:: Crafts - end of school year treats

It was Ava's last day of preschool today.

They had a little program that the parents were able to watch.

Talk about adorable.

I found this cute "end of school year" bag topper

from Anything But Perfect.

And thank goodness we have a WinCo near us.

That's where we bought the yummy candy (for cheap).

We gave them to each of her classmates.

So, go here to print these free printables!

Oh, and guess what Ava wants to be when she grows up?

A ballerina and a dentist.

{I guess the visit to the dentist's office wasn't a complete failure.}

Although, when I ask her, she always seems to say "a ballerina, a dentist, and a nurse."

Look at my little multi-tasker!

:: Mother's Day - crafts

Mother's Day is almost here.

Are you ready?

I really need to mail a few special packages within the next few days.

Well, here's some cute Mother's Day printables

and crafts that I've found recently. . .

Source: myblessedlife.net via Amy on Pinterest

:: inexpensive mother's day canvas

Source: papercoterie.com via Amy on Pinterest

:: free printable from paper coterie

Source: smittenblogdesigns.blogspot.com via Amy on Pinterest

::  Mother's Day Brunch printable (hope the hubby is reading this . . .)

Source: tiffkeetch.blogspot.com via Amy on Pinterest

:: mother's day card

Source: thecreativeplace.blogspot.com via Amy on Pinterest

:: printable gift idea

Source: ourdailyobsessions.blogspot.com via Amy on Pinterest

:: the girl's made these for their grandmothers last year and since I've been
getting a ton of traffic from pinterest, I thought I'd post it again.
This one that Ava made me two years ago, is still hanging on my fridge!

:: Christmas - reindeer food

Last week I was trying to figure out 

what to give Ava's little preschool friends for Christmas.

I'd seen these idea on Pinterest.

Reindeer Food.

Of course.

They'd love that.

And Ava loved the idea too.

And it's so simple!

Just get some oats, sprinkles, and glitter, (or other reindeer snacks)

mix and put it in a snack size ziplock bag.

Print this topper here and you're done.

They'll love sprinkling this on the lawn/snow on Christmas Eve.


{here are those sneaky, little hands again - - always trying to grab what I'm photographing.
at least they're cute, sneaky hands.}

Some other free printables for reindeer food

can be found below.

Source: tomkatstudio.blogspot.com via Amy on Pinterest

Source: mychicnscratch.com via Amy on Pinterest

Source: mychicnscratch.com via Amy on Pinterest

Source: memyselfandu2.blogspot.com via Amy on Pinterest

Source: kerryspapercrafts.com via Amy on Pinterest

Source: memyselfandu2.blogspot.com via Amy on Pinterest

:: Christmas - on my to-do list

So there are a few things I want to make this

year before Christmas has come and gone.

Our Christmas tree still has no skirt.
Embarassing, huh.

Each year I say I'm gonna make one and I end up being too busy.

But this year it's gonna happen.
No really, it is.

I really need to schedule it in.

This is what I'm going to make.
A no-sew ruffle Christmas tree skirt.

Source: missmustardseed.blogspot.com via Amy on Pinterest

We have Christmas stockings,
but I've always wanted to make my own.
And these are the ones I'm going to try to re-create.
Ruffles for us girls and something more manly for the hubs.

Source: etsy.com via Amy on Pinterest

What's on your list to get done this December?

craft: 10 minute Father's Day gift

Here's a really easy Father's Day gift that your little ones will love to make with you.

Supplies:

- bottle of Root Beer {bought at Target in a six pack for $2.84 - the hubby's been trying to drink them all week long}

- cupcake liner {any color}

- ribbon {I used brown but really wanted to use a navy blue, but going to the craft store, last minute, with two little girls in tow, didn't seem very appealing to me}

- white and blue cardstock

1. Place ribbon around neck of Root Beer and cross. Where it crosses you want to glue with a glue gun.

2. Take the cupcake liner and scrunch it in the middle and then flatten it.

3. I was in the process of making a printable for the writing {world's best POP}, but for some reason, our printer's not working . . . so handwritten it is on white cardstock.

4. The white, circular cardstock glued to dk. blue, circular cardstock - slightly larger. Then glued to middle of flattened cupcake liner.

5. Glue cupcake liner to ribbon {where it crosses}

and you're finished!

He's definitely gonna love this!

I'll be posting to the linking parties here.

craft: mother's day card and canvas

Whoa. Mother's Day is definitely creeping up on us. Here are a few ideas. It's next Sunday people!!!
Last year, this was given to me by Ava for Mother's Day. So cute and so easy! I actually still have it hanging on my fridge {the wings are traced from her hand}. Just place a magnet on the back.

I think we might make these for Reese and Ava's grandmas.

The poem:
This isn't just a butterfly as you can plainly see.
I made it with my hand which is a part of me. It comes with lots of love especially to say,
I hope you have a very Happy Mother's Day!

or if you aren't into the diy card thingy . . . a photo canvas is a great gift to give your mother/grandmother or {send this post to your hubby - - he'll get the clue}.
Right now Canvas People still has their deal of a free 8x10 and you just pay for shipping, plus they'll do free touchups {for mother's day}. Just click here. {although if you buy one today, you won't get it in time for Mother's Day - - but still an awesome late gift, right?}

Oh, and don't forget about my giveaway! It ends on Saturday!
And I'll be linking to these parties here.

sewing: toddler neck pillow

We'll be going on a road trip soon and to make it more comfortable for little Ava, I decided to make a neck pillow. It's so sad to see her little bobble-head. So, hopefully this will help.

I like the tutorial found here from Make It and Love It. And it was really easy! You do have to make your own pattern (but all you really do it just draw a horseshoe shape). Made two in under an hour (after I figured out the pattern). And I already had everything I needed.

I also made one for her little cousin. Rumor has it that he doesn't do so well on long car rides.

I'll be linking to the "linking parties" here. Have a great weekend!!!

Craft/Sewing: alphabet bean bags

I've been wanting to make Ava some alphabet bean bags for a while now. And after seeing this tutorial here, I decided that I needed to do it. These were going to be christmas presents, but I procrastinated and December became a little too hectic. So I decided to make them for Ava's birthday. I already had all of the fabric, freezer paper, and paint. Awesome.

Thanks to this friend who let me use her cricut, I was able to cut the letters out that way instead of using an exacto knife (way too time consuming - - I learned my lesson after making these). Painted them using brown fabric paint and then putting the beans in and sewing them together.

I think they turned out so cute! And the little missy liked them too (although, for awhile she's just been using them as her "babies", puts them in a bucket, and goes on her way - - silly girl)!

And come back soon! Cause I think I might be doing a giveaway involving a few numbers on bean bags.

Crafts: freezer paper stenciling

This little girl can't wait to meet her little sis. 2 more weeks left . . . and counting. She's ready. And so am I!

One of the projects I wanted to finish before having this little one, was to make big sister/little sister shirts. I'd always wanted to try out the freezer paper stenciling and thought this was the perfect opportunity.

Made has a great tutorial on freezer paper stenciling. Go here to check it out.

-I don't have a fancy program and just made my design off of Microsoft Word. The owls were part of the clipart.

-I was able to print it off right onto the freezer paper (you want the ink on the dull side and not on the shiny side).

- Then you have the really fun part (definite sarcasm coming through - - if you couldn't tell). You get to cut it out with an exacto knife. This is the longest process (if you have words - - tiny words).

- Iron on the freezer paper (shiny side down) to the shirt.

-Use fabric paint (I used the Tulip brand) to blot the paint on the shirt and let dry for 3-4 hours.

-When you're done, you'll get something cute like the shirts above. (this was my first time and I did have some bleeding through - - especially with the name Reese. Need to figure out what to do next time.)

Ava absolutely loved her shirt. She couldn't stop looking at the finished product on herself. I can't wait to get a picture with the girls in them together.

I'll be linking to some of the parties below.