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Pirate Growth Chart

January 13, 2014 by Danielle

My boys are really into Jake & The Neverland Pirates right now. Well, for like the past YEAR. They sing the songs all day long, they call each other one of the characters, and are always fighting Hook the ‘Sneakety Snook’. Way cute!

I’ve been wanting to do a growth chart for awhile, and have stressed about it more and more since my kids are already growing so much. I’m going to miss all their little growth spurts! So what better for them than an adorable (yet simple and budget friendly) DIY Pirate Growth Chart?!

Supplies

6′ tall board – $13

Small canister stain – $8 (I used English Chestnut)

Small canister sealant – $8 (I used clear semi-gloss)

Vinyl for letters and lines – $8

Vinyl for Pirate shapes – $4

Directions

Take your plain board, lay it on something you don’t mind painting on. Choose an area with good ventilation, too, since the stain and sealant smell STRONG. You’ll also need to leave it in place for awhile to dry, so keep that in mind.

Apply the stain according to canister directions. I did two coats on mine. Be sure to allow it to dry completely before adding the sealant, then after applying the sealant before handling.

I then starting adding the vinyl. I chose to do bone shapes for my FOOT lines, so started by measuring and applying those. I did start with 1′ six inches from the bottom, since I’ll attach the board to the wall six inches off the ground.

Then the ‘fun’ part, measuring out each inch. Tiny vinyl lines are not my friends!

There’s your ‘almost’ complete board!

Now you have the option of applying fun Pirate shapes and fun things: skulls, swords, flags, ships, steering wheels, bandanna caps. Or phrases like ‘Ahoy Matey’ or ‘Yo Ho Yo Ho’ or ‘Walk the Plank’. Have fun with it!

I can’t wait to track my little Pirate Mateys on this fun chart!!!

Frozen Inspired Wreath

January 10, 2014 by Danielle

Have you seen the movie Frozen, yet? We went on my birthday, and it was FABULOUS! Seriously, such a cute story, unique, and the music is just addicting. Ever since we purchased the soundtrack, my kids want to listen to it Every. Single. Day. It’s really fun, because we’ll all be singing along, rocking out. I really recommend you go see it, if you haven’t, especially if you have kids.

My favorite is Olaf – seen here on the wreath. Couldn’t have a Frozen item without him on it!!!

My daughter, especially, is OBSESSED with it – especially the sister Elsa (who has the Ice powers). She got the dolls for Christmas, loves singing ‘her’ song, and loves blue swirls. So while I was brainstorming a wreath to decorate our otherwise plain door for the next few moths, I decided that a fun Frozen themed one was just perfect for our family. It turned out absolutely adorable, and since I was able to get all of the items on clearance after Christmas, it cost me less than $6! Woo-hoo (I do a little jig on my yoga ball)!!!

Supplies

Frosted/snowy wreath – $2.75 clearance at Michaels

2 Blue swirls – $1 each clearance at Walmart

Silver leaf/ball decor piece – $1 clearance at Walmart

Olaf & Sisters cut outs – FREE! I cute them off the box her dolls came in

Hot glue, two little strips of ribbon, colorful ribbon bow

Directions

Fluff the snowy branches of the wreath, if needed.

Take the swirly pieces and bend their wire around the wreath frame where you want them.

Hot glue the cardboard pieces to a tiny strip of ribbon, then tie that around the frame so they stay in place.

That’s it – display it for all to enjoy. LOVE IT!!!

Now – go see that movie!

2013 Best of Busy Mom’s Helper: Non-Recipes

December 25, 2013 by Danielle

I can’t believe I’ve been blogging on here for the majority of this year. It’s been so much fun, and such a HUGE outlet for me. To celebrate, and to offer all of us a little extra time with our families this holiday week, I’m going to be sharing the 2013 Best of Busy Mom’s Helper – today is non-recipes!!! I’ll find the top posts from the year (based on pageviews) and list them right here – in case you missed some of the most popular fun and creativity! I’m only going based on through November, though – I figure December has been seen recently enough 😀

Best of 2013 Series: Non-Recipe / Busy Mom's Helper

Today’s part of the series: Non-Recipe posts

Superhero Soda Gift Set

This was a fun little gift for Hubby for Father’s Day. People have been enjoying the free printables all year!

DIY Kid’s Chef Hats

So much fun for the little kitchen helpers – plus completely customizable!

DIY Backpack Center

I can’t tell you what a help this project has been – a nice place for backpacks and jackets, plus the dry erase frames are PERFECT for notes and reminders!

15+ of the BEST Grocery Budgeting Tips EVER

The food part of our budget is one of the hardest, so these tips have really made a difference in my family’s goal of reducing expenses and paying off our debt quicker!

Stay tuned for more in this series:

Bring on the Sweets
Non-Recipes (this post)

REcipes

Christ is the Reason Mantel…and a DIY Stocking Hanger!

December 22, 2013 by Danielle

Phew – FINALLY, our stockings are hung thanks to this fun (and simple) DIY Stocking Hanger! I meant to get them up sooner, but then I bought a Silhouette Cameo (woohoo – seriously, can’t tell you how much fun I’m having with this thing), so waited until I could make up some vinyl with it. I got a little carried away and made even MORE decor: a Christ is the Reason sign for our mantel!

Stockings were Hung sign, plus Christ is the Reason Mantel / Done with Sillhouette Cameo / Busy Mom's Helper

My awesome Sis-in-Law designed it, then I got it all printed off the Silhouette. Pick it off the sheet, transfer it to vinyl….

Then put it on the painted boards. We then did nails for hooks, putting little jewels on the tip of each.

The kids were so excited…..until I told them it’s not Christmas Eve yet. Seriously – only a few days, they at least need to give me that to get ready! LOL

We also made this beautiful blue-and-silver themed mantel display with our vinyl Christ is the Reason for the Season sign. I wanted something central reminding us of the most important part of Christmas. I finally made use of some of that blank space above our Backpack Center!!!

What do you use as a stocking hanger?

Santa Toilet Paper Holder

December 18, 2013 by Danielle

Ya, I totally just put Santa in the corner, holding my toilet paper. Why? Well, because SOMETHING has to hold the toilet paper for those ‘oops, the roll ran out’ moments, and right now it may as well be a cute red Santa Toilet Paper Holder.

Santa Toilet Paper Holder Tutorial / Busy Mom's Helper

The best part of this craft? It’s removable! Yup – you can enjoy it for the holidays, then replace it during the rest of the year. Oh – and simple to do PLUS budget-friendly equals a winning DIY project!

Santa Toilet Paper Holder Supplies Needed

3 #10 cans, empty

1 Red Bath Towel

Black Buttons

Hot Glue

Sewing Machine (or more hot glue)

Scissors

Black fabric/felt/strap

White scrap of felt/fabric

Cotton balls or white fluff

Duct Tape

Santa Toilet Paper Holder Directions

Take the three #10 cans, remove the lid and bottom to two of them. Keep the bottom (but remove the top) on the third. Keep one of the removed lids for the top!

Using duct tape, attach them evenly together on the outside, around the seams. Make sure the can that still has it’s bottom is ON the bottom. Also duct tape along the top, to avoid any rough edges – don’t want anyone getting scratched or cut!

I put a long strip bottom-top in the inside, three spots, just to help secure it more.

Measure the towel around the cans, leaving plenty of space for attaching the two sides together. Cut.

Then sew the edges long-wise together, keeping the seam (this makes the front look like a jacket almost, with the seam being the ‘opening’ part of the jacket). You could also hot glue them together – I chose to sew.

Hem (or glue) the bottom, if you trimmed some off. Don’t want it fraying, especially if you’re going to store it for future holiday seasons, too!

I had one edge (where it was sewn length-wise) that stuck up funny….

So I used a small bit of duct tape to stick it down!

Hot glue some big black buttons along the front, next to the seem. Think of this as Santa’s jacket…the seam being the opening part, so the buttons go right along it’s edge.

Hot glue the black fabric/felt/strap (I used a strap material) around the belly of it. Then glue a buckle-shaped piece of white fabric/felt (I used felt) scrap for the belt buckle.

Take the lid to one of the cans, and cut a piece of the towel around it.

Hot glue the edges under the lid, so it looks nice and smooth along the sides.

I then hot glued cotton balls all along the edge of the ‘hat’ piece.

And hot glued a pile of cotton balls in the middle on top….mostly just for fun.

Fill it with toilet paper – mine fits 4 with room to spare, 5 puts it pushing the lid up a bit.

And HO HO HO – you have a snazzy, festive toilet paper holder to help your bathroom be as festive as the rest of your house!

Give Thanks Wreath

November 9, 2013 by Danielle

I have hardly any Fall/Thanksgiving decorations. I mean, like 3 or 4 things (that’s including my Fall Gratitude Banner). I don’t know if I just am so eager to get the Christmas stuff out, or just too overwhelmed with the busy-ness of the season, but I never really bothered about decorating this season. This year, I really wanted to add more to my decor for this time of year, so I decided a cute little Give Thanks Wreath on our front door was just the ticket! It was so easy to make, and I love the fall colors!

DIY Give Thanks Wreath / Busy Mom's Helper

Supplies

Circle Wreath Frame (I used a foam piece for a couple bucks at Walmart)

Wired Burlap Ribbon

3 or so Wired Ribbons, thick (fall colors)

Flower (fall colors, match the ribbons)

Give Thanks Sign (printable below)

Hot Glue

Door Hanger

Directions

Wrap the Burlap Ribbon around the wreath frame.

Hot Glue the Ribbon down tight, in the ‘back’ of the wreath.

Get your hanging ribbon, a couple feet long, curl it and hang it from the bottom right of the wreath.

Hot Glue it down to the back of the wreath, out of sight.

Use all but a tiny bit of the colored ribbons to make a big bow. Glue it on top the ribbon on the wreath. Then glue the flower to the center of the bow.

Print the Give Thanks sign – it is lightly colored brown in the space, so print in colored unless you’d like a grey tint.

Cut it out, then use the last couple inches of colored ribbon to peak over one of the corners. Hot glue the ribbon pieces to the sign, then hot glue the sign to the top left of the wreath, angled slightly.

Hang on your door with a door hanger, or somewhere in your house for a cute decoration.

Enjoy!!!

Fall Gratitude Banner

November 7, 2013 by Danielle

First of all – it’s November. Seriously!!! I still can’t believe that – like I’m in shock or something. Since there’s nothing I can do about it, though….moving on! I wanted to have a fun way for our family to count our many, many blessings during this month. I know you should show gratitude year-round, but I wanted to ESPECIALLY focus on it this month. I decided a fun way to do it was a Fall Gratitude Banner. Colorful maple leaves where we can each write one thing we’re grateful for every day of November. It also helped decorate my Backpack Center!

Fall Gratitude Banner with Free Printable Pattern / Busy Mom's Helper

First, I printed off 15 pages of this cute Maple Leaf:

Then I let my kids each have a page to color. Can you tell which leaves in the photo at the top my kids did? I did the rest. We used yellows, oranges, reds and browns to create that beautiful Fall color of leaves. After cutting them out (this was the not-so-fun part), I taped each one along the ribbon and hung it over and on the shelf of the backpack center.

Now, for each day in November, we each say one thing we’re grateful for and I write it on one leaf. So thirty leaves = 30 days = 30 things to be grateful for (times 6 people, that’s a lot of gratitude)!

That’s a close-up of the leaves we’ve done so far. Like some of the things listed? Like Batman, Ketchup or M&Ms? Well, I am grateful for M&Ms too, so I shouldn’t judge 😉

Dry Erase Paint: Does it Work? TWO Projects!

October 25, 2013 by Danielle

So I’ve been hearing a lot of chit-chat the past few months about Chalkboard paint. Gotta say, I’m really not a fan of chalkboards because of the MESS that comes from all the chalk. So….then I noticed the hype of Dry Erase Paint. Hmm….sounded GREAT, but would it really work, or just be kind of ECK on my wall?

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You can get the paint for about $21 on Amazon.

IMPORTANT: You have to use all of the paint WITHIN 1 HOUR of mixing these, so make sure you’re completely ready!!! For my projects, I planned ahead for both, so I could paint one, then do a coat on the other while waiting on the first. Then back & forth, etc. Just make sure you’re ready before mixing. When you are ready, pour the smaller, yellowy liquid into the large can with the white paint. Mix VERY well. Then paint!!! Wait 20-25 minutes between coats.

The cans recommend using 2 coats, but I used 3 just to be safe.

Project #1: Dry Erase Paint Wall

So another blank wall in our house needed something, so I thought “hey, why not a big dry erase board for the kids when they’re playing school, or coloring, or want to dry, or…” Ya, endless possibilities!

Step 1: Frame in the area

Step 2: Sand it nice and smooth

Step 3: Primer it, just to be sure it’s a smooth color, cover up blemishes from sanding, and help it be as smooth as possible. Allow to dry completely before doing Dry Erase paint.

Step 4: Paint, wait 20 minutes. Paint, wait 20 minutes. Paint again

The product, as you can see at the top and below, worked just fine:

(Yes, that’s my Superman wearing a Jake & the Neverland Pirates outfit)

Notes: Although we did spend quite a bit of time sanding, I really wish we had made sure it was VERY SMOOTH. When drying it, the little grooves and bumps do make it difficult and it isn’t as good as I would have liked.

Effectiveness: For this wall, and it could be from the lack of perfect smoothness, I wish I had used 4 coats just so it would erase a bit easier. It works okay, but we do have to use the spray more than I’d like and there is a slight color left. However, again, this could be from the little roughness or from needing one more coat. Also, we could have tried mudding it to make it smoother, like we did the project below.

Still love it, though – the kids have used it TONS and still think it’s a blast!

Project #2: Dry Erase Pantry Door Menu Board

I really have been wanting a nice, big, easily view-able Menu Board in my kitchen, so thought it would be fun to have it on my pantry door, right next to my fridge.

Step 1: Tape off area

Step 2: Sand the area smooth

Step 3: Mud it so every little bump/crevice gets filled for ULTRA smoothness

Step 4: Paint primer. Allow to dry completely

Step 5: Paint with Dry Erase Paint. Wait 20 minutes. Paint again. Wait 20 minutes. Final coat, allow to dry.

Final Product Menu Board

And it erased WONDERFULLY!!! It was so much smoother than the wall, so I bet that helped. Still 3 coats like the other, too.

I love it!!! It’s been so nice to just erase as we have meals, and when I’m wondering what I had planned I can glance over and it’s there in big, colorful letters. Cause colorful is more fun, right?

Have any of you tried Dry Erase Paint? I do recommend it – but make the area SMOOTH!!!

Simple Scary Monster Windows

October 17, 2013 by Danielle

So, I don’t know if this would actually count as a post – but I feel bad I haven’t shared anything since Saturday. Reason being: my mom is in town!!! The kids and I are having a blast with her, and since I’ve made it a point to put family first, I’ve been a bit absent from here. I apologize, but promise there’s some AMAZING stuff coming up in the coming weeks, so just bare with me!

I wanted to share my Simple Scary Monster Windows with you – especially since it’s SOOOO EASY!!! Seriously, all you do is take a bunch of black 12×12 scrapbook paper (larger, if you can find it). Do a monster on each page, making a variety – witch, different mouths and eyes, horns or snake-eyes, etc. Cut them out, then tape them to your window (inside of the blinds). Then go outside and take a look – Viola!!!

See, super easy, yet lots of fun! Let your kiddo’s help create the monsters and they’ll think it’s the coolest window ever!

Want some other fun Halloween ideas?

Cute Witchy Hat

Tasty Spider Gift

DIY Backpack Center

October 10, 2013 by Danielle

As many of you are aware, we bought our first ‘OUR’ home in August. Even as it was being built, my head was going crazy with a million ideas of what I would add, how I would make it unique and our own, things to make it work best for our family. My First New Home Remodel Project: DIY Backpack Center.

DIY Backpack Center / my first DIY home remodel project / by BusyMomsHelper.com

The reason I picked this as my first project was 1. The designated spot for backpacks until this was my bedroom…..no thanks! And 2……This Big. Huge. Empty Wall

DIY Backpack Center / by Busy Mom's Helper #Tutorial #Remodel #HomeOrganizing

Ya, not exactly the prettiest spot – but oh the potential!!! So the brainstorming, measuring, Pinterest-surfin’, measuring and sketching drafts (plus more measuring) began. And continued….seriously, like a little notebook later and I finally had the plans/measurements I wanted. Then it was off to Home Depot!

Supplies

Sides, Bottom, Middle, and under Shelf: 5 thick pieces of molding
Shelf: a REALLY long board, plus two support ends.
Decoration/kid separators: Three 1″ thick plain boards
4 double clothing hooks
4 frames
White paint/primer
Black paint
LOTS of nails – make sure they’re the right kind! (not too long/wide). I used ones that were specifically for Molding pieces

Biggest piece of advice = Measure, measure measure!!! Every little thing, measure it!

Directions

Step 1: Paint the frames, if necessary. If you’d like, paint your boards now, too.

I was set on having black frames, but fell in love with the design of these light blue ones, so I painted them black myself.

Step 2: Cut your boards.

See ‘Notes 3’ below. I don’t have a nice wood saw, but I bought this little saw/guide pack for less than $15 and it did a wonderful job!

Steps 3 – 5: Put on the bottom board. Then the two side boards. Then the top board. YES – in that order!

Again, MEASURE so you know this spot is really where you want it!

Yes, that’s my hubby being AMAZINGLY helpful – thanks hun!

Steps 6 & 7: Add the three divider/separator pieces. Then the middle board.

The middle board is where you’ll put the hangers, so try to put a nail through at least a few studs with this board. Also – see how the outlet is really close to one of the pieces – this is one reason measuring is so important! If I hadn’t double checked, we could have really been screwed with that outlet!

Step 8: Add the shelf and supporting pieces.

We made sure the supporting pieces were in studs, then also nailed from the top of the shelf down into the board below it to help it be more secure. We still can’t put much weight on the shelf, to be safe, but it’s at least secure enough for light stuff or just for show.

Make sure you used enough nails.

Paint!!!

I used white paint for my boards/center, and did them all at the same time after it was built.

Add the hooks, again MEASURING 😀

And you’re done!!!

One of the reasons ours took us so long was that I didn’t plan properly from the beginning, so we ended up making about 5 different trips to Home Depot for supplies – they were so patient with us! Other than that, though, it was actually amazingly fast!

I really am glad we used the frames so each kid would have a dry erase board – we can write notes, important reminders for school, or whatever. So excited!

What do you guys think of my first big project? I absolutely LOVE my backpack center, and realized that I really enjoy home remodeling projects, too! So stay tuned….many more fun remodel projects to come!!!

Notes: Yes, I’m sure you can paint the frames last, or in the middle. I just chose to do them first.

Notes 2: Going back, I would have gotten 4 cute-designed corner pieces for my corners instead of just having the boards meet.

Notes 3: You know how they say measure twice, cut once? Measure LOTS and you still may have to cut multiple times….so be careful and pay extra close attention.

Notes 4: USE A LEVELOR to check that everything is straight/level.

Notes 5: Use a stud-finder so you can make sure at least some of your boards go into a stud, helping secure your center better.