Mother's Day

Here in the U.S. we celebrate Mother's Day this year on Sunday, May 11th. Love it! Here's what I came up with to make it memorable. It's an LDS Primary song that I've always loved. Enjoy!

Happily Ever After Subway Art

We recently enjoyed our church's General Conference where we got to be inspired and uplifted by teachings from our church leaders. It reminded me that I had created a subway art piece from a previous General Conference based on an excerpt from a talk by Dieter F.Uchtdorf titled, "Your Happily Ever After". I made this for my daughter and she has it hanging in her room. Enjoy!

Happy Easter

I'm just making this by my end-of-month deadline. Easter came early this year! Here was my crafty idea for this month. I wanted my kids to each paint a picture of an Easter egg. I figured I could keep them as part of my Easter decorations. I pictured having three unique but cohesive interpretations of an Easter egg. I even had the kids use matching color paints. But it didn't go **exactly** the way I envisioned.

Here's B's egg. Notice how she outlined the entire egg in yellow. And the use of layering the paint colors to get the right effect for the flowers and stripes. She even signed her work.

Here's A's. She's more symmetrical in her design. She also likes to bring the color all the way to the the edge of the egg. Notice the clean and crisp lines in her work. She keeps it simple.

And here's Z's. It's a rocket ship. Maybe I should've been a little more clear about my expectations. Oh well, this is DEFINITELY Z.

If this isn't quite what you were looking for to do for an Easter craft, here's a lovely Easter subway art that I whipped up. Enjoy!

To My Valentine

This one is also one where I took an idea and made it my own. I found the original idea on Shannon Brown's blog. (She is AMAZING!)

So.... this was my gift to my darling hubby... A YEAR OF DATES. Let's face it, life gets super-mega-licious busy and making time to go on a date with your spouse sometimes gets superseded by "other-more-important-things." (Feel free to fill in the quotes with your choice of challenges... kids need you, church obligations, job responsibilities, needy friend, health issues, cash flow, deployment, sick pet, etc...)  Life happens!! But I firmly believe that one of our MOST IMPORTANT relationships we have on this earth is the one we build with our beloved spouse. And that relationship building takes work, takes time, takes creativity, takes maintenance, takes planning... all of which translates to I Love You Darling. You Are Important To Me.

My version of dates really took me a lot of planning and thought. (I honestly didn't think it would be so difficult, but I wanted something that would be meaningful to my husband...not just all about me. Does that make sense?) We are doing lots of active outdoorsy things that I know we enjoy doing together. Again, emphasizing that I recognize what he likes to do and I want to do them with him.

THE INTRO LETTER

The introduction letter

So I started off with an introduction letter that I tied into the whole package. It explains the purpose of each labeled envelope and the rule of NO PEEKING! (I couldn't afford to purchase/schedule EVERYTHING for the year, so some envelopes just have a short note. I plan to spread out the purchases over time so that our budget isn't thrown out the window in one month. I'll get gift cards here and there to fill in the envelopes.)

The envelopes

EACH MONTH
I thought about posting the actual letters, but most of them are waaaay too personal {blush} for your innocent eyes. Here are the themes by month that I used:

• Feb- dinner and movie night out
• Mar- dinner and comedy club
• Apr- archery range and sandwiches
• May- bike ride and picnic
• Jun- anniversary month
• Jul- golf and lunch
• Aug- motorcycle ride and lunch
• Sep- shooting range and lunch
• Oct- spa day and lunch
• Nov- hotel night out
• Dec- gift shopping and dinner

This is really the tamest letter I wrote. Hope it gives you some ideas of your own.

TIPS

• Try to plan events that you BOTH will enjoy!! You don't want to be the miserable one in the corner while your spouse is having a hey day. The idea is that you are building your relationship-- not sulking about it!
• Think-- really ponder-- about what your spouse enjoys. If you know your spouse would prefer to go to the opera rather than the golf course (and you will enjoy it as well), make that your date!
• Stick to a budget. It can get easy to go hog wild and plan a cruise, and a safari, and book a lear jet to Tahiti. Rein in your wild ideas and stick to keeping it simple. Make the date about the person you love not how expensive it is.
• Try to plan your meals near the location of your activity. You don't want to schlep across town and maybe miss the opening act of your play or your scheduled tee time because of traffic.
• Keep a master list of your dates so you don't accidentally forget! On that list have contact information and addresses for all the places you plan to go. I included a list of directions and addresses in each envelope for him as well.
• Put it on the calendar. In my home, if it's on the calendar then it's going to happen. If it's not on the calendar, well... let's be honest, other things will take over.
• Have fun. Make some amazing memories together that you will enjoy for years and years.

Oh the Places You'll Go!

This is our Young Women's New Beginnings theme this year. Super fun and cute. I rewrote lines from the book to introduce our cute little new Beehives to the YW program, Personal Progress, Girls' Camp, Temple Trips, and -- of course-- the 2013 Youth Theme "Stand Ye in Holy Places." Hope you like it. Feel free to copy and paste.

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Holy Places!
You're off and away!

You have scriptures in your head.
You have feet that can stand
You can steer yourself
any direction you can.

You're on your own.  And you know what you know.
And YOU are the girl who'll decide where to go.
You'll look up and down streets.  Look 'em over with care.
About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."
With your head full of scriptures and your feet that can stand,
you're too smart to stray too far from The Plan.

You may go in search of
Some loftier spaces
But there’s no place like home
For holier spaces.
Sure, you may not find roads
where you'll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you'll head straight out of town.

And go to the church
There your leaders will be
Short ones, tall ones
And ones just like me.
Long-haired or big-bellied,
All here to help guide
And show where to go,
Walk with you side-by-side.

Go there with friends, of course,
And have plenty of fun
On Wednesdays and Sundays
In rain, sleet, snow, and sun

Come to youth night
Come to class lessons
These are holy places
And time for expression
Share your testimony
Share your inner light
Let it shine for all to see
Let it burn hot and bright

And when things start to happen,
don't worry, don't stew.
Arise and shine forth!
You'll start happening too.

OH!
OH!
THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!

You'll be on your way up!
With Personal Progress
you'll set and make goals,
your life will be blessed,
and so will your soul.

You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed.
To work on values of Faith,
Divine Nature, Knowledge,
Choice & Accountability,
Good Works, Integrity,
And Virtue. It’s true!
You’ll do all of these values – and maybe more, too!

Oh, the places you'll go! There is fun to be done!
There are values to learn.  You’ve only begun!

Except when you stop.
Because, sometimes, you must.
Stop to rest, stop to think,
Stop to pray, readjust.

Just don’t stop for too long
In one place where you’ll stay
With feet stuck in the mud
I am sorry to say.

Keep your feet moving forward
Along that straight path
That leads back to our Savior
And all that He hath.

Don’t get stuck in a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted.  But mostly they're darked.
Avoid the great and spacious building! It’s no place to play!
Nor visit, nor pop in and stay-for-a-day.
A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out?  Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?

Hold onto the rod
Don’t ever let go!
While in the wide world,
Live the things that you know
To be good and be true.
Choose the right every day
Read your scriptures at night
And kneel down and pray!

You can get so confused
that you'll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.

The Waiting Place...

...for girls just waiting.

Waiting for a birthday
or for a reason, or an answer to a prayer,
or a call to go out, or a call to just stay,
or {gasp!} for a BOY, or an un-sticky place to go
or waiting around for a Yes or a No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.

Keep moving!
Get unstuck!
Stand ye in holy places!

Somehow you'll escape
all that waiting and staying.
You'll find the bright places
where the Tabernacle Choir is playing.

And go to the temple.
Take a trip! That is where
you’ll learn about heaven,
take your feet up the stairs.

Dressed in white you will be
from your top to your toes,
With your sweet heart filled
and burning aglow

Back to Heavenly Father
you can return,
Just follow the steps there
the ones that you’ll learn.

Oh, the places you'll go! There is fun to be done!
There are doctrines to learn.  You’ve only begun!

Except when you stop.
Because, sometimes, you must.
Stop to rest, stop to think,
Stop to pray, readjust.

I'm afraid that some times
you'll play lonely games too.
Games you can't win
'cause you'll play against you.

All Alone!
Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something
you'll be quite a lot.

Except at Girls’ Camp
Where you’ll sleep in a tent
Your hair will get dirty
You’ll be SO GLAD you went
With runny noses, and smelly toes-es
And lots and lots of scraped elbows-es.
You’ll have tons of fun and you’ll also see
Other girls sharing their testimonies.

But IF you're alone, there's a very good chance
you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
Like thunder, and lightning, and hungry old bears
Who come into camp looking for underwears.
There are things, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won't want to go on.

But on you will go!
though the weather be foul
On you will go!
though your enemies prowl
On you will go!
though the Hakken-Kraks howl
Onward for a week of Girls’ Camp,
though your arms may get sore
and your sneakers may get damp.

On and on you will hike
and I know you'll hike far,
and face up to your problems
whatever they are.

For you know the Great Plan
And here’s a surprise
YOU too are a temple
Believe it! No lies!

“Ye are the temple of God
the Spirit of God dwelleth in you,
for the temple of God is holy
which temple ye are.” It’s TRUE!

So wherever you go
and wherever you are,
You stand in holy places
Whether near or whether far.
Up or down, East or West,
Spinning in circles, or away on a quest.

You'll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You'll get mixed up
with many strange things as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that life's
a great balancing act.

Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.
And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)

GIRLS, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!
You only have to stand.
Stand for truth
Stand for righteousness
We KNOW that you can!
So...

be your name Brielle or Hallie
or Bronwen or Avery
or Eliza or Monique,
you're off to Holy Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So...get on your way!

Stand Ye in Holy Places

So... with the new lesson curriculum for the Youth in our church, I decided to make lesson journals for the girls in my class. And I think they turned out looking FABULOUS!! The total cost per book was around $5.75, which is very affordable. They are basically made from composition notebooks that have a shiny cover. I just dressed it up to make it look pretty. The goal was to allow the girls to write down their thoughts and impressions from the lessons that are important and meaningful to them, rather than just let these thoughts and impressions just fly out of their heads and disappear into the cosmos. I hope they use them and enjoy them. I would LOVE to be able to look back on my own 14- or 15-year-old self to see what I thought about gospel doctrine at that point in my life.

Here's what the mostly finished lesson journal looks like. I still have to give each girl their name sticker for the corner.

This is what a book kit looks like. This is how I assembled each book so that every one had the same materials.

MATERIALS FOR THE BOOKS

Here are most of the materials I used: composition books, sticky tabs, quote sheets, stickers, paper clips, printer labels.

Fabric pockets that I used to stick on the outside to hold a pen and the inside to hold paper clips.

Paper clips. I gave each girl four.

Feet stickers (for "standing in holy places"... get it?)

Quote sheets. I gave each girl four and then also added four blank sheets of cardstock.

Sticky tabs. I gave each girl their own set. They can use these to put in their scriptures.

Printer labels. This is a full-size sheet that I used for the cover, but I also used small oval-shaped ones (see the 2nd picture up top) to mark each section inside the journal.

ON THE INSIDE

The inside of the book with the items added. I also put a label for the girls to write their name and contact information in the upper left corner, just in case they lose the journal.

The Topics List page. There are 12 topics. This journal is supposed to last a whole year.

This is the section topic title page. It is right after the Topics List page.

This is the first page of the first section on the Godhead. Here's where the girls write what they already know about the topic.



This is the Quotes page. Here the girls can paste in quotes about the topic that they like.

This is the lesson Description page and the Reflections page. Here the girls write down details about the topic and then reflect on what they have learned.

Stuff I bring to class. Sticky notes, cardstock, glue sticks, markers, colored pencils, colored pens.

Gratitude Jar

I wanted to capture something for Thanksgiving... something meaningful to us as a family. I wanted the kids to be able to participate as well. They are all old enough to compose their thoughts and express their opinions in positive and productive ways. And I wanted it to look pretty. So here's what I came up with.

Gratitude Jar

Step-by-Step

1. Get a jar you want to use. I found mine at Walmart in the kitchen supplies aisle. It's about 10 inches in diameter and 5 inches tall with a lovely stainless steel lid. 
2. Get a separate jar or other container to hold your blank paper slips and a pen.
3. Cut out vinyl lettering. I used my handy little Cricut.

4. Apply vinyl lettering to jar. I used masking tape to make a level line for the letters.

 5. Cut strips of paper. Mine are 1" by 6".

6. Proudly display and give everyone instructions to write something every day.

Soon you will have it filled up! Have a wonderful and gratitude filled Thanksgiving.