Graduation Memories... Hold on to all 940 Saturdays...

**It's time again to decorate your celebrations with a Challenge at Decorate To Celebrate!!**

I thought that when my kiddos graduated high school and went off to college that I would magically find an extra 20 or so hours in each day...  Without the need to pack lunches each day, do mountains of laundry from a myriad of sports activities, and plan our Movie-Night-Mondays or ballpark trips to PNC Park, I simply believed I would have nothing to do but sit and twiddle my thumbs while missing two of the best kids a mom could ever wish for...  But, alas...  The days seem to move past at a breakneck speed, even faster than they did for the minutes, hours, and days between their births and graduations...  So my post today is a reminder.  A reminder to me that I truly am a lucky, lucky, lucky mom, a reminder to moms with toddlers and teenagers that the laundry piles will soon end, and a reminder to new moms and moms-to-be that there are only 940 Saturdays between your child's birth and the time they leave for college...  Just 940...  Only. 940.  Before you know it, you'll have graduation parties under your belt and nothing but long days of twiddling your thumbs and missing them like I do... ;)

Anywhoooo, this is sort of a "throw-back" post for me because this is all about The-Boy-Child's graduation party way-back-when...  With his busy life as a web broadcaster for a college wooden bat league this summer, it's nice that I get to take a few moments to remember those last summer days before he embarked on his college journey...  Here's what I've got for ya:

I made this ENORMOUS banner using about 10 yards of white fabric and really HUGE letters using the Mickey Font and my Cricut machine...  My idea for the fabric was that we would be able to use it as a great big "card" for the party guests to write their wishes for The-Boy-Child (more about that below)...

Here's a picture of his deeeeeeee-licious cake... oh boy, was that BLACK frosting fun to get off of our fingers and tongues --and maybe a few shirts ;) 

My dad made our AWESOME cornhole game...  It's regulation size and super-smooth and NICE -- It still gets LOTS of use because it's the BEST game for bonfires and get-togethers!!  :)

One of my favorite parts of TBC's graduation party was the LIVE music -- He and one of his running buddies made us laugh (and cry) with their singing.....

Here's a sampling of a few of the wishes on his banner -- We provided a multitude of colored permanent markers so that everyone could choose a different color for their sentiments...  I've had lots of ideas for what to do with the signed fabric since then...  I thought about saving it for his college graduation (many friends and family could sign it again with new wishes)...  I also considered having it sewn into some type of blanket or quilt...  For now, I took pictures of each wish and printed them for a small keepsake album made with his cards and invitations to other graduation parties...

I know that each wish and signature will be very precious to him over the years...  Especially this one from his most-favorite-sister ;)

Not only did I add these really neat graduation hats to his banner (I believe these can be found on the Locker Talk Cricut Cartridge), I also used these for the various table centerpieces, garlands, balloon holders, and table markers...  In the wee hours of the morning I regretted my decision to use gold stickles on all of them, but it was TOTALLY worth it when I saw all the finished hats :)

Yes, those 940 Saturdays were definitely not enough...  It still seems like just yesterday that this 10 lb bundle of joy came home from the hospital (mid-blizzard)...  The-Boy-Child has brought me plenty of tears (both happy and sad), but has given me more joyful moments, more laughter, and more proud memories than one Momma deserves...  :)

Don't they just make ya SMILE??? :)

So.......  If you have a little one, a middle-sized one, or a big one about to graduate, I hope you'll treasure each of the Saturdays that you have left...  They sure do go by fast...  And they go by even faster when you think you'll be doing nothing but twiddling your thumbs and missing them (the missing them part is really, really true...  it's the staying so busy that time just flies faster that I wasn't ready for!!)...

{And in case you missed my Cricut-Crafty "GROWTH" from TBC's graduation party to The-Girl-Child's graduation party, I already posted ALL about that HERE...  I'd love for you to check it out if you missed it then...}

I hope you've enjoyed my "blast from the past" graduation post...  Now to recap: for Challenge #52 over at Decorate To Celebrate, we're asking you to create any project to be used as a party decoration (or party supply) for a GRADUATION PARTY!!  Let's celebrate EVERYTHING WONDERFUL ABOUT DIPLOMAS, NEW OPPORTUNITIES, and SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENTS with your table decorations, party banners, pennants, yard signs, cupcakes, party favors and more!!  :)

Link up your project HERE before 11:59pm (EST) on Tuesday, June 11th to be eligible for YOUR CHANCE to WIN a great surprise pack of paper, embellishments, and MORE!!  :)  I can't wait to see what you create!!

Until next time,

Celebrating Teachers and Summer Break at DTC!! :)

**It's time again to decorate your celebrations with a Challenge at Decorate To Celebrate!!**

For Challenge #51, we are asking you to create any project to be used as a party decoration (or party supply) for a TEACHER GIFT or CLASSROOM PARTY!!  Let's celebrate EVERYTHING WONDERFUL ABOUT EDUCATION, the END of the SCHOOL YEAR, and the TEACHERS WHO INSPIRE with your table decorations, party banners, pennants, yard signs, cupcakes, party favors and more!!  :)  Link up your project over at the DTC Challenge Blog before 11:59pm (EST) on Tuesday, May 28th to be eligible for YOUR CHANCE to WIN a surprise pack of goodies (embellishments, papers, and MORE)!!

Since my wonderful Sister-In-Law is a teacher (as were/are my aunt, my uncle, and several handfuls of friends), I have tremendous respect for those who make a lifelong decision to tackle the field of education...  When I first went off to college myself, I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do with my life (do we ever?), so I switched from a music major to a music education major to a secondary education major before finally settling on communications and then becoming a full-time momma dabbling in management and more (yeah, somedays I STILL don't know what I wanna be when I grow up!!)...  Anywhooooo...  During my "education" major days, I was able to spend some time in several classrooms as an observer and helper (this may have been the reason that I decided to go in a different direction -- A teacher's schedule can be CRAZY!!)...  Then, after my kiddos began tra-la-la-ing off to school themselves, I went back into the classroom to spend my days having the energy sucked from my being by Pre-Schoolers...  Whew!!  As fun as it is to see my then-pigtailed-and-playtime-smudged-faced-pre-schoolers all grown up now, I take my hat off to those teachers of little ones and teenage ones alike...  That's some TOUGH work!!  So, to celebrate those who teach, I decided to make a few of my hand-painted & hand-lettered signs to let them know how incredible I think they are...

As I mentioned, having tried my hand at teaching pre-schoolers how to sing "Grey Squirrel" (to the point that even today I hum it whenever I see a squirrel bounding across my path) and take naps on command, I know first-hand the amount of energy and passion required to get out of bed each day and face those little bundles of joy...  And to those teachers I say...  "You ARE a Super Hero!!" with my "I teach...what is your superpower?" sign...

And for those teachers who put their heads down on their desks at the end of the day, close to exhaustion (or past it), and feeling like the youth of today never get any older even though they are sure they themselves age in dog years, I made a sign to remind them that the work they are doing will last a lifetime...  Because "to teach is to touch a life forever."  If there's a teacher of mine out there reading this right now, I remember you...  You challenged me and encouraged me and taught me to be the person I am today...  Without you, I might not be as open to new ideas or as willing to take chances or as grateful for the life I now have...  So, thank you for being a Super Hero, and thank you for giving of yourself so that lives could be molded and changed and bettered...

I'm linking up to the following parties -- Come check them out and join me in the FUN!! :)

Artsy Corner Link Party at Artsy Fartsy Mama.
Thankful Thursday Linky Party at D.L.Art.
Sunday {Fun}day at Everyday is an Occasion.
Give Me The Goods Party at So Much Better with Age, Rain on a Tin Roof, Dimples and Pigtails, and Commona-My House.

Until next time,

It's a Tea Party at Decorate To Celebrate!! :)

**It's time again to decorate your celebrations with a Challenge at Decorate To Celebrate!!**

For Challenge #48, we are asking you to create any project to be used as a party decoration (or party supply) for a TEA PARTY!!  Let's celebrate EVERYTHING WONDERFUL ABOUT LITTLE TEA SETS, SUGAR CUBES, and TEA CUPS with your table decorations, party banners, pennants, yard signs, cupcakes, party favors and more!!  :)  Link up your project over at Decorate to Celebrate before 11:59pm (EST) on Tuesday, April 16th to be eligible for YOUR CHANCE to WIN Rhonda's Mini Albums!!

I decided to create some table decorations and a convenient silverware caddy for my project...

I started off by having The-Sweetheart work his "rusty" magic on the soup cans and bottle (don'tcha just LOVE upcycling???)... 

For the bottle, I wrapped burlap around the fat section first, then added the yellow plaid ribbon...  I used my bow maker to tie the bow and secured that to the front of the bottle before adding some paper daisy flowers (cut at 2" using the SHADOW feature on the Walk in my Garden Cricut Cartridge).  

I had some of these fun twisty branches coated in silver glitter left over from my post-Christmas stash (and, yes, my craft room is now COVERED in glitter!!)...  I added some of the paper daisies to the twisty branches to give them more volume and interest...

I then wrapped the three soup cans with burlap to hold them securely together before adding a length of the yellow plaid ribbon around the cans as well...  I again tied the bow with my bow maker and secured it to the front of the cans (I thought that perhaps after my Spring Luncheon Tea I could use my silverware caddy as a pen or marker caddy in my craft room -- provided I don't just keep it for the season in the kitchen!!)...

To add dimension to the flowers, I used my bone folder to gently curl the petals on each flower...  I used a textured SU! cardstock for the flower centers because I really like how it makes the flowers look a little more "real"...

I have some favors and other decorations that I also created for this special luncheon -- I hope I'll be able to share those with you as well!!  Now, be sure to link up your Tea Party project so I can check out what ya made too!!  :)

I'm linking up to the following parties -- Come check them out and join me in the FUN!!  :)

1. Keep Calm & Link Up #34 at Becoming Martha, Chase The Star, Wait Til Your Father Gets Home, and Create. Craft. Love.
2. Shine On Friday at Happy Go Lucky, One Artsy Mama, and Stuff and Such by Lisa.
3. Artsy Corner Link Party at Artsy Fartsy Mama.
4. Pinworthy Projects Party at My Favorite Finds.
5. Thankful Thursday April Linky Party at D.L.Art.
6. Sunday {Fun}day #8 at Everyday is an Occasion.
7. Give Me The Goods Party #2 at So Much Better with Age, Rain on a Tin Roof, Dimples and Pigtails, Commona-My House, and Married Filing Jointly.

Until next time,

Easter & Spring at Decorate To Celebrate!! :)

**It's time again to decorate your celebrations with a Challenge at Decorate To Celebrate!!**

For Challenge #47, we are asking you to create any project to be used as a party decoration (or party supply) for an EASTER GET-TOGETHER, PARTY or EVENT!!  Let's celebrate EVERYTHING WONDERFUL ABOUT BUNNIES, CHOCOLATES, GOOD FRIDAY and THE RESURRECTION with your table decorations, party banners, pennants, yard signs, cupcakes, party favors and more!!  :)  Link up your project over at Decorate To Celebrate before 11:59pm (EST) on Tuesday, April 2nd to be eligible for YOUR CHANCE to WIN one of Rhonda's Mini Albums!!

Here's what I made for the challenge...

For my first project, I made one of my lighted glass blocks....  

The-Sweetheart drilled a hole in the base of the glass block so that I could put a string of white lights inside...  I like using the frosted blocks because of how soft the lights look when it is lit...

I found lots of beautiful flowers and accents to add to the top of the block -- I hope you think it's as bright and cheerful as I do!!  :)

I also made some of my hand-painted wooden signs in pretty Easter and Spring colors...

These are my two favorites -- "Show Me the Bunny" and "Oh, for Peeps Sake"...  tee hee...  Each sign was painted white before I hand-lettered the signs and then passed them off to The-Sweetheart to finish off with stain...  I then decided to add an extra touch with a homespun bow and a bit of white bittersweet...

Finally, I created a sweet arrangement that will be perfect on a table or shelf!!  The bottle is an up-cycled jelly jar that was painted ivory before I filled it with a spray of greenery, flowers, and bittersweet...

I wrapped the jar with a length of burlap and tied a homespun bow to the front...  I also added a sprig of bittersweet and a little purple flower with some greenery behind the bow...  I hand-lettered the "Spring Thyme" tag and pinned it to the bow with one of my "rusty" safety pins...  

And finally, I added one of these cute little feather butterflies to the arrangement...  It looks like it's getting ready to fly away because it's attached to one of my homemade "Wiggle Wires"!!  :)

I hope you've found some inspiration to join our new challenge over at DTC!!  For even MORE great ideas, be sure to stop over at the challenge blog to see what all of my wonderful DT sisters created -- Then, link up YOUR new project so we can come and check out your creation!!  :)

I'm linking up my Easter Signs at: 

1. Craftin' Desert Divas Craft It Up & Link It Up Linky Party #2... 

I'm also linking each of my projects at: 

1. Anything But a Card Challenge #15 - Spring or Alice in Wonderland 
2. Love to Create Challenge #57 - Anything Goes  
3. Celebrate the Occasion Challenge #107 Happy Easter...

I'm also joining the following Linky Parties:

1. D.L. Art's Thankful Thursday March Linky Party 
2. Everyday is an Occasion Sunday Funday #7
3. One Artsy Mama Shine On Fridays #72
4. Create. Craft. Love Keep Calm and Link Up #33

Until next time,

The Leprechauns Made Me Do It!! Decorate To Celebrate Ch#46: St. Patrick's Day

**It's St. Patrick's Day at Decorate To Celebrate!!**

The Leprechauns are coming, the Leprechauns are coming!!  Hip Hip Hooray, the Leprechauns are coming!!  :)

I know I've said it before...  St. Patrick's Day...  Is. A. Big. Deal. At. Our. House.  When I say it's a Big Deal, I don't mean that we kinda sorta like it...  I mean that it's BIG...  Like Christmas. And Mother's Day.  And the Fourth of July. All wrapped into one...  I'm pretty sure we started planning for this St. Patrick's Day last June.  Or May.  Or maybe even Mc-April.

When you have a child whose favorite color is RAINBOW, it only seems logical that St. Patrick's Day would be fun for the whole Mc-family.  Right???

If your cereal cabinet is bursting with the Lucky Charms and you greet your co-workers with a "Top o' the morning" each day, then St. Patrick's Day is like a celebration of life and all that is worth Mc-living for...  Right???

Come on, admit it...  You put a "Mc" in front of YOUR last name on St. Patrick's Day too, Mc-RIGHT??? :)

And that is why, for the next week or so, I plan to give you a little Mc-peek into some of the goodies that have found their way into our home to celebrate...  I hope you'll stop back by to see all that's in store...

For now, here's my Mc-inspiration for today's new challenge...

I created some St. Patrick's Day Decor Signs with some of my favorite Mc-sayings to celebrate the holiday!!  :)

Each sign started as a knotty piece of Mc-pine...  And even though my brother, my dad, and The-Mc-Sweetheart usually ban me from the power tools in their workshops, I managed to happily sand all of these my very own self (yes, with the power sander -- I even got pretty sawdusty in the process for those of you who are reading in disbelief that I got Mc-DIRTY!!)...  No, I didn't get to use the table saw or circular saw to cut the signs to just the right size, but I also got to keep all of my Mc-fingers (besides, letting him cut all these signs for me makes The-Mc-Sweetheart feel EXTRA useful!!)...

I painted the fronts of each sign with some "Shamrock Green" acrylic paint, then gently sanded the edges and sides (to remove any excess Mc-paint)...  After several hours, I was able to hand-letter each sign and hand-paint the light green shamrocks and accent dots on each sign...  When they were all dry, The-Mc-Sweetheart took care of staining each sign for me (because I'll never be interested in playing with the Mc-stain!!)...

This sign here would be my Mc-FAVORITE for the holiday...  Should anything go down on St. Patrick's Day, I can ALWAYS blame the Leprechauns!!  :)

I hope you've enjoyed my collection of St. Patrick's Day Decor Signs...  I'll be sharing another REALLY FUN Mc-project soon, and I'd love for you to come back and check it out!!

Now... if you create a decoration or party favor for a ST. PATRICK'S DAY PARTY or EVENT, be sure to Mc-JOIN US over at Decorate To Celebrate! for Challenge #46!!  Come help us celebrate EVERYTHING WONDERFUL ABOUT LEPRECHAUNS, SHAMROCKS, RAINBOWS, and POTS O' GOLD with your table decorations, party banners, pennants, yard signs, cupcakes, party favors and more!!  :)  Remember, you have until Tuesday, March 19th at 11:59pm to link up (you can do that HERE) and be eligible for YOUR CHANCE to WIN!!  I can't wait to see what you create!!  :)

Thanks again for sharing in my St. Patrick's Day excitement...  Here's hoping you have a Mc-wonderful March Day!!  :)

I'm Mc-Linking my signs up for the following challenges/linky parties:

1. Craftin' Desert Diva's Craft It Up & Link It Up Party -- Anything Goes

2. Anything But A Card -- Green, Irish, St. Patrick's Day

3. Everyday Is An Occasion -- Sunday {Fun}day #7

Until next Mc-time,

Paper Playtime Ch#5 -- So there's this doll... And she sent a card... :)

Hey everyone!!  I'm so glad you stopped by today!!  It's time for another FUN challenge over at Paper Playtime!!  It's an "Anything Goes" challenge, so be sure to pop over and link up with us!!  :)

Paper Playtime Ch#5 Anything Goes

Begins: Mon, Mar 4

Ends: Sun, Mar 17

Prize $15 Gift Cert. from The Robin's Nest

I can't wait to see what you link up!!  For inspiration, here's what I created for this challenge:

So there's this really amusing story that goes along with my card here...  You see, I grew up with Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls as well as a host of other "rag" dolls, so I'm pretty used to seeing them...  And my mom's decor is primitive country, so it's common for her to have little rag doll decorations tucked on shelves around her home...  BUT, there's this one doll...  And there's this one guy (let's just call him The-Sweetheart)...  And this one doll seems to have a CRUSH on The-Sweetheart!!  Really though...  The-Sweetheart doesn't so much "like" these little rag dolls...  I think it's because he's watched too many scary movies in his life because, when he saw this little doll on my mom's shelf, he said, "Hey, Aim...  I think that doll is looking at me!!"  I rolled my eyes and giggled a bit (because OF COURSE it's just a doll!!)...  And then The-Sweetheart says, "Hey, Aim...  I think that doll is carrying a head around in that little bag of hers!!"  To which I nearly spit my sip of water across the table before replying, "Um, Sweetheart, that little bag is just a little sign and it says LOVE, so I don't think she's the type to tote heads around!!"  After another bite of food, some big-eyed staring at the doll, and a glance back at me, the pellet stove in the corner made a loud squeaking noise that sent The-Sweetheart jumping out of his chair yelling, "Hey, Aim!!  I think she's coming for me now!!"  Sigh...  Shaking my head, I retrieved the doll from her corner on the shelf and brought her to show him that she had no legs to run after him...  I then assured him that the squeaking noise was merely the pellet stove motor, and he had nothing to worry about.  I don't think he was convinced.

The next day, when we got back to my mom's house, we found the doll like this:

After hearing the story of The-Sweetheart and his reaction to this sweet little doll, my mom found a little paper bag to hide her, um, "scary" face from The-Sweetheart.  We had a good laugh about it (especially since my mom thought she had seen The-Sweetheart looking cross-eyed at the doll that morning over his cornflakes)...  She actually thought it might be more amusing to move the doll around the house like the Christmas Elf...  I thought the bag might cause fewer heart attacks for The-Sweetheart...  But I did find a digital stamp from Dustin Pike that reminded me so much of the rag doll that I had to "help" her make this card for The-Sweetheart!!

Tee-hee...  I colored her with my Copics before matting her on red and white cardstock then added three little red gems... 

Since this was supposed to be a card for The-Sweetheart from the doll, I found a perfect little sentiment from K Andrew Designs "Of Mice and Little Men" set that says "Thanks for noticing me"...  I mean, that little rag doll got more attention than she could have ever imagined!!  :)  

The-Sweetheart didn't laugh quite as hard as we did when he received the card...  After jumping a little at the resemblance of the doll on the front of the card, he mumbled something about his "creepy little secret admirer" and tucked the card out of sight...  Tee hee...  

As for the doll...  She's enjoying the view from atop her shelf (bag-free again) while convincing the rest of us that it really IS the pellet-stove making that high-pitched eerie noise from time to time... And whenever The-Sweetheart comes to visit, she gives him a wink and pats her little bag...  :)

Thanks again for stopping by to see my card...  I hope you enjoyed the story and inspiration and will have a chance to show us what you've made for the challenge!!  Be sure to stop back by on Wednesday to see the first of my St. Patrick's Day goodies...  I'm so excited to share them with you!!  :)

Until next time,

Perk Up! An Easel Card and Chocolate Covered Coffee Beans!! :)

Hey, everyone!!  Thanks so much for stopping by to visit today!!  I have a fun easel card and special treat to share with you today...

February is The-Girl-Child's favorite month...  Why???  I'm so glad you asked!!  :)  In our house, we have this "thing" about celebrating our birthMONTH (instead of just a little ole birthDAY)!!  And, as you may have guessed, February is her birthmonth!!  YAY!!  :)  I truly am a very lucky momma to have such an awesome daughter -- and son too, but let's focus on The-Girl-Child (TGC) for now ;)  

TGC is probably the BEST week-after-Valentine's-Day-gift that I ever could have been given...  She still loves to hear the story of her birth (which has always been a birthday-eve tradition)...  Like her brother, she was born in a blizzard...  And even though the doctor said she wouldn't be arriving on time, I was sure to run up and down the stairs all day to ensure that she did indeed come on her due date (yeah, yeah, I know this wasn't a good idea and probably wasn't the reason I didn't have to wait, but it makes for good story-telling!!)...  I'm pleased to see that she has blossomed into a beautiful young lady full of generosity and kindness...  She has an infectious laugh and loves with her whole heart (so how appropriate to be a Valentine-baby!!)...  Her excitement about life is refreshing, and her energy is contagious...  But if she's having a low-key day, then she has a little secret.......  

She LOVES chocolate covered coffee beans!!  So my friend and I searched high and low to find the absolutely yummiest ones we could find and packed them up to send to her -- And, of course, I had to add a colorful card to the package!!  :)

The A2 sized card (4.25"x5.5") is an easel card so that TGC can display it on her desk...  I used Cuttlebug's Paisley embossing folder for the texture on the turquoise cardstock (4"x5.25")...  Although I used a white card base, I wanted to emphasis the lavender color of the bear's nightgown, so I added the lavender cardstock to the card front...

I used the mix-n-match sentiment "Perk Up!" from K Andrew's Coffee & Tea Stamp Set...  Although this set is no longer available, the tag-a-long sets ARE still available and are perfect for your Coffee, Tea, and Chocolate projects (  Be sure to CLICK HERE for 6% - 60% OFF remaining stamp sets in the CLEARANCE EVENT!!)!!  My tag is simply a rectangle with rounded corners (using my CM Corner Rounder)...  And since I wanted the tag to match the bear's nightgown perfectly, I used my Copic markers to color white cardstock before stamping the sentiment.  The dark purple ribbon is from my stash...

The adorable bear image is from Dustin Pike...  His digi stamps are some of my favorites, so be sure to check out all that he has to offer -- You're sure to find some fast favorites!!  :)  And even though it's a little hard to tell, I put the bear on one of my homemade "Wiggle Wires" (see the tutorial HERE) so that he could wiggle and jiggle and make TGC giggle!!  :)

And there ya have it!!  That's the first of the goodies that TGC received for her birthmonth...  There isn't a gift for every day, but there's LOTS of love and reminders that she's so important to me (although I hope she feels that every single day of the year too!!)...

Before I go, I'd like to share a little TGC inspiration too...

I told ya she was pretty AWESOME!!  :)

Thanks for sharing another proud-momma moment with me -- I hope this February finds you loving every moment with each special person in your life...

Until next time,

Valentine Treats & a GIVEAWAY (plus a WINNER) for the DTC Ch#44: Valentine/Love

**It's time again to decorate your celebrations with a Challenge at Decorate To Celebrate!!**

I'm so happy to have you stop by today for another Design Team Inspiration for Challenge #44 over at Decorate To Celebrate!!  Today, we are asking you to create any project to be used as a party decoration (or party supply) for a VALENTINE PARTY or EVENT!!  Let's celebrate EVERYTHING WONDERFUL ABOUT HEARTS, LOVE, and VALENTINES with your table decorations, party banners, pennants, yard signs, cupcakes, party favors and more!!  :)

Valentine's Day has always been one of my favorite holidays...  When I was little, I used to decorate my bedroom for every holiday (no wonder I still like decorating!!).  I would hang hearts that I cut from construction paper in my windows; string red, glittery hearts across the ceiling; make Valentines for all my teddy bears; and even decorate my Barbie Dream House in as much pink and red as I could get my hands on!!  When The-Boy-Child was a mere month-and-a-half old, I took it upon myself to create handmade Valentines from HIM -- complete with a pink paint footprint that left my sofa, carpet, and walls a bit more festive with splatters and splashes of pink...  When the school parties started, I was in my glory -- Cupcakes with thick, high layers of frosting (I surely wasn't the favorite mom when the sugar kicked in!!), lollipop treats, and construction paper hearts covered in glitter...  {sigh}  Those were the days!!

Now, with the kiddos in college, I still get to make little treats to send their way (but I no longer string those heart garlands across my ceiling)...  For me, Valentine's Day has always been about telling EVERYONE I love that my heart is so happy that I have them in my life...  So this is the little treat I created for the friends and family I get to see at this time of year.....

These little sour cream cups are always a quick and easy project to make... To make mine, I started with two sheets of 12x12 decorative paper and cut SIX 4"x6" rectangles from each sheet... I added adhesive to one 4" side and attached it to the other 4" side (think toilet paper roll)... I then added a line of liquid adhesive to one open end and pinched it together (nice and flat and even). After holding it for a moment while the glue started to dry, I placed that end into my Fiskars Crimping tool and rolled it in just a few clicks and held it there for a moment...

Once the adhesive has dried for a few moments you can add your candy (I used Skittles because the kiddos LOVE them!!) and pinch the other side closed (make sure you pinch it closed in the opposite direction so that it takes on the shape of a sour-cream-cup)... Add your adhesive and crimp that side as well... If you don't have a crimper, you could always use some binder clips to hold it closed until the glue dries and a scoring tool to add the creases...

I also made another decorative sign that I'd like to GIVE AWAY to one lucky follower...  If you'd like a chance to WIN this adorable little 1"x6" wooden shelf sitter that says "Love you! XOXO", all you have to do is leave me a comment letting me know what your favorite thing about Valentine's Day is...  Next Tuesday I will use random.org to draw a winner to receive my hand-painted sign!!  :)

I also made a decorative sign for The-Girl-Child...  It measures about 2" high and 6" wide...  It was painted black then sanded and stained.  I hand-lettered the "Hugs -  5c  FREE!" and added a few little red hearts...  The-Girl-Child has always been my go-to for all the hugs a Momma could ask for, so I know she'll love this little sign. :)

To participate in this challenge, be sure to link up your VALENTINE (or LOVE) THEMED PARTY project by clicking HERE before 11:59pm (EST) on Tuesday, February 19th to be eligible for YOUR CHANCE to WIN a VALENTINE themed Mini Album from Rhonda!!

Now.....  I also have a WINNER to announce!!  Remember the "Football Spoken Here" sign that I was giving away last time???  Well...  Here are the drawing results:

And that Number One comment came from TAMI, who said:

Congratulations, Tami!!  Tami is absolutely correct!!  We LOVE our PIRATES!!  I'm already counting down the days til Opening Day!!  YAY!!  :)  Tami, since you've already replied to my email, your sign is on the way!!  :)  I hope you enjoy it (and I hope you enjoyed the Super Bowl too!!)...

That's it, folks!!  I'll have more Valentine goodies (and some Super Bowl stuff still) to share in the coming days -- Hope to see ya again soon!!

Until next time,