More DIY Magnet Boards

There are a few thrift stores in my little town, and my SIL and I 

like to go to them each week to see what treasures we can find.

Last week I found some gold trays hiding on a bottom shelf of one of the stores, 

and knew immediately what I could make with them.....more magnet boards!

These trays were gold, so I spray painted the edges a chocolate brown color 

before mod- podging scrapbook paper onto them.  

They turned out so cute!

I think there may have been a few more trays at the store....

and I'm hoping they're still there!  

My girls and I will be making more of these 

for Christmas gifts for their friends this year.

(if I can find more trays!)

Paper Purses

Do you know any ladies that are really into purses?  

I have always been a simple girl, and have never seen 

a need to own more than one very plain purse at a time.  

Until recently.  

I've discovered that having a cute purse adds a little bounce 

to my step, and am always on the lookout for another fun one 

to add to my meager collection.

So when I saw THESE CUTE PURSES from Jill's Card Creations, 

I knew I had to make a few...

These tiny purses would be a perfect gift bag for lotions, nail polish, or even some treats!

Yep.  I think I'm addicted!

DIY Magnetic Memo Board

As I was preparing to go to Girls Camp a few weeks ago, 

I was on the lookout for fun 'Secret Sister' gift ideas.

I came across THIS TUTORIAL for DIY Magnetic Memo Boards using 

Dollar Store metal burner covers, and knew I'd found what I was looking for!

I forgot to get pictures of all of them, so here's 2 of the 4 that I made:

I absolutely {LOVE} these!  Not only were they super easy to make, 

but they turned out adorable!  

Wouldn't they make fun birthday/Christmas/Mother's Day/Just Because gifts?  

We'll definitely be making more!

'Hip Hip Hooray' {Birthday Card}

After a summer of busyness and not much craftyness, 

I'm happy to finally have a new card to share!

The inspiration for this card came from THIS SKETCH.  

I don't usually do much on the inside of my cards, 

but thought it would be fun to showcase the stamped sentiment.

The kraft flower was made by cutting notches out of 1" and 3/4" circles.

Such a fun card!!  I think I may officially be out of my summer craft slump...yay!

Supply List:

Paper: "Scattered Wishes" & "11:11" (Leeza Gibbons Wishes & Dreams line), 

"Banana Stripes" (Echo Park Dots & Stripes), kraft cardstock

Punches: 1", 3/4", & 1/2" circle punches

Stamps: Card Chatter-Birthday (CTMH)

Stake Girls Camp 2013

Last week I was able to go to my very first Girls Camp since I was 

in the Young Women's program as a teenager.  I was a bit worried for a few reasons, 

the main one being that I don't enjoy camping!  But we all got through it 

and had a GREAT time!

The theme for our Stake Girls Camp was:

CARS  

"Driving Standards for a Divine Purpose".

Each ward was given a car from the Disney Movie as their 'mascot', 

as well as a value from the Young Women's Program.

Our ward got 'Fillmore' as our car, and Faith as our value.  

I made this cute poster to hang up in our camp.  

(sorry...I blocked out our ward name for privacy!).

The highlight of camp (besides testimony meeting), was being able to do 

a service project for  Tiny Tim's Foundation for Kids.  

We helped sand and stain hundreds of wooden toy cars that will eventually 

be sent to kids all over the world.  The girls LOVED it!! 

Another highlight was participating in "Singing in the Trees."

It's a tradition that started several years ago in our Stake, and the girls 

look forward to it every year.  It is done at dark, right before our testimony meetings.  

Each ward gathers in a spot in the trees, and waits for their turn 

to sing a song (we sang "I Walk By Faith"), as we shine flashlights

into the trees.  I'm not explaining it super well, but it was a beautiful, spiritual moment, 

and was the perfect way to head into our Ward Testimony Meeting.

Instead of using flashlights for 'Singing in the Trees', our ward made Mason Jar Lanterns

to use.  They were super easy to make, and looked beautiful in the dark!

(HERE'S a great tutorial.  We used contact paper instead of vinyl, 

and electric tea lights instead of candles).

I was terrible about taking pictures of everything while we were there, but did get 

some pictures of 2 handouts that my secretary and I made for the girls.

This is the one made by my secretary.  She got the idea from HERE.

And here's the one I made (quote is from this talk, handout idea from HERE).

I don't have a file from my secretary, but if you'd like a copy of 

the 'Glow' handout file without the watermark, you can access it HERE!

We ended up having 20 girls from our ward attend Girls Camp.  

I loved being able to spend time with them away from 'real life'.  It gave me a chance 

to get to know them better, and to just have FUN together!

Can't wait until next year! 

'G' is for Grandma Book

My kids adore their Grandma's, and wanted to make them each something for Mother's Day.
As I searched around online, I came across THIS IDEA, and thought it would be perfect.

Here's our version:

Instead of having them each make a card, I stapled 2 paper sacks together to make a little booklet. 

Some of the answers my kids gave about their Grandma's were GREAT!  

My Mom especially loved that one of them thought she was only 30 years old!

It would be fun to make one every year to see how the kids' answers about their Grandma's change!

Mother's Day Card 2013

I've been wanting to make some changes around here for quite some time, but have been too afraid to actually DO it!  Well, I got brave over the weekend and gave my blog a little face lift.  What do you think?  

I'm not through with it just yet, so you may notice a few more changes over the next little while.

Now that Mother's Day is over (by the way...hope all you Mother's had a GREAT day!), 

I can finally show you the card I made for my Mom and MIL.

I was inspired by THIS CARD by Amy O'Neill.  

I've never thought of making my own flowers by using different circle punches.  

So glad Amy shared this...I'll be doing it a lot more!

Later this week I'll share a gift that my kids and I made for their Grandma's for Mother's Day.
See you soon!

Paper: Pebbles Inc. 'Sister' from Family Ties Collection
Sentiment: made on my computer
Punches: 1-3/4", 1-1/4", and 1" circle punches

General Conference Quote Book (YW Activity Idea)

I was in charge of our last Young Women's activity, and came up 

with this fun Paper Bag Quote Book for the girls to make.

Inside of the pages are different quotes from General Conference talks, and a place 

where the girls can write any notes they took while listening to or reading the talks.

I just searched online for the quote printables, and printed them in wallet size to fit on the pages.

Another idea I had (but didn't quite finish), was to type up each talk that the quote came from and print them off small enough that they could fit in the pocket of the paper bag.  

I only got this one done...and it took me forever to get it the right size!

Here's a shot of it inside the pocket.

I think instead, I'll just print off each talk, fold them up, and slip them inside the pockets.

It was fun to see which quotes the girls chose, and to watch them 

put their little quote books together.

If you're interested in making your own:

* HERE'S a good tutorial for the paper bag album.
* I've pinned a bunch of printable quotes HERE.  
* I made my own 'Notes' grid sheets, but they are based on THESE from Valorie Brown Designs.

'Pot of Gold' Craft

My 2 youngest kids are part of a 4-H Clover Buds group that meets once a month to do a craft.  February was my month to be in charge, and since Valentine's Day was already over, I decided to go with a St. Patrick's Day themed project.
 

The idea for this came from HERE.  The kids had fun making their 'Pot of Gold', and were most excited about the chocolate coins!    

'Happy Hellos' Card

I have a box full of scraps of paper that I can't bear to throw away.  When I sit down to make a card, I'll usually look through my scraps first to see if anything catches my eye.  Sometimes I'll find a combination that works, and sometimes I don't.  This time, it worked!  I think you'll recognize these papers from THIS CARD that I shared last week.

Hope you have a great Tuesday!

Grandma's Brag Book

So, I'm a terrible daughter-in-law, and didn't get anything sent to my in-laws for Christmas.  BUT, I hopefully redeemed myself by sending out a few gifts to them for Valentine's Day {keeping fingers crossed!}.

Part of that gift was this Brag Book for my Mother-in-law.

I filled it with pictures of my kids, and of our little family.  My Mother-in-law loved it!

If you'd like to make one of your own, the tutorial for the Brag Book can be found HERE.

Box of Chocolates {Valentine's Treat}

My kids will be giving their teachers 

a little box of chocolates for Valentine's Day this year.  

Each box is filled with Hershey's Kisses 

dressed up with THESE kisses stickers.

The clear top boxes were made 

using THIS TUTORIAL from Qbee's Quest.

Here's a close-up shot of the 'Be Mine' tag....

I love how it turned out!

These little boxes come together really quick, 

so if you're still looking for gift ideas for Valentine's Day,

you've got plenty of time to make a few of these cuties!  

Have a great day!