How to Grill Pizza (+ The Easiest Pizza Sauce Recipe)

Grilling pizza is of course delicious, it's also crazy easy, a good way to use up random what-nots from your refrigerator, and a super fun activity to do with your kids. We love grilled pizza so much, and there's just one little trick to having a perfect grilled pizza every time.

Also, we always make our own pizza sauce, because the recipe is just about as easy as buying pre-made pizza sauce, but less expensive.

We have been enjoying a lot of potato pizzas lately (with dill, yum), but also usually do one traditional grilled pizza for the little lady.

So, let me share my pizza sauce recipe and show you how to grill pizza...
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How to Make a Paper Mache Table (for under $20)!

As part of My New Backyard, I decided to make a little paper mache table after spotting this one at West Elm. Paper mache is probably not the best idea for an outdoor table, but since this was made with recycled cardboard and newspapers, it cost me all of $10. Why not? I also sealed it up pretty well, and I'll show you how.

You could make a paper mache table in any style for indoor use and it would cost you a fraction of store bought furniture. And bonus: it was a really fun project to do with the kid. Learn how to make a paper mache table after the jump!
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The Pretty Path to Potty-Trained

How's potty training going in your home? I don't want to talk about it. But I DO want to show you this pretty little potty chart that Clare and I made. We have been enjoying lots of board games lately so we applied that premise to the chart. A path with spaces to be filled with stickers as you earn your way to cool prizes. The prizes can be drawn in as you go to renew excitement. I can't guarantee that this chart will work (I'm NO expert on potty training) but I can guarantee that it will be pretty to look at.


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How to Make Your Own Chalkboard Paint

You may have seen me mention on facebook and twitter that I'm contributing to Soleil Moon Frye's new online show Her Say. Here's a fun clip where I teach you how to make chalkboard paint in any color you like for just a few bucks. We use it to whip up some little vases you can use as table settings and a travel chalkboard tile. It's so easy! Let me know if you try it. And you can check out more of my hersay videos here.

Ombré Cupcakes

Do your kids just eat the frosting off of cupcakes and leave the tasty cake behind. Clare does. So in a effort to get her to eat her birthday cake, and score some "awesome mom" points by making another party element pink, I tried the Ombré trend in edible form. Since I can't pull off Ombré hair, these tasty treats will have to do.

Here's what I did...
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Quinn's Animal Birthday Party

This weekend we celebrated Miss Quinn Frances' 2nd Birthday - Animal Style! I couldn't commit to "circus" or "jungle" so it just ended up as a mash-up of the elements I liked most from each. There was also a little hand-made, a little store-bought and a few things I just had lying around the house. Quinn was only concerned that there be monkeys and elephants. Check!

Over the next week or so I'll be posting a few DIY's and the sources for all the party goodies. If you have any thoughts or questions, leave a comment! It could win you an oliver + s pattern from fabricworm!


Read on to see more photos ...
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The Oil Cloth Clubhouse

The what what? Yes, the oil cloth clubhouse. I had a bolt of unused oil cloth, Niko had a playground, and Niko's mom had a staple gun.

After telling her I would make this thing for going on two months, I returned from a weekend away to find she had gone at it herself. How cute is this?

Check out the details and I'll tell you how she did it after the jump. What do you think, might you do something like this?
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Gone Fishin'

Ladies, help me out! What to do with these delicious morsels? How to honor our first catch? Warning: if killing fish for food upsets you, do not read this post (and sorry).

When my friend Macki from Cooking With My Kid suggested we take our gang of tots to the adorable Trout Dale fishing area for their first fishing experience, she had me hook, line, and sinker. HA. Ha. ha?

Fine, not every play on words is going to be a winner. Anyway... I have a fridge full of headless fish, what should I do with them? I mean, obviously I am going to eat them, but wondering if you ladies have any suggestions for serving up our first catch?

Of course, Scarlet selected her finest fishing attire.

Check out our haul and tell me what to make with it after the jump! Jacinda suggested salmon cakes, which sound delicious... but trout cakes don't sound quite as nice? Maybe i'll go for old fashioned fish-and-chips? I know there have to be some serious fishing prudent mamas out there with some tips for making tots dig on fresh fish. Your comment could win you that adorable PDF art caddy pattern!
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How to Make Cascarones (Confetti Eggs)

Cascarones are a Mexican Easter tradition and a great alternative to plastic eggs for your hunting pleasure.

Kids LOVE them as much (if not more) than any candy-filled egg. We had them at the Third Birthday Fiesta and they were the hit of the party.

Many, many were smashed over my head.

AND they are super-easy to make. Find out How to Make Cascarones after the jump...
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Party Craft Stations Four Ways. Ole!

For our FIESTA we went all-out with four different craft stations. We picked up about 12-16 items for each station and let kids pick and choose which they wanted to do. We had about 60 kids so everybody got to take home something.

I whipped up little signs with the fancy printer we are giving away, then glued them to cardstock and made easel backings to stand them at each craft station.

The four craft stations included painting maracas, decorating sombreros, planting succulents, and decorating tamborines. All huge hits, though I think the tamborines went first.




Learn how to create Party Craft Stations Four Ways and get our sources for the least expensive stuff after the jump...
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Planting the Garden

Gordon made his first trip to the Dallas Farmer's Market this weekend when we set out to buy the plants for our garden. We would have like to do some seeds, since that's when you can actually feel prudent for putting a garden, alas it's too late for seeds here in Texas what with 100°+ days are right around the corner. We might still try some just to experiment.

As always, the girls had a blast at the market, sampling the vendor's wares and helping to pick out the plants.


We let pregnant Brookes do all of the heavy lifting.

Find out what we got and see it all planted...
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Irrigation System for Raised Bed Garden

Team Texas had a wildly productive weekend of garden preparation; buying plants, installing an irrigation system into our raised beds, and planting.

We were all ready to go to Home Depot and design an irrigation system from scratch. Imagine our delight to find that someone has already done the work. The guys at the "Depot" introduced us to DIG Irrigation Products drip and micro sprinkler system (not a sponsor, just love their stuff.) DIG has created an awesome FREE Drip Irrigation Installation Guide which guided us through what to buy and how to put it together. Down the line, if we want to install misters, sprinklers, faucets etc, we can easily add them on. It's really amazing. For now we just need a basic irrigation system to keep my lazy butt from killing the entire garden.

Here's what we did...
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How to Make a Snack Bag & Silhouette in Action!

We love our snack bags! It's awesome not to see all those plastic bags get trashed but most importantly (ha) we get to look at a pretty little scrap of fabric while we nosh. These are really fun to make because it's an easy scrap-busting project and the embellishment options are endless! I was inspired to try out the new interfacing from Silhouette to create an applique for one bag. Don't forget to enter to win! I made a sweet ribbon bow for the other.


Learn how to make a snack bag and see the Silhouette in fabric-cutting action...
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Cookie Crumb Truffle Pops

Here's something fun to do with stale cookies or that sugar cookie dough that's leftover after you've cut out all of your cute shapes: Make cookie truffles. I added popsicle sticks for extra fun.


Find out how to make Cookie Truffle Pops after the jump. What do you do with cookie scraps besides eat them all furtively while no one is looking? Let us know in the comments, you could win a fancy yard of pom pom trim in any color you choose!
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Ribbon Barrettes

I've mentioned my LOVE LOVE LOVE for Craft Snob before so I'm so excited that Sara is here to share a DIY for her adorable twist on 80's style ribbon barrettes. Did anyone else make/wear these the first time around? Ah memories! We need some! Take it away Sara!

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Keys to My Heart Lollipop Valentines

Scarlet holds the key to my heart, obvs.  This year she is very excited about her Valentines Day party at school, and she insisted there be lots of pink.

She also adores lollipops, so it was only natural to make lollipop valentines.

With a few paper cut outs and some time, we pulled these little Valentines together.

Learn how to make Keys to My Heart Valentines after the jump...

And be sure to leave a comment, because this week's surprise prize for fave comment wins that amazing embroidery pattern!
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