Tote bags are good for just about anything like holding all of your farmers market goods, replace your purse with a cute tote, holding all of the supplies needed for a day at the beach, totes make great gift bags (that the recipient can reuse), and the list goes on and on. If you search online for a tote bag DIY you’ll find a TON of different tutorials. I went ahead and did the searching for you. I’ve narrowed down the search and shared a lovely list on the Better Homes and Gardens blog. Below you can find 14 of my favorite DIY Tote Bags.
I hope this collection of DIYs tote-ally inspires you! To check out the full list, head on over to the Better Homes and Gardens blog!
Well, my kiddo is officially in big kid school and our routine is changing a bit. To stay organized, I’m beginning to realize I have to plan out our meals and snacks. That’s what inspired my Cheese and Tuna Pinwheels recipe. This bite-size snack can be made ahead of time and easily reheated, plus it’s full of protein (and my daughter loves it). In my house we usually have all of the ingredients needed for this recipe already on hand (I did have to go out and buy some puff pastry, but that’s easy to keep in the freezer). Want to make some for your kid (or yourself)? Check out the recipe below.
Ingredients:
1 can of Bumble Bee® Solid White Albacore in Water, drained
3 tablespoons cream cheese
3/4 cup shredded cheese
1 sheet of frozen puff pastry (follow the directions to defrost)
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Pull out one sheet of the frozen puff pastry and follow the directions to defrost it. Gather all your ingredients.
While the puff pastry is defrosting mix together tuna, cream cheese, and shredded cheese in a bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Flatten out the puff pastry sheet and spread the tuna mixture onto the puff pastry, leaving about a one inch space without mixture on one end.
Starting on the end opposite of the one inch space, start to roll up the pastry and mixture into a log.
Wrap the rolled up log into some plastic wrap and place it in the freezer for about 30 – 40 minutes (or until firm, not too hard).
When your freezer time is up, set your over to 375°F. While the oven is warming up, pull the roll out of the freezer. Use a knife to cut the log into 1/4″ slices and place on 2 parchment-lined cookie sheets. Place the pinwheels in the oven and bake for 30 minutes (or until lightly browned), rotating the sheets as needed (I recommend checking the pinwheels at 15 minutes to check if rotating is needed). When the pinwheels are done, place them on a cooling rack.
Serve these snacks when they’ve cooled down.
I suggest making these ahead of time, they store really well. Store these in an airtight container in the refrigerator, or the freezer for longer storage. To reheat: Reheat in the oven for a few minutes, or if you’re lazy like me… the microwave.
If you make this yummy snack, I’d love to see a photo! Share your snacks on instagram and use the hashtag #papermamafriends and/or tag me @thepapermama.
– Chelsey
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
Hey lovelies! I just wanted to pop in and let you all know about a giveaway happening over on my Instagram today. If you don’t wander Instagram too often, you should head on over right now! I’m giving away a copy of The 52 Lists Project journal, plus a $50 shop credit to spend at MooreaSeal.com.
My talented friend, Moorea Seal, is getting ready to celebrate the release of her journal, The 52 Lists Project. Moorea originally started her 52 Lists Project on her blog a couple of years ago. It was so popular, and inspiring, she made a book for anyone to use at home. There are 52 list prompts to enjoy. The lists vary from “list your favorite mood boosting music” to “list the difficult things in your past that have shaped you for the better.” I have a copy and LOVE it. This book
In addition to this awesome book, Moorea has the coolest online shop (plus a brick and mortar shop in Seattle). You can easily find a way to spend $50 there. Trust me.
So, if you want to win my instagram giveaway, head on over to my IG account @thepapermama and good luck!
Okay. My daughter is just days away from starting school (insert excited and sad mom tears here). I’m having a little trouble accepting the fact that I will now have a kid in elementary school. Anyway, my back to school teacher gift DIY is perfect for your kid’s new teacher! It’s the perfect way to start the school year. I know a lot of teachers have a pretty small budget for school supplies and often have to use their own money to provide much needed items for the classroom, so I hope this gift will help. It comes with some snacks (Box Tops snacks so the teacher can earn money for school), a notepad, crayons, pencils, and an apple (of course). Want to make this for your kid’s teacher?
Supplies needed for this project:
basket
yummy teacher treats (preferably Box Tops products so your kid’s school can earn money for their school)
1) Tape off the portion of the basket you don’t want to have painted (my basket came from Walmart and I taped off the top edge and handle).
2) In a well ventilated space (preferably outdoors) spray multiple layers of paint onto your basket.
3) Let the painted basket cure for over 24 hours before handling, then remove the painters tape!
4) Download and print out my Back to School Printable (click on this link to find the printable and right click + save the image to your computer) onto some card stock or photo paper. Cut out the triangles and use the hot glue gun to glue the back of the triangles to a long strip of yarn. I spaced about a half inch between each triangle. Tie the triangle banner around the top of the basket. Use just a tiny bit of glue to secure the banner to the basket.
5) Gather your basket goodies. Use the rubber bands to wrap up the crayons and pencils, then cover the bands with some yarn. Place all the basket items into the basket. Glue the “Back to School” printable onto one of the basket goodies. Tip: if you need some great Box Tops information and food/gift ideas, check out this link at Walmart.
You’re done! With this basket you have the sweetest little gift for your kiddo’s new teacher, plus your teacher gets to use those Box Tops to earn a bit of money for the school!
Do you have any back to school teacher gift ideas?
– Chelsey
P.S. Comments submitted may be displayed on other websites owned by the sponsoring brand.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of General Mills®. The opinions and text are all mine.
Guys. Pregnancy. It will either make you never want to eat again, or you will want to eat every single food item you think about. Spaghetti for breakfast? Sure. Dessert before dinner? Yup. Pickles dipped in ice cream? Probably. With my first pregnancy I had a food aversion to almost everything and the only things I really craved were ranch and soy sauce (I mean, I wanted to drink the stuff). This time around, I would like to eat everything salty and sweet. All at once.
One of my bigger craving for this pregnancy has been cereal. Yes, I want all that. Right now. Just the thought of some tasty sweet cereal in a bowl of milk in the morning/noon/night is making me hungry right now, even though I just ate.
Since I’m already buying all this cereal, I’ve been trying to buy mostly Box Tops items to put into my pregnant belly. So many public schools really need some love and funding, so this is perfect. Any little thing I can do to help my kid’s school, I will try and do. It seems all you need to do is cut off the box tops and send them to your school, then the school can get $0.10 for each top (this will definitely add up if all the kids in school do this).
I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this already, but my daughter is headed to kindergarten this Fall (I can’t believe how fast she’s growing). I didn’t know much about the whole Box Tops program a few weeks ago, but I now know that when I buy a Box Tops item (like that delicious box of Reese’s® Peanut Butter Puffs® cereal in the photo above), my kid’s school can earn some money. It’s a win for this pregnant lady, and a win for my daughter’s school!
Is there anything you do to help raise money for your kid’s school?
– Chelsey
P.S. If you would like some more Box Tops information and maybe some recipe/project ideas, head on over to this Walmart link. Comments submitted may be displayed on other websites owned by the sponsoring brand.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of General Mills®. The opinions and text are all mine.
Baskets can help turn a messy storage spot into well organized space. If you head to most stores to buy one, a little basket can easily cost $20 plus dollars. When I do buy a basket, I usually head to a thrift shop to buy a basket for cheap. This time I decided to make my own. This was my first time making one, but I’m pleased with how it turned out and I would totally make this again. I originally made this easy woven rope basket DIY for the Better Homes and Gardens blog.
a lot of embroidery thread (white, black, and any other color you want)
large embroidery needle
a small amount of yarn
Total cost for this project: $9 (the only thing I had to buy for this project was the rope, since I had all the other materials).
Time needed to create this: It actually does take a bit of time. I probably spent three evenings stitching this thing together. It was easy and mindless work, all done while I watched a bit of television (we are catching up on Project Runway right now).
Head on over to the Better Homes and Gardens blog to find the full tutorial and to make this DIY for yourself.
If you create this DIY, I’d love to see it! You can share a link in the comments below, or tag me in Instagram with a photo (my username is @thepapermama).
P.S. I am a paid contributor for the Better Homes and Gardens blog. If you liked this DIY, check out some other favorite projects I made for the Better Homes and Gardens blog: easily store your garden hose with my Bucket Hose Holder, turn an old brass chandelier into an outdoor candle holder with my Chandelier Candle Holder Makeover, and I know it’s not quite Fall yet… but you can get ready with my Maple Tree Seed Fall Wreath.
If you’ve never played dominoes, I suggest you give it a try. It’s so fun to play, and even my 5-year-old figured it out and enjoyed it! A little bit ago I decided to create my own game, instead of buying one from the store, for the HP Create blog. I love how my Rock Dominoes DIY turned out (and it was fun to make). I feel like this game would be perfect to play out on a camping trip. No internet or electricity, just your imagination and some game time (played by the light of the fire).
Hello and welcome to my internet home! All images, projects, and layouts are property of The Paper Mama blog, unless otherwise noted. Want to share one of my posts? That's wonderful, but please only share one image with credit to The Paper Mama blog and a proper link to the original post. Want to share one of my printables? You are welcome to link to the post the printable is located, but please do not share the actual printable on your site.
