Shauna: The Garden Apron

 

 

I love all the post from my sisters! They are such wonderful mothers.  I've been so blessed to have not only a wonderful mother, but a loving mother-in-law.  Both of these woman have been such a blessing to me as a young mother, and incredible grandmothers to our boys.  I could not ask for better examples of faith, strength, patience, kindness and love.  I love these woman so much!! It just happens that both of these woman like gardening, so I decided to make them garden aprons, and this is how I did it.

The Garden Apron Tutorial...

Katrina: A Fun Mother's Day

When I think about Mother's Day, I think about how grateful I am to be a mother.  I think about how grateful I am for my mother and all she has and still does for me.  I think about how grateful I am for my mother-in-law and the wonderful job she did raising her wonderful son (my husband).  I think about my grandmothers and the good lessons they have taught me and the great job they did raising my dad and mom.  I think about the mothers I know that have lost a child or suffered other hardships with their children.  I think about the women I know that long to be a mother, and have not yet had the opportunity.

I think about my brother, on a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in Brazil, who will get to call home on this special day called Mother's Day.  I think about the many memories I have of celebrating Mother's Day for my Mom growing up.  I think about the past few years where I have gotten to celebrate being a mother, and feeling appreciated (not that I don't feel appreciated other days :).

So, to keep my status as the least creative poster/contributor to this blog, I don't actually have a craft to show you, but I came up with an idea, that I would love to do on Mother's Day that I think would be fun for my children as well.  This isn't necessarily an original idea, but I've never done it on Mother's Day before so that makes it original, right?  I don't know. :)  I also happen to be one of those people who think and think and stress and think about what to give as a gift, and I love surprises.  So I am not posting what I am giving my mother for Mother's Day because I want it to be a surprise.  Or I can't decide what to give her :)

 So, here's my amazing idea.  This year, I know what my present is going to be.  And I was thinking, well, if I can't be surprised by my gift, maybe I can be surprised as to where my gift is!  So, drum roll... let's do a scavenger hunt (aka treasure hunt)!  This is perfect for my family because it would create a fun memory on Mother's Day, and everybody would have fun.  Either the kids could help Dad make the clues and hide the present, or Dad could just do it all and then Mom and the kids have to search for the treasure!

You could do an all out amazing, long treasure hunt, or keep it really simple.  We did one here and it was a very simple one, indoors, because of rain.  But feel free to go outside if weather permits!

Here's what I did:

If you haven't figured out already, my crafting supplies are very limited at this point.  So all you need is 2 pieces of paper, scissors, markers or colored pencils or other drawing tool you want, and a treat/treasure/mother's day present.

Fold the papers so that each piece has four sections, or however many you want.  Then cut on the fold lines.

 Draw amazing sketches of where you will be hiding the clues like this one below.  Hide the clues that will eventually lead to the treasure!  If your kids can read, then you can use words instead if you want.

Give the kids the first clue and let them study it and figure it out!

They will be very excited when the figure out what the clue is!  Sometimes it will take a while if your sketches are as amazing as mine.

When they get to the treasure, they will be so excited!  They will want to eat their treat instead of their lunch!

If you try this activity on Mother's day, you won't be disappointed!  HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all you mothers out there!

Katrina

Sara Jane: Mother's Day

Mother’s Day....

My mother with B.

Since I became a mother a little over 4 years ago, this holiday has become the most meaningful holiday to me.  It’s not for the reason you may think – that I became a mother- but rather because now I understand my own mother so much more.  I understand her frustrations, I understand her worries, and I understand the love that she has for each of her own children.  My mother raised 7 children and yes, SHE raised us.  I have a loving father who was and is very involved in my life but it was my mother who waited up at night until I came home.  It was my mother who would go on long walks with me and we would talk and talk and talk about life.  It is my mother who still lends her shoulder for me to cry on probably way too often.  I will never be able to pay her back for the sacrifices she has made in her life to be MY mother. 

This  year for Mother’s Day, I decided to involve the kiddos in MY mother’s gift.  My mother LOVES flowers.  Every time I go to her house (which is a good 3 or 4 times a week), she will have new flowers sitting on her front steps just waiting to be planted.  My parents have a lovely flower garden in the backyard (as well as flowers in the front) where they spend many hours.  So, for my mother’s gift, we decided to make hanging flower baskets that she can enjoy all spring/summer.

What you will need:

                Potting Soil                                    A variety of flowers                            Basket

How to put it together:

I love gardening, but I didn't inherit my parent's green thumb.  However, hanging flower baskets are SO simple and the end product is very charming.  After picking up the potting soil and flowers from our local nursery (if you live in the Linden, UT area, check out my aunt and uncle's nursery...The Linden Nursery...it's pretty cool), I put a little bit of soil in the bottom of the basket and then just started arranging the flowers.  I  put the taller flower in the middle and surrounded it with smaller flowers.  When all the flowers were in place, I filled in the holes with more potting soil.  It's that easy.  I tried to pick flowers that hadn't fully bloomed yet since Mother's Day isn't for another week and a half.  I think they turned out quite pretty.  What do you think???

If you are in need of a dessert this Mother's Day, try baking a Lemon Meringue Pie.  I baked one for the first time the other night and it was absolutely heaven.  There is the perfect amount of lemon in the curd and the meringue is soooooo light and fluffy.  My kids just wanted to eat that.

In need of a good recipe?  Try this one from my absolute favorite (and most used) cookbook from the  Grand Central Bakery.  This fabulous bakery here in the Northwest (Portland and Seattle).  A few years back, my brother-in-law gave me their cookbook in hopes I would make him their yummy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.  Well, let's just say that that cookie recipe is the ONLY one I use now and we have them at least once a week.  The cookbook would be well worth your time and money if you are in need of a fabulous new book.

Happy Mother's Day!

Sara Jane

Allison: Family Memory Game

Hello, and Happy May Day!  Where did the week go?  It has been so fun reading my sisters' posts!  Aren't they creative?!

Mother's Day has always had significant meaning to me.  We have an amazing mother, who would do ANYTHING for her children.  She has been a great example to me of sacrifice and unconditional love.  

Mother's Day of 2010 was the best of my life.  We were expecting our first child and the day took on new meaning as I anticipated the changes that would happen within the following months and years.  My little "I" has become my life.  I love her with all that I am.  I love spending my days with her and can't wait to give her a little sister in August.  Being a mother is the hardest, most rewarding thing I've ever done.

Okay... back to mi madre.  My mom only loves being one thing as much as she loves being a mother and that's being a grandmother.  So for this Mother's Day, I decided to try an idea I saw once on Pinterest.  My gift to my mother is a Family Memory Game (to play with her grandchildren) featuring pictures of her children and grandchildren.  I took the basic idea, and made up the details as I went.  Here's what I used:

*Costco's photo department sells 4 wallet-size photos for $.39/ sheet.  I plan on making multiple sets, so this worked out great for me.

*I found this fun Fiskars punch at Joann's Fabric for $7.00 (after the 40% off coupon, of course).  I wanted rounded edges on my photos, and this little tool got the job done.  It even switches to a larger rounded punch which I used for the paper behind the photo.

*I wanted colored card stock behind the photo, so I used this mat stack from Joann's.  I've used it before, but had no idea that it came in an adhesive version too.  WHAT!?  How did I not know this!  I hate gluing (remember... I'm a lazy crafter), so this took out a big step in the process.

*I then picked out some cute scrapbook paper (a different style/pattern for each set, so they wouldn't get confused) to use for the backing.

*My Fiskars paper cutter is one of my best friends.  I use it ALL the time.  This made cutting down the backing paper much easier.  I made mine about 3 1/2 inches squared.

*Double-sided tape was my secret weapon during this project.  Since I planned on laminating each card, I didn't worry too much about only using tape.  I taped the picture to the colored paper, then removed the back of the colored paper and stuck it to the blank side of the scrapbook paper.  Done!

There are so many possibilities with this project!  I love having the freedom to adapt projects to the supplies I already have and to my level of laziness.  I hope my mother enjoys this game!  I also hope my sisters aren't surprised if a set ends up under their Christmas trees in a few months.  ;)


Finally, what's the point of having your own blog if you can't show off your latest projects?  This last week has been a mad dash to finish a crib bumper that I committed to make for a friend, who's welcoming her second child in a few weeks.  Her baby shower was Saturday, so I finally stopped procrastinating and finished it for her as a gift.  She had picked out the fabric, and had turned the project over to me.  It was my first bumper (with no pattern), so it was quite the learning experience.  At the last minute, I decided to make her a small wall quilt with the leftover fabric.  By last minute, I mean the afternoon before the baby shower.  Here's what I made:

Didn't they turn out cute?  I kind of love the simplicity of the quilt.  My friend was very surprised, and the rush and late night before was all worth it.

I hope every woman out there is spoiled rotten on her special day.  Happy Mother's Day, ladies!!

Allison

Lisa: Magnetic Recipe Board for Mother's Day

Well done on last week's posts, my dear sisters!  I love everything!  We are having Shauna's Blackened Chicken Salad with Sara's Tomatillo Salsa on Tuesday, we'll be making Allison's Pinatas on Friday and when did you say your baby's due, Katrina?!  Maybe I'll start giving out something besides my wonky crocheted blankets!  That is, if your baby doesn't mind two quilts that look awfully similar!

Now onto a new week.  This week we've decided to dedicate our posts to all things Mom in preparation for Mother's Day!  I once heard that there is no one on the earth who has your best interests at heart more than your mom!  Isn't it the truth!  Mom is always the one I want to call to celebrate my victories and to cry to about my defeats.  She's always ready to make time for me, give advice and to sometimes just listen!  I sure do love my mom!  One of the things my mom and I have in common is a love for a good recipe!  She and I love to read cookbooks and find the most tasty recipes around.  So for Mother's Day this year, I am making her a magnetic recipe holder!    

This craft is super easy to make. The hardest part was choosing the paper! The ingredients for this treat are:

Mod Podge, sponge brush, two pieces of scrapbook paper (if you'd like to do a layered look like the one above) and a very ugly metal sign that was on sale!

Trace the sign's shape onto the back of both papers.  Cut them out .  Then take the paper that will be the top layer and trim the sides to give you the spacing on the edge that you'd like.

Next, paint the Mod Podge directly onto the metal sign, making sure to get all the way to the edges and having enough so that the paper will stick but not so much that there are bubbles under the paper.

Smooth the paper onto the metal making sure not to leave the room to help your children with the computer otherwise you might develop a very large bubble that you can't correct and that makes you have to pull off the paper and start all over.  With green paper. 

Once the paper is smoothed out, put a layer of Mod Podge on top, even if you are only using one piece of paper.  Watch for bubbles!

 

Center the final paper to give you the edge you'd like.  Smooth the paper on and try to press away the bubbles.

Paint on the Mod Podge one last time.  Again, look for bubbles and wrinkles.  And remember that getting a very smooth surface when using Mod Podge isn't always possible.  In my project, I did have a small-ish bubble in the middle that I just couldn't get out.  But once the Mod Podge dried, the bubble was almost unnoticeable! 

And lastly, the finishing touches.  They are very easy.  I took some vinyl letter stickers from Hobby Lobby and spelled out "Recipes" on the base layer paper. I glued that onto a magnet in case my mom would rather use the board for pictures or memos instead of recipes!  The frame holder is also from Hobby Lobby and I am using just plain black magnets (not pictured) to go along with the board.  Easy.

Here is another menu board that I made for myself a little while ago.  I don't know if I really like "The Menu" title at the top anymore but it does the job!!

Good luck, Sisters!!  Can't wait to see what you have planned!  Love you guys!

Lisa