Family Reunion....keepsake

Do you need a fast and easy idea for an upcoming Family Reunion?? Well, I have busily ( is that even a word?) getting ready for one that will happen next week and here is what I am doing.

I call them: What I love about you.... books...... just a small token that is gender friendly.

First, I hit the jack pot the other day when I found a ton of mini chip board books. For .25 cents a book and in the size I was looking for made this very affordable! The pages of these books will make the "cover" for the new books.


Here is what you need: Plus some kind of adhesive, either spray or mod podge.

Follow these instructions here to get your covers ready.



For the pages of the new book I used blank index cards, cut them right in half and punched a whole at the top.


Using fabric scraps, I cut them into small pieces to be used to tie onto the ring of the book. This just ads a nice look without being to "girly" for the boys in the family :)

Here is one put together. I only have one done because everyone is going to make themselves a book at the reunion. We will sit in a circle and everyone will have a chance to write why they love that person on a piece of index card. When everyone has filled one out for each member of the family, we will get the pile that was written for ourselves and we will put our books together with all those fun reasons why we are loved so much by those who know us best....our family :) So each person will have a book about them and a fun token to take back home from the reunion.

Now......I am off to get even more things ready for the up coming reunion!!

For more cheap album ideas go HERE and HERE and HERE

Little Monsters

We all know that sometimes our kids really can turn into "little monsters!" Well, I wanted to encourage the NICE monsters to come out and play so I made them these monster faces to play with. They have had so much fun with them!

Here is what you do: 2 yards of fabric made 4 covers. I used a bowl to trace a circle in the middle of each piece for the head opening. Make sure to draw a circle smaller then what you think so it's not to big. Trace it, then I found it easiest to put all 4 pieces of fabric on top of each other and pin them together to cut them all out at once. First cut an x in the middle with a rotary cutter then finishing cutting the circle out with pinking scissors.

You can leave it like this or in my case I turned it in and sewed a finished edge because the fabric just kept fraying.


Make silly faces out of felt and sew them onto the pieces of fabric just below the circle. I used heat n bond to make them stay in place as I sewed them on. I then finished each outer side and they were done.

Here is a close up of of all my "NICE little monsters!"

(this might even be a great idea for a Halloween costume)

Other great ideas, go Here

Sneak Peek....

Here is a little sneak peek at just one of 7 projects I have been working on the past 2 weeks. My posting has been scarce due to accomplishing these projects .....so look forward to some new things starting next week.

Until then I am signing off so I can enjoy a family reunion this weekend and visit with my sister who is coming to town that I have not seen for months!!! yipppeeee!

**Have a great weekend**

Water Bottle Slings

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this idea. And for the past few days they have truly been life savers. There is nothing better then teaching the kiddos a little bit of responsibility....like carrying their own water. I have too, so why shouldn't they?? haha

Check out the fabulous tutorial HERE.

The only thing I did differently is I did not add the elastic to the top. The pattern was great just the way it was and I felt the elastic would have made it harder for them to put their water back into the sling on their own. And they don't fall out. It even fits my daughters sippy cup just as well as a regular water bottle.

Even the Mr. in my house requested his own so I whipped up several more just to have on hand.

Oh, I found the fabric at Ikea on clearance. It's heavier and helps to keep the form of the sling.

Yogurt Popsicles

YES, I am one of those mom's who doesn't like feeding the kids treats. But it has been so HOT so I made my own Popsicles. I just love my Tupperware Popsicle makers, I grew up with some of these myself. All you need to do is fill them with yogurt and freeze 'em. The kids love them and I felt better that they were cooling off with something healthier.

If you look close, I even layered a couple of different flavors. The little ones had a little harder time finishing all of the Popsicle so next time I am going to use an ice-cub tray for them and make smaller Popsicles. Give them a try, you'll like it too!!

Sad news

I felt so sad when I read this morning:

Goodbye Stacy, thank you so much for sharing your talents and your love for family with all of us in the crafty blogging world. You will be missed.

Read about Stacy here. You can even leave a comment for her family to read there as well.

May her family be blessed at this difficult time.

Girls Camp Ideas and Thoughts

Our girls camp this year was "Go for the Gold!" It was centered around VIRTUE the new value that has been added to the Young Women Theme. Here are the thoughts I put together for each young women in my ward. We had them make mailboxes the first day and then everyday throughout camp we as leaders would place these thoughts in their mailboxes. The girls LOVED getting these things and it worked out great.

Here are the items and the thought that I tied to each item.

Pkg of Gold fish: A virtuous woman put forth effort in order to get things done.
travel sewing kit: A virtuous woman relies on the Lord to mend her broken heart.
Temple sticker: A virtuous woman is loyal and sticks to what she knows to be right.
Chocolate candies: A virtuous woman always seeks out the sweet things in life.
ring: A virtuous woman is worthy to enter the Temple.
gold star: A virtuous woman has a twinkle in her eye.
whistle: A virtuous woman knows when to stay in control of her thoughts and actions.
nail files: A virtuous woman files away anything good and lovely.
clip: A virtuous woman will hold on to her purity and lives a chase life.
lip gloss: A virtuous woman knows when to speak kind, clean and honorable words from her lips.
Mormon ads: A virtuous woman can be trusted and held accountable for her actions.
toothbrush: A virtuous woman always keeps her thoughts and words clean.
rose flower sucker: A virtuous woman grows in the knowledge of the gospel.

Easy File Folder Games and more...

I LOVE the teacher supply store!! There are sooooo many possibilities there for so many different things. And you don't have to be a teacher to make the things usable for you or your kids. I found these 2 posters and turned them into several things, including file folder games for my kids. Super cute and very inexpensive.

I also found a very old calendar that I had laying around my house from several years ago (don't ask me why I had saved it in the first place but for this it was great??) and I turned that into a file folder game as well.

Here they are: 4 different games. Laminated and ready for use.

With the left over objects from the posters I made a game for the kids. They can close their eyes, reach into the bag and draw a color, then they have 15 seconds to run and find something in that color. (this can be played in the house, or out in the yard or this would even work in the car) This teaches them so many good things about colors and objects and it's fun too.





For the other left over pieces of the other poster I cut out the words and laminated them. I LOVE this Poster Putty!!! Works great when you can't put up permanent things on your walls. I also used this putty to decorate my kids bathroom!

And in my daughters room, I have made a learning station for her. This alphabet poster was also a great find at the teacher supply store!! How fun is that!!

So 2 posters, costing $3 made 4 file folder games, 1 game and a learning station. Not bad if I say so myself. I'll be visiting the teacher supply store more often for ideas and projects!!

Easy Counting Game

Need a different counting game that your child could assemble themselves or just something to keep them busy? Here is a very easy and simple counting game that is also a great coordination tool as well.

What you need: 11 index cards, 55 paper clips and something to write with.

(take note that this game is best suitable for the child who would not put paper clips in their months)

How to make: Write the numbers 0 - 10 on your index cards. Then paper clip the same number of paper clips to the card.

There you have it!!

Mango Salsa

Here is a little post before I head off for a much wanted and needed vacation this weekend yipppeeeee!!!

As my cute husband likes to say... "A little bit of Heaven in your mouth!" or as I call it:

Mango Salsa

This would be a perfect side dish for the backyard BBQ this weekend.....speaking of that I just might have to make another batch to throw in the cooler for me this weekend :)

3 cups mango's (i buy them frozen, let them thaw in the fridge, then I slightly mash them up a bit)

1/2 large white onion, 2 or 3 cloves of garlic, 4 tomatoes, cilantro, 2 Tbs lime juice, a dash of sugar (to get the juices flowing!!)

Add whatever amount you like of each. If you like more mango's, add more mango's. If you like a more tomato taste add more tomatoes then mango....and so on.

The flavor is best if you can let it sit in the fridge for a few hours or even over night.

I love to use Pita chips to scoop it all up!

Happy 4th of July everyone! See you next week!!

Be Safe