Fun Project

The baby's room has been in need of some major tlc for quite some time. I have had my eye on some canvas prints that match his bedding but I have only seen them for $50-$70 and I was not willing to pay that much so I started to brainstorm a way that I could make my own.

I started and finished this project in one day and the entire thing cost just under $20. I was so happy with how they turned out and I think it makes it more fun knowing that I made them myself and saved some money while doing it.

Here is the finished project and below that are the actual pictures of the animals on his bedding. I think I made a pretty good match!

This is how I did it. I took a digital picture of each animal. I printed each one to the size I needed just in black and white on regular computer paper. I purchased some tracing paper and then traced the images onto the canvas. Then it was just a matter of painting them and that was it!

I think this is a great option for making art for any child's room. You could take an image off their bedding or really any image from a book, a card...the sky is the limit. Anyway, I thought I would just pass the idea along.

Next project is to paint the actual room and then finish off with a few more little items and I think he will finally have a cute nursery! Sometimes you just need a little project like this to get you jump started.

12 hours = 2 cups

A few days ago some of our friends called us and asked us if we wanted to take some of their sap from their maple trees to make our own maple syrup. I responded with an enthusiastic , "Yes, we would love some."

My worries began when I showed up at their doorstep and my friend said, "Thank you for taking away my headache." I left with two buckets full of sap and the instructions to just boil it until you can't blow the bubbles down anymore.

Sounds easy enough right????

These are my lovely buckets full of sap.

This is what the sap looks like before the process began. Clear as water.

Here is my pot on the stove. Notice the time on the clock 1:36.
12 HOURS LATER THIS IS THE RESULT!!!!

This is not a joke. I started with about 8 gallons of sap and the end result was a little less than 2 cups of syrup. I ran my stove on high for 12 straight hours. I started to think this was just a mean joke when I had reached 11 hours and 59 minutes and I was still able to blow the bubbles down, but finally it happened!

I am not quite sure I will ever want to use this delicious syrup I labored over so diligently but I have had a little taste and it is very good. One thing is for sure...the kids will not be allowed to use this on their pancakes.

Now I know why my friend lovingly referred to this as her "headache". If she calls again and wants to share I may think twice. I must say however it was a new lesson learned and kind of fun to try once but I don't think I will be opening my homemade maple syrup shop any time soon!

No Spending Month Review

Every year we set goals and then post them where we can see them each day. This year I made a goal that I wanted to have a no spending for one entire month goal. Charlie was thrilled when he heard about this goal.

We picked February to be our month. By no spending I mean things such as no movie rentals, no clothing purchases, no babysitters, no eating out....the only exception was that I could buy groceries and gas.

The month is over and I have to say I am glad I did it. I am not much of a spender in the first place so I did not think it would be too difficult to accomplish this goal but I did learn a few lessons.

First: I learned that you really can just make do with what you have. Ethan has two pairs of jeans and both of them got holes in the knees at the start of the month. I could not just run out and buy new ones so he went to school with holes. I also pulled out some pants that are still too big for him but we made them work. Sure he was probably not the most fashionable kid in school, but my kids never are and guess what....that's ok!

Second: I learned that if you are not so busy filling your life up with "stuff" Heavenly Father will bless you with opportunities to help others. This was a lesson I was not quite expecting from this little experiment but I was amazed. This month I was almost bombarded with opportunities to serve other people. I have had time to ponder this a bit and I think the reason was two-fold. One, I think that Heavenly Father knew we would have a little extra money this month and presented us with opportunities to share it with others. The second part of this is that I think I was able to be more focused on others this month and not so much on just our little family which made it easier for me to respond to promptings from the spirit. I found myself each morning during my prayers asking to be an answer to another persons prayers...I'm not sure if I was an answer to anyone but I can say I felt closer to the spirit and I did my best to help each person I saw that was in need.

Third: I learned that we can have just as much fun at home being a family as we do going out and doing things. I pretty much already knew this but it was just magnified this week. We spent more time just being together, baking, reading, playing games and we had a blast!

The other day we got our first credit card bill that had the beginning of February on it. It was the first time I found myself being excited to open a credit card bill. Charlie actually came and gave me a kiss when he saw it! Ladies, how often do you get a kiss from your husband over a credit card bill????

Overall I quite enjoyed this little experiment and think I will make it a yearly goal. It really helped put needs and wants into perspective. That being said I am pretty sure I will end up at a drive-thru window at some point this week, not having to cook for one night sounds GLORIOUS!