Cookie Time

I bet Mackinac Island is one of only a couple of places where Girl Scouts deliver their cookies by snowmobile! 

We want to send a big "Thank you!" to Fresh Air Aviation for donating the freight cost to fly the cookies to the island. The Mackinac Island Girl Scouts appreciate your support!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I hope you had a wonderful St. Patrick's Day.

My daughter still has that clover, in a frame, up in her bedroom.  (Along with the four others she found that day.)

Growing Up

I kissed my son on the cheek yesterday and it was scratchy. Scratchy!

I guess the whiskers just go along with the size 12  1/2 feet and fact that he's taller than I am now. They grow up so fast...

Tutorial: Homemade Faux Hogwarts Wax Seals

A few years ago at MIPS we celebrated March is Magic Month and I posted the photo above on Facebook. Recently, I got an email asking how I sealed 45 Hogwarts acceptance letters with red sealing wax with out breaking the bank. (At about $1.00 per stick that wax is expensive.) I'd read about using crayons in a glue gun, but I didn't want to ruin mine, so I had to get creative. The truth is, I didn't actually use red sealing wax...

I used hot glue.

I also used a Teflon pressing sheet, a button, cooking spray, and red spray paint. I could have bought a real Hogwarts seal, but I was on a budget...

I started by gluing the button onto an old empty thread spool so I could hold onto it more easily. Not exactly the Hogwarts crest but it was close enough.

Next, I used my glue gun to make dabs of hot glue on the pressing sheet, which I quickly sprayed with Pam cooking spray and then squished flat with the button. The Pam spray is really important - otherwise the glue will stick to the button. I also discovered dipping the button into cold water between each press helped it release from the glue more easily. It wasn't exactly a quick process, but it was March, on Mackinac Island, so I had the time.

After the seals cooled, they needed a good washing with Dawn dish soap to remove the cooking spray. I also needed to cut off those little glue tails you get with hot glue.

They were done after two quick coats of cheap red spray paint - which cost about $5.00.

A quick drop or two of Elmer's Glue  and the envelopes were sealed and ready to go...