{Free Printable} Santa Claus Beard Countdown Calendar

It's the most wonderful time of the year, and I couldn't be more excited! Yes, Christmas is still a few weeks away, but I start early to get the most out of my favorite holiday. My daughter is four now, and is beginning to grasp the meaning of Christmas. What better way to kick off December with her than this Santa Claus Beard Countdown Calendar? It's super cute and so simple to create. All you need are some cotton balls, glue and my free printable!  So let's get excited for Christmas and Santa's arrival!

A Pink and Gold Ballet Birthday Party

My daughter Allie, and one of her best friends, Faith, were born 5 days apart and are pretty much inseparable. Both being lovers of ballet, dress-up and anything pink, a ballet dance party was clearly in our future!  It didn't take long for Faith's mom and I to decide to combine our creative talents and have a joint party to celebrate our little girls turning four.

{Free Printable} Give Thanks Place Cards AND a Roasted Pumpkin Soup Recipe from This Couple's Palate Blog!

I'm excited to post my first blog collaboration, just in time for Thanksgiving! My good friend Rochelle from her blog, This Couple's Palate, came up with an amazing made-from-scratch recipe for a Roasted Kabocha Squash Soup topped with crispy chorizo and coconut milk...yum! To complement this delicious Thanksgiving inspired soup, we put together a beautiful table setting featuring DIY Succulent Pumpkin centerpieces and "Give Thanks" Place Cards, available here for a free download.

{DIY} Mini Witch Hat Trick-or-Treat Piñata • Tutorial and Free Printables

Here is a festive Halloween craft I put together for our latest MOPS meeting; DIY Mini Witch Hat Trick-or-Treat Piñatas! The best part of these, they're reusable!

I re-created this craft from tutorials I found on Pinterest by Parents and Studio DIY.  I modified them a bit to make the craft more user friendly and added some of my own Halloween charm by creating the witch hat banner and pull tag.  To download the pinata template and free printables, follow my complete tutorial.

{DIY} Wood Frame Motivational Art Display

Sometimes you come across a great deal on craft supplies that are too good to pass up! So was the case regarding the latest craft we did at MOPS. While cruising the aisles at Michael's, I saw a bunch of laser cut wood frames on mega blow-out at 80% off. I just had to grab them! Throw in a coupon for an additional 20% off and you are looking at one happy crafty lady! I grabbed all the frames I could, about 60 in total, and worried about what craft I would do later.

Wood Burn Centerpiece Tutorial {MOPS}

As the Creative Activities Leader for our local MOPS chapter, one of my responsibilities is to create the centerpieces for our tables. Read on to see how I achieved the below look using a few simple techniques!

Coming Soon - Be You Bravely Centerpieces {MOPS}

Here is a little preview of the centerpieces I am working on for MOPS. I'm in love with the theme this year, "Be You Bravely". Stay tuned for a complete tutorial on how to achieve this look!

Watercolor Back to School Signs {Free Printables} Preschool - 12th Grade

Where did the summer go? It's hard to believe the first day of school is fast approaching. Our little ones will soon be heading off to school and what better way to document their first day back than with these watercolor inspired back to school signs!

{DIY} Make a Necklace or Bracelet from Washers and Ribbon - MOPS Craft

Another successful craft we did at MOPS last semester were these DIY necklaces made from washers and ribbon. You can also make bracelets with the same amount of washers, we left it up to the ladies to decide!

Follow my image tutorial or download the pdf attachment here to print out the full instructions.

{DIY} Chalk Hand Lettering Tutorial

I have always been in love with the look of hand chalk lettering seen on chalkboards all over from restaurants, birthday parties and weddings. I admire the charming mixture of typography and decorative elements so much that I even tried to duplicate the look myself...and failed. I realized this graphic designer has no skill at freehand drawing. However, I am very skilled on the computer!  By creating your own design or finding one off the Internet, you can duplicate the hand chalk lettering look yourself using just a few simple materials. Follow my tutorial to learn how easy it can be!

{DIY} Printed Tile Coasters Made from Napkins

One of my favorite crafts to do are these simple and fun tile coasters made out of travertine tiles and napkins. Because they are inexpensive and easy to make, this made a great craft to demonstrate at one of our MOPS meetings.

{DIY} 4th of July Burlap Pendant Star Tutorial

These DIY burlap pendant stars are inspired by the ones currently available at Pottery Barn. I thought I would take a try and recreate these myself using some leftover burlap I had from a previous project. The result are these super cute and festive decorations perfect for any patriotic occasion!

Play with different sizes and colors to create a variety of pendants that will make a unique and fun 4th of July display!

Staff Your Weaknesses Art

I heard this statement, "Staff your weaknesses" a while ago and it just stuck with me. I think mostly because I usually try to do it all: be a good mom, have a clean house, make the perfect meal, design the perfect logo, give the best gift...it goes on and on. Realizing that it's okay to admit you can't be the best at everything is freeing. I designed the below artwork to remind myself not always try and be superwoman. It's alright to fail sometimes and you can always ask for help.

To download the FREE printable click here.

Mobile Phone Scavenger Hunt {Free Printable}

Here is a great ice-breaker game for larger groups to encourage introductions!

 

This past year at MOPS we had about 60 moms sitting at 7 different tables making it somewhat difficult to meet all who attend. To encourage the moms to get to know the women outside their tables we did this fun Mobile Phone Scavenger Hunt. Everyone was instructed to find the items on the above handout by asking the women around the room what was on their phone. They were only allowed to get two answers from one person; thus encouraging them to mingle and meet everyone. Great conversations developed as women met and interacted during this easy 10-minute game. At the end of the activity the woman with the most 'finds' won a Starbucks gift card. Use this game is a quick ice-breaker for almost any large group setting!

To download the free printable of the Mobile Phone Scavenger Hunt, click here.

{MOPS Craft} DIY I Spy Bags

This adorable I Spy Bag is sure to keep little hands busy! 

 

 
One of our most popular crafts at MOPS this year was this fun 'I Spy Bag". We prepped everything ahead of time so all the ladies had to do was fill their bag with little trinkets and poly pellets. A few crafty moms brought their sewing machines to help sew the opening of the bags closed.
To learn how to make your own I Spy Bag, follow my tutorial here.

Teacher Appreciation Gift - Mason Jar Cookie Mix Recipe and Free Printable

Handmade Teacher Appreciation Gift

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix in a Jar

 

Teachers deserve a cookie break! A decorative jar with pre-measured & stacked cookie ingredients is a thoughtful gift to show your appreciation. A hand tied bow and this free printable tag offers unique gift personalization that any teacher will enjoy. The presentation is as good as the cookies!

MOPS Craft - DIY Journal Welcome Gift

 DIY pocket journals made an excellent welcome gift & craft at our first MOPS meeting.

For our first official MOPS meeting, we wanted to create a "Welcome to MOPS" gift. My clever crafting partner, Traci, came across these adorable pocket-sized journals from cremedelacraft.com. We were inspired and thought it would be great to make this journal our first craft and gift. To make the journals a little more special, I designed some information pages to fit inside. They featured our theme logo for the year, a place to write contact information, a list of all our upcoming meeting dates and blank pages for meeting notes.

MOPS - A Great Get to Know You Mixer

Here is a fun large group mixer you can use to get to know new people.

We called this our "m&m mixer"

The first MOPS meeting of a new semester can be exciting for returning members and perhaps a little nerve-racking for the new members. Many of these moms do not know their tablemates and may need some help in breaking the ice.  To get conversations going and facilitate introductions we provided this fun "m&m mixer".  It was a great way for the moms to get to know one another without the anxiety that can come in first meetings.

Each mom was provided the above printout and a fun-size bag of m&ms.  They were instructed to share a little bit about themselves based on the color of m&m they pulled out of their bag, using the printout as a reference.  For instance, if I pulled out a yellow m&m I would tell the ladies my favorite things about my daughter, (which is her sense of humor and cuddles)!  We set a 10 minute limit on the mixer, just enough time for everyone to learn fun and interesting tidbits about one another!

To download the PDF of the m&m mixer, click here.

MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) Creative Activities

This past year I became the Creative Activities Leader for my local Friday MOPS group. MOPS stands for "Mothers of Preschoolers" and is a program designed to nurture mothers with children from infancy to kindergarten. This year is my second year as a member of MOPS and my first year as part of the steering committee. I must say I feel so blessed to have become part of such an amazing organization! The friendships I have made and the lessons learned are ones I will cherish forever.

As the 2013-2014 semester wraps up, I thought I would share the crafts and mixers we came up with for our creative activities. I remember when I first started searching for craft ideas at the beginning of the semester I was racking my brain for ideas! I wanted to find creative activities that would be fun, quick and affordable. Thank goodness for Pinterest...

Follow Us on Pinterest!

Before the semester began, my creative activities partner and I created two Pinterest boards. The first board titled MOPS Crafts was where we pinned just our random ideas and inspirations we found across the web. Once we were sure we liked an activity and wanted to proceed with it, we then pinned it to our board MOPS Crafts Final. Check these boards often, we are very active pinners!

I plan to post all the activities we did throughout the year on my blog with supporting pictures and documents. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did at MOPS. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or comments!

Tuscan Inspired Table Decor

This gorgeous Tuscan inspired tablescape was used at my husband's recent company retreat at The Resort at Pelican Hill. The theme for the evening was "Festa!". I love the rustic mix of lemons and artichokes paired with the ranunculus flowers and rosemary sprigs. The Italian pottery and wood vases looked beautiful against the blue and white embroidered linens. This look was a great representation of the food served and the current spring season.