Jeans Recycling Project: Tic-tac-toe

For months now I have been hoarding jeans as I mentioned in my earring hanger I posted a few days ago....well, one little project wasn't going to use up all the jeans I had so I decided to try and make another project. I was slightly dismayed when I discovered I was able to make this and the earring holder (and mess up once on the earring holder) from one pair of jeans...I did wind up using a second pair of jeans to make the game board as I wanted contrasting colours...plus hubby's leg is bigger than mine so it made for a more spacious game board! haha

So...here goes..here is what you'll need:

• textile glue
• scissors for cutting the jeans
• 1-2 pairs of jeans
• packing peanuts or stuffing
• Washi tape
• Twine or ribbon

1. First, you will take a piece of the jeans and cut it so it is in a rectangle. I then folded it "hamburger" style and cut it in half, now I have two pieces, on one side of each piece it is sealed with the original seam. 
2. Using the textile glue, glue two of the open sides together, leaving one side open. 
3. Repeat steps one and two until you have 10 game pieces.
4. Once the sides are dry begin stuffing with packing peanuts or stuffing. Once it seems full add some glue to the final seam and glue shut.
   
5. Using some of the scrap pieces put X on five of the pieces and O on the other five. Let dry.
6. Using the full leg of jeans that is left cut off a nice large rectangular section (see photos for ideas). On one seam, cut it down the middle so you can now open the leg and have one large rectangular piece.
7. Using washi tape create the "pound" board in the middle making 9 nice size squares.
   
8. To finish off the board trim with washi tape. Add accents as you wish to make it a little stylish.
   
9. To create a storage bag cut off more of the leg. Turn it inside out, with textile glue make a seam by glue the "right sides" together. Let dry. Turn right side out.
   
10. At the top, fold over by about a quarter to half and in and snip just a tiny cut, repeat all the way around the top of the bag you are creating and lace with twine or ribbon. Put your board and game pieces inside and now you have a cute little travel game.
11. 

This is such a cute little game and has brought us lots of fun on these nice days when we walk or bike to the park and can layout having a little picnic. 

What do you do with your old jeans when they are too worn to wear anymore?

Make sure you check out the other projects I've posted during this A to Z Challenge...and check out the other bloggers too at Blogging A to Z!

10 Family friendly games and movies for the Christmas season!

I hope you've been following the Countdown2Xmas here or, especially, through the Quintessential Mommy, who was gracious enough to host this wonderful gathering of 72 bloggers to bring you a fun craft, delicious recipe, or great tradition from 3 different bloggers each day. If you haven't been 'round to visit all these lovely bloggers you really should, there are some wonderful ideas and most of the crafts don't take but a quick minute to complete!

Speaking of traditions, every year around this time we settle in to watch some of our favorite Christmas movies and, since the sun sets so early, we seem to have extra time for playing games as a family as well! So, I want to tell you all about our family's favorite movies and games!

Movies

1. Elf. We watch the movie year round honestly. It is quirky and embodies everything that the Christmas season is about to our family-quality time and the spirit of giving.
   
2. A Christmas Story.  Everyone knows you have to be careful if you want a Red Ryder BB Gun for Christmas! I think my favorite part is when poor Ralphie gets kicked down the slide by Santa. That part makes the three of us crack up every single time we watch it, and I've watch it umpteen million times since I was 4 years old!
3. Christmas Vacation. This one my husband hadn't seen until he married me. It cracks me up and now that the kiddo is 15, it is even better since she gets every single innuendo in the movie we can all laugh hysterically together. All the family dysfunction is more than I can bear, I wish we had an Uncle Eddie in our family. This one is much like A Christmas Story for me, no matter how many times I see it, I will crack up every.single.time!
4. Rudolph, The Red Nosed Reindeer. I remember these coming on CBS during the Christmas season as a little girl. I loved the nostalgia with my daughter and am so glad to own this on DVD. I love how this teaches you to never give up and always have a kind, loving spirit.
5. Frosty the Snowman. Ah, the 60s, a time of claymation. This one followed Rudolph every year and we still watch them in that same order. No matter how many times you see it you always get a little bit nervous for Frosty because you always want him to come out on top!
6. A Charlie Brown Christmas. Oh the nostalgia. A movie for everyone, young and old alike. I think everyone wanted a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree when we were little. A little something to care and nurture no matter what it looks like because it is dear to your heart.
7. The Santa Clause. All of them, 1-3. We always binge watch one day a year, we can't help it they are just so darn cute! The first is of course the best, but all are so worth the time. A kid who wants nothing more than for Santa to be real and to believe in his Dad. What isn't to love about that?! Plus, the north pole is dreamy in every movie!
8. Home Alone. I remember being 10 years old and thinking this would be the best Christmas Vacation ever! It is why Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree is my favorite carol! When I dance to it I still do Kevin's dance every time!
9. Miracle on 34th Street. I will be honest, I never watched this all the way through until I married my husband. He obviously is a much more serious person than I so we always fit in his favorites. I love how this reminds us to believe and it will all be ok!
10. White Christmas. This is the final one we always watch a few days before Christmas. This was another I didn't see until I married the man of my dreams, and it always reminds me of my love for dance. The kiddo even loves it and it always sparks some great conversation about some wonderful singers and dancers.

Games.

1. Monopoly. I think by now everyone knows this game. It is one you either love or hate. My husband and I, not fans...the teenager, LOVES it. So, it is our gift to her that at least one time a year we sit and play a full, unhurried game with her. She loves it, our bonds are either solidified or broken depending on how hard core the husband goes after us and in the end we laugh and vow to play again next year! haha But, this is a fun one when the days get dark and cold for a long time this takes a few hours and gets us around the table with nothing but time.
2. Pandemic. This is one for families with older kids. It takes some time to learn but once you have it down, it is a blast. It takes a lot of team work and I think that is the best part. No one is working against each other so no arguments should ensue...note, should. I make no promises. ;) But it is definitely one you should check out.
3. Yahtzee. This is my favorite game of all time. Simply because it reminds me of lazy days on the beach vacationing with my family. Plus, it is fairly mindless, pretty much anyone can play it and there isn't a ton to keep track of but your simple little scorecard. Grab some cocoa, a blanket, and start slinging your 6 die.
4. Singstar. Being a household where the primary breadwinner is a game developer you knew some video games were going to make there way in here! We have loved all of the Singstar's and the newest one we just got, Singstar Ultimate Party, is no different! We gave this to the kiddo for her birthday and played for a solid two hours! The best part about this, the mic is your smartphone! So fun!
5. Mario Kart 8. We sadly had to say goodbye to our Wii U when we moved to Europe, but I felt I should include this because we played it all the time. Our "smack talk" was always the best when we'd play and try to beat each other. I remember playing a version of Mario Kart all the way back on the Super NES, this has been a long time favorite and am glad my family had the experience of enjoying it together. 
6. Mario Party. I usually don't link to Wiki sites, but this one really tells about all the different Mario Parties. We loved Mario Party 8 for the Wii, but played many over the years. These are fun because you not only move around a board game but there are always mini games each round to compete against the other players or sometimes play cooperatively either against another player or the computer.
   
7. The Game of Life. I never played this until my daughter expressed interest in it. We always have so much fun trying to beat each other around the board, knocking each others cars over or complaining about how we got "stuck" with so many kids in our car! haha This one is nice though because it can lead to bigger discussion about school options, career options, and everything in between!
8. Ohana Mana. This is one the kiddo and I picked up during our trip to Hawaii earlier this year. It is hard to come by as it is made in Hawaii, but it is so much fun! It is a Sorry style board game and you race around the board, answering trivia and using a little strategy to get ahead in the game. It really fosters friendly competition and conversation about all the native Hawaiian trivia you'll be answering.
9. Settlers of Catan. This is such a wonderful game. This is similar to pandemic in that it takes a while to get going the first time or two, but after that it is a total blast. This one is more for families with older kids, but they do make a junior version. We love this because it gets a fun competition going and it is never the same game twice! Plus, it teaches the general principals of trade and that is never a bad thing.
10. Super Monkey Ball. This is another game that brought us hours of unique family fun! We'd be up out of our seats just trying to keep our monkeys on track. The getting up never worked, and probably made us do worse, but the fact you can play cooperatively or against each other always meant more fun for us. 

What are your family's favorite movies and games to play this time of year?

Family Favorites Friday #3

This is another classic. My mom made it since I was a kid, but many people don't know what I am talking about when I say what it is: Magic Cookie Bars.

Many people call them 7 layers bars, but not sure why because the recipe I use only has 5 ingredients, or layers, plus they are practically gone the instant they are cool enough to cut, so we will stick with "magic".

This particular recipe my mom always used was found on the inside label of Eagle Brand Sweet and Condensed Milk. I tweak it because, well, my family is picky. So...here is the recipe:

Magic Cookie Bars

-1.5 cups graham cracker crumbs

-1/2 cup of butter, melted

-10-14 oz (about 300ml) can of sweet & condensed milk

-package of semi-sweet chocolate chips

-a little shredded coconut

1. Preheat oven to 350F. In a 9X13 pan measure out the graham cracker crumbs.

2. Melt the butter. Pour over crumbs and mix together. Once combined use your hands to press the crust into the bottom of the pan.

3. Open the sweet and condensed milk and pour evenly over the crust. Try and get it as even as possible because once it is on there you can not really move it, but it does sort of naturally spread and settle so however you pour it so long as you cover most of the crust it will be fine.

4. Evenly sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top.

5. Evenly sprinkle some shredded coconut over the top. We have someone in our house who isn't a coconut fan so I just sprinkle it over half.

See half with coconut, half without! Pretty darn simple!

Here they are baked! Not the best picture in the world, but they sure are heavenly!

What is a favorite recipe you and your family love?

Yarn Sticks

Yarn sticks? What the heck are yarn sticks, I know is what you all are asking yourselves. Sounds weird right. The idea came to me one day after going through my craft stuff and having for some odd reason kept the discarded plastic stem from a bunch of fall leaves and going through my yarn and having a bunch of scraps. I don't know why I said gosh these scraps of yarn would be awesome around those weird plastic sticks!

This is super quick and easy diy and will cost very, very little. I originally wish I could have done it with real sticks as my daughter wanted to make more but it had been very rainy out so we had to use what we had on hand.

So these were the goodies I gathered...Yarn & the Sticks. You can use any type of stick like material you have on hand or go for a walk and gather a few up. You want them of varying sizes and if you can find some with bumps and what not on them even better!

Next, start wrapping them. I did not use any glue or anything, I just put the piece on the stick, then wrapped around it! 

See...put it on the stick...

Start to wrap around it....

Keep going until the whole stick is covered...

At the end I did put a small dot of hot glue & used the end of a pencil to stick the yarn on to it (just so you don't burn your finger). Just repeat this process for as many sticks as you want to create!

Get creative with the colors you use. My husband thought I was crazy for doing a red one, but where they sit all together the red adds for some crazy, funky color!

Once you have created how ever many you want, find a cute way to display them, like this...

See, a super quick easy and fun tutorial!!! If you do something like this please show me by posting a picture to my Facebook wall, or tagging me on instagram or twitter! Would love to see your creations!

Birthday Cake Pancakes!!!!! (& a sleepover organization tip!)

This past weekend was my daughter's birthday. Normally we are huge, huge on birthdays. I mean the day of we celebrate the heck out of that person but this birthday was a crazy one and we celebrated her literally all weekend long!

It started with a big surprise party with 10 of her closest friends from school (how they all kept it secret I will never know, but boy was she surprised!). This was a total surprise to her. We had told her that due to our family Christmas gift we couldn't really afford the big party she originally wanted to she could invite a girlfriend or two to spend the night. Well, immediately after that I decided to coordinate the surprise party. I am so happy it worked out. The girls were so sweet and made it so special for her. I unfortunately didn't get the "surprise" on video, but here is on of them singing to her.

Then, on Saturday we let her have a sleep over since that was her "original" birthday party  with three of her girlfriends. I made homemade pizza, ribs, and peas (the mom in me can't go without a veggie on their plates; and contrary to what the USDA believes I don't count tomato sauce as a veggie). I don't buy paper plates or plastic cups so our cups were going to get used up very quickly with six of us in the house so I decided a bit of organization was in order. I thought at first about writing on the cups with dry erase marker, but was slightly worried that it would rub off and they'd still get them confused. So, I came up with this....

It was super easy. Just used a few post it notes, wrote their name on them and put the cups where they belonged! They could come out and grab a little water or soda, take a swig and either rinse it an put it down, or if it still had stuff in it just put it down over their name! They loved it and even thought it was a great idea!!

Now on to what you really came here for...

Birthday Cake Pancakes!!!

The original recipe that I used is here. I did mostly the same stuff. Here is what I did...

Ingredients

-Betty Crocker Party Rainbow Chip Cake Mix

-3 Eggs

-1 Cup of Water

-1/3 Cup of Melted Coconut Oil

First, I poured in the cake mix and took a wooden spoon to it to break up any lumps. Next, I added the eggs, water and oil and mixed it up, just until mixed. I also smoothed out any large lumps. I found since this is a cake mix it all mixed together pretty smoothly and I had no lumps.  

Once I got toward then end I poured them all willy nilly in the bottom just to get them made...after all I had four very hungry teenage girls! 

But, as you can see most of them I made quite nicely. See how beautifully they brown up? I pour a little maple syrup over top with some sprinkles. The original recipe shows using icing, but my kiddo isn't a huge fan so I avoided it. The other girls here didn't actually use anything at all to top their pancakes they were sweet enough without it.

All lit up!!!

The Birthday Girl blowing out her candles!

These made amazing pancakes. I couldn't even eat a whole one though, they are quite filling and a very special treat for a birthday boy or girl! I think these will definitely be a tradition in our house!

Does your family have any fun birthday traditions?