Showing posts with label ideas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ideas. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Creativity Blooms During Covid-19!

I'm so ready to be free again. For the bookstore to open. The library to reopen... We are missing Free Comic Book Day this year, people! Do you know how hard that is for us nerds? Star Wars Day is canceled. Besides posting a meme... UGH! Yes, that is my response to this craziness. 

And so...

To Pinterest I have gone in search of things to occupy the hours. Especially for the kiddos. No school, can't contact their friends, and no yard to play in. There is a pool at their Nona's house, but it's not like we can go there often. Dad works and has school. Mom can't drive them. Well, she could, but not with full confidence of safety. Sooooo.... Yeah. Pinterest ideas! 

We started time capsule booklets thanks to their teachers sending them out. Don't think anyone has finished theirs yet. They kinda disappeared after a couple days. But it was fun watching them get started at least. 

I tried doing a scavenger hunt. My daughter finished hers the same day I gave it to them. The boys took about 3 days? It was so easy too. They took photos of things they found with their school iPads, just like they do for school assignments. Their heart just wasn't into it like my daughters was. She wanted grand prize!

Now on to the next project. I saw this idea a long while back and decided to expand the options to make it more fun. But I used the principle idea to get started. Let's see how well this goes! Plus, I'm hoping that they can earn prizes from doing a great job. No half-hearted tries here. 
For those of you who want to try it as well, I've typed up the prompts so all you have to do is copy and paste into a Word page to print. Don't forget to write out the letter with the instructions. Or print our the one I've typed out for you. Good luck surviving the boredom! 
Bag 1:                               Bag 2:                                   Bag 3:
Take a photo                      of a zombie                          riding a dinosaur.
Make a movie                   of a mermaid                       baking a cake.
Write a story                     of a grandma                        flying in space.
Draw a picture                  of your parents                     riding a unicorn.
Create a dance                  of an uncle                            playing a game.
                                          of an aunt                             building a fort.
                                          of a sibling                           having a pillow fight.
                                          of a space man                     getting married.
                                          of a game character             fighting a bear.
                                                                                       dancing with cats.
Dear children,
I have a very important assignment for you. As you can see, I have 3 bags. 
  • Take a slip of paper from Bag 1 for your assignment.
  • Take a slip of paper from Bag 2 for the subject of your assignment.
  • Take a slip of paper from Bag 3 for the scene of your assignment. 
NO redraws! You keep the first 3 slips of papers you get! You can help each other if you like, but I expect to have your completed assignments by 7PM tonight. 
 Good luck and may the odds be ever in your favor! 

You can always add your own! Make it uniquely fun for your own children. Change when it is due to when you get home from work or the next morning. Or do it as a couple with your spouse even! Hmm... I bet this would be better than the time my husband and I started writing a book together... Either way, I'd love to hear your ideas! So leave me a comment below and let me know what you think. What prompts would you add?

Monday, April 20, 2020

Let's Pass Time with a Time Capsule!

This time is unprecedented for all of us. Kids are pardoned from attending school after Spring Break. Social Distancing isn't just in person, but also for idiot drivers who think they have to maintain 2 car links distance and even social networking! All joking aside, we have never had to deal with such a thing as a pandemic and being forced to Shelter in Place indefinitely. For introverts, this is heavenly. For those of us who like people watching or are extroverts, this is torture. Or even for those of us who actually like being around extended family. So what can we do? How do we pass the time? How about memorializing this time in our lives for future reference? I'm being serious for once. My kids' teachers sent this project over and it has not only given them something fun to do together for a change, but they look forward to seeing how things change in the years to come.


Here is the link to print out the pages: 
You may have to copy and paste it into your browser. My children started theirs tonight. They are interviewing parents and siblings alike. Putting in things about themselves that they can look back on. All About Me, My Feelings, My Community, What I'm Doing to Keep Busy, everyone's handprints, Special Occasions and how/if they were celebrated, Letter to Myself, Interviews with Family and finally, a Letter From Your Household. They have asked me to write to them on this last one. I started the letter to my daughter tonight. I reminded her of the craziness and fun times. But most importantly, that we cannot be held my fear. God in control and is working all this for His good. We might not understand it, but we can't let ourselves stress over it. We can't let it anger us. Do you know how many angry people there are out there? Angry that they have to deal with other people. Especially people who aren't following the rules. Instead of responding with kindness and grace, most people during this time will lash out. Maybe not out loud, but in their heads. It really bugs me when I hear about instances like that. After all, we are all people. We are guilty of something or other every day. Not everyone sees this as such a big threat as everyone else. Here is a reminder: Not everyone who coughs or sneezes has the cootie. Ever think about that? Some of us are dying of allergies. And soon, the summer cold season will bloom. Just remember, this isn't forever. Eventually we will have to be a part of some group again. School. Work. Family get togethers. We might not like it, but we do it. Why? Because it is a part of life. Humans are social creatures. Mostly. Let's show a little kindness and yes, respect. And let us enjoy the time together at home as best we can in the meantime! 


What are we doing? 
 
We have been writing friends and family. My kids are practicing letter writing as well as being conversant with others. The old fashioned way! They write about the books we are reading online. About good things that happen to us. Spreading a little joy to others. I downloaded a free puzzle game to my laptop by Microsoft. The kids like working on it with me. We haven't found any good puzzles in the stores. They get wiped out almost as soon as they are stocked. The kids also take turns helping me with crossword puzzles. My oldest daughter especially loves those. Every once in a while I print coloring pages for them to do. Some of these, they are sending in their letters. Since I recently had surgery and am still recovering, they have been helpful with doing more chores around the house. Part of the incentive for them is the special things they can buy from Chore Store... and the other part is not having to get in trouble because they let Mom do everything herself.
They even surprised me by pulling out the Tinkering Labs kits and building new creations! If you need a refresher on what that is, check out my blog review


Bonus question! 

What do you plan on doing when all this craziness blows over?? 
Leave me a comment below! I genuinely want to know. 

My husband and I have a fun family vacation planned. Just us and the kids and at least a week away from home. Crazy, right? We have been stuck in our house for who knows how long with the kids. You would think we are ready for time away from them. But truth be told, this has been such an eye opener for us. And the things we want to do will be a blast for every one of us. So stay tuned in the months to come!

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Light but tasty snack ideas

Sometimes you want something to snack on that might not be the healthiest, but its just oh so good! One that I like doing is bacon wrapped, cheese smothered tater tots. Simple to make, takes only 3 ingredients… how can it get better than that?

What you need:
Bag of frozen tater tots

1 package of your favorite bacon (turkey doesn’t work too well for this one)
1 package of cheese (any of your favorite kinds)  

I like to deviate from the way I’ve seen them made online. I own a deep fryer, so I fry some tater tots first. Don’t need to crisp them too much though! Then you will want to let those sit on a napkin while you prep your next step. I cut my bacon strips in half. Get out that baking sheet and preheat your oven to 375. I cover mine in aluminum foil and spray it lightly with cooking spray. This helps to keep it from sticking too badly.
Grab one of the bacon strips, wrap up the tater tot, and place it on the baking sheet. Repeat this step with the rest of your bacon and tater tots until you have the desired amount. Bake for about 10 minutes. Then add your cheese and bake again for another 10 or so minutes. You want the bacon to be cooked and the cheese to be completely melted around your tots. You can make as much or as little as you want, based on how many people you are serving. I've also added chili to it and then covered it with cheese.
Another recipe I love is Doritos Nachos.
You know how Taco Bell has those tacos in the shells with Doritos flavoring? Well, you can pull that off with nachos as well.
What you need:
Your favorite Doritos chips (I use the HEB brand of them sometimes)
Cheese
ground beef
salsa
First thing you want to do is get that baking sheet ready. Preheat your oven to 375. Spread your favorite tortilla chips on it.
You can then top it with your favorite nachos ingredients such as ground beef, cheese, etc.
Bake for about 8-10 minutes or until the cheese is all melted.
At my house, the kids like when I pour the Taco Bell sauce over them and then serve. You can use your favorite sauce and sour cream as well.


And lastly, I made bacon and cheese crescent rolls. I took a can of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls, some bacon strips cut in half, and cheese that I sliced into strips and rolled them up together.
Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes until they are golden brown. You can use any kind of cheese and your favorite bacon. Or you can switch it out for pepperoni or sliced deli meats.

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Another Shoplet Product Review!

Shoplet.com is again hosting a review. This time for Sanford Sharpie products. I received a Sharpie Pen, Sharpie Neon markers, and Sharpie Metallic markers. I also received the sun glasses and black paper, that I'll show you why later... 
The Premium Pen is stainless steel, has a fine tip and doesn't bleed!
This last point alone makes it a great addition to my collection of writing utensils. Being a writer means looking for a pen that is reliable, sharp, and doesn't bleed through your papers. It doesn't create a messy look, but rather a clean and open view. I love the smooth feeling of the stainless steel casing between my fingers. It also had a wonderful, soft grip before the tip that makes grasping it easier. 
This is going to be a pen I won't want to share with anyone... wouldn't want it to sprout legs and run away from me. Sharpie Neon Permanent Markers make great tools for eye-catching projects.
They are fluorescent under black lights and have fine tips. You might need some sunglasses though to view your work afterwards as they are bright! It provides a vibrant contrast to plain white posters/paper. Though the yellow is harder to see. As an example, I decorated some glasses. The last product I have to review are the Sharpie Metallic Permanent Markers.
These work better on dark surfaces so you can see their sheen clearly. They also have the fine tips for precision writing. They give it more of a classic look.
I appreciate having fine tips on all of these. They keep whatever you write looking neat and clean. When you have bad handwriting as I do, you need all the help you can get. They are comfortable to use. It adds variety to what you can do with just a writing utensil. Be creative! I can't think of many uses for the Neon markers as I'm not writing much in bright, eye catching settings. My words are typically meant to be explanatory instead of flashy. I almost always buy Sharpie markers for my needs as they never disappoint me though.
All of these products are available for purchase via Shoplet.com. They have just about any office supplies you might need for your home or company office. They even offer Promotional Products to help you get your business noticed. Check out the Promotional Shirts.
And something new to look into is the United Kingdom part of their website that has Office Stationary and other items. What do you write most? Do you still write letters or has the world of technology taken over with emails?

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Avery product reviews via Shoplet.com

Shoplet.com recently sent me some Avery office products to try and write a review about.
First up, is the Flexi-View Presentation Binder. I love the title page pocket in the cover that allows me to put a page or picture in the front. That way I know what the binder contains. There is also a sleeve in the back cover to hold a few extra pages. So if you were using this for a presentation, you could put a title page in the front, your presentation inside, and pages to hand out in the back. There are even slots in the back sleeve to hold your business card so your binder can be recognized as yours. Its also a flexible binder. Rigid binders can have a tendency of bending/breaking in the middle if something heavy gets placed on top. With a flexible binder, however, no worries of that happening. It makes it a little more compact too for carrying on the go. Personally, I think this binder is great for keeping recipes in. Wipe off the cover if it gets messy, separate the types of recipes... Sounds like a winners plan to me!
In addition to the binder, were Ready Index Durable Table of Contents Dividers. I'm all about being organized, and these definitely keep me organized. They are "3 ways stronger": stronger, heavier paper, stronger tab reinforcement, and double-sided hole reinforcement. The more durable the paper - the less likely it will be to weaken and rip during use. The tabs are reinforced to keep them from falling off over time and through wear. And my favorite? Double-sided hole reinforments on the tabbed dividers. Why? How many times have my pages fallen out over time because the holes got ripped?? Its a pet peeve of mine. So I love having them reinforced. These have 8 tabs per pack. Dividers are also made of 30% post-consumer recycled paper. Let's remember to recycle and reuse right? One more benefit to these; they can be used in portrait or landscape orientation. For those who don't understand geek speak - straight up and down, or laying on the side. You can create the table of contents at: avery.com/library.
My next favorite product in the group would have to be the Printable Tags with Strings. There are 96 tags on 12 sheets with 100 strings. Oh the possibilities... For small businesses, you could print price tags to label your merchandise with. You can get the free templates and designs to help you prepare your tags at avery.com that do not require software downloads. They have templates that match the product number. These tags print to the edge creating a premium professional look. These are perforated keeping them professional and easy to separate. They are also double-sided cardstock to optimize the richness in colors. The tags come with quick-latch fasteners that make it easy to assemble them.
They can come quite handy. You can tag gifts, label products you are selling, or as I did - make labels for traveling. In case my luggage gets misplaced or lost, there is a name and number to contact.
And I can edit each individual tag for various people instead of all of them being the exact same.
Next up are Print-to-the-Edge Round Labels. They come on 10 Glossy White pages that carry 120 labels. Each one is 2" in diameter. Again, templates are available through the Avery website.
I also love the fact that Avery is an Official Box Tops for Education Brand. They have box tops on their products that you can use to support your school. And the packaging is recyclable on these!
I used these to make stickers to promote my blog. Absolutely LOVE how they came out!
And finally we come to the Tri-Fold Brochure with tear-away cards. My husband and I used these to create coupons for those who had ordered several times from his online Lego selling hobby/business.
It was fast and easy (well, minus the time we debated on what to say and how to present them). The template on the Avery website made everything so simple.
I hope you enjoyed this review and got some ideas of your own on things you might have a use for from these wonderful Avery products. Remember to check out Shoplet.com and see what else they have to offer for your small business, home organization, or office needs! Leave me a comment on what you think.