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! 

{Mother's Day} Candy Boxes

Remember THESE boxes that I made for Valentine's Day? I thought they'd be perfect for Mother's Day as well.

I made them the same way as the heart ones, but just used different shapes...in this case, squares and circles.

For the flowers, I combined two tutorials....using THIS tutorial for the big flower, and THIS tutorial for the small flower in the middle.

I love how they turned out and can't wait to give them to my Mom and MIL for Mother's Day (filled with their favorite treats, of course!)!!

Initial Coat/Backpack Board

This picture isn't the greatest......sorry!!

After tripping over my kids' coats and backpacks one too many times, I decided enough was enough!! With the help of my sweet husband, I made this coat/backpack board for the kids.
They each have 2 hooks....one for their coat, and one for their backpack. And I decided to put their initials above the hooks to eliminate any fighting about whose hook was whose! So far they have been excited about hanging up their stuff as soon as they get home from school. Hopefully it will last!!

To make this, I:

**grabbed a board from our wood pile
**spray painted it with 3 coats of "Chocolate Brown" spray paint
**had the hubby buy 5 hooks....then sent him back to the store to return the first ones he bought to get the right ones!! ;)
**let the hubby screw in the hooks
**used the Cricut to cut out the initials
**Mod Podged the initials on

It was a quick project that has brought a little more organization to our home!!


I'm linking to: Fireflies & Jellybeans, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Keeping It Simple, Skip to my Lou

Burlap Family Reminder...

When I saw THIS post from Kaysi at Keeping It Simple, I knew it was something that my family could use. All too often by the end of the day, I've forgotten what we have and haven't done.

A few weeks ago I came across a great deal at the DI....a garbage bag full of burlap for only $2.00! I tend to hold on to things for a while before actually doing something with it, but decided this was a perfect project for my burlap.

I love how it turned out...minus the crooked "Family" (it'll bug me everytime I look at it!). Now that I've used some burlap, I'm excited to do other projects with it!!

I'm linking to: Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Keeping It Simple, Making the World Cuter, The Girl Creative, Someday Crafts

Personalized Planner

I've been on the hunt for a new planner. My previous one worked for a few years for me, but it had a snap closure. Things kept falling out of it, and I always worried that I'd lose something important. So when I saw one at the DI that had a zipper closure, I snatched it up. It was only $2.00. And in perfect condition!

To personalize it a bit, I decided to break out some vinyl that I won in a giveaway a while ago. This is what I came up with.

I thought about making a bigger flower to put in the center of the front of it, but decided that less was more in this case.

I was out and about the other day, and had several people comment on how cute my planner is. One lady even asked me if I painted the name and flowers on......I wish I was that talented!!

I'm linking to:

Making the World Cuter, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Keeping it Simple, Fireflies & Jellybeans

Stick of Gum Valentine

Here's another cute, inexpensive idea for Valentine's Day. I originally saw THIS idea from Inking Idaho back in October, and knew it would be perfect for Valentine's Day. My kids are obsessed with gum, so I know they'd LOVE to get something like this!

Pixie Stix Valentines...

So I thought I was being totally original with this idea....until I walked down the Valentine candy aisle at the grocery store and saw some Pixie Stix Valentine kits.....

Oh well! We'll call mine the 'homemade version'!! (Plus, they're WAY cheaper to make yourself!)

Let's compare prices, shall we?

**Pixie Stix Valentine Kit- $3.59 (at my grocery store). Makes 32 valentines.

**My Homemade Version- $1.25 (you can buy Pixie Stix for $1.00 at the dollar store. Didn't know that until after I bought mine at the grocery store. And I used paper that I already had at home). Makes 49 valentines.

I think I'll stick with my homemade version!

On a side note...My 10-year-old daughter has been helping me put these together, and she looked over at me the other night as we were busy glueing and inking edges and said, "This is really fun....and relaxing!" My thoughts EXACTLY! I think I may have gained a crafting partner {Woo Hoo}!!

DIY Heart Candy Boxes...

Have you decided what are you're giving your sweetheart for Valentine's Day this year? How about making them a custom Heart Candy Box filled with their favorite treats?




This is my kind of project......quick, simple, and cheap!

Want to make your own? Here's what you'll need:

*Posterboard
*Hot Glue Gun/Glue Sticks or your favorite adhesive
*Patterned Paper/Embellishments

How to assemble:

1. First decide what size you want your box, then make your heart templates. (I made mine on my computer, but you could draw them out too. Just make sure their measurements are similar). My small box measures 6" wide, so these are the sizes of my templates.
*1- 6" wide heart
*1- 5"wide heart
*1- 4.75" wide heart

2. Once you have your templates cut out, trace them onto the posterboard and cut them out. (I found that it's best to trace onto the front of the posterboard, because you'll be covering up that part of it anyways.)

Trace and cut:

*2- 6" wide hearts
*1- 5" wide heart
*1- 4.75 wide heart
*4- 1"x7.75" strips


3. Use adhesive/glue stick to adhere the smaller hearts onto the 6" wide hearts.

4. Glue 2 of the strips at a 90 degree angle along the edge of each of the smaller hearts to form the box. (I used hot glue for this part). Start at the top of the heart and work your way down. You may have to trim the strips just a smidge when you get to the bottom.

5. That's it!! You're done with assembling them.....

Now for the best part.....decorating!!






What I LOVE about these boxes (besides how {CUTE} they are!), is that you can really customize them however you want. They can be made big or small, and probably into different shapes too. I'm thinking of making some out of cereal boxes....then they'd be FREE to make!!

My girls want to make one for each of their teachers and fill them up with their favorite candies. I can't wait to get started!!