craft – Bits of Love Creations

Loving on Your People…

Loving on your people… even after they move out? Well, yes!

If you know me, you know that my kids moving out on their own will not deter me from being the quirky, over-the-top mom. So my oldest moved out this past fall and while it’s been an adjustment, it’s actually been a fairly smooth transition. He only lives about 15-20 minutes away and we’ve seen him more often than I thought we would, so thats good! Lol!

So each year, I place the conversation hearts I’ve made on the bedroom doors of my kids. These hearts are made of colored construction paper, with words written in sharpie. Every year I go through my stack of hearts and pick words/phrases for each of them. And when I think of new words, I make new hearts to add to the stack! On the 14 days leading up to and including Valentine’s Day, I tape a heart on their bedroom doors. A word/phrase that is a quality I see in them. Something I’m proud of, something I admire, and something I respect. It’s my little extra way of showing them in “the month of love” just how special they are to me.

If you’ve been around the blog for a bit. you’ve no doubt read about this here.

But this year, with my son no longer here, I wondered what I would do? He lives on his own for now so I figured, why not keep the tradition by sending him the hearts I would put on his bedroom door if he were here? So that’s exactly what I’ve done!

I took 14 envelopes, and the 14 hearts with words I’ve chosen this year and I hand delivered them to him at his new place with the instructions to open an envelope each day starting with February 1st. He was suprised and not quite sure what I was up to, but it didn’t take him long to figure it out!

My original plan was to send the envelopes in a box with a few little things for V-Day, but since his dad’s birthday is the same day, I will undoubtedly see him so I opted to save the postage and just give him the envelopes for now.

It may seem silly, over-the-top, or strange to some; but I don’t care! Lol! Showing the people in my life how much I love them and how special they are is important to me and it seems like the world could use a little more of the little things to show we care.

What’s even better about this whole scenario? He’s actually hanging them on his bedroom door in his condo and was happy to send me a picture when I asked. I cannot tell you how happy that makes my heart. Through good and bad, the bond I’ve created with my kids will still always be the most important job I’ve ever done!

File_000 — The pic he sent me of his door… my heart is full!

DIY Canvas Photos

Do you love the look of canvas photos but not the price? Yeah, me too. There are some places online that will run a sale on them definitely making them more affordable, but when I wanted to do my own version of a gallery wall a few years back, I had to get creative.

There are a million tutorials for DIY canvas photos on Pinterest, you can find one that suits your purpose. For me? I opted to go with tip from a friend years ago mixed with a little common sense and trial and error. This is what I ended up with.

First off, choose your photo. for my gallery wall, I wanted a mix of current professional photos, snapshots, and photos that have been around for a little while. For this tutorial, though I used a landscape photo Mallory took of the mountains in Colorado on her spring break trip (pre-coronavirus). It’s a great picture, and she wanted it enlarged and made into a canvas for her room. She’s no stranger to this method, as she helped with my gallery wall years ago and has since made her own for her room, and her room at college with pics of her and her boyfriend and her with roommates and friends. Safe to say it’s easy and cheap enough for a college kid to do it! lol!

So the canvas. They come in so many sizes! You can get them for a great price every day at Hobby Lobby with their coupon (and occassionally on sale!). Walmart also has them for a great price, but when I wanted to do the gallery wall, we went to Michaels when they had their big sale and bought multi packs of various sizes for $10.00! we still have some left over in the craft closet! Choose your photo and what size you want it to be, and choose your canvas. To get photos printed, I always recommend Costco photo printing. It’s a good quality print, for a very good price. Shipping is fast and for this, I always choose their matte finish which they call lustre.

This is my gallery wall as it stands today. The engagement photo, wedding photo, and photo of the 3 kids when they were little, were from a while back, so their size was of course predetermined. I chose a canvas for each and cut (if needed) the photo to fit. You’ll notice 2 of them have a border… we needed this because the height of the photo did not reach the edges of the canvas. Mallory’s picture we used in this tutorial only needed a border on the sides. She was fine with taking the photo all the height of the canvas instead of cutting it. So before we even began, she painted her canvas black so the border on the sides would match her accents in her room. I’ll stop being so long winded and just say – use your creativity, it’s your project, do it how you want!

Make sure your photo is the size you want for the canvas. Trim and cut if you need to.

I use matte finish mod podge and a foam ‘brush’. It is white, but dries clear! Protect your surface with a tablecloth. We use an old vinyl table cloth for painting projects and projects like this. Start by spreading a layer (not too thick) of mod podge on the canvas and on the back of the photo. Don’t go too slow because the glue definitely gets tacky pretty quickly. Place the photo where you want it on the canvas and (making sure there is no glue on your hands) smooth the photo to the canvas. Let it dry.

Begin to apply pod modge to the top of the photo & canvas.

Do not use too much. This will cause those heavier spots to look faded and almost blurry when dry.
Make all brush strokes go across the canvas horizontally.
Try to take your brush strokes across the whole canvas if possible.

Once you have covered the surface, lightly and evenly with strokes in one direction, let it dry COMPLETELY. If you do not let it dry completely in between layers, glue does what glue does and you could end up with clumps and icky spots that will ruin the photo.

When this first layer is completely dry, you can start the second layer by using the same process as the first except going vertically in even strokes.

Let it dry completely yet again and voila! You’ve just made your very own canvas photo!

Have a lovely day!

Decorating Your Tiered Tray

I know you’ve all seen the tiered trays that are trending. In fact they’ve been trending for a few years now. I love them! There are so many different ways to decorate them and there is no wrong way… just do it how YOU want!

I made one, like so many others have, by using materials from Dollar Tree. Look for a DIY blog on that later. But I didn’t want to spend a lot of money each season for decorations, because I love to change things up way too often. While stuck in quarantine, I decided I would try my hand at decorating for as many seasons as possible with mostly things I already had. Mal helped me and we had a blast being creative! In all honesty, we could’ve probably decorated for more themes since we actually became pretty decent at re-using a lot of the items.

Winter – Hot Cocoa:

For the winter decorations, We went with a Hot Cocoa theme.. We used a small glass milk bottle from Michaels that I painted white on the inside. The greenery is lambs ear I’ve had forever, and the little one piece on top in the back is a photo holder (with the photo holder removed) also from Michaels. The camping cup is one I have had forever from —. I added a little ribbon and the most adorable mug topper from the Etsy shop – mug toppers. A little white Christmas tree, pick up truck ornament, and wood box present add more dimension to the bottom layer. Also on the bottom layer is a small marshmallow mug with another cute topper from – mug toppers, and some scrap material in a Christmas’y’ plaid. The small hanging chalkboard sign was found at Hobby Lobby a few years ago and I just used a chalk dust type of font on my Cricut and cut the words out in vinyl.

Valentine’s Day:

We re-used the milk glass, lamb’s ear, marshmallow mug with topper, and berry greenery photo holder. We added a few teddy bear Valentine’s I have had for longer than I’ve has my kids! lol!We also added a heart shaped candy dish (also had forever), homemade snowballs out of yarn, a few glitter hearts from floral picks, and a kitchy cupcake shelf sitter, all items I have had for longer than I can remember.

St. Patrick’s Day:

The ST. Patrick’s Day trays were difficult for us… because we just didn’t have many things. I had found the plastic gold coins, green cauldron, and the green hats at WalMart earlier in the season for super, super cheap. The hats fit perfectly on my little marshmallow guy. The shamrock garland, leprechaun, wooden shamrock, and shot glass I have had for years. The ‘luck of the Irish’ and Welcome signs I also found earlier in the season at Hobby Lobby. If you look, you can always find things like this for decorations for very little money!

Spring:

To freshen up the trays for spring, we opted for brightly colored items and some green Easter grass. The small metal pot, springs of pink berries, and cute frog were found at Hobby Lobby. The daisy candy dish and Gerbera Daisy flowers have been in my craft closet a long time. The hanging sign was a Michaels find about 5 years back, and we just wrote Spring in chalk. There is definitely more room to add other things, but this starts the decor out just fine.

Easter:

Moving into Easter, we kept a lot of the tray the same with the grass and the Gerbera Daisies. We added a little more grass to fill out the surface of the trays. The Easter sign, carrots, and Bunny Trail rock were all found at Hobby Lobby last year. The woodland bunny was found at Michaels, and the eggs and egg carton were found at Dollar General. All last year. We swapped the marshmallow mug for a different one (no chocolate on top) and added felt bunny ears made by me, and a ribbon.

Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day:

We kept this simple so it would be easy to un-assemble and re-assemble throughout the summer months. The 3 flags we have had for a while, but the starry mason jar was purchased this year at Hobby Lobby. The firecrackers, ‘Home of the Brave’ sign, and Uncle Sam are all from Hobby Lobby. The candle holders are from my days (long gone) as a candle lady, and the bear was a gift from my mom years ago. I wanted a little filler – nothing too over bearing – so I took blue and red scrap material and made a miniature fabric bunting.

Summer – Beach:

So this one was mine and Mallory’s guilty pleasure. Being in quarantine, we could not and would not go to stores. But for this one, we found almost everything on sale at Hobby Lobby and ordered online. We didn’t have much for this kind of theme at the house already and set a budget because, quite frankly, we were having shopping withdrawl and this was an inexpensive way to get a ‘quick fix’. We already had the rocks, piece of driftwood, and sand. Everything else was in that Hobby Lobby online order and was less than $20! Warning: this one was a mess to clean up!

Fall:

For fall we broke out the camping mug, mug topper, and lambs ear again. With it we added a Dollar Tree ceramic pumpkin, a foam pumpkin painted blue (also from DT), and another covered with buffalo check fabric. We also use a spare piece as a napkin to lay on the side of one of the trays. The fall candle holders are a Rae Dunn find from Marshalls. Seriously if you don’t shop TJ Maxx/Marshalls/Homegoods, you’re missing out! I always find the cutest stuff at great prices!

Halloween:

Pumpkins, spiders, and leaves! I loved doing this one! All the leaves were off of a leaf garland I’ve had since I got married. It’s slowly started falling apart over the last couple of years, but I don’t typically get rid of the leaves for ideas such as this. All the pumpkins… ceramic, foam, and painted are all from DT. The flowers are also from DT as are the spider rings. The cutest wooden ghost, and teddy bear pumpkin I’ve had forever. The pumpkin sign on top was purchased from Hobby Lobby probably 2-3 years ago. The ‘hello Fall’ piece is actually a candle I purchased last year from TJ Maxx. I added one of my small mug toppers to it and think it’s pretty cute! My most favorite piece is the witch. As a kid my mom did a lot of ceramics painting. This particular year, (I think 1979), she painted a brunette witch for me, and a blonde with for my sister. Even with the chip on her witch hat, she has so many sentimental memories for me.

Thanksgiving:

Keeping the decor mostly the same for Thanksgiving, I just added a wooden turkey I purchased from WalMart many years ago, and another of my favorite ceramic pieces from my childhood, the scarecrow. Like the witch in the Halloween tray, this little guy has been with me since the 70’s or 80’s. I love the fact that my mom made these for my sister and I and am even more happy that my kids can have these as a part of me and a part of their grandma for years to come.

Christmas:

For Christmas I brought the out a different marshmallow much and attached a plaid Santa hat which was originally an ornament from Michaels. The present is just a box I had in my gift wrap tote as is the bow. The same plaid material that was used in the Winter – Hot Cocoa tray is used here. I also re-used the grapevine present, white tree, hot cocoa sign, milk jar, and berry greenery. The holly leaves are from old candle wreaths I had when the kids were little. The final addition was the wooden Christmas sign from Hobby Lobby last year.

So I have to mention, the marshmallow mugs I’ve used throughout are a plastic take off of the ceramic ones floating around the internet. I ordered these through Oriental Trading. I needed up with 1 dozen, 4 of each kind they offer, and saved money per piece in the process. I e given some away and used others in baskets for silent auctions. All in all not a bad deal since I only use them for decorating… you can check them out here.

There are so many more options you can do with these trays! You can do birthdays, New Years, Farmhouse, whatever you like… I think that’s part of the appeal! Mix and match, fit your style and decor, it’s so easy! And don’t forget you can find so many inspiring ideas on Pinterest. Follow our DIY Tiered Tray board to see all the pins we find and re-pin!

Have a lovely day,

8 Birthday Party Ideas on a Budget

I don’t know about any of you, but I had a blast planning and throwing birthday parties when my kids were young. However, the one thing that was always a struggle, especially since I was a SAHM, was money. Why in the world does everything cost so much money?

I began to use my creativity to plan and execute these parties. It became a sort of challenge for me to see how fabulous (for the kids) I could make these parties on as little money as possible. Now – total honesty here, I don’t have many quality pictures of these parties. Sure, I have the standard – birthday kid w/cake and maybe opening some presents, but 15-20 years ago I didn’t know I would want other photos for something like this. So alas, what I do have had to be scanned and most likely out of a birthday scrapbook!

Now not all of these ideas I’m going to share will be a perfect fit for every child. And not all of these ideas will be fit for today’s culture, as my kids are now grown and grew up in a different decade, but feel free to read through these and maybe they will spark your own creativity or maybe you can adapt to today’s culture. This was also before the introduction of Pinterest and Dollar Store Crafts – type of sites.

All I really know is, while all my kids are currently in their early to mid twenties, they will still share stories from some of these birthday parties. And that warms my heart, because at the end of it all… my goal was for them to have a party with friends and loved ones making memories and celebrating their day!

1. Fiesta

Bright, fiesta colors in $1 table clothes, plates, napkins, utensils and cups are easily found at your local dollar store or Walmart, You can even use the $1 table cloths to make decorations. Use your imagination and get a little crafty!

Pinata – We got ours at WalMart and filled it with a huge bag of candy for very little! Luckily we had a tall Shepherd’s Hook in our back yard that we hung it on and just let the kids use a bat to swing at it.

If you do party favors (sometimes we did, sometimes we did not) you can check out sites such as Oriental Trading and Rhode Island Novelty for inexpensive trinkets and fun items to either decorate with or use for party favors.

2. Super Hero

So easy! We did a super hero party for my son and all kids were invited to wear a super hero costume or make and wear one! Even just a simple piece of fabric, bed sheet, or old table cloth can be made into a cape!

Party City has great decorations, favors, plates & napkins; just be sure they fit into your budget. You can always use the dollar store or finds from the Target Dollar Spot or even WalMart to create the look you are going for.

3. Spa Day

My girls always loved a good spa day so it was natural they would choose to have their friends over for sleepover birthday parties to do spa activities.

My mom would come over and help me “treat” each girl to a manicure. The Dollar Store was our “go to” for party favors and all of the beauty essentials.

4. Shopping Mall

This one my youngest still talks about to this day and she is about to turn 21!

She only wanted 5 of her closest friends over for a party and a sleepover so my other 2 kids and I turned the house into a shopping mall.

Each “store” was in a different room in the house. I used the Dollar Store and Oriental Trading to purchase the stock for the “stores”.

I used the computer to make and print out currency for them to use with my daughter’s name on it and each party participant was given money and a shopping bag when they arrived. In the pet shop they could adopt animals, so I also used the computer to print adoption certificates they could have filled out when they chose their animal.

5. Luau

Another bright colored – fun party! Like a fiesta, using brightly colored $1 table clothes, plates, napkins, utensils and cups is easy and inexpensive party decor.

The dollar store almost always has luau-type decorations and favors including leis and grass skirts each summer making it even more budget friendly!

We have a pool so that was an easy entertainment solution, especially for a luau!

6. Bratz

OK so this is totally dating my kids and myself, I mean do they even make Bratz Dolls anymore? Even if they don’t or your young one is into a different, more current cultural icon, this can be adapted to almost anything.

So plain and simple, we chose solid colored decorations (plain colored plates, napkins, etc.). Each party go-er was invited to bring their favorite Bratz doll with them and had a photo op at the end of the party with the birthday girl and their dolls.

I also took a piece of poster board from the dollar store and drew a Bratz doll, colored it in and hung it on the wall for a “pin the lips on the Bratz doll” game! They had a blast and it turned out fairly cute. Easy peasy, super inexpensive fun for the night.

7. Sports

This could not be any easier. A group of kids, a back yard, soccer balls, basketballs, footballs, plenty of playtime and inexpensive decorations from the dollar store and WalMart = party success!

A breaktime with birthday cake just long enough to rest and then back at it for playtime, and the birthday kid as well as party go-ers will all sleep well tonight!

8. Party at the Park

Perhaps one of my favorite venues to hold a kids party other than our house was the park. You can rent a pavilion or picnic area if you would like or want to be sure you have a spot, or you can just take a chance that there is enough space for all the park goers that day. (not gonna lie, we did this quite a few times)

Out of all the times we had a party at the park, most often we would show up early to “set up” and snag a spot fairly close to the park playground with multiple picnic tables. We also would bring our own fold-able banquet table and lawn chairs. Balloons, streamers, etc.

Playground = instant entertainment

Park = means we wouldn’t have to limit the number of friends invited.

That made this an easy and very affordable party every time!

There are many more party ideas out there. Some more affordable, some more creative, but the point is: the kids will remember the memories, not how much money you spent trying to make their parties ‘Pinterest perfect’. It is about being together, celebrating the birthday kid, and adding to those childhood memories they will cherish for years to come.

Have a lovely day!

DIY-No Sew Easter Baskets

So every year I think I will find the perfect Easter Baskets, and every year I am not happy with the ones I settle on… I know, super dumb – 1st world problems. My girls and I brainstormed about what we could do this year without going to the store OR spending any money. Megan explains below what we ended up doing. Another crafty bonding – quarantine project with my kids! I love it!

Note: They aren’t perfect, but they are perfect for what we wanted. They were 100% free, using items we had already in the house and just something fun we could do to stay busy and let creativity flow!

Want or need new Easter baskets, but can’t get to the store due to the quarantine? Us, too. So, we decided to try our hand at making some homemade ones. We just used materials we already had lying around the house so we also spent $0!

What will you need? We used some cardboard boxes for the base, cardstock for the walls, and covered them with batting and fabric to make them pretty and customized for each person. In addition to this, we used packing tape, scissors, a bowl, wire hangers, and lots of hot glue so we didn’t have to do any sewing.

First, we cut circles of cardboard using our bowl to get the size we wanted for the bottom of the baskets. Next, we glued fabric to the bottom of the cardboard, covered the top with batting, and then covered the top with fabric.

For the wall, we cut cardstock in half “like a hot dog bun” (or long-ways) and taped enough pieces together to wrap all the way around our base. After getting the right length, we glued strips of batting to what would be the inside of the basket wall and then covered the wall with the fabric we chose for that specific basket. We then carefully glued the wall to the base and folded and overlapped the fabric at the seam for a clean line.

Lastly, we cut and used half of a wire hanger for the handle (of course you can use as much or as little as you would like in order to get the length you want). We covered the wire with fabric by basically folding and gluing the fabric around the wire until it looked like a roll. For some of our baskets we decided to get fancy and roll two more pieces of fabric without wire and “braided” them around the handle, gluing as we went, to make the handle look loosely braided.

To finish off the look, we glued the ends of the handle to the inside wall of the basket and covered them with squares of fabric to match the wall. (If you chose a patterned fabric for the wall then it’s a little more difficult to line up the design perfectly, but is super satisfying when you get it to look right!)

We hope you’ve been creating and making memories too during this quarantine time! We always say it’s the little things that make the big memories!

Have a lovely day!

It’s the little things…

I’m back! Last time I shared a little about me. Whew, that’s tough. I’ve never been one to like to talk about myself. Ask me about one of my hobbies or passions, better yet ask me about my kids! I never struggle for words about any of those topics. But myself? Definitely tough stuff for me. But it’s something I’m working on so we will see how it goes.

A few of years ago my friend, Britaney, asked me to make her some dainty newborn headbands for photo shoots. While she appreciates the large flowers and bows on headbands that are all the rage, she was looking for light, airy, and dainty for all those fresh newbie heads. It’s creative! And as with all creative challenges, I was on totally on board! After the first few I created for her, Brit asked me for a business name so she could tag me in teaser photos she would be sharing on social media. It was her thought that potential customers and other photographers would be able to contact me and something could come of my crafting.

For days I brainstormed/stressed over a simple name. But for me, if I was going to do this… it had to have meaning. Ultimately, as with almost all things in my life, that meaning revolves around my kids. My kids are my love. They are my heart. They’re bits and pieces of myself and my husband. One of the most fun parts of my journey in raising them has been watching their personalities and character come to light. Seeing the bits of myself and my husband join with their own qualities to become their amazing selves has been an excitingly wild ride.

Three. A most significant number as I have 3 children and they’ve always been my bits of love. Creating in almost any fashion has also always been a love of mine.

Enter Bits of Love Creations.

So with the name in place, I created a page on Facebook for Bits of Love Creations. The feedback from the photography clients was super positive! I was having a blast and Brit was loving the fresh stash of headbands and tiebacks I supplied to her. It’s the little things. I create the little things that can ultimately end up making a big impact for the little ones we hold near and dear to us. How could I not love what I do?

So here we are. I have so many plans for this little journey. New and exciting things are coming soon, and I’ve decided to give this little blogging thing a try, too. I am so blessed in life to have so much support from friends and family. Who knows where all of this will lead? I certainly don’t have an answer for that, but I do know that I intend to make the most of it and enjoy every step we take… together!

Here I am… now what?

Here it is. Something I’ve been wanting to do for a long, long time. I’m not an exceptional writer by any means, but I enjoy sharing things with others. Whether ideas, stories, tips and tricks, or just gabbing… I love to share. Where do I start? I’ll start with an introduction to me and if you can bear with me, you might enjoy hanging around for this journey!

Hello! My name is Mindy. I’m 42 years old. I’ve been married to my high school sweetheart for 22 years. We have 3 beautiful children, almost grown. They are the light of my life. Literally, my whole world. Jacob, my oldest, is set to graduate college next year. My middle child, Megan, will be a Junior in college. Then there’s the youngest, Mallory. She just wrapped up her junior year in high school. So yes, that makes 2 graduations next year. One college, one high school. Not sure I planned that out the best when having these kids! They say you always want more for your kids than you had, or than you accomplished yourself… that is so true. I’m super excited to see what the future holds for these kids!

To say that life will be changing drastically in the next few years is an understatement. The kids will be leaving the nest. Going on to finish college and start their careers and families. I’m working on me. My husband and I are working on us. For so long it’s been the family, the kids, the rat race, everything the parenting gurus warn you not to fall into. Yep. We did. But I really don’t regret it. I mean, how can you really regret enjoying your family? Raising your kids to be the best versions of themselves that they can be… I don’t regret it. Not at all.

But back to me, a subject I’m not always entirely comfortable talking about. I’m quirky. I love my morning coffee. I love decorating my house, crafting, and creating. I’m completely obsessed with my dogs. I have 2 Lhasa Apsos. My kids say the dogs have taken their place and my need to nurture now that they’re almost grown. I cannot confirm nor deny that they could be correct! Lol! I also love being with friends and family, but I love even more the time I get to spend with myself. The older I get the more I realize that the uncomfortableness I have always felt in life has come from feeling the need to be everything to everyone. Being the social butterfly was something I thought I needed to be, but never fit in well with me. Now I understand that while there is a time and place for that for me, I also need to recoup with myself. My quiet time. Just me and my dogs.

I worked full time in retail until my 2nd child was 1. Then, once the kids all started school, it was volunteer. I pretty much made a “career” out of being a volunteer. And you know what? I loved it!. I love organizing events, running fundraisers, and helping others. It’s always been a passion for me. There’s definitely a future blog post there for sure. I had a few odd jobs here and there while the kids were young. I was a candle lady in direct sales, worked at a Halloween store, and had various ventures in crafting, another passion of mine. For the last 9 years or so I worked at my daughters’ dance studio, which also happened to be my dance home when I was a child. I did office work, costuming, rhinestoning, fundraisers… anything that was needed. In 2013, ownership changed hands. I stuck it out for a while, until last summer… I then decided it was time to move on. I’ve since been working from home with my latest venture, Bits of Love Creations. Making outfits, accessories and adorable little things for the littles in other’s lives has been the primary focus. I do not know where this journey will take me. I do not know what Bits of Love will grow into, but I can’t wait to enjoy the ride!

I hope you’ll stick with me on this crazy ride. Who knows where we’ll end up, but I hope you enjoy yourself and maybe learn something along the way!

Have a lovely day!

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1. Fiesta

2. Super Hero

3. Spa Day

4. Shopping Mall

5. Luau

6. Bratz

7. Sports

8. Party at the Park

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Note: They aren’t perfect, but they are perfect for what we wanted. They were 100% free, using items we had already in the house and just something fun we could do to stay busy and let creativity flow!

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