Butterfly Birthday Party: DIY Favor Bags

Dear Em,
I love favor bags that include something that is usable over time. Our favorites are favor bags that include crafts. A few months ago, you went to a birthday party & received a favor bag that included a wooden lizard with paints. You named your lizard Lizzie & loved it. It was a wonderful rainy day activity.

I wanted to do something like that for your Butterfly Birthday Party favor bags. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any wooden butterfly painting activities that weren't crazy expensive (it turns out, I wasn't looking in the right section of the craft store). In fact, even after searching the internet & craft stores, I had a hard time finding anything that wasn't total junk or super expensive. So, I turned to Pinterest.

I made a Butterfly Birthday Board & pinned a bunch of DIYs that looked easy & fun. The first was this Butterfly Sun Catcher Craft I thought the kids would love.I had plans to include all of the paper materials in your favor bags so the kids could make their sun catchers at home. Unfortunately, this was one of those instances where the "easy" Pinterest project ended up being a total pain. Our printer wasn't cooperating, & I couldn't print out the free template from home. I went to Staples to print the butterfly templates, but they wouldn't print them because the image is copyrighted. Whomp Whomp.

That's when Nonnie came & saved the day. She traced & cut out each butterfly template by hand. It was extremely tedious & didn't come out looking exactly the way it did in the website picture. In the end, I think Nonnie was ready to kill me & the butterfly templates. I hope your little friends enjoyed making butterfly suncatchers. We haven't even attempted making ours. I think I'm sick of looking at them, frankly. But I'm still holding out that it will be a fun rainy day activity for you later this year.

Our next craft for the favor bag were these Butterfly Clothespin Magnets. I had plans to make them with you & Nonnie, but Nonnie quickly decided I had too much on my plate. You & Nonnie took over the project, & your butterfly magnets came out super cute.

The last thing to DIY was the favor bags themselves. I had purchased plain, brown bags, & I wanted to glam them up a little bit. We used the same butterfly punch from the craft store that we had decorated the party hats with. Nonnie glued the colorful butterflies onto the bags. It was one of the most simple DIYs we did (& I'm saying this knowing that it was ALL Nonnie).

We cut out circles & glued more punched butterflies to the middle. I wrote "Thank You!," punched a star hole through the circle, & used some pink twine to fasten the circles to each bag (Nonnie actually let me do that part). We filled up the favor bags with the Butterfly sun catchers, a butterfly airplane, a butterfly straw, & butterfly bubbles. Then we clipped the butterfly clothespin magnets to the tops of the bags. Viola, we had favor bags.

Not everything turned out exactly the way I had envisioned, & it al took a lot more time & energy than I would have hoped (so thankful that Nonnie was there to help/take over). Still, I think our favor bags were really stinkin' cute. They were a cute way to send off your little friends & let them know we were glad they were able to come to your party. And hopefully, some of the contents were usable over time (I know we've been using the clothespin butterflies as chip clips).

I love you so,
Mommy

Girls Day

Dear Em,
On Saturday you & I shared a precious day, just the two of us. We started the day getting ready for your dance photo shoot. I used the curling iron to curl your pony tail. We applied lipstick, blush, & eye make-up to your little, girl face. You loved being able to wear make-up just like Mommy.

It was almost lunchtime by the time you finished your dance photo shoot. Luckily, one of our favorite spots was close by. We ate a packed lunch by the water in Watch Hill. It was a cool day, but it was sunny. We were both happy to be outdoors.

Watch Hill has so many cute shops. You wanted to go to every single one. Most of the stores had women's clothing & home decor, but you still enjoyed just browsing the racks & shelves. You told almost every shop owner that you & I were having a "girls day. Daddy is not allowed, because he is a boy...& he is at the RedSox game." The shop owners smiled, delighted by you & your openess. One of the women even gave you a frog made out of rocks & shells.

Once we had stopped in every shop (& you made sure we had stopped in every single one that was open...I do love my little shopping buddy), we headed over the giant dune & to the beach. It was still on the chilly side, & I was glad you never dared to venture too close to the water. Instead, you danced around, wrote little notes in the sand, & looked for shells.

You came running over to me, eyes wide & a big smile plastered on your face. You had found a pretty piece of green sea glass. I had never actually found sea glass on the beach myself. It became a hunt for treasure after that for both of us. We filled a bag with sea glass & shells, & we talked about art projects that we could make with them.

We had walked that beach with Daddy many times, never going more than halfway. Saturday was the day we walked all the way to the end. There, we found tons of giant rocks. You explored & climbed from rock to rock while I snapped pictures of my amazing & strong little girl.

Tired from all of our Watch Hill walking, we headed to the craft store to pick up supplies for our beachy art project ideas. You slept most of the way. Your cheeks were rosy with fresh air, & I couldn't help but smile as I stole glimpses of you in the rear view mirror.

Our last stop before heading home was Newport Creamery. There we picked up a couple Awful Awfuls. "These really are awful big & awful good, Mom." You had oreo Awful Awful all over your face. I'm not sure how you got it on your forehead, but you did. Your eyes were bright, & you were smiling from ear to ear.

When we got home, I cleaned off our pretty shells & sea glass. I can't believe how much beautiful sea glass we found. I'm so excited about the things we will make from the things that we found on our beautiful adventure.

I know there may come a time where hanging out with your friends might seem a little more fun & exciting than spending time with Daddy & I. So, I am going to savor these moments, moments where having a girls day with your mom is one of the most special kinds of days. 

Thank you so much for Saturday. Thank you for being so excited to spend a girls day with your mom. Thank you for bringing the smiles, the shopping, the "ooohs," & the "ahhhhhs." Thank you for finding the treasures & adventure & for walking along with me & holding my hand. Thank you for all the times you celebrated & all the times we talked. Thank you ever so much for being my girl.

I love you so,

Mommy

"Not every day is going to go your way."

Dear Em,
I was having a rough day. You could see the stress in my face. You looked up at me & asked me what was wrong. I had to work to calmly reply. "Today is just not going my way."

"Well, not every day is going to go your way. You & Dad tell me that all the time."

I laughed. Sometimes I think God created five year olds so that they can tell people exactly what they need to hear. I couldn't change the way the first half of that day had gone, but I could choose how I would spend the rest of it. I chose you & I chose sunshine & I chose art. My favorite way to destress is to create something.

So, you & I picked up our chalk & headed outside to the front walk. We created pictures in the sunshine, side by side.

You know what? the day didn't end up being so bad. Thanks for helping me turn my rough days around.

I love you so,

Mommy

Throwback Thursday: A Walk Through Valentine Making Memory Lane

Dear Em,
We had so much fun making your Valentine's this year. As we worked together, I smiled thinking about all of your past Valentines. Most of them turned out pretty cute, but some were pretty miserable to make.

We started out fairly easy. Your first Valentine's Day, you were not even two months old. We had a little Valentine themed photo shoot, & I used the pictures to make photo cards for Daddy & our parents. At a month & a half old, it was tough to get photos of you where you were looking at the camera & not moving or crying.

But just look at that cute, teeny, little bum.

The next year we did the same thing, a photo shoot & photo cards. This photo shoot proved to be even tougher. You moved around a lot & ate most of the props.

2012 was the first year you had classmates to give Valentines to, & we got a little more creative. Our Valentines still involved a photo shoot. I asked you to hold your hand out in a fist. We printed your photos with a message & slid lollipops into a slit in the photo. Your Valentines became 3D & looked like you were holding out a lollipop to your friends. These Valentine's were cute & fairly easy. At the age of two, you couldn't understand why I wanted you to hold your hand out in a fist...I don't think you even understood what a fist really was. I finally gave you a clip to hold in your hand & asked you to hold it out to me. We ended up with an OK shot. We should have called it a day at that point, but I decided to get fancy & make hand print Valentines for our friends & family members as well. They came out cute, but my little Valentine was pretty Valentined out by then. You were a cranky mess, & I realized maybe I had overdone things a little.

Of course after overdoing things the previous year, in 2013 I decided to take overdoing it to a whole new level. You had studied owls in school that year, & I found adorable Valentine owl bags that we could put together. You were really into it...for the first two bags. Unfortunately, I think we made 40 of them. Of course I had to add another owl making Valentine project, which involved a lot of cutting & using the hot glue gun...which pretty much meant you couldn't even participate in that portion of your Valentines. Then we made cookies (because I felt guilty your Valentines didn't have a candy/treat component)...which may have happened after you were already asleep, because, lets face it, we were both exhausted from making your Valentines that year.

The next year, I was still burnt out from Valentine making & we decided to go back to the 3D lollipop Valentines. We did another photo shoot, & I realized we should never have a photo shoot before you've eaten breakfast. In the end, we got a cute photo, & you helped create your Valentines by writing your classmate's names by tracing over what I had written in yellow marker. There were only a few tears involved in the creation of those Valentines, & I called it a success.

This year, I decided to take a new approach. I looked up handmade Valentines on Pinterest, & asked you to look through them with me. As we scrolled through, I let you pick out your favorite. You chose a cute, little Olaf Valentine. I shouldn't have been surprised that the Valentine you chose was Frozen themed.

Here's what we needed.

- Printed Cards (free download from One Creative Mommy)

- Markers to address Valentines

- Stickers (optional)

- Pretzel sticks

- Candy Corn (since it's out of season, I ordered it from Amazon)

- mini chocolate kisses

- regular sized marshmallows

- mini marshmallows

- M&Ms (preferably brown)

- plastic bags

- a stapler

It looked fairly easy to make, & I was confident this was a Valentine we could work on together. We downloaded & printed the free file (we printed extras to allow for mistakes). I cut them out into rectangles. Armed with a list of your Valentines, you addressed each one all by yourself. You read off each name on your list, tried to use what you thought was that person's favorite color, & carefully wrote out each name. It took you quite a while (you have over 30 Valentines this year). You worked so hard, & I watched from a distance, beaming with pride. I couldn't believe that you were working on your Valentines ALL BY YOURSELF. You made a few mistakes, but you remained very patient.

After you were done addressing your Valentines, you had fun adding some extra decorations. You added Frozen, heart, & winter themed sticks to the backs of each page. You were very careful to try to use each person's favorite colors & Frozen characters. It was really stinkin' cute.

Once we were done, we filled the bags together with the melted Olaf goodies. Each bag had 3 large marshmallows (the body), two mini marshmallows (the feet), a candy corn nose, two pretzel sticks for arms, two mini chocolate kisses for eyes, & two M&Ms for buttons (we tried to use brown, but once we ran out we used other colors). It truly looked like bags of little, melted Olafs. You passed me each addressed Valentine, & I stapled them to the bags.

They came out really stinkin' cute, & you loved every moment of making these Valentines. There were no Valentine tears this year!!! Perhaps the secret is in letting you pick out an age appropriate Valentine project. Please remind me of this next year!

I love you so,
Mommy

To see some of our past Valentines, click on the following links...
2012: Hand print Valentines & 3D Lollipop Valentines
2013: Owl Valentines
2014: 3D Flower Lollipop Valentines

Em's Art Wall

Dear Em,
Although we have our chalkboard wall filled with your art, it doesn't seem to have quite enough space to display all of your artwork...you have so much & every day you add to your growing collection. So, you created a space of your own. You've asked me to put tape on the back of your works of art, & now your bedroom wall is covered in it.

Ha! Looks like I am going to need to work on creating more display space.

I love you so,
Mommy

Love Letters

Dear Em,

"How long will I love you?

As long as stars are above you

And longer, if I can.

How long will I need you?

As long as the seasons need to

Follow their plan.

How long will I be with you? 

As long as the sea is bound to

Wash upon the sand.

How long will I want you?

As long as you want me to

And longer by far..."

- "How Long Will I Love You" by Ellie Goulding

I have loved this song ever since I first heard it, mostly because it makes me think of you. This is how I felt the very first time I ever learned of you, as you were beginning to grow inside my womb. Then I held you in my arms for the very first time. Words cannot express the joy & the love I felt at that moment. My heart felt like it would burst. Each & every day, somehow I fall in love with you all over again. Just when I think I couldn't possibly love you anymore than I already do, the next day dawns & I find that I love you a little more than I did the day before. How is that even possible?

I wiped down our chalkboard wall just before Christmas. I had plans to put up lyrics from different Christmas hymns, but the holiday season kind of got away from me & it never happened. This past weekend I was itching to create, & you & I went to work bringing color once again to our chalkboard wall. I used these chalkboard markers to write the words to a question that I ask you almost every day. "How long will I love you." You smile & answer, "as long as stars are above you." I hug you tight as I whisper, " and longer, if I can."

You helped me pick out the colors as I wrote. When I was done writing love letters all over the wall, you & I both set out drawing pictures. You made hearts with pictures of our family within them. I filled the wall with some of our favorite things- ocean waves, anchors, your little handprints, flowers, rainbows, hearts, stars, & flowers. I made a sunshine with the words, "have a great day," right next to where you grab your coat & backpack from each day.

When we finished, we both loved the result. The colors are so bright & cheerful (a perfect offset to the winter grays). It makes me so happy to wake up & see our wall of love before we start each day. And that, my love, is just one of the ways we survive winter in New England. Even on the gray days, we choose love.

I love you so,
Mommy

Our DIY Pinecone Christmas Trees

Dear Em,
You did so much crafting this holiday season. We made six shell heart frames & tons of Christmas tree pinecones. You were so excited to craft together in November, but when I told you we were finally finishing our last crafts in mid December, a look of relief spread over your face. You were ready for some Christmas movie down time.

The idea for the Christmas tree pinecones actually came a year ago. We went for a walk in a park in North Carolina & found giant pinecones littered everywhere across the park grounds. I remarked how much they reminded me of pinecones from the Redwood Forest in California & how they would be great to use in making Christmas crafts (which is probably because we had just made these). Your Nonnie agreed, & so the three of us spent the rest of our walk at the park collecting pinecones. We tried to pick large, straight ones. There were so many to choose from, & we ended up returning home with a big bag full.

That bag sat in our basement until a couple months ago. Not knowing exactly what kind of Christmas craft to make, I turned to Pinterest. If you type in "Christmas pinecone crafts," you will find endless ideas. I pinned a few ideas that would work with the giant pinecones we had & then asked you which idea you liked best. You chose to make glittery Christmas trees with a gold star on top.

We used:
- Large Pinecones
- Small Wood Stars
- Gold Paint
- Mod Podge (spray & regular)
- Gold & Silver Glitter
- Paint Brushes
- A piece of cardboard to catch the paint & glitter
- Wire Cutters (if you want to trim the bottoms of the pinecone)

While you painted the stars gold, we enlisted your uncle Jared's help with the pinecones. Some of them were crooked, & he trimmed the bottoms a little so the pinecones would stand a little straighter. Note to self, teenage boys (& maybe most males) do not enjoy making Christmas crafts like you & I do. Jared pretty much hated me 90% of the time I enlisted him to help out with our craft. Sorry, Jared.

While you painted the stars independently, you & I glittered the trees together. Using paint brushes, we generously covered the pinecones in Mod Podge, trying to get every crevice (we probably could have used spray Mod Podge & it would have been easier but then you wouldn't have been able to help as much). Once our pinecone was covered in sticky Mod Podge, we generously sprinkled a mix of gold & silver glitter (creating a champagne glitter look) all over the pinecone.

Later, I sprayed Mod Podge thoroughly all over the pinecones to seal the glitter onto the pinecones. After they all dried, I used a glue gun to fasten the gold stars to to the top of the pinecones. You & I both loved how they turned out. I mean, when you take an adventure at the park & add Mod Podge & glitter (it's still all over the house, poor Daddy), what's not to love?

I think our "trees" are such fun holiday gifts for some of the special people in our lives. I love them so much, we took a bunch for our home (since we made more than twenty, we were able to keep some for ourselves & still gift them to many of our friends & family & your teachers). I love the natural & festive elements they bring to our holiday decor. Looking at them & knowing that my almost five year old & I (& Uncle Jared, sorry Jared) made them together...I think they are going to make me smile for years to come.

I love you so,
Mommy