Smart School House •Pretty Inspirations•

DIY Rose Centerpiece

2013-05-16T16:49:00.000-07:00

DIY Rose Centerpiece

I'm such a lover of roses and this simple DIY Rose Centerpiece is no exception! It is extremely easy to make and I got most of the supplies from the dollar store. I love the rustic feel of it and it looks so pretty next to my DIY Flameless Rose Tea Lights. A DIY Rose Centerpiece is the perfect for entertaining and the color options are endless!

The first thing you need is a bouquet of faux roses. I found mine at the dollar store and each bouquet had about 7 full roses in it. Then, you need a styrofoam cylinder that is about 3/4"tall. I found a pack of two at the dollar store, so mine were only $0.50 (score!). Finally, you need some rustic burlap looking ribbon that is thick enough to measure double the height of your styrofoam cylinder (my ribbon was 1.5").

This is how you assemble a DIY Rose Centerpiece:

Isn't that so amazingly easy?!! Each of my centerpieces (I made 4) have about 7 roses in it. In case you are wondering, when you buy a bouquet of faux roses, the rose buds pop right off when you tug on them. So, this is quite the fool proof project! What color do you plan on making with your DIY Rose Centerpiece? Will they be for a wedding, a dinner party, or for your table at home?

If you would like another pretty rose inspiration, these DIY Flameless Rose Tea Lights are also perfect for entertaining! Pssst: they are made with plastic spoons (no joke!).

Check them out:

Link Party: Whimsy Wednesday, May 14

2013-05-14T15:45:00.000-07:00

Link Party: Whimsy Wednesday

Whimsy Wednesday is a link party and it is known for bringing together impressive bloggers that love to promote and share their stunning posts.You are all SO talented!

For those of you looking to grow your blog, please note that the three of us are very active in sharing what you link up on Google+. Unlike other social media outlets, Google+ promotes SEO and authorship ranking (that's you). The more exposure you get on Google+, the better your blog is! We take pride in showing you off on

Were YOU featured at last week's party? Click HERE to see!
If you were featured last week, grab a FEATURED BUTTON.

This is what I've been up to:

Follow The NY Melrose Family:

Follow Oh My! Creative:

#2 No parties or shops. But, everything else is accepted.

#3 Grab a Whimsy Wednesday party button by clicking HERE and include it in your post or in your list of parties.

...

We all love receiving nice comments on our hard work. The more you give, the more you'll get. It's just how the universe works!

Teach Your Child to Organize Puzzles

2013-05-13T16:46:00.001-07:00

Teach Your Child to Organize Puzzles

Today I'm going to show you a simple DIY craft that can help teach your child to organize puzzles! If you are a regular reader of Smart School House (which I love you for!), then you know I am a mom of Irish Twin toddlers. Sometimes, it feels like I can spend my whole day organizing and putting away toys! Can you relate? So, I designed this easy (and pretty) way to help teach my toddlers how to organize their puzzles:

First, you need simple plastic strawberry baskets. I got mine from our weekend farmers market but I've seen them at the grocery store too. Next, take acrylic paint and put a coat or two of it on the strawberry baskets. I chose blue because it went well with my son's Jake and the Neverland Pirate puzzle and pink for my daughter's Minnie Mouse puzzle.

After that, you want to cut out the small version of the puzzle which you can find on the side of the puzzle box. I used scissors for that process:) You also want to cut out felt squares smaller than the pictures you cut out.

Now you want to grab your glue gun and glue the small puzzle pictures to the outside strawberry baskets. The felt squares get glued on the inside of the basket and keep the puzzle picture on the front more secure.

Finally, you need to find some colored pens or a markers (I used the pens I have from these Post-It Pinwheels). It is extremely important that you get pens or markers that match the colors you painted the strawberry baskets. In my case, I grabbed a blue and a pink pen. I separated the Minnie Mouse puzzle from the Jake and the Neverland Pirate puzzle. On the back of each piece in the Minnie Mouse puzzle, I drew a pink dot to match the pink basket (and the same thing with pieces for the blue basket).

This activity is best for children that already know their colors. If you need to teach your toddler their colors, try doing this fun and educational DIY craft! Show your child that the puzzle pieces with the blue dot get put away in the blue basket and the puzzle pieces with the pink dot get put in the pink basket.

Repetition is always a wonderful thing when you are introducing a new concept, like categorizing colors. But after awhile, your child will get the hang of the organization concept! After all, puzzles are educational, but learning to clean your toys is a valuable concept for kids to understand too!

Are you looking for more educational activities for children?

Check out my gallery of Kids Crafts HERE!

You might also love this DIY Craft on Teaching Children About Colors

20 Teal Crafts and Recipe Inspirations

2013-05-12T09:37:00.002-07:00

I found 20 of the best teal crafts and recipe inspirations on Whimsy Wednesday, our weekly Link Party for bloggers.

20 Teal Crafts and Recipes

Kitchen Candy

Spring Sunburst Plastic Fork

Upcycled Armoir

Sewing Machine Cover

Watercolor Silhouette Art

Woven Fabric Chair Seat

Spring-ify the Living Room

New Sew Fabric Key Fobs

Nail Polish Pendant

Burlap Wrapped Vase with Pom Pom Flowers

Personalized Play Kitchen

Painted Tray

Greek Pizza

Apricot Gorgonzola Cheese Spread

DIY Balloon Bling Flip Flops

Cutlery Box Transformed

Chocolate Chip Cookies

DIY Herringbone Tray

Vintage Crate Turned Paper Organizer

Biscoff Coffee Cake Muffins

If you were featured, grab a FEATURED BUTTON here!

Do you want to be the first to know when I post the party? Be sure to subscribe to my blog HERE so you can snag the first few spots and get the most traffic at the party!

How to Be a Better Blogger: SEO Tricks

2013-05-10T10:07:00.001-07:00

How to Be a Better Blogger: the Best SEO Tricks and a Book Review.

Hello readers! This is not a typical post that you see here at Smart School House. Normally I'm working on pretty crafts or eats & sweets. But today, I'm writing about bloggers (or people who are interested in starting a blog). I want to help you know how to be a better blogger and learn more about SEO.

Being a blogger is fun and rewarding but it also takes a lot of work. We are always trying to educate ourselves on how we can improve our writing so that we can continually grow. One of the BIGGEST topics of conversation among bloggers is SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Search engines are what people use to find things on the internet like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. When you, my favorite readers, search for something on the internet, I hope that your search brings you to me! Therefore, one of the goals of a blogger is to get our content to show up in your internet search results. While writing a blog post may seem trivial, it is actually a very strategical process. The more a blogger knows about SEO and fabulous blog writing, the more valuable their content becomes!

I was given the privilege to review a Kindle book by Author and Blogger Sarah W. Caron (you can read more about her amazingness HERE). This book speaks directly to current and future bloggers. If you are interested in starting a blog, let me tell you, start with this book!

This pretty Kindle book is a quick and easy read (and will only cost you $2.99!). If you are wanting to start a blog and wondering, "Where Do I Start?" Sarah's book walks you through the process and even explains how to develop an effective vision board while creating blogging goals that you will achieve. More importantly, she writes about some of the biggest mistakes a blogger can make when creating a post that will turn readers off!

I want to talk about my favorite part of the book, the chapter on SEO! I like when my readers come back and I like creating posts so new readers can find me:) Therefore, a blogger needs to know about the importance of key words or key phrases when developing each and every blog post. Listed below are some quotes from Sarah's book that stood out to me.

When you begin a blog post, it's a great idea to research effective key words that will make your title and content stand out with search engines. If you don't give Google a reason to find you, it won't!

When I was writing this post about a DIY Scrub, you can see how I used my key words (DIY Scrub) at the start of my title AND in the first sentence of the post:

That's easy enough, right? Make sure you use that trick on YOUR blog posts! Let's keep moving.... This next step is a biggie for bloggers:

Google and other search engines are wonderful and reading words. They aren't very great at reading pictures. But, the internet is a very visual place (take Pinterest for example). Having pictures on your blog is essential! Therefore, you have to give your pictures words for search engines to read. Those come in the form of title tags and alt tags. This is what it looks like when I give my photos words in the form of an alt tag:

You want to have your keywords in your title, in your first sentence, AND within the "alt tags" (or alt text) of your pictures! But, as you'll learn in Sarah's Book: Better Blog Writing, you also need to repeat those fancy keywords and phrases within your post. You don't have to use them in every single sentence, but you need search engines to pick up on the fact that your post is truly about your keywords!

When you read about Sugar Baby, you'll now notice that I've sprinkled the post with my keywords. Those little actions are massively important for Better Blog Writing.

Are you curious about improving your blog writing and keeping your readers coming back for more? Then check out Amazon for Sarah's pretty little book. Your blog will end up more popular because, with SEO Tricks and improved writing, you'll be able to gain and maintain readers!

2013-05-07T15:45:00.000-07:00

Link Party: Whimsy Wednesday

Whimsy Wednesday is known for bringing together impressive bloggers that love to promote and share their stunning posts.You are all SO talented!

Are you wondering if you were featured from last week's party? Click HERE to see! If you were featured last week, grab a FEATURED BUTTON by clicking here!

This is what I've been up to:

Follow The NY Melrose Family:

Follow Oh My! Creative:

#2 No parties or shops. But, everything else is accepted.

#3 Grab a Whimsy Wednesday party button by clicking HERE and include it in your post or in your list of parties.

...

We all love receiving nice comments on our hard work. The more you give, the more you'll get. It's just how the universe works!

Font Download: Frames

2013-05-06T15:36:00.000-07:00

Font Download: Frames

I LOVE to download fonts! I also love using frames on my blog.

Check out how I used one of these frames for my Frosted Ice Cream Post.

Here you can see how I used one of these free font frames on my Brownie Buckets Post.

I especially love the banner I got for free that you can see every week HERE and HERE.

All of these frames come in the form of a font download and they are designed by

Kimberly Geswein.

There are two sets of fonts to download in order to get ALL of these frames

(how exciting!)

The first one is: KG Flavor and Frames

You will also want to download: KG Flavor and Frames Two

If you are a lover of fonts, then don't miss out on:

The Best Crafts and Recipes on Pinterest: May 6, 2013

2013-05-06T08:20:00.001-07:00

The Best Crafts and Recipes on Pinterest

I found the best crafts and recipes on Pinterest through Whimsy Wednesday, our weekly Link Party for bloggers. Do you have the best pin on Pinterest? Follow me on Pinterest and be sure link up your weekly posts every Tuesday at Whimsy Wednesday! If you would like more pretty inspirations from Pinterest, these are Last Week's Best Pins. Here are the BEST pins this week:

1. Paper Flower Prayer Garden by Musings

2. Vintage Inspired Painted Mason Jars by Live Laugh Rowe

3. Coconut Lime Raw Sugar Scrub by Simply Designing

4. Washi Tape Phone Case by The Creative Headquarters

5. Happy Accent Hutch by Aurora Patina

6. Strawberries and Cream Bars by Mandy's Recipe Box

7. M&M Chocolate Pudding Cookies by Love Bakes Good Cakes

8. DIY Paper Sphere by The Crafty Blog Stalker

9. Felt Cow Notebook Hugger by Do Small Things With Love

10. Spiked Snickerdoodle Milkshake by The Pink Flour

11. Chocolate Glazed Orange Donuts by Annie's Noms

•••••••If you were featured, share the news with our party buttons found HERE•••••••

This Was My Most Popular Pin this Week:

Do you want to be the first to know when I post the party? Be sure to subscribe to my blog HERE so you can snag the first few spots and get the most traffic at the party!

Easy Recipe for Guacamole

2013-05-03T07:34:00.002-07:00

Have you ever wondered: How do I make guacamole? Well, let me share my easy recipe for guacamole with you! I call this easy guacamole recipe Mom's Guacamole because my mom actually taught me how to make it as a child. Cooking or baking with your children is on of the most educational activities you can do at home!

We have a very large avocado tree in the front yard so my family and I are always picking fresh avocados. Guacamole is my favorite appetizer. It tastes amazing on tacos, sandwiches, and 7-layer dips!

Here are the simple ingredients and supplies you will need for my easy guacamole recipe. Note: it's important to gather all of these items before you start. Making guacamole can be somewhat messy:) Let's start with utensils. You will need a fork, knife, and a spoon. Pick at least two avocados that are soft and ripe. You will need salt, pepper, garlic salt, olive oil, and salsa.

How much of each ingredient will you need? My mom's answer to that used to frustrate me, but as it turns out, she was right. Use as much of each ingredient as you like. If you love the taste of garlic, add two dashes. If you aren't a fan of spicy food, then just add a tiny bit of salsa. I tend to add a dash of each dry ingredient and a spoonful of the olive oil and salsa. Tip: the olive oil helps prevent the leftover guacamole from turning brown. Smart! If you are still wondering How do I make guacamole with those ingredients? Well, I've got you covered! I'm going to break it down for you to make it as easy as can be so you feel like a pro!

Put a small amount of pressure on the avocado half that has the seed in it. That pressure will help the seed pop out. I've heard that saving the seed and placing it inside your leftover guacamole also prevents it from turning brown. Again, SMART!

I got my festive bowl at the dollar store:) It is so much fun and looks just like the ones they use in the restaurants.

Serve it with chips and simply refrigerate the leftovers. That's if you actually have leftovers! I never do, and, if you use this guacamole recipe, neither will you!

Easy peasy lemon squeezy! Now you know how to make homemade guacamole like a pro!

If you are having guests over, be sure to make these along with your guacamole! They are Poptails (popsicle + cocktail)

Birthday Ideas for a $5 Birthday Party

2013-05-02T03:00:00.000-07:00

If you are looking for birthday ideas for an upcoming birthday party, then look no further! Thanks to this amazing $5 Birthday Bundle at Vons, you can create a picture perfect party that is quick and easy!

I happen to have THREE birthdays to celebrate this May. My husband and my kids, Stella & Mitch, all have birthdays this month (that can get pricey!) With this Birthday Bundle at Vons, we had a birthday party for just $5.....SMART!

Have you heard of the Birthday Bundle? Well, let me just tell you how much I LOVE IT!

We were doing our weekly grocery shopping at Vons out here in California (you might have a Safeway or a Pavilions). We got our shopping cart, the one with the car attached to the front, and I pushed while Stella & Mitch drove. I just want to stop for a moment and say ~~I appreciate those~~ THANK HEAVENS for those kid friendly shopping carts!! Anyways, we always stop in the baking isle for a little inspiration:) One of my favorite parts about blogging is getting to create pretty Eats & Sweets to share with all of you (my favorite readers!). When we were in the baking isle, Stella and Mitch drove the cart right up to this $5 Birthday Bundle (they are so darn smart.....and cute!). This is what happened next:

See? I told you they are cute:) We were so excited about finding the Birthday Bundle at Vons! Look at everything we got for 5 bucks! Let's start with Betty Crocker: We got to pick any flavor of Supermoist Cake Mix, any full-sized flavor of frosting, and a 24-count box of Betty Crocker Rainbow Striped Candles!

We also got to pick TWO 7Up Products (A&W, Canada Dry, Sunkist Soda, Dr. Pepper, or Hawaiian Punch). Toddlers don't drink 7Up. But guess who does..........ME and I got TWO! Score!

Stella and Mitch were so excited that day at Vons. The Birthday Bundle is perfect for my family! How can you say no to such a bargain when you have three birthdays to celebrate? Let's be honest, even if I didn't have a birthday to prepare for this month, I still would have taken advantage of the deal. Baking with young children is one of the most precious and educational activities (and as a teacher, I love kids crafts and educational activities). We gathered all of pretty items and baked 24 pretty cupcakes. Before singing Happy Birthday, I snapped a picture of how beautifully everything turned out:

So, if you're looking for birthday ideas for a picture perfect party, hurry and take advantage of the $5 Birthday Bundle happening now at Vons, Safeway, and Pavillions. The $5 Birthday Bundle runs from April 24, 2013 to May 21, 2013. If you have any sort of celebration coming up this spring or summer, stock up on these items now. Me? Well, I bought extra and I can't wait to show you what craft or sweet project I create!

So tell me, what do you plan on doing when you purchase the $5 Birthday Bundle? Is it YOUR birthday? Do you have an anniversary, a pool party, a graduation, a play-date, or recipe that you want to blog about? I'd love to hear!

“This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and SAFEWAY but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #BirthdayBundle http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO.”

Kitchen Aid Mixer Giveaway

2013-05-01T06:31:00.005-07:00

Kitchen Aid Mixer AND $100 Prize Basket

Have you been dreaming of owning a Kitchen Aid Mixer? I have teamed up with a group of beautiful bloggers to bring YOU (my favorite readers) a free Kitchen Aid Mixer! One of the best parts about being a blogger is that we love giving stuff away. So, not only will win a Kitchen Aid Mixer, but we're also going to give you a $100 prize basket filled with our favorite things! Just imagine all of the greatness inside (eeeeek it's so exciting!). Let's not wait any longer- if you or someone you know would love to win this, then hurry and enter now!

Here are the pretty blogs that are bringing you this giveaway:

Here's your chance! Enter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Link Party: Whimsy Wednesday

2013-04-30T15:45:00.000-07:00

Link Party: Whimsy Wednesday

Whimsy Wednesday is known for bringing together impressive bloggers that love to promote and share their stunning posts.You are all SO talented!

Are you wondering if you were featured from last week's party? Click HERE to see!

If you were featured, grab a FEATURED button HERE!

This is what I've been up to:

Follow The NY Melrose Family:

Follow Oh My! Creative:

#2 No parties or shops. But, everything else is accepted.

#3 Grab a Whimsy Wednesday party button by clicking HERE and include it in your post or in your list of parties.

...

We all love receiving nice comments on our hard work. The more you give, the more you'll get. It's just how the universe works!

The Best Crafts and Recipes on Pinterest

2013-04-29T08:42:00.001-07:00

The Best Crafts and Recipes on Pinterest

I found the best crafts and recipes on Pinterest through Whimsy Wednesday, our weekly Link Party for bloggers. Do you have the best pin on Pinterest? Follow me on Pinterest and be sure link up your weekly posts every Tuesday at Whimsy Wednesday! Click here to see if you were featured on Last Week's Best Pins. Here are the BEST pins this week:

1. DIY Huge Chalkboard Menu-board by 2 Crafty 4 My Skirt

2. How to Make Table Linens by The NY Melrose Family

3. Chicken Ranch Waffle Sliders by Mom on Timeout

4. Paper Dahlia by Stars and Sunshine

5. DIY Carseat Mobile by Do Small Things with Love

6. DIY Flip Flop Wreath by The Experimental Home

7. The Garden Party by Night Owl Corner

8. Monster Trail Mix Granola Bars by Mom on Time Out

9. DIY Easy Cloth Napkins by Wait 'Til Your Father Gets Home

10. Homemade Blueberry Syrup by Will Cook for Smiles

11. Fun with Fudgsicles by Jacolyn Murphy

•••••••If you were featured, share the news with our party buttons found HERE•••••••

This Was My Most Popular Pin this Week:

Do you want to be the first to know when I post the party? Be sure to subscribe to my blog HERE so you can snag the first few spots and get the most traffic at the party!

Sweet Popcorn

2013-04-25T09:18:00.000-07:00

Sweet Popcorn

Are you ever in the mood for sweet popcorn? Circus Animal Cookie Popcorn adds just the perfect amount of sweet to your popcorn (and it's pretty too!). My children absolutely LOVE Circus Animal Cookie Popcorn because it's such a fun treat.

Popcorn is always a popular snack. Everybody loves popcorn! Don't you? It is also fun for parties or at a popcorn bar. The pink Circus Animal Cookies add a pretty "pop" of color too (hehe!).

To get started, simply take a few Animal Cracker Cookies and cut them into small pieces. I cut each cookie into about 4-5 pieces. A knife works best for this part. Otherwise, the cookies will crumble too much if you try to break them with your hands (not good!).

Next, pop some popcorn and let it cool. If the popcorn is too warm, it will melt the coating on the outside of the Circus Animal Cookies (again, not good!). Put your popcorn in a pretty bowl or a pretty cup and add the cookie pieces to the top. Let the cookies fall into place. If you try mixing the cookies and the popcorn together beforehand, you'll find that most of the cookies will end up at the bottom of the bowl, in which case you'll be digging down to get a piece of sweet popcorn (or is that just me?).

I happen to be a lover of all things salty and sweet. My Fancy Pants Popcorn recipe fits right in. Have you seen it?

Serve this sweet popcorn at your next party! It will vanish, promise:)

Be sure to check out my Snickers and Caramel Salted Popcorn next!

DIY Scrub: Sleepy Baby

2013-04-24T09:29:00.002-07:00

DIY Scrub

I'm so excited to introduce my newest DIY Scrub: Sleepy Baby! If you are a regular follower of my blog (which I love you so much for), then you have most definitely seen my original Sugar Baby DIY Scrub. It was such a hit! So, here is the sister DIY Scrub: Sleepy Baby!

This pretty little scrub is made to help you relax and sleep like a baby (hehe!). I love to use it at night before I go to bed or when I just need a bit of relaxation. Can you ever relate to that feeling?

The recipe for Sleepy Baby is rather simple. You only need 3 ingredients: white sugar, baby oil, and nighttime baby wash. Who doesn't love the smell of nighttime baby wash?

To make this pretty scrub even prettier, I made it purple (love!). I used about 6 drops of red and 4 drops of blue food coloring. But, that mixture all depends on you! Keep in mind that the consistency of the DIY scrub is up to you too! I tend to enjoy a fluffier scrub. But if you like a smoother scrub, simply add less sugar.

Everybody knows that lavender is the scent for relaxation. If you plan on making this diy scrub as a gift, make sure you tie a pretty piece of lavender on the outside of the jar. Little touches like that go a long way. The rustic twine is the last beautiful touch. Pssst: I found mine at the dollar store!!

Here's to a DIY scrub that offers a little R & R! If you like the smell of coconut, be sure to check out my Coconut Sugar Scrub. If you're a fan of COOKIES, check out my Oatmeal Coconut Cookie Scrub!

Here is the pretty sister scrub to Sleepy Baby called Sugar Baby

Whimsy Wednesday, April 23rd

2013-04-23T15:45:00.000-07:00

Smart School House Link Party

Whimsy Wednesday is known for bringing together impressive bloggers that love to promote and share their stunning posts (you are all SO talented!).

Are you wondering if you were featured from last week's party? Check out THE BEST OF THE BEST that I've sprinkled all over Pinterest by clicking below:

If you were featured last week, grab a FEATURED button HERE!

This is what I've been up to:

Follow The NY Melrose Family:

Follow Oh My! Creative:

#2 No parties or shops. But, everything else is accepted.

#3 Grab a Whimsy Wednesday party button by clicking HERE and include it in your post or in your list of parties.

...

We all love receiving nice comments on our hard work. The more you give, the more you'll get. It's just how the universe works!

Teaching Children About Colors

2013-04-23T08:02:00.000-07:00

Teaching Children About Colors

When you are teaching children about colors, it is important to provide hands-on learning games and activities. These games are for children learning their colors and are perfect for 1 to 3 year olds. Even if your child has mastered his or her colors, I can promise you that he or she will enjoy categorizing and collecting colored rocks!

Let's start by making the very simple painted rocks. You only need to paint one side. It's important to put a coat of white on first so that you colors turn out bright and vivid. I used simple acrylic paint (about $1 per bottle) from the craft store.

One of the greatest learning games for children is memory! This is perfect for 2+ years old. Have your child turn over rocks and try to make matches. Then, they place the matching colors into the coordinating container. I got these containers from The Dollar Tree (pack of 12!).

Another game is called Scattered Colors. Take all of your rocks and scatter them on the ground (yes, children love to play games on the ground!). They can either attempt to organize the colors themselves, or you can let them creatively organize the colors however they wish. A 1 year old might not be able to categorize the scattered colors, but a 3 year old will. This game provides a great opportunity for parents to talk about the colors that the child is picking up. For example, "Oh I see you picked out blue. I love blue! Don't you?"

Show Me is a wonderful game for 1 year olds. Place the rocks in their containers and place the lids in front of the containers (as pictured below). Say to your child, "Show me a red rock." Then, place the rocks on the colored lids. Remember, it's ok for them to make mistakes. They're learning! A good idea is to start with just 3 colors at a time and gradually introduce more colors as time goes on.

Stack the Colors is a fun game for kids that like to build! I like to play this game at the end (keep in mind, 5 minutes may be all your child can handle at this age). That way, the colors are organized and ready to be put away. A toddler LOVES to stack objects! Say, "I have the red rocks. Can you put the orange rocks on top? What about the yellow rocks, will those fit on top?" and so on.

If you're a DIY type mom like me, I hope you've enjoyed these ideas for teaching your children about colors. Educational games ~~can be~~ are expensive! This DIY project cost just a few dollars and we collected the rocks together outside. What is your child's favorite color game?

Here is another hands-on DIY project that I made to teach my children about shapes and colors last year:

The Best Pins on Pinterest, April 22

2013-04-22T08:10:00.001-07:00

The BEST Pins on Pinterest

I found the BEST Pins on Pinterest through Whimsy Wednesday, our weekly Link Party for bloggers. Do you have the best pin on Pinterest? Follow me on Pinterest and be sure link up your weekly posts every Tuesday at Whimsy Wednesday! Click here to see if you were featured on Last Week's Best Pins. Here are the BEST pins this week:

1. Custom Sea Glass Dresser Makeover by Art is Beauty

2. Shabby Stripped Stools by Denise on a Whim

3. Rice Krispies Pops by All Things Simple

4. Chocolate Dipped Berry Pops by Heather's French Press

5. DIY Toddler Apron by The Sunshine Moms

6. S'Mores Sliders by Mom on Timeout

7. One Sharp Cookie by The Partiologist

8. The Textile Vase by Meeha Meeha

9. Spring Wreath by Made in a Day

•••••••If you were featured, share the news with our party buttons found HERE•••••••

Do you want to be the first to know when I post the party? Be sure to subscribe to my blog HERE so you can snag the first few spots and get the most traffic at the party!

Ice Cream Cookies

2013-04-17T02:00:00.000-07:00

Ice Cream Cookies

Cookies with an ice cream center! Vanilla sandwich cookies, strawberry ice cream, and of course, pink milk. Adorable for a girl's party, a pretty shower, or a sweet treat on a hot day!

Do you love pretty pink treats? Click below to see Frosted Ice Cream:

Whimsy Wednesday, April 16th

2013-04-16T15:45:00.000-07:00

Smart School House Link Party

Whimsy Wednesday is known for bringing together impressive bloggers that love to promote and share their stunning posts (you are all SO talented!).

Are you wondering if you were featured from last week's party? Check out THE BEST OF THE BEST that I've sprinkled all over Pinterest by clicking below:

Follow The NY Melrose Family:

Follow Oh My! Creative:

#2 No parties or shops. But, everything else is accepted.

#3 Grab a Whimsy Wednesday party button and include it in your post or in your list of parties.

...

We all love receiving nice comments on our hard work. The more you give, the more you'll get. It's just how the universe works!

This Week's BEST Pins on Pinterest - April 15, 2013

2013-04-15T14:30:00.000-07:00

The BEST Pins on Pinterest

I found the BEST Pins on Pinterest through Whimsy Wednesday, our weekly Link Party for bloggers. Do you have the best pin on Pinterest? Follow me on Pinterest and be sure link up your weekly posts every Tuesday at Whimsy Wednesday! Here are the BEST pins this week:

1. Succulents and Spaghetti Jars by The Crafty Woman

2. Table for 4 by Simply Lovely Lumber

3. DIY Forever & Always Sign by 2 Crafty 4 My Skirt

4. Puzzle Heart Cookies by Lizzy B. Bakes

5. Decoupage Vase by While Wearing Hels

6. Tennis Inspired Centerpiece by Jacolyn Murphy

7. Embroidered Portrait with Felt Flowers by Do Small Things with Love

8. Top 5 Healthy Dessert Kindle Cook Books by Pink Recipe Box

9. Cheery Cherry & Cauliflower Smoothie by Anyonita Nibbles

10. Font Love by Wine and Glue

11. Mr. & Mrs. Pillows by Create Imagine Dream

12. Cookie Popcorn by Pint Sized Baker

If you were featured, share the news with the button below:

Canon Rebel Giveaway

2013-04-15T06:23:00.000-07:00

Canon Reble Giveaway

Win a Canon Rebel in this pretty giveaway!

Meet your hosts:

Simply Follow the Directions below to Enter. Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

I Also Have This Pretty Giveaway going on! Be sure to enter by clicking below:

The Canon giveaway is open to US and International residents. Please note that any winner outside of the US will be given a gift card to Amazon.comfor the full value of the camera, and will be responsible for shipping costs. All entries for the winner will be checked and verified, so please make sure you are doing what you are claiming in the Rafflecopter or all your entries will be voided. No funny business, folks. By entering you give the
right to use your name and likeness. Number of entries received determines the odds of winning. One winner will be
selected. This is a giveaway sponsored as a group buy, which means the bloggers pooled their money together to purchase this product for you. Canon is not a sponsor of this giveaway. Any & all social media outlets used in the Rafflecopter are not sponsors of the giveaway or are responsible for this giveaway in any way. Prize will be sent byAmazon.com. Protected tweets do not count as an entry method for tweeting. Tweets must come from a public account. Bloggers in this group giveaway and their immediate familymembers in their household cannot enter or win the giveaway. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law.
If you are contacted as the winner, you have 48 hours from the time the email is sent to respond to the email and claim your prize. If no response is received, a new winner will be picked without further notice to you.

Coach Giveaway

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$350 COACH Giveaway

Enter to win a $350 Coach Gift Card!

Welcome to the Coach Gift Card Giveaway! Have you ever dreamed of walking into the Coach store and buying anything you wanted? Well, one lucky reader is going to get the chance to do that because we’re giving away a $350 Coach Gift Card! You’ll be able to use your Coach gift card in stores or online and purchase any handbag or accessories that you like!

Giveaway is open worldwide and ends May 1st at 11:59 PM EST

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I also Have this Giveaway Going on! Click Below for Your Chance to Win:

The COACH giveaway is co-hosted and sponsored by the following amazing bloggers: Smart School House, This Mama Loves, Bay Area Mommy, Must Love Coupons, Beauty Brite, Racing and Saving Mama, Shopaholicmommy.com, Life's Cheap Thrills, Blog by Donna and The Penny Hoarder

Oh My Gosh Beck! is responsible for prize fulfillment. Comment entry is the only mandatory entry, all other entries are optional.

Frosted Ice Cream

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A Quick and Easy Dessert Idea: Frosted Ice Cream

Do you love quick and easy dessert ideas? I do! Frosted Ice Cream is the picture perfect

pink dessert. Made of strawberry ice cream and frosting.

Would you like another Pretty Inspiration for dessert? Go see Brownie Buckets!

Whimsy Wednesday, April 9th & an Exciting Announcement!

2013-04-09T15:45:00.000-07:00

Smart School House Link Party

Whimsy Wednesday is known for bringing together impressive bloggers who love to promote and share their stunning posts (you are all SO talented!).

Do you see what I see? YES, we have a pretty addition to our weekly link party! The NY Melrose Family and I are eager to introduce our newest co-host: Oh My! Creative. We think she is the perfect fit at this fabulous weekly event! Don't you?

For those of you looking to grow your blog, please note that the three of us are very active in sharing what you link up on Google+. Unlike other social media outlets, Google+ promotes SEO and authorship ranking (that's you). The more exposure you get on Google+, the better your blog is! We take pride in showing you off on

Are you wondering if you were featured from last week's party? Check out THE BEST OF THE BEST that I've sprinkled all over Pinterest

Follow The NY Melrose Family:

Follow Oh My! Creative:

#2 NO parties or shops. But, EVERYTHING ELSE is accepted.

#3 Grab a Whimsy Wednesday party button and include it in your post or in your list of parties.

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We all love receiving nice comments on our hard work. The more you give, the more you'll get. It's just how the universe works!