This HomeSchooled Life

Homeschooling Education with Adventure and Fun!

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Chocolate Covered Clementine Pumpkins…

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dsc_3202 dsc_3088 dsc_3082dsc_3104 dsc_3133dsc_3114 dsc_3167dsc_3150 dsc_3192-2 dsc_3227-2Pumpkin season is upon us! Everything suddenly morphs into pumpkin flavor. Personally, I’m not a fan of pumpkin or pumpkin flavored anything. These little chocolate covered clementine pumpkins, are a different story. I’m fairly new to the whole chocolate and orange pairing. I never thought it would have tasted good. Not true at all! In fact, this has become my favorite fruit and chocolate combo! 

So we actually first made these last year, but I was knee deep in caring for a new baby, that a blog post was just not going to happen. This year, that new baby is 15 months old and takes nice long naps! That’s when we have our fun. I recruited just Annie to help me this year, because more than one child with a bowl of melted chocolate, while I’m trying to take pictures, is begging for catastrophe. 

For the chocolate covered clementine pumpkins, you’ll need:

Clementines
Melting chocolate
Coconut oil (for thinning the chocolate)
Celery sticks 
A fork

To start, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Next, cut a celery stick in half, lengthwise, then into 1 inch pieces. After that’s done, peel your clementines and set aside. Next, melt your chocolate in a double boiler, stirring constantly. I use two pots as a make shift double boiler and it works perfect every time. Add 1 tsp of coconut oil at a time, until chocolate has a slight liquid consistency, similar to buttermilk. Once melted, remove chocolate from heat. At this point, you can pour chocolate into a small cup or leave in pot. I poured ours into a teacup and it was the perfect size for the clementines.

Carefully insert fork into the top of a clementine and dunk into the chocolate. Make sure to leave a small portion at the top uncovered. Transfer to a cookie sheet. Once you have a full sheet, transfer to freezer to set the chocolate. This usually takes about 10 minutes. Finally, remove from freezer and insert the cut celery sticks. These are best enjoyed right away!

Wyatt turns 1…

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DSC_0560 DSC_0439 DSC_0445DSC_0441DSC_0453DSC_0430DSC_0459DSC_0469 DSC_0517DSC_0482DSC_0461 DSC_0492 DSC_0580My sweet babes, turned 1 earlier this month. I still remember being pregnant with him, not sure how we got here so quickly, but here we are. We had a small little party with family. I was so happy my Mom was able to fly in from Houston and be here for his special day. I think the kids were more excited than anyone about his birthday, so I happily turned over the party planning to them! They wrapped all his presents and made him cards. They turned the chalkboard into an, “all about Wyatt” backdrop. Savannah and Annie made a sweet little sunshine cake topper, because he is sunshine for all of us! He opened his presents, with the help of his siblings of course. They love opening each other’s presents! His favorite gift by far, was the ferris wheel my husband made for him. The pictures don’t do it justice. It is beautiful and Wyatt loves it the most! After presents, we feasted on lemon buttercream cake. It was a perfect 1st birthday for my little Momma’s boy! Happy Birthday Wyatt Sam, Wy Wy, Dubya, Butters, Baby Boy!! We love you all numbers!!

Snail Pin Valentines…

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DSC_4596-EditDSC_4466-EditDSC_4478DSC_4487DSC_4503DSC_4353-EditDSC_4341 DSC_4540-Edit DSC_4566-Edit DSC_4567-Edit DSC_4593-EditDSC_4721There’s just something about a snail that makes them so endearing to my kids. Perhaps it’s because they carry their home on their backs. Or maybe it’s their never in a rush disposition, that appeals to them. Whatever it is, they sure do love them, especially Savannah and Annie. Those two bring them home, stuffed ever so carefully into their pockets. They keep them as pets for a few days. They make them snail homes, complete with a damp straw bed, rock pillow, and leaf coverlet. We have actually lost a few within our home, never to be found again. Yes they are slow, but give them 8 hours while you sleep and buddy, they can go the distance! When the snails are gone and the only thing left is their home, they collect those, too. We have a jarful and we really don’t need more, but they are fascinated with each new one, as if it were the first. “This one is so shiny!”, “This one is swirly brown”, “Oh, this is the tiniest snail shell ever!” are just a few of the reasons I hear to keep bringing them home. Since they are so loved, I thought what a great Valentine they would make.

For this project you’ll need:

Snail shells
Fabric
Batting
Floral wire
Pipe cleaners
Glue
Hot glue
Scissors
Pins (The kind you wear)
Cardstock
Masking tape (optional)

First, take your pipe cleaner and fold it in half, then in half again. Twist it together and form a smile shape. Cut thin (1/2 inch). 12 inch length strips of batting and begin wrapping around pipe cleaner. Determine which end will be the head and stop wrapping just before the tail. Secure the end piece of the batting with glue.

Cut a small square of fabric and wrap it over the head of the snail and secure it in place with a 5 inch cut of floral wire. Wrap it around a few times, so it won’t fall off. Curl the wire down, by gripping the ends with your scissors and turning. Next, begin wrapping a strip of fabric (same length and width as the batting) around the wire, moving back towards the tail. Before wrapping the tail, take another small square of fabric and cover the tail. Add a small piece of tape to hold in place, if needed, otherwise just pinch it in place, while wrapping. As you wrap, pull tightly as you go and finally, secure the end piece of fabric with glue. If you find you have some bare spots, just cut small pieces of your fabric and glue accordingly. Attach the shell and the pin with hot glue. 

Cut out heart shapes from cardstock and decorate as you please. Cut two small, vertical slits in the middle of the card and attach snail pin. And there you have a snail pin valentine! As a precaution, I wouldn’t recommend giving this to young children, because of the small parts and the sharp pin. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Yarn Wrapped Lollipop Valentines…

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DSC_6726cardboard valentineyummy earth organic lollipopskid valentinekid made valentinecardboard valentineclass valentine treatskid made valentineIf this baby to be has made me anything, it’s lazy!! Oh.My.Word. I can plan for weeks for what I’m going to do and when it comes to actually getting it done, I simply don’t get it done. No excuses, except for, I don’t wanna! For someone that typically has about 20 projects going on at once, this is foreign territory for me.

So, this is a tad last minute, but I was determined to get it up on the blog. We made these yarn wrapped lollipops in about 20 minutes. Yes, they are that easy!

Fortunately for lazy me, I had all my supplies on hand. But if you don’t, you’ll need to gather up yarn, cardboard, scissors, a pen, and some lollipops.

First, cut some heart shapes from the cardboard. Then, have your kids write, “from: (insert name)” on each heart. Next, place the lollipop on back (the side with no name) of heart and start wrapping in yarn until lollipop is secured. When finished, thread loose end through yarn.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Handmade Confetti Ghosts…

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watercolor confettihandmade watercolor confetticonfettighosts1handmade watercolor confettihandmade watercolor confettihandmade confetti ghostshandmade watercolor confettihandmade watercolor confetti Handmade confetti is still a favorite craft in our house. I always keep white party napkins in stock, just for this purpose. It’s an easy project that requires almost zero instruction. Yeah, I love those kinds of projects!

With Halloween sneaking up on us, we are busy preparing our tricks and treats. We have several friends that have food allergies, so I wanted something non edible. Orignally, I was just going to have them stuff the confetti into little envelopes, but little confetti ghosts sounded much more fun.

For this project you’ll need:

White party napkins
Liquid watercolors (we used magenta, orange, and black)
Dropper
Scissors
Coffee filters
Black cardstock
White ink pen
Black ink pen
Black Sharpie
Twine

First, unfold the napkin and begin dropping watercolors in a random pattern. You can leave as little or as much white as you like. Once they are finished dropping colors, I have them set aside to dry.

After the napkins have dried completely, pull back from the corner and separate the 2 layers. Next, fold napkins back into their original shape. With the scissors, cut the napkin into 1/4 inch strips and then cut again into small confetti pieces.

To make the ghosts, put a handful of the confetti into a double stacked coffee filter. At this point, you can add a little message to the confetti. I just kept it simple and had them write, “Boo!” on several pieces of black cardstock. Push confetti down to form the head and twist the body. Finally, tie it off with some twine. When all the ghosts were formed, they made faces with a black ink pen and a black Sharpie. Fluff out the body a little and you’re all set with your handmade confetti ghosts! Boo!

Chocolate Trail Mix Lollies…

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halloween trailmix lollies for kidshalloween trailmix lollies for kidshalloween treats for kidstrailmix chocolate lollies for halloweentrailmix lollies for halloween treatschocolate trailmix lollies for kidshealthy halloween treats for kidstrailmix lollies for halloween treatshalloween treats for kids trail mixchocolate trailmix lollies for halloweenWe had our first cool fall day this past Sunday. Yes, it is nearing the middle of October and we Floridians are still melting. The crisp air totally inspired me, so I filled up their table with goodies and we made these darling trail mix lollies. I think this is definitely one of my favorite projects I’ve done here!

After seeing these chocolate mendiants on Pinterest, I knew I had to do a kid friendly adaptation.  A traditional French mendiant is made with tempered chocolate. But I wasn’t really feeling the whole tempering chocolate thing. Mostly because, I’ve never tempered chocolate and honestly, it scares me. Just for my purposes of keeping it low maintenance and kid easy, the microwave or a double boiler will work just fine. However, if you wanted to give these as gifts and are a master of tempering chocolate, I say go for it! Tempering the chocolate, will pretty much keep it from melting in your hands and all over your face.

Gather your supplies:

Chocolate chips
Dried fruit
Nuts
Yogurt covered raisins
Pretzels
Parchment paper
Baking sheet
Toothpicks
Scissors (for cutting dried fruit)
Lollipop sticks (I used Halloween straws I found at the dollar store)

Before you melt the chocolate, put out all the ingredients so your kids can create their designs. Mine did this for about an hour.  Once they are finished, melt the chocolate. Then lay a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Next place your lollipop sticks. I only did about two at a time, just to make sure the chocolate didn’t set up before they had a chance to decorate it.

Using a spoon, carefully place chocolate over the top 2 inches of your sticks or straws. Add more chocolate if needed and spread it out with the back of your spoon. Now, let your kids transfer their designs to the chocolate. Depending on their age, this step might require help from an adult. Use the toothpicks to help move stuff around in the chocolate. After their designs are complete, pop in the fridge and allow chocolate to set. Repeat for remaining lollies.

These were a huge hit in this house! I was really impressed with their creativity. I only managed to come up with about two things, while they were pumping out designs left and right. I loved Savannah’s lion, but she loved it too much and bit his head off before I could get a good picture. We will for sure do these again!

Valentine’s Day Giveaway…

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I’m so excited to be teaming up with I Heart Nap Time‘s creative team to bring you one SWEET giveaway!! Enter to win a brand new Kitchen Aid (in any color). That’s a $350 value! You’ll not only get the chance to win this awesome prize, but you’ll also find some fabulous new blogs to follow.

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Giveaway

Please enter the giveaway using the rafflecopter widget below:
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Good luck and Happy Valentine’s day!! 😉

Disclosure: This giveaway is in no way affiliated, administered or endorsed by Facebook or Pinterest. The giveaway closes on February 21, 2014 at 12 am EST. The winner will be chosen by random.org and will be displayed in this post. The winner will be notified by email on or before 2/24/13 and will need to respond within 48 hours to claim their prize or another winner will be chosen. Winner must be 18 years of age or older and a US resident in order to win. All prizes will be mailed by the sponsor, I Heart Nap Time LLC. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.

Sombrero Cookies…

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cookie sombrero cinco de mayo fiestacookie sombreros cinco de mayo cookiesombrero1 cookiesombrero2cookie sombrero cinco de mayocookiesombrero6cookie sombreros cinco de mayocookie sombrero cinco de mayo cakeThese little cookie sombreros are perfect for Cinco de Mayo! I made these last year, but I wanted to update the tutorial.

Gather your supplies:
Brownie pop mold
Whoopie pie pan
Sugar cookie mix/recipe (one that doesn’t rise a lot)
Brownie mix/recipe
Buttercream frosting
Gel food coloring (I used orange, violet, golden yellow, and teal)
Piping bags
Frosting tips (I used Wilton #16 and #2)

Make your sugar cookie and brownies according to your recipe directions.
Use the bottom of a glass to press down cookie if puffy when removed from oven.
Allow cookies and brownies to cool.
Cut off bottoms of brownies to level off.
Attach brownie to center of cookie using a little frosting.
Begin piping around the base of the brownie with the #16 tip.
Continue piping, alternating colors as you wish.
Add pom poms with the #2 tip around the perimeter of the cookie.

A perfect addition to your fiesta!