File Folder Games

I am FINALLY done with these!!!



When I was teaching I made tons of these for my students to use as fast finishers when they got done early with their work. Those of course are all for school-aged children and I really wanted my kiddos to have some to play with before that time.

So months and months ago I bought a file folder book (from Desert Book) and set out on the task to make some for my girlies. Lots and lots of crayons, contact paper, and velcro later MOST of them are finally done. And do they love them? Sure do. So I guess all the time and labor I put in to these things were worth it. Hopefully - they better - provide some good entertainment!


And who knows - I may even venture out and purchase another book to make some more!

Fly swatter games

When I was in high school I took several Spanish classes. In one of the classes we would always play a fly swatter games. There would be several things attached to the board, two students would come up with fly swatter in hand, then a question was read and the two students competed to see who could find and hit the correct answer first.



I've really been trying to find special times throughout the day to spend playing and learning with my little girlie. So using our magnet board in the basement I decided to introduce her to the fly swatter games.



I attached several magnetic letters and numbers to the board. Then I would say a number or letter and she'd have to find it and hit it. We then switched it up and she would call out the letter or number and I would be the one to hit it with the fly swatter. We ended up having lots of fun together and hopefully in the process she'll get even better with her letter recognition!

~One of my FAVORITE ways to decorate~

...vinyl lettering

So many possibilities. So many things to say. So many places to put it.

Go get yourself some. It's a good thing I don't have an unlimited budget or this stuff would be EVERYWHERE in my house!

Writings on the Wall

Front Door Vinyl

I have been wanting vinyl on my front door pretty much since we bought our house.


This year for my birthday my little sisters bought me this welcome vinyl for me from Scribble It - go check them out - they have very cute stuff! I love it.

my newest project

a friend of mine introduced me to our local habitat for humanity a couple of months ago. i went and loved it. what is it? it's like a salvation army, goodwill, or di. things are donated and sold and the money goes to habitat for humanity.

she's known i've been wanting an entertainment center. something substantial and hides everything (her tv is on an old dresser she found on the side of the road - and it looks great!). so last week told me there were some good pieces over at the store and that i should check them out.


i went and fell in love with this thing. it's an old buffet. but i love it. it's going to go in our living room and replace the free entertainment contraption we got when we moved from our apartment a few years ago.

i have to wait till it's a little warmer to paint it so look for some after pictures coming in the next month or two. i'm envisioning red. with some black hardware. what do you think?

should i paint it red or be safe and do the standard black???

Activity Bags

After a church meeting last week my friend told me about this blog Chasing Cheerios and the activity bags she made. I thought they were super cute and a good idea for all the times we're at the doctor's office, meetings, car rides, etc. and I need something for her to entertain herself with.

I looked around for the zipper bags but then I saw my friend use these. So with my new sewing machine I decided to give it a try.

Here's how they turned out:

First I went and purchased 4 placemats from the Dollar Store.

Next I folder them and sewed up the edges.


I left room at the top and folded it over and sealed it down with velcro.



Then I used handy dandy Heat 'n' bond with the Impervious font and some really cheap fabric from Walmart to add one, two, three, and four unto the fronts of the bags.

Now they're filled with crayons and coloring books, stringing activities, puzzles,etc. They sit in the basket near our garage door ready and waiting to be picked up and taken with us wherever!

New Etsy Shop

After going back and forth several times and then doing some more himming and hawing I finally decided to go for it and open up an Etsy shop and sell some handmade accessories.

Thanks to the teaching, talents, and prodding of friends I thought I'd try it out and see how it goes!

The site is: 123tiedwithabow.etsy.com. It features bows and flowers attached to clips which can be worn on headbands, alone, clipped on bags, etc.

Check it out if you are interested and feel free to pass it along to whomever you'd like :)

Have a great day!