Label More - Lose Less

I've been on a Back-To-School kick lately and the only explanation is that each year, I somehow get behind on supply shopping and have to start rushing once the 1st day of school begins to creep closer! I hate it! The couple weeks before school is the worse time to be in a store!! You get the bottom of the barrel choices and the isles are always crammed with other parents who are rushing as well! So this year I've decided to start early! I'm sure that somehow or another, I'll end up rushing to get something I forgot but I'll deal with that situation when the time comes.
--- At the moment, I would like to switch over to Labeling! ---

It starts in Preschool and carries on deep into Adulthood. People tend to lose things often and when you spend your hard earned money on for example - "The Perfect Back-To-School Lunch Box", the last thing you want to hear a week later is that your son left it on the bus. Or when your daughter misplaces her favorite Faerie Princess nap towel at school and you suddenly start to wonder if her name is still written on the tag, since you hadn't checked since the beginning of the year!

It happens! Even grown-ups lose stuff every now and then... not to mention the need to make sure those sneaky co-workers will know who's lunch NOT to eat :)

My point is.... Labeling is a MUST these days!

When it comes to Back To School, I'd like to help...

Mabel's Labels has a deal going on right now with their Ultimate Back To School Combo Pack which has over 100 Personalized Labels! They come in different sizes so they'll fit on just about anything! Clothes, Books, Backpacks & Lunch Boxes, nap towels and anything else you don't want lost. You'll save $3 as well as receiving a coupon for $5 off of a really cool looking Laptop Lunches Bento Box (while supplies last) when you buy the Ultimate Back To School Combo Pack.

Even though school is over a month away.... You know the saying "The early bird gets the worm", right?This deal won't be around for very long since it ends on July 31!!!
Snag your labels now and lose less later :)

OooOOooOH I almost forgot!! Mabel's Labels has recently decided to offer FREE SHIPPING to the US!!

(No minimum purchase required <- my favorite part!)

To Shop or Visit Mabel's Labels - Click the banner or link above.

This post contains affiliate links

Three Lollies - Natural Nausea Products

Just thinking about Nausea makes my belly hurt! Ugh! :(

If you've ever been pregnant, or maybe your pregnant now, you may have dealt with what many call "Morning Sickness". Being nauseated is not pretty and most of the time you don't want to do anything but lay still.

You don't have to be pregnant to get nauseated! Travel, Sickness and many other  thiongs can cause you to feel a bit of nausea. There are lots of treatments available in stores but not all of them have been known to work every time.

Since I've been trying to be more "green" and natural, I've been working with a few brands work to make wonderful products that are better for us as well as our planet. It makes me feel good to know that I'm not only bringing healthy products into my home for my family but I'm able to introduce those products to all my loyal followers and their families as well! That's where Three Lollies comes in play.

This post is sponsored by US Family Guide and Three Lollies

Three Lollies makes natural products for nausea associated with morning sickness, travel, sickness, cancer treatment and all other types of nausea. Their products are drug-free and doctor recommended.

Save 20% Off Any Order at Three Lollies, Natural Nausea Products

- Limited Time Promotion -

Let Three Lollies help Cure your Nausea!

The Perfect Back to School Lunch Box

My daughters will be going into the 1st and 2nd grade in the upcoming school year and I believe I've lost my mind! Where has the time gone? 

Even though we've still got a month or so before it's time for Back-to-school, I've already started looking around for some of the things that they may need. For example - A lunch box

My girls LOVE bringing their own lunch to school, mainly because they think it's cool but another reason is due to my youngest daughter's Strawberry Milk Addiction... meaning that if she can't put strawberry flavoring into her milk, then she ain't drinking it! She's somewhat of a picky child but it comes to her honestly because I am pretty picky myself!

Anyways -- Last school year, Jade and Loran had about 2 or 3 different lunch boxes throughout the year and we seemed to loose them right before one of the kids asked to pack a lunch. It could get very frustrating at times. So this year I wanted to see what else was available to us for packing lunches. I've  never though about looking online for my daughters' lunch box before, I've been missing out!

What I found was a lunch box that you store in the freezer and when in use, it will keep the food cold for up to 10 hours!!! It's called the PackIt and I've never seen anything like this little bag, until now! There is a video on the PackIt website that explains it better than I will but what I can tell you is that these lunch boxes fold up flat to help with space in the freezer and stay cold enough for me to send some Strawberry Milk to school with Jade!!! She's going to be so excited!! Loran will to because no one enjoys soggy fruit.

I haven't bought any yet but as soon as my daughters get home from their memaws house, I'm planning on making an order!

This is the best time to buy the PackIts because they are having a BOGO sale!!!!

Buy One and Get One FREE!!!!!

I'm not sure how long the sale will last so you may want to hurry!

No parent should miss out on this Must-Have Back-To-School Lunch Box!!

Learn more about the PackIt Lunch box by clicking the banners or link above.

Here is a photo of my daughters and their school mascot... The BobCat!

This post contains affiliate links

Dirt Broke Gourmet - Land Crab Salad

**Hip Hip Hooray for Dirt Broke Gourmet!**
haha that rhymes.. it made me giggle :-D 

A month or so ago, I won an awesome giveaway on the Dirt Broke Gourmet Facebook page and ended up winning 5 unique Dip Mixes of my choice! I ran across Dirt Broke Gourmet when I saw a random notification in my Facebook newsfeed from where someone had liked their photo. I noticed the page name "Dirt Broke Gourmet" and then once I saw the profile picture, I had to go see what this page was all about. To understand what caught my eye... Glance up at the little crazy man with his pockets turned out, in the drawing above... Lets just say that - I was curious. I ended up really enjoying what I found and was quiet surprised. (Explained below) I even entered a few giveaways that they were having and never expected to win but was super excited when I did!!
The rest of the story..... Is your reading material for today,
Enjoy!

(Names Listed Below
Starts at left-top
Ends at right-bottom)

The Mixes that I chose were:

• That Dip
• Land Crab
• Fully Loaded Potato Dip
• Hey Whitey
• She's Got Crabs

Yes I know the flavor names are a bit odd but I love it!! Makes things unique and adds some new interest to what could of been a lame named mix!
Dirt Broke Gourmet is no where near lame.... Their pretty awesome!

I'll explain...

If you've never heard of Dirt Broke Gourmet then I strongly suggest that you check them out soon! They sale all kinds of mixes for just about everything, including -- Cheesecake, Dips, Drinks, Breads, Cookies, Pickler Kits, Main and Side Dishes, Popcorn Seasonings and SOOOOOOOOO much more!!! Dirt Broke Gourmet has so many options to chose from that I can't type them all up! Their prices are extremely cheap.... hence the name - Dirt Broke. Not to mention that their highest shipping charge is only $11!!!!

To tell you a little more about them, I've copied some wording that I found on their website:

"Welcome to Dirt Broke Gourmet! How Dirt Broke Gourmet started was 14 years ago when we did farmers’ markets, as a family of 4 I could only can and freeze so much of the left over market veggies. So the first dip was born! We would take our left over market veggies dry them add some other spices. Our first dip was radish dip. We would make these dips and when someone would buy some veggies they would get a free dip! This went over very well! Then in 2007 we lost our farm to a foreclosure. We lost everything we had! At the end of 2007 our market customers came to us and told us we should market our dips! They liked them that much! So then Dirt Broke Gourmet was born! We figured there was only one name for it! And with a name of Dirt Broke we keep our prices so everyone can  enjoy a treat! A couple of years after us selling our dips one of our customers came to us and wanted to start selling our products! So then the Dirt broke Gourmet consultants were born! And today we have consultants in many states. And more states adding daily. At Dirt Broke Gourmet we have fun no matter where we are, a Dirt Broke Party, craft show, or even our Dirt Broke meetings! Come and join our team today!

Thanks for reading our story God Bless!"

--Dave & April Nicholson & Boys

(Source for Content)

You can view all products from Dirt Broke Gourmet at: www.dirtbrokegourmet.com

I decided to try the "Land Crab Mix" first. "Land Crab" is Chicken, if you didn't already figure that out. (I love the odd names, it makes things fun!)

The regular directions for the "Land Crab" Dip are printed on the back label (in photo above) but I wanted to try something different. Since I'm a HUGE chicken fan and have turned both of my daughters into chicken fans as well, I decided to mix a little of the Dip Mix into some shredded chicken!

* Dirt Broke - Land Crab Salad *

• I started by opening up and draining a can of shredded chicken and put it into a medium sized bowl.
• I then poured a small amount of "Land Crab" Mix into the chicken as well as a small amount of mayonnaise. (It all depends on how thick or creamy you like it) I didn't add alot of both ingredients - I wanted to save some dip mix for a later food project.
• I then mixed it all together and added the chicken mix to some bread and made us a few Land Crab Sandwiches!

It was a wonderful, quick lunch for my daughters and I since my fiance was working all night. You could taste many flavors and even catch a crunch of - what I thought of as - either Onion or Garlic. I loved it and went back for more, my daughters ate seconds too!!  We ended up all eating one sandwich and then had a bit of the chicken mix by itself as well.... It tasted great either way and was gone before we knew it! I can't wait to make some more soon!

We call it our "Dirt Broke - Land Crab Salad!"

(It's our quick and cheap version since we didn't add any extras.)

We haven't tried the other mixes yet but I'm sure we'll figure out a way to use those in a different way as well!!! I wonder how delicious those will be!? I'm looking forward to finding some NON-SPICY crab meat so I can try our "She's Got Crabs" Dip Mix! YUM! If you've never tried any of Dirt Broke Gourmet's awesome dips and mixes, then I personally suggest you to check out their site or facebook page and be amazed!! I've never seen or heard of a similar brand like Dirt Broke and I'm super glad that I randomly ran across them! The names may catch you by surprise but that's what makes them stand out!
Their Unique!

Don't forget their motto...

"When Life Sucks - Just Dip It!"

Have you ever heard of Dirt Broke Gourmet before now?
and
What's your opinion of the choices made by Dirt Broke Gourmet for Flavor Names?
It's a question that's screaming to be asked! :)

Make sure you visit Dirt Broke Gourmet on Facebook!!

They have all kinds of fun things going on!

Tell them Autumn from My Kind Of Introduction sent you!!

(@The Realm Of Freebies, Deals and Fun - On Facebook)

This is not a sponsored post. I won the mentioned products fair and square and personally decided to brag to all my friends (aka my readers/followers) about how cool I believe Dirt Broke Gourmet is.

All opinions are my own at My Kind Of Introduction.

B2C Jewels Unveils the Diamond Blueprint

B2C Jewels Unveils the Diamond Blueprint

B2C Jewels announces the Diamond Blueprint, an innovative new feature to its website that has the potential to revolutionize the way consumers shop for diamonds online.

Many online jewelers offer lab certified diamonds. Some may even provide a digital image. B2C Jewels takes the concept of diamond information as a sales tool further than any other online jeweler by offering the new Diamond Blueprint. The Diamond Blueprint includes independent lab certification, a detailed diagram of the diamond's proportions, a "hearts and arrows" image to demonstrate symmetry, spectral images so customers can determine a diamond's light play and optical performance, as well as a high resolution digital photograph of the actual diamond that reveals microscopic clarity characteristics.
Leveraging their position as diamond manufacturers and wholesalers, B2C Jewels employs a cache of sophisticated gemological services including lab certificates, Ideal-Scope and ASET imagery, and more to paint a complete picture of an individual diamond for the consumer to peruse prior to purchasing.

In the initial launch, many diamonds available for purchase on the B2C Jewels website will be accompanied by a Diamond Blueprint. In the weeks to follow, this service will grow to include detailed Diamond Blueprints for thousands of individual diamonds. Learn more...

Almondina Biscuits - The Healthy Guilt-Free Gourmet Cookie

Almondina - The Gourmet Cookie without the Guilt
 

Snacks are a big deal in my house. My daughters are ages 6 and 7 and are always on the go! Running in and out of the house, through the neighborhood, playing and simply being kids. All that playing can wear a kid out and what better to boost your energy than with food! Other than Lunch and Supper, I try not to make my girls food that's going to upset their tummies if they decide they want to go play some more right after their finished eating. Snack food ends up being our main go to area during these moments in the day. After a while, I've realized that most of the snacks that my kids eat are full of sugar and don't do much good for them except tame their hunger a bit and give them a 20 minutes "Sugar High" which makes the girls crash once all that sugar wears off... that's never a good thing!

So when I received an email from an Almondina contact asking if I would be interested in trying out a sample pack of their biscuit cookies, in return for my thoughts and opinions, I wasn't about to say no and miss the chance to possibly discover a new delicious snack for my little girls. So, I quickly agreed and begin to wait for the package to arrive at my door. In less that 2 weeks, I was holding a box containing lots of Almondina Cookies in a variety of flavors!

In the box, I received the following flavors:

Choconut

• Almondina Original
• Choconut
• Cinnaroma
• Sesame
• Chocolate Cherry
• GingerSpice

Some of the other flavor options available are:

• AlmonDuo
• AnniversaryT
• BranTreats - Cookies For Breakfast
• Seasonal Pumpkin Spice (Seasonal)
• Chocolate Dipped Original
• Delights
• Yougurt Dipped-Brantreats

We received one tray per flavor except for the original which we got 2 trays of. Before I had a chance to look at all the flavors, Loran and Jade had already started snatching up a couple cookie trays and were on their way outside to try out their new snack!

- What are Almondina Cookies? -

Let me explain...

-- Almondina is an all-natural, crispy almond cookie that has no cholesterol, no added fat or salt or preservatives and has only 30 calories!

Original Flavor

-- Once a world renown musical conductor, Yuval Zaliouk has been the owner of Almondina for the past 20 years, with his company based in Ohio.

-- Zaliouk's Almondina Cookies are created with love using the a special recipe that originally came from his Grandmother Dina.
-- These cookies are now sold in all 50 States as well as in several foreign countries too.
-- Almondina is All Natural, Healthful, Versatile, Crunchy, Addictive and come in Several different flavors!

Since my girls had already grabbed a pack of cookies a piece, I headed their way to steal a taste for myself. Loran had the Choconut while Jade was eating the Original flavor.  I had the girls give me a cookie from each pack and I since I'd never ate anything like Almondina biscuits before, I wasn't sure what to expect. Was is going to taste like hard bread? Since it's name has the word Almond in it, Were the cookies going to have a strong nutty taste? I wasn't sure, until I took a bite....
To my surprise, both flavors tasted great. Their sweet, crunchy and taste nothing like bread. Between Choconut and Original - My favorite was the Choconut, Jade was convinced that they tasted like coffee but I believe her 6yr old taste-buds were playing tricks on her since everyone else was loving the chocolaty taste. My fiance was at work when the Almondina Cookies arrived but he has just as much as a snack addiction as our girls do, so I knew he would be trying them out soon. 

Throughout the next couple days, I personally, ended up trying 4 out of the 6 cookie flavors that we received. The Cinnaroma and GingerSpice cookies disappeared -- My daughters ate the whole tray of both packs without me knowing so I missed out on those but since Loran and Jade ate every last Cinnaroma and GingerSpice cookie, they had to of tasted pretty great or I would of found the cookies later, just sitting alone wherever the girls were when they decided they didn't like them... All I found was empty packs laying on their bed, not even a crumb! When it came to the Almondina Sesame and Chocolate Cherry cookies - The unique flavor of the Sesame, quickly hooked Jade and I, they're definitely both of our favorites! I wasn't sure how the Sesame flavor - added to a crunchy, bread-like surface - could taste any where near sweet enough to be labeled a cookie. Who doesn't think of a Sesame Seed bun when you see the word Sesame? Once I took my first bite of the Sesame Cookie, the exotic flavor with a touch of sweetness over took my mouth and I swear that I felt my taste-buds do a little dance! Jade has been eating on the Sesame Cookies for a few days now, I've come to realize that she may be stretching the last few out to reach more than just one day, she's a silly but smart little girl so I believe she may be on to something good!
My daughters aka "The Dancing Diva's", made their own video reviews of how they felt about Almondina Cookies. Jade and Loran's video's are below:

Jade

Loran

Once Alan was finally able to try the Almondina cookies he headed for the Chocolate Cherry! I had already ate a couple of them as well as giving a few cookies to a friend who wanted a taste. The chocolaty flavor was mixed with not only the real cherry taste but I'm pretty sure I saw and tasted big chunks of REAL cherries as well!! They were "out-of-this-world" delicious!! Where else can you find a chocolate crunch and a real cherry squish in one cookie? (I'm not talking about the fake fruity squish, these were REAL Fresh cherry squish bits!) Before I realized it, Alan had eaten the rest of the Chocolate Cherry cookies in a matter in minutes! His response when I asked him what he thought, was..... "Those were bangin'!" Translation -- "Those were awesome!" Which surprised me since he was eating the Chocolate ones, Alan don't eat alot of food with chocolate flavoring because he says it's too sweet, but apparently the Almondina Chocolate Cherry Biscuit Cookies had just the right about of chocolate that the sweetness didn't take over and it didn't hurt one bit that my fiance just happens to loves cherries!
--The Almonds were visible in every cookie but the taste never overpowered the other flavors, which made me extremely happy! I couldn't of chosen a better healthy cookie to give to my little girls. Not only are they super delicious but the health factors truly blow my mind!

Almondina Biscuit Cookies are:

• All Natural
• Free of Cholesterol, Coloring and Preservatives 
• Kosher and Pareve (no dairy)
• No added Fat or Salt
• Perfect side to pair with Tea, Coffee or even a glass of wine
• Can be used as a Cracker with Cream Cheese, Chocolate Spreads, etc
• Crumbled as an Ice Cream Topping!
• Milk and Cookies for the kids!
• Would also make a wonderful little breakfast on the go!

Don't Almondina Cookies sound delicious? -- My daughters sure thought so!! Points to Mommy for saying YES to Almondina Biscuit Cookies!!

Guess what else found out.......

You can not only order these yummy gourmet cookies online but in many stores as well!! The Almondina Brand can be found in stores such as - Walmart, TJ Maxx, MarshallsPublix, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Giant Eagle, Mollie Stone's, Hannaford, Jewel, The Fresh Market, Fairway, Cost Plus World Market, Publix, Trader Joe's and so many more!

View Almondina's complete distribution on their site.

(Under the Store Finder Tab) 

One of my favorite parts about the Almondina Brand - other than their cookies - Is the story behind the cookies... Grandmother Dina!

Even though she was very generous about sharing her recipes with family.... She waited until the very end to release the Family favorite.... Read the whole story to understand why I enjoyed it so much! (The story is not very long but is extremely interesting and touching)

You can also hear the story of the Yuval Zaliouk - Owner of Almondina

To Purchase and/or learn more about Almondina Biscuits Cookies: Visit their website. You can also find Almondina on Facebook and Twitter

Keep an eye out for a #Giveaway soon!!

Be on the look out for the Almondina Giveaway around Friday, June 28!

(Giveaway expired)

Disclaimer: I received the product(s) mentioned above, complimentary from the sponsor in return for my honest thoughts and opinions. All opinions are all my own and may differ from your own. Even though some sort of compensation may have been received, I only write about products that I have personally used and/or believe my readers will enjoy or benefit from. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

This blog may also contain affiliate links

See Full Disclosure for further details.

Windbag Flight & Market Giveaway

Enter to win in the
Windbag Flight & Market Giveaway!

To Enter:
Click the photo below
You will be taken to a Facebook Page
Fill out the small form
Hit Submit

Your done!!

ENTER NOW!!!!

This post contains affiliate links

Comparing Life - 2 Years later

"Life never claimed to be easy but I never though it would be as hard as it's been."

Excuse my spelling.... I never once claimed to be a great speller because I knew better :-)

While cleaning up my house a couple days ago, I ran across a couple index cards from 2011, in an old pocketbook. I always end up leaving things inside my pocketbooks when it's time to switch to a new one so I didn't think much about these cards until I flipped them over and read what had been written on them....

I was quite surprised, to say the least!

Let me explain -- In 2011, my fiance and I had found ourselves falling on some pretty tough times. Our family was without a stable home for quite a few months. We had been living with some friends who were kind enough to let our little family move in but the situation was nowhere near perfect. For a few months, things were great. Besides the fact that the home we were staying in was a 3 bedroom trailer deep into Waynesville NC while Alan's job was in Asheville, not a drastically long distance apart but it was about a 30 minute drive to and from the job and home. Another downfall about our living quarters was the amount of people living in the home along with the amount of space and privacy. I failed to mention that between both families who were living in this trailer... It started out as 4 adults and 5-6 kids (One boy only came over on the weekends) but after a court case, 2 more kids moved in full time- bringing the total amount of people to 11-12!! At that time, the kids ranged from the age of 8 being the oldest and age 2 being the youngest! I know your probably wondering how we handled the situation but like I said - The first few months was great. One of the kids that we moved in with just happened to be my fiance's son... Yes you guessed it... We were living with my fiance's ex-wife, her husband and their 3 kids (4 on the weekend), and one of those kids was also ours, MJ... As we say "We share him". All the kids knew and liked each other and surprisingly enough... Not only was I extremely close to Dawn but Alan also considered his youngest son's step-father as one of his best-friends. 

Living with 8 kids can be tough sometimes but we figured out a routine pretty quickly!

After a few months, attitudes started clashing and I was over the large amount of kids the not so much privacy time. As the time went on, my attitude started clashing with CM's attitude (Dawn's husband). We were too much alike and it got to the point that I could no longer live in the house with that many people anymore. So we left and stayed at my mama's for a bit.... Until her landlord had other plans.

We ended up renting a room in a Weekly Rent - Vacation Hotel type place where we would pay weekly and had our own area. It wasn't an actual hotel, I always called it the Hotel Apartment and even though it was pretty pricey .. We wasn't living with another family, but we did all have to share one living space, but that didn't bother us too much. It was quiet, nice and Alan's job was not even 5 minutes down the road and stores were close by. I lost 2 very important people while living at the Hotel Apartment and if it wasn't for them... We wouldn't of been able to stay in our room for as long as we had...... After dealing with the pain and loss of 2 important people, we knew things had to change. We had just celebrated both of our daughters' birthday's in that room and according to the date on one of the index cards, I wrote them just hours before Pops passed away and his wife was just days later. (Moms passed away the morning after we laid her husband in the ground.. She couldn't live without him) They were our best-friend's mom and step-dad and losing them both just days apart was a complete surprise and a bit of a wake up call. I didn't want my daughters to continue living that way. Loran was scheduled to start Kindergarten during the following August and I wanted a home before then. And even though one of the cards is labeled as my New Years Resolution, I know for a fact that I didn't write it in January because I never owned those Post-It Sticky Index Cards until we was at the Hotel Apartment, which was during May and June of 2011.

Photo's taken from in and around the "Hotel Apartment" during June '11

Near the end of July, we finally were able to rent our own home and live normally again! It took us a while but we did it. Yes we still have our struggles, that will never change, but knowing how much my family has overcome through our years together... I'm happy to say that we stand strong even on days when we can't help but break down.
We've lived in the home where we are now since July of 2011 and as you know - It's the month of June in 2013. Two years later and I find those cards just days from when they were written. A part of me is sad when I think about those moments in time where I was nowhere happy with how my life had turned out. And even though my life today is not exactly how I want it to be... we're happier, and on our own again! That's the main thing, I'm not a "Live with people" type of girl and don't plan on having to put my family through something that crazy again. (That living arrangement with friends was not the 1st time)



While our life now don't match my dreams exactly to what I wanted for our family...but it's not far off:

We have a place to live in that we can call home, I'm not selling my own items like I wanted. (I'm a crafty person and use to make all kinds of things including kids pillows, purses and others) But I do run this blog and to me... It's pretty much the same except I'm not selling my products, I'm still making a bit of money and get to express myself however I like.

We don't have alot of extra money to spare, there's no Beach Vacation in our near future, but we are able to stand on our feet and pay the bills on time... for the most part atleast :-)

And we're happy, not jumping for joy like winning the lottery but we have the things we need and that's good enough for us. Our daughters are happy and go to the same school that I grew up in and I couldn't be happier about it!

Life is good and I hope it gets nothing but better.
My little family - with 2 daughters, fiance and myself - mean everything to me and aslong as we have each other then we have all we need in life.

Learn Fine Art Techniques Today

Are you an Aspiring Artist?

Have you always wanted to learn Fine Art techniques but didn't know where to start, don't have the time or can't afford the Art Classes that are taught near you?

Craftsy just announced that they are ready to release their NEW Fine Art Classes where your able to learn from world-class art instructors who are ready to teach you professional techiques to elevate your art, regardless of your skill level or preferred medis. From Portraits to Landscapes, Watercolors to Acrylics, these top-notch classes allow you to learn on your own time and the prices are extremely reasonable!

Check out the 6 new Fine Art Classes at Craftsy:

• Craftsy Perspective in Landscape Drawing (Patrick Connors)
• Craftsy Acrylic Landscape Painting (Bennett Vadnais)
• Craftsy Portraits in Watercolor (Matt Rota)
• Craftsy Narrative Portraiture: Painting in Acrylic (Micah Ganske)
• Craftsy Drawn to Painting (Rob Zeller)
• Craftsy Master Palettes: Exploring Color Mixing (Scott Gellatly)

Visit Craftsy today and make Fine Art that you'll be proud of!

6 Summer Water Activities for #Kids

Yesterday was the first official day of Summer!

The weather is nice and hot which means it's time to pull out those bathing suits and have some water fun! I've gathered up 6 great Summer Water Activities for Kids that are sure to cool them off in no time... All while having tons of wonderful fun!

Enjoy the water this #Summer and get Creative!!

View the original Activity Posts on their hosts sites using the title link above each project.

Water Balloon Pinata -- Scrap Happy Heather

Photo and Idea from Scrap Happy Heather 

Looking for a some cooling down fun but don't have a pool or slip n' slide? Fill up lots of balloons with water and hang them up in a place where they can become Water Balloon Pinata's!!!! What a better way to spend a hot day with water balloons without the worry of you or your child getting hit too hard with a fast flying balloon! (Everyone's had a round red circle place from a water balloon hit... It can get painful!)

All you need is -- Balloons, Yarn/String, Water, Hard stick or bat and WATER!!!

View full Project details using the Title Link above

DIY Water Wall -- Tinker Lab

Photo and Idea from Tinker Lab

No need to spend all that money on a water table this summer when you can make your own water wall from plastic soda bottles! DIY Projects are not only cost effecient but teach kids how to reuse unused items or "trash" as Creative DIY Fun

Supplies Needed:

• A Wooden wall or fence to attach water feature to
• 5 or 6 Plastic Soda Bottles
• Screws and Drill
• Exacto knife (or something similar to cut holes in bottles)
• Neat by water source

View full Project details using the Title Link above

Colored Water Tic-Tac-Toe -- Blog Me Mom

Photo and Idea from Blog Me Mom

Every one has played the age old game of tic-tac-toe but now that it's Summer time, it's time to mix things up a bit.... With water of course! Using food coloring and water you can being a whole new experience to playing Tic-tac-toe by taking it outside. --This would also make a great Color teaching activity to teach mixing colors to the younger kids!

Supplies Needed:

• 9 Clear cups (so you can see the colors)
• 3 squeeze bottles/Cups for Gameplay
• 3 Cups to hold extra colored water
• Food Coloring (Primary Colors work best -- Red, Yellow and Blue)
• Water

View full Project details using the Title Link above

Ice Jewelry -- Blog Me Mom

Photo and Idea from Blog Me Mom

Try adding some tasty style to your Summer play with Ice Jewelry! You can simply use water and food coloring but I believe using the Popsicle's that come in liquid form, is a wayy better idea! Kool-Aid would work as well! --Make sure your kids aren't wearing anything that can't get stained since the melting ice may stain.

Supplies Needed:

• 1 or 2 Ice Cube Trays - Regular trays work fine - Shapes are more fun
• Thread/String
• Popcicle Liquid

View full Project details using the Title Link above

Ice Boats -- Reading Confetti

Photo and Idea from Reading Confetti

Ice seems to have many fun options of creating fun. These adorable Ice Boats are sure to be tons of fun for not only the boys but the girls too! You can even make a DIY tin foil river to give your boats a path to take! Doesn't it sound exciting!! Instead of the river you could use a bucket, water table or other large container to hold water for the Ice Boat to float around in. The boats are made the same way that Kool-Aid Popsicle's are but with a toothpick or small twig stuck into the tops.

Supplies Needed:

• Ice Cube Trays
• Toothpicks or small twigs/sticks
• Scrap paper for boat sail
• Tin Foil (Optional but fun - Cheep Dollar Store Brand works fine)
• Water Hose and Hook-up

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Water Blob -- We Made That

Photo and Idea from We Made That

The water blob reminds me so much of an under-filled water-bed mattress and looks like it just may be the coolest water activity that I've found yet! Using just a few supplies to make, the Water Blob can be an all day of fun! Add squishy bath toys and glitter to the center of the blob before sealing it and have a search game as well as the top play fun!

Supplies Needed:

• Plastic Sheeting (about 15x25ft)
• Duct Tape
• Food Coloring (Blue is suggested but any color can be used)
• Glitter
• Plastic Squish Bath Toys
• Water

View full Project details using the Title Link above

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