TWO SIMPLE DIY VALENTINE'S CRAFTS FOR KIDS

The girls and I got creative this year on Valentine's gifts to give their friends. All three of my oldest are in the same Kindergarten class so I wanted to come up with something that was a little different and something they could all create together to gift the kids in their class. So I looked through our craft boxes and came up with a couple simple DIY projects that were both entertaining for them and super simple for mama (win win)! 

It was fun to see them create something as they thought about each friend in their class and it made for a fun activity and memory we all go to do together. The best part is, this project is super cheap and very simple! I hope you enjoy and are inspired to create something like this with your kiddos too!

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-DIY MINI CANVAS PAINTINGS-

**If you're on Pinterest be sure to Pin this Image below so you can save it and come back to it later!**

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

-watercolor or acrylic paper (the heavier weight the better)

- wooden craft popsicle sticks

-paint colors of choice

- paint brushes

- hot glue gun + glue sticks

- scissors + twine

(All of these supplies can be found at Walmart craft section, Hobby Lobby, or Michaels craft store)

STEP 1:

Cut out squares of paper, roughly 4.5 x 4.5 inches 

(enough to fit within the size of the framed sticks)

STEP 2: 

Hot glue the sticks around the edges of the paper creating a frame

(I did this myself to prep the canvas' for the kids ahead of time, I didn't let my kids do the hot glue and I don't recommend kiddos doing that)

STEP 3: 

Let the kids have fun painting and creating however their hearts desire!

STEP 4: 

Once the paint is dry, turn it over and hot glue the twine on the back to hang up the canvas when it is finished! 

And Voila! You're done!

Now you have a sweet piece of art from your kids to cherish for years to come! These would also be cute as unique gift toppers or mini canvas' you can paint on yourself in case you don't have kids to paint them for you :)

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Our next project we did was a yarn keychain for each of the kids in their class. I thought it would be meaningful for the girls to give a friend a keychain with the first initial of their name so they could wear it on their backpack or use it somewhere around their home. This one required a little more help from me, but I think if your kids are a little older it is totally doable for them.

DIY YARN INITIAL KEYCHAIN

**Be sure to pin this image so you can come back to this tutorial later on!**

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

-Yarn any color of choice

-pencil

- cardboard scraps 

(I used a box we were recycling, I recommend  cardboard from a shipping box or something at least this thick to hold up the yarn)

-scissors

-ball and chain for the ring 

( I purchased mine from Amazon, there are a lot of options there for these)

-hot glue gun + glue (optional)

This one requires more gluing, so make sure the glue is dry before passing it off for them to start so they don't get burned by the glue

STEP 1:

Pencil sketch your initial in block letters onto the cardboard, be sure to make the letter wide enough so it won't be too thin and fall apart when cutting it out

STEP 2:

Cut out your initial letter

STEP 3: 

Take your yarn and grab one end to start wrapping onto your cardboard. Place a dot of hot glue onto the corner you are going to start on your letter then place the yarn on top of that to stick.

STEP 4:

Once the glue is dried start wrapping your yarn around the cardboard letter. There is no right way to wrap the yarn, just wrap in any direction you'd like, enough to start covering up all the cardboard underneath.

STEP 5: 

Once your letters in fully wrapped in yarn, take the hot glue again and glue the end of the yarn onto the back to secure the yarn in place. 

STEP 6: 

Once the glue is dry, take your ball and chain and squeeze it through a few pieces of yarn towards the top of your letter. I made sure the chain was underneath the yarn enough so it felt secure in there. 

And that's it! Now your kids can attach it to their backpacks and show it off! 

Hope you enjoyed these. I'd love to see what you create so be sure to share with me and tag me on Instagram so I can see! You can also follow along on my Pinterest to see other fun things I've been pinning an DIYs I'm saving too.

3 Things I Love About the Changing Seasons

I LOVE this time of year (minus the grueling hot temps we're still experiencing). We took our little family trip to the pumpkin patch at Schnepf Farms last week in search of a little  fall. Turns out it was still 90+ degrees that day, but it was still a sweet memory nonetheless. Once October hits, there are lots of things I love about this season as it starts to change. Here are a few that stick out to me the most...

1. NEW INSPIRATION

The change the season gives seems to bring on a whole new feeling of ideas and inspiration for me each year. From the colors of changing leaves or the new scent of a fall candle. I think that with each changing season its gives us a chance to make it a bit better than the last. Maybe its the hot summer days here in Phoenix, but somewhere in the middle of August I start to feel stagnant in my creativity. I get that itch pretty crazy to start doing something new, or travel somewhere new, or just to start getting out of the house. I love the newness the fall season brings, even though everything dies off in the fall/winter, there's a newness to it that says its time for a change, time to start over and create something fresh again and I love how it inspires and gives hope for something better. 

2. COOLER WEATHER

If you've been following me for a bit (or any amount of time really) its no secret how the heat really gets to me! Growing up a California girl I never really thought this would be an issue for me living in Arizona, but somehow the older I've gotten the more I look forward to those cooler days. Plus my favorite kind of wardrobe is full of comfy jeans, layered tops and the perfect pair of boots. I'd much rather be snuggled up next to a fire with a cozy sweater sipping a hot drink than drenching in sweat under the beating sun. But as much as the heat of the AZ desert gets to me, there's nothing that beats it's cool winter days and nights. Perfect weather right there if you ask me!

3. TRADITIONS:

I love getting into the start of the holidays, the crispy cool nights, and the start of traditions we look forward to all year long. Of course, there's little traditions that happen throughout the whole year, but this time of year seems to highlight all the best ones. Since having kids the idea of traditions has become one of the most important things I want to give my kids as we grow our family up. I think it brings a sense of unity and stability to a childhood. It gives us something to look forward to, something we can create new memories with each year even as we do that same something each year around. I've loved looking back on my childhood thinking of the few traditions we did as a family and having that feeling of nostalgia and a sweet memory to think back on as I grew up. 

Our trip to Schnepf farms started last year and was one we wanted to try and stick to as long as we still enjoy it as a family. The farm is full of things to do and the girls couldn't get over all the big pumpkins they could carry. We played hide and seek through the corn maze together and the girls thought it was the best thing! Their giggles were priceless. We rode rides, visited the animals and did a looooot of bouncing on the giant trampolines!

This time of year we also gear up for a big road trip as we travel around with my husbands basketball tour that he leads here in Phoenix and in SoCal. So getting back to the beach and things I love to do around Cali is something I look forward to with our kids each year too. I'll be documenting our trip a bit better this year, too, letting you into another side of how our family does life. Until then, I've gotta start packing and thinking about how to entertain 4 toddlers on a 7 hour road trip! EEK! 

Prayers are greatly appreciated :)

Fall Farm Fun

We took a trip out to Schnepf Farms last week to get our fall fix. Since the weather hasn't come close enough to feel anything like fall here in Phoenix, surrounding ourselves with pumpkins and hay sort of makes up for it. We went late in the afternoon while there was still daylight to run around in. The girls had a blast climbing and running and jumping on every hay barrel they could find. I loved watching them play and explore each new thing we came across. Raleigh was pretty proud to go on a ride all by herself for the first time and I couldn't stop smiling watching her beam and squeal in excitement. 

This time of year is always my favorite with the cooler weather, warm drinks, and transitioning into the holidays. I've never been more excited to start family traditions and do even the simplest things with them, especially now that they're able to understand a bit more of what's going on. I can't wait to see what the girls will start to come up with too as the years go on. This trip to the farm is definitely one we'll keep for years to come!