DIY Silhouette Christmas Ornament

Grandparents love sentimental gifts. Being wise in all their years, they know that objects without a use are simply that - useless things. Unless, of course, they are handmade, in which case, they are even more precious if they come from someone special.

Today's tutorial will teach you how to make this super adorable (and super inexpensive) gift for your loved ones who have everything or want nothing.

What You'll Need:

• Paint 
• Paint brush
• Permanent marker (dark color)
• Ceramic ornament (I bought mine on sale for 50 cents at Hobby Lobby)
• A side facing profile of your child (or pet?) in a size that best fits your ornament

Instructions:

1. Paint your ornament your desired base color. Mine is a metallic silver.

2. While the paint dries, cut around the head & top of shoulders only.

3. Trace your cutout onto your ornament with the marker when the paint is completely dried.

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4. Color the face in completely.

5. Decorate the rest of your ornament as you see fit (I put metallic teal dots around the edge)

6. Don't forget to put the child's name and date on the back of it!!

And there you have it -

a beautiful gift for grandma and/or grandpa to cherish!

Gifts For Men 2012

We all know how it goes- men claim that they're "soooo easy to shop for", but how many past gifts are left boxed and stashed away? You can only give a man so much cologne, and while they [usually] will use it, when is enough really enough? I don't know about you, but I'm tired of giving the same old presents year after year. Sadly, my husband is at the age where he doesn't even want presents anymore. How un-American of him. Well, I refuse to let old age get the best of him! 

Black Friday is this week, and Christmas is soon to follow, so I've devised a system to help you figure out what your man wants most, as well as a list of my own suggestions.

1) Make a list of your man's interests. Is he a man's man (football, UFC, hunting, etc.) or a tech geek at heart (the latest gadgets, video games, comicons, etc)? Write them all down so you have a lot to go off of.
2) What is his weekly routine? If you want to get him something he'll actually use, this one is important. My husband's routine goes something like this: Monday-Fridays: hit snore then crawl out of bed for work, spend an hour+ in the car going to and from work. Come home, relax by watching TV or playing xbox. Weekends: Poker, football, xbox.
3) Based on his routine, put 2 & 2 together. My husband spends a lot of time at work and in the car. It'd make sense for me to get him tools, a GPS or something to make his journeys more pleasant. When he's home, he relaxes with his xbox (home wrecker). I'd get him a game, a renewal for his membership or something of the sort.
4) Pay attention to him. Yes, I know there are a billion different video games and a billion different accessories, so how do you know which one he'll like best? Listen to him when he says, "I can't wait until the new [game] comes out!" Or notice what he wears/uses most. For example, our first Christmas together, my husband bought me a watch. I never, ever wear watches and rarely wear bracelets. Needless to say, the watch didn't get much use at the time. Does your husband wear watches? Cufflinks? Ties? 
5) Don't buy something that YOU like with the hopes that *maybe* he'll like it. In other words, a book on marriage counseling probably is a no.




Now that that's out of the way, let's move on to the best part of today's post:

MY FAVORITE GIFTS FOR MEN OF 2012

#1. Xbox 360 Chatpad $21.99 

This little gizmo is perfect for your gamer or anyone who uses their xbox to watch Netflix.

#2. My Top Game Selections approx. $60 each

Basketball, football and a shooting game. I don't think you can go wrong with either of these, but make sure to pick a style (sports vs. shooting) that your man will actually enjoy- this goes with my pay attention rule.

#3 Team Watch $16

You can buy this exact one here. Let your man represent his team without having to paint his body. It's cheaper than a jersey, but just as effective.

#4. Wireless FM Car Transmitter $17.98

You can buy this exact one here. Unless you have a newer model car, chances are that yours doesn't have an auxiliary port to playback your awesome MP3 tunage. Interesting fact- 46% of Americans own a smart phone. Your man probably has one. Hook him up with some commercial-free music for his commutes to and from work.

#5. Dashboard Phone Mount $20

Buy this one here! Since so many people have smart phones with built-in map apps, I'm sure the need for a real GPS will soon be obsolete. Make your man a safer driver by keeping his eyes near the road when traveling to unknown lands, rather than having him glance down every 3 minutes to figure out his next turn.

#6. 19 in 1 Swiss+Tech Keychain MultiTool $10

Buy it here! This is one bad mamba-jamba. I don't know if it's just me, but I know that I'd feel safe during the zombie apocalypse if my man had one of these bad boys attached to his fanny pack!

#7. Dewalt 45 Piece Screwdriver Set $19.25

Get it here. Maybe it's a woman thing, but I can see no reason at all that a man would need 45 different heads for a single tool. In any case, this is a hot commodity in the man world.

#8. Mag-Lite LED Flashlight $25

This is another one of those objects that I just don't understand the desire to ask for as a present. As women, we like jewelry and make up and injecting our faces with chemicals, but men, well, men like flashlights.

#9. A Wallet

Buy this one for $21.99 here. A woman would never leave home without her purse just as a man would never leave home without his wallet. Buy him a nice one and he's sure to use it every day.

#10. Cufflinks

Each pair is under $25 and can be found here! Is your working man the nerdy type? Buy him these awesome cufflinks to accessorize his drone work attire with. He's sure to think of you all day long as he fidgets with them!

Well, that's all I have to share with you, but Christmas is still over a month away, so I'll be sure to share more gift ideas between now and then. Until next time and Happy Thanksgiving!

DIY "Family Rules" Wall Art

I don't know about you, but taking care of our planet feels really good. The simple things, like recycling, composting or using reusable shopping bags (even though you have to buy a new one every time you shop because you constantly forget them at home or in the car) really make a difference! 

However, my apartment complex does not have a recycling bin (I'm working on changing that!) so unfortunately for my poor husband, this means most of what can be recycled end up being saved for crafts. We have toilet paper rolls, water bottles, glass jars, milk jugs, bottle tops and more cluttering our home. This is great for me though because what's better than cheap? FREE!

Besides recycling, there's up-cycling. Basically, rather than discarding an item, you give it new life through other uses. Today for the most part, we will be up-cycling.

Have you seen these? 

At stores like Bed Bath & Beyond and Home Goods, these babies go for a whopping $40 and up! But today, we will make our own CUSTOM version for under $10.

*Sorry, but I didn't bother with an image by image tutorial because it's pretty self-explanatory.*

What You'll Need:

• An old or broken full-length mirror (frame should still be intact with a backing from mirror)
• Ruler
• Permanent marker (a DARK color of choice)
• Pencil
• Scissors
• E6000 or a glue gun
• Letter stickers of choice (NOTE: if you are not good at free-hand, I would suggest going this route, though it will increase the cost of this project- it's best to wait for them to go 50% off at Hobby Lobby)
• Approx. 2 yards of cork (a roll can be bought from Hobby Lobby for about $7 if you use the weekly coupon)

Instructions

1. Write down a list of what you'd like your family "rules" to be. See my finished product below for ideas or google "family rules sign".
2. Measure the length and width of your frame FROM THE INSIDE where the mirror is. Like so:
3. Using your pencil, draw then cut out your dimensions from your cork board. If you're going to mess up here, it's best to cut too big rather than too small or else you're left with a gappy fit.
4. Spread glue on mirror (or where mirror should be) and be sure to focus your lining along the edges, corners and just a bit in the middle. Don't get too crazy here.
5. After glue dries, use your pencil and ruler to plan your wording on your board ensuring that everything is spaced evenly. *THIS PART IS TRICKY AND MAY BE TIME-CONSUMING*
6. Once finished, place your stickers or use your marker to permanently adhere your words. Make sure you continue to use your ruler so that letters are not placed/written unevenly.
7. Touch up frame. Mine had some nicks where staining had been removed, so I used a brown permanent marker that matched the wood and colored them in.

And viola! Here is my finished product:

I began and finished free-handing mine in 30 minutes. I should have taken my time on it, but I made it on a whim so I'm happy with how it turned out. I like that I personalized it with values/morals/"rules" that are important to us specifically rather than the generic norm but I LOVE how proudly my husband announces to company: "My wife made this, isn't it great?" He's so sweet :) 

Ideas to Come with a Side of Healthy Ranting

Alright party people, what's happenin'?!

Sorry it's been awhile since posting- I've recently joined a playgroup and they have been keeping me busy busy! But, of course, I'm not complaining and I haven't forgotten about you!

In fact, I have been busting my brain coming up with fantastic ideas and information to announce to the world! And what have I in store for you? Well, you will just have to wait and see! But I won't leave you completely stranded- here's a little something to keep you interested:

• Mondays will now be Mommy Mondays
• Wednesdays will hence forth be DIY Wednesdays

and posts on all other days of the week will be bonuses - Yey! - and I promise they will be more frequent and more bountiful than those you receive at work (snort).

And guess what else? TODAY will be one of those days! Lucky you :)

Many of my mommy friends unite for a common cause; locking arms as one in a fight to the death for justice, liberty and the pursuit of happiness weight loss!! While I realize today isn't Mommy Monday, face it, we all need to band together and support each other. After all, we do share the common denominator that is man-kind (and that pesky statistic which claims the United States is the fattest country of them all). And thus, I share with you, friends, the secrets of losing flab: *insert object silhouetted by blinding spiritual light whilst angels singing hallelujah!* 

Just kidding. No such secret exists. You already know what must be done- you just have to put forth the work. "But Krissstinnnnn!" you may whine, "I don't have time to work out!" And to that I say, BAH HUMBUG! Of course you do! You just need to re-prioritize. It's quite easy to get in your daily exercise if you know where to look. Here are a few quick and painless easy tips to get you headed down the right track:

1. Are kids running rampant over your "free time"? Join them! Who says mom or dad can't play tag? By encouraging them to play actively, and joining in as well, you set a good example for them, create fond memories, and shed a few calories!
2. TIVO is nice for skipping commercials, but next time, refrain! Get on that floor and do some crunches for one set of commercials, push-ups for another, lunges, squats and so forth. 
3. Speaking of squats and lunges- do a few while bending down to collect toys, shoes, bottles, cards, dog food, cans of soup, poop, dead lizards and whatever else your child has cluttered the floor with.
4. Run (or walk) a 5k with friends! Make it a moms day out or tire out the kiddos by dragging them along also.
5. Set realistic goals! Start with something simple: 10 a day, running a half mile. Then each day increase that goal little by little. Soon enough, you'll be juggling three kids at once (literally) and chasing down another simultaneously without even breaking a sweat!
6. Rethink your definition of exercise. It doesn't have to be boring! Here are a few FUN activities that will burn your buns: swim, dance, jump on a trampoline, play tag/hide and go seek, play kickball/baseball, play laser tag, beach volleyball, have sex *wink*!
7. Clean out that pantry! Say bye-bye to most junk food, most soda and most processed foods! See there how I said "MOST"? The key to sticking with anything is to make it fun or at least interesting. By that I mean that if I were to tell you, "No pasta or cake EVER!" Well, life just got a lot less fulfilling, didn't it? You'd probably kick that diet out the window after a week. And if you stuck with it, you'd be miserable watching others dine on a chocolate smothered brownie topped with caramel covered vanilla ice cream. So here's what you do: limit yourself. Box half your meal at a restaurant BEFORE you eat it, promise to only eat sweets on holidays and birthdays, switch from fried and greasy chips to baked snacks, etc.
8. Join THIS email subscription!! Eat This, Not That! by Men's Health has helped me make "dieting" transformations for the better! And I haven't had to sacrifice anything that I didn't willingly toss aside. Seriously, it's great. Probably my favorite article by them is The 50 Best Snack Foods in America. That link is to the list, but the great thing about their full articles, is that they detail WHY you should make the switch. Even if you don't subscribe, you should at the very least check it out!

Well, I'm done ranting. For now. I'm sure at some point down the line, I'll dedicate an entire post to why you should avoid drinking soda altogether. 

'Til then, feel free to share your tips in the comment box below!

Look, Mom- No Pants!

Introducing...

*claps*

If you haven't already heard of the remarkable movement that is Improv Everywhere, my are you in for a treat today!!

A spontaneous prank operative nearly 100,000 strong, Improv Everywhere was founded by Charlie Todd in 2001 and has orchestrated over 100 missions nationwide. Through the use of its own "undercover agents" as well as like-minded strangers, Improv Everywhere stages not-so-random (to them, at least) antics that are sure to bring smiles, and a look of mass confusion, to innocent bystanders' faces. 

The video above, titled The Mute Button, took place in Prospect Park of Brooklyn, NY as a part of the Guggenheim Museum's exhibition stillspotting nyc. Other "missions" include dressing black tie formal to the beach, orchestrating a cacophony of car alarms in a busy strip-center parking lot and walking "invisible dogs" down the busy streets of NYC!

While the majority of their shenanigans take place in New York City, there are a few pranks that we all can enjoy. Such as, the No Pants Subway Ride!

(you're welcome)

This mission, as well as a few others, can be performed anywhere in the world so long as you have the proper means. Keep informed on upcoming missions by subscribing via email. If you do take part in one of their staged masterpieces, make sure to share your pictures and videos with the rest of us (or it didn't happen!)

So, next time an event like this comes your way, go ahead, let out your inner hooligan and get in touch with your mischievous side! After all, you only live once- why not make the most out of it?

Learn more about this cause here and check out their collection of videos and maybe even subscribe to their YouTube channel here. 

Enjoy :)

Thanks, Now Let's Clone Some Cyber Babies!

Hello, all!

This is my first post (clearly) so let me take the time to thank you, all three of you, for subscribing to my blog! Here, you will find updates on my family and I, shared recipes, easy DIYs and interesting reads. If you like what you see, help a girl out and click that share button! It's easy and probably one of the few disease-free things you can share with millions of people. So go on with your bad self and create some cyber babies! 

*share*