10 dollar "Book Shelf" for kids

Monster loves books but hates putting them away. Like any kids she scatters them around the room and they get stepped on and ripped or stuff is spilled on them. I have tried a "book bin" but found that the books were getting very damaged.

I made it my mission to find a way to store books on a budget.

I love these these but the 50 to 70 dollar price tag is a bit much. That would buy a bunch more books.

A regular bookshelf is not practical with young children. They just cant reach the higher up one and I don't want to store anything that they may even think of wanted up on the top because they will climb!

 So here was my requirements for the bookshelf.
1. I wanted to stack them like a library.
2. I wanted at least 2 shelves, we don't have a TON of books but if the collection grows I want room to store them.
3. Didn't take up a bunch of useless room.
4. Under 20 bucks.

So here is.

Can you guess what it is? It is a shoe rack. I got this baby at jysk for 10 bucks on sale! The regular price is only 15 so even then it is a steal! If you wanted it to match the room it can easily be spray painted for 3 dollars.


Where to buy :

Canvas Bookshelf: http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=18542048

Bookshelf 2: http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/83688210/#/20094093

Shoe Rack: http://www.jysk.ca/maria-pine-shoe-rack.html

I can make bread

Just a  quick post today because My Monster is gone for the weekend and I am getting to spend some quality time with my little Sunshine today! After a failed attempt to go to the mall yesterday due to traffic (yeah long weekend) we are going today then for a nice long walk!
Back on track. Here is the recipe I use to make bread. Thanks to my Brother in Law who taught me this. it was SO good.

• 2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 6 cups bread flour

Directions

1. In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water, and then stir in yeast. Allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam.
2. Mix salt and oil into the yeast. Mix in flour one cup at a time. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Place in a well oiled bowl, and turn dough to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
3. Punch dough down. Knead for a few minutes, and divide in half. Shape into loaves, and place into two well oiled 9x5 inch loaf pans. Allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until dough has risen 1 inch above pans.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes. }
   Recipe found at http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1069757387984848708#editor/target=post;postID=5059381731786141898 including reviews.

Stroller Cake

So this is the season for showers, not rain showers but baby and bridal showers!

We have 2 baby shower in the next month and a bridal shower so it is time to get crafty with gifts. The one baby shower my mom is going to is a diaper shower, since the girl already has one child, thus most of the stuff she will already need, we are all gifting her diapers!

Only problem is that opening 30 packs for diapers from friends and family is BORING. So we decided to spice it up a bit and give the our present of diapers some character. Here is out diaper stroller!

There are a lot of tutorials on You Tube to make a stroller but we wanted to make sure that a majority of the diapers that we used to make the stroller can actually be used my mom. The one tutorial that we loved the lady really had a thing for the glue gun and glue everything in sight.

It took a bit of creativity to find a way to make a majority of the diapers reusable but we did it! The only ones that are not useable and glued on with a pound of glue are the wheels and the 2 on the back.

Here is our diaper stroller. It was surprising easy and fun to get creative!

 The front of the stroller. We rolled the diapers then place 2 rubber bands (one on top and one on bottom) to hold them in place.

 Rubber bands are ugly so we bought ribbon to cover the bands. We had just enough in one roll to cover all the bands. In order to be able to reuse the diapers we placed a piece of paper underneath the rubber band and glue the 3 things together to avoid getting glue to the diapers.

 The 2 diapers on the back are heavily glued on the box and not useable by mom. The bow looks cute right? It covers a part of cardboard we could not cover with the diapers.

The handle is made out of 4 big Popsicle sticks and I wrapped leftover felt on 2 of them glued together for the part you hold.

Things needs:
2 shoe size boxes - free from grocery store
1 pack of diapers (we had parents choice from walmart in size 2 and came with 70 in a pack) 11.99
4 pieces of felt 2.00
4 popsicle sticks
1 roll of ribbon 2.50
glue gun and sticks

Total cost 16.49!!!!!

Cutest Makeup Packaging

Ok, so when you think about makeup most people don't really care what the packaging looks like or the creativity behind it. However the brands spend a ton of money on creative concepts of the product to catch your eye. There are a few companies that always have super cute packaging and you can tell spend tons of time on it (benieft, the balm, various MAC colletions) but I wanted to take the time to highlight a few products that I would love to own but would never let myself us for fear of ruining them!

Jill Stuart 5th Anniversary Collection

This is what I would imagine sitting on the vanity of a royal princess in a giant castle about 100 years ago!  There is so much detail in each piece that I couldn't imagine owning one with out the others! Since this came out in 2009 I couldn't find any prices and i guarantee those that bought them would never resell something so pretty.

Pupa Cosmetics - Babushka Dolls

I remember first seeing these dolls at my great grandmothers house. I thought they were super cute and played with them every once in a while. They must have been collectable because the rules to play were 1. Wash your hands 2. No other children could be present 3. You had to sit at the table 4. If Meme left the room you could not touch them. They were so special to play with I think that is one of the reasons I get happy seeing them.

Paul & Joe - Cat Lipstick

Considering after one use this would be totally ruined, it might win the reward for least pratictal thing on this list. I am not the biggest fan of the outside tube (it looks like a bad granny shirt) but I gotta say cutest mold for the lipstick itself.

Fortune Cookie Soaps : Electric Lemonade Shaved Ice Bath Bomb

 

 

 

 

This is not food! It is a bath bomb and the only thing on this list I could justify buying because it is only 6 dollars!

Filled with childhood joy, Amanda

Technology and a Monster

It is no secret that kids love playing with expensive electronics. In fact my husband insists how expensive and high tech the product is the more appealing it is to kids.It does not matter if they have any practical use for it.  I agree but is that true for a 2 year old? Don't two year old girls want to play with barbies  or colour pictures and Disney characters? Well not Monster. Welcome to the technology generation I guess.

       I love clipart! 

She is able to work the xbox to stream movies that she wishes to watch ( it takes a while for her to find the right one but she almost always settles on a movie much  quicker if she finds it herself.) My husband is just waiting for the day when she will want to play the newest xbox game with him. That my friends is a losing battle for me and I may never see the two of them again because it will turn into all video games all the time.

             You can guess what kind of house I live in ( and the man I married) by noticing that I not only have a xbox but it is a halo themed one. He has another one downstairs in his 'man cave' and 2 more sitting on a shelf that don't work. I don't understand why he has two that don't work. I just know when they were offered to him he got really excited and they haven't moved off the shelf since.

Monster went through a phase where she loves letters. She loved seeing letters to the extreme that other children love getting candy. She would jump up and down (especially if it was a B) and whole body would tense up as she studied it carefully. My laptop suffered life threatening injures in her hands when she found out a) It has ALL the letters on tiny keys and b) she could pop the keys off. In fact for about 2 weeks she went out of her way to find it, open the computer and pop off the B button. The ending results are that the space bar, B, G, H,J and alt keys are beyond repair and can not be put back on. It was so impratical to use the we bought a new one, Luckily she is over her romance with the ABC and likes them just the regular amount.

Her new obsession, which thankfully isn't as destructive as the computer one, is the camera. I am amazed how well she can work it and take pictures of people's faces and objects. Of course i have to go in and delete about 40 percent that are all orange because her finger was on the lens but I am still impressed mostly because she is two and I still do it too.

See ya later internet, Amanda

First Post!

I have wanted to start a blog for a while. I always had the excuse of being busy but now on early  maternity leave waiting for my precious second baby girl to arrive I found myself having a bit of time and looking for a creative outlet.

I am also influenced to start this to keep up with family and friends. In March of this year we packed up our whole lives and moved to a new city for a fantastic job opportunity for my husband. He couldnt be happier with the move and is doing great with the job but it is pretty lonely here without my friends and family i am used to having in stone throwing distance.

    One of my favorite wedding shots.

Our daughter, nicknamed the Monster turned 2 in September and i want to make sure I document our lives for her sake and my memories sake. While being a mother is no a new challenge it is for me, especially being a month away from being a mother of two!

 Here is the little Monster. Always the little entertainer!

So here goes nothing. I have ideas of many things I will post about including parenting challenges, cool products, makeup suggestions (i am obsessed with youtube makeup gurus) and any other things I come across. So come on a journey with me as I discover and write about the wonders and not so fantastic moments of life.

See you soon, Amanda