Get crafty with those Roses

Did you receive a bunch of roses for Valentines Day that are on their last leg? Or maybe you bought some for yourself, because they are on sale after the holiday, like me. After you have had them as your centerpiece as long as the petals let you, try putting them to use! Below I have a couple of ideas for using up roses.

Rose Petal Beads

Materials: fresh rose petals, about 5 cups 

Water

Rose essential oil

Wooden spoon

Blender

Toothpicks

1. Collect 5 cups of rose petals, get rid of any dry wilted ones. Add 1/4 cup of water and 2 cups of petals to the blender and chop, until the paste is fine and like clay. Put it in a bowl on the side and chop the rest of the petals with two tablespoons of water for every cup of petals. (If there is a lot of extra water soak it up with a paper towel.) Add the mixture together in the bowl.

2. Put a bit of rose oil on your fingers and roll a small portion of the mixture into a marble sized ball. Poke a toothpick through the center of the ball to form a hole and leave the toothpick in the ball.  Let the beads to dry 3-5 days, or until hard. 

3. Remove the toothpicks and allow a couple more days to dry. String the beads to make any jewlery you'd like. 

Rose Water (DIY Rose Perfume) 

Materials: cup of fragrant rose petals 

2 cups Filtered water

Glass bowl with cover

Cotton gauze or strainer

Glass jar or spray bottle for storing 

1. Boil the filtered water and add to the rose petals in the glass bowl. 

2. Cover the bowl and let it sit fir 30 minutes. Strain the petals out of the water into the jar or spray bottle. Ready for use. Cover and refrigerate up to three weeks. 

(Stemmed from the book Crafting Fun By Rae Grant )

If you don't have time to do either of these crafts in time, simply tie a string around the roses and dry them. Because then you can craft with them when you have time. Like making rose petal soaps, or bath salts, or maybe even using in baking. 

Flowers are so beautiful, so I'm always wanting to find more way to use them. If you have more ideas, please share. 

Send some Smooches

Do you have friends or family who live far away? We do and we wanted to send them some Valentine love, so we made these little notes of love to mail.

We started out by taking some photos of the kids in festive outfits. 

Then, I ordered some square prints. (We ordered off of the Print Studio app, it's a great little company) 

Next, I took square sheets of watercolor paper and painted a little message in ink on them. (I choose this paper because I wanted to write in ink, also it is a nice thick paper that makes the end product have some quality in texture and weight)

Finally, I gave the sheets to Ellamae along with some crayons. She drew some masterpieces on each piece of paper. 

To finish it off, we attached the photos with some double sided tape (something so the photo won't be damaged). And there you have it. A valentine, ready to be sealed and sent. 

Have a happy Valentines Day! 

xoxo

winter intermission: camping with babes

It's about that time of the year when I like to look ahead at summertime and vacations.

I grew up camping. We "dirt" camped as my cousins called it. We slept in sleeping bags under the canvas roof of a tent in campgrounds without the electrical hook up, where there were tall pines between campsites, and a lake was near by. We liked the least populated campgrounds.

Every meal was made over the fire (our favorite was daddy's griddle pancakes). We never knew the time of day. We ate when we were hungry, and slept when we felt like it. Most of the day was spent at the beach, on the lake, or in the woods. We would talk into the night by the campfire's light or cuddled up in our sleeping bags until we fell asleep. Sometimes we went for a whole week, and often it was a couple times a summer. Some of my fondest memories are from camping with my four siblings. 

There was no doubt in my mind that I wanted my kids to grow up with the same experience. 

It can be a bit overwhelming as you think about bringing little babes along camping, but the truth is with just a little extra planning you can enjoy the experience with your babe on your hip (which always makes moments more memorable and special). So as I promised a sweet friend, below I listed some tried and true tips to taking a baby camping. 

Things to bring:

• pack n play- this is useful for not only sleeping in, but it's great as a play area out of the sand/dirt on the beach or in the campsite (if your baby isn't walking yet)
• toilet (small toilet or five gallon bucket with plastic seat cover) - although campgrounds have pit toilets or some have plumbing, this is good to have at the campsite when lil tots have to go (and it CAN'T wait) also for anyone lazy in the middle if the night.
• booster seat - (we use this one at home or when we go places. it is compact, cheap, and fully plastic, for easy cleaning) this is good to have for meals on the picnic table or even strapping onto a camp chair works for around the fire or to the beach if you wish 
• sunscreen (we use this kind) they are still saying don't use sunscreen on babies under 6 months 
• hats (hair pony tails) - we wore braids in our hair when we were young- braids and hats serve the same purpose- keeping the ticks away. (and when you don't have along a blow dryer or hot iron the braid is the prettiest way to style in the woods)
• float devices and life preservers (we love this floaty ) 
• snacks- because most days breakfast and supper are the only meals planned, while the rest of the day snacks are easy to grab and eat, no matter what you were doing (don't forget s'mores supplies)
• baby monitor- this is great if you have friends or family in a near by campsite or you are on a site with lake access and you wish to walk down during baby's naps.
• wagon and baby carrier - wagon is good for long walks through the campground or hauling things to the beach and back. Baby carrier is good for hikes. (We use a Babybjorn)
• clothes for all seasons - warm clothes for cold weathered nights or days. raincoats for the one rainy day you go to town, swimsuits, and obviously sweatshirts for by the campfire.
• blankets and sleeping bags (these are the coziest)
• footwear - a good pair of tennies needed for walks, hikes or fishing. Flip flops to shower in if you are lucky ... And they have showers there. You'll use them at the beach as well. (my mom and dad used to put little bells on our shoelaces when we were toddlers, because we always wanted to wander off and explore the woods)
• first aid kit (aloe and bug spray) you can use bug spray on children's clothes but don't put it on their skin. (look for low deet or family friendly kind)
• fun road trip tunes (a soothing CD or playlist if it helps your child sleep) it wasn't a roadtrip for us if without a little James Taylor or the Andrew Sisters
• picnic table cloth (because toddlers eat right off the table...unless that's just my messy one)
• towels, wash tub, soap and lotions
• camera and/or journal 
• books and coloring and games for rainy days or evenings 
• flashlights - lantern kind for in the tent or on top of the picnic table. Also, hand held ones for bathroom trips, navigating, or reading at night. (toddlers love having a small one to carry themselves)

Seems like a huge list, but when you go "dirt" camping for a week you want to be prepared (my dad always packed the van and boat like a tight puzzle that only he could figure out, but we never were without something we needed) 

Other tips:

Look at stars at night away from fire by the beach (you'll never see anything else like it)

For State Forest campgrounds you will need a sticker pass ( you can purchase there) and if you plan on visiting other national parks for a day or trips that year buy the yearly pass, its a good deal 

Also at state parks they have little books and activities for kids and I think they can still earn patches from filling out the books

If you plan on fishing they make cute toddler poles that are great for beach "fishing" or out of boat

Something I missed? Tips or items to add, please comment below.

I hope wherever you plan on vacationing this year, Florida, out of the country, or just in your backyard, you take time and enjoy every minute.