Opening Pine Cones

I know what you are thinking! What are you doing with a bag of closed pine cones? Well the weather has been so cold and wet the pine cones haven't been drying out and opening up. Everyone knows you have to make a pine cone turkeys at thanksgiving time. Plus they are great for center pieces and you can decorate your Christmas tree with them too. So here is what I do to get them dried out and opened quicker without having to wait  several weeks for them to do it naturally. This trick will help you get crafting a lot sooner, and it will make your house smell divine.

What you are going to need: Cookie Tray, Tin Foil, Gloves, and Pine Cones. 

Set your oven to about 200 degrees. Cover a cookie tray with tin foil. When handling the pine cones you should wear gloves. The sap is pretty sticky and can get all over your hands. I didn't wear gloves and had to scrub my fingers with alcohol to get the sap off. I washed off my pine cones in the sink, just to get off any dirt that might be on the outside. I then placed a few pine cones on the covered cookie sheet. When placing on the sheet put them wide enough apart so they can open up. Check on them and rotate them every 30 - 60min, till you reach desired look.

Enjoy!

Busy Binder

 

I found this idea on "A Girl and a glue gun." When I saw that she had hole punched her file folder activities and put them into a binder, I thought it was brilliant. I have several file folders filled with lots of different activities. They usually sit in my cupboard untouched, because every time I get them out pieces go missing. I tried storing the extra pieces in ziplock baggies but those also seem to go missing. 

I went to Wal-Mart and got some clear plastic storage pouches for 25 cents and a 2 inch binder for 2 dollars. In the front of the binder I added a pouch with crayons and a spiral notebook for coloring. I then hole punched all my file folder game, and at the beginning of each game put a clear pouch to hold all the loose pieces. My daughter spent about an hour playing with this after I was done. This is a great idea for long travel in the car, quiet time, or church. Here are the two file folder books I used to create these activities.

Both of these are wonderful and carry a variety of skill levels. They feature colors, numbers, counting, matching and so much more. My favorite activity out of  the center games book is the fine motor dinosaurs, were you have to lace and match the dinosaurs.

          

Back to School

Not only do we do some fun preschool things at home, but my daughter attends a speech therapy preschool at our local school. Today was the first day. She was so excited! Her teachers said that she has grown and learned so much during the summer. They were also excited to see her.

Hair Blog Challenge

I recently came across a few hair blogs. Ella's hair is so long and out of control. I really needed to get some good ideas of what to do with it. I was very tempted to cut it all off, then I wouldn't have to be annoyed with it anymore.
While reading an awesome blog, I clicked on a side link and found a hair blog. They are amazing! Most of them have step by step tutorials and videos. I also love the little tricks and tips that they all share. Now that I have tried a few "Dos" I am hooked. I love doing Ella's hair and I can plan it the day before and get everything ready. Plus I have had so many compliments on her hair.

So here are the hair blogs I love and here are the hair dos I did this last week.

http://www.cutegirlshairstyles.com/

http://www.cutegirlshairstyles.com/

http://www.girlydohairstyles.com/

Enjoy!