I just got my Mother's Day gifts in the mail. I really meant to on Monday, but the boxes I had were too big for the Priority Mail box, and then baby had a blowout, the boys were whining about making another trip to the post office and that was it. I seriously just gave up. Some days that's just how being a mother is, right?

I saw this quote on Pinterest last week and thought it would be perfect for my Mother's Day cards for my mom and mother-in-law (who is like a second mom--I'm so lucky!). The sweet part is that we just found out we really are {finally} going home! We just took a job back in Utah, and I'm so excited to be back near our families. I have loved everywhere we've lived, and it's been good for us to have some space as a family, but I'm ready to be back. My kids need it, and I need it. Sometimes I just need my mom, and being a $900 plane ticket away does not work out well for that! So here is a little peek at their cards. . .

I always take a long time to make cards, but these came together pretty quickly. I just layered a few coordinating papers, used mini alphabet stickers (by Making Memories) to spell out my sentiment (the big letters are Thickers by American Crafts), adding a few buttons, some ribbon, and some machine stitching. Voila.

I was making up these {relatively} easy Mother's Day cards when my friend Lori offered to let us share her Mother's Day card printable for free. MUCH easier and just as cute! Unfortunately, my printer is on the fritz, so I guess it's a good thing I already had something going. I loved the quote on motherhood she used, though:

"Motherhood. . .is near divinity. It is the highest, holiest service to be assumed by mankind. It places her who honors its holy calling and service next to the angels." ~James R. Clark

Somehow I sometimes forget that I'm like an angel when I'm changing a dirty diaper, so it's nice to be reminded! Now that we're just a few days away from Mother's Day, some of you may be looking for a quick and easy Mother's Day card that you can print and get in the mail today, and here it is! Thanks, Lori! It includes two cards on one sheet of paper, so you have multiple moms, grandmas, friends, etc. covered. Get the printable here.
Happy Mother's Day!

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Yay! My friend Lori of Sister Secrets was willing to share another darling subway art with us for Easter!

I thought the cute spring words (with polka dots and fun fonts!) would make a fabulous backdrop for my decoupaged Easter eggs. The colors are perfect!

Download this free Easter subway art printable now while it's still free! After this week you can find it for sale in her Etsy shop. Thanks Lori--love you!

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It's one of the best days of the year (for my kids) today--St. Patrick's day! They can't get enough of the leprechaun that visits each March 17th. All his silly tricks never seem to get old! Green milk, green toilet water, chairs on the table, cupboards and drawers open wide. . . And they are so determined to catch him that I wouldn't be surprised if we ended up with our own little prisoner pet leprechaun this year.

I didn't do a lot of decorating this year (this new baby thing has still got me a little out of whack schedule-wise), so I'm so happy that my friend Lori offered us her St. Patrick's day subway art printable for free! Isn't it cute? I love the little kiss mark over the "i". This is such an easy way to decorate for your St. Paddy's party! Throw it in a frame like I did with her Christmas and Valentine's printables and you've got a great centerpiece starter. But it's only free this week--after that you can find it in her shop. Enjoy! And let me know if any of your leprechaun traps work this year! ;)

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I saw these cute Valentine bubbles in tubes with little heart bubble wands at Walmart and thought they'd made a perfect "sugarless" Valentine for my boys' classes! If you can't find them with the Valentine's stuff, I've seen them in white in the wedding aisle at Walmart, Michael's, etc., and at OrientalTrading.com. I made up some quick (and free) printable labels so you can print a Valentine's message on address labels and stick them on the bubble tubes in half a jiff! The labels read, "Don't 'burst' my bubble, Valentine. Be Mine!" Here's one of my little Valentines enjoying his bubbles. . .

Kids Bubbles Valentine Idea
Supplies:



*Heart wand bubble tubes
*Avery address labels in size 5162 (size is 1 1/3" x 4" and there are 14 per sheet)

Download and print the label file on 1 1/3" x 4" self-adhesive address labels (I used Avery 5162 labels, product #48862 or 48462). Note: These are a little larger than standard address labels you might have on hand. If you use the right size, these will print perfectly in the center of your labels!

These were a little long for my bubble tubes, so I cut about a quarter inch off each short end before peeling them off the label sheet. Click here or on the image to go to our free printable download site. I included pink and blue writing in case your child has a preference.

Center the label on the tube and press on. That's it! You could tie a little "from ____" tag on it, or have your child write it on the labels before peeling them off if you wanted. Or even stick them to a card stock heart with a note. Either way, it's a quick and inexpensive "treat" that won't rot your kids' teeth this Valentine's day!

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First, a little money-saving tip when using candy in a table display. I wanted to fill this simple vase with Valentine M&Ms, but at $3.50 a bag, I didn't want to buy more than 2. So I used this little trick to "fill" my vase on a budget.
Supplies:
*Glass vase, bowl, or apothecary jar
*Favorite holiday candy
*Glass cup that will fit inside your glass container with room on all sides
*Optional: ribbons and trinket to dress up your jar



3. To dress it up, add decorative ribbon, ric rac, baker's twine, etc. around the center of the container. I also tied on a little mercury glass heart ornament from my Christmas decorations.When it gets closer to Valentine's, I'll remove the cup and let my kids eat the candy. But for a few weeks they know it is strictly decorative (my husband is the only one who doesn't seem to follow that rule--grrr!). 

Now for the free Valentine's subway art! This free (for a limited time) Valentines Day subway art comes again from our friend Lori of SisterSecrets. You may remember the Christmas subway art she offered to our readers last month--isn't she sweet? It's now in her Etsy shop. You can get the Valentine's subway art printable here while it's free! And for more fun stuff (like her Abundant Life printable subway art), check out the Sister Secrets Etsy shop!
You may notice I kept my Christmas table runner out (doilies are totally Valentines, right?) and even reused the frame from the Christmas subway art. I'm all about making it easy! But I did make a new paper pennant bunting to hang across the front that matches the colors in the printable. Love it! Thanks, Lori!

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One of my dearest friends, Erin recently moved away. I have been so sad and I miss her! Luckily, her move is only temporary, but I still miss our regular dinners out together and takeout lunches at one of our houses. She is such a great friend and I want to be just like her when I grow up. She has way too much creativity and amazing-ness for one person. She made these adorable heart-warmers on her blog, Lovesome (you must go check it out!) and is sharing them with us today! These are the perfect gift for a friend or someone you love. I will be using this to keep me warm and fuzzy while Erin is away.

i've been seeing the sweetest little hand-warmers surfacing around the web lately. what a sweet idea and a great way to keep your hands and the hands of those you love warm on chilly mornings. all you have to do is heat it up in the microwave and drop it in your pocket or mittens. they are so easy and so much cuter (and cheaper!) than those little warming packets you can buy at the grocery store. plus, they are reusable. cute, easy, practical, and environmentally friendly, what more can you ask for?


making one is so simple, and while a sewing machine makes them faster, it is not necessary to use one. in fact, it was so easy that i didn't even take any pictures during the process.

here's how you do it:
1. cut two of the same shape out felt (two hearts, two stars. etc.). make sure they are the same size.
2. sew the pieces together leaving about half-an-inch open.
3. using a funnel, fill the shape with rice through the unsewn opening.
4. hand-stitch the opening closed.
voila! done! so easy and so sweet, right?
i found that about 25 seconds in the microwave is perfect, but you might want to try out a few different cooking times, depending on the size of your warmer. (make sure no metal accidentally gets shoved in the warmer, you don't want any explosions in the microwave!)


i made a cute little tag to add to mine, turning it into the perfect little gift or party favor.
do you want some, too? download your own here.
enjoy!

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Ok, I know by now I sound like a broken record, but holy cow I love Pinterest. Probably too much. I came across these DIY Star Wars Snowflakes the other day and knew it would be perfect for my boys! They are obsessed with anything Star Wars, and since it was Christmas vacation we were looking for some fun activities. It did get tricky at some points since the designs are so intricate, but my husband did those little cuts with an exacto knife and it all worked out great.

The great thing is that you can just download the PDF for whichever character you want so it is all ready to go for you! Once it is printed you cut the circle out.

 After you have your circle cut out, you will need to fold on the lines in order to get it lined up for cutting through all the layers. For a detailed diagram on how to fold it, see HERE.


There are plenty of others you can download too! Pretty cool! My boys were in awe each time a snowflake was unfolded to reveal a character. I think it would be so neat to string a bunch of these together for a star wars snowflake garland! What a great party decoration!

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Another great tutorial from Kalli of Sister Secrets while I madly sew last minute burp cloths and blankets! This perpetual calendar would be a great project to work on with sisters or friends during the holiday break. She's even provided free printables for the calendar pieces! Thanks, Kalli!

I recently purchased the We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper.  I love the Crop-a-dile, and have been eyeing the Chomper for some time.  After buying the Chomper, I had to come up with a great way to use it, so my husband wouldn’t roll his eyes (as much) at my purchase of “another unnecessary crafty tool.”  I came up with this adorable perpetual calendar, a project that would put my Chomper to good use!  Let me show you how to make one yourself.

Perpetual Calendar Tutorial & Printables

8. For the Month, Day and Number markers, cut two 2 x 1.25 inch rectangles and one 1.5 x 1.25 rectangle out of the magnet sheet.  I covered the non-magnetic side with some extra pieces of scrapbook paper I had on hand, just because I’m crazy like that!  Now cut a window with the craft knife out of each rectangle leaving 0.25 inch boarder.  

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Yes, I'm still trying to get my holiday decorating done, aren't you? Please say yes so I don't feel so pathetic. Today I knocked out three projects in between trips to the auto repair shop and the grocery store that I'll share this week. Thank goodness for quick and easy ideas! The first only took a few minutes, thanks to my friends Kalli and Lori of Sister Secrets. Lori created this darling Christmas subway art, and Kalli framed it and added the bunting for a gorgeous piece of holiday artwork! (Doesn't it remind you of this countdown she made that I also stole? I love Kalli's style!) Lori is the sweetest--I met her this summer on a trip up to Minnesota to see Kalli and she was an instant friend! Love when that happens. I think you'll like her, too, especially when you find out she's letting us offer her cute Christmas wording as a free printable! UPDATE: The free period is up, but this darling printable is now available for purchase in the SisterSecrets Etsy shop!
 
To create my framed subway art, I first printed out the words on a piece of white card stock. I cut it down a little to fit in my 8x10 frame. Then I proceeded to copy Kalli's fab idea. I took a $2 frame I found at the best thrift store in the Twin Cities (Valu Thrift!) and painted it red. I used Martha Stewart Crafts awesome all-purpose acrylic paint (it's gotten waaay to cold to spray paint here!) and scuffed it up a bit with a piece of sandpaper after it dried. Then I made a little bunting out of scraps of patterned paper like I did here. I hung it on a piece of baker's twine and secured it to the back with a piece of tape. Voila!

Merry decorating! Thanks so much to Kalli and Lori of Sister Secrets for this free Christmas printable! Now go to the SisterSecrets Etsy shop and purchase your copy right now!

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