Each year, our neighborhood hosts an Easter Egg Hunt for all of the kids. Since it is the day before Easter, our Easter baskets are already filled with the Easter goodies so our kids need something else to put the eggs they find in. This year, as I was planning my Easter crafts, I decided to find something that they could use later on instead of a random bag or Easter specific item.
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St Patrick’s Day Crafts – Yarn Wreath
We don’t do a whole lot of St Patrick’s Day crafts in our house. We aren’t Irish or anything so I typically add a few touches of green around the house and then get started on the Easter decor. I try to always change the wreath on the door though and, like last year, I made a new wreath for the holiday.
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Love Wins
This week is all about quick and easy Valentine’s projects. That’s what happens when you birthday falls the week before Valentine’s Day and you decide to take the entire week off…you cram almost all of the Valentine’s Day stuff into one week. Last year, I said I was going to get them all done and posted before my week off. You see how that went! 😉
Anyhoo…do you read Momastery? If not, you should…like right now. Click over there and start reading. You can come back here when you’re done…I’ll wait.
Ok, welcome back. Did you notice anything over there? How about an awesome saying: “Love Wins”? I love it…don’t you?
When I was trying to decide what to put on my little display plate for Valentine’s Day, that phrase immediately popped into my head. In fact, I love it so much that I might find a different color plate so I can keep it out all year round. For now, let’s stick to the Valentine’s Day one though…
Now, as promised, this is super fast and simple to make.
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{Guest Post} Lucky Mugs from Lemon Tree Dwelling
Hi there! Isn’t this birthday extravaganza awesome? I hope you have enjoyed all the awesome posts so far this week!
Today, Cathy from Lemon Tree Dwelling is here to share a great idea for St. Patrick’s Day! Enjoy!
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Hi! My name is Cathy and I am so excited to be guest posting for Shannah today at Just Us Four! With the Superbowl behind us, and Valentine’s Day just around the corner, I thought maybe we could get a head start on some St. Patrick’s Day gifts. These are easy & inexpensive, and they make the perfect personalized gift from you or your kiddos to someone you love!
Lucky mugs. Actually, I tend to think that all mugs are lucky. I can recall numerous times in my life when the ONLY thing that got me out of bed was the promise of a strong cup of coffee (or three!!) Like every time I’ve had a newborn…or anytime I’ve had a kid who was up sick in the middle of the night…or how about the year we moved into a fixer-upper when I was 7 months pregnant…..!? Yep, at times like these, a warm mug in my hands makes me feel like the luckiest girl in the world.
See, I think luck is about so much more than winning the lottery or making it big. I think luck is about all the small things that get us out of bed in the morning! Like our family, our friends, our work, our hobbies, our passions…. and, in a very literal sense (mine pull me out of bed every single morning), our kids! Which is why I love the idea of theseLucky Mugs with fingerprint shamrocks – the perfect daily reminder of just how lucky we really are (an especially helpful reminder when you have just been woken up 5 times in one night…!)
Here’s what you will need:
- white mug (I found mine at Goodwill)
- flexible alphabet stencils
- small paintbrush
- bakeable glass paint (dishwasher safe)
Directions:
1. Wash & dry mug, then wipe area to be painted with alcohol. Let dry completely.
2. Use fingerprints to make shamrock (I made 3 leaves – one for each of my kids) and use a paintbrush to make a stem.
3. Let shamrock dry completely.
4. Using stencils and a small paintbrush, paint “lucky” or any word of your choice, one letter at a time. It works well to tape the edges of the stencil onto the mug to hold it in place.
5. Let paint dry completely between letters.
6. Once all the paint has been applied and dried, use a toothpick to scrape away any imperfections.
7. Follow baking directions on paint bottle.
As you can see, my mug is still far from perfect. There is too much paint here, not enough paint there….. But I actually kind of like it that way. It’s kind of like life – imperfect, but lucky nonetheless 🙂
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Thanks so much Cathy! Be sure to go visit Lemon Tree Dwelling to see the other amazing stuff Cathy has to share!
{Guest Post} Valentine’s Day Pancakes from Ang at Juggling Act Mama
Welcome to the birthday extravaganza!
Each year, I like to take my birthday week off to relax and enjoy some down time. In place of reading stuff from me each day, I feature a bunch of awesome bloggers and their projects/recipes!
Today, opening up our week of awesomeness, is Ang from Juggling Act Mama! She is sharing some delicious looking pancakes that are perfect for the upcoming holiday!
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Hi, I’m Ang (as in, short for Angela). I’m a mother, wife, daughter, sister, auntie, and friend, attempting to do it all – because, well, I want to (and I’m a bit of a nut!). I’m also a writer, crafter, scrapbooker, amateur photographer and Pinterest addict. Long before Pinterest, I developed addictions to books, snapping memories of my kids, and chocolate desserts… or chocolate anything…or…ok, just sweets in general – don’t judge me! I love being creative.
I’m married to my best friend and high school love (we’ve been together for more than half my life now, and married for 8 years). He’s a very supportive albeit, handsome dorky guy – (though I can’t complain since I have live-in tech support!) He can also make me crazy, and I’m not talking about the good crazy: I’m a multi-tasker that swears by lists; he’s a realist that detests them.
We have two beautiful children – ok, I’m biased, but who isn’t when it comes to their kids, right? Our sweet, silly, smart son, Ethan, is four, and our darling, dimpled, diva daughter Olivia (Livi) is one.
I am the proud owner of an Etsy shop called AngelFlowers, where I sell some of my handmade hair accessories. Oh, and I also work full time at an awesome start-up, as an office manager, (this company has the potential to rock peoples worlds, in ways no one has imagined before). So maybe I have my hands a little full… but don’t we all?I’m excited to be here to share with you a special way to say I love you to everyone in your family this Valentine’s Day with a ‘heart-felt’ pancake breakfast. (So corny, but I couldn’t help myself!) These pink and white pancakes are so easy to make, so here’s how to do it.
Start with your favorite pancake mix. I love these Fluffy Pancakes, which are light and delicious, and perfect for cutting shapes out of them.
Simply mix up your batter, then divide it into two bowls. In one bowl, add red food coloring to get the color pink or red you want.
Next, fry your pancakes just as you normally would, taking care to make an equal number of regular and colored pancakes.
Carefully cut the heart-shapes out of the pancakes using a cookie cutter. Next, remove the heart cut outs and put the white one into the colored pancake, and the colored one into the white pancake.For an extra special treat, sprinkle in some mini chocolate chips, fresh raspberries, or serve these with a quick Strawberry Sauce.
These pancakes are sure to put a smile on your valentine’s face!
I hope you’ll come visit me for more creative recipes and fun activities to celebrate Valentine’s Day.
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Thanks so much for sharing this great idea Ang!
Be sure to go visit Ang over on her blog, Juggling Act Mama!
Happy New Year!
Ribbons and Flowers
I didn’t do much Valentine’s Day decorating this year. I had the XOXO ceramic and the sparkly heart that took up residence in our mirror but that was the bulk of it. As I looked at all the fabulous projects linked up at the Valentine’s Day linky (open until tomorrow by the way!), I decided that I at least needed to put a wreath on the door.
So, I grabbed a wreath form and some ribbon.
I wrapped the ribbon around the wreath and then hot glued some flowers I had picked up from the Dollar store around it.