Unique Halloween Drink Ideas for Your Halloween Party

Halloween parties are a lot of fun. They allow us to take a break from reality by playing dress up and have a lot of awesome treats to eat and drink. I like to make every aspect of a party as memorable as possible. One way is to dress up the drinks for the kids to make them more fun!
Two Liter Bottles:
A quick and easy way to make two liter bottles more fun is to tear off the labels that comes on them and replace them with Halloween themed labels you make. You can make labels that say something like Poison Punch for fruit punch, Apple Spider for apple juice, R.I.P Root Beer, Jack-O-Lantern Juice for orange pop, Swamp Water, etc.
Juice Boxes:
A fun way to dress up juice boxes is take the straw off the box and then wrap each one with white crepe paper streamers to look like a mummy. Glue google eyes to the front and you have little mummy juice boxes. You could slide the straw into the crepe paper in the back so the kids can just pull them out when its time to drink. Removing the straw ahead of time will prevent the kids from having to tear open the crepe paper to get to the straw so they can enjoy the cute presentation while they drink.
Small Bottled Drinks:
If you can find small bottles of orange pop you can tear off the label and put a black pumpkin face (eyes, nose, mouth) on the front with stickers, marker or construction paper. Tie some curling ribbon around the top and add a leaf made out of cardstock from a punch or die cut machine or you can cut them out using a leaf clipart as a template. Serve up these little pumpkins at your next party for Halloween or even Thanksgiving and your guests will adore them!
(I personally had a hard time finding orange pop in small bottles so I purchased small bottles of water. I made orange Kool-aid and poured orange Kool-aid into the bottles. The taller glass bottles of Orange Crush also work but they just won't have the round pumpkin affect that the short water bottles have.)
You can also make ghosts out of small bottles that are filled with milk. Remove any labels and add a face in black to make a cute ghost.

Copycat Recipes: The Cheesecake Factory's Fried Zucchini Appetizer

 

One of my favorite restaurants is The Cheesecake Factory, but the only bad thing is that the closest restaurant is miles and miles away. I decided to figure out how to recreate my favorite Cheesecake Factory appetizer, so I can get my fix anytime I wanted it. I absolutely love their fried zucchini appetizer, and I think I have come pretty darn close on the recipe. Try this out and see if you agree. I would really love to hear back from you so leave me a comment.

 

INGREDIENTS:

Small Zucchini

All-purpose flour

Salt and pepper

Egg

Panko bread crumbs

Parmesan cheese, grated and shredded

Hidden Valley Peppered Ranch

Oil for frying

 

Cut ends off of the zucchini and then cut in half. Then cut each half into halves and then those halves into halves again. Cut each strip down to about 3 to 4 inch strips. Put one cup of all-purpose flour in a bowl and add salt and pepper. Coat each zucchini strip into the flour mixture and place on a plate.

 

Scramble an egg in a bowl. Place a cup of panko bread crumbs in a bowl, a tablespoon of grated parmesan cheese and add salt and pepper. Dip each zucchini strip in the egg and then into the panko mixture and place on a plate. In a frying pan, heat enough oil that will coat your zucchini strips. Once oil is heated to temperature, fry zucchini until coating is brown and crisp.

Allow fried zucchini to drain on a cooling rack or on paper towels. Plate zucchini strips on a serving plate and top with some shredded parmesan cheese. Serve with The Original Hidden Valley Ranch Peppercorn.

Ways to Have Fun Learning Spelling Words



 

The worst part of going back to school is the thought of having to help the kids with spelling words every week. You would think that I was giving my kid a root canal every week when I would tell her it was time to work on the dreaded spelling words. She would have a melt down. She would cry the whole time she had to write her spelling words out. She would fuss and fidget the whole time we studied them. I decided that I had to get creative to get her to want to learn her spelling words or at the very least not melt down every week when we had to study new words. So I came up with a number of ideas that might help other parents battle through the torturous task of helping your child learn new words each week.

 

Flashcards are a great way to practice reading and spelling words. I always make a set of flash cards each week using index cards or small piece of paper from small notebooks. Practicing flashcards in different places can make it more fun too. Like when you are grocery shopping or studying them in the car. I will give my daughter the flashcard that she says and spells correctly. When she has all the cards then we know we are done. Sometimes when she gets a word right I will give her a little treat like a skittle or when she gets them all right for the week I would reward her with a favorite treat like a bowl of rainbow sherbet.

 

Texting is a fun way for your child to learn their words as well as where letters are on a keyboard. If your child has a cell phone or if you have more than one cell phone in the family then you can tell your child a spelling word and have them text it to you.

Using a computer word program would also be a great way for your child to learn their words as well as where letters are on a keyboard. Do a practice test by saying each word to your child and have them type the words into a word program.

 

Spellingcity.com is a new discovery for us this year thanks to my daughters' second grade teacher. Each week the spelling words are loaded into the online program and my child can take practice tests and play word games that will help her learn her words in a fun way. I really like this program!

 

If you have a chalkboard then this is a great tool for your child to work on spelling words. Writing spelling words on plain paper can get really boring so if you do something as simple as change how they write out their words then it makes learning more interesting and fun. I had turned my daughters bedroom door into a chalkboard simply by painting it with chalkboard paint.

 

Sidewalk chalk is another way to get them into learning their words. Let your child write their words on the driveway, patio or porch. When they are done working, let them have some free time to draw whatever they want as a reward.

 

Whiteboards are also fun. I don't care how old you are, playing with dry erase markers is fun!

I always felt that sign language should be taught to everyone. It's a skill I wish I had learned growing up. Some schools are teaching the basics of American Sign Language by teaching the children to sign the letters of the alphabet. Have your child sign the letters to spell out their spelling words. Not only will they learn their words but also it helps them learn a life skill that may help them communicate with someone someday.

 

Watercolor paints are super cheap and super fun. Having your grade schooler use watercolors to write spelling words is another creative way to keep them interested. When they do a good job allow them to have free time to paint a picture.

 

Stencils can be a fun way to spell out words. After they spell their words correctly with the stencils they can spend time coloring in their work.

 

Practice tests are a necessary evil to insure that your child is ready for the real deal. Small rewards for getting their practice tests right will go a long way. Try giving an extra half hour of television or no chores that night.

 

Aqua Doodle Mat is not just for toddlers anymore. I have whipped out the Aqua Doodle Mat for practice tests to make them a little more fun. There are other Aqua Doodle products out there that would work as well.

 

Spelling Balloons are the most recent craze at our house right now. Blow up a balloon or two depending on the amount of words you have and the size of your balloons. The bigger the balloon the easier it is for the child to write on it. And give your child a marker and have them write their spelling words on the balloon. It is super fun and they can also enjoy drawing on the balloon as well as a reward.

How to Make a Ribboned Hair Bow Out of Your Own Hair



 

 

A beautiful ribbon hair bow is a lot easier to achieve than it looks. It can be a simple everyday look or a more elegant look for special occasions. This hair bow looks good on any age and you don't have to be a professional hairstylist to get this awesome hairdo!

 

Step 1: Start with pulling your hair back into a partial ponytail with a hair tie that matches your hair color.

 

Step 2: Pull out a small section of hair from the top of the ponytail and pin it forwards out of the way with a bobby pin for now.

 

Step 3: Separate ponytail into two sections and clip one the right section out of the way.

 

Step 4: With a large curing iron, curl the left section inward towards the face. Clip this section out of the way.

 

Step 5: Unclip the right section and curl this section inward towards the face. Tease this section to give it some volume and spray with hairspray. Wrap the hair inward to create a bow and secure with bobby pins to the back of your head. Place bobby pins on the top and the bottom of the bow.

 

Step 6: Tease the left section to give it some volume and spray with hairspray. Wrap hair inward to create the other half of the bow and secure with bobby pins to the back of your head. Place bobby pins on the top and the bottom of the bow.

 

Step 7: Spray the bow with hairspray and smooth out any fly aways. Then take the small section of hair that was pinned up on the top of the head and bring it straight down in the back. This will cover the middle of the bow. Pin with a bobby pin at the bottom of the ponytail. You should now see a finished bow with curled ribbon pieces hanging down.

 

If you don't like the ribbons hanging down or want a different variation of this hairstyle, simply roll up the curls and stuff inside the middle of each side of the bow and pin.

Secrets of Saving 70%-90% Couponing at CVS Pharmacy

I always thought that drug stores were the most expensive place to shop but I have been sadly mistaken. Like many others I have been fascinated by these extreme Couponers and have been attempting to get on the couponing bandwagon myself. The last place I would have thought to shop for deals would be a drug store. I always thought their prices were outrageously way too high. And for the most part they are higher than a store like Wal-Mart or Dollar General. However, I have quickly learned that things truly are not as they appear. CVS is probably one of the cheapest places to buy personal care and other household goods that you use everyday. Believe it or not!!!!

 

There are however a couple of tricks of the trade. You really, really have to study the ads that come out every week and only buy when items are on sale or have a special promotion going on. Lets start with the basics of CVS.

 

CVS has an awesome reward program which personally I think is one of if not the best award program I have seen plus it's a lot of fun to use and gets me super excited to go shopping every week. I am now to the point where I can go to CVS a couple of times a week and actually have fun doing it. I'm not really big on shopping but when I'm getting great deals it doesn't make shopping feel like a chore.

 

The reward program that CVS has is called the CVS Extra Care Rewards program, which allows you to earn Extra Care Bucks (ECB) that you can use basically as cash towards purchases in the store. If you do not have a CVS Extra Care card then you will need to go into your local store and apply for one. It only takes a few minutes and you can start saving money immediately.

 

Once you have your reward card, mosey on over to the Coupon Center which is the "magic" coupon machine that many of us CVS shoppers call it. Scan your CVS ExtraCare card and the machine will spit out a couple of coupons for you. Remember to scan your card every week for new coupons. I have heard that some people scan their card every time they go to CVS even if it's a couple of times a week and I have heard of people scanning their card multiple times in one trip but I have not tried this. I am also told that the coupons that come out of the Coupon Center are random and that not everyone receives the same coupons however, I am not sure if this is truth.

 

Each quarter you will receive ECB for your prescriptions and on all your purchases. For every two prescriptions filled you will get $1 ECB and 2% of your everyday purchases.

 

Another awesome program CVS has is the CVS/pharmacy Green Bag Tag. You can find these up by the register. They are only a dollar and you attach it to your reusable bag. Each time you purchase an item bring in your reusable bag and show the cashier your Green tag to be scanned along with your CVS card to be scanned. Then on every 4^th visit you will receive a $1 ECB.

 

And yet another cool program that CVS has is that you can go online and sign up for the ExtraCare Beauty Club. You will then receive $5 ECB every time you spend $50 on beauty products.

When each ad comes out on Sundays, study the ad carefully. The first thing I look for are the items that are on sale and offer ExtraCare Bucks. Then I look in my coupon stash and see if I have any coupons I could match up to the products on sale. This is where you can save even more money by matching up the manufactures coupons with items that are already on sale for an even deeper discount. And what's even better is that your ECB is calculated prior to the deduction of manufacturers coupons. Whoot, Whoot!

 

Here is an example of a few great deals I found this week.

CVS advertised Dove hair care 5-12 oz products on sale 2 for $6, which ends up being $3 each. The regular retail price for Dove 12 oz shampoo is $4.99. So on sale you are saving $1.99 each. If you spend $15 on Dove products you will receive $5 ECB. I had coupons for $3.00 off two Dove hair care products and this would leave each bottle of shampoo or conditioner only $1.50 each. I purchased 5 bottles at $3.00 each on sale, which totaled the $15.00 I needed to get the $5 ECB. I used 5 manufacturers coupons and got each bottle for $1.50 each. The total after coupons was $7.50 (that's about 70% off retail) plus I got a $5 ECB so if you want to take that off its like getting 5 bottles of Dove shampoo for 50 cents a piece (or 90% off retail). Pretty awesome huh!! No dollar store can beat that price!!!

 

Here's an awesome deal I got on P&G products this week. If you spend $30 on select P&G products in the ad for week ending 9-11-12 you will get $10 ECB. I always like to take advantage of the high dollar Extrabucks. Aussie shampoo and conditioner was on sale for 2 for $5.97 (reg. $5.49) and I had a manufacturers coupon for $3.00 off 2 and a CVS coupon from the coupon machine (also known as a CRT) for $1.00 of an Aussie product. I got a credit for buying $5.97 of P&G Aussie but only spent $1.97 on 2 bottles. Then I bought 4 bottles of Pantene shampoo on sale for $5.99 each (reg. $6.49) and used 2 coupons of $3.00 off 2 Pantene shampoos, making them $4.49 each. Then a small bottle of Gillette Fusion shave gel for $2.37 and I had a coupon for $1.00 off so it was only $1.37. I would have spent $39.01 retail but on sale it would have been $32.33 however with my coupons deducted I only spent 21.30. Then I used the $5 ECB from my Dove deal above and $1 ECB from my 4^th visit using my Green bag tag and I spent a total of $15.30 before tax and got 4 bottles of Pantene shampoo (these were the large bottles) and 2 bottles of Aussie shampoo and one shave gel.

 

A few tips:

One thing to remember when using your ECB is that you need to use the full amount of you will lose it and to make sure you pay attention to the expiration dates. For example, if you have an ECB for $10.00 and the items you are purchasing only total $7.00 then you either need to add more to your purchase to get it to the $10 mark or above or don't use the ECB on that purchase. If you use the $10 ECB on the $7 item you will not get a credit for the remaining $3 on the ECB. You will lose it!

Always shop with your coupon stash or book. CVS has some great deals on clearance items and if you have a coupon to add to the clearance item then you will save even more.

 

CVS does give rains checks so if an item that is on sale is out of stock don't be afraid to have them right up a rain check for the quantity you want and lock in that great sale price.

 

Also pay attention to the bottom of your receipts. As long as you use your CVS card every time you purchase something, on the bottom of your receipts you will find running totals of your Beauty Club spending and Extra Buck offers for that week. So say on that P&G offer I showed you above, if you only bought the Aussie items for $5.97, it will show on your receipt that you need $24.03 more of P&G to get the ECB for that week. The CVS receipts are the best receipts I have ever seen, they keep track of everything, I love it! I like to go home and figure out what I would have paid if the items were not on sale and I didn't use coupons and then compare it to what I actually paid. It's so fun and rather addicting!

Easy Handmade UTEE Christmas Ornaments, Jewelry and Gifts

UTEE Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel is made by Ranger Ink and is used in many craft projects to give your pieces a beautiful enamel finish. There are two colors in their UTEE Brightz collection that are great for Christmas projects: Red Poppy and Spruce Green. These pearlescent embossing powders can be used with a heat gun to create textured embossing on your projects or can be melted in a melting pot, which is the technique we will use for this project. By melting the embossing enamel in a melting pot it changes powder into a liquid form that can be used to pour into molds or allow you to dip items into the pot to be coated with the enamel.

 

Supplies Needed:

The Melting Pot by Ranger

Non-Stick Craft Sheet by Ranger

UTEE Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel (Red Poppy and Spruce Green)

Metal Cookie Cutters

 

Heat up The Melting Pot and poor in some Red Poppy UTEE and allow it to melt into a liquid form. Next poor the liquefied UTEE onto the non-stick craft sheet large enough to cover the metal cookie cutter that you want to use. Next press your cookie cutter into the middle of the UTEE and allow time to harden. After it has hardened but is still a little warm, lift off the craft sheet and press down on the cookie cutter and up on the UTEE that is on the outside of the metal cookie cutter. Then press the hardened UTEE out of the inside of the metal cookie cutter. While its still warm it is a little flexible and you can alter the shape if you like to make it look a little bent or twisted. You will also want to punch a hole in the top of the object while it is still warm so that you can thread ribbon through it to hang it on your tree.

 

The negative space can also become an ornament as well or can be used in other projects. If you do not want to have any left over negative space you can place your cookie cutter on your non-stick craft sheet and then poor your melted UTEE into your cutter and allow time to harden. The pop out and put a whole in the top for hanging.

 

You can use this same technique to make other handmade gifts such as pendants for necklaces or to wear on your clothes, beautiful gift tags, scrapbook embellishments, refrigerator magnets and so much more!

Ideas and Wording for Save the Date Cards

We all take great pride in an upcoming celebration that we are planning whether it is a wedding, anniversary, graduation, birthday, a homecoming, etc. There is always a cause for a get-together. I even have a friend that throws a little shindig for the anniversary of her husbands vasectomy. So if we are going through all the work of planning and executing a gathering of some sort, be it a six person anniversary dinner or a 500 guest wedding and reception, then we should take all steps in trying to make it as successful as possible. One such thing would be to send out save the date cards to your guests as soon as you decide on the date of the celebration. This will ensure that all guests have as much notice as possible and they can plan accordingly for the special occasion.

 

Save the date cards are a simple announcement sent to your guests that lets them know of your upcoming event. These cards are sent several months in advance and a formal invitation will follow at a later date. It is important to remember when sending out save the date cards that everyone who receives a card must receive a formal invitation. Therefore it is important to have your guest list finalized prior to sending out the save the date cards. For the most part, save the date cards are sent in the form of a post card because this is just a simple acknowledgement of the event. There is no need for a fancy card and envelop. The use of bright colors, unique clip art, photos and such will draw attention to the card and help those who receive it remember the event. Postcards will also save you money on postage and you won't have the added expense of the envelop. Also for those jumping on the green bandwagon, (kudos to you if you have and if you haven't please do consider it) you are being more environmentally friendly as you are eliminating the use of some paper by not using envelops. If you are making your save the date cards yourself, you can buy recycled paper or use a printer that uses recycled materials!

 

For those brides out there who are sending out save the date cards for your upcoming wedding, you may feel the need to have top of the line save the date cards or something more unique like fans, puzzles, magnets, etc. I get it, you want your wedding to be perfect down to the last detail, most brides do and many have been dreaming of their wedding day since they were a little girl or so the story goes. Unless you're one of these "Platinum Brides" where money is no object, I say, skip the fancy-dancy announcements here and use the money you save towards the formal invitation or the Thank You cards later. I'm not knocking the fancy save the date cards, if you can afford it then go for it, there are some really cool stuff out there! But let's face it, how may people save the save the date cards and scrapbook it later. That usually ends up in the trash once the formal invite arrives and that's what most of us use as the keepsake for the occasion.

 

Whatever the celebration is there is typically a theme. A theme could just mean it's a wedding or a birthday where you can use clipart of a wedding cake, wedding rings or birthday balloons or you can be more specific like a Halloween wedding or a cowboy birthday party. Incorporating a theme into the save the date cards gives it a little bit of a personal touch and gives the guest a sneak peak at what to expect at the party. For example, if you are having a Halloween Wedding, you may want your guests to dress up in costumes. You can decorate the card with Halloween clipart or maybe a picture of the bride and groom in their Halloween costumes from last year. You will also want to mention that guests are being asked to dress up in a costume of their choice. This will give the guests plenty of time to look for a great costume!

 

Since save the date cards are most commonly used for weddings, I have compiled a list of 25 ideas for wording that you can use on your cards.

 

Save the Date!

Seth Hughes and Sally Baker

are getting married on

Saturday, the tenth of January

two thousand and nine

in Bedrock, Colorado

Formal Invitation to Follow

 

Save the Date!

Seth and Sally

are getting married on

January 10, 2009

Bedrock, Colorado

Formal Invitation to Follow

 

Save the Date!

Seth and Sally

will tie the knot

January 10, 2009

Bedrock, Colorado

Formal Invitation to Follow

 

A great girl! A great man!

Save the date, that's the plan!

Seth Hughes and Sally Baker

January 10, 2009

Bedrock, Colorado

Formal Invitation to Follow

 

Please Save the Date of

January 10, 2009

for the wedding of

Seth Hughes and Sally Baker

Bedrock, Colorado

Invitations to follow

 

Please Save the Date!

We will be getting married

on January 10, 2009

Formal invitation and details to follow

Seth Hughes and Sally Baker

 

Save the Date

of January 10, 2009

to celebrate the marriage uniting

Seth Hughes and Sally Baker

Formal invitation to follow

 

Save the Date

January 10, 2009

to share in the joy of

Seth Hughes and Sally Baker

as they are married

Formal invitation to follow

Sam and Susie Baker (parents of the bride or add both bride and grooms parents)

 

Reserve the Date

Your presence is requested

at the wedding of

Seth Hughes and Sally Baker

on January 10, 2009

Bedrock, Colorado

Formal invitation will follow

 

Sam and Susie Baker

Look forward to celebrating with you

at their daughter's wedding

on January 10, 2009

Bedrock, Colorado

Formal invitation to follow

 

Sam and Susie Baker

together with

John and Jane Hughes

Look forward to celebrating with you

at their children's wedding

on January 10, 2009

Bedrock, Colorado

Formal invitation and weekend itinerary to follow

 

Please reserve the date of

January 10, 2009

for our wedding

Invitation and details will follow

Seth Hughes and Sally Baker

 

A romantic affair...

something special is in the air!

Kindly save the date for

a marriage celebration uniting

Seth Hughes and Sally Baker

on January 10, 2009

Bedrock, Colorado

 

Please reserve the date of

June 27, 2009

for a very special

tropical wedding celebration of

Seth Hughes and Sally Baker

Pahoa, Hawaii

Formal invitation and travel

arrangements to follow

Sam and Susie Baker

 

Please reserve the date of

June 27, 2009

for an exotic wedding celebration of

Seth Hughes and Sally Baker

Shangri-La's Fijian Resort, Yanuca, Fiji Islands

Formal invitation and travel

arrangements to follow

Sam and Susie Baker

 

Please reserve the date of

June 27, 2009

for romantic wedding celebration of

Seth Hughes and Sally Baker

Bora Bora, The Romantic Island

Formal invitation and travel

arrangements to follow

Sam and Susie Baker

 

Save the date

for the wedding of

Seth Hughes and Sally Baker

January 10. 2009

Boy met Girl...

For the rest of the story

Please join us

January 10, 2009

For the wedding of

Seth Hughes and Sally Baker

Bedrock Colorado

Formal invitation to follow

 

Our day is fast approaching,

And we can hardly wait!

We hope that you can join us.

Be sure to save the date!

Seth and Sally

Will be married on

January 10, 2009

Bedrock, Colorado

Formal invitation to follow

 

Save the Date

January 10, 2009

to share in the joy of

Seth Hughes and Sally Baker

as they are married

In Bedrock, Colorado

Formal invitation to follow

 

The wedding is coming

We both can't wait

so please don't forget

to Save the Date!

Seth Hughes and Sally Baker

January 10, 2009

 

Save the Date

Seth Hughes and Sally Baker

are excited to announce

their wedding date!

January 10, 2009

Formal invitation to follow

 

Times are busy and calendars are full

Seth Hughes and Sally Baker

want you to know

they are planning their wedding for

January 10, 2009

in Bedrock, Colorado

Invitations to follow

 

Please Save the Date!

We will be getting married

on January 10, 2009

Invitation and details to follow

Seth Hughes and Sally Baker

 

It's written in the stars

that they were meant to be...

So write it on your calendar

there's going to be a party!

Save the date for

January 10, 2009

for the marriage of

Seth Hughes and Sally Baker

Invitation and details to follow

Sam and Susie Baker (parents of the bride or add both bride and grooms parents)