Make Crumpled Old Dollars Crisp (for gifts and crafting)

There are a number of reasons why one might prefer a crisp dollar bill over an old crumply one. Think back to your childhood for a minute. Anyone else remember the thrill of finding fresh crisp dollar bills in your birthday cards? Especially if that crisp bill was in a large denomination? Obviously the value's the same, but a handful of crumpled ones just doesn't quiet make the same impression. 

Or how about monetary origami? Yup, crisp money is definitely easier to fold. (Here's a peek into what I've been up to recently. More on that later.)

A slight hiccup to my latest craft endeavor occurred when my bank teller request for crisp new bills was unfulfilled. Much to my surprise, the bank does not frequently get shipments of fresh crisp dollar bills, as I thought, but rather the currency is transfered back and forth as needed between bank and corporate vault. I withdrew the cash anyways, not exactly knowing how I would fold these weathered and worn bills into the countless bling rings I was determined to make.

After a bit of experimenting I found the best technique for making sad old bills crisp again:

Money 

+

Spray Starch on front only

+

iron rapidly

+

turn over and iron backside 

= 

CRISP DOLLAR BILLS!! 

Girls Night: Fashion Swap

I am a big fan of a girls' nights. A periodic moms night out goes a long way on fulfilling this gal's social need for friendship. Sure, we keep busy throughout the week with playdates, story times, and numerous moms club activities, but a kid-free evening with friends offers a completely different social dynamic.

Our most recent girls night was a clothing fashion swap. It was a blast! Each women searched her closet for gently used items she was ready to part with. Clothing, shoes, purses, belts, etc. were all brought for swapping with other women at the party.

After a mingling period of drinks and snacks, the clothing tables - which were organized by item type upon guest arrival - were opened up for swapping fun. At the end of the night, the remaining items could either be taken back by the original owner or left behind for drop off at the local Goodwill.

This party also benefitted our Moms Club fall charity project by collecting a $5 suggested donation at the door. But you could easily host this party without the fundraiser element if desired.

Thirteen women attended the clothing fashion swap and some incredible items were exchanged. The size of our party was just right as there was a variety of sizes represented. We chose to set an item limit of up to 15 items, but this is optional.  This was such a fun moms night out event. And as a budget mom, I was also exciting to refresh my wardrobes without spending a dime (well, except for the charity donation).

I've now been to two clothing swap parties, both as a guest and as a host. Both parties were great fun - I think it might become an annual event. Seriously, it's a fun night and I encourage you to host your own party. Evite even has several pre-designed logos specifically for such occasions.

Linking: Positively Splendid

Personalized Photo Name Props for Kids

(What do you think of this photo editing effect? Its called daguerrotype on PicMonkey)

My little Bean Sprout has been invited to a friend's birthday party this week. The guest list is on the larger side, so the parents have requested "no gifts please" to avoid toy overload. Being mindful of their wishes but still wanting to celebrate the occasion, I decided to make a personalize photo prop for the child. Plus, I've been looking for an excuse to try one of the awesome ideas on my overhead projector project inspiration list.  (You can still do this even if you don't own a projector; read {this} post for step-by-step instructions on how to enlarge an image by hand, using the grid technique.)

If you read a lot of blogs (or Pinterest) you are probably aware of the popularity of photo props. There are a lot of clever ideas designed to match any party theme or occasion. However, my favorite photo props are children's personalized photo props. I love the personalized nature of props depicting a child's name or age. For this gift, I chose to her first name, but this would also be a cute project for a Thank-you or Christmas photo greeting card with a kid holding the words, Merry Christmas, Thanks, or HoHoHo. 

Want to make one? Here's how.

 Step 1:  Create a homemade transparency sheet by using a plastic page protector and a dry-erase marker to trace a printing of your words of choice. (This font is called Marcelle Script.)

Step 2:  Place the page protector tracing onto the overhead and project enlarged image onto foam core board. Use a pencil to outline the shadow.

Step 3:  Use the pencil guide to outline text with a permanent marker.

Step 4: Cut out with craft knife. I found this worked best by using small, puncture-like cuts first and then going back around with a regular slicing motion. Knowing that the inside of the foam core would be white, I chose to also leave a white shadow around the text and cut a few millimeters outside the ink line.

After the initial cut, your edges may be slightly jagged. If desired, you can smooth out the edges by doing a second cut around the perimeter with your blade angled slightly down and inwardly - leaving the top surface intact but smoothing out any irregularities of the foam board's middle layer.

Step 5: Attempting to get a good photograph with a curious two year old proved to be the most difficult step :-)

Happy Birthday Sweet Olivia! I hope your mommy has better luck photographing you with your name prop than I did with my little girl.

Again, thank you Off Beat Bride, for your project inspiration!

Linking up: Love and Laundry, Live Laugh Rowe, Bear Rabbit Bear, Happy Hour Projects, My Repurposed Life, Design, Dining and Diapers, Positively Splendid, Sugar Bee Crafts

Breakfast Cookies Recipe

I seldom post recipes on this blog, but when I do, its a recipe worth sharing!

Do your kids (or you) ever wish you could eat cookies for breakfast? With this recipe you can! You can literally feed these cookies to your family for breakfast or morning snack without feeling too guilty. Nutritionally, these breakfast cookies are more comparable to a granola or breakfast bar, than a regular cookie.

With minimal sugar and oil, these whole grain cookies certainly earn their name. Whole wheat flower, oats, honey, and applesauce are the backbone of this healthy recipe, while a scoop chocolate chips keeps the cookies tasting like cookies.

Breakfast Cookies
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup applesauce - unsweetened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 honey
2 eggs
2 Tablespoons milk
1 1/2 Tablespoons vanilla
2 1/4 cups oats - old fashioned
1 cup raisins
1 cup chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350F
Combine flour, baking soda, and salt
In a separate bowl wisk oil, applesauce, sugar, honey, eggs, milk, vanilla
Add flour mixture and stir until just combined, then fold in oats, raisins, and chocolate chips.
Drop by Tablespoon onto cookie sheet
Bake 350F 9-13 minutes until slightly brown.

Costumes of Halloweens Past

The Octobers between college graduation and parenthood were filled with a number of memorable Halloween parties in which my husband and I frequently dressed in matching or themed couples costumes. Here's a peek into our couples costumes of the past.

2006: This were last minute costumes thrown together an hour before the party. Can you guess the adjective we are trying to personify?

2007: Hawaiian troll doll costume. Sadly, no photos from this year, but below is an example of how I wore my hair straight up. You can click HERE  if you'd like to read troll doll hair tutorial.

2008: The hubs and I hosted our first Halloween Murder Mystery Party, which I've wrote about HERE. The theme for the party was 80's High School Reunion. I forget my character's name, but the hubs was Mike Majesty, Homecoming King. Our friends had incredible costumes as well.

2009: Sperm and Egg. This is by far, my favorite couples Halloween costume because it also served as a humorous way to announce our pregnancy. I especially like the back of his shirt which says, Varsity #47,295 (Although, in reality we ended up telling our closest friends a few weeks prior to the actual party.)

Fallopian Swim Team Varsity #47,295

2010: Two of our friends had such fun at our 2008 Mystery Party that they decided to host their own Murder Mystery Halloween Party. This was our first time out with friends post baby. It was pirate themed and it was a blast.

2011: But perhaps the best Halloween attire of all is just being mommy and daddy to one cute little duckling.

Linked: Someday Crafts