All posts filed under: DIY

Kleenex Box Monsters

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This is an easy DIY craft for you to do with your kiddies! There’s so many great things about this craft, not only is it made using recycled parts it can also be used for fun games after, like skeleton toss or really just about any kind of “toss” you want. Supplies Kleenex box (with plastic sleeve intact) Paint (your choice of colours) Construction Paper White Paper Scissors Egg carton (you just need 2 dimples from the carton) Hot glue Googly Eyes Directions Paint the Kleenex box and 2 sections of the egg carton, let stand to dry. Cut circles (or shape of your choice) out of construction paper. Once paint is dry glue your eyes and shapes on, using hot glue. You can also glue the googly eyes onto the egg carton at this point. Cut teeth out of the white paper and glue to plastic sleeve on Kleenex box.

Mini Fall Pies and Tarts!

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This past weekend we took advantage of the fabulous weather and drove to Andrew Scenic Farms, this farm is a family run business and definitely doesn’t have the long line ups and wait times that other apple picking farms have. We spent about 2 hours there, had a pony ride, picked raspberries and apples and then enjoyed some lunch. On Sunday, my son and I spent the afternoon in the kitchen making these delicious mini tarts. First you’ll need some custard, this recipe is scaled down as you don’t need that much, my son (who is 2 years old) really enjoyed making this, lots of mixing and whisking! Buttermilk Custard 3/4 cup of sugar 2 tbsp of. flour 1/4 cup of butter, softened 2 eggs, beaten 1/4 tsp. vanilla 1/4 tsp. salt 1/4 cup buttermilk Mix sugar and flour; cream with butter. Add eggs, vanilla, salt and buttermilk. Raspberry Mini Tarts (recipe makes 6) Preheat oven to 350 F Pastry Recipe (I used Martha Stewart’s – I find it’s better to add a little more …

Fall Mushroom Risotto

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Just in time for the first day of Fall! This easy and delicious risotto was such a hit with the family! Some people veer away from trying to make risotto because it is said to be one of the harder dishes to master. I found this method (cooking in the oven) so simple and the risotto came out perfectly. Ingredients 1 cup of Arborio rice 1 pint of mushrooms (your choice on type, I used button mushrooms) 3/4 cup of stock 1 cup of Parmesan Cheese (optional) 1/2 an onion (diced) 1 handful of thyme chopped 2 tbsp of butter Directions Preheat the oven to 375 F Use a “stove to oven” casserole dish, I used a Le Creuset casserole dish which worked perfectly for this recipe. Start by putting the casserole dish on the stove, melt the butter. Add the onions and mushrooms and fry for about 5 minutes. Once the onions and mushrooms have cooked, add the rice and stir around until the rice begins to turn brown. Then pour in the stock. …

Peach BBQ Sauce (for sugarfree September)

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This month, my husband and I are trying to be sugar-free, it’s turning out to be a lot easier than I anticipated. At first, it was definitely a struggle, especially giving up dark chocolate. However, as time as progressed I find myself craving it less, I have more energy and feel less hungry. The one time of day I still find the hardest is after dinner, I’m so use to having a little something sweet and I really crave it. With each passing day the cravings are getting easier and as long as I get myself out of the kitchen fast I seem to forget about them. We’ve been making ribs in our slow cooker a LOT and usually dump a bottle of Diana’s in there, with some onion and garlic. Well, Diana’s isn’t going to make the sugar-free list that is for certain! So I made up a batch of this, smothered the ribs in it and cooked them on slow for most of the day. Easy Peasy! Ingredients 3 slices of bacon 3 …

Back to School Caddy

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So it’s that time of year again, when the leaves slowly slip away, the fall colours come out shining bright. It’s a time for new beginnings, fresh starts and back to school! Here’s a great little craft that uses the 3 R’s (reduce, reuse and recycle) plus has so many uses! I made one for the kitchen with bigger coffee tin cans to store utensils or you could use one in the bathroom for sorting out your stuff. There’s so many options. All you need is 6 washed out tin cans, spray paint (there are environmentally friendly spray paints) a 2×4 (cut down to size), 6 screws, and a handle (which you can buy from any hardware store). Spray the cans, handle and wood with your choice of colour. Once dry, use a metal dowel and hammer to knock a hole in the cans. Screw the cans onto the wood and then screw the handle onto the top of the wood and voila! A perfect organizer!

Oliver’s Big Top Birthday Bash!

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So my tiny, weeny boy, who is not so tiny or weeny anymore turned 2 years old on Tuesday and we celebrated with a circus themed birthday. It was so much fun prepping for his birthday and I enjoyed planning every little detail. Here are some pics from the big day! The sweet table definitely required the most planning and time commitment however, it was tons of fun. Once you have a theme picked out the key to a perfect sweet table is stick to a couple of colours. For the games, we tried to keep them as simple as possible since most of the little ones in attendance were under the age of 5. We had a bean bag toss, face painting, fortune teller, a tent with balls in, a fishing game, tight rope walking and of course a prize booth. To be honest most of the kids threw the balls around, had their face painted and hung out at the prize booth. A couple of them did the bean bag toss. We also …

Summer Salads

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Do you find that your appetite is less during the summer? I certainly do! Summer salads are the way to go! Here are two quick and easy salads that you can make. Not only are they filling but they are also delicious! Fig, Prosciutto and Avocado Salad (serves 1 as a full meal or 4 side salads) 1 avocado 5 slices of Prosciutto 1/4 cup of goat cheese 2 handfuls of pine nuts 1 container of arugula 4 figs Dressing: Oil and Vinegar Chicken and Peach Salad (serves 1 as a full meal or 4 side salads) 4 thin chicken breasts, cooked and chopped into pieces (I did mine in soya sauce, maple syrup and a bit of sesame oil) 2 handfuls of pine nuts 2 Peaches 1/4 cup of fig goat cheese 1 container of arugula 2 plum tomatoes Dressing: Agave Syrup, Sesame Oil and splash of Olive Oil  

Summer Canning

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Yesterday I spent the afternoon canning with a friend. We made raspberry jam and an apple onion chutney. Both recipes were from Williams Sonoma’s The Art of Preserving cookbook. They were relatively easy to make, not all that time consuming (2.5 hours to do both recipes) and quite tasty. If you’re going to do both, definitely start with the Raspberry Jam Recipe as raspberries need to soak in sugar for about 2 hours. Raspberry Jam Recipe Apple Onion Chutney 4 lbs of Apple, peeled, cored and chopped 2 cups of raisins 2 yellow onions diced 2 tbsp of butter 1 tbsp of olive oil 2 tsp of ground cloves 3 tbsp of fresh Mint – chopped 1 tbsp of fresh chives – chopped 4 pieces of lemon zest about 2 inches long and 1/2 inch in width 1 cup of brown sugar In a large pot, warm up the butter and olive oil, once heated add in the onions and cook for about 15 minutes. In the mean time, in another smaller pot put the …

Great Ideas for Wee Little Hands

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We’ve been very busy with summer camp and our little Tots have been experimenting with all sorts of materials. We’ve been doing a ton of art and sensory activities. Each day at camp we have a new theme and then base our art/sensory activity on the theme. Here are a couple ideas you could easily do at home with your little one. Not to worry if you don’t have access to a proper sensory bin, any shallow container will really do, the dollar store has a great selection! Craft Ideas Boat Pictures Cardboard, construction paper, cotton balls, blue tissue paper, blue, paper plates Zebras Paper plates (cut in half) black construction paper, glue, pompoms, cotton balls Weather Chart This was an easy and fun craft. We’re learning about weather and seasons and so this craft fit perfectly. We traced the kids hands and then helped them to cut them out. They used different colour tissue paper depending on the seasons. For the winter picture they stuck on cotton balls. Materials: construction paper, tissue paper, glue, …

Another Ikea Hack!

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So this one I really have to thank Panyl for. I simply painted the top and sides of the Malm Dresser and then used Panyl’s “limited Oak woodgrain” panels to finish off the piece. Personally I think it’s my best Ikea Hack yet (given that I’ve only done 4 up to this point I think I can claim that statement). Have any questions about how I made this feel free to ask away, I’d be more than happy to share my “Ikea Hacking” secrets with you!