The Picture Says It All

Ok, so my three kids are pretty well behaved. We can take them anywhere ~ restaurants, shopping, theme parks, etc. I use the system of time outs when I need a consequence for a behavior, so when I walked into my daughter's room and saw this (see picture), I was more than shocked. Needless to say, my project of the day is teaching my 3 year old, Hayley, how to clean crayons off the wall. I know that this blog is about projects or things I enjoy doing for myself, but I am pretty sure cleaning this up will take up any extra time I thought I may have had to get something done.

The most shocking part about this is that Hayley loves to draw and paint. She uses makers, paints and crayons everyday and knows how to use them. When I asked her why she drew on the wall, her response was, "Mommy, I couldn't find my paper." Apparently, when I have given her all the talks about not painting on herself or writing on herself with markers, I failed to make it clear that she could not write on the walls, though she is smart enough to know she shouldn't.

By the way, any suggestions for cleaning materials that will clean crayons off paint without removing paint that is also safe for my daughter to use would be greatly appreciated!

Christmas in July

Around this time of year, it seems retailers are already starting their "Christmas" sales. This season always seems to kick off with the Hallmark Ornament Premiere weekend ~ one of the things I look forward to each year ~ which was a couple of weekends ago, and Toys 'R Us just sent out their Christmas in July deals. Once I start seeing these things, it seems I am suddenly in Christmas mode ~ starting to shop when I see good deals for Christmas gifts and also start creating some homemade gifts.

My project of the day today was to start working on a Christmas project for the kids' grandparents. My most successful gift last year was a dvd that is a photo montage of the kids. So for Christmas 2009, I gave them a 2008 video (see my link below if you'd like to check it out). It was such a success that I have decided to do one again this year. I am creating a video montage of the kids using photos and videos from 2009. My family makes fun of me saying that my children are the most photographed kids out there ~ what can I say, they are very cute! I do love to take pictures of them. Just to give some perspective on my photography obsession, on an 8 day vacation in Walt Disney World this year, I took 1300 photos. Needless to say, I have more than enough pictures and videos to probably create a full length motion picture movie, but that is a little much. I am attempting to keep the montage to 15 minutes. The difficuly is narrowing them down to decide which photos to use.

So today I started organizing photos and videos so that I can start creating the montage and have it done in plenty of time for Christmas. I have picked out my favorite photos and now have to decide their order. Last year's montage had three segments. The first chapter was all photos of the kids with grandparents, aunts, uncles and my husband and I. The second chapter was photos of just the kids with each other. The final chapter was of individual portraits of the kids. I really like that format but for this year I am attempting to try something new. Now that I have all the pictures and videos chosen, I am sorting through them to decide if I should organize them simply in a timeline fashion or give each child their own chapter. Once I make this decision I will chose songs that I think compliment the photos best.

The software I use is called Pinnacle Studio. I purchased this software last year and love it. It makes creating montages so simple that I really think anyone could do it! It is such a great way to display photos and videos. If you get the photos and music just right, you can bring out the emotions in anyone watching it. I think there were a few teary-eyed family members last year when they saw the 2008 video.

Here are a few helpful links:
My 2008 Video Montage of Joey, Hayley & Emily
Pinnacle Studio

Writing My Column for WDW Daily News

As you may or may not know, I once and a while submit an article to WDW Daily News. My column is called Making Magical Memories and it gives parents advice about travelling to Walt Disney World with children. I am a huge fan of Disney. Everyday at least one, if not all three, of my kids is dressed in Disney clothing; the most played with toys in the house are usually Disney toys; and Disney music is always playing in the house or the car when we are travelling. I try to visit Walt Disney World at least once every 18 to 24 months. I believe it is a great place to take your children no matter what their age. I have brought my kids as infants, toddlers and preschoolers and every trip has brought about its challenges, though they have also brought about my most special memories.

I have travelled to WDW 12 times in my life, the first time as a teenager. My first trip to Walt Disney World was always my most memorable until I brought my children. Seeing WDW through their eyes has made a very special place for my family even more special. In my column I share these magical moments, as well as things I have learned along the way. If you want to catch my next article, make sure you sign up for the WDW Daily Newsletter (see links below). The next topic I will be chatting about is how to ease an anxious child into trying new things. My son is very timid when he is unsure about something new, unlike my two daughters who seem to have no fear! I found a few little tricks to help him out on our last trip.

To sign up for the WDW Daily News Newsletter, click here.

Also, WDW Daily News is on Facebook. Feel free to "like" us and join our conversations and share your favorite moments and tips!

The photo I posted is of my daughter Hayley putting Emily's tiara on before making our way to Akershus for dinner with the princesses.

Candy Seashells and Starfish

Today's project is not new to me, but it is my project for the day. Last week I created some candy seashells and starfish for Hayley's Little Mermaid cake for her upcoming birthday. I thought I was getting ahead by getting a few of the edible decorations done, but unfortunately, the kids and I have tasted several of them to make sure they were still fresh (ok, they were fresh, we really just wanted to eat them!), and as a result, I needed to make a new batch because there just weren't enough left.

Candy making is one of my favorite things to do. For these seashells and starfish, I used Wilton's "Seashells" candy mold, Wilton white candy melts and Wilton pink candy melts. First I melted the pink candy in the microwave. There are other methods, but this one seems to work the best for me. Then, I did the same with the white candy melts. While the white candy melts were in the process of melting, I used the plain pink to fill the starfish shapes. When the white candy melts were done, I placed 3 or 4 drops of the pink into the white. I then used a knife to cut the pink in without stirring. This will give the shells a marbled look. I then filled the remaining seashell shapes, and let them set in the refrigerator until hardened.

These are great decorations for a Little Mermaid cake. Plus, my cake decorating skills are not the best, so these shells can help hide any of my frosting imperfections. Just a side note, I used the pink to marble the shells because it is for my daughter's birthday, but I have also used orange or brown to create just as nice of a look when I have brought them to parties and family gatherings.

Here are links to the items I used to create these candies:
Wilton Candy Mold: Seashells
Wilton Candy Melts

Thank You Cards from My Daughter

With my daughter's fourth birthday coming up, today's project was to create some blank thank you cards for Hayley to send out after her birthday party.

To make the cards, we used my Cricut machine, the Alphalicious cartridge and the Everyday Paper Dolls cartridge.

One of the best purchases I have ever made is my Cricut machine. I just love it. When I first purchased it, my goal was simply to have the best looking scrapbooks out there. Well, it has been used for so much more than that. I've used it to create a Countdown to Disney chart to help my kids track the days until our last trip to Walt Disney World. As a long term sub in a fourth grade classroom last fall, I used it to create all my bulletin boards, as well as projects for the students. I created DVD case covers for numerous video montages I have created for my family. I could keep going, but this machine has been invaluable and used for much more than just scrapbooking.

My collection of Cricut cartridges is limited, but the Everyday Paper Dolls cartridge is by far my favorite. Of course, as the name implies, you can make paper dolls, but that is not all it can be used for. Each "doll" is themed and the cartridge gives you an outfit for the theme and then accessories to match the theme. For example, the "Party" doll had the option of cutting a party dress, hair bow, teapot and teacups, ice cream cones, balloons, burger and fries. There is also a selection of animals, pets, borders and vehicles. I've used the accessories more than the dolls to decorate scrapbooking pages, cards and little things around the house. I am so happy with the versatility of this cartridge.

My daughter and I used the Cricut machine and the Cricut cartridge "Everyday Paper Dolls" to create her thank you cards. We created several dolls and Hayley chose the colors, clothes and accessories for each of the cards. It is a great project for her and I to do together. She is a very creative three year old, so being able to select designs and colors is just what she loves to do! The hardest part of the project was telling her we had made enough paper dolls. I think she could have made hundreds of them! After creating all the dolls, we then selected colors for the cards. My card making skills are pretty basic at this point, since I am new at it, but Hayley loved them, so to me, that means they were perfect! :-)

The picture posted shows four of the eight cards we made today ~ enjoy!

Want more information on the cartridges I used? Check out these links:
Everyday Paper Dolls
Alphalicious