Blogspiration: Shameless Copy Cat

I am a shameless copy cat, and I'm not afraid to admit it.

Why re-invent the wheel? If I love the way someone does something, I figure... why not completely, utterly and shamelessly copycat them?

Such was the case when I saw this post from Leslie.

I LOOOOOOVE this idea of planning out intentional summer fun and prioritizing your favorite activities for this season.

I loved this idea so much, that I copy-catted.

And when I say that I copy-catted, I mean, like super specifically copy-catted. You will notice that I even copied the way she wrote "Summer List" at the top with the little sunshine. Like I said, if it ain't broke...

Bottling Up Summer Fun: "I'm Bored" Jar

This was supposed to be a craft for our MOPS group this year, but it didn't happen.

So I just threw one together for my own family. And you can too.

It's too simple to even be classified as a craft. It's basically a 10 minute project.

First, grab a jar. I'm using one of my favorite chalkboard jars, but any old jar'll do ya.

Label the jar with the words "I'm bored."

Next cut up a bunch of little strips of paper. On the strips, write down activities that are doable for your family on any given day. Have a good mix of chores and fun things... you don't want to encourage the kids to constantly say "I'm Bored."

Some of my strips say:

• go get frozen yogurt
• paint a picture
• roast marshmallows
• clean 2 windows :0) (mwah ha ha!)
• dust
• sidewalk chalk
• make play dough
• make cookies with Mama
• get in swimsuits and play in the hose
• go on a walk
• play a game of crazy eights
• make popsicles

Basically, anything that will break the daily routine, jot it on a slip o' paper and fill that-there jar up.

Then the next time your kids say those infamous words: "I'm Bored!"

Yep, you guessed it... they grab one strip of paper from the jar and the bored child (or the whole family) does whatever is on the strip.

Try it out! At the very least, you will have very clean windows before the summer is over.

Faux-Sew Project: Hand Towel Beach Bags

We recently went on a wonderful vacay with McPreachy's family, the Mc-In-laws! We stayed at a beach house near Santa Barbara, and it really was heavenly.

I decided I wanted to make something fun for Bennett, Mallory and their cousins for the trip. I made these Hand Towel beach bags, and they turned out sew cute.

Get it?

Anyway, I call this a "Faux-Sew" Project because you do not need to possess any sewing skills whatsoever to make it. I am qualified to make this claim because:

a. I have no sewing skills whatsoever.

b. I made 4 of these bags quite successfully.

c. I snuck ten pounds worth of snacks into Toy Story 3 using one of said bags, and it didn't fall apart.

Here's Mallory's bag:

Here's Faith's bag (and Mallory's feet):

And here are the boys' bags. Aren't they darling?

Here are instructions on how to make them.

Supply List:

• The towels and washcloths I used were from Target.


• "Rope" for the handles was from Joanne's.
.

• Embroidery thread and buttons were from Michael's.

I also prepared a few fun activities for the kids to do at the beach house. They turned out really cute. Here they are:

1. We made this Watermelon Jello and it was SO cute, SO easy and SOOOOO delicious! Seriously, if you want a showstopper, make it!




2. We also made these cute Octopus Crafts. The kids had fun gluing on the beads and google eyes.


3. I also really wanted to make this "Sand-Cast Bass" craft, but we just didn't have time... I'm still planning on doing it sometime this summer... so if you're in the neighborhood, come on over and make a Bass with us!

Which reminds me...

"I caught you a delicious bass."

Name that movie.

On the Road Again: Simple, Fun Travel Keepsakes

It's Summer! Time for road trips, sunny days and making memories!

I thought I'd share a few ideas I got from Susan Peterson, a wonderful MOPS speaker I heard about a year ago. She wrote this awesome book and has some great ideas for souveniers that are memorable, easy and inexpensive.

Patch Quilt
The idea is that you start off with a "blank" quilt for each child and then purchase a patch every time you travel to a new place.

I am very blessed to have a BFF who is a wonderful seamstress, so she made these amazing quilts for my kids. I'm sure if you're not the sewing type, you can find plain quilts online.

Bennett already has two new patches on his quilt since this picture was taken (Disneyland and Santa Barbara). He LOVES his patch quilt and is really starting to understand the concept of adding patches from each new place, which is exciting for him.

Mallie likes hers too!

By the time my kids are leaving for college, their quilts will be full of wonderful memories from all the places we've been together. It's like a 3-D scrapbook!

Postcard Memory Books

This is as simple as buying a postcard for each child from the place your are visiting and putting them all together with binder rings to make a "book."

On the back of the postcard, write the date and your child's favorite memory from the place you visited. We usually do this on the way home while the day is still fresh in Bennett's mind. Since Mallory is too little for this, I usually just write a short summary of the day's events on her postcard.

I hope these simple ideas will inspire you to create some travel keepsakes for your kids!

Simple Summer Treat: Make Your Own Popsicles!

Today Bennett and I picked up a pack of Popsicle molds at Bed Bath and Beyond.

We made this Popsicle recipe.

We used fresh pineapple along with a little pineapple juice in place of the canned pineapple.

Delicious. Simply Delicious. That's all I have to say.