Simple Savings By Shelia: March 2012

Polka Dot Tiered Planters

By going to Positively Splendid You can find out how to create these adoreable polka dotted planters!

How To Build An Outdoor Garden Water Fountain

Live outside

Do you have a great deck or patio? How about sprucing it up a bit and making an effort to spend more time outdoors? Hang paper lanterns from your trees. Redesign your patio with some comfortable outdoor furniture, potted plants and a snazzy outdoor rug. Build a gorgeous outdoor water fountain. Plant a beautiful garden that the whole family will enjoy looking at all summer long. Fire up the grill and make your meals outdoors so you can take advantage of everything this fabulous season has to offer.

Water fountains can bring that extra something you need to your outdoor garden. Lowe's has an easy step-by step video of how to make your own.

DIY Simple Easter Basket Crafts

Fine Print

Give guests a sweet send-off with cookies in craft-store berry baskets. Tape patterned scrapbook paper to baskets, and use the same paper for hangtags attached with twine

Top Tiers

To make this tower of treats, tape cut-to-fit craft paper around two empty 32-oz. yogurt cartons. Hot-glue an upside-down carton inside a large orchard basket (crateandbasket.com), then glue a medium basket on top. Repeat with other carton and small basket. Fill with faux grass and goodies.

Paper Posies

Overflowing from a vintage wire egg carrier, these coffee-filter flowers are a charming way to welcome brunch visitors.

Coffee Filter Flowers: The Steps

For each flower you'll need:
• 2 white basket-style coffee filters
• 1 brown basket-style coffee filter
• 12" floral wire
• Hot glue
• 10" green grosgrain ribbon (3/8" wide)

Instructions:
• Place two white filters together (one on top of the other), fold in half, then fold in half again
• Starting at the outside corners, draw a curved V-pattern onto the front to form petal shapes (see pattern A); cut out
• Repeat folds on third white coffee filter, and draw a smaller curved V shaped (see pattern B); cut out
• Repeat folds on two brown coffee filters (placed one on top of the other, then draw several V-shapes (see Pattern C); cut out
• Open up all filters so they are flat to reveal petal shapes
• Layer them as so: Pattern A filters on bottom, Pattern B filter in middle, Pattern C filters on top
• With you 12" section of floral wire, poke two holes through all the center of the layers, about 1/4 inch apart
• Loop wire even through holes (entering from top), then twist wire underneath the base of the petals, securing tightly.
• Starting from the bottom, wrap wire with ribbon, secure with glue gun
• Tie the remaining ribbon into a bow at the flowers' base
• Fluff petals

Gathering Moss

Showcase twine-wrapped and paper-embellished eggs with this woodsy, moss-covered creation. Simply hot-glue craft-store moss to an inexpensive basket; for the eggs, use a glue stick to add petals, polka dots, bunnies, and string.

Easter Peat Pot Baskets

Materials:
• Peat pots
• Acrylic craft paint (off-white and pastel)
• Paintbrush
• Lollipop sticks or wooden skewers
• 18-gauge floral wire
• 20-gauge floral wire
• Wire cutters
• Perfect Glue 1
• Two clothespins per basket
• Embellishments such as flowers and ribbon. (Animals and chocolate bunny not included.)

Instructions:
• Paint interior and exterior of the peat pots off-white. Once fully dry, use the end of a lollipop stick or wooden skewer to make polka dots on pots with a pastel paint. (Use paint sparingly.)
• For handles, cut the 18- and 20-gauge wires into 12-inch pieces; wrap the 20-gauge wire around the 18-gauge wire. Bend wire into a handle shape and use glue to attach wire to the interior sides of each peat pot; secure with clothespins.
• Dry for one hour before handling. Once dry, use glue to apply embellishments to pots as desired.

Bed of Roses

Tightly packed blossoms form the base of this basket.

Step 1: Place soaked floral foam on a teacup saucer and insert rose stems to create the base.
Step 2: Insert dried grapevines to form a handle. Decorate the grapevine by wrapping it with a satin ribbon, finished off with a bow.
Step 3: Fill the basket with plastic "bejeweled" eggs: With a spiral motion starting at the top of each egg, tightly wrap a long string of beads (found at craft stores) around the egg, affixing it with glue.

Planning Your Family Staycation

Does your family enjoy a fun and exciting summer vacation but the budget is tight? Are you tired of going away on a week-long trip only to come home needing a vacation from your vacation? Does the thought of crowds at the airport or gas prices make you want to just stay home? Well, you can home and still have a great vacation by having a family staycation!

Planning Your Family Staycation is full of ideas for turning your home into a place you'll want to vacation in, suggestions for activities that your kids will love and tons of tips that will make your family want to staycation again and again.

About the Author: Denise D. Witmer is a recognized writer of parenting and family books and websites including her book, The Everything Parent's Guide to Raising a Successful Child and creating About.com’s Parenting Teens site and publishing its articles and resources since 1997. Her site and advice has been featured in US News and World Report, Better Homes and Garden’s Raising Teens Magazine and USA Today online.

Ms. Witmer has been a ‘professional parent’ at a Childrens' Home in Pennsylvania from 1988 to 2006. Throughout that time, she has taken many group and family vacations and successfully put together countless staycation activities and day trips. She was very active in child and teen development and helped create their independent living programs. She is trained in PET (Parent Effectiveness Training), STEP (Support and Training for Exceptional Parents) and is the mother of three children. She also completed graduate courses at Penn State University for child and social psychology.

Kindle is offering this book as a FREE download!

Get Your Free Download Here

DIY For Spring Gardeners

A helpful yet simple DIY for spring gardeners!

Posted by: A Journey To A Dream

Every year my hubby and I use few of these in the spring, we use them to water our seed trays, just-up seedlings and house plants. They are so easy to fill, carry and pour, they don't leak or drip back down the spout like watering cans! The other handy thing about them is that you can make one with a super fine/gentle spray by using a small needle and one with a more substantial flow by using a bigger needle. I need one for my house plants so I'll be using a bigger needle for this DIY.

DIY for up-cycled watering can from 'a journey to a dream'

Gather what you'll need, I recommend using lighter because you need to
reheat the needle every second time.

The needle I chose

Heat the very end for a few seconds

Pierce the milk bottle lid, being careful not to get your fingers in the way! Reheat and repeat, remember
you can always add more holes after if there isn't enough water coming out.

You might look at your needle when your done and be cursing me but its OK just heat the needle again and wipe it on some card or paper a few times and it'll be back shiny and clean!

This is what mine looked like when I was done

No drips!

Perfect for small house plants :)

We keep a 3ltr one in the greenhouse with a finer spray and this one in the kitchen, they last forever and when the bottle does get a bit old, just swap the lid to a new one! We go through so much milk in our house, I love it when we can re-use the bottles ourselves instead of sending them away to be recycled.

Happy spring gardening :)

Staying Healthy While You're On Vacation

2/6/2012 4:38:49 PM by Jessica L Crandall RD CDE

Don’t Let Your Travel Unravel Your Healthy Lifestyle!

Are you planning to travel for the holidays this year? Whether it is by plane, train, car or bus, you can eat healthy on the go. The best way to succeed in eating right over the holidays is to think and plan ahead and don’t wait until you are stuck in an airport terminal or a rest stop filled with drive-thru’s to begin thinking of how to re-fuel your body.
Here are some tips for the airport:
Food is allowed through security, so take advantage of it! Don’t just pack your toothbrush and favorite shoes this year; pack your layover snacks too. Just be sure to stick it in your carry-on, not your checks luggage, so that you can carry it on the plane with you.
Bottled liquids are not allowed through security; however, empty water bottles are, and you can re-fill is at the water fountain by your gate. Staying hydrated is also important when flying because the re-circulated air in the planes is very drying to the body.
Be sure to give yourself enough time in the morning to get to the airport so that you are not rushing out the door without breakfast or you may be tempted to grab a large coffee and sugary-sweet Danish to satisfy your grumbling tummy.
What you can pack:

fresh fruit: apple, banana, Clementine
low-fat cheese stick or squares
homemade chex mix: dry chex cereal, almonds and raisins
popcorn: air popped and sealed in a baggie

If you are traveling by car, do not resort to feeding the family from a drive through just because it is convenient while you are driving, plan ahead and pack a cooler for the car. Place some frozen ice packs in the cooler and hit the road!
Things to include in your cooler

water bottles, at least 1 per person, to be re filled at rest stops
veggies, like baby carrots, celery and peppers with a ranch yogurt dip or hummus
fresh grapes or berries
low fat jerky
mozzarella cheese sticks and whole wheat crackers
hard boiled eggs
rolled up deli meat, like turkey

30 Fun Spring Crafts for Kids

Lasting Lillies

Bloomin' Buttons

Backyard Bird Feeder

Chicks in a Basket

Click here for directions to make these crafts and more!!

Weight Watchers~Crockpot Chicken Chili 2

Ingredients

2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken breast halves or thighs,
cut into 1-inch pieces

2tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil
1 (16 oz) jar green salsa
1 (16 oz) bag frozen pepper stir-fry vegetables
1 (15 oz) can cannellini beans, rinsed, drained
1 (14 1/2 oz) can diced tomatoes with onion and garlic
sour cream (optional)
Shredded cheese (optional)

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, toss chicken with cumin and salt to coat. In a large skillet, cook chicken,
half at a time, in hot oil over medium heat until no longer pink. Drain off fat.
Place chicken in a 4 or 5 quart slow cooker. Stir in salsa, stir-fry vegetables, beans and undrained tomatoes.

2. Cover and cook on LOW 4 to 5 hours or HIGH 2 to 2-1/2 hours.

3. Reserve 3 cups of the chili; store as directed below. Serve remaining chili.
Optional: Top with sour cream and cheese if desired.

Makes 4 (1-1/2-cup) servings and reserves.

Storage:
To store reserves:Place chili in an airtight container. Seal and chill for up to 3 days.

NUTRITION INFORMATION:

Weight Watchers PointsPlus+ = 7

Calories 305, Protein 41g, Carbs 24g, Total Fat 5g, Cholesterol 88mg, Saturated Fat Monosaturated Fat 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat 1g, Total Dietary Fiber 6g, Total Sugar 7g,
Vitamin A (IU) 486, Vitamin C 37mg,
Thiamin 0mg, Riboflavin 0mg, Niacin 13mg, Pyridoxine (Vit. B6) 1mg, Folate (µg) 4,
Cobalamin (Vit. B12) (µg) 0, Sodium 914mg, Potassium 414mg, Calcium 101 %DIV , Iron 3 %DIV, Vegetables () 2, Starch () 1, Very Lean Meat () 4, Fat () 1

Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Weight Watchers Crockpot Spicy Chicken and Shrimp

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
(4 oz) smoked turkey sausage
1 cup chopped bell peppers
1 cup thin sliced celery
1 cup chopped onion
1 (14-1/2 oz) can low salt diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (10 oz) can Rotel* tomatoes, undrained
2 tbsp quick tapioca
1 tsp dried basil, crushed
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
(4 oz)frozen peeled, deveined medium shrimp, thawed
2 cups frozen cut okra
3 cups hot cooked brown rice

Directions:

1. Cut chicken into bite size pieces. Halve sausage lengthwise and cut into 1/2 inch thick slices.
In a 3 1/2 or 4 quart slow cooker, combine chicken, sausage, bell pepper, celery and onion.
Stir in diced tomatoes, Rotel tomatoes, tapioca, basil and cayenne pepper.

2. Cover and cook on LOW 6 to 8 hours or HIGH 3 to 4 hours.

3. If using LOW setting, after 6 to 8 hours turn to HIGH setting and stir in shrimp and okra.
Cover and cook about 30 minutes more or until shrimp are opaque. Serve with hot cooked brown rice.

Yield: 6 servings
Serving Size = 1 1/3 cups chicken mixture plus 1/2 cup rice.

Weight Watchers Points Plus + = 8

Nutrition Information:
Calories: 319, Fat 6g, Cholesterol 104mg, Carbs 40g, Fiber 6g, Protein 27g

Upcycled Doors & Shutters

There are many creative ways you can recycle those old doors and shutters. If you don't have any laying around in your garage or shed, you can find them at flea markets, garage sales and estate sales. Here are just a few simple but cute ideas to transform doors and shutters into beautiful decor for your home: