Mother's Day Printable

Here's a sweet little print you can give to the amazing mothers in your life.

{PRINT IT HERE}

 

SMART   

LOVING  

STRONG  

CHOSEN   

SELFLESS

TRUE        

 

My mom is all of those things.

I love you, Mom!

 

Happy Sunday: Armies of Heaven

Today I'm reminding myself of truth;

not just for me,

but for the people I love most.

{Print it here}

 

Happy Sunday, sweeties.

It's Great to be Eight!

"It's Great to be Eight" is a baptism preview for children turning 8

in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

 

This passport-themed night will make it all the more memorable!

 

While listening to a talk about the importance passports when traveling, the Primary president in our ward (church group) came up with this idea to have a passport-themed night for the children turning 8 years old.

 

Since I am the Sunday school teacher for that age group, I was happy to help put it together.
I started by scouring Pinterest for ideas (check out my board here).
I also took a picture of each student to put on their "passport".

{This adorable darling's mom works with I Heart Naptime and
gave me permission to use the items I created for her daughter.}

I found a passport graphic online (no source) and just tweaked it for our purposes.

{Print blank ones here}

We had them printed double-sided at a UPS store.

I made these postcard invitations and had 4x6's printed at WalMart.com's one-hour photo.

You'll find a blank PDF version HERE that you can use to put your own info on the lines.
The fonts I used are Academy Engraved and Meddon. The font for the giant number 8 is called Cast Iron.

We used old-world décor: trunks, maps, globes, pillars, etc. to decorate the room.

I basically packed up my house and brought it to church!

We set up a table outside the main room for the programs and personalized passports.

I made 5 banners with my Silhouette Cameo.
Since a silhouette will cut any font, I use wingding fonts to create banners.
The "WELCOME" banner is made from KG A Little Swag font with Cast Iron letters.
I backed them with some world map paper I found at my local JoAnn store.

 The other banners are made with the KG Flavor And Frames Four font's lower case "e" since it's represented by a pennant. I put 2 pennants per 12x12 page, one pointing up and one pointing down.
I taped jute to the back to string them up.

We covered the chalkboards with navy material to hide the stuff behind it without taking it down.

I taped together the small side triangles that were left to make pennants for the banners to decorate the tables we used for refreshments.

I made a cupcake topper to match the postcard and program.

{Print a sheet of 2-inch cupcake toppers here.}

To bring the passport theme into play, we set up a small "Customs" table
where the children could get their passports stamped.

My bestie, Brit (also in the Primary presidency) has TONS of stamps from Close to My Heart.
We went through them and chose stamps that we thought represented the topic of the 5 speakers for the evening. After each speaker finished their talk, the children lined up at the stamp station for Brit to stamp their passport.

It was so fun to watch the children's faces as they learned
and then earned each stamp in their passport.

I hope this helps make your event
GREAT!

Valentine's ABC Printable

Here's a quick little printable to add a little love where it's needed.

{PRINT IT HERE}

 

Happy Valentine's Day, sweeties!

HAPPY SUNDAY: One Question

My family recently watched The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies.

Not typically my first choice for a movie but in a house full of boys,

I'm learning to make the best of it when I'm out-numbered. =)

 

And I'm glad I did.

 

At one point in the movie, when things are dismal and the heroes feel despair,

their friend, Gandalf, gives them courage and hope with these words:

Print it here.

 

It made me stop and think.

What was he truly saying to them in their time of need?

What did they need to think and feel to change the outcome?

 

Will I be a creature of habit or a creator of change?

 

No matter how dark the night, no matter how hard the battle, no matter how long the road

you choose how you'll deal with it, how it will affect you, what it will teach you.

 

Happy Sunday, sweeties!

Christmas Tradition: Light Display Photo Scavenger Hunt

It's that time of year again: the tradition-rich holidays!

One of our absolute favorites is A Christmas Light Scavenger Hunt.

PRINT IT HERE!

 

Grab your cameras or cell phones, invite a couple other families, print out a list for each car, split up into separate neighborhoods, set a timer for 30 minutes and GO!

 

Find as many items on the list as you can, take a picture of each one and meet back up with the other families/teams to compare your findings and enjoy some creamy cocoa and pumpkin cookies.

 

This is a game our entire family enjoys! I love seeing what the other "teams" find.

There are always "The Perfect Picture" ones:

 

And then there are these:

 That's Rudolph. I promise!
This is what happens when your overly-competitive husband won't slow down for you to take pictures. =)

Find more holiday fun at Whisicle's Countdown to Christmas! You can also follow along on Intagram, Twitter or Facebook and join in with the hashtag #Countdown2Xmas

What's YOUR favorite holiday tradition?

Roadtrip Game Printable

My boys and I are heading out on a little road trip tomorrow.

They're great travelers and love to keep busy playing games.

My oldest son's favorite game it to spot license plates from other states.

I whipped up a couple of sheets they can use to track the ones they've seen.

 

I did a full color version that they can simply check-off:

{PRINT COLOR VERSION HERE}

 

And a black & white version that they can color-in themselves:

{PRINT B&W VERSION HERE}

 

Hope you enjoy! =)

"A Mustache Bash" Themed Baby Shower

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for . . .

 { okay, maybe it's just me! =) }

THE BABY SHOWER POST!

These fabulous ladies: Melissa, Amy, and Shenna helped put this together.

 

My bestie Britany, who blogs at 32 Turns, is having a baby in a couple weeks.

 Isn't she abso-freaking-lutely radiant?!

 

Since she's having a boy, we threw her A Mustache Bash.

See our collection of inspirational pics on our Pinterest Board.

 We put some sandwich boards out front to welcome the guests.

I tried to make them awesomely chalkboardy but it actually rained here in the Valley of the Sun and kind of messed them up. Typical, right?

 

We decorated with pom-poms, paper fans (tutorial here), and bowtie garlands.

(Amy, you're famous!)

  

 We found a backdrop picture on Pinterest  from Hostess with the Mostess and ran with it!

I covered cardboard with newspaper (nice & cheap!), Amy and Melissa attached the fans and prints I made.

 

Amy had our sweet friend Pica make an AMAZING cake.

Check her out at Picaflor Cakes. She's awesome!

Melissa did the edible centerpieces with Shenna's Candied Popcorn.

I whipped up my favorite Pasta Salad, with a bowtie twist.

 

We also dressed up the water bottles by removing their labels and replacing them with

some suh-WEET mustache duct tape that I found at Wal-Mart.

We finished them off by adding a "Wet Your Whiskers" label.

{{PRINT WATER BOTTLE LABELS HERE}}

 

We originally planned to have it outside but, due to the unseasonal weather,

we had to cram it all indoors.

 

It was a bit tricky with crazy-high ceilings but it turned out just right,

including some Hanging Orbs (tutorial here).

 

We added a few tables on the patio but the guests there were blown right back inside!

Before we sent our guests off with a Popcorn Ball favor,

we had some fun with photo props that Shenna made using her Silhouette.

 It was so much to watch everyone playing!

 It turned out great and I think everyone had fun!

 Good Luck, Brit!
Can't wait to meet your Little Man.
Love you, girl. =)

Gilbert, AZ Temple Printable

My husband (aka: The Stud) is taking me to one of my favorite places tonight: the temple.
I love the peace I feel there.
{Learn more about LDS temples here.}

The newest temple here in Arizona is located in Gilbert.
It's absolutely beautiful!

My sweet friend, Bethany, snapped some close-up photos of different areas/items there to help me create this print for our Young Women:

 

{Print it here; not watermarked.}

Each letter of the word "temple" is a photo of part of the temple itself or a piece of it's tranquil surroundings.
I'm so happy with the way it turned out.
Please, feel free to print and share it.
 

Why do you love to see the temple?

Popcorn Ball Favor Recipe & Printable

Since we did Candied Popcorn for Britany's baby shower,

we kept it going for guests as they left with these thank you gifts:

Decadent Popcorn Balls to go! 

Photo Credit: Adventures of a Phat Southern Cook

 

I got the recipe from MarthaStewart.com a while ago but it isn't here anymore.

So, this is how I do it:

{Print it here.}

 

I dropped them in a cellophane bag, tied each one with baker's twine, and attached a tag.

 

We put them in a big basket at the door for people to grab on their way out.

 

  

  The tag says,

"And though you Must Dash (mustache),

we're glad you came and hope

you had a ball. Thank you!"

 

I did 2: one with the words "must dash" and one without.

{Print a sheet of tags here}

We couldn't decide which tag to use so I printed up equal amounts of both and we used them all.

 Party on, sweeties!