12 Entryway Organization DIY Ideas

12 Entryway Organization DIY Ideas

I’m a complete weirdo and LOVE to organize things, and not just Spring cleaning. I love a nice Fall organization. When my life gets crazy, my home gets messy and that’s just how it is. Today I’m sharing 12 Entryway Organization DIY Ideas on the Better Homes and Gardens blog to get myself ready for the busy Fall season.

To check out the whole list, head on over to the Better Homes and Gardens blog.

– Chelsey

P.S. I’m a paid contributor on the Better Homes and Gardens Blog. The photos from the first image are from Emily HendersonBetter Homes and GardensBetter Homes and GardensAna White, and Thea’s Mania.


Tuna Fish Latke Recipe (cut into kid-friendly shapes)

Tuna Fish Latke Recipe

Tuna Fish Latke Recipe

Before I had a kid I ALWAYS wondered why parents complained about getting kids to eat their dinner. I obviously had no experience with this (not yet having a kid of my own), but I still thought that I’d never have that problem. You put food (aka nourishment so you can grow and live) in front of them and they should eat it, right? Well, yeah. Fast forward a few years and my 4-year-old is that kid. If the food is green, looks weird, or is new she never wants to try it. So we get creative, yup. We gave in. For whatever reason if we make her food into some interesting shape, 75% of the time she’ll eat it. So that’s what we do most nights. We get fancy with her food. Some days I’ll make food faces with her dinner, and other days I use cookie cutters to make shapes. This week the husband and I created this Tuna Fish Latke Recipe. It turned out pretty darn delicious and it’s not that time consuming! The coolest part: we can sneak peas in this dinner and the kiddo doesn’t mind. I win! Yay!

Tuna Fish Latke Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of shredded hash browns (defrosted)
  • 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1/4 cup shredded onion
  • 5 oz. Bumble Bee® Premium Albacore Tuna or Light Tuna (in either pouches or cans)
  • 1 Tbsp. yellow mustard
  • 1 egg
  • 3 Tbsp. flour
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • vegetable oil
  • optional: 1/4 cup of defrosted peas

Tuna Fish Latke Recipe

Directions:

  • Prep your ingredients: Shred the cheese, shred the onion (we used the cheese grater to do this), and defrost the hash browns/peas.
  • Put all of the ingredients into a mixing bowl.
  • Use a fork (or clean hands) to mix all the ingredients together. Don’t mash the ingredients, they should just be completely mixed.
  • When it’s all mixed, heat up a 1/4 inch of vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium heat.

Tuna Fish Latke Recipe

  • When the oil is ready, use clean hands to flatten out some patties. The size is up to you, but we found that 1/8 – 1/4 inch thick by 4 inches wide worked for us. Place the patties (don’t overcrowd the pan) in the oil and cook for 3 – 4 minutes on each side (or until each side is golden brown). Note: the thinner the party, the crispier it will be.

3Tuna Fish Latke Recipe

  • Place the patties on a paper towel.

Tuna Fish Latke Recipe

  • Use a cookie cutter to cut put a shape in the Tuna Latke.
  • Serve with a bit of tarter sauce, or whatever dip your kiddo loves, and enjoy!
  • The husband and I ate the leftover cutout shapes for our dinner. Hee!

This recipe will make four 4 inch wide patties.

Tuna Fish Latke Recipe GIF

This was a very yummy meal and the kiddo ate it (protein, veggies, and all). It  was even tasty the next day for leftovers. If say it’s the perfect back to school dinner. I’ve always loved tuna. Do you have any tuna recipes I should try? I’d love to know (share in the comments below).

– Chelsey

Check out Bumble Bee®’s custom recipes over here for some more dinner ideas! I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.


Reusable Fabric Snack Bags DIY

Reusable Fabric Snack Bags DIY // thepapermama.com

Every day my kiddo heads to school we need to pack her some snacks and a small lunch. I really try not to use plastic bags for packing up the food (since it just goes right in the trash), and multiple plastic containers don’t seem to fit in her lunch boxes. This is why I made these Reusable Fabric Snack Bags DIY for school time. I can put any dried fruit, crackers, granola, or any other dry food in there annnnnd it’s so easy t to clean. I just need to toss this bag in the washer with some towels when we clean them. She really loves the bags that have her name on them. She’s 4 and is REALLY into spelling her name.

Reusable Fabric Snack Bags DIY // thepapermama.com

Just so you know… it’s a pretty simple sewing project. You just need to sew straight lines, yay! To get the full tutorial, click here. There’s a free printable for you to make your own labels!

– Chelsey

P.S. I’m a paid contributor for the HP Create blog


Cat Face Elbow Patches (with free printables)

Cat Face Elbow Patches (with free printables)

Cat Face Elbow Patches (with free printables)

Preschool is just about to start for my kiddo and that means we need a few new clothes. My girl has grown two shoe sizes since the summer began and she pretty much needs all new clothes… since nothing fits. All of her long sleeve shirts that went to her wrists in the Spring are now up to her arm, dresses are now shirts, and her pants are like capris. It’s blowing my mind now fast she’s growing. She’s definitely tall for her age and we can’t seem to keep up with how fast she grows out of clothes. Ha! So we wandered to the consignment shop and mall to find some clothes for this growing girl. I found a blank long sleeve shirt and thought it would be fun to customize this shirt. My kiddo LOVES kitties, so I ironed on some kitty faces onto her elbow. Little Cat Face Elbow Patches. I used this original cat face design to make her cat face pillow, it just needed a couple of adjustments to fit on her little elbows. Want to make this for your kiddo before they head back to school? Here you go!

Cat Face Elbow Patches (with free printables)

Supplies:

Directions:

STEP 1:

Print out the cat face printables onto the iron on paper.

Tip: these should print at 3 inches wide, so if you need the faces smaller adjust the size before you print.

STEP 2:

Cut out the cat faces. Be sure to leave about a 1/4 inch trim around the face shape.

STEP 3:

Heat up your iron. Iron out any wrinkles on the fabric you are ironing the face onto. Use a lint roller to remove any fuzz from the spot before you put the face on.

Cat Face Elbow Patches (with free printables)

STEP 4:

Put the shirt on your kiddo. Use some washi tape to mark the location of where you’d like to iron on the cat face.

STEP 5:

Following the directions of your iron on paper, iron on the cat faces onto the marked elbow spaces.

STEP 6:

Let the ironed on cat face cool completely. Carefully peel off the iron on backing of the cat face.

Cat Face Elbow Patches (with free printables)

Enjoy!

– Chelsey


Lovely umbrella makeovers!

Rain and Oregon. It’s a thing. We get about 6 – 9 months of rain a year. Now, I’m not complaining. I actually enjoy the rain 90% of the time. If it rains when I need to be outside or when I’m traveling, I get sad. Most of the time I really love it. The sound. The smell. It keeps this beautiful Portland green and clean. Plus I  love comfy sweaters and cute umbrellas. Today I wanted to share some of my favorite lovely umbrella makeovers! Wander the links below to get some inspiration.

Fruity umbrellas, from Studio DIY.

http://www.studiodiy.com/2014/07/30/diy-fruit-slice-umbrellas/

This cute leaf umbrella makeover, from Mod Podge Rocks on HP Create is so perfect for Fall.

http://bit.ly/1tjtIiy

Painted triangle umbrella, from Handmade Charlotte.

http://www.handmadecharlotte.com/lovely-diy-umbrella/

I feel like I really need to make this Mary Poppins umbrella. I’ve seen these duck head umbrellas around. Woo! From, Paper Raindrops.

Mary Poppins Umbrella

Painted Geometric Umbrella, on Happiness is Homemade

http://www.happinessishomemade.net/2014/02/13/diy-geometric-umbrella-get-neon/

– Chelsey

P.S. I’m a paid contributor for the HP Create blog


S’mores Rice Krispy Treats & free printables

summer party favors camping glamping

The end of Summer is the perfect time for making s’mores! We try to make them all summer long, but in the very height of summer, the nights are just too hot. No one wants to cozy up to a bonfire or bbq pit when it’s in the 90’s! Now that the evenings are cooling off a bit, we can get back to having s’mores all the time–hooray! I love all of the creative s’mores ideas out there right now: s’mores made with peanut butter cups instead of chocolate bars, s’mores made with chocolate chip cookies instead of graham crackers, s’mores cakes, and s’mores ice cream. I came up with the idea to make S’mores Rice Krispy Treats, and it might be the single greatest thing I’ve ever done for my family. I’m not kidding! I’ve made three batches in the past month and they’ve all been gobbled up by grown-ups and children alike. In fact, the last treat from the latest pan just disappeared sometime today, and I’m already craving another batch!

camping party favors printable

These scrumptious S’mores Rice Krispy Treats would be fun favors for an end-of-Summer party. They’re kid-friendly, but just sophisticated enough that grown-ups love them too. Place individual bars in clear treat bags, tape shut, and add a cute label! I designed these labels so that they can be cut into 2″ circles, but if you don’t have a circle punch, rectangles, squares, and notched flags are just as cute. They can be printed on regular card stock and taped or glued to the treat bags, or printed on label paper for easy sticking. Enjoy!

You can get the free “Here, have s’more rice krispy treats” printable HERE. Just download, print, cut, and stick!

printable party favors graham crackers

S’mores Rice Krispy Treats

Ingredients:

  • 5 Tablespoons butter
  • 6 cups mini marshmallows
  • 5 cups Rice Krispies
  • 1 cup very coarsely crushed graham crackers (Seriously, just break them into chunks.)
  • 6 oz chopped Hershey bars (4 1.5-oz bars is perfect.)

Directions:

In a large microwave-safe bowl, heat butter until melted. Add marshmallows, and microwave until marshmallows are melted, stirring every 30 seconds. Add cereal and graham crackers and stir until marshmallow goo is evenly distributed. Add chopped chocolate and fold in gently. It’s OK if the chocolate melts a little, but you don’t want it completely melted and mixed in. Spray an 8″ square pan with nonstick spray. Scoop mixture into the pan and pat down firmly with greased-up hands. Allow to cool completely before serving. Cut into 16 squares.

– Melissa Bahen, Lulu the Baker


Dining Chair DIY Makeover Ideas

I love dining chairs. My husband might call it a chair addiction… whatever. Ha! For WHATever reason I always wander over to the chair section of any thrift shop I go into…. and I want all of them. I want to buy them, paint them, and sit on them. They are the best. Below I’ve shared a bunch of lovely Dining Chair DIY Makeover Ideas below, from some lovely bloggers (plus a couple of my past projects). Wander them, and enjoy!

Love Grows Wild.

http://lovegrowswild.com/2013/10/dining-chair-makeover-how-to-strip-paint-and-recover-chairs/

A Bubbly Life.

http://www.abubblylife.com/2012/07/take-dip-into-color.html

The Paper Mama.

https://thepapermama.com/2013/07/gold-polka-dot-chair/

Dimples and Tangles.

http://dimplesandtangles.blogspot.com/2012/11/dining-room-host-chairs-ta-da.html

Darling Octopus.

http://darlingoctopus.wordpress.com/2011/08/03/make-me-pretty-a-victorian-chair-made-kid-friendly/

All Things Thrifty.

http://www.allthingsthrifty.com/2010/06/yard-sale-chair-complete.html

The Paper Mama.

https://thepapermama.com/2013/07/revamped-outdoor-chair/

Funkytime.

http://fun.kyti.me/index.php/2011/06/cane-chair-makeover/

 The DIY Dreamer.

http://thediydreamer.com/diy/reupholstering-vintage-dining-chairs/

Design Sponge.

http://www.designsponge.com/2012/04/diy-project-shades-of-blue-ombre-chair.html

Happy chair painting!

– Chelsey

Tags:

Categories: favorite blogs