Back to School: Printables for the Morning Commute

Now that summer has come to a close, we feel a little sad to say goodbye to the season of travel — that is until the Holidays, which are much closer than we might realize. If you and your family had a chance to take a road trip this summer, you might know how important preparation is for a successful drive. Even those with the most enthusiastic little travelers know that an extensive time spent on the open road can wear on one’s patience. Which is why we love printables for those times when there’s no service or your kids simply need to take a break from the screens.

In fact, printable activities aren’t just for the family road trip when there’s hundreds of miles ahead of you. They’re especially great for the morning commute to school or an evening traffic jam. It’s true that you can never have too many tricks up your sleeve when it comes to keeping your kids entertained on the road.

Add this list of free road trip printables to your kids in the car activities, so whether you’re making the morning commute to school or planning for your next family road trip, all you’ll need to do is print them out!

How-To Fix Cooking Mistakes

Food is really the center of the home! We spend so much time in the kitchen to create the perfect meals for our families and share special moments, laughs and stories around the dinner table. Picking the right recipes and getting everything just right can be tough, but it’s always worth it in the end to have a full family and another special meal together. 

However, kitchen time doesn’t always turn out exactly as planned! Sometimes we forget to set timers, add a little too much salt or completely overcook a dish because we misread the recipe. Although these setbacks are inevitable every once in a while in a busy household, these little cooking mistakes are never enough to set back a delicious dinner! Instead of starting from scratch or aimlessly searching for mistakes, you can check out this handy visual from Shari’s Berries to learn about all of the tips and tricks for fixing common cooking and baking mistakes. For example, did you know that you can add a sweetener to a dish that’s too spicy to tame the flavor? Take a look at all of their tips to see what you can do to fix any dish! 

30 Printable Road Trip Games for Your Kids

Road trips in the summer are one of the great American pastimes. The kids are out of school and there’s no more snow on the road. Millions of American families take advantage of this and pack up and head to a national park, local campsite, or a fun city for some sightseeing.



But the drive to your destination is not always the most entertaining part. In fact, sometimes it can be downright boring. Hundreds of miles of straight, flat roads will test anyone’s attention span, especially a kid’s. With no internet they will surely start to get antsy and you’ll wish you had thought ahead about how to keep them entertained. Luckily, I have just the thing! Thanks to The Zebra, I’m able to share with you a set of 30 road trip printable games that are sure to keep the whole family entertained.

From classics like “I Spy” and the license plate game to road trip fill-in-the-blanks and a word search, your kids will have plenty to do! The printables also come with a safety checklist, emergency contact list, packing checklist, and car preparation checklist. After filling these checklists out, you’ll be more than prepped for a great road trip! You can download all the printables here.

Organized Sewing

If you know me, I LOVE organizing...bits, bobbles, clothes, shoes, pantry items, toys, washi tape, etc. There are certain areas that get pushed aside until I just can't take it anymore. Sewing is a newer hobby of mine but I should really preface that with, I sew PAPER, not clothing. This bag of stuff slowly accumulated and I needed a better solution, so off to the store I went.

You can find this ArtBin Sew-lutions box pretty much anywhere sewing supplies are sold, I think I picked mine up from Michael's, isn't the name catchy? Sew-lutions. Genius!

I color coordinated my bobbins and added all the little bits to the clear lidded box and now my sewing stuff is much easier to untangle. My large spools of thread are still in their zip lock baggie, until I find a new solution but at least my bobbins are enjoying their color coordinated home.

Link your sewing organizational tips and posts in the comments below, I'd love to check them out!

DIY Marbled Paper

Marbled paper has been everywhere lately. From wedding decor to home accents, this trendy and stylish look is one that’s not going away anytime soon. If you’re looking for a fun project you can occupy the kids with that will double as decor or gifts, look no farther. Marbling paper is a fun way to recreate this trendy look at home.

To help you get started, FTD walks you through how to marble paper in 7 super simple steps. An added bonus? You probably already have most of the materials at home. This is a fun craft to get creative with. You can transform simple white piece of cardstock into a work of art by exploring different color schemes and trying new patterns.

So what are you waiting for? Let the marbling begin!

Materials: Baking sheet Shaving cream (must be foam not gel) Watercolors and acrylic paint Cardstock Paintbrush Dropper Scraper (paint scraper, ruler or any flat edge) Step 1: Fill the baking sheet with shaving cream.

 

 Step 2: Smooth out the surface of the shaving cream.

 

 Step 3: Add in two to three colors with a dropper.

 

 Step 4: Swirl the colors in a figure 8 pattern.

 

 Step 5: Lightly press the cardstock into the shaving cream.

 

 Step 6: Remove and scrape off the extra shaving cream.

 

Step 7: Let dry and put on display!

 

Date in a box PRINTABLES

When you’ve been with your partner for a few years, it’s important to find new ways to enjoy your time together. It’s completely normal to seek excitement, and date nights are a great way to keep things fresh and new in your relationship. Regardless of how old your relationship is, going on dates or even just spending time with each other should be a constant part of it. A different and interesting way of planning dates is by making a date night box.

The way to begin making one of these is to first think of a theme. If you’ve been with your partner for awhile, you can use your memories and cherished experiences to find a theme that is unique to your relationship. It’s a fun way to show your partner how much you appreciate your partner and the time you’ve spent together. To help get you started, Gifts.com has come up with some ideas for your date night box, along with printables! You can use these as they are or customize them, so get ready to truly make the most out of your dates! And remember to have fun while creating new memories with your loved one.

Summer Tips from a 10 Year Old

I asked my 10 year old son to write a blog post after his school year ended and with a roll of his eyes, massive sigh and threat to not get to play xbox for the remainder of the summer, this is what he came up with...

Other than playing video games all day during the summer, I would rather...

Go camping, have fun, stay up late, watch movies, spend time with my family, explore new cultures, play with my friends, "don't get hurt", make new friends and go swimming.

The advice I'd like to give others is...don't care what people think about you, be yourself, be kind, care about others, treat each other equally and do what's best for you! Get a tan, grow up, be happy, listen to your parents, follow instructions, help with chores, don't talk back and remain calm.

Dair

Age 10

__________________________

Pretty good advice from a 10 year old but I know he'd rather be playing video games, haha!

Fun and Free Kitchen Printables

These 28 free kitchen printables from Kitchen Cabinet Kings are great if you need to add a quick

decorative pop to your kitchen and/or dining area. There are many different design types to fit all
styles of kitchen, whether it’s modern, family-friendly, or rustic farmhouse.

I personally love the “Family Makes This House a Home” printable, it’s perfect for my family dining area.
Check out the other printables, download the ones you like and print them out at home or at your local
print shop. Frame them and hang them anywhere you have empty wall space.

Family Makes This House a Home