Back to School DIY Teacher Plaque (#12MonthsOfMartha)

***This post is written as part of the 12 months of Martha program.  I get craft supplies from Martha Stewart Crafts for free to create fun crafts with.  All my projects and opinions are 100% mine.***

This month our 12 months of Martha box came with a bunch of glass paint, glass etching and tools!  Fun!  

So I created a fun back to school gift for my son's kindergarten teacher... it is my first time sending a child to school so I want to get on the teacher's good side! :) 

Here is what you will need:

Martha Stewart glass paint

Martha Stewart adhesive screen print Stencils

Frame (with glass)

Craft paint

Paint brushes. 

1. Paint the frame and the backing pieces to the color of your choice (forgot to take a picture).

2. Clean your glass and then place your stencil on it. 

3. Use a bush or a squeegee to put your paint on over the stencil with the glass paint.

4. Carefully remove the stencil.  Let dry completely. 

5. Trace around your glass and write out your phrase/quote.

6. Place your glass over your quote, and trace over it with your glass paint. 

Put it all back together for a great gift! 

I also used  the glass paint to make this wine bottle luminary. 

Check out more fun projects on the 12 Month of Martha Pinterest board!

***Disclosure: I was supplied with the Martha Stewart craft supplies but my opinions are always honest!***

3 EASY DIY Back to School Projects!

Thank you to Michael's Craft Stores for sponsoring this post!

Michael's Craft stores challenged me to make a back to school project... but that was too easy- so I made 3 back to school projects!

First up is for teachers.  

You know you want to make a good first impression with your child's teacher.  What better way then to send a back-to-school gift.  

I was a teacher and we are always bringing our work home so  tote bag is a prefect gift!

So easy to make 

You will need:

 tote bags (they come in a pack of 3!) 

Craft paint

Stencil

foam brush or pounce-brush

Put a piece of cardboard inside the bag to prevent bleeding through (Cereal boxes work great!).

Place your stencil on the bag and dab the paint on in an up and down motion. 

Wait for each color to dry before laying another color over it.

Tip:  When creating a pattern - make an odd number of the shape and place them in a triangle shape

A Back-to-School memo board is prefect for a teacher or college student!  

Here is what you will need:

Wooden Frame (with glass)

Chalk board paint

Craft paint

Paint brushes

Remove the back and the glass from the frame.

Paint the frame with chalkboard paint

Paint the backing with craft paint

When dry rub chalk on the chalkboard paint to set the chalkboard paint.

Then decorate the chalkboard paint with chalk and add a white board marker to write on the glass.

The last project is for the new student.  We created a notebook and folder to get excited about school!  The kids loved it! 

Get plain colored notebooks and/or folders and have your kids pick out the stickers that they want.  Have the kids put the stickers on the folders and notebooks to making them their own. 

All Supplies for these crafts can be found at Michael's Craft Stores!  You can also find more Back-To-School projects here! 

Disclosure: Michael's Crafts Stores did provide me with a gift card to buy the supplies for these crafts.  However the projects and opinions are 100% mine.

Easy Stick Animal Kids Craft

This was a super easy craft that ended up being a hit with my 3-year-old and 5-year-old.  It is so simple that you don't even need a step-by-step tutorial.  But I will lay out what we did! 

1. Go and send your kids out to find some sticks.  I thought this was going to be a great adventure with my 2 kids going out into the yard searching for sticks, giving me some time to set up the craft.  But, what it ended up being was: my kids walked out side the door and yelled "I don't see any sticks" and came back in side.  I was all "You didn't look, go try again" and the same thing happened. So, I ended up going out into the yard and finding the sticks (which were like 10 feet from the door and the kids could have totally found them if they would have just looked!) 

2. Draw the the body parts of the animals like the head and the body.

3. use glue to glue the sticks on for the legs, neck, wings, tail, etc.  I used hot glue because we were impatient. 

Here are the animals we made:

And we had lots more ideas like dinosaurs, or an octopus.   

Losing weight with Nutrisystem® #FuelABetterYou

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Nutrisystem, Inc. for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

This is me at 37 weeks

After having my baby I have some weight to lose to get back to my pre-pregnant weight.  I gained 40 pounds with the baby and I am a little over half way  getting back to the weight that I want.  I know that they best way to lose weight is the eat healthy and exercise!  I have been trying to get out and walk more.  Some days I wake up early and go out by myself and other days I head out with all 3 kids.  

The trouble I have is eating healthy.  This is where I think Nutrisystem® could really help.  Since I have 3 kids under the age of 5 at home I spend most of my time making sure that they eat well and neglect myself and end up either not eating or stuffing my face full of junk food. Not healthy!  But, Nutrisystem® delivers healthy meals right to your door!  Just what I need right now... I mean I can barely remember to brush my teeth in the morning!  

Nutrisystem® has been helping people lose weight for over 40 years now!  They offer counseling over the phone and online to help people deal with their weight problems privately.  The other great service they offer is meals delivered right to your door!  They prepare perfectly portioned® entrees and snacks and bring them right to your home!  They have over 150 entrees and snacks to choose from you are sure to find something you love!   They also offer vitamins, supplements and cookbooks to help you on your weight lose journey! 

They are having an awesome sweepstakes right now: Nutrisystem Fuel A Better You Sweepstakes.  - Fuel your goals.  Fuel your greatness! 

Here is what you could win:

• Four winners will win a FREE 28-day Nutrisystem® Select® program (featuring top rated frozen cuisine) 
• One Grand Prize winner with will a FREE 28-day Nutrisystem® Select® program AND $500 cash! 

 

Amazing- right?!  So here is how you enter:

Visit the Nutrisystem Facebook Page and select the "sweepstakes" tab.  Fill out the form and press enter and you are done!  Easy-peasy! 

So hurry and enter!  You have nothing to lose (except the weight!)

***Disclosure: Nutrisystem® has compensated me for promoting this sweepstakes - all opinions are 100% mine***

Summer Breakfasts

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Walmart. All opinions are 100% mine.

So- the first half of our summers was super laid-back... No going anywhere, no rushing out of the house, just hangin out in our PJs until about 10 and then getting dressed to eat lunch!  But then July hit and suddenly we are super busy with family visiting, VBS, Summer pre-school, and sports camps... and back to school is right around the corner!  Not to mention that we are getting ready for a big move.  So um, yeah - we are a little bit busy around here!  Pretty much every morning 1 or all 3 of my kids wakes me up at the creak of dawn letting me know that they are hungry!  

Photo taken by Footloose Photography

That means summer breakfast is even more important!  If we are going to be out and about all day we have to get our bodies all fueled up for the day!  Walmart has some great breakfast options for everyone and great everyday low prices.  They have a little something for every one: Folgers© for mom, Hungry Jack© mix (Waffles and pancakes) for dad, Smuckers© brand jelly for toast for our daughter, and Martha White© muffin mix for my son!  All of these options are WAY WAY WAY better then stopping for fast food breakfast!  

We also love to make breakfast for dinner.  It is low key and seems like a cooler dinner when it is really hot!  Pancakes is our favorite breakfast for dinner meal!  You know you can also make extra pancakes and waffles and freeze them to make for an easy breakfast later in the week!

What do you do for summer breakfasts?