Quick & Easy Halloween Decor

Annnnddd we're back. You guys, I've been so busy launching Fresh Bib, I've totally neglected my first baby and her followers. I'm so sorry. So how have things been in blog world? Anything earth shattering that I need to know about? I trust you'll tell me if so.

So what have I been up to lately, besides working my tail off for Fresh BiB? Well, decorating the house for Fall/Halloween for one. I wasn't going to do a thing, but then my boys begged with little puppy dog eyes and I couldn't resist. Oddly, I have lost most of our halloween decor so I was forced to create a few new things. Inspired by where else but Pinterest? I created a few new banners that took me less than 30 minutes for both! I had some stiff felt in black and sticky back felt in white left over from some other craft projects; both were perfect for what I wanted to create.

A Beautiful Mess created this fun "Boo" banner a while back; I've always loved it and thought I'd finally try making my own...

Y'all, it was so easy. I simply cut the banner out of the sheet of stiff felt and punched holes in the corners for my yarn. Then I traced the word "BOO" onto the sticky back white felt, cut it out, peeled off the backing and stuck my letters onto the banner. Done!  How easy is that? The pumpkin and black cat cutouts above are actually old Halloween cards that my aunt sent my boys two years ago. Old cards are such a simple way to decorate. I perched these atop vintage spools, but they also look great framed.

Since our fireplace is in the boys' playroom, I wanted their decor to be playful, not scary! I'm not big on the scary side of Halloween. Plus, my boys have been having nightmares lately and are sleeping with their bedside lights on. This pacman garland from Minieco was perfect for them! Using my stiff felt, I traced circles (using chalk so that it would show up) and ghosts. After cutting out the triangle for pacman's mouth, I added googly eyes with my hot glue gun to the ghosts. The finishing touch...hot glueing my pieces to a string of bakers twine that I had on hand, followed by hanging above the fireplace, adorned with candles, owl, pipecleaner pumpkins and egg crate spiders. Done.

So easy right? Tell me, do you do the scary decor thing for Halloween? It's good to be back. I've missed y'all! xo

4th of July Inspiration

If you're anything like me, you've put off planning any 4th of July activities and now you're scrambling to put something together last minute. Fear not. There are millions of clever folks out there that have gone before us, creating the perfect crafts and food fare for tomorrow's celebration. And to them I say, thank you and God bless you! And thank you Pinterest for being a one stop idea place for all procrastinators. ha ha ha.

In my pretend world I'm having a family gathering at the beautiful table above with a bounty of fruit cobblers, pies and Blue Bell ice cream. The littles are running around in handmade patriotic tees with bubble wands and crafted faux fireworks and sparklers. And the adults are drinking delicious blueberry jam and gin cocktails while playing corn hole. Then reality sets in and I'm brought back to real like where my husband is still out of town, my kids are currently bickering and tonight we are braving the crowds of my sister's town square in hopes of having some "small town" fun.

If you're up for any last minute prep, here are some fun ideas... I happen to love the paper cups below that could easily be painted by littles in different designs so that everyone knows who's cup is who's.

 1 | 2 | 3

1 | 2 | 3

As dreary as today seems, I know tomorrow is a new day. A day to be grateful for all the men and women that have gone before me and those that still fight today for our freedom. It is a beautiful thing this freedom that we often take for granted. It changes everything and I am so grateful to live in America. What are your plans for the fourth? xo

lovely table setting above via 79 Ideas

Father's Day - A Giveaway

Giveaways aren't something I usually do, but Father's Day is coming up and I figure some of my sweet readers might be too busy wranglin' kiddos, now that school is out, to shop for that perfect gift. No need to worry. I've got ya covered. Think foot coverage - think socks. Fun, well made, conversation starting socks. My talented husband (and world's #1 Dad) has been working with the insanely hilarious guys over at Foot Cardigan. Recently, the hubs and I teamed up to show their subscribers the many ways their socks could be worn. 

Necktie. Mittens. Beer koozies. Yes, the socks are that cool and we are giving 6 lucky followers a chance to win 2 pair each! I know - awesomesauce!

Here are the RULES for our Father's Day Sock Giveaway:

1 - check out Foot Cardigan's site (subscribe if you like - wink wink)

2 - Tell me how you'd wear Foot Cardigan socks in the comment section below.

3 - Be sure to follow me on Instagram and BLAMO! You're entered to win.

Just three simple steps. Pretty easy for a sock-tastic Father's Day gift.

All the socks that are to be given away were used in the shoot only - none have actually been worn. That would be gross. Special shout out to our guys at Foot Cardigan for donating the socks. You guys are the bestest. Giveaway will be closed June 5th. Winners will be announced June 6th so that we can get addresses and socks shipped/delivered before Father's Day on June 15th.

Good luck! xo

Last Minute DIY Mother's Day Gifts

Last Minute...that's how I roll. If you're anything like me, you need a quick and simple gift that you can give to all the amazing moms in your life. Here are links to a few of my faves.

1. Printable "Mom" crown. Who doesn't look for a reason to wear a crown? Mother's Day is perfect.
2. "Mom You Rock" painted rock, in a box. Yes, please. How adorable is this?
3. Fingerprint Pendant. With a little polymer clay and a thumb, or two, this would be a great gift. I'm thinking keychain with both boys' fingerprints (making a heart) for my Mom.
4. Paper flower in a box. Come on! I die. This one is perfect for every toddler out there. Listen up husbands! (Feel free to share this with your husbands since I am quite sure none of them read blogs.)

Happy soon to be Mother's Day to all you Mommies out there. It's the hardest job in the world with the greatest return (most days). ha ha ha. Love you all to the moon and back. xo

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

I wish my table top looked like this right now.

Happy Earth Day

In the beginning... God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1. I try my best to honor this amazing planet by recycling, limiting water and energy consumption where possible, picking up random trash every single time I see it (seriously? why can't people pick up after themselves? geeze.) and teaching my children to do the same. I know it's not nearly enough. It saddens me how we rape and pillage the land we have been asked to steward and protect. Today I hope to learn one new way that I can be a better steward of our home, Earth.

What will you do? How will you celebrate this day? Will you share it with your children in hopes of teaching future generations about this awesome responsibility? Here's a link to some fun crafts you can do with your littles today while you teach them about Earth Day. xo

all images from the late great fox in the pine

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Easter Jars

From salsa jars to Easter jars, I had no idea this project would be so easy... I know, you've seen it a million times on Pinterest, Martha Stewart and everything in between, but man is this project easy and cute. All you need is some empty jars, a few plastic animals from the dollar store and spray paint. Oh, and the ever faithful hot glue gun. How could I forget that?

Simply wash out your jars (remove any labels), hot glue the animals onto your lids and spray paint. I chose 2 sheep and a donkey for Easter...  in honor of The Good Shepherd.

You could fill these jars with anything! My little jars will be in lieu of baskets this year, hence the candy. For the bunny on my bigger jar, I took some left over balsa wood pieces and made a bunny. Once I hot-glued the ears, I wrapped it in yarn. I think it would also be fun to paint it white and turn it into Miffy. (Maybe I'll make that tomorrow, making the ears stand a bit more upright.)

Y'all this project was so fun and easy. I did it in less than an hour - drying time and all.  And when my boys saw them they went nuts! Even the hubs commented. Whoa! That is serious stuff right there and all of it cost me less than $2.00, candy excluded. Hoppy Easter. xo

Easter Hoppenings

When it comes to Easter, I am so behind the 8 ball this year. I have exactly ZERO decorations up. We are preparing for this glorious holiday at church and my bible study, but I want to prepare our hearts through crafting and talking about the reason we celebrate Easter with the boys.  I hope to do a little of that this weekend.

I'm not quite sure how Easter became a holiday of bunnies and chicks when it's really all about the cross and it's saving grace. However, I'll use any cutesy craft, baby bunny and sweet treat necessary to find fun ways to talk with my boys about the new life we have because of Easter and how sweet that gift truly is and always will be.

bunny ears via the house that lars built

 egg hunt signs from world market

bunny basket via mer mag

miffy bunny diy via everything emily | basket in a jar via target

I love so many of these ideas. We'll be doing the basket in a jar for sure and a few washi tape eggs as well. As much as I love finding clever new ways to share truth with my boys, nothing beats a good old fashioned bible and resurrection eggs. How do you share the real meaning of Easter with your littles? 

Hoppy Easter Crafting Weekend - xo

beautiful colorful eggs via handmade charlotte

Heartfelt Valentine's Cards

Do you ever start crafting and then just never finish? You end up packing the day's work away and then forget all about it? That's me. Often. More often than I'd like actually. So it's pretty great when I stumble upon an old project at just the right time... enter felt hearts. Last year I had some scrap felt lying around and while I was sick with the flu I started cutting out triangles and hearts in an attempt to feel human again. It didn't work, but it sure made for a great Valentine project a year later. 

I recently purchased some cute scrapbook paper for the upcoming holidays and birthday cards, etc. It has some lovely reds and pinks that were dying to be made into Valentine cards. I took my felt hearts, cut up some of the paper and began sewing.

You guys, this is so easy and the punny sayings are pretty limitless too. Here are a few that I've come up with so far, in case you decide to make some of these as well.

"Wishing you a heartfelt Happy Valentine's Day."

"My heart felts for you."

"Have a warm and fuzzy Valentine's Day."

"You make me feel all warm and fuzzy!"

"You make my heart felt."

"Somefuzzy loves you!"

I'm sure you guys have some puns too. Care to share? Come on... whatcha got? Valentine's Day is officially one week away! xo

Valentine Cupcakes

I have a few friends, who shall rename nameless for their own protection, that don't like... icing! What? Tragedy right? I mean, I could eat a whole tub of the stuff. So in my best efforts to overlook this huge flaw in their characters, I made them some special cupcakes a few day back. Since it was so close to Valentine's, they got pink with hearts. (They happen to love strawberry cake so that worked out nicely for me.)

Instead of icing, ugh - I can barely even type that, they got powdered sugar and red fruit strip hearts...

It was so easy. A little sticky, but easy. I simply cut the fruit strips with my kitchen scissors and let my littles eat the scraps. (Waste not, want not. Right?)

After sprinkling the powdered sugar on half of the cupcakes, I took the hearts off a few and left powdered sugar heart stamps. Easy peasy and so yummy. In case you are wondering... yes, I brought my own tub of icing for the sane folks who love sugar as much as me. wink. wink.

Side note - I know I have been MIA for a bit and some of you have been kind enough to ask if all is well. It is. Thank you so much for your concern. This social media bit is eating my brain for lunch and I've been trying to process it all. More on that later. I've still got a lot to sort through. Many thanks and deep gratitude for those of you that are still hanging around my very tiny portion of the blogosphere.

Happy Thursday Homies. Love is in the air. xo

New Year's Eve Party Style

1 | 2 | 3

How will you ring in the New Year? Bold touches of gold? Understated gold? Or with a touch of Gatsby glamour? (I've got a mad crush on that little gold leaf semi-crown.)

For me, there must be touches of bling somewhere. Even if I'm running after littles with champagne glass in hand. Bring on the bounce house and glow sticks baby! We're gonna bounce like it's 1999. xo

Around the House: Christmas Past

Looking back through old Christmas decor photos like the one above, I've realized two things:

1. Decor is kind of like school photos. You think everything looks great until you look back several years later.
2. I am insanely grateful for Pinterest and all the creative bloggers out there. Big shout outs to all the people that have kept me inspired throughout the years. Y'all are wicked talented. And you're WAY too numerous to list.

Here's a look at my Christmas decor over the past 5 years...

Tinsel tree - don't get me wrong, I love the tree mucho; it's the poor placement and bad photography that gets me. Yikes. I guess decor isn't the only thing that's gotten better with time.

Green Tree - a look at the old house with my beloved tree stump idea from Something's Hiding in Here on the left and the new house last year on the right. New and Improved.

Table Top - last year's blowout birthday celebration for my big 40. That tabletop is still a fave. It was perfect in every way - from the decor to the company.

And for all you DIYers - here's an old pipe cleaner goodie...

Wow, that was kind of like looking through my old High School yearbook. I little bit painful and a whole lot of fun. Have you ever looked back at old Christmas photos? What made you gasp and then die laughing - hair? sweaters? gifts? old boyfriend? xo

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: The Hurry

Chances are 50% or more of your friends have already put up their Christmas tree. Radio stations are already playing non-stop Christmas music. Retail stores have been stocked with Christmas decor since before Halloween. And people everywhere are already worried about what gift to give that special someone and everyone else on their list. But guess what? Thanksgiving hasn't even taken it's first breath. Why do we do that? Why must we rush everything in our lives in hopes of getting to "the good stuff"?

As kids we think, "I can't wait until I'm double digits." Then it's, "I can't wait to be a teenager." Followed by, "I can't wait until I get my driver's license." And on and on it goes. Sadly, even as we grow older and hopefully more wise, the hurry train doesn't slow down one bit. In our old(er) age, we know life moves quickly and yet, when we are faced with something new or difficult like college or sleepless nights or other life changing hardships, we are wishing them away.

Our society is one of mass hurry. We can't even wait in line for 5 minutes without getting frustrated. It's gotten so bad that we don't even have the time to swipe our credit cards. We just want to tap a screen and go. What in the world? Where are we all going that we need to get there so quickly? When did we lose the beauty of the here and now? Life is a gift. It's not in the next moment... it's in the now. Even if the "now" is painful. There's beauty there.

In fact, last time I checked, there wasn't so much that was painful about Thanksgiving. It's a day we spend with family and friends (maybe that's the hard part - but we are called to love one another as Christ loved us), we eat a fine feast that has been lovingly prepared (many are not so blessed and their plate is empty), we watch football, play cards, go see movies, take naps. And, we take one day out of the year to contemplate what we are thankful for. I don't know, maybe we're just all doing it wrong and that's why everyone is so eager to skip over Thanksgiving. But I, for one, would like to slow down and give thanks for my many blessings that I have been given. Today, yesterday, last year and all of my tomorrows.

I understand that Christmas is a time of joy. There is an anticipation and an excitement surrounding the holiday that produces a certain feeling that no other holiday can duplicate. We are celebrating the birth of our Savior after all. And yet, it is because of this great holiday, this magnificent birthday, that I want to take just one day to pause and give thanks alongside family and friends. I don't want to sacrifice the beautiful holiday of Thanksgiving to race to the next thing. I want to enjoy and savor every blessing that God has given me.

Today I am choosing to slow down. To not hurry on to the next moment. The next life-stage. The next big event. I want to live now. I want to imbibe every single day with all of it's difficulties, joys, hardships and laughter. I don't know what tomorrow is going to bring. But when I'm present in the here and now, if I really look deep, I can see the beauty. It's there. It's always there. xo

>>breathtaking images via garden and gun

Beautiful Nails... In Minutes.

As the holidays quickly approach - hello Thursday! - and we rush about to get things cooked, cleaned and make ourselves presentable, the nails usually get the shaft. Well, they do for this Momma. Who has time to wait for polish to dry? Ain't nobody got time for that... I honestly think that's what keeps me from painting them most of the time - well, that and the chipping from loads of dish washing and laundry. But lately I've been so compelled to add a little color to my tips, especially after seeing these inspiring images over at A Cup of Jo...

oxblood red... i die.

How can you not paint your nails after seeing these inspiring images? Stunning right? I set out to find some polish that fit my personal criteria - inexpensive, good color and dries fast. The trifecta. Y'all, I found it. For just two bucks a bottle, NYC (New York Color) delivers. Big time.

My favorite colors for Fall and Winter are Manhattan (oxblood red - above) and Sidewalkers (grey). Park Ave is pretty amazing too. And they dry in quite literally a New York minute. I can paint my nails, type a quick email and before you know it, I'm back to saving the world one banged-up knee or challenging math problem at a time. [Mommy Problems]

Do you paint your nails? If so, what's your go to color? xo

Countdown of Thanks

As of today, Thanksgiving is just one week away. Woohoo! I'm starting a "thankful" countdown to kick off my favorite holiday on Instagram. Want to join me? Play along with hashtag "thankful7".

Today I am thankful for LOVE. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. <1 13:7="" corinthians=""> Isn't love dreamy? xo

Thanksgiving Tables

Food. Family. Friends. Thankful Hearts. It's my favorite holiday. Oddly, I never do table decor for Thanksgiving. But that's only because my sister hosts it every year. At first I was a little bitter, because afterall, it is my favorite holiday. But I have come to love this tradition - my sweet sister packs her home with every single friend, neighbor and coworker that is without family. Everyone brings a dish, or in her friend Jodi's case - 7+ homemade pies, and we dine. We spend the entire day together laughing and telling silly stories. The kids do Christmas crafts and wish lists from all the black friday ads my sister has collected. Oh, and we also give my sister and her pie-loving friend Jodi a very hard time for their die-hard tradition of a 4:00 am Black Friday shopping spree complete with mani-pedis in the afternoon.

This year, when I saw the above Shanna Murray plate at West Elm (no longer available sadly), I couldn't help but day dream a little about what my place settings would look like if I were to host this grand meal.  And wouldn't you know it, I got stuck at placemats. With all the amazing choices, how can you not get stuck?

It all starts here - the brown kraft paper (found at your local Dollar Tree) with simple pen and ink:

Then I found these amazing gold dotted placemats at Paper Source:

Then I thought, what if you just bought sheets of wrapping paper and cut them in half? That's when the world of opportunity opened wide:

Or go for a bit more color and a splash of whimsy:

Add to those paper placemats a Thanksgiving Stamp and some lines for thankful lists and it's a win!

Someone please tell me I'm not the only one that daydreams of this stuff. Please? It's just over a week away; are you ready? xo