What do you do with kid’s artwork from school & growing up? If you’re like my mom you keep it all in a big folder until your child is old enough to decide what to do with it. {haha} After years of pondering what to do with it I finally decided to use a promo code for a free photo book and capture it all in there. A. It would take up less space and B. There is a greater possibility more people would see it in a book rather then at the top of a closet shelf.
So keeping that idea in mind I took pictures of all my artwork, edited it, cropped it, etc. Since most were large pieces I couldn’t scan it however if you have lots of small pieces of flat art scanning would be perfect for you. After everything looked as close to the real thing I designed my book. That process was rather easy, since most of my work didn’t have dates I only added in the pictures {without descriptions} in as close to in order as I could. {One thing I would suggest is adding the year and a short description to each piece of art you keep so it is easier years down the road.}
In about a weeks time I had my childhood artwork book in hand and I think it turned out wonderful. It’s such a great way to preserve all those great memories and one of a kind pieces! What do you do with your artwork from childhood or your own kids artwork?
We’ve been composting for years however we were using the throw it all in a pile in the garden method. Which after recently reading and researching I found out your compost will actually decompose faster if it is mixed around.{rather then just sitting still in a big pile} Plus apparently it lets off less gases into the air since it can “breath” rather then getting built up and trapped inside the big pile. So after my heavily Google researching I decided that we should buy a rolling composter. That idea was quickly shot down when I realized that a rolling composter was going to be $100+!! Therefore I decided that I would just make my own and that I did!
First drill holes evenly around your bucket, I used a 3/16 drill bit. {including the bottom & lid} 
Next add a layer of dirt to your bucket so it fills it up about a fourth of the way. 
With how fast kiddos grow, sometimes shoes are still in good shape by the time they out grow them. Which is exactly the case when Mr.N out grew his Converse shoes. I told Miss.A she could have them but her 1st thoughts were… “they look like boys shoes!” So my crafty mind instantly thought well… how about we upcycle them into new girly looking shoes! She loved the idea so we went to Target to pick up some glitter & new laces then while she was at school I got to work to surprise her with her new shoes.
First wash then remove old laces. Then paint Mod Podge on one part of the shoe. I found that doing this in sections was easier, as the Mod Podge will sometimes dry before your ready for the glitter. 
Does your household end up with a bunch of old crayons year after year that just end up in a bin unused? Well we sure do! I remember as a child at church we used to have circle crayons that were made up of a bunch of old crayons melted down. Back then I never put much thought into it but boy was that a great idea to save on money & waste! A couple months ago Miss.A came home telling me about how her friend had homemade crayons that were in shapes. After a short discussion I figured out that she must of been talking about the same kind of ones I had in Sunday School at church. So we decided to start gathering all our old crayons into one place to make our own. It’s so simple and a fun family craft you gotta try it out.
First take the wrappers off your crayons then break them into small pieces. {this can be a little tough for small hands so some adult help is needed}
Next place them into your silicon mold, the key is to fill your mold all up or else they can be difficult to take out later. {we found out the hard way} 
What to do with your old Christmas cards you received can be a daunting question. You want to keep those memories however don’t need the extra clutter of cards filling up boxes in the garage. One of my big goals for 2013 is to cut down on my clutter and get/feel more organized. So to do that I thought I’d share some of the ideas I found to cut down on Christmas card clutter to keep the memories in a new less cluttered way. 
Happy 2013 everyone! I can’t believe we are already into the second week of the new year. Boy did last year fly by before my eye. I had a blast sharing some of my favorite crafts, recipes, DIY, etc. with you and can’t wait to share more in 2013! To kick off the new year I thought I’d share the top five viewed posts during 2012.
Earlier this year while redecorating Miss.A’s new tween bedroom we upcycled some of her old decor to match her new. End result… saving money. {yay} One of the items that we decided needed an upgrade was her Ikea easel, it was looking rather worn down however she insisted she wanted to keep it in the new room. So we gave it a fresh new life with a little spray paint & contact paper. Since we had extra supplies we dug out Mr.N’s old easel to make over the my mom’s classroom too.
First I used old newspaper & tape to cover up everything I didn’t want to paint. Then took the easel outside to spray down with two coats of Rustoleum satin spray paint.
After it was dry I brought it back inside to cover the tray with contact paper that matched perfectly. 
Since we already had the easels {that were headed to a garage sale} the project only cost under $10 to makeover two easels {one for Miss.A and another for my mom’s classroom}. Which I say is a great deal for two totally cute custom easels!
Supplies
For my mug I decided to draw the skyline of downtown Columbus, Ohio so first I drew it out on the mug. {you can try to use a pencil to sketch but it doesn’t show up too well} I found putting a piece tape around the bottom helped keep my city from looking like it was going down hill. 
Next I filled in my drawing and went back to straighten lines. 
After my drawing was finished we baked our mugs at 350 degrees for 30 minutes then let cool. 
The great thing about this project {other then only being $2} is it’s also great fun for kiddos. Miss. A had a lot of fun writing and drawing all her favorite things. After we were done even Mr. N asked if he could do one. I think these would be great even for Christmas presents to grandparents.
