Monday, September 30, 2013

Cupcake Crayons Made Out of Crayon Scraps


 If you have young children, you surely have your fair share of broken crayon pieces around the house.  Instead of throwing them away, recycle them and make fun cupcake crayons they can reuse.  Not only are these fun for them to use, they can be made in any color combination you want.  They are also the ideal shape for smaller tots that have a difficult time grasping a standard crayon.  If you don't happen to have broken crayon pieces, I'm sure your children's teachers at school, church or day care have some you can use for this craft.  Promise your kids will love it!  Follow the steps below:


What You Will Need
--Broken crayon pieces
--Mini cupcake tin
--Mini cupcake liners


Steps
1) First you'll have to remove the paper off each of the crayon pieces. This is definitely the most labor intensive part of this project.  My daughter (4 years old) was at it for almost an hour with me.  She was so excited to make her cupcake crayons, though, that she didn't care! LOL 
2) After peeling them all, we broke the larger pieces into smaller pieces that would better fit into each mini cupcake tin.  

3) After breaking down all of the crayons, we put 2 liners in each of the cupcake tin spots.  If you only put one, the crayons will leak through and it will be difficult to clean and reuse for actual baking next time. You can also use the foil liners.  They are thicker and the crayons don't bleed through them like they do the thin paper ones.

4) After you've lined the tin, turn the oven on to 200 degrees.  It won't take long to heat to such a low temperature so I usually wait until this step to even turn it on.

5) Once the oven is on,  add the crayons to the cupcake tin in any combination you'd like.  You can make some solid color crayons and you can mix colors as well.  We kept color families together but made some cool combinations as well (orange + yellow, red + purple, blue & green, red + orange, multi-color).
6) After the tin is full and/or you're out of crayon pieces, place the muffin pan in the oven and "cook" for about 10-15 minutes.  Watch them carefully so they do not overheat or burn.  The smell is not great but it will be worse if they burn.  They will also stick more to the pan.

7) When you remove them, make sure to do it carefully and slowly.  The crayons will be a thin, watery liquid consistency and can spill easily.  Let them cool for about 30 minutes and remove them from the tin.  
8) After they have completely cooled, remove the cupcake paper/foil wrappers and they're ready to be used! 
 
My daughter absolutely loves them and doesn't even want to use her regular crayons anymore.  


Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Milky! Giveaway: Win a Chance to Try the Organic Way to Increase & Improve Breastmilk Supply

As the mom of a beautiful 4 year old girl and expecting #2 in January, I am always on the lookout for new products.  I love discovering new products that I can use and that other moms will love as well.  Recently I discovered Need Brands.  Need Brands was created by Tia and Tamera Mowry, the famous twins that many of us thirty something moms grew up watching on t.v.!  As they started their own families, they had similar concerns to most moms.  Breastfeeding and producing plenty of milk to feed their little ones was a big one!  They decided to create a tasty, effective product that could increase milk production, be healthy for mom and baby and be affordable too!  From this idea, they came up withMilky!

Milky is a natural, organic lactation herbal tea supplement.  It promotes lactation without having to go through the trouble of brewing hot teas throughout the day and it was designed by a pediatrician to help boost the quality and quantity of breast milk. Some of the main ingredients are fenugreek, fennel, ginger, chamomile and rooibos.  Unlike teas you have to prepare at home, you can take Milky! with you in the convenient bottles they are packaged in and drink them on the go.  They will make for a healthier lifestyle for you and nourish your baby too! One of my favorite aspects of Milky! and all of the Need Brands products is that they are all vegan and are not tested on animals.  They are also all eco-friendly and they are scientifically proven to work.

So, do you want a chance to win your own box of Milky!?  It includes a 6 day supply and it is valued at $29.99 plus $5 flat rate shipping.  Below are the rules to enter and a 10% discount code for all to use as well!



Rules to Enter the Giveaway:
The winner will be selected at random and given points per entry.  Ways to enter are:
1) Like us on Facebook at
2) Follow us on Twitter at
3) Tweet about the giveaway on Twitter
4) Comment on this blog post below

Contest begins September 25, 2013 at 12 am and ends September 29, 2013 at 12 am.  Get started and win yourself a box of the best breastfeeding supplement around.

If you would like to order a supply of Milky! in advance, enter NICK10  at checkout to receive 10% off your entire order of 2 boxes or more.

I was not paid/compensated in any way to test/review this product.


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