The Sprinkle on Top

I could spend hours cutting papers, practicing lettering, and crafting a variety of projects - and I do. It's an escape for me to sit down with my paper box, a pair of scissors, and Pinterest to make cards for every occasion. And I love trying new ideas inspired from the crafty people of Pinterest.  This past year - 2017 - has been such a fun year with a lot to celebrate!  Check out these fun cards that are easy to DIY. Happy Father's Day! Natural Tri-Fold Card Idea from Verity Cards Tool Time Bi-Fold Card Idea from My Creative Corner Tie One On Bi-Fold Card Idea from Prairie Paper & Ink Happy Birthday!  Wishing You A Happy Birthday Card Idea from Split Coast Stampers   Birthday Gift Tower Postcard You're Not 66... Card Idea from Gift Ideas Corner Thank You! Grateful For You Bifold Card Idea from Justine Hovey Thank You Upside Down Bifold Opens downward from the top T...

Over the past few months I suddenly feel like everyone around me is having babies! Which is great news because babies are the best.   Lots of babies means lots of baby showers. Although it's great to get much needed items like diapers and wipes (which you can never really seem to have enough of) it's also fun to get unique gifts personalized for you and baby. Check out these DIY gifts that no one else will duplicate giving at the next shower you're invited to.  Diaper Friends These type of gifts are fun to make and fun to get. Plus they give the new mom a variety of items (diapers, bibs, bottles, mittens, toys, clothes, blankets, pacifiers, and whatever else you'd like to include).    Burp Cloths A wonderful woman gave me eight darling homemade burp cloths for one of my baby showers. At first, I wasn't sure why I was going to need so many... silly me. We go through them all weekly. It's so handy to be able to throw one in the wash and ...

Anyone who knows me knows that behind my sweet exterior crawls an inner darkness. How else do you explain the novels I've written like " The Harvest ", my love of scary movies, or the countless times I've hidden at the end of a dark hallway crouched like the Grudge girl to welcome Justin home. And you better believe that Evie will find me hiding in her closet scratching on the wooden doors more than once. So it's no surprise that Halloween is one of my absolute favorite holidays. Over the past 5 years Justin and I have slowly collected Halloween decorations - a lot of which are homemade and cost very little. Unfortunately I've had to get rid of a lot of them over the years as we moved 3 different times and certain (sad) decisions had to be made about what got to come along to each new home. But having to start my stores of haunted paraphernalia over again just gives me an excuse to Pinterest new ideas and nerd out making them. Shadow Monsters ...

After 2 months of only attending the Sacrament meeting portion of church, I finally climbed back in the saddle and went back to Primary. And boy did it feel good to be back. The lesson was simple this week with only a brief history to teach, which left us more time to do an activity. The lesson: Joseph Smith writes the Articles of Faith. We followed the manual pretty much to a "T" to get the lesson started off. You can get the manual and their ideas here . After telling the kids of the events that surrounded the writing of the Articles of Faith, we dove into an activity that got the kids out of their seats, make them work for a little treat and it turned into a huge success. This activity was adapted from idea #1 & #2 given in the manual. The activity was to teach the kids that knowing the Articles of Faith can help lead them and others to a testimony of the gospel. To start off I pulled out a dish full of little baggies with some skittles in them. I explain...

Nine months of pregnancy seems like a long time, but actually flies by when you're waiting for your bundle of joy to arrive. Within that seemingly short time frame, there are a lot of things to consider: taking care of the baby inside and outside of the womb, taking care of yourself during and after the pregnancy, collecting all of the gear needed to help this little one survive, and among it all, financially affording this new adventure. Justin and I really wanted to go all out stocking up on supplies and building Evie's nursery , but that's easier said than done when you are financially preparing for a baby plus paying off a huge student loan.  The theme of our nursery was PINK and GOLD. Everything and anything was some shade of pink or gold which made it really easy because we didn't have to match specific hues or anything. If it was pink or gold, it belonged in her room.  We were able to do a few easy DIY projects that really made the nursery stand out a...

I'm all about doing it yourself whether it's creating your own cute home decor, preparing new recipes or making your own cards. There are so many fun ideas out there and if you have some colored paper and just a little bit of time, you really can make them your own. Below are some of the cute cards I fell in love with on Pinterest and made my own so far this year: Happy Valentine's Day Card idea from Stamping Julie It's a Boy! Card idea from CKScrapbook Events You're Invited... "RSVP Please respond by DATE to PERSON at NUMBER" "Come & Have Tea with Me, At a Mad Hatter Tea Party!" Happy Birthday! Text goes in place of the black arrows Card idea from Coops Crafty Corner Happy Mother's Day! Card idea from Bead and Cord Do you have any go-to cards you like to give?