Easy Kids Christmas Craft

As a girl scout leader for a local browine troop, I am always looking for fun, simple and adorable craft projects that I can do with my brownies girl scouts.  Here is one of the projects we did.

Items you will need:

• Stamp'n up Big show machine
• Stamp'n up Sizzix "Blossom Party" die cut
• Empty cola can
• Votive candle 
• Plain green card stock
• Christmas card stock

First you will need to take your green card stock and cut it out in the shape of a flower petals.  My flower is 3 inches, but  you can make you bigger.  Cut the Christmas card stock  into a 1" strips or a little wider than your votive candle.  You will want to make sure that your strip of card stock are long enough to fit around that candle and leave a little from for a small overlap.  I used tape to secure the Christmas card stock to the candle.    

Now take your cleaned empty cola can and cut it so that it can lay flat.  Using you Big Shot machine, place the aluminium strip (cola can) between the plexiglass and the Stampn' up Sizzix Blossom Party.  Roll it through the machine (I let my Brownies try this step and they had fun.  They loved seeing the pretty flower cut out come out of a used aluminium can).  The Blossom Party" die cut will cut out a flower shape in the aluminium.

Using tape or (stampn' up) dimensional stick the aluminium flower to the green flower.  Place one or two dimensional on the bottom of the votive candle and press it firmly to the aluminium flower.

There you have it a beautiful easy Christmas craft that kids can make.

Giveaway and product review: Seventh Generation and La Creuset

Closed:
The Winner is Deanna of Mommygaga


The power of scent is remarkable.  It can have positive effects on your mood, reduce stress, and even help you sleep better.  But not all scents are created equal.  The fruit, floral and herbal ingredients used to create the scents in Seventh Generation's new natural dish liquid come from fields , not factories.  

• Seventh Generation dish liquid contains only essential oils and botanical extracts, and delivers real cleaning power. Your tableware will be left fresh and ready to serve your next home cooked meal.


• With authentic ingredients like lavender from the fields of Drome in the foothills of the Alps, clementines from sunny Calabria and lemons from the soils of Sicily, Seventh Generation natural dish liquid is free of unnecessary synthetic colors or chemically engineered scents.


• Enter the “Nature Makes Perfect Scents” sweepstakes at seventhgeneration.com/scents and you can have the chance to take a trip for two to visit one of the sourcing sites of Seventh Generation natural dish liquid fragrance ingredients. Visit seventhgeneration.com/scents to learn more about each scent’s origin.

I was inspiration by Seventh Generation's Citrus and Ginger liquid soap to create a new recipe:


Ginger and Sesame Chicken   

Ingredients: 

• 4 tablespoons soy sauce
• 4 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 5-6 small boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 2 cups white Rice
• 2 cups water

 I mixed the first 5 ingredients together in a bowl.  Grilled the chicken on both sides basting it with the mixture.  After the skin is no longer pink (about 5-10 minutes) placed the chicken on top of uncooked rice and water in your 9 X 12 La Creuset baker. Drizzle over any left over sauce and put it in the oven for about 25 to 30 mins at 350 degrees.

  
The food tasted delicious and the whole family loved it.  But now I was left with clean up. So I grabbed my bottle of Seventh Generation liquid dish soap and my Twist© loofah sponges and was ready to clean.   

This is what the La Creuset baker looked like before we washed it.  I was going to show you photos of what the baker looked like after we washed it with Seventh Generation liquid soap, but nothing will show you better then seeing it with you own eyes.  I video taped me washing it from beginning to end and I was shocked as how fast Seventh Generation liquid soap cut the grease, but don't take my word for it.  See how amazingly easy it is to cleaning dishes with Seventh Generation liquid soap.  

I know you cannot smell it, but the Seventh Generation liquid soap scents smells divine.  I love all Seventh Generation liquid soap scents, but I would say my favorite is lavender.  Seventh Generation liquid soap scents are not man made, but natural accruing scents.  I find myself washing my hands with the Seventh Generation liquid soap all day so my hands smell like lavender.  


Now for what you have been waiting for....The giveaway...

Your giveaway Seventh Generation Natural Dish Liquid prize pack will contain:

• (4) bottles of Seventh Generation natural dish liquid varieties in Free and Clear, Lavender Floral &; Mint, Fresh Citrus &; Ginger, and Lemongrass &; Clementine Zest scents
• Premium 3 Qt. 12” x 9” Baking Dish from Le Creuset
• (2) Twist© loofah sponges and (2) Twist© scour pads made from 100% post-recycled materials
• Set of 3 organic cotton dish towels.

CLOSED on November 28th 2011
Here is how you enter:   

• Mandatory: Leave a comment stating which of the Seventh Generation  natural dish liquid varieties are you most interested in trying.

Additional entrees:

• Follow me on Google for 2 additional entrees.  You must leave a post stating you are following me for each entree. 
• Share this Giveaway on your facebook page and leave a comment on this post tell me you have shared this giveaway on your facebook page.

Winner was Deanne


RULES: Maximum of 7 entries per person. The giveaway will end on November 28th at midnight.  I will randomly pick a winner at random.org on November 29th.  I will notify the winner by e-mail and posted winners first name or user name on my blog.  The winner with have 48 hours to contact me or another winner will be chosen.  You must be 18 years or older and a US resident to enter.   

 “Disclosure: The Seventh Generation Natural Dish Liquid prize pack, product and information have been provided by Seventh Generation through MyBlogSpark.” Nowamomof3 cannot be held responsible for sponsor's failure to deliver the product or service as agreed.

How to make a Easy Princess Cake.

How to make a Princess Cake

I was going to make a cake for a cake walk.  You know just an ordinary cake, when I thought I would make it fun and make a princess cake.  I knew my daughter would love it, but could I really do it?  

First we mixed all the ingredients of  a box cake together in a bowl.  Then we greased the inside of a 1 quart glass batter bowl. Make sure that you grease the sides very well so that it does not stick.   We poured the cake batter in the 1 quart batter bowl.  We baked the cake for at least 40 minuets at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Keep an eye on the cake and test it by inserting a toothpick into the cake, when a toothpick come out clean with no batter on it the cake is done.  Let the cake cool completely to insure that the cake will turn out clean and not fall apart when you turn it out onto a frosting surface.  If you want you can even put it in the freezer for a hour to get it cold enough so that the frosting will not stick to the cake. 

To frost the cake, take your favorite frosting (I used store bought frosting to make it easy) and mix food coloring to match the color of the doll. (I used a mini-doll that came in one of the McDonald's happy meals.) Since the dolls dress was blue I mixed some blue food coloring with some white frosting to get the color you see here.  I use a spreader to spread the cake with blue frosting.  I adding a little sparkle by sprinkling the cake with while sugar crystals.        

When you are done frosting the cake make a small whole in the top of the cake so that you can stick the legs inside the cake to make it look like a dress.  Make sure that you save a little frosting to put on the area  where the doll meets the cake.  Frosting this area will help make a smooth transition from the doll to the frosted cake. 

Now you are done.  Your daughter will love this cake and feel so special that you made it just for her.   Sorry I did not get any photos of my daughter with the cake, I thought if I got it close to her she would want to put her hands all over it and eat it!

If you want to make a bigger cake you can also use a 2 quart glass batter bowl and use a bigger doll. Just know that the cake will be more dense.

Happy Baking

Pumpkin Fun with Mr Potato head

Pumpkin Fun with Mr. Potato head for Pumpkins

 We bought these Mr. Potato head for Pumpkins a few year ago at Target. The two Mr. Potato head for Pumpkins that we bought were the Angel, and the Princess.   We have used them every year for the kids.

It is easy for kids to put the Mr. Pototoe pieces into the pumpkin (the first initial holes must be made by an adult.  We uses a screwdriver).

What I love most about it is that you do not have to cut the pumpkin, so you don't have to worry about someone getting cut . There is also no candle or flame so it is safe for all kids (including special needs kids, like our Mare Bear). I think that these Mr. potato head for pumpkin kits are great for any Fall day.  I may have to pick up a few more tomorrow when they go on sale.

Costume parade: Princess Aurora and a Spider

Me with Mare Bear and Little Man posing for a picture after the Costume Parade.

Today was the costume parade at my daughter's school.  I remember doing the same thing when I was in school.  It is so much fun to see all the little kids dressed up.  The Pre-Kindergartners through 2nd graders paraded around the school while the 3rd graders through 5th graders put candy in their bags.  Some of the younger sibling of students joined in on the fun too.

Dressing up can be so much fun.  Children can dress up to be anything they can imagine.  Dressing up allows children's imagination to take them anywhere they want to go.  Dressing up also allow children to pretend play which is a stage of development that preschoolers should have.  Preschooler imagine are developing and growing and Dressing up in their favorite costume aids in that development.




Mare Bear is our Princess and as you can tell from the photo above she loves to dress up as a princesses too.   As for my little Man he was a little spider.  What is more scary than a spider, nothing (at least that is what I think)!  Little Man was not sure of all the kids dresses up in their costumes.  It was the first time he has seen people dressed up in costumes.  He did not get scared or cry, but he was not to sure about he whole thing.  
                                                                       

This photo looks like Mare Bear is Little Miss Muffet and she was startled by a spider beside her just like the nursery rhyme my grandmother used to tell me.  All she needs is come curds and whey.

Book review: Shadows on the Sand

As a member of the blogging for books program, I am asking to read books and then to write a review of what I think of that book.  This is a book review on the book Shadows on the Sand by Gayle Roper.  This is the book review I posted on the Blogging for Books website.  It is my own honest personal opinion of what I thought of the book.

If you are in the mood for a suspenseful romantic book, you will love Shadows on the Sand by Gayle Roper. Shadows on the Sand is about a 30 something restaurant owner, Carrie Carter, journey to open herself up to the possibility of love with one of her regular customers, Greg Barnes.  Carrie’s had to save her 10 year old sister Lindsey from a alcoholic mother, and her mother’s sexually inappropriate boyfriends by become a runaway at 16 years old.  Carrie ran away to the only place she knew, keeping her at a distance from men.  Carrie has tried to hide her feeling of Greg, but everyone except Greg seem to know her heart longs for him.  Greg has his own past to overcome as he deals with the loss of his wife, children, and job as a Policeman.  Greg’s horrible loss sent him into a downward spiral of drinking to hide his pain, that he has just recently overcome. 

  Weaved in the middle of the Romantic story of Carrie and Greg is a who did it mystery. It all starts with the disappearance and then murder of one of Carries dishwasher, Jase.  After Jase is found murdered, Andi, one of  Carrie’s waitress  starts to act strange.  A few days later Andi goes missing and everyone is left wonder where she went and why.  The mystery of Jase’s death and Andi’s strange behavior is more than enough to peak Greg and Carries interest and that is where their interest in each other begins. 

I enjoyed reading the book because it kept me guess as to who killed Jase..  I liked how the author would jump from 1^st person of Carrie to 1^st person of the killer and other main characters; it made the story more interesting and kept the plot moving.    This book was a page turner with each chapter ending with a cliff hanger. 

The overall theme of forgiveness of others before you can truly love someone is not only a biblical truth but one of my favorite theme to read.  I hope that you will enjoy reading this book as much as I did!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from Water Brook Press as a member of their Blogging for Books program. All opinions are my own. 

Me Sampling Kashi on another blog

Hey ya"ll check me out!  A photo of me was captured on a friends blog.  She is a Mom Ambassadors  for a group called Moms meet ( check out her blog to learn more).  Anyway she was asking  me and other mom and their kids to sample Kashi's peanutty dark chocolate granola bars and to tell her what we thought of them.





She asked me what I thought of the Kashi's peanutty dark chocolate granola bar and I said " I thought it was excellent.  I like the way the granola and chocolate stayed together, it was easy to eat.  I do not usually like dark chocolate but their tasted really good".  


It is nice when moms can share products and give back honest feed back.  I know that I listen to other blogger mom about what they thought of a certain product and how the product worked for them.  Isn't that what blogging is all about!




 Check out Cummins Life blog to learn more.  If you would like more information or to sign up to be a Mom Ambassador for Moms Meet click here.  I checked out their website and I signed up to be a blogger Mom Ambassador, but I will just have to wait and see...


http://cumminslife.blogspot.com/2011/10/kashi-peanutty-dark-chocolate-granola.html