I’m no stranger to a good mess (hello brownies with a 4-year-old and a 19-month-old), but I really wasn’t sure what to expect or even where to start. So, when we came across the new Netflix show Emily’s Wonder Lab, I was majorly inspired to start with what I know best: kitchen ingredients. Since then, we’ve been experimenting up a storm, and I’m writing this post to encourage you to try it too!

What exactly is Oobleck, anyway?

Oobleck is a non-newtonian fluid named after a Dr. Seuss book and made up of just two simple ingredients: cornstarch and water (2:1 ratio). What makes this mixture so fun is how the “potion” (as my daughter calls it) reacts to different forms of stress. Hit it with some force and it acts like a brick, relax a handful in your palm and it oozes out like a liquid. And because this mixture creates an unexpected reaction to different forces, it can provide hours of fun for kids of all ages.

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Colorful Oobleck

Oobleck is a non-newtonian fluid named after a Dr. Seuss book, and made up of just two simple ingredients: cornstarch and water (2:1 ratio). This fun science project is great to do with the kids!

Skill beginner

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 5 minutes minutes

Servings 1

Ingredients

• 0.5 cups cornstarch
• 0.25 cups water
• 7 drops food coloring

Instructions

• In a medium stainless-steel or glass bowl, measure cornstarch.
• In a beaker or liquid measuring cup, measure water and mix in the food coloring.
• Pour colored water into the cornstarch bowl and mix as best as you can. The reaction will start immediately, and can feel a bit like mixing cured concrete.
• Start to handle and play! Have fun!

A few tips for this activity:

I recommend beakers, stainless-steel bowls, and a smock or two. While the mess can easily feel out of control, it cleans right up with water and soap.

Mix the food coloring with the water, and don’t be afraid to go heavy on the coloring. The final color will dilute by half once the water hits the cornstarch.

The ratio is 2:1 cornstarch to water, but it’s easy to eyeball too. This can also be fun to observe the differences in reaction with different amounts of liquid and corn starch.

Some people encourage oobleck to be discarded in the trash to avoid clogging up the sink, but this isn’t necessary. Dilute the finished experiment with lots of warm water and you won’t have an issue.

The post The Next Science Project You Should Do with Your Kids appeared first on The Inspired Home.

With a few different kitchen gadgets and tools you can start to mix your own spices tonight and use them on your next grilled chicken recipe, tacos and more.

Here’s what your going to need to make your own DIY spice blends:

• A funnel for pouring your spices into the containers
• Small bowls for mixing spices together
• Measuring spoons so you can measure the amount of spices you’ll need for each blend
• Empty spice containers to store your new spice blends
• Variety of spices to make custom blends

How to Make an Herb Chicken Spice Blend:

First, get all your ingredients together. For this chicken spice blend you’ll need to gather the following spices: sea salt, black pepper, parsley, onion powder, thyme, rosemary, oregano, garlic (see the recipe below).

I like to use small bowls like these from Duralex to help portion out all the mixes. Also every good chef has a sturdy set of measuring spoons to help with measuring out all your spices!

This spice set from Kamenstein is actually the best thing ever. Why? Because it comes on a stand that fits perfectly on your countertop. Or you can place it in your drawer and have your own spice drawer! Also I love the fact that it comes with free spices for FIVE YEARS! Yep, five years worth of refills. How awesome is that?

Once you’ve gathered all of your ingredients, mix them together and use a funnel to pour the blend into an airtight container, or if you’re like me and use it on the daily, a salt shaker works perfectly.

I love having pretty things in my kitchen so these wooden ball top shakers from Sagaform were calling my name! How amazing are they? Not only is everything from Sagaform aesthetically pleasing, but so functional!

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Herb Chicken Spice Blend

Course Lunch & Dinner Recipes

Keyword Recipes

Skill intermediate

Servings 1

Pretty simple right? Remember you can use this on any type of poultry! Keep it stored in your cabinet until you’re ready to use it.

How to Make a Taco Seasoning Blend:

If you’re a taco lover, taco seasoning is just as easy to make! Just gather the ingredients from the recipe below, mix them together, funnel and store.

These collapsible pop up funnels from Dexas are the best tool for this job! They come in two different sizes so they’re great for pouring jobs big and small.

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Homemade Taco Seasoning Blend

Course Lunch & Dinner Recipes

Keyword Recipes, Tacos, tortillas and fajitas

Skill intermediate

Servings 1

Ready to try your own spice blends? Let us know by tagging us on Instagram!

The post 2 Spice Blends You Can Make from Scratch appeared first on The Inspired Home.

I love the idea of putting together a Galentine’s Day party to celebrate friendship! Maybe it means you get manicures together, or maybe you invite your gals over for a cocktail and dessert. I want to share a little inspiration with you today so that if you’d like to host your own Galentine’s Day party, you can whip it up with ease!

I am a huge believer that a Galentine’s Day party isn’t complete without sweets. I created a strawberries and cream crepe cake for this party, but you can dream up any dessert! Try making a giant heart shaped cookie or these Valentine’s Day brownie bites!

To make your everyday glasses festive, try adding vinyl cut outs to them. This can be done for any holiday! The vinyl is removable and is such an easy way to dress up what you already have.

Tip: If you don’t have a vinyl cutter, you can use stickers!

I love the Brother ScanNCut machine for projects like this! I used the CanvasWorkspace website to design a cute Valentine’s Day banner, heart shaped confetti, and vinyl hearts for my very favorite cocktail glasses.

To create my banner, I simply cut out triangles and then added them to baker’s twine with glue dots! The project took me about 10 minutes, and made a beautiful addition to our Galentine’s Day party!

In addition to heart-shaped cookies and crepe cake, I made a delicious strawberry champagne Valentine’s Day cocktail! The crushed strawberries went perfectly with the cake and looked so darling in the heart adorned cocktail glasses.

Galentine’s Day Cocktail Glasses

Supplies:

• Brother ScanNCut
• White & Pink Vinyl
• Clear Glasses of your Choice

Instructions:

Open the CanvasWorkspace website and design your vinyl cut outs. I used different sized hearts, but you could go with kiss prints or x’s and o’s!

1. After you have finished designing, send the design to your machine! I love that this can be done wirelessly with the Brother ScanNCut.
2. Next, add a sheet of vinyl onto your cutting mat, load the cutting mat, select the appropriate settings, and begin cutting!
3. Once the machine has finished cutting, peel away the vinyl backing and stick the hearts (or other shapes) directly onto the glassware!

There you have it, cute, simple glasses to add a little something extra to your Galentine’s Day party! These are such a cute and festive way to dress up glassware, or even candle votives!

For more Valentine’s Day party ideas, be sure to visit me at boxwoodavenue.com and visit my YouTube channel to see more seasonal recipes and projects!

The post Throw the Sweetest Galentine’s Day Party appeared first on The Inspired Home.

Over the years I’ve acquired a ton of crafting supplies so this cart was just what I needed to hold all of our Valentine’s Day themed supplies. With plenty of drawer space, cubbies and even a ribbon holder, it wasn’t hard finding a place for everything. I dug out everything cute, red, pink, and white and loaded up the cart with fun crafting supplies just for her! Usually these supplies are tucked away in a tote dedicated to all things Valentines so it was nice to get everything out as we prepared to craft!

I had my daughter set up a place in the kitchen to create some special cards for all of her classmates and dance friends. She’s a natural crafter so she had no problem jumping in and getting started.

Each drawer was filled with everything she needed to get started. Glue, an adorable tape dispenser, scissors and of course a ton of hearts were just the start. I love the fact that everything was organized and was easier for her to access independently! Also it took her a couple of days to finish, so it was nice to just putting everything back in the cart and roll it away!

When Valentine’s Day is over this cart can also be used to hold gift wrap, summer crafting supplies or even everyday supplies for the kids! It fits perfectly into a hall closet or can be tucked away into any corner of your home! Are you ready for a Valentine’s Day #crafternoon!

The post Create a Mobile Craft Station for Valentine’s Day or Any Day appeared first on The Inspired Home.

Vision boards are such powerful ways to keep your dreams alive
and they also allow you to tap into
your creativity in the process. That
doesn’t mean that you have to be
super crafty or artistic. That means
that no dream is too high or lofty
for your vision board. While setting
realistic goals that you feel confident
you will accomplish is helpful to keep
you going, it’s also energizing to add
dreams that might seem out of reach
so you can work on chipping away at
them throughout the year. Also, don’t
be afraid of having empty or white
space on your vision board. This is
your way of leaving room for the unexpected, for new dreams, and for things
you didn’t even realize you wanted!

1/ To start, I recommend journaling out
what you want your 2019 to look like.
How do you want to feel next year? Do
you want it to be a year of adventure
or a year of restoration? Is this the year
that you prioritize your health and
learn to cook or get a gym membership? Or is this is the year that you see
significant growth in your business?
Include as many items as you desire.
After journaling, take a separate piece
of paper and list out some of the key
elements you found in your writing. Were there specific themes that
kept showing up? Make note of these
before the next step.

2/ Once you have a solid foundation
for what you want your 2019 to look
like, it’s time to start gathering the
words and images that are going to
be a reflection of that. I recommend
doing this through browsing the internet and entering the themes, words or actions that best describe your
dreams and then find the picture that
fits. Most people also tend to have a
few magazines laying around so you
can also dig through those to see if
anything pops out at you that would
work for your board. And last, write
out some words, quotes and numbers
that all reflect what you want to see in
the year ahead. I recommend using all
three of these elements when making
your vision board.

3/ Lastly, you just need to pull it all
together. I have used everything from
cardboard to construction paper. It
doesn’t really matter as long as it’s
something that makes you feel good
when you look at it and is nice enough
that you will want to keep it on display in a place you will see everyday.

Simply arrange the cut-outs that you have gathered and attach them to the board with tape, tacks, or glue and voila! You have a cherished vision board to carry you through 2019. I can promise you that the more you look at it, the more that those dreams will sink into your cells and become a reality for you and your life—just wait and watch the manifestation happen!

Copy by Nitika Chopra / Photography by Constance Mariena

This story originally appeared in the Fall/Winter 2018 issue of The Inspired Home Journal, titled “Perfect Vision.”

The post Create the Perfect Vision Board to Accomplish Your Goals appeared first on The Inspired Home.

I absolutely love that I can sew and embroider on one machine! The possibilities are endless. I can’t wait to put this machine to good use. I plan on making pillows, aprons, towels, napkins, and anything else I can dream up!

To get to know my machine I started with this simple embroidery project that would make the perfect DIY Christmas gift this holiday season! I planned on giving these away, but they turned out so cute, I think I am going to have to keep them for myself!

DIY Embroidered Holiday Napkins

Step 1: Wash, dry, and iron premade napkins.

Step 2: Determine where you’d like the words to go on the napkins. Use a fabric pencil to lightly mark a straight line where the word will be embroidered.

Step 3: Secure the fabric in the embroidery hoop. Eyeball a straight line and midpoint. It doesn’t need to be exact, but do your best!

Step 4: Program the embroidery machine with the words you’d like on your napkins. Use any font or word that you’d like!

Step 5: Prep your embroidery machine with embroidery thread of any color of your choosing.

Step 6: Embroider away!

Step 7: Once the embroidery machine is finished, use sharp scissors to snip away any strings or loose ends.

There you have it! A beautiful, simple DIY gift! An embroidery/sewing machine combo is a wonderful tool for the craft room, I am going to have fun with this, stay tuned for more projects! Visit me at Boxwood Avenue for more sewing inspiration!

The post DIY Embroidered Holiday Napkins appeared first on The Inspired Home.

Most days it’s easier for me to just do all of the things myself. Clean the kitchen, the bathrooms, pick up the toys and even on occasion, clean under their beds… because we all know that’s where they put everything when I asked them to “clean” their rooms.

But now that they are getting older, I know that it’s my responsibility as their parent to give them some consistent chores around the house… well, at least that’s what all the parenting books say. Ha! But honestly, isn’t our goal as parents to raise capable, responsible and self-motivating little humans in hopes that those characteristics will stick as they grow into adulthood? I can say, as a adult (most days) I’m so happy that my parents made me pick up after myself, gave me responsibilities, and instilled some work ethic into me!

Make a List with Rewards

For my older boys who are just a year apart I handed them each a list and said get this done. I gave them a few instructions and specific directions but for the most part they can independently do things like:

• Donate Clothes that are too small
• Go through books and fix them or giveaway
• Vacuum/Sweep rooms and bathrooms
• Sort Toys and donate
• Scrub toothpaste off the bathroom door that’s been there for about a month
• Dust bookcases and ceiling fans
• Rack gravel and remove trash or old weeds

My youngest becomes my sidekick. Wherever I go, she goes. I can help her go through clothes and she can decide what is too big or too small. She can also use small sponges and a mini broom to sweep dust off the baseboards, while I do the vacuuming.

Be Patient and Check Your Expectations

With my three, my standards are high, BUT I still know they won’t get it perfect. Taking into account their attention span and the lack of passion when it comes to cleaning, I give them a break. I focus more on the effort and the heart more than the actually cleaning itself.

Their Own Supplies

It’s funny how one thing makes the entire spring cleaning experience fun for them. Handing them their own set of gloves, their own spray bottle and sponge really makes them feel like they are helping. I guess it’s theirs something about having your own set of tools to tackle the job that gives them some ownership over the tasks at hand.

Play Music

Music is life in our house. When we blast the music. Things get done around here. SO being the cool mom that I am I turned on the 90’s station and blasted that thing so loud. So not only where the kids getting a lesson in how to properly clean around the toilet, they were also getting a lesson in classic 90’s music. Win. Win.

The post A DIY Cleaning Kit to Get Your Kids Excited About Spring Cleaning appeared first on The Inspired Home.

If you’re not familiar with a bath bomb is basically a fun way to introduce delicious essential oils, moisturizing elements and scents to your hot bath. Simply drop the ball of goodness in a tub full of water and watch the bomb fizzle away while spreading its contents!

Christmas is the perfect time to infuse some oils like eucalyptus and even christmas flavors like peppermint, cinnamon and nutmeg!

Here is what you’ll need to make 1-2 bath bombs!

• 1 cup baking soda
• ½ cup citric acid
• 1/3 cup Epsom salt
• 1 tablespoon of nut oil (coconut, almond, jojoba etc.)
• 8-10 drops essential oils
• 1-2 teaspoons water
• 3-8 drops natural food coloring ( optional)
• Bath Bomb Molds

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl with a whisk.

Then mix all the wet ingredients in a small cup and drop it into the dry mixture in very small amounts. Whisk all ingredients until mixture is like wet sand.

These Tovolo Snowflake Ice Molds are perfect for a festive bath bomb shape! Just pack the wet sand mixture into each mold and let dry for 24 hours.

To make traditional round bath bombs use the Tovolo Sphere Ice Mold by packing up each half to the rim.

Then squeeze them together real tight!

Immediately remove the bottom by slightly tapping on the top until the mold is released.

Let it dry overnight with the top rubber part at the bottom. Then gently remove the rubber top the next morning.

There you have it! Easy homemade gift wrapped in a cellophane bag and tied with ribbon! Stuff them in a stocking or wrap them up with some bubble bath!

The post These Easy Homemade Bath Bombs Make Great Stocking Stuffers appeared first on The Inspired Home.

However, some of my favorite gifts that I’ve received have been things that I would normally purchase for myself or would love but never think to buy for myself.

Over the past couple of years, I’ve been educating my neat-freak self on the components of my household cleaners and soaps. While the long term effects are still up in the air, my husband and I have decided to move our family’s cleaning supplies to be as homemade and natural as possible. I feel good about removing these chemicals from our home and appreciate that I know every ingredient that went into these products, because I made them!

During Christmas the past few years, I’ve been making a lot of the gifts for our family and friends. Some years it’s been adorable photographs of our children, homemade blank greeting cards or even homemade chocolate truffle boxes. To continue the tradition of giving lovingly gifts that lots of time and thought has been poured into, this year is the year of clean.

Trust me, the last thing I want to insinuate to the beautiful people in our lives is that they are dirty. Not one bit. Rather, instead of simply purchasing cleaning supplies as a gift (because that, to me, doesn’t spell out thoughtful gift in my book), I’m taking the time to make a chemical-free, homemade version of these everyday goodies. These homemade cleaning supplies have love and thoughtfulness written all over it.

Below you’ll find three stunningly simple recipes to aid you to give the gift of clean. Won’t you join me?

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Homemade Window Spray

Keyword Diy, Gifts, Green, Healthy home, Natural

Skill intermediate

Servings 1

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Homemade Bath Salts

Keyword Diy, Gifts, Green, Healthy home, Natural

Skill intermediate

Servings 1

Print

Homemade HE Laundry Powder

Keyword Diy, Gifts, Green, Healthy home, Natural

Skill intermediate

Servings 1

Recipe Sources

Bath Salts adapted from Wellness Mama.Laundry Powder adapted from DIY Naturals.Window Spray adapted from Whole New Mom.

The post Give the Gift of Clean appeared first on The Inspired Home.

As time progressed, he enjoyed it being short better, especially during the summer and for the sake of his career. Of course, I went along with it and learned to love it shorter. However, I didn’t like that he would still go to the cheapo hair salon and get a whack job every time. I kept thinking, this can’t be that hard. So, I bought my first pair of hair scissors, read up on how to cut a basic men’s haircut and went to town. Thankfully, my husband was trusting enough to let me touch his hair. However, if I didn’t do a good job it would grow back out in a matter of weeks.

Month after month, I would practice giving him the same haircut. He enjoyed not spending the extra money, getting more time to have meaningful conversations with his wife and not have to drive anywhere for a haircut. Just for kicks and giggles, I booked him an appointment with my hair stylist to observe how a professional cuts hair and to get her feedback on how I was doing. As it turns out, she said I was doing a great job!

Fast forward a few years and we had our first child. It seems like that first haircut always makes you cringe. It means your baby is growing up! Well, instead of traumatizing him by taking him to a hair salon, I decided I would tempt fate and do it myself.

I kept thinking that the only place I could get my toddler to sit still for any duration of time was in the bathtub. Why not cut it in there? So, that’s what I did and it worked great!

At one point, I cut his hair while he sat in his daddy’s lap outside and that was a huge challenge. We ended up having to put on a movie for him on our cellphone and I had a hard time reaching around my husband to cut it. It was back to the bathtub for haircuts ever since!

Fill up the tub and stand or sit in it with your child. Have all of your supplies at the ready.

You’ll need:

• Hair scissors
• Comb
• Bath Toys
• Shampoo
• Drain hair catcher
• Towel

Start by washing your child’s hair and part it where desired.

Then, make sure they have ample toys to play with. You’ll need as many distraction techniques in your playbook as possible. When in doubt try:

• Asking your child to wash their favorite bath toy under the running water.
• Singing a song.
• Presenting a new bath toy.
• Pretending like you are on a boat and you, “Look over there, an island!” pointing to the direction you need your child to look in to quickly cut the side.

Then, I always start in the back, combing the hair straight down the neck and cut across in an even line.

Once you cut the amount of hair off that you’re happy with, you’ll continue to cut the same length of hair off around the head. Remember that the hair will usually dry shorter than you cut, especially if your child has wavy or curly hair.

Migrate towards each side of the head toward the front, using your fingers to gauge out how much hair to cut off.

Basically, you’ll cut on the outside of your fingers to get an even length. Even if your child’s head moves while you’re holding the hair with your fingers, you fingers will just follow the head and get an even cut.

• If you’re cutting a boy’s hair, bring your fingers out 90 degrees from vertical to cut an even length all around the head.
• If you’re cutting a girl’s hair and want layers… bring your fingers out 45 degrees from the bottom and cut.
• If you’re cutting a girl’s hair and want a straight haircut… just cut around the head like you did at the back.

Once you’ve cut around the sides, you’ll move to the front of the head.

Cut the bangs how you’d like them, especially to get the hair out of their eyes. Then finish by cutting the top of the head the same length that you cut the bangs. Do a quick feel through with your fingers to make sure there aren’t any straggling long pieces.

Then, you’ll want to fish out as much hair out of the bath tub to discard in the trash as possible (or drain the bath using a hair catcher that you’d typically use in a sink without a disposal).

Rinse the bathtub clean of hair and rinse you and your child off, as well.

Using your towel, dry off the hair, style with a comb and let it dry.

After it’s dried, you may see a few spots you need to fix. Simply use your fingers again to grab the hair and cut on the outside of your fingers, keeping the cut off hair in your fingers to easily discard without making a mess on your floor.

Here are some other grooming tips for you:

• Fingernails – Use either nail clippers, nail file or electronic nail file (like the Zoli) to trim the nails. If your child is like my children, they detest getting their fingernails and toenails cut. I’ve always found that putting on a favorite television show while cutting the fingernails is helpful. Baby Einsteins has saved me for many years!
• Teeth – Allow your child to choose a toothbrush he/she is excited about. First, show them how to brush their teeth and eventually they’ll want to do it on their own! Now that my toddler is Mr. Independent, he brushes his teeth and I go back and finish it up for him. He loves showing everyone how “shiny” his teeth are.
• Hand Washing – A habit you should get your child into at an early age. I know my children love to wash their hands. I even let them wash their toys in the sink for a special treat.

The post DIY Baby + Toddler Haircut appeared first on The Inspired Home.