DIY Mod Podge

Mod Podge is forever being mentioned on Pinterest and I had no idea what it was, so I found out...and how much it cost, eeek at the latter one.  I was hoping that somebody, somewhere, had 'pinned' a cheaper alternative, and they had, whoopppeee!!!  Pinterest to the rescue again :)

This DIY: Decoupage 'recipe' is soooo cheap, quick and easy that even I was shocked by it, so much so that I couldn't stop telling my fellow crafters all about it the other night whilst I was making a label for it.

I made the label whilst chatting, eating and giggling and hadn't even noticed that I had misspelt it, so I made another one and stuck it on, only to then have it pointed out to me that I had misspelt it again!!  I've actually quite taken a liking to my misspelling so I haven't replaced it as it makes me chuckle whenever I look at it now -

Here is the 'pin' I mentioned earlier with the recipe and instructions - Do It Yourself Divas/DIY: Decoupage

Hope this brings a massive smile to your face each time you use it....because it does me, ooooo, I love a bargain and plodge :)

The Race of Life

What with school holidays, visiting family and our Conference Highlight Night, tonight was our first FHE from the April 2012 General Conference...how time flies!!!

Where better to start than with the prophet's talk entitled 'The Race of Life'.  I focused on the part about the toy boats what with all my kids being young, so after dinner we set off for an adventure to a nearby canal.  Before we reached the water, we stopped to have a little lesson.  I asked the kids if they would be able to sprint to the top of the nearby steep hill, my 10yr old son was sure he would be able to do it, my daughters were not so confident...as we talked about the distant etc he realised that he wouldn't be able to do it either....but they all knew they could walk it, or even jog bits of it, because we had walked to the top several times before. As Thomas S. Monson said -

 “The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong.”¹⁰

 Actually, the prize belongs to him or her who endures to the end.

We talked about what the above quote meant, and then shared with the children how President Monson made toy boats when he was a little boy, and that each of them had to find a 'boat' before we got to the canal so that we could race them.  We had all shapes and sizes, one sunk, several got stuck but the rest happily bobbed along the canal while we talked about the boats.  My daughter then read this quote from the talk -

Our Heavenly Father did not launch us on our eternal voyage without providing the means whereby we could receive from Him guidance to ensure our safe return. I speak of prayer. 

I speak too of the whisperings from that still, small voice; and I do not overlook the holy scriptures, which contain the word of the Lord and the words of the prophets—provided to us to help us successfully cross the finish line.

We asked the children what 3 things mentioned help us on our voyage here on earth, which they answered surprising quickly...normally we have to prompt them or reread it...and after that it was time for us to go home as several needed the toilet and one had trodden in something...ewww!!  We ate our treat on the quick march home.

After we all got cleaned up and before we had family prayer, we recapped on our little adventure and finished with this quote -

It is the celestial glory which we seek. It is in the presence of God we desire to dwell.

 It is a forever family in which we want membership. Such blessings are earned through a lifetime of striving, seeking, repenting, and finally succeeding.

The kids, went straight to sleep with no fuss tonight...I think we might have to have more FHE ramblings :)
I really like this bit at the end of the talk too...

I'm so grateful to know where I have come from, why I am here and where I am going, it has helped me so many times during my journey here on earth.....and I also need to remember that it's not a race and to slow down a bit too :)

Free Facebook Covers

When I was offered a facebook new timeline, I thought why not...but I was a tad surprised that my 'cover' would be available worldwide?!!?!...I personally don't like the thought of my family photos available to anybody, so luckily one of my images from an earlier post (Tuesdays with Morrie) fitted in perfectly, so I used that.


I fancied a change so I made some more this weekend that you are more than welcome to use too, if you want. If you need instructions on how to do this they are below...and I hope they make some sort of sense!! 

...and this one, because I just couldn't resist using these cute buttons :)

Below is how I copy images from the web, I don't know if this is the quickest or easiest way, but it works for me...and hopefully for you :)
Instructions - right click on the 'fb cover' that you like, and select 'save image as...', next click 'save' (you can change the file name before you save if you want).  
Sign into your fb account and then hover over the bottom right corner of your current fb cover till you see 'change cover', choose 'upload photo' from the list and then find the saved image using it's title, press 'open' when you've found it (sometimes it takes me a while to track down what I've downloaded!!).  It will then upload the image and then press 'save changes' and it's done, phewww!!!


Let me know what you think...and any other ideas/links for future fb covers would be great too.

p.s. I have 'windows' installed on my computer so I don't know if it's different for other programs??

Our Top 10 Rainy Day Activities

 I'm really hoping the sun will shine for the whole  two weeks of half term but I have a feeling that the  'April Showers' will make an appearance soon :(  So I find it really handy to have a few games/activities that are quick and easy, and will help to disperse the feelings of cabin fever....even if it's only for a few minutes.  Below are mine and the kids top 10...and they work, most of the time!!

1. Keep Fit Stations - make several posters of different fun exercises that kids can do and then stick them around the house...put some music on and let the kids go from one station to the next.

2. Spring Cleaning - give the kids a wet rag each, and ask them to wipe down surfaces, doors and skirting etc....I know it sounds like slave labour but my kids love it!!  And if they are a bit older, give them the real cleaning sprays...my kids go to town when they have these and clean everything in sight...I actually have to ask them to stop, would you believe it!!
3. Make their own board games - stick several pieces of paper together to make a large game board, give the kids some felt tips/crayons and let them go for it.  We've had princess, aliens, trivia and not quite sure what games :)  Some of ours are still being used a couple of years on.

4. Wallpaper murals - Get a roll of plain lining paper and unroll it and let the kids draw a never-ending mural...and what's wonderful is they can keep going to their hearts content.  It's also great for them to show you what they've been learning at school, my kids did one and then took it to school to show in assembly....if I'd realised this was the outcome I wouldn't have been so flamboyant in my drawings, hahaa!
5. Movie time - an all-time classic, we rearrange the furniture, put on a movie, turn down the lights, and cuddle up with treats and popcorn....and you might even be able to sneak in a little nap too, woohoo!!
6. Card and craft making - make and decorate a card for a relative, neighbour or friend, then post it when the sun comes out...or let the kids go crazy with your recycling, some glue and sticky tape.
7.  Baking - I can't say I've done alot of baking with all 6 kids at once, normally only a few are interested at the time...but all six have enjoyed the finished product, mmmmm!!
8. Build a tent - yep, you've guessed it, get all the blankets, duvets and a stash load of pegs and turn an area/room into a soft, comfortable but somewhat haphazard tent. 
9. Lunch abroad - eat your lunch/snack in a room you wouldn't normally, the kids will love the change of location and hopefully you will squeal with excitement too.
10. Invite friends over - I know this might seem like you are putting more fuel on the fire, but 90% of the time this actually works out for the best...my house has actually been quieter and calmer with 11 kids than it is with my 6!!!  Who would have thought it!!?!?!

I hope you and your brood have fun during the upcoming April showers??!!?  
Good luck :)

Tell Me the Stories of Jesus

After hearing this talk in General Conference in April 2010, I made the chart below for help us to read and study John in the New Testament...each of the squares represent a page in the LDS edition of the Kings James Bible.

As you can see it has also been used to practice spellings on and just general scribbles, makes it look loved, don't you think??!!?...I made a simpler chart below where one letter can be coloured in when a chapter is read.  Feel free to copy the image and photocopy it for personal use.

This is the bit from Neil L. Andersen's talk that mentions reading the book of John....the rest of the talk is lovely too - 

Do our children say, “Tell me the stories of Jesus I love to hear”? ³³

To the youth and children: Live up to your important responsibilities and great spiritual capacities. Seek to know more about Jesus; open the scriptures. One idea would be to read again the book of John and then discuss it with your parents, teachers, and each other.

Our family have really felt the spirit and a greater love of the Saviour as we have read, we have yet to finish...but we are loving every minute of it. 

The Power of Scripture

FHE is over for tonight and although it was one of our better ones, tears were still shed :(...we will get their in the end :)  Anyway, we used the first talk from Conference by Elder Richard G. Scott entitled 'The Power of Scripture'.

  
My daughter and me started the lesson by sharing how important the scriptures are and that one of the apostles talked about it at conference, we then watched a bit of Elder Scott's talk...we only watched a teeny bit of it, from 2:15-3:26mins.  My daughter handed out pieces of paper with the quote below on and separated us into groups to read through it and highlight the words that told us the blessings that come from memorizing the scriptures.

We shared what blessings we had found and then extended the challenge to memorize a scripture...so, we chose to start off with our family scripture for the year which is Luke 2:52.  We read through it once and then showed them poster below (whipped up a few minutes before)....it's the first letter of each word in the verse, we then recited it again. 

Next we had the words of the scripture cut out and the kids loved sorting them out to get them in order.  They worked together in pairs (using the 'first letter poster' above as a help) and then by themselves... and being the competitive type it of course had to be timed...daddy won with 20 seconds!!

The older 4 children could recite the scripture by the end of the evening, so that was really good...I'm going to make a prettier and laminated copy of the above game so that they can play it again, and it will help them to remember it a bit more...another handy activity to keep them entertained on Sundays:)

Tortilla Bowls

I found this idea for making tortilla bowls in a magazine, and it was too good not to share for sooo many reasons.  My kids love them as they get to eat the 'bowl', and I'm not constantly wrapping my children's meat up while my dinner goes cold, then having to wipe away tears because the filling on their lap, and they are super quick and easy to make....so with these bowls everyone's a winner :)

The pictures above kinda do all the talking, but here's what they couldn't say ;)
Put an oven proof bowl (or bowls) upside down on a baking tray, place the tortilla on top and press it against the bowl.  Put in the oven for 5-6 minutes on 200C/400F/Gas mark 6....and that's it, so hopefully no more tears at the dinner table!!!

Preparing for General Conference

This month in the Ensign there is a wonderful talk by Mark A. Barrionuevo entitled 'Preparing for General Conference'.  It got me to thinking about what we do to get ready for Conference as a family.

I love watching General Conference, and like a lot of people I find it really handy to take notes as it helps me to concentrate, note down impressions etc....so, a few years ago we got 'Conference Notebooks' for our kids too to help them to get more out of Conference....and so far it's worked!!  We all have exactly the same books and they have certainly improved their reverence and have even given me a few moments to jot down a few notes of my own :)

Just in case you can't read the writing in the bottom photo it reads - 'We love the prophet.  We believe in the prophets.  We no (know) that the prophet is true. He said the world is going crazy.  In this world some people are silly.'  My 5 year old daughter wrote this from October 2011, I'm going to have to go back and reread the Prophet's talk :)


For the next FHE following conference the kids look through their notes and share with us something they have learnt, a talk they enjoyed etc....it can be really inspiring (and might I add, quite entertaining).


Below are some links to other Conference activities and ideas that you might like and are handy to have at your fingertips with little ones about - 


LDS Website - includes Conference Notebook, Conference Squares, Conference Colouring.
Bingo and photo stickers - 8 different General Conference Bingos and photo stickers.
Junior Primary General Conference Packet - a collection of lots of different activities and crafts for 4-9 year old.
Nursery General Conference Packet - suitable for 2-4 year old, lots of crafts and activities.
General Conference Activity Book - compiled using pages from the Friend and some original pages too.
General Conference Ties - colour in the tie of the pictured prophet or apostle when they speak.
Gospel Topic Bingo - 5 different bingo cards that can be used for General Conference.
General Authority Matching and Go Fish - a printable games for the kids to play to help them learn the First Presidency and the 12 Apostles.
Conference Baggies - put pictures of the prophet and apostles on activity/treat bags and the children get to open them when the specific person speaks.
General Conference Bingo - this site randomly generates different bingo cards...so just keep printing!!
My General Conference Journal - has colouring pages, activities and note-taking ideas.


I hope you enjoy the upcoming General Conference with your family and that maybe some of the ideas above will help you (and your children) get more from Conference.

Rice Hand Warmers

I can't bear to throw my material scraps away, but the challenge is finding what to do with them all!!

Well, my fleece scraps finally have a purpose, yeahh....I found loads of tutorial for making fleece rice hand warmers, and couldn't believe that all I had to do was sew two pieces of material together, leaving a small gap so I could put some rice in, sew the gap, and that was it!!  I don't know why in my mind I pictured it being more than that, but they really were so quick and easy to make, which was very 'handy' as my scraps will soon be no more, mwahaaha!!

picture source

I whipped up some pink ones for my mother-in-law....and she loves them, I think??!  I made a little tag to go with the gift too...

....in my rush I forgot to take a photo of the finished project, whoops, still getting use to all this documenting your every move blog thing.  I then wrapped them up in some cellophane and attached a ribbon.

Daddy's interviews

We've decided to try and make our children's interviews more of a regular occurrence, so every first Sunday of the month is what it's gonna be...so 6 down, only 10,000 more to go!!

As my husband started interviewing our oldest child (interview #1), they were discussing Jesus' life and stumbled upon the scripture below-

From this my husband realised that we needed to help the children to set goals in all of the areas mentioned in this verse to help them to grow up to be good people, who followed the example of the Saviour.  So from wisdom=education, stature=physical, in favour with God=relationship with God, in favour with man=relationship with family (and friends).

We've laminated these for the kids on different coloured card so that they stick them next to their beds, so that they can see the goals they have set and rub them out when they're done and put on a new one.

This scripture has now become our motto for the year, and I will hopefully get around to stencilling it onto some wood soon (well, I'm hoping to do it before the end of the year!!!)