Repost: Mom Heart Shirt

Reposting this shirt from a couple years ago with an updated picture with #3 in the shirt too!

Today I'll share one of my favorite crafts from the past. The 'Mom' shirt I made for my oldest is perfect for my little Valentine. 

I'm sorry I don't have a tutorial for it, but basically I just cut out the felt and hand stitched it on. You can print out the shapes off from Microsoft Word and cut them out to use as a pattern on the felt. Then just sew in layers; the heart first, the banner, and then the letters.

 It's so cute to see pictures of them at the same age side by side.

             

Soapbox Saturday–Holidays Gone Overboard?

So it’s been a while, but I read a post this week that I felt would resonate with many of you.

Kristen from Rage Against the Minivan wrote how in recent years, every minor holiday from St.Patrick’s day to Pi day have become major holidays that her children expected to celebrate and celebrate in some elaborate way.

She also talks about how there is a new holiday almost every month at school and the kids are expected to make, buy, or bring something to class. Who has time for that? Pi Day, Johnny Appleseed Day, 100 days of school, Dr. Suess’ birthday, and the list goes on…But it’s not as a simple as a card for Valentine’s day anymore. Now parents send full goodie bags of treats, making it a second Halloween.

Source: Rage Against the Minivan

Luckily, I don’t have school age children yet so I haven’t directly had to deal with it, but I have seen in this Pinterest age how the ‘bar’ has been raised and like Kristen mentions, St. Patrick’s Day is no longer a day to simply wear green. Now kids expect to find gold coins, chocolate, and some kind of leprechaun prank. I agree with Kristen in that expectations have gotten out of control. I don’t mind if parent’s choose to go all out at home and in their own traditions, but it seems like school and Pinterest are setting up other parents to look like slackers.  I definitely think there is room for fun traditions, but I do agree that society has made kids come to expect Easter as a second Christmas and other holidays to be similarly celebrated.

For my family, we keep things simple. For St.Patrick’s day I pinned a shamrock on the boys shirts and Curt requested corned beef and cabbage. Other than that, the day went by unnoticed (honestly because I have no idea what the holiday is about – lol).

So basically, I don’t mind if you enjoy going all out at home. I just think it’s sad that sometimes the true meaning of the holiday is overshadowed by elves, candy, and presents. I hope that my kids will appreciate the traditions we establish and not come to expect presents every month. I think it can be fun to celebrate these smaller holidays with family time. No need for spending gobs of money on decorations and presents. 

What do you think? Do you have school age kids and find this to be true? Are you exhausted from the never ending parties and celebrations or do you enjoy going all out?

Soapbox Saturday - Valentine's Day

Well, Happy Belated Valentine's Day! I sure do love my readers!

So this week I mostly just wanted to see what your opinion is on Valentine's Day...

Me, I'm not against it, but I'm not completely swept up in the hype either.

I like the concept, a day to express your love for those special people in your life, but at the same time, why can't everyday be a day to show love.

You know, like around Christmas how everyone goes the extra mile be kind and serve other people. Why can't that 'spirit' last all year round?

That's how I feel about Valentine's Day. I think everyday should be an opportunity to do small acts to show our family, kids, and friends how we appreciate them.

I also don't like how stereotyped Valentine's Day has become. I don't like that women just expect to be pampered and showered with gifts. For me, the small things mean the most. My husband brought me a  chocolate shake from In-N-Out after working a 12 hour day.

I also read a statistic that 18 Billion is spent for Valentine's Day. I mean, REALLY? When so many are struggling to find employment and make ends meet and people are plunging themselves into debt to spend! There are sooo many other ways to show your love for someone.

So my question to you is what did you do? And how do you feel about Valentine's Day?

Valentine's Day Necklace

In case you missed it, I guest posted on Blissful and Domestic! Here is the cute Valentine's necklace I shared...enjoy!!

To tell the truth I’m not much for Valentine’s Day. For one, my birthday is a little before Valentine’s Day and without fail I always get something pink or with hearts. I’m not a pink kinda girl. haha.

So anyway, I don’t normally decorate or do anything special for the day. But I was in the mood to make something so I decided to make a necklace. Kinda like the Mother’s Day necklace I made last year.

All you need is wire and a couple beads (and wire cutters)

I cut off a little bit of wire and formed it into a heart.

I took another length of wire and wrapped it in and out and around the heart form and included the beads.

I finished it off with a loop and a chain.

I also tried another method of just wrapping the wire in a heart shape without weaving in and out. Then like the bird’s nest I wrapped it around a couple times.

Either way it makes an easy and cute accessory for your hot date night or a great gift for someone you love! Have a great Valentine's Day!

Come follow along!

Guest Blogging on Blissful and Domestic

Today you can find me posting on Blissful and Domestic. I'll be sharing a post on how to make this cute Valentine's wreath.

 

Come on over and check out Danielle's site! She has great recipes, tutorials, and really cute homeschooling activity ideas!

Craft From the Past: Mom Heart Shirt

I'm working on some things on my to do list, but none are quite done yet. We recently moved our littlest cub to his room (he was in a bassinet in our closet). Now with that room freed up in our closet I'm rearranging things and sending a bunch to charity. 

Today I'll share one of my favorite crafts from the past. The 'Mom' shirt I made for my oldest is perfect for my little Valentine. 

I'm sorry I don't have a tutorial for it, but basically I just cut out the felt and hand stitched it on. You can print out the shapes off from Microsoft Word and cut them out to use as a pattern on the felt. Then just sew in layers; the heart first, the banner, and then the letters.

I've put this shirt on each of my kids. It's so cute to see pictures of them at the same age side by side.

                   

 #2 - #3 - #1

Heart Frame

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

I put together a little craft. I didn't get to do everything I wanted as this has been a particularly stressful week (completely unrelated to V-day). I started with a dollar store frame, white paint, and these red and white glass hearts. I don't know where they came from, my husband has given these to me. Shortly after we started dating I began to find them in my coat pocket, my purse, in my car, etc.They've been his special little way to show his love.

I simply glued them to the frame, after painting it white, and put a picture of my husband and I in it. I've been looking for a way to use these hearts and I really like how it turned out.

I heart Mom shirt

I don't know about you guys, but sometimes I feel like I need a vacation to recover from my vacations. : ) Anyway, between laundry, teething, and making arrangements for our ward craft activity I have not had the time to get my own project done. So I'm pulling a project from the archives of my family blog to share.

This project was pretty simple, just some felt sewed on a t-shirt. I saw the ideas in two different Etsy shops. This one and this one. They were just soooo cute I had to make one myself. 

It was basically just cutting out the felt and hand stitching it on.

I sure think it turned out cute!