MidMichigan Mom: January 2015

Thursday, January 29, 2015

Great Teacher Gift Idea for Wedding or Valentine's Day

Make a Personalized Gift that the Teacher will Love!

This little gem was a wedding gift for my son's Kindergarten teacher, but it would also make an excellent end-of-year gift, birthday present or Valentine's day gift!

It can be time consuming so a little forethought and coordination is in order.

Step 1: Take the Pictures

There are several ways of coordinating the picture. The key is to try to make it as convenient as possible in order to get maximum participation. I DO NOT recommend asking the parents to take individual pictures and sending them to you. You will have too many variances in picture quality, colors and some parents will not participate at all (too busy with work, etc, etc).

Timing was perfect for us. The teacher was getting married the day after Halloween so she took a personal day when we were having a class party. We simply added the picture station as one of the activities. =) We had the same person taking the pictures so they knew exactly how to shape the little hands into hearts. Each shot had the same lighting and paper background in different colors. Keeping every shot as similar as possible is important! It will make your job much easier when it comes to organizing and cropping the pictures.

It's hard to see due to my not-so-perfect picture taking skills (obviously I did not take the hand pictures) but some of the fingers were covered with Cheetos, a flaw that added cute character to the picture (the teacher found it hilarious). We also allowed the children to choose their own background picture. Afterwards, we cropped the pictures to make them look uniform.

My Plan B was to offer times after school to take the picture so that the parents could bring their child by as they were picking them up for the day. This would have taken some coordination with the school and sending secret messages out to the parents. Of course this is only IF you are trying to surprise the teacher. Thank goodness we did not have to go to Plan B!

Step 2: Organize in a collage

Once all of the pictures are ready, organize them into a collage. I utilized a free collage site. They design the collage for free, but if you want the rights to the collage WITHOUT their company logo, you have to pay a small fee. I used Photovisi and paid $1.99 for the collage. The program pretty much did the work for me. All that I had to do was drag which picture I wanted where. The hardest part for me was deciding how I wanted to mix the colors.

Step 3: Print

It is my personal preference not to use Walmart or Walgreens for this type of project because some of my pictures in the past have had questionable quality. Since this was a gift, I chose to order from a "professional" printing site. I used Nations Photo Lab for this task. The options were a little overwhelming but I went with the most basic picture that I could order. The shipping was super fast which helped me stick to my deadline. Another plus for utilizing an online site is that you can shop around…and search for coupon codes!!!

Step 4: Make your Final Product

Here is another area that can be personalized to your teacher's taste. I bought a blue frame because it was Mrs. S's favorite color. I also wanted to add a message with the year so that she would remember who gave it to her for years to come. I would not suggest getting the engraving from a large craft company starting with an M. I got a quote for $20 for the plate alone. Also, they send the plate out for engraving taking an additional 2 weeks. They also charged a price per letter. RIP OFF! I prefer to support a local privately owned company when it comes to engraving. The customer service I got was MUCH better than at the craft store. The final product was a fraction of the price and they engraved right then and there. It took all of 15 minutes and only $15 for the WHOLE thing. I didn't have to deal with buy the plate and pay per letter nonsense.

The teacher loved this personalized gift. The children were proud that they were able to contribute by modeling their hands. Yes, a lot of thought and planning went into this little picture... but it was worth it! If you do something similar for YOUR teacher, he or she will absolutely love it. If they do not appreciate it, I think they are in the wrong field. =P

Stay Tuned for Nerf Themed Party Ideas!

Hello All! My little guy is turning 6 in two weeks! Since we are an active Nerf playing family, we thought a Nerf gun themed party would be awesome for our Gabriel. The whole family plays (even our three year old little girl) but there is never a battle where a sister isn't crying. My kid is too excited to play with tough boys who can "take it".

I will be making a bullseye piñata, cupcake toppers and preparing a battle zone. Stay tuned for pictures!

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Things to Consider Before Using a VA Loan

Want to feel excited yet frustrated and confused at the same time? Buy a home. Better yet, buy a home using your VA loan. Buying your first home (heck your second or sixth home) is extremely stressful. Compare buying a home to child birth. There are different factors, making each time different. Also, each subsequent event is a little less stressful but not necessarily easier. My most recent home purchase has taught me a few lessons worth sharing. I used my VA loan which added a few extra steps to the process.

Disclaimer: I am not a mortgage processor nor am I giving any legal advice. I am simply sharing my experience with you in the hopes that you will not make the same mistakes. The regulations are constantly changing. Please view the official VA Home Loan site for more information.

1) When trying to buy a home during a certain time frame consider this, VA loans take a little longer than Conventional loans. Do not expect to put in an offer and close 30 days later. VA loans can take 6-8 weeks to close. If you have an experienced mortgage processor, you may be able to close sooner than later. It all depends on how quickly everyone is willing to hustle the paperwork through.

2) Certificate of Eligibility (COE) must be recent within 4 years if separated from the military. While on Active Duty, it never expires.

3. Verifying Assets. This step was a challenge for us because I received compensation for separating from the Air Force. The program in which I separated under was new and the support staff were overwhelmed…and some were ignorant. According to Federal regulations, large deposits of money must be sourced. For example, separation pay must be proved by the final LES. A bank statement showing a deposit by DFAS is an inadequate source of documentation. A Memo For Record (MFR) or LES (a military pay stub) was required. I jumped through hoops between my finance office and DFAS trying to get a Memo For Record (MFR) stating that I got $XX on 1 Oct 14. It took several phone calls and explaining my situation to a dozen people before I found a person with the authority and willingness to provide the Memo. So simple, yet so hard.

This process is understandable. The bank must verify that the money truly exists and that it was obtained in a legal manner. But man it's annoying!

4) There are certain "VA inspection"criteria that must be met. This may add challenges to the inspection process if buying a "fixer upper" or trying to buy a HUD home. For example, all of the outlets in our home were outdated and not up to code. The seller had to have everything replaced by an electrician and provide documentation.

5) There is a VA fee, which can be waived if you are at least 10% disabled. This can save you thousands of dollars depending on the cost of your home. Our claims were still being processed so we had to pay this fee upfront.

This advice is non VA related but it applies to home buying in general.

Research the Inspection Company!

Our Century 21 realtor provided us with a list of "reputable companies" for our home inspection. We did not research the company because they were being referred by someone we trusted. BAD DECISION. We were not even moved into our home and painting the ceiling when we noticed that the newly installed roof was leaking. We hired a professional roofing company to conduct another inspection and found out that the roof tiles were spaced too far apart and missing flashing. They told us that it was obvious and should have been caught by the inspection company. It should be covered under some sort of warranty right? WRONG. When we inquired on which company installed the roof, we were informed that the roof was installed by the previous owners. It was very frustrating. The "new roof" was the deal breaker that swayed us from another home down the street.

Back to the inspection company… we have been back and forth with the company to get our inspection fee refunded to us. They have been ignoring our calls, emails and messages. We found a few negative comments left by other customers who have experienced the same thing. Comments that we would have easily found if we had bothered doing the research. We too have left a comment through various sites in the hopes that someone will learn from our mistake and not repeat it! What is the outcome? We shared our experience with our realtor and kindly suggested that the company be taken off the list. It has been a long process but we SHOULD get a refund sometime. We have filled out the paperwork but have yet to see the refund. We are also scheduled to have a whole new roof PROFESSIONALLY installed and UNDER A WARRANTY in the spring.

Our last home purchase has taught us A LOT of lessons and some expensive ones at that. Hopefully, it will be our LAST home purchase for a very long time.

New Blog Name!

My recent career transition has prompted the need for a more appropriate blog name. I have found a new hobby with the time that I have recovered by staying at home. My new passion is to try new things, specifically MAKING things for much cheaper (and dare I say BETTER?) than what I can find in retail. Hence, I'd Rather Make it Myself seemed like a rather fitting blog name.

Do not despair! Your fill of amusement and/or grammatical errors will continue. My quest to learn and try new skills is ongoing! I will continue to share my mistakes and successes along the way. I hope that you enjoy reading about my projects…and maybe sneak a laugh (or two) at me along the way. It's ok, go ahead.

Monday, January 19, 2015

How to Clean Between the Glass in an Oven Door

Having a career in healthcare has molded me to be somewhat of a clean freak. This is a curse and a blessing. The home I am living in now is hands down the FILTHIEST home I have ever moved into. My home was previously a rental and the tenants did not care for the home as a homeowner would...which is why I am facing the challenges that I am now.

Let's look at the positive side! The challenges that we face, as gross as they may be, teach us something. For example, in my 30 something years of existence, I have NEVER had to clean between the oven glass before. My current oven and all of it's greasy glory has changed that. How grease gets in-between the glass baffles me, but then again, I am finding similar situations all around my kitchen. I regress. How DO you clean the in-between glass of the oven? Read on!

I regret not taking "Before" pictures of my dirty oven window to show you the difference cleaning the inside makes…but that's what happens when a mom is on a mission to clean during nap time. It's probably good for your sake that I am not traumatizing you with horror pictures of my oven. All that is needed is a screwdriver, a friend and your respective cleaning materials.

Step 1: Open Oven Door and Unscrew

My Frigidaire oven is extremely old. If you are lucky enough to own a new(ish) oven, it will most likely be easier to take apart and clean. We had 6 screws to take out…and as you can see, they were a bit rusty. A Phillips head screwdriver worked on our oven but other models may require a hexagon shaped tool instead. Make sure to assess what type is needed before attempting to take apart your oven!

The first 2 screws held the handle and outer door together.

The next 4 screws held the outer oven door to the inner lining

Once the screws are removed the outer cover can be removed very easily

Outer door pops off

Oven without outer door

Outer door ready to be cleaned

Step 2: Clean away!

Once the outer door was removed, I was able to disassemble the door further to wash the plastic grill in the sink. I am not sure how the tenants did it but they got grease e.v.e.r.y.w.h.e.r.e! I used a toothbrush and Dawn soap to clean the grill. I was so pleased with the results that I took 2 pictures!

Clean with glass cleaner on both sides

How do you get grease INSIDE the handle??!!

Step 3: Reassemble in the opposite order

Hopefully you have stashed the screws in a place where you can find them. Reassemble the door in the reverse order that you took it apart. We needed teamwork to align and tighten the 4 screws in the bottom of the outer door.

Attaching the handle

Step 4: Admire your Work

And invite your friends and family to do the same! I put a toy inside to help show how clean the glass was. The glass was so clean and shiny that you could see my reflection! Mr. Clean would be proud. Clean on ya'll!

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

How to Add a Sawtooth Hanger to a Picture Frame in 3 Steps

Do you have a cute picture on canvas or DIY craft that needs to be hung up? Maybe you purchased a print from a retail store that has nonsense for hanging it? Make life easier by adding a small sawtooth hanger. MOST pictures will include one…but some companies will omit the hanger for who knows why. Maybe to save money…or to irritate consumers like me.

I was thrilled to find a screw- a rather thick one - instead of the expected hanger. I could either prop Elsa up against the wall or install a hanger myself. I opted to install one myself.

This annoyance can be remedied with a purchase from the picture hardware aisle. I bought a pack of six small sawtooth hangers for $1.59. These can be added to anything with a wood frame. Again, it is perfect for converting picture frames to wall mounted, your DIY crafts, canvases and so on. It is a must for your tool box.

This kit includes itty bitty nails!

Ugly carpet is not included.

All that is needed for installation is this kit and a hammer. (For MOST situations)

Step 1- Remove any preinstalled hardware.

In my case, the screw needed to be removed before adding the hanger, leaving a lovely hole in its place. Thankfully, it was centered and the hanger covered it. Not that it really matters because the hole is hidden…but this may bother those with OCD. You KNOW the hole is there.

Step 2- Measure or estimate where the hanger will be placed.

You can approximate or measure to ensure the hanger is centered.

The next step is completely optional. A friend can hold the hardware while you hammer the nails in place. My only options were holding it myself …or my napping toddler. I didn't want to accidentally hammer any fingers so I used painter's tape to hold the hanger in place.

Step 3- Hammer Hardware into wood frame.

Done! Now all that is needed is a nail on the wall and the picture can be hung!

You're welcome Elsa!!!

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