Getting Ready for Hurricane Season

We live on the East Coast of the United States, which means that we occasionally have a hurricane or tropical storm pass through. Every year about this time, we do a few things to get ready in case we lose power for several days. 

I recently read about a relatively new product that we've added to our hurricane readiness supplies: rechargeable light bulbs. 

It's a brilliant idea: these LED light bulbs look and function like any other light bulb, but they have a rechargeable battery inside plus an on/off switch on the side. The base fits into a regular socket. When installed into a lamp or wall socket and the lamp is turned on, the battery in the bulb is charged. If the power goes out, simply turn the switch on the side of the bulb to ON and Voila! You have light. 

Even better - remove the bulb from the socket and carry it around with you like a flashlight. We haven't used them for an outage yet, but each charge should give you up to 5 hours of continuous use when you need it. 

I'm not just excited about these bulbs for our own use, I'm planning to give them as holiday gifts this year. They're perfect for the grandparents and uncles that already have everything!

Illuminate Your Space and Stay Prepared with GE Rechargeable Emergency Light Bulbs

In the modern world, lighting serves not only as a functional necessity but also as an essential element of our living spaces. We rely on lighting to set the mood, create ambiance, and keep our surroundings bright and inviting. However, what happens when the power suddenly goes out, plunging us into darkness? That's where the GE Rechargeable Emergency Light Bulbs step in, offering a seamless blend of style, practicality, and preparedness.

Introducing the GE Rechargeable Emergency Light Bulbs

GE, a name synonymous with quality and innovation, presents a groundbreaking solution for those unexpected moments – the Rechargeable Emergency Light Bulbs. These bulbs are not your ordinary lighting fixtures; they are designed to ensure you never find yourself stumbling in the dark during power outages. Let's explore what makes these bulbs a game-changer for your home:

1. Continuous Illumination During Power Outages

The GE Rechargeable Emergency Light Bulbs are equipped with built-in batteries that automatically activate when the power goes out. This means that even in the midst of an outage, you'll have a reliable source of light to guide your way, preventing accidents and providing a sense of security.

2. Versatility at Your Fingertips

Beyond their primary function, these bulbs offer versatility like no other. Need a flashlight to navigate through your home? Simply detach the bulb from its fixture, and it transforms into a powerful handheld light. Whether it's searching for candles, checking on your loved ones, or just finding your way to the circuit breaker, the GE Rechargeable Emergency Light Bulbs have you covered.

3. Easy Charging and Usage

Charging these bulbs is as easy as screwing them into a standard light socket. You don't need any special equipment – just the fixtures you already have in your home. This simplicity ensures that your emergency lighting is always ready for action, without the need for extra cords or accessories.

4. Balancing Functionality and Aesthetics

One concern with emergency lighting is its appearance. We all want our homes to look beautiful and inviting, and bulky emergency solutions can disrupt that. However, these GE light bulbs seamlessly blend into your existing fixtures, offering the warm, comfortable glow you love while also providing a crucial safety feature.

Elevate Your Space and Your Preparedness

In a world where unexpected events can catch us off guard, having a reliable backup plan is essential. The GE Rechargeable Emergency Light Bulbs are not just light fixtures; they are a testament to innovation meeting everyday needs. With their ability to provide continuous illumination during power outages, versatile usage, and easy charging, they seamlessly enhance your living space while keeping you prepared for any situation.

Illuminate your space with style and stay prepared with the GE Rechargeable Emergency Light Bulbs. Experience the perfect blend of functionality and design – your future self will thank you when the lights unexpectedly go out.

Buy a pack for you or your loved ones today!

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A Quick and Easy Father (or Grandfather) Gift

I always struggle with gifts for my husband, father, and father-in-law. Men are usually just harder to buy for: they already have everything they need, and when they need something, they just go buy it. All the men in my life do appreciate it when my daughter makes them something, though, so I always try to find something cute that she can do herself (with maybe just a little help from me).

In the past, we have made a hand print tree, battery gardens and hand / foot print tees, and filled out the "All About my Granddaddy" page. This year, my daughter made my father tee shirt with his "picture" on it, and it turned out really nice! This would also make a great gift for a Grandma, mother, teacher, or anyone in your child's life!

What You'll Need:

- Fabric paint (I used Scribbles. It looks and works great and they last forever!)
- Plain t-shirt (pre-washed)
- Chalk
- Cardboard or newspaper

First, place the cardboard or newspaper inside the shirt. This will prevent the paint from soaking through to the back.

Spread the t-shirt flat, then give your child the chalk, and let him or her draw a picture of the recipient.

It doesn't have to be perfect - my daughter got frustrated because the chalk kept "skipping" on the fabric. I explained to her that we'd smooth it all out with the paint, and the chalk would wash away so it wouldn't really matter in the long run. Also, the chalk is great because you can just rub away any errors and re-do them until it looks they way they want it to look!

Once the picture is finished, I asked my daughter to write "Granddaddy" underneath, but obviously, your child can write anything he or she would like! I also think it would be cute to have a picture of "Ganddaddy and me", but my daughter just wanted to draw her Granddaddy.

Next, you can paint over the chalk with the fabric paint. Older kids can do this themselves, but my daughter is still a little young, and I worried about her accidentally smearing it with her arm and hand. She told me which colors she wanted to use, and I filled in the picture and letters.

She wanted to use glitter paint for the gray hair, which I thought was a nice touch. Let the paint dry completely (according to the label), then wash and dry the shirt. All the chalk will be gone, and your child's design will really look great!

How to Make Bath Tea

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I recently made bath teas to give as gifts. I made quite a few and plan to use them for a Grandmother gift for Mother's Day, Thank You gifts for a few friends, and Teacher's Gifts for Teacher's Appreciation Day (more Scent-sational Teacher gifts).

These were really easy to make, and I tested one out in the bath and it was very relaxing!

What You'll Need:

-Tea mix (from this recipe - I used dried lavender and jasmine oil for my scented ingredients)
-Scissors, thread, and needle OR stapler
-Coffee filters
-Fabric paint (optional)
-Printable business cards  (optional, for tags / labels)


Making the tea bags is pretty straightforward. First, place some of the "tea" into the center of a coffee filter. I learned quickly that less is more - if it is overfilled, the assembly is harder. Roughly 1 tablespoon worked well for me.

Make sure the tea is in the center of the filter, and start folding the sides inward.

Fold the top together. I also added a piece of embroidery floss so that the recipient can hang it from the faucet if she wishes, so that the warm water will flow through it.

Staple the top together.

Then fold the top and add one more staple (I just did this for a cleaner look and to make it more secure).

I then used the fabric paint to decorate them. I used flowers and other little symbols, but you could also include monogrammed initials, the recipient's name, or short messages such as #1 Grandma.

It was a fun project, and my work room still smells great! I think I'll save a few for myself.

How to Make an Easy Gift Container

I recently made some bath teas to give as gifts (more about that later), and I found myself in need of containers for them. Rather than using a ziploc bag or something similar, I thought I'd reuse a few plastic containers from our cabinet to create something pretty (and airtight!).

What You'll Need:

-Plastic container

-Paint (I used spray flat enamel for the white and tinted wall paint for the border)

-Ribbon or other decorations

-Sharpie / Marker

-Glue

This was what I started with - it once held cheese. It isn't recyclable in this area, so it feels good to dress it up and use it for something nice.

All you have to do is paint the lid, glue on your bow or other decorations, then write the recipient's name on the lid using the marker. I chose the font I mentioned in this post to fancy it up.

That's it! I filled it up, gave it, and the recipient loved it!

An Inexpensive, Easy Gift for a 60th Birthday

We'll soon attend a 60th birthday party, and everyone has been asked to bring 60 things as a gift. This could work for any birthday, but for some reason, 60 seems to be the popular number to do this sort of thing. Sure, we could take a jar of 60 jellybeans, a bag of 60 buttons, 60 postage stamps, or any number of other things. But what's the fun in that? I chose instead to make a custom, framed print of 60 words that describe the birthday girl.

Luckily, I was able to pick up a brand new float frame from our local thrift shop. I have great luck with frames there and got this one for only $7. The best part of the gift is that if she doesn't like the print, she can just replace it with photos and it's still a nice birthday present.

To make your own, here's what you'll need:

-Poster board
-Markers or pencils (I used three complimentary colors and alternated them)
-Straight edge
-Razor or scissors for cutting a straight edge

First, you'll want to decide on the size of your print. I Chose to keep the print's edges a couple of inches from the frame because I used a float frame. If you have a mat, you may want to fit it to that, or you could fill the whole frame. It's really up to you and the size of your frame.

Once you decide on the size, measure and mark your poster board accordingly. I left the poster board width as is, so I only needed to measure up each side.

I then used the straight edge to draw a line to connect my marks.

I used my razor knife to cut across the line. You could also use scissors, just ensure that you're cutting right on the line.

Once my paper was ready, I searched for an easy-to-draw font that would look good in the print. This page has a wonderful font that I found easy to use and I liked the way it looked on my page.

I came up with a list of 60 words. Thesaurus.com is an excellent resource for this, but you don't want to forget others like Mom, Daughter, Grandma, etc., as well as the person's name, when you're making your list. I kept the font list and the word list open on my screen while I worked.

I found it helpful to lightly write each word in pencil before I wrote it in marker. Since my marker colors weren't all dark, it worked best when I erased most of the pencil prior to using the marker. If you're using dark colors, you may not need to worry about that, though.

I wrote 59 of the words around the page, then saved the center area for her name, written much larger. There you have it! I framed it, and now it's ready to give. I think it turned out great, and I enjoyed doing it.

I have to warn you, though - the fancy writing took more time than I'd originally expected. I spent about 8 - 9 hours total on it, but I spread it out over the course of a few days so that it wasn't too tedious.

An Easy Gift For Your Man

It's always hard to find a good gift for a man - all the men in my life buy something the minute they want it. My husband was in need of a small box to place the items from his pockets at the end of each day, though, and I was lucky enough to find this pretty wooden box at a local thrift store.

It was in great shape but had a couple of nicks and scratches in the wood. I wish I'd taken a before picture, so you could see how easy those were to fix using Restor-a-finish by Howard. 

I can't say enough good things about this stuff - it rocks. I use it for any real wood - on our bedroom furniture, dining room table, wooden trim on the stairs...it really just works great, with no sanding or refinishing. 

I cleaned up the inside of the box using a lint roller, and I added a photo of my daughter and me to the little indented spot in the lid, for a personal touch.

We gave it to my husband for his birthday, and it was a big hit!

Another Quick and Easy Hand Print Gift - Framed Art!

If you're still looking for a quick and easy Father's Day gift, this isn't very difficult and is another fun craft for you and your kids: a hand print tree, as framed art!

What You'll Need:
-Posterboard
-Tempera Paint
-Pencil
-Colored Pencils
-Poster Frame

I used the pencil to sketch out a tree like the one below. If your kids like drawing and art, though, they could draw it themselves.

I wrote, "Happy Father's Day 2012" at the bottom in block letters, although my lettering needs quite a bit of work. A paintbrush probably would have been a better choice here, but this was my result:

Then, I rounded my up niece, nephew, and daughter, and let them add their hands to the branches. If I do this again in the future, I'll be sure to make the tree outline darker so it shows up more.

I then let it dry and place it into a poster-sized frame, and that's it! I picked up the frame for $25 at Big Lots, but lightweight poster frames can be found at Wal-Mart for even less than that.

Have fun with it, and to all the Dads out there: may you have a Happy Father's Day!

Quick and Easy Father's Day Crafts for Dads and Grandpas

It's nearly Father's Day, and if the men in your life are anything like mine, they already have everything they need. This leaves me searching for new ideas every year. Here are a couple of gifts we have made that the Dads and Grandpas loved:

Battery Garden


One Christmas, we gave my father-in-law a pack of batteries to power a new lantern that was separately wrapped. He opened the batteries first and went on and on about how he loved them and always needed batteries. Even after he opened the lantern, he told us how much he loved the batteries. So, it made me realize that men really do always need batteries, so why not make a cute little garden out of them and give them as a gift? My four-year-old decorated it herself and it was a fun project. I just helped cut holes in the boxes to hold the sticks, and added a little glue at their bases to hold the heavier batteries.

She had fun making it, and the Grandfathers both thought it was really cute. Be sure to tell them that they're new batteries so they'll be able to use them!

Painted T-shirts with Hand Prints and Footprints


Painted T-shirts are are a fun and simple gift, and my daughter always loves getting paint all over her, so be sure to wear old clothes if you make them! All you need is fabric paint (available at most craft stores) and plain T-shirts (they're cheaper at Wal-Mart, Dollar General, or a similar store than they are at craft stores).

Here are a few hand print / footprint designs:

"World's Best Daddy, Hands Down" with hand prints

"Best Granddaddy, Hands Down" with hand prints 

"My Granddaughter Walks All Over Me" with footprints

The best part of painting your own T-shirts is that you can customize them with whatever you call the Dads and Grandfathers in your life: Papa, Papaw, Grandpa, etc. Then, there's the added bonus of just getting messy with paint, so have fun with it!

All About My Granddaddy Free Printable

I love the "All About My..." printables that are popular now - the cute questionnaires that let kids answer questions about their relatives as a gift. My daughter calls my father-in-law "Grandpa," and those questionnaires are widely available and easy to find. I had trouble finding a printable for a "Granddaddy," though, which is what she calls my father.

So, like I always say...if you can't find it free, make it yourself! And make it available to others for free, right? So, here it is - free to download and use as you wish. Enjoy!!

How to Make Cupcake Paper Carnations

I'm always looking for easy crafts for my 4-year-old, and she had a great time making these pretty carnations for Valentine's Day. They're really easy for little hands to make, as long as an adult helps with the steps that require a sharp knife.

What You'll Need:

-Cupcake cups / muffin pan liners of various colors

-Green chenille stems (pipe cleaners)

-Sharp pointed knife

Start by creating groups of 2 - 3 cupcake cups, and use your sharp pointed knife to cut two holes in the bottom, spaced about 1/2" apart. 

Start by making a hook out of one of your pipe cleaners. From the top, push the long end of the hook through one hole, then push the short end through the other hole, ensuring that both ends go through all cupcake cups.

Gently tug the pipe cleaner down until the top of the hook is up against the cupcake cup.

While holding both ends of the pipe cleaner up against the bottom of the cup, use your other hand to squeeze the cup from the bottom up, slightly twisting as you go.

Add another cupcake cup group from the bottom up, by inserting the long end of the hook into one hole and then moving it up, until you can then feed the small end of the hook into the other hole. Gently push the new layer up against the first layer.

Again, hold the pipe cleaner under the cups and use the other hand to squeeze the papers together, gently twisting as you go.

Continue adding more layers until you have the fullness you desire.

When you're done, twist the small end of the pipe cleaner around the large end. If desired, you can fold the long pipe cleaner in half and twist it around itself to make it strong enough to hold the flower. You can also wait until you have an entire bouquet and twist them all together. 

 This was such a fun craft for my little girl. I cut the holes for her and she enjoyed doing everything else herself!