Summer, Issue 2
inspired by family magazine
Fadeless Memories takes your special photograph and turns it into a priceless heirloom. Individually carved into acrylic, they will never discolor, fade, bend or tear. www.fadelessmemories.com
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A note from the founding editor! Summer means outdoor picnics, concerts in the park, water fights, movies under the stars, watermelon, relaxed mornings, camping, grilling and most of all the joy to be the main teacher in my kids’ lives. All that fun is accompanied with work, like having to make snacks and cook three meals, refereeing sibling rivalries, constantly washing dishes, cleaning, etc‌. We packed this issue with ton’s of simple but creative resources to help you enjoy your summer with your family and friends!
Mari Hernandez-Tuten
lori fairchild at everydaytruth.net
ashlee at capernaumhome.com
renee hagloch at thecreativeorchard.com carla ackermann at breathdeepwheretheairisthin.blogspot.com
maria rausova at shopgirlmaria.blogspot.com mike moynihan
kate reali at ramblingsfromutopia.com
julianne rosenau at sewfantastic.blogspot.com maysem hammad at odetoinspiration.wordpress.com kelsey sapp at poofycheeks.com
heather kinnaird at heathersfrenchpress.com
All photography is copyrighted. Please contact us for use. Please be kind and link back to source: www.inspiredbyfamilymag.com if our ideas, crafts, recipes inspire you.
Meet the Contributors
Printables by Renee Hagloch
summer celebrations Photography: Carla Ackermann & Mari Tuten
Kick off your summer gatherings by changing things up a bit! For your July 4th gathering have an Outdoor Movie Party. Instead of grilling burgers and hotdogs have a pizza bar and
grill
pizza. Gather your friends and family and have an outdoor Italian bistro gathering. Start off with some crowd pleaser appetizers like Tomato, Bacon & Cheese Bites and Spinach Artichoke Dip and serve a cool summer Tuscan salad, Panzanella. Or just enjoy a relaxed dinner with your family with a fun Watermelon themed picnic. Use our DIY dyed glass luminaries or our confetti bunting tutorial to decorate your outdoor area. With our easy tutorials and recipes your outdoor summer gatherings will look fabulous and taste great!
Watermelon frozen treats Use a melon baller and gut your limes. Then pour strawberry yogurt in each lime cup and top with chocolate chip morsels to give it a classic watermelon look. Freeze and enjoy!
Simple but creative is how I roll!
celebrate
Movie Under The Stars Photography: Mari Tuten
Clickhere for the No-Sew Ruffled Tablecloth Tutorial
sweet treats
12 cups popped popcorn 1 (14 oz.) can Eagle BrandÂŽ Sweetened Condensed Milk 1 (3 oz.) package cherry or other flavored gelatin Instructions HEAT oven to 300ÂşF. Line large shallow roasting pan with heavy foil, extending foil over edges of pan. Butter foil. REMOVE all unpopped popcorn. Pour popcorn into prepared pan and keep warm in oven. COMBINE sweetened condensed milk and dry gelatin in medium saucepan. Heat and stir over low heat until mixture is slightly thickened and bubbly, 4 to 5 minutes. POUR mixture over popcorn. Stir gently to coat using a long-handled wooden spoon. Bake 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Carefully turn out onto large piece of lightly buttered foil. Cool. Break into pieces or clusters.
Recipe from Eagle Brand
Frosted cake in a cone
First, put frosted cake in a bag and mix it.
Next, layer cake, ice cream, cake‌. And make sure the top layer is cake, shaped like a ball and press into the cone. Dip in melted chocolate.
simplify summer
tips Core a strawberry with a straw
Surprise! Your dishwasher uses less water than washing dishes by hand. Then let dishes air-dry to save even more energy.
.
All Purpose Cleaner: It smells fresh and cuts the grime ! Just two ingredients: white distilled vinegar and orange peel! 1. Peel several oranges and drop the peels into a mason jar. 2. Pour your vinegar until the jar is full. 3. Let it brew for 2 full weeks. 4. It will be a light yellow color when it's all done. From Ashlee at Capernaum Home
confetti bunting Confetti with Style! Photography: Mari Tuten
This confetti bunting is as simple as its counterpart. Gather your favorite paper and cut them into various circles. Use a push pin to make a hole on each end and string.
Panzanella
Photography: Carla Ackermann
food
Simple Summer Tuscan Salad! 1. Heat the oil in a pan. Add the bread and salt; cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently until nicely browned. You may need to add more oil. In a large bowl mix in bread, cheese and all the vegetables. 2. Mix the vinaigrette ingredients in a small bowl and then pour over bread and veggies mix. Add salt and pepper as needed.
Recipe by Mari Tuten 3 Tbsp olive oil 1 Wheat French bread cut into cubes 1 teaspoon salt 2 cups cherry tomatoes halved - salted 1 cucumber, unpeeled, sliced 1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into cubes 1 green & 1 yellow bell pepper, diced 1/2 red onion, cut in half and thinly sliced 20 large basil leaves, coarsely chopped 1/4 cup carrots, chopped 1/2 cup Gouda, cubed black pepper to taste
4 Tbsp olive oil 3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar 1 Tbsp garlic paste
Note: Make sure bread is toasted otherwise you will end up with soggy bread. Remember to salt your tomatoes before mixing in.
Simple Summer Fun Action Packer turned Ship & Toy Storage Use a broom stick or tiki torch attach a pirate flag to it. Wrap a rope and brown paper around the rim.
healthy snacks
Frozen Yogurt Drops by Maria Rausova YOU WILL NEED: Yogurt, baking sheet/large tray, a regular ziplock bag will do. DIRECTIONS: All you need to do is empty your yogurt container into the bag, cut off the tip and pipe equal size yogurt drops onto your (clean) baking sheet or tray. Place in the freezer for one to two hours, and you're done!
Father & Son Bonding - Making it Happen By Mike Moynihan In our world today it has become increasingly difficult to engage our kids. They are constantly bombarded with activities (school, sports, TV, video games, etc). Then you add a father’s natural desire to work hard to pay for all of these activities and this creates a recipe for disconnection. We equate being busy with success. Being “too busy” to spend intentional, quality time with our children could have disastrous consequences.
It takes a conscious, intentional decision to plan activities that will build bonds between you and your son and allow for opportunities for you to teach him life’s valuable lessons.
I have taken two steps in my own life to make sure that I do not wake up 20 years from now regretting the missed opportunity of my son’s youth. The first is leading a group of fathers and sons of a short-term mission trip. I am so excited to share time with my son and share I know that growing up I admired (and feared) with him God’s love for us and all people. Taking us both out of our comfort zone no one more than my dad. He was a great inspiration to me. He worked really hard and was should be a great way for us to grow together gone a lot, but I fondly remember the times he and mutually trust in God’s provision. intentionally went out of his way to spend time with me. The second step, I have taken is gathering an even bigger group of men with sons and going through a series of lessons together. The first Notice that I have series is “Raising a Modern Day Knight” by Robused the same ert Lewis. Using this as a roadmap for intenword twice now…intentional. tional fatherhood and having a group of dads that I respect and admire to help keep me acThat is the key to countable to being an intentional father. As a it. When thinking group we have outings and ceremonies to recabout spending time with our sons, ognize the critical moments in a young boy’s it is very easy to let life as he grows up to be a man. life get away from us and say “Wow, We will never get it perfectly right, but I do that is a really great know that by asking for God’s help and making idea. We need to some intentional decisions, we will get a lot furdo that ther in becoming the dad we really want to be. someday.” Howev er, more often than not, that someday never comes. The desire is there and you really do want to spend time with your son. After all, you love him and want the best for him, right?
Picnic Parade Party
By Renee Hagloch Printables Designer/Creative Guru
Watermelon Fun!
Photography by Renee Hagloch
1. Scissors 2. Fabric glue 3. Black standard size cloth napkin 4. Red and white checkered fabric 5. Spool of 1 1/2 inch green ribbon 6. Green acrylic craft paint 7. Small paint brush 8. Spool of 1/2 inch white zig zag/rick rack ribbon 9. Small black buttons (Qty. 24)
Go here to get the details!
1. buy an extra large diameter foam pool noodle, I got mine 1/2 price at the super market ($1.50) 2. cut the noodle in half with a serrated knife (one side, then the other side or with an electric knife you can cut straight through both sides) 3. once the noodle is in two pieces lay them on the ground side by side 4. insert toothpicks where the two halves of the foam noodles touch each other 5. use as many toothpicks as needed to hold the noodle tracks tight together 6. then with a need nose pliers clip the ends of the tooth picks flush to the noodle
Pool Noodle Race Track By Kate Reali Using cardstock and toothpicks I created small flags to go along the sides of the track. Again with card stock cut to size I stamped Start and Finish then I cut wooden or bamboo skewers down to size leaving the pointed end exposed (makes it easier to insert into the foam). I then used fast drying Aleene's Tacky glue to glue the two pieces of card stock together with the cut ends of the wooden skewers sandwiched in between and we were ready to race! Finally, just prop the track up on a chair, table, bed, pretty much anything, the higher the prop the faster the cars go.
Healthy Watermelon Pops Photography & recipe: Mari Tuten
Taking S’mores to a whole new level… Summer always means roasting marshmallows, roasting marshmallows always means s’mores, and s’mores always means happy faces. We’ve often played around with this campfire favorite: adding strawberries, banana or peanut butter, using a cookie instead of graham crackers, going really crazy and replacing the standard herseys bar with a peppermint patty or peanut butter cup. As with the traditional s’more, the possibilities of what to put in the marshmallow cup are endless. Let me introduce to you one scrumptious possibility: The moment I met those “giant roaster” marshmallows last summer, I knew we were going to have to make a special dessert together..... Photography & Recipe Carla Ackermann
Marshmallow Cups
serves 6 Ingredients: 6 giant marshmallows graham crackers pre-made brownies 1 cup smooth peanut butter 1 cup marshmallow creme/fluff
Start by roasting your marshmallows. Most kids will be happy to help with this process.
.Roast them until they are nice and golden.
Wait a few seconds until they are cool to the touch and gently pull off the outer, roasted portion of the marshmallow. The method that works the best (trust me, I’ve done this a few times!) is to hold the stick upright and pull the “cup” off. Immediately, if there is a lot of marshmallow remaining in the cup, scoop it out with a spoon (unless you like a lot of marshmallow and not much other stuff). Place them on a plate to solidify. If the cup has caved in slightly, use two spoons to gently stretch the sides back out.
Peanut Butter Brownie Filling
On low, mix the peanut butter and marshmallow creme together with a hand mixer just until incorporated. Break the graham crackers into pieces that will fit inside the marshmallow cups. Spread the fluff onto the crackers.Break or cut the brownies into small pieces. Place a piece of brownie in the bottom of each cup. Add a piece of graham cracker with the fluff. pic#9 Continue to layer these ingredients until the cup is full. Top with a dollop of plain marshmallow creme and graham cracker crumbs, if desired. Serve immediately.
Note: The large marshmallows are excessively sticky, especially as they cool.
Mexican Style Shrimp Cocktail
paint chip matching game By Julianne Rosenau
You will need: hot glue gun, scissors, and clothes pins Cut the sides of the paint chips that have writing on it . Cut a piece of each shade of color and mount on poster board. Glue to clothes pin. Optional: you can laminate them. Let the fun begin! For detailed instructions go here!
Bucket List O Tell someone how special they are O
Offer to wash your neighbor’s car
Smile & greet a cashierO Give a homeless person a phone card
O
O O Write
Be thankful today O
a letter to someone in the military O Give your mail man a cold drink O
O
Water your neighbor’s plants
Take popsicles to a children’s home
Send a letter to missionary kids O Read to the elderly
O Bake cookies to give away! O Have a say nice things day in your home O
O
Go to the zoo and pick up litter
Make bagged lunches to give out to the homeless
Find a kid’s club & volunteer your family to read to them O
Be the change you want to see in the world. ~Gandhi This Summer Bucket list will hopefully give you simple & inexpensive ideas to get your kids serving others this summer!
Operation Brown Bag by Mari Tuten We cross paths with street children on a daily basis. Some kids as young as 2 years old, out on the street selling candy. My heart was overwhelmed by this situation and shortly after arriving here, God put on my heart to start OPERATION BROWN BAG. Our church and friends from the U.S. decorate the bags and send them to us. Then we fill them with a lunch and go out as a family and give them to street kids. We started doing this with our kids when they were as young as 2 years old. You can do Operation Brown Bag right where you are, in YOUR community!
Introduce your kids to Operation Brown Bag! All you need is: ● brown paper bags ● some goodies to go inside ● Decorate them, put a verse on them ● write a thank you note on them. ● Give them away to the homeless, to the cashier, receptionist, trash collectors, mailman, church workers neighbors, library attendants……
Pizza Bar
Grilled Pizza Featured toppings:Figs, goat cheese and caramelized onions Pepperoni pizza Roasted Bell Peppers & Brie
Start your grill, brush rack with oil. Top your cooked pizza dough with your favorite toppings. Note: do not set pizza over high flames it will burn. Toppings: spinach, mushrooms, red bell peppers, caramelized onions, garlic, mozzarella, brie, gouda, bacon, sun-dried tomatoes, Alfredo or pizza sauce, figs, olives. Do not use raw toppings unless you can ensure the top will get fully cooked.
Prosecco & Popsicles
bacon, lettuce & tomato bites Gut your grape tomatoes and stuff them with argula, Gouda, bacon and spinach. Sprinkle with salt & pepper!
Dyed Glass Luminaries
Turn baby food jars into something beautiful!
mini banana splits
pb banana sandwich bites ~Covered in chocolate~
apple pie in an apple ~No bake~
Fruit Inspired Cool Treats Stay tune: We will be featuring these recipes throughout this month on our website!
Helping our kids solve their own problems! By Lori Fairchild
The compromise bucket is a simple the “what should we play” banner. When they reach an impasse, they sand pail. flip a coin to break it. It’s fair and Inside the pail is a kitchen timer, everyone has an equal chance to Post-it notes, pens, a fake coin and win. a dry-erase board or a comproYou can grab your own compromise chart. mise chart printable and make The girls can write on the Post-it your own compromise bucket to notes the thing they want to play. help make this your most conflictThey throw all the slips in the bucket free summer ever. and draw them out one by one. They write names on the dry erase I’m hopeful the compromise bucket will eliminate some of the squabboard in the order the slips are drawn and set a time limit for each bles we encounter and make their friendships stronger. It will teach activithem compromise and the value ty (the of working out their problems. same time With six girls, two sets of sisters limit each, conflict is inevitable, but for finding ways to teach them to reeach). solve their conflicts not only helps They make this The Best Summer Ever, it set the gives them a life skill that will serve timer and play each child’s game or ac- them well in the future. And it just might keep me from needing a tivity for that amount of time, then few more mommy timeouts. move on to the next child. If they run out of time (someone has to go in or it gets dark), they start with the next person on the list the next time they play. The fake coin is for the inevitable disagreements that don’t fall under
For all the Anthropologie lovers out there, I'm sure you recognize these vases. Anthropologie actually came out with them last year. Now, the moment I saw these vases, I immediately thought of my mom's ceramic collection... but of course Anthropologie's version [to me] are much nicer than their 1980's counterparts. Ssh, don't tell my mom I said that.
Anthropologie knock off vase
By Maysem Hammad
This · · · · · ·
is what I used to make my vases (I made 2): Clear glass flower vase (I bought mine for $1 from the Dollar Tree) Paint Clay (I used oven bake clay) Glaze (I used Folk Art's Clearcote Extra Thick Glaze) Towels E6000 Glue
Detailed tutorial here
Tortiza (pizza meets tortilla)
Simple Summer Snack Ideas
Pepperoni Pizza Muffins Corn dog pops
Tortizza (pizza meets tortilla)
▪ Tortillas ▪ Mozzarella cheese ▪ Pepperoni ▪ Pizza sauce Lay tortilla with toppings on pan and let it cook until cheese has melted. ▪ 3 Bananas ▪ 1 tsp of vanilla ▪ 1 box of cornbread mix
▪ 1 Tbs of cocoa powder
▪ Shredded cheddar cheese
▪ 1/2 cup Nutella
▪ Hotdogs ▪ Skewer sticks Follow instructions for cornbread mix and add cheddar cheese. Pour mix in a greased muffin tin. Cut hotdogs about 1 inch or the size of your muffin tin and insert in the middle of each muffin, then bake.
Blend bananas first, then add the other ingredients. Pour into plastic cups with sticks or popsicle molds and freeze. Picture and recipe by Heather Kinniard
DIY Sidewalk Chalk Paint By Kelsey Sapp
To make it: mix equal parts of cornstarch and water. We used 3 tablespoons of each, and then two to three drops of food coloring.
Seriously – the boys had a BLAST and mixing the colors was educational. The boys are becoming familiarized with color mixing so watching the droplets of food coloring come together to make a new color was rocket science to them. (Even I had to get in on some of the fun!) Since it had food coloring in it I was nervous that it wouldn’t wash out of their clothes or might be difficult to wash off of the driveway. I was wrong and wrong. It washed right out of their shirts and the rain completely removed all traces of it on our driveway.
Join us now- July 22nd for our Summer Reading Adventure! Each week we will be sharing book inspired Crafts, recipes, activities‌ You can also stop by and link up your new or old Book inspired post for a chance to WIN the book Tickle Monster by Josie Bissett!