Heck Yeah, I MadeThat Myself!

Every Parent Should Know About These!!

Did you know that both Lowes and Home Depot offer FREE (MAN, I love free!) building workshops for kids?

They provide all the stuff, the tools, a fun apron, and a morning of fun!

Summer is upon us and this a great way to keep the kids entertained, making something they can really play with, all on their own!

And they can say, Heck Yeah I Made That Myself!!

Check out your local Lowes or Home Depot or check their websites for the information on how to register your little ones!

Mmmm Almond Milk

This has become one of my favorite projects…fresh almond milk. It honestly never even crossed my mind to try this because…well…I don’t know why! I thought it may be complicated? Hard?

It’s actually neither. It’s super easy and WAY better than store bought. It also has the added benefit of having zero ingredients that can’t be pronounced without an advanced degree.

Start with soaking 1 cup of raw almonds in water over night. They’ll swell up a little and be ready to go.

Drain the water and rinse them well, then pop them in a blender with 3 cups of fresh water.

Then blend, blend, blend.

No seriously. For like 5 minutes. It seems like forever but do it. It’ll get nice and frothy and it’ll start to look milky.

While you’re doing the blending get your strainer set up. I use a bowl with a pasta strainer thingy (I’m totally blanking on the real word right now but you know what I mean right?) lined with muslin. You can use several layers of cheesecloth but I like muslin because it’s cheap, durable, reusable and I always have a bunch laying around.

Dump about half of what’s in your blender into the strainer and let it sit for about 10 minutes. You’ll be able to see it dripping underneath…it’s kinda neat. After 10 minutes or so grab your muslin, bunch it up so no pulp will squish out the top, and squeeeeeeeeeeeze until there’s no more liquid. Set aside the pulp* and repeat the process with the remainder of the blender contents.

Tada! Almond milk. It is honestly that simple.

If you want you can add sweetener and vanilla or chocolate to sweeten and flavor it or leave it plain. It’s fresh, delicious and super clean eating.

And when everyone is enjoying their tasty beverage make sure you tell them,

Heck Yeah, I Made That Myself!!

*Save that pulp! It can be used for many things. Google or Pinterest it and find some recipes! I crusted some fish with it the other day and it was goo-ood.

Baby’s First Ornament

I know, I know, my son is almost 2. I never said I was punctual. Haha! But I did find this adorable project that may just be the easiest thing I’ve ever Made Myself.

I found these clear, fillable ornaments at Joann’s but I’ve seen them way cheaper places like eBay. I’m impatient though and sometimes need things RIGHT NOW!

Anyway, I bought this ball for a couple of bucks with the intent of filling it with ribbon or glitter or something equally Christmassy and crafty but THEN I saw this awesome baby’s first idea and had to do it.

Now, anyone who knows me knows I’m anything but sentimental. However, for some reason I managed to hang into the bracelets my son and I wore when we were in the hospital when he was born. I took those, plus a small square of the blanket the hospital gave us, and I tossed in one of his tiny first socks for good measure and jammed them all into the ornament.*

It took a little finagling with the end of my scissors to put things in place so they could be seen but overall…ridiculously easy project.

And how cute?? What a great way to hang into those little things no one really has a place for, and a beautiful memory represented on my tree…one of my favorite parts of the holiday season. :)

And I can say,

Heck Yeah, I Made That Myself!!

*You really could use any of baby’s firsts. I looked for that little hat thingy but can’t find it. A scrap of their first outfit, even a pic of their first day with you…you really can be creative on this one!

Butter!

We did this super fast, super fabulous project the other day and, unfortunately, I forgot to take pics of the kids shaking. Next time!!

My kids had a little too much energy this particular afternoon and I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to shake some crazies out.

I filled a pint sized* mason jar half full of heavy whipping cream, sealed it TIGHT, and handed it over. I didn’t tell them what they were making so it was a fun, little mystery.

My 7 year old shook till her arms felt like they were going to fall off, little Timmy (2 years old) shook a little (with supervision) and I finished it off.

When you get close to finished you can feel it getting thicker and thicker until you don’t think you can shake it anymore and just when it feels too thick to manage something kind of pops and all of a sudden you have thin liquid and a giant chunk. YOU’RE DONE!

Strain the liquid, the buttermilk, and save it for biscuits or pancakes. Rinse and knead the clump of butter under running cool water to remove all the buttermilk (it’ll last longer) and then knead salt in if you’d like.

If your kids are like mine they’ll be amazed and you can make something delicious with it!

It’s a whole family Made That Myself! :)

*Any size will do just fill it halfway. Baby food jars are great for little hands.

Facial Masks

After the last Make That Myself project I had a TON of French Green Clay leftover. So, as promised, my daughter and I had a girly day and made our own facial masks!!

We used ¼ cup of plain Greek yogurt, a teaspoon of honey and a teaspoon of French green clay.

All you do is mix it all together and shmear it on your face.

Plenty of bonding moments and plenty of good for your face ingredients. Here’s what I love it:

French green clay: purifies skin, helps remove toxins, it’s an antiseptic, anti inflammatory and oh so very much more.

Yogurt: has been used for hundreds of years to help smooth, exfoliate and moisturize skin.

Honey: (you really need the good raw honey but I was out) It’s antibacterial, full of antioxidants, helps opens your pores making for a good deep cleanse…I mean, come on!! This stuff is great!

All of that glowey skin filled goodness and a mommy/daughter morning? I’m a super fan.

Try it! Let me know what you think! And make sure to tell everyone that admires your gorgeous skin…

Heck Yeah I Made That Myself! :)

DIY Makeup!!

I’ve gotta say I have been waaaiiiting for the day my mail lady showed up with the package containing my french green clay! I’ve been dying to to try this project and I’m so glad I did because I LOVE it!

Now I don’t know about you but I spend a LOT of money on makeup. I love it. It makes me feel pretty and put together and I’ve always been a fan. So what’s better than makeup? CHEAP make up!! And a Made it Myself project! Yay!!!

Here’s what you need:

One part french green clay (I got mine online, yay amazon.com! Whole foods has it too though.)
One part cornstarch
Cocoa powder (If you want a tinted powder. I did.)

Mix it together. That’s it. I KNOW RIGHT? So easy!!

I LOVE this stuff! It cost me about $10 for everything and I have enough for at least 5 years. Haha! Honestly. I used ¼ cup of each (which was about an 1/8th of the bag of french green clay) and then put a small amount of the mixture in a leftover Mary Kay mineral powder container (that lasts me several months) and still had more than ¼ of a cup of the mixture left. I gave that to my mother in law and still have more left than I know what to do with.

Going from an $18 each Mary Kay powder (which I loved, don’t get me wrong) to $10 for more than I can ever use? I’ll take it!

And it works! What good is homemade if it’s inferior, right? My face looked really smooth and the french green clay has great benefits to your skin NATURALLY. I’m sold! :)

Ps: It smells like chocolate so how can you go wrong??

Best of all, when people compliment me I can say…

Heck Yeah I Made That Myself!

**Stay tuned because another great use for left over green clay is facial masks…girly night coming soon!! :-D

Toddler Time: Stained Glass

Anyone with a toddler knows they can be busy. (Understatement of the year) Sometimes it’s nice to have a few minutes of quiet and this is a perfect project for that!

All you need is a little Press N Seal, a piece of paper and some tissue paper cut into small bits.

Tear or cut the paper into strips and stick it around the edge of the sticky side of a square of Press N Seal. It should stick but you can add a little tape to the corners if you want.

Then little one can stick the little bits of tissue paper into the sticky Press N Seal. It’s virtually mess free (unless they dump the box of tissue pieces…yep, that happened) and they can do it completely on their own.

It’s also fun for big kids if you have older children who want to help or make their own.

And look at how pretty the end result is! It’s like a stained glass window! I love it!

What’s better than your toddler being able to say, Heck Yeah I Made That Myself?!

Wrap It Up Baby (Part 3)

It’s finished!! I finally dyed the wrap I made!! (See parts 1 and 2)

Here’s how I did it…Dylon dye (At Joann for cheap) followed package instructions and…BOOM! Gorgeous colored wrap!

All you need is the dye in your choice of colors, salt and water.

I picked pink and orange because I couldn’t choose between them and they kinda went together. I divided my wrap in 3 because I wanted 1/3 pink, 1/3 orange, and the middle third a mix. (I suggest testing the blend beforehand on something else so you know what you’re getting into. I didn’t. I like to live on the edge.)

I mixed the dye according to the instructions and dunked the first 2/3 of the wrap. Then, when it was finished and rinsed I did the middle and opposite third the same way in the orange. It took a long time but it was super worth it!! See the final result?? 3 amazing colors and my very own, very inexpensive, DIY wrap. I’ve named her, Flora. :)

I can’t wait to wrap up the baby and proudly tell everyone that asks,

Heck Yeah I MadeThat Myself!!

Ps: the pictures show the process only with the first color. I repeated the exact same process for the second so I didn’t find it necessary to photograph it. As always, if you have questions please ask! :-D

Origami Balloon (part 2)

Ok now you’re going to take the top side points and fold them into the center. (Keep watching the pictures…it’ll help) Flip the whole project over and repeat and it should look like the 4th picture.

Now if you look you’ll have little flappies. You’re going to tuck those into the pockets you just created. Flip your project and tuck those flaps in, too.

You’re pretty much done!!

Now if you look at the top of your project you’ll see a hole. This is the “amaze your children” part. If you blow gently into that hole it will inflate like a balloon. It’s really kinda cool.

The best part is it’s a ball the little guys can throw around the house! They’re a little fragile but when they’re that easy, who cares? Make a new one if it gets squished!

*The final picture is my attempt to get a photo of my son playing with it but every time I tried he threw it before the camera would snap. ::sigh:: So instead you get a photo of it on the floor after he threw it.

Close enough.

Go make it yourself! :)

Origami Balloon (part 1)

I was searching for something fun and impressive for my kids this morning (since it’s hotter than the surface of the sun lately so we’re avoiding the outdoors) when I remembered how much fun I used to have doing origami when I was young. I love this one because its challenging (but doable) for bigger kids to make and fun for the little guys to play with!

Follow the pics and if you have questions I’ll try to explain!

Start with a square. Fold it diagonally to make a triangle. Unfold it and fold it diagonally the opposite way. When you open it it should have an X like you see in pic 3. No fold it in half horizontally so you have a rectangle (The crease should be away from you. It should open toward you.)

The next part is kinda tricky to explain so I hope the pictures help. Take the top corner and fold it into itself (if that makes sense) Since you already creased it it should FIL right inside your rectangle so when you press it flat it should make that side of your rectangle angled like a triangle. Do the same on the other side and you will have a triangle.

Now pick up the top flap (bottom point of your triangle) and fold it to the top point. Press flat. Repeat on the other side. Then flip the whole project over and do it again. Should look like the last picture.

But we’re not done!! Unfortunately I used up all my picture spaces so there will be a part 2.

Here we go!!