An easy hair bow tutorial PART 2

Alright...now you are ready to finish the bow. Tie a knot around the middle of your bow using embroidery thread. Flip the bow over-it should look better on this side.....If not, use the other side :-)

With another piece of ribbon, tie a knot...this will be the center of your bow.

Wrap the knotted ribbon around the bow so that the knot is in the front. Using a hot glue gun, glue the knotted ribbon to the back of the bow and add your clip....

Easy Peasy....

An easy hair bow tutorial (Hope it makes sense)!

You CAN do this-it isn't hard...This is a super easy boutique style hairbow-nothing fancy but really cute.

Step #1:

Get a piece of ribbon about 23 inches long (I like BIG bows-you can use a smaller piece) and heat seal the ends with a lighter-you don't need to buy the expensive heat seal stuff. A lighter works great.

Step #2:

Fold the ribbon in half and press down in the middle to create a crease (this is so you will know where the middle is.) You can also mark the crease with a pencil-you won't be able to see it when the bow is finished. Once you have your ribbon folded and creased, unfold it and make a figure 8 by bringing each end towards the middle (this is the same way an awareness ribbon is done). You don't need to fold the ribbon-just bring it around and to the middle. It should look like the picture above.

Step #3:

Okay, once you have your figure 8,you are going to repeat this by bringing the middle of both sides of your 8 to the middle again. It should look like the picture above. This is the back of your bow...now take a deep breath....

Lowe's Build & Grow workshops-FREE

Every other Saturday, Lowe's has a FREE Build & Grow workshop for kids.

This Saturday, they can go and build a racecar to take home.
They will be given a free apron on their first trip, and receive a patch for each project that they complete.
The recommended age range is 1st-5th grade, however my 3 year old daughter has never had a problem attending.

Register here to attend these workshops:
www.lowes.com/buildandgrow

Have I got a DEAL for you...

If you haven't heard of Groupon, you are missing out on some fantastic deals!
Groupon is a company that negotiates offers with other companies to save you BIG BUCKS on things...the last deal I bought from them was a $20 Barnes & Noble giftcard for only $10. What a deal!

To get in on these offers, sign up here and select your city-or the city closest to you. Be sure to sign up for their daily e-mails, too. Simple as that :)

Sign up here and start saving now!

http://www.groupon.com/r/uu20759654

A FREE mudbath (No spa needed)

It has been so cold here that my poor kids and I have been stuck in the house quite a bit. However, this past weekend was 70 degrees and gorgeous!

B spent the night with my parents (aka Becky & Dude) and here is the result of that trip-a spa style mud-bath for FREE! Plus, she brought home some fabulous memories that will last her a lifetime.

I guess the point of this post is this-I am adamant about 2 things-the incredible benefits of reading to your kids every day (and supplying them with an abundance of books) and spending time outside whenever possible. Both of which are cheaper than video games and they reap much greater benefits from them. So next time the weather is nice, spend some time outdoors soaking up the Vitamin D :)

LUNCH!

I am on a mission to lose the 3 tons of baby weight that I am currently carrying around...So I made a healthy lunch to cancel out the 2 frosted sugar cookies that I might have had for breakfast this morning.

Here is a super easy, healthy and pretty good chicken recipe.

1 pkg boneless, skinless chicken breasts (thawed)
1 bottle fat free Italian salad dressing

Pour the dressing into a glass bowl and put the chicken on top. Let this sit in the refrigerator for 1 hour, turn over and marinate the other side for about an hour. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Place the chicken in a single layer on the baking sheet and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. Turn the chicken over and bake for an additional 20-30 minutes or until done.

Moisturizing bath salts....

I love to take hot baths to relax (when the kids will let me). I don't know if you have ever taken the time to read the ingredients on store bought bath salts but they are not easy to pronounce and I have NO idea what they even are!

Here is a great recipe for simple, all natural, moisturizing bath salts that everyone will love!

First, find some pretty little jars with lids-WalMart and Big Lots will usually have them but they are a little pricey. If you hunt the thrift stores you can usually find some there that will work just fine.Baby food jars are also a great size for little gifts. In a pinch, you can even use plastic disposable bowls with lids and just snazz them up with some pretty ribbon.
If you are using pre-owned jars,  be sure to sanitize them by boiling for a few seconds. You will also need some scrap pieces of fabric and some ribbon to decorate the jars. Searching the remnant bin at the fabric store is a great way to get inexpensive fabric pieces for the jars. Hobby Lobby puts their ribbon on 1/2 price about every other week-so don't pay full price for the ribbon.

For the salts, you will need the following:
Epsom salt and/or pure sea salt
Pure glycerin -found at a health food store or market
Pure essential oil -also found at a health food store or market (this is very important-make sure you buy 100% pure essential oil, not the fragrance oils at the discount stores-they are not safe for skin contact)
Baking soda
Food coloring (optional)

In a glass bowl, measure out 2 cups of your salts, 2 T. baking soda and 2 T. glycerin and mix well. This doesn't have to be exact. Add a few drops of essential oils and mix. This is a matter of preference, you can add 3 drops of oil or 30-depending on how strongly you want the salts to be scented. Add a few drops of food coloring to match the scent (example would be red and yellow coloring to mandarin orange scented salts).
Put the finished salts in the jars and cut out a circle of fabric larger than the jar lid (an easy way to get a perfect circle is to turn a bowl upside down and trace around it). Put the fabric over the lid and secure it with the ring. If you are using a baby food jar, there isn't a ring so you can just add the fabric by placing over the lid, securing with a rubber band and adding ribbon over the rubber band.

If you can snag a few of the plastic ice cream scoops from the ice cream shop, these look really cute placed under the ribbon on the jars for a little bath salt scoop.

Attach instructions to the ribbon to add a few scoopfuls to a warm bath & relax.

Hello, Hello~

HELLLLLOOOOOO~

My name is Tracy~I am a 30 something stay at home mom of 2. My youngest is just a few months old and my daughter is 3 going on 17.

It takes a lot to keep her entertained and she loves giving things to family and friends. Unfortunately, her mother isn't very handy in the sewing department...oh, who am I kidding....I can't even thread a sewing machine. I am starting this blog to share our easy homemade crafts and simple recipes with everyone.

We love making them and giving them as gifts to family and friends and hope that you will, too!

Everything that I will post will involve little or no sewing (and if a little sewing is required, it can be handstitched).

I would love to hear your comments, suggestions, etc...

~Enjoy~