{Insta-Friday} #4

It has been a busy couple of weeks at my house...what am I saying?!? It's almost always a busy week at my house!

The Friday beforelast, we celebrated my boy #2's 9th birthday with an outdoor movie party. I'm lucky that my father in law has a "collection" of awesome amazing and expensive electronics. The whole neighborhood was invited and I think the parents enjoyed the movie (The Goonies) even more than the kids did!

The weather has been awesome so we took a great little walk (kids rode bikes) around the neighborhood. I've wanted a cute beach cruiser bike for a while, but with our large family we'd stretch from one block to the next if we were all riding. So for now, I'll settle on pushing the babies in the stroller.

In all of my spare time (ha!) I'm also a volunteer photographer for the Operation Love organization. They help set up military families with professional photographers to capture happy homecomings after long deployments. This particular mom contacted me over 3 months ago. After hearing her story, I couldn't turn her away. Her husband was home for the birth of their triplets (!!!!!) but left when they were only 3 weeks old. I mean how could I not be there right?!? It's a long and usually stressful drive with LOTS of traffic, but homecomings are awesome, really awesome!

And I couldn't help myself with this collage of bubba #5 as he was waking up from a short (they're always short) nap in my arms. 

What I {Wish I} Wore Wednesday ~ Max Style

{Insta-Friday} #3

No, it's not Friday again I'm just a few days late with my Insta-Friday post. To say it was a busy week would be an understatement. Hubby was gone for the week so I was flying solo with my small army.

Baby P had his 4 month baby check-up (although I was late and he's actually 5 months).  And let me start by saying how much I LOVE my kids' pediatrician,  with that said,  she must have been having a bad day...like really bad. The office was packed and I patiently panicked for over 2.5 hours! Yes you read that correctly. Not 2.5 minutes but over 150 minutes!!! As if waiting that long with a 5 month old isn't bad enough, throw a 2 year old in the mix. It is a new kind of torture. I was panicking inside waiting for the moment that my 2 year old would be done and I was shocked that it actually never came. Thanks to my favorite iphone/ipad app Balloonimals. He was content and happy the whole time. I however was sweating bullets! After the appoinment, both baby and 2 year old were fast asleep!

While the hubby is away the wife will play well some might, but I'd prefer the late night peace and quiet crafting time with me, myself and I! I finally changed over my Spring/Easter mantle and added a new print from Barn Owl Primatives, shells and starfish (I already had) a couple of pictures and my burlap and spring pendant banners. Simple and quick! I also started working on some pegs for upcoming goodies bags and a NEW product that we'll be debuting soon. We still aren't sure if we'll sell said new item early or if we'll wait until Queen Bee. Keep your eyes out!

{Market Night} MOPS re-cap

   The day before Mother's day, we attended a MOPS boutique and fundraiser. We we weren't as busy as we would've liked to be, but we met some great crafty women and we had fun! We always enjoy meeting vendors and talking with others about their crafting adventures.

 Karen makes fabulous jewelry and hand-stamped pieces too. She also donates her proceeds to her animal rescue. See her work here. 

What I {Wish I} Wore Wednesday~ Fashion Star at Sunset

What I {Wish I} Wore Wednesday~ Beach Day~H&M & Fashion Star by bubbasbasics featuring clear handbags

Fashion Star for H&M Pants, Trousers, Skirts, Dresses, Blouses & Tops...
$20 - hmfashionstar.com

Fashion Star for H&M Pants, Trousers, Skirts, Dresses, Blouses & Tops...
$15 - hmfashionstar.com

H M lace flat
$16 - hm.com

H M drawstring handbag
$24 - hm.com

H&M earrings
$6.40 - hm.com

H M plastic ring
$6.40 - hm.com

H&M aviator shades
$8.01 - hm.com

Hairband - from H&M
$4.95 - hm.com

{Target Tuesday} Hair Ties

For MONTHS, I have been wanting to buy some Fold Over Elastic to make cute hair ties/ wrist decor. And since I have the attention span of a gnat and could never commit to what color/ print of elastic I wanted, I never ordered any. Then on one of my weekly daily trips to Target, I rounded a corner and look at what jumped out at me......

YEP, those would be hair ties made with FOE (Fold Over Elastic). Several colors available, but not too many, so I wasn't overwhelmed. ;)

They are 3 packs for $2.50, and there are headbands available too, which I bet are SUPER comfy!

So, if you tend to wear a hair tie on your wrist, these are WAY cuter..... fashionable AND functional :)


On Etsy these type of hair ties are about $1.25+ each..... so these at Target are a good deal.

You can of course make your own too..... pretty sure these would take absolutely NO crafty talents whatsoever.... so these would be easy for ANYONE to make.

You can find a tutorial from Lil' Blue Boo HERE to make your own
For supplies you can do a Google search for Fold Over Elastic, search on ETSY  (HERE is what I found) or you can Pick up the Babyville Boutique brand at Joann's or Hobby Lobby with the cloth diapering cover supplies.

So, while you are at Target you can pick some up really quick OR if you want to make your own, you can probably make quite a few ..... about 10 yards of elastic for $5, I think you would end up with enough to get you and a few friends through summer :)

{Insta-Friday} #2

HELLO Friday!

1. Hello post-professional make-up'd self after Me and my boys had a photoshoot.

2. Hello- clever hint to what I'd like for Mother's day

3-Hello- I mustache wallet...I think I need you!

4- HELLO wine...after a busy day I know I needed you!

1. Hello cute boy #3 at family bingo night at school!

2. Hello- handsome-all-grown-up boy#1 with your beautiful gf all dressed up for prom, when did you get so big?!? Aren't you still 6?

3. Hello- BINGO...our family won 2 prizes!

4. Hello- boy #2...I love you!

1. Hello-my baby...who only sleeps on me. I love you too.

2. Hello-cute chubby baby hands

3. Hello-little people animals, I love you and how you can keep my toddler entertained for.ev.er.

4. ummmm HELLO cute crochet ballet flats at Target I think I need you too!

{Summer Countdown}

With the exception of Monday, my kids have taken their fabulous teacher yummy edible sweets all week. While I know they loved every single bite, I do wonder if they will curse me later for the possible tightness in their jeans! For our last gift of the week, I thought I'd give them something that will last well past the end of the day. The girls at Eighteen25 did it again! Here's their fabulously simple and cute printable to help not only teachers but anyone countdown to summer (or a birthday or ...you name it!) I had it printed at target to keep it close. I also found these fun dry erase markers at Target and included one for each teacher. Under the countdown picture I included this that they can have up throughout the year. Because I already had the 8x10 frames, this gift was less than $5 each. 

{More Teacher Treats}- Teacher appreciation

Teachers and apples go together like peas and carrots (thank you Forrest Gump) like cheese and wine, like baseball and peanuts. But I thought that my boys teachers need to have a spruced version of the typical granny smith. I've seen different versions of these candy coated apples everywhere. Hard to know where the original idea came from, but I say it on Skip to my Lou.

Supplies: 

Oreos (I used the regular size ones) I typically choose the "go big, or go home" motto in life. 

Candy coating. You can get them in several colors and most craft stores will have it in their cooking/backing section. 

Toothpicks

Pretzel sticks

Green (watermelon) airheads for the leaves

Wax paper

tin or bag for packaging

ribbon

card

Follow melting instructions for the candy. Insert toothpick into oreo and dip until covered. 

Place on wax paper to allow candy coating to harden. While it is still soft, add pretzel stick and small piece of green airhead shaped to look like a leaf. Super cute, right?

I had these perfect sized tins already and lined two layers of cookies with wax paper underneath and in between. 

Add a simple card. 

Add a ribbon or something to make a cute package, and your done. Simple, sweet, and most importantly delicious! 

{Market Night} #5 - Lovey Buggies

I love a happy accident! I'm part of a crafting group page for the valley, and happened to see a post from the lovely Rebecca showing off her adorable crocheted hats! The timing couldn't have been better, I just happened to have a newborn shoot scheduled for the end of the week! After messaging back and forth, I didn't leave with just the owl hat as planned I also got another hat and a princess crown, too! 

Check out Rebecca and her handy work here. 

Here are a few shots from my session. A few more can be seen here.

*our shout outs for our {Market Night} posts are un-paid and just our way of spreading the love to other handmade vendors. 

What I {Wish I} Wore Wednesday ~

What I {Wish I} Wore Wednesday ~ by bubbasbasics featuring rope jewelry

Denim shorts
$28 - kohls.com

SO Geometric Hi-Low Convertible Halter Top
$7.99 - kohls.com

TOMS silver flat shoes
$58 - toms.com

Tote handbag
target.com

Full Tilt rope jewelry
$4.99 - tillys.com

Lauren Conrad vintage shades
$15 - kohls.com

{Sweet treats for sweet teachers}

Because I'm a craft supply hoarder 'collector', I already had the mason jars, ribbon, and paper. All I had to do was buy the m&ms and print the tag. Sweet and simple gift in under 5 minutes.

I originally saw it here, and I love the treat jars they use, but I also figured why go out and buy something when the mason jars I had will work just the same.

Start with mason jars and candy. 

add your extra embellishments. I used a very wide satin ribbon I already had, jute, tags printed from here and my circle punches. 

I put my 3inch circle punch on the lid (under the ring) but it kept slipping off, so I used my 3in scallop punch and it worked just fine; tied a cute bow on the front with the ribbon; attached the tag with tute and wrote on the back of the tag so my boys' teachers knew who their gifts came from. Super easy and maybe 5 minutes!

For a little extra sweetness, you can print this poem I found here. I will be cutting it out, glueing it to red cardstock and having it be a card. 

Cost breakdown...hold your breathe on this one it's painful ;)

Mason jars- FREE (on-hand in my 'collection')

Ribbon- FREE (on-hand)

Jute- FREE (on-hand)

Paper and tags- FREE (mostly...just printer ink...and my printer sucks so I used my neighbers!)

M&Ms- $2.89 each (sale price)

So each gift was around $3.00!

Because we LOVE teachers {tutorial}

I'm hoping to post a quick tutorial of each teacher gift I make everyday this week...not sure if I'll be able to pull it off or not, but I'll sure try.

Again, I want to show my appreciation but I also want to keep prices down. Here is another inexpensive way to show your teachers some love.

I originally saw this idea here. Do you follow them?!? You MUST! Jen, Jodie, and Jamie are amazing!

Supplies: chinese take-out boxes from your local craft store, bag of fortune cookies. I got 2, but only needed 1.

 At first I was going to leave them individually wrapped...

But with lil' helpers like this how could I keep it that simple?!?

I melted chocolate chips I had, 

and let me boys dip them half way. 

They then dumped added sprinkles. 

=)

put them in the bags and added some twine. 

Add a little ribbon for some extra color and the tag. The End. Simple, sweet, and cute. 

Cost: bag of fortune cookies $3.09

take-out boxes- $0.99

ribbon, jute, paper, chocolate chips, sprinkles, and tags-all on hand. 

So each gift was Under $2.50! AWEsome!