DIY Unicorn Planters With Magical Cactus Horns
DIY Unicorn Cactus Planters
I used to think that unicorns were mythical creatures that were only heard of, but never seen. However lately, they have been taking over our house….primarily our daughter’s room. It’s apparently a unicorn playground. The most recent inhabitants are these sweet unicorn planters…complete with magical cactus horns.
Ok, so maybe these unicorns didn’t just appear, but we made them. This was such a fun project! Our daughter was able to create it by herself and there is such a huge variety of ways to decorate them so they are just like real unicorns – magical and unique!
Just like you can decorate each pot uniquely, the different cacti, oh sorry, unicorn horns that you can get are also super unique. This was one of our daughter’s favorite parts I think. We went through all of the cactus plants searching for the perfect ones! (And bonus: I’ve heard that cactus plants are hard to kill…which means yay! No green thumb required!)
Want to make your own DIY Unicorn Planter? Here’s how!
DIY Unicorn Planter Supplies:
- 1 terra cotta pot and base
- White acrylic paint
- Black acrylic paint
- Paint brushes – one for details and one general painting one
- Glitter – I prefer the extra fine glitter
- Decorations – We used glitter tulle and silk flowers. Rhinestones would be super fun too!
- Hot glue gun
- Glue
- Foam Sheets – 1 white and 1 pink
- Potting Soil
- Cactus
- Sealer (optional but recommended)
DIY Unicorn Planter Instructions:
Paint your pot and base white. While the paint is still dry, sprinkle it with glitter. Paint dries SUPER fast on terra cotta so you will have to work in small sections. Once everything is glittered, spray with your sealer if you are using one. Set aside until it is dry.
The fun part! Decide how you are going to decorate.
We did one with just tulle and one with tulle and flowers.
If you are going to use flowers, smaller flowers are the easiest to work with!
Rhinestones would be another fun idea to try! Hot glue your decorations on.
Using a fine tip brush, paint on the unicorn’s eyes and lashes. Cut out two ear shapes of white foam. Out of the pink foam, cut out two inner ears and glue to the center of the white foam ears.
Hot glue your ears to the inside of the pot where desired.
Once the glue is dry, fill the pot with potting soil and add your cactus horn. Be careful! Don’t get poked!
Ta da! Aren’t they adorable? Super magical!
If you make one, be sure to let us know! I totally want to see! Don’t forget to pin our DIY Unicorn Planters!
This post contains affiliate links.
DIY Homemade Toilet Bombs
DIY Homemade Toilet Bombs
This is a post all about my favorite way to keep your bathroom clean.
We have five kids.
No more needs to be said on that.
But seriously. I have literally a bazillion other things to do with my day than to clean the bathroom. So to help keep things sparkly clean (and not stinky…that part is very, VERY important) I swear by these DIY Homemade Toilet Bombs!
First of all, they are so simple to make. They only take three ingredients.
Second, to use all you have to do is to drop them into the toilet. The fizz up, clean it and deodorize it.
Third, even the kids like to use them. SCORE!
To make these DIY homemade toilet bombs you will need a few things.
- A silicone mold. You can get fancy if you want, but I’m lame and just used a square one.
- A glass jar. Again, be fancy if you want. I’m lame. I got a big jar at Hobby Lobby for about $3. (Yay for 50% off day!)
- Citric Acid. I totally Amazoned this. To be honest, no clue where you would find that at Target. LOL The citric acid will create the fizzing effect and also help breakdown water stains.
- Baking Soda. You will want the big box! Baking soda is a common household cleaner. It’s also a deodorizer.
- Essential oils. I use a mix of lavender, peppermint and lemon. Different oils do different things, but this mix helps to clean, kill germs and of course, smell good!
How to make homemade toilet bombs:
In a spray bottle, mix the water and essential oils.
Spray the water and oil mix into the baking soda and citric acid. It will fizzle a little bit, but that’s ok. (If you don’t have a spray bottle just be sure to add the water mix VERY slowly!)
Mix around until it is all damp.
Press into mold and allow to sit out and harden for a few hours.
Transfer to a jar or an airtight container. I have ours in a pretty glass jar in our bathroom.
That’s it! They are so easy to make. Once you use them, I promise you will make sure that you always have a batch ready!
Don’t forget to pin our DIY Homemade Toilet Bombs!
Want more homemade cleaners? Check these out:
- Hands down the best all purpose cleaner
- Homemade Clorox Wipes
Nutter Butter Carrot Cookies – Easter Treat!
Nutter Butter Carrot Cookies
Alert! Alert! Easter is next week! If you are like us, then you are totally not ready. In fact, when Dustin asked me the other day what I wanted to do for Easter dinner my reply was ‘I don’t know. We will figure it out.’ To which he said, ‘You do know Easter is next week right?’
WHAT?!
Mind. Blown.
Luckily, these Nutter Butter Carrot cookies are suuuuuuper simple to make. And they are adorable.
Adorable is always important.
To make Nutter Butter Carrot Cookies you will need:
- Nutter Butters
- Vanilla Icing
- Orange Candy Melts
- Sour Punch candies – the green ones!
- Parchment paper
- A bowl
Instructions to make Nutter Butter Carrot Cookies:
Place a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet.
Cut a Sour Patch Straw in half and then half again. Trim to the desired length.
Carefully open a Nutter Butter cookie.
Spoon a small amount of frosting on the cookie and press your green topper in.
Put a thin layer of frosting on top and put the top of the cookie back on.
Melt the orange candy melts according to the package instructions.
Coat the Nutter Butters in orange candy melts.
Place on the cookies on the parchment paper and put the cookie sheet in the freezer until it sets (just a few minutes!)
See? Super simple and super cute. And as one of the boys stated, ‘finally a vegetable I like.’ So it must be good right? 🙂 You can package these Carrot Nutter Butter Cookies in treat bags and put in Easter baskets or pass out at church.
Looking for more Easter ideas?
18 Easter Hacks (Seriously these are good!)
How to Make a Resurrection Garden
How To Dye Easter Eggs With Ties
This post may contain affiliate links.
St. Patrick’s Day Decoration Craft – Table Runner
I’ve been busy getting ready for St. Patrick’s Day. I have to say, I’m a little disappointed in the stores. I’ve been having some trouble finding cute decorations. THIS girl MUST decorate for all of the holidays!! Not to worry I probably would have paid big bucks for this runner at the store. And it was really inexpensive to make. And took a whole 10 minutes. Even if you are a beginner sewer this is a project for you! And if you aren’t a sewer? I bet you could use some iron on tape. 🙂
You will need:
St. Patrick’s Day Burlap Fabric in a length that will fit your table (I got mine at Joann Fabrics – get it online here for $4.99 a yard!)
Green Lace (again I got mine at Joann Fabrics!)
Pins
Green Thread
I used a side table so the width of the words was perfect on my fabric. I purchased 2 yards and was able to get enough to make 3 runners! I purchased 1 1/2 yards of green lace and used it all on this one runner. The more layers you want the more lace you will need!
Pin the sides up. Like I said, I used the words on my fabric as a guide. They were the perfect width!
Pin up the bottom! That way no rough edges hanging out. Then just sew all the way around.
Then starting with the bottom layer, sew a strip of lace on.
Layer the lace on!
See I told you it was EASY!!
I kind of love it.
Ok. I really love it.
Subway art + burlap + lace … what is honestly not to love?
Make sure to pin it! 🙂
Linking up here.
18 Easter Basket Ideas: Fun Easter Basket Alternatives
Easter will be here before we know it! It’s time to start picking up things to add to the Easter baskets and eggs! Are you ready? This year, Josh is a little bit older so I wanted to something besides a traditional Easter Basket so I went on the hunt (haha, see what I did there? Hunt? Like an Easter egg hunt? … It’s the little things guys… LOL) I wanted some fun Easter basket ideas that were unique and really just some Easter basket alternatives. There were so many ideas that I found that I just had to share with you all!
Just a hint before I share! My favorite place to pick up Easter basket items; well, anything really, is Kmart! Kmart has both a grocery side and their traditional retail side (filled with clothes, toys, and everything home). Their prices are always low and they have great options for saving big (including the Shop Your Way Rewards program).
Here are a few great offers that will come in handy with your baskets:
Easter 6 pack Candy or Lindt Gold Bunny – Just $2.50 on sale! (Expires 4/8)
Easter Packaged Chocolates for $1.50 (Good 4/9-4/15)
Earn 25% in points with $10 + worth of Smart Sense Food and Drug Products at Kmart! (Expires 5/1)
AND scroll to the bottom…I’m giving away a $100 Kmart Gift Card!!!!!!!!
Umbrella Easter Baskets
Hatbaskets
Balloons
This is so neat! You can add candy and trinkets and then, blow up the balloon with them inside!
Makeup bag
Pool Noodle & Beach Towel Basket
Potty Baskets
Candy Baskets
Tackle box basket
Tote Basket
Truck Basket
Easter Bouquet
Maybe fill with dollar bills for a teenager?
Soda Basket
Swing Basket
Sandbox Basket
This is great if you have several kiddos and want to do a group basket!
Rain Boot Easter Basket
Cozy Coupe
Basketball Goal Basket
Aren’t these super fun? The best part is that you can pick up EVERYTHING that you need at Kmart to recreate any of these! Plus, don’t forget to check out their Smart Sense brand. Seriously, everything that you need for your Easter get together at huge savings!
And now the $100 Kmart Gift Card giveaway!!!
Don’t forget to pin our Easter basket ideas!
This post is sponsored by coupons.com, however, all opinions are 100% my own.
29 of the Best Easter Ideas
Easter will be here before you know it. Are you ready? I admit, we have a lot to do still, but these 29 ideas will have you ready in no time! These are the best Easter ideas around!
Easter Recipes and Crafts:
1. Easy Cake Mix Sugar Cookies (just 3 main ingredients)
2. Easter Peeps S’Mores (including gluten free options)
5. Easter Bunny Patch Recipe using Palmer’s Easter Candy
6. 5 Unique Ideas for a Reusable Easter Basket
7. 5 Creative (non candy) Easter Gift Ideas
8. Easy DIY Resurrection Garden
10. Easy Resurrection Snack and Activity for Kids
11. How to Dye Easter Eggs with Silk Ties
13. How to Plan an Easter Egg Hunt
15. Free Easter Printable for Kids
16. 9 Tips for a Successful Easter Egg Hunt
18. Kids’ Party Food:Mr. McGregor’s Garden Patch
20. 20 Easter Supplies and Favors
22. 25 Easter Craft & Activities
23. Easy Easter Stencil Cookies
24. Kids Party Food: Easy Easter Cookies
25. Kid’s Party Food Ideas: Delicious & Darling Easter Cake Pops
26. Monster Eggs {DIY Party Craft Ideas}
27. 33 FREE Easter Printables Boys Will Like Too
28. [Inspiration] Easter Egg Hunt
29. Bow Tie Easter Party for Your Little Man
Our favorite Easter Traditions:
My Mom always made the ‘lambie cake’ for Easter every year. She has this cake mold shaped like a lamb and she always decorated it up to look so cute every year. I’m not that ambitious but I love a sweet treat for the kids and we have fun filling and hiding baskets and eggs. I think I get a bigger kick out of finding good hiding spots than they do out of finding them!
– Lindsay is the mom of 2 and author of See Mom Click. She shares great deals, Disney happenings and recipes. You can follow her on Twitter here!
Easter was always one of my favorite holidays growing up. My dad would always buy about 10 large chocolate bunnies and hide them around our living room. (Why so many? So he could eat them, too! Haha) After we had our 9am chocolate fix, we’d head to church and then to my grandparent’s house for turkey dinner with all the fixings. Every year it was the same and I loved it. We’re still developing our traditions with my son Sam, but Easter is becoming one of his favorites.
– Stephanie is the mom to Sam and the author of Spaceships and Laser Beams. If you ever need party ideas her site is the place to visit! Specializing in all things boy, it’s full of inspiration! Follow her on Twitter here!
We always had Easter Egg hunts at my grandma and papaw’s house when I was little. Now that I have my own family, we still get together every year with our big ole’ family and let the littles hunt eggs. They always have such a great time. My addiction to those Cadbury Creme Filled Eggs comes into full on and I always have to keep a stash hidden. Shhhhh!!!
– Jenni is the mom of one and the author of Sweet Pennies From Heaven. A hearth and home website, Sweet Pennies From Heaven focuses on recipes, crafts and creating a comfortable home. Follow her on Twitter here!
I love Easter. It’s an important day for us and what it symbolizes. We try to do something really fun each year. Last year for the older kids we put glow sticks in the eggs and let them hunt them after dark. They loved that! It’s a wonderful day filled with faith, friends, family and of course, a trip from the Easter Bunny!
– Amanda is the mom to Joshua and owns It’s a Fabulous Life. If you are looking for a one stop place for all things mom, It’s a Fabulous Life is it! Full of recipes, fashion, DIY projects, recipes and parenting articles it’s the place for all of Mom’s favorites to come together! Follow her on Twitter here!
Be sure to pin!
18 Easter Hacks
Easter will be here in just a few weeks! Can you believe it? I feel like it has completely crept up on us this year. Even though there are just a few days until the big day, there is plenty of time to implement some of these awesome Easter hacks! These easy tips will not only simplify your day, but help make this Easter the best ever!
1. A Scavenger Hunt From The Easter Bunny
Your kiddos will be so excited to get a list from the Easter Bunny! Plus, no more worrying over the eggs getting evenly divided! Problem solved!
2. Use a whisk to help keep dying Easter Eggs clean and mess free.
How great is this idea? No more dying your fingers! This tip will keep your eggs the only thing that are getting dyed!
3. Dye Easter Eggs with Kool-Aid!
These eggs are not only pretty with gorgeous colors, but I would think that the Kool Aid would make them smell (well, better than eggs smell!) 🙂
4. Make sure everyone gets an even amount of eggs.
I thought this idea was so smart! Each child gets a specific color to hunt. No more arguing over who has the most eggs!
5. Decorate Eggs with Beauty Supplies!
These pretty eggs were made with shaving cream! Can you believe it?
6. Minute To Win It – Easter Style!
We love Minute to Win it games! And these 10 Easter inspired games are no different!
7. Check your refrigerator for decorating inspiration!
Don’t these floral arrangements look amazing? Who knew that your veggie crisper could be hiding the perfect props!
8. Make gorgeous eggs with….men’s neck ties!
Who would have ever guessed? No mess, no boiling the eggs prior….just vinegar, water and a silk tie. Time to hit up the thrift shops!
9. Nail Polish Easter Eggs? Nailed It!
See what I did there? 🙂 I know, I couldn’t help it! But seriously – these eggs would make great teacher gifts or would be perfect for filling baskets for tween/teen girls!
Amazon is a great place to get nail polish!
10. Plant Jellybeans to grow a Lollipop garden!
This is such a fun and magical tradition. Have your kids plant Jellybeans and watch their excitement as lollipops grow in their place!
11. Fill cupcakes with Easter candy!
Think of it as a box of chocolates – you never know what you will get! Add different candies to cupcake batter and it turns a box mix into something super special!
12. Proof the Bunny was here!
Bunny prints are so easy to make! Plus, aren’t they cute?
13. For the 21 and over crowd….
I always loved chocolate bunnies, but I admit, my heart would sink when I found out they were hollow chocolate bunnies. But now, after this Easter hack, I’m second guessing that!
14. Glow In The Dark Easter Egg Hunt
We have been doing this for a few years ago! This is officially the way-to-make-hunting-Easter-Eggs-Cool-for-tweens Easter Egg Hunt. Glow sticks! The kids love em!
Bonus: It’s cheaper to fill eggs with glow sticks than it is to fill them with candy! 🙂
15. Add a puzzle piece….
This is one of my favorite ideas! Usually at our house the kids get their eggs, dump them and count up their candy. Then the parents go through counting eggs (usually two or three times) to make sure we don’t have eggs that get stranded outside. While you are filling up the eggs but one puzzle piece in each egg. Then, once the kids find the eggs they can take the puzzle pieces out and put the puzzle together. If the puzzle is complete, they have found all the eggs!
Check out some great puzzles here!
16. What to do with those Peeps?
Make S’mores of course! Peep S’mores are the best!
What flavor Peeps do you love the best?
17. Fill the eggs with coupons (everyone loves coupons!)
These cute coupons are free to print and would be a great candy alternative for filling up Easter Eggs!
18. Impress the kids (and the adults!) with this trick!
This is one cool trick and only takes 5 seconds! After all nothing says Easter like a little egg trick!
Don’t forget to pin!
This post contains affiliate links.
20 St. Patrick’s Day DIY Crafts
The other day we shared with you 24 festive St. Patrick’s Day recipes and today we are going to share 20 St. Patrick’s Day DIY Crafts! Some of these are easy printables, some of the crafts for kids and some are projects for the house. There is something fun for everyone!
Rainbow Tissue Paper Pom Poms from Here Comes the Sun
Burlap and Lace Runner from It’s a Fabulous Life
Rainbow Candy Jar from Mission: To Save
Irish Blessing free printable from A Mom’s Take
St. Patrick’s Day Lunch Box Notes from Coupons Are Great
St. Patrick’s Day Wreath from Flamingo Toes
Leprechaun hat containers from It’s a Fabulous Life
Rainbow Loom Lucky Charm Bracelet and printable from Pink When
Kiss Me I’m Irish printable from Craft Dictator
St. Patrick’s Day Friends Printable from Occasionally Crafty
St. Patrick’s Hair Ideas from One Creative Mommy
Rainbow Gum in a Tube from Dukes and Duchesses
Rainbow Embroidery Hoop Decoration from Uncommon Designs
Rainbow Wreath from Crafts ‘n Coffee
Potted Rainbow from Mom on Timeout
Rainbow Craft for Kids from On A Shoestrin
A St. Patrick’s Day version of Elf on The Shelf with free printable cards from It’s a Fabulous Life
Paper Plate Leprechaun from Sassy Dealz
Finger Paint Rainbow Kid’s Activity from Roubinek Reality
St. Patrick’s Day Apothecary Jars from Uncommon Designs
Annnnd as an added bonus:
Check out this cute printable from my friend Erin over at A Bird and a Bean!
Don’t forget to check out our St. Patrick’s Day recipes here!
Celebrating Chinese New Year With Kids
The Chinese New Year will be here before you know it! Are you ready?
Now I will be honest, growing up we would spend the Chinese New Year doing what we do best, eating. (Have you seen our list of Chinese takeout favorites that you can make at home? YUM! Find them here!) But I really didn’t know much about this holiday or the traditions that go along with it.
I was really excited to hear about this book PoPo’s Lucky Chinese New Year! This book is a really sweet story about PoPo helping her young granddaughter. The story showcases the family getting ready and celebrating the New Year.
One thing that I really loved about the book was that each page had a Chinese New Year fact or tradition on it. We (Josh and I both!) learned a lot while reading this book!
Did you know:
- People spend 15 days preparing and then 15 days celebrating Chinese New Year.
- You should open the windows and doors at midnight to allow the old year to leave.
- Wear red. It scares away bad spirits and monsters.
There are so many interesting and fun facts in this book! It’s one that we really have loved a lot!
To celebrate the year of the rooster, we made these fun fork paintings.
Aren’t they fun? We used darker colors – next time we might try them with some lighter shades. (You can find out how to make them here!)
Here are some more ideas to celebrate Chinese New Year With Kids:
- Snack on oranges. They are gifts of happiness and wealth.
- Play Pong Hau k’i
- Make Chinese Lanterns
- Chinese New Year wouldn’t be complete without a dragon!
- We love this fire breathing one too!
- Aren’t these fans the cutest?
- I love these DIY Tissue Paper Blossoms!
- Don’t forget this rooster coloring page.
- This paint dragon is one of my favorites!
- Here is another coloring page to keep you busy!
Don’t forget to pin!
This post contains affiliate links. I received a copy of PoPo’s Lucky Chinese New Year in exchange for sharing my honest ideas and thoughts on the books.
18 Chinese Recipes: Take Out Favorites You Can Make At Home
I absolutely love Chinese food! Unfortunately for us, since we’ve moved, I haven’t found a really good Chinese take out place that is close by. So we’ve been cooking it at home! If you want to know the truth, I like this even better! Not only does our house smell amazing, but there are plenty of leftovers. To be honest, sometimes next day Chinese food is even better! 🙂
Here are 18 Chinese recipes for your favorite take out dishes that you can make at home! I’ll have to make a batch of our baked egg rolls and add them to the list! They are a family favorite!
I found Rasa Malaysia a while ago while looking for recipes. Her food is fantastic and her photos are droll worthy! I haven’t made her Sesame Chicken recipe yet (it’s on our menu though for January!), but I have never tried a recipe from this website that wasn’t amazing!
Potstickers are one of our favorites! I haven’t made them at home yet, but I’m excited to try! They are one of the things we’ve been missing and the frozen ones just aren’t the same. Find this potstickers recipe from another favorite blog: Damn Delicious!
One of Josh’s favorite dishes to order is Crispy Beef. Luckily we found a great crispy beef recipe here!
Hot and Sour Soup your thing? This recipe from Closet Cooking is an easy one to make! And yummy!
Remember when I said I’m a bit obsessed with Rasa Malaysia? Here is another recipe from her: Crab Ragoon! Simply perfect!!
When I was little, my dad would take us to the most wonderful Chinese restaurant on the weekends. When we would leave, they would always give me a big bag of almond cookies to take home. I don’t know why, but I have never thought about making a batch at home! Well, until now!
In college I was a waitress at PF Chang’s. I ate Chinese food everyday for two years. Even now, some days, I’m just craving some Chang’s. 🙂 This PF Chang’s Honey Chicken copy cat recipe will be made…ASAP!
We love to make shrimp at home. They are so quick to cook which makes them perfect for a weeknight dinner! This Chinese Garlic Shrimp recipe sounds fantastic!
You know we have a slow cooker website right? 🙂 I made this slow cooker Asian Beef recipe a while ago, but it’s still a favorite in our house!
This General Tso’s Chicken has gotten a little bit of a makeover here! It’s baked and there is a special ingredient that gets it nice and crispy! Actually, I’ve made ‘fried’ baked chicken and crispy shrimp with this same ingredient and it is so good!!
If you are looking for a perfect side dish for your Chinese meal – these Garlic Chinese Style Green Beans are a MUST!!
Did someone say doughnuts? I will become a Mom Of The Year for sure if I make this Chinese Doughnut recipe!
If I were sent to an island and could only have one food there it might be chicken fried rice. So.GOOD. This chicken fried rice recipe is from Life in the Lofthouse and we’ve made it several times!
Ok, so maybe I would bring egg rolls to that island with me too! 🙂 This is a classic egg roll recipe you will have to try!
Don’t these chow mein noodles look so good? Like you can taste them through the screen!
Sweet and Sour Chicken is a classic that you can’t go wrong with! Doesn’t this recipe look yummy?
There you go! 18 Chinese recipes that you can make at home instead of ordering for take out! Which one will you try first?
Don’t forget to pin our 18 Chinese Recipes: Take Out Favorites You Can Make At Home!