Father's Day Craft - Dad's Caddy

• Coffee can (or any large can with lid)
• Magazines and/or Catalogs
• Markers or alphabet stickers
• Decoupage medium or diluted glue
• Scissors

Instructions:
First of all, make sure any can you use is clean and dry. Page through magazines and catalogs and cut or tear out pictures of tools or anything else your dad will like. You can also use fancy, printed paper or photo copies of graphics you print off of your computer. Glue the pictures you chose all over the can. Cover the entire can. Use a marker or stickers to write a special message on your caddy, such as 'Daddy's Caddy'.
Once you have the can looking exactly how you want it, you can seal the design to protect it. To do this, simply use these decoupage techniques using either decoupage medium or diluted glue. Let the decoupage dry completely and then your can is done!

Father's Day Crown Craft

You can download the template from here. Print and color!  Perfect for Dads, Step-Dads, and Grandpas!

Friday Family Funtime - French Braid Hair

Thrifty Thursday - Chia Potato

Materials Needed:

• Large Potato
• Grass seed
• Potting soil
• Sticks
• Misc supplies

Instructions:
Take a large potato and dig out the center of it with a spoon. Add grass seed and soil. Use the sticks to make legs if desired. Decorate with misc supplies, and you can create a face on it. Water and watch it grow.

Wednesday Wellness - Yogurt Jello

Ingredients

1 package sugar-free Jello 1 cup boiling water 1 cup lowfat Yogurt, plain

Directions

Mix the sugar-free Jello envelope with the 1 cup boiling water until dissolved.

Stir the jello/water mixture into the 1 cup yogurt until well mixed, being sure to do this very slowly so as not to curdle the yogurt.

Divide into 4 half-cup servings (the little Gladware containers are great for this!) and refrigerate until set, between 2 and 3 hours.

At less than 50 calories a serving, this is a refreshing and satisfying snack or dessert that I should liken to a parfait. One could make 2 1-cup servings for a very satisfying snack under 100 calories. I like using raspberry or blackberry flavored jello, myself, but let your imagination run wild trying different flavors!

Beaded Summer Sunglasses Strap Craft

Materials

• 2 plastic eyeglass holders (available at drugstores)
• 3 yards of plastic lanyard
• Plastic beads (1/4-inch diameter)

Instructions

1. Thread one of the eyeglass holders onto the lanyard, placing it in the center of the strip. Fold the lanyard in half and then tie a knot, forming a small loop.
2. Thread a plastic bead onto one strand of the lanyard. Send the other strand through the bead in the opposite direction. Pull on both strands to tighten. Continue adding beads using the same method until the strap is as long as you would like.
3. To finish the piece, thread the other eyeglass holder onto one of the lanyards. Tie the two lanyard lengths together with a knot placed close to the last bead, leaving a small loop. Trim the ends and hide the knot by pushing it inside the bead.

Friday Family Funtime - Crayon Ideas

Thrifty Thursday - Flower Pen

Materials Needed:

• Pen
• Silk or Plastic Flower with Stem
• Green Floral Tape
• Scissors

Instructions:
Hold the flower next to the pen and clip the flower stem so it is about 2-inches up from the tip of the pen. The flower should sit on the end of the pen. Remove and leaves. While holding the flower stem tightly against the pen, wrap the entire length of the pen with floral tape. This will secure the pen and flower together. With the floral tape you do not need tape or glue!

Wednesday Wellness - No Candy Trail Mix

Ingredients

1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts Small bag 1 bag Sunmaid vanilla yogurt cranberries (170 grams) 2 bags Sunmaid Fruit bits (198 gr.) 1 box (10 indiv) Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks 6 3/4 cups Golden Graham Cereal

Directions

Open all packages, dump in a bowl and mix up gently. Then put 1/4 cup each in those snack size baggies. This is what takes the time. Refrigerate. to keep them fresh. Great for kids, lunch boxes, walks, snacks.

I did figure on 1/4 cup servings, two servings won't hurt that much.

Number of Servings: 53

Waterproof Beach Bag Craft

Materials

• 13-gallon garbage bag
• Scissors
• Colored duct tape (we used red and white)
• Marker or pen
• Yardstick or measuring tape
• 4 (2-foot) pieces of white cotton cording

Instructions

1. Turn the garbage bag into a large sheet by cutting along one side seam and the bottom seam. Tape the sheet flat to your workspace and draw a 16- by 30-inch rectangle on it. Cover the rectangle with slightly overlapping strips of red and white tape.
2. Cut out the tape rectangle and flip it tape-side down.
3. Lay 2 pieces of cording across the rectangle about an inch from one of the shorter ends. Fold that end over the cording and tape it down to make a casing. Repeat this at the opposite end with the other pieces of cording.
4. Fold the rectangle in half and tape the sides together to form the bag.
5. To make the drawstring, pair up one cord from each casing and knot them together at both ends. Repeat with the remaining 2 cords, then pull one knot at each side to cinch the bag.

Button Flower Arrangement

Materials

• 26-gauge green florists' wire

• Colorful buttons  

Instructions

1. For each flower, thread an 8-inch length of florists' wire up through a stack of colorful buttons, then back down, as shown.

2. Twist the wire just below the stack to secure it, then insert the flower in your plant's soil.

Make A Balloon Barometer

Materials

• Scissors
• 12-inch balloon
• Widemouthed jar (such as a large mayonnaise jar)
• Wide rubber band
• Clear tape

• Needle or straight pin
• Plastic straw
• Tacky glue
• Cardboard or poster board
• Pencil or pen

Instructions

1. Cut the neck off the balloon and discard it. Stretch the balloon over the mouth of the jar and secure it with the rubber band.
2. Tape the needle or pin, point facing out, to the end of the straw. Use a generous pool of glue to attach the other end of the straw to the center of the balloon.
3. Prop the cardboard against a wall with a fairly constant temperature and set the jar just in front of it, but not touching. Label "high" and "low" as shown. Mark the spot at which the needle now points. Check the barometer every few hours and mark the changes on the board.
4. Why it works: As weather patterns shift, the air pressure around the jar changes, while the pressure inside it remains the same. As the pressure outside increases, the balloon is pushed down, forcing the needle up. As the pressure outside falls, the balloon swells, sending the needle down.

Friday Family Funtime - Make A Lemonade Stand

Thrifty Thursday - Bagel Bird Feeder

Materials Needed:

• String
• 1/2 of a Stale Bagel
• 1 Teaspoon Peanut Butter
• 1 Teaspoon Shortening
• Bird Seed
• Scissors

Instructions:
Cut a piece of string about 24" long. You can adjust this length depending on where you want to hang it. Put one end of the string through the hole in the bagel and tie both ends together to make a large loop to hang up your bird feeder with.

Mix together the peanut butter and the shortening. Spread this mixture onto the flat side of the bagel. Pour the bird seed onto a plate. Press the peanut butter/shortening side of the bagel into the bird seed.
Hang this bagel bird feeder in a tree or anywhere outside and watch the birds make it disappear!

Wednesday Wellness - Lowfat Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients

14 oz. Fat Free Sweetened condensed milk 1/3 c. cocoa (baking, unsweetened) 3/4 c. Semi Sweet chocolate chips 4 egg whites 1/4 c. flour 1 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray Pam/cooking spray to coat a 13x9 dish. In a glass bowl, mix cocoa, milk, and chips. Cook in microwave until chips melt, about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in remaining ingredients. Turn into prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes, or until set. COOL.
Cut into 18 bars.