Black beans and coconut rice with lots of fun flair

  Tonight we tried a recipe courtesy of Michael Natkin at Herbivoracious. This dish is easy healthy, kid friendly, and seriously delish. I substituted white with brown rice and made the beans from scratch. Click here for the recipe.

Lampshade makeover

 I've been trying to find material thick enough to cover up a subpar stencil attempt on a lampshade. The material was in my closet all along! Since the shirt was gathered the bottom no adhesive was required.
   Here is the lampshade before:

Here it is after:

Wine box divider crowns

    Next time u have wine box dividers, cut then in half, tape them together and let the kids decorate away. We used chalk, stickers, and markers for ours.(tip: you can get the dividers in the box bin at Costco)

Paper bag jellyfish

  We finally went to the aquarium at the Mall of America today. The jellyfish exhibit was pretty great and I decided on the way home I needed to figure out a way to make one. Here's what I came up with:
Supplies:
Brown paper grocery bag
Crepe paper
Googly eyes
Paint
Scissors
Glue or tape
Method:
1. Cut a large circle from paper bag
2. Cut a slit to about the middle of the circle

3. Paint the circle (we also used circle brush for dots)
4. Once dry, overlap the slits to make a dome and glue or tape shut
5. Glue or tape eyes and draw a mouth
6. Turn upsidedown in a bowl (this keeps it from sliding around)
7. Glue or tape streamers to underside of bag.

8. Hang and enjoy!

Stained glass window craft

   After a spring-like day yesterday, winter is back with a vengeance. We took some time to turn our glass front door into a "stained glass window." It's fun and easy and unlike many other stained glass crafts it doesn't involve glue!
Here's what you need for this project:
-Random cut shapes of multi colored contact paper (can be found at craft stores)
- a solution of 1/3 dish soap and 2/3 water
- a window
What to do:
- smear the window with the wet mix
- have kids place contact paper up and enjoy when the sun shines through

New slate for the New Year

    Start 2012 with a clean new magnetic slate! I've had this project half finished for a few months and figured it was time to complete and put it out as the Christmas decor came down.
What You'll Need:

* Chalkboard paint 
* cookie sheet or vintage metal TV tray (I got my sheet at the dollar tree)
* wine corks (Feel free to get creative with your border on this project. I've done some with bottle caps, pretty ribbon, buttons, etc.)
* hot glue
TIP: if you don't have enough wine corks, and don't feel like imbibing that frequently, ask your local spirits shop. They usually have extras from tastings. 
What to do:
1. paint chalkboard paint onto your sheet. let dry and add another coat
2. glue your corks onto border of tray
3. pick a inspirational quote to admire and write it on your board
That's it! Super simple and fun. You can also do one for each family member and use as your "message/note" center using magnets to hang papers on it.