"Definitely Do" Top Three DIY Picks: Nursery Design

I've had just a touch of baby fever lately and thought I would try and kick it by posting some of my favorite nursery designs and ideas from Pinterest. When you find out your having a little one, and some of us start doing this years in advance, but we dream of how our little peanuts room will look when they arrive. Themes, color, design, decor, stuffed animals, furniture... the list goes on and on with the items that we ponder for the picture perfect nursery for our picture perfect newborn. Through our favorite pin board site I gathered my top three favs this week. Hope you love and enjoy them just as much as I do.


1. Pink & Brown

I am totally a sucker for pink and brown together, especially for a little girls nursery or room. It is classy, earthy, girly, warm, sophisticated, and delicate enough for your princess. The chandelier lighting is just the right touch to give this nursery the perfect ambiance.

My Tip: I would recommend putting your lighting on a dimmer switch. This comes in handy for midnight diaper changes and creating a calm atmosphere for baby while you rock her to sleep(my favorite).


2. MOD Baby

I'm in love with this modern themed nursery for the little man in your life. The blues, greens, tans, and grays are the perfect combo of colors and make this the hippest nursery in the neighborhood.

My Tip: Of course the blue chair is the highlighted piece of this room, however I don't recommend spending an arm and leg to get this "must-have" piece of furniture. I would purchase a used chair or use one already in your home and reupholster the fabric. Then buy a fun, funky pillow to complete the look (or make one, you crafty mom you).









3. The SURPRISE nursery


For those of you (not me, I don't do surprises) that choose to wait until the D-day to find out if your having a boy or girl will appreciate this gender neutral themed nursery which is possibly the most creative one I've seen. The pinstriping on the ceiling is a perfect touch if your not looking to commit to one color on the walls but want to give it some personality. The best part of this nursery is the wall of books, such a simple yet fun loving idea for your little ones first room. We shall call it the wall of imagination and learning. <3

My Tip: To fill your book shelves purchase at used book stores and even get in the attic to find your books from when you were a little one. This nursery will definitely create memories that will last a lifetime.

"Now get out there and make something beautiful and from the heart"

"Definitely Do" Top Three DIY Picks: Valentine's Day Coloring Pages

If you have children and if they love to color then these top three coloring page sites will be perfect for your little ones to express their colorful creativeness. Whether you use markers, crayons, or paint you cannot go wrong with these fun coloring pages.


1. Babble colors too

My new thing is the Flipboard ap (only the coolest social magazine EVER) and while reading it this morning I came across these fun and adorable coloring pages on Babble. There are 8 to choose from and they are perfect for little hands  because the images are larger and are very easy to color ( I tried and stayed in the lines the entire time).












2. Flower Heart


This coloring page was found on Pinterest via Print n' Learn.com. Again, the image is larger making it easier for the little artists.















4. Personalized Coloring Pages

How cute are these? Not only do you get adorable coloring pages but before you print them you get to personalize the page! I found these on Color My Day and am printing them right now. Cute, cute cute!

"Now get out there and make something beautiful and from the heart"

Greek is Great

In our household we go through yogurt on a daily basis, it's a great snack for the kids and comes in a variety of flavors. For awhile now though I have found a different use for it and thought I would share this fabulous secret if you haven't already discovered it for yourself.

Do you have these items in your refrigerator?

- sour cream

-cream cheese

- ice cream

- dips

If you answered yes to any of those then you are in for a pleasant surprise. Plain Greek yogurt can be used as a substitution to all of the above and much more. Not only is this delicious treat that is creamy and nutritious but it is so versatile in the kitchen.

Some of my favorite dishes that I use Greek yogurt in is anything Mexican, smoothies, spinach dip, cucumber dip, use as a dip for fruit, parfaits, on top of tomato soup (or any soup for that matter), and that is just to name a few. 

Now, I probably pay around $6.00 for a pint of Greek yogurt, however, when you stop buying all the other items above it balances out and is definitely worth it at the check out line.

This is a "Definitely Do" and hope that some of you are on your way to the grocery store right NOW, well after you finish reading of course. And I will share some of my Greek yogurt recipes with you soon. I'll get to working on that A.S.A.P. just for y'all. 

My Tip: My kids love ice cream so in place of ice cream (and I was sneaky about it) I take the Greek yogurt and put semi sweet choc chips in it and they LoVe it!

"Now get out there and make something beautiful and from the heart"

Do you have any must have Greek yogurt recipes to share?

Love Fortunes

This is yet another of the "Definitely Do" Top Three DIY Picks that I posted a few weeks ago from The Wonder Forest. I decided to make these for Jonah and create a Valentine's Day scavenger hunt. They turned out pretty darn good, I must say.

You all that know me and by reading the blog have figured out that I am ALL about economical, easy, and fun DIY crafts and this one is all three of those adjectives.

What you need:

- Red felt sheets ( you get about 4 cookies out of each sheet) - $.20 per sheet

- Red craft pipe cleaners - $ 2.00

- Fortunes printed out on paper and the cut out - $ FREE

- Scissors - you totally have a pair at home - $ FREE

- Craft glue or a hot glue gun -$2.00

- Something to put your fortune cookies in when your done - I used a heart decorated craft Chinese food box from Wal - Mart - $ .97

To make your fortunes find something around the house that is circular and trace it onto your felt sheets.

Cut your circles out and put a straight line of craft glue across the diameter. Cut a piece of  pipe cleaner the length of the circle and place over glue mark. Once dry place your fortune over the pipe cleaner and fold your circle in half and then bend to form fortune cookie(half moon) shape. Repeat! Ta- Da!

These were so much fun to make and took no time at all. This is obviously a "Definitely Do" and is perfect for anyone trying to put together a last minute gift, someone who is not super crafty, a mom who doesn't have a bunch of time to make something, and everyone in between, you'r sweetheart will be sure to love and appreciate these fortune cookies.

My Tip:  As I said in the beginning of the post I'm creating a scavenger hunt with these. I took note cards and wrote little hints to lead him around the house to find each of the cookies. Each time he finds one, he opens it, reads his love fortune, and then is given a hint to find the next. Don't make your hints too easy though, make him work to find them! :-)

"Now get out there and make something beautiful and from the heart"

Heart Shaped Crayons

A few weeks ago one of my "Definitely Do" Top Three DIY Picks was these adorable heart shaped crayons. I loved this for a craft time idea with the kids to make for their friends at Sunday school.

What you need:

- 96 crayons (made 10 heart crayons -  $ 2.00)

- Heart shaped silicon muffin pan ( Wal - Mart for $3.50)

To get started you want to take all the wrappers off the crayons, this was actually more difficult than I expected. My husband took each crayon and with a knife sliced a line down each crayon to make peeling the wrapper much easier. Then, preheat your over to 230 degrees, break up your crayons into a medium size bowl. Once all the crayons are broken fill (all the way to the top) each heart on the muffin pan with the crayon pieces. Put them in the oven for 15 minutes. Take them out once your crayons are liquid. To help mine cool faster I put them in the refrigerator to harden for about 30 minutes. When they are cool all you have to do is pop them out of the silicon pan, this was the easiest part because they slide right out. And Ta-Da!

My Tip: Once the heart crayons were finished we headed to the dollar store to crate a fun little bag to give them to our friends. In the wedding section you can find fold-able cardboard bags then we bought heart stickers to decorate them with. 

"Now get out there and make something beautiful and from the heart"

"Definitely Do" Top Three DIY Picks: Valentine's Day Printables

Everyone loves a free printable, especially when it comes to organizing our home, planning meals, and the top reason... holidays. So, today I am going to share with you my top three picks for Valentine's Day printables that you can print and share with the ones you love most. 

1.  I love you today because...



Creative Juice has some very cute printables that everyone will enjoy. I found this one via none other than Pinterest. The gals from this blog have different styles of this same printable plus so many other ones that will catch your eye, including school printables, as well!

My Tip: Print this out, put it in a frame and write dry erase love notes. Gift it on Valentine's Day for the ones you love and there you have it -- a gift that you can use every day after to show your love.






2. A hundred hearts...

I am a little biased with posting these printables because they were made by my cousin and we shared them right here on Didterest. They really are some of the cutest ones I've seen and the quotes are perfectly worded for expressing your love this Valentine's Day.


My Tip: You can turn these FIVE whimsical printables into love note cards and hide them in different places around the house for your loved one to find throughout the day. Don't forget to leave little clues on the back of each one to lead them to the next.


3. Circular Printables

I found these and immediately fell in love with them. Anything but Perfect shared these adorable circular printables and are perfect for jars or bags of candy, note card making, cupcake toppers, and all of these ideas and more which you can find on Angela's blog.

My Tip: On the back of each circular printable write or type up a little note with the date on the back. The one you give them too can scrap book them or just save them as a memory from their favorite Valentine's Day EVER!

I hope you all enjoyed these whimiscal, creative, fun, loving, and inspiring Valentine's Day printables. If you print any be sure to leave a comment showing our creators some love! I also enjoy seeing designs you have created and would love to share them on the blog. Just send me an email with your design to didterest@gmail.com.

"Now get out there and make something beautiful and from the heart"

Memory Jar

When the kids were first born I had a journal for both of them that I wrote in every single day, it was kinda exhausting and after awhile I started to feel pressure to sit down and write in it. If I missed a day I had this feeling of guilt that when my kids moved out and we gave them the journal that they would have blank days and never know what happened on August 15, 2009.

So I did eventually stop with the journals and recently discovered another fun, guilt free way to track those memories and revisit them later. A memory jar! We keep it on the kitchen table and when the kids do something funny, sweet, or crazy we write it down on a scrap of paper and put it in our memory jar. For the kids, since they are not writing, they can put in a drawing or anything that will track a memory. Make sure to date your pieces of paper such as A hot Wednesday morning, June 5, 2011.

When a birthday, holiday, or anniversary comes around sit down as a family, open your memory jar, and let the good times begin.  Everyone in the family will enjoy sharing their thoughts on paper, putting them in the jar, and then maybe in 6 months or a year going back and reading them.

This is a "Definitely Do" for any family who loves to jot down thoughts, notes, memories and have them as keepsakes. 

My Tip: Once your jar is full and you have read your memories take your memories and tape or glue them into a scrap book so that one day when the kids are older they can go back through it and see all the notes you wrote as a family. This creates a lasting memory for the whole family.

"Now get out there and make something beautiful and from the heart"

Sweet Valentine's Day Printables

My cousin, Amy, is amazingly creative and recently emailed me some whimsical and love inspired Valentine's Day printables that she made just for you. I was so honored when she shared them with me to post on the blog and know you will love them just as much as I did! Be sure to give her a big shout out with some love by leaving a comment about them on the blog.

Print this one! A bell is no bell...

Print this one! A hundred hearts...

Print this one! Kisses are...

Print this one! Grow old with me

Print this one! Love...

Wasn't that easy? All you had to do was click print and put them in a picture frame, scrap book, collage, or whatever it may be that you are creating for your special someone. Ta-Da, your Valentine's Day gift from the heart is ready to go. Thank you again, Amy, for sharing these fun and inspiring printables with us!

"Definitely Do" Top Three DIY Picks: Valentine's Day Favorites

1. For kids from kids

Heart shaped crayons made from chopped up crayons then baked in the oven for 15 minutes, brilliant! Not only is this easy, affordable, and super cute but these little crayon hearts definitely beat the store bought cards hands down. We are making these for the kiddos at church and know they will all love and enjoy them.



My Tip: Once you have the crayons all chopped up let your kids put them in the heart shaped baking dish. It gives them independence to help create this fun idea for their friends.





























2. Mails here

When I saw this idea, by the home teacher, I knew I would be making these little mail boxes, no doubt. What a fun way to leave little notes for the ones you love. A fun and personal idea for Valentine's Day at home.



My Tip: Use these even after Valentine's Day is over. Leave daily notes for the ones you love, especially the kiddos. Each morning they will love looking in their mail box to see what awaits for them.











3. Fortune Cookie Love


This idea is a little sentimental for me because my husband and I actually met opening a new Asian restaurant concept and we always opened fortune cookies together. He even sent me a HUGE chocolate covered cookie to Florida when I was still living there. I'm actually making these for him, putting them in a jar and am really excited to see how much he loves the thought behind them. Easy to make and the idea behind it goes back to when we first met. You can find the "how - to" steps at Wonder Forest.

My Tip: Whether you are making them for him or her make it a venture and tell them to only open one a day for the rest of the month. It will be the perfect beginning or ending to their day this coming month.

"Now get out there and make something beautiful and from the heart"

The Simple Beautiful Life

I'm going to do things a little differently this Saturday morning. Instead of the usual "Definitely Don't" list I was thinking something with a little more substance to start my weekend. While looking through all the photos on our computer yesterday I was especially loving the ones of the kids from the past year. With the first month of the new year coming to an end soon I'd like to share some of my favorite photos of the kids from 2011. 

For the Birds

Today is so beautiful outside with just a bit of chill to it. It's the perfect day to be outside with the kids. While we were in the backyard playing we noticed our birdies were looking for food and that their feeders were empty so I decided to turn feeding our friends into a mom and toddler bonding/craft time.

We gathered our left over bread that was going to be thrown away today, some peanut butter, our bird seed, forks (for spreading), and plates to make our masterpieces. I rolled out our picnic blanket on the deck, gave the kiddos each their own little work area with cups of bird seed and let them make a snack for our wildlife friends.  

When they were finished we took their peanut butter seed sandwiches down to the bird feeders and placed them on a rock. Our kitchen window looks down onto the feeders and I'm excited to see if they enjoy our snack. 

This was the perfect idea for a perfect afternoon outside. A "Definitely Do" for the little bird lovers in your life.

My Tip: You can also use an empty paper towel holder, toilet paper roll, or pine cones to create a bird seed snack (all items you can find in, around, and outside your home).

" Now get out there and make something beautiful and from the heart"

Dance and Movement Activity Sheet

www.jitterbugzdance.com

I recently started a mommy group with my dance company and at our first meeting I handed out a 5 week curriculum for some dance and movement activities to do with your toddler or preschooler. If you saw the activity I posted a few days ago using the shapes and colors, that activity is part of the curriculum I'm going to share with you today.

When your home with the kids on a rainy day or sometimes just a lazy day where you don't really want to get out of your pj's, I know I've found myself wandering around trying to figure out what to do with the kids. That is where I came up with this 5 week activity. I've posted the activity sheet and rewards board for you to print out and enjoy.  This activity is a "Definitely Do" for every mama out there. You and the kids will enjoy these activities and they are all ones you can continue to practice every day.

Once you have both sheets printed out you'll see there is a lesson, activity, and goals for each week. Once you completed each lesson sit down with your child and on the rewards board write down three things that you have learned and reward them with a sticker on their board. The activities are not limited to movement and dance but also create time for you and your kiddo to have arts and crafts time by putting together these activities.

My Tip: Another idea is to do the activity on a Monday and then for the rewards board if you see your child doing something throughout the week that pertains to the activity such as team work from week 1 give them a sticker to put on their board. At the end of the week they get to see how many stickers they earned for that week!

Hope you mamas out there find this fun and gives you inspiration.

"Now get out there and make something beautiful and from the heart"

"Definitely Do" Top Three DIY Picks: Mommy Must Have Printables

Before Pinterest I was never aware of all the awesome printables that are not only offered to us for FREE (because these bloggers are the coolest) but also ones that are so darn helpful for our every day lifestyle. I've picked my top three picks and hope you like them too.

1. Toy Bin Tags



Lily Jane has some of the cutest printables,  this being one of them. These toy bin tags are perfect for keeping up with organization and also helping your child recognize the tag by picture and word to help them know where the toys go after play time. Toys have a home too.


My Tip: I recommend laminating these so they don't get colored on or ruined easily. Little hands get curious!


2. Grocery and Dinner Planner

What mother and wife would turn this down? Exactly! Here is an awesome printable from $5 Dinners. Not only can you get your grocery list jotted down but you can keep track of your meal plan for the week along with estimated and actual spending.


My Tip: After each week hole punch your meal plan and keep them all in a folder. You can go back for ideas from past weeks and know the dinner do's and don'ts.









3. Mason Jar Labels


The Pretty Blog has some of the prettiest and classiest food jar labels that I have seen. Whether you are gifting them or using them at home they will not disappoint.


 My Tip: I love ribbons and bows so if you are gifting your jars I would add a decorative ribbon around the lip of the jar that matches your label.

I hope for you foodies, organizers, and printable feens this has caught your eye for the day and given you something awesome to print out and enjoy.

"Now get out there and make something beautiful and from the heart"




Do you have any fun printable favorites?

"Definitely Don't" Top Three Don't Even Think About Its

It has come to that time of the week again, the time where I can vent my Pinterest.com frustrations and you all get to view it. With no further ado, here we go.

1. Soft Balls or  Shoe Soles

I'm going to be honest when I say this... when I first saw this pin, I mean very first glance, I thought it was soles to a pair of shoes. Of course the picture was a smaller size than shown here, I was just really so confused.  Thank goodness for captions and zoom. Maybe it's because I was never a sports buff, yes I've seen a baseball before but never like this. I'm not really even sure what it's supposed to represent, maybe someone reading this does and can explain. But for now, it's a don't.

Shapes and Colors Game

 My kids love playing learning games that are interactive and get them up and moving. Outside of being a wife, mommy, and blogger I also own a mobile dance company where I teach little tots, just like my own babes, dance and movement. We do fun, interactive, and educational lessons with music, dance, and movement. I came up with this idea a few days ago and thought I would share the love.

I purchased everything for this project at the Dollar Tree, here is what you will need:

- 2 poster boards (2 for $1)

- construction paper book ($1)

- large note cards ($1)

- glue stick (I had one laying around but you can find one for around $.49)

- scissors

Here is the "how-to"

Your going to cut your poster boards into 4 equal squares so that when you are finished you have 8 squares total using both poster boards. Then take your construction paper and pick out 8 different colors. On each piece of paper draw a different shape (you'll want to draw one large and one small sketch of each shape). Cut out your shapes. Glue the large shape to the poster board and the small shape to the blank side of the note card. On the side of the note card where the lines are write different questions about each shape and color, make sure they are questions that your child will know the answers too.

Start Playing!

The idea of the game is to lay the large poster board shapes on the ground in different places in the room or even around the house in different rooms. When mom holds up a note card with a shape and color have the kids tell you the shape and color then have them find the matching one in the house or room. Once they find it ask them some of the questions from the back of the note card. When your done with that shape and it's color move onto the next card. When they are all finished reward them with a sticker or home made reward ribbon. This game is a "Definitely Do" and is fun for everyone in the family. It combines matching, colors, shapes and if you put the colors in different rooms in the house it even has a little hide-and-seek feel to it. The kids will love searching for the matching shapes.

My Tip: If you don't want to draw your own shapes the Dollar Tree also has pre-cut shapes and you can even practice the alphabet using this same technique. Make learning fun the inexpensive and creative way!

"Now get out there and make some beautiful and from the heart"