Watercolor Prints

I am in love with these watercolor prints my daughter made recently! I believe she could sell them if she was looking for a little extra cash. She loves painting and doodling. My house is filled with her beautiful prints. I am blessed...

DIY Calendar for your Loved One

Several years ago, I made a perpetual calendar for my husband. It was a gift from me and our children. Now it's a priceless keepsake that will be kept forever. If you aren't familiar with the term perpetual it means "never ending or changing, occurring repeatedly." This means the calendar is good for every single year. There is no year listed, or days of the week on this calendar.

The calendar has lived on my husband's desk at work for almost 10 years! Recently he brought it home because I asked to see it again. I had forgotten the work that went into it, and I wanted the sweet reminder of all the things our children said.

Each day has an encouraging word on it for my husband. Some are quotes, some are Bible verses, but most of them are notes from each of us in the family. This was a big project to undertake, but it was also well worth the effort. We now have a calendar full of cute memories from our children to their father.

We made sure to include birthdays in our calendar with a special note from the person whose birthday will be celebrated. On another calendar I made, I included a photo of the person, or couple if it was their wedding anniversary.

If it sounds overwhelming to come up with 365 days of encouraging notes and memories, it's not really that hard to do. With my kids I had a certain number of cards I expected from each of us. I wanted the calendar to be fairly even. Then I gave my children categories to write things about. They could think of things they were thankful for, or a specific memory in the category.

* School
* Birthday
* Holidays
* Dinner / Food
* Church
* Pets
* Games
* Vacations
* Getting ready for the day
* Work / Chores
* Hobbies
* Movies
* Books / Reading time
* Picnics
* Sports
* Songs
* Times you were scared
* Places you go together

And you get the idea. I had the kids think of a few cards from each category I gave them. This made it much easier and didn't seem so overwhelming! In fact, the kids really got on a role with it.

Since I made this with my kids, I had them do a lot of the illustrations on it. If it was done as a gift from only me, I might have used more scrap-booking supplies. My pages were very basic as 365 days is a lot of little cards to make.

My youngest child was a brand new little baby. I obviously had to come up with all his words. The categories helped me finish his cards too! I did get his help by adding footprints and hand prints to his pages. He also doesn't have as many cards as everyone else did. It's so sweet to see his tiny hands and feet!

If you are doing memories, you could print tiny photos to add next to the memory!

The cards are displayed on a calendar base I bought at OfficeMax. You can see from the photo below my cards could have been made larger in size. I was trying to be economical. The laminating pouches can get a little expensive, and the larger the card, the less cards you can fit into a pouch.

You can also see from the photo; the cards could be made to display portrait instead of landscape. I thought it was easier for my kids to illustrate. If I make another one, I might try to do portrait cards instead.

Originally, I planned to do a coil binding on the cards, however after spending all the time creating them, I realized it would be a massive coil to hold that many pieces of paper together. You could bind together a few months' worth and have 4 separate mini calendars for the year.

I typed all the encouraging words and memories in a document on my computer. I also made sure to write the date above each note and left plenty of room in between each one so I could easily cut them out later. After the document was printed, and the dates were all cut out, I glued each of them to 3x5 inch index cards. One 3x5 index card held two dates. (Front and back) You must keep in mind, because of the way the landscape cards are displayed, each individual card's front and back are upside down to each other. If you make them both facing the same direction, when you flip the card over on the base, it will be upside down. If this doesn't make sense, test a card out on the base before you complete your calendar and laminate it.

If you make the cards portrait style, the cards would not need to be upside down to display correctly.

For durability, I made sure to laminate all the cards after they were fully assembled and decorated.

You also want to make sure to hole punch the cards in the correct place. If you don't test it out first, you might end up with your dates displaying out of order.

Only a few months will fit at a time on the calendar base. Because of this, I purchased a plastic box to keep the additional months in.

The kids decorated some dividers for each month. I should have laminated these. Over time the stickers have fallen off. If they had been laminated the stickers would have been sealed on each divider.

This calendar is truly a unique work of art. It also comes from the heart.

It would be a perfect Valentine's day gift for your loved ones. You could make it for all your children or make it for the one child who needs the extra reminder of love.

It would be a great gift to make for Father's Day or Mother's Day. It would make a great teacher appreciation gift from a class. It would make a great present for someone retiring. You could make this kind of calendar for anyone! The ideas are endless!

Several years ago, we made one for my grandmother who had 7 children, 22 grandchildren and wayyyy more great grandchildren. Between that many people the number of cards was much lower, especially when you included spouses.  It was a collaboration of efforts from lots of special family members! With that many people contributing, the calendar was full of birthdays and anniversaries, and it left little room for quotes and extras. It was very special and full of love. It did take a few weeks to gather the information from all the family members, but I know my grandma loved it and used it up until the day she passed away. The calendar now lives at my mother's house getting even more use out of it.

Now that 10 years has passed since I made this very special calendar for my husband, I'm thinking the time has come to make another one! The kids have grown, and their memories have multiplied, along with their love. It would be fun to see what new things would make it into the calendar!

Coloring Pages for Valentine's Day

You can feel free to use the coloring pages for your own PERSONAL use.  But please be kind and do not claim these pictures as your own or offer them for downloads.  It makes me sad to see my pictures on a coloring page website run by someone else.

I'm so excited to be able to share LOTS more BRAND NEW coloring pages with you. With time off of school, we had quite a bit of down time. And lately, I've been obsessed with making coloring sheets. I had no idea it was so easy, and so much fun to do. It relaxes me to edit, and smooth the lines that have been drawn. We had another coloring session as a family, and came up with some sweet, fun pages. Each time we do this, I'm blown away with the talent that lies inside my husband and children.

I couldn't make up my mind which spot I liked the words better. So I decided, why not just share them both!

I made this moon coloring page for a very sweet young lady that I like to call daughter. She lives far away on the other side of the world, BUT we both see the same moon in the sky. When I look to the moon, I often think of her, and hold her very close in my heart.

My son made this very special flower. His picture is not so much of a Valentine coloring page, as it is a joke. He thinks he's quite humorous!

My husband drew this rose and candy box for me! So sweet!

This heart was not drawn during our Valentine's Day drawing session. My daughter doodled this heart several months ago. She's had it taped to her closet door. It was drawn on a torn out piece of paper from a journal. I've always thought it was rather interesting to look at, and was waiting for the perfect opportunity to share it!

A little encouragement from the Bible ..... "I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world." John 16:33




*UPDATE* I have recently made several of these coloring pages into Valentine Postcards to print and hand out on Valentine's Day. I also have a new Lego Valentine coloring page, and a Legend of Zelda coloring page. 

American Girl Coloring Pages: Felicity

For the past week, I have poured my heart into making these coloring pages of Felicity, my favorite American Girl. By the time I was 11, I had finally saved up enough money to buy the doll and books. I read each book from cover to cover, over and over again. I loved the stories, and I loved my Felicity. 

I have been pouring over the books for hours, trying to make them into coloring sheets. I even used a flashlight to try to see every tiny little detail. Each page has taken me an entire day to perfect and prepare. This was not an easy job, but I really had a blast working on them. It brought back so many good memories! And I'm kind of sad to see the project over.

If you haven't read any of these books, check them out! I'm certain your local library has some copies of them. Before I had money to purchase my doll and books, I repeatedly checked them out from our library, along with many of the other American Girl books. 

I wanted to give you a look into each book. I encourage you to read them if you haven't already. They are very simple for a new reader to enjoy too! All of the descriptions I have given under the pictures are taken from Amazon. They are not my own words.

In Meet Felicity, Felicity falls in love with a beautiful horse named Penny. When she discovers that the owner is cruel, she is determined to find a way to save Penny.

In Felicity Learns a Lesson, Felicity's mother decides that it is time to send Felicity for lessons in being a gentlewoman. At first, she does not wish to learn such things, but as her lessons progress she comes to enjoy all of the little things that she is being taught. However, as the colonist begin to chafe under British rule, Felicity finds her ability maintain politeness tested.

In Felicity's Surprise, Felicity is invited to a dancing lesson at the governor's palace, the most wonderful honor she can imagine. Mother promises to make a beautiful new gown for her. As the splendid event draws near, Mother becomes dreadfully ill. Felicity spends all her days caring for her, sadly accepting that there will be no new gown and no chance to go to the palace. No chance, that is, until a glorious surprise reminds her that Christmastime is a time when hopes and dreams do come true.

In Happy Birthday, Felicity, spring brings Felicity's tenth birthday and a visit from Grandfather. He gives Felicity a precious gift--a guitar that had belonged to her grandmother. Felicity is so enchanted with the guitar that she disobeys her mother and takes it out of the house to show her friend Elizabeth. Her parents are angry when they learn what she's done. They refuse to believe a message Felicity has overheard that means danger for the colonists. Felicity risks her parents' anger again when she decides to alert the colonists herself!

In Felicity Saves the Day, Felicity loves summertime on Grandfather's plantation. She can be outside all day--riding horses, playing with Nan and William, and exploring the woods. One day Felicity finds a secret note. It is from Ben, her father's apprentice, and it asks for her help. Ben has broken his apprenticeship agreement and is running away to join George Washington's army. Felicity begins a dangerous adventure when she goes to help Ben. She must use all her strength, courage, and wisdom to try to save the day.

In Changes for Felicity, 1776 starts off with good news. Her beloved horse, Penny, is going to have a foal! Felicity has one worry--Jiggy Nye. He has been cruel to Penny in the past. Will he be cruel to her again? Soon Felicity has more worries. Her family believes in independence for the colonies. But the family of Elizabeth, Felicity's best friend, believes in loyalty to the king. Suddenly, Elizabeth's father is jailed for being a Loyalist. Will Felicity and Elizabeth's friendship survive the many changes that both girls face?

The American Girl books are some of my favorite memories from my childhood.

Open up a book, and try one! You won't be sorry!

I love that American Girl has released each historical character's set of 6 books into one convenient hardback book. I don't know if they still have the books in print, but I do know you can find them inexpensively on Amazon and Ebay if you don't mind used books. This makes it much easier to collect them all. I feel like a kid again, excited to read my favorite stories.

If case you haven't seen the books I was talking about, you can buy Felicity's Story Collection on Amazon. This is such a great deal to get all 6 of Felicity's beloved books in one convenient hardback book!

Who is your favorite American Girl?

Interested in some more American Girl coloring pages?

Kirsten         Samantha          Kit            Molly

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

With some significant winter weather, we are enjoying a snow day off of school! The kids love it when they get to stay home and be lazy for a day. We drink hot chocolate, light a fire, roast a few marshmallows, watch movies, and play some video games. If we are feeling particularly educational, we might open a book or two!

Today as my boys were spending an eternity playing the new Zelda video game, I thought it was time we turned the TV off. I quickly threw together this coloring sheet of the Zelda logo. It was a welcome change from video games! It's always fun to get the creative juices flowing again. 

Enjoy!