Rainbows and Pots of Gold

Rainbow Jar Craft from Drugstore Divas
Preschool Rainbow Collage from Happy Healthy Thrifty Family
Hanging Rainbow Craft from Crayons and Cravings
Pot ‘O Gold Slime from MomDot
St Patrick’s Day Treat Bucket from Tales of a Ranting Ginger
In my teenage bedroom, my dad and I painted a rainbow on the wall, with billboard paints. It was still there, bright and shiny when my mom moved out last year, 27 years after we painted it. I hope there is a rainbow lover in the family who bought it.

Leprechauns

Under the Rainbow Leprechaun Trap from Fun Money Mom
Leprechaun Hat Treat Cups from Honey and Lime
Leprechaun Trap and Book from Cuddles and Chaos
Leprechaun Photo Magnet from Thrifty Jinxy
Simple Leprechaun Trap from Busy Creating Memories
St Patrick’s Day Craft and Game from LalyMom
St Patrick’s Day Snack Cups from Cooking Whiz Cafe
Leprechaun House from A Mother Thing
How have I never heard of Leprechaun Traps before now? These are so much fun!

Shamrocks

Hammered Shamrock Prints from The Things We’ll Make
Button Shamrock from Carrie Elle
Shamrock Stained Glass from Honey and Lime
Shamrock Headband from DIY Candy
St Patrick’s Day Calming Bottle from My Home Based Life
St Patrick’s Day Wreath from Carrie Elle
The St Patrick’s Day Calming Bottle is so pretty. I love that you can DIY a tool with your kids that they can later use during times of stress or upset.

St Patrick’s Day

Lucky Charms Wreath from DIY Candy
St Patrick’s Day Cupcake Topper Printable from This West Coast Mommy
St Patrick’s Day Shrinky Dink Jewelry from Merriment Design
DIY Fabric Hair Flowers for St Patrick’s Day from Busy Creating Memories
Lucky Charms Bracelet from Mod Podge Rocks Blog
St Patrick’s Day Sensory Rice Table from Must Have Mom
I MUST make the Lucky Charms Wreath!! I better buy 2 boxes of cereal though because I know I will eat too many of the marshmallows while I am crafting.

Have fun with these St Patrick’s Day crafts and activities. Make sure you pin this post so that you don’t lose all these fun crafts!

The post 25 St Patrick’s Day Crafts and Activities appeared first on The Mom Maven.

It’s a fun family project, find or buy some flat rocks, river rocks work great, do a base coat of paint, markers to decorate with an uplifting or inspirational saying, seal with a clear coat or Mod Podge outdoor sealant. Once dry place them in public places where people can be inspired. There are a few more ideas and safety rules about where you can and cannot leave your rocks so make sure you check out the link above for that information.

I decorated 5 rocks over the weekend and then on Monday I enlisted Ron and Jordan’s help in placing the rocks around our area. Jordan left his rocks outside his chiropractor’s office, and outside the church he works at. Ron left his at 7-11, and McDonald’s, and I left mine at the Walmart Neighborhood Market. Take a picture when you leave your rocks and then you can add them to the map on The Kindness Rocks Project website.

Same Kind of Different as Me

Another way to celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Day is to watch a movie all about acts of kindness. Same Kind of Different as Me is rated PG13 and may not be suitable for the youngest family members. “An inspiring, beautiful story about love” (Dave Morales, Fox TV Houston), Same Kind of Different as Me arrives on Blu-ray and DVD February 20, 2018 from Paramount Home Media Distribution.

Based on The New York Times best-selling book, and recipient of the Dove Foundation seal of approval for ages 12+, Same Kind of Different as Me follows successful art dealer Ron Hall (Greg Kinnear, Heaven Is For Real) and his wife Debbie (Renée Zellweger, Bridget Jones’s Diary), who seemingly have the perfect life. But when their faith and family are tested, an unlikely bond with a homeless drifter (Djimon Hounsou, Blood Diamond) leads them on a remarkable journey that forges an everlasting friendship. “Loaded with surprising twists and turns” (Jim Ferguson, KGUN9 ABC Tucson), Same Kind of Different as Meshows how a simple act of kindness can change everything.

The Same Kind of Different as Me Blu-ray includes over an hour of behind-the-scenes bonus content, including deleted and extended scenes, featurettes, and commentary by director Michael Carney, writer Ron Hall and writer Alexander Foard. The DVD includes the feature film only.

Mom Maven’s Movie Review

I was familiar with the story behind the book and movie Same Kind of Different as Me. Ron and Denver were guests on our local Christian Radio station’s morning show and became friends with my friends, the DJs. I never did get around to reading the book so I was glad to have a chance to watch the movie. The movie wasn’t quite what I was expecting, it was mostly a look back at how an art dealer and an angry homeless man became friends, helped each other and the homeless community. I never realized the huge part Debbie, Ron’s wife played in their becoming friends. It is a well done, inspiring movie that shows how simple acts of kindness can change a person’s life.

Whatever you do I hope you celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Day on February 17th and the rest of the year too.

The post Ideas for Celebrating Random Acts of Kindness Day appeared first on The Mom Maven.

Using this sugar scrub at home is like bringing a piece of the spa home with you. I love using sugar scrubs to really exfoliate and clean my skin. The peppermint oil has antibacterial, antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties so they are added bonuses to this scrub in addition to making it smell amazing!

Chocolate Peppermint Sugar Scrub

Makes 4 jelly jars of scrub.

Ingredients

• 1 cup Organic Coconut Oil
• 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
• 1/4 cup Hershey’s Cocoa Powder
• 4-6 drops Young Living Peppermint Vitality Oil
• 4 Jelly Jars
• Scraps of decorative fabric

Directions

1. In a medium metal bowl, mix all of the ingredients together.
2. Divide into 4 jelly jars.
3. Insert fabric scraps between jar lid and band.
4. Seal tightly.

When stored in a well sealed glass container this scrub should last about 6 months.

As you can see, this scrub is simple to make and would easily be doubled or tripled. You can make this for teacher gifts, Mother’s Day or birthday gifts any woman would love to receive this scrub. It would also be a great craft for a group of girls to make for themselves or for their moms.

I hope you enjoy this sugar scrub recipe!

Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.  The information on this site is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please confirm any information obtained from or through this web site with other sources, and review all information regarding any medical condition or treatment with your physician. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical treatment because of something you have read on this website.

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Supplies

• Hot Glue Gun
• Glue Sticks (you can get both glue gun and glue sticks from Glue Guns Direct shop)
• Styrofoam Wreath Form (I got the small one from the Dollar Tree)
• 30 feet of ribbon (I got 4 spools of 3yds each at the Dollar Tree)
• Plastic Easter Eggs (I got a package of 18 at the Dollar Tree)

Since I already owned my glue gun and glue sticks this craft cost me $6.00=tax to make!

Directions

1. Heat up the glue gun.
2. Remove the ribbon from the spool (I found it easier to work with this way).
3. Add a dot of glue on the inside of the wreath form and adhere the end of the ribbon.
4. Wrap the ribbon tightly around the form adding a drop of glue on the inside every 3-4 wraps.
   

   Wrap the wreath form with ribbon.

5. When you run out of ribbon, add a dot of glue and overlap the new ribbon with the old and continue until the wreath is completely covered.
6. Cut about a 2′ piece of ribbon and fold it in half. Wrap the ribbon around the wreath and slip the ends through, tie the loose ends together for hanging.
   

   Create a ribbon loop for hanging.

7. Place a thick line of glue about 5″ long on the wreath and start adding eggs. make sure the narrow end is pointing into the middle.
   

   Hot glue the eggs in place.

8. Continue this process until the wreath is completed.
9. Allow the glue to dry completely before hanging.

As you can see it is a pretty easy craft that took me about an hour to make. I love the way it looks on my door and my neighbor commented on it seconds after I put it up! I hope you like this and all the crafts I share here. Please feel free to use the sharing buttons to share this and all of my crafts across social media.

The post How to Make an Easter Egg Wreath appeared first on The Mom Maven.

Last year in my post 4 Ways to Dye Beautiful Easter Eggs without a Kit, one of the ways I highlighted was to make marbled Easter eggs. Well, we were intrigued enough with the look of those eggs, we decided to try it ourselves. Here is how we did it and our thoughts about this project.

Supplies

• 1 dozen white eggs
• liquid food coloring (we had trouble finding this-Target carries it)
• white vinegar
• 12 snack sized zip top bags (one for each egg)
• Water

Directions

Hard Boil the Eggs

1. Place the eggs in a large saucepan
2. Cover with cool water-by 1 inch
3. Slowly bring water to a boil over medium heat
4. When the water reaches a full boil cover and remove from heat. Let sit for 12 minutes.
5. Pour eggs into a colander and run under cool water until the eggs are cool to the touch.
6. Allow eggs to cool and dry an additional 30 minutes.

Coloring the Eggs

1. Roll the eggs on the table to gently crack them. Be careful-you need the shell to stay intact but you need the cracks to create the colored lines on the eggs.
2. Place 1 egg in a ziptop bag, add about 8 drops of the desired food coloring (or mix 2 colors to get more color choices).
3. Zip the bag closed and gently massage the color into the egg until it is completely covered.
4. Leave the egg in the bag for 30 minutes to allow dye to set.
5. Repeat the process with the rest of the eggs.
6. After the 30 minutes is up for the first 4 eggs place those eggs in a colander.
7. Rinse the eggs with cool water to wash off any excess dye.
8. Next pour a bit of vinegar over each egg to set the dye.
9. Repeat this rinsing process with the rest of the eggs.
10. Dry all of the eggs with paper towels.

Peeling the Eggs

1. Crack the shells and peel the eggs. This will reveal the beautiful net-like pattern.

Mom Maven’s Thoughts

We had a lot of fun making these eggs. We did have a lot of trouble peeling the eggs. The 7yo didn’t have the patience to help peel the eggs and after a while neither did the adults. We pushed through and completed the task but it took us a very long time to carefully peel the eggs. Maybe we did something wrong when we cooked them, I don’t know but peeling was tedious and time-consuming. We chose to make deviled eggs for our family Easter celebration with the marbled Easter eggs. Some of our family thought the eggs looked too strange to eat but I sure liked them!

Have you ever made marbled Easter eggs? Will you give it a try this year?

Other Easter Posts You Might Like

5 Easter Crafts You Can Make

Sweet ‘n Salty Easter Treats

Easter Crafts with Hershey Chocolates

Easy Crockpot Ham Recipe

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When Aaron got married in November, that also marked an exciting milestone for Jordan. For the first time in his 19 years of life, he has his own room! Aaron painted the room when Jordan left to go on the mission field a year and a half ago but he never finished the makeover and, well, Aaron is a slob and Jordan is a neat freak. Jordan, who is a very frugal young man has been working diligently on renovating his room. He got an Ikea desk from Craigslist, shelving from Ikea, a TV and wall mount from Amazon, rugs and curtains from Walmart, curtain rods from Big Lots and an awesome chair (which I am trying to buy from him) from Goodwill. He also got a Blu-ray player for Christmas.

Once Aaron and Summer moved out we ended up with an extra twin bed. Originally I was going to keep it in my office as a daybed/reading area/guest bed but it just didn’t fit. Jordan said he could use it in his room as a daybed/couch instead of the futon he was planning on buying. Since Jordan couldn’t just move the bed into his room he decided to figure out how to make a glowing pallet bed like he had seen in a picture on Facebook. Well, he succeeded and it looks great and is comfortable too!

How to Make a Glowing Pallet Bed

Supplies:

• Mattress
• Box Spring (optional)
• Pallets (Jordan re-purposed pallets we used at the wedding)
• Paint
• LED Color Changing Kit with Flexible Strip Light
• Saw
• Gaff Tape
• Measuring Tape
• Sandpaper

Instructions:

1. Measure the mattress.
2. Find pallets of that size or cut to fit.
3. Sand the pallets.
4. Paint the pallets whatever color you want.   
5. Lay the pallets down.   
6. Adhere the LED lighting on the inside edge of the pallet using Gaff tape.
7. Set box spring and mattress on top
8. Make your bed   

We say that the box spring is optional because many pallet beds say you don’t need one. Since we had the box spring, Jordan decided to use it and this bed is very comfortable. Of course, the lights are also optional-if you don’t want your bed to glow.

Would someone in your family like a glowing pallet bed? Who?

The post How to Make a Glowing Pallet Bed appeared first on The Mom Maven.

Supplies

• 1 Mason Jar
• white tissue paper
• red and or pink tissue paper
• Mod Podge
• small bowl or cup
• sponge brush

Directions

1. Cut or tear a sheet of white tissue paper into small squares.
2. Pour a small amount of Mod Podge into the small bowl or cup.
3. Using the sponge brush, cover the Mason Jar in Mod Podge.
4. Placing your non-dominant hand inside the Mason Jar will make this craft easier.
5. Place the white tissue paper pieces on the Mason Jar in a mosaic pattern, overlapping the pieces.
6. Allow the jar to dry at least 30 minutes.
7. While the jar is drying, cut 8-10 hearts out of the red/pink tissue paper.
8. Adhere the hearts to the Mason Jar in a random pattern using Mod Podge under the hearts to hold them in place.  
9. Allow to dry at least 15 minutes.
10. Cover all of the tissue papered area with a final coat of Mod Podge.
11. Allow to dry over night.
12. Insert a votive candle into the Mason Jar
13. Share your gift with someone you love.

Check out this easy Valentine’s Day Mason Jar craft!
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If I were making this craft with kids I would tell them that there is a lot of waiting time in between the steps of this craft. I would allow them to do something special during that waiting time like watch a favorite TV show or movie. This way the waiting time isn’t a drudge and they know they have 1 episode to watch before they can do the next step.

If I were doing it during a homeschool day we would start the craft in the morning after devotions and then complete 1-2 subjects before moving on to step 7. Kids wait better when they have to wait and how long they have to wait. Giving them this information allows them the ability to wait with the proper attitude because they know what is expected.

I hope you like this craft. My goal is to get at least one craft post a month up on the blog. Make sure you subscribe so that you don’t miss a post.

The post Valentine’s Day Mason Jar Candle Holder Craft appeared first on The Mom Maven.

Thankfully, there’s an exciting new product to help you quickly and easily get into (or back into) the creative projects you’ve been desperate to start. It’s called The Ultimate DIY Bundle, and it’s a collection of carefully curated DIY and crafting eBooks and eCourses from the world’s leading authors and bloggers in the industry.

For the crazy low price of just $34.95, you get access to a carefully curated DIY library of over 76 eBooks and eCourses. And let me reassure you that this really is great value: the Ultimate Bundles team (who produced the resource) has spent MONTHS seeking out the most respected experts in the industry and asking them to contribute their premium-quality eBooks and eCourses. These really are the best of the best when it comes to DIY and crafting advice and information.

Get 76 eBooks & Courses for $34.95 in the Ultimate DIY Bundle
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Get this free mini course to unlock your creativity!
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About this Free Mini Course

• This course is delivered via email over the course of a week.
• You will receive a short, inspirational reading
• This course will help you discover what you enjoy creating and how to find time to do it!
• You will get worksheets with a step-by-step process to help you rediscover your creativity
• Tips on how to deal with the monsters of guilt and perfection so that you can enjoy the creative process.

The post FREE Mini Course – 4 Steps to Rediscover Your Creative Side appeared first on The Mom Maven.

How to Tint Mason Jars

Supplies

• Mason Jars-any size
• liquid food coloring
• Mod Podge-Gloss
• newspapers
• wax paper
• baking sheet
• disposable bowls
• plastic spoons

Directions

1. Cover your work surface with newspaper.
2. Off to the side make a stack of 3-4 layers of newspaper for your drying area.
3. Pour a few globs of Mod Podge into a bowl, add 15-20 drops of desired color and a spoonful or two of water.
4. Mix completely.     
5. Pour the colored mixture into a mason jar.
6. Swirl the jar around to completely cover the inside with color.    
7. Pour leftover color mixture into the next jar.
8. Once a jar has been covered and the excess poured out, place the jar upside down on the newspaper to continue dripping for about 30 minutes.
9. Repeat steps 5-8 until you run our of the color mixture or jars.
10. Preheat the oven to 250° F.
11. Cover a baking sheet with wax paper.
12. Place the mason jars mouth down on the baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes.
13. Now turn the jars mouth up and bake for an additional 30 minutes.   
14. Check to see if the jars are clear. If they are still a bit milky, continue baking and checking every 15 minutes until they are clear.
15. Allow the jars to cool completely before filling them with decorative items.

Check this out! @MomMaven is tinting mason jars!
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I hope you found this craft tutorial helpful. I have had a lot of fun trying new things for the wedding. Did you see my Glitter Mason Jars? I’ll be posting other wedding crafts as I complete them. Right now I have 8 more mason jars to tint!

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