Pokemon Birthday Party

Well, we survived a week long camping trip with my husband's family and my 3 little girls! Now that I'm back, I have some catching up to do. Before we left, I threw a Pokemon Birthday Party for my nephew who turned 8. Like I said in this post {with Pokemon FREEBIES}, I knew nothing about Pokemon before this birthday. It was a challenge to plan, but turned out so great! Here are some of the photos from the birthday party. It turned out to be a great party! Perfect for little boys! {something else I know little about! ;)}

To start, there was little decorations I could actually find in stores. I needed something to add to the tables and serving area. I decided to make these little pictures. I used black foam board from Dollar Tree. I found some images on line and created them into 5x5 squares. I had to edit a few of them. Then I mounted them on the foam board and cut them out. I found little easels at Michael's that were the perfect size to display my little pictures. They added so much to the party! I loved them! Such a simple method to add a lot to a party. 

I used the cupcake toppers from this post! They turned out great! 

I made some Pokeball cookies for the party. I simply used mini vanilla wafers, some gel frosting, and a white chocolate chip. They turned out pretty cute and were a huge hit!

We found different colored candies that matched our decor to use as "Energy Candies." Of course these were a huge hit too! What 7 or 8 year old boy doesn't LOVE candy?!!

My sister in law printed found a Pokemon Bingo game and the kids loved playing that!

Some other pictures of the decor! It was so much fun to decorate for this party!

I hope you liked it! This was a really fun party. All the kids had a blast. I think my first little boy's party was a huge success! Check back soon for more ideas to teach, create, and PARTY!!

Summer Camping Activity Packet with FREEBIE!

We are getting ready for a week long camping trip with my husband's family. We are all getting excited, but as a mom of 3 busy girls, I am also a little nervous about keeping them occupied for an entire week. I decided to make a fun little learning packet to take with us. They can either work on this on the way up in the truck or when we get there. It's perfect for any age, but I focused it mainly for Pre-K through 3rd grade age.

If you need something fun to do this summer, either while you are camping or not, check out this fun packet.

 It includes 8 fun and different word, writing, and math activities.

 You can download a copy of my entire What Should We Do While Camping? Activity Packet from my TpT store.

 Click here to download the FULL PACKET!

Of course, I wanted to include a FREEBIE to grab also. You can download this fun Nature Scavenger Hunt for FREE by clicking on the link below. :) 

Grab the Nature Scavenger Hunt FREEBIE here!

Thanks for visiting and Happy Camping!! 

Pokemon Birthday Party with FREEBIES

My nephew is turning 8 this month and we are throwing him a surprise Pokemon Birthday Party! As excited as I always am to throw parties, this one had me a little stumped. I have three girls and NO BOYS. I don't know the slightest thing about Pokemon. I called my teenage brother and he gave me a quick low down on the game and with his help and the help of Google, I was able to figure out the basics of this Pokemon show/game.

The party isn't until next week, but I thought I'd share some of the plans for the party. And of course... some FREE printables.

To start... here are the Pokemon invitation samples. I made 2 because I wasn't sure exactly which direction his mom and dad wanted to go. They chose option #2, but we all agreed they were both great!

Here is option #1:
I like the sizing on this one. It's like a bookmark or ticket!

Here is option #2

Once you print this one, you cut it out and fold it so that it looks like a Pokemon card! Pretty cool, if I do say so myself! =) (btw... Isn't my nephew a stud?!)

We are going to make some cupcakes for the party and top them with these cupcake toppers. These are so easy to make and add so much to any party. Just print them out and add a toothpick to the back. 

You can download these Pokemon Cupcake Toppers FREE by clicking here!

 We are going to give all the kids little bags with some Pokemon party favors in them. Here is a tag I created to go on the treat bags. 

You can download these Pokemon Thank You tags FREE by clicking here!

TIP: I used some FREE Pokemon Fonts from Font Space! The fonts really made everything come together nicely. Whenever you are doing a themed party, check online to see if there is a specific font to match your theme. You'd be surprised how many FREE fonts there are!

Check back soon for a complete low-down of the whole surprise birthday party! I have a feeling these little boys are going to be loving every minute of it!

OWL about my Dad! FREE Printable for Father's Day

Do you need a great gift for Father's Day? I have the perfect idea. I made these for my husband and father-in-law last year and they loved them. Simply print them out and let your kids fill them out. The best part is when your kids come up with their own answers. Whatever they say, let them write that answer down. It makes it a more memerable gift! 

You can download each of these OWL About printables for FREE right now! Just click on the links below to visit my Teacher Pay Teacher's Store and download the FREE printables! 

Click here to download the OWL about My Dad! 

 Click here to download OWL about my Grandpa!

Happy Father's Day!!

Shabby Chic Girls Bedroom Makeover

My oldest daughter {6 years old} has been begging for her own room for quite a while now. So we finally made the transition. We turned our extra bedroom/office into her dream room! She was involved with every step of the process to create this adorable bedroom. 

This adorable white lamp I found at Wal-Mart of all places. It was only $6 plus the cost of the shade. I wanted to make it match the room a little better, so we used some scrap fabric and ribbon and tied it around the bumps. We love it! She loves it even more, because she can read all her summer books in bed at night! {win! win!} 

We couldn't find a twin size comforter that we both liked. She made a list of the colors that she HAD to have and there was nothing that met her strict criteria. We ended up making our own quilt. It turned out so much better than we anticipated. With the mad sewing skills of my mother-in-law, we were able to make the perfect striped quilt. We found all our material at JoAnn's Fabrics. 

We started by making 8 inch strips of each of our fabrics. Then we sewed two strips together at the short ends to make a long strip. 

We spread out our fabrics next  to each other on the carpet to decide how we liked our pattern to go. We didn't do a repeating pattern. We just decided what looked best next to each other. 

Once we figured out our pattern, we sewed each strip together. We pressed all the seams open, so we would have a nice finish on the entire quilt. 

After tying the quilt, we just folded the bottom over and finished the edges. I LOVE how it turned out. It is the perfect quilt for my little girl. The colors have her name written all over them! 

I {LOVE} this window treatment! It's super shabby and even more simple to make! NO SEW too, which is always a bonus! 

I used the scraps from the quilt. I cut the scraps into 1 inch strips. The were each about 12 inches long. They weren't all exactly the same size, which I liked because it added to the look.

I simply made a loop and pulled both ends through around the string. I used some fuzzy yarn to tie this together. I was also thinking burlap would have been cute. I just kept adding different color fabrics all the way to the end and {VIOLA} the perfect window treatment for a little girls room!

The last thing I added to her room was her cute nighstand. My friend actually gave me this nightstand for FREE! She was moving and couldn't take it with her. I'm super sad that she is moving, but thankful for this gem! 

Here are the before, during, and after pictures! Make sure if you are going to redo any furnature that you always sand it down LOTS before. Then make sure you use a good PRIMER during. Let it dry completely, and then add your paint. Between each coat of paint, make sure you let it dry completely too. I always put a laquor on top of my furnature peices that I know my kids will be using a lot. I helps protect it and makes cleaning up little fingerprints a TON easier. This whole process too me a good 5 days. Be patient and let everything cure long enough. You'll thank me in the end! 

I hoped you liked all the fun ideas I put in this room. I sure had fun creating it with my lovely daughter! Thanks to my mother-in-law again for her help with the sewing. I know this is going to be a room that my daughter can grow into and will last for a long time. Come back soon for more ideas to TEACH, CREATE, and PARTY! 

Choose your Love; Love your choice ~ FREE 4x6 Printable

My husband and I helped teach a marriage class during Sunday School at our church a few months ago. On the last day that we taught, we gave each couple a gift to remember the message from our class. I found this quote that I absolutely LOVE and I felt it went really well with the whole theme of our marriage class. 

"Choose your Love; Love your choice" ~Thomas S. Monson. 

I created this as a FREE printable. You can download it and put it in a 4x6 frame. I love the way it looks and even more the meaning behind the message. 

Download the FREE 4x6 Printable HERE!