Father's Day Card {My Mind's Eye}

Are you all busy planning a special time for your Dads on Father's Day? 

Our kids are busy crafting & planning happy surprises for their Daddy.

I made these simple but heartfelt Father's Day cards for the Daddies in our lives.

Supplies Used:

• Kraft Cardstock - Bazzill Basics
• Patterned Paper - My Mind's Eye
• Chipboard letters - My Mind's Eye
• Rub-on - Stampin' Up!

What kinds of Father's Day gifts are you making?

Enjoy your day!

Tissue Paper Flowers to Embellish a Gift Package

Don't you think that a beautifully wrapped package adds to the thoughtfulness of a gift? 

I sure feel that way & love when people put in a bit of extra effort to add some beauty to a gift's packaging.

This is such a cute little gift embellishment that easy to make yourself. I just learned how to make the tissue paper flowers from Michael Ann Made & simply took them a couple of steps further. 

Supplies Needed:

• Wrapped gift
• Wide ribbon or strip of paper
• 3 Sheets of tissue paper
• Scissors
• Hot Glue Gun

Starting with your wrapped gift (I just recycled some brown paper), lay a length of wide ribbon across the gift. 

You'll need enough to wrap around the gift & glue to the ends together.

For the tissue paper flowers, you start with a sheet of tissue paper. Obvious much? ;)

Fold it into a square to whatever size flower you want.

This is where I differed slightly from the original tutorial. I used a full sheet folded up with makes quite a full flower - it looks much like a peony, in fact.

Cut out flower.

Once your flowers are cut out (I did 3 - one pink & 2 yellow), place them on the ribbon.

One you have them placed the way you want, staple them to the ribbon.

Starting with the top layer or two of tissue, bring it up & gently pinch it together.

Working by layer (or two), pinch all the layers. 

There you have it! Your flower is finished!

Now hot glue the ribbon together at the bottom of the gift.

Done! Give your super cute gift with pride in a job well done.

Have a wonderful weekend!

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Fisherman Layout {Basic Grey}

In honour of Father's Day coming up, I want to show you a layout I did featuring some photos of my dear husband.

He loves all things outdoors. Fishing, hunting, hiking, canoeing... I wanted to capture some of the photos we took the last time we went fishing together. 

This simple layout came together very quickly. Because the patterned papers are all from the same line, they were easy to co-ordinate. 

Then I added my title which is chipboard with a felt type finish.

To finish it off, I attached 3 corduroy brads to the edges of the paper strips.

Products Used:

• Patterned Paper - Basic Grey
• Chipboard Letters - My Mind's Eye
• Corduroy Brads - Stampin' Up!

Another fast, fun layout!

Enjoy your day!

The Dish Soap Challenge. Week Three: Patio Furniture

  In doing this dish soap challenge for the past few weeks, I'm feeling like dish soap is my new cleaning BFF. It's been so amazing! I haven't been disappointed yet!

  For those just tuning in, I've issued myself a challenge to start doing my cleaning with dish soap wherever I can. Every week for the next while I'll clean something new with dish soap & see how the results stack up to the results using a more expensive, specialty cleaner. I'll use my home as the guinea pig & let you in on the results.

This past weekend was so beautiful & warm, we simply had to eat outside on our patio at every possible occasion. 

We had taken out our patio furniture this spring, but hadn't yet cleaned it off or used it.

After weeks of rain, wind, dust, & birds (if you get my drift), this is what the table looked like:

Blech! I think I'd pass on a meal at this table!

After simply squirting a small amount of dish soap into a pail & adding some warm water, the kids & I washed off our patio table & chairs.

We dried them off with a dry rag & here is the end result:

A gloriously clean patio set to eat lunch at!

Verdict: We're 3/3. I'll be using dish soap to clean outside again.

If you missed the first two instalments of this experiment, please visit:

• Week One: The Bathtub
• Week Two: The Toilet

Enjoy your day!

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Easy Salsa Sloppy Joes

Even though the weather is getting steadily warmer, we've been having the odd rainy day, which, for the time being means that I'm still using my stove & oven on those cool days.

This is a very easy recipe that comes together in about 20 minutes from start to finish. 

I don't know about you, but when it comes to weeknight meals, fast & easy are good in my books!

Easy Salsa Sloppy Joes
serves 8

1 lb. ground beef
1 1/3 cups salsa
1 can condensed tomato soup
1 Tbsp brown sugar
8 hamburger buns, split

In a large skillet, cook ground beef over medium heat until no longer pink. Drain. Stir in the salsa, soup, & brown sugar. Cover & simmer for 10 minutes or until heated through. Spoon 1/2 cup onto each bun.


  Done! How easy is that, right? Serve with your favourite salad & your meal is complete. The last time I made this, I served it with our favourite Chickpea Salad. Perfect for a quick, yummy, child-friendly weeknight meal.

Enjoy your day!

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Shabby Chic Baby Card {My Mind's Eye}

Last week, a friend of mine asked me for a shabby chic baby card using pink & soft colours. 

Here's what I created:

Supplies Used:

• Cardstock - Michaels
• Patterned Papers - My Mind's Eye (Lines: Stella & Rose, Lost & Found)
• Tag - My Mind's Eye
• Pearl Brad - American Crafts
• Scallop Punch & Corner Rounder Punch - Stampin' Up!
• I made the flower with my Cricut machine. Cartridge used - George & Basic Shapes

I love the end result & so did my friend. 

In fact, I think I'll make more of these for my card stash, I like them it so much!

~~~~~

On a different note, I know that my posts have been hit & miss for the past couple of months.
For that, I apologize.
I plan to make up for that by doing extra posts in June. I hope you enjoy what I have planned!

Enjoy your day!

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100 Things To Do This Summer!

  It's June & summer is here!!!

  You know those summer days when your kids come to you & say, "I'm bored." I remember doing that as a kid & my mom promptly putting me to work. Usually out in the garden. :)

  Several years ago I made up a (much smaller) list of things to do during the summer. It was simple, inexpensive things & we tried to do as many as we could that summer. We ended up doing almost all of them & I have to tell you that that simple list made that summer very memorable & special.

So ward off summer boredom & see how much fun you can have instead!

1. Pick berries
2. Go to the beach
3. Have a summer party
4. Build a sand castle
5. Fly a kite
6. Stargaze
7. Go camping or sleep in the backyard
8. Go to the playground
9. Play mini golf
10. Eat ice cream
11. Make popsicles
12. Blow bubbles
13. Visit a local theatre or summer musical
14. Go for a bike ride
15. Go for a walk
16. Read a book
17. Visit a local music festival
18. Go on a picnic
19. Go to some yard sales or garage sales
20. Go on a road trip
21. Visit a museum
22. Make a craft
23. Cook up a summer feast
24. Visit a local fair or carnival
25. Shop at the local farmer's market
26. Go for a boat ride
27. Play charades
28. Wash your car by hand
29. Draw pictures with sidewalk chalk
30. Play hopscotch
31. Go on a hike
32. Collect sea shells
33. Sing campfire songs
34. Lay on the grass & look at the clouds
35. Build a fort
36. Plant a garden
37. Pick flowers
38. Go to the library
39. Visit a local farm
40. Roast marshmallows
41. Have friends over to play
42. Jump in the sprinkler
43. Put on a play or a puppet show
44. Have a lemonade stand
45. Bake cookies
46. Play a board game
47. Go horseback riding
48. Play baseball or attend a local game
49. Make a CD of your favourite summer songs
50. Catch bugs in a jar
51. Play frisbee golf
52. Go fishing
53. Make paper airplanes
54. Snap some photos
55. Skip stones
56. Learn or teach something new
57. Have a movie marathon
58. Play with water balloons
59. Have a watermelon seed-spitting contest
60. Draw a picture
61. Have a tea party
62. Make a root beer float
63. Start a journal
64. Make homemade pizza
65. Watch the sunrise
66. Watch the sunset
67. Have a fashion show
68. See some fireworks
69. Visit a second hand store. Search for a new-to-you treasure
70. Go to a local stampede or rodeo
71. Go to the zoo
72. Feed the birds in the park
73. See a parade
74. Listen to some new music
75. Have a video game tournament with prizes for the winners
76. Play cards
77. Have a water fight
78. Play tag
79. Go to the pool
80. Write a letter
81. Do a puzzle
82. Have a scavenger hunt
83. Make an obstacle course in the backyard
84. Visit a tourist spot near your home
85. Throw a block party
86. Jump on a trampoline
87. Make a pinwheel
88. Climb a tree
89. Go exploring
90. Play street hockey
91. Relax in a hammock
92. Have a wheelbarrow race
93. Make a banana split
94. Play musical chairs
95. Have a pillow fight
96. Bury someone in the sand
97. Have a talent show
98. Have a 3-legged race
99. Attend a local outdoor movie night
100. Visit a national/ provincial/ state park

Click HERE for a printable list

Check off as many as you can or just the ones that interest you. 

Let's rock this summer!

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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Summer Layout {My Mind's Eye}

There's something about this colour combo that just screams "SUMMER!" to me. 

Orange & turquoise... the colours of afternoon sunshine, orange popcicles, open water, & clear sky.

The perfect colour combo for a cheery summer layout featuring my son.

  This is one of my favourite layouts of late. And because I used papers from a single line it made co-ordinating the patterns a breeze (like a summer breeze). ;)

I used my Cricut & a couple circle punches to get all the different circle sizes. 

Usually I do my journalling by hand. Mostly because it's faster for me. This time, I was trying to get out of my normal scrapping routine, so I typed up my journalling in plain old Times New Roman 

(way faster than searching for the "perfect" font for what would turn into hours), 

making sure I double spaced the sentences. 

I printed it out onto white cardstock, trimmed it into strips, & adhered to fit in with the circle pattern.

  I also love how the title turned out. I wanted to use these letters that I had in my stash & had kind of forgotten about, but there wasn't room to line them up in a row. I pop-dotted every other letter to make a layered effect. Love it!

Supplies Used:

• Patterned paper - My Mind's Eye Fine & Dandy line
• Corrugated letters - Jillibean Soup
• Small letter stickers - Basic Grey
• Felt stars - Pebbles
• Flair Badge - American Crafts
• White cardstock - Bazzill Basics
• Font - Times New Roman

What have you been working on lately?

The Dish Soap Challenge. Week Two: The Toilet

Here we are at the second week of my dish soap cleaning experiment. If you missed the first experiment, allow me to explain. 

I'm issuing myself a challenge to start doing my cleaning with dish soap wherever I can. Every week for the next while I'll clean something new with dish soap & see how the results stack up to the results using a more expensive, specialty cleaner. I'll use my home as the guinea pig & let you in on the results.

If you missed week one, you can find it here as well as get a little more in depth explanation.

This week, I set aside my regular toilet cleaner & got out my trusty dish soap. 

After learning my lesson last week, I added only a little bit of dish soap to the toilet bowl & cleaned as usual with my toilet brush.

Before

After

Verdict: I plan to keep cleaning my toilet this way. Dish soap got the toilet just as clean as a toilet bowl cleaner.

  I know many people are concerned with always having anti-bactirial cleaners. I am not one of those people. :) People have lived for years using simple ingredients to clean their homes. I believe we can continue to do the same without detriment to our health & homes. 

  So, if cleaning your toilet with dish soap freaks you out because you like every germ to be accounted for, dish soap may not be the toilet cleaner for you.

For me, the dish soap experiment is going well & we're 2 for 2!

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

subscribe by email (sign up on the right sidebar), or follow along on Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter. 

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

Enjoy your day!

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First Day of School Layout

  My crafty times have been pretty few & far between lately. It's been a very busy spring for us & now that the school year is winding down, I'm really starting to look forward to having whole summer days to get some fun projects done. 

  As the last day of school draws nigh, I'm just now scrapbooking photos from the first day of school. :) 

Products used:

• Red paper - Echo Park
• Yellow & green cardstock - Die Cuts With A View
• Blue polka dot paper - Bo Bunny
• Yellow lined paper, ABC border, & red letter stickers - Sassafras Lass
• Yellow ruler border - Little Yellow Bicycle 
• Tag - unknown
• Small letter stickers - Making Memories
• Apple sticker - We R Memory Keepers
• ABC sticker - October Afternoon
• Ribbon - My Mind's Eye

Has it been a busy spring for you? Are you looking forward to summer as much as I am? 

Enjoy your day!

The Dish Soap Challenge. Week One: The Bathtub

  A couple of weeks ago, I heard about a blog called Squawkfox. Kerry has many tips on saving money & living frugally. One of the things that caught my attention was a list she has of many things you can do that can save you $1,000 per year. One of those things was to stop buying household cleaners. She says she uses a $1 bottle of dish soap to clean everything in her house. This had me seriously intrigued.

~ The Dish Soap Challenge ~

  So, after hearing that, I'm issuing myself a challenge to start doing my cleaning with dish soap wherever I can. Every week for the next while I'll clean something new with dish soap & see how the results stack up to the results using a more expensive, specialty cleaner. I'll use my home as the guinea pig & let you in on the results.

  

This week's dish soap challenge: My dirty bathtub.

Yes, you can see the dirty ring, right?

I started with the bottle of soap, above, & a scrubby sponge that is safe for porcelain tubs & sinks.

The dirty tub

So, after using a bit too much dish soap, here is our tub after being cleaned with dish soap:

Success!

Overall, I'm pretty happy with how this turned out. 

I started out by using too much soap, so there were a lot of bubbles. 

  Verdict: I plan to keep cleaning my tub this way. Dish soap got the tub just as clean as the bathroom cleaner I had been using. I also learned that a little dish soap goes a long way. :)

I hope this little series inspires you to save some money & try doing this too. 

Enjoy your day!

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