diy Archives - Ginger Casa

Four Basketball Games For Kids And A DIY Snack Trophy!

This shop has been compensated and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.

Our two older boys are so in love with basketball right now. They both played in a basketball league this past season and Hubby coached them both. Many trips to Walmart were made to stock up on snacks, drinks, and supplies! It really is amazing how much is put into these games for kids.

Basketball is a game that I love, as well, and love to play with them. The boys are out shooting and having fun multiple times a day. We want them to work on their skills in different, fun ways, so I picked my husband’s brain about fun games that they sometimes play at practice, and then had an exciting time at the court playing these games!

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How To Make Your Refrigerator Smell Fresh Using Coffee Grounds

By Gena 18 Comments

This shop has been compensated. All opinions are mine alone.

I am a lover of all things pumpkin spice. I am also a lover of all things coffee. Autumn is THE best time of the year for me because I can enjoy two of my favorite things! Pumpin Spice. Coffee. Bliss.

Something that totally sets me off though, is when I am making my morning coffee and I open my refrigerator to take out my creamer and I am hit with the smell of leftovers or worse. A yucky refrigerator smell is not my idea of a blissful autumn morning.

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Simple Easter Bunny Wreath DIY – Made Out of Pruned Grapevines

By Gena 1 Comment

Simple Easter Bunny Wreath DIY

Easter Bunny Wreath DIY out of a grapevine

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A while back, I noticed that our grapevine was out of control. It grows on the fence between our garden and carport, and it was so out of control that the boys had to push them back if they go out of Daddy's car. It was almost like a jungle! I enlisted the help of the Captain and D to prune the grapevine, which apparently you are supposed to do in the winter, anyway, to encourage new growth in the spring.

I taught the boys how to use the loppers to carefully trim the old vines that were growing right into the carport and our garden. Traditional pruners would have worked too, but well, loppers are more fun to use and to say. The Captain would prune off a few vines, then D would. My little boys LOVE to cut things, especially big things like a grapevine! After a lesson in where to cut, I let the Captain get a bit too comfortable and he lopped off a huge part of the vine, but hey, it happens. It will grow again!

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The ULTIMATE Valentine’s Day Roundup!

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The ULTIMATE Valentine's Day Roundup

One of my favorite blogging communities has done what true communities do best….teamed up and formed the ULTIMATE Valentine's Day Roundup! The Social Fabric community is full of fantastic bloggers with amazing DIYs, crafts, tutorials, recipes, printables, activities, and more. This is the best of the best when it comes to Valentine's Day! Take a look and you are sure to find something that you truly love!

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Book and Journal Keeper – Keep Books Safe and Little Brothers Out! “The Plans I Have For You”

By Gena Leave a Comment

Book and Journal Keeper

Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post. Contains affiliate links

The Captain is 7 and loves to read. He has really loved discovering the world of chapter books this year! Often times we find him after we thought he was asleep, reading his Star Wars book, the Bible, or a book about animals or the solar system. Reading is such a gift and I am glad that he has found this love and is confident as a reader.

One problem that we have run into, however, is that he has two little brothers that love books, as well, but in different ways! While D is gentle with books and loves sounding out words, Baby Brother is two and very destructive! He loves to look at books, yes, but he also loves to throw them, drop them, and he is learning that we do not rip pages or color in books that are not coloring books. That's a tricky thing for a toddler to learn, isn't it?
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Make Lunch Special with a DIY Lunchbox Note Holder

By Gena 1 Comment

This DIY lunchbox note holder post and shop have been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #HorizonLunch #CollectiveBias

Packing cute lunches with foods that I feel good about the boys eating is really difficult sometimes. We are not early morning people, so I like to have foods already available and lunches ready to assemble when I wake up. I love packing lunches that the boys will enjoy, but it can be hard to find the right balance between what the boys want and what Mommy wants them to be eating.

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Beverage Bands DIY – No More Wondering Which Beverage is Yours!

By Gena 2 Comments

Beverage Bands DIY has been compensated. All opinions are mine alone.

If one thing is for certain, our family stays well hydrated. We all love our drinks, but admittedly, they’re not always healthy. I have made a concious efffort to start drinking more water and when I want a sweet drink, to make it a better beverage choice. I know the boys are always watching…and waiting to have a sip of my drink, as well! I need to be making good drink choices not only for me, but for my family.

While we are making healthier drink choices, the issue still exists that we can’t keep track of which drink is ours. That’s fine, I guess, since we are all family, but with the holidays and sick season coming up, I wanted to create a way to keep track of our drinks. The boys and I made some super cute DIY Beverage Bands that were very easy!

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Inspirational Gifts to Strengthen Your Faith

By Gena Leave a Comment

This inspirational gifts post was brought to you by Propeller Consulting/FlyBy Promotions. All opinions are mine. Photos have been used with permission.

Being a Christian is never easy, and in all truth, it's becoming increasingly difficult. Not as difficult as Bible times for sure, but with modern technology and worldly skepticism, it sometimes is hard to have faith. I am sure a large percentage of Christians do face a battle with their lack of faith sometimes. With so many people trying to disprove the Bible and spreading the "do what you want because you only live once" message, it is hard. Lots of modern day Christians and people from the Bible have struggled with their faith. Even close friends of Jesus had trouble believing! My personal advice is to not shove those feelings of doubt down, but to surround yourself with knowledgeable people to talk to, read the Bible, and explore positive works from faithful Christians. It does me a world of good to change the radio to a Christian station and pray. The Bible tells us to pray all of the time. With so many distractions, I think inspirational gifts and artwork in the home also help keep your mind focused on what's really important.

Home Decor/DIY

I love little reminders and Bible verse art, like this one below from Mission to Save. It's a free printable, too, so it's easy to print and frame.

Whether you have a wall of crosses or a few displayed throughout the house, they are great reminders of Jesus' sacrifice for us. This Cross Framed on Burlap from Dukes & Duchesses is classy and would make a beautiful gift:

Joshua 24:15 is a very popular Bible verse for families. This DIY personalized house picture from Mission to Save is great, because it is made on vellum which is then laid over a picture of a house. So sentimental and teaches children from a very young age how important faith and Christianity is to their parents.

I am a sucker for Christmas themed decorations, year-round. This could be an ornament, wall hanging, or it could sit on a shelf as a daily reminder of the birth of Jesus. Find out how to make it at Equipping Godly Women.

DIY Jewelry

These wire and bead cross pendants are beautiful and unique. See the instructions at Dukes & Duchesses!

Movies

I think it's also important to get your hands on books, CDs, and DVDs from people who have done their research, devoted their lives to God, and have a strong Christian faith. A new DVD that has just come out is Patterns of Evidence: Exodus. Many of the world's most prominent archeologists and historians have said that there is no hard evidence to support the Exodus story found in the Bible. This skepticism can be contagious and easy to follow and many people, including Christians, have labeled the whole book as "fiction." Fimmaker Timothy Mahoney begins with the question "Is the Bible just a myth, or did the archeologists get it wrong?" He has documented his journey across the globe, looking for answers. This DVD contains in-depth archeological investigation into the Exodus from Egypt. The goal of this documentary is to communicate TRUTH of the Bible and help believers to strengthen their faith.

Kevin Sorbo narrates the documentary, which also includes interviews with leading archeologists including Israel Finkelstein, Kent Weeks, and David Rohl, and guest appearances by Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu and Shimon Peres. This DVD researches the stories of Moses, Joshua, Jericho, Joseph, the Israelites, Egyptian kings, and more. Timothy Mahoney has really examined his own faith and religion in this film, and we can all benefit from his journeys!

Purchase Patterns of Evidence: Exodus at the POE website or Amazon. Check out a preview here:

Music

There is nothing more refreshing to me than new music. TobyMac has been around the Christian music scene for years, and his music continues to appeal to all ages and have an uplifting message. "This Is Not A Test" comes out on August 7th and does not disappoint. The Captain's favorite song is "Beyond Me" and is a great song about having faith!

You gave me the stars put them out of my reach

Called me to waters a little too deep

Oh, I've never been so aware of my need

You keep on making me see

It's way beyond me

Anything that I got the strength to do

In over my head keeps me countin' on You

I'm leaving the sweet spot, sure shot

Tradin' it all for the plans You got

Is it so crazy to believe

TobyMac's songs get you thinking, dancing, and praising God and that's just what we need! This CD is a great start to your day or a pick-me-up anytime. There are so many different thoughts and sounds enveloped in TobyMac's latest release, and it would be a fantastic inspirational gift!

I love how no two songs sound alike. "Fall," "Like A Match," Undeniable," and more songs are all well written, well thought out, and performed by TobyMac and the musicians so, so well. The boys and I really enjoyed listening to this album on our road trip yesterday. We are all big TobyMac fans and I think you will be, too. Learn more about TobyMac and preview his newest release on his website.

Pre-order this album on iTunes and receive four songs instantly and also, make sure enter to win the #FEELIT Sweepstakes!

Propeller/FlyByPromotions is giving you the chance to win! One winner will win the new "Patterns of Evidence: Exodus" DVD and another will win the new CD from TobyMac: "This Is Not A Test." Just enter in the corresponding Rafflecopter below!

Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller / FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days, you are not eligible to win. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.

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Cool Down With A DIY Iced Tea Glass FULL of Half Iced Tea & Half Lemonade

By Gena 2 Comments

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #MeAndMyTea #CollectiveBias

Being from Texas, iced tea has always been one of my favorite drinks. I drink at least one glass of iced tea daily, sweetened with honey. Tea is always my go to beverage of choice at family gatherings, potlucks, and parties. I broke up with soda a few years ago and have not looked back, because tea is just, so so good and has many health benefits, too. Iced tea always seems to quench my thirst like soda never could. It's the perfect drink to enjoy by the pool or park with my family.

I wanted to jazz up my iced tea with a fun, summery design, so I made a DIY iced tea glass with an oil based paint marker. I think it turned out pretty cute, and I'm on the very low end of being artistically gifted. Imagine what you could do!! I also repurposed a pickle jar as an iced tea "pitcher" to match. My tea of choice was Bigelow Half Iced Tea & Half Lemonade!

Supplies Needed:

drinking glass of any kind or repurposed glass jars
oil based paint marker(s)
contact paper – optional, but helpful!
oven
your favorite flavor of Bigelow iced tea

Directions:

1. Decide on your design. You can cut something out of contact paper to ensure precision, or you can freehand it, it's up to you! If using contact paper, peel off backing and press to stick on the glass.

2. Clean the side of your glass/jar that you will be using with rubbing alcohol or vinegar and let dry completely. (Don't touch the cleaned areas or oil will transfer from your hands to the glass.)

3. Use the oil based paint markers to create your design on the glass. (You can use rubbing alcohol to clean off and start over.)

4. When satisfied with your design, peel off contact paper and let your design dry for about 20 minutes.

5. Place glass items into a COLD oven and turn on to 350°.

6. Open a window because there will be fumes and let the design "cook" on the glass for about 40 minutes.

7. Turn off oven off and let glass cool completely before removing.

8. Hand wash for best results, but wash them in the dishwasher if you like to live dangerously.

I realized after the cooking process that I should have used more paint on my jar. Oh well, I'll know next time!

The boys were impressed with Mommy's super crafting powers, but they were much more impressed with the delicious Bigelow Half Iced Tea & Half Lemonade. They are all tea lovers like their mommy, and lemonade lovers like their daddy, so this was such a special treat for them. And that's the great thing about Bigelow tea is that I feel good about serving it to my little ones because it's healthy and 100% American made by an American family. They have so many different flavors, too. I bought my Bigelow tea at Walmart, in the beverage aisle.

Bigelow Tea is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year! Bigelow began in a New York City townhouse, where Ruth Campbell Bigelow developed the iconic "Constant Comment"® tea, (which is delicious, by the way!) Bigelow Tea now has a worldwide market offering more than 130 varieties of flavored, green, organic, herbal, decaffeinated and iced teas. There's definitely something for everyone. They also use a special foil pouch to ensure freshness and protect the tea from the air, moisture, and surrounding aromas.

Are you an iced tea drinker? I'd love to hear about your favorite way to drink iced tea in the comments below!

Learning About Presidents' Day {Plus a DIY Presidential Timeline!}

By Gena Leave a Comment

This Presidents' Day post was brought to you by Oriental Trading Company. All opinions are mine. This post contains affiliate links at no additional cost to you.

The Captain and D are both very intrigued by countries and leaders. They love learning about the different countries, capitals, and lately, the presidents of the United States of America. Presidents' Day is coming up in February, so I wanted to provide them with many opportunities to become acquainted with some of our great leaders from the past! Homeschooling this year has given me freedom to teach different things that the boys show interest in, at their levels, and tie it in to other subjects and things they need to learn.

The first thing the Captain wanted to do was play this presidential matching game from Oriental Trading Company. There were far too many cards to begin with, so we found the matches and only played with about 1/4 of them. It was fun to find the different matches and hear the Captain try to pronounce their names. He does pretty well, but it is still very cute! Each president has two cards – one blue and one red – with different, interesting facts. We learned a lot about the presidents this way, plus it was fun. Fun education is the best kind!

The boys also flipped over the presidents door border, (which is a steal at $1.38 right now, if you're interested!) All of the presidents are displayed, along with their names, years that they served as president, and they are all in order, as well. What a great way to capture the history of our country and a fabulous way to introduce the boys to a love of history. The Captain loved quizzing my parents via FaceTime about some of these men, too!The most fun the boys had in our study of the presidents was the fun masks! 12 presidential faces were fun to play with. From George Washington and Abraham Lincoln to Barack Obama….they love to pretend to be the presidents and try to talk like they think they might have talked. These masks would be great for plays or pretending to give important speeches.

That's definitely not all, just search for "presidents" at Oriental Trading and see the great teaching tools you can find.

I used one of the 12 president rulers that came in a pack to create our very own presidential timeline. I simply cut the presidents' faces out, which had their names and years served underneath, and made a timeline using sentence strips. Each year was represented with a half of an inch (great since I had a ruler right there, ha!) Then, I wrote each president's name in red marker and the Captain came along and matched each picture to the name. Seeing it all on a timeline was educational to me, too, because I could see how many years (or days – some presidents didn't get to serve for very long!) each president was in office, how many terms, and incouraged the boys to ask questions about each president. I mentioned earlier how the Captain was excited to talk about the presidents with his grandparents and show them his timeline….what a great way to learn even more and practice skills like math, writing, matching, measuring, and much more, all while having good conversation with his relatives!

Materials needed:

one presidential timeline ruler from Oriental Trading Company
scissors
6-7 sentence strips
markers
glue or tape (regular school glue didn't hold well for our timeline)

Instructions:

Write the years that began each presidential term, counting 1/2" for each year, using the presidential timeline ruler.
With a different color, write each corresponding president's name above the spot on the timeline that they served as president.
Cut out each president's picture.
Match each president's picture to the time period that they served and glue or tape to secure.
Display your timeline and enjoy being able to visualize the history of our nation!

Four Basketball Games For Kids And A DIY Snack Trophy!

How To Make Your Refrigerator Smell Fresh Using Coffee Grounds

Simple Easter Bunny Wreath DIY – Made Out of Pruned Grapevines

Simple Easter Bunny Wreath DIY

The ULTIMATE Valentine’s Day Roundup!

The ULTIMATE Valentine's Day Roundup

Book and Journal Keeper – Keep Books Safe and Little Brothers Out! “The Plans I Have For You”

Book and Journal Keeper

Make Lunch Special with a DIY Lunchbox Note Holder

Beverage Bands DIY – No More Wondering Which Beverage is Yours!

Inspirational Gifts to Strengthen Your Faith

Home Decor/DIY

DIY Jewelry

Movies

Music

Pre-order this album on iTunes and receive four songs instantly and also, make sure enter to win the #FEELIT Sweepstakes!

Cool Down With A DIY Iced Tea Glass FULL of Half Iced Tea & Half Lemonade

Are you an iced tea drinker? I'd love to hear about your favorite way to drink iced tea in the comments below!

Learning About Presidents' Day {Plus a DIY Presidential Timeline!}

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