Heart Attack

So, here is a quick way to tell your family that you love them.  Each night, write a quick little note on the back of a heart and tape it to their bedroom door along with a Hershey's kiss.  Then, when they wake up, they get to read their sweet note and eat their sweet treat.  Plus, it adds some fun Valentines decor to the house!

Yes, my son left his wrapper taped to the door...kids!

I started on February 1st, but you could start anytime.  My plan is to go through Valentines Day.  My kids {and husband} have LOVED it, and it is fun for me to put in writing all the things I love about them!

Happy Valentines!

My little owlets {rice warmers}

I like to do a homemade gift for my kids each year for Christmas, but with just a week until Christmas, I still didn't have one made.  Plus, I didn't have the slightest idea what I should make.  Well, thank goodness for PINTEREST!

I saw the cutest little owls, and it linked to a GREAT tutorial!  The best part was that I didn't have to go to the store because I just used fabric scraps, and they came together really pretty quickly.  I absolutely LOVE how they turned out!

Oh, and another bonus--my 6-year old gets to take something to school to share with his class every Monday.  Guess what he picked on his first Monday back after Christmas--HIS OWL!  My kids have LOVED them and already used them a ton!

Don't you just love when a gift comes together like that!  Thank goodness for people sharing their great ideas!

ONE {DIY Birthday Shirt}

My baby girl is turning ONE in a week!  I can hardly believe it.  Time has gone by WAY too fast.  But, I must say, I am getting excited to celebrate, and to start things off, I made her this little birthday shirt.  I am going to do a "Pinwheel" theme party--so here is what I came up with for the shirt:

 Do you want to make one?  Here's what I did:
--Grab a shirt (I used a cute little tank from Old Navy)
--Print out your number & then cut it out.  Pin the pattern to your fabric, and cut your fabric out.

 --Iron some double-sided Wonder-Under to the fabric.  **Make sure you read the instructions and iron the right side, or you may iron the paper onto your ironing board (not that I would make that mistake personally-haha).

--Cut the shape out now with the Wonder-Under

--Peel the other side of the Wonder-Under off your shape.  

 --Place onto your shirt into place and iron on.

 --Now you are ready to applique it on.  I used a small zig-zag stitch all around the 1.
--For the pinwheel, I used this great tutorial.  I used a 2" square of fabric.  This was SUCH A FUN TUTORIAL!  I made SEVERAL that I will use for the party.  So cute!

Then, to finish things off, I made this fun matching headband.  I am hoping she will leave it on longer than 2 minutes (She has discovered that she can pull bows/flowers/ headbands off her head).  I made the headband like I made THESE.

I am so excited for her big day!  Happy Birthday baby girl!

Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting {A Ninja Party}

My son turned 6, and what better way to celebrate than with a Ninjago birthday party!  What 6-year-old boy doesn't love a little Ninja mixed with Legos!  Well, here is what I did for those of you thinking about throwing a Ninja party yourself.

The Birthday Shirt:

Cole of course wanted a "6" shirt, but I didn't want anything too cheesy or childish.  I decided on a throwing star with a 6.  Then on the back, I did his name.  I simply printed out a template, then cut out the fabric (2 layers of knit).  Then I stitched them on.  I used the font "Last Ninja" for the lettering and the throwing star.  It's free--so just google it.

Ninja Headbands:

I followed these instructions for the headbands.  But, to make it EASIER (much), I sewed the right sides out & just did a rolled hem at the bottom rather than having to turn the tube inside out (I tried one that way, and it was going to take WAY too long.)

Throwing Stars:

 Beforehand, I had made throwing stars for all the kids using these instructions.  The boys got to decorate their own star, and then they took turns aiming and throwing them at some balloon targets.

Ninja Moves:

 We let each of the boys take a turn showing off their Ninja moves.  My husband held the balloons for them to use as a punching/kicking bag.  It was pretty funny watching them each with their own little Ninja style!

The Pinata:

No party at my house is complete without a pinata.  If you are interested in making your own pinata, take a look at this past post.  It was funny though.  I made the pinata pretty strong (thinking we could have 15 boys needing to get a good whack at it).  Well, the strings broke after round one, but the pinata was still strong.  So, we decided to let the kids kick it, karate chop it, and even head-butt it.  Very funny!

 The Cake:

After looking online for different ideas, this is what I came up with.  It wasn't quite like how I had planned in my head, but I was happy with how it turned out.  I used 2 cake rounds for the bottom.  Then used a large pyrex bowl to create the dome portion of the head.  For the eyes, I just used tootsie rolls (regular flavor & vanilla).  I just rolled them out flat.

What a fun party!  I sure love that boy of mine!  It's hard to believe he is 6!

Father's Day REPOST

Last year I made a Father's Day Questionnaire.  You can see the original post HERE.  Well, it is one of my most visited posts, so I thought with Father's Day just around the corner, I would repost it--And give you all a link to the questionnaire.  Hooray!

Here is a picture of what my son came up with last year:

I am excited to have my kids fill them out again this year.  I think it will be fun to compare them to last year.  I just LOVE seeing the things kids come up with!

Click HERE to download your own copy.  It might take a minute.  If it doesn't work, please let me know!

Oh What Do You Do In The Summertime?

Is it summertime for you yet?  My kids still have a week and a half of school left--ugh!  I think I was ready for school to be done a few weeks ago.  Oh well.  But while I am anxious, I know we will all go a little crazy in my house if we don't have some FUN things planned.  To help with this, I created this:

I love when a project comes together how I have planned in my mind!  This little project started brewing in my mind after seeing similar kinds of things on other blogs.  I have had these cute little buckets and the little rod for quite sometime--just been waiting for the right project.  Finally, I figured out what I needed them for!

Here is what I did:

I just used Q-Tips for this.  You don't need very much.  I just spread some along the corners, edges, and randomly through the middle of the board.

To paint the wording, I used the same process I always use when making signs.  Find out HERE.

After I painted the letters, I did a little more sanding over the whole thing--mostly just to give the wording that worn look to match the rest of the board.  Then I just hung the rod.  Simple!

For the buckets, I decided to have one full of activities for me to do with the kids while the husband is at work (or sleeping--he works nights), one full of Family activities, and an empty one to fill up with the activities we actually do (hopefully it will be full by the end of the summer).

I am so excited.  My kids are too--in fact, we did our first activity this afternoon.  We made THESE delicious cookies that I pinned a few weeks ago. Delish!

Hooray for summertime!

Another Chore...Please

Okay, so I don't know about you, but I get so tired of my kids whining about their chores.  I'm sure you've heard it too. "Why do I ALWAYS have to clean my room," or "I have to do EVERYTHING" and the list goes on.
Well, I decided to make little punch cards and a prize basket to help motivate my kids to HAPPILY do their chores.  Hopefully it will help--even just a little. The day after I explained the idea to my kids, my kindergartner came home from school and actually ASKED ME for a chore to do.  I would gladly take more of that.
Yes, this is a picture (even if a bad iphone pic) of my kids doing the dishes.

 It's a pretty easy process.  Do a Chore. 

 Punch your card.

 Punch all 10, Pick a prize.

 Just a little motivation to do a few chores.

And, to make it easy for you, feel free to download my template.  It's nothing fancy, but I wanted something simple I could quickly print without using all my color ink (don't you hate how expensive it is!).  

**Be patient.  It take a minute to load**

Click here for the punch card sheet

Click here for the chore prize sheet

Let me know if it helps at your house!

My Baby's Hand

Okay--here's a Jennifer original.  (I know, kind of amazing!)  This is a little project I did a few years back with my older two kids, and now it's Reese's turn.

At 6 months, I have traced my child's hand and made a little stitchery out of it.  I combined it with a photo of them at 6 months.  It is fun to have a little comparison of all my kids at 6 months!

For the frames, I took the $1 wooden frames you can buy from Michael's.  I think you can buy them from other craft stores, but Michael's is the cheapest I have found.  

I simply painted the sides white...

Cut scrapbook paper to cover the frame (just trace around the frame onto the paper)...

 Apply a thin layer of Mod Podge onto the frame to glue the paper to the frame.  I also applied a layer of Mod Podge over the paper to seal it.

Pretty easy, right?  Love it!

A Pink & Purple Party

My daughter turned 4 last Saturday.  Hard to believe four years have passed since she was born.  I think she is officially becoming a "big girl" now.  Anyway, her birthday was cause for a big celebration--a pink and purple celebration to be exact.  (What else could a girl ask for?)

The party was complete with a pinata, games, cake & ice cream, and of course, 11 silly little girls, and 4 fun little boys.

The Birthday Girl

 The Birthday Shirt (go here for instructions)

 Our version of "Pin the Tail on the Donkey"

 A birthday at our house isn't complete without a pinata.  (Go here to learn how to make one for yourself)

Oh, and here is a little tip I have learned over the years--I fill the pinata with a little pinata-goodie-bag for each kid coming to the party.  I also put in loose candy.  That way the kids are each guaranteed a certain amount of candy, but they still get to try to grab a bunch on their own way.  This seems to help all the kids feel like things are more equal.

And the Cake:

 I used a great recipe found here.  It was DELICIOUS!  (and rather hard to stop eating)

 Don't you love the colorful layers--light pink increasing to dark pink, then dark purple decreasing to light purple.

 This is how they looked just out of the oven.

All the fun kids!  What a fun day.  Happy Birthday to my Halle girl!

I Pinned--I Did!

So if you are like me, your pins are piling up--there are SO MANY INCREDIBLE IDEAS OUT THERE!  Well, I have been trying to actually use my pins.  Here is one that I did and I am so glad!

 I got this great idea from Make it and Love it.  I'm sure you've been to her site, but if you haven't, you should.  It is fantastic.  Anyway, she posted a great tutorial for plastic storage bags and I thought, "hey, I could make those."  So I did.  Yay!  Love having specific storage places for toys.  It was fun to make different sizes.

They came together pretty well.  It's a great tutorial.  It seemed like it was a never-ending project, but that is because I took about a week in between each step.  But overall, I am happy with them.  Oh, and my kids love having their own special bags!

Pajama Pants {Make Your own Pattern-TUTORIAL}

I hope your Christmas was merry and bright.  Mine sure was.  Now I am just trying to get back into the regular swing of things.  I have a tradition to make Christmas Eve Pajama Pants for my kids each year.  They really are simple--and you can EASILY MAKE YOUR OWN PATTERN!  Here is a tutorial:

Supplies:
Flannel (or other fabric of your choice)
Thread
Pins
Sewing Machine

Step 1:  Take an existing pair of PJ pants that currently fit.  Fold them in half.  Fold your fabric into the center.  Place the folded pants on the fabric, with the straight side lined up with the fold of the fabric.  Pin in place.

 Step 2:   Don't cut along the folded side.  Cut the fabric.  Along the top and the bottom, add 1 1/2" for your hem and elastic casing.  Along the side opposite the fold, add 1/2" for the seam.  Make sure you stretch the elastic out before cutting around the top, otherwise the waist will be too small.

 Step 3:  Fold in the other side of your fabric to the center.  Take the piece you just cut out.  Line up the  folds and pin in place.  Then cut out the 2nd piece of fabric.  It is important to use the piece you cut out rather than the existing pants to assure your pant legs are exactly the same size.

Step 4:  Take each leg piece and fold right sides together.  Pin from the crotch down to the bottom.  Sew a 1/2" seam where you just pinned.  Repeat with other leg piece.

 Step 5:  Turn one of the pant legs right-side-out.  Then place that one inside the other pant legs so that right sides are together.  Pin the 2 pieces together around the crotch line.  Make sure your center seam lines up.  If your fabric is a little off up at the top, that is okay.  Sew using a 1/2" seam.

 Step 6:  Separate the pant legs.  Hem each leg.  First, fold up about 1/4" of fabric, and then fold again about 1".  Pin this in place and continue folding and pinning around the bottom of each leg.  Sew close to the edge so that your stitch will catch both folds.

 Step 7:  Sew your elastic casing.  This is done basically the same way you did the leg hems.  However, make sure you leave about an inch gap where you will feed your elastic through the casing.

 Step 8:  Measure your elastic.  Measure your elastic to fit comfortably.  The feed it through the casing. This is most easily done by pinning a safety pin on one side.  Insert that end into the casing.  Slide the safety pin around.  Once you get back to the opening,  Overlap the two elastic ends.  Zig-Zag stitch several times over the elastic (only sew the two elastic sides together--don't sew it to the PJ pants.

Step 9:  Sew over where your inch gap was.  And that's it!  You're done.

 Now for fun, you can add a little detail to your PJ shirts.  Love it!  Nothing like a comfy pair of jammies!