I feel like all I do...

... is go to baby showers! I guess that's what happens when you work in a field full of ladies :) We had another baby shower this past week, but this one was a little different because the baby got to be there! He decided to surprise his mommy and come a little early so we missed having her original shower and had to reschedule. It's always fun to have a baby to pass around at a baby shower :) Add 20 teachers who all want to love on the baby at the same time, and you've got an interesting situation. I was smart, I waited until most had already had their turn and left, then I got to hold this precious bundle of joy:

Isn't he cute?! His name is Mason.

So... I've tried to have some variety in my baby shower gifting so I've been searching Pinterest and some of my favorite blogs for inspiration. Here's what I made Mason:

When I spoke with his mom a few weeks ago, she said he loves books so this is the cover of his "MASON" book.

Then I had to add one of my favorite go-to baby shower gifts- the taggie blanket. Mason's mom is a Packers fan.

I hope Mason enjoys the goodies I made him. He is too cute for words! I've got some more projects in the works this week. Plus, I'm taking on some challenges in the kitchen! (Pray for me. This is not a place I'm gifted in.) Hopefully they'll be some fun things to show, and I'm sure some stories to share!

Janessa

Happy Valentine's Day!

The girls and I had a great time this year making their Valentines. I found a super cute idea on Pinterest (yes, I am addicted!) so I gathered all our old crayons around the house, bought a few extra boxes of crayons, found an ice tray heart mold in the Target dollar section and we made super cute crayon valentines. Want to make some your self? Here's what we did:

First, we soaked the crayons for at least an hour.
(I am so thankful one of my fellow dance moms gave me this advice. It makes the peeling process so much easier!!)

Then we peeled and peeled and peeled some more. Rose loved this part and was very good at it! :)

Then we divided the crayons into coordinating colors. This was Belle's favorite part :)

We baked them in a heart mold and a little gingerbread man mold for 15-20 minutes at 230 degrees.
If you try this be sure your crayons are fully melted and then let them cool completely before removing them from the mold.

We put these cute crayons in bags and labelled them "Valentine, you COLOR my world with happiness" and "Happy Valentine's Day for CRAYON out loud'. Yes, I know I'm a cheeseball!

These little guys were fun too!

Now the girls want a set of crayons for themselves so I see more crayon making in our future. It was a great project to do together!

Janessa

Tools for Baby

Belle's teacher is expecting a boy, and we had her baby shower this past week at school. Now up until this point, most of my baby shower creations have been girly to the core so I had to do some major searching for inspiration. My inspiration came from a newly discovered blog that has quickly become one of my favorites. Ironically, it's called Girl. Inspired. She had made an outfit for her son that included a shirt with a hammer applique. I wanted to think a little outside of the box on this one, and ended up inside a box- a toolbox to be exact. Here's how I packaged my gift:

I found a toolbox at Target and used scrapbook paper to make a tag that said "Tools for Baby Lee." Then, I filled the bottom of the tool box with diapers, wipes, baby soap and lotion. It looked like this:

Then came my favorite part of the whole project. I made these adorable onesies:

I used felt scraps and my ever present friend Heat n' Bond, stitched around the edge of each tool with my sewing machine, and we were in business! :) I loved packaging these in the toolbox.

I was so glad to discover I can do boy gifts! :) There's a few more boy baby showers in the near future.

I can't wait to have some more fun exploring and trying new things!

Janessa