Back to School Countdown {Repost}

I won't start this post by saying, "I can't believe school starts one week from tomorrow for us!" but I will say this summer is a bit of a blur!  So many great memories, carefree days, and fun times, but now it's time to move on to a new chapter- SCHOOL TIME!

I shared my back to school countdown last year.  But I wanted to update the look a bit, and add some new activities. My boys ALWAYS have the first day jitters, so I like to make the days up to the first day as fun and exciting as possible, and a countdown is the perfect way to do it. 

You can click on the link above for more tips on making the countdown calendar, but basically I just dress up a toilet paper roll, and then put a little treat and activity inside the roll each day.  We countdown the week before school, so like  I said we'll be starting tomorrow!

The link above also has a list of activities we do in our countdown.  This year I'm adding a few new ones.

Back to school Mad Libs (tune in tomorrow for some great links on that)

Make a back to school Rainbow Loom bracelet

Take a quiz about last year's school year

You can do anything you'd like for your countdown.  Personalize it for your kids, and make it fun.  That first day can be a bit nerve-racking and overwhelming.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

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Mustache & Tie Father's Day Treat {Repost}

I shared a Father's Day round up yesterday (so many great ideas out there!), and today I have one more great idea for all the wonderful dads out there.

I was at Pebbles in my Pocket (a local scrapbook store) a few weeks ago and found this simple, adorable Father's Day treat idea.  I love how the mustache and tie fit perfectly on the small bag of candy.   The ideal treat for dad (at least the daddy at our house, he's a bit of a candy man)!

Come on over and visit me (here) for all the supplies, instructions, and links you'll need.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

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DIY Mother's Day Gift Box {Repost}

  "Many things are good, many are important, but only a few are essential."  These wise words from Elder D. Todd Christofferson have been a great source of peace to me lately. Adding boy number four to our family has been nothing but pure joy, but I've also had to put several things aside.  Good things (like blogging) have moved down on my priority list.  Not to say it will be that way forever, but for now that's how I'm keeping up with the essentials.

    In the mean time, I do have plenty of posts I can pull out of my archives to share with you, and hopefully something new every once in a while.

Mother's Day is May 10 this year, and with April drawing to a close next week, this is the perfect time to get going on all those Mother's Day gifts. 

These boxes are just the right size to hold a nice gift card, jewelry, or any other small gift you may have in mind for your mom this year. 

Make your box, add some cute ribbon, a flower, and a name to it.  Then put your gift in and fill it with some fun shredded paper.  Then get ready for the little surprise at the bottom of the box.  

I like to add a little message.  This time I added a definition of mother that I found last year, and loved.  So not only will your mom get a great gift in a darling box, but she'll have a little extra bonus in the bottom of the box.  If you attach the quote with just a bit of tape it will come right off and she can keep it somewhere she'll see it.  I love adding small, unexpected touches.

Click here for the full tutorial on how to make your DIY gift box.  These are so easy to make!  If you can fold and cut, you can  make these.  I love experimenting with different papers, ribbons, and toppers.  So many color combinations to use! 

What are some of your favorite Mother's Day gift ideas?

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

P.S.  To read Elder Christofferson's entire talk entitled Why Marriage, Why Family (such a great read!) click here.

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Shaving Cream & Food Coloring Easter Eggs {Repost}

I saw a package of all white fake Eater eggs at Walmart several weeks ago, and thought I needed them (white is becoming my favorite color these days), but resisted buying them because I really didn't know what to do with them.   Until... just the other day I somehow got thinking about the eggs again, and how the shaving cream and food coloring art activity we've done before could be the perfect match for the eggs!

I picked up a package (they were under $2 for a dozen) of the eggs, and my four-year-old and I decided to give it a try.  I wasn't sure if the food coloring would stick to the eggs (they aren't plastic, they're more papery than plastic) but it totally did.  We even tried it on one of our real chicken eggs, and it worked on that as well!

I have all the instructions here for doing the shaving cream and food coloring.  Basically, you'll spread a layer of shaving cream in a small cookie tray, drop drops of food coloring in the shaving cream, swirl the colors slightly with a popsicle stick, and then roll, or kind of stamp each part the egg in the colorful shaving cream.  When we do the shaving cream and food coloring art with paper, we usually scrape the excess shaving cream off with a popsicle stick, but for the eggs, we just wiped it off gently with a paper towel.

Like I mentioned, we had a dozen of these eggs, and they went way too quickly.  It's so much fun experimenting with the different colors on each egg.  And our hands were as colorful as the Easter eggs when we were done.  But all part of the fun!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

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DIY Glittered Marshmallow Bunnies {Repost}

So, here I am once again glittering food.  This strange habit started last year when I painted and glittered a chocolate bunny, then glittered some dollar store cookies for Halloween ornaments.  This year it's migrated to marshmallows.  Hearts in February, and now just in time for Easter- bunnies!

I just couldn't help myself when I saw these adorable bunny marshmallows at Walmart several weeks ago.  I had to buy them, and the glittering them up was the next obvious step- at least for me. 

The bunny marshmallows came in pale yellow, pink, green, and purple.  I loved the colors so much (except for the purple, for some reason once the glitter hit the purple marshmallow, the color didn't work at all for me) that I didn't want to cover them up too much.  So, I used an iridescent  embossing tinsel (the one I used here on my chocolate bunny) to sprinkle on the marshmallows after I'd sprayed them with spray adhesive.  The embossing tinsel gave the perfect amount of sparkle to the beautiful colors without drowning them out.

Aren't they sweet?  I'm in love!  You can click here for more details on how I glittered my hearts, which is exactly how I glittered my bunnies.  It basically involves sticking the marshmallows on a toothpick, spraying them with spray adhesive, and then sprinkling the glitter over them.  Not hard  at all!  And adorable results!

These glittery little bunnies would be perfect for toppers on cupcakes, table scatter, displayed in a glass jar, strung together for a garland (let the bunnies sit out for a few days and harden before attempting to string them), or whatever else you can come up with.  Endless possibilities!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

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Printable Chalkboard Easter Banner {Repost}

Last weekend I went to our storage unit, and pulled out my Easter boxes.  I ran across this banner I made a few years ago for a guest post at Someday Crafts.  Often times, after a few years of the same holiday decor, I get a bit tired of it and want to switch it up a bit.  But this banner, is still a favorite!!  The chalkboard, the lettering, and the beautiful framed design are timeless to me.  I'll be using this one for many years to come!

You can click here to see my entire post, and print out your free banner today.  Thanks so much for stopping by!  Enjoy your day!

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Mini Peat Pot Easter Baskets {Repost}

This is a super simple Easter craft that comes together in minutes, and will be the perfect addition to your Easter party, tabletop, or decor.  I honesty can't get enough of these!  Wouldn't they be the perfect place settings (just add a name tag to the basket) for your Easter table?

You can click here to stop by tweleveOeight and visit today.  You'll get the easy, easy how-to and supply list when you do.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

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Printable Irish Blessings {Repost}

I wasn't going to do another Irish blessing printable today because I just did one last week, but then I thought this is the only time of year I'll do these, so I might as well get them in while I can.  

And in case you missed last week's Irish blessing printable, here it is. 

I hope you enjoy these printables.  Simply click on each image to print them out.

  Are you ready for St. Patrick's Day?  We had our little leprechaun visit again tonight.  He left Harry Potter Bertie Bott's (we're reading the books together- we're almost done with #4).  My boys thought they were the coolest thing ever!  However, the vomit flavored bean held true to it's name.  One of my twins may or may not have had a very strong reflux reaction to it.  We made it to the bathroom just in time, I'm glad to say.  They thought that part was even cooler than the unusual names and flavors of the beans.  I really never have a dull moment with my three boys around!  We'll see what our little leprechaun does or leaves tomorrow.

Thanks so much for visiting!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

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