It's Dare to Share Saturday!

It is Friday night, and you know what that means.. 

It is time to Dare to Share! 

Happy Friday!  Were you affected by the bad weather that hit most of the country this week?  We were under a winter storm warning all day Tuesday into the Wednesday.  Tuesday night many schools in my area pre-emptively closed for Wednesday. Many other places like the libraries, day cares and other facilities also announced that they were going to close as well. We were expecting to get about six inches of snow and ice.  That is not exactly what happened.  While the roads were icy overnight, we got only a couple of inches of snow and the ice melted very quickly. I have to keep reminding myself that after surviving many winters in Michigan, that southern Ohio is not quite as used to the snow as we are up north. LOL   I had plans with a few friends to go on the road trip to the biggest Dollar Tree in Ohio on that Wednesday, but with the potential storm we postponed it until this weekend. I am so excited that the weather is supposed to be good so we can go.  I have a long list of items that I hope to find to share on the blog and on Instagram.

This week I shared a couple of new posts on the blog. One was how to make easy faux ice cream. It was a lot of fun to make, and looks very real. It is also surprisingly easy, and only needs a few supplies.  You will find yourself craving ice cream when you are done making it.   I have a few more faux food crafts that I will be sharing over the next week.  

My second post was an update to the Dollar Tree Craft Class  I taught last weekend. The class went really well, and I was very happy with how creative everyone is.  I will be attending another craft event at our library in the upcoming week, which I am also really looking forward to.  

Over on my Etsy Shop I have been busy creating Valentines for Valentine's Day.  I added several new prints to my shop this year like these cute animal cards. Also in the shop are  last years favorite bee valentines and many more. 

Well that is what I have you been up to, what have you been up to this week?  I would love to see, so let's get this party started. Link up, and HAVE FUN! 

Oh, and before I forget...  I have started a newsletter.  If you are interested in receiving it, I would love to send it to you.  You can find the sign up form at the top right corner of the blog.  

Now it's time for the party.....  

 

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Our Dollar Tree Craft Class

Last week I mentioned that I had joined a newly formed Dollar Tree craft group in my area, and that I would be teaching our first group craft.   Since it will soon be Valentine's Day, I wanted to share a craft that fit the Valentine theme.  I chose the Faux Valentines Day Cake. (I shared how to make one, last week)  It was something a little bit different, and there was so many ways it could be changed to make it their own. 

We had eleven people who were able to make it to the class at our local library.  Everyone was so nice, and happy to be there.  We had the room for two hours, so after we introduced ourselves to the the group we got started with the craft.  

The attendees had been given a basic list of supplies before the class and told that the could buy whatever colors and embellishments that wanted. They were told to bring a paper mache box, adhesive paper or craft foam, some embellishments and either caulk or spackle. All of the supplies on the list could be found at the Dollar Tree.   Not everyone who attended was able to find the caulk or spackle at their Dollar Tree.  A couple of people chose to bring spring embellishments instead of Valentines Day.  The class was not really just about making the craft, but about meeting new people, being creative, and having fun. 

I loved seeing how people took the same concept, and put their own spin on it.  All of the boxes looked very different. 

Everyone who attended had fun making their creations, including the four year old granddaughter one of of the students. 

It was so cute listening to her say how much fun she was having making a creation. She really liked being included in the class.  Everyone thought she did a great job!

I am not sure what our next month's craft will be, or who will be teaching it yet.  I just know that I look forward to the next class what ever it we are making.    

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How to make easy faux ice cream

Making faux ice cream for the craft class I taught, has to be one of my favorite new things to craft. Not only was it simple to make, it was made using Dollar Tree products.  

** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

Items I used to make the ice cream 

Tool Bench Lightweight Spackle

Dollar Tree White Acrylic Paint

Craft Smart Acyrlic Paint in Brown and Pink Blast 

Decorative Glass Bowl

Good Cook Ice Cream Scoop   (I liked this kind because it made the scoops more uniform in shape) 

I mixed the spackle, and just a teeny bit of water in a plastic container.  As you stir it, it becomes the consistency of ice cream.  

Using an ice cream scoop with a spring handle makes the prettiest ice cream.  If you don't like how one turns out, that's okay, you can put it back in the bowl re-scoop it. The scoop in the bottom left has a little bit more water mixed in, which made it have a softer look. Place the scoops on a piece of wax paper to dry.   I was able to make 3 scoops from one small container of spackle. 

There are two ways you can make the colored ice cream.  You can mix the paint into the spackle, or you can paint them when they are dry which is what I did.  I mixed the brown and the pink with Dollar Tree white acrylic paint until I got the colors I liked to make the strawberry and chocolate ice cream. 

 Just a heads up, it's best to not be hungry when you are making these because they really look like real ice cream. 

When the scoops were dry I put them in a glass dessert bowl.   I think I got these at Dollar Tree awhile back, but since they no longer have the stickers on them, I am not sure.  

If desired you can add faux chocolate syrup, faux whip cream or even faux cherries from Hobby Lobby to your ice cream.   I will be making some more of ice cream treats in the near future, and  posting more faux ice cream DIYS. 

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It's Party Time! Let's Dare to Share..

It's Friday night, and you know what that means.. 

It is time to Dare to Share! 

How has your week been going?  I have been working on projects for the class I am teaching tomorrow.  I am so happy how they turned out and will be posting them next week.  I did post one of the projects earlier this week.  

We are going to be making Faux Valentine Cakes out of paper mache boxes, adhesive paper, and caulk. Everyone will be bringing different supplies, so I am really excited to see how they all turn out.  

Also this week I wrote about Jurassic Quest in this post here. . It's a fun interactive dinosaur exhibit traveling the country.  My readers are able to save 20% on tickets if they use the code USFAM. 

This year I am trying something new. I have started a newsletter. It has been a little bit of a learning curve trying to figure out a new platform, but it gets easier each time I use it. I am sending out emails 1-2 times a week and would love it if you would join us.  The sign up form is in the upper right hand corner of my blog.  

Well it looks like it is time to get this started.  I would love to see what you have been up to this week.  

Link up and HAVE FUN! 

 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

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Love Dinosaurs? Take the kids to Jurassic Quest!

I am have been a member of the US Family Guide family for several years. I love being part of the of this group because I hear about fantastic activities for my family and my reader's families might want to attend. I just heard of another fun event I want so share with you. 

If you have a dinosaur lover in your family you will want to check out Jurassic Quest,and see if it is going to be in an area near you because it looks like a lot of fun.

It will be in Dayton, Ohio, February 3- 5, but if you are not local to Ohio, it will also be visiting Memphis TN, Pittsburgh PA, Des Moines, IA and many more. 

Want to know more about this event?  Jurassic Quest is North America's largest, most popular dino event with unique and exciting experiences for the whole family.

 

Some of the dinosaurs you will see are a Apatosarus, Spinosaurus, a T-Rex, and a 50 ft long Megalodon.   Guests have a chance to interact with trainers, baby dinos, and watch a live Raptor show.  There are dinosaur rides, a giant fossil dig, inflatables, a fossil exhibit and a Triceratots play area for younger kids. 

My readers get an exclusive offer of the price of tickets.  You cand Save 20% off your tickets with the code USFAM

Make sure to get your tickets before they go extinct at www.jurassicquest.com!

We are excited to be going, so watch for a post on our experience in a few weeks. 

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Faux Valentine's Day Cake

 

I am teaching a Dollar Tree crafting class this weekend to a local group of woman, and I am quite excited about it.  As you know if you have followed me for awhile, I love crafting and I also love the Dollar Tree.   Some of my favorite crafts to make are faux food, and with Valentine's Day coming up it seems like the perfect time to make some for the blog and for the crafting class. 

 ** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

I meet the woman who started the crafting group at the Dollar Tree so we could chose which craft to have a the class, we decided on a faux Valentine's cake made from a paper mache heart box.

Here is what I used for this cake 

Paper Mache heart box

a 3 piece glitter paper pack 

Valentine table scatter (it looks like candy) 

felt heart stickers  

Tool Box all purpose caulk , their lightweight spackle will work as well 

I used the smaller 4.5 ounce size of caulk because I already had some on hand, but they now also have a larger 8 ounce version in a different tube. 

This first thing that I did was cover the box in the glitter paper.  I tried to fit it to size as best I could. It worked pretty well. One the top where the paper met it wasn't perfect, but that was okay because it would be covered in caulk.  

While I did have icing tips in my original picture, it did not fit on the smaller caulk tube.  I could have gone downstairs to get a baggie to use with the tip, but I decided to see how using the tube with out a tip.  While it is not a fancy shape, it looks like icing and the tube was easy to use. 

I added one of the table scatter hearts on top with a little bit a caulk. 

I added a few felt heart stickers on the side for a pop of color. I left this particular faux cake on the simple side because it is an example for the class.  I will be making another one during the class.  You can use what ever you want cover or embellish your cake.     Glass beads look great as sprinkles. Foam heart picks look like cupcake picks.  They even have glitter heart stickers in various shapes and sizes.   

I will be sharing the other Valentine  crafts and tell you how the class went soon.  

If you like the looks of faux sweets, Dollar Tree currently has their Sweets Fairy Garden Houses and accessories, as well as their other many themed fairy gardens available in limited quantities online.  

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Dare to Share Saturday Party

 

It's Friday night, and you know what that means.. 

It is time to Dare to Share! 

Happy Friday!  I am currently visiting my friend back in Michigan, so the party is going live a bit late.  We went to the dance tonight. It had been a couple of months since we have been there,  so it has been nice seeing my friends again. I plan on visiting with my kids this weekend, and then heading back in time to see the Bengals play in the playoffs on Sunday night. 

This week I did not get a lot of blog posts done, because I have been busy doing other things.  On Monday I went to the grand opening of our new library.  I was checking it out for a possible job, and to see the tutor rooms to start tutoring again. The place looks beautiful, and I have a feeling I will be there often.  On Wednesday, I had coffee with a few local women who are in a newly formed Dollar Tree craft club. We are having our first event soon, and I will be teaching the first group craft to everyone.  I am pretty excited about it. It combines three of my favorite things, teaching, crafting and Dollar Tree. I will be posting the crafts, I am teaching here on the blog. 

I did share a Unicorn Valentine's Card Box on the blog this week.  While it is not a new craft to the blog, it is a timely idea for kids who will be making a box for their class party in the next few weeks.  

New in my shop this week is my Valentine's Day Memory Game Bundle. It has several different matching games that can be played on their own or together.  I am working on classroom Valentine cards that will be live in the next week. 

If you are interested keeping up with what is new, I have started a newsletter.  Right now the plan is to be sending emails a couple of times a week.  The sign up link is at the top right of my main blog page.   

It is getting late, so we need to get this party started.  I would love to hear what things you have been up to.  Link Up and HAVE FUN!! 

 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

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Unicorn Valentine Card Box

 

While we still have a month until Valentine's Day, it is time to start thinking of the Valentine's Day class party. One thing that I always enjoyed doing with my kids is making the valentine box. I still use this box, and use it for storage now.  It was not that hard to put together, and almost all of the items came from the Dollar Tree. 

** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

Here is what I used to make this unicorn box 

A box for the body (shoebox, tissue box, gift box or even a mailbox)

4 cardboard tubes for the legs

2-3 curly bows (multiple bows on each) for the mane and tail.

round container/tumbler with lid (something unicorn head shaped) or floral foam for the head 

craft foam or pre cut glitter hearts for snout

googly eyes

colored wrapping paper  or paint 

cardstock (color of choice for horn) Dollar Tree now sells premade unicorn horns in the party aisle. 

I was lucky enough to find this sturdy shoe box size Valentine card box on clearance at Target a few years ago. It was already white, so I decided to make my unicorn white. You can use whatever box you have on hand.  You can paint it, or cover it in whatever color you decide. 

 

When making the unicorn, I was not sure on which shape I wanted to use for the unicorn's head.  I will show you what they both look like.  

If you would like a rectangle head, find the largest craft or floral foam in the crafting aisle. Leave the plastic on if the foam is in multiple pieces like the one in the photo.  I wrapped it in white wrapping paper that is available in their gift wrap aisle.  

If you prefer a rounder look for the head, I wrapped a cup I found in the dish aisle.  I am not sure if this particular cup is still available, but you should find something similar.  I liked the round look better for my unicorn so this is the one that I decided to use. 

This is the dual temp mini glue gun by Gorilla Glue that I just got. It is very highly rated.  I love that it has the dual settings because I tend to burn myself when using a lower quality glue gun. 

I painted four cardboard tube white to make the legs and then hot glued them to the bottom of the box. I also used hot glue to attach the head to the top of the box. 

The next step is to chose which ribbon you want to use for the mane and the tail.  They have several different types of curly ribbon and various colors that will work well. I went with the curliest ribbon in multiple colors for my unicorn. 

The curly ribbons have multiple bows on each card. Arrange them as big or as small as you would like. To get this extra full look, I used four of the smaller bows for the mane (two bow cards), and two smaller bows (one bow card) for the tail.

Dollar Tree now makes so many pre-cut hearts in various sizes and colors.  They didn't have as many as they do now when I made this box, so I cut out pink hearts from a scrap piece of pink craft foam. 

I used a piece of cardstock to make the horn, but now they have already made unicorn horns in the party aisle.  The last step is to add the eyes. I drew on eyelashes, but if you would prefer real ones, there are a bunch of fake eyelashes to choose from in the beauty aisle. 

UPDATE: I found both the horns and lashes at the Dollar Tree today that you may be interested in using on your unicorn.  

Your unicorn is now ready to collect those Valentines at the class party. 

If you are interested in Valentines you can print and share with your friends, I have several Valentine items in my Etsy Shop.  My biggest seller last year was my Bee Valentines. I am currently making some new styles for this year, including some unicorns.  

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