A "Garden Theme" Baby Shower!

How I love hosting a baby shower...especially for a sweet friend and her baby girl!  I had the privilege of celebrating with her, her friends, and her family this past weekend.  It was a beautiful day!  I went with a "pink and red" color scheme, which is one of my favorites.  And I added a garden touch as the theme.  So, each label had some gorgeous flower clip-art on it.  The party favors were packets of seeds to grow at home (with a cute label).  There were vases of red and pink roses everywhere.  Even the cake went with the theme of "A Baby is Growing..."  There were girly and garden touches all over this shower! 

I planned this shower step by step.  After deciding on the colors and making sure invitations were sent out, I began designing labels.  I love to put easels and labels everywhere around my home when hosting a celebration.  There is a food area, a drinks area, a dessert area, a gift area, a party favor area, a nametag area, a keepsake area...you get the idea!  Each area has a label designating the spot and sometimes gives directions on what to do!  After the labels are made, it's time to plan out food and cake and balloons. 

The night before is when I get everything put together.  I put up the tablecloths, arrange vases of flowers, decorate with balloons, rearrange some furniture, set out dishes for food, and so on.  Some friends helped with food for this shower...and I really appreciated that.  It turned out wonderful!

The day of the shower was perfect!  Everything was decorated and we all got to relax and enjoy one another's company.  The best part of all is being able to gather and celebrate a new little blessing to come!  What is one of your favorite themes when hosting a baby shower?
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"Make Your Own" Library Bags!

Sewing is still at the top of my list for something I want to learn to do.  And I do have a goal or plan for this...I want to make my own crib bumper for baby #3!  We'll see how that goes this summer and I will show you the results.  But for now...I love "no sew" fabric glue when I have a craft project that involves fabric!! 

We have some library bags that the library actually gave us when participating in their chilren's programs.  But one of them is pretty scuffed up and has a hole in the bottom.  This made me start thinking about making my own library bags.  And it was truly an easy project.  I love personalizing things...and I love easy.  So, I headed to Walmart (we don't have a JoAnn Fabrics nearby yet) and I got my supplies.  I picked up a couple of canvas bags, some scraps of coordinating fabric, and some matching buttons.  I already had scissors and glue at home. 

Then I sat down on the rug in the family room and got to work while the kiddos were sleeping.  I took a crayola marker and lightly sketched the letters from their names onto the fabric.  I used my favorite zig zag scissors to cut them out...so the edges don't fray.  And I layed them on the bags.  After I knew all of the letters fit, I used my "no sew" glue and stuck them on!  I added a couple of buttons at the top and that was it!  So easy and cute!

Now we are ready to head to the library in style and check out lots of fun books!  We always try to check out the same number, so I don't forget how many books are floating around the house. Each kiddo gets 5 books!  Do you have any cute library bags or even a library "idea" that you use?  We'd love to hear about it!
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Cute Glass Containers!

I love glass containers!  I think anything displayed in a glass container is cute!  And today while browsing around the Dollar Store...I came across these glass candlesticks and glass vases.  I thought how cute it would be to glue them together and make some adorable glass containers for entertaining!  I can fill them with candy, trinkets, decorations, or flowers.  The possibilities are endless!  And look how easy this was to do...

I gathered my supplies:  candlesticks, vases, and gorilla glue.  I added some gorilla glue around the edge of the candlesticks and plopped the glass vases on top.  And there they will sit to dry for several hours. 

How cute is that!  Can't wait to use them for a sweet baby shower I am hosting this weekend!  I'll show you those projects and photos soon too!
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Summer Bags for the Pool, Park, and Sand!

You might remember a similar post to this from last summer.  And that's because I am creating my summer bags again.  After a whole year of use, they need some cleaning up and updating.  I came across this amazing bags at Target.  They were only $8.99 and had three colors...I think it was destiny!  I snatched them up and brought them home.  My favorite part is the clear plastic pocket in the front...perfect for my cute summer labels!  Love them!  So, you know how much I love to be organized and ready for some fun! Our summer days will be filled with playdates to the park, to the pool, and to many sandboxes. So, I am ready for each one of these activities. Over the last several weeks I have collected lots of fun toys and goodies for my three playtime bags. Now instead of running around the house and gathering everything we need before we go...these bags are just hanging in the garage and ready for me to grab and jump in the car!

The first bag I created is my pool bag for the kiddos. It has everything we need to head to the pool. And after grabbing some beach towels and throwing those and the suits in the bag, we are ready to go! The bag includes: swimmer diapers for my baby girl, pool toys, sun hats, sunscreen and more!

The second bag I created is my park bag for the kiddos. It's ready for a playdate at the park, or an evening concert, or a day of fun with our friends. The bag includes: bubbles, sidewalk chalk, baseballs, a frisbee, bug catchers, toy cars, sunscreen, and more!  One of the best tips I have for you is as you assemble these summer time bags...sit down and write your name on each and every toy with a sharpie.  This will help you not get toys mixed up with friends and it makes clean up easier when people know what belongs to you!

The third bag I created is my sand bag for the kiddos. My kiddos really love any park that has a sandbox lately. So, this bag includes: buckets, shovels, sifters, fun shapes, and more! We are ready for some sand and I don't care that when we clean up...the sand is all over this bag, because this bag only goes to sandy areas!  It's so easy to give them a good shake-out and hang them back up in the garage! 

So, there you have it...some organized fun! We are ready for all of the summer activities that will come our way. My kiddos love the bags and get excited when they see me grab one before jumping in the car. Many of the supplies can be bought at your local Dollar Store and those great bags are from Target. You don't have to spend a lot of money to have fun this summer and be organized! Kick off your summer right!
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Meaningful Vacation Souvenirs

We just returned from an amazing family vacation in Florida...and had such a wonderful time swimming, relaxing, and soaking up sunshine.  I knew I wanted to bring something back from this year's family vacation...but we didn't need any little trinkets or junk that just get hidden and forgotten about when we get home.  So, this time I decided that I wanted to collect some beautiful sea shells with my kiddos as we walked along the beach each day.  When we got home, I soaked them in a bucket of bleach...so they don't smell like stinky fish anymore!  And now you just have to decide where to place them.  I love the look of those clear glass jars in a bathroom or bedroom...but don't have any extra ones around the house.  But I did have this cute sea grass basket that would work!  So in went the sea shells and it looks perfect!

I can add a cute tag if I want to write down the location and date of this family vacation.  And every year that we go on vacation together, it would be fun to bring back something memorable...like another basket of shells, a pretty painting, or even some sand!  What do you do to remember those special family vacations?
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End of the Year Teacher Gifts

I cannot believe that my little guy is finishing up his first year of preschool already!  Where does the time go?  Since I am not in the classroom as a teacher this year, I have enjoyed being a stay-at-home mom that gets to participate in all of the school activities and fun!  I have loved showering my son's amazing teachers with cute and creative gifts at the holidays and throughout the year.  But now it's time for our end of the year gift!  Our class decided to go in on a big group gift for each of the two teachers.  They are receiving tickets to a musical and a nice dinner out!  But I wanted to give something to each of them that was just from my little guy too!  So, here it is...

I decided to do something easy but cute!  I found this idea from one of my favorite blogs called "eighteen25" and if you follow this link, you can dowload your own cute tag for a treats jar!  How easy and adorable is that!  I just printed up the tags and got out my mod podge.  I glued that tag on top of the jar and filled it with Starburst candies.  I made one for each teacher.

And I wanted to add a finishing touch to the gift.  So, I came across this cute subway art for teachers on that same blog.  I printed it out in an 8x10 size and found some cute red, wooden frames at the Dollar Store.  Voila!  Another cute gift for a teacher.  You could also mod podge the artwork onto a cute wooden clipboard.  But I couldn't find any of those!  On the back of the frames I wrote a note thanking them for a wonderful year and the date.  Hopefully it's something that can be hung in the classroom or can be displayed on a book shelf.  What cute ideas did you use for an end of the year teacher gift?  Please share with us!
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Clean or Dirty Dishwasher Magnets

I admit it...I must get better at taking photos of my craft projects.  Here is a recent one we did at a MOPS meeting together.  And since I was the craft coordinator, I had fun making my cute sample but only took a picture of the finished product.  Follow this link for a wonderful post from "Joy is at Home" and step by step instructions on this same craft project. 

Ever wonder what to do with all of those old cd's after you have downloaded the music onto your computer...well, here is a quick project for you!  Just take one of those cd's and trace it onto some cute scrapbook paper.  Glue (I love tacky glue) that paper onto the cd and let it begin to dry.  While drying, find a coordinating paper you love and punch out a scalloped circle to fit in the middle.  You must buy a scallop puncher from your local craft store...so handy for lots of little projects.  And glue that scalloped circle in the middle.  Now comes the fun part...add some cute letters that spell "clean" on one side and "dirty" on the other.  A strip of ribbon down the middle with an adorable bow are the finishing touch!  A bow can make anything cute...is my motto!  Now attach some magnets to the back (used gorillla glue for this one) and there you have it.  It's ready to hang on your dishwasher!

No more wondering if that load is clean or dirty...now you just need to train someone else in the house to put those dishes away when they are clean!  Do you have any super easy crafts that use old cd's?  Please share!

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Summer Time Fun Calendars

Every May, I sit down and begin to research and write down all of the fun activities that are happening around us in our local area!  I make a calendar for June, July and August.  I love activities and events that are free.  But I will also add things that are good deals or not too expensive with family and children's rates.  How do you go about starting the process?  Write down a list of all of the local places you like to visit:  libraries, pools, beaches, farmer's markets, zoos, camps, VBS programs, and so on.  Then check out their websites and see what fun activities they have going on in the summer time.  You will be amazed at how many events they schedule or deals they have for little ones!  After I am done creating a calendar for each month...I add some cute fonts and clip art.  And then they are ready to print up and share!  I love to pass on the helpful information to other mommies and friends!!

And I take my own copies and hang them up in my little "family central" area where I keep my calendars and stay organized with my schedules.  Whenever I need something fun to do this summer...I start the day by glancing at my summer time fun calendar and I see what is going on in the area!!  The more friends that join in...the better!  How do you organize your summer schedule? 
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