Throwback- Welcome and a Mothers Day Idea

Emily and I have decided that we are going to repost a lot of our posts from the beginning of our blog. Enjoy!

My sister Emily and I would like to welcome you to our little corner of the internet! We are excited to work together and share a bit of our lives here with you. We like crafting and DIY. We enjoy beauty and anything fun. We like photography and food. We adore laughing and happiness. But most of all we LOVE our families! Our families are the number one motivation in all that we do and the second is fun. 

I love Mothers Day. I love having a special day set aside for thanking my mother and mother-in-law for all they do. I also love procrastinating. It is a fact of my life. To combat that little fault of mine I came up with an easy last minute Mothers Day gift.

This really doesn't need any explanation but what the heck, here it comes anyway! All it took was an Ikea frame with the photo mat already included and this crazy cute greeting card.

And voila! Instant unique artwork. It is a great way to share a cute sentiment with your mom. I think I might be keeping this one for myself, actually. Because gosh darn it I AM the bee's knees.

Mothers Day/Teacher Appreciation gift DIY only cost 39 Cents Each!

Hello Friends! 

Are you looking for a quick, inexpensive gift for the ladies/teachers in your life? Whether they are teachers or mothers this idea will work for all of them! Something the kids can help with? Something that wont break the bank?  Here is my idea... A ribbon book mark  attached to some flower seeds. The kids are going to color and create a card with this quote inside..

With Freedom, books, flowers and the moon, who could not be happy?-Oscar Wilde

Wishing your the Happiest of Mothers days!

 Guess what...it only cost me 39 cents*!! 

Here is how it comes together

You will need:

approx 4 inches of ribbon $0.11

a lighter to seal the ribbon edges 

magnetic tape (I bought mine from Walmart)$.02

a seed packet $.20

half a card stock sheet for the card $.01

and a gift bag $.05

*these are per 1 gift prices

To make the book mark just cut the ribbon to about 4 inches in length and using the lighter hover the ribbon near the flame until the ends barely begin to melt. (this is NOT the kid helping part. Adults only playing with fire please)This step will prevent the ribbon from fraying. You could also use frey check if you don't want to use fire.

Next attach the magnetic tape

The ends will now be able to stick to each other with a page or two in between them in a favorite book. 

I loved this and it was very quick and easy to put together too. In fact when Sarah (my cute 2nd grader) saw what I had done she was very excited to help make an card and put one together for her teacher at school. WINNING!! 

What are your plans for mothers day? We would love to hear!!

Mother's Day Wish List

With Mother's Day right around the corner I can't help but make a dream wish list of things I would love to receive. Ultimately what I really want is something handmade by my kids that I can treasure and bring out year after year. But this is fun too!!

I want a swedish hook knife for carving spoons.

This bag is perfect!  The leather is lovely and it will age and wear perfectly.

I want my kids to make me little handprint shrinky dink keychains.

A new dress is always a good idea.  And black is ideal!

This picture is fuzzy but I still love looking at it!  A lilac bush would be a lovely gift.

What is on your wish list for Mother's Day? What fun thing are you getting your mother? 

-AnneMarie 

A Quick Easy Inexpensive Last Minute Mothers Day Gift The Kids Can Make!

Hello! If you are still looking for a mothers day gift your kidlets can make for your mom/their grandma we are going to be best of friends! This is just like me too! Don't you worry I have a great idea! I found this idea on pinterest and ran with it. We made shrinky dink key chains for Grandma and Nana. (mom if you are reading this look away NOW!) HAHA!!

Please note this project requires adult supervision 

What you need:

1. a package of Shrinky Dink material (I got mine from Hobby Lobby)

2. Permanent Markers (be careful with the little ones)

3. scissors

4. a hole punch (we discovered you need to make a hole bigger than a standard hole punch but cutting 2 overlapping works well)

5. key chain hardware

6 parchment paper or a brown bag cut to fit on a cookie sheet

7. white paper to put under the shrinky dink material so that it is A)easier to draw on and B) protects your table from the accidental marker swipe.

Instructions:

1. Let kids design and color to their hearts content (you will want to leave a boarder) BTW I only gave each child half a sheet of shrinky dink material and it was enough)

2 Preheat oven to 325

3. Prepare a cookie sheet with either a cut to fit brown bag or parchment paper.

4. Cut around the art work (I would suggest rounding as much as possible. The straight edge can sometimes be a little pokey)

5. Punch a hole or two for the key ring or your choice of findings to fit through. (this must be done before baking)

6. Place the SD material onto the pan and place in the oven

7. wait for 1-3 minutes or until the design curls and straightens back out flat. Once it is flat wait for about 30 seconds to allow the process to complete before removing from the oven.

8. Remove the pieces for the pan and press with a folded piece of paper and leave flat until it is completely cooled. 

( a helpful hint if you have a piece that you are unhappy with the shape it shrank into you can pop it back into the oven for 2-5 minutes and reshape it. 

Like this one. (lol!)

Although my best advice when making shrinky dinks is not to cut so close and to leave a border.

9. Add your key chain hardware and you are all done! 

YAY! 

Enjoy!

Questions? We love nice people and their comments!