Caution: Air Heads Valentine Printable

A little over a week ago, I attended a fantastic conference: Alt SLC. I'm still decompressing from it. I received tons of amazing information, tips and inspiration while I was there. I met a ton of incredibly talented people as well. Now I have a whole lot on my to do list in regards to this blog.

As I was feeling a little overwhelmed, suddenly crafty inspiration struck. One of the awesome sponsors for Alt, Air Heads Candy, is holding a valentine crafting contest. When I first heard about the contest, I had nothing, so I just put it aside. Then on a whim, I decided to look it up again and discovered that none of the current entries contained puns.

Now, I'm of the opinion that a valentine just isn't a valentine if it doesn't contain a pun. So, I submit for your viewing enjoyment, my entry for the AirHeads Craft Your Valentine Contest. (My mother is a master of puns, so I hope my wording will make her proud.)

Isn't it amazing!? If you want to print your own, you can! (It's free after all.) Go to the following link:

Air Head Valentine PDF 

Once it has been approved, you can also vote for my valentine. I'd love it if you did. Go to the contest page on Facebook and click on "view entries." Look for my caution sign entry and cast your vote. I'd really appreciate it. You can even vote once every day! Hooray!

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

Father's Day 5 Minute Craft

We just finished celebrating Father's Day in our home.  It was a nice day.  We got to spend time with my Dad, D's Dad and D's Grandfather. 
To celebrate the dad in this house, the kids helped me put together a little gift.

I had some scrap booking paper on hand, so I traced the kids' hands on some scrap paper and used that as a pattern for cutting out their prints in color.  Then I photoshopped a message and printed it out on some patterned paper.  After I glued on the hands, I slapped the entire thing in a frame and whallah!
If you are interested in the template for the message, here it is:

Best Dad Template for 8.5X10 Print

I got the inspiration for this project from this awesome blog: Roots & Wings Co.

You'll notice, that she did her lovely piece on a painted canvas with the hands actually going down, which may or may not add a little extra cuteness to the phrase, "hands down." Also note that their dad is apparently, "the World's Best" That's a pretty lofty claim. Sorry, D, I couldn't quite go there. heh.
This version seemed a little more, what's the word...work. I'm too lazy for canvases and paint. Especially if the project calls for a canvas and paint on the evening prior to Father's Day and the stores are already closed. I do wish I had placed the hands pointing down though, I totally missed that element.  I didn't even notice until D was unwrapping it.  He claims that it doesn't make a difference. I'll take his word for it.

I hope you all had a fantastic time celebrating the dads in your life.

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

Great Toddler Gift Combo

Looking for a great toddler gift idea? 

Kid O Cutting Fruit

Orange Pear Apple Bear by Emily Gravett

Either the toy or the book on its own is a good gift, but together they would be awesome.  This dynamic duo is capable of teaching color recognition, grammar, fractions and how to hold a knife (an essential skill for ages 1-4. heh.). My little ones have enjoyed both.

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

Clay Gift Tags

I've decided that this year will be dubbed: "The Year of Gifts" I'm not very good at remembering birthdays, but this year I have vowed to not only remember the birthdays of my friends and family, but also to work on buying truly thoughtful gifts that they will hopefully enjoy.
Because a gift isn't truly finished until it is wrapped in a pretty package, I decided to try my hand at some clay gift tags. This project has already made the rounds about the "blogosphere", but it's still a fun project; one I had a lot of fun doing. I found this tutorial and had it marked for more than a year before I decided I had to try it.
I didn't need to purchase many materials. I bought two colors of clay, some gold acrylic paint, and some small cookie cutters. I did decide to order a metal stamping kit (the one recommended in the tutorial) so I could stamp the small letters. Now that I have it, I'm thinking of trying my had at some metal working in the future.
Besides those materials, I found some popsicle sticks, a toothpick and a small plastic rolling pin from my son's play dough set.
Here are the results. I think they turned out cute and I can't wait to give them away on gifts. I'll be giving out a few today.


Happy Valentines Day!