Author Archives: Penny

DIY owl gift bags for teacher gifts

Posted on May 19, 2013 by Penny

This owl bag is a cute way to package baked goods or any other small teacher appreciation gift. The bag is easy enough for a preschool child to help make, and the hand tracings for the wings make it extra … Continue reading →

Posted in Crafts, Kid-related | Tagged gift bags, owls, teacher appreciation | 10 Comments

Elf on the Shelf takes old toys away

Posted on December 18, 2012 by Penny

We do not have an Elf on the Shelf, but I had an interesting idea for those who have one. What if one night the elf takes some of the child’s old toys away with him/her up to the North … Continue reading →

Posted in Kid-related | 3 Comments

Building a felt stockpile

Posted on October 19, 2012 by Penny

Felt seems to be a crafting staple. Now that my daughter is crafting age, I decided to get a rainbow assortment of felt to have on hand for spontaneous crafting sessions.  I decided to go with felt by the yard … Continue reading →

Posted in Crafts, Kid-related | Tagged fabric, felt, felt board, remnants | Leave a comment

Small book rack made from a desktop letter sorter

Posted on July 27, 2012 by Penny

This easy, potty-side, book rack keeps my daughter’s books clean, dry, off the floor, out of my way, and within her reach. Given that my child has over 500 books, it’s not a surprise that she often wants to bring … Continue reading →

Posted in Kid-related, Organization | Tagged book rack, books, potty time | 1 Comment

Magnetic bedtime chart

Posted on June 25, 2012 by Penny

My almost three year old loses focus as she gets tired which can make the nap and bedtime routines a challenge. I made up a quick and easy to do list to help keep her on track. It’s not super … Continue reading →

Posted in Kid-related, Organization | Tagged bedtime routine, chore chart, kids, magnetic board, magnets | Leave a comment

4 ways to salvage a meal gone bad

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Penny

I considered titling this post, “How I get my family to eat leftovers”. I enjoy trying new recipes. Even those rare *cough* times that the results aren’t especially tasty, we can usually manage to choke down the initial round. Getting … Continue reading →

Posted in Food | Tagged crock pot, food, improving texture, ingredients, leftovers, slow cooker | 19 Comments

How I keep our mountain of paperwork in check

Posted on November 27, 2011 by Penny

I’ve been thinking a lot about clutter lately. The mad cleaning frenzy before relatives come to visit will do that to a person. Like many people, we struggle with clutter. We have some areas that stay in shape and others … Continue reading →

Posted in Organization | Tagged bills, mail, paperwork, sorting | Leave a comment

How to adjust your Facebook profile picture thumbnail

Posted on May 24, 2011 by Penny

Ever put up an awesome new profile picture on Facebook only to find that the thumbnail that gets attached to your posts is centered on a spot 5 inches above your head? You can shift what part of the picture … Continue reading →

Posted in Facebook | Tagged Facebook, profile picture, thumbnail | 3 Comments

Findgift.com, a great online registry that isn’t store specific

Posted on May 7, 2011 by Penny

When I got married several years ago, I dreaded setting up a registry. I have multiple complaints about registries, but my two main problems were 1) I didn’t want to tie people to a specific store. I’m quite frugal and … Continue reading →

Posted in Great sites | Tagged FindGift, gift registries, great site, wishlists | 6 Comments

The importance of a strong e-mail password

Posted on April 8, 2011 by Penny

By now you may have gotten e-mail from one or more companies saying that Epsilon, their e-mail service provider, was hacked. The e-mail warns you to watch for phishing attacks. I’d like to issue a semi-related warning about the importance … Continue reading →

Posted in E-mail | Tagged e-mail, passwords, phishing | Leave a comment