Valentine's Day Garland

I can't find the "be my valentine" banner I made last year 😞and I decided we needed a little more pink 💗 and red ❤️ around the house since Valentine's Day is quickly approaching. 

I ran out to the local craft store and for under $5 picked up some twine and a package of glittered diecut hearts. 

It's just a simple matter of stringing them on in whenever pattern you desire.

Pretty soon you've got a georgous little garland to hang up and add some festive color. 

Do you have any Valentine's Day decorations that you made this season or in the past? Would love to see them. Post some pictures here!

Essential Oils: For a Wonderful Smelling and Healthy Home

Who doesn’t love walking home at the end of the day, opening the door, and smelling your favorite scent?

 Problem is paraffin candles, chemical filled plug-ins, and chemically manufactured air freshener sprays are some of the ways that we have become accustomed to making our homes smell appealing – but these products are adding to the toxic environment in our homes.

Well, I found a solution! I recently learned that my local grocery store carries essential oils. Better yet, they are natural and very reasonably priced! (You can also purchase them on the web for very reasonable prices).

I knew there were natural “air fresheners”. A search on Pinterest will give you thousands of links! I did a quick search and collected the basics here for you.

Common essential oils and their benefits:

◦   Basil: helps relieve headaches

◦   Rosemary: stimulates the mind and improves memory

◦   Clary sage: calms the nervous system

◦   Clove oil: helps relieve congestion and has aphrodisiac qualities

◦   Eucalyptus: expectorant, this eucalyptus species is indicated for children with respiratory congestion, useful for colds and flu, antiviral

◦   Ginger: relieves nausea, warming emotionally and physically.

◦   Geranium: PMS, indicated for hormonal imbalance, antimicrobial, nerve pain

◦   Lavender: improves sleep quality and calms the nerves

◦   Lemon: acts as a natural antidepressant and calms anxiety

◦   Mint: invigorating

◦   Orange: refreshes and relaxes

◦   Peppermint: relieves nausea, relieves/reduces migraines, energizing, antispasmodic, Studies say do not use around children under 30 months of age.

◦   Ylang ylang: aphrodisiac, antidepressant, nourishing

There are many more oils. Search our your favorite scents or find scents that will assist with natural remedies for things you are dealing with.

Ways to use essential oils around your home.

Make a Room Freshener:

◦   Fill a small decorative jar or dish with plain white rice and add in a few drops of oil. Place the jar in whatever room you wish to fill with the fragrance. (Peppermint or lemon work great the bathroom and lavender is soothing in the bedroom.) Click here for a tutorial on this

Clothes freshener:

◦   Dab cotton balls with essential oils and place in the corners of your drawers and closets. It also helps ward off moths!

Freshen while you vacuum:

◦   Place a few drops of oil on a cotton balls and put in your vacuum bag. Each time you vacuum it will smell wonderful!

Freshen your car 

◦   Place a few drops of oil on a cotton balls and put a plastic bag, leave it unsealed. Place it in your car under your seat. 

See full tutorial on the Live Life Whole website here.

To deodorize and clean furniture:

◦   Place a few Combine baking soda and several drops of peppermint, eucalyptus or wintergreen essential oil and sprinkle on furniture, floor, or mattress. The baking soda will absorb moisture, deodorizes and sanitizes. The essential oils will drive away dust mites and leave a clean refreshing smell.

For more research on the dust mite issue read this article: http://doterrablog.com/diy-use-these-two-ingredients-to-say-goodbye-to-dust-mites-and-hello-to-a-cleaner-mattress/#sthash.pkTJ9SDY.dpuf

If all that good smelling stuff isn't good enough reason, there is research out there at proves essential oils are beifital to our health and well being! 

Free Printable Valenitnes

I love Valentines day and especially love coming up with creative little cards and gifts for friends and coworkers. Now that my daughter is in school her and I can come up with creative cards and treats for her classmates too.

I am thinking about printing her valentines this year because she has such a small class. Also, I can avoid throwing away 1/2 a package of valentines that I purchased.

I have used printable valentines before for my friends but it is extra fun looking for kid themed cards.

Since Valentines day is on the 14th I have collected 14 of my favorite links here for you:

1. Valentine you're a star- attach a starburst.

2. Frozen is still a hit so how about some free Frozen Valentines.

3. Love this one: Give a individual cup of applesauce to each kid with cute little printable labels to go on top that say "You're Awesome Sauce Valentine"

4. This website gives you a choice of 4 adorable animal themes; Dinosaurs, Owls, Ocean Animals, or Fairies. (There is also a Minecraft link on this page too.)

5. Instead of cards what about something they can use, a bookmark!

6. This is for my Starwars loving friends out there:
Yoda card- using a glow bracelet for a light saber.

7. Fish bowl shaped valentine- shown with gold fish but you could use Swedish Fish too.

8. Mustache and Lips cards- attach a sucker.

9.  Everyone loves Minions! There are some cute Despicable Me Valentines day cards on this site.

10. Do you have a surplus of rubber band loom bracelets sitting around the house? This might be the perfect way to use them: "Its a stretch but will you be mine". Bow and arrow card.

11. Who could pass up a cute little fox?

12. Monsters and googly eyes make everyone giggle and smile!

13. These cards would be more suited for friends and coworkers, the puns would probably go over the heads of elementary school kids. Five Pun-tastic cards.

14. What valentines day would be complete without a gift for your husband. These five tags are too cute to pass up. Print them out and tie them to a few things and surprise him leading up to Valentines Day. It might even inspire him to get that extra special present for you!

If you have created your own I would LOVE to see them and if you have more links let me know.
Post a comment below or leave the link on the Tidbits of Everyday Facebook page. 

Thumbprint Christmas Tree Free Download

I was inspired yet again by another cute Pin but couldn't find the things I needed to make it. Although I am all about supporting independent crafters and I do love buying from Etsy, there was not enough time to order this print so I made my own version of a Thumbprint Christmas Tree. It was a simple process in Microsoft Word and I even added a few extras of my own.

I thought having the grandkids use their fingerprints to create the tree, thumbprints to create the ornaments, and then each sign their name in a gift box under the tree.

I have posted a copy of the file as a jpg image below. You can just click on the image and save it to your computer. If you would like, I can email you the original word document then you can personalize it with your family name or change the number of boxes under the tree. Just email me at mommyandmore@gmail.com, leave a comment below, or leave a note on my Facebook page.

Have a very Merry Christmas!

Teacher Christmas Gifts

Yes, it is that time of year again. Here I am scrambling to come up with a creative idea for my daughters teacher that is practical and also in budget. 

I did my Pinterest search and it lead me to some great links. I thought I would pass them on to you to save you the time of having to search. Instead pick and idea off the list and you'll have a gift ready to go to give to your child's teacher and a bonus it will be super cute and look like you are very creative and prepared.

Eveyone loves getting a Starbucks coffee with their own name written on it. This Starbucks Sleeve Printable gives you the chance to write you teachers name and a cute little check list on the side too!

I don't know many teachers that will pass up a free cup of coffee. So why not give them a Dunkin Donuts gift card on this little Thanks a Latte Printable card holder!

We all know teachers spend lots of their own money on classroom supplies. Why not help them out by giving them a few dollars towards that fund? This Target Gift Card Holder is the perfect way to thank a teacher.

Who doesn't need some extra lip balm? This  Reindeer Lip Balm Gift Holder is Adorable.

All classrooms are full of tiny hands with germs. Buy a bottle of hand sanitizer and add this cute hand sanitizer label.

Hope this helps! If you have more great teacher gift ideas pop over to my Facebook page and share you ideas and links!

Fall Party Mix Snack

I saw a Pinterest post for a Fall ChexMix but I didn't have the time to make it from scratch so I made my version of a quick and easy fall party mix recipie. 

Great for a get together with friends, a snack for the kids,  or to share with coworkers at the office. 

First pop two bags of kettlecorn and place in a big bowl.

 Add a bag of sweet and salty Chex mix. 

Finally, add 1/2 a bag of Brachs autumn  candy mix.

Quickly mix it up and you have a great big bowl of a sweet fall treat made in under ten minutes and for less than $10.

Natural Bug Repellant Candles

When I was finishing up my 4th of July BBQ prep I was looking for some last minute quick and easy natural bug repellant to deter some of the mosquitos that a were out. I had already picked up Bug Soother on a recommendation from a good friend. (Love the stuff. I think it worked great!)

And I also picked up some citronella essential oil. I figured if we needed extra deterent it could be dripped onto cotton balls and set out or mixed with witch hazel to use as a spray on or around you as a natural bug repellant.

However the last few nights the mosquitos have been merciless! Knowing we were going to be out late watching the fireworks I was looking for a few more ways to keep the bugs at bay. Thats when I stumbled on this cute idea!!!!!

To see the original link to these candles click here: 

http://www.nestofposies-blog.com/2013/04/summertime-floating-candles-in-a-jar/

I happen to have everything on hand and I couldn't wait to make these little guys. Best of all I had floating star candles in red, white, and blue. What a perfect touch for the 4th of July!

I sliced a lemon and lime, grabbed some rosemary and mint from the garden, put in a few drops of citronella essential oil, then filled 3/4 of the way with water. 

Then I just floated the candles on top. Simple as that. 

It gave off a slight but not overwhelming citronella scent, looked great, and there were very few bugs near the table. I'd call it a success!  

Quick skirt

I stopped at Joann Fabrics for some knit and found this on the red tag clearance. I bought 2/3yd (24")

It's nice because the bottom end is finished and the top already has the elastic attached...

I simply ran it through the serger, you could use a regular sewing machine too. 

However, the material was a little too long for the look I was going for. Instead of cutting and re-heming I used Stch Witch.

Simply fold to desired length, place the stitch witch I between the layers, dry iron (no steam) to fuse the material together.

Final product: 

Heavenly Homemade Sugar Scrubs

Lets be honest moms, 5 minutes is about all the time was have to indulge, right? I take my 5 minutes in the morning and use my sugar scrub in the shower a few times a week.  

I have loved sugar scrub and sea salt scrub for years but have bought it very sparingly in the past due to the price in the stores. 

About a year ago I discovered homemade sugar scrub on Pintrest. 
I gave it a try and not only did I fall in love with it, I love it MORE than the store bought stuff. 

There are so many great things about it. 
~The ability to chose any sugar granule type and size. 
~Use any scent.
~Very inexpensive.
~Whip up a batch in a matter of minutes.
~Great as gifts for friends and family.

There is so much more but my favorite is that it leaves my skin softer than a babies bottom and I feel like i've just had a mini spa treatment!!!


Here are my 3 favorite recipes for sugar scrub. 

My favorite energizing summer scrub:

Ingredients

• 1 cup fine sea salt (course if you like a rougher scrub)
• 1 cup Sugar (raw or granulated)
• Orange essential oil or Orange extract
• 1/3 cup coconut Oil (add more or less if needed to achieve desired texture)

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl combine the sugar and salt.
2. Add Coconut Oil and orange extract.  Stir until well blended. (this will require some mushing around if the oil is in a more solid state, if you want you can slightly heat is just enough to make it runny, then it will be easier to mix. Careful, it gets hot fast!)
3. You should try for a texture similar to damp sand.
4. Store covered in a tight container. (I recommend plastic container if you are keeping it in the shower.)

Inspired by the recipe at:
http://www.deliciouslyorganized.com/2011/07/diy-summer-scrub.html

My favorite scrub to use in the fall:

Pumpkin Brown Sugar Scrub

Ingredients

• 1 cups Brown Sugar
• 1 cup White Sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/3 cup coconut Oil (add more or less if needed to achieve desired texture)

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl combine the sugars and spices.
2. Add Coconut Oil and stir until well blended. (this will require some mushing around if the oil is in a more solid state, if you want you can slightly heat is just enough to make it runny, then it will be easier to mix. Careful, it gets hot fast!)
3. You may add more if your scrub is too dry.
4. You should try for a texture similar to damp sand.
5. Cover in a tight container. (I recommend plastic container if you are keeping it in the shower.)

Adapted from the recipe at: http://www.theidearoom.net/tag/pumpkin-spice-sugar-scrubs

My favorite winter time scrub:

Peppermint Sugar Scrub

Ingredients

2 cups white sugar

1/4 cup coconut oil

Red food coloring

Peppermint extract (you can use essential oil too, found at a local craft store, but a few drops of extract do the same thing and is much less expensive!)

Directions

Mix sugar and coconut oil until it resembles the consistency of damp sand.

Separate the mixture into two bowls

In one bowl add a drop or two of red food coloring and mix throughly until it is a nice pink color.

In the other bowl add several drops of peppermint extract and mix thoroughly.

Layer pink and white layers into a plastic jar. 

If you go to the original site you can get the free labels pictured above to put on the jar!

http://www.couponsandfreebiesmom.com/2013/11/homemade-peppermint-sugar-scrub.html