Memorial Day Round up

With Memorial Day coming up I thought I would share some fun ideas I have come across in case you are looking for some new ideas.

Festive dessert from Better Homes and Gardens

Paper stars from Martha Stewart

And I love this by Homegrown Hospitality!

I am so excited summer is finally on it's way!! We have been firing up the BBQ again and I'm looking forward to trips to the beach and water park. Hope you all have a blessed weekend! Thanks for reading :)

Glitter Shapes

We love doing projects with glitter around here so when I came across this craft I knew we had to try it! It was all stuff I already had on hand so we were good to go that afternoon!

I got out a plate for each of the kids and pour a little glue onto both. Then I let them pick out some plastic cookie cutters that they wanted to use. Scarlett picked out some fish and a giraffe and Taylor used some dinosaur ones. 

They took the cookie cutters, dipped them in the glue, then placed them on their paper. We let them sit for a few seconds so the glue could drip down onto the paper, then pulled them straight up to leave the outline of the cookie cutter.

Then they took glitter and poured it onto their shapes. They had so much fun working on their pictures and were able to do this project all by themselves which they loved.

Taylor chose to do black paper with silver glittered dinos and alligators.

Scarlett made a few pictures and had fun using all the glitters to create giraffe art, her favorite animal. I give this project two glittery thumbs up!

How I found my motivation to run

I came across this on Pinterest and I love it because it's exactly what I think about when I'm hurting on a run. When I first started running I hated it! What got me started was after years of watching my hubby race I really wanted to race as well, I loved the idea of running and wanted to get back in shape after having Taylor. James set up a beginners program for me and I was out with my jogging stroller several times a week but it felt like a punishment. I didn't have my head in the right place and saw it as something I had to do instead of something I was lucky to get to do. I did a few races, which I loved, but started to burn out on my training pretty quickly and eventually switched to other activities. Then after taking several months off my mind set started to change. I would be at one of James' races watching people that had every right to quit but they didn't because they wanted to be out there, they wanted to run and push themselves and that's when I realized how lucky I am that I can do this. I am in good health, live in a beautiful place and have no excuses but a bad attitude. I started running again but this time realized what a gift it is and really started loving it. Sometimes running is just plain hard but I welcome these workouts because I know these are the ones that make me stronger. I am showing my children the importance of caring for the body God gave them. I am able to do things I never thought I was capable of and that has giving me confidence. It doesn't matter how fast or slow I am, as long as I am working hard I feel stronger. I love to run now and hope that I never take it for granted again. Share with me what motivates you? I would love to hear what drives you!

Opening Day Celebration

It was opening day for the Padres and since we couldn't be at the game we brought the fun to us.

 I wasn't about to spend $20 a pop for shirts for each of us so I freezer paper stenciled shirts instead. I picked the shirts up at Walmart and didn't spend over $3.50 for any of them. Then I just added a Padres logo to each of them and now we all have matching shirts.

 We got out our baseball gloves and some tennis balls (cause I didn't want them throwing baseballs in the house) and played a little catch.

For dinner we had ballpark food and munched on hot dogs and sweet potato fries with Cracker Jacks for dessert. That was the first time I have ever bought hot dogs, it was an overwhelming experience, I had no idea there were so many options, I had to call James to help me out!

 The kids had a blast and we will definitely be carrying on this tradition.

Tile Makeover

I have never liked the tile by our front door and around the fireplace. It's hard to tell in this picture but they are a horrible salmony color and clashed with all the colors of our house. We talk about replacing all the flooring with wood floors some day but let's be honest, that's not happening any time soon. Since I didn't want to look at the tile anymore I decided to look for an inexpensive solution to my problem. I checked out the laminate tile at Home Depot and went with a dark pattern that had our homes colors mixed in it. At $.99 each and the areas being so small the whole project cost about $25 and I'm so much happier with the way it looks! 

Entryway Before

Entryway After

Fireplace Before (well kind of, I started before remembering to take a before picture)

Fireplace After

The laminate tiles are so easy to apply and since they are so inexpensive I wont feel bad tearing them out some day when I finally get wood floors, hehe! Now onto my next project!

Closing Shop

As my kids continue to grow, the pace of life seems to be speeding up. More activities are added to our schedule and I want to be out there exploring with them all the things this world has to offer while they still want me by their sides. Because of this, I am finding that some things have to be put on hold for now and one of those things is my Etsy shop. I have enjoyed making things for people and interacting with people from all over but I just don't have the time to care for my shop like it needs. I will still be doing vendor fairs and am always happy to make custom orders, just contact me through Facebook. Thank you everyone for your support over the years!
♥ Amy

Cuties Box Baby Bed

Every night Scarlett goes to bed with her best bud toys, Sophie, Little Giraffe and Lambie. She tucks them in bed with her and puts their little heads on one of her pillows so they are comfy too. I came across the idea to turn a Cuties box into a baby bed in Family Fun magazine and pulled the page out to make later for her little guys. I was super excited the next night while I was having dinner at a friends house and saw a Cuties box in her trash. I asked her if I could have it, told her what I was going to do with it so she didn't think I was just a nasty trash digger, and got to work on it the next night at home.

 I just made up what I was doing as I went along, tucking and gluing like wrapping a present. I used hot glue and fleece I had in my stash to cover the cardboard which worked great because you don't end up with any frayed ends. Scarlett assisted me and was so excited watching it come together. I also made two little pillows by cutting a long rectangle of fleece, folding it in half, stuffing it with batting and sealing it shut with hot glue and two little blankets by cutting rectangles of fleece the size of the box (easiest blanket ever!).

 Once we finished the bed up we took it in her room and put her guys to bed.

 I made this for her about a month ago and she still sleeps with it every night, tucking her buddies in when she goes to sleep, she loves it.

And the little bed is great for when we travel. Sophie, Little Giraffe and Lambie ride in their bed on Scarlett's lap in the car on the way to our destination and then they have there own bed for sleepovers right next to a sleeping Scarlett of course.