Egg-cited

      To tell you the truth, I wasn't quite sure that either of my boys would be all that interested in coloring Easter eggs this year, but to my suprise, both of them seemed extremely enthused about it once we got started. My mother-in-law was really excited to color eggs with the kids, so we went a little overboard on which kit and methods to use, so after our little egg trials, I can now tell you that I will probably NEVER do the dye cup method ever again!
     We did the Rainbow Eggs (these are the purple and one bright red one...we broke a few shells, by the way) and we loved it! It was super easy, very little mess, and it was fun because the kids could squirt it and see the eggs turning color immediately unlike the dye cups that take 10 minutes for any color! Mom-n-law made hand painted "candy apple" eggs that were shiny...pretty but not for kiddos. My five year old discovered this package of q-tip looking things that were actually swabs that you can paint the dye on the eggs with....LOVED these!! They are Paas brand and easy for both the kids (and Mom) to use. Also, with the non-soaking methods, the idea of the dye not soaking completely through the egg is nice if you'd like to use them for deviled eggs or something later and don't want them to be colored.
      Since it's spring and the weather changes quickly, I recommend doing eggs on a rainy or cold day, like we did. We didn't feel bad about being in the kitchen for a while since it was too drizzly and cold to be out in the yard! Our Easter plans are to have a family meal after church and enjoy time together while remember the reason for Easter...the Risen Savior! Enjoy your eggs and enjoy your Easter!

Framed Gift

I actually made this back in October, but I didn't want to do the post for fear the recievers of the gifts would see it! And, of course, I forgot to get a picture of the large ones that I gifted, but you can get the idea.

Framed Scrapbook Page

What you need:
1. Frame--
the large ones I did are 12x12 inches, but you can do 8x10 inches like this one as well, but the big ones are best. I did this one small for me in the "gallery" spot where I hang things my four year old does in frames.
(Hobby Lobby sells 12x12 scrapbook page frames and I waited til they were half off!)


2. Scrapbook Supplies--
paper, stickers, whatever decorations you want, temper paint if you want to do handprints, glue, etc. Get whatever you or the reciever of the gift likes.

3. Photos--
originals or copies...I used wallets and extra 3.5x5's for mine. (I would recommend copies if you use really old, or non-digital photos because you'll want to glue them down good)

4. Creativity! --
You don't have to be super creative, just lay it out before you glue it down and be sure to date it and add any other info you want to add. (I put the kids names and the date of the handprints right next to the edges of the prints on the white part)

The grandparents  all LOVED this!! Be sure you make one for yourself, too!!

Christmas Card Garland

 Ever wonder how to display all those cute Christmas cards?? If you're like me, you can only put so many on the fridge and they keep falling off (or little hands want to move them all around).
This is an easy, inexpensive, and space saving way to display and keep them out the way! All you need is some clothes pins and beaded garland, yarn, tinsel, or anything you can hang clothes pins on. I used the ends of my curtain rods, but you could also use some hooks (the removable 3M ones are great!!). I doubled the red bead garland so I have two rows and just attached the cards with clothes pins and lapped a few over the garland if they were horizontal ones. It took me a whopping 5 minutes to do this and only cost about $3.You could also decorate your clothes pins if you wanted or make your own decorations to display this way. Now I am thinking of some fun clothes pin crafts! It's such a simple way to be able to see your cards, it's a little eclectic, and just plain fun!

Christmas Craft & Candy

Santa pretzels were a huge hit at my house! My four year old loved to make them with me and they were super easy!!! This is a really good one for kids to do! I LOVE Pinterest for this reason!!! All you need are pretzels (we used mini ones), almond bark, colored sugar, and marshmallows or white chocolate chips. You can heat up the bark in the microwave and dip just half the pretzel in, then coat with sugar and put your marshmallow or chip on for the ball on the hat. I couldn't find a larger container of just red, so we used the multi-pack with green, yellow, and blue and adapted them to be stocking hats...they turned out great! We made enough to eat and send to my brother overseas in the military.

 We made handprint tree Christmas cards for my brother and his buddies to send with his care package.

This wreath is for my fridge....little handprints are just precious!

A Goat and Two Chickens

  With Thanksgiving approaching, I have really been trying to think of ways that I can convey being thankful and helping others to my four year old. I feel like God has put it on my heart to find ways to do missions with my children. It's obviously not very feasible with a four year old and baby in tow to serve at a soup kitchen or travel great distances to serve. I've racked my brain and finally come to the conclusion that for now, we can do something that may not involve face to face contact with those we are helping but will be meaningful and help teach my little ones about giving.

So, this year during the holidays, we are starting two projects. Our first one is A GOAT AND TWO CHICKENS ($100) through World Vision.

We are going to make a jar with this picture on it and a little meter we can color in until we save the $100 together. Now, I won't be putting in all of it...Cooper has chores he does and he earns money for them (now most of them are only a quarter), but he can put some or all of his money in our jar and I will put in money as well and match his too. I haven't tried this before so we will see how quickly we can do it. I would love to do this one by Christmas and continue giving projects throughout the year!

For our second project we plan to make cards for troops. My brother is in the Navy and he says it's great to get things in the mail, especially when you are not stateside. This is something fun we can do that is not expensive but that may mean a lot to those who receive them.

I pray that we can be a blessing to people we don't even know this holiday season and that we will experience the joy of giving like never before! Happy Thanksgiving!