DIY Photo Puzzle

My kids and I are really into crafting right now. On cold, rainy and yucky days like we have been having a lot of in Ohio, there is nothing better than digging into my craft cabinet and pulling out a few projects to entertain us when the weather is keeping us inside.

On one particular day, we ended up with a stack of duplicate photos and I knew that these should be put to good use instead of sitting in a photo box or ending up in the trash. After a few moments of careful consideration, I realized that a few craft sticks and some glue would take these double photos from miscellaneous junk into a treasure for the kids.

We came up with these DIY Photo Puzzles. We had so much fun gluing them together that we made a few to share with Grandparents and Daddy, as well as a stack for the kids to tinker with.

To make a DIY photo puzzle all you need is:

A photo
craft sticks
your favorite adhesive {we used glue sticks}
A utility knife

This project is so easy to make! All you need to do is:

Lay the picture side of the photo down and add glue to the back liberally.

Line up craft sticks across the back on the glued side of the picture.

Press firmly to allow the glue to bond to the craft sticks.

Flip the photo over

This step should be completed by an adult as utility knives are crazy sharp.

Carefully cut the photo between the sticks, continuing until the photo is cut into strips backed with a craft stick.

Allow the glue to dry.

Mix up the pieces and assemble the photo puzzle.

These are so much fun to give to people and they are a great challenge for my preschooler. My toddler finds them too difficult as of now, so we are going to make a few easier ones from cards we received over the 2015 holidays for her.

If you are looking for a last minute DIY gift idea or just a fun surprise for the kids, this one takes about 5 minutes tops to complete and is sure to bring a smile or two! Best of all, you likely have materials on hand to complete this project making it very frugal!

Taco Pasta Salad

My favorite meals to prepare are the ones that come together quickly, that can be served simply without a lot of fuss, and of course the ones that offer leftovers. My family loves leftovers so I consider myself fortunate! We all love pasta and who doesn't like a great taco? Combining them creates a meal that can be made ahead of time, that can be served without any prep work after a long day, and that will have your family asking for leftovers guaranteed! My favorite thing about this dish is that it is served cold. We have this at least once a month in the summer!

Taco Pasta Salad

Ingredients

1- 16 ounce box of garden rotini cooked al dente and chilled

1 pound of lean ground beef, browned, drained and chilled

1 12 ounce bottle of Catalina Salad Dressing

1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

1 envelope of mild taco seasoning

1/2 cup of black olives

1 cup of cherry tomatoes

1 medium sweet onion, sliced or diced {your preference}

1 bell pepper, sliced or diced

salsa

sour cream

Nacho Cheese Doritos

Directions

Prepare ground beef with taco seasoning, allow to cool to room temperature then chill

Prepare rotini al dente style, allow to come to room temperature

After the first two steps have been completed, combine the pasta and Catalina Salad Dressing.

Mix well until all pasta has been coated. 

Add cheese

Add the taco meat and stir well, evenly distributing the cheese and meat.

Prepare the fresh vegetables, but place them in individual sealable containers or baggies.

When it is time to serve, start with a bed of Doritos, then spoon the pasta mixture over them.

Top with vegetables, salsa and sour cream to your liking.

This makes a generous amount of Taco Pasta Salad. My family of 2 adults and 2 children will usually have this for 3 meals. I love to add lettuce to mine with lots of onions and olives. My husband loves the peppers and tomatoes, so offering the toppings on the side allows us the opportunity to make it to taste with our veggies. The kids are just thrilled to have a meal with chips in it! Ha! To be honest, that appeals to me too sometimes!

Another favorite recipe that we sometimes serve with this Taco Pasta Salad that is light and crowd pleasing is my Veggie Pizza. Again this is a cold serve recipe and I love how we can get even more fresh veggies into our meal in such a yummy way!

S'mores Cookie Recipe

Last week I had the urge to bake. I browsed through my favorite recipes and had that feeling that I have made all of this stuff a hundred times... I promised Roo I would have cookies for him when he came home from school, so I started browsing recipes I hadn't tried before. I stumbled across this recipe for S'mores Cookies and decided to give it a whirl. I am so glad I did!

These cookies are addictive. They are sweet, have gooey spots and are sure to please even the toughest cookie critic!

So yummy I had to sneak a bite before photographing!

Ingredients

1 ½ cup flour
1 ½ cup finely crushed graham crackers
¼ tsp baking powder
½ lb butter
¾ cup brown sugar
¾ cup white sugar
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups chocolate chips
1¼ cup mini marshmallows

Directions

Put marshmallows and 1/2 of the chocolate chips on a plate and set aside.

Cream the butter and sugars until well combined.

Add eggs and vanilla extract and beat well. 

Stir in  half of the chocolate chips.

Add dry ingredients mix until combined.

Drop two ounce cookies onto ungreased baking sheet and bake in 350 degree oven for seven minutes.

Take cookie sheet out of oven and press three marshmallows and three chocolate chips into each cookie.

Return to oven and bake for an additional two minutes or until marshmallows are melty.

Remove from oven and allow to cool.

These S'mores Cookies were a big hit with my family! My son said "Mommy? You made these?" Like he couldn't believe I tried a new cookie recipe! It was so cute!

These are now going into the group of favorite recipes to bake! I know we will whip up another batch of these very soon! They were incredibly easy to make; the hardest part was pressing the marshmallows and chocolate chips into the cookies during the baking process!

What is your favorite kind of cookie to bake? I would love to hear about it!

DIY Sorting Toy {Fine Motor Activity}

One of the things I love about being a mom is that somehow, my kids think I am magical when I come up with a fun way to play out of the blue. No matter how simple the activity, they are always interested and amazed. I know I complain sometimes about how hard parenting is, but you know, the tough moments are so worth it. Little kids are so fun and so sweetly simple in what it takes to get them interested in learning new skills and practicing their existing ones.

One of our favorite upcycled activities was completely simple to create and both of my kids played with it for hours! If you have toddlers or preschoolers in your home, this DIY Sorting Toy is a must make. It offers kids a simple fine motor activity as well as a chance to practice sorting, counting, differentiating between sizes and identifying  colors.

You will need:

a clean an empty egg carton

assorted pom poms {use different colors and sizes for additional sorting challenges}

Tongs or Tweezers for Children 

As you can see all I did was dump a handful of pom poms into a clean and dry egg carton. I laid a pair of rubber tongs for kids down and let Roo explore this option on his own. 

He sorted and sorted! He worked on his fine motor skills, his colors and sorting by size. 

This was an upcycle project that was super easy to put together and that my kids had a lot of fun learning and playing with!

How We Afford the Holidays Without Credit Card Debit

When I talk to my friends and family about the holidays, the subject of budgeting and credit card debit comes up. No one can ever believe me when I tell them we accumulate $0 credit card debit for holidays and I never spend more than $50 on gifts.

I have had people say things like "That is a flat out lie Sara. The gift you gave us last year cost at least $30!"
They always want to know how I can decorate, gift and give without spending more than $50 out of my own pocket. Today I am going to share the low down with you too.

First, being a family that lives on a budget, events such as back to school, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and birthdays are always on my mind! Creative ways to accumulate funds or gifts is a year round project.

I do a variety of things online to add to my kitty.

If I see a great item on clearance I will buy it, but only if I have the extra cash on hand. I don't buy on my debit card or credit card.

At the end of each season I buy the goods I need next year on clearance. I use my stash of gift cards to do this. I buy wrapping paper when it is down to 50 cents a roll or less. Instead of going out and buying decorations, I usually make my own using items that I already have at home. For example, I use Christmas ribbon to decorate not only the tree, but to also add finishing touches to garlands, wreaths, and wrapped gifts. Same with bows, gift tags, bags  etc. Seasonal trinkets are also great to get when they get marked down to 80-90% off. I get stocking stuffers for 20 cents and stash them for the next year. Or I might buy Easter coloring books for 10 cents and stash them too.

Inbox Dollars I spend about 25 minutes a week reading emails, playing games, watching videos and more. I have cashed out several times. It is pretty easy money and you get a $5 sign up just for joining!

I shop Zuilly. I shop here because it is easy to earn credits and they have such super deals. I get really low priced deals here through out the year and add to my "Gift Box".

I use the WalMart Savings Catcher App. I scan each receipt I get from WalMart and accumulate savings on products. I wait to 'cash out' until there is something I need to buy for a holiday.

I have the Shutterfly app, so I watch out for special offers, free prints and more. Photo gifts are always a hit. If you are not using Shutterfly sign up here for FREE Prints!!

I of course watch amazon for deals. I save money on everything! I do tasks on m turk to earn money too. I don't have much time for this, but I would estimate I spend about 30 minutes a week turking and making some spare change on easy tasks.

As a blogger, if I participate in a campaign that pays via a gift card, I save it.

That is how I can afford to celebrate all of the major holidays without dipping into our budget for any extra expenses. I limit us to about $50 for last minute things like batteries.

 How does your family afford the holidays?