"April Showers Bring May Flowers" Kid's Craft

This cool paper craft turns a raindrop magically into a flower!

1. Fold a piece of paper or cardstock in half. 

 2. Find the middle of that. Either make a very light fold or a light pencil mark that can later be erased.

3. Fold one side inward to that center mark.

4. Fold the other side inward to the center forming a point.

5. Keeping the paper folded, use the template below to trace and cut out the raindrop shape. You only need to cut a "U" shape-- leave the point and top folds intact.

6. The kids are now ready to do their "magic trick" by unfolding the raindrop to transform it into a flower.  Kids can decorate them by watercolors, crayons, markers, etc. as they learn the phrase "April showers bring May flowers!" 

Here is the template you can cut out to use for tracing. The dotted line is simply where the edges line up where you folded the paper. DO NOT CUT THE FOLDED EDGE. 

 Here are some examples of ones that were made in my class:

Shot Glass Vase Life Hack

Flowers too small for a vase? Use a Shot Glass! 

These tiny violets work perfectly in a tall shot glass.

Tea in the Keurig

Did you know that you can use regular old teabags in your Keurig?!  No need to spend lots of money on the special Keurig K-cup packs, just lay a teabag right in the K-cup spot.  If it's not strong enough, just steep the teabag in your cup of hot tea for about 1 minute longer after the Keurig is done brewing!

Obamacare

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In case, you're not aware of how you compare with the rest of the world, check out the Global Rich List:  http://www.globalrichlist.com/

That should put things in perspective. Just be thankful for what you have and willing to help those that don't have what you have.  

Sheet Music Spiral Ornament

This is a variation of the paper ornament found on this blog:  http://www.tinkerwithink.com/2011/12/xmas-blitz-day-18-paper-snowflake.html

I had started making this ornament with vintage sheet music, but the paper was too brittle and was breaking with every tiny crease and roll since each section is made with a 2 inch square. So I decided to make a much bigger version for hanging in windows or archways instead of on a tree. 

I started by cutting a 6 inch x 6 inch square of paper. 

Fold it diagonally. Start from the outside edge, measure in 1 inch and make a mark. Measure 1 more inch from that mark and make another mark, and then one more time. (You should have 3 marks). Then flip it over and start from the other end and do the same thing until you have 6 marks total. 

You will then cut a straight line, following the direction of the paper edge, starting at each mark you made. I found it easiest to do both of the outer most marks first and then work my way in. Cut until there is between 3/4 to 1 inch between the right and left cut lines in the center.  You do not want to go too far into the center or it will not stay in tact (just like the center fold on a paper snowflake). 

When you have all of your lines cut, it should look like this:

 

Next you will unfold the paper and find the small center square. Take a small piece of double sided tape and secure one corner to the other to create a small rolled paper loop.

Turn the paper over to the other side. Take the next center square and do the same thing, attaching the corners together with double sided tape.  Repeat this 2 more times, flipping the paper over to make the loops on opposite sides.

Voila! You can use a small paper punch to punch out a hole to loop string through to hang it from if you'd like. 

I hung 6 of these in a window at various lengths.

Sundried Tomato Alfredo Ravioli

1 cup whipping cream

1/4 cup butter, melted

3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

1-2 Tablespoons sundried tomatoes, diced

1/2 teaspoon basil

1 bag cheese ravioli  (I have used "Mini Round Cheese Ravioli" from Giant Eagle and also "Portobello Mushroom Ravioli," and both were delicious!) 

Combine melted butter, whipping cream, and parmesan cheese in a saucepan. Whisk occasionally over medium heat until parmesan cheese is melted. Add sundried tomatoes (approximately 2 tablespoons-- more or less to your liking) and basil. Turn heat down to low. Heat for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sundried tomatoes are softened.

During the last 5 minutes of sauce being done, bring another pot of water to a boil and then heat the frozen ravioli according to package. (The Giant Eagle one's that I used only took 3 1/2 minutes for the larger mushroom raviolis and 2 1/2 minutes for the mini round cheese ravioli.)

Satisfy Your Sugar Cravings with Vitamins

After almost every healthy meal, I find myself craving something sweet. Instead of pigging out on candy or dessert, I've found that having one or two sweet gummy supplements helps satisfy the craving. If you are trying to cut out snacking on sugary snacks during the day, you'll have a much higher success rate if you replace the craving with a better option rather than trying to eliminate it completely. Replacing a candy bar with a vitamin or supplement is definitely a step in the right direction.

If you go into any drug store, you'll see a huge variety of gummy vitamins and supplements of all kinds with many different flavors. Here are just a few examples below. Give this a try next time you want to avoid sugary dessert but are craving sweets!

VitaFusion Calcium Gummies

 Viactiv Calcium Caramel Chews

VitaFusion Adult Multi-Vitamin Gummies