Princess Silhouette Tutorial

Last year I undertook a HUGE project and redid my children's bedrooms.  This consisted of moving Logan upstairs to what was a play room and moving Audrey to Logan's old room.  Also meant that all the play room toys had to be moved; most were the girls so downstairs they went.  The end result is fabulous.  I do NOT miss having a play room.  There have been times in my children's lives when a play room was what we needed, we just don't need it anymore.  My girls each have their own rooms, but since they are right next door to each other its not too much different than before.   Part of this project was to make new artwork for their walls.  My littlest, Amber, loves princesses....especially Cinderella.  I saw an idea on pinterest where they framed silhouettes of the princesses as wall art.  I loved this idea and immediately decided that's what I was going to do for Amber's room. 

Here's what I did to make this art...

Materials

1)  Image for silhouette

2) Paint in which ever color you desire!

3) Paint brushes

4) Various size canvas

5) Lead pencils (and a sharpener!)

First step is to find the outline you want.  All that really matters here is that you have a good outline.  Details don't really matter.  For my Rapunzel I used:

Next I pasted the image into excel and I enlarged it until it was big enough to cover the size canvas I wanted. Print it off and tape the pages together (if it was large enough that it printed on multiple pages.)  

On the BACK of the image start marking the outline with the pencil.  You do not need to mark any inner details, you just need to do the entire outline.  For example, with Rapunzel you need to make sure you do in between her hair and arms, too.

After you have the entire outline traced, line the image up on the canvas and tape it in place.  Now you will use a sharp pencil and trace the outline to the canvas.  As you press down and trace, the pencil markings from the back will transfer to the canvas.  And viola!  Now you can start painting.  

I probably ended up doing 4-5 coats of paint before I was satisfied.  It takes some patience but it is well worth it. I need to work on my photography skills, because the image up top really doesn't do it justice.  

Most importantly though, little miss Amber LOVES it.

Here are links to the outlines I used, but you of course and use which ever ones you like!

Cinderella and Prince Charming

Rapunzel and Flynn

Belle and the Beast

Aurora and Prince Philip

Saturday night, my sweet boy developed a fever and he wasn't able to go to school on Monday or Tuesday.  Monday was one of those days I think I'm going to end of treasuring as he get bigger and bigger.  I spent most of the day with my nine year old cuddling on the couch.  We talked, I rubbed his back, played with his hair, we played games together on the iPad and we read books with little sister. It really was one of the best days I've spent with him in a very long time and although I am so grateful he is feeling better, I almost wish I could have one more day like that. Tomorrow he is going back to school and I am going to miss him something fierce.  I love you sweet boy.

Cutting my budget

My goal: cut my food budget by half.  Seems daunting...but I know it's totally possible.  Here's what I'm doing so far:
1) Meal planning--at least three weeks but maybe more.  All dinners written out on a calendar posted on my fridge.  Not only can I see it, but my family can see it which they have been loving.   There were so many days when I didn't have a clue what we were having for dinner so knowing is a huge deal.
2) Go grocery shopping less-- I went grocery shopping last week for just about all my meals for April.  I spent about $200 at Sams club and about $200 at Walmart.  Since I don't yet have an additional freezer, I will still have to buy milk and bread through out the month.  The less I go to the store, the more I save.  Most people have a hard time going into a grocery store for milk and only coming out with milk.
3) Eat leftovers--this is a big one and self explanatory.
4) Eat what you have--When I started this goal in March, I pulled everything out of my pantry to see what exactly I had.  I made my meal list, made a list of everything I would need for those meals and then I checked of everything I already had.  Things can easily get hidden on pantry shelves and that does not save you money.
5) Double recipes and freeze--I love this one because of all the time it saves me.  This last time I made and froze two of each of the following: Chicken and spinach enchiladas, BBQ pineapple pulled pork, and ranch pork chops.  I will also be freezing two lasagna's. These meals are also all big enough that we can eat them the next day for leftovers.  
Other meals will be:
Scrambled egg sandwiches
Chili cheese hot dogs
Grilled cheese
Breakfast like waffles or pancakes
Cabbage and sausage soup
Beans and rice
Beans and cornbread
Lemon garlic chicken

It feels so good to have my month planned.

***ranch pork chops--6 pork chops, 1 hidden valley ranch dressing mix, 1 can cream of chicken soup.  I threw it all together in a freezer bag.  When its time to eat I'm throwing it in the crockpot!
***Update: this was a great meal my whole family enjoyed.  I ended up also adding a cup of water to it and it turned out great!