Blog - Gluesticks Blog

Super Pops!

January 28, 2012 By Brandy 6 Comments

We decided to get a head start on our Valentines this year. Which was probably a good idea since I am organizing the kindergarten Valentine's Day party as well. These SUPER POPS were super easy to make, especially if you have a cricut, but if you don't, you can still make them too. See this inspiration via pinterest. Since I had the cricut paper doll cartridge I opted not to do the printable version and save time on cutting.

I cut out capes using the 4" settings (do NOT have it set to real dial size). And masks in the 4" setting as well. Then I hot glued the masks on and hole punched the capes so that the stick could easily slide through.

two lollipops with paper capes and masks

We kept the capes super simple and the boys just wrote From: Dallin/Aaron on each one.

They think they are pretty silly and I have to admit, they make me laugh too.

Pinewood Derby Ideas

January 26, 2012 By Brandy 7 Comments

Has your little scout had his Pinewood Derby yet? I think most packs do them in January.

I made this fun cake to bring and it was a hit! Just 3 stacked cakes with the top layer cut at an oval angle. I frosted it and added sprinkles for the "crowd". I did a google search for checkered paper and just printed it out online and taped it together for the base. The same with the little flags. I printed them off from online, laminated them, and taped then to tooth picks. I raided the boys' toys and found the little cars. Pretty simple!

Inspiration

Derrick is the cubmaster for our pack so I get to help him plan some of the pack meetings. It is fun working with him, we make a great team...10 years 🙂

wooden pinewood derby trophies with rubber ducks on top

Here are the trophies that we made for the boys this year. I think they turned out so fun! Derrick cut up a 2x4, painted and painted each block blue.

I added the vinyl, and then he added a little rubber duck to each one. To attach the rubber duck (from Oriental Trading) he attached a screw to each block and popped it into the bottom of the duck. We origionally tried hot glue, but it wouldn't stick to the rubber.

wood pinewood derby trophy with rubber duck

Simple and very inexpensive.

Derrick and the boys have been working on their cars together for the past week. I am so proud of the boys. They worked hard and really learned a lot. Aaron woke up early one morning and taped a little lego figure to the top of his car. It added the perfect touch 🙂
They both did great at the derby and had a fun time racing with their friends.

***More Ideas from Last Year***

Last year we made these fun cars to hand out as trophies.

For the Blue and Gold Banquet each boy brought a cake. I thought it would be fun to make one too. I loved how it turned out, but don't think that I will make one so detailed this year. I made that last year while being plagued heavily with MORNING SICKNESS. Ugg....that was a horrible night, but now we have sweet Ruby so it was all worth it!

Potato Flake Chicken

January 24, 2012 By Brandy 12 Comments

This recipe is easy, quick, and super kid friendly. It is one of our family favorites and a good one to whip up on nights that I teach piano or the boys have scouts. I found it on the back of a potato flake box years ago.

1 cup mashed potato flakes

⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon garlic salt

½ tsp. italian seasoning

1 ½ lbs. chicken breasts (sliced into 1" strips) or chicken tenders.

⅓ cup butter or margerine, melted

In a shallow bowl, combine the potato flakes, Parmesan cheese, italian seasoning, and garlic salt. Dip chicken in butter, then coat with potato flake mixture.

Place in a greased (cooking spray) baking pan. Bake, uncovered, at 375° for 15 minutes or until juices run clear. Broil on top rack for 3-5 minutes or until lightly browned.
Serves 6.

No-Sew Fleece Poncho For Kids

January 5, 2012 By Brandy 32 Comments

Make a no-sew fleece poncho for a toddler! So cute and cozy for fall, it's like a blanket for their shoulders! I'll share this quick 10 minute project with an optional ruffle detail.

little girl wearing pink polka dot fleece poncho

My mom called me the other day and told me about a little project that she made for her friend's daughter. She thought Kaylee would like it too. I agreed!

It was a little no-sew fleece poncho that she found online.

I told Kaylee about it and told her it was a little blanket for her shoulders. She was thrilled to go to Joann's and pick out some fabric for her new "shoulder blanket".

square of fleece with white fleece ruffle down the center

¾ of a yard of fleece will make 2 of these no-sew fleece ponchos. I didn't need 2 so I used the scraps to make her a little scarf with the scraps.

Measure the length from one wrist, across the chest, and all the way to the other wrist. This will be the measurement for the square of fleece. I used a 27"x27" square for this one.

If you'd like to keep this a no-sew project, you can stop right there, but I thought I'd add a little ruffle. I cut a strip of fleece twice as long as the square and stitched through the center, pulling the end strings to scrunch it. Then pinned it to the fabric, stretching and adjusting as I went.

There was extra on the ends so I just trimmed that part off.

Then I folded it in half diagonally and made the hole for her head. This little bowl is 4" in diameter and was perfect. I just used it as my guide. You'll just need a semi-circle shape on the fold.

Fleece is stretchy. It's better to start small and make the hole bigger if you need to later. If you made the ruffle, you can just back stitch a few stitches to keep the ends from unraveling after cutting the hole for the head.

There are several ways to finish the bottom. You can just leave it or cut it with pinking shears, or create a fringe. I just trimmed 2" up across the bottom to create a fringe. I didn't tie the ends, just left them like fringe.

It was so easy to make and only cost around $3 that I decided to make her 2. The one pictured, and another little black with white polka dot one.

The perfect little blanket for her shoulders.

***My little gal is 38" tall. ¾ yard of fleece is about 27" and is perfect for a little girl her size (3-4 years). You can adjust accordingly to fit your child. If making for a child 5-8 years old you'll probably need a yard.***

Hot Cocoa Mix Recipe and Mini Cocoa Bar

January 2, 2012 By Brandy 18 Comments

It is really easy to make your own hot cocoa mix. Store in a cute container and use in this mini hot cocoa bar for delicious hot cocoa all winter long.

Â This little chocolate bar has been so much fun! And with 3 kids using it....messy too! It's a great incentive for them to finish their dinner every night because a delicious cup of homemade cocoa is waiting for them!

blue wooden tray with cocoa mix and chocolate spoons

Simply set out a jar of your favorite hot cocoa mix. We used a homemade one that is really easy to make!

Hot Cocoa Mix:

5 ½ c. powdered milk
2 ½ c. powdered sugar
1 ¼ c. baking cocoa
1 c. dry nondairy creamer

Mix and store in an airtight container. To serve mix 1 c. boiling water with ⅓ c. dry mix.

Now for the fun toppings!

Chocolate chips, broken candy canes, and micro marshmallows. Not mini...micro. They are so tiny and fun! My friend got us a bag of these from a local Amish market. They are perfect for cocoa!

two chocolate covered spoons with sprinkles

Chocolate dipped spoons.

These are super easy to make. IÂ use the bigÂ bars of meltingÂ Ghirardelli chocolate that you can get at Sam's Club. I dip the spoons so that both the front and back are covered, and then dip them again, scooping up the chocolate into the spoon so that the bowl of the spoon is full. Then I lay them on waxed paper, add sprinkles and let dry.

The kids crack me up when they put their cocoa together. They don't just use one topping, they usually feel the need to use a little of ALL of them. Peppermint, Chocolate Chip and Marshmallow Cocoa. I love how the "less is more" approach rarely applies to children, haha!

Wintry Cardstock Wreath

December 20, 2011 By Brandy 6 Comments

The life of my beautiful ornament wreath came to an end and is now in the trash. Wind, crushed ornaments, etc. It was a sad day since it was my all time favorite Christmas wreath and it lasted for almost two holiday seasons so I guess I can't complain. I think I'll get more ornaments after Christmas on clearance and make another one next year.

But my front door still looks pretty because I pulled out my trusty 3D Cardstock Wreath that I made as a demo for a class I taught recently. It was perfect, bright, and popped against our black door.

paper star wreath with red and turquoise stars

These wreaths are SO easy and quick to make. I found these fun papers at Joanns for .25 each. The colors are in a wintry hue so I think I'll leave it up for January too.

As long as we don't encounter any wind storms, we'll be good 😉

winter themed paper wreath on black door

Click here to make your own!

Every Year a Memory Christmas Ornaments

December 19, 2011 By Brandy 7 Comments

memory ornaments hanging on evergreen swag

Every Year a Memory Ornaments

My sister, Stacy, is the creative mind behind the blog, Piles of Projects. She recently shared these super cute ornaments that she makes for her husband every year for Christmas. Each ornament is a little summary of the year in pictures. I knew when I saw these that I wanted to make some for our family too, but really wished I had thought of them sooner so that I didn't have to back track 10 years! Also, I can't free hand paint like she can. But I still wanted to make some for my husband too. In the past his favorite gifts have been the homemade ones and it is hard to keep coming up with those kind of ideas for him, so a big THANK YOU to Stacy for sharing her idea with me!

So I headed to Michael's to pick up some supplies. I love these ceramic ornaments. I've used them in previous projects. They are usually around $1. I bought a bunch of them. 10 to make this year and some for the future.

personalized ceramic ornaments on evergreen swag

They make pens that write on ceramic, but didn't have the colors that I wanted, so I bought a few metallic permanent markers in the scrapbooking section.

I used the markers to write the year and memories on each ornament, then coated them with a thin layer of mod podge to keep the markers from rubbing off since they aren't ceramic markers. It worked perfectly and there won't be any smearing over the years. If you do this same method, just make sure it is thin and you use light strokes to avoid any smearing. When they were dry, I went around the edges with some glitter puff paint for a border.

white ceramic ornament with black and white photo

I printed out small thumbnail photos of our family Christmas photos and mod podged them to the back of each ornament.

I found this photo box at Michael's for $2 and added some scrapbook paper to decorate it. Each one is wrapped in tissue paper to keep it safe from cracking and the extras are wrapped in the center for future use.

I think we may need a separate Christmas tree for these in a few years!

Chocolate Covered Danish Cookies and Etched Gift Jars

December 14, 2011 By Brandy 2 Comments

4 glass jars with chocolate dipped danish cookies

Last year I made acid etched gift jars. They were so simple to make and well received that I thought, "Why mess with a good thing?" So...I made them again for gifts for the boys' teachers, bus drivers, karate teachers, etc. You can find my tutorial on making these using your cricut here.

chocolate dipped danish cookies on green plate

I filled them with chocolate covered Danish cookies. Some with crushed candy canes (to tie in the soap that will go in the gift bags as well). They were super easy to make. You can get HUGE boxes of these at Costco or Sams (we bought 2) and the GOOD melting chocolate at Sams in big blocks. Just dip in melted chocolate and set on parchment paper to dry.

I found some clearance sheer ribbon and trimmings at Michael's over the weekend and used them to embellish the jars.

green plate wrapped in plastic with cookies

I also put together quite a few of these plates as gifts for the ladies that I work with in primary and ladies that I visit teach.

There are so many fun things going on this week for the holidays, but I am also looking forward to next week when my children are out of school so that we can relax as a family!

Make Your Own Bedtime Rice Bags

December 12, 2011 By Brandy 21 Comments

These warm buddy rice bags heat in the microwave and stay warm while your little ones fall asleep. A cozy little softie for bedtime! They also work great as boo boo bags and can be used warm or cold (frozen).

ugly doll and hello kitty shaped rice bags

I wanted to make my kids a little something homemade for Christmas. Aaron has a little gingerbread rice bag that my mom sent him for his birthday a few years ago. He can heat it in the microwave and it stays warm in his bed while he falls asleep. Kaylee and Dallin like him as well so I thought I'd make a couple of rice bags for Christmas. They were SO fun to make!

I'm not sure what the appeal is in these little ugly monster dolls, but my boys saw them recently and wanted them. I was not going to spend the money that the store was asking, so I made my own.

Making 2 dimensional softies is super simple. I can't make dolls. Sewing skinny arms/legs, stuffing them and adding details is just too much for me to handle, but I can do these little 2-D softies all day.

You don't need a special pattern to make these rice bags. I use coloring sheets that I find online.

Â I print out one full scale on a piece of 8.5x11" paper and cut it out. That's it!

Then I use that to cut out 2 pieces of fleece.

The detail on the front is cut out of felt or flannel and sewn on byÂ machine. I like to use fabric paint when I usually make little toys like this, but since these will be microwaved, I kept everything sewn and attached with thread.

Once the details are finished, I sew up the sides of the rice bags (right sides facing), leaving a small opening in the top. I clip corners, trim seams, then flip right side out and fill it up with rice (a little more than ¾ full---you don't want it packed too tight), a few drops of essential oil (optional, but covers up the musty rice smell),Â then hand stitch the top opening closed!

Microwave each rice bag Â for 45 seconds at a time until nice and warm.

I can't wait for them to open them on Christmas morning!

Â These bedtime rice bags would make great little birthday gifts for friends as well!