You are here: Home / Archives for Birthdays/Celebrations

Creative Picture Frames for Mother’s Day

2013
Leave a Comment

 

Now I can NOT take any credit for this project! I am proud to say that my husband came up with these two ideas all on his own, ventured into the land of Hobby Lobby to purchase the supplies and sat down with our kiddos to make these for me. This was my gift for last year and I just love it. As you will be able to see, both kiddos chose to do the same style, so we still have supplies for the second style just waiting to be put together

 

Style 1: Mom Rocks

 

Supplies Needed:

  • Picture frame
  • Rocks
  • Wood letters – came in a variety pack. He purchased an all caps pack and an all lowercase pack
  • Clear glue
  • A favorite picture – I printed out 5×7 and cut it down to fit the picture opening

 

Directions:

Let your children, if this is going to be from  your children, pick out their letter style they would like to use and if they want to put the words on top/bottom or on the sides. Then glue the letters to the frame and start decorating. Let it dry and then insert the picture. Note to any DADS reading this: Make sure you pick a picture and add it to the frame. It took awhile for this mom to remember to add one and I would have loved it if it came with one already in it. :-D

Style 2: Mom Rules

Since none of these have been made, yet, we do not have any pictures. But this is the idea my husband came up with and I think it would turn out pretty cute.

 

Supplies Needed

  • Picture frame
  • Colored popsicle/craft sticks – he found a variety pack
  • Black thin tipped permanent marker
  • Wood letters – see description above
  • Clear glue
  • Favorite picture to put in frame -see description in project above

 

Directions:

The idea for this craft is to create rulers out of each popsicle stick by marking them with inch marks using the marker. Then glue them onto the frame…either covering the entire outside of the frame or just doing the sides leaving the top and bottom blank OR whatever variation you can think of!  Once the rulers are in place, glue the letters to “Mom Rules” to the frame. Pretty cute sounding, right? I’m pretty impressed that he came up with this idea on his own! If anyone makes one, I would love to see a picture.

 

Click HERE for more Mother’s Day Ideas…gifts, food, fun.

 


Filed Under: Birthdays/Celebrations, Creative Gifts Tagged With:

Mega Bloks Barbie Party via MommyParties

2013
Leave a Comment

 

Earlier this month we had the opportunity to host a Mega Bloks Barbie Party for a group of friends ages 5-8 and their moms. All our friends came over for some food, fun and “Girl Building Time” putting together a Mega Bloks Barbie Build ‘n Style Luxury Mansion and a Mega Bloks Barbie Build’n Style Pool Party.

 

As with all parties, you never know how everything is going to go, so you worry and over plan. Well in this case, all my over planning was just that! All the girls were so involved in building their Mega Bloks Barbie Mansion and pool that we had no need for anything else. These girls spent 2 hours building and playing non-stop!

 

We seperated into two different groups and the help with a mom in each group the girls started building. For a lot of the moms who attended, this was their first experience with Mega Bloks that were made for girls. So, everyone got into the building fun, including a couple of brothers (you may see them sneaking into a few of the pictures!).

 

I really appreciated the large instruction booklets that told the girls step by step how to put the different sections together. What a great way to teach them how to follow instructions and empower them to build and put it together on their own!

 

Each Mega Bloks Barbie set comes with tons of detailed accessories, like plants, food, chandeliers, furniture, etc., as well as little Mega Bloks people to dress up and accessorize. A few of the girls who stayed longer ended up playing for HOURS…to be more specific, they spent 4+ hours just playing, building and redesigning! I was so impressed!!!

 

Here is what some of the girls had to say about their experience:

 

Our guests got to take home a little fun of their own with a Build ‘n Style Ice Cream Cart or a Build’n Style Fashion Boutique. As you can tell, they were super excited about this!

We had a lot of fun and the Mega Bloks Barbie Mansion and Pool are still the hot item in our house!

 

*By publishing this post, I received free products as part of a promotional program with MomSelect. All opinions are my own.

Filed Under: Birthdays/Celebrations, Review

5 Mother’s Day Gifts On a Dime

2012
7 Comments

WARNING: Ladies, if you are reading this, email it to your hubby or leave it up on the screen for your family to see. Maybe they will get the hint! =-)

We all know the best Mother’s Day gifts are from the heart. When I was a younger my Dad used to go into panic mode when it came to Mother’s Day and trying to make it nice. One year when I was a teenager he told us that our Mom was not his Mom and so we needed to do the planning. He would go get anything we needed from the store (we usually made her a breakfast) or help make anything needed. We just needed to make a list and tell him what we needed help with. We just had to remember that Mother’s Day was not about big extravagant gifts but showing our appreciation for our Mom. Suddenly Mother’s Day became a lot more fun and had a lot more meaning for everyone.

Here are some meaningful Mother’s Day ideas that are perfect for any Mom, can even be done last minute and will not break the bank. These are all gifts that can be Dad driven or kid driven and are definitely from the heart!

 

Personalized Breakfast

Check out how to make an easy Personalized Breakfast. You can do more than just pancakes. A super easy way to make an ordinary breakfast a little more fun and personal!

 

Personal Notebook

Make a personal notebook that will be a keepsake for years to come. We did one when I was in my twenties (youngest sibling was 7) that we put together the night before. My mom still has it! Click here to get more details on how to make your own.

 

Creative Mother's Day Gift

 

All About Mom Video

This is part of our family tradition that we do ever few years for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. It is one of my favorite gifts! Click here to see a video and a list of questions that will get you started.

Father's Day Video

 

Chocolate Madness

Another night before or day of gift that any chocolate loving Mom will be excited about. Super easy to do and my children L.O.V.E. to help dip anything in chocolate. They are getting pretty good at it! Here are more details and simple tips to make chocolate dipping  a breeze and super fun for everyone participating.

 

Heart Attack

You can never go wrong with a heart attack! What Mom does not like to see or hear nice things being said about them? Cut out hearts from paper, write nice things about Mom on each heart and tape them all over a place she will get to see them often, like the kitchen or her bedroom. My children love to contribute and are just as excited about taping the hearts up!

Filed Under: All Ages, Birthdays/Celebrations Tagged With: , ,

Personalized Mother’s Day Breakfast Ideas

2012
1 Comment

I love Mom Food

A special breakfast for Mom is a great way to make any Mom feel important and a fun way to start Mother’s Day. You can add a fun and personal twist to breakfast by using some simple Cookie Cutters. Use hearts, flowers, letters or whatever else you have on hand that might work well for you. If you are lacking in the cookie cutter department, I found this 4 piece Heart Cookie Cutter Set for less than $3  and this 101 Piece Cookie Cutter Set with letters and a variety of shapes in the Party Section (specifically the Wedding and Cake Decorating Isle) at W-Mart.

 

Pancakes

Use plastic or metal cookie cutters to make your pancakes into fun shapes. Make huge heart pancakes, a ton of small hearts or even letters to spell out “MOM” or “WOW MOM” when you turn “MOM” upside down. **You can use the metal cookie cutters to cook a specific shape, BUT to be honest, it was easier to cook the pancake and then use the cookie cutter once it had cooled a minute. If you don’t have any pancake mix in the house, here is an easy pancake recipe to make from scratch. Here is a no fail pancake recipe I have made that tastes great and is “no-fail”.

Cookie Cutter Pancakes

 

Eggs

You can even shape your eggs. We only did it with hearts. Again, you can cook the egg inside the metal cookie cutter and wait to flip it until all the egg white is cooked OR you can cook the egg as usual keeping everything compact and then cut the egg into a heart shape after avoiding the yolk, of course.

Creative way to make eggs - Heart style

 

Fun, right? Here are our 2 cooked eggs. The one on the left is the one cooked with a cookie cutter and the one on the right was cooked after.  Doesn’t that look cute with the mini pancake hearts?

Simple Breakfast Ideas for Mom or Dad

 

French Toast

You can even cut the French Toast into a fun shape. You can do “MOM”, hearts, or anything else you desire. Again, it is easiest once the french toast has been cooked.

Heart French Toast

 

Make sure you let your children help you. My daughter was right there begging to cut hearts into the pancakes. So simple and she was having a blast!

Mother's Day and Father's Day Breakfast

 

Need some more ideas? Check out these 5 Simple Gifts On a Dime perfect for Mother’s Day or Father’s Day

Filed Under: All Ages, Birthdays/Celebrations, Creative Gifts

Personalized Notebooks

2012
1 Comment

An easy and very personal gift for any Mom is to put together a personalized notebook. And don’t think you are too old for this! You are never too old!! You can do pictures, hand prints, notes, or whatever you think your mom will love best. Here are a couple of ideas that we have used for my Mom.

 

Favorite Memories of Mom

Idea # 1: We made this book with all the children in our family ages 7-25 and spouses were included. The youngest drew a picture or the cover. Every member of the family has 2 pages in it. One to share their favorite memories of my mom and the second for a painted hand print. (We thought it would be funny to add a hand print. lol) Everyone typed something up (or told/gave me what they wanted to say and I typed it up) and we placed each sheet of paper on a piece of colored card stock. We attached all the pages together with 2 hole punches and some colored yarn. Honestly, we used what we had and we put this together the night before Mother’s Day. My Mom  loved it and still has it 8 years later!

Here is the Cover:

 

The Cover was followed by a list from the youngest of things she liked about our Mom and then her hand print, which she embellished with glitter (her idea).

Mother's Day Handprint Gifts

 

The following pages were letters and hand prints from the older children. Most were specific stories and memories they loved to remember about our Mom. My other sister added a foot print to her “print” page.

Gifts for Mom on a Dime

To Have a Mom Like You!

Idea # 2: This was put together by my Sister-In-Law, Emali. It is a simple folder with clear plastic sheets. We were each asked to write “What it means to have a Mom like you”. Most are letters that start just with that. The youngest made a cute colorful page that spelled out “MOTHER” and a word for each letter. Below is an inside cover. And again, this is another of my Mom’s favorite Mother’s Day keepsakes.

Happy Mother's Day Book

 

Need some more ideas? Check out these 5 Simple Mother’s Day On a Dime Gifts

Filed Under: All Ages, Birthdays/Celebrations, Creative Gifts Tagged With: , ,

Chocolate Madness

2012
1 Comment

Chocolate dipping is perfect for any occasion, Mother’s Day, a gift for a friend, a fun family night activity, etc. This is also great for a last minute personal gift, because you can do it the night before or day of. My children love to help and for some reason everything just tastes better with chocolate…but that is just my opinion!

What You Need:

  • Chocolate to melt and dip in. Options:
    • Chocolate chips – add oil to get the desired consistency
    • Candy Melts (Click link to see picture)- Cocoa and White  found in the Party Section (Wedding/Cake Decorating Isle) at W-mart for $2.50
  • Bowls for dipping – the smaller ones are easier to use less, but get more depth for dipping. We use pastry dishes
  • Wax paper
  • Cookie sheet or tray to place wax paper and dipped chocolates on while drying
  • Favorite foods to dip
    • Strawberries
    • Oreos
    • Shortbread Cookies
    • Cinnamon Bears (my favorite)
    • Pretzels – any type
    • Marshmallows
    • Graham Crackers
  • Optional: Toppings
    • Sprinkles
    • Mini M&Ms
    • Coconut
    • Mini chocolate chips
    • Nuts
  • Apron or old t-shirts for helpers to wear- They will want to wipe their hands on something. ;-)

Tips for Starting:

Prepare chocolate, layout the food you want dipped and line a cookie sheet or tray with wax paper and place on the table. Prepare the chocolate by melting in a bowl on defrost in the microwave for 1 minute. Stir and repeat defrost every 30 seconds until it is melted completely. I think it is helpful to layout what you want dipped. If you do not want an entire bag of Oreos dipped, do not put the whole bag on the table. Your display does not have to be as put together as below. I just did this for the picture.  ;-)

Chocolate Dipping at home

Start dipping. Some helpers need a little demonstration to show proper dipping technique (i.e. one person dipping per bowl at a time, do not lick your fingers or drop leaves in chocolate). My kiddos picked it up really quick and even asked if I could go away, so they could do it on their own. Ha! Nice try!!


And do not forget about the toppings! Toppings are not required, but are a little additional fun and add some color. You can also drizzle a little of the white chocolate on the milk chocolate (or vice versa) to give it a fancy look. Heavier toppings like the Mini M&Ms are better to put on after the chocolate as set for a minute or two, otherwise they slide off. My little helpers are especially fond of the sprinkles!

How to dip chocolate

Once finished, let them set until chocolate has hardened. If you are in a rush, you can place them in the fridge for a few minutes, but it is not necessary. Having your wax paper on a tray is allows you to move the chocolates out of the way or out of sight while they are setting.

Look at these, don’t they look great?!?!

 

Need some more ideas? Check out these 5 Simple Mother’s Day On a Dime Gifts

    Filed Under: All Ages, Birthdays/Celebrations, Creative Gifts, Food Projects
    Check Google Page Rank Disclosure Policy