Fiesta Invitations

Hi There! Well, I guess it is a good thing that I did not delete this blog entirely, because I have something to post about. Recently, I helped plan a Fiesta for the women at my church. These are the cute little fiesta invitations that I made. Everyone loved them. They took some time, but they were not hard. I just used a bowl to trace some circles onto off-white cardstock, then I cut out the circles with scalloped scissors. I folded some green and red shred into the middle and put the information about the party on the outside. (I stapled all of this together.) I then glued a knot of raffia over the staple. Cute!

A little longer - at least.

I have heard from several people who want me to leave this blog up. For some reason, I feel guilty about having a blog that I neglect. However, since I have had so many requests, I will leave this blog up and running, at least for now. Who knows - maybe I will even post a time or two this year. Happy New Year everyone!

So. . . This is it.

Hello Everyone. I just wanted to let you know that I have decided to shut down Creative Spring. I have enjoyed my experience blogging about all of these fun things, but with four little ones, I just can no longer find the time - at least not at this point in life. So, as of January 1st, this blog will be deleted.

Thank you to my good followers. It has been a pleasure.

T.

Cookies for Santa Plate

I have not posted in awhile. I have been busy with getting ready for baby and with being in charge of our women's craft day at our church. The craft day is finally over and I will be posting a few of the things we made. The first is this Cookies for Santa plate. This project was a hit. We made them with plates from the dollar store and vinyl lettering. Once the lettering is applied, the plate is no longer dishwasher or microwave safe and should be cleaned only with a damp cloth - but hey, for a plate you use once a year - I figure that is fine. Anyway, I was pleased with how they turned out and the ladies loved them.

**If you are interested in purchasing the vinyl to make a plate for yourself, I am selling the vinyl only in my etsy shop. The cost is $1.00 for the vinyl and 50 cents for shipping.**

Mini First Aid Kit

Over a year ago, I had a post on this blog about other uses for plastic baby food containers. One of the ideas I collected for the post was to put a couple of band aids and antiseptic wipes in it and you have a portable first aid kit. I thought this was a great idea, so I did this and put it in my purse. Recently, when I pulled it out of my purse, my husband mentioned that he would like to make a bunch of them with his fifth grade class. Well, I no longer have a baby eating baby food, but luckily I had saved almost enough for his class to make kits. (I did have to get a couple more from a friend). The kids loved this project. They just filled them with a few band-aids and antiseptic wipes and then put a red cross sticker on the top. They are useful, turned out cute, and were a real hit.

Frugal Friday - All Purpose Cleaner

As the wife of a school teacher - I am always trying to find ways to add a few more dollars to the grocery budget. I am going to try to use Fridays to share some of the things I have found that help me save a few pennies. Maybe you will find them useful too.

I recently ran out of glass cleaner and found this old recipe laying around. I gave it a try and it works pretty well. I like the fact that it can be used as an all purpose cleaner and disinfectant as well. Sure I can buy glass cleaner at the dollar store - but this recipe cost just a few cents to make and can be used for a lot more than just glass.

Homemade Disinfectant / Glass Cleaner

2 cups water

1 cup clear rubbing alcohol

2 Tbsp non-sudsing ammonia

Mix well in squirt bottle.

Pom Pom Throw

I love this cute pom pom patchwork throw. Head on over to Sew 4 Home and check it out.

Play Make-up

I found this cute tutorial at Not so idle hands for making faux make-up for your little girls. I don't have little girls, but my sister is always complaining that her daughter loves to play with make-up, but always makes such a mess with her "play" make up. This tutorial shows you how to make mess-free make up out of old make up containers and dollar store nail polish. Such a cute idea.

Whole Wheat Waffles

This is a recipe for whole wheat pancakes or waffles that I have loved ever since I was a kid. Now, my kids love it too. These are great served with fresh fruit and whipped cream, or just good old fashioned syrup. My son loves it when I put blueberries in them, and he will eat them without any syrup if I fix them this way.

Whole Wheat Waffles

1 1/4 C. whole wheat flour

1 T. baking powder

1 1/2 t. salt

3 T. brown sugar

2 eggs

1 1/4 cup milk

3 T. oil

Whisk dry ingredients together in a bowl. Separate the eggs. Combine the egg yolks, milk and oil and then add to the dry ingredients and whisk together. Beat the egg whites until light and fluffy and fold into batter. (I usually just put them in my stand mixer and let it do the work while I am getting the rest of the ingredients together.) Bake in waffle iron or on hot griddle. Makes about 16 4 inch pancakes or waffles.

Homemade Lotion

Well, I'm not sure that this lotion is actually homemade, but it is definitely improved at home. My hands get very dry in the winter and it was expensive to buy any lotion that would combat the problem effectively. I finally found this recipe at recipezaar and whipped up a batch. It made alot for very little money. I just used the cheap store brands of lotion and petroleum jelly. It worked wonders for my dry skin. Click here to check out the recipe on recipezaar.

Is Anyone Still Out There???

Hello again! If anyone is actually checking this blog anymore, I just want you to know that I am still here. We found out in early March that we are expecting another baby and it has been a difficult few months. But, now that I am finally feeling a little better, I plan to get posting again. My goal is to have at least one new post up each week. Sorry for the long silence.

T.

Going Green Popcorn

Click here to go to Bright Ideas for this fun recipe that would be great for St. Patricks Day.

Taggie Animals

I have really been neglecting this blog. Sorry! We have just been soooo busy - but I will try to do better. For today, check out this tutorial on how to make these fun Taggie Animals at homemade by jill. These cute little things can be attached to car seats, strollers, etc with a plastic ring. Love them!

My Oreo Pops

Happy Valentines Day everyone!

I just wanted to create a quick post to share how my Oreo Pops turned out. My little boy was happy to give them to his friends, and I got several compliments from the moms. I think they were a success.

Oreo Pops

We are in the process of getting our house ready to sell, so my days are pretty busy and posts may be rare for a week or two - but for today . . .

These are what I am planning to make for my sons preschool class for Valentines Day.

Click here to go to Happy Birds Crafting Haven and see her tutorial.