Printable Chore Lists

My life is in need of some major organization lately! Do you ever stop and take a step back and wonder how things got so messy? I have a pretty good idea of when my order turned to disorder...it's was the moment a became a mommy! Since there's no going back, there's only moving forward with better organizational tools to keep life on track and hopefully keep me sane.

I've been searching the depths of pinterest and google for ideas to sort order from the disorder that is running a household of four, and my first stops were simple and pretty papers to keep me on track with cleaning.

In the past I always did laundry on Monday, Shopping on Tuesday, Cleaning on Wednesday, etc. But with 2 munchkins life sometimes gets in the way of that strict of a schedule. I've been trying to do a load or two of laundry daily to keep that overwhelming laundry pile at bay, and I've recently found that one day for all the errands isn't always feasible when one munchkin needs a nap and the other decides to pretend she is the spawn of Satan in Target. It's life. You gotta roll with the punches sometimes.

So this little list was born in an effort to keep things orderly and make sure they get done on either a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. When placed into a frame under glass or a simple page protector on the fridge, a dry erase marker is an easy and reusable way to keep track of tasks.

I'm currently using the teal chevron print because it matches my kitchen/dining room, but I was nice enough to put together some other pattern & color combinations for those of you wanting a FREE download!

Grey/Teal Chevron                       Green Chevron                           Grey/Yellow Chevron

Tan Damask                                 Yellow  Moroccan                                   Grey Damask

Kinsey's 4th Birthday!

I cannot believe I have a 4 year old. F O U R. wow.

I know it is cliche to say it, but man, time really does fly!

 I won't get all sappy on you (not right now at least) but instead 

share the details of the party I put together for my little princess!

 Enjoy. 

First time using hot rollers...

Dessert Table with Crown Canopy (tutorial to come)

Dessert table:

 Cookie recipes via Sweet Sugarbelle here and icing recipe here

Ruffled cake tutorial via Sweetapolita here

Chocolate Cupcake recipe via My baking Addiction here (sooo delicious)

Cupcake toppers by Mod Ink Design here

Outside Decorations:

Tablecloths and runners from our wedding 8 years ago
(never imagined I would use them for my daughters party someday!)

Centerpieces: printables glued to foam board, stuck onto a popsicle stick,
placed in a mason jar or vase with tulle and tied up with a ribbon
Purchase printable princess images here 

Flag banner sew together with felt

Castle idea via Busy Budgeting Mama here

Inside Decorations:

Front Door Sign- Foam Board painted with DIY chalkboard paint, then colored on with a paint marker

DIY framed chalkboard sign inside

Birthday Banner over fireplace

"kiss the frog" game

As a party activity and party favor in one we did a crown decoration station

Crowns from Oriental Trading here and here

Additional stick on jewels here (no glue involved at all= no messy hands!)

The Princes also took home swords and the Princesses got jewels (necklaces and rings) and wands

Cake Time!

The princess and her little sister pictured enjoying their goodies

Playing in the Castle, opening presents, and Pretty Princesses all together

I think the party was a hit!

 Kinsey on Saturday night: "Mom, remember my party?" Me: "yes, it was today, I haven't forgotten" Kinsey: "Thank you mommy for the decorations, they were sooooooo pretty!"

Success!

 Although on Monday she was already trying to get me to start planning her next event....

Ikea Envy

Just a quick post so that I can share a great giveaway from one of my favorite blogs. We have been working on some reorganizing of the house and moving the girls back into one room together to free up some office space for the hubs new job. I'm having a drool fest over all the functional pieces at affordable prices from IKEA.Too bad the closest store is 6+ hours away in either Denver or Phoenix. Somehow the hubs thinks it's a little too far to travel just to shop at one store. I beg to differ. Right about now I am wishing we still lived in Seattle.

Here's the link to the fabulous Busy Budgeting Mama and her Big Girl Room Remodel!

Fingers crossed I win!

1 Corinthians 13: 4-8

A verse recited during our wedding ceremony 8 years ago. A typical wedding reading, I suppose, but true words nonetheless. Thought I would turn it into a wall hanging so I whipped up some type today-

Hopefully I'll have a finished product to show off on the walls soon!

Download Here

Free Printables: Kids Storage Labels

In recently re-organizing my oldest daughters very small room, I used a variety of bins, baskets and buckets to keep sets of similar items together for her. At almost 4 she needs to get better about putting her toys away, so in an effort to help her in the process I designed some simple labels for her. The ones that she will be able to reach on her own (and be expected to put away on her own) have labels with pictures, the ones that are kept high out of her reach (and her little sisters) have word labels. 

Nothing fancy, nothing new, but I thought I would still offer them up for free to anyone who needed a little labeling in their life! Click each page to download and enjoy!

Page 1

Page 2

Page 3

Page 4

Tutorial: Magnetic Cake Stands

Today I am sharing a quick and easy variation on the standard DIY cakestand. I grew tried of trying to find a place to store a bulky stand in my small kitchen and also wanted something that could be changed to coordinate with the theme of a party. The result of my brainstorming was this: A magnetic cake stand!

 You will need 4 simple things - 

-a candleholder of any style (green one found at Target dollar bins for $2, glass one from dollar store 2/$1)

- plate- plastic, glass, ceramic, etc. (plate shown is melamine from dollar store)

- flat magnets (purchased at Hobby Lobby for $2.99 with 40% off coupon)

- glue gun (or super glue if you prefer to stick your fingers together rather than burn them like me)

 Total Cost = $6 for two stands

It's as easy as 1,2,3! 

Glue a magnet to the candlestick, glue a magnet to the bottom of the plate, place them together! 

TA-DA!

***It is however important to check that you line up the polarity of the magnets so they attach to each other, not separate!***

 Candlestick is now still available to use to hold a candle & the plate can be washed and used as normal!

Makayla's Very Hungry Caterpillar Party

Today I will sharing the 1st Birthday party we had for Makayla based on Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar. In brainstorming theme's for her party I came across so many cute ideas, but when I saw a party based on this book I knew it was the perfect choice for our little girl. Not only can she eat more than her big sister, but she also was a caterpillar for her first Halloween (costume by me).  Big Sister Kinsey was a ladybug for her first Halloween and then had a ladybug first birthday, so it just seemed to fit.

I designed the invitations, cupcake toppers, signs, banners and thank you cards with my limited (but growing) photoshop knowledge. It was really fun learning new things in the process!

Top Left- Birthday Welcome Sign, Top Right- Cupcake Toppers,
Bottom Right- Invitation, Bottom Left- Thank You notes
Most items available for purchase at my design shop ModInk Design 

Buttercream iced cake and smash cake with hand painted fondant fruit and fondant caterpillar, done by me

Birthday girl enjoying her rainbow smash cake, and sharing with her almost one-year old cousin Eleanor!

Surprise! Rainbow cake inside!

Cupcakes with toppers I designed, available for purchase at my design shop ModInk Design here

Month by month photos in a caterpillar design

Top- Fabric wrapped canvas artwork,
 Middle Left- fruit from the VHC Book, Middle Right- Tissue paper flowers and toppers as centerpieces in dollar store baskets
Bottom Left- Activity center with butterfly's to color and caterpillars to glue together
Bottom Right- More printables from Polka Dots and Puppies

Makayla in her birthday dress designed and sewed by myself, with Eric Carle fabric and Caterpillar applique

Opening Presents and having fun!

We had Makayla's keepsake copy of the book out for guests to write a special note in

The little guests all got either a bug kit with snacks inside or a stuffed caterpillar (depending on their age) which I forgot to take photos of! We had a blast celebrating our baby girl's first year, here's to many, many more birthday celebrations!