Puff Paint and More

Cooper has recently discovered both tape and scissors. As a result, paint is less of a big deal in our world. But it wasn't too long ago that we tried this other recipe for puffy paint- it was a big, fun mess!

This recipe uses the three ingredients above- so easy! I just mixed random amounts of the shaving cream and glue until it seemed right to me, then added the color until I was happy with the hue. Coop obviously loved painting more than just the paper!

And to supervise the scissor obsession, I brought out yet another messy project- springy paper shred chicks!

These are made with plastic eggs and paper easter grass... probably two things in excess around your house too right now, eh? Click through to this idea at Krafty Kat!

And see those two and that sweet bike set-up?!? Their Mom is pretty tough... :)

Can't Resist... More Bow Ties!

I've already ranted about it, but THIS tutorial from delia creates makes the cutest stinkin' bow ties! I can hardly stop sewing them! There is a stack of cut fabric on my table that will be making it's way into my Etsy shop and whoopdwhoop this week (hopefully). :) I used one my favorite fabrics- the turquoise paisley for Cooper's and some fun springy polka dots for Ryder. I actually made two of each (for Taron and Keaton if they wanted), but the other two ended up being too small for even the little boys! I couldn't have been happier with my cute little dudes all decked out! I love how the bow ties look so fresh and fun and that they are the kind you can really tie! I put velcro on mine at the back so that I didn't have to make the boys hold still long enough to tie. It's taken no time at all for me to get fast at it actually, but it took a bit of practice in the beginning! 

For the suspenders, I very loosely followed THIS tutorial from Make It and Love It. I think the boys kinda thought they were annoying, but if they fit tighter than probably wouldn't have been an issue.So long as I can find the suspender clips in bulk, I'll be making more of these for sure! :)

147:2 (Easter 2011)

We had a really fun Easter weekend! It was nice to have Taron and Keaton with us for some fun filled days. I took 147 pictures in two days it was so grand! :) And now you've been warned :) ...

 We opted to skip swimming with relatives in favor of fishing and then catch up with everyone later in the day. We drove to Oster Lake in Hagerman and caught a total of three fish! Keaton was thrilled to get the first fish of the day and Stephen let Cooper help reel in the other two. I enjoy fishing as long as it involves catching, so this was  fun time! My family ended up not getting to even go swimming thanks to a power outage, so were glad we chose fishing instead!

Then we went to my Uncle Kirk and Aunt Kim's house in Jerome for a yummy lunch and egg hunt! I participated in this egg hunt at her house as a kid myself and it's awesome to stick to the tradition for my own kids! Grandpa Merlin hid some particularly hard ones for the older kids- Taron stuck pretty close to him for some help with the finding!

Back at home, the weather was still so nice that we couldn't resist eating outside. We're out of propane so grilling was out, but Taron started a fire in our fire ring and we roasted hot dogs! I love taking pictures on a calm, clear evening- love these boys!

 Once again, it probably goes without saying that I LOVE filling my kids' Easter baskets! I like adding a church picture and the pinwheels were so cute! Taron and Keaton got some new church shoes and the little boys got pajamas- both much needed around here! They also each got a can of silly string and went outside almost immediately to play with it! Pretty sure it's now Cooper's favorite thing ever :) Cooper had these window crayons in his and all the boys love them! Also pretty sure that my windows will never be the same again... :)

Confession: We didn't actually make it to Stake Conference (blush)... we had really good intentions but mis-used our time in the end. Sooooo, the boys all indulged me and dressed up in their church duds for a family picture! I LOVE how it turned out! The little guys were so stinkin' cute in their fun bow ties and suspenders! (More to come on that in itself!) Look at those handsome dudes I get to be surrounded by- I am one lucky lady!

 Tried also to get a nice shot of all four boys... this little gem above makes me laugh! :) They were pretty stoked to wrestle around on the tramp after all that posing! That's more like who we really are for sure! :)

Pre-Easter Fun

Strangely it seems like it's taken forever for Easter to get here. But at the same time, I've about missed it sharing a few of the Easter projects we've done!

I saw this cute birds nest idea HERE and thought it would be one that Cooper would love (and would give me a reason to get some mini Cadbury eggs!) He really did get in to every step of this little treat project. We enjoy sharing them with friends and neighbors!

Both of the boys really enjoyed dying eggs this year- Ryder kept saying "ball, ball, ball!" over and over in as excited a voice as possible! Coop still thinks his colorful eggs are treasures and refuses to let us actually eat them!

And as a side note, want to try a cool side with your Easter dinner this weekend?...

Coat some pretty potatoes with oil and salt, then stack them on the grill! We were able to set our grill to smoke, but I think this would be yummy even if you just cook them on a lower setting on a normal grill. They turn out really yummy and the skins are crispy yum!

We hope everyone has a great Easter weekend, whatever you may be doing! 

'All Boy' Baby Shower

Last weekend, Monica and I hosted a fun baby shower for our new friend Beverly Harris. She and her husband are fairly new to our ward and expecting their second child, their first boy, in another few weeks. Since boys are our specialty and craftiness is our pleasure, this was a good combo!

Our fun table- Monica made these streamers and we loved how they ended up looking! So versatile and bright. You can find the link to the tutorial by visiting this post on her blog!

We've made these as favors before and liked them so well, we did it again! We bought bulk taffy, then strung it on long bbq skewers with a big ribbon tied on bottom- everyone from kids to adults that we've ever shared these with have been thrilled! The boys were pretty stoked that we had some left over to bring back home for them!

I've made banners in the past using embellished flash cards, but really wanted to do a pennant banner this time. It was fun and simple, but turned out cute and will be something she can decorate her baby room with now.

 

Monica made some yummy cheesecake cups and I made cupcakes for our shower treats! This orange frosting is my absolute fav! And between Walmart and Dollar Tree, we each ended up with a fun new cupcake tier! The Better Homes and Gardens plates at Walmart right now really are cute!

In the past, we've made diaper cakes for baby showers, but this time thought we'd something a little different. These cupcakes are rolled burp rags and onesies, then wrapped with fun ribbon. You can't see them too well, but the lollipops in the middle are a rolled bib with a spoon for the stick. These were cute and clever (and much faster than a diaper cake!).

For prizes, we mod podged drink carriers from Sonic and filled them with bath stuff! This will be a gift idea I will certainly be using again- the drink carriers made for a fun conversation piece and cute way to make something basic be cute!

Anyhow, another party down- I really love hosting events and this was a fun one that came together with less headache than this same process has in the past. Practice makes perfect I suppose! It was great to get together with Monica and combine our creativity! 

Bow Tied Boys

Yet another one of those things that can be called "cute" but still apply to boys- Bow Ties!  Awhile back I got the boy's some fun little bow ties through whoopdwhoop and they love them! They got to wear them to church yesterday and were about as handsome as they could get =)

Coop was ready early to go to choir with Dad and Ry wasn't yet, but thought he needed his pic taken too =) So stinkin' cute- he gives me the biggest smile!


About the same time I had gotten these ones, I decided I wanted one that would actually tie. I followed the most amazing tutorial from Delia Creates to make this one:

 I can't remember what the bribe was for Coop to put on his church shirt and model for me, but I do remember there was one! =) The bow tie itself was no problem, just the shirt. He's actually been wearing the bow tie like the greatest accessory ever:

 The robot we concocted that needed to match his =)

 In jammies at breakfast...

 Playing outside (in both his bow ties no less!)...

Church shirt, check. Pants? Not even, Mom. And no, I don't need to comb my hair...
Balloons, softie play pants and bow ties- wow, I  love being a boy mama!

That tutorial for the bow ties will even teach you how to tie it using her sock monkey, above! I'll be busy these next few days making more of these for the boys' Easter baskets (even Taron and Keaton!) and to wear to church next week, along with some matching suspenders!

Cute and boys in the same sentence??

No doubt!