Church Book from Magazines

I have been trying to figure out what to take to church for my kids so that they have something to look at and will be quiet so that we can hear the speakers.  If you are LDS then you will recognize the magazines I will be talking about.  If not, sorry.  I'm sure you could do this with other magazines that have children's activities and stories.

Before I talk about the Friend I am going to do a blip on the Ensign.  You know how there is a Gospel Art Kit that you can buy?  Well, It was too much for me (until they put it all in a book) so I started to rip out all the pictures and putting them in a binder.  I would put them in sections.  Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon,  Doctrine and Covenants and extras.  The extras included pictures of the Temples, churches, or other beautiful art.

Here are some of the pictures I put in the binder.  The binder has gotten so big that I will need to start a new one.  It has been very helpful especially when I was the Primary Chorister.  I also teach the stories of the scriptures with these pictures. 

Ok, here is what I did with the Friend.  I have a huge book now (2 years worth) so I will be starting another of this as well.  So, I took the Friend and went through it and found stories, coloring pages, pictures, songs, etc... and took them out.  Then I put them by section.

On the front of the binder I put all the coloring pages together.  Easy enough to pull out and color.

Then there was the Matt and Mandy stories all together.

Little stories that teach the children values.

Stories of the Prophet Joseph Smith.

Pictures with a scripture.  One section that had art with a scripture and another section for pictures that show the kids how to implement the scripture in every day life.

Then there is the music.

On the back cover I put all the Hidden Picture pages together.  So if my kids wanted to do those instead of color, they were easy to get to.

My kids love to read so it wasn't a surprise to see my cute daughter sitting there for an hour looking at the book. 

I just disliked the idea of throwing the magazines away and not using them again so I found a way.  Now I have one place for all these things and not a bunch of magazines all over the place.  Try it!  Also, if you want to see past months then check out the church website where you can download any of these things and print them off. 

Easy Sewing (and Cheap!)

I saw this post by Filth Wizardry about teaching her daughter how to sew by using shelf liner, needles, and yarn. I thought that was a great way to do it. She drew on the shelf liner where her daughter would sew and let her do it.
This is a close-up of what her daughter finished. Pretty good job!
If you would like to know how she did it and her explanation go here: Sewing and Embroidery for Kids.

Fabric Covered Cork Board Frame

I saw this and loved it! I just love the color of the frames. I would love to do it in the same color but have a yellow damask fabric in the middle. I just love the two colors together. Very bright and happy. This is a fabric covered cork board project by How Does She? and I can't wait to try it!

Etsy Article

I was informed this morning that my Simple Black Graduation Card was featured as one of the many Etsy sellers with digital and paper graduation cards. The article was on Associated Content.
If you would like to see the article go here. It's so nice to get noticed by someone other than a friend. Cool!

Etsy Items plus Freebie

Since today is my birthday I thought I would show you the newest cards in my Etsy store. I also have a freebie for you as well.
All of these cards I have made for my kids in some form or other. Except the Green Apple invite. I made that for my sister. Coming up with new cards is fun for me and fun for my kids to see as well.
Just click on any of the pictures to take you to my shop.



So, here is the freebie. I gave this as a freebie last year for a cupcake post I did on another person's blog but now you have it here. Just click on the picture and it will take you there. It is a PDF file so you can just print it off on your computer. Enjoy!

I Heart Faces - Sun Flare

Here is my entry to the I Heart Faces Sun Flare Challenge. I think the sun flare totally worked in this photo. Gave it a kind of dreamy quality to it. Love it! This is from the same photo shoot as the previous photo but now you get to see more of her and that awesome dress.
To see many many more awesome photos go check them out at:

I Heart Faces Photo Challenge

I was up at my parent's house hanging out a couple weeks ago when I told my mom about this idea I had. I knew that she still had a bunch of dresses she used to wear decades ago and I wanted to do a photo shoot with my youngest sister in them, in an orchard. I was hoping to go for a vintage dreamlike setting. Mom said yes and my sister started to try on the dresses so I could see what I liked. We found about 5 dresses.

A week later I was on the road with my sister, Truly, and we were headed to some orchards near home. I was hoping the trees would be in bloom and some were but not to the extent that would work. So, we ended up at a friends house and we used their backyard. It's amazing back there. The dress we went with this time (we only had an hour before we had to get back) was a Gunne Sax dress my mom wore at her wedding reception in 1977. Gorgeous!

Anyways, that is how I got this picture. We had a ton of fun going to different parts of the backyard. (It's huge with a stream and boulders at the back.)
I am entering this picture in the I Heart Faces Favorite February Picture.
For more photos entered in the I Heart Faces Challenge click on the picture below.