Ever After in the Woods

a city girl living in the middle of the woods

Fun Summer Activities for the Kids

If you are anything like me you can’t wait until summer vacation! What could be better? Great weather, fun days and awesome vacations. About one we ke into vacation I usually am looking for something to do with the kids. This year we made a list of fun things to do so if we are looking for an idea one day we can refer to the list.
I hope you enjoy it! I personally can’t wait until we have the water balloon fight…. Priceless.

How to make a container from a Folgers Coffee Can

I think we can all safely say that I love to re-use and Upcycle as much as I can. We go through a lot of coffee in our house and we use the large Folgers containers. They are a really nice size and can be easily stacked for holding all sorts of goodies.

I decided to make one that would match the DIY jars I did here. These too were really easy to make and could easily be made as a set. You could use these for a variety of purposes like: hair bands, treats, teacher gifts, baking container storage, etc. The possibilities are endless.

What you need:
Folgers Container, washed and dry
Spray paint
Vinyl chalkboard label
Directions
1- Spray paint the bottom only of the Folgers Container in the color of your choosing.
2- Let dry.
3- Cut a Vinyl Chalkboard label in the design you like and attach.

DIY Jewelry Holder

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I have been looking for a way to display my necklaces.  I previously shared a DIY Jewelry Frame, which was made with chicken wire, and an old frame.  This frame was really large and I wanted a smaller more modest DIY Jewelry Holder.

I had a framed painting in the attic that size wise was perfect. Here are some easy step-by-step instructions.
Materials
Frame with backer
Material
S Hooks
Directions:
1.     I removed my old painting from the frame. I save the canvas board so I could easily cover. You could cut another piece of cardboard to size if you would like.

2.     Cut fabric to size and stretch to fit over the board, canvas, or whatever you are using as the inside piece to your frame.

3.     Arrange the S hooks across the top of your fabric covered board.
4.     Place the board with the S Hooks back into the frame.

5.     Attach the backing of the frame back into the original frame.
That’s it! SO Easy! You could easily vary these directions if you wanted to paint the frame or add in other decorative elements.
The necklaces shown here are from Chloe + Isabel. If you are interested in purchasing, the link to my boutique can be found here. Https://www.chloeandisabel.com/boutique/everafterwoods

DIY Jars with Cute lids

Do you have cabinets filled with jars of tomato sauce, pickles, etc.? Make these super cute DIY Jars with cute lids. I was looking for some canisters for my bathroom and figured that I could make them myself.
Materials:
Jars with Lids, Hot Glue, Spray Paint, objects(s) to use as a knob.
Directions:

  1. Wash and clean jars.
  2. Remove labels. (Trick: Soak jars in hot water until the labels become loose. If there is still glue residue, use nail polish remover with acetone to remove.)
  3. Hot glue the object to the jar lid.
  4. Spray Paint the lid your favorite color.

How easy was that? AND they are so cute. A perfect way to upcycle your old jars.

How to plant a Beautiful Planter for your Porch, Patio, Garden

Have you always wanted to plant your own planters, hanging baskets, etc? Well i have a three step process for you that will always result in beautiful containers. Just like the ones you see in the garden stores but for much less.

First start with your container. This can be a pot, hanging basket, etc. Fill about 3/4 of the way full with potting soil.
Then add your “Tall”. Look for one plant that is high. You want to add dimension to your container. I used a spike plant in this example.
Next, choose your “Spiller”. These are your trailing plants or flowers. You can use anything that will trail. Sweet potato vine, trailing petunias, ivy, licorice plants, etc.
Then, choose your “Filler.” These are the plants and flowers that will bush out and fill up the middle of your container. These can be begonias, geraniums, pansies, petunias, etc. What ever you like!
Choose colors that coordinate well and have some greens too.

Parent Mode on IPhone – Best Idea for Kids!


Holy Smokes! Do you know about the Parent Mode for your IPhone or IPad? It allows you to lock your phone or tablet on a specific screen so that your kids can’t get out of it! They can’t even change the volume.

I wont lie, I am not above handing over my IPhone so that my little one will be entertained while we are waiting in a restaurant, doctors office, etc. But there has been more than one occasion where she would get frustrated because the screen kept turning off or she clicked out of her Baby Flash Cards. This setting solves these problems AND it is really easy.
No more volume blaring “Let It Go” while waiting for your meal at a restaurant (although I am a huge fan of Queen Elsa!) No more accidentally calling all of your contacts. Or deleting all your emails. Woo hoo! Thank you Apple, this is by far the best setting I have seen so  far.
Directions:
-Click on your IPhone settings
-Click on General
-Click on Accessibility
-Click on Guided Access and switch it to On.
-After you slide the lever to on, you will be asked to create a password.
That is it. When you want to access your parent mode, all you do is triple click your home button. Then, it will allow you to choose the areas on your screen that you’d like to disable. The home button will be disabled automatically. Then, when you want to exit parent mode you just triple click your home button again and type in your password!
Spread the word about Parent Mode… all your Mommy friends will thank you too!

DIY Vinyl Planters with Chalkboard Labels

I made these cute DIY Planters with Vinyl Chalkboard Labels for my steps that lead up to the garden. I found these cute yellow plastic planters for $1.97 at Walmart. Awesome deal, right? I loved the color. I thought by adding a cute vinyl chalkboard label it would add interest.

Simply cut out your desired shape from a sheet of Adhesive Vinyl Chalkboard and adhere to the planters.

What do you think??

DIY Child Silhouette Keepsake- Perfect gift

This is a beautiful DIY keepsake to have of your children as they get older. It is really easy to do and the results are awesome. I believe I will be gifting these as Mothers Day presents to the grandmas this year!

So let’s  get started, shall we?

First, what do we need? You will need:

  • a photo (digital works best) printed out to the size you like
  • White paper
  • Black paper
  • A colored paper for the background
  • X-acto knife
  • Spray glue
  • Frame
  • Tape

Step-by-step instructions
1. Trace the silhouette of your child’s head using a pencil on the white paper. Pay close attention to the details (eyelashes, wisps of hair, etc.)

2. Place a sheet of black paper underneath your tracing and tape down. (I used a cutting matte)
3. Carefully using an X-acto knife cut out the shape.

4. I used the computer and printed out my daughters name with her age underneath it. You could easily handwrite this as well or put the year instead of the age.
5. Using spray glue, carefully glue the silhouette onto the prepared paper.
6. Frame and mount.

As you can see the results are spectacular! I love the shabby chic look of the old school silhouette. This one will go in my daughters room but we definitely will be making more to give as gifts.

DIY Jewelry Frame – Upcycling at its Finest

I love a great DIY project and was looking for a way to display all of my fabulous Chloe + Isabel jewelry that I have. A DIY jewelry frame it was! We had found some old frames last summer at garage sales, so I decided to make a jewelry display from one of the larger ones. You could probably make these with smaller frames and so a grouping over a dresser too. That may be my next project!

So what do you need for this project? Not much really. A frame, spray paint, chicken wire or caging, wire cutters, sand paper, staple gun and of course fabulous jewelry to display.

Step 1 – Spray Paint the frame. I did 2 different colors because I wanted to sand off the first layer to leave a vintage look.

Step 2 – Cut the caging to size and attach the caging to the back with a staple gun.

Step 3 – Add jewelry to display. If hanging necklaces I suggest using ‘S’ hooks.

Dial A Smile Professional Whitening Kit – DIY @ Home!


Are you like me and want a whiter, brighter smile? My friends at Whitening Lightening sent me a Dial A Smile Kit to try. I am all about a great DIY and why not for my teeth? I have to say I was impressed with my results. This painless, fast-acting kit offers similar results to a professional in-office dentist, with teeth appearing four to seven shades whiter per 20 minute treatment.

It is really easy to use too! These were the directions for a whiter smile:  are the directions to use the Dial A Smile kit.

1.       Remove batteries from LED light and remove plastic protection disk.
2.       Match the color of your teeth to the Shade Finder.
3.       Dispense 1/3 (apprx 1.5 ml) of Gel into Dispensing Tube.
4.       Dry teeth with provided Teeth Wipes.
5.       coat teeth with Vitamin E swabs
6.       Brush a healthy amount of Gel onto teeth.
7.       Hold LED light up to teeth, either wrapping inside of lips for “hands-free” or shining with mouth open for 20 minutes.
8.       Brush off Gel.
9.       Determine your finishing shade with Shade Finder.

For more information and to check out a Dial-A-Smile teeth Whitening Kit for yourself visit  whiteninglightning.com.

Disclaimer: I received product to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own and yours may differ. No monetary compensation was received.

Recipes

Mix Up Your Children’s Lunchbox Choices

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Vibe Beach Club on Norwegian Breakaway

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Old Fashioned Canning & Pickling

The time has finally come to try my hand at pickling and canning the delicious fruits and vegetables of summer. This is my first attempt at canning and pickling and I thought I would share a series on different types of pickles, spreads, jellies and jams. It is my hope that these are a delicious treat that my family can enjoy during the colder winter

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