Look 'WHOO'S' Helping Out, Summer Chore Chart Printable!

I love summer time!

I am so excited to have all of my kids back home for the summer, now to keep them busy!  I love charts, I am a big nerd I know.  But my kids really like them as well, it keeps my three kids ages 3-7 motivated!

Last year, I made THIS chart, and while I liked how it was very visual, I did not like the maintenance it took every day to take the pictures up and down! This year I knew I wanted something a bit simpler.

I made these cute Owl themed printable charts that are simple, and only need to be changed once a week.  You can download a blank version for absolutely free HERE!

Item's Needed

Printable Chore Chart, you can download  blank ones for free HERE.

Laminating Pouches

Vis a Vis WET ERASE makers  I recommend wet erase because the dry erase smudge to easily!

I printed out my Chore Charts at Walmart, they are 8x10 size, put them in self laminating pouches, and put them on the fridge, and you are done!

I customized mine so that the daily chores are permanent, and I have left spots open for weekly chores, such as kitchen chores, and a bigger chore.  As my kids complete the job, they fill in the star with the wet erase marker.  They get most their chores done by 10 in the morning!  My oldest daughter is so cute, she knows she is going to have to do some chores like clear the table more than once a day, so she will fill in part of the star for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!

As far as rewards go, my kids are pretty happy filling in the stars.  However, I do try to do something fun in the afternoon each day with them.  Something like going to the park, blowing bubbles, drawing a picture, making a treat, going to the library, etc.  In order to do the activity, they have to have their jobs done, but really I haven't need to use that... yet!  If you have older kids you could consider giving them a nickel or dime for each star that was filled in at the end of the week, or something like that!

If you would like me to personalize a chore chart with your child's name and daily chores, email me.  I would be happy to personalize up to 4 kids charts for $5. (ladybirdln10(at)gmail.com)

I like to LINK to these great parties!

Teacher Appreciation Door Ideas, 2012 edition!

At my children's elementary school, the PTA has a tradition of decorating the Teachers and staff doors during Teacher Appreciation week. It is my favorite project to help with.  This year I decorated the librarians door... I think I may have been a librarian in a former life because I love libraries, and I think librarians are pretty awesome as well!

You can listen to some of library inspiration as you read this post, let me be honest, I laughed so hard the first time I saw this, it kills me... A Book Cart Drill Team, now that is pretty awesome. I have always wondered what librarians do in there spare time!

Here is the door I did, I wish I went with the bigger die cut lettering the school had, it looks a little plain, but it gets the point across, right?  The kids clearly did not get it, my cute cousin kept saying, is it supposed to be funny!  I told her she needed to be born in the 80's to fully appreciate it!

Here is the close up of the book! I took first lines from some famous book, and found a fun quote from Mark Twain!  Do you know which books these quotes are from? This book by the way is HUGE, it is a pretty big door!

Each year I am blown away by the creativity, here are some of the other awesome doors parent volunteers decorated!

This is the door of the Principle, she has to be pretty flexible to keep up with these kids!

And this door is for our ever ready secretary! Dash is very fitting!

I think this door is so creative and a great spin off of Mrs. Finlinson's name!

You know if it mentions peanut butter I am in, this is so fun!  The glasses are great, just like the ones Mr. Syme wears!

Again Peanut Butter, Reese's Pieces, so much fun! 

I think every sunshine needs a sweet smiley face, I love the little details!

This one is funny on so many levels, we love our Janitors!

 This one is so creative and fun, I love the sunflower seeds glued to the flowers, so dimensional!

I think a good teacher is a treasure as well!

This was the kids favorite, I think the clouds and candy are pretty fun too!

I like to LINK UP to these great parties!

Homemade Napsack!

So what was supposed to be a Christmas project, turned into a birthday project for my daughter (tell me I am not the only with projects like this!).  I made  a homemade nap sack for my daughters birthday! It turned out pretty cute, it has ties on the side instead of a zipper, and is lined with minky!
Here is a close up view., It was a fairly simple layer quilt.

 I used a pattern from one of my favorite pattern cupcakes, Katie Cupcake!  If you our not familiar with Katie Cupcake go check her out, not only does she have great patterns, she is a GREAT person.  

My daughter loves it, quiet time could not be happier!

I like to LINK to these great PARTIES!

Recipe for a Fantastic Birthday!

Is it May already?  I have been super busy (like everyone else I am sure) but I thought I would share one of my latest adventures.  It was my hubby's and daughter's birthday!  My hubby was in love with his purple ballerina cake, OK, OK, he was a good sport, and went with my now three-year-old daughter's idea!

Let me be honest, sometimes I feel guilty when I look at Pinterest and other blogs when they have the most DARLING parties with corresponding napkins, treat bags, cake, food, I really enjoy looking at them.

It makes me a little overwhelmed though... I have gone all out on birthdays before, and I can honestly say it was more stressful than fun for me.  So here is MY recipe for an awesome birthday party!

(My daughter is not a bit excited about her birthday)
BALLOONS +

(Aren't those ruffles beautiful? My friend Jenifer (aka Cake Goddess) made this cake! I made the ballerina tutu topper, this tutorial from Composing Halleluja's helped me out a ton.)

Cake +

( I wish you could all here my hubby's infectious laugh:)

Presents +

( I wish you could all here my hubby's infectious laugh:)

Family +

 

=Fantistic Birthday!

SO if your daughter say wants a pretty purple ballerina cake with crazy animal plates and napkins, roll with it!  It does not need to be fancy and complicated to be fun!

What are your 'secrets' for a successful birthday?


I like to LINK to these great PARTIES!

If I had a Million Dollars... A teacher Appreciation idea!

No one deserves a million dollars more than our teachers.  Unfortunately I do not have a million dollars, but I did ask my daughters kindergarten class what they would buy their teacher if they had a million dollars to buy her a gift.

I took these answers and made them into a book for her.   

 

The book started out by saying, If we had a million dollars we would know just what to do, we would buy a special present to show how much we appreciate you.  On the next page it started out, If I had a million dollars I would buy you ... And then the proceeding pages were the students and their answers.

I took a picture of each of the students, and recorded their answers (So cute).   I also had them write their name on a lined piece of paper, I scanned their name in, and put it into the book as well.  I don't think their is anything sweeter then little kid handwriting.

 

The answers were priceless everything from a red ball to a new bike!  

With Kindergarteners it would not matter if you asked them if they had a million dollars or just five dollars their answers would be the same!

Mrs. Kellet absolutely loved it, the book brought tears to her eyes. You would not need to make a fancy digital scrapbook, you could easily make this a paper book, with the students hand drawn pictures of what they would buy.

 I used Heritage Makers to make this book.  I love Heritage Makers, I have been using them for years.

Here is a little FYI, in case your interested in Heritage Makers, please note, I am not a Heritage Makers Consultant, nor did I in any way got paid for my opinion.  The pro's are, they have literally thousands of digital scrapbook collections, they give you a blank canvas, and let you use whatever you would like, if you are a premier member.  Their quality is paramount, I have at least five books of my own at home, and cherish each one.  The program is Internet based, so all of your books are saved securely online.  This is really nice because it does not take room up on your computer.  The overwhelming con is the price.  I feel they are of superior quality to other brands, but you pay for it.  I feel like it is a fair price, but I would not qualify it as a great deal... So there you have it!

I like to LINK to these parties.

Easy Cake Transfers

CAKE TRANSFER

I am definitely not a cake decorator.  But I do not like to pay a huge amount of money for a yucky grocery store cake, so I usually attempt to make my kids birthday cakes.  I was a little stumped this year, when my four year old wanted a Lightening McQueen cake for his birthday.... for the second year in a row!  My friend, Jenifer, who is an INCREDIBLE cake decorator taught me this fun little trick on how to make frosting transfers for your cake.  And the best part is you can make ANY image you would like!

 

As you read this post you will probably think one of two things a) Wow, she was right, she does not know a thing about cake decorating... Or hopefully b)  If this girl can make a cake transfer so can I! So let's get to it.

Item's Needed for Transfer:
      Chipboard, or something flat like a clipboard.
      Black and white copy of the image you would like to transfer (You may need to copy a reverse
            image of your picture depending on if there is lettering on it. Because you will be making a   
            reverse image.)
      Wax Paper
      Masking Tape
      Round Cake decorating tips, a smaller one to outline, and a larger one to fill.
      Cake decorating bags.
      Butter cream frosting, I use THIS RECIPE, it is simple and just the right consistency.
      Chocolate fudge frosting (USE STORE BOUGHT) I buy the generic (Western Family) Brand 
              because it is not as creamy and will outline the best.


Step 1:

Find an image of ANYTHING you would like to transfer on your cake,  I went with Mr. McQueen, naturally.  Try to find the simplest image you can (especially if this is your first try), mine is a coloring page.  Your image will be a reversed, so if your image has words on it, print out a reversed image.  Tape the paper to a chipboard, or clipboard.  Place Wax paper over the copy.  I taped everything to the counter so it would not wiggle.

Step 2:

Using your small round tip, and chocolate fudge frosting, trace the outline of your image.  You could make black frosting, but that grosses me out a little, too much dye.

Step 3:

Using your larger round tip, fill in your images with appropriate colors.  If you get it over the outline a little, no worries, because this will be the BACK of the cake transfer.  Outline your image with whatever color frosting your cake will be.  (Mine is white obviously).

Step 4:

 

Carefully, spread white frosting (or the main color of your cake) over the image you just filled in.  Do not panic, this is the back of the image, and you need it a little thicker so it does not crack!  Place in the freezer.

Step 5: 

                           

Let image freeze for at least an hour.. or longer.  I did this project at midnight, so I left it in the freezer until the next morning.  Carefully remove the wax paper from your frosting.  Place on your cake!

Step 6:

The cake transfer might be a little jagged around the edges, so using your round cake decorating tip make a bead around the image.

My Son loved his Lightening McQueen Cake, and I learned how to make something new. He is already talking about his Lightening McQueen birthday cake for next year--heaven help me! 

 This really is a simple, easy, and fun way to dress up a cake!

 P.S. In case you are wondering this is his 3 year old version of the lightening McQueen cake!

I like to LINK to these fabulous parties!