How to: Tie Dye Crayons

Wow. I have been practically non-existent in the blog world. To say that student teaching and my January {J-term} classes kept me busy would be an understatement! Beginning next week I am taking over my class room full-time and it has been quite the battle to make the students realize that Mrs. Santie means business! I think they’re finally beginning to realize it. 😉

I am so excited because next week is Valentine’s day! It is my 4th Valentine’s with my amazing hubby, and before him I really didn’t have a valentine {timing was inevitable that I just wouldn’t be dating anyone on that particular holiday!}. In retrospect I am thankful for that because each Valentine’s day with Johnny is so very special! In addition to my very special valentine this year, I am blessed enough to also have TWENTY-TWO more! 🙂

Hehe. I am so excited to spend Valentine’s day with my kiddos. It just so happens that I have an overly high-strung, energetic, chaotic group of firsties, so I am pretty much aboard the anti-candy bandwagon. I found this great idea on Pinterest to create crayons for them. This also has a special place in my heart because my grandmother would take little bits and pieces of leftover crayons and create things like this. They were always my favorite crayons in our special supply drawer.

How fun are these little dudes?

And way better than a piece of candy that is gone in .25 seconds. Don’t-chya think?

Here is the quicky tutorial – they’re a breeze to make.

Tie Dye Crayons

Supplies needed:

1. Crayons – for 24 hearts you will need approximately 4 boxes of 24 crayons.

2. Heart shaped silicon mold.

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 230°.

2. Cut up crayons – or use odds and ends of used up crayons.

3. Place crayons in each of the hearts in your mold. Fill to the very top for full crayons, less for thinner crayons.

4. Bake on a cookie sheet for about 12-15 minutes. Remove from oven.

5. Let cool until very firm – at least 4 hours, the longer the better.

6. Pop out of mold and… voila! Fun Valentine’s sans sugar!

I am creating little valentines out of mine that I will pass out during the kids’ valentine exchange. I think they’re so cute. Happy Valentine’s Day for “crayon” out loud! 😉

I’m not sure the kids will “get” the play on words though. It’ll be interesting to see!

 Hehe. These poor kids. Their teacher is a nerd. 🙂

What fun things are you doing for Valentine’s Day? Do you have any traditions with your kids or your family?

I am so excited to hear about what your family does for Valentine’s day! Stay tuned for some new, yummy recipes including something chocolate and peanut buttery {yum-o} and a new spin on an Italian favorite! Until next time…

Happy birthday Winston!

Hi there! Happy Monday!

Did everyone have a great weekend? Our weekend was very relaxing, although I am yet again fighting off another cold/sinus infection/virus. Joy, joy. Like my friend said, hopefully we are just fighting off our “first year” bugs and next year we’ll have stronger immunity against these munchkins! Cheers to that {with my mug of day time Theraflu}!

So guess who celebrated a very big, first birthday this Saturday?! Yep. You guessed it…

This guy!

My sweet little dogga turned one. It’s hard to believe. I remember when he was first born and we went to look at the litter. The little guy fit in the palm of our hands! Awh.

Yeah… I have a problem. I made a first year collage of my dog. Yeah… I went there. 😉

You would too if your dog was *THIS* cute! 😉

Winston even got a birthday present from his pup-friend Meesha! {My ever so thoughtful and creative friends Beth & Jon give the sweetest most thoughtful gifts!} He loved his gift – a new squeeky {Snake} and yummy treats!

Him and Snake are good friends now… he drags him around everywhere, which is really funny to watch since Snake is longer than him. 😉

Oh the life of a dog… he has it pretty good. Hehe.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Monday. I have a super yummy recipe coming up for you this week!

27/52: Get rich quick. {Saturday giggles}

This week I bring to you a short and sweet blog post, just because this little guy is cracking me up today. First, why is our dog so smart? Winston is a smart little cookie. He knows all the right ways to trick us into getting our attention. Mr. Center of Attention is one of his many nicknames! Second, along the same lines, he is so innovative. Oh yeah, that’s right. We are about to be rich folks. With the help of Winston, we have come up with a new, high-tech, doggie drying system. I always dread the end of the bath: working quickly to get him semi-towel tried and then having to tackle, and try to brush him and get him dry. But we will no longer struggle. Man! Thank goodness we found a solution, I’m not sure how much longer we could have put up with the hassle. 🙂

Enjoy the video… I hope it brings you some giggles. Believe me, it was is {this is his usual routine} much funnier in person. Happy Saturday, I hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful sunshine! {And sorry for the background noise – I’m just taking in some awesome Lifetime movies!!}