Ride the Birthday Train!

I love giving personalized gifts!  Earlier this week I posted about personalized wedding gifts that I have created recently.  This post is about a very special birthday boy, my nephew!  He has a slight obsession with trains, so every gift I give him has at least one train item.  This year I created a 8x10 digital photo layout - a birthday train with pics of the birthday boy from birth to now.  Take a look!

To create this layout, I drew inspiration from Scrapbook Challenges 300th sketch.  Take a look at their site for tons more inspiration, both digital and traditional.  I also made us of a fabulous digital element - the Little Steam Engine cluster frame by Jady Day Studios. There is also a kit that goes along with this fantastic frame - stop by and see what else she has created!

I hope I've inspired you to give something "handmade".

Pagemaps Blog Challenge

I completely credit Pagemaps for the way I scrapbook today.  By looking at the sketches and seeing the examples, I was able to train my mind to see layout possibilities everywhere I look.  I seldom find a sketch that I love so much to duplicate (and that fits photos I am scrapping), but this is one of those rare moments.

Here is my layout for the Pagemaps Blog Challenge this month:

and the pagemap provided:

I am in love with the way it turned out - and that is what matters in scrappin' : )

I Do... Say Yes to Personalized Wedding Gifts

Since it is June and Wedding Season is in full-force, I thought I'd post a couple of the wedding gifts that I have made for recent events. 

This first gift is my Go-To wedding gift.  I always frame the wedding invite for a personal touch.  I try to take the couples decorating tastes and the wedding colors into consideration when choosing the mat and frame.

The next gift was a special one - my cousin was married and couldn't afford a photographer so the family stepped in.  My talented Brother-in-law utilized his photography obsession to take a million fantastic photographs of the ceremony and reception.  Then I sorted through all of those beautiful pics to put together a one-of-a-kind digital wedding album.  Of course I made sure to include the wedding color in the album, too.

I hope this inspires you to make and/or give a personalized wedding gift!  These ideas can also be applied to graduations and other milestone events (baby showers, birthdays, etc).

Dad's Little Firecrackers

Father's Day is this coming weekend, and we actually finished our Father's Day gift on time!!! I think this may be a first. 

I admit that I stole this idea from Old Navy - they had cute toddler tanks that said "Dad's Li'l Firecracker" on them. The problem was that they didn't go big enough for my oldest son to have one, and there was no tanks in his size that were similar in theme.  And then I started thinking about how cute it would be if the exploding firecracker was their handprints.  And then I thought about how cute it would be to make Daddy a tank top that matched with all of their handprint firecrackers on it.  So after some searching, I was able to find plain tank tops in all the right sizes... and here is how the craft came out.

Perfect for Father's Day and for Forth of July festivities too!

it's been a while...

We are moved into the new house but still crawling over boxes!  I have been working my fingers to the bone with home projects in order to make this place "ours".  In a week I should have plenty of before and after photos to share (including a kitchen transformation that I can't wait to complete)!

I still  haven't found the box of craft stuff for the kids.  that means that summer has involved a lot of TV and Wii so far.  I'm not really proud of that, but it does distract them so I can unpack.

Robotz on the Brain

I know it may seem a little strange, but I have been collecting ideas and items for our annual birthday party already.  For those of you who don't know, all three of my boys' birthdays fall within 2 weeks (late Sept / early Oct) so we always have one big party.  One party means one theme.  And I always let them choose the theme... as long as they choose before summer hits. 

A big party for three little boys, family, and friends takes a lot of planning.  So I like to break it up over about 6 months.  I know, CRAZY!  Pinterest has definitely made the "idea development" part of the planning more streamlined, but I still like to wander the stores and websites periodically to find those clearance steals that you cannot plan for.  Just because I have one party for 3 boys does not mean my budget is 3 times bigger.

This year's theme is ROBOTZ - but not OUTERSPACE.  Do you know how difficult it is to find robot items that do not also include spaceships?  Who decided that all robots come from outerspace?

So here is what my frugal shopping has achieved thus far:
1.  Robot Valentines (which will become invitations) 32 for $1
2.  Robot Coloring Books (full size) 15 for $3
3.  Robot Pencils and Pencil Cases 16 for under $8
4.  Robot Finger Puppets 16 for $2
5.  Stretchy Robots 16 for $2
6.  Robot Notebooks (5x7) 15 for $6
7.  I will obviously be buying some sort of robot candy (I like the options that Oriental Trading Co has) and that will complete my goodie bag items.  I am still looking for a "deal" on this item.

I am a huge fan of letting the kids pack their own goodie bags.  Three years ago we did this for our Pirate Party.  I gave each child a pirate map and sent them on a scavenger hunt around the yard to find their pirate booty.  It was a fun activity for the kids and it was one less thing I had to do to prep for the big day.  I am still working out my Robot-theme scavenger hunt, but it is definitely going to happen.

I am sure I will be posting more about this throughout the coming months, so check back often!

May Day

May Day has come awfully fast this year!  The first of May signifies a lot of different things for different people (as I have learned by reading many blogs and Facebook posts today).  For me, it signifies that the end of school is near.  Summer is a fun time for me and my boys because they get to spend most of their days outdoors.  But the allure of your own backyard only lasts a day or two, and then the whining and fighting begins. 

So to keep my 3 little ones busy, I always plan out one activity per day of the summer.  And I find it very helpful to stick with a daily theme.  Here is what I have in store for this summer:

Sundays: Family Game Night - most of the day is taken up with church, so game night is a nice way to wind down the weekend.  It is a huge bonus that my boys LOVE boardgames - this can be done in any weather!

Mondays: "Drive-in" Day - I plan to have each of my boys design their own "car" out of cardboard boxes (thank you Pinterest for the idea).  We will take turns choosing a movie to watch from our "cars" while eating a fun movie meal (hot dogs and popcorn?).  Everyone will get one movie choice each month (the 3 boys and myself).

Tuesdays: "Make-Your Own" Day - some weeks this will be a craft, other weeks it will be a meal or dessert.  I figure it is a good way for me to get the boys into cooking and trying new foods.

Wednesdays: "Be Our Guest" Night - each family member will have one night where they are the special guest for dinner.  The special guest will get to choose the menu, the theme, and the attire for dinner.  And best of all, everyone else will have to wait on the special guest!  I can't wait for it to be my turn!!!

Thursdays: Library Day - our local library does summer story time on Thursday mornings, so we will be making our weekly trip to join in.  Afterwards, the boys will each get to pick out 2 books for the week.

Friday: "Outside Activity" Day - this will be the day where we do something organized outdoors like a scavenger hunt, chalk mural, picnic in the park, or backyard obstacle course!  I might even use library day to plan ideas for this day...

Saturday: Day with Dad - Dad works during the week, so I'll let him entertain the boys on the weekend.  I'm sure they'll do fun things like wash the car, weed the lawn, and maybe even play catch : )

I hope you have fun plans for the coming months - time sure does fly by!