New Outfit and Past Photo Shoot

Good Morning!

Thanks for coming by today!

Oh, what?  You like my blog outfit?  Thanks so much!  It feels so good!  A HUGE thank you to the very talented Molly from Tank and Tink Designs - can you believe that I emailed her last Friday and she said that if we got started right away, that she could get this done this week... before she moved this weekend... while being a Mommy and Wife?  Ya, see how amazing and impressive she is?

So, now you can follow me on Pinterest, or Facebook or email me directly... you can go straight to my Kutz. Paper. Scissors Etsy shop... you can use the tabs at the top to going to specific posts that involve Kids, or Holidays or Recipes, whatever you want!  I feel like a big proud blog mama!

So, now I'm going to share what I did for our Christmas Cards... I know, it's a little late, but you could totally change the idea to fit a variety of Holidays!

I dressed Adam in his Christmas best and bribed gently influenced him to smile nicely for me.  I dragged out his Firetruck (last Christmas present) and we wiped it down.  We then too a small Christmas tree that I use for my shop display and around the house and bungee corded it to the back of his truck.  We made sure Bernard and Pepper Puppy were included in the shoot and I then asked him to drive away from me while I chased after him snapping away!

This one is my favorite... I don't know why, it's a little out of focus, but I just feel like he looks like a little old man from 1950.

When we started our shoot, it was a slightly overcast day, but then the sun started coming out and this photo was a little too sunny or exposed or something.  I LOVE his sweet expression but...

This mischievous expression is much more his usual look!

 

So that was the best photos from our shoot.  If we wouldn't have all been sick, I probably would've done a cute Valentine's shoot with a big pink heart on the back instead of the tree.  I'm trying to decide if I'm going to do a St. Patricks Day AND Easter shoot or just Easter... I guess it depends on my subjects mood!

 

Have a great day!

Andrea

Clutch Moment

Good Morning!

Thanks for visiting today!

Today I wanted to share some of the fun products that I've been sewing up for the Shop and for the upcoming Boutiques...

I fell in love over this clutch...

So, this was the first one that I made... I used a charcoal linen but it was pretty thin, so it moved around... a lot.  But I still love it!

I found this great yellow/gray zig zag pattern and knew that I had to have it!  So, it's the lining of the clutch, which has 2 pockets, one that fits cards and the other for keys or lipstick... whatever you consider an essential!

And since the charcoal came out so cute, I had to do it in other colors as well!

Like Mustard...

lined in gray and white chevron.

And rust... this is a color that doesn't get enough credit in my book!

I couldn't find a brown cotton zig zag or chevron, so I sent with a chocolate brown feather print that I ended up loving, so I went back and bought it in gray and in blue!

Pretty cute, huh?  These will be in the shop soon and they will definitely be at Scarlet Threads and Penelope Lane in March!

Have a great day!
Andrea

Police Party!

Good Morning! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Today I wanted to share a little of the fun Police Invites and goody boxes that we made for Adam's 5th party.

Adam's been in love with Law Enforcement for the past few years since he was born.  There's not a ton of children law enforcement party supplies out there, so we ended up making out own. 

 

I ended up designing, printing and cutting his invites and "Thank You" tags from my Silhouette.  It was so easy, I love using their software to make a variety of projects!

 

 

My Mom asked what she could do to help, so I asked her to make a police goody box.  She used the 3D Car box and brought in different police elements from other images to make it look like a police car.

 

 

My Mom and Dad assembled the cars, My Dad drew the Adam5 license plates...

 

 

 

These boxes were gently used by the kiddos - These were my favorite things from the party!

 

We filled them with badges, Police Stickers and Police shaped candy...

 

 

My Mother-in-law came over to help fill the goody boxes - I gave her and Adam the job of making the Police Radio and Badge from the chocolate molds.  They were so easy, all you do is melt chocolate (Michael's, Joann's and Cake stores will have chocolate discs that are made for this) and pour it/spoon it into the molds.  We added M&M's to ours just because... then they were placed in the fridge for about 20 minutes until they'd set up and then they popped right out! 

 

So that's it!  Out Police Party set! 

 

Hope you enjoyed!

Have a great day!

Andrea

Birthday Interview and Photo Idea!

Good Morning!  Thanks for visiting!

Today I wanted to share an easy, fun and adaptable Birthday idea with you all!

I've been a big fan of the "Birthday Interview" for the past few years.  If you're not familiar with the Birthday Interview, it's a list of questions that you ask your child on his or her birthday every year.  Most of the questions remain the same, but as they grow (I thinking teenager here), you can change or add questions to reflect the age.  Since kids are so, errr, egocentric self confident, it's pretty easy to get any age group to answer a bunch of questions that are all about them!  And it's so much fun to look back at their answers from the previous year.  Some of Adam's stay consistent, other's vary, you never know what he's going to say!  My plan is to print out his Interview and Birthday Photo then create a birthday scrapbook for him.   Here's a great site to download a FREE Birthday Interview Printable...

Leelou Blogs

 

She has a few different templates, some with banners and different backgrounds. 

 

Here's a few other sources as well:

 

http://www.lansdownelife.com/2012/06/kids-birthday-interview-questionnaire.html

 

http://www.blog.modmemento.com/2012/01/20-questions-with-4-year-old.html - this site has a list of questions, but no printable.

 

So, for Adam's birthday this year, we did our usual Birthday Interview on his birthday and I enjoyed listening to him so much, that I wanted to include his answers with his Birthday Photo...

 

 

 

We have a chalkboard hanging in the playroom that I had him stand in front of and I draw an outline of him.  I knew that I needed to keep that space empty so you could see all of his fun answers with him in the middle!

 

 

You can see the chalk body outline in the above photo...

 

I started filing the chalkboard space with all of his answers.  I wanted it to look like doodling, so I used different chalk colors, tried to use different fonts and doodles.

 

 

 

Getting him to not smile like a maniac was the hardest part of the whole process!  My favorite part of the whole board is where I asked him what he likes best about himself.  Here's his answers (I asked him to start each sentence with 'I think I'm...'):
* Super Extra Sweet
* Funny
* Respectful
* Cute and Handsome
* Smart

Here's a list of the Birthday Interview Questions that I ask him every year:

1.  How old are you?
2.  What makes you happy?
3.  What is your favorite animal?
4.  What is your favorite thing to eat?
5.  What is your least favorite thing to eat?
6.  What is your favorite thing to do?
7.  What is your favorite movie?
8.  What is your favorite TV show?
9.  What are you really good at?
10.  What is your favorite color?
11.  What is your favorite song?
12.  Who is your Best Friend?
13.  What do you and Mommy do together?
14.  What do you and Daddy do together?
15.  What is your favorite sport?
16.  Where is your favorite place to go?
17.  What is your favorite book?
18.  What do you want to be when you grow up?
19.  What is your favorite toy?
20.  Who is your favorite cuddly friend (stuffed animal)?

Height:
Weight:

And that's it!  Easy!  It only takes a few moments for the interview, you can even do the chalkboard idea on paper, poster board or a dry erase board if you wanted.  If you do decide to use the chalkboard idea and take photos, set up a tri-pod of put your camera on a table to that all of your photos come out in frame and aren't caddiwampus like mine!

Have a great day!  I'll be sharing more birthday ideas this week!
Andrea

Valentines Recap and Thank You to Law Enforcement

Good Morning!

Thanks for visiting today.

I know it's a little late, but I wanted to share what we ended up doing for Adam's Teacher Valentines.

I know, it's hard to see, I literally took this photo with my phone as I was running (late) out our door to take Adam to school.  I just have to say, I LOVE Adam's preschool teachers - they're great, patient, supportive, helpful and I feel good every time I leave Adam in their care.  So, I wanted to make them a little gift basket to let them know how much we all care about them.  It started with the Bee Mine Valentine Printable that I found here at make-it-do.com...

Once I had the honey idea, I thought of teas and after thinking of teas, I thought of scones - of course!  No, not Downton Abbey or Her Majesty, but of the yummy pastries!  I ended up making these Red Velvet Scones that I found here...

They were super easy, I was able to get 8 from a batch so I wrapped each one on doily in a cello bag.

I then added a package of Tazo Passion Tea (hey, it's Valentines Day - who doesn't need a little passion on Valentine's Day?) and a bottle of organic honey with the Bee Mine tag tied to it with gingham ribbon.  I also found cute initial mugs at Target so I added those to the basket, which I found at the DollarTree.  I tied on a ribbon and called it good!

I hope they had a chance to sit down with a nice, hot cup of tea and their scone and relax!  After watching my wild child, they deserve it!

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And now, I have to deviate from my usual posting style with a BIG Thank You.

Adam playing with a custom Bubba's Basics Sheriff Peg Doll

I'm not sure if everyone knows the Dorner "Manifesto" case that been going on in So. CA, but I've been glued to the TV.  It's feels personal for me, my Brother-in-Law is a San Bernardino Sheriff, as was my Father-in-Law.  My Dad is a retired Ontario Police Officer, my Grandpa was a member of the Ontario Mounted Police.  I have the best examples of officers, full of morality, kindness, fairness and with the sincere desire to help and make the world safer, better.  My Brother-in-Law is actually stationed in Big Bear, which is where the massive manhunt for Dorner was centered - we were worried every time he went to work for those few days that they were searching for Dorner.  Dorner's personal vendetta against the LAPD and against any agency that were trying to help the LAPD gave me nightmares, literally.  My Brother-in-Law is safe, but one of his best friends isn't.  He was shot, is in the hospital still and has a long road of surgeries and rehab ahead of him, his wife and his 1 month old son. 

The thing that surprised me were all of the cruel, mean, hate-filled posts and rantings about cops.  I fully understand that there are bad cops out there, but there are many, many, many more good cops than bad.  Every time someone would leave a comment about how cops deserved whatever they got, how a dead cop is the best cop, it would make my blood boil.  To me, every time someone would say something like this, they were insulting every single sacrifice my Dad made in the line of duty, every single sacrifice my family, my mother, made while my Dad was out helping others, keeping others safe, putting his life in danger.

My son looks up to my Dad, my Brother-in-Law and wears my Father-in-Law's SB Sheriff's hat.  He wants to be every type of Law Enforcement Officer, from a Game Warden to a Sheriff to an Ontario PD Swat Member, he has wonderful male role models in his life and if he stays on this path, I'll be a proud, supportive (albeit, scared) Mom.

I want to say a HUGE THANK YOU to every man and woman in law enforcement.  Thank you to every wife, husband, child, mother of a law enforcement officer.  Thank you for all of your sacrifices.  Thank you for protecting me and my family.  Thank you for doing a hard, stressful job where you are the target.  Thank you for working on Christmas, Thanksgiving, Holidays, missing birthdays, parties, working overtime and for so much more.  Thank you.

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That's it for me today.  Thanks for stopping by!  Hope your day is a great one!
Andrea

A Few More Valentines!

Good Morning!  Thanks for visiting today!

Today I'm sharing a few more Valentines ideas and a confession... I've had the supplies for Adam's class Valentines for about 3 weeks now... and they are still in the same bag I brought them home in.  I'd planned a Valentine's Creating party for my girlfriends and their kiddos and then the Mister and the Boy got sick... so we postponed.  And then I got sick... and we postponed.  And then the Boy got sick... again.  And he's still sick but I think he's a little better today so we're going to be optimistic and make his class Valentines today with the hope that he'll be well enough to attend school tomorrow! 

So, in honor of all the other procrastinators out there... here's some more Valentine ideas that include FREE printable sources.

(makoodle.com)

 

(mermag.blogspot.com)

 

(supermommoments.com)

 

This one is my new favorite - Adam LOVES his whoopee cushion and thinks its hilarious to "trick" people into sitting on them, which is so totally obvious but everyone plays along.

 

(seevanessacraft.com)

 

(mygrowinghome.com)

 

The link doesn't have a printable, but it's such a cute idea!  You would think that my little Boy loved Star Wars with how many Star War Pins I have, but I'm always thinking of my nephew and niece even though I don't get to see them often.

 

(doitandhow.com)

 

(make-it-do.com)

 

I'm planning going to put together a little gift basket for Adam's teachers using the tag above and with some local honey, a hand drawn mug, some scones or the mini-pies (shown yesterday) and tea. 

 

(everything-in-focus.blogspot.com)

 

(thecraftingchicks.com)

 

(livinglocurto.com)

 

 

This book is so cute for a class teacher or a pre-teen or teen!  I actually really want one for myself!

 

Hope you found something that you like or that will save you from a last minute dash to the store at midnight on Feb. 13th!

 

See you back here tomorrow!

Andrea

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

15 DIY Valentines!

Good morning!  Thanks for visiting.

Since we all know that I lurve Valentines, I pin just about every Valentine idea I see on Pinterest!  I could probably do something Valentine related every day for the rest of the year and still  have pins to try!  So, instead of doing every single Valentine idea that I have pinned, I thought it would be fun to share 15 DIY Valentines that I've found on Pinterest with you!

(culdesaccool.com)

 

This Valentine is perfect for the Force lover in your life!  I saw this and immediately thought of my Nephew, an avid Star Wars lover!

 

(makeandtakes.com)

 

My son's favorite movie of the moment is Despicable Me - I must admit, the minions are all of our favorites and we quote the movie daily... "Light bulb" and "It's so fluffy!" are used by all of us!  So, when I saw this Valentine, I showed it to Adam (even though we'd already picked what he wanted to do) and I was totally okay with changing our original plans to a Minion Valentine!

 

(lilluna.com)

 

And speaking of our original Valentine's idea, here is is!  I bought the little bubble set from Target a few weeks back.  I like how it's not candy, I'm pretty sure every other parent of 5 year olds would like that it's not candy.  I still plan to use the bubbles but with the Minion Valentines...

 

(kikicomin.com)

 

I love the idea of this!  I'm planning to incorporate this into our Valentine's dinner with friends - I'm going to print out a few badges and give them to the kids so they can do nice things for each other while making it fun.  My little guy and his friend LOVE police, so this is right up their alley!  So cute!  Have I mentioned every idea that I've listed is a FREE Printable?!  How Awesome, huh?

 

(sallyjshim.com)

 

This one is super cute too!  Since we've already decided on Adam's Valentine, I'm going to turn this into a Mommy and Adam game on Valentines - I think we'll use candy and crackers... maybe I won't feel too bad about the sugar intake that way...

 

The next two go together in my mind...

 

(wildolive.blogspot.mx)

 

 

 

and...

 

(livinglocurto.com)

 

I would totally make my chocolate banana empanadas in the shape of hearts, put them in cello bags and top them with the cut pie bag toppers to give to friends and Adam's teachers/school admin.  Or maybe I'll try the Oreo Pies from Living Locurto!

 

 

(positivelysplendid.com)

 

Another non-candy idea are these cute bookmarks - you could put protective covering on them to make them extra durable for little hands! 

 

(sisterssuitcaseblog.com)

 

Here's a whole sheet!  You could do a variety of Valentines, from little glow sticks to apples or local honey...

 

(armommy.com)

 

Since nerd is so popular right now, this little Valentines are sure to be a hit!  They even have little rx-free glasses at the DollarTree that you could pass out - who doesn't like a new look?

 

(thirtyhandmadedays.com)

 

You might be thinking "huh, she's not posting any super girl-ish Valentines..." and you'd be right!  My attention seems to go to where there's cute things for boys, and it doesn't get much cuter than these! 

 

(infobarrel.com)

 

I LOVE these, but I'm not this kind of Mom - I'm a sometime-sweets kind of Mom, and while I applaud this idea and think that it's extra fantastic and I'm sure Adam's teacher would love me if I did this, I just can't... maybe if the fruit was dipped in chocolate or something...  but it's pretty darn cute, it's something I would do inside his lunch in a heartbeat tho...

 

(theteacherwife.blogspot.com)

 

I found some cute Valentine's pencils in Target's dollar aisle and printed this out and put them in Adam's Valentine backpack - he loves having his own pencils and pens so this was a simple and sweet little valentine for him!  And talk about an inexpensive Valentine when you have a classroom of 30+ kids!

 

(sisterssuitcaseblog.com)

 

Growing up, I LOVED MadLibs - I saw a set of Valentines ones at the store, but this FREE printable one is super cute...

 

(dandee-designs.com)

 

And last, but not least, a very girly one!  These are so cute... I would still make these for my friends!  And maybe I will!

 

There's so many more fun, cute, lovely ideas... maybe I'll share a few more tomorrow!

Have a great day!

Andrea