Baby photo credit: doriana_s

• If you have simple PhotoShop skills you can follow my easy to use instructions to download this free photo frame (shown above) and add your own image inside the red frame. Instructions are at the end of this post.
• There’s time to make chocolate covered strawberries. And, they’re quick and easy. The kids would have fun with this project.
• Valentine’s Day crafts for kids.
• If you’ve got some time today or even tomorrow you could attempt to make a Valentine’s Day cake that will *wow* everyone who get a piece. There’s a surprise on the inside — when you cut into the cake it displays a red heart. The baker shows a simple tutorial on her blog. You’ve got to see it.
• One of the allrecipe.com users, Celeste, submitted a photo of a Valentine’s Day (or I should say Night) picnic she created for her and her husband fireside at their home. Looks very romantic.
• RealSimple.com has a Valentine’s Day dinner menu that claims to be “stress-free.”

When all else fails, wait until the kids are in bed and put on a movie. It doesn’t matter what you do as long as you are together.

Photo Frame How to:

1. Open valentinewrap.psd in PhotoShop.
2. Click (highlight) on the “Insert your photo here” layer.
3. In a new window, Open your photo.
4. Size your photo to 375 x 500 (width x height). (Go to the Image menu, choose Image size, type in your dimensions and click OK.)
5. Drag your photo to the open valentinewrap.psd file. Since the Insert your photo here layer is highlighted it should show up behind the red border.
6. Save the file as a JPG. (File Menu, Save as.)

DOWNLOAD THE FILE NOW.

Enjoy!

It’s finally starting to feel like fall here in Florida. Friends and relatives are already dealing with snow and sleet, but we’re just getting into jacket weather (and not even that yet!). It’s put me in the spirit to be outside doing fall things. Here’s a list of things you can do to get into the spirit of the season:

• Make some pumpkin bread. Here’s All Recipes’ highest ranked pumpkin bread recipe.
• Pick apples and drink apple cider.
• Take a hay ride.
• Pick out a new book for Thanksgiving. Review this list of the best children’s books about Thanksgiving.

From the Balancing Motherhood archives:

• Preserving Fall in Wax Paper.
• Get an awesome apple pie recipe, learn about the turkey phone hot line for all your turkey problems.
• Fill a shoebox with toys for kids who don’t get Christmas presents. Operation Christmas Child delivers gifts to children around the world. National collection week is coming up, November 16-23, but it doesn’t take long, or take much to fill a box.

Photo courtesy Memotions via flickr.

This onesie is the most adorable creation I’ve seen in quite some time. It’s even more adorable on the baby than it is in this photo.

I just love how it’s hand-crafted and unique. It came from someone I work with. She gave this to me as a gift, made especially for my daughter. She is extremely talented and usually makes outfits of this style for grown ups. I believe this was one of her first for a baby, but I’m certain it isn’t her last.

Want one? Contact Ashley (ashley.belanger at gmail dot com) or visit her etsy shop.

I fear that moms across America will end up with no option but to throw toys in the trash. Perfectly good, previously loved, simply outgrown toys that previously would have gone to charity or have been sold on eBay or Craigslist.

New Legislation In Town

There is a new law pending approval that will require a special certification for toys to be sold or resold. While the intent of the new law is to protect children from tainted toys like those in recent recalls, it will affect so many other sectors of the toy system.

The new Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act – passed hastily to bar poisonous foreign products – also will require millions of American homecrafters to have each of their products tested at huge cost, ranging from $500 to $4000 per product – including their old stock which was manufactured before this law had even been thought up.”

– Source: Digital Journal

Crafters Affected

As stated above, the crafters who work so hard to hand make toys for children will also be affected. The people of Etsy and sites where they can set up shops to sell their wares? They will be effectively shut down. I’m sure there are plenty of WAHMs who rely on this income. This is seriously bad news for them.

Getting Rid of Stuff Will Be Harder

My mantra of less is more will be harder to deal with now. We will no longer be able to eBay or Craigslist toys that another child could love. We won’t even be able to give them away to charity because they won’t be able to resell them without the certificate. What’s a mom to do? I suspect swap parties will become popular, but who has time for that? What inevitably will happen is that busy moms will throw perfectly good toys in the trash — filling out landfills.

People in Need This also has the potential to cripple people who rely on buying toys second-hand. What about the mom who can’t afford to buy new toys for her kids’ birthdays? She relies on places like the Goodwill to stock her children’s toy boxes. Or the thrifty mom who doesn’t like to pay full price for toys knowing they have short lives in our homes. We will all be limited in how we can access toys from now on.

Related:

• Consumer Protection Safety Improvement Act Web site.
• Read the entire proposed law here.
• “Millions of Homecrafters Face Bankrupcy After Jan 20 From New Law“
• “Is This The End of Thrift-Store Clothes and Garage-Sale Toys?“
• Find your member of Congress and send a letter if you are concerned.

Photo courtesy: Shawn Econo.

Living in Florida we don’t get to see the beautiful change of seasons from fall to winter. Last week, while on vacation in the Smokey Mountains, I got to see it all. In all its wonderful, colorful glory.

Wanting to preserve (and share) what we experienced I decided to press several leaves and send to the grandparents. It made for a great craft project to do with my son — starting with the collecting of the leaves from his Aunt Carol’s yard. We chased each other down the long driveway to trees who had the most red leaves and started picking up the best ones.

Next we put them in a phone book to dry out. We pressed them between pages and drove them home with us the next day. Then, put them between wax paper and pressed them with a hot iron.

Viola, fall wall art.

If only we could capture the weather and smell too.

Related:

• Instructions on how to press fall leaves in wax paper.
• Fall leaf placemat craft.
• Fall leaf collection coloring page (free print out).