FAMILY – Whole Heartily

DIY Heart Handprint Painting for Valentine’s Day

Welcome back friends!

My little girl hasn’t quite reached the age of exchanging multitudes of valentines amongst her classmates and/or friends so I thought we would create a few fun pieces of artwork instead! These heart handprint paintings are the perfect Valentine for moms, dads, grandmas, grandpas, aunts and uncles; the sky is the limit!

Let’s have some fun and get painting!

SUPPLIES

Small mounted canvas (large enough for a handprint)
Foam paint brushes
Acrylic paint
Heart shaped paper, small
Scissors
Sticky tape

INSTRUCTIONS

Select the colors you would like for a background, this can be one or more dependent on your preference.
Squeeze dots of the background paint color(s) you selected on the canvas in any pattern you prefer. I was going for a gradient look so I arranged my dots from light to dark.
Using a a foam paint brush, you and your little one can spread and blend the paint over the canvas in back and forth strokes.
For a completed look, paint the edges of the canvas if you have not already done so, then set it aside and allow it to fully dry.
Print and cut a heart out of paper and use sticky tape to attach it to the dry canvas.
Select the colors you would like to use to create the handprint, this could be one color or more, we did six, one for each finger and another color for the palm!
Using a different foam paint brush for each color, brush the colors onto your little one’s hand. Gently press the painted hand down on the canvas, aligning the heart under their palm.
Gently pull the hand away, then peel away the heart if it did not come off onto the hand.
If needed, use a small paint brush to touch up the edges of the heart, then allow the painting to dry.
Enjoy!

Homemade Valentine’s Bittersweet Fudge Recipe

Welcome back friends! Who would like to celebrate love and create some bittersweet fudge, sprinkled with a little salt this Valentine’s day? Usually I crave a sweeter chocolate, but this fudge has just enough sweet to cut through the bitter dark chocolate taste and if you add a little salt on top? Pure delicious!

Let’s make some!

INGREDIENTS

16 ounces of Baker’s unsweetened chocolate
14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons of vanilla
Kosher salt (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Line an 8 or 9 inch square pan with foil.
Break the chocolate down in to smaller pieces and place it and the sweetened condensed milk into a double boiler.
Melt the chocolate into the sweetened condensed milk, stirring to incorporate.
Once the chocolate is melted, add the vanilla.
Remove from the heat and spread the fudge on the bottom of the prepared pan. Sprinkle Kosher salt over the top of the fudge if desired.
Refrigerate for two hours or until firm.
Use foil to lift fudge from pan before cutting into pieces. I used a heart cookie cutter to create heart shaped fudge pieces for my Valentine(s).
Enjoy!

Resist Gossip

“Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

Let’s be done with gossip.

Gossip is not beneficial, it is not positive, it is not kind; it’s damaging, it’s negative, it’s hateful.

There are members of my extended family (and I know it doesn’t stop there) who treat gossiping with all the seriousness of their life’s purpose and it is beyond disturbing. My hands are not clean either, I’ve gossiped and it is thrilling when you’re right in the middle of gleaning and spreading all the juicy details, but it’s bad behavior and a bad habit. Bad habits are best dropped before becoming bad character.

I love my daughter and I do not want her growing up judging or disparaging others. One of my resolutions is to stop gossiping and I invite anyone who’s reading this to join me.

It’s time to stop; resist gossip.

I created this sticker, that can be purchased here and used as a reminder!

Happy New Year 2023!

Happy New Year Friends! I wish you all the best and sincerely hope all your hopes and dreams for 2023 will come to fruition. These last few years have been rocky, to say the least, but its a time for fresh starts and new beginnings, so let’s make the most of it!

I believe in making resolutions; they give you the focus to complete certain tasks. Resolutions can be made any time of the year, and should be in some cases, but it’s traditional to make them for the fresh start of a new year and it’s all in good fun!

I’ve set 12 resolutions for 2023, check them out!

Expand my garden.
Go greener.
Organize the whole house.
Play and complete 12 video games.
Read and complete 12 books.
Re-carpet the living room.
Re-floor the main areas of the house.
Resist gossip.
Send anniversary and birthday cards out on time.
Set aside 1 hour a day to work on my dreams.
Set aside times of the day for intentional screen-time.
Take Zoey to Disneyland.

DIY – Bat Silhouette Pom Pom Painting

Part of the fun in raising Zoey is making things that delight her; I want to create fun, educational crafts for her that are made with love and will be loved! This week we’ll be creating pom pom paintings of bat silhouettes for halloween!

I remember when I was a kid we made halloween crafts at school and my mom would bring them out every year as part of our halloween decor. It made me feel super happy and proud that she would take the time to save and display my art every year and that is the feeling I want to inspire in my own daughter.

Let’s get painting!

SUPPLIES

BatSilhouettePattern Download

Bat silhouette pattern (see above)
Printer paper
Scissors
Scotch tape
Black cardstock paper (8.5 x 11”)
Clothespin(s)
Pom poms
Sunset colored paints (I used red, orange, purple and yellow)

INSTRUCTIONS

Print this bat pattern I’ve created and cut the bats out.
Break off several small pieces of tape, roll them into cylinders, and use them to attach the bats where you want them on the black cardstock paper.
Pour non-toxic sunset colored acrylic paints into a pie plate (or something similar) and set out a pom pom for each color.
Use a clothespin to grab one pom pom at a time, or one clothespin per color.
Allow your little one to dab the paint around and over the bats to their heart’s content.
Allow the paint to dry and then gently peel off the bats to reveal their silhouettes!
Hang it up and enjoy!

DIY – Ghost Pom Pom Painting

Let’s get painting!

SUPPLIES

Ghost Pattern Download

Ghost pattern (see above)
Printer paper
Scissors
Scotch tape
Black cardstock paper (8.5 x 11”)
Clothespin
Pom pom
White paint

INSTRUCTIONS

Print this ghost pattern I’ve created and cut it out of it’s frame, then set the frame aside.
Cut the eyes and mouth out of the ghost shape.
Break off three small pieces of tape, roll them into cylinders, and use them to attach the eyes and mouth where you want them on the black cardstock paper.
Pour non-toxic white acrylic paint into a pie plate (or something similar) and use a clothespin to grab ahold of a pom pom.
Place the ghost pattern’s frame around the edges of your cardstock page and dab the pom pom in the white paint, then dab it around in the edges of the ghost’s shape to create a dotted pattern for your little one.
Remove the frame and allow your little one to dab the paint away to their heart’s content.
Allow the paint to dry and then gently peel off the eyes and mouth to reveal!
Hang it up and enjoy!

Homemade Stovetop Popcorn

Welcome back friends! Who wants some fresh stovetop popcorn to enjoy on one (or more) of these beautiful autumn nights? Maybe cuddled under a blanket, while watching a good movie? I know I do, so let’s pop some!

HOMEMADE STOVETOP POPCORN

3 tablespoons of olive oil
3/4 cup of popcorn kernels
2 to 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoon of popcorn salt

INSTRUCTIONS

To create popcorn salt, grind it into a fine powder with a mortar and pestle or run 1/2 cup of salt in the food processor until fine.
Place the olive oil and popcorn kernels in a large lightweight pot, then gently shake the pot to distribute the kernels over the bottom of the pan and evenly coat the kernels with oil.
Place the pot on medium heat (or slightly lower depending on the power of your stovetop) and put the the lid on. The kernels will begin popping in about a minute or so and you may need to hold the lid on using the safety handle.
Shake the pot briefly every 30 seconds or so. When the popping stops, immediately pour the popcorn in to a large bowl. You may want to have a bowl set aside to pour excess popcorn into as you go if your pot turns out to be too small.
Melt the butter in a saucepan or microwave, then pour it over the popcorn and sprinkle the salt, shaking well to toss and disperse.
Enjoy!

*This popcorn may look a little dark, but the kernels were toasted in the pan before popping, I did not taste any burnt flavor.

Homemade Play Dough Recipe

Part of the fun in raising Zoey is making things that delight her; I want to create fun, educational crafts for her that are made with love and will be loved! I see much play dough in our future, and while buying it is always a viable option, how fun and cost effective is it to make some on your own?

So let’s make some homemade play dough!

SUPPLIES

Large saucepan
Wooden spoon
Wax paper
Gloves
Sandwich bags

INGREDIENTS

2 cups of all-purpose flour
3/4 cup of salt
4 teaspoons of cream of tartar
2 cups of warm water
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
Food coloring

INSTRUCTIONS

Place the cream of tartar, flour, and salt in a large saucepan and stir to combine.
Slowly add the oil and water, stirring until well incorporated.
Cook over medium heat, stirring consistently, until the mixture thickens into a dough.
Remove the pan from the heat and allow the dough to cool slightly until it can be handled comfortably.
Divide the dough into equal portions based on how many colors you would like, and roll into balls.
Put on gloves and press an indentation into each ball of dough, then add 15 drops of food coloring to the indentation of each ball to start, you can always add more later.
Knead each ball of dough until the color is well incorporated. If the color is not as bright as you want, you can add more food coloring and knead again.
Enjoy!

*This can be stored in sandwich bags, one for each color. Just be sure to remove all the excess air for longevity of the dough!

Family Friendly Autumnal Activity Ideas

Welcome back Autumn! Every year I look forward to the Autumn and the warmth it generates inside my home and soul. Where I live, September and October are still rather warm on some days, and turn wet and cold as the months progress toward Winter. I cannot get enough of the rain this time of year. The cold, wet weather begins to take over outside, driving us all inside to be together and warm. There’s nothing like cuddling up with people you love, reading a good book, watching a movie or playing a video game while the weather misbehaves outside.

I intend to spend a lot of time with my family this year and came up with some family friendly ideas I’d like to experience with Zoey! Follow along and try some of these activities for yourself, this is a time we should all enjoy!

We intend to:

Bake bread.
Bake cookies for family and/or friends.
Collect acorns and make art.
Collect leaves and make art.
Collect rocks and make art.
Make nature pressings or rubbings.
Donate to a food bank.
Go on a hayride.
Go puddling in the rain.
Have an indoor picnic on a stormy day.
Make a bird feeder.
Make Halloween decorations.
Go trick or treating!
Make fresh tortillas.
Make homemade play dough.
Make stovetop popcorn.
Pick apples.
Bake apple pie.
Drink apple cider.
Make caramel apples.
Pick out pumpkins at a pumpkin patch.
Give pumpkins a bath.
Carve, decorate and/or paint pumpkins.
Bake pumpkin bread.
Roast pumpkin seeds.
Roast s’mores.

Water Table Accessory and Activity Ideas

Part of the fun in raising Zoey is making things that delight her; I want to create fun, educational activities for her that are made with love and will be loved!

With how much young ones love water, water tables are perfection during the hot summer months! Set them up in a comfortable location with some shade, and watch them play to their hearts content! They can play with the table as is, or you can add accessories to make the play even more engaging and fun!

Here to inspire you, I’ve created a list of water table accessory/activity ideas to keep the kiddos entertained for hours!

**If you live in California or any other location where wasting water may be an issue, no worries! Bypass adding any food coloring to the play water and once you’re done, you can use it to water your plants!