Harry Potter Wand

I promised I would be back with more information on those amazing wands I made for Ty's birthday party, and well, I'm finally back.

Sorry it took so long but I spent way too many sleepless nights working on party decorations, and then I spent the weekend trying to recoup.

I found this idea on Your Life Uncommon.  You can go here, for her detailed tutorial.  (She has several cute ideas for Harry Potter Parties!)

While making my wands, I did make a couple of modifications that I will share with you.

1st - I used white cardstock instead of regular printing paper. (Only because thats what I had on hand. I believe the other would work just as well.)

2nd- I could not fill my wand up with hot glue.  It took three failed attempts to realize I had better come up with another idea.  What I finally settled on was this:
                           I filled the narrow end of the wand with hot glue and let it cool completely.  Then I filled and stuffed it with tissue wrapping paper until the wand felt solid.  Finally I topped the other end with more hot glue.
                          Keep in mind, I was using a low temp glue gun.  That may be why I couldn't fill it completely with the hot glue.  But I actually think this is way faster and cheaper anyway.


The kids loved them!  Ty wants them in different colors now, and Lilly said that Toby slept with his, lol.
(That's what makes those sleepless nights worth it!!)

More Harry Potter ideas coming up.......


I linked up here:

Do you believe in magic?

Please overlook the bad cell phone photos.
Unfortunately, my camera doesn't do much better.

Well, these sure didn't get done by any magic!

You COULD call me MRS. Ollivander, but Mrs. Exhausted would be much more appropriate.

I was up all night working on them for Ty's b-day party on Friday.

  But aren't they SWEET !?!

These 'magic' wands are made from paper, glue and paint.

And the very best part is that they are FREE!!

We'll technically they are free. 

They only cost me a night's sleep and supplies I already had on hand. LOL

I'll be back later to give you more info and to tell you where I found the tutorial.  Right now I have to go to my paying job.  :)



Single and In Love!

No that title is not a misprint. It's true! 

I AM single and I AM in love. 

Seriously, just read on.

It's no secret that I am currently not in a relationship.  I haven't been in one at all in over a year, and a bit longer than that for anything very serious.

The part that seems so be a secret (at least to my well-meaning friends) is that I am not depressed, sad, bored, lonely or feeling any other host of negative emotions.  On the contrary, I am happier and more-focused than I have been in, we'll ....maybe ever.

For the first time in my adult life, I have been able to focus on my dreams and goals and have been trying to find a way to push them into motion.  I spend nearly every free minute working toward re-aligning my life with what is important to ME.

I haven't turned anti-relationship/romance/love, etc.  It's just the opposite.  I'm completely open to the idea and one day it will all fall into place again.  Maybe soon & (most likely) maybe not.

I love to be in Love.  I have a lot of love to give.

It's just, that right now, I'm busy loving myself. And that's important.

(Oh, and Ty, too! But we all KNOW that!)

So if you are single, today on Valentine's Day, or whenever.  Give yourself the best gift that anyone ever could.  Find something that is important to YOU.  Set a goal and work hard toward it.  

The other will inevitably happen in due time, and then you won't have time to focus solely on yourself and your goals.  Take this time to make it happen. 

It will be the best Valentine's Day Gift you ever received! ;-)

Is this all the winter we're gonna get?

I'm really not a big fan of the cold.  And I admit I have really enjoyed the mild weather this year.

BUT COME ON! Just snow already!

Ty's Class Valentines

This past week I've been making valentines for Ty to pass on to his class next week. I finally got them finished last night, so I thought I would share them with you.

He specifically requested Lego Harry Potter valentines and of course I couldn't find them anywhere, so I cabbaged some pics from the Internet and made my own. 



The colorful tubes that are attached are kaleidoscopes we picked up
 several months ago on sale. We've been saving them for something like this.



I worked forever on these because I wanted a watermark or light image of a castle behind Harry.  I found one and had it just right, but for some reason it WOULD NOT let me print. It was causing my printer to say that the memory was too low for the print job.  I tried everything. Well, everything except a different pic anyway, because I really liked that one. :(  So finally, after too many hours I just decided that if I couldn't have that one, then I just wouldn't have any! (Actually, I was just tired and stressed, so I just deleted it and moved on.)

I think they turned out cute. What do you think?



Now, I have to concentrate on Ty's Birthday party stuff for next week. I'll try to post pics of some of the decorations as I go. If I get tight on time, I will show you after the party, lol.

And yes, of course it's a Harry Potter birthday party. 

What else would it be?

Super Bowl Sunday Recipe Idea

Are you looking for a new recipe to try for Super Bowl Sunday? 

This is one of my all time favorite make and takes.  It's spicy and yummy. Perfect for football fans everywhere!

I previously shared this recipe here, but I thought it would be perfectly suited for this occassion, so I decided to share it again.  So if you haven't gotten around to trying this recipe yet, then it's about time you did!

**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**

Jalapeno Chicken Dip Recipe   

2   8 oz.  Blocks of Cream Cheese (softened)
1   10 oz Can of Chicken Breast
1             Can of Cream of Chicken Soup
3   Tbl.    Chopped Jalapenos (adjust to taste)


Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix Cream Cheese, Chicken Breast, Cream of Chicken Soup and Jalapenos with electric mixer.  Blend all ingredients together well.  Pour mixture into a small casserole dish and back for approx. 20-25 minutes.

The top of the mixture will begin to bubble, then brown. (I always say its done when it gets that homemade cheese cake look. But it doesn't have to be 'done' all the way through like cheese cake.  Its a dip remember.) 

Serve warm with crackers.


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Enjoy!

~Lynn

Valentine's Day Teachers Gifts

A post! Finally!

I'm not really sure why I haven't posted lately. I mean I know I've been busy, but I'm not really sure doing what.  I managed to get caught up on some scrapbooking that got pushed to the back burner through the holidays.  I packed up all of the Christmas decorations, and managed to get everything back to normal.

I also spent all last week doing some deep cleaning.  I figured if the weather was gonna act like it was spring, I might as well pretend it is too.

I chopped all of my hair off, and had red peak-a-boo highlights added to the front.  Crazy! I know.  I've kinda got a Neapolitan look goin' on, with the dark brown, blonde and red. It's a slightly asymmetrical stack bob.  Pretty funky and totally different from anything else I've sported in the last 10 years.  I'm not for sure what got into me, but I LOOOVVVEEE IT!  I never imagined I would like my hair short, but it is so super easy to fix and it STAYS fixed.  I don't have to spend an hour straightening it. It's AWESOME! 

ANYWAY, enough about all of that!



Try not to notice that none of the monograms are at the same height.  I didn't really think about them being photographed together.



I'm actually here to share what I made for Ty's teachers for valentine's day. 

I used my Cricut to cut out a stencil pattern on vinyl. Then I used the stencils to etch their initials onto some really nice heavy glasses I picked up. I filled them with red paper shreds and a bag of sugar free candy.

Perfect Valentine's Day gifts for his wonderful teacher, teacher's aide and of course the extremely helpful school secretary. (She's awesome. She makes finding out information a breeze!)

Of course they are not totally done yet.  I still need to add a ribbon and a gift tag. 

So what do you think? 

Do you send teacher's gifts for Valentine's Day?