• Make this adorable coffee sleve
    Blog,  Crafts,  DIY Tutorials,  Gifts

    DIY Reusable Coffee Sleeve Tutorial

    Last spring when I was in Hawaii, I frequented the Coffee Gallery on the North Shore of Oahu. Yummy good coffee can be found at the Coffee Gallery and I would highly recommend giving them a try if you are ever in the area. Anyhoo…as a souvenier I purchased a handmade reusable coffee sleeve made from the burlap bags the roasted coffee beans come in. Originally my idea was to try and replicate this sleeve using regular burlap, but when I tried it was an epic failure. The burlap bags the coffee came in were a much tighter weave and didn’t fray as easily, so now I am on the…

  • Survival Kit
    Crafts,  DIY Tutorials,  Gifts

    Finals Week Survival Kit

    Grab the coffee and snacks and get ready to hit the books…it’s finals week!! For high school and college students, there isn’t a more stress-filled week (academically) than finals week. Studying for hours on end, cramming as much information into your tired brain as possible. This week is finals week at our house…the very first of many to come. To ease the pressure just a teeny, tiny bit I put together these Finals Week Survival Kits for my daughter and a few of her close friends. Included in the Survival Kit are Starbucks Frappuccino drinks, Starbucks cookies, coffee flavored candies, sticky notes, new pens and Smartfood cheesy popcorn —get it…SMARTfood!…

  • Birthday,  Celebrations,  Crafts,  Dessert,  DIY Tutorials,  Money Saving Tips

    How to Make a Custom Cookie Cutter

    As I was planning for my son’s Pi themed party, I figured I’d be able to track down a Pi shaped cookie cutter with out too much trouble. (Doesn’t everyone have a need for such a cookie cutter?) I did my usual Google searching and came across a really nice copper cookie cutter on Amazon, but at $23, it was priced higher than I wanted to spend. (Edited to add: I have since seen them on Etsy for under $5, but that wasn’t the case while I was planning the party.) After my online search came to a halt, I called around to some local stores who typically carry unique…

  • Birthday,  Celebrations,  Crafts

    Lego Party Round-Up

    If you have young boys (or even older boys), then it’s very likely that their life revolves around LEGO creations like ours does. I love it and encourage the creativity that LEGOs provide. Both my boys play with them almost exclusively, so it was no surprise when they came to me requesting a LEGO themed birthday party. Even though they are two years apart they wanted the same party! Excellent!! Less work for me. I decided to have 2 parties on different days to keep the party day chaos to a minimum and it worked out great! In all the years of throwing parties, I don’t think I’ve ever purchased…