DIY Newspaper Bow!

Yesterday, I posted about some secret message wrapping paper we made and mentioned the bows were homemade as well!  So here, as I promised, is the tutorial.  

BTW - I cannot claim credit for this inspiration, I once saw an awesome paper bow on www.whipperberry.com.  I went there to check for the tutorial but couldn't find it so this is my own attempt.  I chose to use newspaper because that seemed like a fun "father-like" bow.  If you want to make the child colored bow shown on the gift picture from yesterday's post (I believe I saw this suggestion on Pinterest or on another website somewhere long ago) - just have your child scribble on some paper and use that instead of the newspaper I used below.

1.  Cut three pieces of newspaper to your desired length and width (I used roughly 1 1/2 inch width and 22 inch length strips for this bow).  Fold one strip as show in the first picture above.

2.  Fold the other end of the same strip and secure both in the middle with a staple.  Cut off the excess ends.  Follow the same method for the other two strips of newspaper.

3.  Layer the three pieces of looped newspaper on top of each other (experiment with the placement of them until you achieve the desired effect - I have layered the first two in the picture above) and staple together in the middle.

4.  Following the same steps listed above, make a smaller looped newspaper and place it inside the middle of your stapled stack.  Staple or glue in place.

5.  Make one small round loop with a leftover piece of newspaper and glue or staple closed.  Use this for the center of your bow.  Place on top of the other stacked looped newspaper pieces in the middle and glue or staple in place.  All done!  :)

Linking to:

www.tatertotsandjello.com

www.diyhshp.blogspot.com/

www.makingtheworldcuter.com

Father's Day: Secret Message Gift Wrap, Homemade Bows, & Homemade Gummy Bites!

Father's Day is just around the corner so I thought I'd share a little of what we did to make it extra special for Daddy this year.  :)  To make the gift wrapping just as wonderful as the gift inside, I decided to spice up some plain white wrapping paper by having us write secret notes on it for my husband.

On one present, we used lemon juice to write messages (if you try this, just use a cotton swab or thin paintbrush and it should dry pretty clear).  When Daddy opens his present, he can hold the paper up to a strong heat source to see what we wrote!  :)

UPDATE ON THIS METHOD:  The lemon juice method did not work well on the wrapping paper we used.  The notes we wrote with the juice didn't seem to show up very well using a heat source.  It is possible that this was due to the type of wrap we used so I suggest if you try this method - you may want to make a little sample first using the type of wrap you intend to give your gift in to make sure it works well first.  Please let me know if you try this and have a successful story to share as I thought this would be a fun idea for kids.  :)

On the second gift, we used homemade finger paint to write a secret note to Daddy.  In order to read it, he will have to open his present VERY carefully so as not to mess up the paper.

By the way, if you try any of these methods, make sure you measure and cut your paper to size for your gift FIRST so you don't end up having to cut off part of your message after the paint has dried.

Don't you LOVE the bows we used?  They are homemade as well!  I will be posting a tutorial on how we made these (with pics) tomorrow so make sure you check back!!!

P.S.  A follower recently let me know about an article which might be of interest to other readers concerning ways to wrap a gift.  Here is the link:  http://www.aupairjobs.com/articles/10-ways-to-wrap-a-gift/   Thanks for the tip, Jacqui!  :)

Last year, we made Daddy some homemade chipotle gummy bears which he loved!  SOOO this year, in addition to some items that my husband wanted, we decided to make him another batch of chipotle peach gummy goodness!  AND I decided to try a new flavor combination which I am happy to report, was also quite tasty:  mango lime gummy bites!

For the recipe and post from last year, just click here (to make the mango lime flavor, I used lime jello with a tiny bit of lime zest mixed in and tiny pieces of mangos sprinkled on top before the mixture could cool and firm up).

These are AWESOME because they are so unique (how often do you see mango lime or chipotle peach gummy candy in a store?), AND because your kids can help make them for Dad!  You could even let them come up with their own flavor combination for him - if you dare!  ;)

Linking up to:
www.momontimeout.com
www.houseofhepworths.com
www.atthepicketfence.com
www.cookienut.blogspot.com
www.happyhourprojects.com
www.joyfulstamper.blogspot.com
www.sunscholars.blogspot.com
www.homeschoolcreations.com
www.livinglifeintentionally.blogspot.com
www.whipperberry.com
www.kitchenfunwithmy3sons.blogspot.com
www.tatertotsandjello.com
www.diyhshp.blogspot.com/
www.makingtheworldcuter.com

Father's Day Delights

Happy Father's Day to three of the most amazing men:  my father, my husband, and father-in-law!!!

I found this free printable door hanger for Father's Day Room Service (see the pic above) here:  http://733blog.blogspot.com/2011/06/fathers-day-room-service.html .  You simply download, print, and add yummy menu items - then let dad pick what he wants for his breakfast on Father's Day.   So, you may ask, what scrumptious fare did my husband choose from the list I gave him?  The wonderful father of my children breakfasted on Grand Marnier French Toast, Baked Egg Custard with Gruyere and Chives and Irish Coffee (he picked orange juice too, but unfortunately it seemed to have gone bad so I had to throw it out). 

The menu may sound fancy, but all the dishes were pretty easy to make and most of the prep could be done the night before too which is a huge plus in my book!  The recipes are on http://www.epicurious.com/ if you are interested in trying some of them yourself. 

In addition to a lovely breakfast, we also presented him with a pretty wonderful card (because homemade cards made by one's own children are often like that) and some homemade chipolte peach gummi bears (more on that later this week).

We capped off the day with another round of delights:  Rib-eye Steaks with Blue Cheese and Toasted Walnut Butter, Sweet Potato Fries, Tomato & Avocado with Feta salad, and rich Chocolate Stout Cake with Hershey's Dark Chocolate Frosting.  Yep, it was good.  Very good.  :)  In fact, one could find oneself wishing that Father's Day was more than a once-a-year occurrence.   :)  And I am here to tell you - it CAN be.  :)  Just choose another day and celebrate all over again - I doubt your husband or father would mind. ;)