Mango Lemonade Pops

Are you enjoying the summer so far? 

We're starting to cross a few things off the 100 Things To Do This Summer list... This being one of them!

These are like popsicles for the grown ups, but the kids love them too!

Mango Lemonade Pops

makes 6 pops

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup water

1 cup peeled, chopped fresh or frozen mango (about 1 mango)

3/4 cup water

2 Tbsp lemon juice

A couple of fresh mint leaves

Plastic cups or Dixie cups

Popsicle sticks

1. Make a syrup with the sugar & water by combining the two in a small saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil. Cook until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat & let cool completely.

2. In a blender, combine remaining ingredients. Blend until smooth. Stir in syrup, mixing well. 

3. To make pops, divide mixture evenly into 6 plastic cups. I just used disposable party cups.

4. Freeze for about an hour or until a popsicle stick can be inserted into the mixture & stay standing upright. :)

5. Freeze until firm. To remove pop from cup, run the plastic end under hot water for a few seconds until you can pull the pop out by the stick.

Enjoy this fun summer treat!

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I want to say thank you to all my new followers on all the social media sites as well as to those of you who have subscribed by email! I look forward to getting to know you all a bit better. :)

Just a quick note, Facebook has made some changes to the fan pages recently. You may not be seeing my posts in your newsfeed if you haven't checked the "Show in News Feed" option. All you have to do is go to my Facebook page, hover over the "Liked" button as shown below & make sure it's checked so you don't miss a thing!

Thanks!

Enjoy your day!

I link up to these great parties!

This recipe was featured on:

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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This project was featured on:

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!

I link up to these great parties!