Making Your Children Happy: It's Not About You

Hi Everyone!

Yesterday, my youngest son came to me with a toy car he had found that changes color. I'm sure you've all seen them before, it turns one color when it's cold and then when you run hot water on it, the color washes off and it returns to white or whatever its original color is. He has always been fascinated by things like this, that change in some way or another. We did the milk coloring experiment as well, and he had fun with that too. He loves to do different experiments

and honestly I fail quite miserably in the mom department of doing them with him.
So yesterday, after multiple trips to the sink and the freezer with this toy car, he asked me if I could put the car into a cup of hot water because it was hard for him to run it under the faucet. Then, he asked me if he could put the entire cup into the freezer and freeze the car inside the water. Now, when he first asked, my initial reaction was "what's the point of that?" It was so simple in concept that I couldn't figure out why he wanted to do it. Then I realized that I was approaching this simple experiment with the eyes of an adult who could warp ahead and see what the results would be in a few hours. What I had to do was to stop and imagine it through his eyes, and his imagination. So with that in mind, I opened up the freezer and we carefully placed it in an empty spot in the door and then waited for science to do it's job.

As the day went on, he kept checking it to see how frozen it was getting. This, of course let to lots of questions about how long would it take to be completely done; why are there bubbles in the middle? etc. All day it made him so happy to watch this "experiment" progress and I came to really understand that a child's happiness is not always related to or even remotely a part of our happiness as parents.

Yes, this was an experiment so simple in nature; but it made him happy and that made it important. It supported his imagination and his curiosity, and made him feel as though he was accomplishing something. It is still in the freezer and I have a feeling that tomorrow, much of the day will be devoted to watching the water melt. I think he's trying to be able to take out the ice and car together so you can see them together.

There is always time for lessons about right and wrong, and do's and don'ts. Read a book, clean your room, don't forget to brush your teeth etc. It is important though, that we don't get so caught up in teaching them that we forget to learn from them.
What are ways you strive to support your child's happiness? What seemingly silly things do you let them do that they enjoy? I would love to hear some of your stories.
That's all for me today, thanks for stopping by. Until tomorrow....

Mojo Monday and Diva Dare: Nicest Thoughts

Hi Everyone!

I'm finally here with my card today. I decided to jump in to the Mojo Monday mix once again and to also combine it with a few more challenges including Verve's July Diva Dare Challenge. (Links to all the challenges will be at the bottom of this post)
The color palette I chose was inspired by this picture from Design Seeds. I just loved the beautiful sunset picture and the colors in it. If you are looking for great color inspirations for your crafts, this is a wonderful site to check out. I used "Nicest thoughts" sentiment stamp from Verve Stamps. In addition I used the "Circle Pattern" Clings background stamp from Hero Arts.
Part of the Diva Dare Challenge was to to distress on your card as well, which I did with Tattered Rose, and Vintage Photo Distress inks.

Here are the challenges for this card today:

1. Mojo Monday: sketch
2. Verve July Diva Dare: Tattered Pages
3. Challenges 4 Everybody: Anything Goes
4. Pile it on: Just because or Thinking of You
5. Hiding in my craft room: Anything Goes

That's all for me today, have a great night!

Tutorial: 3x5 Notepad holder: "Where Dreams Go"

Hi Everyone!

I am here today to share a quick step by step tutorial for a fun notepad holder you can slip inside your purse or perhaps give to a friend or keep on your desk at work. There is a way to do this for a regular 3x3  post it notes; but I really liked this larger size. It is really quite simple and fast to put together. There are more photos for each step at the bottom of the post.

Supplies:

Card stock measuring 7 3/8 x  5 1/4
Additional card stock pieces measuring 2 7/8 x 5 1/8, and 2 3/4x  5
Mini gel pens (purchased at Staples)
Stamps and other decorations as desired

Instructions:

1.Begin by scoring your 7 3/8 x 5 1/4 sheet on the 7 3/8 side at 3 1/8, 3 1/2, 3 7/8

2. Fold along each of the score lines to get a nice crisp crease

3. Cut two small slits in the middle from the fold to the center about 1 inch apart (this is for the pen) It is important at this point that you make cuts with the 3 1/8 side facing up because this will be the front.

4.open up the paper and place sticky strip or some other type of strong adhesive along the bottom edges of the middle creases to seal.

5. Decorate your front as desired. For mine, I used Simply Chartreuse, Aqua Mist, and Melon Berry Paper from Papertrey Ink. The stamp set is "Blue Skies" from Verve Stamps. I used the "Geometric Rings" embossing folder by Provo craft.

6. Attach your notepad on the inside with sticky strip or other strong adhesive.

Chocolate Swirl Cinnamon Sugar Banana Bread

Hi Everyone!

Welcome to my 989th attempt to recharge my little ol' blog! I'm hoping to really make a go of it this time, so thank you for stopping by to visit. There'll be some changes in design and content over the next couple of weeks or so as I am really hoping to make it more than just about crafting. I'd like to incorporate other things as well such as recipes, book reviews, entertainment discussions, parenting and life discussions. On the crafty side, I hope to share more than just cards and also to include tutorials for those of you who may be new to crafting.
Ok, to start off this time, I decided to share a recipe. I made this yesterday as an experiment and the entire loaf is GONE!! Obviously, I will be making it again and probably soon!

Step 1: gather your ingredients, you will need: 

2 Cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp all spice

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

2 beaten eggs

3-4 medium ripe bananas mashed

1 cup of sugar

dark chocolate ice cream topping...just a tablespoon or so for drizzling. (microwaved slightly if needed)

1/2 cup of vegetable oil

1 recipe for streusal topping 

Step 2: Preheat your oven to 350 and prepare your loaf pan with a little non stick spray and flour

Step 3: Put it all together:

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt in large bowl make a well in the center and set aside

In another bowl, mix eggs, bananas, sugar and oil. Then add it all at once to the flour mixture and mix gently just until it is combined. Pull and fold from the bottom to make sure you get all the flour incorporated. 

Pour about 1/2 the batter into the loaf pan and then drizzle some of the chocolate along the center and sprinkle with some cinnamon sugar. Now, at this point you could take a knife and swirl it a bit too. I didn't...but next time I will.

Pour in the rest of the batter and then drizzle a little more chocolate (don't swirl this one...) and then add your streusal topping if you want. This is optional; but makes it all so yummy! Finallly sprinkle the top liberally with cinammon sugar

Bake 55-60 minutes and then cool on wire wrack for at least 15-20 minutes before trying to remove from pan.

I will link this recipe on the recipes tab at the top of the page so you can find it again easily!

Enjoy!