4TH OF JULY HANDPRINT FLAG

Fourth of July was a nice time for our family. My husband happen to get a few days off (which is a rarity). And we were able to make it to Cleveland for a family 4th of July party.  My aunt and uncle have been having this annual party for years and I can remember being so excited for it! I love that they still have the party every year so that I can now take my son!


Since I had my son, I have fallen in love with art made from his little handprints and footprints! I have always adored his ten little fingers and ten little toes. So nothing would be more appropriate than an Independence Day decoration made from his prints.

 

I made this adorable HANDPRINT AMERICAN FLAG.
It was something super simple that I can frame and have as a decoration for years to come! Click HERE for the tutorial or click on my "4th of July" tab on my HOLIDAYS page to see this and more ideas!



TIME PASSES BY SO QUICKLY....

Time sure does pass by so quickly these days.  It definitely does not seem like it has been two months since my last post.  Each day feels like it needs a few more hours, which is something that I think many of you can relate to.  The last two months have been filled with a lot of highs and lows, my Thirty One Gifts business has really taken off, we've begun planning our Walt Disney World vacation for the fall, and my son's upcoming 3rd birthday! Last week however, my feet were knocked out from under me when I found out that my father had a potentially fatal health episode that landed him in the hospital having Open Heart Surgery.  Nothing could compare to the feeling of relief when he made it through the surgery and did well enough to come home five days later. I feel so blessed and pray that he continues to improve.

As I mentioned before, we have decided to take my lil guy to Disney World in October and then subsequently visit Clearwater where I'm from.  We only recently decided to make the trip and I know in the Disney universe, planning a vacation only a few months before can be a real chore.  Disney Resorts are definitely starting to book full and finding a room at a resort we want was a little tricky.  Reservations for specialty dining have also been hit or miss this close to the trip.  We definitely want to take Colton to some "Character Dining" restaurants, and those types sell out months in advance. Our top two character dining restaurants were already completely sold out when I called and so I had to go with our second and third choices, which should still turn out to be awesome!  I know a lot of moms out there want to take their little ones to Disney and love tips.....I know because I am one. So I have decided to make several posts throughout my planning as well as when we return, about things I liked, didn't like, don't recommend, etc.  I always love reading blogs with tips and recommendations from real moms...because I am a real mom, not a travel agent! So look for some upcoming posts on planning my Walt Disney World vacation :)

When we decided to go to Disney, my husband and I planned on telling my son at his 3rd Birthday party (it just happens to appropriately be Mickey-themed this year).  Unfortunately, we made the mistake of talking to my mother about it while he was in the room and now he asks "Are we going to Disney?" constantly.  I needed to figure out a way to help him get through the next three months without driving us completely insane.  I thought about it for a while and decided that we would make a Disney related project or activity each week to keep him excited but not upset that we can't go right this minute.  I also decided to make a "Countdown to Disney World" chart that will start the first day of October. Check back soon for the tutorial!



Here's the first of our Disney-themed projects! A MICKEY MOUSE MUSIC MAKER. It was so simple to make and Colton loved marching around the room making his "music" and singing. Click HERE for the tutorial!

ST. PATTY'S DAY TODDLER ART

With St. Patty's Day coming up and rainbows being one of the common images of the holiday, I figured this would be a great chance to work with my son on his colors.  Building a rainbow picture is good way to go over the different colors and also to teach him to follow directions. I love doing activities together that keep him busy and not just sitting on the couch watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. And the best part about doing these activities, is that he has fun and learns new things every day!

Click on the "ST. PATRICK'S DAY" page under the HOLIDAYS tab to see more.



GOOD "LUCK" END TABLE SIGN

St. Patrick's Day is quickly approaching and I am trying to not get lost in the craziness of day-to-day life once again and end up with no decorations up until the week of the 17th. That's why I have made a vow to set aside some time each day to get my decorating done. And what better way to start than with this cute little sign that I hope brings some good "luck" and fun to our house.

 

Click on the "ST. PATRICK'S DAY" page under the HOLIDAYS tab to see how I made this.



COFFEE FILTER SHAMROCKS

For Valentine's Day, my son absolutely LOVED making the coffee filter hearts. (You can see the post here. ) So, I figured I would let him make shamrocks the same way for St. Patrick's Day! Colton loves any excuse to play with markers and I love any excuse to get him to sit still. Not to mention that these shamrocks turned out super cute!

 

To see instructions for this activity, check out the "ST. PATRICK'S DAY" page under the Holidays tab.



SIMPLE EASY VALENTINE'S DAY DECORATIONS

I have to admit that I have been very busy in the last several weeks and decorating for Valentine's Day has been pushed to the back burner.  However, I was determined to not skip the holiday completely.  As you saw in my previous post, my son and I had fun making Valentine cards! Colton was so cute making them and we will definitely do this again next year.



Even though the last few weeks have been hectic in the Conley household, I really wanted to get a few decorations up before Valentine's Day was over.  I came up with some really cute, really simple ideas. Check out my  "VALENTINE'S DAY" page under the "Holidays" tab to see them.

COFFEE FILTER VALENTINE HEARTS

There is nothing that I love more than spending time doing activities with my son! He loves exploring new items, textures, and concepts through hands on play. And the things that he has learned from them are amazing! Not to mention that I have gotten some really cute keepsakes in the process!

For Valentine's Day this year, I wanted to have Colton make cards for his grandparents and I wanted to go beyond the normal, give him some paper and crayons and let him color one. So I decided to come up with something that he could do that was different and fun!  Last year, I saw something on Pinterest about coffee filter art projects for toddlers.  I searched through my boards and couldn't find the pin (possibly because I have thousands of pins), but I thought how hard could it be to figure it out myself.  And they turned out awesome!

 

 

Visit my "HOLIDAYS" page to find this activity and more!

FELT VALENTINE ENVELOPES

Valentine's Day is all about telling the one's you love how much they mean to you. And what better way to do it than to "deliver" it in these cute little felt envelopes. Write a little note and stick it inside with some candy! How simple is that? And they are so darn cute!

Click on my "Holidays" page and then on the "Valentine's Day" tab for the instructions.



CHILD HANDPRINT ORNAMENT

I know Christmastime is over and everyone is now focused on the fun of decorating and preparing for Valentine's Day. But in the hustle and bustle of the holidays and the new year, I forgot to post a few ideas and recipes from over Christmas. 

I've always loved making handprint items with my son.  The idea of having these little memory items many years from now is so important to me.  Thanks to Pinterest I have found so many cute ideas for crafts using your children's prints and I can't wait to try some of them!

 

This Christmas, instead of using a gift tag for family member's presents, I had the idea to make these cute little handprint tags! And the best part?  With the ribbon (not pictured) attached, these tags make adorable Christmas tree ornaments!  Everyone loved them and they are so simple to make!

 

 

Click on the HOLIDAYS tab and then on my CHRISTMAS page to find how I made this!



EMBROIDERY FLOSS EGGS

Last Easter, I came across this cute idea for Easter eggs made out of embroidery floss on Pinterest. They turned out so cute that I will be making more this year for sure! I've had this on my list of things to post on here for quite a while, but never got around to it. So here it is (10 months late or 4 months early, however you want to look at it).

To find out how I made these pretty Easter eggs, click on the "HOLIDAYS" tab and then on the "EASTER" page.



SPOOKTACULAR SHADOW BOX

Decorating for the holidays has always been something that I look forward to doing.  One decoration that I have always wanted to make was a shadow box scene. I love how shadow boxes are a three dimensional wall decorations that stand out so much more than a regular wall hanging. And the best part? You get to use your creative side! This is my Halloween Haunted House Shadow Box.

Click on the "Holidays" tab and then on the "Halloween" tab to see how I made it!

HALLOWEEN "CANDLE" HOLDERS

When you have a toddler running around the house grabbing at everything in his reach, you obviously have to limit the type of items you decorate with. I have always loved candles, I have them in every room of my house but they don't get burned very often. So I wanted to come up with a candle-like decoration that would be safe to use in my living room. These "candles" are so simple to make and frightfully cute to look at.

Click on my "Holidays" tab then on the "Halloween" tab to see how I made these. :)

DIY WOODEN "BOO" DECORATION

Back a few years ago I was big into scrapbooking and would purchase scrapbooking supplies almost every time I went to the store. This left me with a TON of unused scrapbook paper and supplies that are just waiting for a purpose. The other day while I was organizing my crafting supplies I came across the bin with all my scrapbook paper in it. As I was looking through it, I came across some really cute Halloween papers. I decided to use the paper to cover some wooden letters and make a crafty little Halloween decoration.

Click on my "Holidays" tab and then the "Halloween" tab to see how to make this!

JACK THE PUMPKIN KING DECORATION

Halloween has always been my favorite holiday and growing up I used to look forward to decorating my parents house. One of my favorite movies to watch around Halloween is "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and I just love Jack "The Pumpkin King"! I saw this idea on Pinterest a while back and decided that I had to make one. It came out super cute and I think it looks spooky sitting on the table in our entryway.

Click on my "Holidays" tab then click on "Halloween" tab to find out how I made this spooky cute pumpkin!

HANDMADE BABY BIBS & BURP CLOTHS

After my son Colton was born and I became a stay at home mom, I returned to my crafty roots and begin sewing and crafting again. And what better way to start than to make baby items for my lil pumpkin! I drew up some patterns for my first few items and began sewing! Before I knew it, I had tons of bibs, burp cloths, etc. for my son and several set aside for our next bundle of joy. They ended up turning out so cute that I soon had requests from people who wanted to buy them from me.  I think they really like the idea of getting all different fabric patterns instead of the same old ones from the stores. Since they have become such a big hit with people, I decided to start selling them online for people who just don't have the time or patience to make them.



Check out my "CRAFTING" page to see how-to's for all my baby items as well as tons of other craft ideas and instructions.

BIRTHDAY BALLOON WREATH

My son's birthday falls in August and I wanted to figure out some different ways to decorate our home for his birthday. Since no holidays fall in the month of August, our front door was looking a little bare without a wreath.  So I decided that it would be a perfect time to make a Birthday wreath for our door. I came across a similar idea on Pinterest for a balloon topiary and figured it would make a cute wreath.  It came out so cute that everyone who comes over asks me to make them one too!

This wreath was incredibly easy to make. The how-to is on my "BIRTHDAY" page :)