Graduation cap cupcakes are an easy way to make a festive dessert perfect for celebrating your graduate! These adorable commencement treats will be this hit of any end of school party!
D.I.Y.
2 Ingredient Homemade Dog Treats
Homemade dog treats can save your budget and let your best friend enjoy a yummy snack. This very simple recipe that only requires TWO inexpensive ingredients and can also be customized like nobody’s business. So get creative and have a little fun while pampering your pooch!
Hot Cocoa Filled Ornaments
Hot cocoa filled ornaments are easy, inexpensive edible gifts that you can give to everyone on your list this holiday season. These festive edible gifts layer cocoa with all the toppings for a pretty ornament.
Frozen Queen Elsa Pumpkin
A fun and adorable, less invasive pumpkin idea– this easy Frozen Queen Elsa Pumpkin is perfect for any fans of the movie.
A Simple Sock Bouquet
Father’s Day is just a few days away. If you’re still struggling to come up with an idea for the Dad in your life then the sock bouquet is the way to go. It’s fun and creative, but totally practical. Kids love to help make it and Dad will love his new pairs of socks, and (if you’re like me) you’ll get perverse satisfaction in love getting rid of all the old ones riddled with holes. Also, you’ll love how easily customizable a simple sock bouquet can be to cater to Dad’s favorite colors, teams, you name it.
DIY Fireman Costume
Did you hear somebody yell, ‘Fire’ ?
No worries. With the help of a little duct tape, an old t shirt, and a couple of iron on’s … an adorable little helper is on the way.
Do your kids’ have Career Day at school? The sons’ elementary school hosts one every year, and you can literally be anything you want when you grow up. Well, besides a Ghost ‘Butter’, much to our honey nugget’s initial disappointment. The school does require they be legitimate ‘carrier’ choices, and since I haven’t heard that the cast of Ghost Adventures is looking to hand over the reigns anytime soon (or in the future), we went with the youngest son’s second choice.
If he can’t be a hunter of wayward souls, he’s perfectly content spending his adult hood ‘saving people’. He couldn’t have pickled a nobler profession.
Whether it’s for Career Day, Halloween, or just creative play where we encourage them to ditch the batteries for a few and stretch their imaginations, this DIY costume is too easy not to make. The whole get up cost me less than $10 (it could be significantly less depending on what supplies you have on hand, too).
Directions
yellow duct tape
smaller silver duct tape
American Flag iron on patch
iron-on letters that spell FIRE DEPT
over-sized, black long-sleeved t-shirt
fireman hat
black or yellow galoshes, optional
1. We used a hand me down black t that had a graphic design on it and just turned it inside out. Take the standard size yellow duct tape and wrap it in a complete circle about 1/2 inch above the bottom of the t shirt. Do another under the armpits at ‘chest’ level. Then do two more yellow circles on the sleeves, one towards the bottom and one up towards the shoulder. Go over each yellow circle with a strip of the smaller silver tape creating another band right down the middle.
2. Have a heated iron ready. Follow the directions on the patches. Iron the flag patch above the upper band on the right sleeve of the outfit. Iron the letters for ‘Fire Dept’ above the top/chest band on the back of the outfit.
3. Complete your child’s fireman costume by wearing the shirt with black pants, a fireman hat, and rain galoshes for ‘boots’.
DIY Indiana Jones Costume
When the kids were little we bought their costumes for Halloween. I couldn’t bring myself to break the bank so we’d shop at the local Kids’ consignment shops and even Goodwill, and they always looked adorable, and they were always quite content but something about our ‘process’ was missing for me. Then when the youngest son was 3, I decided he was going as The Doctor for Halloween. The 10th regeneration, my favorite: David Tennant’s Doctor. And seeing as how I wasn’t made of money to custom order every costume component from Think Geek, the only option was to do it ourselves. And we all had a blast! The whole family got in on it.
And we’ve never looked back since. Each year we start brainstorming about a month ahead of time and then we get to work assembling everybody’s costume of choice. We’ve done a stickman, Uncle Si, God’s gift to women, Steve from Minecraft, Superman/Clark Kent, The Hulk, Kristoff from Frozen, and The Scarecrow from Batman just to name a few. One of my favorites, and easiest to throw together was Indiana Jones.
‘Hey, Lady. You call him Dr. Jones!’
We found khaki pants on clearance at Walmart, but they’d be easy to find at Goodwill or a consignment shop as well. For us, they doubled as church pants, post-Halloween. We found a brown fedora in the costume section. We did hit up Goodwill for the white button up, and found the awesome aviator jacket there as well (for $5!!). That’s also where we found his ‘messenger bag’. He wore a pair of brown hiking style boots and brown belt he already owned. We hot glued a twine ‘whip’ to one of his belt loops, and we completed the look with a big ass grin and some rosy red cheeks.
Wherever he went, everyone knew who he was! Which he thought was pretty much the greatest thing ever. And the whole thing cost me maybe $15 with everything being reusable and needed outside of Halloween. That’s what I’d call making it big, or as Dr. Jones so aptly put it …
‘Fortune and glory, kid. Fortune and glory.’
Despicable Me ‘Minion’ Pumpkin Tutorial
The sons have always enjoyed the Despicable Me movies, and the Minions’ antics have kept them in stitches throughout all three films. The boys even made me download the game ‘Minion Rush’ onto my tablet so they can play it whenever the mood strikes. (Just don’t tell, since the older ones might get a tad embarrassed to have their secret outed, you know since they’re supposed to be to old for cartoons and all) They have a legit talking Dave and the teenagers still can’t help but pick up and play with the fart gun (remember our families four tenets? No judging please).
So when my little bit asked me to help him make a Minion ‘punkin’ for Halloween, I couldn’t say no. Never even crossed my mind. But after I’d automatically said yes, I had that ‘oh shit’ moment all Moms occasionally have at the thought of a commitment they’ve made where they’ve bitten off more than they know they can chew. I can fake it til I make it most of the time but, even on my best day, my pumpkin carving skills aren’t anywhere near up the the standard of precision required for any of the stencils and templates I googled.
But even on my worst day, I can paint. So we kicked all thought of carving to the curb, and painted ourselves a pumpkin shaped Minion. And he was adorable. But nowhere near as adorable as the youngest son’s face when he first saw our finished pumpkin.
DIY Minion Pumpkin
Pumpkin (real or fake)
Canning jar lids
Long nails
Wooden skewer, optional
Hot glue gun and glue stick
Yellow spray paint
Blue spray paint
black and brown paint, or Sharpie markers
Black pipe cleaners
Directions
- Paint the top half of the pumpkin with yellow paint and let dry. It’s ok if it takes more than one coat to get the desired effect. On the pumpkin pictured we used acrylic paint and did multiple coats.
2. Paint the bottom of the pumpkin with blue paint and then allow it to dry completely. Once dry, add a second coat if desired. 
3. Take a canning jar lid and pierce a hole in the center with the tip of the nail. Tap gently with a hammer if need be, to pierce.
5. Flip the lid so that the white part is showing and insert the nail through the hole in the center, and apply a bit of hot glue to secure the head of the nail to the lid.
6. Apply a ring of hot glue all around the inside of the silver ring and press the flipped lid firmly to it, hold for a second to seal and then set aside to completely dry.
7. Use a skewer, or an extra nail, to pierce a hole where you would like the center of the canning lid ‘eye’ to be, keeping in mind that the eyes form the center of the face.
8. Gently push the nailed lid into the hole, being careful not to push any of the attached bits apart.- 9. Paint the black straps of the goggles on both sides of the eyes.
10. With paint or Sharpies, color in the details of the eyes (the screw will be camouflaged by the paint). 
11. For the hair, use the skewer, or extra nail, to pierce holes at the top of the head and insert the pipe cleaners into the holes.
12. Finish your pumpkin off by drawing on a mouth.
Homemade Electrolyte Sports Drinks
It’s summer and the kids are soaking in every minute of it. There’s been fishing. Plenty of time spent at the pool. And of course bike riding, and any other outdoor activity you can possibly think of. Like running. So much running. And it’s great. Except then they come in soaking wet, clothes stuck to their bodies, dripping salty puddles everywhere and smelling like stinky little puppies. And while a good dunk in the tub solves most of this, it doesn’t help replace all that their losing in sweat alone. It doesn’t do much to re-hydrate them. Even if they do manage to swallow some bath water. Shoot, even the copious amounts of actual water their gulping down isn’t enough. And I’m not trying to keep them cooped up in the house, or have any kids keeling over from dehydration. So a good electrolyte drink is key to keeping the summer fun coming around here.
I’d seen this idea before, but have always been disappointed in my previous attempts at a good for you, and good tasting, homemade electrolyte cocktail. I’m glad I decided to give it yet another go after seeing Heather of Mommypotamus‘ recipe ideas. These drinks are perfect for hydration by replacing vital minerals and electrolytes they’ve lost. They’re also contain easily absorbed simple carbs that help boost energy, too. All of the ingredients contain key components that help during and after their exercise and recovery periods.
Orange Twist Sports Drink
3-4 cups water (depending on the concentration you prefer)
3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (about 2-3 oranges)
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp raw honey or maple syrup, or more to taste
a few drops of Concentrace minerals drops (optional)
Herbal Cooler
4 cups herbal tea (citrus flavored teas work well, and we also like using berry flavored ones)
2 -4 tbsp raw honey or maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
a few drops of Concentrace minerals drops (optional)
Lemon Sports Drink
4 cups filtered water
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup raw honey, or more to taste
a few drops of Concentrace minerals drops (optional)
Directions
1. Mix all ingredients together and STORE in the fridge. Usually we make enough to consume at one time, but using honey (which is naturally antimicrobial) and keeping it cold in the fridge it has kept for up to a week..
Grill Master Card for Father’s Day
Still struggling to find the perfect card for Dad or Grandpa tomorrow? This card is perfect for the grill master in your life on Father’s Day. It would also make an adorable birthday card. Super simple, and how fun are those Mike & Ike ‘hot dogs’?
black/orange/yellow marker
paper or card stock
glue
red Mike & Ike candies
To Assemble
1. Fold and/or cut your card stock into your preferred card size.
2. Draw a black circle on the paper and color in the middle with orange and yellow to make ‘fire’. After that color some charcoal dots over top the fire with the black marker.
3. Use a ruler, a book, or some other object with a firm straight edge and draw diagonal lines across the circle to make the grill rack. Draw three lines on top of each of the candies for grill marks. Glue them down on top of the grill.
4. Write ‘Dad … The Grill Master’ at the top of the card and then your message on the inside. Done!
