Our St. Patrick’s Day Party

We kept it simple yesterday and had a fun little St. Patrick’s Day party for all the cousins (15 to be exact!).  The treasure hunt was a success, even though we all got tired of going upstairs and then downstairs and then up again!  But first…I must show you the ADORABLE shirts we made! 


We stole borrowed the idea from eighteen25, only changed the process a bit!

We used the freezer paper stencil technique, and the turned out great!  Here’s how we did it in case you’re unfamiliar with the coolest way to use freezer paper EVER!

We used our friend’s Cricut and cut out our image on freezer paper.  Then ironed it on (glossy side down) to the shirt.

Then painted with fabric paint and pulled off the stencil.  SO EASY!!

And SOOOOO cute!!


We did a few different patterns, all equally adorable!


Especially on our kiddos!

Everyone wore their cute shirt to the party, and the fun began…

After the treasure hunt, we ate treats and played.  It was a GORGEOUS day!  Yay for spring!!  and yay for parties!  Hope everyone was “pinch proof” yesterday!

All of these cute kids sure were!

A St. Patrick’s Day Party for the cousins!

This is a little last minute, but we all know that’s how we roll around here!  We are having a cousin St. Patrick’s Day party tomorrow and I just had to share the cute treasure hunt I came up with!  All the thinking and planning is done (and believe me, that was no easy task!), so it works for those last minute planners out there!  Just print and go!  See if you can figure out all the places that sneaky leprechaun will leave clues in my house!

Along with the clues, the sneaky leprechaun will leave green things, like green pee in the toilet (green food coloring in the potty!), a cup of green milk in the fridge, green sparkles in the bath tub, and lots of shamrocks!

The “end of the rainbow” is under our swing set in the back yard.  I have rainbow colored streamers to hang for the rainbow, and little bags of gold goodies for all the cousins!  This is what will be on each bag:

After the treasure hunt, we’re having leprechaun pie that I found over at Oopsie Daisy, Lucky Charms, and green Kool-Aid.  We’re keeping it simple, we aren’t the blow out kind of gals!  But, it should be super fun!  I can’t wait to share all the pics…I need to get some stuff ready!  Happy St. Patty’s Day!

*Updated to fix download problems*

To print the clues click on the images to enlarge and print from their.  There are 2 images with 4 clues and 1 image with 2 clues.  Doe the same for the labels below.  Happy St. Patty’s Day!

A St. Patrick’s Day Giveaway!!

Checkout our FACEBOOK PAGE to enter a fabulous giveaway!!

We’re trying something new…a giveaway on Facebook!  Here’s what you could win:

Busy, Busy, Busy

I don’t know what came over me last week, but I went PROJECT CRAZY!!  It all started with my sister having her baby.  You see, she lives in Washington state, FAR away from me.  Her sweet baby Rose is SO cute and I haven’t gotten to hold her yet.  And, she had a GIRL!  So, I may have gone a little bow-making crazy first.  And I don’t know if any of you are like me, but usually, once I start crafting, I can’t stop!  So, thanks to my far away sister, I now have:
new couch pillows
new curtains in my kitchen
new curtains in our master bedroom
window panes hung on our master bedroom wall (they had been leaning against the wall for like 6 months!)
2 new chalkboards
some newly painted picture frames
and a new camera strap!
Oh, and little Rose is about to receive a LARGE supply of hair bows!

After the bow making subsided, I found the cutest pillows at Wal-Mart (of all places!) for my couch…and had to have them.  Then, once they were on my couch, I had to change the curtains in the kitchen and while I’m making curtains I may as well make some for my bedroom!  (I sound like that book If You Give a Mouse  Cookie! ) And so, the project spiral continued!  And I love it when that happens, really, because I now feel happy looking at all my newly created things!

So, you want to see some of them?!  I can only show you SOME, because I haven’t taken pictures of EVERYTHING yet!  Don’t worry, I won’t forget to share!

One of the chalkboards.  I used a cabinet door, painted it with chalkboard paint, and then painted the edges.  Then I modge podged on some fabric…easy peasy!  

The kitchen curtains…even easier than the chalkboard!  And you’ll never guess what I made them out of!!  SHEETS!  Yes sir!  You should try it!  You only have to sew about half as much as you would with regular old fabric!  I used a full sized flat sheet I got from Target for $11, cut it in half, hemmed the raw edges and top for the curtain rod and called it good!  I’m for real…so easy!  and SO cheap!
  
Now on to the master bedroom…I LOVE the windows!  and I LOVE the curtains!  I originally planned on adding pictures to the window panes and using them like a picture frame, but now I’m not so sure!  I can’t decide!  And how cute are those curtains?!  I love what they add to the room!

 
And guess what…these were sheets too!!  I got a full sized flat sheet from Wal-Mart for $8 and whipped these babies out in no time!  You make them just like you would the panel curtains only shorter, and add some ties and tie them up!  EASY!

Like I said, I’m missing a few things…so stay tuned!  -Em

Princess Behavior Chart

Don’t you guys think Steves Super chart is so darn cute???  Well I did too!  Only I’ve got a 4 year old lil’ girl who wouldn’t quite go for a super hero chart.  So what did  I do?  I took Em’s template and made it into a Princess behavior chart!  It was pretty fun creating a lil Cinderella Ali!  As I was creating it Ali was right next to me telling me she liked this and didn’t like that.  One of the funniest things she said was “Oh mom, I totally look like Cinderella, except I don’t have big boobs!”  I started laughing!  She really wanted me to get rid of them and make them small like hers.  I tried but it just looked so weird.  She agreed so we kept the boobs!   DOWNLOAD: Princess Behavior PHOTOSHOP FILE This way you can make the edits needed for your own little girl!

Size of chart is 8x10, I also had it printed at Walmart (my color printer is having issues!) I put it on pink cardstock so it would fit into my 81/2 x 11 page protector. 
These are the princesses for the magnets.   I also glued them on glass beads and added a magnet. DOWNLOAD: Princess Magnets

 Here is the final project completed:  And YES Ali had already earned 2 princesses!!!

I also thought about those of you that don’t have Photoshop, I created a chart that is the actually picture of Cinderella and called it Be A Princess!  This way you can print it without having to make any changes! 
DOWNLOAD: Be A Princess

I hope this chart last long because after one day Ali has seriously been the BEST PRINCESS!!!

March Calendar

Yep…back by popular demand!  We’ve finally gotten it together and created a March calendar for your printing pleasure!  Where did February go??!

Go HERE to download one for yourself!   Happy weekend!

Super Behavior Chart

Anyone who says that the terrible twos are the hardest is dead wrong!  I would argue that 3 is the magic age of fun!  And by fun I mean tantrums and whining and hitting and teasing little brothers and all kinds of other “fun” stuff!  Yes, I have a 3 year old, and we have all kinds of “fun” around here!  So, I decided I needed to take back control!  I am the mom after all!  I knew this was the age that you can start introducing charts and rewards and stuff, so I set out on the web to find the chart that would work for us…and nothin!  After a good hour or so of searching the outer regions of cyber space, I decided I could have made up my own in that amount of time!  So I did!  And I thought I would share!

So, this one is easy and perfect for my crazy 3 year old!  All he has to do is earn 9 superhero magnets and fill up the boxes.  Once it’s full, he gets a prize!  But it works the other way too, if he isn’t being super I get to take the magnets away.   

So I printed the chart out as an 8x10 picture (from Wal-Mart) and stuck it to a yellow piece of cardstock and then slid it in a page protector.  I added magnets to the back so it could stick to my fridge.  For the magnets, I used these guys…

…and printed them as a 4x6 picture (from Wal-Mart).  Then I used some large glass beads/rocks from the dollar store and cut out each little superhero and modge podged them to the back of the glass bead.  Add a magnet to the back and voila!  Easy peasy, make-my-life-easier behavior chart!

Cammie wants to make a princess one for her little princess…I bet she’ll share too! (No pressure Cams!)

Meanwhile though, I may have a template to share…ok, I do!  If you want to do a superhero behavior chart, download the PSD (photoshop) file HERE.  You’ll want to add your own little kiddo’s face and name, and maybe even change the rules a little.  It’s up to you!  Then go HERE to download the superheroes and make some magnets!  Remember, the chart prints as 8x10 and the superheroes for the magnets as 4x6.  Good luck with those crazy kiddos!  So far, this is working great!  I hope it does for you too!

Keeping Those New Year’s Goals

I don’t know if any of you are like me, but I get super pumped about New Year’s resolutions and setting goals in January.  But, by about February (now!) I already feel like I need a new year to start over again!  (it’s really quite sad, I know!)  I totally rock at making and setting goals, but totally suck at the follow through.  That’s one of my goals…be better at keeping my goals!

Anyway, I’m a very visual person.  I need the constant reminder, in my face (I’ve been known to tape things to my bathroom mirror!).  So, here’s an idea that Cammie and I have used for several different things over the years that is super cute and fun to make! 

 

It’s called a Vision Board.  The idea is not a new one…and the possibilities are endless!  Cammie and I are digital scrappers so we do pretty much everything on the computer, but this is totally doable with good old fashioned paper and glue!  The point is to make it about YOUR goals and dreams, however will make YOU remember them and be motivated to accomplish them.

When we were serving in the Young Women’s group in our church, we made one of these for each of our Young Women based off of a questionnaire we had them answer.  They turned out SO cute and the girls LOVED them!  The one pictured above I made for my little sister a few years ago for Christmas.  I must admit, however, that I have yet to actually make one for me!  New goal: make my vision board!  Now I have to keep my first goal and follow through!

Once you’ve created your Vision Board, the next step is displaying it somewhere!  It’s got to be in a place that you will see A LOT!  For our Young Women, we had these printed (8x10 photo) and then framed them and hung them with a ribbon.  I did the same for my sister’s only 11x14.  Once it’s displayed, follow through!  (that one’s more for me!!) 

Here’s some ideas of things to display on your Vision Board (just in case you need help like I do!):

Immediate goals
Future goals
Future dreams and hopes
Spiritual goals (immediate and/or future)
Temporal goals (immediate and/or future)
Favorite motivational quote
Favorite scripture/hymn/etc.
Pictures of things you want or want to happen
Pictures of things that make you happy
Pictures of a place or places you want to go

Like I said, the possibilities are ENDLESS!  It’s all about YOU!  So, that’s my little pep talk on keeping those goals!  Good luck!  I know I need it!!

Gift of Love-Part 2

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching…can you believe it?!  If you’re anything like me, things tend to come together last minute.  So, for those of you who let holidays sneak up on ya and still don’t have the perfect gift for that special someone, here’s another idea for ya!  Best part, it’s easy to throw together last minute! 

This was another Christmas gift Cammie and I both did for our hubbies, but it can easily be used for Valentine’s Day or a birthday!  It’s a year (or however many you want) of pre-planned date nights all put together in a cute little envelope book!  Seriously…so cute!  Here’s what mine looked like…

 

I’m serious…this is so easy to put together!  All you need are some envelopes and some date ideas! 

On the outside of each envelope I attached one of these, Date 1-12:

On the inside of the cover I attached this:

Then I put one of these inside each envelope with anything else that went along with the date (like gift card, tickets, etc.): 

 

I admit, I didn’t actually put all the tickets and money in every envelope, just in most of them!   Life on a budget, what can I say!  It still turned out great, and I’ll say we managed to do about half of the dates!  If I were to do it again, I might only plan 6 dates instead of 12 and really have them ready!  Either way, the hubby loved it, and we had fun doing them together!

So, last thing you do is put it all together!  Hole punch and ribbon!  Easy peasy!

Ok, so to make this even easier…how about some FREE downloads!  You’re welcome! Happy Valentine’s Day!

Date Night Cover
Rules
Blank Date Card (my dates probably won’t work for you!)
Envelope Covers (zipped folder, dates 1-12)

(FYI I used small envelopes, not the long ones!)

Gift of Love-Part 1

Cammie and I have this thing for creative homemade gifts to our husbands.  We aren’t so sure if our hubbies are as excited about them as we are, but they’re good sports!  We usually have our brilliant ideas around Christmas, but we thought they could be used for Valentine’s Day too…AND we thought we’d better share a couple! 

The Stay at Home Getaway

This one works best if you have family nearby or a good friend that is willing to watch the kids overnight or for the weekend.  The point is to have a romantic “getaway” with out actually going anywhere.  This gift is flexible for any budget, and can cost as little as nothing!  Um, yes please!  So, here’s what we did…but the options are limitless!

Your travel itinerary:
Get creative!  At the time I planned this, we were in to watching Lost and so I played off the show a bit.  We went “sight seeing” to the crash of Oceanic Flight 816 but really watched a bunch of episodes of whatever season we were on.  We went out to eat one night and ate in for a few meals too.  I made some fancy desserts, etc.  Like I said, get creative!

When I gave this “trip” to my husband, I had it in a folder that resembled something that you might get from a travel agent, so it included everything you would need for an all inclusive vacation!  Even our hotel reservation:

 

And hotel room key:

And our airline tickets:
 

This was seriously such a fun gift to make and give!  And we had a great weekend too!  I created all the files in Photoshop, so if you are a Photoshop user and want to edit what I’ve already done to fit your “romantic getaway”, here’s the links to download:

Itinerary
Hotel Reservation
Plane Tickets

Hopefully this gets the creative juices flowing for the perfect Valentine for the one you love!  XOXO