Monday, July 30, 2012

Mini Lasagnas


Individual lasagnas made in a muffin pan? Amazing idea!
Warning: The top wonton wrapper gets a little crispy (if you just can't stomach that kind of thing).
Love the fact that you can control how many to make so you don't have leftovers. Also a big bonus that they are fast and super easy but the end result looks like something out of a high-class restaurant. Need to remember for entertaining!

Mini Lasagnas
Marinara Sauce
Ricotta or Cottage Cheese
Mozzarella Cheese
Won Ton Wraps
Italian Seasoning
Ground Beef or Sausage

Spray a cupcake pan with Pam. Place one won ton wrap in each cup.  Next layer sauce, meat and cheeses, then repeat.  Sprinkle with Italian seasonings and bake at 375° for 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes and pop out with a knife.

Yield: Prepare 2 to 4 cups per person

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Socktopuses


Lana's third birthday is coming up! Since she is obsessed with all things octopus my husband and I decided to have an ocean-themed party this year. What better way to deliver her birthday invitations than with these adorable socktopuses I pinned on Pinterest? Since we are having our first kid party this year (and that means only five kid guests since we are still in the non-schooling years) I thought it would be fun for Lana to hand deliver her invitations. Very excited to get some pictures of her delivering these to her little friends :)

Socktopus Invitations
Scissors
Old Cheap (Clean) Tights
Batting
Yarn
Googly Eyes
Hot Glue Gun

Cut legs off tights. Fill end with batting. Tie end off with yarn. Trim yarn. Cut eights legs from tight leg. Attach googly eyes with hot glue gun. Attach invite and deliver to guest! Capture the smiles on camera for the birthday scrapbook :)

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Glitter Slime!




Lana loved this stuff! I loved it even more - easy to make, was not messy at all and had her entertained for a long time (in 2-year-old attention span world). She requests pink next time :)

Glitter Slime
12 oz. Glitter Glue
Liquid Starch

Put 1 cup liquid starch in bowl. Add glue. Stir. Keep adding liquid starch until the mixture becomes a cohesive ball of slime. Store in airtight container.

Calm Down Jars


So these glitter jars originally started out as meditation tools for children. Then Moms got the bright idea to use them as calming jars for children who get unruly during time-outs. The child shakes the bottle up and depending on the glue to water ratio can "time" the time-out with the settling of the glitter. The kid has something to distract them during punishment and hopefully will result in a calmed down child by the time their punishment is over.

Well since I have a rather easygoing child, I thought this would be a good quiet time activity instead. Every night around 8:00 my child gets crazy! Running, jumping, dancing, singing.... anything that is loud and anything but winding down at the end of the day. Of course this is right at the time that we start getting her ready for bed. So I made a small version of a calming jar (easier for Lana to handle) and gave it to her. She promptly thought that this would be a great toy to shake up, place on the floor and dance around. Not quite what I was going for...

We are still keeping this jar around and I'm attempting to coordinate it into a night-time activity. Maybe if I tried a glow-in-the-dark version for in bed? Anyways here is the formula for making it....

Calm Down Jars
One plastic bottle (size depending on age of child)
One container of super-fine glitter
Glitter glue (small)
Superglue

Fill bottle three-quarters full of water. Add superfine glitter and about one tablespoon of glitter glue. Shake bottle. Add more water to have glitter separate faster; add more glitter glue if you want the glitter to separate slower. Add enough glue/water to fill bottle completely. Superglue lid to bottle.