Supplies:

• Candy/Chocolate Molds
• Cake Pop Sticks or Wooden Skewers
• Parchment Paper
• Baking Sheet

Ingredients:

• Chocolate Melting Wafers
• Strawberries 

Directions:

• Rinse strawberries and pat dry. Cut the hull and discard.
• Insert cake pop sticks or skewers into strawberries and set aside until ready for dipping.
• Melt chocolate according to directions on the package.
• Dip strawberries into chocolate, ensure they are fully coated.

• Spoon chocolate into candy molds and place strawberries into molds.
• Place molds on a baking sheet and freeze for 15 minutes or until hardened.
• Remove molds from the freezer and carefully remove the strawberries from the molds.
• Place strawberries on a parchment lined baking sheet.
• Assemble your bouquet
• Enjoy!

Make your Valentine feel extra special with these homemade treats. You can also create your bouquet by placing your strawberries in a cute vase or heart shaped tin.

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Terms:

• TR = Treble Crochet
• DC = Double Crochet
• Ch = Chain = the stitch used to increase the height for new rows or rounds
• MC = Magic Circle = how to crochet a round
• SS = Slip Stitch

Supplies:

• Worsted weight yarn in your color choice (I used a 4, but larger hearts can use thicker yarn)
• 3.0 mm hook (this can be adjusted depending on how big you want your heart and the yarn you choose)
• Scissors

Directions:

1. Magic circle (MC) (this will stay open until the end), Ch 4
2. 3 TR into the mc, then 3 DC
3. Ch 1, 1 TR, Ch 1
4. 3 DC, 3 TR
5. Ch 4, SS into the circle; pull the yarn tail tight to close the circle
6. You can tuck the tails in OR use the tails as a loop for a keychain type of heart.

Remember, this pattern can be expanded to make a bigger heart as well. So enjoy it, make a bunch of hearts, and spread your homemade love! 

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Supplies:

• 14 oz. Glue
• 1 Cup Hot Water
• Food Coloring
• Glitter
• 3 teaspoons Borax
• 2 Cups Hot Water

Directions:

• Put glue in a tub.
• Add in 1 cup of hot water.
• Add in your food coloring and glitter.
• Stir until smooth.

• In a separate container, dissolve 3 teaspoons of Borax in 2 cups of hot water.
• Slowly add the water into the glue mixture and stir together.
• It will goop together almost immediately.

• You may not need all the water, so pour slowly.
• Once it’s mostly gooped up, begin mixing with your hands. (This is the fun part!)

• We started with red and black food coloring, because that’s all I had, and it turned more into pink and purple, which was pretty perfect for Valentine’s Day.
• As you can see, the slime is a HUGE HIT.

My family loved making this slime recipe and I hope your family will too! Have fun getting messy!

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This is the perfect fall craft, and you can incorporate it any way you want! Make a timeline for a deployed loved one (just add twine and hang), include in boxes for friends, or mail to grandparents…the list could go on and on! We created these to hand out to our neighbors, and it made for a fun afternoon!

Supplies:

• Construction Paper or Fall Paper
• Leaf Template
• Scissors
• Glue
• Chocolates

Directions:

1. Print off template.
2. Cut out template.
3. Trace template on fun/fall paper.
4. Cut out colorful leaf.
5. Write fall greeting leaving room for candy.
6. Glue candy down onto leaf.
7. Allow to dry.
8. Deliver some fall fun!

Super easy right?? I used construction paper I already had at the house, and the candy was left over from my last chocolate binge session. There are tons of cute papers in the stores now, and you can create so many different patterns and shapes with these! We choose colorful leaves to celebrate the changing of the seasons!

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Here are some beauty hacks using peppermint oil:

1. Want to give your lips a little bump and boost? Simply add 1-2 drops of peppermint oil to your lip gloss!
2. Acne Spots! They are so annoying and hideous at times! Dab a thin layer of peppermint oil to those pesky spots and let it work its magic!
3. Do you suffer from dandruff? Those pesky little flakes in the hair! Apply some peppermint oil to your scalp, and help eliminate that dandruff!
4. Peppermint stimulates the hair follicles, therefore it can help your hair grow longer! Add some peppermint oil to your shampoo bottle!
5. Oily skin?! No problem! peppermint oil to the rescue! Peppermint oil helps with oily skin and moisturizes very well! Apply some peppermint oil to your skin after showers and watch how vibrant your skin may become!

Consider using peppermint oil in your daily beauty regimen…it may just be the game-changer you need! Stay beautiful and amazing!

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Supplies:

• Size H crochet hook
• Medium (4) yarn in any color or multiple colors
• Scissors
• Needle
• Button (optional)

Terms:

• Chain = the stitch used to increase the height for new rows or rounds
• HDC = Half Double Crochet
• SC = Single Crochet (most basic crochet stitch for designs)

Directions:

• Chain 30+1 (or however long you would like your pouch to be. I measured based on pens and pencils. The plus 1 is a chain for the upcoming half double crochet (HDC).
• HDC into the second stitch from the hook and all the way across. Chain 1, and continue in this pattern for 20 rows or you can switch colors to make a block type pattern
• After row 20, chain 1 and you are going to start to decrease. Decrease 1 at the beginning of the row, and decrease 1 stitch at the end of the row. So you will be decreasing 2 stitches on each row. I ended up with 14 stitches across on my final row.

• Once you are done with the piece, I folded the bottom (be sure you are on the wrong side of the work) up to meet the last full row of 30 stitches (so right before you started to decrease. You can use a stitch to marker to keep your place, or I just threaded my beginning tail into where I wanted them to join.
• I then took a different color and sewed the sides together using a needle. It is important you are sewing on the wrong side of the work because you are going to flip this inside out.
• Once I was done sewing, I then single crocheted around the top of the pouch in the same color that I sewed the sides with. You can then add a button of you choice to the middle of piece.
• Then, you are done!

This is great pouch that can be customized in so many ways! So, make sure to get your creative juices flowing and start crocheting today!

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Supplies:

• Snacklebox
• Payday Candy Bars
• Life Savers Hard Candy
• Laffy Taffy
• Milky Way Candy Bars
• Skittles
• Bubble Gum
• Tootsie Rolls
• Starbursts
• Printable Business Cards Template
  • Card Size – Avery 8471

Directions:

• Fill each Snacklebox container with one of the candies.
• Print off the business cards with the sayings for each candy.
• Carefully separate the cards.
• Place the correct card with the right candy.
• Carefully close up and seal your Snacklebox.
• Give the Snacklebox to the teachers and watch their faces light up with pure excitement!

Our teachers absolutely LOVED when they got these. They were a big hit! I am sure your teachers will love this too!

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Keep your kids busy this summer by creating easy crafts using supplies that you probably already have at home. This DIY photo frame is so cute, and it will make the perfect decor for your kids’ playroom or bedroom. What’s even better is that this craft is so quick to make your kids can construct several frames to display their favorite photos.

Supplies:

• Craft Sticks
• Construction Paper 
• Colored pencils or crayons
• Glue
• Scissors

Directions:

• Start by cutting the Construction Paper  to make your design for the front of your photo frame. 
• Glue Craft Sticks together. Note: The number of Craft Sticks needed may vary depending on size.

• Assemble your stand and glue Craft Sticks together.

• Decorate the front of your stand with the construction paper shapes you cut out, and paste the shapes on the stand.
• Allow your photo frame to dry completely. Once dry you can tape a photo in place.

You can customize your photo frame with any design. You can create a bakery stand or a lemonade stand. You can even add stickers or beads for an extra fancy touch.

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Surprisingly, I found some great plants at my local Commissary. While they don’t have a huge selection, the plants I’ve purchased in the past have lasted the longest. I’ll admit I’m still working on my green thumb so I try to find a selection that I think will be easy to maintain. Pictured below is a small selection I found at my local Commissary.

Here are a few tips when shopping for your flowers or plants:

• Check the leaves: Try to purchase flowers or plants that have healthy leaves, making sure to avoid leaves that are yellow, wilted or damaged.
• Check for pests: While some garden pests may be common, examine your plants before you buy them. Be sure to look for signs of disease.
• Check the roots: If possible, examine the roots. You’ll want plants with healthy roots for a good chance of survival.  

I’m really proud of my babies, pictured below are my Commissary plants. This first one is called a Guiana Chestnut also known as a Money Tree! I haven’t seen any dollar bills, but I definitely notice how RICH the green color is

The second one is Hoya Kerri also known as a Sweetheart Plant…I bet you can figure out why it has that name!?!?

No matter where you shop, be sure to read the plant care labels. For the longest time, I never read the labels, and I think that’s one of the reasons I never had long term success when caring for my plants. Wanna learn more about budget gardening? Make sure to check out our Gardening on a Budget blog!

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What you need:

• Size K (6.50mm) Crochet Hook
• Medium 4 Worsted Weight Yarn (2 strands)
• Scissors
• Threading needle

Terms:

• Magic Circle = how to crochet a round
• SC = Single Crochet (most basic crochet stitch for designs)
• Chain = the stitch used to increase the height for new rows or rounds
• DC = Double Crochet
• Back Loop Only = one of the loops of your crochet stitch

Directions: 

Using 2 strands of yarn (throughout the whole pattern), start with a Magic Circle and Single Crochet (SC) 6 stitches into the circle.

SC 2 into every SC around the circle.

To grow my circle, I put 2 SC in the first SC, SC into the next 2, then 2 SC into the next stitch. 

For the next row, I did 2 SC into the first SC, SC into the next 3, 2 SC into the next stitch.

Next row: 2 SC into the first SC, SC into the next 4, 2 SC into the next stitch.

I followed this pattern increasing SC’s (2, 3, 4, 5, etc) until I got the desired circle size.

Once you get the circle to the size you want, start the next row with a Chain 2.

I then DC into the Back Loop Only around the whole circle. You will continue to only use the Back Loop Only for the remainder of the pattern.

DC into each stitch around until you reach the desired height of the basket.

Once you get the height you want, DC into the next 4 stitches.

Go back and forth along these 4 stitches to create the handle.

Once you get the handle done, leave a long tail.

Thread the tail into the 4 stitches that are evenly across the basket.

Once done, fill it with eggs, candy, and other goodies! This was a simple and fun project that was fun to make! Watching my kids love on their baskets made my heart smile!

Notes:

• It only took me about 2 hours to make the bigger one and an hour for the small one.

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