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 to see this and more ideas!



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. PATTY'S DAY" 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.

 

 

To find out how I made this sign, click on the "ST. PATRICK'S DAY" page.



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!

Check out the "ST. PATRICK'S DAY" page to see instructions. 

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 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!

 

Click on the "VALENTINE'S DAY" tab for this activity.

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!

Just click on the "VALENTINE'S DAY" tab to get 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 "CHRISTMAS" page to see 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 "EASTER" page.



CHRISTMAS MOVIE NIGHT

Holidays are such a wonderful time, but with all the excitement and fun comes a lot of stress.  However, I made a vow to not let all the stress of cleaning, preparing, shopping, and family visits keep my family from enjoying the holidays! So every night after dinner, my son and I (and my husband when he's off) cuddle up under a warm blanket and watch holiday movies!



 

I really enjoy sharing the movies that I loved as a kid with Colton. Many of them are classics and much better than the ones that are made today. To see which movies made our favorites list, click on the "CHRISTMAS" tab.

SIMPLY SENSATIONAL TRUFFLES

Baking at Christmastime is doesn't have to be confined to cookies, nothing adds variety to a cookie tray like delicious pieces of homemade candy. One type of candy that I love to add to my trays are chocolate truffles. These incredibly simple yet absolutely delicious treats are sure to please everyone! And with only two ingredients, even the most inexperienced baker can whip these up in no time!

 

Find the recipe for these yummy chocolate delights under the "CHRISTMAS" tab. 



CHRISTMAS KOLACHE COOKIES

Every year, I bake several different kinds of Christmas cookies and treats for my family as well as for friends and neighbors. While I always try to make a few new recipes each year, there are some true favorites (most of them family recipes) that I bake every year.  One of these family recipes is my grandmother's recipe for Kolache. These little jelly filled cookies are a hit with everyone!

 

You can find the recipe to these yummy cookies and more under the "Christmas" tab. 



WHAT'S CUBBY BEEN UP TO?

I have to admit that I'm really having fun with this whole Elf on the Shelf thing. I love coming up with new cute ideas for Colton's elf.  Colton loves him! The purpose of him is also slowly working. When Colton starts acting up, I remind him that his Elf reports to Santa every night and he is slowly learning to not throw a temper tantrum every time he doesn't get his own way. That makes this mommy happy :)

Check out what he's been up to on my "Christmas" tab...

THE ELF ON THE SHELF HAS ARRIVED!!

My son Colton has recently entered that "wonderful" phase known as the terrible two's. Temper tantrums and whining have become an all to familiar event in our house lately, so I decided that this year would be the perfect time to introduce the "Elf on the Shelf" idea to him. While he is still a little young to understand the concept completely, he does respond when I tell him that the elf, which he named "Cubby" is watching him and telling Santa.

Being the Pinterest obsessed person that I am, I love reading and finding cute Elf on the Shelf ideas, among other things. I've also come up with some cute ideas on my own and so I've decided to make a quick post each day to show what "Cubby" is up to.  I love the whole idea of the Elf on the Shelf, if they would have had this when I believed in Santa, I would have always been on my best behavior.

 

 

This morning Colton found him riding off in his police car. He thought it was the funniest thing seeing him trying to squeeze into his car. 

CHRISTMAS STORY TIME

Here we are less than two weeks away from Christmas and I haven't made any posts about all the fun Christmas related things that I have been up to. It's no surprise that with all the decorating, crafting, and yummy baking that goes along with Christmastime, that this is one of my favorite times of the year. But more important is all the wonderful time I get to spend with my family, especially my little boy. He is truly the best present I have ever received. 

Since story time is one of the most special times we have together, I decided to make a Christmas bedtime story advent calendar, similar to the one that I made for Halloween.

 

Check out my list of books for this year on my "Christmas" page!

HALLOWEEN STORY TIME

Even though Halloween has come and gone for this year, and the sights and sounds of Thanksgiving and Christmas are everywhere, I wanted to share another Halloween post before moving on to the endless list of Christmas things I want to accomplish.



In our house we countdown to the holidays not only with activities and movies each day, but also with story time. During October, Colton's bedtime stories are all Halloween related. Click on the Halloween tab to see our booklist for this Halloween. :)

HALLOWEEN FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT

It's not just the autumn air and pumpkin patches that make my love for Halloween as strong as when I was a kid. It's also the opportunity to snuggle up under a blanket with my son and watch those Halloween-themed kid's movies that I loved growing up! I've noticed in the last few years that some of the new movies will assuredly be favorites of Colton's for years to come. It seems as if we watch "Spookley the Square Pumpkin" at least twice a day. And even though I know the movie word for word now, I secretly love it! I definitely have a kid side and being a mother has given me an excuse to show it. Here are the movies that help us get into the Halloween mood. :)

You can find the list under the "HALLOWEEN" tab.



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! Here is my Halloween Haunted House themed shadow box.

Click 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 "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 the "Halloween" tab to see how to make this spooky cute craft!