Goodbye Bags

        I realized that when we moved recently that this was the first "major" move for our kids. We had moved in town, but not out-of-state. (We moved several times before Josie was two, but of course she doesn't remember that!) It is a tough thing! The place where we had lived for seven years, made wonderful friends and lots of memories, would soon be nothing but a memory itself. You aren't really prepared as a mom to watch your kids crying over the only friends they have ever known!

   You can't really erase that sadness, and for many families (especially the military!) moving is just a fact of life. However, I wanted something that my kids could do to make it a little less "blue".  So we put together these "goodbye bags" for them to give to all their friends! We decided to go with a blue theme-it was just too perfect!

   The great part about this is that if you are the friends being "left behind", you can still use this idea! The poem would work either way. So, if you are moving, or know special people that are, fix them up a little goodbye bag to make the parting a  little sweeter!

Here's what we put in:
- blue pencil
-blue whale eraser
-blue bouncy ball
-blue Pixie stick
-blue taffy
-blue Hershey's kiss (this is the cookies and cream flavor)
-blue gumball
-blue polka dotted bag

      I bought everything at Party City (something *I* am missing, since we do not have one in our new town-that makes me want to cry!) because you buy the items individually and can choose the colors. The candy was all $0.05-$0.10 per piece, the erasers, balls, and pencils were each $0.25. The bags were 20 for $1. This kept the cost for each bag right around $1 each. However, if you do not have a Party City there are still places (Walmart, Target, etc.) where you can choose party favors individually, for the same type of concept. You don't have to use the same exact items, just make sure everything is blue. I chose things that I felt would be appreciated by boys or girls, and be somewhat useful, not just clutter. My kids always seem to need pencils and erasers!

   We loaded everything into the bags except the pencils. I came up with a poem and typed it out in Word and then printed it onto 2x4 Avery labels. The poem says:

"Don't be sad or blue",
good friends will always be true!
But if you are missing us,
here's some fun things of that hue,
to remind you we will always love
you!"

    I printed mine on the sticker labels, but for you I made printables! Yay!

Right click on the image to download/save and then choose "print" from saved location.

You can easily glue or staple the labels to the bag of your choice. You could also punch a hole and tie it on with ribbon.

   I then folded down the tops of my bags, laid the pencil on it and then stuck my label over the pencil, to hold it on and keep the bag closed. My kids loved handing them out to their Bible study friends, and it helped to distract everyone from pitiful, tearful goodbyes. Now my kids have much happier memories of their last time at study!

     Another great way to use these would be to give them to someone who is leaving, perhaps filled with blue items for their road trip or plane flight. You can have your child add his or her name to the bottom of the label or printable to personalize it, too! You could even use this for adults, and maybe put in blue items that they could use in their new home. Then when they see their "blue" items they will have fond remembrances, not just sadness!

Linked up:
"Motivation Monday" at A Life in Balance
"Pin It Thursday" at Sweet Bella Roos

Pizza Parlor Birthday Party

     Josie turned 8 in November. Right before Thanksgiving. Which (seemed to me) was right on top of Christmas. And in the midst of Christmas, I decided to save her little party to share with you during the somewhat boring, much more laid back month of January!

    Our kids don't have a "real" party every year. We are on a rough every-other-year schedule, and this year it was Josie's turn for a party. She is not an out-of-the-box thinker when it comes to party themes (She suggested two other themes we had already done, and also Chuck E. Cheese, which I put the kibbosh on due to cost.) so I supplied some inspiration. She selected this pizza party theme from the choices I offered her.

    I had not had an opportunity to throw her an all-out, make decorations, plan games, coordinate food party, and I was very excited about this one! It turned out better than I had hoped-which is rare. Josie absolutely loved it, and that is definitely the most important part!

My personal favorite part was the candy buffet- which had a special twist. I only choose candy that looked like pizza toppings! Each guest filled a bag as part of their favor, and the girls loved it.

I purchased white Sixlets (Walmart) as "onions". I also provided classic Starlight mints- for that onion breath! I employed my tried and true technique of filling a variety of white dishes and glass containers. The tiny spoons are from the Dollar Tree.

Junior mints were "olives" (most black candy is black licorice flavored-yuck!) I divided the new Starburst Minis (they come in a pouch-Walmart) into colors- the yellow were "pineapple pieces"-I should have said "bits"! I made the label cards in Picmonkey-they weren't perfect, but they worked. The red licorice was just to add height-and also because I love Red Vines!

The "ham bits" are the pink Starburst minis. The "green pepper" is Rips sour candy strips. I used kitchen shears to cut them into thinner pieces.

You can barely see the "sausage"- a combination of Raisinettes and Cookie Dough Bites (Walmart). Haribo Cola Gummies were obviously soda (World Market)! I lined them up in an olive dish. I didn't get a good photo, but red Rips sour strips were "pepperoni" and also red licorice wheels (World Market).  Not pictured: I had Red Hots as "red pepper flakes".

The centerpiece of the party was the deep dish pizza cake! I was so proud of myself for making this, I am by no means a cake decorator. It is a double layer chocolate cake that I frosted with peanut butter frosting. I used canned vanilla frosting and added peanut butter until it was super think and almost moldable. I pressed it around the sides of the cake, and made sure that I piped a thick round layer around the edge for the "crust". I added red icing tint to more vanilla frosting for the "sauce". My favorite part: the cheese! It is grated white candy melt- I softened it a little in the microwave, and then grated it with my cheese grater. It worked perfectly-and I sprinkled it on just like cheese. The pepperoni is strawberry Fruit Roll-Ups, the sausage is Raisinettes, and the bell pepper is Rips sour strips.

I placed a spring tension rod in my window (actually Joel did) and threw two pieces of red gingham fabric over them. I literally bought two yards at Walmart, and cut it in half. No sewing *at all*! Just my style. I stuck fuzzy mustache stickers (the Dollar Tree) on wooden skewers for the girls to have "chef mustaches". They made for cute photo props. I made the tulle pom-poms using this tutorial. They took a ton of tulle, but it was worth it!

I made the giant pizza slice from foam. It wasn't perfect, but whatever. I bought the foam pieces at Hobby Lobby and freehanded it. I attached it with tulle to the Birthday Girl's chair.

 I used a pizza pan with a Parmesan shaker (both from the Dollar Tree) as a centerpiece. I used old Frappuchino bottles for the flowers (From this shower! I'm such a hoarder!). Josie also requested candles. It was a little tricky with such a small table, but the red tapers made her feel so grown-up. I covered the plastic red gingham table with brown wrapping paper (the Dollar Tree). I also filled a sundae glass with red striped paper straws, for the bottled rootbeer we served!

Each girl had a four pack of crayons (Target Valentine clearance, but you can get them at the party store.) and some "Bendy Sticks" (Party City-$0.10!) with these cute pizza coloring sheets at her place. Kind of a twist on restaurant "place-mats". They had fun playing with them while they were waiting on their server!

I decorated the rest of the living room with more flowers, cans of tomato sauce, and I filled red baskets from the Dollar Tree with fresh onions and bell peppers. They added nice spots of color.

The highlight of the party was that each girl got to make their own pizza. I bought "Mini Murphs" from Papa Murphy's- they were perfect! At $3 each, every girl got all the fixings (sauce, crust, pepperonis and cheese) for an individual sized pizza. They loved the cute little pizza boxes, and they were perfect for the left-overs.

It was so easy for them to make their own pizzas. It was also dual-purposed. I didn't have to make dinner and it was a fun party activity! While the pizzas were baking (they only took about 15 minutes) we played some party games.

I got these terrific "pizza" bingo cards from here. I gave the girls buttons to use as card markers. I had prizes of nail polish and mustache erasers-that I forgot to take photos of!

For the "pin the pepperoni on the pizza" game, I cut a circle out of red poster board and used brown wrapping paper to create a crust. I cut light cream construction paper for mozzarella. I divided the board into eighths and the girls got points for where they put their foam pepperonis. (I cut those out easily with my circle punch!)

I ordered the pizza slice banner from Oriental Trading. The girls got points in the game based on where they placed their pepperonis. 1 point on the lines, 2 points all the way in a slice, and three for right in the center. The girl with the most points are putting up three pepperonis won!

The birthday girl gave us a great big cheesy grin over her cake! It was a magnificent ton of sugar.

To go with even more sugar! The girls actually took their candy home with their favors-which I also forgot a photo of! I bought these cute pizza sticker sheets, pizza gummy candies (from Hobby Lobby-special thanks to my sister, Robyn for finding them!) and soda flavored lip balms (from Walmart).

    I loved this party! It was such a great theme for games, food and decoration. I was a little nervous about bringing my vision to life, especially since so many of the parties I had seen online had professionally made paper goods, and were put together by paid planners. In the end though, it came together, and the birthday girl declared it her best party yet!

Linked up:
"Craft Friday Frenzy" Craft Dictator
"Share the Love Sunday" at Buttercream Bakehouse 
"Whatever Goes Wednesday" at Someday Crafts
"Fabulously Frugal Thursday" at A Life in Balance
"Create It Thursday" at Lamberts Lately
"Pin It Thursday" at Sweet Bella Roos
"Thrifty Thursday" at Living Well, Spending Less

31 Day Reading Guide to Ephesians

 Join me on Facebook to discuss and share what you are learning this month. It's a great way to stay accountable!

   I am so excited to share this special New Year's gift with you. It's a Bible reading guide for the book of Ephesians! I have a passion for the Word, and I love to study and read it. However, I have started to realize that it is a daunting book for so many people, and I think that it is a tragedy that they allow that fear to keep them from delving into one of God's greatest gifts to us. The Bible *is* an exceptionally complex, challenging book. However, that should be the last thing that keeps you from reading it, because we are promised that the Holy Spirit will help us to understand:

"What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for,

“Who has known the mind of the Lord
    so as to instruct him?”

But we have the mind of Christ." " 1 Corinthians 2:12-16 (NIV)

   (By the way, that is a passage we will cover this month!)  We are promised that the Spirit will teach us and impart wisdom. Sometimes, though, it is still hard to know where to start! But if your New Year's resolution is to read your Bible, then I would love to help. I have put together a reading guide that will take you through the entire book of Ephesians ( Did you know it is called the greatest of all of Paul's letters?) including background, and complimentary/explanatory passages. You will read a passage from Ephesians one day, and then the following day you will read other verses from the New and Old Testament that will help you to have a richer understanding of the Ephesians verses.  I've even made a printable!

Right click on the image to save and print

 All you need to do is print it out and place it with your Bible. I folded mine in half and plan on using it as a bookmark. I have scheduled it so that you will not have any passages to read on Sundays. However, that isn't a day "off"- it is a day that you can look up additional verses on your own, focus on different portions of Scripture, or catch-up if you missed a day. I

   The Word will never return void, so if  all you do is read the passages you will be blessed. However, if you are looking to dig deeper, I encourage you to keep a journal, and write down your thoughts and impressions. Or perhaps you could choose one of the particularly meaningful sections to memorize. How ever you use it, I hope it provides a jumping-off point to a deeper relationship with God this year! That is one of my New Year's goals that never changes.

P.S. I made a little error in two of the dates. If you are using the printable for January, you will see that the 11th and 12th need to be switched (read on the 11th, rest on Sunday the 12th) and the 18th and 19th (read on the 18th, rest on the 19th). I hate mistakes, but hopefully this won't be too big of  deal. Thanks for understanding.


Are you looking for Bible study tools? Here are some of my favorites!

Linking to:
"Whatever Goes Wednesdays" at Someday Crafts
"Create it Thursday" at Lambert's Lately
"Fabulously Frugal Thursday" at A Life in Balance 
"Thursdays are Your Days" at 52 Mantels
"All Things Thursday" at All Things With Purpose
"Pin It Thursday" at Sweet Bella Roos
"Thrifty Thursday" at Living Well, Spending Less
"Craft Frenzy Friday" at Craft Dictator 
"Super Saturday" at Made From Pinterest

Sweet and Simple Cookie Kit Gift-with Free Printable!

         I have another easy gift idea for you- and another printable! This little cookie kit can be put together with just a few inexpensive items from Target or Walmart, but it makes a sweet, thoughtful gift for a teacher, neighbor or friend! It is perfect for a last minute gift, since you don't have to make anything.

I purchased:
-"Cookie Cookbooks" from Mardel. These little books are so cute, and they were only $2 each.
-Cookie cutter sets from Target. Dollar Spot score!
-Cake Mate "Sequins" Frosty Mix sprinkles, from Walmart $1.30 each
-Vanilla Cookie candle from Walmart $1
-Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix $1.50 at Target
-Polka Dot Paper Bins (I bought mine last year, they were clearanced for $0.25, but you can get the same thing for around $1)
-some ribbon to tie your printable on with.

 Right click on the printable to save, and then print full sheet size. You will have four labels. The front says, "Merry Christmas" and the back says,

"Sprinkles and sweets, 

delicious cookies and

treats, we hope that is 

what your holidays are

made of!"

"Sweet friendship refreshes the soul." Proverbs 27:9 (the Message)0

Even if you don't want to make the cookie kits, you could put this little tag on any kind of homemade treat! Since they don't specify what is inside, you can use them however you want. And, since they don't have a particular recipient on them, you can use them for teacher gifts, neighbor gifts, or just whoever! 

I printed the labels, folded and then placed them at the top of the cookie mix packages. I punched two holes (be careful to punch at the very top of the bag, on the sealed part, so you don't puncture the part with the mix in it!) and then I tied ribbon into a bow.  There are lots of other fun things you could add to your gift, or you could make a homemade mix, but I was going for frugal and easy, so all my items are store-bought. However you do it, it will still be a cute and thoughtful gift!

Mine ended up being around $6 each. I always think that homemade gifts are lovely, and it would have been fun to have given cookies that I had baked, but time is short, and I thought these would be fun for the recipients to use with their families. They can be also be used after Christmas, when everyone isn't completely inundated with homemade treats anymore!

Linked up at:
"Fabulously Frugal Thursdays" at A Life in Balance 
"Thursdays are Your Days" at 52 Mantels 
"Pin It Thursday" at Sweet Bella Roos 
"Thrifty Thursday" at Living Well, Spending Less
"Craft Frenzy Friday" at Craft Dictator

Warm,Fuzzy (Gloves!) Teacher Gift-with a Printable!

I am over the moon to show you this project for one major reason: I HAVE A FREE PRINTABLE! Yes, I am shouting, because I am *not* tech-savvy at all. I am sure this would have been easy for the majority of the population, but that isn't the case for me. However, it will be totally worth the work as long as it makes things a little easier for at least one or two of my readers. It really is all for you. ;)

This little gift comes together in a snap (since you don't have to play around with making printables!) and it costs less than $5! I wanted to give something useful and calorie-free to my kids' church teachers-and since touchscreen compatible knit gloves (yes, I'm an iPhone junkie!) are on my own Christmas list this year, I decided that was just the thing!

Supply List:
-pair of gloves for each recipient, I chose "touch screen compatible" ones from Target, $3 each
-Nivea lotion tins, I specifically chose these because 1. I love the lotion, its terrific. 2. I knew they would be a good fit for a 2 inch hole punch! Bonus: they are only about $0.89 each.
-a 2 inch hole punch
-clear cellophane bags to fit your gloves, I picked up a package of 25 at the Dollar Tree
-silver "foil shreds" to place in the bottom of the bags, this is definitely optional, but fun! $1 at the Dollar Tree
- my printables! Simply right-click on the image to download and save, then right click on the image to print. Chose regular paper size (8.5x11) to print the right size for both images.
-standard hole punch
-ribbon for tying the bags and toppers together

Bag Toppers for Teacher Glove gift

 The bag toppers are super easy, simply cut off the extra white paper around each topper and fold along the line in the middle. It looks like half of the topper prints "upside down" but it will be right-side up when it is folded.

The front of the tags says, "Merry Christmas!" and the back says,
"Thank you "snow" much for being a great teacher. All the kindness and g"loves" you've shown warms our hearts." The small print says, "Every time we think of you, we thank God for you." 1 Thess. 1:2.

Snowflake Lotion Toppers

   
The lotion toppers can be used for a variety of things-I think they would make cute gift tags, even. To use them for the lotion, cut the rectangles apart, you don't need to do this with any precision.

Center your punch opening over the snowflake and punch. You will have a perfect circle that fits great on your lotion tin!

 I also discovered that this fit great on top of Nivea's "lip butter" tins- so if you are looking for another gift option, this is cute, too. I placed four tiny glue dots on each punch and stuck it on top of the tin. It will be easy to remove, but it looks cute in the packaging.

   I added some silver "foil shreds" to the bag and then placed the gloves and lotion tin inside. I needed to slightly fold in the sides of my bag, I taped them down. Then I added the topper and punched two holes centered near the top, and then tied a bow with some ribbon.

See? A super simple, yet thoughtful, gift that teachers of all kinds should appreciate- I know I would! Now, if only I could get my "students" to make these for me....

All ready to say a warm, fuzzy thank-you!

Linked up at:
"Pin It Thursday" at Sweet Bella Roos
"Fabulously Frugal Thursday" at A Life in Balance
"Thursdays are Your Days" at 52 Mantels
"All Things Thursday" at Posed Perfection
"Thrifty Thursday" at Living Well, Spending Less 
"Craft Frenzy Friday" at Craft Dictator 
"Thoughtful Spot Blog Hop" at Ironic Adventures

A Very Late Valentine Day Recap

 So, I debated about whether or not to publish this, because I have a St. Patty's Day craft that I really want to get posted *before* the 17th, but I decided that I better go ahead and put it all down, or next year I will surely forget what I did!

I love doing a Valentine exchange with adult women. To me, Valentine's is a holiday about all love-not just the romantic kind. I actually  went to more trouble for my Bible study group than for Joel, but I can promise you that they were much more grateful, too!

I had pinned the link for this brown sugar hand scrub, and after I saw these adorable little jars at World Market, my Valentines were born.

I had an amazing coupon to World Market so I got these cutie jars for $0.50. I got the perfect little files at Target-total bonus find in the party favor section! I tied it up with ribbon and used my new heart punch to tie on scrapbook paper labels. I think they turned out pretty cute.

 I also put together these fun "Love Potion No.9" bottles for the kids' groups (Josie and Carson each gave out signed Valentines but these were from me). I got the printables from here.  I found the little heart shaped straws for $0.25 at Party City.

 In the tutorial that went along with the labels, the girl used 12oz. bottles of water, but the packets of Kool-Aid specifically say they are for a 16.9 oz bottle (a regular size one) and I figured that a bunch of 3-7 year olds were not going to understand that they needed to use 3/4 of a packet, and too strong Kool Aid is gross. Plus, full size bottles are cheaper! I thought they turned out pretty well. The kids loved them!

After handing out 40 bags of trail mix, 30 Toy Story Tattoo Valentines, 22 jars of hand scrub, 20 bottles of "Love Potion", 25 hand written note cards, and 40 magnet Valentines, the Picker total came to 177 varying types of Valentine felicitations! I may have a problem...

 

All that of course, was prepped the night before. On the actual day, since we had Bible study, I did donuts and bacon for the kids for breakfast. They loved their little cups from Walmart.

 My sleepy Valentine. They loved their donuts!

 

I love the way his eyes sparkle, even at 7:30 in the morning!

 

They made out like bandits with their Valentine exchange. Every body gives such cool cards now. They got tattoos, magnets, bracelets, stickers, and of course, candy!

 Joel brought them balloons, which I thought was so sweet. You can see Josie's tied to her wrist. I also had little bags for them with some fun little junk. Josie looks literally crazy with excitement. She will hate this picture later...;)

My other sweet little Valentine. Boy Wonder doesn't do so hot in the posing arena, so you just get him, no stuff.

We ended the day at Culver's, which was nice. I prefer to do Valentine's dinner as a family while the kids are still young. There really isn't anyone that I love to be with more than my family!