easter basket fillers: all things girly 2

Obviously, we're loving all things Hello Kitty around here. And sparkly and rainbow-y. Yep, all things girly.

I have a very hard time loading up E's basket with everything sweet and sugary. So how do I avoid the chocolate and jelly bean crash and still have a happy six (almost seven) year old? I'm spilling the (jelly) beans with the hope it will give you some simple ideas for next year.

• A Hello Kitty bucket to store things in and take to the lake/beach this summer.
• A new beach/pool/sprinklers towel. Ella went nuts over this rainbow towel at Target awhile back (the other side is rainbow stripes), so I purchased it and tucked it away. It's not an official "beach" towel (just a regular bath towel), but she LOVES it and she can take it outside instead of my good ones.
• Sparkly flip-flops.
• Green Toys jump rope. It's a nice one. We found it at Pottery Barn Kids, but also saw them at Whole Foods and on-line at Amazon.
• That red, flower-y thing in the background is a clipboard. A little strange I know, but Ella kept taking my Deals to Meals stuff off mine and using it to write and color on. I found this one at Target, and she LOVES it!
• Belly Washers 100% juice in a Hello Kitty bottle. (Found it at Walmart.)

{In The Bucket} List

• A Junie B. Jones chapter book. Ella's teacher holds on to book orders if I e-mail her and let her know my order contains gifts. I also bought a book for each of my grandkids with my last Scholastic Books order. I save a lot and it benefits Ella's class. (They get a free book with my order.)
• Wreck-it Ralph DVD. Lynn bought it the day it came out and I stashed it away.
• Fun pink and white striped straws.
• A box of Hello Kitty bandaids (It's rough when Lynn or one of the boys needs a bandaid around here :))
• A darling notebook and matching pencils.
• A snack bag of mini Peanut Butter Ritz crackers (a fave)
• And because I'm not the meanest mom on earth, a small Reese's bunny, two mini bags of Skittles in eggs, and a serving size box of Trix cereal.

Ella was thrilled with her haul and never missed the extra sweets. Her favorite things? The clipboard and the jump rope.

So what's in your bucket?

*Check out my strategy and tips for creating simple and fun-filled Easter baskets at Easter basket fillers: all things girly (2012 edition).

a simple surprise: Easter decor

While Ella was at school the other day, I spread some Easter love around her room. She was so surprised and thought it was wonderful! 

 

This little chickie perched on her lamp was her favorite part.

A couple others just wandered around on her dresser. I bought these chicks years ago at Rod Works because I loved that they were made from chenille fabric.

This Easter egg garland couldn't be simpler. I purchased a million bags of plastic eggs on clearance last year for .25 each, so my activity day girls could make garlands for their rooms. Then I got released, and was going to give them to the new activity day leaders. My own girls, Kate (daughter), Ashlee, and Tayler (daughters in law) decided they wanted to make garlands instead. :)

The tulle garland stays up in Ella's room all the time. It's so sweet and girly. I'll share a tutorial on how to make one this week sometime.

Happy spring (finally!).

St. Patrick's day fun: a leprechaun trap + celebrate simply

Ella had a homework assignment this week to create a leprechaun trap.

I thought for sure Lynn would Google for ideas, but when he said he found some on Pinterest, I couldn't help but laugh. Yep, that's my man.

Here's the genius idea what we came up with.

First the leprechaun climbs the little ladder (borrowed from the Lego collection).

Then it's a straight dash to the "treasure" at the end of the rainbow. Ella told us that leprechauns love shiny things, so we found some coins. And who can resist rainbow Skittles? (Especially if your name is Ella.)

Here's the tricky part. When the leprechaun runs for the treasure, the floor will cave in and he'll get all caught up in the fabric. I know, pure genius. :)

And because no project is truly "Ella-worthy" without a massive amount sprinkling of bling/glitter/shine, the outer surface of the trap was decorated appropriately.

The students in Ella's class all brought their traps on Thursday, and set them all around the classroom. On Friday when they arrived, the classroom was trashed! (Ella's own words :)) A mischievous leprechaun had dumped out crayons,  scribbled on spelling tests, put clipboards in the sink...it was crazy! And he had left a note in Ella's trap that read:

Nice trap! You almost got me, but I am too tricky!

Fun stuff. Great teachers are awesome. (Thanks Mrs. Hulme!) Lynn said he loves that little ones get so excited about these things and really missed it when our bigs got older.

Celebrating Simply
When my older kids were young, I would go all out on holidays and special occasions--special meals, decorations, activities, etc. The kids loved it and I loved that they loved it. But it was a lot of work and time.

I'm doing things different with Ella. Because I've "been there, done that," celebrations aren't as elaborate. We do just a few simple things instead. At times I felt a little guilty, thinking E was getting guyped out of those special "experiences."

But guess what? She gets even more excited about the little things than my bigs did about the big things. And the bonus is, we all enjoy the celebrations more, because I'm not tired and cranky from running around putting things together. There's less expectation too, which I think is a big issue with children these days.

Just speaking from experience.

So here's what our simple St. Patrick's Day celebration will include:

One: Display this Lucky print from Simple as That. Maybe we'll even talk about why we're so lucky.

source

 Two: Paint our nails green and add glitter. A true Ella-esque activity.

source

Three: Because we don't do sugar cereal around here, this special St. Patrick's Day treat of Lucky Charms is sure to be the highlight of Ella's celebration.

Have a wonderful St. Patrick's Day!

a sweet little sentiment

 

valentine's in a box

I love, love, love everything about Valentine's Day--the colors pink & red together, chocolate, ribbon, flowers, chocolate, smooches, and having the opportunity to let my awesome hubs and family know how much I love and adore them. And chocolate. :)

This year, I really wanted to put together something sweet and simple for my daughter Kate, daughters-in-law Ashlee, Daniela, and Tayler, and a couple of my favorite girlfriends.

 I gathered all things red, pink, girly, and Valentine-y.

• Altoids for fresh breath
• grapefruit lip balm for kissable lips
• sparkly glitter for crafting
• mini candy/cupcake wrappers for gifting
• a chocolate truffle for sharing enjoying
• yummy polka dot and grosgrain ribbon for giving and wrapping and everything pretty

I arranged the items in little glossy, white boxes.

(Try to let a little of each item peek out when you arrange them--far more delightful when the package is opened. :))

I cut 3-4 layers of tissue paper to fit the box and used my pinking sheers to trim the edge. I love little details like that.

A girl can never have too much ribbon--grosgrain and sheers, polka dots and solids--love them all.

 

How about a hot pink animal print? Ella's favorite by far. That one's going to my daughter, Kate, because she's kind of a wild one and quite sassy (wink, wink!). 

Choose your favorite, and tie up the box with a pretty little bow. So simple and sweet.

Here's a list of my supplies:

• All the ribbon I used is from Paper Mart. I've been ordering from them for years. They have the best prices I've found (you'll be amazed), and it's good quality stuff.
• My 4 x 4 x 2 high gloss tuck top boxes are also from Paper Mart. They come in a quantity of 100 in a million different sizes, but this size will be perfect for so many things. I wanted one that would hold a treat or little something, along with a gift card. They come out to be only .14 each. If you don't think you'll ever use that many, go in with a friend. I also ordered some red high glass tuck top boxes in a slightly different size. Can't wait to use them too. I'll share when I do. :)
• The tubes of sparkly iridescent glitter are here. It comes in 12 different colors for .99 each.
• The mini candy/cupcake liners are from Wilton. (Found them at Walmart.)
• Burt's Bees grapefruit lip balm, Altoids, and Lindt truffles are from Target.

*The shipping charges at Paper Mart are great for ribbon and smaller items, but be warned, when you start adding the boxes, the shipping goes up substantially. I would suggest you place one big order for yourself, or order with a group of friends. They always ship super fast. I placed my order Thursday night and it arrived Saturday afternoon. Love that!

Go check it out. Give yourself plenty of time, there's a lot of fun stuff on the site. 

Ribbon:

1 1/2" x 25 yds. shimmer sheer organza (white and hot pink)

1 1/2" x 25 yds. red sheer polka dot

1 1/2" x 10 yds. pink party dot grosgrain (this is a bright pink)

7/8" x 50 yds. red grosgrain

5/8" x 20 yds. pink/white zebra grosgrain

xox

Sharing this post at:
The 36th Ave.
Chic on a Shoestring Decorating

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. :)

I changed them up a bit, so I could share with my friends--yes, that's you! Instead of a photo, your sweet girlies can just fill in the blanks. If you simply must add a photo and have Photoshop Elements, drop me a quick e-mail and I'll send you the psd. file.

Valentine's Matchbooks

xox

Shared at: Whipperberry

valentine's day: 10+ reasons I love you!

Last year I decided to do something silly and fun for Lynn for Valentine's Day. I jumped on the "open at ___ o'clock" band wagon and put together a package of gifts for him to unwrap each hour throughout the day. Each gift was related to a reason I love him.

The hardest part was coming up with items to go with each reason, because I didn't want it to be all soda and candy. Maybe my ideas will help spark some of your own.

Here's my list of reasons. (It was much simpler to create one big list than a bunch of individual cards.) I attached it to a large red bag with handles and put all the gifts inside, so it would be easy to carry into work. Lynn said he caught some guy trying to read it on the bus. :)

Each gift was wrapped up and had a corresponding time tag attached. Can you match up the items in the photo with each reason? Here you go:

1. Chips Ahoy!--Lynn's favorite store-bought cookies.
2. A Chili's gift card for our next date night.
3. Planter's mixed nuts.
4. Dentyne Fire gum--we have to hid ours from Ella! :)
5. Air Freshener for his car.
6. iTunes gift card.
7. Mr. Clean Magic Erasers. (I know, but what would you have done? Besides, we love those things. :))
8. Photo of daughter Ella, and granddaughter Madi, for his desk.
9. Heart-shaped box of candy. (This never made it back home...hmmmm.)
10. The lastest Pirates of the Carribean DVD. (Admit it, that's a good one. :))

{Bonus} A sweet card that reads, "I love my life with you."

I think Lynn really enjoyed it and it made him feel special.

Shared at: Whipperberry

easter basket fillers: all things girly

I admit to being practical when it comes to stocking stuffers, Valentine's goodies and Easter basket fillers. I'd rather purchase a few really nice items than a lot of less expensive fillers that end up being tossed or broken soon after the festivities. So what are my tricks to purchasing items that will make both me and the little ones happy? It's simple. First, I plan ahead and start gathering things early (to spread out the expenditures). I store my stash in the top drawer of my filing cabinet behind the files--shhh!  Second, I save items I'd purchase anyway if a holiday is approaching.

Here are some suggestions for "all things girly" that are both practical and fun for Easter baskets:

• a reusable bucket or storage container
• spring pajamas
• flip-flips
• jewelry
• DVDs
• an entire box of a favorite snack (Ella loves those mini Ritz with peanut butter)
• hair accessories
• cool sunglasses
• post-its, notepads, note cards and pens
• a card game (we love Barbie's Go Shopping)
• art supplies
• craft kits
• silly socks
• a fun book
• a new swimsuit and beach towel (my older kids always got a new swimsuit at Easter)

 Happy Easter!

Also shared at these fabulous blogs:
Whipperberry
Chic on a Shoestring 

valentine's matchbooks 2012

With all the candy Ella received, I feel like Valentine's has become the new Halloween! So did I send the girls off to their love day parties with Valentine's goodies too? Well, of course I did! :)

I used my matchbook template again (why mess with a good thing, right?), and some darling digital papers and clip art from Cocoa Mint I found on Etsy. This year I also added photos of the girls. They loved them. And I love that it makes them feel special.

I let Ella choose which clip art to use and turned the Valentine girl's hair to red for hers. We used small packages of conversation hearts as the filler.

Hope your Valentine's Day was love-ly too. :)

party hearty: a valentine's craft

Ella played the guilt card recently and won. :) She told me all the other mothers help at class parties and I don't. She was right. So I volunteered to do a craft for the kindergarten Valentine's party.

I decided on these Valentine's butterflies and called them "love bugs." They were a hit. The original idea came from Skip to my Lou (great blog!), but I also found the pattern at the on-line Silhouette store, so I didn't have to cut out all 30 by hand. Score! It was the first project I made using the Silhouette I received for Christmas. Can't wait to do more.

I created kits that included:

• The butterfly cut-out with the sucker already inserted. The suckers are a bit hard to get through the holes and the paper will tear if you're not careful.
• Googly eyes. I stuck them on glue dots so they already had adhesive on them and then cut between each set--big time saver.
• A variety of punched shapes. I included hearts(8) and circles(12).
• A little bling. I wasn't sure if the boys would go for the little gems, but they were the ones who asked if there were more. :) I included two small and two larger clear "sparkle-ys" that already had adhesive on them.

I also provided glue sticks.

I did a trial run with Ella and her BFF, Jordan, to see how long it would take them to complete one. Right about ten minutes. Perfect.

Of course all "love bugs" must kiss!

The entire party was great. There were five different stations the kids rotated to: bingo, decorating cookies, a coloring sheet, fishing with magnets, and my craft. I enjoyed seeing each of the children be so creative and I loved that Ella was excited for me to be there. She told me before school that she was not going to think about me coming because she was just too excited. :)

To complete the party, Ella's teacher Debbie Reiber, gave all the kids their Valentine keepers filled with the cards and candy they exchanged.

How darling is this? Mrs. Reiber made one for each of the kids and they all looked just like them! Elles was thrilled to get hers. The little people are attached to a kraft gift bag with handles so when they put goodies in the mouth, they drop right in. Love it.

cooking club: Oreo cake bites

I had a bunch of friends ask where they could order the cake bites we served at Patrick and Ashlee's reception. Apparently they were amazingly delicious. I wouldn't know, I never got the time to taste one. Even more surprising, neither did Ashlee. And she helped make all 350 of them! She confessed she was on the LGN (look good naked) diet at the time. :) She cracks me up.

So, I convinced my new daughter-in-law (love saying that :)) to do a demo for our RS Cooking Club. At first she laughed because she said they were so simple to make they didn't need a demonstration. But that's what we love--simple and yummy. And chocolate. And samples to try. And just getting together to have a good time.

We had a "filled to capacity" crowd in my kitchen. Ashlee did a wonderful job. And yes, they were simple to make.

I don't know that I'd actually consider these "cake-y." The filling ingredients are Oreos and cream cheese, so they're more moist than a cake filling would be.

We placed a duo in mini red and white polka dot liners and packaged them in small cellophane bags. Then we tied them up with pink grosgrain ribbon. (I will forever love pink and red together.) They're the perfect little Valentine's goodie for the sisters we visit teach. Hope they make it that long (*wink*). The liners are from Wilton.

I get asked all the time how to tie a pretty knot. I just use a simple square knot--right over left, left over right. Give yourself plenty of ribbon to work with and then trim the excess off at an angle when you're done. Packaging always looks nicer when you don't scrimp on the ribbon.

Adding a sucker stick makes the perfect "cake pop" for the little (or big) ones. How darling would these be for a baby shower or any special occasion?

Here's the recipe Ashlee used:

OREO CAKE BITES
from the kitchen of: Ashlee McCrary
Yield: 30-35 bites

30 Oreo cookies (about 1 package)
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 pkg. melting chocolate (I like Wilton brand)
2 squares vanilla almond bark

Using a food processor or placing cookies in a Ziploc bag, crush Oreos into a fine crumb. In mixer, combine softened cream cheese and Oreos. Mix until a soft dough forms. Chill in freezer 20-30 minutes or in fridge for an hour. Measure one tablespoon scoops and form into round balls. Place on wax paper on cookie sheet that will fit in freezer. Chill for 30-45 minutes until firm.

Melt chocolate, following directions on package.

Insert toothpick into frozen Oreo ball and dip in chocolate to cover. Let excess drip off, then place on cookie sheet covered with wax paper. When chocolate is no longer shiny, remove toothpick by twisting to leave only a very small hole. Fill hole with melted chocolate.

Melt almond bark, following package directions. Transfer to Ziploc bag. Make a very small cut in the corner of the bag. Drizzle back and forth over cake bites.

Store in airtight container in fridge.

Ashlee's Tips and Tricks:

• Use only regular Oreos.
• I prefer Wilton brand melting chocolates because they're made with real cocoa, instead of chocolate-flavored like other brands. (I've found them at Walmart in the craft department and at Joanne's.)
• Don't be tempted to use regular chocolate chips to melt. They have a tendency to seize up and become lumpy. Melting chocolate is formulated for melting and dipping.
• Make sure you measure when forming balls to make uniform cake bites. 
• As dipping chocolate starts to cool, it will get thick and start to clump. Simply put back in microwave for 30 seconds at 50% power to thin again.
• White almond bark can be found in the baking section of your grocery store.

Thanks, Ashlee!

sharing the love: valentine's matchbook download

Remember these sweet Valentine's matchbook covers I made for the girls last year? Still love them. If I run out of time to make some new ones, I might actually have Ella use them again.

I got permission from Katie Pertiet (the designer of the darling Little Hearts Digital Kit I used to create them), to share with all of you! Thanks, Katie!

Click here to download. I printed mine on glossy cardstock purchased at a local copy shop. The colors are more vibrant on the glossy finish.

Steps to assemble:
1. Score between each pattern on the matchbox using a bone folder or X-acto knife. (Lightly and carefully with the X-acto.)
2. Insert a small treat in the bottom fold. (Any small, relatively flat candy will work. I found small packages of conversation hearts at Walmart.)
3. Staple at the lower part the bottom fold to secure (see photos) and tuck flap inside.

I hope your little girlies love sharing these as much as mine did.