This year, Mother’s day really caught me off guard! Maybe because its  so close to my birthday. I mean, I’ve had a birthday my whole life, I just started celebrating Mother’s day four years ago!

(this  is the same excuse my husband has tried to use=)

Anyway, this year I wasn’t able to pull off the elaborate photo gift I wanted to make. Instead, I made simple cards on card stock and the kids spent an afternoon painting them.

They had a great time and I loved the results!

Each card was unique and beautiful…

This ombre one  was my favorite…

They look so pretty, you forget that toddlers created them!

I had the idea to make a simple card  for the kids to paint,  then came across this free download. I ended up creating  my own, so I could personalize the inside.

But, since I was inspired by this project I  wanted to  give credit where credit is due.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Also, Chandra from MoMoMod asked me a bunch of tough questions related to motherhood,  you can read my responses here. 

Materials

Clear Adhesive Paper

Full Sheet Sticker paper 

Labels ( front/back and top )

Clean (sanitized)  Frappacino bottle

Candy (small round candy works best, trust me!)

Print + Cut the front and back labels on clear adhesive paper as well as the logo for the bottle top on sticker paper, then fill your bottle with candy and give it to a deserving mommy in your life!

Like most projects I feature, these bottles can be as complicated or simple as you want. Perhaps you want to print all your labels on sticker paper and do without the clear sheet. Or, maybe you want to print on regular paper and run it though your sticker maker– you decide.  In fact, I had the lovely people at Office Max print my labels , so I didn’t have to purchase two packs of paper.

Conditions of use: the PDFs in this post (and across my site) are free for personal use only– which is the professional way of saying ” you can use this for youself or as a gift, but please don’t use my ideas and hardwork to make money.”  Also, please don’t link directly to the downloads, but rather the original post.

And lastly thanks for taking time to read this not so fun stuff!

The “Mommacino: coffee drink” comes  in a variety of flavors…

And it sweetly reminds mom that she’s a creamy blend of love and patience…

The nutritional facts encourage her to get her daily value of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance as based on Galatians 5:22-23

And the bottle contains: “Sweet treats, to be enjoyed on the not so sweet days mothers sometimes experience. For maximum results combine with prayer, scripture reading, and godly fellowship”

Empty Starbucks Frappacino bottles, candy, and labels make the perfect inspirational Mother’s Day gift

So, chug a Frappacino (save the bottle) and meet me back here for the free download tomorrow!

Meek confession: I’m ashamed to say my grandmother and I consumed all the coffee needed to complete this project. And I still have a boat load of empty bottles! I even used these bottles as ‘milk bottles’ for the Valentine’s day and Easter Purposeful Playdates. I recently stopped drinking coffee because of the unwanted side affects but I miss it. 

How ’bout you, are you a coffee kind of girl?

I think I may give tea a try.  

UPDATE: Check out the instructions and free downloads here

Gift synergy: when two or more people join together to produce a gift for a mutually-loved one, which could not be produced or obtained independently.

At my high school, it was normal to buy a card for your friend’s birthday and shamelessly walk around school having others sign and put money inside it. It wasn’t the most creative gift, but we realized if we pooled together, we could give more than we could on our own.

 I thought of that recently as I have put my ole’ begging gathering skills to use for my friend Ginger’s birthday. Much like my friend Darnetta’s birthday and my husband’s birthday, it all started with an email … a simple email about how special the birthday girl was and an idea for a group gift. Because Ginger is special to her friends from high school, college and church, they all pitched in to make this a birthday to be remembered.

It’s amazing how the idea grew and transformed as individuals added input and resources.   The amount of participation far exceed (as it usually does) my expectation, thanks to the generosity of everyone involved. A little gift synergy allowed us to pool together our resources to create a gift that expressed love far beyond the ability of one individual.

Here’s the big package all wrapped up…

The first gift she received was this little paper camera. The camera was designed by  Girlie Pains and we constructed the camera and added a  little list inside. It’s a kind of like the Big Ole Kiss list I made for my husband. (I guess pulling long lists from inside of small gifts is one of my favorite things!)

Anyway, the list from the camera acted as a “gift log” explaining why we picked each item we placed inside the package.

Each gift was numbered, so she knew what order to open the gifts.

We were able to get her a bunch of stuff that was just her style and related to her different interests. We got her washi tape, a Michael’s giftcard, a camera strap cover, a Smash scrapbook, some hair pretties, a handbag holder, a gift certificate for a Photoshop class, a Jototes camera bag and a birthday banner!

But of course the banner wasn’t just a banner — it included a picture of everyone involved (with the same backdrop) holding a word. The banner read: We Are So Glad You Were Born!

Because we really are!

Today is my 30th birthday!

And I didn’t plan a party.

Actually, I didn’t plan much of anything — which is totally new for me.  All I had to do was show up …

 at the airport!

 My husband is sending me  and two of my friends to New York  for a few days!

That’s right, I’m frolicking around the Big Apple getting in touch with my former adventurous and stylish (but still modest) self. For three days I am Tiffany, not the mama or wife , just Tiffany — the birthday girl.

I’m using the next few days to get reacquainted with me, the 30-year-old woman God had in mind when He planned me out before the foundation of the world — not the 20-something who erroneously used stay-at-home motherhood as an excuse to tuck her health, physical appearance and personal interests away in her diaper bag until the kids went off to college.

I will share the details when I return … mainly because I don’t know the details yet. I just know I will be eating food I didn’t cook,  sleeping in a bed I won’t have to make and making a crafty mess I won’t have to clean!

Oh, and while they were planning my birthday getaway I was planning a little something for my really creative friend Ginger* who turned 30 just a few days before me. I can’t wait to show you all the details later this week!

*One day she will have a site showcasing all her creative endevours and I will insert the link here. Until then, you’ll just have to believe me!

Rarely does a day pass without a little voice asking “Mommy, I draw?”

While I’m checking items off my list at the grocery store, “Mommy, I draw?”

Taking notes at church “Mommy, I draw?!”

Cooking dinner “Mommy, I cook?”

“Not right now sweetie”

“Oh, mommy I draw?”

My daughter, Chloe,  uses the term “draw” very loosely. What she really means is “can I create something?” Her favorite mediums right now include pencils, markers, crayons, paint, sidewalk chalk, glue, tissue paper and really anything else she finds.

In our attempt to foster her creativity and keep our furniture from becoming her canvas, we bought her a couple of artsy books and supplies for her birthday. I knew I wanted to get her a creative birthday gift, so imagine my excitement a couple of months ago when I was introduced to the new book “Crafty Chloe” by Kelly DiPucchio and illustrated by Heather Ross! There is even a Crafty Chloe website.

The book has great illustrations and encourages creativity and confidence. It’s geared towards older girls, but she’ll understand it more one day.  We also bought “Artsy Babies Wear Paint,” Clementine Art Natural Paints, a smock, and paint brushes.   In keeping with the crafty nature of her gift rather than a gift bag or wrapping paper I personalized an empty paint can to hold her supplies.

She LOVED IT and immediately said, “open, open, Mommy I paint?”

My Crafty Chloe is definitely a girl after my own heart!

I often remind myself on this journey called motherhood, “the days are long, but the years are short.”

Recently,  this motto has really hit home. In one short day we will be celebrating my daughter’s second birthday. I can’t believe its been two years since the Sunday morning I woke up praying/ complaining to God: “I am so tired and so big– I really don’t want to go to church another Sunday pregnant” — and as I got into a more comfortable position to pray, my water broke!

Chloe was born 9 hours later in a tub of water (I’ll spare you the details, for now).

Anyway, last year– just four days before Chloe’s first birthday–God blessed us with our first house. So, I did what any normal mother would do…I threw her a party. A small party (in number) a large party (in labor)– but a party nonetheless. I was inspired by what we had on hand: cardboard boxes.

 A couple friends pitched in crafting an adorable cardboard “shopping cart” and baking a chocolate smash cake. Check out a few pictures below.

And in case you’re wondering this year we are not having a party. But we will have lots of (crafty) fun. I just finished putting her gift together and will share details soon!

My son has been requesting “cheese sandwiches” everyday for lunch for as long as I can remember. Personally, eating the same thing everyday would drive me crazy. Cooking the same thing everyday can be a bit boring for me also. I like variety.

So, imagine how excited I was when he veered slightly from the norm and requested a “train cheese sandwich.” Hey, not a problem. Two slices of bread, 1 slice of cheese, and a little imagination resulted in the best cheese sandwich that you ever did see. It was so realistic that the other trains were a little concerned.

No worries  Thomas, Percy, and Hiro- this train won’t be around long!

Do you eat the same thing every day? Not me, but if I had to I’d probably pick spaghetti. 

Hi there, I’ve been so busy crafting, planning, homemaking, and clowning around that I haven’t found the time to blog about it! Hopefully, things will be somewhat normal soon and I can get back to sharing,

but hey life happens, right?

This past weekend I helped a friend with a circus themed birthday party. I created a simple backdrop, and bought some props for a photo booth and acted as the unofficial photographer.

Check out a few of the pictures below.

Thank you for all your comments, pins, and Facebook shout outs about the Easter Purposeful Playdate. I really appreciate it! And as promised,  I will share a few downloads and tutorials in case you choose to host your own playdate.

You can find the invitation download here. Print on card stock, cut, and write in your information. You can also use a small hole puncher to punch out the date and time. The hip hip hooray photo prop is also available for download here. More downloads and tutorials to come!