Make Your Own SNOW

Came across this fun winter activity at Growing a Jeweled Rose, along with lots of other great kids activities! You can make your own snow with items you most likely already have at home. My boys loved it, especially the part where you make them foam and grow by spraying them with vinegar! 

 You will need:
-Shaving cream
-Baking soda
-Vinegar, in a spray bottle
-Glitter (optional)
-Sensory tubs

 Place the baking soda in the tub.

Add some shaving cream and mix it together. The "snow" should start sticking together.

Spray your snowballs with vinegar and watch them foam!

Christmas Jar

We've officially begun decorating for Christmas at our house! We are not hosting Thanksgiving this year and I couldn't wait any longer...especially after finding some fun Christmas decor at Sweet Salvage this weekend! I found these amazing gold glittered vintage ornaments there. They are from the 50's. I just LOVE them! The jar I bought at Design Lab in downtown Mesa and have been rotating what I place inside of it with each season. I collected pine cones from our yard and you can find details below with how I covered them it white shimmery glitter.

 I love these battery powered LED lights! Perfect for lighting up a jar! I simply used 3M tape to stick the battery pack to the lid of the jar. You can find them at Target and Michael's, however they are cheaper at Michael's especially if you use a coupon! I also used a strand to wrap around some antlers.

To make your own shimmery pine cones and Christmas Jar, here is what you'll need:
-1 large glass jar with a lid
-1 strand of battery powered LED lights
-3M tape
-Ornaments
-Pine cones
-Tacky spray
-White glitter (I used a martha stewart brand)

Directions:
Set your pine cones in a box and spray with the tacky spray. Sprinkle with glitter. Spray another coat of tacky spray overtop of the glitter. Let dry. Using 3M tape stick your battery pack to the lid of your jar. Once your pine cones have dried, fill your jar with ornaments and pine cones. Wrap the LED lights through your pine cones and ornaments.

How to Save Your i Phone From Water Damage

A couple weeks ago my i phone was thrown into the toilet... by my one year old. I saw the whole thing coming when she grabbed my phone and made a dash for my bathroom! In my head I just knew if the lid was up it was going in the toilet. Sure enough as I chased in after her there is was at the bottom of the toilet. I frantically started grabbing at it and it took me a minute or two to get it out because it was wedged in the hole of the toilet! You can read below exactly what I did when I got it out, because somehow it turned back on 24 hours later in full working condition!

-Power off your phone as quickly as possible.

-Remove the case and any protective screen covers. 

-Wipe the phone dry and use a q-tip to absorb any water in the plugs.

-Fill a plastic ziploc bag with rice and place your phone inside. 

-Seal the bag and make sure your phone is surrounded by rice.

-Wait...this is the hard part! Wait 24 to 36 hours before turning your phone back on. And before you turn it on make sure you see no sign of any moisture. If you do put it back in the rice and wait longer!

I do not have the best patience so my phone showed no signs of moisture after 24 hours...so I turned it back on. It worked! If I had the self control it might have been best to wait 36 hours...just to play it safe...but I didn't. I wasn't sure if the bag of rice trick would work, but it did! So thankful that we didn't have to replace my phone!

Another thing you can do is check your phone for water damage by checking for the “Liquid Contact Indicator” locations as shown in the image above from Apple. If your phone is showing red it is indicating water damage. This would also affect your warranty. 

Amy's Fall Themed Baby Shower

This weekend I worked with a few friends to throw our friend Amy a baby shower. She is expecting her second little girl, Autumn anytime now! Amy is due with Autumn on Thanksgiving, so we thought a Fall themed shower would be perfect! We had the shower outside and the weather was beautiful! We served soups and salad for lunch and pies for dessert. As favors everyone took home a homemade pear butter. You can read and see more details below!

Piper's 1st Birthday

 Can't believe our sweet baby girl is already ONE! The year has flown by, and I think I say that every year when the kids have a birthday. We were planning to have a small dinner party for Piper's birthday with family and close friends. However, the plans changed when Hudson came down with the stomach flu that morning. It was a bummer we didn't get to celebrate with friends and family, and eat all of the food that had been bought and prepared. However, Piper didn't know the difference! I did still take some pictures that I wanted to share. It was fun to plan a party with pink this year! 

 I made mini carrot cake cupcakes and a pink ruffled cake. You can find a tutorial for the pink ruffled cake HERE. I used striped paper straws and yellow tissue paper to make little candles for each cupcake. Also perfect for the birthday girl's cake!

 Made a yummy apple cider sangria, recipe HERE.

Perfect adult drink for a Fall party!

We went with the "mini" theme for her 1st birthday.

These mini crab apples were perfect! Found them at Fry's.

We also made mini meatball sandwiches for dinner.

 Put together a large veggie bowl full of "mini" cucumbers, peppers, carrots, and tomatoes.

I filled the bottom of the bowl with grocery bags and paper towels to keep the veggies up higher in the bowl. I was inspired by the veggie bowl served at True Food!

For the centerpieces I decorated with gold mason jars, pink and peach florals, white and gold pumpkins, and succulents.

I bought the sweet handmade crown for Piper to wear on Etsy from Tilly Tilda.

 Made this tissue paper tassel garland. You can find a tutorial HERE.

I bought some pretty tissue poms from Petite Party Studio in down town Gilbert. I plan on reusing these by hanging them in Piper's room.

For party favors I made homemade play dough (recipe HERE) in three colors. I placed three rolled balls of each color in small mason jars and sprinkled with gold glitter. I used a free printable from Tomkat Studio, HERE.

Happy 1st Birthday sweet Piper!