Silly Saturday

Source: Pinterest

Handprint Tree Paintings

If you've ever seen my Pinterest page, you know I have tons of recipes and crafts and inspirational pictures that I want to try. More than I could possibly actually do, but that's the great thing about Pinterest! Whenever I get the itch to do something different or crafty, or try a new recipe, I have an endless supply of inspiration that I already know I want to try.

This weekend, I decided it was time to try out one of the kids art projects I've had pinned for quite some time now; the Handprint Tree. I found it on Pinterest, but the pin only links back to an image so I have no idea where this idea originated from, but you can see the pin HERE.

The original project was done on canvas, but when I got to Hobby Lobby, I happened to see these awesome burlap frames that were painted white and they were fairly cheap so I snatched them up. Make these on whatever medium you happen to have or want. I think they'll turn out great on anything.

You'll need brown paint as well as two other complementary colors, something to paint on (canvas or something else), a brush, a pencil and possibly a stencil if you plan to write on the painting.

I let the kids choose their colors so of course Julia went immediately to the pink and purple. Damien tried to negotiate with me for a while, saying he'd only take one color so that we could get brown for the tree trunk. It took a while, but I finally got him to understand I was going to buy a brown paint anyway and he should definitely get two colors. What a sweetie. He ended up choosing autumn colors: yellow and orange.

When we got home, we went immediately to work. First up, tracing their hands and arms. Use a pencil and trace a light line around their forearm and hand. You'll be able to erase this later.

Once you have your tree traced out, you're ready to start painting. We went with Burnt Umber for our tree trunks and I think they turned out great. I did the tree trunks myself to ensure they were fairly true to the handprint and then I let the kids go crazy with their fingerprint leaves.

I let the tree trunk dry before I let the kids begin their painting, just to make sure nothing got smudged. Don't worry too much about being perfect. I think the imperfect, hand-painted look is part of the charm of this project.

Once the trunks are dry, I let the kids loose. I tried to encourage them to make beautiful patterns and evenly spaced leaves, just like the picture. I soon gave up and let them do whatever they wanted which is, of course, much better in the end.

After the leaves dried, I stenciled their name and the year on the painting. Let me just say that I am NOT a fan of stenciling. I had to let each letter dry before moving on to the next to make sure it didn't get smudged and the letters didn't really turn out as nicely as I'd hoped (mostly due to lack of patience I'm sure.) But in the end, I'm really very pleased with the result.

Damien had originally wanted me to alternate the yellow and orange paint for his name, but his mischievous little sister ruined that for him by smearing the wet paint and making it impossible for me to use the lighter colors, so I just finished it up with the brown. 

Julia's name ended up being a little crooked, but I'm ok with that too.

Here's the breakdown of how much this project cost (all from Hobby Lobby):

Burlap frame: $4.99
3 acrylic paints: $0.79 x 3 = 2.37
Stencil: $2.99
Total: $10.35 or less, if you already have paints and/or stencils.

Overall, a very easy project that I think will look great in their new rooms eventually =).

Wednesday is for Weight-loss

Source: Pinterest

How true is this? Sometimes the things we say to ourselves are awful! Maybe that's just me, but I don't think so. I really believe that every change in our lives starts in our mind. We will never become who we want to be if we're still hung up on our failures and mistakes. This is one of my biggest challenges. It's far too easy to just "accept" that I'm a failure, that what I've always done is how I will always be. And it will be, unless I can change my own mind. No one can do that for us!

I think changing our own minds is much harder than changing someone else's. It takes constant vigilance to capture those stray, negative thoughts and remind ourselves of the positives. You know what would make it easier? A list! Don't you love lists? I do! Make a list of the great things about you, things that contribute to the person you want to be. Carry it around with you if you have to and whenever you find yourself beating up on yourself, pull it out and read it.

Just like any habit, learning to treat ourselves with love, compassion and FORGIVENESS takes time and constant maintenance. It won't just happen. You have to put the work in. But once you learn to replace those negative thoughts with positive ones, you won't just be a happier person. I believe you'll start to see amazing results in every area of your life, including weight-loss.

Tasty Tuesday

I've been slacking off a little bit in the meal planning department this week. I haven't even looked at the Fred Meyer's or Safeway sales, but I did head over to Albertson's this morning since today is the last day of their sale cycle. If you need tuna, you can get some for $1, which isn't an amazing price, but if you buy 10, you get a $4 catalina which is pretty decent. Also, if you need dog food, you can pick up a back of Essential Everyday dog food, 32 lbs, for $19.99 but you get a $5 catalina on that, so it ends up being a really good deal. Also, pork picnic roasts are $1.49/lb. These end today though, so if you want to take advantage of these, you gotta act quick.

So what are we eating this week? Lots of yummy stuff! Instead of adding a new dinner recipe to our repertoire, I added a Saturday morning breakfast skillet and an old recipe that hadn't been added to our binder yet.


Sunday: Breakfast for dinner - Bacon and eggs with toast

Monday: Unbreaded Chicken Parmesan

Tuesday: Low Carb Pizza Casserole

Wednesday: Almost "Bourbon" Chicken

Thursday: Melissa's Slow Cooker Beef and Noodles

Friday: Low Carb Baked Chicken Breast

Saturday: Breakfast - Potato Skillet
                Dinner - Crustless Spinach Quiche


You might notice that a few of these recipes are the same as last week. That's because we ended up having pizza one night and bacon and eggs another night (I shifted my weekly planner from Mon-Sun to Sun-Sat so there was an overlapping day.) Instead of planning and shopping for brand new recipes, I carried these over to the next week since I already have the ingredients.

What's on the menu for you this week?

52 Lists - Week 3: List The Things You're Proud Of

Yay! It's another list! It's week 3 and this one is a fun one. Well, I think they're all fun, but this one lets me toot my own horn a little bit, which I don't think is always a bad thing =).

The ideas for this list series came from THIS blog and you can read my other lists HERE.

Here we go, a list of things I'm proud of!

1. I'm proud of my children. I could be biased, but I think they're amazing. I think they're kind-hearted and loving. I think they're funny and smart. I think they're beautiful. When I look at them, I feel so blessed. 

2. I'm proud of my husband. I think I've got a pretty awesome husband. He's hard working, intelligent, funny and pretty darn sexy too ;). I admire how hard he works to provide for us and I admire how hard he works at the gym to take care of himself. He inspires me and makes me want to be a better person.

3. I'm proud that I've lost 30lbs in the last year. I slacked off and stopped going to the gym and I didn't do everything I was supposed to, but I made a few lifestyle changes and I have that to show for it. Am I even close to my goal? Nope, but I know that I will get there if I just keep moving forward. 

4. I'm proud of my musicality. I believe music is a vital part of our culture and I want my children to grow up understanding that music plays a huge role in our lives. As bad as this may sound, I love the sound of my own voice. Singing along to a song I love and nailing it makes me happy. 

5. I'm proud of my intelligence. I never went to college. Someday I hope to, but so far I haven't. However, I consider myself fairly educated and intelligent. I like to help my husband do his college (accounting! Eww) homework and it makes me proud when I'm able to explain something to him because I've picked it up quickly as we're going along. I believe that it's important to be a life-long learner and it makes me proud when I live up to my ideals.

6. I'm proud that compassion and kindness often come easily for me. Not always, but often. I find joy in anticipating others needs and providing for them. I enjoy hospitality and making people feel loved and welcome. I haven't always been good at these things, but it's an area that I'm focusing on because I believe it's a crucial part of being a godly woman.

7. I'm extremely proud of my marriage. Like, bursting with pride. I could talk forever about it. We've been through a LOT. We've worked hard to overcome some pretty awful situations and we've both done things we regret, but I sit here today and I can truthfully say I'm more in love with this man than I've ever been. Our marriage has never been stronger or more intimate. We're truly best friends and I haven't always been able to say that. I know hard times will come again, but I also know that between us, we have the fight and determination to overcome anything. We're both in this for the long haul and that makes me very proud.

8. I'm also extremely proud of my sister. She truly is a source of inspiration for me. Even though she's my baby sister (haha), I look up to her. She's a great nurse, an amazing mother to 3 gorgeous kids and the wife of a man who commutes to a different province to work (that takes some strength!) She's been there for me more times than I can count and I love her so much. 

There are other things I'm proud of, but I'm being beckoned away by my husband, so those things will have to wait for another day. You can also read last years list HERE. 

I'd love to get some comments, so tell me what you're proud of! Go on, toot your own horn =).

Inspire Me...

Source (Pinterest)

Silly Saturday

Source (from Pinterest)