"Have a crazy and kool summer"-- end of school year gift

I went back yesterday to visit my first grade student teaching students that I taught in the fall. I found a great site on Pinterest that had wonderful ideas for inexpensive yet cute gifts to give to your students! This is what I gave them! This idea could be given from a teacher or also kids could give these out to their fellow classmates.  There are a bunch of other great ideas on her blog that you can check out here!
To make them print out the labels, cut them out and punch a hole in the top. (Don't do it too close the edge or the ribbon will rip the paper).  I would also suggest printing them on heavy paper.  I then stapled the Kool Aid packet to the tag.  If I use this idea again, I think I will get the clear party goodie bags and put the straw and kool aid in the bag.  Then tie it up with ribbon and add the gift tag to front so that the gift is more durable.  It is a little difficult to get the tag and kool aid to stay tied on to the crazy straw.   

Kentucky Derby Party

Growing up I lived in Kentucky for 10 years and each year the Kentucky Derby was a big deal!  The city of Louisville turns into a big party prior to the the Derby!  The two week party kicks off with a huge firework display called Thunder Over Louisville and then there is the Chow Wagon, the Pegasus Parade, and the Great Balloon Fest just to name a few events. 

I moved from Kentucky almost 10 years ago and this is the time of year that makes me miss Kentucky the most.  This year Dan and I decided to host a Kentucky Derby Party...it was our goal to show our friends what the Derby was all about! 

I'll first start with my hat. Oh the hats at the Derby...got to love them and the bigger, the better.  People spend hundereds to thousands of dollars for hats to wear to the Derby, unfortuantly for me that wasn't an option so I made mine.  I purchsesd just the plain pink hat and added some "jazz" as I called it.  I think it turned out pretty well!  We had a hat contest and the winners got to take home a vase of red roses since the Kentucky Derby is called the Run for the Roses!

Below are some random pictures that I snapped.  As usual I was rushing around right before the party and didn't get as many photos as I would have liked but here are a few.  I found all the great free printables here! 

I made this centerpiece by covering an old box with scrapbook paper, adding some ribbon that I had in my scrap ribbon box.  I hot glued a horse from the Dollar Tree and some red silk roses from Wal-Mart. 

The wreath that I made uisng a Dollar Tree wreath base, wired ribbon, silk red roses, and a wooden fence and horse which I got from Michaels.  To make the jockey silks, I printed, colored and glued them to foam board and then cut them out. 

Run for the Roses...

My Mom made Derby Pie and in the madness of the party I forgot to snap a picture of it so I borrowed one from here!  This stuff will send you on a sugar high but is so tasty! 

We also had an adult and kids pool and people drew horses which gives everyone a reason to cheer for a horse and makes the party even more exciting! 

We had a great turn out and everyone seemed to have a great time!

Holiday Garland Card Holder

I found a holiday card tree holder that I absolutely loved but I was not paying the crazy price that the store wanted.  I thought I would make my own tree but ended up deciding to pin them to the garland I already had up on the railing in the foyer. 

I started with a random assortment of old Christmas cards that I have been saving.  Every Christmas it kills me to throw them away because some of them are so pretty. I try to save them and use them for my Christmas scrapbooking pages.  If you don't have any old Christmas card, you could use scraps of wrapping paper or scrapbook paper. 

I cut the first piece to fit the clothes pin and then used it as a pattern to cut out the rest. 

  

One of the old cards had letters that spelled Merry Christmas so I cut those out and glued them to the top of the clothes pins. 

 I glued on little mini Christmas light bulbs that I had left over from last year onto the top of the pins that didn't have letters on them. 

I clipped the cards on in a line following the top of the handrail.

 Then I used the branches that hung below the first row of cards to clip on another row. 

 Then each day when we anxiously check the mail, we will add new cards on. 

I love that I can display the cards without taking up valuable table and shelf space so that I can save that space for other Christmas decor!  One dollar for the clothes pins (and recycling old cards) beats $50 for a store bought card holder tree any day! 

Yummy Mexican Restaurant Rice

At last I can get back to blogging!  I have done so many projects and cooked so many recipes but haven't had time to sit down and write everything up!  This semester I had 5 classes as well as student teaching 3 days a week so all of my computer time was used for writing lesson plans and papers!  I'm looking forward to getting back into blogging and finally getting into PINTEREST! 

 I thought I'd start back up with this yummy mexican restaurant style rice.  My boyfriend and I love to go out to Mexican and the rice has to be my favrotie thing (as well as a Margarita). Everytime we make taco salad or enchaladas at home, we would buy that spanish rice in a box or microwavable pouch and in my opinion that rice terrible!  I was determined to figure out how the mexican restaurants do it.  I found a recipe tweeked it a little and it is worth it! 

The only bad thing about this rice is that it is takes 25- 30 minutes so I often get impatient and have to resist the urge to stir it.  I usually make a double or triple batch and freeze it so that when we are in a hurry I can just reheat it.  It freezes pretty well and tastes pretty good the second time around. 

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons of vegetable oil

1 cup uncooked long-grain rice

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 cup chopped onion (I usually add a little extra)

1/2 cup tomato sauce

2 cups chicken broth

 Saute the chopped onions in vegetable oil over medium heat for a few minutes to soften them. 

 Add in the rice and stir.

 

Then add in the garlic salt and cumin.

Constantly stir over medium heat until the rice puffs and is golden brown.   

  I usually do mine over low to medium because this burns very easy.  Don't stop stiring!

Stir in the chicken broth and tomato sauce. 

 Bring it to a boil. 

 Reduce heat and cover.  Simmer for 20-25 minutes. Don't stir it, just let it simmer and absorb the liquid. Don't get impatient or the rice will be hard. 

 When it is done, remove from heat and lightly fluff with a fork. 

Serve and enjoy!  I served mine with enchaladias and beans. 

I also froze half of our enchaladias and half the rice for another meal.  Make sure to remove all the air from your bags to prevent freezer burn. 



Mailbox Witch

Materials:

Large styrofoam ball

Green and black paint

Witch hat (Dollar Tree)

Old black pants

Broom (Dollar Tree)

Black Cat (Target--Dollar Spot)

Fabric for a cape

Dress up shoes (Dollar Tree)

Packing Foam/Bubble Wrap/Plastic Grocery Bags

Glue gun

The head is made of a styrofoam ball that I painted with green acrylic paint.  For the face I painted on the smile with black paint and used paint caps (from the little bottles of acrylic paint) for eyes.  I used a set of pom-poms for hair and a added a hat.  I put a hole in the styrofoam and lined the hole with packing foam  so the styrofoam did not scratch the mailbox ball and stuck it nice and snug on the metal ball.   

To make the pants, you first need to find an old pair of black pants.  I used a pair of old black dress paints and I glued strips of purple fabric to make stripes.  Then stuff the pants with plastic stuffing such as grocery bags or sheets of balled up packing foam.  I wouldn't recommend newspaper because the witch will get wet in the rain.   

 Then  to add the shoes, I rolled a piece of thin packing foam to fill the shoe.  Then cut a piece of tan colored grocery bag and glued it on the rolled foam.  It looks a little strange in the picture but it actually does make it look like wrinkly witch skin! 

I even added a little hot glue to the bottom of her shoes and the grass to keep her feet in place. Shh ...don't tell my boyfriend I put hot glue on the new sod! :)

 The last finishing touches are a black cat and a broom! 

 You are sure to spook your neighbors (and mail lady/man) with a mailbox witch! 

Linking up to these great blogs:

http://craftomaniac.blogspot.com/



Almond Wild Rice

I found this yummy recipe for Almond Wild Rice on All Recipes.  I made a few slight changes to the original recipe but overall it was a very good side dish!

Ingredients:

5 1/2 cups chicken broth, divided

1 cup golden raisins (I used regular raisins, cranberries might also work well)

6 tablespoons butter or margarine, divided (see my suggestions below for decreasing the butter)

1 cup uncooked wild rice
1 cup uncooked brown rice

1 cup slivered almonds

1/2 cup minced fresh parsley

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

First bring 1/2 cup of broth to a boil. Once boiling remove from the heat and add raisins and set aside.  Do not drain extra raisin sauce.

Then in a large saucepan, bring 3 cups of broth and 2 tablespoons of butter to a boil. (You could really reduce the butter here if desired.)  Add wild rice; cover and simmer for 55-60 minutes or until the rice is tender.

In another saucepan add the brown rice, 2 tablespoons butter (again butter could be decreased) and 2 cups of broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 35-40 minutes or until rice is tender.

In a skillet, saute the almonds in remaining butter until lightly browned.  Next time, I think I would toast them in the oven so they wouldn't be so greasy or at least decrease the butter. 

 In a serving bowl, combine the wild rice, brown rice, raisin mixture, almonds, parsley, salt and pepper.

Yum! A couple things I don't like about this recipe...it uses 3 saucepans at once which creates a lot of dishes to clean.  It also takes almost an hour for the wild rice to cook so this isn't a quick dinner.  It makes a great side dish for many meals!