About Me

Hi!  I'm Kristi!  I am a wishy-washy, bipolar crafter, wannabe business owner, mom of 6, wife of 1, homeschooling teacher, city slicker farmer with one half painted wall.  And guess what?!  That's what I love about me!!!!  It may drive my husband and my OCD child crazy, but that's ok. 

Just call me Little Miss Scatter-Brain!

Chapstick or Twix Valentine Holder

If you've checked out my Etsy Shop, you might have seen my Christmas Chapstick/ Twix Candy Holder Kit.  Well, I've created this same item as a Valentine's digital download. I suggest printing at a print shop on cardstock. Use ribbon to turn into a purse or just staple or glue together.  Use any regular sized chapsticks or mini Twix bars.  Since it's a pdf, you can add wording to personalize using the new Adobe Reader.  Whoa... now that all the directions are taken care of, I think I'm going to make a Hello Kitty one for my 6 year old. 

I'll share it once I'm done!

{Click Here or on Picture for Download}

Hello Matey Party Cont'd.

I really wish both of my cameras wouldn't have been out of commission for this sweet girls' party.  This is pretty much the only picture we got from my husbands phone.  I guess that means I'll be camera shopping soon.  

Back to the party.... 

~When the guests arrived, they were given a blank paper pirate's hat to decorate.  We had a few skulls, but we had Hello Kitty cut outs and pirate patches to put on her. Some went all out with foam letters. 

~They were each given a map which led to the treasure.

~The first station was walking the plank. We used large planks to make a small obstacle course. (the weather was perfect!)

~The next station was cannon pop.  We used black balloons and played that balloon relay where you have to run and pop the balloons.  Afterwards, I poured out the balloons and the kids had to scramble to pop them. (This would not work for younger children as a few were still scared of loud noises)

~We then played pin the patch on Hello Kitty. 

~Finally we were led to a scavenger hunt to find the treasure. 

~The treasure was found and they filled their loot bags with the booty.  We had necklaces, rings, gold coins, Hello Kitty Pez, candy rings, and money mints. 

~We sang Happy Birthday and ate simple snacks of Pirate Booty, Gold Fish (Kitty Treats), Pretzles (Peg Legs), Hello Kitty Cookies and Pirate Ship Cupcakes.  

My sweet girl had a blast and felt loved by her friends coming all the way out to her house (we live in the middle of nowhere).  I had a blast watching her have so much fun. I also had fun creating the images and think I've found a new love. 

FONDUE NIGHT! with Pinterest.

Yes, I'm on a Valentine Kick!  Every year our family does pretty  much the same thing for Valentine's Day.  We have the kiddo parties and then our dinner at home is a Fondue Night!  I have been using Sandra Lee's recipes for about 10 years now and have loved it every year.  We usually have a cheese fondue with chicken, steamed veggies, and bread and then a chocolate fondue to dip strawberries and pound cake. Since our family has grown significantly in the past 10 years, as of last year, we now have our own bowl of each to dip in to.... 8 people can not dig into one little pot without someone getting hurt.  Anyways, now that we have Pinterest, I thought I'd start looking for new fondue recipes. 

{click on photo to find the recipes}  

What are your favorite Valentine Traditions?

Happy Valentine Printables!

I loved how the baby's Valentine turned out, so I thought I'd share a few 8x10 versions to print for the home. 

{just click on the photo and save}

{you can resize and attach to a rubber ducky for a fun Valentine}

 

Valentine Printable

Valentine's Day always sneaks up on me so I thought I'd get a head start on handmade notes.  This one will be from the baby. I plan on ordering mini rubber duckies {check out my supply store} and I'll attach those to this 4x6: 

Breaking Tradition... or so I thought.

Our trimming the tree tradition has been the same since my husband and I were married.  We love pulling out all the ornaments from previous years and retrogress to the "good ol' days". While dancing to Christmas music, we decorate the front half the tree and everyone takes a turn putting the star on. Then when everyone is asleep, I try to "fix" the tree, but always get caught and have to just put on a smile. Then each day for the rest of the season, the rest of the tree decorations get broken or taken down by little hands. 

 

For whatever reason, I decided this year we were going to have a "homemade" holiday.  I wanted all of our ornaments to be handmade, rustic and perfect.  Well, have I told you I have 6 children?  Yep, perfect will not happen.  Day 1: Me: Guess what? We get to make these beautiful ornaments. (clear bulbs filled with rolled sheet music).  Them: Grumble, grumble.  Why do we have to put those in them.... why can't we do it this way.  Oh, I want to fill it with bright pink paint.  Oh, how about Legos...... Me: Pause, Deep Breath.  Oh, ok, I guess that would be fun. (very proud of myself). 

 

 So needless to say, my idea of a pure homemade rustic Christmas will not happen. But, I will have some amazing ornaments to pull out and talk about next year when we go back to our old tradition. After all, I miss my memories and the chaos... I guess a  messy tree is Christmas to me.  (Don't worry... I'm still posting my visions.)