One Sunny Home: DIY

Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts

Friday, May 11, 2012

Sunny Pineapple Fruit Arrangement

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mothers!!!

Your heart is like a garden

With the gateway open wide,

And all who will may enter,

Finding peace and love inside.

There are roses for remembrance

Of happy by-gone days,

Forget-me-nots that symbolize

Your ever-thoughtful ways.

Shy violets for your modesty

And pansies for the tender thoughts

You always have of others.

And from my childhood, Mother,

My joys have had their start

In that place of truth and beauty--

The garden of your heart.

(unknown author)

How about adding a festive pineapple fruit arrangement to your celebration! This is supper easy to make and is wonderful to give as a gift...not to mention delicious!

Directions:

1. Place foam into the container of choice. If foam is moving in the container, secure with tape running across making an "x." Cover foam with grass, green tissue paper or kale/lettuce: secure kale/lettuce with toothpicks broken in half if needed.

2. Cut pineapple into circles 1/2 to 2/4 inches thick. Using the cookie cutters- cut out flowers: I used tulip and "pointy" 8 petal daisy. My cookie cutters are made from stainless steel: you can use plastic cookie cutters if that is all you have, simply use a knife to cut out the flower.

3. Place pineapple flowers onto the wooden skewers. Leave the daisy flowers without a grape center for easier placement. Start making the arrangement from the middle. The tallest flowers should be at the top, keep working on it and it'll eventually start looking like an arrangement.

4. When all pineapple flowers are in, place grape centers on daisy flowers. Fill space between flowers with grapes on skewers and you're all done!

5. Serve immediately or refrigerate covered for up to 6 hours. Making an arrangement ahead of time but don't want the fruit to turn brown? Soak fruit flowers in ginger ale for 10 minutes (I hear any lemon-lime soda also works). The best thing, pineapple will still taste like pineapple!

Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.

Strength and honor are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.

She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.

She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth no the bread of idleness.

Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.

Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.

Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.

Give her the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.

- Proverbs 31: 10, 25-31

Happy Mother's Day Everyone!!!

Monday, March 26, 2012

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Birthday

With much joy I get to plan a child's birthday twice a year!! Having a boy and a girl makes it double the fun! For my son's second birthday we settled on the theme around the book by Eric Carle "The Very Hungry Caterpillar." Months before the party my son requested that story to be read over and over. We even watched the cartoon made from the story. So choosing the theme was not difficult!

I should mention, the daffodils are a tradition that we started from the first birthday of our son. My husband loves daffodils and now it simultaneously reminds us all of our son's birthday. Here is what our Birthday Party looked like:

The sandwiches decorated by veggies and cheese made into butterflies, lady bugs, and beetles. Three varieties of salsa with different chips.

The cake was ofcourse-the Caterpillar itself. Fruit on wood kabob sticks/skewers. Stained glass Jello which is not photographed.

For activities: My lovely sister read the story by Eric Carle "The Very Hungry Caterpillar." She read it in English and retold it in Russian. We have three languages within our family :-) Russian, Spanish, and English...so it's very interesting at time! The kids enjoyed the traditional "pin the tail on the donkey" activity: which they loved! We also did "grow animal capsules" and the kids guessed which animal they had before they fully formed.

I hope this will give you some ideas if you're planning a party around "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" story. May your birthday celebrations bring you joy and happiness!

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

DIY Layered Ribbon Vintage Flower Hair Clips

One of my simple pleasures in life is making hair clips. I love making them not only for my daughter, but for myself as well! This is my first attempt to do a blog on how I make hair clips. I wanted to create something bigger and different than your ordinary clips that could be purchased at the accessory isle. I was very happy with these vintage looking flowers that will be perfect for my daughter's pig tails! These can also be glued to a headband or sewed onto any article of clothes!

What you'll need:

Directions:

1. Sew a running stitch on one side of your ribbons. You can also do this on a sewing machine if you would like.

2. Gently pull the thread to make the ribbon form a flower. Secure both sides to make sure you don't pull the thread completely out. (Pull only one thread if you used the sewing machine to gather your flower.)

3. Sew a running or hemming stitch to bind the ends of the ribbon to secure the flower.

4. Stack two ribbon flowers together and attach the button of choice using the needle and thread. Dont' worry if it doesn't look neat, it will be covered up :) If the button appears too small and is falling through the center of the layered ribbons; simply tighten up the ribbons by pulling on the thread.

5. Cut a circle out of the felt/material big enough to cover the back of the flower. Using the hot glue gun, glue the cut out felt circle to the back of the flower.

6. Use a strip of felt, ribbon, or any material to secure the clip onto the flower. The clip can also be completely lined with ribbon to hide the metal clip.

I am forever thankful for having a little girl!!

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

DIY: Fancy Chocolate-Covered Strawberries

Chocolate-Covered Strawberries is an iconic romantic food. Although it can look complicated and hard, it really is not that difficult with a little practice. I enjoy making these simple treats especially when it's strawberry season! Here is how you can delight your loved one this Valentine's day with some fancy chocolate-covered strawberries!

This will make 1 small bouquet

Ingredients:

© 5 oz Semi-Sweet Chocolate: you can use a bar, chips, morsels, or even baker's squares-chop coarsely if using. Remember the better quality chocolate you have the better taste and texture you'll get. I like to use Ghirardelli chocolate.

Directions:

1. I like to begin by writing down the different varieties of strawberries I want to make-dark chocolate with coconut, dark chocolate drizzled with white, plain red...etc.

2.Wash strawberries and lay them on a towel/paper towel to dry. Chocolate will not stick to strawberries if they are wet, pat each strawberry with dry towel/paper towel to make sure they are completely dry before submerging them into chocolate!

3. Place foam into the container of choice. If foam is moving in the container, secure with tape running across making an "x." Cover foam with green tissue paper or kale/lettuce: secure kale/lettuce with toothpicks broken in half if needed.

4. Prepare strawberries by placing one grape on to a toothpick and follow by a strawberry, piercing the strawberry half way: You should not see the toothpick at the top of the strawberry. I find that strawberries hold up better if there is a grape supporting it-it is totaly optional. Repeat with all the strawberries.

5. There are two ways to melt the chocolate.

Microwave:

Use a glass bowl and microwave the chocolate on medium power at 30-second intervals-mixing in between. You don't want to burn the chocolate, be sure to mix after each interval. Total amount of time will depend on the brand of chocolate and the size of chocolate pieces.

Double Boiler:

Make a double boiler by placing a glass bowl that fits snugly over the top of a saucepan-the bowl should not be touching the bottom of the pan. Fill the saucepan with hot water from the tap. You want enough water to provide heat, but not so much that the bottom of the chocolate bowl touches the water. Bring the water to a simmer and keep it at a low heat: you don't want the water boiling, just simmering. Place the glass bowl with chocolate on top of the sauce pan and allow the chocolate to melt slowly-mixing frequently with a rubber spatula or a wooden spoon.

*Tip if you plan to use both dark and white chocolate melt the chocolate one at a time. Starting with dark-it is less fussy when melted :) Melt white chocolate very slowly-it is more fragile and burns quickly.

6. Holding the strawberry by the stem end and the toothpick, dip in the melted chocolate, letting the excess chocolate drip off.

1. For a plain chocolate covered strawberry-carefully place the covered strawberries into the styrofoam block to dry off.

2. For more festive strawberries-dip into coconut flakes or chopped nuts while chocolate is still wet.

3. For strawberries with sprinkles; holding the freshly chocolate coated strawberry over a plate, sprinkle with desired sprinkles.

4. For a multi-colored/drizzled effect: Take a cooled chocolate covered strawberry and using a fork drizzle lines of the opposite chocolate over the melted chocolate bowl...twisting the strawberry to get the drizzle effect all around.

Plain Red Strawberries, Plain Chocolate Covered Strawberries, and Chocolate Covered Strawberries dipped in Coconut

8. Continue covering all the strawberries. Allow the chocolate to cool and to firm up; to speed up the process place the strawberries into the refrigerator while still on the styrofoam block for 10-15 minutes.

9. When chocolate is firm start arranging the bouquet. I find it easier to start at the bottom and work up. Marbles strawberries are more fragile, handle with extra care not to smudge.

10. Fill any holes with extra pieces of kale/lettuce if needed. Refrigerate for up to 1 day, eat the day made for best results.

Plain Red Strawberries, Plain Dark and White Chocolate Covered Strawberries, White Chocolate Covered Strawberries Drizzled with Dark Chocolate and Chocolate Covered Strawberries dipped in Coconut, Sprinkles

I love making these sweet treats! I made multiple bouquets for weddings and anniversary parties. They also make a great birthday gift! Let me know if you're interested in seeing more of the fruit arrangement how-to's.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

DIY: Valentine's Day Lollipop Bouquet

Valentine's day is around the corner...it's hard to believe the first month of the new year is almost over! Here is a neat craft my son and I created for the coming holiday! My kids love lollipop so they really liked helping with this bouquet. This was simple, not expensive, and very quick!

What you'll need:

Directions:

1. Place foam into the container of your choice.

2. Cover foam with Easter grass or moss-you can also shred some green paper.

3. Cut out flowers. I used a template from about.com and just printed pasted flowers on the pink paper. (Resize the flower to fit two flowers going across.)

4. Make an "X" cut in the middle of the paper flower. The easy way to do so is to slightly fold the flower in the middle and make a cut, then fold on the made cut and make a cut again, making an "X."

5. Now make a small "X" cut in the doilie following the same steps as with the paper flower.

6. Insert the paper flower onto the lollipop, gently pressing around to make the "flower" fit well.

7. Now repeat with the doilie.

8. When all the "flowers" are fitted onto the lollipops-glue the paper flower and the doilie flower using the hot glue gun. Be careful not to glue the "flower" onto the lollipop wrapper. While the glue is still hot, gently press around the "flower" to make it fit well.

9. When all your "flowers" are glued- tie a green ribbon if you would like. If you're planning to hand out the lollipop flowers individually you can include a small message card and tie it with the ribbon. Now curve the ends of the paper petals using a regular coloring pencil: gently wrap the ends of the paper petals around the pencil making a more natural looking petal.

10. You're now ready to place your arrangement into the prepared container. Starting from the top work around to cover the foam to make a full looking bouquet.

11. When all the flowers are in place you can add a little sparkle to the paper petals by paining some glitter glue to the edges...totally optional.

12. Personalize the bouquet with a note by cutting out a paper heart, writing your message, and taping it onto a wooden square. Or glue the squire between two paper hearts. Fasten the squire in the bouquet.

May this simple bouquet inspire you to start thinking about your loved ones this Valentine's Day!!

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

DIY: Homemade Make a Match Game

Recently my son has been showing more and more interest in board and card games. It is a lot of fun introducing the games I remember playing as a kid! It brings memories of the past times. One of his recent favorites is Make a Match game with Thomas the Train and His Friends. I'm amazed how fast he learned the names of all the characters!! So when a seed catalog arrived and he was quizzing me on all the names of the fruits, vegetables, and berries I got an idea to make our own game. We made this Make a Match game and even came up with 4 different ways to play it!

Things you'll need:

1. Cut out pictures of fruits, vegetables, and berries in PAIRS. Glue the cut out pictures onto the 3x5 flash cards.

2. For additional fun, write the name of the fruit/vegetable/berry on the back...add another language or two for extra challenge! (you can also print the name of the fruit/vegetable/berry and then glue it on, or use shipping labels)

Game Ideas.

1. Mix cards. Randomly spread cards picture side up on a table and ask the child to make pairs: apple-apple, corn-corn...by picture.

2. Mix cards. Randomly spread cards picture side up on a table and ask the child to make three stacks: fruits, vegetables, and berries.

3. Mix cards. Randomly spread cards on a table and ask the child to make stacks of different colors of the food he/she sees: red, yellow, green...est.

4. For older children: Make a pair using a picture card and a word card. Separate paired cards. Mix each stack of cards separately. Spread cards with pictures on one side and the cards with words on the other. Ask the child to pair the picture cards with the word cards.

May this inspire you to take the time out of your busy day and play a game or two with your children...you don't have to have the expensive games or toys to make life long memories in your children's lives.