EASY, DIY Alice in Wonderland Croquet Set Printable

When I was trying to throw my Alice in Wonderland party a few years back, I had the hardest time trying to find Flamingo Croquet.  After all, you can't have an Alice in Wonderland party without the famous croquet game!

After searching high and low, I didn't have any luck, so I decided to make my own Flamingo Croquet.  I used PVC pipe and it was a bit complicated and difficult, but do-able.  I shared the directions HERE.  But after a few years, I got to thinking that maybe there was a better, easier way to make this.  One that didn't involve drilling, cutting, and unhelpful blobs of glue.

Then, an idea came to make my printables fit an already made croquet set from Amazon.  DUH!  I guess I couldn't find an appropriate set to work with all those years ago.  Or maybe, like Dear Hubby says, I just like to be complicated.

But this new set was so EASY I almost wondered if I did something wrong.  (Nothing's ever really that easy is it?)

I found this Halex Select 6-Player Croquet Set in Deluxe Carry Case from Amazon.  It was about $35.00.  I like that it comes in a zip case that allows you to store everything inside it and keep it all together and safe.  After the mallets I made from  my other Alice in Wonderland Croquet set ending up all over the house and torn up, I like that this can be all secured away.

Then I took my Flamingo head printables, printed them out, cut them up, and glued them on.  So easy!

And the Guardsmen Wicket pieces were just as easy.  I made two different instructions so if you want to make yours super sturdy and durable, or if you are just wanting something quick and easy.

Either way, I've got you covered!  I'm super excited about how much easier it will be now for you to enjoy Flamingo Croquet at your next Alice in Wonderland party.   You can find the printable in our shop HERE or if you still like the old fashioned DIY set made from PVC pipe, you can still find the directions and printable HERE.

Find more Alice in Wonderland Party Ideas here:

• Wonderland Cupcake Wrapper and Toppers
• Wonderland Blog Party Ideas
• Wonderland Party Ideas in the Party Store
• Wonderland Pinterest Party Idea Board

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February Family Home Evening Chore Chart Printable

I don't talk about religion very much on this blog.  It's kind of a personal thing to me.  Maybe that's good, maybe that's bad.  But I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  We as a people are very family oriented.  It's probably one of the most important factors of our life.  As such, we focus a lot on family activities and family learning.  So we try to have a weekly night where we just focus on our family.  We teach our kids the things we feel they need, we enjoy time as a family, and we play.

Finding the time and energy to do this each week, is sometimes hard.  I admit it.  Drama Queen and the Perfectionist are in their high school play.  They are doing Beauty and the Beast this year and it's going to be BIG.  Or BIGGER than BIG.  So they spend alot of time at school in practice.

The Daredevil got the role of Puck in A Mid Summer Night's Dream in his middle school play.  I'm super surprised that they are doing Shakespeare and that his first time trying out he got such a great roll.  Not that I'm surprised in him.  He was born to be in front of an audience.  But that takes a lot of time up too.

Plus, Mini Me is in after school activities, we have Boy/Cub Scouts, Youth Church Activities, Dear Hubby and I both have big callings.....

I could go on and on...But, don't we all have live's like that?  We have to make it important to spend the time together as a family.  We carve out the time and make it special.  After all, my teenagers won't be around too much longer. I need to enjoy every moment I have with them.

So our Family Home Evenings are even more special to me right now.  To help us all stay on track, I created this chart for each of us to keep track of our weekly assignments.  (That's the worst part for me.  I feel like I end up doing it all sometimes.)

If you aren't interested in using it for your family night's, it could also be used as a chore chart.

I started by going with a Valentine theme.  I used hearts with arrows.  On each of the hearts are our weekly assignments...lesson, song, prayer, game, treat, and helper.

I used arrows to write each of our names on.  Each of the arrow ends got a piece of velcro on the back so we can move these each week without ruining the chart with tape.  The other piece of velcro went on the top of the heart where the arrow looks like it pierces the heart.

Now each week, we just move each name around the chart and don't forget our weekly assignments.

If you are interested in this printable, you can right click and save the JPG picture files to your computer.  Then add your own information on each piece.  Or you can use the idea to create your own.  Whatever works for you.

I hope that gives you a chance to spend some time with your family.  It goes by way too fast!

Sweet Candy Valentine Printables

I've been busy working to bring you some requested Valentine Candy treats this week.  These are one of my favorite things to design!  I LOVE these candy toppers for their versatility and sweet treats.  You can add them to the top of a gift as a fun "To" and "From" tag.  You can give them as part of a gift.  You can give them to your whole class as a cheap, easy Valentine treat.

I'm still working to add a whole bunch more, since the ideas are endless on what you can do and use to fill these bags.

But I've also been working to add some that weren't all "Girly" and "Mushy."  These Swedish Fish "O-Fish-ally Be Mine" toppers would be great to give to the boys in your classroom. Or how about the new "Hooked on You" Gummy Worm topper?

 

 And due to popular demand, I've started making these ALREADY completed.  Some of you have complained about having trouble finding the time or the candy to make these yourself.  Thanks to access to a fun candy store, I can do both.  You can find the completed toppers (with more coming soon) HERE while the printable ones are HERE.

10 Free Valentine Printables

1. Hershey candy bar from Less Cake More Frosting.

2. Valentine's Day Keep Calm Printable from Designs by CP.

3. ABC Valentine Printable from Oopsey Daisy.

4. Valentine Hugs and Kisses Jar Printable from Lil Luna.

5. Valentine's Day Mad Lib Printable from My Sister's Suitcase.

6. Valentine's Day Subway Art from Lillian McKay Designs.

7. I Love You Valentines Day Printable from Decorating the Dorchester Way.

8. Valentine Goodie Bags by Twig & Thistle.

9. Valentine Kiss Printable from Amanda's Parties To Go.

10. Valentine Kiss Countdown Calendar from US!

Thankful Thursday: A New Year

After a wild and crazy 2012, I'm so thankful for new beginnings and a new year.  I'm excited to look forward with hope to good things happening this year.  I'm excited to start new adventures.  And to make new goals.

I know that it's several weeks into the new year and I'm just now getting around to setting some goals for this year...probably not the best way to start off...

But I have 2 excuses in my thinking when it comes to this delay...

1. I've been super sick the past 2 weeks and am just now coming back to life. 

 And 2. I figure this way I've missed all the time when everyone usually sets their goals and then quits, so I'll be more apt to keep going.

Right? Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

In setting my goals for 2013, I kept coming back to one phrase that summed up everything I wanted to accomplish this year.

I heard a lesson given by a friend at church last year and to be honest, I don't remember all of what was said, or probably even most of what was said, but this phrase stuck with me.  

In the talk, she recited a quote by George Albert Smith where was telling us that every day we can do just a little bit better than we did yesterday.  Sometimes we may not make big strides, but by small acts, every day can be just a little better.

So this year, I'm going to be a Better Mom.

A Better Wife.

A Better Sister.

A Better Counselor.

A Better Businesswoman.

A Better Blogger.

A Better Friend.

It may not be a very concrete goal to you, but it's something that goes through my mind in every choice that I make.

Last night, I was finally taking down the Christmas tree and cleaning up too many dirty dishes, when the Daredevil asked me to play a game with him.  Looking around at all I needed to accomplish (since I was finally well enough to clean), this quote went through my head and I knew it was inspiration to be a better mom.

So we loaded up the dishwasher together and sat down to a long game of Phase 10.  It may not have been much, but it was a "little bit of Awesome" in my Mom Bucket.  And with every choice, it makes me a little better.

Valentine Kiss Countdown Calendar Free Printable

It seems like when you are young, you have a lot of "collections."  Things that are "cool" to have and save.  I had a huge collection of Snow Globes and Cherished Teddies collectibles when Dear Hubby and I first got married.  Over time, I learned that it's not quite as important (and not much fun to dust), so when kids come along and things start getting broken or there are more important things to spend money on, it's wasn't that big of a deal to let go of the "stuff".

The only thing that I've really kept up collection wise is my Advent calendars.  I just LOVE counting down to special days.  Every year I try and make or purchase a new countdown calendar for Christmas.  By now, Mini Me is the only one who still gets excited to change the date each day, but he and I have fun doing it each morning before school.

So when I come up with a new idea for a countdown calendar, especially one for a different holiday than Christmas, I get pretty excited.  And when the idea is super easy and involves chocolate, I am in LOVE!

I started by designing up this 8x10 Valentine Kisses printable.

Then I found a fun frame and put it inside.

There are 14 pink dots on the heart, one to countdown each day in February until Valentine's day.

I put a Glue Dot on the outside of the glass in the center of each dot.

Then I stuck a Hershey Kiss on each glue dot.  You can use Valentine colored kisses or a specific flavor of kisses (Mini Me loves Dark Chocolate, so I'll probably use that for him.)

Each day, you can take off a Hershey Kiss and enjoy a sweet treat before Valentine's Day!

Next year, you can add new kisses and do it all again.

Here's the free printable if you want to make one of your own.

Just right click on the jpg picture and save to your computer.

Valentine Shopping

I was officially diagnosed with the flu last week and boy, has it not been fun. I haven't been this sick in forever and it has taken forever to get better.  Thanks to that, I've been in a creative slump.  I'm hoping with Valentine's only being a few weeks away, I'll get my head in gear and wow you with some fun valentine's party ideas.

To get started, here are some sweet ideas from the small businesses of Etsy.  Go and show some love to your local mom and pop businesses with the fun finds.

'I Love You Valentine's Party' 

Be Mine banner Valentines da... PaperPolaroid $35.00	Valentine Chocolate Blooming... candycottage $25.00
Pearl Heart Napkin Rings - V... Umis $16.00	Valentine's Day Personal... ahindle78 $12.00
Set of six VALENTINE'S D... TransylvaniaFl... $24.95	20 White Heart Rattan Lover ... marwincraft $14.97
Valentine Day Cupcake Topper... Umis $10.80	Valentines Topiary "Hug... LadyBugzandLac... $40.00
Valentine's Red Heart Dr... GrasshopperGri... $4.00	Valentine Gummy Hearts Large... LorDelLinens $22.00
Giant Valentine Sugar Cookie... guiltyconfecti... $16.00	Valentine Cupcake Stand Disp... NuLuDesigns $37.95
Valentine's Red & White ... BlueMoonStudio... $28.00	Red Twine-Red bakers twine- ... SofiesBigDay $4.25
Valentine's Day Satin co... ladybugsnbees $29.99	Valentines pom poms set of 1... PomGarden $60.00

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