Upcycle Milk Crate

Before my dad left for Philippines, we tackled another small project. It’s always fun and exciting doing projects with my dad.

I found this old milk crate someone was throwing so I picked it up. It had a small rust inside. I scrubbed it with soap and water then painted Rust-Oleum satin clear coat. If I had to do it over again I would have probably used grey gloss spray to really hide the rust. But then I would lose the original color and design of the crate….

We had a bunch of old wood outside from other project so my dad helped me cut them, glue them together with wood glue and sanded them. I bought him a router for Christmas and finally we were able to try it out. The router created a nice design on the side of the wood. It added a perfect touch. Then all we had to do was stain it. I had some left over stain from another project so we used that. Finally we just added another wood on the bottom as a stopper.

Tada!!

It’s beautiful and I’m so proud of our upcycle project. We gave this milk crate a little love and it turned into a beautiful side table for my daughter.
* I forgot to take a picture of the original milk crate but I found a similar picture online so I used that.

Let me know what you think.

Newspaper Envelope

For those who really know me, I reuse/recycle greeting cards. Or I make them into my own. It’s such a waste to use them once then throw…But the problem is that I never find the right envelope for them.

This month we are going to a couple birthday parties and I recycled some birthday cards and couldn’t find envelopes.

So I made my own from newspaper comics.

What a great idea!!! Those newspaper would have been recycled anyway. Instead we have another use for them before going to the recycling bin.

You won’t find the step by step diy instructions here. There are many sites that offer you templates. But if you’re still confuse and would like to know my trick… Email me.

I think the side way style came out pretty unique… What do you think? What do you prefer?

How to save money on diapers and wipes

What’s a good price on diapers and wipes? Well after two years of buying diapers and wipes, I have found out when to stock up and what price to buy them at.

Before you read any further, this is for people who are not picky with their diapers. Luckily my baby is not sensitive to any brand so I don’t discriminate. If you’re particular in a brand, then the price might vary.

So what is a good price for diapers?

From experience, my buy price for diapers is $0.11 per diapers. When I do the math and it’s close to this number then I stock up. No matter what store you buy it from you can always use the formula to do the calculation.

Package price divided by the amount of diapers in the package = $ per diaper

Remember: prices vary from size to size. But my rule: if it’s more than $0.15 per diapers regardless of the size then I don’t buy unless I’m desperate.

How do I get diapers for that cheap?

Be a look out for sales. Check out sites like livingwithwithcoupons.com or hip2save.com. Print out diaper coupons on coupons.com. Register your store cards to use digital coupons on top of your manufacturer coupons. Use points, ECB (extra care bucks from CVS), or gift cards deals (usually target has these deals).

In short, be a smart shopper and use all your resources to get that price down.

Side note: maybe think about cloth diapers?

So what is a good price for wipes?

My buy price for wipes is $0.01 per wipes.

Package price divided by number of wipes = $ per wipes.

I usually stock up when I get to this number. And same thing with the diapers, I don’t discriminate on the brand. Usually I get Huggies and pampers at this price. Also use your coupons and all your other resources to get that price down.

Side note: maybe make your own wipes?

NEVER buy without a coupon. You will never get it down to these prices if you don’t use any coupons.

Happy Shopping!!

Green Power Smoothie

My poor husband gets to try all my wonderful smoothie.

Today I made this super healthy green smoothie for breakfast and used my stainless steel straw.

Ingredients:

• Cucumber
• Baby spinach
• Green grapes
• 1/2 avocado
• 3 tbsp Greek yogurt
• 1 tbsp Chia seed
• Water

I think it’s pretty refreshing and it super healthy!! And I was super excited to use my stainless steel straw.

Let me know what you think… Or any other suggestions? Leave a comment.

Valentine’s Day Craft

Valentine’s Day is around the corner. Although it’s not a big holiday, its still an excuse to do some arts and crafts with the girls.

My mom wanted some decorations for her office so the girls are surprising her with this LOVE frame… made with love and lots of paint by the girls.

Really easy to make… and you can reuse it every year.

Materials:

• Canvas (any size you want)
• Frog Tape
• Acrylic Paint (or any kind of paint you have)
• Small paint brushes (the tiniest one… unless you want blob of paint)

1. Prepare your letters with the frog tape. Press the edge of the tape with your fingernails to prevent the paint from running in.
2. Have kids paint away with whatever color they want
3. I went over and painted some of the white parts that the girls missed
4. Remove the tape when paint dries

 

What Valentine’s Day project did you do with your kiddos?

 

Cucumber, Avocado, Tomato Salad

Lately I feel like I’ve been posting more recipes than projects. I can definitely say I have more time experimenting with food.

Yesterday, when my daughter came home, we made some yummy salad with mozzarella grill cheese. The best part was that I had all the ingredients (okay… Except for the pesto… I asked my sister to bring me some) AND… Daddy loved it!!

Salad Ingredients:

• 1 cucumber
• 1 small package cherry tomatoes
• 1 avocado
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar (I didn’t have red wine vinegar)
• 1 tsp honey
• Salt and pepper

1. Dice cucumber 1/4, cut tomato into halves, cut avocado into same size of cucumber
2. In a separate bowl, mix white wine vinegar, olive oil, honey, salt and pepper.
3. Mix all ingredients together.

Optional: You can add  fresh basil to the mix to add more flavor.

Grill Cheese Ingredients:

• Bread
• Fresh mozzarella (or any cheese)
• Mayonnaise
• Pesto
• Tomatoes

1. Spread a very thin layer of mayo on one side of each bread. (I like to use mayo with olive oil instead of butter… But you can definitely use butter if that’s all you have)
2. Put cheese on the non mayo side then a couple of thinly sliced tomatoes then spread some pesto then cover with more cheese. (Bread, cheese, tomatoes, pesto, cheese, bread)
3. Use a sandwich maker and cook for 2-3 mins (If you don’t have a sandwich maker then u can use a pan but just remember to press and hold the top of the grill cheese to flatten it out)

All of these are best eaten fresh. And we definitely finished all of it!!
My sister jokes that Im the worst cook but I think this recipe is pretty amazing! Let me know what you think? Any suggestions would be helpful.

Chocolate banana strawberries smoothie

I was so proud of this smoothie that I had to write about it and share it with you guys.

Im usually up at 5:30am because of my newborn but today, she decided to sleep in so I made my husband a smoothie breakfast. It was fast, easy and yummy….

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup Greek yogurt
• Handful of strawberries
• 1 banana
• 1 tbsp Chia seed
• 1/2 Chocolate powder
• 1 tbsp Honey
• Water

My sister thought it was a little too sweet so try without the honey first. Also depending on how liquidy you want it, you can play around with the amount of water.

Enjoy! Let me know what you think. Any suggestions leave a comment.

Monster toilet paper rolls

So the girls got together again and we did another art project with more toilet paper rolls. Thanks to my mother in law who saved me a bunch of toilet paper rolls from the Chinese Firecracker project. I didn’t want to throw them out so we made monster!!!

This time, I bought acrylic paint which worked a lot better. I found old t-shirts and used them as smocks for the girls.

Of course we painted over them and I drew the monsters. But the girls had so much fun getting their hands dirty and picking colors to paint.

Stay tune to see what we are going to use them for…

Cranberry Banana Orange Smoothie

So its the new year and I feel like everybody’s new year resolution is to lose weight and eat healthy. I’m going to jump on that boat and also use that as my new years resolution.

I like making smoothies. Its easy and fast. But its not for everyday or for everybody.

Here is a smoothie I made that I wanted to share.

Cranberries –  when I hear cranberries I hear my mom saying “drink it if you think you’re having a UTI”. Well it can do more than that. “It offers antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer health benefits. Cranberries are a very good source of vitamin C, dietary fiber, and manganese, as well as a good source of vitamin E, vitamin K, copper and pantothenic acid.”

Buy cranberries between October – December. Buy the reddest ones. Store them in the refrigerator for up to 20 days or you can freeze them to enjoy year round. (Search how to properly freeze cranberries)

Chia Seeds – loaded with fiber, protein, Omega-3 fatty acids and various micronutrients.

Greek yogurt – “All yogurts are excellent sources of calcium, potassium, protein, zinc, and vitamins B6 and B12. What distinguishes Greek yogurt is its thicker, creamier texture because the liquid whey is strained out. Also, it contains probiotic cultures and is lower in lactose and has twice the protein content of regular yogurts.”

Lemon – Lemons are acidic to the taste, but are alkaline-forming in the body. In fact they are one of the most alkaline-forming foods. Also with many other benefits including rich in vitamin C, liver detoxifier, antibacterial, anticancer, and good for digestive system.

 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup cranberries
• 1 banana
• 1 orange (peeled or juiced)
• 1/2 lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon chia seed (or sub for any other seeds ex. flax)
• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
• Water or ice cubes

Put it all together in your blender and start blending.

Remember: you can always add but you can’t subtract. Lemon and cranberries are very soury so just keep that in mind. Also the more chia seed you add the more water you would need to have that watery consistency.
Enjoy! Let me know how it goes. Leave a comment for any other suggestions.

Chinese Firecrackers

Chinese New Year is coming up and what better way to prepare by making some firecrackers with the girls out of toilet paper rolls.

Firecrackers are used to drive away evil spirit.

The girls had so much fun painting each roll with red paint. (I had to go over it with acrylic paint)

Then I used my left over gold ribbons with glue gun to tie them all together.

If you want to know more about this project, write a comment or feel free to contact me

Reduce Carbon Footprint

Goal for 2017 to reduce my Carbon footprint.

1. Keep a bucket in the tub – I started to keep a 2.5 gallon bucket in the tub to collect water. Sometimes I turn on the water and it takes awhile for that right water temperature. In the meantime, my bucket is collecting my clean water. Then I use that to either flush the toilet or water my plants.
2. No more straws – I never realized how much of a waste they are. You use them one time then throw them out. I read somewhere that there are 500 million straws used and thrown daily!!! That’s crazy… my goal for this year… no more straws!!
3. Use stainless steel water bottles – I don’t know why I feel so guilty drinking from a plastic water bottle. To make myself feel better I’m going to try to use stainless steel water bottles to reduce plastic waste…
4. No more plastic bags or paper bags – I have been carrying a small book bag everywhere I go. It’s just convenient for me. Along with my water bottle, I also have a reusable bag in case I stop by a store. I try to use the canvas bags when I do my groceries and opt not to get the paper bags when I do go shopping. I just put the items in my bag. Is that weird?
5. Reuse plastic bags – there are moments where I forget my canvas bag and I have to use plastic bags. This is when I use them for garbage bags. See my garbage bag hacks.
6. Grow a garden – this would be my third year growing a garden and I hope for it to be successful. It’s winter right now so I’m just collecting eggshells and ground coffee and mixing them in the soil for when I start my garden season.
7. Compost – My husband bought me a vermicompost last Valentine’s day.. I know so sweet!! And it was a disaster!! I had worms coming out in the dining room. I still have to revisit that idea and figure out what I did wrong but for now I have to figure out how to compost in a small scale.
8. Bring my own lunch and utensils – I wish my work cafeteria used real plates and utensils. Instead they have plastic everywhere. I try to bring my own lunch in a glass container and bring my own utensils. Not only do I feel better eating with a real spoon and fork but I just save one extra garbage.
9. Recycle cards –  Christmas cards.. birthday cards.. yes they’re nice but it’s such a waste!! I’m more of a “make me a card” type of girl. I try to save cards and reuse them.. btw did u know St Jude recycle your used greeting cards and creates new holiday cards? Then they are sold to support their programs.
10. Reuse and re-purposed – as much as possible, I don’t buy anything new. There are online garage sales and you would be surprised to find things in good condition and are way cheaper. I try to re-purpose things that I have in the house. I know I’m a semi Hoarder myself but my goal this year is to try not to hold on things. Wish me luck.

What’s your goal to reduce carbon footprint?

One side note: I’m not a writer. My grammar is not the best. If you find something wrong on my page don’t be mean and just kindly send me an email. If you want more information on this project Contact Me.

Christmas in a Brown Paper Bag

Its that time of year where I start thinking about Christmas presents. You have to start early to beat the crowd and get some good deals.

This year I had a lot of extra brown paper bag.

So for my daughter’s teachers, I decided to print on the brown paper bag and stuffed it with miscellaneous items.

Its the thoughts that counts! 🙂

One side note: I’m not a writer. My grammar is not the best. If you find something wrong on my page don’t be mean and just kindly send me an email. If you want more information on this project Contact Me.