My Halloween Star

Not everything I make is digital.  In fact for this craft, I found myself browsing through a traditional scrapbook store, drooling at all the fun paper to choose from. 

I originally saw this idea on Pintrest and knew that I needed to make this star ASAP.  While my mom was in town for a visit, we went searching for the perfect star and Halloween paper.  It was a fun afternoon shopping with her.  We then came home and made it in an afternoon.  It was one of the easiest crafty projects I have done.  In fact, it was so easy, I finished my Christmas Star on the same day.  

All you need for this craft is . . .

• 1 Rustic Star (I found mine at Hobby Lobby)
• 9-12 coordinating scrap booking papers
• Modge Podge
• Spray Glitter (my new love)
• Coordinating Ribbon

Start off by making a template of your star sides - one for the right side and one for the left side.  I just used a piece of white card stock to do this.  Then start cutting out the pieces of scrapbook paper to glue on.  Tape the cut pieces of paper to the star to make sure you have picked the right place for each piece of paper.  Remove the tape, and modge podge the paper to the star.  Then modge podge on top on the paper to add a protective layer.  Once the modge podge has dried, take outside and spray the star with the glitter.  Let it dry for a few hours.  Add your cute ribbon and voila, you're done.  Easy Peesy Lemon Squeezey!!!

Back To School Dinner

My Back To School Dinner was a huge success.  I love planning and executing these themed dinners for my family.  The smiles on their faces during dinner are priceless to me.  As an added bonus, I really enjoy making all the food and decorations to coordinate with my theme. 

When I first started planning my dinner, I went to Pintrest for inspiration.  It seemed like apples were everywhere so I used them as my main decorations and color scheme.  I then stared making everything - the fun part.  After the kids went to bed the night before, I decorated the table and got everything ready for the day.  The easiest part about this dinner was the dinner itself.  I made sack lunches with a hoggie sandwich, chips and strawberries.  I mean you can't get any easier when it comes to dinner. 

I hope that I can inspire you all to throw a themed dinner for your family. They may seem like a lot of time and effort for just a dinner, but the results are so satisfying to me and my family.   It has truly become a passion of mine. 

Smartie Pants Printable

I was searching the blogsphere for a cute and fun treat to put in my kids lunch bag on the first day of school.  When I found this idea HERE, my search ended.   I had to remake the tags to better suit my needs as I needed more than just Kindergarten tags. 

I printed, cut the circles out with a 2" circle cutter, taped some ribbon to the back and then glued the circles to some extra scrap book paper.  I like that I turned the tags into more a a treat topper to give my kids more Smarties.  After it was the first day of school and they had earned an extra treat. 

Click HERE to download your FREEBIE Smartie Pants Tags!

Here's to Another Awesome Year - PRINTABLE

I needed to make a gift for a large group of young girls to give as a back to school gift.  I got the inspiration for this gift HERE and adapted it for my needs.  I just printed, trimmed and attached the tag with a large grade twine.  They came together fast and I was under budget - even better. 

I think that I am going to double duty this gift and use it as my drink for my upcoming family Back to School dinner.

Click HERE to download your FREEBIE tags! 

FHE Conducting Chart - FREEBIE

I recently attended a class at my church that talked about spending more quality time with your family.  I came home reenergized and refocused my priorities in a few areas that needed some fine tuning.  One area that I have been working hard at is Family Home Evening.  "Family home evening is a special time set aside each week that brings family members together and strengthens their love for each other, helps them draw closer to Heavenly Father, and encourages them to live righteously."  (credit HERE)  My efforts in the past have been minimal to say the least.  So after attending my class, I came home a set a new goal about holding FHE regularly in my home.  To help me with planning, I made this chart.  I have found that I am more prepared and it helps me keep things moving smoothly - a huge must with little ones involved.  The chart has also become the kids conducting chart.  I let the kids conduct get them more involved.

I printed the chart on white card stock, trimmed the edges, mounted on black card stock and finally laminated.  Since I laminated my chart, it becomes reusable every week.  Just make sure you have a dry erase marker around.  I hang it on my fridge after FHE is over to give me a daily reminder of my new family goal.

Click HERE to download your FREEBIE!

I have a small favor to ask in return if you download the FHE chart {wink wink} - become a follower!   I told you the favor was small :) 

I used Just So Scrappy Happy Days kit to create this file!

INSPIRE - TEACHER APPRECIATION GIFT

Even though I am a digital girl, I still enjoy an occasional crafting day that does not involve my computer.  Today was that kind of crafting day.  I needed to make my daughter's gift for Teacher Appreciation Week.  I am grateful for our Kindergarten teacher this year and definitely wanted to thank her for all that she has done for my daughter.  I hope that this gift will keep her inspiration going in years to come as she continues to teach and inspire her little "Kinder Kids."

This gift was simple and fast to make, and cost me under $5.00 since all I had to buy was the glass block.  Yeah!!! 

Items Needed

• Rectangle Glass Block (got mine at Lowe's for $4.29)
• Cricut (or similar type cutting machine)
• Vinyl (cut letters at 1 1/2 inches high)
• Ribbon (pick 2 coordinating pieces, each with a different widths .)

To assemble, simply cut out the lettering and attach to the glass block.  Then tie the coordinating ribbons around the edge of the block.  That's it - Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezey!!! 

Easter Game Bundle - NEW RELEASE

My thoughts have turned to Easter this week.  If you follow my blog regularly, then you know that Holidays are BIG in my family.  I am a little behind in my celebration planning, but I am not too concerned.  I like to keep my family celebrations simple. 

I just finished creating some fun family Easter themed games that would be a great addition to any Easter Egg hunt you may already have planned.  This game bundle includes 2 games and BONUS coloring page. 

The first game in this bundle is the Easter version of Don't Eat Pete.  This game is one of my family's favorite.  It is fun for any age.  If you have never played before, the rules are simple.  First you need to have a bowl of candy.  We usually use M&M's, but for Easter we will use Starburst Jelly Beans.  Place one candy in each square of the game board. Send the first child (or adult) away from the game board, then have the remaining children choose which candy will be "Pete" for the round. Have the first child come back and begin picking candy from the game board. As soon as the child tries to pick "Pete" everyone yells "Don't Eat Pete!"  The child keeps all the candy picked up before trying to get Pete. Refill the game board and play again.

This bundle also includes a Pin the Tail on Peter Cottontail.  I decided that I wanted to make my tails look fluffy so I glued some cotton balls on them.  I think the fluffy version of the tails is SO CUTE.  

This game is comes in an 8x10 for easy printing at home or a 16x20 for printing on a poster at Staples or Office Max. 

Here is how I made my fluffy tails.  First I printed, trimmed and laminated my tails.  Then it only took about 10 minutes to finish adding the fluff.   I took cotton balls and cut them into fourths.  Then I used the glue shown in the picture and covered the whole surface area.  Finally, I started placing the cotton ball quarters onto the glue.  I used about 7 per tail. 

TO PURCHASE THIS FILE - CLICK HERE

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