Try it Tuesday- Hand print Pillowcases

This last weekend my brother and his family moved to Denver. I wanted to do something that would help the kids with this move. They are very close. The cousin group got together at least once a week to play together. I wanted to make sure they remembered how much they all loved each other so we made a hand print pillowcases. 

This is a simple and fun project. The hardest part was actually finding the right aisle at Michael's to get the paint.

So you need fabric paint, a pillowcase, a foam brush, and a hand. That is it. 

So you simply paint the hand ...

And then press it on the pillowcase

Yup simple. We found we had to move quickly as the paint dried quickly.

When we were finished we wrote the kid's names below their hand print with a fabric marker. We also added a message on a couple of them.

This was a simple easy project and one that will provide great memories for the kids for years to come.

Try it Tuesday- Flag Cake

I remember as a child looking at the magazine covers in the grocery store checkout line. They always had the most delicious looking food on them. There were fun cookies, decadent pastries, and fabulous cakes. My favorite was not the scary Halloween cookies or the fruit pies but the Fourth of July flag cake. I loved this cake, I obsessed about this cake. I had dreams that one day my mom would surprise me and make the cake for me.

I finally made this cake seven years ago. I was so excited. I finally made my cake and it was fabulous. I make it every year now some years I use strawberries, other years I add coconut. But it is my dream cake, the cake I loved in my childhood and one that now my kids look forward to every year.

It is as simple as it looks. Make a white cake, top it with whip cream, and then  develop a flag with fruit. It is a fabulous Fourth of July treat.

Try it Tuesday: 72 Hour kits-the food

So since moving into our new house I have been working on our food storage. I have done pretty well filling our pantry and now it was time to put together our 72 hour kits.

Okay, I am not a doomsdayer. I don't think that the zombie apocalypse is coming. And though the thought of a big Salt Lake Earthquake kept me up at night as a child my fear of something like that has toned down just a little bit. But I do believe in being prepared just in case. You never know when an evacuation might be needed and you never know when disaster will strike. I believe in being prepared, so I figured it was time to get our 72 hour kits ready. So off to Cost-co I went and got some extra food, stuff that had at least a six month shelf life so I would only have to rotate the food twice a year.  

Three meals a and snacks a day, three days, six people that is a ton of food. Here is what we got

Poptarts

Oatmeal

Hot Chocolate

Apple Cider

Gum

Crystal Light

Peanut butter (the individual cups) 

Dried fruit

fruit cups

cup of noodles

Chef Boyardee

Fruit Leather

Granola bars

Water

Assembling these packs was really kinda of fun and I realized after I was finished I hadn't put in the granola bars and had to go back and add them. I also added utensils and napkins and was surprised I could get each day into a gallon ziploc bag (well everything but the water)

Right now these are living in the nice red backpacks that I bought earlier in the year and though these won't hold all the water I need I have that living right next to them so we can grab them and go. I feel a bit better with having this first part of the 72 hour kits done and ready and I am ready to tackle the next part- 72 hour kit entertainment. Wonder how I am going to get those in the backpack.

Try it Tuesday: Duct tape checker boards

Don't you love it when a blog post posts three days before you even wrote it. I guess I hit the wrong button the other day.

Okay welcome to Try it Tuesday. It is summer time and with four kids running around this house I figured I needed something they could do to keep themselves busy. So I usually turn to the stack of magazine pages I have pulled (about ten monthly) and find the simple craft ideas that they have there. While we were up on our cabin trip the kids made Duct tape checker boards, an idea I found in the Family Fun magazine last November. 

This craft was simple and fun to make, the kids did most the work themselves and even though my really nice sewing scissors are now gummed with duct tape this was a great activity.

Here is what you will need:

Roll of duct tape

3 sheets of duct tape (all three different colors)

Gallon Ziploc bag.

24 one inch wooden discs. 

Start by taping the Ziploc bag with the roll of duct tape. You need to be careful to not tape the bag close. You tape both sides of the bag and again need to do your best not to leave gaps in between each row of tape.

After the bag is taped take one of the sheets of duct tape and cut out 16 squares, about 1 1/4 inches by 1 1/4 inches.

Place these in a 4x4 grid  but do not remove the backing until it is situated how you would like. Then remove the backing and place them on the board.

To make the checker pieces turn one of your remaining duct pieces over so the grid sheet is facing you. Trace twelve of your wooden circles then cut those out. Do the same on the remaining duct tape piece and remaining wooden circles.

After they are cut out peel off the backings and place on the wooden discs.

That's it. You are finished. It is fabulous and fun and the kids love it.

Try it Tuesday:Baby Towels

In my younger singler years when a family member or a friend announced a pregnancy I would whip out my knitting needles and within a month have a fun little baby sweater that would be delivered or mailed to the expectant mother. I loved knitting and it really only took me a few weeks of watching Doctor Who or Buffy to knock out a sweater. 

Then I got married and had kids. No longer were my evenings my own and though I loved the change my knitting time went to nearly nothing. In fact poor Matthew didn't even get a sweater until he was 18 month old  (I started it four months before he was born). I still wanted to give a homemade baby gift though and was at a loss of what to do.

Inspiration struck one day after getting Matty out of the bath, I wrapped him in a towel that a neighbor had made for us and that I loved. Here is the reason I loved it- it was big enough to wrap him in and the hood covered his whole head, not just part of it. After almost two years of use it has held up and it wasn't flimsy, it was a good thick towel.  I looked at how my neighbor had put Matty's together and made my own.  In fact I made five of them. I just wish I had taken pictures to walk you through the set up

So here is what you need:

2 wash clothes

1 towel

3 yards of ribbon

To make hood:

Sew together two sides of the wash clothes (thing of it as the top and back)

then sew some of the ribbon on to the front of your hood. I usually put it about two inches from the end.

To make hooded towel:

Sew the ribbon horizontal across the towel about four to five inches from the bottom. 

Attach the hood to the towel 

These are quick and easy shower gifts or just fun for your own little one.