Monday, September 23, 2013

What's Keeping Me From Blogging


I've had such good intentions in terms of getting back into the blogging swing of things this fall. 

Then I signed up for several fall & Christmas craft fairs... that kind of changed everything!

I've been spending every spare moment on crafting - which is fun, but I haven't been able to put any posts together about any one craft.

So today I'm going to show you all the bits that I've been working on these past few weeks!



I've finished stitching 20 little owl Christmas tree decorations for my craft booth. 

Did you know that a group of owls is called a parliament? True story. I googled it. ;)

You can find the owl tutorial HERE.




I also hunted down (with some help from a friend) these vintage crates to use as display props in my craft booth...

Isn't that vintage apple sign the coolest?



...And made some easy washi tape bunting to cutify my craft booth.




I managed to put up my fall decorations last week. I copied some of the things I did last year & came up with a few fresh ideas too.




Now that the weather is cooler & the kids are back in school, I've been doing a bit of baking - some old favourites. 




I had hoped to get to all these projects as soon as the kids were back in school, but I'm just now getting to the first one! Ahhh!




This weekend, my honey & I sanded down the dresser we bought on Kijiji earlier this summer. We also bought some feet that we're going to add to the bottom. It's almost ready to paint. As soon as it's done it will go in our master bedroom. I can't wait! The dresser we have now is falling apart so the sooner we can get this gem finished up, the better!

So that's what I've been working on in between my regular homemaking duties, driving the kids around, & doing some volunteer work. 

It's been a great September so far! Sorry it's taken me so long to share it with you!


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Enjoy Your Day!



Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Yellow & Grey Baby Cards


Okay guys. 

I haven't forgotten about you. But you know what season is coming up? 

Craft Fair Season!

I've been spending every. spare. moment. getting cards & other crafts ready for my first one at the beginning of October.




I've got a nice batch of goodies going already & I'll be sure to share some photos with you soon.




As you may or may not know I make a lot of baby cards for a friend of mine who owns a baby boutique.

These yellow & grey series are some of the most recent ones I've made for her.




Those photos are actually stickers that all came on a sheet together & turned out to become some of the sweetest, most simple cards!


I hope your having a great week!


Thanks for reading. If you like what you see here on Silver Boxes, I'd love it if you would become a follower on Google Friend Connect, subscribe by email (sign up on the right sidebar), 
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Enjoy your day!




Friday, September 13, 2013

It's Apple Season - Make some Apple Crunch!

It's Apple Season!

Do you love baking with apples as much as I do?

Muffins, Cakes, Pies, Cookies... there are so many great apple recipes to try!

This is one of my family's all time favourite desserts; really, any time of the year, but especially in the fall. 
I started making this when I was a teen learning how to bake in my mom's kitchen. 
This recipe originally came from a little cookbook from the dollar store. I haven't got a clue who published that cheap little book, but it had some gems in it - this being one of them!

Ever since that first time, we've enjoyed this several times a year. 
I hope it becomes a family favourite for you too. :)



Apple Crunch {Print Recipe}
serves 6

3 medium apples, cored & chopped (you can peel them too if you like. I don't.)
1/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 egg
1/3 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375ยบ. Spray a 9x9 inch baking dish or small casserole dish with non-stick spray.

Mix apples & brown sugar. Pour into baking dish.

In a separate dish mix flour, granulated sugar, salt, & cinnamon. Add egg & mix again. Mixture will be crumbly & not completely consistent. Spread on top of apples. Pour melted butter over the crumb mixture.

Bake for 45 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream.

YUM!



Looking for more fall baking ideas?












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Enjoy Your Day!




Friday, September 06, 2013

Marjolaine Birthday Cards


School's back in session & I'm now prepping for the fall & Christmas craft fair season.

Here's a series of cards I've created for my booth.

All of them are made almost entirely of product from Basic Grey's Marjolaine line, with the exception of the card stock & the birthday stickers.

I hope these can bring some inspiration for you to mix up some patterns & whip up some handmade cards too!














Have a happy weekend!

~~~

Thanks for reading. If you like what you see here on Silver Boxes, I'd love it if you would become a follower on Google Friend Connect, subscribe by email (sign up on the right sidebar), 
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Enjoy your day!



Wednesday, September 04, 2013

Five Tips To Make School Mornings Less Stressful

Hello friends!

I'm back from my summer break & getting back into the swing of things around here!
Did you have an enjoyable summer? I hope so! 

School started today & there's nothing like the first day back to school in the fall to give a mom a swift kick in the "welcome back to reality"!
Things went off relatively smoothly & the kids & I even managed to take a few minutes for some photos before driving to school.

We've been doing the school thing for a five years now (my oldest is in grade 5 this year), & though things are rarely perfect, with a little planning & thinking ahead, you can make things less stressful for you & your kids in the mornings.

Here's what I've learned...



1) Think through the things you want your kids to do every morning before heading off for school. Write them down. You can make a chore chart or just a hand-written list for your kids to work from.  Try using pictures for children who aren't reading yet. This list or chart is especially helpful on busy mornings.

Then, come up with consequences for not getting things done or for doddling. (In our house we have a saying, "Doddling is disobeying.") Communicate these with your children. In our house, there's little time for fooling around before school. There's stuff to be done! If they aren't doing what needs to be done, enforce the consequences you've put in place. If Billy is playing on his iPod instead of brushing his teeth, thus & so will happen. You get the idea.

I find that it takes the stress off of me. All the tasks are there in black & white (or colour if you've made a fancy chart.) The kids know what is expected of them. The kids can't say, "You didn't tell me to!" & I don't have to try to remember if I did or not! :)

Find a printable list, do a list on your computer & print it off, have one of their iPod or phone that they can see, or use a store bought chore chart. Whatever works for you.

We use a simple handwritten list posted on the fridge. The list is pretty much the same for both kids:

  • Get dressed
  • Make Bed
  • Do Hair
  • Pack Lunch (a tip about this coming up!)
  • Have Breakfast
  • Brush Teeth
  • Pack Backpack (a tip on this one coming too - read on!)

These are the basics to get out the door. If things are going smoothly, I like to see the following get done as well:

  • Dishwasher emptied & reloaded
  • Laundry taken to the laundry room
  • Garbages emptied
You may have more items or less. The point is to think about what the kids need to do & get them to take ownership!

2) Do some lunch prep the night before & get the kids to help. Come up with a plan. This year, I've been thinking of some ways to keep lunch interesting & not just make the same sandwich day after day.

Here's what I came up with:

Monday: Pita sandwich
Tuesday: Salad
Wednesday: Sandwich or put leftovers in a thermos
Thursday: Soup
Friday: Tortilla wrap

We'll likely switch the days around & not have salad every Tuesday, for example, but it's 5 days of a different meal. 

Also, do some chopping! Again, to stay away from boring fruit choices - "an apple again?"- chop up a cantaloupe (one average cantaloupe makes 5 - 1 cup servings). Fruit salad is another fun option. Try to make healthy food interesting & fun.

Have guidelines for the things that they MUST pack - fruit, only one treat item, etc.

Pack lunches the night before. We do as much as we can the night before & leave things like wraps & sandwiches for the morning. No one likes soggy sandwiches! 

3) Have a plan for when kids forget something at home. 

Our school is a 15 minute drive (in good traffic) from our house. Both ways? You do the math. I am NOT going to be driving back & forth all year, bringing the kids their forgotten homework, lunches, & gym clothes. 

We have this rule set in place: Each child has 2 "free rides" per school year. 

If they forget something, they decide if it's important enough to call mom to bring it. They have to weigh what's most important: Forgotten lunch = My friends will probably share with me because I share when one of my friends forgets VS. Forgotten gym clothes = I miss basketball practice & can't play in the big game this weekend. You get the picture.

It forces them to look through their things before leaving the house in the morning to make sure they have everything.

Remember, we want them to take responsibility.

4) Make your kids "earn" TV, video game, & media time. 

This isn't specifically just for mornings, but it does apply here too. 

During the school year, our kids must do extra school work (get ahead) to earn screen time. One page = 10 minutes. Things are a bit more lax in the summer, but right now we're talking about school. :)

There are also stipulations to this:
  • You have to be caught up in all your subjects, not way behind in Math, but ahead in Science
  • There is a maximum amount of screen time per day of 30 minutes.
  • Screen time only takes place after school or in the evening. **Never in the morning.** (Remember that you have that list to take care of??)
5) Get backpacks & lunch bags up off the floor. Have a place for school shoes, jackets, etc.

Visual clutter really bothers me. I honestly don't feel like I can relax if things are a mess around me. That's not everyone, I understand, but having things in their place adds so much ease in the morning when a person is trying to heard kids out the door. 

Even if it's a big basket by the door that the kids throw their shoes into at the end of the day, at least you  (& they) know where to look in the morning. Hang jackets in the closet or on hooks & have a designated place for backpacks, homework, papers from the teacher, lunch bags, etc. 

I've recently put up some sticky hooks (the kind that don't damage the wall if you want to remove them) in our linen closet. We don't have room to store the kid's lunch bags in our kitchen, so after school they empty out any garbage & hang them up there. 

Just knowing where things are takes off a lot of stress not to mention making things easier getting out the door in the morning!



These are some of the things I've learned along the way. 

What are some things that have helped you? I'd love to know! 


Thanks for reading. If you like what you see here on Silver Boxes, I'd love it if you would become a follower on Google Friend Connect, subscribe by email (sign up on the right sidebar), 
or follow along on FacebookPinterestInstagram, or Twitter
And please leave a comment when you do so I know who my new friends are! :)


Here's to another great school year!



Gingerly Made