Happy March 1st!

We are all about countdowns this year. It keeps Michael focused, busy... and from asking how many days it is until the next holiday. After our Valentine's Day Countdown was such a success, I was assured that it would pretty much work with everything. And while I realize St. Patrick's Day is BEFORE Easter... Easter is so early this year it just had to be the priority.

Plus, we got to work on more counting this way. We did up to 14 with Valentine's Day, and now we made it all the way up to 27. Woooooooooo!

Can you sense my excitement? I hope so!

I scoured the wonderful world of Pinterest for some ideas and printable. After all, we aren't all meant to be amazing at that sort of thing... and I knew that other moms before me would have had it ready at hand.

Laziness? Maybe. Resourcefulness? Absolutely.

Sure enough, I found a countdown that I love. It's called THE JOY JOURNEY (follow the link), and came with some an adorable printable that allowed us 20 days of ideas and service projects for this amazing season.


That did leave a problem though, as you may have noticed. I wanted to countdown from today to Easter, which is 27 days. Not 20.

In order to not create any confusion in Michael with counting down, I looked some more to find some Bible verses to filter in the 20 days of activities so we could have a few days of rest. After all, we aren't guaranteed to accomplish something every.single.day. before Easter.

Even I'm not THAT crazy.

After searching, I found THESE.


Michael colored and cut them all out, and I honestly didn't pay attention to which seven made it into our eggs.

Oh, that's the next part.

After coloring, cutting, and numbering-- we made a game out of this.

Michael matched the numbers he wrote to the numbers I wrote on our Easter eggs.


He had so much fun filtering and arranging and all that jazz. It was a wonderful, educational, time-consuming activity.

And, let's be real, those are the best.

Michael has already called me out on writing the numbers on the eggs wrong, since the eggs are now upside down... but whatever. They still serve their purpose, am I right?


Are you a writer? Check out my OTHER SITE today to read my thoughts on Finding the Time to be a Writer.

Valentine's Day is coming up and in my opinion there is never enough time to celebrate it. Naturally I decided that this year we should start extra earlier to prepare for the day of L O V E.

I don't see Valentine's Day as just a day to remind your significant other/spouse that you love him, it's a day to remind your children how much they are loved and how much we are ALL loved by our Heavenly Father.

Can I get an amen?

This year we're doing lots of crafts. Michael is so into doing things together (like our Thankful Thursday jar). He's also seriously into cutting.


I had been wanting a heart banner for the house. Although I would *honestly* prefer a perfectly crafted one that looks professional, like most that are displayed, it's much more fun to let Michael pour his heart out and share just who and what he LOVES.


We used a cookie cutter to make the identically shaped hearts, but I think different ones would be adorable, too. We cut them out and each day he filled out 3-4 with things he loved.


I helped him spell.

It ranged from family members and friends to Quesadillas and "The Red Store" (aka Target, the best place on Earth).


After we had more than enough, we used some adorable ribbon (which I think originated from Michael's) with XOs all over it and then hung it around his teepee he got for Christmas.


Now whenever he looks at them, he'll ask me what specific ones say. Each one makes him smile and brings about a conversation about that specific thing.


Example:

"Oh, that one says, 'Read Winnie-the-Pooh'. I love doing that. But we finished it, so what will we read next?"

(In case you were wondering, the answer is The Wizard of Oz.)

" A portrait of my child, once a week, every week in 2014. "
This week has had a lot of ups and downs. Michael is really into the "mine" stage. This means everything is his, everything has to be done a certain way, and if we don't do something as soon as we tell him we're doing it-- prepare for a meltdown! So one afternoon we sat down and painted with fruit. He loved doing it, made some amazing artwork (I'm biased, I know), and went a whole hour without declaring something was his. I count this as a win.

Sadly, this photo was taken with my iPhone. We were having too much fun (did I mention the peace & quiet?) that I forgot to pull out my DSLR.

Part of Practising Simplicity's 52 Project.


HAPPY EASTER! HE IS RISEN!

It's amazing to me that it has been a week since my family was here, a couple of days since Clark was home, and almost a week since my friend's bridal shower (pictures to come next week!).

July was exhausting, and August started out very much the same. Michael and I are trying to recover if only just a little bit before heading out to visit more family. Don't get me wrong, I am BEYOND excited for our upcoming trip... I'm just so tired at the moment!

Dear August, I have high hopes for what you can offer for our family. Please don't disappoint. We are very ready for change and hope that God intends you to be one outstanding month. If you're not, I won't hold it against you... but it sure would be nice.


Dear Baking Supplies, I promise to use you again soon. I'm trying to eat healthier, and therefore you may be neglected in the upcoming months. While substitute baking is something I'm incredibly fond of, I think I've decided that the baking just needs to take a break. However, when I come back to you, it will be a glorious reunion. Promise.


Dear Summer, You have been oh-so-wonderful... but I'm ready for fall. Don't take it personally. It always happens at about this time. I'm ready for cold weather, jeans and sweaters, boots, pumpkin spice... you get the picture. If you could start cooling down, I'd really appreciate it.


Dear Crayola Crafts, You are life savers. Michael loves nothing more than to paint inside or outside, draw with his chalk, or color with his crayons. He may not grow up to be an artist, but right now his love of color and use of left hand has me imagining he's the next [insert name of your favorite artist here].

Dearest Friends, I am so thankful for all your prayers and support during this time. We aren't facing any true emergencies, just crossed paths and waiting. Lots and lots of waiting. If you could continue to lift us up we more than appreciate it, and know that I will share all I can with you as soon as the time is right. In case you missed it, I ate a jar of Nutella... but talking to God and the amazing women in my life lifted me up more than you can possibly imagine.


Enjoy your weekend, and look forward to some recipes and awesome pictures to come!

The idea for this post came from Ashley over at The Sweet Season.

I know, I know. Christmas season just ended. We're only a little over a week into the New Year. How can I be thinking about another holiday?

You may or may not remember from posts past that I LOVE Valentine's Day.

This year it's looking more and more definite that hubby will not be home for it. We are so thankful for his current job, especially in this economy... but boy is it rough. I never expected for him to be gone this much, or for it to be this hard. I mean, I survived 13 weeks of bootcamp, you'd think I could handle three to four weeks intervals. I suppose then I didn't have a toddler. It definitely makes a difference.

Sorry for the tangent.

I LOVE VALENTINE'S DAY.

Everyone says it's a card holiday. A day to promote chocolate and love and depressing for those who don't have a significant other. Well, if you remember my first post and second post from last year, Valentine's Day has always been much more than that to me.

I was trying to find a specific craft to do and share with you, but the truth is Pinterest is overloaded with some fabulous free DIY Printables. I couldn't pass up sharing them with you first. I'm promising a craft for later, but for now, here are my favorite ideas/printables from Pinterest. (You can also follow my Holiday Specials and Me & My Love boards for more ideas to come!)

Candy Bar Wrappers from the former Anything But Perfect, now Hello Cuteness!

Valentine Party Circle labels for bags of treats and such. From Anything But Perfect/Hello Cuteness.

S'More Friends Like you! Adorable idea to bag up some marshmallows, chocolate, and grahams and give them to friends. From Domesticated Lady.

Heart Seals from Ms. Martha Stewart.

I hope these put you in the mood to share the love come February 14th! Remember, it doesn't have to be Valentine's Day to let others know you care!

I needed something to give to the grandparents this year without breaking the bank. Let's face it, if you have a big family you can't ALWAYS buy everyone something. That's not the reason for the season, and homemade gifts tend to have way more meaning.

So, to spoil the surprise, we made handprint ornaments with Michael's hand. This isn't the best one (pictured above), but the best one was finished after the pictures were taken.

These are easy and if your kids are older it's a fun activity to do together for the holidays (or any time of year, for that matter)!

"Ingredients":

- 1/2 C flour
- 1/2 C salt
- 1/4 C water

Paints for decorating
Paint brushes
String/Ribbon to hang it



Directions:

- Preheat your oven to 200.
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or wax paper.
*Note: If you use wax paper, it will stick to the back of the ornaments to a degree. This is OK and easy to fix "loose strands". It makes the back of the ornament appear smoother!*
- Mix the dough until well combined/formed. Roll it out and press hand print into the dough. Cut around the hand in the same shape, or in a circle if you want to do it differently-- it's up to you!
- Make sure to put a hole in the dough for the string/ribbon. I used a skewer to make it, but I'm sure just about anything would work!
- Bake for around 3 hours and let sit for another half hour or so before painting. Give the paint time to dry in between colors/shapes. You don't want it running together! I'm no real artist, but I'm over all happy with my finished product!


What Christmas crafts do you like to do with you family or for gifts? Don't forget to check out the cinnamon applesauce ornaments as well!

Also, don't forget to enter the Diana Meredith Designs giveaway! Going on now until December 31st!

These were so easy and fun to make. I hope you get a chance! I can't wait to use them to bedazzle (like that word? bedazzzzzzle) some gifts, not to mention our Christmas tree! I imagine these would have been extra fun if Michael was old enough to help me. These days I have to wait until he's asleep to do crafts/baking.

Here's what you need:

- 1.5 C cinnamon (I bought a large container at our local Sam's, but you should check dollar stores as well!)
- 1 C unsweetened applesauce
- 3 tsp (1 tbsp) ground cloves (or more... and this is *optional*)

Directions:

- Preheat your oven to 200.
- Mix together 1 C applesauce and 1 C of cinnamon. You really have to push and fold the mix to get it all together. Feel free to use your hands. Prepare that they will smell like a candle for a while if you do, no matter how much you wash them!

- Once the two cups are thoroughly mixed, add your next 1/2 C of Cinnamon and ground cloves.
*Note: Pictured is me adding the cloves with the initial first mix. I think it would work either way, but I have a feeling if I had waited to add the cloves their smell would have been a little more noticeable.*

- Next, sprinkle cinnamon over a surface (as you would flour, and I put wax paper down to help with the mess). Roll out your dough until it's about 1/4 inch thick or so.
*Add cinnamon or applesauce to reach the right texture. You don't want it too dry or too damp. It should be just right!*

- Use the cookie cutters that you would like to make your ornaments!


- Use a skewer to poke a hole in the ornaments, very carefully. Make SURE it goes all the way through. If it doesn't, that will make it rather difficult to string them up!

- Bake in the oven for at least an hour. I checked on mine and they seemed to be in excellent condition, but yours may need to bake longer depending on the climate of your home. It's also suggested to just leave them in the oven overnight (so... it's easiest if you make them at night), just to be safe and make sure they completely dry out.

- String works best, but ribbon works, too! Make your ornaments a little more glamorous by adding decorative string/ribbon!



Some of mine did come out a little cracked. I think my dough may have been just a TINY bit dry. Luckily, I only made about 1/3 to 1/2 of the mix, so I have some left over to fix! I would suggest doing this... unless you're doing this as an activity with kids... in which case, make them ALL!

The original idea for these came from the fabulous mind of: Katy Elliot.

And don't forget to enter the fabulous giveaways going on from Exquisite Crafts and Atkinson Drive! Only a couple days left! Don't miss out.

That's right. We have TWO giveaways going on AT THE SAME TIME. I know... don't be overwhelmed by the awesomeness. I'm going to make things easy on you.

This wonderful giveaway comes from the creator of Exquisite Crafts, April. April started crafting when she was very young, letting her grandmother show her the way. She learned to knit four years ago and hasn't stopped yet! But April doesn't just knit. Ooooooh, no. She makes some positively adorable earrings!





Might I mention her Dr. Who, Harry Potter, and Hunger Games obsessions [amongst other things]?





Why show you all these adorable things? Because you can win something, of course! April is giving away one pair of earrings to a lucky winner! Here's what you have to do.

1. Be a follower of The Newfangled Housewife.
2. Like Exquisite Crafts on Facebook.

That's it! If you want to add your name to the pot a couple more times, you can also:

1. Like The Newfangled Housewife on Facebook.
2. Follow The Newfangled Housewife on Twitter.
3. Follow Exquisite Crafts on Twitter.
4. Tweet about this giveaway (make sure to tweet @Newfangled_Wife and @exquisitecrafts)

Make sure to leave a comment on this post or the Exquisite Crafts Facebook page to let us know what you've done!

WAIT! Don't leave yet.

April has another treat for you :). Use the coupon code HOLIDAY12 for 12% off your order in her Etsy Shop! This offer is good through December, so make sure you take advantage!

Happy shopping and good luck with the giveaway! The winner will be announced December 10th along with the Atkinson Drive giveaway winner!

Hello, Newfangled Housewife readers! My name is Diana, and I am a wife and mama who blogs over at Diana Meredith Designs. I share crafts, recipes, stories about my sweet baby girl and husband, and information about my etsy shop of crocheted goodies. Emily and I went to high school together, and she asked me to share a budget-friendly craft with you today.

My husband and I decided not to find out our first baby's gender before she was born. Despite the fact that most people thought we were a little crazy, we are very glad that we waited, and we enjoyed the surprise when our baby girl was born! Not finding out your baby's gender is fun for many reasons, but it does require that you go the gender-neutral route for nursery decor (unless you wait until after baby to decorate!). I was fine with going the gender-neutral route since we live in an apartment and can't paint the walls pink or blue anyway.

We had a very small budget for the nursery. When I say small, I mean that we basically had no budget unless it was something we absolutely needed. I wanted the nursery to be special, so I decided on a very loose theme. We found a nice, gently-used bassinet at a baby consignment store in yellow and gray, so that became the color scheme. I really like owls, so I decided to try to find some owl things for the nursery. After scouring etsy, I was disappointed that the owl art prints I liked were quite pricey. Being the craft-lover that I am, I figured I could make some art for the nursery for much cheaper.

One of my sisters-in-law is a graphic designer and very talented. She and my brother currently live in Italy (he is in the Air Force), but she came to visit us in May. I told her that I wanted to make some kind of nursery art with owls, and she designed a basic owl print for me using a design program (I think she used Adobe Illustrator). Using her print, I created several collages with card stock, and framed them for the nursery.

To make your own art collage, you will need:

• Card stock or scrapbook paper
• Frames (I used 5x7 frames from the Salvation Army that were about $1 each)
• A black and white outline print of an animal or other scene (teachers would call this a "blackline master" - looks like a coloring book page)
• Pencil
• Scissors or exacto blade
• Glue stick

Instructions:

1. Print out or draw the animal or scene that you want to create. Google is a great source if you don't have something already in mind.
2. Choose the papers you want to use. When assembled, this will be similar to a collage. I wanted to use the colors gray, yellow, blue, and green, so I decided which color I wanted to use for each part of the owl. For example, yellow for the beak and feet, gray for the body, blue for the wings, etc.
   

1. With a pencil, completely color the back of the print. This part is a bit messy, but my sister-in-law learned this technique in art school and it works well. :)
   
2. Turn the print back over and place it over the first color you will be using. Trace on the black lines of each part that you want in that color. Press down so that the pencil markings on the back of the print transfer onto the card stock. Repeat with each color as desired until you have all the parts of the animal traced. Some excess pencil marks may rub off onto your paper. You can either erase the marks or turn the paper to the other side to avoid them. If you would rather flip than erase and you are using one-sided paper, you'll need to trace onto the back so that you don't get marks on the desired side.
   
3. Cut out each part of the animal carefully.
4. Assemble all the parts of the animal, then glue each part in the correct place. If you wish, add details in pen or marker. I used marker to create the owl's pupils and some detailing to his wings and ears.
   
5. Frame your cute new art and hang!
   

This project is very versatile and could be adapted for many different projects. If you try it, I'd love to see your finished project! Head on over to my blog and say hello. :)

Thanks, Emily, for having me on your blog today!

Although I've been beyond focused on sticking to a budget, there come times when you need to just splurge a bit. Live a little. Ya know?

I wanted to put together a care package for my little sister (who is a freshman at the University of Kansas this year!), and I wasn't about to do it half-heartedly. Although buying name brand, specific things can be pricey at the grocery store-- sometimes you do whatcha gotta do.

Since it is Autumn (just about), I thought what better way to celebrate than to make this adorable treat I found on Pinterest (which, actually, my little sister initially pinned-- so I knew it was a keeper/winner for the care package).

Ingredients:

- Hershey Kisses
- mini chocolate chip morsels
- Nutter Butter (bite size)

Directions:

- Melt about 1 C of mini chocolate chips (about half of the bag) in the microwave or over the stove top.

*Never add water. I learned this the hard way once while making chocolate covered strawberries.*

- Carefully dip the flat end of a Hershey Kiss into the melted chocolate and bind it to a Nutter Butter. Do the same with a mini chocolate chip (see the picture).


- Repeat as many times as you like. Careful leaving these lying around, though! Many of mine kept mysteriously disappearing and I would have to make more.

Great for goody bags, too (like pictured below)! The bags and leaves I bought at our local Dollar Tree, so they clearly didn't break the bank!

I also gave in and bought three cans of pumpkin today. Needless to say, there's going to be some serious pumpkin recipes coming!