DIY Advent Calendar

My husband went on a business trip for a month.  That's a long time, plus I knew that he would not always have internet access.  So before he left I wanted to give him something fun and special that would help to remind him of  home.  

When I was at Target in their dollar section, I saw a dry erase board with a string and got an idea!  An advent calendar, that's what I wanted to make.  It would be small and easy to pack but give him a little surprise every single day. 

To make my advent calendar, I used an Exato knife to cut little windows out of scrapbook paper. I made enough windows for every day that he would be gone on his trip. Then I taped the scrapbook paper to the edges the dry erase board.

For each window, I hid a little note inside and taped the window closed. For some of the notes I wrote small messages on post-it notes for him, and on others our kids wrote notes or drew pictures for him. This way he had a little message or memento to remember that we loved and missed him. Then my kids helped me decorate it the calendar with stickers.

The day my husband left for his trip I slipped the advent calendar into his bag so he would be surprised when he arrived at his destination.

{10 Days of Halloween} Halloween Gift

Are you hosting a Halloween party this year and need a party favor? Or do you need a special way to say thank you this Halloween season? Well, here is a gift idea that anyone would love. 

These hard plastic cups with straws are not only useful (they hold hot or cold beverages) but they make great gifts! I found these Halloween cups at Walmart for a small price, but you can find them just about anywhere now.

I filled the cup with some tasty goodies! I included a ball point pen, gum, and a mix of candy (sugar free, chewy, hard, and chocolate). 

I didn't add any special packaging for these gifts because I felt like the cups were already decorated enough. But if you have clear cups or want to add a little more flair, simply wrap each cup in cellophane and tie with a ribbon. 

I included this fun Halloween poem as a gift tag. 

{click here to print your own Halloween poem tag}

Now you can give a special Halloween thank you to any of the special people in your life!

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Day four of

Pressed Flower Bookmarks

Before I get started with today's post, I wanted to remind you that today is Free Slurpee Day at 7-Eleven (because the date is 7/11). So, go and get yourself a free, refreshing slurpee!!

Now onto today's post...pressed flower bookmarks!

Last week I posted about our family picking wildflowers (read about it here).  Well, I saved the wildflowers we picked and made them into pressed flower bookmarks! They turned out so cute! Here's what we did.

First, to press the flowers we wrapped them in plastic wrap and set them under a heavy book for an entire day.

{Wildflowers being pressed in plastic wrap}

The next day I cut out pieces of card stock for the bookmarks.  You can make the bookmarks pretty much any size you would like.  I made enough for everyone to make their own pressed flower bookmark.  To decorate and label the bookmarks we used regular, washable markers.  Then we carefully placed the flowers on the card stock and laminated them.  You could use a little piece of glue or adhesive to keep the flowers in place if needed, but I recommend only using a little. 

This was an easy and educational craft.  And now it is a fun momento from our summer vacation.  We had enough flowers to make a few extra to give as gifts to grandparents.  Homemade gifts can be some of the most precious.

Starburst Printable

Wouldn't it just make your day if someone surprised you with candy? It would sure make me smile!

Here is a simple saying to go along with a Starburst candy. I originally made this is a teacher appreciation gift by saying, "Thanks for being a STAR teacher in our primary." But I've made the printable more generic so that you can give this Starburst gift to anyone you love and appreciate!

All you need to do is print the "Thanks for being a STAR!" note and attach it to the Starburst with tape or ribbon and you're set. It's really that easy!

{Click here to print the Starburst quote}

I hope this printable will help you brighten someone's day!

* Please leave us a comment to let us know if this printable was helpful, we'd love your feedback! Also, if you'd like the Starburst printable to say anything else, let us know.

On a Positive "Note"

Right now there are some hard things going on at my work.  Being a manager and trying to keep up staff moral can be really difficult sometimes.  This same problem happens in our homes when stress builds and spouses get overworked.  So, this is what I did to bring in a little hope, comfort, and love to my workplace.

I made these cute "notes" for everyone.  They are shaped like musical notes (it takes a little stretch of the imagination at first).  I used a York peppermint patty as the note and scrapbook paper as the stem.  On the paper I wrote the message,  "On A Positive Note!". 

{Click here to print your own "Positive Note" handouts}

I also included a card with a positive message then taped my peppermint notes on the front of the cards.  There is a quote by holocaust survivor Victor Frankle that I really like.  He says, 

"The one thing you can't take away from me is the way I choose to respond to what you do to me.  The last of one's freedoms is to choose one's attitude in any given circumstance."

We all have tough times.  So this note idea can be something that you give to a spouse or family member, just to let them know that things will turn out okay.  A positive happy attitude is contagious and can go a long way!

You're the "BERRY" Best!

With Teacher Appreciation Week this week and Mother's Day just around the corner, I wanted to share another cute and tasty gift, perfect for spring! This gift can be used as a small note of appreciation for all those special someones in your life (i.e. teachers, friends, mothers, fathers, kids, etc.)

The theme for this gift idea is strawberries!  I came across a great deal on strawberries this weekend and picked up a bunch. I went to town freezing them, drying them, making jam and fruit leather.  But I still had more strawberries leftover and decided to share the joy with my neighbors too.

  

I grabbed a box of strawberries (1 pound, like you see at the grocery store) and my scrapbook paper.  I happened to have a cute strawberry-themed paper in my stash, so it didn't cost me anything extra. Then I wrote, "You are a "Berry" good friend!"  But, if you don't have scrapbook paper, go ahead and grab this free print out instead.

{Click here to print your own "You are a 'Berry' good friend!" note}

Don't forget that it's Teacher Appreciation Week, and with the end of the school year just around the corner, you want to be sure to thank that special teacher in your life!

{Click here to print your own "You are the 'Berry' best teacher!" note}

Oh, and in case you are in need of a quick and unique Mother's Day gift, snag this print out and attach it to your strawberries (which I'm sure you'll make into a yummy breakfast or dessert for one of the special women in your lives!)

 {Click here to print your own "You are the 'Berry' best mother!" note}

Once you have your note ready, simply tape it to the strawberry box lid or tie it on with some ribbon to fancy it up.  We wanted to give our gift anonymously to our neighbors, so we left this berry surprise on their doorsteps.  

We hope this idea will simplify your gift giving and help make somebody feel "berry" special this week!

Have a Super Sweet Day!

This is a cute and easy gift idea!  It is perfect to give to your children or spouse to make them feel extra special (because they are!).

We have a darling little candy shop in our community and that's where I found some fun colorful candies.  You can use any type of candy for your gift.  Then all I did to prepare the gift was printed a simple message on envelope labels and stuck them directly on the candy wrapper.  The labels said, "Have a super SWEET day!"

Click here to print your own "Super Sweet" treat labels

{designed for 2" x 4" mailing labels}

It was super EASY!  And what kid could resist a surprise candy treat?  Kids of all ages (yes, even your teenagers) will enjoy the special reminder of your love for them.  I decided to put my treats in a unique place where each family member would find one in the morning before leaving for school or work. 

I had extra candies so I decided to give one to each of my coworkers in the office as well.  They were a HUGE hit!

Everyone wants to feel appreciated, and it's amazing how such a small and simple gift (with very little preparation) can go such a LONG way!

Celebrate Earth Day

Tomorrow is Earth Day!

During the next week we are dedicating our posts to help celebrate Earth Day.  It will help provide fun times for the family!

We have been blessed with beautiful nature all around us and we need to take good care of it and add to the beauty.  The first place to start is in your very own home.

Tomorrow I am going to leave a flower in each family members bedroom (including my husband).

I'm going to include this cute note that says:

I have the power

with this flower

to shower 
you with love!

{click here to print your flower power love note}

Later in the day we will go outside and plant them together.

 How do you plan to celebrate Earth Day?

You Lift Me UP

We all love receiving special notes of appreciation!!

This is a quick and easy dinner activity idea to make the whole family feel appreciated.  

At everyone's plate I put a can of 7-Up with a simple label taped around it that said, "You Lift Me UP!"

Click here to print your own labels

{labels fit easily around 12 oz. soda cans} 

Then I personalized each label by writing something that I liked about each person and I tied a balloon to the top of each can.  The balloons added a fun, colorful twist to our dinner drink!  

During dinner we talked about something or someone who had lifted us up during the week.  This was very insightful and inspiring to hear all of the positive events that happened in the lives of my family.  Also, my children really enjoyed the simple note that I wrote about each of them.  It was simple and unique way to express my love for them.

*If you want, a fun family activity would be to watch the Disney Pixar movie UP after dinner!

*Another fun variation would be to leave a can of 7-Up in each family member's room as a thoughtful surprise when they came home from school or work - a welcome treat after a long day!