Category: Holidays
Holidays

Milk & Leprechaun Cakes…

March 4
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Since our family has some Irish roots we take St. Patrick’s Day pretty seriously around here!  Not that we have big-bash parties or anything, but we do celebrate some family traditions and to stretch out the holiday fun I also LOVE to prepare little treats throughout the days leading up to the 17th!  I don’t do something everyday of course, but scattered about the calendar in the beginnings of March I’ll have a holiday breakfast, after school treat, or even a special holiday meal prepared as an unexpected surprise for my family. (although I’m not sure how surprised they are anymore…they just don’t know the exact days!)  It may sound like a lot of work but honestly it can be really easy to make something as simple as milk and cookies look like a party.  It might not replicate the “Pinterest” look but it can come close…and for far less time and money!  Besides, if you enjoy it as much as I do, it’s almost as much fun to create as it is to present!  So if you want to squeeze in a little extra Irish fun this March…try some easy tricks of the Leprechauns!  Make an after-school treat feel like…

an after-school party!

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“Egg-celent” Decoupage!

February 29
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Easter comes early this year…and even though I hate to jump ahead of holidays that haven’t even arrived yet, Easter follows so closely behind St. Patrick’s Day that we barely have time to make the switch!  So while we await the arrival of the Leprechauns, I decided to go ahead and start my spring crafting!  I don’t know about you, but the first thing that comes to my mind when I think about Easter activities is decorating eggs!  It’s such a fun holiday tradition and there are so many wonderful color kits out there to dye, glitter, stamp, glue, or paint those eggs into Easter glory!  At our house we love to hard-boil a bunch of eggs, dunk ’em in all those pretty pastel dyes…and then we eat them!  But because it’s hard to keep real eggs fresh for a month or so, I also like to decorate the fake variety too!  This way I can enjoy them throughout the Easter season and recycle them for seasons to come!  The inspiration for my artificial eggs came when I discovered a pretty pack of tissues in the checkout isle…not for wrapping but for blowing!  They were way too cute to use on noses…so I decided to decoupage with them!  And as it turned out, the tissue was so effective to work with since it easily wrapped around the soft curves of the plastic eggs!  So I spent a rainy afternoon cutting out designs and crafting up some springtime joy!

a rainy day DIY…

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Holidays

A String of Good Luck!

February 26
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St. Patrick’s Day is a big deal in our house!  Ever since my boys were little they looked forward to seeing what pranks those pesky Leprechauns played while we slept on St. Paddy’s Day eve!  And no matter what havoc they wreaked, they always left a consolation…gold coins in the kid’s shoes!  (however, they should have left ME money since I was the one to clean up the mess…even though I created it!)  But even though they’re older and the belief that those pranksters are real was lost some time ago, it wouldn’t be the same if we didn’t have some Irish festivity leading up to our annual corned beef & cabbage feast!  And even though I LOVE creating holiday fun for my family, it’s not the only reason I continue on with it…I hope that these traditions we’ve cherished through the years will continue on some day when my boys have families of their own!  So I don’t tear the house apart any more pretending that the Leprechauns were the culprits…but I still leave coins in the shoes and always create some Irish joy in the house–somewhere!  This year my inspiration came from some tiny clips that reminded me of a rainbow.  And since coins are always found at the end of the rainbow, I decided to make a whimsical garland celebrating the gold at the colorful end!  Have a look at this easy DIY that will sure to bring smiles to kids of all ages!

at the end of the rainbow…

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Spring Fever…

February 19
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It must be something in the air because I’m so much more restless for the arrival of spring than I think I’ve ever been!  In fact, I’ve been a bit impatient overall this year!  Some of my friends were teasing me recently because I was counting down the days to when I could move on from Valentine decor and jump into something new!  Not that I don’t fully enjoy each holiday…but for some reason I’ve had this itch for change!  Which may also explain my seemingly countless list of home projects I hope to complete!  So for whatever the real reason for my impatience–the weird winter weather, life changes, thinking ahead for blog posts, or simply a bad case of spring fever–I’m trying to sit back and enjoy the moment rather than unintentionally wishing the days away!  I’m still happy that spring IS marching forward however, giving me permission to go ahead and dream about bringing the fresh, new season into my home!  But I’ve made this promise to myself to slow down and soak in the happiness that each project really does bring to me!  I heard a quote on the radio yesterday that really made me reflect…”the happiest people don’t have the best of everything…but they make the best of everything they have!”  I love that!  And while this quote doesn’t necessarily pertain to my impatience…it does give pause for thought.  Making the best of everything means not just finding contentment in the possessions I have or don’t have, what nature has given me or not given, or the tally of all my successes or failures…it also pertains to seeing the relevance and joy of each moment, season, or holiday and enjoying every second it’s here!  So today I’ll share my first spring craft…in plenty of time to enjoy the earliest signs of the new season and all the simple pleasures it brings!  Have a peek at this tiny craft which is big on happiness!

cherish the tiny treasures of spring…

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Last Minute LOVE

February 12
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We can now count the hours until Valentine’s Day!  and if you want to put some last minute “love” in your decor…I’ve got some SIMPLE ways to do it!  Time is ticking…but it’s not too late for some easy holiday “hacks” to add a touch of festivity!  Check out these tricks…letting you cut corners but never style!

holiday hacks…

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Celebrate, Holidays

Shot Through the Heart!

February 10
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While wandering around in Target…(I swear you can get as much inspiration there as you can by scrolling through Pinterest boards!)…I stumbled upon these adorable Arrow & Heart Kits for kids to to craft with.  They consisted of simplistic foam shapes, intended for small hands, but I LOVED the idea!  And after purchasing some of the sweetest paper hearts at one of my other favorite places (Alice-Louise Press), I knew right then exactly what I was going to do with them!  Have a look at these fun and whimsical arrows, shot through the pretty paper hearts that will crown some dinner plates for a Valentine’s Day Meal!

DIY holiday place cards…

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Monkey Around!

February 8
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Today is officially the beginning of the Chinese New Year…the year of the Monkey!  If you’re feeling festive, it really is easy to pull off a quick party theme…especially since you can order takeout from your local Chinese restaurant and add thematic touches with store-bought items like fortune cookies and chopsticks!  So we pulled off a fun celebration with several family friends over the weekend…a semi-new tradition started by my youngest son a couple years ago!  I’d like to share some of the simple ideas for a Chinese New Year or even a casual, Chinese takeout dinner party…it’s easy to make a simple meal simply festive!

2016…the year of the monkey!

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Celebrate, Holidays

Gettin’ Ready to Monkey Around!

February 5
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Life seems to throw tons at us all at the same time!  The next few days are about as packed full of celebrations as you can get…Super Bowl Sunday is followed by the Chinese New Year on Monday followed again by Mardi Gras on Tuesday!  Not to mention that Valentine’s Day is right on the heels of all those potential parties!  I think it’s fair to say there’s NO way I can pull multiple celebrations from my sleeve…so now it’s just which one to choose?  For my family, the Super Bowl is out of the question since it happens to be on a school night!  And even though we don’t have guests, we still fix up a big platter of spicy wings and stay up to watch the game…or most of it anyway!  So out of the remaining two,  we decided to celebrate the Chinese New Year…and will be doing so a couple days early so we can have our holiday fun over the weekend!  It seemed natural to pick this celebration since our oldest just took a school trip to China this past summer…and bonus, he brought back some fun souvenirs we can decorate with!  Monday will be the beginning of the Chinese New Year and according to the 12-year Chinese animal zodiac, it’s the year of the monkey!  And even though this animal year is considered to be the most unlucky, there will be plenty of good fortune abounding around here!  As I prepare for our weekend fun, I’ll share a sneak peek at what’s to come…you’ll have to wait ’til Monday for the rest!

a new year celebration in the works…

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Dressed up Treats for your Sweeties…

February 3
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It’s time to start thinking about sweet tokens to hand out to those you love, like, and admire!  It never has to be big…just a simple reminder of how much you care!  Today I’ll share some fun ways to dress up your holiday packages…sometimes those little extras really show the recipient you made it look special just for them!  You can get as creative as you wish…but it often doesn’t take much to make a gift shine!  Kind of like sprinkles on a cake…the simple, crowning touches!  These are a few of the little packages to hold special treats for my Valentines this year…hope you can find some inspiration for yours!

holiday treats play dress-up!

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Hearts for Breakfast!

February 1
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Every now and again, I like to make a special breakfast for my boys…especially as holidays draw near!  It’s now February and Valentine’s day is especially fun for making treats…hearts can be found almost everywhere you look and that wonderful tool, the cookie cutter, can turn tons of different foods into that traditional holiday shape!  And even though the big day falls over a weekend, I can still serve up easy breakfasts to help start some school-day mornings off with smiles!  This year I wanted to come up with some fun ideas that would be healthier but still provide some festivity…something that we don’t often have before heading off to class!  So in preparation of the upcoming treats, I HAD to test some out to make sure they were acceptable!  I’d like to share a couple easy and tasty winners!   This is what I’ll be dishing out this Valentine holiday…some morning fun…healthy bites…and holiday joy!

serve up some happy hearts…

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