Castle block

Project 13 of 52

I love this thought. Back HERE I shared this download. Although the thought is not my original the photo and wordart are. What better time to share this than with my girls at camp. I want something simple to always remind them of their Eternal Perspective.

This is such a simple project. Just a 2x6 cut in 4inch segments then painted white. I think other colors would be wonderful too but with 30 girls to plan for I kept it simple, just one paint color to buy.

I used mod podge to attach the picture. I like the rough edges but we won't have an electric sander at camp and let's be honest, hand sanding just isn't for me. ;-p Tie it up with a bow. They have 4 different colored ribbon, teal, red, pink, yellow,  to chose from although the kits are already all together with the ribbon in them.

My mother in law has taught me that presentation of the smallest gift makes the biggest difference. So I decided to put the 'kit' together in a brown bag with a paper doilie stapled to the front. I wonder if the girls will notice but I even used my colored, pink, staples. Now I have them all together ready to go in a storage bin. I included all the supplies so nothing is forgotten and it is all in one place. 

Scouting has taught me KISMIF....Keep It Simple, Make It Fun. I think this will be a HIT! (at least I hope)

Once upon a time bookmark

Project 10 of 52 
Update: I have fixed the download so daughters is spelled correctly.
 I just didn't retake all the pictures. 

I have been putting together projects and crafts for our upcoming girls camp. It isn't until June but I have to plan ahead. Between PTA, Cub Scouts, and Girls Camp...yeah, I am just a wee bit busy.
I love it!

This is the bookmark I made for my girls going to camp. Our theme is Camp ROYAL.
Reflect On Your Amazing Light.
The youth leaders came up with it. It's perfect. The each group will have a Disney princess and a scripture heroine. We drew Cinderella and Sariah. It's going to be a wonderful time. As a mom of all boys it is fun to get to do some girly stuff in pinks and purples.

 These bookmarks are just one of the projects I have been working on. I can't tell you how much fun this has been for me. I am excited! So many ideas and I have to narrow it down to fit into 3 days.

The quote is from President Uchtdorf's talk "Your Happily Ever After."
"Be strong and of good courage. You are truly royal spirit daughters of Almighty God. You are Princesses destined to become Queens. Your own wondrous story has already begun. Your once upon a time is now."

 I am thrilled with how these turned out. The bottle cap glitters and sparkles, the ribbon shines and the thought moves the heart. I love this inspired talk by President Uchtdorf. I want the girls to feel as special as they are. I want them to feel the love of their Heavenly Father. I want this to be a week they will remember.

Here are the instructions and printables to make your own.

Punch out the crowns with a 1" punch. Watch the corners because it is close, sorry.

Glue them into your bottle caps.

Paint a bit of glitter paint on the crown then let it dry.

Once it's dry smooth a thin layer of glossy Modge Podge.

Secure the cap to a large paper clip. I used super glue.

 Let it dry completely. Add a bit of ribbon.

Then add to the printout.

I made these, printed, and laminated them.

I love to see someone's eyes light up when they are given something. My sweet mother in law has taught me that even simple things can bring a smile to anyone's face. 

My hope is that at the end of the week the girls will know they are loved, they are valued, they are a Daughter of a King, a Princess!

Marble Earrings

This idea came from a combination of pinterest posts. One about shattered marbles the other of marles made into earrings....why not combine the two?

 I'm sure someone has already figured this out but I still love it!

 I plan to add these to our PTA Santa shop. What little boy wouldn 't think it totally awesome for mom to wear marbles as earrings?!

They all turned out cool but the blue were just my favorite. They are so pretty!

So here's the how to.

Supplies:

Marbles (got mine from the $1 store)

Gem glue or superglue

earring hooks

Bead caps and small rods

Heat the marbles at 450 degrees for 20-30 minutes. (I did 20 but some of them didn't shatter as much as would have liked. I will do 30 next time).

Remove from the oven and immediately immerse in ice water. Let sit until cool. You will hear them cracking. I did have one split in half but that's it. They are tempered glass so the crack but not really 'shatter'.

Thread the rod through the bead cap and glue onto the marble. Let dry completely. Make a loop on the end of the rod then just add your earring hook.....

TA-Daaaah!

They work out to be less than $0.30 each!

Homemade Birthday Cards

Sometimes we just need time to visit and relax. That's what I get when my dear friend comes to visit. We had a great time putting these cards together.

I am trying to send birthday cards to family members so I needed to stock up on them. I get the out, not always on time though so it is a life saver to have some already made and ready to go.

Girl cards are easy, boys well, they can be too they just take a bit more thought. I love the polka dots and bright colors of this one. The dotted edge added just enough to spiff it up a bit.

I LOVE this card. The bright pink. The sharp black. The crisp white. But mostly I love out the tack hangs free. It adds great dimension to go along with the flower. 

Now, if I could just see the smile on their faces. Of course that is probably for the $ in the card. ;-)

Yep, I am the favorite aunt! I earned it with each incentive!

Homemade Hand Cream

This is the best hand cream I have ever used. My sweet mother in law gave me a jar of it for Christmas. As a nurse my hands are always getting washed. Washing away all the germs and along with them all my natural oils. Add to that, living in the mountain desert and you have the perfect recipe for ultimate dryness.....

Until now!

Now I have the perfect recipe to replace the moisture and keep my hands soft, even at work.

Ingredients:

16 oz Johnson's Baby Lotion (it must be this brand, any scent but this brand)

8 oz Vitamin E cream

8 oz Vasoline

  

 Just place it in your mixer and whip it nice and smooth.

I picked up some great little jars from Target....hmmm, guess it makes quite a bit more than I thought. Mason jam jars work great too!

Place the cream in a zip-lock bag.

Cut a small piece off the corner and you can easily squeeze it into the container of your choice.

Print this little tag to give with it and you have just made someone very happy!

Click on the picture to download it.

ENJOY!

A fun way to give money

 Our oldest just turned 13. He is a simple kid and didn't want much. 

Dad took care of the toy gifts (he is perfect for shopping for boys toys ;-p)

He does however enjoy a bit of money to spend for himself.

So I took the 'money' into my own hands. 

$1 bills taped together in a long string....

 Rolled all up nicely...

 Then a little packing filler. We had this bubble pack that worked wonderfully...

 Add it to a kleenex box. See it tucked in there nice and snug?.....

Now add your roll of $1 bills....And VOILA! a fun little way to give some cash.

Just wrap the tissue box and you are ready to go!

Miche purse....

When my sister mentioned she was having a Miche purse party I was thrilled. My personal handbag recently got caught on the seat belt and ripped the strap... see right there?

Can you see it now? Yeah, pretty sad. I haven't had this bag for long and I quite like it so I was not a happy mom.

So when my sis asked about it I showed her. "That's Ghetto!" Hmm, thanks sis. I go for function more than fashion. Thankfully she sets me straight on a regular basis. She promptly pulled down numerous purses for me to choose from. Then went to the closet to pull out her selection of Miche handbags. Now I must warn you, I use a bag until it is worn out, buy another, rinse and repeat. I seldom have more than 1 purse in my closet at a time. 

Thank heavens for little sisters. She showed me her bags and said, "here, why don't you take this one home to see if you like it?!"

Thanks sis. I think I do. Can I keep yours?

See lots of room...more than you would think. I can put my wallet, kindle, makeup bag and all the other goodies moms are to carry in it.

I kinda like being in fashion now. It makes me smile. Who would have thought a little thing could be so fun. Yeah, it's a girl thing. Now to decide which bag to put on my wish list.

The best part of having sisters is sharing fun fashion. My favorite place to shop is 

"My Sisters Closet"!

All thoughts are mine- no reimbursements what so ever ;-P

Temple Picture

My dear friend just celebrated her 13th birthday. Her first and most wanted gift was a framed copy of my temple picture. Made my day to hear that. So we set off to make it for her. I had an old frame. We took the picture out of it and added trim of our own so we had a chunky frame.

I used metalic spray paint to paint the mat from blue to gold.

The frame was a bit uncooperative but we got it to work out.

The great thing about shabby chic look right now is it hides any imperfections in the building process.
In the end we loved it. Glue the trim all together, rough up the edges, finish off with a sealer and

Voila!

Oh, and Ms. Katlyn loved it too! Happy Birthday Katlyn!

Feather Headbands

This was another project that lets me live vigariously through my sisters and friends little girls.

Feathers are all the rage right now. So we made some headbands with them. 

We got the feathers from Micheals and the metal headbands from Walgreens.

The feathers are already grouped together so all we had to do was glue them to the wire then add a matching piece of felt to seal it in. It also helped to keep hair from getting stuck.

I am actually holding 2, a black and white and a pink and white one.

I wasn't sure how to get a good picture of headbands. I didn't think my boys would model them for me.

Putting these up for another Christmas gift. Hopefully they will be as big a hit as they were with my friends daughter.