A Vintage Treat for the Kitchen

I found this adorable vintage owl planter (so weird that people used to like tiny plants so much...) online at Out'A Space, a great Florida based vintage shop. It's so perfect to hold my scrub brushes, so happy that my kitchen is finally coming to completion. More photos soon!

Tutorial Trial: Dyed Mason Jars

I've been loving all the gorgeous vintage Ball jars in green and blue, but I figured that there must be a way to DIY it, and there is! There are lots of methods and tutorials all over the place and I read a ton and tried it myself.

Materials:
Mason Jars
Mod Podge
Food coloring

1) Mix your color. I used about a 1/2 cup of Mod Podge and added 3-5 drops of blue food coloring and 2-3 or green. I had to wing it a bit to get the shade/depth of color I wanted.

2.) Thin your mixture out a little with water. I swirled it around the jars and let the excess drip off. I should have painted it on though, I think. Mine had some drips and I think I'd rather brush strokes than drips.

3) Cure them in the oven for about an hour on the lowest setting it has. I'm pretty happy with how they turned out, although the real deal is way cuter!

Magic Mud with Daddy

If you're feeling little stir crazy with all the snow, this is a great way to entertain your children and husband for at least an hour!

Magic Mud
3 Parts Cornstarch
1 Part Water
Optional Food Coloring

It's so much fun because it's liquid until you squish it, at which point it becomes solid, until you let it drip through your fingers. The in-between state of this magic mud is called a 'colloid'. Somewhere in between a solid and liquid. Just a little tip...wait for the mess to dry and it's much easier to sweep up.

A Favorite Christmas Tradition

Making paper chains is one of my favorite Christmas traditions. It's so simple, but I've loved it since I was a preschooler. From a child development point of view, it's a great way for little ones to visualize how long it will take before Christmas happens. It also takes me off the hook for doing the math in my morning-grogginess for the daily countdown interrogation.

We just cut 1 inch strips of paper and assembled them in a pattern with glue dots. We decided to make Christmas 'gold' this year, and the kids were very excited to cut their first link. Hopefully I'll be able to get my decorating done in the next few days!