Remember, if you’d like instant access to the links I love and a few other tips and tricks, you can sign up to be a follower on Facebook by clicking the Facebook icon at the top of the page or by following this link and then clicking the ‘like’ button. Here are the links from the last two week…

Cooks Illustrated

I love Cooks Illustrated. It’s like the consumer reports for all things kitchen. I’ve been a subscriber to their video podcast for a long time but after perusing my Mom’s magazines I think I may subscribe to the print version as well. The fresh, corn-from-the-cob chowder I made last night was phenomenal.

eHow

Want to add a little sweet science to your kid’s last few weeks of summer? Try creating a few of these simple rock candy suckers from a sugar/water solution.

Sweet as a Candy

Don’t you just love looking at great photographs? This photo array of a dream Italian wedding was simply lovely. I especially love the one of the gown and the oh-so-charming gold shoes.

Young House Love

I love multi-functional rooms…particularly when they ooze a clean, relaxed, modern vibe. This guestroom/office/playroom is a great example.

One Charming Party

I’m not really into elaborate kid birthday parties myself, but this Wizard of Oz Party from One Charming Party was so lovely; I just had to share it with you.

Now before you give me too much credit you should know that I read about this idea on Cookie Magazine’s website a year or two ago.  They recommended hosting a big neighborhood party the night before school begins and inviting all the local kids to celebrate (the picture above was submitted by one of their readers).  As great as that idea was, the thought of creating banners, invitations, games and cute snacks sounded like way to much work for me.  So, I opted to downsize the idea to include just our family.

Honestly, we really didn’t do anything extraordinary.  We began with the usual night-before-school-starts stuff.  We loaded up all their backpacks, packed their lunches, and set out their first-day-of-school clothes.  Next, we feasted on a big breakfast dinner because my kids love pancakes and bacon more than just about anything.  After that, I filled my big jetted tub with bubbles and let them each take a soak (usually my tub is off limits so this was a big treat).

Once they were scrubbed up, we popped a bag of popcorn and curled up on the couch for one last summer movie.  During the movie I gave the girls manicures and drew a cool tattoo on my son’s arm – just for fun.  Once the movie wrapped up, we shouted out a big “happy school year’s eve” and headed off to bed.  I think this year I may take a few videos of the kids describing what they hope to accomplish in the coming year.  Wouldn’t that be fun to look back on in years to come?

Like I said, it wasn’t fancy.  It took absolutely no prep work and cost me nothing.  It was just one more way to make some happy family memories before the school year (and all the schedules and stresses that come with it) begins.  If your kids are heading off to school soon, you may want to give this easy family fun idea a try.  Just thought I’d pass it on.

So it’s Monday again. Time for a recap of a few fabulous ideas from around the web. All of these sites were featured on my Facebook fan page in the last several weeks so, if you haven’t had a chance, you should check them out. If you liked them as much as I did, take a minute and let the content authors know. Bloggers love comments; so share the love when you stop by their sites.

Remember, if you’d like instant access to the links I love and a few other tips and tricks, you can sign up to be a follower on Facebook by clicking the Facebook icon at the top of the page or by following this link and then clicking the Like button. Here are the links from last week…

The Purl Bee

With five kids in our house, we’ve seen a lot of loose teeth over the years. These simple tooth fairy bags would be a handy tool to have around.

Homemade By Jill

In our world, play dough is a disposable toy. That’s why I love finding a good home-made recipe. My kids and I used this one last week and it worked beautifully.

FilthWizardry

Do you have a little Star Wars fan at your house too? Check out this simple light saber tutorial.

The Crafting Chicks

Sugardoodle directed me to this clever idea for keeping track of your kids summer reading stash. I love the name cards that double as library card holders – so very smart.

Up Up Creative

Know any stylishly-simple brides-to-be? If so, you should send them over to this site for some gorgeous wedding invitation options. I absolutely adore her wedding stationery collection.

So, it’s Monday again.  Time for a recap of a few fabulous ideas from around the web.  All of these sites were featured on my Facebook fan page last week so, if you haven’t had a chance yet, you should definitely check them out.  If you liked them as much as I did you should take a minute and let the content authors know!  Bloggers love comments – so share the love when you stop by their sites.

Remember, if you’d like instant access to the links I love and a few other tips and tricks, you can sign up to be a follower on Facebook by clicking the Facebook icon at the top of the page or by following this link.  Here are the links from last week…

Stubby Pencil Studio

As I mentioned in a previous post, my daughter Emily is a rock lover and a budding artist. This cute bag of vibrant rock crayons would be right up her artistic alley.

Family Fun

Looking for an easy way to add a little moonlight magic to your St. Patrick’s Day? Try this simple Family Fun tradition.

Hostess with the Mostess

I’m not big on sleepovers – we generally host ’semi-sleepovers’ instead (where the guests show up in PJs and stay until 10pm). This “night owl” party would be great theme for my girls’ next get-together.

I found several sites offering elaborate recipes for creating this type of cake but I wasn’t up for that kind of time commitment.  I wanted something I could whip out quickly so I cheated and bought all the components at the grocery store.  Here’s what I used…

1.5 boxes of Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate cake mix
1 jar of Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate frosting (to create the fudgy chocolate topping)
1 jar of Betty Crocker Fluffy White whipped frosting (to create the fluffy filling)
1 tube of Betty Crocker white cookie icing (to create the white spiral decoration)

To make the cake, I used the cake mix and bottom portion of my very favorite cake pan.  It’s called The Great Cupcake Pan from Williams Sonoma.  You could also use two 5-inch cake rounds stacked on top of each other.  I prepared the cake mix as directed and let the cake cool completely.  Then, I sliced about half an inch of cake from the top and set it aside – this creates a lid for the filling later.

To create the fluffy white center, I pressed a large biscuit cutter down into the remaining cake (you’ll want to stop about and inch above the cake base).   I used the spoon to dig out the excess cake and create a nice deep well for the filling.  I whipped the white frosting in the container with a fork before adding it to the well with a spatula.  After that, I replaced the circular top section of cake I had removed earlier.

I wanted the dark chocolate frosting to be glossy and smooth (like the original) so I put the frosting container in the microwave for about 45 seconds.  I poured the frosting directly onto the cake from the center and let it spread out on it’s own until it completely covered the top.  Once the chocolate frosting had cooled a bit, I used the white cookie icing tube to create the signature white spiral on the top.

As you can probably tell from the pictures, I was not going for perfection here.  I knew my little guy was just going do maul this cake with his bare hands, so I didn’t go to a lot of effort to make it look picture-perfect.  I’m sure if you’re willing to put in the time, you could make it look much better.  However, if you’re simply looking for an easy and inexpensive way to make a little kid’s day, this giant Hostess cupcake might be just the ticket.  Just thought I’d pass it on.

Well not this year!  Thanks to the super-creative store owners over at Etsy you have a new alternative; expertly-designed Valentines printables.  These are not your run-of-the-mill freebie printables.  These are fresh, trendy and downright adorable.  I did a little search for Valentine printables on Etsy and found loads of great options.   Here are just a few…

Jolly Rodger by Three Wheels Design

Octopus by Sunshine Cupcake

Pink Owl by Blue Cake and Buttercup

One of my favorites was a cute little shop called Up Up Creative.  My girls fell in love with their Love Birds series.  For only $3 I was able to buy the file and print out enough Valentines and envelopes for both of my daughters’ class lists (over 50 cards in all).  It was a perfect way to give my girls’ Valentines a homemade feel without all the homemade work.  It’s tough to beat that.  Just thought I’d pass it on.

**Julie, over at Up Up Creative, has generously offered to give away a free Valentine printable file to one lucky commenter.  So if you’d like to be entered, just head on over to Up Up and leave a comment below about your favorite Up Up Creative Valentine.

There isn’t much time before Valentine’s Day, so I’m ending this contest Saturday (Feb 7th) at Midnight.  Good luck and I hope you have a happy Valentines Day!

And the winner (randomly chosen by the iPhone app, iChoose) is… #5 – Iene Bond! I will pass your email address on to Julie at Up Up Creative and she’ll get in touch with your regarding your file choice.  Thanks for playing!

Speaking of Halloween, if you’re in the market for a sweet treat to send in for your kid’s Halloween party next week, you might want to check out this cool site.  I first came across Bakerella a few months ago when I was following links from a ‘photography tips’ site.

I was quickly won over by her adorable collection of cupcake pops.  Not only are they clever and fun, but they’re made from a cake mix – which is right up my ‘quick and easy’ alley.  I tagged the site but sort of forgot about it until yesterday when I was searching for fun food ideas for elementary school parties.  When I caught a glimpse of her awesomely bad Halloween pops, I knew I’d found what I was looking for. 

They’re the perfect sweet treat for elementary-age kids…easy to handle, colorful, and a huge step up from the boring orange cupcakes you can pick up at the grocery store.  I was able to buy all the supplies I needed to make a big batch at WalMart for under $8.  I haven’t put them together yet, but thanks to Bakerella’s detailed instructions, I’m hopeful that I can pull them off.

If you’re on the list to send in treats next week, you might want to give these little charmers a try.  Just thought I’d pass it on.

I thought I’d kick things off with a few of my favorite family games.  There are tons of great games out there, but my favorites are the games that are easy to set up, easy to adapt for different age levels, and completely devoid of tiny, get-sucked-up-in-my-vacuum-type pieces.  Here are two that fit that the bill:

Bucket Blast
Of all the kid games in my house (and I have a lot) this one is probably my favorite.  Unlike a traditional game, Bucket Blast is more like a game kit.  It comes with belted buckets, bean bags, blind folds, cones, as well as a handy book of game ideas.  It’s kind of like having tons of games in one – I love it.  I’ve used mine for family home evening, classroom parties, sharing time – you name it.  It can be used inside for bean bag races or outside for water balloon relays.  Best of all, it’s comes with a big, blue drawstring sack to easily contain all the pieces.  The $35 price is a bit higher than I would pay for most games, but if you consider how much use you’ll get out of it it’s well worth it.  You can usually find it at Target or click this link to find it at Amazon.com.

Hyper Dash
I just added this game to our collection a few months ago and my kids have loved it.  It’s not quite as adaptable as Bucket Blast, but it’s packed with fast-paced fun for any age.  Essentially the game is played by spreading out the colored targets (around the room, around the yard, or around the park - there is no limit on distance) and following the directions of the hand-held, talking tagger.  The tagger calls out a number or color and the kids have to go find it, tag it, and then listen for the next direction.  The kids go one at a time and the tagger keeps track of each player’s time and declares a winner.  They can also play it in teams or solo (similar to the game Simon we played when I was a kid).  I love this one because it gets my kids up and moving! In fact, they’re generally panting and a bit sweaty by the end of the game.  It’s easy for the kids to set up and has only 6 pieces so it’s easy to put away too – a huge plus in my book.  I picked mine up at Toys ‘R Us for $20.  They also had a double-dash version (two sets of targets and two taggers) for $30.  Here’s the link on Amazon.comif you’re interested.

If you’ve found a fun family game that your kids can’t resist, I hope you’ll share it with the rest of us in the comments area – I’m always looking to expand my family fun collection.  By the way, I’ve got several fabulous family card games that I’ll be posting those later this week so don’t forget to check back.  Just thought I’d pass it on.

Since there are so many of you with little High School Musical groupies in your house, I thought I’d post the file for the VIP lanyards I created for my daughter’s invitations. Whether you’re hosting your own movie watching party or simply want have something fun for your girls to wear tomorrow night, these simple lanyards should add the perfect VIP touch.

To create them, simply print out the PDF file on heavy white cardstock. Cut out the designs and then use a glue stick to hold the two sides of the tag together. I deleted the birthday party text on the file so your girls could unleash their creativity and add their own designs within the yellow polka-dot border. Once the glue has set, either laminate the tag or simply punch a hole right through the card stock with any standard hold punch. To create the lanyard, simply add your favorite ribbon. I found this darling, polka-dot ribbon at Wal Mart for under $2. While you’re in in the craft aisle you may also want to pick up a small bag of adhesive-backed rhinestones (the kind girls use to decorate their cell phones and mp3 players).  My girls loved using them to embellish their tags. Simple, cheap, and sure to please any High School Musical fan. Just thought I’d pass it on.

Download: HSM2_INVITE_final_blank.pdf

One Saturday last year, I forgot about a birthday party my daughter was invited to and had neglected to buy a present. In a rush, I looked through my pantry and pulled out a simple stash of cupcake supplies. I curled some ribbon around each item, threw them in a gift bag and tied a few balloons to the handles. Much to my surprise, the mother of the birthday girl pulled me aside after the party and thanked me for not buying a toy. She loved the idea of the baking set and said her daughter was thrilled to get it.  Having hosted several birthday parties myself, I totally understood what she was talking about.  From that point on, the baking set has become our standard birthday present.

For the girls, we do a birthday cupcake kit like the one pictured. Generally it includes a box of cake mix, frosting, cupcake liners, sprinkles, and candles. I also include a small child-size apron (found at craft stores for around $2). If I have time, I use printable t-shirt transfer paper to add their names to the apron (see download below).

For the boys, we do ‘Totally Gross Chocolate Dirt Cups’ . The gift bag includes the recipe (see download below), a wooden spoon (we add the boy’s name on the handle in goopy letters with brown and green permanent markers), 2 boxes of chocolate pudding mix, gummy worms, Oreos, and clear cups.

The gifts have been a huge hit at every party.  For some reason, the kids seem to love them…and so do the parents.  Of course, the greatest part about these gifts is that it’s easy to stock up. When I see one of these particular items on sale or available at the dollar store, I grab a bunch and add them to my birthday stockpile. When the invitations come in, I simply print out a recipe or an apron decal, make an apron or a spoon, and toss the rest in the gift bag. In less than 10 minutes and for less than $10 I’ve got a customized birthday gift that’s sure to please. Just thought I’d pass it on.