cellophane

Make sure that you make your candy lei using cellophane and not saran wrap. Saran wrap makes your lei look crinkled and messy. Cellophane has a must crisper and clean look. I bought a 110-foot roll of cellophane on Amazon and it worked great.

Cut two strips of cellophane that measures 6 inches x 31.5 inches. You can do it longer if you want but this is the minimum length that you want to cut. Then lay the two strips out on a flat surface.

Step #2: Place and tape your candy

You can really take any small objects and put them into a gift lei, it doesn’t just have to be candy. Place the candy bars, gum or gifts on the strips of cellophane. Just make sure that the gifts for the lei aren’t too wide or long. They should be small, mini items. Here’s some examples of different types of leis that you can make:

• Candy bar lei
• Spa lei
• Money lei
• Birthday lei
• School supply lei (for teachers)
• Gift card lei
• Gum lei

The main thing you want to remember when making any gift lei, is that you need about eight small objects to put inside the lei. You can also double up items to get more gifts if you want.

Take the candies or gifts that you want to use for your lei and place them face down, equally spaced on the two strips of cellophane.

Make sure you leave an inch or two on each end so you can tie it off. Then, wrap the cellophane around each object and tape them down.

Step #3: Tie with ribbons

The last step is to cut 8-10 strips of 10″ ribbon and then tie each on in between each object and on the ends.

You can also tie multiple colorful strips of ribbons on your lei. Once you’ve tied your ribbons between each object, tie the ends together with the ribbons that are already tied onto the lei. Then curl your ribbons with some scissors.

That’s it! Super easy, right? Once I got the hang of it, I could put together a candy lei in about 10 minutes. I made these three different leis for my son’s birthday, as a congratulations gift after my son’s play and for one of my kids’ teachers. They LOVED every single on of them.

Check out the video below that explains how to make a gift lei step-by-step. What other ideas do you have for a gift lei? Leave your comments below.

More from My Silly Squirts:

DIY Newborn Shadow Memory Box

The post How to make a candy lei in three easy steps appeared first on My Silly Squirts.

Teacher Appreciation Week is a big week! I always like to do something to show my appreciation. That’s why I like volunteering to do our Teacher Appreciation door decoration. So, I made this super simple but super adorable decoration. I have everything you need. Check it out.

I actually designed this door decoration two years ago right before COVID started around the world. School went online and I wasn’t able to decorate our teacher’s door. So, I kept all the supplies stored away until I had another opportunity. I was so happy to actually see it all come together. Here’s how you can do one yourself.

Step #1: Print and cut out your letters

Sometimes it’s hard to know how large to print and cut out the letters. So I did all of that for you. Just click on the link below. The letters can be printed on 8.5×11 paper on your printer at home. You can also use this free printable to cut the letters out on your Cricut or Silhouette.

Click here for your free PDF of your door decoration letters

Step #2: Glue letters to poster paper

Every school has different door dimensions. So, you’ll want to measure your teacher’s door before you start working on the poster. Our school doors are 35″ x 83″. Most of the time, your school will let you get your poster paper for free or you can buy some on Amazon. I just grabbed a large sheet of pink paper and cut it to the correct dimensions.

Lay out your letters where you’ll want them on the poster before you start gluing. I found that large glue sticks worked the best. Then roll up your poster and hang it up on the teacher’s door before you start taping on the poms poms.

Step #3: Hang your pink pom poms

You can get as creative as you want with these pom poms. I bought about six packages of pom poms from the Dollar Store but you could buy poms poms of all shapes and sizes to add variety to your door decoration.

Keep in mind that it takes quite a while to fan out all of the pom poms. But they are so adorable. The more you can fit on the poster, the cuter it will look. I ended up with about 30 small pink pom poms but I think I could have hung even more.

I hope this Teacher Appreciation door decoration turns out amazing for that special teacher in your kids’ lives. Here’s the link to the free PDF with the poster letters if you didn’t see it above:

Click here for your free PDF of your door decoration letters

Let me know how your poster turns out! Leave your comments below.

More from My Silly Squirts:

Ninja Turtle Teacher Appreciation Door

The post Teacher Appreciation Door Decoration: We just “pink” you are great! appeared first on My Silly Squirts.

Whether it’s Mother’s Day, Father’s Day or Valentine’s Day, any day is a great day to make this adorable heart craft for kids and it is super, super easy. Check it out.

So, I volunteered to do a craft during the Valentine’s Day party in my 9-year-old’s class at school. Of course, I procrastinated until the day of. I decided to go the simple route and sometimes simple is more. All of the kids loved this craft and you can usually just find stuff around your house. Let’s get started.

Download your heart craft for kids printable

I designed this really simple card that can be printed two-to-a-page. It’s just a big heart that says, “I love you”. They can keep their finished work of art for themselves or give it to someone they love. Click on the link below to download and print your heart craft printable.

Click here for your free Heart Craft Printable PDF

Gather your supplies for your craft

The best part about this craft is you can do whatever you want. Basically, each child can glue and fill each of their hearts with fun objects. The sky is the limit. They can write a small note at the bottom if they want as well. Here’s some items that would work for your craft. Then just dump them onto the tray and let the kids go crazy:

• Poms poms
• Colorful buttons
• Playdoh
• Glitter
• Assorted feathers
• Googlie eyes
• Beads
• Pipe cleaners
• Confetti

Start gluing and creating!

It was so fun to see how different each heart craft for kids turned out. Everyone had their own style. We noticed that glue sticks didn’t work as well. Just good ol’ Elmer’s glue is your best bet. Also, the kids were trying to glue the pipe cleaners on the outline of the heart, but it was kind of hard to get it to stick. Playdoh worked better for that.

If I were to do it again, I would put all of the different craft items in separate containers. It kind of ended up being a crazy mess as all the kids were grabbing for different things. But it still worked out okay. And they had fun so that’s all that matters.

I hope this craft will help you during your next event. Here’s a link to the downloadable PDF printable. Let me know how your craft turned out in the comments below.

Click here for your free Heart Craft Printable PDF

Here are some other heart crafts to get your creative juices flowing:

• Rainbow heart suncatchers
• Heart-shaped animals crafts
• Fingerprint Heart Crafts
• Pipecleaner heart rings
• Yarn heart bookmarks

More from My Silly Squirts: Check out this fun DIY Heart String Art

The post Free printable DIY simple heart craft for kids appeared first on My Silly Squirts.

Oh my heck! The only thing better than a Spongebob birthday party is … well, there’s not much better, ha ha! Here’s everything you need to have the best birthday party under the sea. Check it out.

Truth be told, I didn’t even ask my son what type of birthday party he wanted. I wanted to do a Spongebob Squarepants birthday party for him and I knew he would love it. And he did! But, throwing a big birthday party at your house can be super overwhelming. That’s why I made it super simple and super fun. Complete with free printables and everything. Take a look.

Invitations

Every kid birthday party starts with a fun invitation. I designed these fun fill-in-the-blank invites that can easily be printed off and sent to your kids’ friends. Click the link below to download your free PDF. They are two to a page on a 8.5×11. I offer this printable for free to all visitors of my blog, but if you’d like to show your support, feel free to buy me a taco!

Click here to print your free Spongebob Squarepants Birthday Party Invitation

Decorations

It’s wouldn’t be an epic birthday party without some sweet Spongebob birthday decorations. But you don’t have to spend a boat-load of money to have cool decorations. Here’s what you’ll need:

1. Spongebob wall poster and balloons

2. Lifesize Spongebob

I made this life-size Spongebob for a scarecrow festival and it was perfect for our party. You can checkout the video on how I made it if you’re interested in making one yourself.

If you’re not interested in making your own Spongebob, you can buy a cardboard cutout of him and then take a picture of each guest standing next to him. I printed out those pictures and put them in a keychain before they left as a party gift. Here’s a complete idea list of decorations you can buy.

Games

You can do some really simple games that require little to no planning and the kids will love it. Here’s what we did.

1. Find the Spongebob

This is a super fun game. Basically you tape some pictures of Spongebob onto yellow objects scattered throughout your house. Then, you tell the kids to find some Spongebob pictures hidden under things that are yellow. The kids thought this was a blast.

2. Silly Spongebob Trivia

I had each kid answer multiple-choice trivia questions about Spongebob. Even if they didn’t know the answer, I still gave everyone a little prize.

3. Spongebob Obstacle Course

Time each of the kids to see how quick they can run through an obstacle course. The kids love seeing if they can do the course the fastest. We had the kids crab walk, do jumping jacks, bear crawl and give Spongebob a hug.

Food

All of the food that I did for the party required little to not preparation. When you’re throwing a big birthday party, you want to make the refreshments as easy as possible. First, you want to print your food labels by clicking on the link below. I offer this printable for free to all visitors of my blog, but if you’d like to show your support, feel free to buy me a taco

Click here for your Spongebob Squarepants refreshments labels

Here’s a list of ingredients that you need to buy for your refreshments:

• Gummy Worms (Squidward Tentacles)
• Jell-O Stars (Patrick Bites)
• Frozen Hamburger Sliders (Krabby Patties)
• Pineapple chunks (Spongebob Chunks)
• Fishy crackers (Mrs. Puff’s Puffed Fish)
• Veggie straws (Sea Coral)
• Gatorade Powder (Sea water)

Finally, of course, the birthday cake. I ordered some Spongebob plastic cake topper decorations and added them to a 9×13 birthday cake. It was super easy and really cute.

I hope these ideas will help you during your upcoming Spongebob Birthday Party. I know it’s going to be a hit. Check out the video I made below of everything we did for the party.

Related link: How to make a life-size Spongebob Squarepants

The post Throw the ultimate Spongebob birthday party in four easy steps appeared first on My Silly Squirts.

Ugly sweater day. Lumpy rug day. Pizza day. There’s pretty much a day for everything. That’s why I put together this fun National Day Calendar so you won’t miss out on any opportunities to celebrate, every single day of the year. Check it out!

If you ask me, we need to celebrate more. Life is meant to be enjoyed. So, I started doing some digging and I realized, “Wait, there’s a holiday for every single day!” Yay! Whether it’s Corn Dog Day, Tell a Joke Day or Family PJ Day, there’s always a reason to have a party.

What is a National Day?

According to National Today, National Days are all the special holidays and moments from around the world — the occasions that bring people together — and help everyone celebrate. Another website called National Day Calendar even gives you an opportunity to apply for your own national day to promote your bran, non-profit or corporation.

Print your one-page National Day Calendar

When I wake up in the morning, I don’t usually think to look online to see what national day it is. That’s why it’s nice to have a short and sweet list to hang on your fridge. Click on the link below to print yours right now.

Click here to print your National Day Calendar

If you want an even more comprehensive list of national days, you can buy a National Day 12-month Calendar so you don’t miss out on any of the fun.

Here’s the list

There are literally, thousands of national days out there. There’s quite a few. So, I can’t list all of them. But for today, I’ve compiled a condensed list of National Day that I thought you might find most appealing. A lot of them revolve around food or nonsense, but all of them are wonderful.

January

1: New Year’s Day
2: Science Fiction Day
3: Drinking Straw Day
4: Spaghetti Day
5: Screenwriters Day
6: Cuddle Up Day
7: Bobblehead Day
8: Bubble Bath Day
9: Apricot Day
10: Clean Off Your Desk Day
11: Milk Day
12: Pharmacist Day
13: Rubber Ducky Day
14: Dress Up Your Pet Day
15: Strawberry Ice Cream Day
16:Religious Freedom Day
17: Bootlegger’s Day
18: Winnie the Pooh Day
19: Popcorn Day
20: Cheese Lover’s Day
21: Hugging Day
22: Blonde Brownie Day
23: Pie Day
24: Compliment Day
25: Opposite Day
26: Spouses Day
27: Chocolate Day Cake
28: Big Wig Day
29: Puzzle Day
30: Croissant Day
31: Backward Day

February

1: Freedom Day
2: Tator Tot Day
3: Women Physician Day
4: Bubble Gum Day
5: Play Outside Day
6: Frozen Yogurt Day
7: Fettuccine Alfredo Day
8: Boy Scouts Day
9: Pizza Day
10: Umbrella Day
11: Make a Friend Day
12: Global Movie Day
13: Galentine’s Day
14: Valentine’s Day
15: Singles Awareness Day
16: Do a Grouch a Favor Day
17: Cabbage Day
18: Caregivers Day
19: Chocolate Mint Day
20: Love your Pet Day
21: Sticky Bun Day
22: Margarita Day
23: Banana Bread Day
24: Chili Day
25: Skip the Straw Day
26: Tell a Fairy Tale Day
27: Polar Bear Day
28: Tooth Fairy Day

March

1: Pig Day
2: Old Stuff Day
3: National Anthem Day
4: Dress in Blue Day
5: Cheese Doodle Day
6: Oreo Cookie Day
7: Cereal Day
8: International Women’s Day
9: Barbie Day
10: Pack Your Lunch Day
11: Johnny Appleseed Day
12: Plant a Flower Day
13: Good Samaritan Day
14: Pi Day
15: World Social Work Day
16: Panda Day
17: Corned Beef & Cabbage Day
18: Awkward Moments Day
19: Corn Dog Day
20: Ravioli Day
21: Co-parenting Day
22: Goof Off Day
23: Puppy Day
24: Cheesesteak Day
25: Tolkien Reading Day
26: Spinach Day
27: Scribble Day
28: Weed Appreciation Day
29: Vietnam War Veterans Day
30: Take a walk in the park Day
31: Prom Day

April

1: April Fool’s Day
2: Peanut Butter & Jelly Day
3: Find a Rainbow Day
4: Walk Around Things Day
5: Library Workers Day
6: Caramel Popcorn Day
7: No Housework Day
8: Empanada Day
9: Unicorn Day
10: Farm Animals Day
11: Pet Day
12: Licorice Day
13: Scrabble Day
14: Ex-spouse Day
15: Banana Day
16: Wear your PJs to work Day
17: Cheeseball Day
18: Animal Crackers Day
19: Hanging Out Day
20: Cheddar Fries Day
21: High Five Day
22: Earth Day
23: Picnic Day
24: Pig in a Blanket Day
25: Telephone Day
26: Pretzel Day
27: Tell a Story Day
28: Superhero Day
29: Shrimp Scampi Day
30: Bugs Bunny Day

May

1: Infertility Day
2: Truffle Day
3: Lumpy Rug Day
4: Orange Juice Day
5: Astronaut Day
6: Nurses Day
7: Scrapbook Day
8: Coconut Cream Pie Day
9: Sleepover Day
10: Clean Up Your Room Day
11: Eat What You Want Day
12: Nutty Fudge Day
13: Apple Pie Day
14: Miniature Golf Day
15: Chocolate Chip Day
16: Love a Tree Day
17: Cherry Cobbler Day
18: Visit Your Relatives Day
19: Devil’s Food Cake Day
20: Pizza Party Day
21: Learn to Swim Day
22: Solitaire Day
23: Lucky Penny Day
24: Scavenger Hunt Day
25: Towel Day
26: Paper Airplane Day
27: Road Trip Day
28: Hamburger Day
29: 529 Day
30: Water a Flower Day
31: Smile Day

June

1: Go Barefoot Day
2: Rocky Road Day
3: Doughnut Day
4: Black Bear Day
5: Veggie Burger Day
6: Yo-Yo Day
7: Chocolate Ice Cream Day
8: Best Friends Day
9: Donald Duck Day
10: Egg Roll Day
11: Corn on the Cob Day
12: Children’s Day
13: Weed Your Garden Day
14: International Bath Day
15: Smile Power Day
16: Fudge Day
17: Flip Flop Day
18: Go Fishing Day
19: Garfield the Cat Day
20: Hike with a Geek Day
21: Peaches ‘N’ Cream Day
22: Onion Rings Day
23: Hydration Day
24: Take your Dog to Work Day
25: Strawberry Parfait Day
26: Coconut Day
27: Sunglasses Day
28: Paul Bunyan Day
29: Waffle Iron Day
30: Social Media Day

July

1: US Postage Stamp Day
2: Hop-a-Park Day
3: Chocolate Wafer Day
4: Caesar Salad Day
5: Bikini Day
6: Fried Chicken Day
7: Macaroni Day
8: Freezer Pop Day
9: Sugar Cookie Day
10: Kitten Day
11: 7-Eleven Day
12: Eat Your Jell-O Day
13: French Fry Day
14: Nude Day
15: Give Something Away Day
16: Corn Fritter’s Day
17: Tattoo Day
18: Sour Candy Day
19: Daiquiri Day
20: Lollipop Day
21: Hot Dog Day
22: Hammock Day
23: Gorgeous Grandma Day
24: Parent’s Day
25: Hot Fudge Sundea Day
26: All Or Nothing Day
27: Creme Brulee Day
28: Milk Chocolate Day
29: Talk in an Elevator Day
30: Father-in-law Day

August

1: Respect for Parents Day
2: Ice Cream Sandwich Day
3: Watermelon Day
4: Chocolate Chip Cookie Day
5: Water Balloon Day
6: Root Beer Float Day
7: Friendship Day
8: Dollar Day
9: Book Lovers Day
10: S’mores Day
11: Son’s & Daughter’s Day
12: Middle Child Day
13: Garage Sale Day
14: Creamsicle Day
15: Lemon Meringue Pie Day
16: Tell a Joke Day
17: Thrift Shop Day
18: Ice Cream Pie Day
19: Potato Day
20: Radio Day
21: Senior Citizens Day
22: Be An Angel Day
23: Sponge Cake Day
24: Waffle Day
25: Kiss & Make Up Day
26: Dog Day
27: Just Because Day
28: Power Rangers Day
29: Lemon Juice Day
30: Beach Day
31: Trail Mix Day

September

1: Acne Positivity Day
2: Food Bank Day
3: World Beard Day
4: Wildlife Day
5: Cheese Pizza Day
6: Read A Book Day
7: Salami Day
8: School Pictures Day
9: Teddy Bear Day
10: TV Dinner Day
11: Make Your Bed Day
12: Video Games Day
13: Ants on a Log Day
14: Cream Filled Donut Day
15: Online Learning Day
16: Mayflower Day
17: Dance Day
18: Cheeseburger Day
19: Talk Like A Pirate Day
20: String Cheese Day
21: Pecan Cookie Day
22: Girls’ Night Day
23: Snack Stick Day
24: Hunting and Fishing Day
25: Comic Book Day
26: Family Day
27: Chocolate Milk Day
28: Good Neighbor Day
29: Coffee Day
30: Chewing Gum Day

October

1: Homemade Cookies Day

2. Name Your Car Day
3. Boyfriend Day
4. Taco Day
5. Do Something Nice Day
6. Noodle Day
7. Chocolate Covered Pretzel Day
8. Chess Day
9. Moldy Cheese Day
10. Kick Butt Day
11. Sausage Pizza Day
12. Stop Bullying Day
13. No Bra Day
14. Dessert Day
15. I Love Lucy Day
16. Sports Day
17. Pasta Day
18. Chocolate Cupcake Day
19. Seafood Bisque Day
20. Youth Confidence Day
21. Pumpkin Cheesecake Day
22. Make a Difference Day
23. Mother-in-Law Day
24. Bologna Day
25. Greasy Food Day
26. Pumpkin Day
27. Black Cat Day
28. Chocolate Day
29. Trick or Treat Day
30. Candy Corn Day
31. Caramel Apple Day

November

1: Cinnamon Day
2: Stress Awareness Day
3: Men Make Dinner Day
4: Candy Day
5: Doughnut Day
6: Nachos Day
7: Color the World Orange Day
8: Parents as Teachers Day
9: Scrapple Day
10: Forget-me-Not Day
11: Sundae Day
12: French Dip Day
13: World Kindness Day
14: Family PJ Day

15: Clean Out Your Fridge Day
16: Fast Food Day
17: Homemade Bread Day
18: Princess Day
19: Play Monopoly Day
20: Child’s Day
21: Red Mitten Day
22: Cranberry Relish Day
23: Jukebox Day
24: Sardines Day
25: Flossing Day
26: Cake Day
27: Bavarian Cream Pie Day
28: French Toast Day
29: Electronic Greetings Day
30: Personal Space Day

December

1: Eat a Red Apple Day
2: Mutt Day
3: Roof Over Your Head Day
4: Sock Day
5: Bathtub Party Day
6: World Trick Shot Day
7: Cotton Candy Day
8: Brownie Day
9: Christmas Card Day
10: Human Rights Day
11: Noodle Ring Day
12: Gingerbread House Day
13: Violin Day
14: Monkey Day
15: Cat Herders Day
16: Ugly Christmas Sweater Day
17: Maple Syrup Day
18: Twin Day
19: Hard Candy Day
20: Sangria Day
21: Crossword Puzzle Day
22: Re-Gifting Day
23: Roots Day
24: Eggnog Day
25: No “L” Day
26: Candy Cane Day
27: Fruitcake Day
28: Card Playing Day
29: Tick Tock Day
30: Bacon Day
31: Make Up Your Mind Day

Here’s a link to the printable if you didn’t see it above:

Click here to print your National Day Calendar

If you want an even more comprehensive list of national days, you can buy a National Day 12-month Calendar.

Related link: May the Fourth Star Wars Party Labels

The post National Day Calendar: 365 reasons to celebrate everyday appeared first on My Silly Squirts.

Everyone needs a little pick-me-up once in a while. That’s why these candy bar awards are the easiest and most adorable way to give someone the recognition they deserve. Print yours today.

So, I am a youth leader for our church and we wanted to recognize the girls in our group and let them know how amazing they are. These candy bar awards were the simplest idea and all of the girls LOVED it. Here’s how you can do it to.

Print your candy bar awards cards.

I designed these simple 5.5″x4.25″ award cards that can be printed at home on 8.5×11 paper and cut down to size. Each one has the name of a candy bar with a small pun tagline to go with it. You have 12 different cards to choose from. Just click on the link below to print your own. I offer this printable for FREE to all visitors of my blog, but if you’d like to show your support, feel free to buy me a taco .

Click here for your free Candy Bar Award Cards

Cut and attach your candy bars

I tried to make these cards generic enough that they could apply to a variety of different people. After I printed the cards off, I wrote the names of the girls I wanted to give them to on the line provided. Then I just stopped at the store and picked up the applicable candy bars.

Hand out your awards

We had a fun PJs and Pancakes night and gave away these fun awards at the end of the evening. I tried to think of a story or genuine reason why each girl got the award that they did. This way, they didn’t feel like they were getting some generic award that didn’t really apply to them. All of the girls were all smiles and it was really fun to do something nice for them.

I hope these printables will help you for whatever occasion you are hosting. I am sure they will be a hit. What other fun ideas do you have when you want to recognize someone for their good deeds? Leave your comments below. Here’s a link to the printable award cards one more time if you didn’t see it above. I offer this printable for FREE to all visitors of my blog, but if you’d like to show your support, feel free to buy me a taco .

Click here for your free Candy Bar Award Cards

Related link: FREE printable teacher appreciation gift tags

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Are you looking for highly-functional mudroom shelves that won’t break the bank? Well, today is your lucky day. Here’s a simple and inexpensive way to make mudroom shelves using IKEA bookcases. Check it out!

I originally got this idea from another blog called Polkadot Chair. So I can’t take credit but thanks for the brilliant idea! We recently remodeled our home and I needed some shelves to for our mudroom that wouldn’t take up too much space but also provide plenty of storage for my kids to put all of their junk. After browsing the Internet for what seemed like forever, I just couldn’t find any shelves that were functional for this space. That’s when I discovered the idea to use IKEA Billy Bookcases and it was perfect. Here’s how you can do it yourself.

Assemble your IKEA bookcases

Apparently, these IKEA Billy bookcases are super popular because they were sold out when I went to IKEA. However, I was able to find four used ones on the local classifieds! So, I only spent $100 total for all four! Now that’s a steal. But even if you by them brand new, they’re not too expensive. Make sure the dimensions are 15 3/4″ x 11″ x79 1/2″. These are the perfect size for an individual locker in a mudroom.

If you need instructions on how to assemble these bookcases, check out my video below. The instructions however are very easy to follow. The middle shelf of these bookcases cannot be removed, so you’ll want to arrange the remaining shelves above the middle shelf. That way you’ll leave room for coat hangers.

Attach bookcases together

Now that you have your mudroom shelves placed in your mudroom, you’ll want to attach each of the bookcases together. This will ensure that they are more secure and tight together and allow for more space in your mudroom. You’ll need the following materials to do this:

• 6 barrel screws (35mm)
• Drill
• Metal clamps

Clamp together the first set of two bookcases at the top and the bottom. Then drill a pilot hole a couple inches deep on the side of the bookcase. Make sure you drill slowly. We accidently damaged the wood a little bit when the drill bit came through the other side. Then simply place the barrel screw into the hole and screw together with an allen wrench. Repeat this step six times on the top and bottom of the shelves until they are all firmly attached together.

Secure shelves to the wall

This might be the most important part. You don’t want these mudroom shelves falling forward and landing on one of your kids. The solution is super easy. Just buy some wall brackets that screw into the wall and the shelves. That way if one of your kids tries to climb these shelves, they won’t fall over. Just make sure you drill the screw into a stud or else it will come right out.

Attach hooks for coats and jackets

I left the bottom section of these shelves open so that we could attach two coat hooks on each shelf. My kids love this and I love it because now we have a place to put all of our stuff! Just buy some heavy duty coat hooks and screw them into both sides of the bottom section of each bookcase.

Add baskets for storage

The best part is that I bought some plastic baskets that fit perfect in the shelf space of these bookcases. My kids love putting all of these own stuff in them and I love it because I have a place to put all of their toys and miscellaneous items that I find scattered throughout the house.

Check out this video below that explains how we put together these mudroom shelves. I hope this blog post helps you with your next project. I would love to see how your mudroom turns out. Leave your comments and pictures below.

Related link: How to build beautiful pantry shelves in one day

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So, you’re starting your kitchen remodel. Hurray! I’m sure you’ve waited for this day for a long time. But before you spend away your life savings, here’s a few tips and tricks to save yourself a little moolah AND get the home of your dreams. Check it out.

I wanted to remodel my kitchen from the moment we moved into our house. But of course, it costs money, and lots of it. Fast forward seven years and we had finally saved up enough money and it was still going to be way expensive. So, I figured out a few ways to save some money without sacrificing on quality. Here’s 10 tips that will hopefully help you with your next remodel.

Tip #1: Know what you want BEFORE you start

One of the easiest ways to save money on any remodel is not changing your mind halfway through. Once those walls come down and cabinets go up, there’s no going back. Unless you want to spend a whole bunch of money fixing it. My advice is to get some professional opinions and look at lots and lots of different options before deciding on your own.

Tip #2: Be your own contractor

Contractors are great. They get the job done. But they can be really expensive. Of course, hiring out your own electrician, plumber, painter, sheetrocker and flooring guys is a lot of work, but then you literally save thousands of dollars. Plus, you’re in the driver’s seat. You decide who’s working on your house and you can be part of the process all along the way.

Tip #3: Do some of the work yourself

Labor is a huge cost for any kitchen remodel. So, decide what parts of your remodel you can do yourself and what parts you absolutely must hire out. For example, instead of hiring a demolition crew, grab a hammer and tear out that wall. We decided to build our own pantry, paint our entire upstairs, and install baseboards and doors. We saved quite a bit of money.

Tip #4: Keep an eye on your subcontractors

Every remodel runs into snags. But if you tell your subcontractors to do something and they don’t do it right, you need to make sure they take care of it right away. Because once you’ve paid them, they most likely won’t be rushing back in a hurry to fix the problem. Then you’ll have to pay someone else to fix it.

Tip #5: Get multiple bids

When I was pricing out a new front door, my first bid told me it would cost $3,000. So, I decided to look around. I ended up going with another company that only charged me $600 for install and materials. Some subcontractors are super busy and purposely give inflated quotes because they don’t want to do that job. So, do your homework.

Tip #6: Be organized; time is money

You’ll need to start scheduling your cabinets at least three or four months in advance. Everything else hinges on that. And if you have to reschedule subcontractors, you might lose some of your other subcontractors and end up having to hire someone else that charges you more. I recommend getting a large white board and placing “to do” sticky notes in order of completion date and then write down on your calendar when everything is happening.

Tip #7: Be open to more affordable options

Do you really need gold-plated hardware on all of your cabinets? Maybe the brushed nickel looks just as good and is half the price. Do those second-hand bar stools look just as good as the brand new ones from Pottery Barn? Determine what is worth the expense and where you can save. For us, I decided to use second-hand IKEA bookcases for our mudroom shelves and spent $100 instead of $600.

Tip #8: Keep appliances that still fit the space

We were going to buy a brand new fridge for our kitchen and then we realized that our current fridge looked exactly the same. So we saved $3,000 and stuck with our old fridge. When that fridge breaks, then we can buy a new one. In the end we also kept our dishwasher and washer and dryer. It didn’t make sense to spend more money when our current appliances worked fine.

Tip #9: Hold off on other projects

If you’re remodeling your kitchen, sometimes you’re tempted to replace the vanity in the bathroom or pull up the carpet in the bedrooms at the same time. But, it’s okay if your entire home isn’t brand-spanking new. Finish your kitchen and then remodel the bathroom next year. It’s not worth going deeper into debt for.

Tip #10: Talk to your tax guy

Maybe you work from home and have a dedicated office. Or maybe your renovations can be considered capital improvements and add to the value of your home. Whatever the case may be, you might be able to save a little money on taxes. So, checked with a tax professional to see what you qualify for. And keep your receipts!

Hopefully these tips will help you on your upcoming kitchen remodel. Send me some before and after pictures. I would love to see them! Here’s a video showing the process we went through for our remodel.

Related link: Amazing kids bedroom makeover

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Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? Spongbob Squarepants! Yep, that’s right, you can make your very own life-size look alike of our favorite sea sponge and it’s a lot easier than you might think. So, whether it’s for a party, Halloween or just because your love Spongebob, here’s how to create your very own right now!

Every year, I like to enter a scarecrow into the Scarecrow Festival at Thanksgiving Point’s Ashton Gardens. It’s such a fun tradition during the Halloween season. This year I wanted to create something everyone recognized, something colorful and something fun. Well, Spongebob is definitely all of the above. Here’s how I did it and how you can do it too.

Step #1: The body

You’ll need four pieces of pink insulation foam that are 2 feet x 4 feet. I bought a 4 feet x 8 feet piece at Home Depot for $20 and just cut that with a jigsaw into four 2 feet x 4 feet pieces. It worked perfect.

Next, you’ll want to draw Spongebob onto one of the boards. Maximize the entire space. You’ll be using this as a template for the remainder of this project. It helps to print out a picture of Spongebob for reference.

Finally, working with the foam board that has the drawing of Spongebob, cut out everything except the legs with a jigsaw (see the image below). Use the first board and trace that same shape onto the remaining three boards and cut out the same shape until you have four foam boards that are the exact same shape. If you don’t have a jigsaw, you’ll want to spend $30 and buy one. It will make this project sooooo much easier.

Step #2: The base

Here’s the items that you will need to assemble the base for your Spongebob:

• 10 feet of PVC pipe
• Six 3/4″ tee pvc pipe fittings
• PVC pipe cement
• PVC pipe cutter

Spongebob’s two legs are going to be made out of PVC pipe. So, basically, just cut your PVC and assemble them based on the image below. The measurements don’t need to be exact. After you’ve cut and assembled your base, glue all of the pieces together with PVC pipe cement. Make sure the legs are facing straight up when you apply the glue because it dries fast!

Step #3: Attached base to Spongebob’s body

Trace the shape of the up three quarters of Spongebob’s legs onto the third layer of foam. Then, cut out the shape that you traced. You should be able to fit the upper part of the base firmly on Spongebob. Then basically glue everything together with Gorilla glue. Take a look at the image below and you can watch my video on how I made Spongebob as well.

Step #4: Paint and add embellishments

Now for the fun part. I bought a small jar of yellow house paint at the store and started painting. Basically, just paint Spongebob the way he is supposed to look. You should have already traced him on the foam insulation, so just fill it in with color. I decided to use a styrofoam ball and cut it in half for his eye balls. If I were to do it again, I would buy a really big styrofoam ball.

I also traced and cut out the arms, shoulders and shoes out of insulation foam. I attached them with a wire and Gorilla glue.

You’re done. I was so happy with the way my Spongebob Squarepants turned out. I am going to keep this little gem and display it on my porch every year for Halloween. Anyway, hopefully this tutorial was helpful. Send me a picture of your life-size Spongebob when you do it yourself!

Related link: DIY Life-size Blobby from Hotel Transylvania

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Building your own beautiful pantry shelves is easier than you might think. With a few simple steps, you’ll be enjoying a brand space in your home that you will LOVE. Take a look!

We are almost done remodeling our house and finishing our pantry was one of the last steps. My husband, being the amazing person that he is, whipped everything together in just one day. Our pantry turned out amazing. Here’s how he did it.

Buy supplies for your pantry shelves

If you don’t want to worry about painting your pantry, you can buy shelves that are already white and the edges are finished. It will make your whole life easier. Here’s the list of stuff you need to buy:

• White laminated shelves
• 1 1/2 inch wood supports
• Large dowel rod (1 1/4 inch)
• 2-inch wood screws
• Nail gun and staples
• Skill saw with guide
• Paddle bit (1 1/4 inch)
• Cordless drill
• Measuring tape
• Paint supplies

Some of these items, such as a nail gun and skill saw might need to be borrowed. But if you choose to buy them it will be well worth the purchase.

Measure and install supports

You’ll need to decide how many shelves that you want and how far apart you want them. I left a little space in between my middle shelves for extra room to store items such as kitchen appliances. Mark the wall to indicate how far apart you want your shelves. Measure the support wood and cut the desired lengths and nail into the studs in the wall.

You just want to make sure that every edge that your shelves touch the wall, there should be support wood nailed to the wall underneath. You can use a stud finder to locate all of the 2x4s behind the drywall.

Cut and install pantry shelves

Next you’ll have to measure your shelves so they are the correct length. Use a a skill saw with a guide and cut them to the correct length.

You’ll want to make sure each shelf fits perfectly snug. After the shelves are placed, use a nail gun to staple the back of the shelves to the corresponding supports below them.

Add dowel supports for each shelf

So, the wood supports nailed along the wall aren’t enough to support the shelves when food and other items are placed on them. My husband added additional supports in two other places: 1) center of the long shelves 2) in the corner where the two shelves meet.

First add a support with a piece of wood (see above) and nail it below the bottom shelf. Then add a 1 1/4″ dowel in between each of the shelves directly above. The dowels will be supported by the bottom piece of wood. You can use a 1 1/4″ paddle bit to drill an indent in the wood for each dowel. You don’t need to drill a hole all the way through. Just enough to insert the dowel.

For the second support, cut a piece of wood and nail in direct under the section in the corner where the two shelves meet. This will provide enough support for the shelves for quite a bit of weight. My five year old climbed to the top of the shelves and they remained strong.

Mud and paint

As a final step, add some caulking over each of the screws and then paint all of the remaining sections that aren’t white. This was my favorite part because I didn’t have to paint that much! It was super slick and easy. And our pantry shelves turned out amazing!!!

I still can’t believe I have such a big pantry. It’s so big in fact that not all of the shelves are filled! I also went an bought some cute baskets that fit perfectly. I just love my pantry so much.

What other home projects have you been working on? Leave your comments below

Related link: 10 things I wish I knew before my kitchen table refinish

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We always want to show our appreciation to our wonderful teachers but sometimes we just don’t know how. That’s why this adorable smart cookie gift tag paired with an actual bag of cookies is a win-win in my book. I mean, who doesn’t love cookies? Print your PDF today!

So, my sister was actually the one who thought of this cute way to say thanks to our teachers. She was in charge of giving a cute treat/present for all of the teachers in her daughter’s high school. It was a big task and it turned out adorable. She asked me to help her design the gift tag and it we loved the results. Here’s how to make your own today!

Print out your Smart Cookie gift tags

You can download a printable PDF of this cute gift tag that says, “Thank you for making our kids smart cookies. We appreciate all you do.” Just click on the link below. The PDF comes with 12 tags per page. You can print as many pages as you would like.

Click here for your printable smart cookie gift tags

Buy or make your cookies

Whether you are up for the task of making a bunch of delicious homemade cookies or you would rather just buy some, I think your teacher(s) will love it either way. My sister bought three huge boxes of variety pack cookie snacks. Simple, easy and yummy.

Assemble your gift

Now, just cut out the gift tags and staple them to your bag of cookies. Done! Everyone will be so impressed with your efforts. Little will they know how easy it really was, ha ha!

There you have it folks. Click on the link below for your printable PDF if you missed the link above. I hope your teacher appreciation gift turns out wonderful! What other teacher appreciation gift ideas do you have? Leave your ideas in the comments below.

Click here for your printable smart cookie gift tags

Related link: Teacher appreciation gift tags

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If you want to breed puppies but you’re just not sure if it’s going to be too hard, never fear. I’ve got all the information you’ll need to successfully breed and sell your first litter of puppies. And you can print my puppy breeding checklist for free! Check it out.

We decided to breed our golden retriever puppy right before her second birthday. Since we were new at the breeding thing as well, we didn’t quite know what to expect. But in the end, we were pleasantly surprised. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be and the pay off is pretty sweet. We made $11,400! You can check out my other blog post about how much it costs to breed a puppy. Here’s what we did and hopefully it can help you.

Before the puppies are born

Usually the decision to breed puppies is about 2 years in the making when you buy your own puppy. If you want to get top dollar for your litter, you’ll want to make sure your dog is a pure bred and registered with the American Kennel Club (AKC). In addition, you can get your dog’s hips and eyes checked to ensure to your buyers that your dog will produce healthy puppies. Just make sure you do all of that before your dog goes into heat. You can’t check hips and eyes when your dog is pregnant or nursing.

Next, you’ll need to find a stud to mate with your dog. We paid $700 and the stud just hung out in our backyard all week. Some owners aren’t that flexible though. Just make sure you try to mate your dog with a stud within 5-10 days of when your dog goes into heat. The fertility window is small. Also, make sure the stud is AKC registered and take lots of pictures so you can show potential buyers. And for heaven’s sake, don’t let your dog wander the neighborhood when she is in heat. Dogs can get pregnant with multiple breeds in one litter.

Then, watch for signs of pregnancy (englarged nipples, weight gain, swollen belly, tired). Calculate 63 days from the first date your dog mated. Your dog could have puppies 63 days after the first time they mated or 63 days after the last time they mated or anytime in between. In the mean time, make or buy a whelping box. Your dogs will literally spend their entire first four weeks in this box. It’s pretty important.

Don’t forget to start feeding your dog puppy chow. She needs all the nutrients she can get to deliver and nurse a litter of puppies. Also, buy colored collars and a gram scale for the puppies. You’ll want to know which puppy is which the moment they deliver and you want to weigh them regularly to make sure all of them are gaining weight.

While the puppies are being born

When mom is about to deliver, keep a close eye on her. She’ll try to find a place in the house to deliver. Sometimes she’s chew a lot to manage the pain. You may need to help mom when she starts to deliver but for the most part, mom does the work. She will clean the puppies herself so don’t rush the puppy to the bathroom to wash him off. Don’t forget about putting a collar on each of the puppies as they are born. Then write down the order that they were born and their weight.

Check out this video we took of when all of our puppies were born:

Keep the area where the puppies are born at least at room temperature if not warmer. Place the puppies on a warming pad if necessary. Our puppies were born in the middle of the summer and it was sweltering hot. We had to move them into the house because they were overheating. Puppies cannot regulate their own body temperature so make sure they aren’t too hot or cold.

Keep an eye on the puppies the first few nights to make sure they don’t get smothered. It helps to have a whelping box that has a slight lip all around it so that they don’t get smothered when mom lays down.

After the puppies are born

Right away after you breed puppies, you’ll want to register them with AKC within first couple of days. That way there won’t be any delays in getting your paperwork. Next, you’ll need the puppies to get their dew claws removed the second or third day of life. If you wait too long, it will be too late and you’ll have to wait until they are six months old. I would recommend a vet removing the dew claws. We removed them ourselves and we did it wrong. Some of the dew claws grew back and we had to sell those puppies for less.

Here’s some other tips for after the puppies are born:

• Continue feeding mom unlimited water and puppy chow until she is done nursing
• Avoid Parvo by keeping puppies away from other dogs or places where dogs might have been
• List your puppies for sale and price them right. If you list them too high, they will take forever to sell.
• Give puppies dewormer at 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks
• Start feeding puppies wet puppy chow and water at 3-4 weeks
• Transition puppies to playpen in the backyard around 4 weeks
• Take puppies to the vet at 6 weeks for a well-check, dewormer and first set of shots
• Around 8 weeks, begin sending puppies to their new owners. Just make sure they are eating regular puppy chow and drinking water

We were totally stressed out about weaning our dog off her puppies before they went to their new owners. We kept her separated from her puppies and that was a bad idea. Just let mom wean herself off her puppies naturally. It’s okay if they occasionally nurse off mom. As long as they are eating puppy chow, they should be fine.

Print your free “How to breed puppies” checklist

In case you can’t remember everything above, I’ve created a little puppy-breeding checklist that you can print out and hang on the wall at home. Just click on the link below. I offer this printable for FREE to all visitors of my blog, but if you’d like to show your support, feel free to buy me a taco .

Click here for your free “How to breed puppies” printable checklist

Breeding puppies is definitely a commitment but it is such a rewarding experience. We loved having those cute little pups for eight weeks and we will definitely do it again. Let me know if you have any other suggestions on how to successfully breed a litter of puppies. Leave your comments below.

Related link: 10 job ideas for kids to earn a little extra money

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Whether it’s a 40th, 50th or 60th birthday, these Over the Hill printables are the perfect way to celebrate your loved one’s special day in a light-hearted way. You’ll have everyone in stitches by the end. Check it out.

I got the idea for these printables when my husband was about to turn 40 years old. It’s definitely a milestone age but it’s hard to not feel old at the same time. So, I figured, why not make the most of it and embrace this mid-life event with some tongue-in-cheek laughter? Here’s how you can do it yourself.

Download and print your Over the Hill printables

You can download a PDF of these printables by clicking on the link below. I just emailed the file to my local copy store. I printed them in full color on cardstock so they would be nice and sturdy.

Click here to download your Over the Hill birthday printables

Cut out and assemble

Now for the fun part. Once you get your PDFs printed, cut out all of the signs of various sizes. Some of these printables can be decorations for a cake and the rest you can hang up as decoration for your birthday party. Oh yeah, you’ll also need the following items:

• Birthday cake
• Tape
• Popsicle sticks
• Birthday candles

You can print a couple copies of the printable that says, “Warning Senior Citizen Crossing” and then hang it up in a line on the wall, connecting the pieces kind of like caution tape. I also taped popsicle sticks to the backs of all the smaller signs and then stuck them strategically in the birthday cake. It turned out so cute.

Add some additional Over the Hill goodies

There are tons of fun items that you can buy online to go along with your Over the Hill birthday party. Here’s just a few of my favorites:

• Memory mints for senior moments
• Inflatable walker
• Old man cane with accessories
• Emergency diaper kit

Instead of a real cake, you can also make your own diaper cake. This just adds to the hilarity. Hopefully the birthday boy or girl will be a good sport about it. I know my husband just ate it up. He thought it was hilarious.

What other fun ideas do you have to celebrate that special someone’s Over the Hill birthday? Leave your comments below. Here’s a link to download the printables one more time:

Click here to download your Over the Hill birthday printables

Related link: Never miss a birthday with this free family birthday board

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If you’re thinking about trying to breed puppies with your female dog, you might be wondering if it’s worth it. How much money can you really make from a litter of puppies? Well, it depends. From stud fees to vet bills, I’ll give you a great cost breakdown and then you can decide for yourself if it’s worth it.

So, I’m not a professional breeder. I’m a backyard breeder or a hobby breeder. My husband and I just decided to try breeding our dark red golden retriever. This was our first year trying it out. Overall, it was such a fun experience and it’s not as hard as you might think to be a good breeder and a responsible breeder. My kids loved playing with the puppies, we learned a lot and yes, we earned a little bit of play money. Here’s a breakdown of all the costs that we incurred along the way.

Expenses to breed puppies

Here’s a look at the average cost of what we spent in order to breed and sell a litter of golden retriever puppies:

• Female Purebred Golden Retriever (with breeding rights): $1500
• American Kennel Club registration for mom: $75
• Stud dog for breeding (stud service fee): $750
• Digital scale (to weigh each puppy): $20.35
• Deworming medicine: $25.49
• Puppy food (6, 20-lb bags solid food for mom and puppies): $108
• Dew claw trimmer: $13
• AKC online litter application: $118
• Veterinary care health check, vaccines, dewormer: $350
• Puppy collars: $10.49
• Marketing to sell the puppies: $60
• Dog sitter while we were out of town: $150

TOTAL COST: $3,180

Additional purchases for puppy litters

There were a few items that we didn’t need to purchase because we borrowed them or they were given to us. But these items were nonetheless, very helpful:

• Dog crate (for transporting puppies to the vet): $55
• Puppy play pen (to contain puppies in one area): $40
• Health testing – OFA hips, shoulder, eyes exam for mom: $200-$500
• Whelping/birthing box (for mom and puppies): $70
• Whelping box liner: $12
• Puppy warming mat (to keep puppies warm after birth): $23
• Heat lamp: $20
• Artificial insemination: Costs vary

There are other basic costs that I didn’t list above such as poop bags, premium food, neuter surgery, adoption fees, puppy packs and pet insurance that might not apply to your situation.

A whelping box is a must. Your puppies with spend the first four weeks in your whelping box. My sister-in-law made her own and let us borrow hers. It was a life-saver. Or you can just buy your own whelping box on Amazon. I found a puppy play pen at a yard sale and it was really helpful to have after four weeks when the puppies are getting bigger and running around.

Grand total from our puppy litter

We originally started to breed puppies, we thought that the cost of a puppy would be $2,000 each. But after no phone calls from potential buyers for a couple weeks, we slowly had to drop the price of a puppy. Of course different breeds vary in cost, but because the mom and dad didn’t have an OFA score for hips, shoulders and eyes, we couldn’t charge top dollar for our puppies. Instead, we settled charging the following for our puppies:

• Girls: $1,100
• Boys: $1,000
• Breeding rights: Additional $300

After all of our puppies were sold to their new owners, six people bought breeding rights for the girls. We also had to provide a $100 discount for four of the puppies because we didn’t cut their dew claws deep enough and they grew back. Here’s how much money we ended up earning once all of the puppies were sold:

• Puppy expenses: $3,180
• Puppy income: $10,800

GRAND TOTAL: $7,620

What I would do differently

Overall, I feel like the effort to breed puppies was definitely worth it. Even though it is hard work, we pocketed more than $7,000 (which is a lot of money) and it was a fun experience for the whole family. However, there’s a few things I would do differently the next time:

1. Let the vet remove the dew claws

Okay, you’re basically clipping off a toe on each paw of these tiny puppies. They cry and I feel like crying too. Plus, we didn’t even cut deep enough and four of the dew claws grew back. It was a mess. It costs $12-15 per puppy to have the vet do it and I feel like that is well worth the money.

2. Get an OFA hip, shoulder and eye exam

This exam is kind of pricey, but people who are buying puppies want to make sure they won’t have bad hips (hip dysplasia), shoulders or eyes. However, you can’t do this until your dog is 2 years old. Our dog was one month shy of being two years old when she had her litter and that’s why we didn’t do it. But we are planning on it. Then you can sell your puppies for more money as well. It’s a best practice for adult dogs.

3. Market our puppies nationwide in the United States

Puppies in some states, like Utah where we live, don’t sell for as much. But we were new at breeding so we only advertised locally. If you want to make more money, advertise your pups on the AKC Marketplace or Good Dog. You’ll get more money for each puppy.

Overall we were really happy with how everything turned out. We learned a lot and I think we will probably try to get another litter or two out of our cute Ruby. Regardless of whether you have Great Danes, German Shepherds, smaller dogs or large dogs, hopefully this blog post helped give you a good idea whether or not breeding will be worth it to you.

Check out this cute video of our puppies playing for five minutes straight!

Do you have any other suggestions on approximate costs when dog breeding to save some extra money and extra costs? Leave your comments below.

Related link: How to raise a puppy without going crazy

The post How much does it cost to breed puppies? Expense breakdown appeared first on My Silly Squirts.

Everyone likes a good DIY project. But if you’re going to put in all that time and effort, you might as well make sure it looks good. A kitchen table refinish is no exception. Here’s 10 things I learned along the way that I wish I had known before I started. Check it out.

So, this kitchen table originally belonged to my grandma. My sister used it for 11 years and finally it got passed on to me. Refinishing a table is much cheaper than buying a brand new one so I knew I was up for the task. However, there were a few mistakes that I make along the way. Here’s what I wish I would have known before my kitchen table refinish.

#1: A kitchen table refinish is a marathon not a sprint

If you think you’re going to have this simple project done over the weekend. Think again. If you want it done right, it’s going to take a while. Several layers of sanding, three layers of paint, staining and three layers of polyurethane. Yep. That’s what it is going to take. But if you’ve accepted that from the beginning, you are less likely to cut corners and end up with a less-than appealing end result.

#2: Use an electric sander

Your paint and your stain won’t adhere to the table unless you sand off all of the finish. This takes time and if you’re doing it by hand, you might go crazy. Spend 50 bucks and invest in an electric sander. You will thank me later. I like the Ryobi Orbit Sander. It’s easy to hold and include a dust bag as well. But really any electric sander will do.

I started with a sandpaper with 80 grit to remove the finish. Then 180 grit to prepare the surface and finally a 320 grit to complete the finish. You can also sand parts of the table that don’t have a flat surface by hand.

#3: Sand in between layers

I know. It sounds weird. But when you light sand each paint layer with a really fine sandpaper, it removes the stroke marks from the paint brush and gives it a really professional, clean look.

#4: Don’t aim for perfection

You’re most likely not doing this DIY project to sell in a professional furniture store. If it’s just going in your kitchen, don’t stress if it’s not perfect. You might have a paint glob here or there or a stroke marks. I figure it just adds character.

#5: Layers, layers, layers

I mentioned this earlier, but the more layers you can add, the better, especially the polyurethane. A kitchen table is the most highly-used piece of furniture in your hope. If you skimp on the layers, you’re going to get knicks right away and it’s going to look kind of crappy.

#6: Choose a dark stain

If you’re looking for a dark stain, just remember it always turns out lighter than you think. I originally used a dark walnut on the top of the table and chairs. It definitely was too light. I end up using the darkest stain I could find which was Varathane ebony wood stain. Then I was able to achieve the look I was hoping for.

#7: Apply a spray polyurethane

They have come a long way with polyurethanes. Save yourself a lot of time and spray the polyurethane on all the surfaces that aren’t flat. I used Varathane Ultimate Spray Polyurethane. Make sure you apply at least three layers of polyurethane. This is what is going to make your table last through the years without any chips or dings. Trust me. It is worth the time, effort and money. Plus, it will make a smoother finish.

#8: Carefully consider oil-based vs. water-based

The jury is still out whether oil-based stains and polyurethanes or water-based is the way to go. I used oil-based because it penetrates the wood and looks better years down the road. According to stormsystem.com, here’s some pros and cons to consider:

Water based stain advantages:

• Dry quickly
• Keep its color for a longer period of time
• Provides a richer hue of color
• No harmful odor or fumes, not flammable
• Breathable stain
• Easier cleanup
• Extremely mildew and mold resistant

Oil-based stain advantages:

• Requires more time to dry which allows for a more even finish
• Penetrates wood deeper
• Extremely durable
• Thicker seal for wood
• Less long-term maintenance

#9: Wait until completely dry

After one day, you might think your finish is completely dry, but think again. You’ll wait to hold off on sitting at and using your table until at least three days. Unless you don’t mind Levi marks forever left on the seats of your chairs.

#10: A plastic table cloth is your friend

After you’ve slaved away for days and days on your table, the last thing you want is for your five-year-old to carve a tic-tac-toe game into your beautiful finish. Yes, that did happen to me. Placing a simple plastic table cloth over your table will provide a simple protection to keep your table looking as good as the day your finished it. I bought an Elaine Karen Clear Tablecloth on Amazon for less than $9 and it is perfect.

What other ideas do you have to make your kitchen table refinish a success? Leave your comments below.

Related link: Step-by-step dresser makeover for $20

The post 10 things I wish I knew before my kitchen table refinish appeared first on My Silly Squirts.

Whether you’ve been assigned to decorate the teacher’s door for appreciation week or you’re celebrating a birthday, this door decoration is super simple and perfect for any age or gender. Plus, download your free printable that will help you get started. Check it out!

So, who doesn’t like to do the dab? I know my kids do. That’s why I knew this cute and super decoration on our garage door would be exactly what my son would want. Plus, you don’t have to just stop at birthdays. You can use this door decoration for Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, Teacher Appreciation Week and the list goes on. So, here’s how I did it:

Gather your door decoration supplies

The beauty of this project is that it doesn’t require very many supplies. You’ll need the following:

• White, black and yellow butcher paper (at least 7 feet long and 3 feet wide, depending on the size of your door)
• Scissors
• Glue or tape

You can also switch up the colors to whatever you want. I chose black for the person, white for the letters and yellow for the background. Adjust this decoration however you like.

Download, print and cut out your letters

You can print out your letters for this poster by clicking the link below. Or if you prefer, you can also just write the phrase directly on the poster instead of printing it out. I designed the letters on an 11×17 printout. So, you can just email the file to your local printer and they can print it for you.

Click here for your free printable door decoration letters

Hang up each piece

Start hanging up your poster one piece at a time. First hang the main poster. Then add the cut out letters. You can glue them on or tape them.

Finally, you’ll need to free-hand draw the image of the dabbing man, cut it out and glue it to the poster. I would recommend cutting out the man in pieces so there’s a defined outline kind of like the picture below.

Write kind notes on the poster

Whoever this poster is for, whether it’s a teacher, child or parent, use the empty space on the poster to write a kind note to them. The more notes the better to make that person feel extra special. I know my son loved all the notes from his brothers.

Here’s a link to those letters that you can cut out for your door decoration below just in case you missed it.

Click here for your free printable door decoration letters

What are some other door decoration ideas do you have? Leave them in the comments below.

Related link: DIY Pallet front door sign

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Let’s celebrate all the dad’s in our lives with this Father’s Day Treasure Hunt that is guaranteed to bring a smile to his face. Plus, this printable is an instant download. Check it out.

Father’s Day is one of those really special days of the year when you want to honor those important men in your life. That’s why this easy treasure hunt is a great way to show your dad and your husband that you really do appreciate and love them. Plus, my kids think this is super fun. Here’s what you’ll need to do:

Print your Father’s Day Treasure Hunt printable

Alrighty, I designed this printable on 8.5×11 dimensions so it’s easily printable from home. Just click on the link below.

Click here for your Father’s Day Treasure Hunt PDF

Hide your clues throughout your house

The beauty of this treasure hunt is that all the clues direct you to easy locations that can be found in any home. That way even little kids can participate in the fun. Although, you can still hide your clues really hard to make it a challenge for dad.

Enjoy your treasure hunt

Yep! That’s it. Make sure you hide a fun surprise at the end in the car or else it will defeat the whole purpose. It’s super fun to involve the kids too. You can let them hide the clues and everyone can find them together.

Do you have any other ideas to celebrate Father’s Day? Leave your comments below. Here’s some other fun ideas to celebrate that special dad in your life:

• Father’s Day Coupon Printables
• Three free printable Father’s Day cards
• How to make a paper bag father’s day book
• All about my dad free printable

Just in case you missed it, below is the link to the treasure hunt one more time.

Click here for your Father’s Day Treasure Hunt PDF

Related link: Birthday treasure hunt for all ages

The post Fun and easy Father’s Day Treasure Hunt appeared first on My Silly Squirts.

If you are a new mom or dad, then you need to learn how to properly swaddle a baby. It will make your life and your baby’s life so much easier. And it’s not that hard to swaddle. It just takes a little bit of practice. So here we go!

Before the birth of my first baby, I was shown a video that detailed the importance of swaddling. I was hooked. So from the moment my first child was born and for each of my five kids, I have swaddled my babies. Now I’m here to pass on my knowledge to you.

Why swaddle a baby?

It might seem like a lot of work to swaddle a baby all of the time, but the positive impact it has on your child is amazing. According to Intermountain Healthcare, here’s just a few benefits of swaddling:

• Swaddling protects your baby against their natural startle reflex, which means better sleep for both of you
• Helps calm a colicky baby
• Assists in eliminating anxiety in your baby by imitating your touch, which helps your baby learn to self-sooth
• Keeps her hands off her face and helps prevent scratching
• Helps your baby sleep longer and better
• Helps prevent SIDS by keeping unnecessary items like pillows, blankets, and stuffed animals out of your baby’s crib
• Keeps your baby on his back while he sleeps

Use the right blanket

You don’t need a special swaddling blanket in order to swaddle a baby. Basically you just need to make sure it it large enough to swaddle your baby without any problem.

Here’s blankets that I DO NOT recommend for swaddling:

• Muslin blankets: These are too stretchy and you can’t get a good, tight swaddle. Instead, these are great for the summer time when it’s super hot outside and your baby needs a light blanket to cover her.
• Silky blankets: Although these blankets are soft and comfy, they are super slippery. Your baby will fall right out of your arms if you try to swaddle them in these.
• Sleep sacks: These are ideal for babies who are a little bit older. But if we’re talking about newborns to 3 months old, you’ll want a traditional blanket. Sleep sacks just don’t wrap your baby tight enough and they can break free and wake themselves up very easily.

Here’s some blankets that I DO recommend for swaddling:

• Fleece blankets: With just the right amount of stretch, these blankets are perfect to swaddle a baby.
• Receiving blankets: These are super handy and are perfect for a good swaddle as well.

Don’t stress to much about finding the perfect blanket. And don’t spend a bunch of money buying a fancy swaddling blanket. A regular blanket should do the trick.

Eight steps to a good swaddle

There are eight main steps to a swaddling. The key is to keep the blanket tight. Don’t be afraid to make the swaddle really snug. You want your baby to stay in place and not wiggle her arms free.

1. Lay blanket flat like a diamond on the floor or bed.
2. Fold down the top corner to the center of the blanket.
3. Place baby in the center of the blanket with her shoulders just above the folded edge of the blanket.
4. Fold the left corner of the blanket to the right, across the baby. You may need to gently hold down each of the arms one at a time to ensure they are secured by her sides.
5. Tuck the blanket under the baby on the right side.
6. Bring the bottom corner up over her feet.
7. Fold the right corner of the blanket to the left, across the baby.
8. Tuck the blanket underneath the baby and back over the top.

If you would like a printable version of these step-by-step swaddling instructions, feel free to download our FREE printable PDF by clicking on the link below:

Click here for your free printable instructions about “How to swaddle a baby”

Of course, if the instructions above aren’t helpful enough, feel free to watch my YouTube video about how to swaddle a baby. It’s super easy and after just a few tries, you’ll be a pro.

Related link: Advanced Maternal Age: Pregnancy after age 35

The post How to swaddle a baby (the easy way) appeared first on My Silly Squirts.

Tye dye is like the fashion trend that always seems to stay in style. And you don’t have to spend a fortune. Just grab a white t-shirt and try it out. You’ll be surprised how easy it is. Here’s five easy and awesome tye dye t-shirt techniques that you and your kids can do at home today.

I’ve always been intimidated by tye dye projects as if they were too difficult. But when my oldest wanted to do a tye dye t-shirt, I figured let’s give it a try. We had a lot of fun and I realized that it’s super easy! Here’s five different techniques that you can use.

Gather your tye dye t-shirt supplies

The easiest way to start your first tye dye project is to just purchase a kit online. It gives you all of the instructions and it makes it super easy. Here’s what you’ll need:

• Fashion Tie Dye Kit (includes dispensers with dye, rubber bands, gloves and instructions)
• White cotton t-shirts (make sure you buy them one size too big because they will shrink in the wash)
• Garbage bags
• Water

Technique #1: Ombre

This is the easiest technique and my favorite. Choose one dye color of your choice and apply a liberal amount on the upper 1/3 of the t-shirt. Make sure there is no white showing. Then, dilute the dye with water and apply more dye on the middle 1/3 of the t-shirt. Finally, leave the bottom 1/3 of the t-shirt white.

Technique #2: Crumple

Crumple is exactly what the name implies. Just crumple the shirt up by starting with a pinch in the middle and slowly add more pinches until it’s a ball. Then add an combination of colors sporadically over the entire t-shirt. Add as little or as much as you want.

Technique #3: Sponging

Fill one end of a clean household sponge with your chosen dye color. Wipe the sponge across the t-shirt or use whatever pattern you would like. Be generous with the dye because it will turn out very light-colored when it dries if you don’t use enough. Dip the other end of the sponge with another color and apply another design if desired.

Technique #4:

Locate on your t-shirt where you want sunbursts. Then, pinch each area and bind with a rubber band. Soak the tip of fabric above the rubber band with dye. Continue this with the other areas. Then soak the remaining areas of the t-shirt with as little or as much dye as you would like with the color of your choosing.

Technique #5: Rainbow swirls

Decide where you want your rainbow swirl to be on the t-shirt. Then pinch the fabric and begin twisting into a flat spiral. You should end up with a clump-like flat ball. Bind it together with three rubber bands creating six wedge shapes. Apply a different color on eat wedge defined by the rubber bands. Be sure to apply the dye deep into the folds.

What other tye dye t-shirt techniques do you recommend? Leave your comments below.

Related link: DIY popsicle stick catapult

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This do-it-yourself shark wall hanging is the perfect addition to any boy’s bedroom. Plus, it’s surprisingly easier than you might think and you’ll save money in the process. So, check it out.

So, we originally hot the idea for this wall hanging when we were at Hobby Lobby. My son found a similar shark (see image below) that he really wanted for his bedroom. I took one look at it and thought, “I could make that.” Plus, I didn’t want to pay $50 for it either. And that’s how our DIY masterpiece came about. Here’s how you can make one too.

Gather your Shark Wall Hanging supplies

Most likely, you will have most of what you need at home already. Regardless, you don’t need to spend very much money. Just make a quick run to the hardware store and you’ll be set. Here’s what you’ll need:

• Two pieces of pallet wood or unfinished fence posts
• Jig saw
• Blue and gray paint
• Black permanent marker
• Scrap wood (for the teeth)
• Nails and nail gun
• Wood glue
• Measuring tape

Assemble your wood

First, cut three wood slats into 21-inch lengths. Line the slats up vertically next to each other, leaving a small small between each one. Then attach all three pieces together using a small piece of wood, using a nail gun. The three slats together should be about 16 inches wide. Cut one more piece of wood that is about 20 inches long. This piece will be for the wave at the bottom.

Draw and cut out the shark shape

Using a pencil, draw the outline of the shark directly onto the wood. This will be the template that you will use to cut out the shark. Don’t forget to draw the mouth. But don’t worry about drawing teeth. You’ll do that part later. Then, using a jigsaw, cut out the shape that you outlined.

Paint your wood pieces and nail together

Once everything is cut, paint each piece their correct color and let dry completely. Then, using a nail gun, nail all of the pieces together. Draw two eyes and nostrils using a permanent marker.

Cut and attach the teeth

Your shark wall hanging wouldn’t be complete without some sharp teeth. I just grabbed some scrap wood and cut them into triangles. None of my measurements were precise. They don’t need to since shark teeth are jagged anyway. I arranged them in the shark mouth to make sure they all fit and then I painted and attached them to the shark with a nail gun.

Now you’re done! I think our wall hanging turned out better than the one we found in the store. Plus my son likes it a ton more because he helped make it. It looks great in his bedroom now. This was such a fun activity and we saved a whole bunch of money in the process.

How did you shark turn out? I’d love to see your creation. Leave your comments below.

Related link: Upcycled front door wreath

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A basement swing in almost guaranteed to be the hot item in your house. Plus, it is much easier than you would think to install. Here’s all the information you’ll need to install your own swing in your house today.

So, we installed our basement swing a little over a year ago and it is hands down the most favorite toy in our house. My kids play on it all of the time. It was part of our contemporary basement jungle gym. Plus, it’s waaaaaay easy to install. Keep reading below to learn more.

Important note: Please consult a professional before installing any playground equipment in your home. I am not a professional. This blog post is just meant to give you ideas.

Gather basement swing supplies

You want to make sure you purchase the right supplies for this swing. There is a wide variety of hardware but only certain types can withstand the wear and tear of a playground swing. You can buy these items at Home Depot or Amazon. Here’s what you’ll need:

• Sturdy playground swing
• Swing hangers (highly recommend)
• Screw eye cable and quick link chain (only if you don’t have swing hanger)
• Impact drill

So, we used a screw eye cable and a quick link chain for our swing. These options work, but they are not made specifically for playground equipment. After more than a year of use, the metal on metal friction caused the two pieces of hardware to wear a little bit. Just know that if you use this option, you will probably have to replace the hardware once per year or so. Total cost was less than $50.

Install your swing

First, you’ll need to place your swing in the center of your room. Ensure that there is plenty of room for your swing to have full range of motion. You don’t want a wall or stationary object to be in the way because you kids will definitely swing as high as they can.

You’ll need to use your drill to drill some pilot holes in your ceiling. Place the holes about the same width apart as the width of the seat on the swing directly into the studs in the ceiling. Your swing hanger kit might also include some instructions on placement as well. The point is to make sure it is securely placed on the ceiling. Make sure this piece of hardware is super sturdy and safe. If you’re using a screw eye cable and a quick link chain, follow the same process.

Attach swing and start swinging!

The hard part is done. Now just attach the last link on the swing chains to the swing hanger or the quick link chain and you’re done. Your kids will definitely start playing on it right away.

So, keep in mind that a swing in your house is best for kids who are at least four years old or older. Toddlers have a hard time with spatial awareness. They can get hit by a moving swing very easily. However, my kids have never gotten hurt by our swing. They LOVE it!

I wish we could install more another kids swing in our basement! I often wonder why we didn’t install this swing sooner. Swings don’t need to be limited to just the basement either. If you have a big enough space they could also work in a bedroom or a bonus room. Then add a colorful tile rug, full length mirror or a white blue sectional for an added touch.

This swing was the perfect final touch to our unfinished basement remodel. Although I’m not one of those expert home improvement enthusiasts, I am happy with how it turned out. How did your swing turn out? Leave your comments below.

Related link: How to do the best kids’ bedroom makeover

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If you’re trying to learn how to speak Spanish, then you definitely need these Spanish verb conjugation flash cards. These are the 12 most common verbs that you use in the Spanish language. You can print them at home and carry them with you wherever you go.

As a previous missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I learned how to speak French while living in Paris for a year and a half. So, when I started learning Spanish, I knew that memorizing your most common verb conjugations was key to becoming fluent. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any free Spanish verb flash cards, so I decided to make my own. Print yours right now below.

Print your Spanish verb conjugation flash cards below

These flash cards can be printed at home. The catch is, you need to make sure that you print them double- sided. If your printer doesn’t print double-sided, you can just email this PDF to your local copy store. Tell them you need them printed double-sided and make sure they match the correct verbs together. I would also recommend laminating your flash cards so they will last a lot longer. To get started, click the link below. I offer this printable for FREE to all visitors of my blog, but if you’d like to show your support, feel free to buy me a taco .

Click here for your FREE Spanish Verb Conjugation Flash Cards

Cut and hole punch your flash cards

Once your print your flash cards, use a paper cutter and carefully cut your flash cards. You should end up with 12 double-sided Spanish flash cards. Then add a hole punch on the same spot on each card and add a book ring. You should end up with some cute and handy flash cards.

Start memorizing your Spanish verbs

The best part of these flash cards is that each of the 12 verbs includes conjugations for present, preterite (past), imperfect, future and conditional. If you can memorize these verbs like the back of your hand, you will be well on your way to fluency in the Spanish language.

I really like to keep these flash cards in my purse. Then I can practice my Spanish verb conjugations while I’m waiting for carpool, standing in line at the grocery store or sitting in the waiting room at the doctor.

I hope these flash cards will help you as you are learning how to speak Spanish. It’s doesn’t have to be difficult if you just take a few minutes every day. Let me know what you thought. Leave your comments below. Here’s the link one more time if you missed it. I offer this printable for FREE to all visitors of my blog, but if you’d like to show your support, feel free to buy me a taco .

Click here for your FREE Spanish Verb Conjugation Flash Cards

Related link: Five ways I practice my Spanish everyday from home

The post Print 12 free common Spanish verb conjugation flash cards appeared first on My Silly Squirts.

Instead of shelling out a bunch of cash for a brand new beautiful front door wreath, just upcycle an old one. It’s cheaper and fun. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by the results. Check it out.

I got the idea for this project when my mother-in-law asked me if I wanted an old front door wreath that she didn’t want anymore. I knew it needed a little TLC and it would look better than ever. So, I accepted the challenge. This is how it turned out and how you can make one too.

Gather front door wreath supplies

If you don’t have an old wreath to upcycle, then you can just buy all of the supplies. Either way, it’s a fun DIY project. Here’s what you’ll need:

• Old wreath or grapevine wreath
• Greenery
• Burlap (for the bow)
• Wooden “Hello” or “Welcome” sign
• White paint
• Floral wire
• Hot glue gun

Remove old wreath decorations

First, you’ll want to remove all the old decorations that are attached to the old grapevine wreath. Make sure you get any loose floral wires or hot glue. Then you should have a clean slate to work with.

Attach the greenery

Using some floral wire and/or a hot glue gun, attach the greenery to about 75% of the wreath. I used four lengths of greenery of varied lengths. I figured out where I was going to place the bow and added the greenery in both directions from that spot. Make sure it is attached firmly so it won’t fall off.

Make and attach your bow

Take your burlap and make a large bow. This helpful video will show you how to make your own burlap bow in just a few steps. Then, using the floral wire, attach the bow to the wreath.

Paint and attach wood wording

Last, but not least, paint your cute wood wording and then attach it to your wreath on the bottom-right corner where there is no greenery. You can paint it whatever color you would like. I chose white so it would stand out. I was able to attach mine with hot glue but you can use floral wire as well.

I completed this entire project in about an hour. That’s it. And in all, I think I spent about $15. That’s a lot cheaper than the brand new wreath you buy at the store for $70-80. Plus, I can pretty much have this hanging up all year long if I want to. How did you wreath turn out? Leave your comments below.

Related link: DIY Pallet Front Door Sign

The post Upcycled front door wreath on the cheap! appeared first on My Silly Squirts.

About two months ago, my blog was doing the best it is has ever done. Then, overnight my views plummeted and my Pinterest impressions tanked. I had no idea what was happening and in desperation, I scoured the internet to figure out what was going on. Then I found out that Pinterest de-indexed my pins. Here’s my story.

So, I am not writing this post to complain about Pinterest. I am simply explaining my experience in hopes that I can help someone else who might be in a similar situation. So, if your blog views have tanked and you have no idea why, hopefully this post will help you. Check it out.

Did rapid following trigger my account?

This all began one day when I was following some individuals on Pinterest on my friend’s account. I followed about six people in quick succession and then a warning window popped up. It said, “Spamming, try again later.” Surprised, I stopped following. I had heard of this happening to other people’s accounts. I was reassured from other bloggers that if my account was flagged, it should go back to normal within 24 hours. So, I didn’t worry too much about it.

Now, I’m not sure if following people in quick succession was why Pinterest de-indexed my pins but I think it might have triggered something in their system. But at this point, I didn’t even know my pins were de-indexed yet. So, I started doing a little bit of digging.

Blog views dropped

Almost immediately after I received that warning on Pinterest, my blog views began dropping. I went from a high of 1,343 views in one day all the way down to a mere 162 views in a matter of weeks. I was totally confused.

After reviewing my Google Analytics, I determined that the source all of my views were at normal level except for Pinterest. Since the majority of my views come from Pinterest, I knew this is where the problem was occurring.

Figuring out what was wrong with my Pinterest account

In many cases, when you are in violation with Pinterest’s rules of conduct, your account may be suspended and your impressions will drop to zero. Plus your account is not searchable. However, my account wasn’t suspended and my domain wasn’t blocked. Then, after some research I found a website that explained my situation exactly.

My account received a sudden drop in impressions on Pinterest, a drop in traffic and also the most unusual issue – all of my pins were gone from Pinterest search results (de-indexed). All of my impressions didn’t drop to 0 as it happens when a domain is blocked. They stayed at a low level as my new pins were only shown to the followers of the affected accounts.

Contacting Pinterest to fix the problem

This was the most frustrating part of this entire ordeal. It wasn’t the fact that Pinterest didn’t get back with me, it’s the fact that I felt like they weren’t listening me. First of all, you can’t simply call Pinterest. You have to submit a ticket in their help center online. I must have submitted 10 different tickets. At first I received a bunch of automatic responses. So, I kept replying directly to those responses until an actual person responded to my email.

When I was finally able to get someone to respond to my situation (after I felt like I was begging for help). They kept telling me that my account wasn’t flagged. Instead they told me to just keep posting high-quality content. I felt like they knew there was a bug in their system but they wouldn’t admit to it.

After many, many correspondences, I was able to get a somewhat helpful response from a different Pinterest representative. He basically said that there is a problem and they are working to resolve it. So, Pinterest didn’t help me with my account and I had to just wait and trust that the problem would resolve itself.

My account normalized weeks later

So, after about three weeks of devastating low views on my blog, all of a sudden, my impressions on Pinterest started going up. Now, they didn’t return to the levels that they were before Pinterest de-indexed my pins, at least my blog could survive. Also, all of my pins were searchable again. They just suddenly re-appeared when I would search for them on Pinterest. Although relieved, I was a bit discouraged because now I don’t know when this is going to happen again.

Hopefully this post was helpful for you. Unfortunately, if this same thing has happened to you, it might just be a matter of waiting until your views and impressions go back up. I am grateful for Pinterest because I receive a lot of traffic from them, I just wish I knew why my account dropped.

Related link: How to defrost your freezer the easy way

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Now that summer is over and winter is just around the corner, it’s time for you to winterize your RV if you don’t have any plans of taking it out for winter vacations. However, it’s not as easy as simply finding a parking and storage space for your rig. If you just store your RV without preparing it for the cold temperatures, you’ll most likely come back to a dead vehicle come spring.

Luckily, winterization isn’t that difficult a process! You just need to give your RV a little bit of extra TLC before storing it for the winter.

Here’s how to winterize your RV in three easy steps.

Step #1: Winterize your RV’s systems

The most important step that you need to take is to winterize your RV’s internal systems. This includes the plumbing, the batteries, and the HVAC system.

1. Plumbing system
   Your RV’s plumbing system runs through your whole rig, and it refers to both the bathroom and the kitchen. 
   
   First, you need to turn off the water heater, and then drain all the remaining water from the pipes. If the pipes have any water remaining, the water can solidify and crack the pipes. Open all the faucets simultaneously to ensure that all the water is flushed out completely. Once all the water has been drained, refill the system with antifreeze. Make sure that the whole system is filled with antifreeze so that all your pipes and drains are protected.
   
   For larger RVs, you might need to refer to the owner’s manual for any extra winterization steps.
   
2. Batteries
   While RV batteries are made to withstand extreme temperatures, they are not designed to withstand long periods of idleness during winter. For smaller RVs with single batteries, it is a simple matter to disconnect the battery and store it for the winter. However, if you have a large RV with multiple batteries, you should refer to the owner’s manual. In some cases, it might even be better to keep these batteries installed because it can be difficult to remove them without specialized tools and knowledge. If this is the case for you, check the battery charge level throughout the storage period and recharge when needed.
   
3. HVAC system
   When preparing to store your RV for the winter, don’t forget to clean out your RV’s HVAC system. You don’t want any dirt or grime being stored inside your HVAC system for months because they can trap moisture and cause mold and mildew to grow inside your RV.
   
   Replace any filters that are old or broken, or clean filters that are dirty but still usable.

Step #2: Protecting the interior

A dirty RV that’s in storage during the winter is basically a haven for critters and bacteria. If you don’t take the time to clean out your RV before storing it, you’ll have a very unpleasant surprise when spring comes!

General cleaning is great, but you also have to pay extra attention to those nooks and crannies that can be used as hiding spaces. Take out all clothing, blankets, and other items that critters can use to make a nest. If possible, remove cushions and mattresses as well. However, if these are too large, you should at least prop them up against walls to allow air to circulate around them.

Make sure that your RV interior is as clean and dry as possible before putting it in storage. You can also put in dehumidifiers to prevent mold and mildew from building up. 

Step #3: Protecting the exterior

The exterior of your RV also deserves some TLC to prepare it for winter. Clean the exterior thoroughly then apply a coating of good quality wax to protect it from moisture and the cold. You can even place a breathable shell on top for further protection.

Winterize your RV conclusion

Winterizing your RV is an important step that you need to take to ensure that you have a working RV to come back to in the spring. Luckily, these three steps are easy to do and they take minimal effort and equipment. Even if you have a large RV, the basic steps will be the same. You just need to refer to it to make sure that you also perform any extra steps needed to fully protect your RV this coming winter.

Need more recommendations to make the most out of your RV experience? Visit the Bayside RV for more tips at http://www.baysiderv.com.

Related link: Camping trailers: 25+ dos and don’ts for your next trip

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The last thing you have time for during the holidays is spending hours in the kitchen making homemade treats for all of your neighbors. Well, this butter cookie Christmas gift is the easiest and cutest solution that will save your time, money and sanity. Check it out!

So, I thought of this gift while I was shopping at the Dollar Store. They sell these cute little tins of Danish Style Butter Cookies. I bought like twenty of them and just knew it would be the perfect gift for my neighbors for Christmas. Here’s how you can make yours.

Print your FREE Butter Cookie Christmas gift tags

So, the tag is what makes this Christmas neighbor gift extra-awesome. Lucky for you, it’s free! Just click on the link below and print it out. I offer this printable for FREE to all visitors of my blog, but if you’d like to show your support, feel free to buy me a taco .

Click here for your Butter Cookie Christmas gift tags

Gather your supplies

So, the beauty of this neighbor gift is its simplicity. Aside from the printable tags above, you only need a few supplies:

• Danish Style Butter Cookies (4oz or 12 oz)
• Christmas ribbon
• Hole punch
• Scissors
• Candy canes (optional)

Assemble your Christmas gift

Tie a cute bow around your butter cookie tin and attach your gift tag and that’s it! I also added a couple of candy canes on the top. This is a much better option that stirring over a hot stove waiting for your homemade caramels to cook. So, you’re welcome!

I hope these turned out the way you hoped. What other ideas do you have for neighbor Christmas gifts? Leave your ideas in the comments below.

Related link: 20 DIY Christmas Neighbor Gift Ideas

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O-M-Gosh! This do-it-yourself witch’s cauldron is so easy and flipping cute. It’s perfect for your front porch Halloween display or a spooky decor in your home. So let’s brew up something cute together.

You’ll be amazed at how easy this DIY project is and the results are fabulous. I made this cauldron as an accessory to my witch on my front porch and they look fabulous together. So, let’s get started!

Gather your witch’s cauldron supplies

First, you need to make sure that you have all the supplies necessary. Here’s the list:

• Large plastic cauldron
• Old sheets or blankets
• 2 cans of expanding foam
• Lime green spray paint
• Polyurethane spray
• Green foam balls
• Plastic eyeballs
• Other spooky decorations such as spiders, snakes and skulls

#1: Fill your cauldron

Now that you have all your supplies, fill your cauldron with old sheets or small blankets that you don’t need anymore. Leave about an inch of space below the top of the cauldron. Then, spray one layer of expanding foam to just above the lip of the cauldron and let it dry.

After your first layer has dried, add another layer on top of that. Spray the foam in excess near the edges so that it oozes over the side. But don’t spray too much that it drips right off the cauldron. Be generous, this is a boiling pot of witch’s brew after all.

Just make sure you don’t touch the expanding foam. I made that mistake and couldn’t get it off my hands for days!! Right after you’re done with your second layer, sprinkle the green foam balls all over the foam before it dries.

#2: Paint

Next, cover the plastic cauldron with a garbage bag. Make sure there’s no black showing so it doesn’t accidentally get painted. Then spray all of the foam with lime green spray paint. This will help keep the foam balls in place as well. Your witch’s cauldron should start looking pretty spooky right about now.

#3: Decorate

Finally, the really fun part. Grab some plastic eyeballs and hot glue them all over the green witch’s brew. Add as many as you would like. You can also add spiders, snake and mini skulls. Whatever you want! As a last step, I sprayed a later of polyurethane all over the brew so the little foam balls didn’t fall off. It helped a lot.

This DIY witch’s cauldron couldn’t have been easier. Plus, this will be a permanent feature in our Halloween decoration for years to come.

You can complete the ensemble with a witch’s broom or a creepy life-size witch. You’re going to love it. Let me know how it turns out. Leave your comments below.

Related link: How to make your own Halloween witch lawn decoration

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Spice up your front yard this year by making your own spooky Halloween tree lawn decoration. It’s actually super easy and super eye-catching. You and your neighbors will love it. Check it out.

The reason why I made this awesome spooky tree was for the annual Thanksgiving Point Scarecrow Festival. This will be my fourth year entering the festival. So, I was really excited when I found this awesome video that gave me step-by-step instructions. I decided to try it out myself with a few adjustments. Check it out.

Gather your spooky Halloween tree supplies

All together, it cost me about $50 for all of my supplies, which isn’t much considering how much those life-size Halloween lawn decorations cost at the store. Here’s what you’ll need:

• 2 concrete tube forms 10″ x 48″ You can also special order an 8-foot concrete form that is 14 inches around but I didn’t have time. You can find these at most hardware stores or buy online on Amazon.
• 2 1x3x8 planks of wood
• 3×3 plywood
• Gorilla glue
• Duct tape
• Short wood screws
• Butcher paper
• Spray adhesive
• Gray exterior latex paint
• Polyurethane spray
• Black spray paint
• 4 heavy duty “L” brackets
• Floral moss
• Artificial leaves
• Twine
• Halloween decorations like pumpkins, spiders, lantern and/or skeleton bird

Assemble your spooky tree

I put together my spooky tree over the course of a few days. But you could really do it in an afternoon if you wanted to. Here’s what you’ll need to do to assemble your spooky Halloween tree:

Tape together the two concrete forms to make one tube that is a little less than 8 feet tall. Then, using a permanent marker, draw a large mouth, eyes and jagged shapes on the upper section of the tree. You can be as creative as you would like. Then, with a sharp knife or a jigsaw, cut out the shapes you just drew.

Cut the planks of wood so they are the same height of the tree. Glue them to the inside of the tree using Gorilla glue and then secure along the length of the tree on both sides with wood screws. You may have to wait for the glue to dry overnight.

Cover the exterior of the tree

Crumple up pieces of butcher paper, lay it flat and spray with adhesive. Then attach to the tree. Continue the process until the entire tree is covered. Poke through the sections where the eyes and mouth are and fold in and secure with duct tape. Careful not to get the spray adhesive on your hands. It’s super annoying to get off!

2. Paint the entire tree with gray exterior latex paint. Allow to dry and then spray with polyurethane to give it a protective coat. Then, spray the inside of the tree where the mouth and eyes are with black spray paint.

Secure tree to base and add branches

Finally, screw two “L” brackets to the bottom of the tree directly into the plank boards on the inside and to the plywood base. This will allow you tree to stand upright without falling. Then, screw in two “L” brackets higher up on the tree to the sides of the mouth on both sides.

Find two creepy branches. Make sure they’re not to heavy since they will be supported by the “L” brackets. Clear away any extra dead leaves and screw the branches directly on top of the “L” brackets. The end of the branch should be flush with the tree.

Decorate your spooky tree

Now for the fun part! Glue some floral moss onto the base and then hot glue some artificial fall leaves on the base as well. Cut a small hole into some of the leaves and then tie them with twine onto the branches.

Glue some creepy spiders climbing up the tree. Add a skeleton bird to one of the branches and hang a small lantern. Finally, stack some pumpkins in the corners for a final touch.

I hope you like the way your spooky Halloween tree turned out. This is a great decoration that you can put in your front yard every year. Just unscrew the base and the branches when you want to store it. Voila!

Related link: DIY life-size Blobby from Hotel Transylvania

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