DIY - Chalk Board Letters

This is another way fun and super inexpensive creative letter idea.  I went to the local thrift store - I'm from Utah so for us that's Deseret Industries aka 'the DI' or 'the D & I' as my kids called it when they were little.  I'm sure that there are other thrift stores around but the D & I is pretty prevalent around these parts.  I picked up three picture frames.  The prices ranged from $1-$5.  Not bad.

Supplies:

frames (with glass)

Chalkboard spray paint

spray paint in different fun colors

chalkboard markers or chalk

Look for frames with some character.  Wood will work better than metals because the paint will stick better.  Size doesn't matter though a larger frame will allow you to write more. 

1) Clean the frames.

2)  Take the frames apart - remove the backing and the glass.  Usually there are just some clips on the back that you can either move aside or bend which allow you to add a photo. 

3) Clean the glass.

4)  Spray the glass with chalkboard spray paint and allow to dry thoroughly.  I picked some up from the local hardware store for less than $5.  I thought that the spray would go on smoother and not leave brush marks but if you have chalkboard paint, by all means, use what you have.

5)  Spray paint the frames.

6)  After everything is dry, reassemble your frames.

There you have it!

I had the kids use chalkboard markers because I thought the writing would show up better in the photos. They were a little pricey I thought - $12 for a pack of five markers but they've lasted a long time.  I found them at the craft store. I used a spray bottle with water and a towel for easy cleanup which made the chalkboards nice and black again ready for the next persons letter.  Don't use a paper towel for the cleanup.  Your chalkboard will shred it to pieces.  Nasty mess.

(Click here for a photo book idea)

Happy Birthday Photo Book

I picked up some 4x6 photo albums at WalMart a while back for $1.  That's the regular price so this little project is sure to NOT break the bank which will keep my cute hubby happy and still allow me to keep my missionary happy with packages.

You'll want to change the album covers that it comes with.  Just open up the front and back covers and slip the old one out and use it for a template for your new covers.  I was doing this for Matt's birthday and I wanted to make it coordinate with the rest of his package (see here and here and here and here) so I used the free printable that I had already downloaded from Kiki at I Heart Naptime for my new cover.  Simply open a new document and cut and paste it in from your file.  Re-size to make it fit the dimensions of your photo album.

I wanted to add some kind of title for the front cover so using Photoshop I designed a missionary name badge.  Took gobs and gobs of time to figure out what fonts to use that were somewhat close.  It looked incredible and I was so excited...until...I accidentally stumbled upon a site from the church that said we're not supposed to do/create anything that mimics the church logo.  Darn.  It looked awesome...so...back to Photoshop...delete, delete, delete...using the same style of font I just inserted his name, his mission and his birth date because, after-all it's for his birthday.  Hope I've changed this up enough that it doesn't look too official but still looks 'missionary-ish.' (see top photo) Gosh. Following the rules is tough sometimes.  Did I mention that it looked amazing? (murmur, murmur, murmur...)

When the family was at our New Year's Game Day I snapped photos of each family holding some birthday props.  This would be way cute with some dress up hats or boas or some mustaches on sticks.  CUTE!!  Man!  I just may have to do this again...   

(My brother looks thrilled, doesn't he?  I'm sure he's thinking..."Sheesh!  Another project?!"  

I think he's learned that it's easier to just humor me.)

Then using some chalkboards that I had made when Mason was out (see here for that fun idea), each person wrote a personal message to Matt with their birthday wishes.  

(my cute niece who will leave for Bolivia in March 2014)

Place them all inside your photo album and ta-da!!!  Done.  Your missionary will love it!  AND another perk? This will fit nicely inside a small Flat Rate box from the USPS with just enough room for a few treats.  Easy peasy and way inexpensive.  Have fun!

Make a Photo Book!

Every year my kids look forward to the Bouwhuis Family Camp Out.  We've been holding it for years and years and it is one of the traditions that my kids want to make sure we keep on doing when they have kids.  I have ten siblings and we all take turns planning the event though everyone is more than willing to pitch in and help with the planning.  The planner gets to plan the where, the when and the food.  

I wanted Matt to feel like he was included and missed so I took lots of photos and had them developed into 3x5 size.  I took a pack of  3x5 index cards and some pens and markers to the camp out and had everyone write messages to Matt then included them randomly in with the photos.

Make a punch template using a spare 3x5 index card.  Use this template as a guide so that all your holes are lined up and your stack will be neat and tidy...yup, my OCD is always kicking in...OR your could take the entire stack to the copy shop and have them drill the holes.

Make a cover and a back for your Photo Book. 

Print it out onto heavy card stock and laminate it for durability.  

Add some large rings to the top and ta-daa....you're done!

The whole thing will fit into a small Flat Rate box with just enough room for a little treat...

Almond Joy's for my fellow coconut lover.  

There's only two of us in the family.  

Sad for them.  

Good for US.

We never have to share!

(insert evil, maniacal laugh here)

Hire a Photographer? Genius!

We don't own a video camera.  I know, we're probably the only family on the planet (or at least in Utah) that doesn't own one but we don't and here's why.  Once upon a time my brother-in-law got a new video camera and asked us if we'd like to have his old one.  Mind you, this was a LONG time ago.  My twenty year old daughter was like six or seven and the video camera was a monster.  You had to sit it on your shoulder it was so big - and look in and eye piece and then view it on a little tiny black and white screen.  Remember the days?  The one and only time that we ever used it was to my daughter's one and only dance recital.  We're sitting in the gym, on the bleachers, and she's dancing her heart out, and Jeff is recording away and the whole performance lasts all of two minutes and when it's over Jeff looks at me and says, "Why would I want to watch Bek's performance through a little viewfinder in black and white when I can watch the real thing in full and living color?"  So we donated the video camera and that was that because I too don't want to watch life happen while behind a viewfinder. 

 

Last spring I had a burst of pure inspiration.  Mason would be coming home from his mission in July and I wanted a million photos and while I have a pretty decent camera it is not a high speed digital one so my action shots tend to have bits of blur in them and it's not like you can tell him to back up and come off the airplane again and I wanted to be IN the moment and not worrying about the perfect shot...(whew, breath girlfriend!)...so...I got this thought...inspiration...why not hire a photographer?  I'm tellin' ya - it was genius!  I wished that I had a friend that I could beg to come take photos and though I do have a cousin that takes amazing photos (J.Taylor Photography), she was already doing a wedding that day so I just grabbed the phone book then went to each photographer's website to view what their pictures look like and started making calls.  Calls?  Not really - one call, that's all.  First local photographer that I called (Shootz Photography) was thrilled with the idea and charged me the same price that she charges to do birth photography - $100.  With that I got the photographer, all the photos on a disk AND a slide show.  Totally worth it and all of us - the whole family - got to be IN the moment.  It was wonderful and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

 

So here's Mason's homecoming slideshow but not the one that the photographer did 'cause I couldn't get it to upload but they are all her photos.  Lucky that I have that awesome software that I told you about here...

 

  

 

(...any ideas why YouTube seems blurry? Maybe it's just my old age...)

HD Slideshows via ProShow Gold

A couple of weeks ago my friend Jackie and I were discussing our sons upcoming Eagle Scout Court of Honor and she mentioned that it might be nice to do a slideshow of the boys.  Cringe.  Hmmm...do I have very many Scout photos?  Who do I bother to get more?  I don't even know how to make a slideshow...that means I'll have to call Janice - but she has a MAC...what would I have to do to change it to work on my PC?  Or I could bother Eric - but he's bishop now.  If I don't have time, he certainly doesn't have time...Those are the thoughts that are whizzing around in my head while outwardly I say, "That would be AWESOME!"  Which indeed it would be...if I can wrap my brain around it.  I do hate to bother other people.  Of course Janice says, "Yes!"  That's the kind of person she is.  We need to get out photos to her as soon as possible because she is busy the end of the week.  Of course the Court of Honor is the following Sunday.  I am a last minute kind of girl, in case you haven't noticed.

Skipping my Sunday nap, (which is the one and only perk to the 9 a.m. meeting schedule) I head into the office to go through photos and scan in those that I do have.  Jeff mentions, "You should call Eric he has tons of Scout photos."  Eric was the Scout Master and Jeff was his Assistant.  "I can't call Eric.  He's way too busy."  So I scan and search while Jeff takes a nap.  Fast forward and his nap is over..."You should really call Eric."  So I call Eric and apologize before even asking him for what I know will take him forever to do...and he says, "No problem!  My MAC has face recognition.  I'll just click on a photo of him then go eat dinner.  Should be done running when I'm finished eating."  Wait?!  What?!  There's such a thing?  Wonders of modern technology!  It's a miracle...but wait, there's more...

An hour later, Eric calls and tells me he's got a disk ready for me.  I explain about the slideshow and he says, "I'll do it for you."  "You absolutly will NOT!"  Then he makes a confession, and this is the part that this very long post is really all about, (I'm very long winded at times)  "I have this really amazing software.  It will make your slideshow in about 10 minutes.  I spend more time picking out the music than it takes to actually put together the slideshow."   Hmmm...Instantly Janice has her free time back and I get to learn something that I've always wanted to learn.

Proshow Gold (Photodex)*, the ultimate HD slideshow tool and my new favorite computer program.  Easy, peasy.  Seriously.  This program will easily combine as many photos, videos and songs as you want.  The wizard will help with automatic show creation and instant effects or, create it all on your own.  No matter how you choose to create your show, ProShow Gold also offers tons of built-in tools that let you edit your show content to perfection.  You can also use ProShow Gold to publish your show to 40+ formats for sharing online, on TV, DVD, Blu-ray, Facebook and YouTube.  There's even a button that you click if you want the program to sinc the song to your slideshow.  Brilliant!  Program is downloadable or for an extra $10 you can download it AND they'll send you a hardcopy.  On the downside...Eric was right.  It does take longer to pick the perfect music than the slideshow will take you to put together.  Here's a hint:  Piano Guys.*  Trust me.  If only learning Photoshop were this easy...

 

 

* Note:  I have not received any funds toward promoting ProShow Gold or Piano Guys.

I just really, really like them and thought you might too.

Snowstorm in a Box

I don't know about your corner of the world but in our corner of Utah it is January and it is BROWN.  This is not a normal color for this time of year for us.  Normally we are coated with lots of fluffy white stuff at this point in time but alas, this year we are not.  Surprisingly Ohio is looking particularly brown this year as well.  We've both been blessed with skiffs of snow but nothing that has stuck around or required shoveling (unless you aren't content to wait until noon just to see if it will melt off by itself).  Maybe it's all our fault . . . Mason refuses to buy proper footwear for the elements ("Already gone an entire winter without boots, why purchase any now?" is his rationalization).  I've prayed that he will stay warm and dry.  Mom's have a lot of faith where their children are concerned. Hence, no snow.

Our lack of snow has inspired the latest fun package that we've been working on and I can't wait to hear from him on Monday to hear how his snowball fight went (don't you just love Monday's?). 

Snowstorm in a Box

Contents include:

Snowflakes

(hand cut and signed by his family, cousins and just about everyone who could and would hold a pair of scissors in their hands...and wanted to humor me - I have great family and friends)

Tape

(for taping them to the windows or you can check out here or here for more display ideas)

2 mugs

(one for Mason and one for his companion)

Hot Chocolate mix

2 bags Snowflake Crunch

(recipe below)

4 pkgs. Snowman Soup mix

(recipe below)

Photos

(of our snowball fight - too fun!  You have to do this)

12 snowballs

(for their own snowball fight)

Click here for the "Where's the Snow" pdf for the top of your package

Snowflakes:

Who doesn't like to cut out snowflakes?  There's something quite cathartic about all the folding and cutting.  It's always a thrill to finally unfold your creation and discover the hidden beauty that lay within.  I set out paper, scissors and pencils along with some printed instructions for creating snowflakes during an afternoon when family was over.  It was fun to see the cousins gathered at the table cutting and chatting together. 

Snowball Fight:

I actually got this idea from Family Fun magazine while sitting in the doctor's office one day and it all snowballed from there . . . so to speak (see Family Fun Christmas, pom-pom snowball custom card, pg 83).  This part of the package was so much fun to prepare!  As family was arriving, we had them pretend to throw snowballs at the camera - just have them pose with their arms cocked and hands like they're holding a snowball.  There was absolutely NO snow (though it did snow a few days later and I was able to have a few of the kids pose again).  I told everyone that they could pose however they wanted so some posed like they were holding giant snowballs and I just purchased pom-poms of the appropriate size to match their outstretched arms.  Have the photos developed then simply glue the pom-poms on with a tacky craft glue.  I was able to find pom-poms in a variety of sizes for .49 each from the craft store.  While there (remember, I was at the craft store?) I found the perfect solution for keeping my 3-D photos under control during mailing.  This had been driving me a little crazy. . .

For less than $3 I purchased this cute little box in white that was the perfect size for my 4x6 photos.  Add a little patterned paper and a couple of stickers and voila.  Brilliant and cute.  Problem solved.

The photo below are three adorable kids who have moved in down the block since Mason has been gone.  My daughter Maren claims all three of them to be her very best friends in the whole wide world.  We've kind of adopted them to be our surrogate grandchildren.  Mason has never met them so we wanted to identify them in the photo.  When I was on my mission in Hong Kong many moons ago, the members taught me how to sign my name on a photograph.

1. You will need a small amount of water, a soft cloth and a pen (NOT a fine point).

2. Dip your finger into the water and wipe it over the area that you wish to write on.  Wait a few seconds for the photo ink to begin to soften - this doesn't take long.  Write your message.

3. Using a soft, absorbent cloth, gently wipe or dab off the water from the photo.

Snowman Soup:

My kids gave these out to their friends for Christmas this year so we whipped up a few extra to send to our missionaries.  The contents are: 1 hot chocolate mix, 1 candy cane, three Hershey kisses and a handful of marshmallows.  Easy and very inexpensive.  We put everything in a clear cellophane bag - I love these bags and use them for lots of things.  To me, they are a gift giving must have.  I used the 3.5x7.5 bag (6.99 for 100) from Orson Gygi's in Salt Lake City, Utah. Tie it all together with a cute ribbon and attach the "recipe."   Click here for the "recipe" in pdf form.  The recipe reads:

Snowman Soup

1 hot cocoa mix

3 Hershey kisses

1 handful marshmallows

Combine all ingredients together

and stir with a candy cane.

Snowflake Crunch:

My newly married daughter, Kiri found this recipe and it was our family "go to" treat during the holiday season.  It is insanely delicious!  Make sure to follow the recipe exactly and use the brands that are suggested.  Let your Snowflake Crunch cool completely, the put in cellophane bags. Fold down the top twice (to seal in the yummy goodness) and staple a cute bag topper over the fold.  You can download the bag topper here in pdf form.  Don't forget to make at least one batch for you and your family.  Better still!  Make one batch for you and another for your family.  It is that delicious.  Enjoy!

Snowflake Crunch

1/2 of a 14 oz. box (approx. 6 cups) Rice Chex cereal

you can substitute the brand but it needs to be Rice NOT Corn

1 12 oz bag Nestle White Chocolate chips

except NO substitutions - you will be disappointed in the taste and consistency

2/3 cup crushed candy cane or peppermint swirls, divided

Measure cereal into a large mixing bowl.  In a microwave safe bowl, melt the white chocolate chips stirring every 30 seconds until smooth and creamy.  Do not overheat.  Chocolate will burn easily.  Stir 1/3 cup of crushed candy cane into the melted chocolate.  Pour over cereal and stir until evenly coated.  Spread onto parchment lined or greased cookie sheet.  Sprinkle with remaining crushed candy.  Allow to cool completely.  Break apart.  This is where the parchment paper comes in handy.  Grab the sides, gathering contents of the tray together and give it a lite squeeze.  Keep doing this until the pieces are broken into more manageable bite-size pieces.  Grab the sides of your parchment paper again making it into a funnel shape.  Pour it into your container or cellophane bag then wipe off the cookie sheet and put it away.  I love using parchment paper and it helps to keep my favorite cookie sheets nice and shiny.  They tend to get dull when they are put into the dishwasher or over time from all the hot soapy water.

Homemade Snowballs!

A couple of years ago, my sister Katherine and sister-in-law Lynnae came up with an awesome activity for our family Christmas Bash.  We have a giant indoor snowball fight with homemade snowballs.  It is truly a blast!  They made lots and lots (remember I have a giant extended family) and lots of "snowballs" and after everything from the party is cleaned up, Frosty (who is not dressed up but just one of the nieces or nephews) brings in the bags of snowballs and the snowball fight begins.  There is nothing fancy about these snowballs.  They are just circles of white fabric - I used old pillowcases.  Run a basting stitch around the outside, gather in slightly, stuff, pull the thread tight and knot off.  Easy.  My daughter, Rebekah whipped up 12 in short order - 6 for each Elder.  They are going to have a blast having their own indoor snowball fight.  A nice way to work out the frustrations of missionary work with a little FUN!