RS birthday celebration 2013

Our annual Relief Society birthday celebration was last week and I would chock it up as a great success. Our theme was "Small and Simple Things."

valentine's printable: sharing the love

digital papers and clip art from Cocoa Mint

Remember these darling matchbook valentines I made for Madi and Ella last year? I still love them. Apparently Ella Bella does too. When she saw them on the computer, she said she wants to use them again this year, only change the photo to a more current one. Is that allowed? Sure would be simple. :)

free printable: countdown fill-able frame

The most popular fill-able frame print from our recent Super Saturday was the "days until" countdown. I had many attendees order them by the dozen, with the intent of using them for Christmas gifts. Such a fun and simple idea--just add a frame + dry erase marker.

The inspiration for my design came from this countdown on eighteen 25. I love the number background print they used.

arcadia california/president foster missionaries

Our oldest son, Patrick, served a two year mission for our church in South Carolina.

This photo was taken right before he left. He's so young. He was a cocky jock who knew pretty much everything. I still had a hard time letting him go. :)

Patrick LOVED his mission--the people, teaching the gospel, the opportunities for service and the experiences. And he loved and adored his Mission President, Leroy Barrett. Patrick served as Assistant to the President for a period of time, so they worked very closely together.

awesome printable

I'm sharing my 5x7 "awesome" printable today.

It's another version of the fill-able frames we're doing for Super {Simple} Saturday 2012. This is Ella's favorite and the one she chose to be framed for her room.  

It's such a simple way to let someone know you appreciate them or give your littles--or bigs--positive reinforcement.

we rock! + you rock printable

I've been consumed with Super Saturday projects and details lately, resulting in no posts for awhile. But I am super excited to share everything--soon.

Like many children, our Ella loves rocks. And they're all very special for different reasons. She has an extensive collection and can tell you exactly where each one came from. 

Last weekend, Ella created this family of rocks. There's me, her, Annabelle (Patrick and Ashlee's dog) Patrick (older bro), Ashlee (older bro's wife) and Dad.

Yep, she's the sparkly Princess one who's highlighted and covered up with a piece of toilet paper. The rest of us just kind of sit there being all boring and dull. I guess I know how we measure up. :)

Speaking of rocks, here's a little sneak peek at one of the projects for Super Saturday. (I know, I can't wait.) I created a series of 5x7 fill-able frame printables and this is one of my favorite. Place the print in a frame and use a dry-erase marker on the glass to write in the details. Just wipe it off (no water needed) and use it over and over.

Originally Ella wrote the message, but I smeared it when I was carrying it with a bunch of other stuff. It was so sweet in her 6 year old writing. Ella adores her older brother, but she also blames everything on him. "What is that smell?" It's Patrick. "Wow, this is a big mess!" Patrick did it, not me. "Why is there no chocolate left?" Patrick ate it. Of course he's never around when it happens. It's hilarious.

Patrick has special little dates with Ella where he'll pick her up and they'll go get a special treat, to breakfast, or somewhere fun. He really does rock as an older brother. :)

So I have an issue. Well many, but this one I'm willing to share. ;) Actually, it's more of a strong belief. I've seen the "I *heart* you because" printable on blogs and Pinterest, and I think it's darling. But, (here's the personal issue/strong belief part) I spent too many years telling and showing my children, I love you no matter what. We had a saying--"I love you and there's nothing you can do about it." Oh my, did my children test me to see if I really meant it! So...when I see, "I love you because you cleaned your room," I struggle. There. Now you know.

So I changed things up a bit.

Because you rock for stopping by--thanks so much!--here's the printable. (*For personal use only please.)

Remember, when you have this printed, make sure the "auto enhance" is turned OFF, otherwise the colors will be very, very different.

Let someone in your life know they rock.

P.S. I'd love if you'd leave a comment, letting me know who you're printing this for and one reason they rock. :)

I linked this project up here:

free printable: back to school

Have you shopped for school supplies yet?

paper--check.
pencils--check.
crayons--check.
chocolate--check.

What, no chocolate? It's an essential you know.

My brother and sister-in-law--who both teach fourth grade--asked me to design a wrapper for chocolate bars they could give their students at their teacher meet and greet. Here's what I came up with.

sweet moments and scripture advent download

My experience has been, that recognizing and being grateful for those sweet and simple moments that touch our hearts is what makes life most meaningful and memorable. You can't make them happen, they just do. And you smile, offer a little prayer of thanks, take a picture with your heart, and know. And then they happen even more often. That's why I love Christmas so much. It's filled to the brim with opportunities to find and cherish those little moments.

tutorial: halloween thumbprint tags

 This one's for Allison. She's a reader who e-mailed me and asked if I'd be willing to share my template for the Halloween thumbprint tags we made for Ella's preschool last year.

reward chart

It was one of those mornings. :) I decided it was time to bring out the old reward chart to see if we can do better. Just in case you need it too, I'm sharing.

digital flower: Crystal Wilkerson  fonts: Garton & Century Gothic

To download this fill-in version, click here.

teacher favorites fill-able form & personalized notecards

I laughed when Patrick told me he mentioned to Ashlee, that when I ask her about things (concerning their upcoming wedding) way ahead of time, it's not that I'm being pushy, it's that I like to be organized and prefer items checked off my "to do list" much sooner rather than later. (I also need time to shop, right?) I guess I never realized Patrick figured that out. :)

Before we went to meet Ella's new teacher before school started, I created a quick form for Mrs. Reiber to fill out when she had a few minutes. It asks about her favorite things. The form was completed and in Ella's backpack the first day of school. (Thanks, Mrs. Reiber!)

It's so hard to guess what someone would like, when you don't know them personally. I ran this idea past my teacher friends/family members and they all assured me they loved it and it was a great idea.

I wanted Ella to be involved, so I had her share her favorite things too.


I had some friends ask for a copy of the questionnaire, so I created a fill-able form you can tab through and add your child's own information. It's nothing fancy, but it's simple and helpful.

first day of kindergarten: a big thumbs up!

sign from How Does She?

I can't believe how quickly this day has come. Elles told me for weeks she was excited, but also feeling a little nervous about starting Kindergarten.

Halloween word art printable update

You might remember this fun Halloween word art printable I created last year.

I still have a lot of people e-mailing me for it. To make things simpler, here are the three color combinations for you to download.

orange with white lettering

father's day fun

I told Lynn he couldn't read my blog until after Father's Day so I could share some fun ways to celebrate his special day. There are so many great ideas out in blogland for Father's Day, but these two are my favorite:

1. Lynn really wants an iPad and has been saving for one. He's close. Instead of giving him gifts, we're all pitching in to get him closer to his goal. He would be there, but Elles played with Grammy's iPad in California--for hours!--and now Lynn needs to get the more expensive one (at his MIL's insistance) so Ella and Grammy can talk together. Yes, we're all sad for him! :)

activity days mother/daughter activity

We had a very successful Mother/Daughter activity on Friday night. The theme was "spring picnic" and it was simple and enjoyable.

A light dinner was served--rolls, meat and cheese, potato salad, fruit, chips and a yummy variety of cookies and bars.

My assignment was to make a favor for the girls to take home. I chose button cover ponytail holders.

 

I love how they turned out. They were simple to make, but a bit time consuming. I made 45 sets, plus extras for Ella and her friends. They saw me making them and asked it I would make some for them. I let them choose the fabric they wanted and they were so excited.

St. Patrick's Day projects

I wasn't going to decorate for St. Patrick's Day since I actually thought it was this week (yep, duh!). I even dressed Ella is green for preschool--got her all excited. She's upset that our Patrick has a day and she doesn't. I told her big brothers have to share their day with little sisters. She thinks that's great. :)

I found these simple and delightful St. Patty's Day projects over at The Tomkat Studio. I've seen a lot of fun ideas for goin' with the green lately, but these are my favorite. LOVE them!

photo source: The Tomkat Studio

photo source: The Tomkat Studio

I'll have just enough time to make them. Kim Stoegbauer (designer/editor of TTS) designed them for HGTV. There are tutorials and free downloads for both projects, and some other great projects on the post too. I LOVE Kim's simple design style--both projects and styling. Her princess party is my favorite.

family word art collage & phrases download

Here's the word art collage I created for the Design on a Dime: Decorating Your Walls class for our Relief Society meeting.

sharing the love--valentine's matchbook template

I saw some darling matchbook valentines and decided to make some for Ella and Madi to take to their friends at school and daycare. I searched everywhere and couldn't find a tutorial or template download so I decided I could figure it out on my own.

life story binder

Tonight is our Life Story Binder class at the church in the Relief Society room. We'll start promptly at 7 pm, so be on time! I'm very excited about the response to this project. It seems we're all motivated to get more organized this year. I'm loving my first binder and can't wait to move on to the others.

What is a Life Story Binder?
It's a place to gather and organize documents, photos and/or journaling that pertain to your life or the life of a family member.

How do I get started? 
I would recommend starting small--one or two binders--so you don't feel overwhelmed in the beginning and drop the project all together. Like I always say, keep it simple and doable.

SUPPLY LIST:

• 3-ring binder* (2" ring size works well)
• sheet protectors (80-100) 
• Life Story Binder suggestions list (I've compiled a list of suggested documents, photos and journaling for you.) 
• Return Address Labels (80 per sheet) *optional, but it makes it simple to flip through and see what still needs to be added. I've put together a creating labels tutorial. 

What's next?
Step 1: Add sheet protectors to binder.

Step 2: Read through the Life Story Binder suggestions list and check off and/or add items that are applicable to you or your family member's life story. I store my list in the front of my binder for easy reference.

Step 3: Create labels using Return Address Labels and adhere to sheet protectors.I use Return Address size labels for other organizing purposes, so you might want to check out the creating labels tutorial even if you don't plan on adding the labels to your binder.

Step 4: Get organized by adding your documents, photos and journaling.

Step 5: Enjoy flipping through your binder, finding everything in one place and feeling organized! :)

Make sure sheet protectors will fit in your binder without sticking out. It usually says on the label.

no tricks... just a treat!

I'm laughing as I type this. The whole purpose of this week was to encourage my lurker friends to comment.  I did get some great comments, but according to Sitemeter I now have more lurkers! Welcome to all of you. I'm very grateful you take the time to check out my blog whether you comment or not.

As promised, to those that did comment I have a special treat for you. And I love it. I'm very pleased at how it turned out and I hope you are too. They look so much better in real life, I wish you could all see.

white on orange