Embellishing Life

A non-crafty kind of post

2012-08-31T13:18:00.001-05:00

Enjoy handfuls of priceless moments this holiday weekend.

See you Monday :)

Children's Initial Art

2012-08-30T07:10:00.000-05:00

Pinterest was overflowing with ideas for initial art like this, and it had been far too long since we finger painted. So we did.

Step 1.) I cut their initials in vinyl and stuck it on the thick cardstock.

Step #2 They painted.

He took the whole hand approach...

...while she took the finger tip approach. Each artist has their own technique :)

Step No.3) After they dried I removed the vinyl and framed.

I bought cheap dollar store frames and hung them on their bedroom doors. You could paint the frames if you wanted, but I preferred the raw wood look.

have a happy, messy, crafty kind of day :)

Children's Memory Binders and Memory Keeping

2012-08-28T09:45:00.000-05:00

After accumulating piles of drawing, certificates, and cards, I was feeling overwhelmed with stacks of paper. I didn't want to just toss them in a box on a shelf, so I got a couple of these chipboard binders. I liked them because we could paint or draw directly on them.

They put their handprints on their binder, in their favorite color, of course.

Inside I put anything paper of theirs that we want to save...

artwork...

Sunday School papers...

ticket stubs...

cards(some in sheet protectors)...

certificates(did you know Home Depot offers FREE kid workshops on the first Saturday of each month? Pretty awesome!)...

cards(some punched directly and put in the rings).

I love it. They can pull them off the bookshelf, look through them and be reminded of things they've done or accomplished. When it's full we begin a new binder with updated handprints.

I don't put any pictures in these because I use them in our project life binder. Do you do project life? I admittedly am behind...always. I get caught up, and then get behind again. At least it always get completed by the end of the year.

Since I inevitably get behind, I use a date book to record things I do not want to forget. Later when I'm working on Project life I pull out the datebook and remember to document in detail with the pictures. It works for me. I record a lot of the sweet things the kids say or the places we go and things we do together.

This time while they are young is precious. It goes fast and little things can easily be forgotten. Keeping memory books and project life helps me to hang on to the little moments forever.

Link up with me at these parties

Sugar Bee, A Bowl Full of Lemons, A Diamond in the Stuff,

Carolyn's Homework, Funky Polkadot Giraffee, Today's Creative Blog,

Debbie Does Creations, Ginger Snap Crafts, Sew Much Ado, Someday Crafts, Lil' Luna , Trendy Treehouse, Free Pretty Things for You,

The Shabby Creek Cottage, Beyond the Picket Fence, Yesterday on Tuesday, Katie's Nesting Spot, House of Hepworths, At the picket Fence,

Somewhat Simple,

Have you tried this spread? I'm addicted {Nut free muddy buddies}

2012-08-27T09:06:00.000-05:00

We have been searching for a delicious peanut butter substitute for years. Finding a completely nut-free spread that's also delicious is not an easy feat!

How we have not found this one sooner, I do not know!

Biscoff Spread...have you had this? I'm addicted.

When the hubs brought it home I was skeptical. We have tried every other nut free spread we could find and they were all disappointments. After all, peanut butter is a lot to live up to. When he brought this home, I did the toast test. You'll know it's a suitable substitute if it's delicious on toast (in my opinion :). And it was heavenly. There are 3 jars of these babies stocked in our pantry. It kind of has a graham cracker taste. Delicious.

Since it passed the test I gave it a try as a peanut butter substitute in muddy buddies. Again, delicious! I used the Betty Crocker recipe, and just replaced the peanut butter with the Biscoff spread.

I can't wait to try this spread in other holiday recipes that call for peanut butter. I have a feeling it will be just as tasty!

Is it fall yet?

2012-08-25T09:08:00.002-05:00

I am so excited that fall is right around the corner.

source

I LOVE all things fall. The colors, the pumpkins, the smells, the foods, the cozy clothes...it's all good in my book.

source

The fun of dressing up and trick-or-treating is right around the corner, then falling leaves and Thanksgiving yummies, and then Christmas! I'm getting way ahead here, because today it's 90 degrees and August. You get the idea though...I big, fat puffy heart love fall.

If you are craving some fall inspiration check out these last projects:

Yummy fall fairy wands

Fall pennant centerpiece

Simple fall candle

Fall burlap pennant

Fall pie pops

Kids craft leaf print

This weekend I'm working on a couple things that I hope to share next week. We will see how far I get considering we all have colds, and right now I'm looking like this in front of the computer:

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Have a wonderful weekend full of crafty inspiration.

Rainbow Cupcakes

2012-08-22T17:48:00.004-05:00

A couple weeks ago we celebrated the little lady's birthday with a rainbow themed party. I've seen loads of inspiring ideas for rainbow cupcakes and figured I'd give it a try.

I didn't think the rainbow strips of candy were going to stand up well, but surprisingly they did. I cut the Xtreme Belts very small and it worked out fine.

But for me the most exciting part was having a proper place to store the cupcakes! Who knew they even made a cupcake carrier/storage thingy?! Well, I didn't until a few months ago! When I saw them, I snagged one up right away.

In the past I have resorted to using some interesting things to transport cupcakes.

See my pumpkin cupcakes for proof :)

Tooth Fairy Passport

2012-08-21T06:00:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I wrote about a visit from the tooth fairy and what a big deal she is around here. For that reason, we needed a fun way to document this exciting time. Why not a tooth fairy passport? :)

Using card stock, washi tape, baker's twine, and a tooth fairy stamp set, we put together this passport holder.

Now we needed to complete the inside.

Shaped by Grace via Homemaker in Heels kindly offers some free printables for just such a thing.

Tucked in one side pocket is the Tooth Travels punch card.

In the other pocket is Tooth Journal cards for documenting how each tooth was lost. It will be nice to look back at their handwriting, too. On the back side the tooth fairy can even leave a little note.

This passport will become a perfect keepsake!

Do you have any tooth fairy traditions?

Tooth Fairy Visit

2012-08-20T07:50:00.001-05:00

Last month she finally lost her first tooth! This was HUGE for her. She has watched friends and classmates lose teeth over the last year. This has been a long...long...long wait. When a tooth finally came out, grandparents were called...of course. Until bedtime the tooth was safely placed on mama's dresser, and repeatedly checked on.

For her this was an exciting, magical day.

For me, it was a precious memory watching my little girl submerge in childhood magic and wonder.

Finally, bedtime came and she was eagerly awaiting the tooth fairy, with the tooth fairy door set on her nightstand.

We read Silverlicious.

Which is the most adorable tooth fairy book I have ever read.

When morning came we discovered a trail of tooth fairy dust coming from the tooth fairy door. It was a path of tiny, shiny silver stars. The little lady said, "She must be so beautiful."

In place of her tooth she found a gold dollar coin and an official tooth fairy coin.

The tooth fairy also leaves one beautiful bead in exchange for the tooth. After loosing enough teeth, we'll have enough beads to make a pretty bracelet.

Tomorrow I'll share our tooth fairy passport.

See you then!

Linking up here:
todayscreativeblog.net/handmade-crafts/
adiamondinthestuff.blogspot.com/
www.sugarbeecrafts.com/
carolynshomework.blogspot.com/
funkypolkadotgiraffe
homestoriesatoz.com
.notjustahousewife
the trendy treehouse create-and-share
ginger snap crafts wow-me-wednesday

Back to School Ideas

2012-08-17T18:00:00.000-05:00

We tried taking a picture on the patio with "1st grade" written in chalk next to her. The light was just not cooperating with us. Well, you can kind of read it :)

This week I shared some back to school ideas.

Whether you've already started school or will be soon, I hope it's a smooth and successful transition!

These are some previous posts with a school theme.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Homework Station - in progress {Back to School}

2012-08-16T21:25:00.001-05:00

With school starting, I wanted to have a space set aside for homework (and crafting). A place where any supply can be found. Including a pretty painted cork board for holding tools or papers.

After seeing this lovely painted cork board at the happy home blog, I remembered that I had an unused bulletin board in the basement. Last summer I used it for our summer bucket list, but now it was just sitting empty waiting for an inspired project.

I didn't have any painters tape on hand, so I used some washi tape I had. Which worked well anyway! I started off measuring where to place the tape...got impatient...and started estimating distances.

I think the white paint on the cork looks great. Eventually I'd like to add a couple more boards around it in varying color shades.

Once the whole craft "room" is complete I'll share pictures of the whole space. For now, this is just our homework station. Set up with pencils, erasers, scissors, crayons, and this handy reference...

This first grade helper is from Fabulous in First.

I love that framed printable on the far right. It was a freebie from Blue Cricket Design. It's a great reminder :)

Those papers that look like they're just hanging in the air are actually clipped up on this burlap covered board we made to display the kids art.

All these little elements are starting to make our space more functional.

More to come :)

Linking with:
.fingerprints on the fridge
at the picket fence
504 main tickled-pink
shabby nest
simply designing
naptime crafters
debbie does creations
man up link up

Teacher Gift {Back to School}

2012-08-15T21:11:00.000-05:00

We went to meet the little lady's new teacher today, and brought her a set of personalized pencils in pretty packaging.

I ordered pencils with her teacher's name on them. I get these for the little lady each school year, too. She'll always know which pencils are hers :)

I used a free printable from Tip Junkie to complete the package.

I don't remember where I got the notebook bags, but I found some at a shop on Etsy if you're looking for some.

Last year we gave her teacher a candy treat to start the year.

How do you start off the year with a new teacher?

Sharing here:
yesterdayontuesday
beyondthepicketfence
theshabbycreekcottage

Teaching How to Tell Time {Back to School}

2012-08-14T22:58:00.001-05:00

It's back to school week around here! Telling time falls right in with that theme.

Our little lady is learning to read a clock. I loved this idea from The Thrifty Turtle for helping learn to read an analog clock.

I found a super cheap, and small, analog clock on Amazon for this project. The card stock I had in my paper stash, so the grand total for this was only around $9. Not a bad price tag for something that will {hopefully} make learning to tell time easier.

I hot glued the petals to the back of the clock.

We hung it on the wall with 3M picture hangers. Do you use those? I use them for everything! I think they are the best thing since sliced bread! No holes in the wall :)

{Coming up next...a teacher gift idea.}

Our Summer Wrap Up

2012-08-10T21:43:00.000-05:00

School is starting up again soon, and summer fun is winding down. We never get to do as much I hope, but we still have fun. Next week I'll be sharing some school themed goodies.

Until next year, sweet summer fun!

A Purple House

2012-08-09T09:17:00.000-05:00

I came across this house shadow box on Etsy and thought it was adorable for a little girl's room.

I quickly snatched it up before it was gone.

I wanted to pretty it up for the little lady's room.

I painted it and added pretty scrapbook paper.

I love how it turned out.

We might fill it with some of her collections.

I think it looks cute just as it is though.

Her room is slowly coming together. :)

Sharing here:
http://www.somewhatsimple.com
http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com
http://www.yesterdayontuesday.typepad.com/
http://www.houseofhepworths.com
http://bec4-beyondthepicketfence.blogspot.com/
http://tatertotsandjello.com
http://www.504main.com
http://shabbynest.blogspot.com/
http://www.itsoverflowing.com/

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl

2012-08-08T06:00:00.000-05:00

Our little lady is turning 6 tomorrow. When she wakes up she will find her bedroom floor covered with these balloons, which are covering my kitchen floor right now.

The kids and puppy went to bed, and I blew up a bag of balloons.

Time sure does fly. Slow down little girl.

An American Girl Lunch

2012-08-05T23:31:00.000-05:00

In honor of our little lady's approaching birthday, we went and had a lovely lunch at the American Girl Cafe in Chicago. It was definitely a thrill for our little girl (and for this mama, too!). We loved it so much that I had to share some pictures of our fun.

The Cafe was so cute and girly.

The ties around the napkins are little souvenir hair ties.

Of course, there were booster seats and tea cups for the dolls.

The pink box of conversation cards on the table were a huge hit.

Silly girl. Laughing while answering the questions.

Even the food was cute!

The desserts...oh my.

We had a fabulous time :)

Preschool Alphabet Books

2012-08-03T22:04:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite things I've done with my kids is their preschool alphabet books. The little lady looks back through hers all the time. It's a learning tool turned keepsake.

The little guy's we're doing a little differently than hers. He will start 3 year old preschool this Fall, so we are only in the process of making his book now. We love our Do-A-Dot Markers, so when I came across these printable letters from Tot School we were set. I printed each letter and bound it into a spiral with my Cinch.

On the opposite blank page we will make some sort of handprint animal that begins with the letter. That's what I think makes it such a sweet keepsake for when they are older...looking back at those sweet little hands.

Which brings me to the little lady's book..

Hers we did on carstock or construction paper (whatever was handy). The idea for each page came from Moments of Mommyhood. She has awesome ideas for each letter! We used a lot of hers, but some we came up with ourselves. We needed the word we used had to be relevant, something she can identify with in her real life, for the book to serve it's purpose...becoming familiar with letter sounds.

I'm only posting the pictures of the letters we did differently, for the rest of them check out her blog.

B for Butterfly, Bunny, Bee

C for Circles

M for Monkey

F for Family

V for Vacation

W for Worms (twine )

Q for Queen

Z for Zhu Zhu Pets
(seriously, this one is my favorite! She loved these things!)

Sharing here:

It's Overflowing

I Heart Nap Time

niftythriftythings

A Girly Gallery Wall

2012-08-02T23:20:00.000-05:00

The little lady has a completely purplicious room.

She wanted all of her walls super dark purple, more like this:

We convinced her the lighter shade is called "fairy purple," and then she was more agreeable to it.

crisis averted.

So now I've begun working on a little gallery wall. I'm liking how it's turning out so far.

A couple years ago, I took a picture of her, cut it out, and used paper flowers and embellishments to turn her into a garden fairy. It's one of my favorite things in her room.

The fancy frame it's in is from Cut it Out. Have you seen these?! Such cute designs!

A very vintage post card from my Aunt, sent to me when I was little. It fits in perfectly with all the fairies in her room.

I love this. Every girl should believe these things about themselves. This is actually from Amber May Be. She offers a free printable on her blog.

I wanted it BIG so I cut the words out with vinyl, stuck them on a blank white canvas, painted, and removed the letters.

Her first dollar from her Great-Grandpa.

HAD to be framed.

It's a work in progress, but it's coming along...

linking up here:
Craft-O-Maniac
http://www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com/

Kids Art with A Mason Jar Printable

2012-08-01T21:00:00.000-05:00

You can find anything on Pinterest.

I have a board just for all the fabulous printables I come across. I love that people generously offer some of their talented creations for free!

One of my pins was of a FREE mason jar printable from Sweetly Scrapped. Being summer and all, we thought it would be fun to make fingerprint bugs in our jars.

Yellow lightning bugs, red ladybugs, and green caterpillars fill our jars.

What would your kiddos fill their jar with?

Find more kids craft ideas here and here.

a new addition...

2012-07-31T21:48:00.001-05:00

We've expanded our family...on the furry side, that is.

Meet Briggs.

He is a sweetheart, and the kids love him.

This is what I kept reminding myself at about 1:30 am...when I had a crying and yelping puppy and a crying 3 year old...all while the hubby was working.

It's like having a newborn again, that's for sure.

But, in the 3 days he's been with us, he's already made our lives richer.

I've seen a nurturing and responsible side emerge in my ladybug girl.

She is like a doting mama on that pup.

Even the 3 year old little guy has stepped up and helped with small tasks.

So, tonight...at 2am...when there's more yelping and crying...I'll re-read this post and just say a prayer of thanks for coffee.

Lord have mercy.

Rainbow Invitation

2012-07-30T06:00:00.000-05:00

Making the invitations is my favorite part of planning the kiddos birthday parties.

The ladybug is turning six and celebrating with a rainbow party.

(The idea for the rainbow twizzlers and cloud topper came from TomKatStudio via Parenting)

Olympic Rings Craft

2012-07-27T22:29:00.002-05:00

Did you watch the Opening Ceremonies?

We did and I was so surprised my munchkins were so engrossed in it all!

To get in the Olympic spirit we made some fun art inspired by THIS Olympic poster.

Here is our version...

We started with a couple of these

I'm not the only one with a drawer full of these little medicine cups, am I????

Well, we found a fun use for ours!

We dipped them in paint and stamped away on white paper.

Before we painted we colored these Olympic rings that we printed FREE from Activity Village.

Sharing Here:

http://sassysites.blogspot.com/
http://tatertotsandjello.com
http://www.atthepicketfence.com/
http://www.naptimecrafters.com/

http://www.bedifferentactnormal.com

http://www.niftythriftythings.com/

http://www.itsoverflowing.com/

http://www.craft-o-maniac.com/

http://www.sew-much-ado.com/

http://www.gingersnapcrafts.com/

http://thetrendytreehouse.blogspot.com/

http://somedaycrafts.blogspot.com/

http://www.yesterdayontuesday.typepad.com/

http://www.houseofhepworths.com

Fairy Garden {mini}

2012-07-26T21:50:00.001-05:00

We love fairies around here.

This summer we I wanted our fairy garden to be simple, but still cute enough to encourage fairies to come on in and rest their wings :)

Inspired by the set up of THIS Easter garden we made, we came up with this garden.

The tiny house was one of the birdhouses you find at Michael's craft store for $1.

I cut the hole in front to the size of a door.

Bird house turned fairy house :)

One of my little helpers.

I think he had the most fun playing in the dirt and turning it to mud with the water mister.

See our fairy garden from last summer HERE

Last winter we made a fairy garden in a drawer

We made an autumn fairy house, too.

Linking along here:
http://www.atthepicketfence.com/
http://sassysites.blogspot.com/
http://www.504main.com/
http://shabbynest.blogspot.com/
http://www.houseofhepworths.com/2012/07/25/hookin-up-with-hoh-109/
http://tatertotsandjello.com
http://www.naptimecrafters.com/
http://adiamondinthestuff.blogspot.com

a gift for a "bright" graduate

2012-06-04T21:58:00.000-05:00

I was so inspired when I found light bulb jars at Hobby Lobby. I've seen so many clever things done with old light bulbs, but I had no idea there were actual light bulb jars! I got a little excited. I just thought it was pretty cool.

So I got a few and made little treats for graduates. (These jars are filled with lemon heads.) You could make some cute printable tags, but I had these yellow Martha Stewart tags in my stash just waiting to be used.

Ideas for messages:

"Your future looks bright"

"You're one bright kid"

...you get the idea here :)

You could even pretty 'em up a little more with ribbons in the school colors and such.

These were for a couple of older boys, so I didn't think they'd care so much for

all that ribbon and frilly stuff :)

I found my light bulb jars here.

Linking up here:
http://todayscreativeblog.net/diy-craft-ideas/
http://www.craft-o-maniac.com/
http://www.sugarbeecrafts.com/
http://www.tipjunkie.com/homemade-projects-6-5/
http://adiamondinthestuff.blogspot.com/
http://debbiedoescreations.com/

It's been awhile...

2012-06-01T16:41:00.000-05:00

So I haven't been posting much...at all.

I'm hoping I'll come up with something fabulous to share soon, but for now I'm just doing lots of copycat crafting.

I've also just been taking time.

Life is short. Moments are precious.

So I'll post occasionally when I have something to share, and will not longer be hosting the link party. On my Inspiration page you will find loads of fabulous link up parties, so check them out. :)