We're always HAIR for you! DIY Scrunchie tutorial and gift idea!

I serve in Young Women organization for my church and we try to recognize each girl on her birthday. Last year we did candy bars, but this year we wanted to do something different. Did you know that scrunchies are super popular among tweens/teens right now? I seriously couldn't believe it! I had TONS of scrunchies when I was a girl, so it's funny to me they are back in style. They are also SO EASY to make! The leaders got together to make a bunch for the girls and I designed the card to go with it.

Once the girls got wind we were giving out scrunchies for birthdays they begged us to do a scrunchie making activity! We had 4 sewing machines with leaders supervising each machine, but the girls did the sewing (even the youngest beehives with NO sewing experience). The great thing about scrunchies is that if you mess up, you can't tell because of how "scrunchie" the material is (see what I did there--haha!)

I would definitely recommend making a couple yourself before you teach your young women. I used two different tutorials to get the general idea before I set off making my own.

I used THIS ONE and also THIS ONE---they both pretty much say the same thing, I just needed some extra pictures to figure out how they were explaining how to sew your fabric tube together and hide your seam. Also...we figured out that if you cut your elastic a little bit longer you can just tie it in a knot and sew around the knot...it makes it really easy for the girls!

There are some really cute fabric patterns out there, so go crazy! We had enough scrap fabric as leaders that we didn't have to buy any for our activity. Another tip: pre-cut out the fabric. It saves so much time! I also pre-cut the elastic too.

Here's the birthday note! Just right click on the picture, save to your computer and print!

I have lots of other young women and primary digital files over on my ETSY SHOP...please check them out! And if you liked this post, please feel free to share! Likes, shares, and pins help my little shop stay in business! Thanks for stopping by!

Cupid's Delivery: Free Valentine's Day Roundup!

Valentine's Day is almost here! I've done my best to roundup the best and newest printables, lunch box jokes, and printables for any valentine's day classroom parties you might have coming. Enjoy!

The crazy straw valentine was a huge hit at my daughter's preschool a few years ago. I loved that they were a non-candy option too.

I've created a simple circle cut out that works as a tag with any Valentine, candy or not, for kids & adults. To download, CLICK HERE. At the end of this post there is another link to more printable classroom valentine tag ideas as well as classroom party ideas.

This next printable is probably my favorite. I get it out every year on February 1st and we take turns writing things we love about each other on it throughout the entire month. We have it displayed in a common area inside an inexpensive clear plastic frame. We write on it with a dry erase marker and wipe it off. The kids help me say things they love about their dad or each other. They especially love waking up and seeing what their dad and I have written about them!

To download the blank, I love you because page, click HERE

These next few printables are great to display in your home as part of your seasonal decor, can be printed smaller to use as tags or cards and are perfect as a fun way to dress up your valentine's day treats for friends and neighbors!

 To download all you need is love click HERE

 To download the red heart on stripes, click HERE

 To download the pink heart on stripes, click HERE

 To download love was made for you and me, click HERE

 To download the Valentine's Subway art, click HERE

To download the you and me print, click HERE

My first grader recently informed that notes from mom and lunch box jokes are all the rage at her school. She asked me why she hadn't gotten any yet. Not wanting her to feel left out, I'm excited I found this printable lunch box jokes from over the big moon. Click here to download.

Here are 30+ valentine's day printables for class parties over at pretty providence. Some of them are really cute and clever. To see them all, click HERE

Click here for a DARLING Valentine's Day Coloring Page

Click HERE for fun Valentine's Word Search 

Free STARWARS Printable Valentine's Cards are HERE

You're the WRITE friend for me! Pencil holder Valentine Card is HERE

As always, please use the printables for your own personal use and make sure to check out my Etsy Shop to see if there's anything else I can help you with. Remember, I do custom orders and have a variety of items in my shop for baby showers gifts, your church lessons and classes, as well as the ability to create a custom card, invitation, announcement, or design for your home! Send me a convo on etsy! Thanks for stopping by!

Confessions of a Wannabe Seamstress: 50's Poodle Skirt

It's my favorite time of year again! I absolutely adore fall, Halloween, and everything that comes with it!

I was able to find some costumes for my boys at garage sales that were cheaper than making them, so I only had one costume to make this year, and luckily it was an easy one! My daughter wanted to go as a 50's Poodle Skirt Girl (is there an actual name for this?).

First, gather your materials:

• 2 yards of felt (my daughter is almost 10 years old)
• 1 yard of black elastic for the waist
• 1 yard of black rope sequins for the poodle's leash
• black poodle applique (or find a picture online, trace, and cut one out of black felt!)

I started with the circle skirt using this handy sizing chart after I measured my daughter's waist. After you know the radius of the circle , you make your own pattern by taping pieces of blank paper together and using a measuring tape. First measure the radius length starting from the corner of a piece of paper. Mine was 3 and 3/4 inches. Then, starting from that same point, I moved the tape  measure in an arc and made dots until I reached each edge of the paper. All I had to do was connect the dots and TA-DA, you have your quarter circle that will be the waist of your skirt. (Double check your work: holding one end of your tape measure in the corner, you should be able to move the other end along the line you drew and the tape measure should read the same number...i.e. the number of the radius according to the chart I linked you to above).

Now you need to work on the rest of your skirt. You should've measured how long you want the skirt to be. For my daughter, it needed to be 24 inches long (from her waist to where I wanted the skirt to hit on her legs). You measure the length starting on the edge of the quarter circle you just drew. Now move one end of your tape along the outside edge of that quarter circle. As you move it and measure out to your desired length, make dots until you reach the other edge of the paper. Connect your dots and you've got yourself a pattern!

 cut out your finished pattern

Fold your fabric in half, and then in half again...so it's in quarters. Find the corner fold and pin your pattern into place. This where you might have a mild heart attack thinking you're going to ruin the fabric and it's not going to turn out. But it will! If you are like me, and need another tutorial to reference just to make absolutely sure you're not going to mess things up, I suggest this one. 

Unfold your fabric and you're 90% finished!

Use the elastic to measure your daughter's waist. You want the elastic to stretch around her waist (but no too tight). After several tries, I found the right fit, cut off the extra elastic length I didn't need, and then sewed the two ends together to make a loop.

Next, pin your elastic to the waist of your skirt (make sure you figure out which side of the fabric should be facing out and that you're elastic is also facing the correct way). Once your elastic in pinned in place, you'll use your sewing machine to sew the elastic to the skirt. I pinned it so the pink felt of the waist  of the skirt came about halfway up the black elastic, if that helps you.  As you sew, use your hands to stretch that elastic out. That's what makes the elastic effective and your skirt will have these cute pleats in it!

Now it's time to add some details! If you know me, you know that if I can use my glue gun instead of sew, I will! When my daughter was trying on the skirt, I pinned in place where I wanted the poodle decal to go. I also pinned in place where I wanted the poodle's leash to come down from the top of the skirt. I hot glued the poodle into place and then very carefully, only gluing a small section at a time, I arranged the sequin rope the way I wanted it. This sequin rope was stretchy which was nice because I could manipulate it the way I wanted to. 1 yard was the perfect length for this skirt! I didn't cut any extra off!

And you're done! My daughter will wear this with items she already owns. I was able to use coupons when buying my supplies for this skirt at Jo-Anne's, so really, this was a very inexpensive costume!

Birthday on a Budget: Pizza-themed Party!

At our house it's tradition for my kids to only have a friend birthday party every other year. I love throwing my kids a party to celebrate their special day, but let's be honest: they can be exhausting and can get expensive if you're not careful. 

When trying to pick a theme for my son's special day, I brainstormed things he was interested in and what would be fun for him and a few of his friend's to do at the party. My son has been more interested in helping me prepare and cook meals, so we decided on a pizza themed party!

Custom invitation made by peabeedesigns! Check out the shop and get your custom invite too!

 Here's my little birthday boy wearing his special hat from school AND the chef's hat we made at his party (because how can you choose just ONE hat to wear on your birthday?) He's standing next to some pizza slices I printed out and taped to the wall to create a matching game for his friend's to play at the party.

 When the kids started to arrive, they immediately got to work making their chef's hat. The idea for the hat was adorable and easy to do. I used this tutorial from PBS kids . I found some food themed stickers and stamps at Wal-Mart in their party-favor section and the kids used those and some markers/crayons to decorate their hats.

 Next, the kids made their own paper pizzas with toppings I'd cut out for them using cardstock and construction paper.

Then it was time to make their own pizzas to eat! I love this dough from our best bites. I made the dough ahead of time and had it rise before the party that way it would be ready right when we needed it. I used premade pizza sauce from a jar and had all the toppings ready to go. The kids were good about listening as I told them how to flatten their pizza, use a fork to poke holes in the dough, spread the sauce, sprinkle cheese and any toppings around. Then we put them in the oven to bake!

While they were baking, we played a "Pin the Pepperoni on the Pizza" game and opened presents. When the pizza was done, we ate and then decorated a circle-shaped sugar cookie (a pizza-cookie) and sang "Happy Birthday".

The party was easy and the kids had a blast making and eating their own pizzas. And I didn't spend a fortune on party supplies or favors for the kids to take home (they took home their hat and paper pizza they'd made and that was it!)  Another win-win!

Check out Porter's Super-hero party on a budget!

Special Delivery From the North Pole!

Who wouldn't love getting a present that is "legit" from the North Pole?!

I searched high and low for ones that were 1) FREE to download and use 2) looked "official" 3) could be printed on a sticker label (because I'm not cutting out or punching holes for ribbons in anything, sorry)

There were several that met the requirements and now I'm having a hard time choosing which ones to use! I can't wait to see my kids' reactions on Christmas morning when they see their Santa presents with these on them!

To download any of these printables, click to visit their website and instructions for downloading

Santa Labels from 100 Things 2 Do

from Hip2Save

From thelifeofthepartco

And if you're feeling extra festive and want to leave your kiddos a letter from Santa thanking them for the cookies or other special message, check out this cute letter!

From Overthebigmoon

Be sure to check out my shop to see what's new and remember that I LOVE custom orders! Thanks for stopping by!

DIY Gift Idea: Simple Sugar Scrub Recipe

It's that time of year again to recognize that special teacher in your child's life. I swear, now that I'm the parent instead of the teacher, the entire 9 month school year goes by faster than the 3 months of summer combined. Why is that? And how come pregnancy doesn't work like that too?

Last year, I did a free printable for teacher appreciation and I also shared some idea of things teachers REALLY want from students at the end of the school year. If you haven't already, I would definitely check that out!

This year, after racking my brain for something fun but still inexpensive, I found this super easy, all-natural recipe for a sugar scrub that I LOVED and decided to make some to give away to my kids' teachers. The recipe is sooooooooooo easy and is one you'll want to file away when you need a great gift for a friend (think Christmas and Birthdays!).

photo via

4 Ingredient Sugar Scrub:

• 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
• 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil, melted
• 1 Tablespoon extract of your choice (think vanilla, almond, peppermint, raspberry, coconut...or a combination!)

Mix the ingredients well. You can mix by hand or I used my food processor to make sure everything was mixed really well. 

Transfer mixture into an airtight container and it will keep for up to 2 weeks. 

This scrub would be cute paired with a colorful nail file and bottle of nail-polish. Add in the printable gift tag below and you've got yourself an easy, inexpensive gift your child's teacher will love!

photo via

To download the toe-tally awesome teacher tag, click HERE

Don't forget to check out my shop to see if there's anything else the teacher in your life would love. And remember, I do custom orders too! Whether it's an invitation, announcement, or a custom print for your home, I do it all! Thanks for stopping by!

Thanksgiving Blessing FREEBIE PRINTABLE

It's Thanksgiving time! Holy cow, this year has FLOWN by! And every time we get to Thanksgiving, I'm reminded more and more why it's my favorite holiday: it's about pausing for a moment to appreciate what we have.

 I ran across a quote that said "Gratitude means what we have is enough". I loved it because I feel like it's so true! This time of year we're bombarded with sales and the idea that we need more stuff. I love that Thanksgiving isn't about presents or expectations or a dollar amount...it's about surrounding myself with the people I love and giving thanks to God for all I have, because what I have is enough. 

I hope you enjoy these freebie thanksgiving printables!

 For the colored version of the Thanksgiving Blessing click HERE

 For the wood farmhouse version of the Thanksgiving blessing, click HERE

For more free fall and Thanksgiving printable, click HERE