Homemade Valentines

We decided to go homemade this year when my sister showed me these superhero lollipops. They are so cute, it was no brainer.

They exchange Valentines at school, but no candy allowed, so we made conversation heart pencil toppers.

Arise Shine and Sparkle

I recently started working with the young women and just in time for New Beginnings. The mutual theme for the year is Arise and Shine Forth. When I found the idea to make it Arise Shine and Sparkle, we kind of went nuts. Sparkle and bling are pretty much everywhere and we found lots of inspiration for decor and delicacies.

Thanks to a little help from my friends at Sisters in Zion, the invitation was pretty dazzling.

We had round tables with easy center pieces (thanks to my mom for sharing pretty much everything), which were inspired by Better Homes & Gardens.

The refreshments were divine and looked almost too good to eat. Edible glitter is my new favorite thing.

We gave the girls sparklers in DIY custom holder with the theme on them...never mind that they are illegal here.

With lots of white lights, lots of tulle, and battery operated tea lights, the girls introduced themselves and told in one sentence how they arise and shine forth and then all sang Arise and Shine Forth by Joan Sowards beautifully.

It was fun to incorporate the sparkle and easy to get carried away. But even better was seeing these young women anxious to shine and know that they can be "...a standard for the nations."

Valentine's Craft

I found this Valentine's craft that I actually had all the supplies for....just had to dig through the trash to find that paper towel roll I'd thrown away. It is a perfect independent craft for 7 and up, but my 5 year old did it with a little help stringing.

I cut up two paper towel cardboard rolls (that made plenty) and we just used spray paint, much faster and easier.

Shaped them into hearts.

Poked them top and bottom with a tack.

Chose from my random collection of beads.

We used fishing line and it was sturdy enough that we didn't have to use a needle. I had them loop back through the bottom of the bead to hold it in place and help keep the heart shape.

Not quite as fancy as theirs, but still very festive.

Painting Rocks

Step one:

Gather rocks at the beach. You know it's going to be a good activity when gathering supplies is as much fun as the actual art project.

Step two:

Paint away. We just used q-tips because I didn't have enough brushes for every color of paint. Worked perfectly.

Step three:

Enjoy your little works of art.

Advent Activities

I decided to bag the candy in the advent calendar this year and do activities instead. It took a little bit of planning to get the right things on the right days, but so far it's been a hit. And I sneaked a few candy into the days, just enough to make it special and not sugar overload.

Decorate the kid's tree

Sing Christmas carols at the piano as a family and choose a special treat

Have breakfast with Santa

Open your special ornament and put in on your tree

Take cookies to our neighbors

Go to the book store and read Christmas books

Write a letter to Santa and choose a special treat

Get hot chocolate and see the living nativity

Go to the snow

Wrap Christmas gifts for your teachers

Have our friends over for a Christmas party

Go to the San Diego Parade of Lights

Go see the lights at Christmas Card Lane

Watch the Polar Express and eat/string popcorn

Make paper snowflakes and choose a special treat

Listen to Christmas music and dance

Go to a special Christmas concert with Mom

Make footprint reindeer and choose a special treat

Go see Santa at the mall

Make gingerbread houses with GG

Decorate cookies

Read the story about the birth of Jesus

Play pin the nose on the snowman

Animals need special treats too! Go feed the ducks

Make a special Christmas drawing and choose a special treat

Do service for someone in need

Superhero Cuffs

I love the internet. We found this super easy tutorial for superhero cuffs. It took five minutes and my kids spent the rest of the afternoon fighting villains in the backyard.

DIY Magnet Board

I have a stainless steel fridge but I also have a lot of magnets. So I found this idea, bought the oil drip pan for $10 and spray painted it red. I didn't adhere it to the wall because I like to be able to move it around the house and put it away when we're done with it. It could be a lot cuter with a frame/moulding around it, but thought this was fairly functional and very kid friendly. And it brought my magnets back to life.

Spooky Halloween Banner

Everyone once in awhile I still get crafty. Never mind that I started this last October and didn't get it finished until a few weeks ago.

Dump Truck Birthday

Mud trifle in a dump truck. Delicious, easy, done. My kind of birthday cake.

Rainbow Bright

Rainbow parties seem to be all the rage right now. With rainbow ideas all over pinterest, it seemed like a pretty good time to jump on the band wagon. I can't really take credit for the invitation idea.

They ate jell-o popcorn, skittles, rainbow fruit kabobs, twizzlers, and fishies.

I made rainbow ice which was cool, until all the colors melted together and turned the Sprite blackish gray.

They painted their nails

and crafted

and treasure hunted for extra large rainbow swirled lollipops.

And as if they needed anymore sugar, we had rainbow cake. Fun to make, fun to eat. The girls' reactions when we cut the first piece was totally worth it. A definite crowd pleaser.