Homemade Goldfish Crackers

Or bears, or dogs, or hearts. Basically whatever shape you like. I might make some flowers & letters when I make these. Reviews say they taste almost just like the store bought kind. yum!

Recipe at YumSugar!

DIY Harry Potter Wand

I found this amazingly easy tutorial on how to make your very own Harry Potter style wand! Great rainy day craft, or for a theme kids party. A little alteration and glitter and they could easily be fairy wands!

Check out the full tutorial with photos on Your Life Uncommon!

Free Sample!

Visit Secret’s Facebook page to ask for a free sample of Secret Natural Mineral Deodorant. Look under their “Odor Dies” tab and click on the red ad (see image below). You’ll need to allow access to the “Secret Natural Mineral” application. Fill out your info, and you're good to go!

Feed Critters, Entertain Kids

My oldest loves animals. We get a fair amount of squirrels and birds in our yard all year round. So why not make projects with kids to feed the animals in the winter?

Squirrels are easy. Buy some dried corn on the cob and twine. Tie one end on the corn, the other on the branch of a tree. If you want to fancy it up, add a cute ribbon bow to the top.

Birds have a few more options. Birds around in the winter typically eat seeds. If you have a pine tree near by or some pine cones laying around, you can go with the traditional peanut butter spread on, and rolled in seeds. Then hang and enjoy. Another idea is to use oranges!

Take a clementine or an orange. Slice it. Use yarn and a large needle to tie the orange slices together.  Thread the yarn through each slice a few times to ensure it is sturdy and hang from a tree. A little pop of color in an otherwise dreary, snowy yard.

DIY Bath Time Paint

Painting while taking a bath? Any little kid will say 'yes please!' Here's a recipe to make your own.

The recipe:

• 1/2 cup body wash
• 5 tablespoons cornstarch
• food coloring

Mix the cornstarch with the soap. You may need to adjust the amount depending on your soap. Mix it in one tablespoon at a time. Divide mixture into smaller bowls. We used small containers with lids to save for future baths. Add a drop or two of food coloring to each bowl and stir.

Be sure before you turn it over to the kiddies that it doesn't stain grout!

S'more's Treats

Perfect to make with the kiddies on a cold day and snack on with some hot chocolate.

S’mores Treat

• 9 cups Honey Graham Cereal (like Golden Grahams)
• ¾ cups Light Corn Syrup
• 3 Tablespoons Butter
• 11-½ ounces, weight Package Milk Chocolate Chips
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 3 cups Mini Marshmallows

1. Grease a cookie sheet with butter.
2. Measure 9 cups of graham cereal into a large mixing bowl.
3. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine corn syrup, butter and milk chocolate chips. Stir constantly until chocolate chips are melted and ingredients are combined.
4. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour over cereal and stir quickly until cereal is coated with chocolate. Stir in the marshmallows.
5. Pour mixture onto cookie sheet and using a slightly damp hand, press into the pan.

Recipe from Real Mom Kitchen.

Party Time

Throwing a party this year? I found an awesome site for party ideas. http://www.hostessblog.com is separated by theme's, by occasion, or browse randomly. There are tons of ideas, photos, and printables.

I know where I'm going for birthday party inspiration this year!

Facebook Freebie

Meet MiO. It's a flavoring for water that's going on shelves next month. Multiple flavors and apparently you can use as much or as little as you like, so you can customize. They are giving away 100,000 free samples. Like them on Facebook and sign up to get a free sample!

Sun Catcher Craft

While this was made for Valentine's Day, you can do any shapes and colors and make something fun and colorful for a window that needs some TLC.

Tutorial can be found on MarthaStewart.com. if your kids are anything like mine, there are plenty of broken crayons that would be suitable for recycling for this.

I'm Back!

And full of Vicodin! My surgery went well and while I can't do a whole lot, I can get back to blogging.

A Random Note From Me

First I want to thank my handful of readers and the random people who visit me from BabyCenter. It makes me feel special that someone might actually enjoy my ramblings and random stuff.

Second, I wanted to let you readers know that I will probably not be posting anything for a couple days. I'm having minor surgery tomorrow. Rest assured though I have plenty of stuff to show and discuss for when I return. I notice that my posts on deals and kids stuff seems to get more hits than the other stuff. I will be working on more great kids stuff to post.

Much Love,
Random Mommy

Tot Packs Learning Fun

My 2 year old daughter loves to learn new things. She's going through a "what's that?" and "read it again" phase. I'm constantly engaging her in conversations about stuff. Lately she's been on a space and dinosaur kick. I just found a site that can help me help her learn in a fun way. Tot Packs from 1+1+1=1! Printable packs that teach about colors, letters, animals, and lots of other fun stuff. There are some based on books, holidays and topics like dinosaurs. Print them out, cut them up, and have some fun!

Pre Valentine's Breakfast

I tried my hand at the Valentine's Crescent/Cinnamon rolls. I like more frosting on mine so I smeared it on. I also added red sprinkles for my daughter. She'll eat anything with sprinkles. Here's the result!

While not as pretty, they were still delicious!

Homemade Birthday Candles

Having some important birthdays in the year ahead? Make the day extra-special with homemade birthday candles! See the photo tutorial here at The Crafts Dept on Martha Stewart's site.

It's basically laying out beeswax sheets, cutting with cookie cutters, and using wick and toothpick or stick in between the layers. I found a good color selection with a small price at General Wax but this is for honeycomb texture. Smooth sheets seem pricier and less colorful. This could be a fun project!

Valentine's Crescent Rolls

Super simple and completely adorable. Guess what I'm making for breakfast on Valentine's Day?

Find the how to on cookingwithsugar.com.

Homemade Candy Bars

Super simple, only 3 ingredients. All of which I have around my house already! Another fabulous recipe from Amanda's Cookin'.

it's just graham crackers, peanut butter, and dipping chocolate. These would be eaten up in no time in my home. I would love to try these and add a drizzle of caramel on top.

Unicorns & Narwhals

I like unique things. it's a good thing I'm not fabulously wealthy because I'd have one weird ass house. For example, I would love to have a stuffed unicorn or narwhal head hanging on a wall. I already have a plate on my wall that says 'Beotch', so why not?

Etsy seller Crochette makes just such oddities. Check these bad boys out.







I less than three them.

Oreo Truffles

Many sites have made them, and they all look delicious. But Amanda's Cookin' has made heart shaped Oreo truffles just in time for Valentine's Day. What husband, boyfriend, or significant other wouldn't want to get these?

Recipe and more photos can be found here.

Cool Mimes

No, it's not an oxymoron, There was one mime troupe that were awesome. Mummenschanz. They appeared on The Muppet Show back in 1976. While I was born a couple years later, I distinctly remember watching this show on TV, all the time. I thought these mimes were awesome. So simple, yet so funny. So I'm sharing a couple clips of them performing on The Muppet Show as I get all nostalgic up in here.

Breakfast Time!

Ham & cheese muffins by Weelicious! They look delicious! I'm sure my meat obsessed husband would enjoy these as well. I wonder how they'd taste with bacon instead of ham.... might have to give it a try!

Recipe can be found here!

Free LeapFrog Book!

Go here and sign in or register. Create a learning path for your child and select a free Tag or Tag Jr, book. This promotion ends on March 31, 2011 or while supplies last. You should receive your free book within 6 to 8 weeks.

Design Inspiration

Looking for some interior design inspiration? Check out Adore Magazine. You can flip through the free virtual magazine and click on just about anything to open a new tab to where you can buy it. There are plenty of articles and photos of truly beautiful spaces. The latest edition is a special British edition!

P&G Facebook Giveaway!

Head over to P&G's Facebook page and like them! Like right now. At noon EST today they are giving away something. They say it's not coupons and not samples, but it's worth over $100. You have half an hour to head over there and see what it is.

Cookie Pops

Ever make cake pops or cake balls? They're a favorite around our house and every holiday it's what family asks me to bring. They really aren't hard to make. They're just a bit messy. I found that SugarSwings has a tutorial on how to make cookie pops! And she makes them look like candy hearts for Valentine's Day.

Cute huh? Not much different than cake pops. Just use cookies! I might have to try these in addition to some cake balls for the next family event.

Oragami Flowers

How cute would these be hanging in a play room or young girls bedroom?

You could match the colors to any room. Find fun patterns to mix it up. You could do different sizes and hang at different heights for a mobile effect. Hang a ton of them at a party. The possibilities are great! Find the tutorial on how to make the flowers and the flower balls at Whimsical World of Laura Bird.

Sprinkles!

I found a recipe for making your own sprinkles. There's not much to it either.

Recipe from bravetart.com

8 ounces powdered sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg white
1 tsp vanilla, or other extract

assorted food colorings

as many piping bags as you have colors, fitted with a small, plain tip

Mix the first four ingredients until a semi-thick paste forms.

Divide the paste into as many portions as you have colors, tinting each batch with the color of your choice.

Put the colored paste into a piping bag and, on a sheet pan lined with parchment or wax paper, pipe out as many long, thin lines as you can. Take care the lines do not touch each other.

Repeat the process with the remaining colors and allow the piped lines to dry for 24 hours. Really. You will have an unworkable mess if you say, “Oh, it’s been 8 hours. I can go ahead and do the next step.” 24 hours. They need to be dried out to the core for this to work.

After the time has elapsed, use a bench scraper or knife to scrape off the dried sprinkle lines and then to break. Chop the lines as long or short as you like.

Store in an airtight container, indefinitely.

Teh Cute!

I suppose this is what makes me random. I come across jewels of happy like this.

mayamagination on craftster.org make this fantastic Darth Vadar Princess costume for her daughter this past Halloween. You can see the post about it here. I just love it! My 2 year old is just getting into Star Wars. That makes me happy. I dressed her as an Ewok for her second Halloween. She was supposed to be Princess Leia for her first, but we changed that to a bunny for her great grandma. She was still teh cute.

Homemade Tagalongs

mmmmm, Girl Scout cookies! Even if they aren't made from real Girls Scouts (kidding!) they are delicious. As someone who doesn't have a supplier for the yummy crack that is Do-Si-Dos and Tagalongs, I thought I'd look for a way to make some. I think I hit the jackpot. I cannot wait to make these bad boys.

Recipe is from wearenotmartha.com

• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature• 1 C sugar• 1 large egg• 1 T vanilla extract• 1/2 t kosher salt• 3 C all-purpose flour• 1/2 C smooth peanut butter• 1/2 C confectioner sugar• 2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cream together butter and sugar using the paddle attachment of an electric mixer (you could use a hand blender if you need, too!). Beat until smooth. Then add in the egg and vanilla and beat until incorporated and smooth. Turn the mixer to low and add in the salt and flour. Mix until well incorporated. Shape dough into a cylinder with a diameter of about 2-3 inches. Then wrap this dough in parchment paper (which was a bit awkward) and put it in the freezer for at least 25 minutes. (there are so many that’s what she saids in my head right now, it’s not even funny). 

When the dough is sufficiently chilled, slice it into 1/8 inch disks and place on baking sheets. Slice 30 cookies and then wrap the remainder of the dough in plastic wrap and stick it back in the freezer for another time. If you want to use all the dough to make about 60 cookies, you’ll want to double the measurement of peanut butter, confectioner sugar, and chocolate that you use later. Bake the cookies at 350 degrees for about 8-10 minutes. Then place the cookies on a cooling rack and let them cool completely.

Now, it’s time to make the filling. All you need to do is mix together the peanut butter and powdered sugar. Melt your chocolate chips over a double broiler (or in the microwave). Now, press a small disk of peanut butter mixture onto a cookie. Coat the cookie completely in chocolate. Remove cookie with a fork and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Let cookies harden. Or pop them in the freezer to speed this up.

Go to wearenotmartha.com for an illustrated version of the recipe.

Teapot Time

I'd like to get myself a fabulous teapot. More for hot chocolate than tea. I'm not much of a hot tea drinker. I might be if I could find the right tea, but so far I haven't. I thought I'd share a few of my current favorites.

This round teapot is vintage and can be found on etsy by seller thevintagewife for $20. The color is fabulous and it's beautiful in it's simplicity. 

This cute little Snow White teapot can be found at neatoshop.com for $41.95. It just makes me smile.

This vintage teapot can be found at rubylane.com and is on sale for $49. I love the colors and shape.

This one is my favorite though out of my price range. This gorgeous piece is from etsy seller ModishVintage for $85. That color, the shape, the unique handle. What's not to love?

What kind of teapot do you like? Do you use it for anything else besides tea? Let's discuss.

Cereal Box Village

Turn your cereal boxes into a cute little village for display or for the kids to play with. You can make it even more fun and let the kids help paint them too. What a great wintertime craft!

Bella Dia has the tutorial here.