Today I am....

:making: these cool message Easter eggs... seems like the blog-sphere is all agog over eggs filled with cool things! Cupcakes baked in eggs, eggs filled with candy... where does the fun end?!

:playing: with these tumble bunnies with the girls. Who knew that paper and marbles could be so entertaining? (and best of all it is a free printable!)

:hoping: that all the baking that I am doing will earn me these pretty measuring cups from Anthropologie... they would look so pretty on my counter next to this salt and pepper set from Mod Cloth!

:loving: this adorable ballerina shirt and thinking about how I can make it myself with freezer paper and tulle!

:wishing: that I would have seen this Zombie Easter bunny before it sold out... I know what Klint is getting next year!

:looking: around the house to see what piece of furniture could do without it's drawers so that I can make a dollhouse for AJ and Moira like THIS, lol!

:gathering: materials from nature to make the girls some beautiful instruments just like this one... so pretty and clever!

 :helping: Klint take some bokeh photos likes this and this by making his own filter. Who knew it was so easy to create these magical photos?!

(Speaking of photo-taking... I can't, for the life of me, get AJ to look AT the camera!!! She looks everywhere else and throws off the whole shot constantly... AHHHHH!!!! Any tips?? I think that we will be making a "Lens Buddy" like this so that she has something specific to stare at...)

:reading: the second installment of The Walk Series by Richard Paul Evans called Miles to Go... great book!!!

OMG! I NEED to do this with my hair!!!!

Finally, I just discovered a cool blog call A Beautiful Mess thanks to this post featuring way cool looking braids... then I saw the posts about tattoos and I was HOOKED! Looooooove it.... (and wondering what excuse I can have to get more tattoos now!)

Easter Coupons for Kids

This Easter I am planning on hiding some cute Easter eggs around the house for Gabby and AJ to find. But instead of putting only candy in them I am going to put these coupons in them as well as some money to spend. I found some giant jewel-like eggs at Target and am going to put the really special ones in them, like "No Chores" and "One Spa Day with Mommy". I think that the girls will be really excited to have special coupons that give them fun filled days! Feel free to grab it too from my Flickr... there is another version of it too that is slightly different. =)

(Sorry that it is so girly... being mommy to 3 girls will do that!)

:Wordless Wednesday:

Happy puddle jumping friends!

Some Monday Luvin'

Well another Monday is upon us and here are some things I am LUVIN'!

♥ This year I am hiding the baskets as always, but am going to use this adorable set of printables to create a scavenger hunt for the girls!

♥ I used to have a bad habit of biting my nails and will still catch myself going for a nibble when I am bored.... maybe if I did my nails like these I wouldn't dare!

♥ I have a lot of art ideas stored up for this week... definitely love these cute (and recycled) egg carton bunnies and chicks. Super Cute! (Also perfect for Earth Day which is on Friday!)

♥ Of course, these pretty plastic egg blue birds are cute too.... lol...

♥ Everyone this year seems to be forgoing the store bought dye for the eggs and turning to the kitchen for color. I love the colors and recipe ideas here as well as the other uses!! Here is another good source for dye inspiration....

 

♥ And if you want an alternative to the usual candy filled basket that doesn't last through the year, here is a great post that shares some alternative ideas!

So there is some Monday luv for you all! Have a great day!!!

Probably the BEST Art Book Yet!

This week I did a little bit of book selling at a local YMCA. I always enjoy selling Usborne's book because I get to go and talk to people about something I am passionate about, meet great kids, and of course expand our own home library. Usborne constantly impresses me with their never ending expansion of titles... there are new books coming out all the time that I immediately want to pick up for the girls and today I brought one home to add to our collection- 365 Things to Draw and Paint.

 This book has it all- robots, fairies, birds, people, laboratories, roads, and so much more! You make collages, use pastels, blow watercolors around with a straw, and create whole drawings by taking a "line for a walk". The projects are fun, use everyday items to create, and teach art techniques that have huge value.

Gabby and I decided to try one of the projects today that involved the watercolors and a straw.... it was a blast!!

There are so many great art ideas in here, I can't wait to do some more!! It is such a joy to be able to teach Gabby about art, see her face light up when she gets it, and know that even though it is Saturday afternoon, we are "schooling"!

Smile Pretty!

Today the girls all got their photo taken at a wonderful photography studio called Prelude Photography.

They sat, smiled, held their sister, and even got to have a real bunny in the photo.

It was a wonderful time and I have some very nice prints to hang up now.

I am a huge fan of the studio because they are creative and touch up the photos then and there,

the prices are also very reasonable and you don't have to wait to get the prints.

I love getting photos taken of the girls... doesn't matter who is behind the camera,

but I especially love getting to play around with the photos, like above.

The bunny tee's got lots of compliments as well, always a plus. =)

I am going to try my hand at a more complicated design tonight... wish me luck!

I have successfully done Mary Poppins, which AJ refuses to take off and 

helped Klint put a cool knot design on a messenger bag....

More design goodness to come soon, have a great weekend!

ok, last one... I promise!

Can you tell I am addicted to these animated .gifs? 

I just couldn't resist posting this last one!

Who can resist miss aj hopping around playing hop scotch?!

:Wordless Wednesday:

A Deliciously Easy Project!

This project was sooooo easy, I can't believe that I waited all this time to try using freezer paper to stencil shirts for the girls!

The little ones are getting their photo taken this week with REAL bunnies and while I enjoy poofy dresses as much as the next mama, with no where to go on Easter there just didn't seem to be a point to buying them only for a photo. So I decided to make cute shirts to wear with jean skirts (or jeans in Gabby's case!).

There are tons and tons of great tutorials out there for freezer paper stenciling. It is truly easy and the possibilities are endless! For this project I just found a chocolate bunny silhouette (thank you Google!) and after it was dry and done I hot glued a teeny blue bow to the side of the bunny.

I think I am going to try something a little more complicated for Earth Day that is on April 22nd... maybe a tree or a whale, using more than one color..... My mind is racing now that I know what I am doing and the results were so nice!

Crafty Goodness

One of best things about living in Lakewood is the abundance of creativity and small businesses. Many stores have unique, well made things that often find their way into my home like our pink children's table and my craft closet. I visited a new store today called Crafty Goodness, a cute little shop that only sells local handmade art. One of my fellow Etsian blogger friends- Prasti- has some adorable onesies and plush blocks there along with about 64 other artisans! (The blocks shown are from her Etsy shop- Here to There- aren't they pretty?!)

In the store I saw awesome zombie art, belts made from car seat belts, makeup, plush monsters, pillows, jewelry, and so much more! It was really cool to know that everything there was local and made with love.

Speaking of local art, there is a new addition to my store! A Special Edition Fairy Door that is shaped like a rainbow. It is so colorful and happy... I can't wait to paint some more! (Anyone who orders a fairy door in the month of April will get complimentary brass door numbers as a thank you from me, all you have to do is put in the notes to seller what number(s) you want on the door!)

And if you are curious what others think of my fairy doors, here is a wonderful review from an Etsy buyer. I made a  pretty hot pink and white door for her little girls that turned out so pretty.

It was so nice to get out for a walk today. it finally feels like Spring is coming sooner than later. Happy days to you all!