Artsy Summer Fun

VIP Plate on Fresh Living

Battle of the sexes.

Jenn and Laura hit the streets to get answers to some age old questions that have been plaguing the sexes for decades.

Summer Bucket List.

 

Today we are putting together a 

Summer Bucket List. 

Have you heard of these?

It's where you make a big old list about all of the awesome things you definitely want to do this summer, cut the list into strips, put the strips into a BUCKET, and draw out an activity a couple of times a week.

Then you go and do whatever activity you pull!
How genius is that?
Love, love this idea.

(If you aren't exactly the spontaneous type, and you need some extra time to pull your activity together, you can always pull the activity the night before so that you can plan for it. It's always fun for kids to have something to look forward to.)

Here is the list of things that our family came up with:

ALL DAY ACTIVITIES:
Go to the Zoo
Go to Discovery Gateway
Go to the Aquarium
Go to Thanksgiving Point Dinosaur Museum
Go to the Bean Museum
Go to Seven Peaks Water Park
Go to Lagoon

HALF DAY ACTIVITIES:

Go Bowling
Miniature Golf
Go on a picnic
Go to an outdoor movie
Go out for ice cream
Visit a new playground
Visit a new playground
Visit a new playground
Go to the Art City Museum
Go to an activity day at the library
Visit Krispy Kreme
Fire Station Tour
Go to yard sales
Camp
Go berry picking
Have an art party
Roast marshmallows
Have a backyard camp out
Make popsicles
Make s’mores
Make wind chimes
Go to the duck pond
Go to the Reservoir
Go to a fun Swimming Pool

What activities are YOU going to be adding to your summer bucket list?

Fun with cookie cutters.

Make lunch time interesting this summer with the help of your stash of cookie cutters. Kids love seeing their food take on different shapes and personalities, and hey, with an eater as picky as mine, it's all about doing what works.

You can use  cookie cutters to shape watermelon, jello, toast, and even your kiddo's PB&J. I used mine to make fun turkey and cheese sandwiches today and the kids loved it!

This crown cookie cutter is great for making your daughter princess for a day, and also would be fantastic to use when serving little sandwiches as a princess tea party.

Rooster toast was a hilarious addition to our breakfast table. {Goes great with eggs!} The toast pictured below has cinnamon and sugar and would serve as a great mid-morning snack!

Watermelon is fun, but messy, so you may want to "cookie-cut" your watermelon slices outdoors so kids can just have fun and won't have to worry about making a mess. Simply cut watermelon into large, round slices and dole them out to the kids. They can also carve their own designs with a butter knife for one of a kind creations!

VIP Plate

Enter to win a FREE marker plate kit!
Update: And the winner is... Rayburn Memories!
{we will be contacting you via email for mailing information.}

{Details at the bottom of this post.}

As two VERY busy moms ourselves, we know that parents today are swamped. So our goal here at ifamily is to bring you simple, creative projects and ideas that are achievable within small increments of time while also using supplies that are easy to access.

In keeping with that theme, today we’re going to share a wonderful family tradition in the making, and all you need to get started, is a plate!

These days, parents are busier than ever. We have jobs, errands, sporting events, dance classes, birthday parties, school projects, and “TO DO” lists that are NOT for the faint of heart. With all of this hustle and bustle, we sometimes struggle to find time to connect with our kids and make sure that they feel special and celebrated when they experience even the smallest victories.

That’s where the VIP plate comes in. But how does a simple plate serve to bring your family closer together?
The VIP plate provides a daily opportunity to celebrate your child’s accomplishments, and reminds frazzled, busy parents everywhere to slow down and celebrate the small things.

The premise is simple. When one of your children accomplishes a goal or makes a good choice, they get to use the VIP plate that night at dinner. From being a good sport at their ball games, to working hard in school, or even showing kindness to a sibling and completing a task the first time mom asks, there are dozens of small things to celebrate every day. And take it from us, this small gesture WON’T go unappreciated.

We wanted to share this tradition with you because both of us have nostalgic, happy “VIP plate” memories from our childhoods. The VIP plate truly is a tradition that your kids will remember fondly for years to come.

And the best part is, it’s so simple that many of you can start this tradition by dinner tonight.

There are no rules when it comes to acquiring your family’s VIP plate. If you’re an avid crafter, you can easily design and create your own!

Glass Etching
You’ll need:
a clear glass plate
a paintbrush
contact brand vinyl {but we have a cheat if you want to use a stencil you already own}
a jar of glass etching cream

Cut out the stencil letters and any designs you plan to use, then use Elmer's Glue {our "cheat" item}to secure them onto your plate. {You don't need to let it dry AT ALL! In fact it need to be wet so you can rinse it away after the etching process is complete. We just didn't want to splurge on contact vinyl {because we're cheap}so we used the Elmer's Glue as a sealer to keep the etching cream from bleeding outside the lines of the stencil.

Once your stencil letters and designs are secure, take your paint brush and stroke a heavy layer of etching cream over the stencil.

Let it stand for five minutes, and then rinse with regular tap water.

{Don't touch the cream with your bare hands! It will eat the skin right off of your fingers!}

As always, follow the specific instructions on whatever bottle of etching cream you purchase.

Marker Plate
Another great idea is a marker plate. This one is so simple and safe that your kids can help. {That is, if you're the carefree sort...} You can find kits for these at just about any craft store. Draw, design, and let it dry, and you’ve got a one of a kind celebration plate for your family.

Another fun take on this theme is to let each child design their own plate, OR have mom and dad design special plates for each child with hand-drawn images of their interests and favorite things.

Thrift Store
And if you don’t have a crafty bone in your body – don’t sweat it. You can still have a special V.I.P. Plate ready by dinner time tonight. Just visit your local thrift store and pick up the brightest, funkiest plate you can find. That way, it will be different from the rest of the dish sets you have at home, and shouldn’t cost you more than a dollar or two. You can even use something unique out of your own kitchen cupboards.



Online
You can also purchase a "You're the Best" plate here. 

Zoom (2)

So try incorporating the VIP plate into your family traditions today.

And  you don't  have to call it a "VIP" plate either.

“You’re the Best!”
“You are Special.”
“Good for you!”

or any other encouraging saying will work great!





Enter to win a free marker plate kit!
*For ONE entry, leave a comment complete with your email address.
*For TWO entries, become a follower of our little blog.
* For THREE entries, share this post on facebook. {It's super simple, the little "f" icon thingy is right below!}
*Leave a separate comment for each entry.
*Don't forget your email address, and good luck!

Movie Party

It was really fun.
And I am officially certifiable.

Here is how the party went down:

The kids all received a "movie ticket" in their invitation package.
My cute niece, Jordan, stood at the "ticket booth" in the front yard, and as the guests arrived, she took their tickets, gave them VIP glow in the dark bracelets and some fake money to buy candy, popcorn, and a soda at the concessions stand, and sent them to the back yard!

It was fun to see how excited they got.

One REALLY lame thing about starting a party at 8:00 p.m.?
It's too dark to take good pictures!
So I am very sad that I didn't get any shots of the concessions stand or popcorn buffet, BUT I am glad that I took a few pics for the blog earlier in the day.

Here are the cupcakes we made. {48 of them - yikes!}

And these are the salt shaker jars we made for the popcorn buffet.

Kids had the choices of :
1. Salt
2. Cheddar Cheese Powder
3. Lime Salt
4. Ranch Seasoning Salt
5. S'mores mix {Golden Grahams, Marshamallows, & Chocolate Chips}

It was a fun, loud, MESSY good time!

Kort got so many thoughtful, fun gifts. Our "Feature Film" was "Despicable Me" and one of our little party guests has a mom that has a REALLY cute business called CherubChic, and she made Kort a "Minion" hat for the party. It is so fun! He refused to take it off all weekend. I am so calling her this Halloween for Tennyson. She has RIDICULOUS headbands for little girls too. I wish I had her talent with yarn!

All in all, it was such a great birthday. I am pooped! {And consequently triggered shingles because I over-did it so bad, so... mayhaps I am not such a good example of "moderation" sometimes.} But hey, he will always remember his amazing movie party. And it's a good thing - cause it's ain't happenin' EVAH again!

So today, I am still recovering from one WICKED berfday party... what are YOU doing today? Will you please link up and share? And will you go even one step further and tell some other people about our great little project over at communal global?  {On facebook, twitter, or your blog...and what not?}We would sure love it.