Taming of the Toothpaste

  I'm pretty sure every family has them both... The person who squeezes the toothpaste & carefully rolls up the tube after they're done. AND the person who squeezes the tube every which way & leaves it a mess. You know which one you are, right? Hee hee. I'm a roller. :)

  The way my kids have been squeezing the toothpaste lately has been bugging me. My youngest isn't quite to the point of being able to roll the tube after she's done & after a certain point it gets hard to get any toothpaste out of the tube.

  I needed a way to help the kids get the toothpaste to the end without them always having to ask for help. I had a brainwave last week when I was cleaning out the bathroom drawer.

  Enter the bag clip. These little do-dads are made to clip shut plastic bags of food that still have some food in them. They are inexpensive & pretty readily available. I got mine on a trip to Ikea, but I've seen them at dollar stores & hardware stores too.

  Add a large bag clip to the end & pull down towards the tip. It does a fabulous job of bringing all the toothpaste to the end with the opening.

It's been working great & the kids are happy that they don't need help with it anymore! 

Happy kids, happy mom. :)

Have a great weekend!

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Crafty Thoughts & Mountain Layouts

  I have to admit something to you.

  I like to make crafts. Oh, you knew that already? Ya, I figured. :) I'm what you'd call "a crafter".

  I also believe that a crafter doesn't have to be holed up into one specific kind of crafting. Not sure what I mean?

  Well, when I started this blog I just wanted to share the stuff I made, created, & decorated. After I did just a bit of searching on other crafter's blogs, I noticed that not many crafters were scrapbookers or card makers. And if they were, they often didn't share their paper crafts on their blogs. The same went for the paper crafters out there. Scrapbook layouts or cards were pretty much all you found on their blogs. It's almost like "someone out there" determined that a blogger couldn't share more than one genre of craft on a given blog.

  After I noticed this, I started to feel pressured (albeit a self-inflicted pressure) to make more generalized crafts & keep my paper crafts to myself. But after a few months of "hiding", I'm ready to throw caution to the wind & just be me! I have come to the realization that I can have several different crafting interests & I can celebrate them all!

  Lesson leaned.

  Am I the only one who has felt this way?

  I want to encourage you to stop hiding your talents & let them ALL shine! The world has something to benefit from what you have to bring to the table. Even if it's just a smile. :)

~~~

I'm still working on scrapping last summer's photos. I'm getting very close to finishing. Here's some of the pages from our summer vacation to Jasper National Park in Alberta.

I used a lot of Bo Bunny for these layouts. I'm in love with the wood grain paper! 

Go celebrate the talents that God put in you.

Enjoy your day!

The (Map Covered) Notebook

  There's something about a blank notebook that just inspires me to write. Especially a really great looking notebook.

  I was due for such a notebook. My current one was getting pretty full & I had a plain, black one waiting in my craft bin. It was very uninspiring & I had plans to pretty it up somehow. I recently was blessed with a bag of great maps from my parents' numerous travels to Europe. (Thanks Mom & Dad!) After unearthing some great small maps of the city of Paris, I knew exactly what to do with the bland notebook!

If you would like to make one like this, here's what I did:

Gather your supplies:

~Plain notebook (available at any stationary store)

~Map or other pretty paper

~Mod Podge

~Sponge brushes

~Scissors 

1) Determine how you want your map or paper placed on your notebook. Trim it down with a wide margin around the edges. We'll trim it down completely later. Using a sponge brush, apply a thin layer of Mod Podge to the cover of the notebook. Carefully place your map or paper over the Mod Podge, making sure to smooth out the bubbles with your fingers.

2) Let dry.

3) Once dry, trim the extra paper off of the edges.

4) Apply an even layer of Mod Pogde over the paper. Be careful to get right to the corners. Let dry completely. 

  This is quite a fast craft project. Maybe half an hour plus drying time. I think this would be a great gift too - maybe for a friend who's about to embark on a European adventure? It would be a great travel journal!

I'm ready to fill it's pages with goodies...

Enjoy your Monday!

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Greek Pasta Salad

Let's see a show of hands... Who likes Greek salad? 

Me!

Another show of hands... Who likes pasta salad?

Me! (Again.)

Last one... Who likes them mixed together?

Definitely me!

A little history...

When I was a teenager (many moons ago), my parents tried a salad like this at a deli & it was delicious! My mom, being the great cook that she is, decided to see if she could replicate it. She did, to our delight, with great success! So, thank you to my mom, for passing this recipe on to me when I got married & learned to cook. :) 

And now, I pass it on to you to enjoy.

Greek Pasta Salad
serves 6-8

1 small package tri-coloured pasta spirals (about 3 cups dry)

1 small container (about a cup) solid feta cheese (or crumbles, if you prefer)
1 small container (about a cup) whole Kalamata olives (or sliced & pitted if you prefer)
1 package grape tomatoes
1 cucumber, sliced
1 green or red bell pepper, chopped

Dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/8 cup red wine vinegar
1/8 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley or 2 Tbsp. dried
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp. oregano
1/8 tsp. garlic powder

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain & rinse in cool water. Set aside to cool completely.

In a large salad bowl, combine the cheese, olives, tomatoes, cucumber, & bell pepper.

Mix together all dressing ingredients.

Add the cooled pasta & dressing to the veggies, cheese, & olives. Toss to mix. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

  This Greek Pasta Salad a perfect, easy supper dish - especially because it's served cold. You can also (as I do, sometimes) add a skewer of Greek souvlaki to "beef it up" a bit. Summer or winter - I make this all year round!

Enjoy your day!

Check out the great parties I link up to!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Happy Heart Day!

These love-inspired layouts are ones that I created last spring.
The sweet photos are from a Valentine's shoot my friend, Allison, did with my daughter, Audrey.

Paper from the Echo Park "Little Girl" Collection

Paper from the Echo Park "For The Record" Collection

Paper from the Echo Park "Be Mine" Collection

They still make me smile. :)

Enjoy your love-filled day!