Parties! 6 Year Old Bowling!

One of the things I love most about 5/6 year olds is how much they know what they love! This week I worked on a special birthday party for my friend's daughter who is turning 6. She called me a few weeks back and said, unsurprisingly, that there was really no great bowling party goods out there for her party. (I say unsurprisingly because in the past few years I feel like party goods in general have gone downhill and it is nearly impossible to find things in good themes!)

So we chatted for a while and I started dreaming up awesome ideas for her party. We decided to do a t-shirt with a small "pocket" design on the front and large design on the back. Thanks to my talented cousin, I made her matching hair bows with bowling pin centers. And for party favors, my favorite little water bottles with personalized bowling pins for each of the party guests! 

A few of my favorite things about them.... I LOVE the bowling pins, which I purposely put 6 of (even though no one will notice but me!) I also "bling-ed" them up a bit with glitter stripes on each of them, and a glitter-ed bowling ball. I think my most favorite part is this fun, retro-looking font. To me it looks like what you would see on an old bowling sign from the 50's! 

Super fun party to help with, I can't wait to hear how much the birthday girl loves her new stuff! :)

Sneak Peek & Advice Needed on Upcoming Shop Items

One thing I learned from my Etsy Shop at Christmas, as it was exploding with orders, is that even when there are hundreds of things that come up in a search, if you can design something even nicer, you will succeed! 

My Christmas success was an Engagement Ornament. My sister needed one for her friend and we couldn't find anything we liked.... so I designed one. Based on the amount of orders that came pouring in, I guess others had the same problem!

So now I am trying to come up with the next "big thing" and somehow ended up looking for First Holy Communion stuff. It's there, but it's not amazingly cute (in my opinion!) So I found this adorable little girl and adjusted it a little and made it something I could use on my own projects. (Sorry about the crazy watermarks, I've been having tons of problems with people stealing my designs!)

So far I've put her on an ornament...

I'm working on a banner & matching invitations. My neighbor suggested a bible box or a little box for Rosary Beads. Now I'm trying to think what else I could do.... any ideas or suggestions? Do you think a DIY printable kit would be a good idea with cupcake toppers and such? Or would it be better just to sell them already made? 

Saw It, Pinned It, Did It! Jar Salads

Back in my teaching days (before kids) we used to have Salad Club on Fridays. It was the best!!! Everyone brought in one salad item in tupperware and you could go straight down the line and put anything you wanted on your salad. It was like a HUGE salad bar, but you only had to cut up one thing to bring in! Loved it!

Now as a stay at home Mom, I LOVE to have salad for lunch, but it is sooooo much work to do for just one person. Have you seen this pin for jar salads?

Basically you put all your ingredients in a large Ball jar, starting with the dressing, then the veggies (so they don't get soggy) and then the lettuce on top (so it stays crisp as well.) The pin says they will keep for a week. 

So I tried it. And I LOVE it!!!!! It really does NOT get soggy!! I bought the jars at ACMoore for $1 a piece. I don't follow the recipes from the pin exactly, I just put whatever I have in the jar. Every Sunday afternoon I just line everything up, chop for a few minutes, and put them together. So easy. 

During the week, when my daughter is tugging at my leg (or trashing my house) I can just reach in the fridge, pull one out, dump it in a bowl and continue chasing her! Helps me stay on track for eating healthy, and protects my house from the living tornado all at the same time! 

Children's "Masterpieces"

Maybe it's the teacher in me, or just the proud parent, but I absolutely LOVE the things my daughter brings home from school! Only problem is..... where to put them ALL??? It's at least three things a day she brings home, and I can't put them all on the fridge, but I also want to recognize all the hard work she is doing, so I was in a predicament. That's when I saw this Pin on Pinterest:

I love it, but let's be honest, I've been out of wall space for a long time now. ;) Then the wheels started turning in my head.... I had also seen another pin for using picture frames on your fridge instead of just cluttered pictures. So I decided to combine the ideas and use the little display space I had left, my back door in the kitchen! We're in the kitchen all the time, and that big door just sits there, blank. Why not use it?

So first, I decided that at the top of the door I would write "Mary's Masterpieces." I typed it up in a few different fonts for my daughter to check out..... 

Of course, she chose none of the above. She wanted something "simpler" (She's 5!) So together we found one we liked. 

Then we went to Michael's and bought a few 8x10 frames that were on clearance, some super strong magnets. When we got home we took the glass out and I hot glued the magnets to the corners of the frames. Then, she chose art work while I applied the vinyl decal to the top of the door. Here's how it turned out..... 

Of course, we can't put everything up there, but she loves coming home from school with her favorite "treasures" and changing them out when she wants to. (Like on Saturday, when she changed them three times!) Yet another reason I love five year olds! :)

So if your children's masterpieces are taking over, try it... or something like it! And if you want a vinyl decal like mine (or you want to dream up a custom design) check it out in my Etsy Shop! 

A "Little Bit of Finishing" required.....

When we first moved into our house it was, well, gross. Luckily my hubby and I could see the potential, but I think the glasses were sooooo rose colored that they were red. ;) 9 years later, we're now at the point where most things have been redone, some need to be re-redone, and many many (many) things need just a little bit of finishing.

I think lots of people are in this "little bit of finishing" spot. Why is it that projects get started all the time, but it is always the last little bit that isn't? 

So this week I made it my mission to finish up a project that literally drove me crazy every day. My laundry room. It's a pretty big room, and we walk through it every time we come into the house. Three years ago, when I was pregnant and not sleeping, I dreamed up this new built in storage design. I remember being in the laundry room at 3am with the tape measure drawing and sketching out a plan with all hope in the world it would actually be done BEFORE the baby came..... And that weekend construction began! The cabinets were completed, all except the doors. It was perfect--functional, with lots of space. Everything I hoped for. I couldn't wait for the doors to go on so it would all be hidden and look neat and clean every time we walked in the door.

.... fast forward two years. Still no doors. And now, a sneaky 19 month old who can reach everything. Literally, everything. I don't know how she does it. Every time we would walk in and out of the house she would stand at the "pantry" shelf and either cry that she wanted things, or just bring them to me. At least once a day I would end up cleaning up every single piece of food from the bottom shelf which had been carried out to my living room floor for fun. I was OVER it. 

Since I couldn't figure out how to build the cabinet doors myself, I did the next best thing. Went to JoAnn's and bought fabric and tension rods. I could fix this with $20 and 30 minutes of sewing! Here's how it turned out.....

Oh, and in case you were just dying to know what was back there... here's a picture of one of the sections.... 

I think for now, we'll call this project done. The best part is..... somehow, for this very minute at least, the baby has forgotten anything is back there and now she just walks right past! SCORE one for the Mom Team!

One Of My Favorite Cooking Tricks....

Cooking is really not my thing. Give me a sewing machine, a Silhouette machine, a can of paint.... I can create anything. But in the kitchen, it's another story. I fumble around and try my best to make my way, but I'm certainly no Rachel Ray. 

A few months back I stumbled upon this trick to make your own Taco Shells. I think it's soooo smart and so easy I had to share it. All you do is use any tortilla wrappers you have around, spray them with cooking spray, and hang them over the rack in your oven, like this:

 I like to put mine over two sections so that they stand up on the plate and I can really fill them up! In about 4-8 minutes (depending on the size of them and if they are whole wheat, corn, or flour tortillas) they are crispy and ready to fill! I love that I can make any kind I want, since when have you ever heard of a Whole Wheat Taco Shell? ;) 

Here's how mine turned out, they are whole wheat tortillas. 

Fill them with your favorite taco meat & fillings. I served them with Weight Watchers Mexican Sloppy Joes (minus the tortilla bowls, obviously.) Not my favorite recipe, it definitely needs something, but it's ok.  The shells steal the show anyway, in my opinion. :)

Parties! Winter ONEderland

Every once in a while I get a phone call from a friend who says "I know you are super busy, but my son/daughters birthday is coming up and I was wondering if you had time to help me make some stuff...... but no pressure, if it's too much, just say no." YEAH RIGHT!! Like I would ever turn down the opportunity to create something awesome for a birthday party-- or for any party for that matter!

Usually these calls end up with me agreeing to do whatever I can, spending at least an hour on Pinterest "researching," and then sitting in bed all night with ideas swirling around my head. Hundreds of ideas. Wayyyyyyy too many for a "normal" family party. 

I've had three of these calls in the last month, four if you count my phone call this morning that was really just a conversation but already has my head spinning with thoughts! (Thanks Kari!) ;) 

Since I haven't mailed all of the stuff away to the birthday girls, and some things are a surprise for an upcoming party, I can't share all 3 of them today, but here is one I did right before Christmas.

This was for a Winter ONEderland party-- What a super cute idea, right??!! (No, it wasn't my idea, it was the Mom's idea, I just created for it!) 

She bought the tutu, but I made her the shirt using heat-transfer vinyl, and then on the bottom photo these are a highchair banner (great idea if you are short on wall space to just have a small banner to hang across the front of your highchair tray!) and some little cupcake toppers (put on toothpicks and stuck into the tops of your cupcakes. Talk about simple and easy, but so pretty!)

What I love about all three of these things is that they are simple, classic, and took that little family party  and gave it that little extra touch of special! :)

Now, back to work on the bowling party I'm doing for a six year old girl..... 

Saw It, Pinned It, Did It! Magic Tub Cleaner

One of my favorite blogs to read is The Craft Patch. I absolutely love her section of things that are "Pinterest Tested." As a crazy pinner myself, I always wonder how many of these things I pin actually work. 

So one of the pins I was dying to try last fall was the tub cleaner... you know the pin... the one that claims you can clean  your tub with a mixture of dawn and vinegar. 

Well the Craft Patch tested it, and I loved her results....

So I tried it. Let me just tell you, it was the best!!!!!! I will never again buy one of those tub cleaning products. EVER!!!!! No more Soft Scrub, Fantastic, Scrubbing Bubbles.... I will take my $2.00 bottle of vinegar and $3 bottle of soap and clean my tub 6 times for under a dollar a time and get 10x better results!

How do you do it? Well, click one of the links above for the pin or for the blog post, or follow these directions:

• Heat 1 cup vinegar in the microwave. 
• Pour it in a spray bottle with 1 cup of BLUE Dawn (not sure why the Blue Dawn, but I'm a rule follower so I did as I was told!) 
• Then spray it on the tub and let it sit for 30 minutes to an hour (or whenever you remember.) 
• When you go back, bring a sponge. Rinse down the walls and tub with warm water from the shower, and literally wipe the dirt, grime, and mysterious tub ring away with your sponge. No scrubbing. Just wipe. 

I'm telling you, it's a miracle! I'm totally sold!

Smart or Crazy?

One of the traditions we've carried on from my husband's side of the family is our annual Christmas cookie baking bonanza. I call it a bonanza because my daughter and I spend HOURS upon HOURS baking cookies in the weeks before Christmas. At least 5-10 different types, all in several batches. Crazy, yes. but also yummy. ;)

So what do we do with all these thousands of cookies? We bring them to all the people we know and love when we see them.... teachers, friends, relatives, neighbors, and even the UPS Man who we love. (My sister swears we are the only ones in the world who give the UPS Man cookies!) 

Every year shopping for tins to give them in is a challenge. They are always too cartoony or too expensive or just plain tacky. And after all that work baking, presentation is just as important as the yummy deliciousness inside. So this year I decided to buy blank tins (or mostly blank tins) and decorate them myself. 

So then the question became, on the small red ones, do I write "With Love From Our Home to Yours" or "With Love From The Januszka Family." If it has our name on it, people can't reuse it.... but do people really reuse them? If it does have our name on it, it seems more personal, but is it over the top?

What do you think? Am I smart or crazy to personalize my cookie tins? Would other people?

Just Do It!

Ok. It's time. I've been sitting here for days stressing over what to write in the first blog post when I finally decided to JUST DO IT!! With so many ideas for future posts swirling around my head, I have to start getting them out so I can sleep! So here goes...

Blogging is something I never thought I would do. My friend Sheri has a blog, it's awesome. Every time she posts it's the highlight of my day... heck, sometimes of my week! She has this fabulous way with words that makes me laugh, makes me think, and at the same time assures me that there is someone else out there who is dealing with the same things as me. I do not have the same way with words that she does and would never claim to be as awesome as she is. 

So why start? Well, every time I am talking to someone about a project I am working on, or an idea I have in my head, they say "Where did you come up with that?" or "What would even make you think of that?" or "Can you share with me how you..." I finally decided I should just put those things out there for everyone. There have to be other crafty/Mommy/teachers out there who want to know the same things I do. I mean, every time I pin something on Pinterest a million other people "re-pin" it, so I must have something in common with the rest of the world. ;) 

My goal is not to become a rich and famous blogger.... but if I can get the ideas that are swirling in my head all the time out on "paper" and help other people who are feeling over inspired to try out some of their ideas, mission accomplished!