Valentine's Day Cards & Craft Ideas

What do you do for Valentine's Day?  As "Gifts" is defintely in the top 2 of my "Love Languages", I always hope for a good Valentine's Day.  John & I usually switch off who plans Vday each year.  This year is his year.  It is about 1 week before I am due with our 3rd child.  I am looking forward to seeing what he has in store!
By the way, for some great ideas for keeping a marriage spicy *all year*, I really recommend you follow Married Spice on Twitter!  They also have a Facebook & blog but tweet the most frequent.
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How do you make Vday special for your kids?  The past couple of years, I have made little vday cards and passed them out in the diaper bags of Jesse's friends at church and Abigale's teachers.  We are not old enough for preschool so there is nothing formal as far as Valentine Exchanges.  For some reason, I can't wait for the days that does happen. 

This year, they are both more aware of the "holiday" so we will see how that changes things.  Abigale is also obsessed with bears and the giant bears with velvet hearts are very tempting to buy at the bargain price of $20 this time of year... Does she need it? No. Am I still greatly tempted?  Absolutely.  Jesse has already expressed that he wants to buy one for her.  Love that.  :)

I know I teach classes and create cards for a living but I do love the picture Vday cards and there are so many out there to choose from with specials galore!

Here are a few I found on Tiny Prints

This one would be super cute for Abigale and I love that color/design combo:

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 I love this design and I know Jesse would since he is my Train-Crazy little boy!

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The other option wold be to get a more generic design and use these for giveaway cards for our upcoming birth announcement of the new baby...  Hmm..

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Check out all their Valentine's Greeting Cards!

 For lots of great cards for all occasions, follow Tiny Prints on Twitter and follow Tiny Prints on Facebook They often have specials to take advantage of!

What creative crafts do you have planned for this Happy Heart Day?

Here are a few ideas I am currently working on for Vday:

  

In MOPS, 2 weeks ago we made our version of these Martha Stewart Felt Fortune Cookies. 

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The idea was to leave a note back & forth with their hubbies {naughty or nice} through the month of February.  You could also use them to leave little notes for your kids in their lunch box if you have that age range.  What we did as a quickie tutorial is coming soon.

In 2 weeks, we are making Massage Oil in MOPS.  A friend's husband works at Cracker Barrell and he was nice enough to collect 90+/- of their little {empty} maple syrup bottles for us to fill as our 2/14 Creative Activity.  I hope it goes over well and isn't too messy.  I am creating labels with My Digital Studio that the church print shop will print to make them a little pretty, too.

I also hope they actually use it with their spouse!  

For Abigale's birthday, I made these poms from Martha Stewart.  

It was a lot of time to just throw them away.  I was pleasantly surprised that in February's MS magazine, someone used the poms to make a large heart over their mantle for a party, then left it up all year.  I am not sure I will leave it up much past February, but I was glad to get an idea of how to use those poms a second time.  Pictures of the heart on my entryway to come.

As for kids crafts, I definitely hope I can make these foot & hand prints, either as a card for the grandparents or a wall piece. 

I also hope to make a keepsake item for myself and possibly my mom for Vday or before the new baby comes at least.  Still trying to decide if it would be better to frame them with recent pictures, instead of jewelry.  In my experience, polymer clay is not that sturdy *and* with 3 kiddos, not too sure how that would hang. Maybe 3 tiered?  Hmm..

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Isn't this the greatest little idea and seems easy enough...although all those ideas on Pinterest often do.  hah.

Check out my friend Jennifer's fab little t-shirts she just made for her 2 little girls over at Family Musings!  Perhaps, Abigale might just need one before the month gets started..

As if I have nothing else to do, I am sure I will be gathering other ideas that I may {or may not} actually get accomplished for this little guy arrives on or about Februray 23rd!

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Here are some of the other things I have gathered & pinned for Valentine's Day...more to come, I am sure.

Follow all my boards, if you like. I love the idea sharing!

Follow Tiny Prints boards on Pinterest.com, too, while you are there.

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 I look forward to seeing & hearing about your ideas, too! 

Thanks for stopping by and love someone good this month!

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~For writing part of this blog, I should receive 50 Classroom Valentine’s Day Cards for kids as Tiny Prints way of saying thanks~

Argh Matey Jesse's Pirate Birthday Party

Jesse turned 4 on November 8th, 2011.  I love themes.  They inspire me!  I got inspired for this party when Stampin' Up clearanced the Pirate Party kit from a couple of years ago down to $2.99 last spring.  At the original price of $16, it was a bargain, and now they were practically giving it away!  

Little did I realize the Pirate theme was going to be so popular this year.  So much for being original.  

But here are my little spins on the theme and what we did for his 4th birthday party.

His Invite {created on My Digital Studio from Stampin' Up then just printed as a 4 X 6 picture at Sam's!}. 
Picture of Jesse was taken by Nate Mundell Photography at another Pirate {& Princess} party we attended a month prior.

First, our tradition is to go to Walt Disney World on our birthdays since we have passes.  Had to take a few "pirate shots" while we were there!

 I did a "Candy Barge" on a taller dresser and had bags for the parents to fill for the kids. I tried to get candy that was either wrapped in gold or jewel tones or sea related. 

The sign that read "Beware Thar Be Pirates" was made by my husband from a pallet broken apart and rough looking on purpose.

The banner hanging is 2 kits put together and then I embellished with chunky glitter to add a little something to half of the flags.  I also hung another of this banner over our sliding glass door that lead to the bounce house. Sorry, it's no longer available for purchase.

My mom made the costumes for my 2 littles.

 The "Pirate booty" came from random metal items mom or I had laying around, along with the wooden boxes and gauzy material. When draped together with the beads and such, it reminded me of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at the Magic Kingdom, which is the look I was hoping for in this area.

 The girls had headband bandannas with red polka dots and the boys bandannas had a pirate print.

The treasure boxes also came in that kit from Stampin Up.  Since I had so many kids coming, I put out tags for the parents to tape to the treasure boxes.  This didn't happen.  

And the boxes kept {mysteriously} opening to be pillaged.  

So I wouldn't recommend having the boxes within children's reach or untagged.  

If you want the name on it, put it on.  {What was  I thinking?}

I like to name the food served with the theme because I am that cheesy.  So we had "Submarine Sandwiches" {and yes, I know that subs are more current than the typical time period when we think of "Pirates" but go with me..};  Deviled Ships {Deviled Eggs that kind of resemble a boat thanks to the flag from the kit}; Pirate Booty ~of course; and Shipwrecked Salad made with Sea Shell Pasta. 

Pictured here is also the Salted Caramel Cupcakes {Salty Sea..get it?}.  I loosely followed the inspiration of this recipe.  But I used a normal yellow cake mix with a pinch of salt and used a jar of caramel ice cream topping for the filling.  I did use her recipe for the frosting.  Great stuff!

The Treasure Chest Chocolate Cake turned out pretty good despite me waiting to the last minute.

 I didn't really do games other than the "Search for Buried Treasure" using an under the bed type storage box filled with a bag of sand, beads, rings, & other small trinkets.

We asked the kids to wear pirate gear if they had it and some of the girls wore princess outfits, too.  We provided the bandannas & eye patches in case they didn't already have something. Dress up always makes it more fun and I love to incorporate that for the guests and {of course} the party honoree!

Friends let us borrow their home bounce house which gave the kids another outlet to play.  Highly recommend!

Jesse had a great time and I think the kids did, too.

Click Here for my Pinterest Board I used to collect my inspiration.

Let me know if you have any questions and thanks for looking!

Another Not-So-Boring Blog Review ~ Kashi Bars

 I was chosen by Moms Meet/ Mom Ambassadors to share Kashi TLC Granola Bars with my mom friends.  

I took the bars into MOPS and they were grabbed up before the meeting was over.  I did test them on my kids and hubby, as well.  The kids {almost 4, at the time, and around 20 months} didn't seem keen on the chocolate covering at the bottom.   I think it was the messiness of it.  Older children & adults would probably know to keep the wrapper for a holder to stay mess free. I personally didn't care for the flavor of the varieties they sent because, if I am going to eat chocolate, I want real chocolate.  Whatever coating used to cover the top, pales in comparison to the real thing.  But I feel that way about all of these bars, regardles of the brand.  

For sharing this product with friends, they also sent us a box of cereal and the Soft Baked Strawberry Bars.

The TLC Soft Baked Ripe Strawberry bars went over much better with my kiddos and I didn't mind eating a bite to finish, if needed.

I was the one that ate most of the cereal and I liked the fact that it wasn't so sweet but still tasty with nutritional value.

If you have a blog and are looking for a program to help sample new products with your circle of moms, I recommend trying to get involved with Moms Meet.  

You never know what you will come across to try!

All photos courtesy of Kashi.

Christmas card from Shutterfly Preview

I just created 15 free cards on Shutterfly because I was chosen to host a House Party from Houseparty.com.   I also made a calendar, too.  All photos were taken by the great Karissa Barber.
The House Party benefits for the hostess were not stellar like they have been for other products I have hosted but I do like the freebies they gave myself and the guests.  There have been many great deals out there this year for free photo cards and I can't wait to compare these to the others I have received.

5x7 Folded Card

View the entire collection of cards.

Can't wait to get each project in the mail!
Thanks for looking.
By sharing this photo, they will be sending me a $10 credit.  Just so you know.

Magnetic Chalkboard with Memo Clips ~MOPS Creative Activity

Our MOPS~Mothers of Preschoolers~ group meets every Tuesday during the school year.  We have a "Creative Activity" or craft every other week for the most part.  We average 80-100 women which makes the task slightly difficult of finding & creating a craft for that many people to complete within 15 minutes, at lots of different levels of crafting ability, tons of different tastes, and did I mention on a super tight budget?  What one person, 10 people and 100 can create differ greatly.

But, to say all of that, I am excited to share what we did as our first real creative activity.  

I am giving all the steps in case 1.) You wanted to make more yourselves. Super easy and inexpensive gift for teachers, coworkers, etc. 2.) Other MOPS Creative Activities ladies might want an idea for their group.

So, first, the final product:

And, now, how we got there.

Supplies:

Clothespins

Neodymium Magnets {SUPER Powerful!}

Large Burner Covers

Can Black Matte Spray Paint

Quart Black Chalkboard Paint

Crop-a-Dile to poke the holes and a metal file to file holes

Wide Ribbon

Designer Series Paper

glue

Chalk to season/prime.

200 Clothespins

I decided to glue the magnets on because they were so tiny I feared they would get lost. And they were so strong, if the board was slightly touched, they all snapped together like a mousetrap or domino affect, which Jesse found quite funny!

100 ribbon loops to hang the chalkboards with!

I used 3 kinds, honestly, because I bought the first 2 striped ribbons from Stampin' Up to coordinate with the Designer Series Paper and under estimated the amount I needed. 

I pre-cut, knotted, & sealed the loops with glue. I knew it would take a lot more ribbon if they tied the knot themselves {budget}.  And frustration isn't fun for those that don't like to tie ribbons.  Also, time is always a constraint. 

I cut the paper to be glued onto the clothespins from a retired pack of Designer Series Paper.  It is double sided so there is a choice of designs but they all coordinate along with matching the ribbons.  

3/4" X 2 3/4" strips times 200+.

I packed them in groups of 8 kits for each table to make sure everyone had enough supplies and they are easy to find.  I emptied them into our little black buckets for ease of delivery to each table the morning of MOPS.

I only have 1 Crop-a-Dile, so this is another step in the prep process that had to be done at home.  Since the ribbon I chose was wide, it took 3 holes. Then it left sharp edges, so I filed them with a metal file.

I lined them up in a box and spray painted the sides matte {to match the matte-ness of the chalkboard finish}.  Just turned them 3-4 times to hit all the side.

Ready to roll the chalkboard paint on!

1 coat.

Painting complete.  Now all stacked and ready to take to MOPS. 

The coordinating factor is my fave part of this project.  Oh, and the usefulness.  :) 

I hope the ladies at MOPS @ the Mall enjoy them!

Note: If you desire to know the location these supplies were purchased or you are a MOPS C.A. person and want to know Cost-Per-Person, please message me.  Happy to help!

She shouts, Style, where are you, Style? Giveaway Alert

"Where are you, Style?" 
Just like the great blog entry you are going to read over at Family Musings, I too often lose Style due to mommyhood, busyness, or plain laziness.

I look at my wardrobe and think..when did I become that dowdy mom I swore I never would be?  

Little losses to the enemy called casual comfort..literal baby steps and it's gone before you know it!

It doesn't help that when you are home all day, why would you put on the dress and the pearls?  I may love all things retro but I am not June Cleaver around here on any given Tuesday.  In fact, you better call before you stop by my house because I am probably not decent for company.  ;)  haha

I recently went to a NKOTBSB concert, and that is New Kids on the Block with Backstreet Boys. 

{I swear review is coming soon!}

I had to go shopping for a top and jewelry so I wouldn't feel like I was dressed to go grocery shopping.  I joked that it was "Ladies' Night" and I wanted to feel and look it!

2 weeks and 7 stores later, I finally had the look I wanted. 

Apparently, unless you want to spend $$$, they aren't making much for a fuller figured gals that doesn't resemble a tent or a knit shirt...at least that was how it was for me over the course of my shopping week.

So here we are after the concert, tired but elated! 

 And I think looking like some pretty hot mamas, if I do say so myself.  ;)  

This is Ashley and we went to our first NKOTB concert together in 1990.  

21 years later, here we are again and having a blast!

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So if you, too, are in need for a bit of spicing up, at least in the jewelry department like I was, take your shot at the awesome giveaway over at Family Musings!  

$100 for an amazing online site called Ice.com.

So between you and me, I hope one of us wins! 

Good Luck and thanks for reading!

 

I'm a No-Bake Cookie Snob

Yes, I am a No-Bake Cookie snob, at least according to my husband.  

He loves them and he jokes that they are just "too beneath me to make".  

Yes, I do aspire to try more difficult, elaborate cookies while I channel my Inner Martha.  But today I thought we would give him a treat.

I used the recipe for No-Bake Cookies from Justapinch.com which is a GREAT recipe site, if you haven't already joined them!

Jesse and I made them together and that also made it fun.  I let him pour in the ingredients. I took care of stirring while boiling on the stove and then let him mix in the final ingredients on the counter.  He is old enough and done this enough to know not to touch a hot pan.  Then he used the cookie scoop and dropped them onto the wax paper.

The jury is still out if these would make to a Christmas Cookie party platter by me, but since my hubby loves them, it was time to indulge him..after all, I am embarrassed to say, this is the first time I have made them for him in the 7 years {almost in 2 weeks} we have been married.  

Actually, this may be the first time I have actually made them at all.   

I grew up baking but my mom tends to make the more difficult recipes, too. 

Like mother, like daughter. :)

 He should be home soon for the approving nod but I think they are pretty tasty...for No-Bakes. ;)

What is your favorite cookie recipe?

Bun in the Oven

Though we out the picture on FB last week, I realized I had yet to put it on here.

The Official Release on The Dearie's Not-So-Dailies:

Abigale is...

Made with My Digital Studio from Stampin' Up.

New Baby {or Babies as Jesse insists now} due February 23, 2012.

A Few Firsts Around Here

Just a few random firsts around here.

First sucker

Second Sucker and she's a pro!

First time doing the Cow Appreciation Day for Chick-fil-A.

Camera was out of batteries or I would have taken better pictures.

First time we tried to make Strawberry Jam..blog to come later!

After watching Matilda make her own sandwich, Jesse ran into the kitchen to make his first PB & Jam sandwich by himself. Growing too fast.

 First Bad Boo-Boo, Goose Egg.. Here is the story in case you missed my post on FB: While in the bathroom, Jesse came in & informed that Abigale had a P.U. diaper. She came in sans-diaper with him following saying he had wiped her & how could he put the diaper on her. After I really got her cleaned up and put the diaper on her, she bent over & I pulled up on her diaper which seemed riding low. In that same movement, it sent her and her forehead into the tile, giving her first goose egg. Great, Mother of the Year. So then Jesse informs me her P.U. is on his carpet & I realize that SHE had taken her diaper off and he was just trying to help. Geesh. 

 That was our last couple of weeks.  You are caught up for now.  

How was yours..anything interesting happen in your world?

  Have a great weekend!