PATRIOTIC treat IDEAS - pretzels & PEEPS - No Bake - Chocolate dipped - Red, White & Blue


I went to the dollar store and found these cups and straws....hmmmm what to make???

Btw, 24 straws for $1 is a great deal!!!


Pretzels are always an easy favorite but I think I was being a little lazy.  After dipping these nutter butter cookies I decided to only dip the pretzel half way too.

Chocolate
White chocolate
Candy Melts (Red & Blue)
Sprinkles
Cups
Bags
Ribbon
Parchment paper


Heat chocolate and dip, add sprinkles or drizzle with candy melts.


Bagged and added a ribbon.


Super cute! I ended up making these for the retirement residents for Memorial Day and when we called Bingo. They loved them.


Now what to do with the straws?? I originally thought of doing dipped marshmallows which is another favorite but then I found patriotic peeps!!! 

So excited and they looked cute in the package. I love PEEPS and putting them on a stick would be awesome, right!? NOPE! They looked super creepy.  Maybe dipping them in chocolate would make them cute. NOPE! Didn't help and now they looked like a cross between Hunchback of Notre Dame and the Penguin from Batman.

SEE!!!

Some things work out and some don't. Lol. MOVING ON....

THEN I saw GIANT marshmallows!!! I've made these for a few events lately and people love them!

It's hard to tell from this photo but they are about 2" tall! 
I'll try to post a picture of one next to a regular marshmallow for a size reference.

Giant or regular marshmallows
Candy Melts
Straws
Bags
Ribbon


I usually like to dip the stick in chocolate first and insert BUT these are going stay upside down and bagged. I figured it didn't need the extra support.

Candy Melts 

Heat candy melts and dip. I held the edges of the marshmallows instead of the stick when dipping.

Added sprinkles


Set on parchment paper to dry.

 Did you notice I alternated the color of candy melts opposite the straw!? :) 

I used the same size bags above for the pretzels but I trimmed off about 1 1/2 inches from the top before bagging.


So cute!!


I'll add these little tags and done!





Thank you for stopping by!

Wrapping IDEA - recycling - CUTE gift embellishment with jean pockets! - TUTORIAL




I somehow ripped the inside seam of my jeans........doing WHAT? I don't even remember. I couldn't donate them in that condition. Here are two super cute presents I wrapped to recycled an old pair of jeans.


Make your package or gift stand out by adding a special touch!




I cut around the pockets removing them from the jeans. Then trimmed only the edges to still keep it a functional pocket.

I found some cute items for "stuffers." I had several other ideas but the items need to be thin or it doesn't look good on the present. Candy or Money would be another great idea.

 Here's an easy way to wrap gift cards. Cover cardboard with paper and use double sided tape to attach the card and wrap. Easy!

To keep the pens in place I taped them to a piece of paper to fit in the pocket

I left the little necklace on the holder making it stay in place as well

I attached the pocket to the gift with hot glue. 
The photos show filling the pocket first but I actually attached the pocket first, then filled. Photos were for sizing the items to see if they would look good.

Added a ribbon and FINISHED! Super cute!


I also wrapped this one :)





Thank you for stopping by!

Cool arm CAST TATTOO - Broken bones are no fun but CASTTOO makes it a little better - decorate

So my youngest broke his arm just above his wrist in two places. :( Basketball game block that ended in a break. Both kids went up and both kids came down, BUT the other kids foot came down on my son's arm. OUCH! He even tried to go back in the game but the first pass he caught we knew he was done. He still keeps saying, "I blocked him like a beast and it was all ball!" Me: Oookay {{with my not impressed face}} :)
This was on Sunday morning (1st of two games) so it looked like the emergency room here we come, except my husband found a company called Direct Orthopedic Care. They took x-rays and cast on in a little over an hour. No splint, no missing work the next day for another doctor visit....in and out really fast! They will bill the insurance but since they have you pay up front and you fight the insurance if they don't pay, that's how they keep costs low. Still expensive but just a little less expensive.



Okay, cast is on so lets make this bad situation a little better. I searched for cool ideas or designs and found Casttoo. Seemed pretty easy and inexpensive for something you'll wear for 6 weeks. Ordering was a little tricky. I wasn't sure about size so we went with the small since it was cheaper.

They arrived fast and even sent some cool extras.
I love the skull and crossbones with the broken bone. :)

The size was great and glad we ordered the small.
Troy was super excited and wanted to apply right away!

Cut apart tattoos

You just need a hairdryer to apply

We talked about placement to make sure they would all fit. We ended up not using the giant basketball but used all the rest. Peel, place, and press down tattoo. Heat and press again. DONE!

He thought the hairdryer felt good. We did this for each tattoo individually.

Done in about 15 mins. We even put some on the other side.

Love how they turned out. He was so happy!



ITCHY CAST? or WET CAST?
Cast hack :) I'm sure every doctor would advise against this so my disclaimer is I'm NOT a doctor and I DON'T suggest you try anything we did.

With that said, this started when my son got his cast wet. We bought a rubber arm sleeve but somehow he didn't close the plug. We wanted to soak up as much water as possible and keep something between his skin and the cast to prevent infection. ANYTHING not to replace the cast since it was only on for three days. UGH! In the process we found it not only worked perfectly, but it was a great way to get to itchy spots. One happy boy and one happy Mama that the cast dried. Whew!

I found a t-shirt that was super soft and going to be donated.
Cut t-shirt into strips. I made several not knowing how much they would soak up.

I tried a few things and thought about it for a while and came up with something strong enough, thin enough, and long enough.....zip tie!!

I cut the end off and decided to attach with packing tape. I tried to put most of the tape on one side and that would slide along the inside of the cast and a tiny strip at the end on both sides to help hold the zip tie in place.

We started at one end and gently worked it to the end. Surprisingly this was super easy. It didn't catch on the inside padding.

Then we pulled the zip tie until the tape end was close enough to tuck the edges under the padding and gently pulled.

 I did it slowly not to hurt him since the cast is on sooooo tight. Worked perfect.

Remove tape 


You should have material sticking out of both sides of the cast

Now just grab both ends and pull once side a little and pull the other side. It's a back and forth motion.

 His face was instant relief. Remember, he just got it wet and we were trying to dry it as well. 

I trimmed the edges and tucked the ends inside the edge of the cast so you couldn't see the material. PLUS he wanted me to hide the HEARTS. Lol! It was a t-shirt going to be donate and it was super super soft. 
 I made two, one for the top of his arm and one for the bottom of his arm. We left it over night and removed in the morning. It was damp so we made two more. The next two we ended up moving back and forth when he had an itch and it was dry when we took it out.

It was a great alternative to him wanting to stick stuff in his cast to itch every hour. :)




Thank you for stopping by!