Library Card Catalog

I saw a VERY cool project on this website: Library Card Catalog for the home!!

I found this amazing, HUGE card catalog on Craigslist.  Apparently it used to be housed in the UCLA Life Science Library.

 (Isn't it beautiful?)

I bought it on an impulse, and figured I'd learn how to turn it into my masterpiece later.  I am not the "handy' type so I fully expected to outsource most/all of the work.  But when asked a few handymen if they would help me, they all said it wouldn't be economically worth it.

Crap.

Luckily, my father in law is the perfect combination of Handy, Retired, and Bored.  Oh happy day!  He agreed to sand all the drawers for me.  He took home 8 at a time and used his power sander.  It took him about a month.

Next, I bought some Ebony paint stain.  Here's how it looked after the first stain.  It took up our whole backyard to let these drawers dry after each coat.

 After 3-4 coats, it was done!!

Now I have a one-stop shop to store all my miscellaneous items.  On the top half, I store my not-so-kid-friendly items like the:
- Batteries (A different drawer for each size)
- Scissors
- Tape
- Glue
- Nails & screws
- Lighters
- Mailing supplies
- Hand sanitizer
- Permanent markers
- Camera accessories
- Sunscreen

Toward the bottom, the kids store their stuff.   We have drawers for:
- Band-Aids
- Bubble Wands
- Chalk
- Coins
- Face Paint
- Flashlights
- Hairbrushes
- Headbands
- Markers
- Notepads
- Paint (3 kinds)
- Paint Brushes (2 kinds)  :)
- Pens
- Pencils
- Play Doh Tools
- Rocks
- Rubber Stamps
- Measuring Tape
- Sunglasses
- Swim Goggles
- Thermometers
- Umbrellas

I definitely recommend you alphabetize completely or at least into 2 parts (adult + kid) like I did.

Funny how you don't realize until you're organized that you, for example, have 8 pairs of scissors.

And now I know where they ALL are!!!

Snack: "Peanut Butter Plus" Apples

So Delicious!   This is the perfect snack to make with the kiddos.


I originally got the idea for this from a Whole Foods recipe.

"Peanut Butter Plus" Apples

One apple (we prefer Pink Ladies, but any variety will work)

Peanut Butter
Squeeze of lemon Juice (if you want to keep the apples from browning)

Ideas for Optional Extras

Raisins

Chocolate Chips

Wheat Germ
Granola

Oats

You need an apple corer for this recipe (or a long, thin knife)

First, you core the apple. be sure to scoop out any extra seeds you missed the first time

Then, you slice the apples horizontally in an even number of slices (6 usually works best for us)

Spread the peanut butter and add the optional toppings.  My advice is to *not* try chocolate chips the first time like I did.  If you do, the kids will not take too well to having healthier options inside next time around) :))

We eat these for breakfast, lunch, snack, you name it.  Wonderfully wholesome, low carb, kid-friendly recipe!

Craft: Do-it-Yourself Necklace Organizer

I have seen several ideas online on how to create a jewelry organizer, but never found exactly what I wanted.  So...I decided to make it myself!

Do-it-Yourself Necklace Organizer

Picture Frame (any size. I chose 2 20X30 frames)

Roll of Corkboard (the same size as your frame or larger)

Cup Hooks (bought mine in a 100-pack at Home Depot)

Bronze Spray Paint (Optional.  I bought Paint & Primer in one)

Duct Tape or Staple Gun

Fabric of your choice (I bought creme-colored linen.  Must be at least a few inches longer than the frame size)

Scissors

Box Cutter (Scissors will work if you don't have one)

Measuring Tape

Drill (optional but highly recommended. And I do mean HIGHLY)

Frame hanging method of choice (My frame included hanging hooks/screws)

I could only find brass colored cup hooks, so I bought spray paint to turn them the color I wanted (bronze.)   This should be your first step, as they will need to sit to dry.   To keep it clean, place the hooks in a cardboard box.

Line them all up so none are overlapping.  Bring the box outside, away from...everything you want to keep looking nice.  Then spray paint into the box back and forth 5-6 times slowly.  I recommend waiting until they dry completely (overnight or for several hours during the day) before you turn them over.    I made the mistake of rushing to flip them when they were barely dry ---  they ended up sticking to the box when the second side was dry.  Haste makes waste! 

While you're waiting for the hooks to dry, you can get started on the rest.  Roll out the corkboard and cut a very rough amount of what you need so you have a manageable piece to work with.  (Feline paperweight optional.)

Lay the frame backing on top of the cork board and use the box cutter to guide your edges.

Secure the corkboard with several pieces of duct tape, flip it over, and lay it back down, aligned with the frame backing.  Smooth out the edges so the corkboard lies flat.  I tried this both with and without the extra piece of cardboard that comes in the frame.  The pro of using that cardboard is that it offers an extra layer of depth to secure the hooks.  The con of using the cardboard is that it is not as sturdy as the frame backing and therefore harder to work with.  Up to you, but I would toss it.

Cut the fabric so that it's overlapping the corkboard/frame by a few inches.

Fold the fabric over the backing.

This being my first craft project, and knowing I would never see the back of the frame, I decided to use duct tape to secure the fabric.  You are of course welcome to use a staple gun to pretty it up.  Whatever method you use, make sure the fabric is pulled very tightly before you secure it to the back.

Place the whole thing back into the frame.  Be sure to note at this point if the frame has holes for affixing the hanging hooks and secure those now.  If there are no guides, decide how you plan to hang it and secure the method now.

Framed Fabric.

Next, you want to line up your necklaces so you where to place the hooks.  I made a row of shorter and a row of longer necklaces.  I made sure there was enough room in between so my chunkier necklaces did not look cramped in.  Play around with it til you have the look you want. 

Measure an equal distance between hooks based on the number of hooks you want per row.

Mark your plan with a pencil.

This is where I was soooo happy they had invented drills!  My first time ever using one. It's a good thing too because my fingers were really starting to hurt, twisting the cup hooks in by hand! :P  I believe I used a 1/16th inch drill bit.  (Do I sound like I know what I'm talking about?) :))  First you drill the hole and then screw the cup hooks in.  It's okay to drill all the way through each layer because, again, no one will see the back.  Be sure to hold the fabric taut because that will keep it from pulling and twisting as you screw in the hooks.

Voila!

All in all, (not including time spent waiting for the paint to dry) this whole project took me under 3 hours.  Not bad for my first official craft of the decade!

Kid Craft: Do-it-Yourself Bird Feeder

What you need:

Do-it-Yourself Bird Feeder

1 Toilet Paper Roll

Bag of Bird Seed

2-3 Tbl Peanut Butter

 Start with all your ingredients arranged around a plate.

Spread peanut butter all over the toilet paper holder.

Then, pour the bird seed onto the plate.  Roll the peanut butter back and forth on the plate until all sides are coated.

When you're done, hang it from a tree branch one morning and sit back, relax, and enjoy the show!

Cooking: Spaghetti 'n' Sausage

First Post - Welcome!!


Question: How do you get kids excited about cooking dinner? 
Answer: Make it a game!

I found the original inspiration for this recipe here, and then I decided it might be more tasty with Chicken Apple Sausage instead of hot dogs.   Enjoy!

Spaghetti 'N' Sausage

1/2 box of Spaghetti

1 12. oz. package of Chicken Apple Sausage or other sausage of your choice

2 tbl. olive oil

1 tsp. salt

3 tbl. butter (or 3 tbl. of olive oil)

I gathered the kids into the kitchen and presented our ingredients: Spaghetti & Sausage (the first time around we used Chicken Apple Sausage, by you can use any sausage you like.)

I sliced up all the sausage into 1/2 inch discs.

Then, I let the kids get to work.  At first we used a kabob skewer to poke holes in the meat, but then I realized the spaghetti was thick enough to cut through without breaking.   We stuck various numbers of spaghetti sticks through various piece of sausage.  My son preferred 8 pieces of sausage per spaghetti stick.  My daughter went with 3 pieces of sausage attached to 3 spaghetti sticks.   On one go round, I put 8 sticks of spaghetti through 1 piece of sausage.  

We arranged them on the tray, ready to pour into a pot of boiling water and included some extra spaghetti to cook at the same time.  I added 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 teaspoon of salt to the water, and boiled it all per the directions on the spaghetti package.

After it was all cooked, we drained out the water and added the butter.  

The kids loved the way the noodles dangled out of the pasta!

Tasted really good too!

Bowl was empty in record time.

Any thoughts on how to improve upon this recipe? I'd love to hear them!