Inspirational Graduation Gifts

Since last August I have been the Young Women's President for my ward.  For those not of the LDS Faith, I lead the teenage girls 12-18 in my ward.  I strive to bring them closer to Christ through weekly activities, temple trips, Sunday Lessons and friendship.  So this year for graduation gifts I decided to go a little more personal.  

Earlier in the year I asked our girls to share a quote or thought. We had them write them down and we shared them with a less active girl in our ward. I remembered a few of the inspirational quotes and turned them into necklaces. With the help from Charming Sarabella's Etsy shop.

Dinosaur Quiet Time Playmat

Yesterday I posted my Lil' Traveler Race Track.  Today is the Lil' Traveler Dinosaur Play mat.  I found this post with Serving Pink Lemonade.  I love the little mat she made for traveling on the airplane or car and wanted to make one for my little guy.  I just never got around to it until I had my Race Car Mat idea.  Both of these mats are the perfect size for carrying around. Not Bulky and will keep your lil' guy occupied. Here is how I did it.  

Quiet Time Play Mat Tutorial

For the Vinyl version I used the layout from Serving Pink Lemonade but used iron on transfer vinyl from Expressions Vinyl. I just picked a few colors and went for it. (Note: When buying vinyl make sure you have a piece long enough to work.) I love this method.  I just cut everything out one night while watching my favorite show and the next morning I put it together. For the back ground I use 2 fabrics. One for the sky and one for the ground using equal parts.  Just sew them together and Iron.  Then finish the instructions in the play mat tutorial.

Vinyl Version

For the felt version I followed the same method except I really like having my felt sewn on.  So I sewed mine into place instead of ironing

Felt Version

Fold them up and you are ready to go!

Linking up! {Here}

Lil' Traveler Race Track Quiet Toy

A few months ago my in laws came into town. They brought each of my kids these little mini race cars.  Each of them pulled back a went for a short drive. They all loved them.  This gave me an idea.  Why not make a small race track to drive them on. So I started coming up with ideas on how to make it and voile here it is.  There is two way to do it.  Purchase the vinyl race track or cut one from felt and sew it onto your mat.  Here is what I did. The cars were purchased at a local place.  But you can purchase micro cars at Target and Toys R Us us as well. 

{Keychain of Friendship} Gift ideas

Have you seen these adorable personalized DIY key chains??  I know they have been all over the blog world.  I just love them.  I thought I I would share mine and add a fun printable.  A great girlfriend gift with a little thought.  I truly love and cherish each one of my friends and want them to know it.  With out them my life would be so different.   Each one of them brings a smile to my face.  Here is a little something for them.

Dollar Dice Games

So for those of you who don't know, I am a Prepper.  I love everything emergency preparedness.  As a member of the LDS church I have been taught to save for a rainy day, build my food storage and have a 72 hour kit.  I love learning about preparedness. I am kind of nerdy that way.  So this year I thought it would be fun to have a gift that can serve a few purposes.  Super inexpensive (Under $5), fun for all ages, easy to store and I can use it in my emergency kit.. 

I love dice games. They are quick and easy and take up no space. And there are son many to choose from.  I decided to pick 5 games I thought my kids would like.  Printed them and glued them to card stock. I personally had them laminated. They just look prettier.  Especially if you are putting them in a 72 hour kit. 

Next I made a cute simple drawstring bag the size of my cards. (Or you can just use a Ziploc bag)

Add some dollar store dice.  They usually come in a 10 pack.  Be sure to check all your dice that they have all the same numbers on them.  I have had a set with no 6 and 2 ones on the same dice. I guess that's why they were at the dollar store. 

If you want you could also add a small note book and pencil if you want for scoring.  

Here are the games I chose for my family.  you can click on the link and print them off your self.  

Dice Games 1

Dice Games 2

I tried to keep them pretty simple so most my kids could play too. 

I added a notepad and pencil to keep track of score.  I also added a dry erase marker for the extra games I added below. 

For one of my games I used this cute gingerbread from Kinzie Kreations. This one either requires you to laminate and have a dry erase or crayon or have a notebook to draw they gingerbread.

And I printed this one from Fabulous finds.  The dice game Ten Thousand. She has it all ready to print. 

If you would like more dice games to add to your fun try this website they have loads of dice games 

A to Z Dice Games

If you are using them in a 72 hour kit, place your notebook in a ziploc bag to keep it away from moisture. Make a drawstring bag for all your stuff and you are ready to go.  

My kids are super excited to play these games.  I hope yours will too.  Do you have any fun deice games your kids love?  I would love to hear from you.  I would love to add a few to our game bag.

8 Maids of Milking

Thanks Holly and Nat for inviting me! I love this song!  I think this is one of the first songs I fell in love with as a kid at Christmas time. This was a bit of a challenge but here is what I came up with.

I thought it would be fun to have a quick and easy to go treat for Santa.  You know to go with his milk!

Here is what I did!!

Supplies:

Pringles can

card stock: Red & White
Gold and white glitter

Cookies or Cookie dough

Jug of Milk

Cover your Pringles can in red paper and tape or glue ends.

 I printed mine off on my printer.  After cutting your buckle and mustache, turn over to the white side of the paper, put a small amount of modge podge on both of them and sprinkle they with glitter.   Let it dry.

When dry use glue dots or glue to secure your belt, buckle and Mustache into place.

Add your tag and your all done!

Add a jug of milk and some cookies and you are ready to go. Santa will a have a little snack on the go!!

Want to make it a neighbor gift???  Instead of cookies, fill the the container with cookie dough and print off the poem.

To see the other 12 Days in the series click on the links below!

Corn warming bags

So what do you think of corn week??? There are so many things to do with corn.  Here is one more.

To continue with corn week we will be making Corn warming bags.  These area just like the Rice bags you can warm up and use. The great thing about using corn is that it retains the heat longer.  About twice as long as rice.
Here is what you need:
1. 2 different fabrics.  I used fleece and corduroy.  Two identical pieces.
2. Corn.  I used Field Corn.  They use it for animal feed, to track dear and to feed squirrels. I purchased mine a a grain mill.  They sold all kinds of grains including field corn.

1. Start with 2 types of cloth.  I used corduroy and fleece.  You can cut them 12x12 or 7x14. depending on the size you want. Place pieces right sides together.

2. Stitch around 3 1/2 sides. Leaving a hole open for add corn.

3. Turn right sides out. Press if you can.  Top stitch around 3 sides, still leaving the opening open.

At this point I also like to stitch a center row from the bottom to 3 inches from the top. This will help keep the corn balanced. I do this on my 12x12.

4. Fill your bag with corn about half way maybe a little more. If you would like to add a few drops of essential oils to your corn.

Stitch you bag closed  with the top stitch across the top.  Complete your bag by stitching your center line all the way to the top.

All finished.  Before you give these as gifts run them through the microwave a few times.  Sometimes corn has moisture in it.  Microwaving a few times gets rid of the moisture. Microwave for 3-4 minutes.

I love using these little bags.  They are great for warming your beds or for a sick tummy.  My kids love to warm them up after sledding or building a Snowman.

Just add a cute tag and your are ready to go.