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FUN/DIY

FUN/DIY/ Holidays/Parties/ Seasonal

May Day Baskets

We have never made May Day Baskets, but have been the recipients of them many times and boy, what fun that is!  My Aunt Linda and her girls introduced us to May Day baskets by sneaking them onto our doorstep in years past, but now we live too far away and her girls are all grown up!   We have a couple friends here that have surprised us the last few years. It is always such a fun thing to hear the doorbell and find treats left behind by someone who loves us.  For those of you who are not familiar with the May Day Tradition, the basket giver rings the bell and runs away.  The person receiving the basket tries to catch the fleeing giver.  If caught, tradition said a kiss was to be exchanged!

Every year I say I am going to do it, but then do not get around to it.  I saw a few cute ideas online which made me think that I REALLY had to do it this year, so I did!  The baskets we made are inspired by three different May Day Baskets that I found online.

 I started out making holes in the cups with a paper punch, but that made my hand sore, so I used the point of my scissors instead, twisting the scissors to make the hole.  Much easier!

I found some items of clothing that were ripped and not worth sewing back together.  I cut them in 3/4 inch wide strips of fabric and laced it around the rim of the cups.  My lil’ one loved helping me with this part.

The handle was made with wire, glued between two strips of ribbon.  This basket from Skip To My Lou was the inspiration for the handle.  We glued little flowers in pretty spring colors on to embellish, which I found on clearance at the craft store.

I wanted to fill them with treats that are not full of all kinds of artificial stuff.  I know that holidays are a fun time for treats, and we eat our share of junk during a holiday, but I wanted to see if I could find a way to make a treat basket without a bunch of artificial colors and high fructose corn syrup.

I choose popcorn, honeycomb cereal (I thought the flower shape was cute and they don’t have a ton of sugar in them, at least for a treat), dried blueberries, multi-grain cheerios, and to top it off, …a Lindt Lindor Truffle.
My girls are very excited to deliver these little baskets tomorrow. There is just something so fun about ringing a door bell, leaving a basket and running away!
Happy May Day!!
This post is linked to:
Saturday Nite Special @ Funky Junk Interiors
Weekend WrapUp Party @ Tater Tots & Jello
Super Crafty Saturdays @ One Crafty Mommy
Sundae Scoop @ I Love Naptimes
Saturday Is Crafty Day @ Along For The Ride
Made It Mondays @ The Persimmon Perch
Made By You Mondays @ Skip To My Lou
Just Something I Whipped Up @ The Girl Creative

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Easter/ Holidays/Parties/ Love/ Spiritual

Good Friday-Remembering

These are two of my most favorite songs.  I couldn’t decide which one to share, so I shared them both.  I encourage you to watch the both of them, and remember with me why this Good Friday is such a very, very special day.

{both videos are very graphic, viewer discretion advised}

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Easter/ Holidays/Parties/ Love/ Spiritual

Easter Lessons

 

With Easter coming, my girls and I have been having quite a few discussions about sin and our need for a Saviour.  I was wanting a tangible way to show them different types of sin, how often we sin, and how great our need is for a Saviour.

I took a bulletin board square, drew a cross on it, and then we looked up some Bible verses and brain-stormed different types of sin, which I then wrote onto the cross.

 

~We discussed why and how Jesus died, and the amazingness– He took our sins upon Himself and paid the penalty that we deserved, by dying for us.

 ~We talked about repentance, how we must acknowledge our sin, ask Jesus to forgive our sin, and turn away from our sin. He takes the burden of them onto Himself, and they are no more.

~We talked about how He makes us whole and beautiful, and how we can come to Him anytime, He will always be ready and willing to forgive us, making us new again.

~We talked about the beauty of Easter, how He conquered death and is Risen, indeed!!

With pins (reminding us to think of the nails that pierced His skin) and beautiful, shimmery circles (the circle shape represents how He makes us whole),  we have been coming before the cross this week and acknowledging this amazing thing our Saviour did for us.

It has been beautiful, seeing my girls ask for forgiveness more often, and going to the cross before their Jesus, on their own.  I see them walk away, with freedom in their eyes and a lightness in their step.

My youngest- “Oh, mom, the cross is becoming so beautiful!!”  I smile and think, “so are you, my child, so are you.”

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April Fool's Day/ Holidays/Parties

Last Minute April Fool’s Jokes

I PROCRASTINATED!  Imagine that…
I have to quickly come up with some April Fool’s jokes before my kids come home from school.

Here is what I (with some help from Family Fun.com) have come up with:

I’m making meatloaf for dinner, and found this fun idea.  It is perfect because we have art class today, which leaves little time to cook, so this breaks down the baking time.  I am giving in and getting instant mashed potatoes, and adding enough butter to make them appear yellow, I may even put a few sprinkles on top.  This one seems a little too mean, I may have to have real cupcakes sitting to the side ready to eat.

Super glue a quarter to the sidewalk:
My kids fall for this one every time!

Get Paid For Using The Bathroom:
the picture above says it all, or click on the link..

Pin The Panties/Underwear:
We did this one to dad last year.  We took his underwear, and safety pinned the waist band of one, to the waist band of another, and so forth.  This ends up making a “streamer” of underwear.  Dad pulls one out, and ten others come out with it!  Its too late to do this, but I have time to pin my girls jammies together…:)

Get Sprayed:
Wrap a rubber band around your sink’s sprayer, tight enough to hold down the nozzle.  When your victim turns the water on, they will get a bit wet!  Hee. Hee.

HAPPY APRIL FOOLS DAY!

*due to my inability to think of anything more to write, I need to inform you that after today, I will no longer be posting and New Nostalgia will no longer exist.  Thank you for all the amazing support and kind comments you have given to me over the months…
…APRIL FOOLS!!!!

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FUN/DIY

Homemade Slime!

{we used the new neon food colors from McKormick}

I record the Martha Stewart show, and my 10 yr old loves to watch it.  She was in the basement, and I knew she was at it again when I heard Martha’s very proper voice drifting up through the vents.  After awhile, my daughter came running up and was so excited she could barely speak.  “Slime, mom!  Homemade SLIME!!  Can we do it?  Huh?  Can we?  Do you have Borax??”  That child should know by now that I am the Borax queen! (homemade laundry detergent, homemade dishwashing detergent, homemade cleaners, all have borax in them)

{these were in balls, but within seconds they start to melt and flatten.  So much fun to mess with!}
{* a small amount of slime stuffed in a plastic easter egg would make a great alternative to candy stuffed eggs for those easter egg hunts!}

I looked the process up online, and decided to let her have a go at it.  It is a simple enough process that she was able to do most of it by herself, and boy, have we had FUN WITH SLIME in this house!  My daughter is even selling it at school to her friends, along with her homemade duct tape wallets and bags.  She is quite the entrepeneur!  She splits a batch in half, and sells a “small” batch for $1 and a “large” batch for $2.

{I would not recommend stacking the slime on top of each other like the first pic, unless you like this look.  When different colors touch, they instantly are stuck and then you end up with marble slime!}

Here are the directions (via Martha Stewart, she has a great video showing the process) 

Tools and Materials
2 mixing bowls
Warm water
Elmer’s glue
1/4 teaspoon unsweetened Kool-Aid or 4 to 8 drops liquid food coloring
Craft stick
Borax
Slime How-To
1. Mix together 1/3 cup warm water, 1/2 cup Elmer’s glue, and Kool-Aid or food coloring. Stir thoroughly with craft stick; set aside.
2. Mix together 3/4 cup warm water and 2 teaspoons Borax. Stir thoroughly with craft stick; pour into mixture one, stirring continuously.
3. Remove glob from bowl and work in your hands for 2 to 3 minutes. Store in resealable plastic bag or air-tight container.Tip: If mixture starts to dry out, pour a small amount of water over it and knead for 2 to 3 minutes before returning to a tightly sealed container.

Professor Figgy was the guest on Martha who showed this technique.  He sells slime making kits on his site.  Wouldn’t these make a great gift?  I personally will be making my own, I am sure I could find a much cuter way to package it!  I’ll let you know if I come up with anything.

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HOME/ Homemaking/ Seasonal

Decorating For Spring

It has been so dreary and cloudy here in Nebraska, so when I thought about spring decor, I knew I needed COLOR!  I scrounged up what I had, bought a few stems for half price at Hobby Lobby, and got busy putting hints of color around the house.  I chose red, yellow, orange, and green.  I’m keeping it simple, so no big spring decor projects, just happy hints of color.

Here is what I had to work with. Those baskets were filled with pine cones during fall and winter, now they are full of books for my girls to grab and read, while they are sitting on the sunroom swing, or hanging out in the living room.  The yellow picture frame is up but still does not have a picture in it, its on my list!  The box that says “Faith” is for our family prayer requests, we will periodically look in to see what prayers God has chosen to answer for us.

I bought this two- tiered basket for $4.98 the other day.  It looked much prettier with bananas and a green pepper in it, but we’ve been munching around here.  
I love the burst of color these 2 art pieces bring to my dining room shelf. My daughter made them and I wish you could see the details! She used a glue gun and liked how the strands of glue looked so she purposefully made more stands of glue going every which way on top of these, (which you can’t see in the picture).  It makes them glisten and adds another element of interest.  These bits of dried paint are peeled off the top of paint containers from art class.  
Funny story…my brother- in- law is responsible for much of the decor you see, well, at least responsible for where it is placed.  I had them over this weekend, and asked my sister for some decorating opinions.  Bro-in-law jumped in, was not shy with his opinions, and took over!  Who knew he had an artsy side?  He is usually working on cars or doing yard work, so it was quite funny to have him decorating my house!  Thanks, bro!
A touch of yellow in the kitchen, makes me feel cheery.  So does the sun that is shining through the window today- first sunny day in way too long! 
Happy Spring!

Funky Junk's Saturday Nite Special


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