Mother's Day Free Printable

I've created my first printable for Mother's Day!

You should be able to click on the image & print it off. 

Or, click HERE.

Enjoy!

Check out the great parties I link up to here!

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Mission: Kid's Toy Organization

As a part of our Easter break & spring cleaning, our kids & I had a mission:

To sort & purge all their toys, games, puzzles, books, & other loot.

Look at the mess that had been going on all winter...

Audrey's room:

Ponies, Princesses, & Pet Shops, oh my!

Messes scattered everywhere because all the storage space was full!

We came to this conclusion: they just had TOO MUCH STUFF! 

So, before we started, I explained to the kids what we were going to do & that they would have to make some choices as to what they wanted to keep & what they were willing to let go. 

As an added perk, I told them that if there were toys & other items in good condition that they no longer wanted, we could try to sell them on Kijiji & they could use whatever money they made for spending money on our vacation this summer.

I must say that the kids totally surprised me in the amount of toys & stuff they were willing to let go!

They did SO well!

Here are my daughter's bins after we sorted & purged...

I also googled & found pictures of the toys she wanted to keep. I printed off those pictures & used packing tape to label the bins so she can see what goes in each bin, since she can't yet read.

In the middle of the job, I ran out of tape, so that's why the top photo doesn't show them all complete. :) 

Off to the store for more packing tape!

Labels for her bins:

Purses

My Little Ponies

Littlest Pet Shops

Crowns & jewelry

Strawberry Shortcake

Balls

Doll accessories (bottles & clothes)

Tea set

I left a few bins un-labeled just because the toys that she had left really didn't fit into a "category". 

Those toys I leave up to her as to which unmarked bin she wants to put them in. 

Parker's room:

His toy bin was pretty full so the top of these drawers was always a dumping ground... 

hence the housecoat, gas mask, parrot, & play back pack... 

only in a boy's room would you find such a random assortment of items in any one place.

  After organizing all the books, toys, games he wanted to keep, throwing away all the broken toys, & making a pile of toys & books to sell or give away, here is my son's closet. 

Even though he can read, he was happy to have the picture labels on his toy drawers too.

Labels for his drawers:

Top - games

Middle - electronics

Bottom - colouring books, activity books, & markers

The rest of his toys go in the big bin on the left. He has a smaller, separate bin just for his lego as well.

All the other places that were dumping grounds are much neater. 

They are finding that it's a lot easier to keep things tidy when everything has a home that isn't overflowing. :)

Look at the huge amount of toys, books, games, & puzzles that the kids gave away or sold!

And because we all like before & after shots...

So much better!

And another thing I can cross off my spring cleaning list!

Enjoy your day!

Check out these great parties I link up to!

Thanks for reading. If you like what you see here on Silver Boxes, feel free to become a follower, 

subscribe by email, or follow along on Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter. 

And please leave a comment when you do so I know who my new friends are! :)

Spray Paint & the Frog

Do you remember this guy?

No? Then let me refresh your memory. :)

I purchased this ceramic golden toad on a thrifty adventure last fall. 

At first, my kids informed me that it was a poison dart frog, but after some more research, 

we discovered that an orange frog is actually called a golden toad. 

You needed to know that, right? ;)

I finally got around to giving this chap a few coats of black spray paint...

He now holds a place of honour in my kitchen with his pot scrubber at the ready. 

He sure adds a touch of whimsy to the kitchen. And a touch of nostalgia as well. 

I remember my mom having something similar next to the kitchen sink when I was a kid.

Good memories. :)

Another successful mini makeover!

Enjoy your day!

Check out these great parties I link up to!

Thanks for reading. If you like what you see here on Silver Boxes, feel free to become a follower, 

subscribe by email, or follow along on Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter. 

And please leave a comment when you do so I know who my new friends are! :)

Chickpea Salad

  Welcome to a new week! Are you ready to take it on? I am. We had a beautiful, productive weekend around our house. Everyone had a to-do list to knock off on Saturday & we just about finished everything on the lists. I think I was a bit too ambitious with mine & put on a few too many things, but that's okay. I'll just finish next weekend. 

  The weather was beautiful & the kids enjoyed lots of time outside. We got in some family time outside too. 

  My 8-year-old son even learned to vacuum this weekend! Can I hear a WHOOT, WHOOT?! I'm *hoping* that my vacuuming days are now few & far between. 

  The warm(ing) weather has me pulling out my barbecue & salad recipes... Time to enjoy the sun! 

  This is a great make-ahead recipe... it's even better after it's been marinating for a few hours!

Chickpea Salad
makes 8 servings


2 cans of chickpeas, drained & rinsed
1 bottle green olives, drained
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 cup cherry tomatoes

Mix all salad ingredients. Set aside.

dressing:


1/3 cup olive oil
3 Tbsp lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp chopped parsley
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

Whisk all dressing ingredients. Pour over salad. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

So easy & delicious!

Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your day!

Check out these great parties I link up to!

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Catching Up

I'm kind of laughing at the title of this post... 

Is anyone EVER completely "caught up" when it comes to scrapbooking?

Oy.

I continually have to remind myself that this is a hobby & it's supposed to be fun. 

I don't have to be caught up... ever. I chose this hobby & it's a part of my life to be a creative outlet, not a burden.

With that in mind, here are a couple of layouts I accomplished at the recent scrapbook fundraiser I was at last month:

Vintage Layout:

• All supplies by My Mind's Eye

First Day of School Layout:

• Cardstock - Bazzill Basics
• Patterned Paper - Basic Grey (Oxford collection)
• Tag - Simple Stories
• Stickers - October Afternoon
• Alphabet stickers - Making Memories & American Crafts

How do you treat your creative hobbies? Do you ever feel like you're behind & try desperately to catch up? 

I'm interested in hearing your thoughts.

Enjoy your day!

What Is Keeping Me Busy These Days

  Happy Monday! How was your weekend? Did you relax & enjoy some warm, spring weather; do spring cleaning; create something lovely; or something entirely different? 

  I had the pleasure of spending some time with some dear friends on Saturday. It was a fun time that involved Starbucks, shopping, & lunch. 

  Here in Saskatchewan, the days are getting warmer the weather can't decide what it wants to do. Should the sun shine or should it snow? We've had snow the past 2 days. The trees are getting thick with buds anyway & I'm longing to see the first hint of green on the branches, but that will come soon enough. I must remind myself of the blossoms of May that are on their way. 

Things are still busy around here although Easter is over. My kids had this past week off of school & we kept busy with:

• Dentist appointments (no cavities for either kid - yay!)
• Grocery shopping - I've been going through the fliers & "shopping the deals". It requires some more planning & driving around, but we're seeing a difference in the grocery costs. Perhaps I'll do a post about this soon.
• Going through the kid's toys, books, & puzzles - cleaning, organizing, & making piles of what they no longer wanted to keep. 
• Posting the kid's items for sale on Kijiji. They have both already made a good amount of money & they plan to save their earnings for spending money on this summer's trip.
• Doing some spring cleaning. My list is coming along bit by bit. This weekend, we washed all the bedding & curtains.

  In the midst of all these tasks, we have had some rest & relaxation. I got to sleep in here & there & get in some reading. It's been a nice Easter break.

  Stay tuned for a little thrifty makeover & some new scrapbook layouts later this week.

Enjoy your day!

Spring Cards

Last month, I attended a scrapbook fundraiser that my sister-in-law, Carrie, organized for her children's school.

Each of the attendees paid a fee to attend & the school (organized by Carrie) provided a huge table for each person to work at, meals for the day, & workshops that you could attend to learn some new techniques. 

We brought our scrapbook gear & got our creative juices flowing!

There was a great turn out & tonnes of raffle prizes that were donated. Alas, I didn't win anything this year. 

Oh well. :)

Here are a few of the cards I created that weekend...

Raspberry Lemon Loaf

Well, hello again, friends! I hope you had a happy Easter. We had a great, but very busy, Easter season. My husband & I were both involved in our church's Easter production. After four performances over the Easter weekend, we saw a larger attendance than ever before & many people who prayed the prayer of salvation. 

It certainly was worth all the time & work!

~~~~~

The coming of Spring always introduces a desire for lighter, fruitier flavours in my baking & cooking. 

Does it for you too?

Lemon is a huge flavour favourite for me. I love to mix it with other flavours as well.

I still have some frozen raspberries from last summer... we had LOTS since our next door neighbour didn't want any of the raspberries from her huge berry patch!

I'm trying to use those frozen fruits left over from last summer to make room for this year's crops. 

This was a great recipe to do just that. 

Raspberry Lemon Loaf

makes 1 loaf

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup white sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup lemon-flavoured yogurt (low fat works too, if you want to cut down on your calories!)

1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil

3 eggs

1 tsp grated lemon zest

1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries

Preheat oven to 350º. Spray loaf pan with non-stick spray & set aside.

In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together yogurt, oil, eggs, & lemon zest. Add wet ingredients to flour mixture & stir just until moistened. Gently fold in raspberries.

Pour batter into prepared pan & bake for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in centre of loaf comes out clean. (If you used frozen berries, expect to have to bake it about 10 minutes longer, because the frozen berries make the batter cold.) Cool loaf in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan & let cool completely before slicing.

Happy Spring!

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Happy Easter!

Note Card Set No. 3

If you haven't already noticed, I'm constantly on a quest to use up my paper scraps. 

This note card set uses a chevron design made of strips of patterned papers.

I made some pink, yellow, & blue, & then a combination of the three with the leftovers.

I finished them off with a strip of white with a sentiment stamped on it.

Then a small die cut butterfly (from the dollar store) mounted on a foam square.

Do you have anything that you make out of your scraps? I'm always looking for new ideas... please leave me a comment & let me know what you like to make.

Enjoy your day!

Check out these great parties I link up to!