Homemade Waffles For Family Breakfasts

When it comes to breakfast, I love to make homemade food items for my family such as waffles, pancakes, french toast, eggs, omelets, etc. I am not a huge fan of store bought breakfast items as I feel that you can make your breakfast up during the weekends and then freeze it for use during the week when you have less time to spend in the kitchen.

Here is the recipe I like to use when I make homemade waffles.

2 egg whites, whip stiff and fold in
2 egg yolks
3/4 c. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 c. flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
4 tbsp. butter or butter flavored shortening, melted

Beat the egg whites until stiff and set aside. Add milk and vanilla to the well beaten egg yolks. Sift in the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients. Stir in the melted butter (after the butter is cooled) very slowly. Fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites. Pour sufficient batter on the grill to come within one inch of the edge. Cook each waffle for approximately 5 minutes.

Once done, you can let them cool for 15 minutes. Then wrap them in plastic wrap or foil and freeze in a zipper closure bag. They will keep in the freezer for up to 2 months.

Shelly

How To Make Felt Valentine’s Day Refrigerator Magnets

When it comes to making Valentine’s Day crafts with older kids, this is a quick and easy project that will cost less than $1.50 to make. I recently made this project with a group of girls that range in age from 8 to 11 years old.

Here is what you will need:

red and pink craft felt
red embroidery floss with blunt tip sewing needle
2″ wide piece (strip) of magnet
scissors
paper patterned heart measuring 3 1/4″ wide by 2 3/4″ tall
disappearing ink marker
all-purpose craft glue

Pattern: You can just free-hand a heart pattern by folding a piece of paper in half and cutting it into a heart shape that measures approximately 3 1/4″ wide by 2 3/4″ tall.

Trace your heart pattern onto a piece of red felt. Using scissors, cut off 1/4″ around the edges of your paper pattern and then trace the smaller heart that you just made onto a piece of pink felt using a disappearing marker.

Using a blunt tip sewing needle and three strands of red embroidery floss, hand stitch the word LOVE onto the pink heart. Once that has been completed, use three strands of red embroidery floss to blanket stitch or simple whip stitch the pink felt heart to the red felt heart. You will want to stitch around all of the edges to attach the pink heart to the red heart.

Cut an 8″ long by 1/4″ wide strip from red felt. Using the photo for reference, make an arrow from the strips and hand sew them to the back side of the red felt heart. Once completed, use all-purpose craft glue to attach a magnet strip onto the back of the red heart. Let dry for 1 hour and then your new refrigerator magnet is ready to use!

This craft project idea is copyright 2010 by Work At Home Business Options, All Rights Reserved. Please do not reprint this project, instructions or photo without our permission.

Frugal Valentine’s Day Card Holder Ideas

When our daughter was little, every year we would sit down and make our own handmade Valentine’s Day greeting card holders. Since this holder was only used for a few days every year, we would always try to make one with items we had around the house… aka…the frugal way of doing things :)

Here are a few ideas that we did over the years.

1. Take 2 foam or paper plates and cut one of those plates in 1/2. Use a hole punch to punch holes around the edges. Using some ribbon or yarn, thread the ribbon through the holes to attach the two plates together. The 1/2 plate should be the one on the front. Then use stickers, left-over gift wrap, contstruction paper, magazines, etc and let the children decorate their new card holder.

2. Take a cereal box and cut it in half. Use construction paper, stickers, gift wrap, magazines, etc and let children decorate their own box.

3. Plastic or paper shoe boxes make great card holders. Give children some crafting and art supplies and let them decorate shoe boxes to hold all of their Valentine’s Day goodies.

4. Empty round cardboard oatmeal containers. These containers are the perfect size to hold those little Valentine greetings the kids exchange at school. Give your child some craft and art supplies and let them decorate their own container.

Making your own Valentine’s Day greeting card container doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. Look around your home and grab up some of your left-over arts and craft supplies and let your children spend the afternoon crafting up some Valentine’s Day Items!

Shelly

Valentine’s Day Family Craft Activities

Do you enjoy decorating your home for Valentine’s Day? Are you looking for some easy family craft activities that incorporate the Valentine’s Day theme?

When our daughter was a little girl, we enjoyed decorating our home for each and every holiday along with the various seasons…and Valentine’s Day was no exception.

Here are some crafty ideas that you can make with your children this year.

1. Cut out pink, red and white hearts (various sizes) from construction paper. Use a hole punch and punch a hole in the center top area of your heart. Thread some satin ribbon through to make a hanging loop. Give the children some glue and let them glue on some rhinestones, beads, charms, glitter, buttons etc. Then use some suction cups and hang them up on your windows or household mirrors.

2. Homemade Valentine’s Day Cards…you can make them simple or elaborate using construction paper, stickers, markers, glutter glue paint pens, etc.

3. You can make a heart banner by cutting out and decorating paper hearts from construction paper. Use a hole punch and punch a hole in the side of each heart and thread them together with satin ribbon or yarn. Then proudly hang up your banner some where in your home.

4. If you are crafting with older children, consider doing some baking. You can bake cupcakes and cakes and decorate them in a Valentine’s Day theme. Children love to add sprinkles and little candies to the frosting!

~ Shelly ~

10 Ways You Can Spend Time With Your Family This Holiday Season

When it comes to spending quality time with your family during the holiday season, there are many things that you can do that are free or low cost. The following ideas are both in-home and out-of-the home ideas.

1. Singing Christmas Carols – You can go out singing Christmas Carols in your community with a community based or church based group.

2. Tree Lighting Service – You will find that most communities have a free tree lighting service that you and your family can attend.

3. Holiday Decorating – Involve your entire family in the holiday decorating task. If you can afford it, order take-out food and decorate your home and yard for the holidays.

4. Attend a holiday play or concert – Its the season to be jolly and almost all communities, churches or schools will put on some type of play or concert event. Gather up the family and attend a few events which are free or low-cost activities that you all can enjoy.

5. Holiday Baking – Here at my home, several females in our family get together the second Saturday in December every year and we do all of our holiday baking together. We will make pies, tortes, cookies, brownies and several cakes. We all bring a covered dish so that we can have lunch and dinner together and we make it an all day event. We send the men in the family out to hunt down our Christmas trees and to do ‘their’ own gift shopping. This is totally a ‘girls’ only day.

6. Arts and Crafts – Schedule one to two days and sit down with your children to make some holiday theme’d arts and crafts. Children love to craft!

7. Volunteer – If you have the time, I recommend gathering up the family and doing some volunteer work. You can volunteer your time at your local Food Pantry, Women’s and Children Shelter, Nursing Home, Homeless Shelter, Humane Society, etc. All of these types of charities need volunteers…especially around the holidays.

8. Christmas Lights Sight Seeing – Pack a few snacks and pile the family into the car. Drive around your community and check out all of the festive holiday lights and displays. We make this an annual event at our home and look forward to it every year.

9. Adopt A Needy Family – If you are financially stable, I recommend adopting a needy family in your community. You can locate those in need through local churches. You can make a few baked goods and purchase a few inexpensive gifts and drop them off to the family in need. This is the season to give back to others who are less fortunate.

10. Adopt A Military Soldier – There are many programs where you can adopt an overseas military member or his/her stateside family. You can send a care package to a military member overseas or offer help to his/her family here stateside. Whatever you do…make sure you show your appreciation to our military members.

~ Shelly Hill ~ Copyright 2009, All Rights Reserved

Kids Craft Project – Beaded Wreath Holiday Ornaments

When our daughter was young, we spent a weekend afternoon crafting up some cute holiday wreath ornaments using beads and lace. You can find the craft supplies listed for this project at your neighborhood craft supply store.

The following project would be suited for children over the age of 5 with adult supervision.

Materials Needed:

6″ piece of pipe cleaner (I used clear ones)
16″ to 18″ piece of red flat edge lace that is 1″ in width
1 package of green plastic tri-beads
1 package of clear plastic tri-beads
1 flocked teddy bear measuring approximately 1 1/4″ tall
4″ piece of gold metallic cord
all-purpose quick-drying craft glue
scissors
ruler

Note: When you purchase the flat edge lace (non-gathered lace) look for a pattern that has a hole that runs along the edge so that you can thread your pipe cleaner through it.

Step 1: Cut off a 6″ piece of pipe cleaner and a 16″ to 18″ piece of lace and set aside.

Step 2: Slightly pinch one end of pipe clear and then thread on a green tri-bead. Start threading on your lace followed up by a clear tri-bead. You will want to continue this pattern for the length of your pipe cleaner. (green bead, lace, clear bead).

Step 3: Once you have the pipe cleaner filled up with beads and lace, shape it into a circle and twist the two pipe cleaner ends together. It should look like a wreath.

Step 4: Glue the flocked teddy bear onto the wreath as shown in the picture. (he should look like he is sitting inside it). Finally, take a 4″ piece of gold metallic cord and thread through the lace at the top and form a knotted loop so that it can be hung on your holiday tree.

Shelly

Kids Craft Project – 2 Easy Reindeer Holiday Tree Ornaments

When it comes to keeping the children busy during those cold winter days, as parents…we often look for inexpensive craft projects. About 15 years ago, my daughter and I spent an afternoon making some cute reindeer holiday ornaments.

You can make several of these in just a few hours and use them on holiday packages or your christmas tree.

Clothes Pin Reindeer Ornament

scissors
all-purpose craft glue
paint brush and brown acrylic paint or brown marker
2 wooden craft-type clothes pins
2 tiny wiggle eyes
4″ piece of red embroidery floss
scrap of green felt
2 small red pom-poms

Using brown paint or a brown marker, paint on the reindeer hooves and set aside. Using a piece of green felt, cut out a small holly shape and glue 1 small pom-pom on the center of the left, set aside to dry. Take the red piece of floss and tie a knot in it to form a loop. Using the picture as a guide, glue the 2 clothes pins together, sandwiching the red floss loop in the center. Glue on the wiggle eyes, pom-pom nose and the green holly onto the head. Set ornament aside to completely dry.

Wine Cork Reindeer Ornament

scissors
all-purpose craft glue
paint brush and brown acrylic paint
1 gold chenille stem
2 tiny wiggle eyes
1 small red pom-pom
4″ piece of craft wire

Paint the wine cork with brown paint and set aside to dry. Cut off a 4″ piece of wire and twist it close to form a hanging loop. Cut your gold chenille stem in half and shape it into antlers as shown in the photograph. Using the end of your scissors, make a small cavity in the top of your wine cork. Squirt a nice side glob of glue down into the hole and insert your wire hanger and antlers. Glue 2 tiny wiggle eyes on the front of the face and a red pom-pom for the reindeer’s nose.

This article is copyright 2009 by Shelly Hill and can not be reproduced without my permission.

Kids Craft – Holiday Snowman Ornaments Project

Many years ago when our daughter was a little girl, every holiday season we looked forward to making homemade ornaments for our holiday packages. Over the years, our gift recipients looked forward to seeing what we would come up with for their package embellishment.

This snowman ornament is easy to do and only takes a few basic crafting supplies. I believe that its suited for children age 5 years and up, with adult supervision.

Supplies Needed:

tongue depressor sticks or popsicle sticks
basic white all-purpose craft glue (the kind that dries clear)
piece of string or yarn measuring 4″ long
piece of cotton fabric measuring 1/4″ by 4 1/2″ long (scarf)
acrylic paints: white, orange and black
paint brush
toothpicks
scrap piece of black craft foam or felt
newspaper (used to cover your work surface)

Step 1: Lay tongue depressor sticks on the newspaper and have your child paint them white, letting each side dry for 15 minutes before flipping it over to paint the reverse side.

Step 2: Paint 1/4 of the top of the stick black with acrylic paint and let dry. This black area will become the top hat.

Step 3. Using a piece of black felt or black craft foam, cut out a piece that measures 1/8″ of an inch by 1 1/2″ in length. Glue this piece to the stick to form the brim of the top hat. Let dry.

Note: If you are using a popsicle stick, you will need a smaller piece of black foam that measures 1/8″ by 1″ in length.

Step 4. Dip the end of the paint brush into black paint and use it to dot on 2 snowman eyes and then 3 round dots further down on your stick to represent 3 coal buttons.

Step 5. Using orange paint, have your child paint on a triangular shaped nose (under the 2 eyes).

Step 6. Dip one end of a toothpick into black paint. Dab on 5 little dots under the orange carrot nose to represent a mouth. Let your snowman completely dry.

Step 7. Once project is dry, flip it over and glue a string or a piece of yarn near the top backside to be used to hang the ornament onto your package or holiday tree. Finish up your project by tying a piece of fabric around the neck area to give him a scarf.

This article is copyright 2009 by Shelly Hill, all rights reserved. If you would like to reprint this article, please contact Shelly directly.

Creative Alternatives To Traditional Halloween Candy For Trick Or Treat Night

When it comes to Halloween and Trick or Treat night, what do you like to hand out to the children who visit your home? Do you stick with the traditional candy or do you like to get creative with the items you hand out?

Over the years, I tried to be creative with what I hand out to the Trick or Treaters. In addition, I like to give out age appropriate items so I make up 3 different baskets of goodies which are separated by age groups.

Here are some fun ideas that I came up with over the years.

Travel Tooth Brushes
Travel-Size Tooth Paste
Re-useable Sports Bottle Straws
Temporary Body Tattoos (boys)
Pony Tail Holders (girls)
Hair Barrettes (girls)
Glow Sticks, Necklaces and Bracelets
Inexpensive Jewelry (Dollar Store)
Mini Die-Cast Cars (Dollar Store)
Mini Boxes of Crayons (4 packs)
Pencils
Erasers In Fun Halloween Shapes
Silly Putty (Dollar Store)
Mini Canisters of Play Dough
Mini Holiday Coloring Books and Activity Pads
Holiday Refrigerator Magnets
Holiday Vinyl Mini Window Clings
Mini Bottles of Blowing Bubbles
Mini Foam Holiday Rubber Stamps
Mini Ink Pads
Key Chains
Decks of Playing Cards
Bookmarks
Certificates for a Free Movie Rental
Character or Holiday Pins
Sheets of Stickers
Bandanas
Sports Cards
Movie Tickets or Discount Movie Coupons
Finger Puppets
Travel-Size Boxes of Cereal
Fast Food Beverage, Fries or Ice Cream Certificates

Tip: Every year we get several babies out with their siblings and parents at our front door. I like to keep several jars of baby food or baby teething cookies on hand for those that visit our home. After all, a candy bar would be inappropriate to give to a child that small.

When it comes to Halloween, the most important part is to have fun and to stay safe. I believe it is important to have a variety of age appropriate items on hand to give out to the Trick or Treater’s that arrive at your front door.

Now that Halloween is almost here…what will you be handing out this year?

~ Shelly ~

Autumn – A Great Season For Family Time

When our seasons change so does the opportunities to spend some time with our families. During the summer season, we spend a lot of time outdoors swimming, camping, hiking, going to the beach, riding our bikes, etc.

Just because summer is now over and Autumn has officially begun, that doesn’t mean you need to sit indoors and watch television and/or movies.

With the Autumn season you can still get outdoors and enjoy some family time before the cold winter weather moves in. Take advantage of the cooler temperatures and crisp fall air.

During the next few weeks, head outdoors with your family and enjoy a few activities such as:

Athletic Activities – Bicycle riding, roller blading, tennis, basketball, volley ball, miniature golf, golfing and more.

Leisure Activities – Picnics, backyard barbecues, nature walks, community service projects, hayrides, apple picking at your local orchard, haunted cornfield mazes, decorating your yard for Halloween, hot air balloon rides, fall festivals, outdoor concerts and more.

Just because the air is cooler, doesn’t mean you need to spend your family time indoors. What kind of activities will you be doing with your family this Autumn (fall) season?

Shelly

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