Almost Free Wall Art

While cruising the dollar bins at Michael's today (almost as good as cruising the dollar bins at Target) I ran across a cool chipboard phrase - imagine.  Kate is in a very imaginative phase right now. She spent all morning talking to her imaginary friend Jenny on my old cell phone.  Jenny couldn't come to Michael's with us because she had to go to "The Bunny Show", and then to her grandparents.  Except Jenny forgot that her grandpa died.  I kid you not, this all came out of Kate's mouth in the span of about 15 minutes.  So her other imaginary friend Jessica came to the store with us, and I had to buckle her in using the middle seat belt and had to offer her a snack, etc.

Anyway, back to the post at hand.  I knew I wanted to do something with the imagine word, so I snagged it - hey, it was only $1.  At home, I found the perfect scrapbook paper background that will match the new kitchen colors (we are doing a mini kitchen makeover, more to come on that) which are creamy yellow, red and black.  So I painted the word black and adhered it to the scrapbook paper (which I cut to fit a 8x10 frame I had on hand).

Total out of pocket cost now - $1.  Score.  You could create this yourself for approximately $7 if you didn't already have the scrapbook paper and frame on hand.

I think I'm going to link this up with Today's Creative Blog's "Get Your Craft On".  You can find lots more cool ideas through the link below...

A New Twist on the Laundry

You're two. You're bored.  What to do?  Why eat a milkshake while sitting in a laundry basket of course...

Best Kid's Birthday Card Ever

My mom's close friend made this card at a handmade card workshop she went to and didn't know who to use it for since her kids are older, so my mom gave it to Claire for her birthday. I LOVE this card. So much so that I am on a quest to find a punch like this.  I want to make 27 of these and give them for every birthday party my children attend.

I think it speaks for itself when you see it, and these pictures do not do it justice.

This is the snow that never ends....

it just goes on and on my friend....  Seriously.  Cincinnati has now broken a record for the most snowfall ever in the month of February (a record in place since 1914) and it is still coming down outside.  We are all getting cabin fever.  I have no memory of ever seeing this much snow on the ground at one time in Cincinnati, ever.  I haven't been out to measure today, but I'm guessing we're at about 14 inches on the ground currently.

Here is what it looks like out our front & back windows, as of this morning (another 3-4 inches have accumulated since then)

We have been trying to stay busy and have been doing crafts and playing baby dolls, but this afternoon we busted out a fort in the living room.  We re-arranged the furniture on Saturday and shifted our couch and loveseat over to one side of the living room (I was inspired by my friend Tiffany who has a very similar house layout to ours - thanks Tiffany!).  I'm not sure I love the section where the couch and loveseat are, but I love having the open space by the toys for things like this fort.  

I am hoping that tomorrow by lunchtime the roads clear up and maybe we can hit IKEA for lunch (it's just 2 miles down the road from us) or something to keep us from being cooped up all day.  The problem with this much snow outside is that it is too deep for Claire to get around in, so it's hard for us to go outside even!

I am really excited to get crafty tonight with a tool that has been sitting in my closet gathering dust for a while - I will post some photos tomorrow and maybe it will inspire you too....

The Little Monkey Turns 2

My little monkey turned 2 today.  I can't believe it's been 2 years.  I think an old Baby Blues comment put it best - "The days are long and the years are short."  Amen to that!  In honor of her being our little monkey, and her Curious George obsession, I made Claire monkey cupcakes. I found the super easy instructions here.

Claire actually had a family party today, which I never had growing up since my family was all between 3-8 hours away.  This weekend my parents-in-law (is that a word?) and one of my brother-in-laws came down from NW Ohio, my parents came over and my sister and brother-in-law even happened to be up visiting from Atlanta.  It was really nice, and perfect for Claire.  We had presents, cake and ice cream before nap.

Claire was all about ripping open her presents.  She was not as much into actually opening the boxes to find out what was in them.  I think I could have wrapped up empty boxes and she would have been content.  However, she did make very cute "Wow!" sounds when she opened most presents.  Here are a few photos of the presents.  The first gift is a pack of toothbrushes (really - she is currently obsessed with brushing her teeth) and the last is her baby doll stroller.

She LOVED the stroller.  She pushed it around for over an hour after she opened it.  I am not exaggerating.  She put her baby doll in it and pushed it all over, as documented below.  However, she first buried her baby doll's face under her jiggly Koosh ball, and was very insistent about it. Very insistent.

She was a pro with her cupcakes - we put 2 candles in one and she blew them out with no assistance on about her 3rd try.  She was not so sure about everyone singing to her though - she kept trying to hide behind her hand. And Kate was really good about the fact that it was Claire's birthday, not hers.  There were only a few squabbles over the new toys.

We Love a Good Party...

Today was the day that Kate has been looking forward too for weeks.  She had DOUBLE Valentine Parties!  (For the correct effect, pretend you are 5 and say this while jumping up and down excitedly.)

First, we had her preschool Valentine party.  The wonderful mom that I am, I agreed to fill in for our room mom who couldn't make the party.  However, it means I was running around at the last minute and completely forgot my camera at home.  I hate with a passion when that happens.  The party involved things such as ice cream sundaes, Valentine Bingo and a Model Magic Craft.  Plus, I have to say kudos to my awesome friend Jen for corralling Claire during the party for me.  And for her awesome Valentine box craft.  I will post a photo Sunday of her awesome Valentine box craft, made from cereal boxes.  I made super-cute heart lollipops from leftover candy canes, which I found at Skip to My Lou, here.

Then, we quickly cleaned up and headed to her friend Avery's Valentine Party, which was already in progress.  Why is it that things always happen at the same time??  My super-amazing friend Tiffany over at Happy Day hosted.  I believe there were some games before we came (I saw some heart-shaped bean bags on the floor - heart shaped.  Really.) and we arrived just in time for a craft and lunch.  Sandwiches and cheese cut into heart shapes and strawberries.  Plus frost-your-own cupcakes for dessert.  With red frosting.  Tiffany is very brave!

Since I forgot my camera, some of my friends kindly sent their photos... here are some of the best.

Kate and Avery - how adorable is this.  Seriously. I love it.

Tyson and Claire - not a bad shot for trying to get 2 toddlers to cooperate for a photo.  These two are two peas in a pod, I swear.

Check out Tiffany's awesome handmade Love banner over her fireplace, which I think she explains how she made on her blog. And those cute preschoolers.

Kate frosting her own red cupcake.  Which she then refused to eat.  Go figure.  I am such a good mom that I forced myself to eat it for her.  :)

Free Pampers Sample

Do you have a kid in diapers?  If so, head here for a free sample of Pampers Cruisers with new DryMax. Sizes 3, 4, or 5 available.  I'm wondering if this is what I tested on one of diapers studies I did for P&G last fall?  :)  You have to register an account with P&G Brand Sampler to get the sample.