Make Your Own SNOW

Came across this fun winter activity at Growing a Jeweled Rose, along with lots of other great kids activities! You can make your own snow with items you most likely already have at home. My boys loved it, especially the part where you make them foam and grow by spraying them with vinegar! 

 You will need:
-Shaving cream
-Baking soda
-Vinegar, in a spray bottle
-Glitter (optional)
-Sensory tubs

 Place the baking soda in the tub.

Add some shaving cream and mix it together. The "snow" should start sticking together.

Spray your snowballs with vinegar and watch them foam!

Christmas Jar

We've officially begun decorating for Christmas at our house! We are not hosting Thanksgiving this year and I couldn't wait any longer...especially after finding some fun Christmas decor at Sweet Salvage this weekend! I found these amazing gold glittered vintage ornaments there. They are from the 50's. I just LOVE them! The jar I bought at Design Lab in downtown Mesa and have been rotating what I place inside of it with each season. I collected pine cones from our yard and you can find details below with how I covered them it white shimmery glitter.

 I love these battery powered LED lights! Perfect for lighting up a jar! I simply used 3M tape to stick the battery pack to the lid of the jar. You can find them at Target and Michael's, however they are cheaper at Michael's especially if you use a coupon! I also used a strand to wrap around some antlers.

To make your own shimmery pine cones and Christmas Jar, here is what you'll need:
-1 large glass jar with a lid
-1 strand of battery powered LED lights
-3M tape
-Ornaments
-Pine cones
-Tacky spray
-White glitter (I used a martha stewart brand)

Directions:
Set your pine cones in a box and spray with the tacky spray. Sprinkle with glitter. Spray another coat of tacky spray overtop of the glitter. Let dry. Using 3M tape stick your battery pack to the lid of your jar. Once your pine cones have dried, fill your jar with ornaments and pine cones. Wrap the LED lights through your pine cones and ornaments.

Glitter Balloons

 We made some glitter filled balloons this morning for New Year's Eve and Hudson had fun shaking them around. I made him play with them outside just in case they popped...

 All you need is:

• Balloons
• Glitter
• Funnel
• Sharpie (if you want to write on the balloons)

 Place the funnel inside of the balloon after you write on them.

 Pour the glitter into the balloon and blow it up. Just make sure you don't breath in while doing this...or you'll get a mouthful of glitter...I'm not speaking from experience or anything. ;)

Homemade Christmas Ornament

 I wanted to do a Christmas craft with Hudson and thought it would be fun to help him make an ornament for our tree. I got the idea from Parent's Magazine here. They have so many great craft and Christmas ornament ideas! The one that they made has penguins in the "snow globe" made from pipe cleaners. It was really cute, I just didn't have any pipe cleaners. So Hudson and I made a snow globe ornament with a Christmas tree in it and a North Pole sign.
Here is what you'll need to make this one:

• 1 Small clear plastic cup
• Stiff felt for base and sign
• Red bakers twine
• 1 Red stripes paper straw
• Green tulle
• 1 Lollipop stick
• Silver glitter
• Tacky spray glue
• Scissors
• Pen
• Thumb tack, to poke hole in cup

 First trace around the top of the plastic cup on a piece of the stiff felt. Then cut out the circle slightly larger then the line so that the cup will fit on the felt. 

 Next using the thumb tack poke a hole in the bottom of the cup (the top of your ornament). My plastic cup cracked a little at the top, but it didn't really matter. Fold your piece of twine in half and thread through the hole. Tie a knot so the twine won't come back through the hole. You should now have a loop to hang your ornament like in the picture.

 Next cut your paper straw so it will fit inside of the cup. Then cut a small rectangle of felt and write North Pole on it. Glue the sign around the top of the striped paper straw.

 Next cut pieces of tulle and begin to tie them around the lollipop stick. Don't worry about what it looks like with the length of the tulle because you will just trim it with scissors. You may need to cut the lollipop stick shorter. Once it is covered in tulle trim the tulle so it is shaped like a tree. We wrapped a small piece of silver pipe cleaner on top.

 Then you can glue the tree and North Pole sign onto the stiff felt. Make sure it is centered so that the cup will fit over top. 

 Then place your tree in a box (so glitter doesn't get everywhere) and spray with the tacky glue. Sprinkle with glitter and shake off any excess. Then glue on the cup and let it dry before hanging.

 A lot of this craft required me getting it ready for what Hudson was able to do or helping him do it. But, we still had fun making it together! An older child would be able to do much more of this on their own. 

But for the little ones they can still:

-Help cut the felt

-String the twine through the hole

-Cut the paper straw

-Cut pieces of tulle

-Hold lollipop stick while you tie tulle

-Help trim the tulle tree

-Sprinkle with glitter!

 

Linking up HERE!

Cocktails and Cupcakes Bridal Shower

 Here is my beautiful sister Wesley!

She is getting married in about one month and I am so excited for her and Kyle. We had a lot of fun celebrating her the other night and I wanted to share some of the pictures. The pictures were taken by Andrea of Limeflower Studio. Thanks so much Andrea for capturing the night for us!

The Bridal Shower was an evening shower, for cocktails, cupcakes, and other desserts. All the girls came dressed in their best and looked awesome!

Glitter Bride Cake Topper with Paper Straws and Twine

 Fun dessert table decorated with balloons, tissue poms, streamers, glitter cupcake wrappers, party bead necklaces, rhinestone confetti, candles, and party hats.

 Peppermint Sugar Scrub Party Favors

Yummy Mudslide Punch

 Sprinkle Rimmed glasses with Paper Straws

We played the toilet paper wedding dress game. You divide into groups of about 4-5 girls and each group is given about 3 rolls of toilet paper to make a wedding dress. Each group must pick one girl in the group to model the dress. Everyone got pretty creative and had a lot of fun with it!

The Bride-to-be gets to choose the winner. 

 The other game we played was the Bridal Shower Trivia Game. I video taped Kyle (the Groom) answering 13 questions about Wesley (the Bride). Then at the shower you give the guests the questions to try to answer. Once everyone is done filling out their answers you play the video, but have the bride answer the questions before playing the grooms answer. It was another fun game that got lots of laughs! Whoever answers the most questions correctly wins a prize.

Then we all had fun being silly for pictures in the photo booth area I had set up. I bought teal wrapping paper and taped it to the wall.

 It was a great night, and loved celebrating my little sister... Next up Bachelorette Party!!!

Love you Wes!

Linking up HERE!

DIY Glitter Frame

I made this frame for my sister's bridal shower coming up. It is a cocktails and cupcakes shower with lots of shiny, sparkly, glittery decorations! Can't wait to celebrate with her and all the girls!


I bought the old frame for $0.75 at Goodwill and used some silver spray paint I already had. The tacky spray and glitter I bought at hobby lobby on sale and with coupons and I have lots leftover for more fun projects. The printable in the frame I found at Salt & Paper, an adorable online store with all kinds of printable art and stationary. You can find the Keep Calm printable HERE, for free! You can even customize the color of the printable from many selections before downloading.

 Linking up HERE!

Halloween Bat Branches

 I made some Halloween Bat Branches to decorate for Halloween this year. I painted some branches black and hung bats covered in glitter from the branches. Then I spread some cob webs in the branches too. You can find the step by step tutorial below along with the bat template that I used. It's a fun table decoration for Halloween and you could have your kids help too.

 First Hudson and I went searching for big "spooky" looking branches. We didn't have much trouble finding any because there is a pistachio grove right by our house that has lots of branches lying around. Hudson loved helping me with this part. Then I spray painted them black!

 

 Next you will print out the bat template that you can find here. I printed an extra one out for Hudson to color while I was cutting and using the glitter.

 Then cut our the template and trace it onto black card stock paper. I made six bats to hang in my branches.

 Once you have cut out all of your bats, you will use a hole punch to make a hole to hang them with ribbon or twine.

Next I brushed the bats with Mod Podge and covered with glitter.

 Shake off the excess glitter, then do the same thing to the other side. Let the bats dry and then you can hang them in the branches with ribbon or twine.

 Finally, I took some cob webs and spread them through the branches.