Jolly Rancher Suckers

A while ago I saw on some blog about turning jolly ranchers into suckers.  I thought that was a great idea, since I don't like my children putting that small piece of hard candy in their mouth and possibly swallowing it whole and it getting lodge. Yes, I am paranoid about some things.  We came home from our local 4th of July parade with lots of jolly ranchers and I put them aside for the time being.  Yesterday, I finally got the sucker sticks from Michaels to make the suckers. It was so easy to do.  The kids unwrapped and stuck three jolly ranchers touching each other in a row.  I then put them in the oven at 200 for 5 minutes like I had read.  When I checked on them after 5 minutes they were not melted, so I left them in for another 3 minutes and they finally had melted.  I took them out of the oven and placed the sucker sticks into each melted jolly rancher bunch, and let them cool.  Here are the kids with their suckers.

Hope Srpings by Kim Cash Tate

Hope Springs by Kim Cash Tate is probably my favorite read of this year so far.  It is a wonderful story that takes place in a small town and is full of family, friends, and faith. The town sounds like some place I would have loved to have grown up. All the families have know each other for many generations. The story starts with everyone coming back to Hope Springs for the funeral of a well respected member of the community, a pastor.  Several people did not realize their coming to Hope Springs would be the start of some major changes in their lives.  They each deal with issues related to love, family, and faith.  Kim Cash Tate is such a talented author that she had me so involved in the story that I actually felt I was right there with the characters in the book.  Some of the issues the characters dealt with were issues I had personally been through myself which really connected me to the book.  When I got to the end of the book I didn't want the story to stop, even though it ended in a good place.  I immediately looked to see if Kim had written any other books and she has, so I have another one on reserve at the library and can't wait to read it.

I reviewed this book as part of the Thomas Nelson Booksneeze Program.

Owl Pillow

My cousin is decorating her daughter's nursery in an owl theme, and asked me if I could crochet some Owl Pillows for her daughters room. I fell in love with the pattern (Pattern by Brooke's Little Stitches) I bought to make them, and plan on making some for myself. Here is a look at what they look like.

They are now on sale in my shop Unique Creations by Tracy.  They can be bought in singles or sets of 2 or 3.  I am custom making them in colors chosen by you when you buy them. They can make a great addition to a baby, child's or any other room in your house.

Marshmallow Building

One day several months ago my daughter figured out she could make things using marshmallows and toothpicks.  Ever since then her brother and her love building things with them. Here are a couple picks I caught of what they made this week.

 A made these. He was proud of his I.

M made these. She was proud of her house.

Stash Tea Superfruits Tea Sampler

Let me start this out stating that I am not a tea drinker. Even though I can't stand tea I tried one of the samples that came in the pack.  I love blueberries so I thought I would try the Blueberry Superfruit.  It smelled wonderful, but I did not like it at all.  The one plus about it was that it made my kitchen smell wonderful.  Since I knew I could not drink any of the others I gave them to my own mother that loves drinking tea.  She took reviewing these very seriously, so the following is the review on each kind of tea in the box in the words of  my mother.

Blueberry Superfruit - I do not taste any blueberries.  The blueberries only come in after taste.  The aroma is more pleasing then the taste.

Acai Berry - Did not enjoy at all.  Threw 3/4 of it down the drain.

Goji Berry Green Tea - I drank 1/2 hot and it was very pleasant tasting, good for a cold winter night.  The other 1/2 I drank like ice tea and it lost all its flavor.  The aroma of hot tea was calming, and when iced it was bitter.

Yumberry black Currant - Taste is best hot.  Armoa is light and has pleasant smell.  Ice tea loses its flavor and aroma.

Pomegranate Raspberry Green Tea - Smell was horrible.  Three swallows and dumped.  Taste lasted 1/2 hour to 45 minutes.  It was gross!

 Mangosteen Green Tea - I drank the first half hot, and it was passable with a slight pear taste.  Then tried it iced and did not like it at all.

The Stash Tea Superfruits were provided free to me by Influenster in a Mom VoxBox for an honest review.

Guess What It Is? (Closed - Winner Announced)

I came up with my own idea of something to crochet, and started working on the pattern today.  I thought it would be fun to play a little game while I work on it.  Below is a picture of what I have completed for this idea so far, but there is more to it that I haven't made yet.  You can guess as many times in the comments, one comment per reply of what you think I am making.  The first person to guess will win one of what I am making. If no one guesses correctly by tomorrow night then I will post a new picture and the guesses can continue.

Okay so here is the next picture to help you out.

There are two of these identical.

So all the pieces in the first picture and the piece times two in the second picture all go together to make the basic part of my project.  I will be making these in different colors and each one will have a different theme on them.

Good luck!

Mollie Moe Bows is the winner!  These will be small tote bags for kids.  My kids have some cheap plastic ones that they love to carry things in when playing and they used them to collect candy at the 4th of July parade, so I thought I would make them some with crochet.  I have plans detailed to make a Kitty, Monster, Owl, and Pumpkin right now.  There are several other themes I am thinking of making too but I have to plan them out still. Keep your eyes out for future post with finished tote bags for kids.

Custom Monster Loveys

Custom Monster Loveys!

I found this really cute pattern from Repeat Crafter Me to make Monster Loveys!  They are so quick and easy to make and put together.  I crocheted around a piece of fleece, and then attached the head, arms, and legs.  Here is another one I made.

I am selling them in my store Unique Creations by Tracy. Monster Loveys can be custom made with your choice of color of fleece, color of yarn, # of horns, # of teeth, and sizes and # of  eyes. If you are interested in one of these cute Monster Loveys for your little one go here to order one.

4th of July Art Projects

I know this post is late, but you can always save it for next year. My kids love making art projects and since we had a free week with no plans we made a couple of projects.

 This is our 4th of July lanterns. The kids cut the lines I drew, and then glued the stars on.

 Star Sponge Painting - It became very abstract as they tried to make the stars look like fireworks going off they said.

Here are a few of are 4th of July projects from past years we put out.

 The kids used star marshmallows to decorate their flag.

 Flag Popsicle art- the kids painted the Popsicle sticks and glued stars on the blue foam.

4th of July Windsocks - painted stars with sponges and glued on streamers.

Travelers Rest by Ann Tatlock

Travelers Rest by Ann Tatlock is a great book, and one I found hard to put down.  The story starts off with a women Jane who is engaged to Seth.  Seth was a carpenter and then was sent off to the war in Iraq, and came back early after receiving a gunshot wound that left him unable to move. Jane is determined to honor her commitment to Seth, even though Seth wants her to move on. Everyone else is telling her to move on too, and she is just not sure what she should do.  Seth deals with his own issues of feeling life is not worth living anymore.  Jane meets a retired doctor where Seth is that has issues of his own and fears it is to late to be forgiven. Jane ends up helping the doctor and finding the answers to her own dilemma. Reading this book made me look at my life a little more and realized I need to stop taking some things for granted. 



I received this book free from Bethany House Publisher for review.  These are my thoughts and opinions about the book.

Monster Boy and Girl Hats

This week I have my Monster Boy and Girl Hats on sale for 50% off in my store, Unique Creations by Tracy. They are custom made hats that can be made in the color of your choosing. My kids love wearing their monster hats even when it is 100 degrees outside! They also can usually be found with one of their stuffed monsters too, which you can find at my store.

 Go here to find the boy monster hat, and here for the girl monster hat.

Quaker Soft Baked Oatmeal Cookie

The Quaker Soft Baked Oatmeal Cookie is one of the products I was allowed to review in my Mom VoxBox. The kids saw the cookie and immediately tried to take it. As you can see from this picture I caught someone, a 3 year old, trying to take it.

I ended up dividing the cookie between me and my two kids. I loved how chewy and soft it was, because I love my cookies soft. Even though I am not a big fan of raisins I enjoyed the cookie and would eat them again. The cookies are a good source of fiber too, which is something I look for in products for myself to increase my fiber intake. My 3 year old loved it and asked for more even though there was no more. The 4 year old didn't care for it, because she is very picky and not a fan of oatmeal or raisins.

 Quaker Soft Baked Oatmeal Cookie Product Information
-Made with Whole Grain Quaker Oats
-Individually packaged
-Provides a good source of fiber
-Contains 6 grams of total fat per serving

Disclaimer: I was given this product free from influenster in the mom voxbox for an honest review.