Bunny Cakes

Love You Valentine's Day Cards - Free Printables

I previewed these new printable *Valentine's Day Cards* on Instagram a couple of weeks ago.  I am finally finding some time to post them to the blog.  These cards have a simple and clear message: 'Love You' and are perfect for anyone near and dear to you.  You can download them in with all red hearts here OR with a mix of red and pink hearts here.  There is blank space at the bottom of the cards to add a name or a short, sweet message. If you would like a personalized version then head over to my Etsy shop.  Each file contains 6 cards and is best printed out on heavy card stock (110 lbs or thicker), which can be found at any office supply store.

Here's a picture of this year's Love You card hanging on the 'bulletin' board in my youngest's room along with mini-versions of some of our other Valentine's Day cards available for download.

Happy printing and cutting!

-K

Chevron Halloween Boo Poem

I have been biding my time till it is appropriate to start the neighborhood Boo chain.  Our family is definitely ready.  We just need to bake some brownies and wait for the cover of dark, oh yeah, and wait for it to be October.  OK, now that October is finally here we are giving a one week grace period for everyone else to get in the Halloween spirit and then we will strike.  Last year I created a new Boo Poem with some a cute ghostie Boo sign.  I had planned to use that for many years, but this year as I was biding my time I ended up creating a new version of the Boo Poem.  This version is a little more sophisticated, but still very festive.  You can download your free version of our updated *Chevron Boo Poem* here.  Here's a peek at what it looks like...

Here's the actual Boo poem (it is unchanged from last year):

*The Halloween Boo Poem* 

The phantom ghost has come to town 
To leave some goodies...I see you've found.
If you wish to make this a happier Fall...
Continue this greeting, this phantom call.

First, post this Ghost where it can be seen,
And leave it there until Halloween.
This will scare other Phantoms who may visit.
Be sure to participate, you don't want to miss it!

Next, leave treats at two doors where the Phantom hasn’t hit.
You have only two days to act, so be quick!
Deliver at dark when there isn't much light...
Ring the doorbell and run--stay out of sight!!

And last, but not least, come join in the season.
Don't worry, be happy, you need no good reason.
This is all in good fun and we are just trying to say...
Happy Halloween & Have a Great Ghosty Day!

Happy Booing!

-K

Some Bunny - Easter Cards

I had been toying with using these bunny cards as Valentine's Day cards as I think it would be really sweet for the boys to write something nice about each of their classmates, but it never happened so I turned them into Easter cards last year.  They are the perfect accompaniment to any Easter treat: flowers (Ranunculus will soon be in season!), Easter candy or a basket full of goodies .  Just download, print, trim and deliver.  I have created two versions of the cards: download the Monsieur Some Bunny Cards or the Mademoiselle Some Bunny Cards.  Each file has 6 little cards.  Enjoy.

-K

Groundhog Day Treats

Tired of doing the same old thing on Groundhog Day?  And by that I mean doing nothing.  Well here is an easy way to bring some cheer to this gray and boring holiday...*Groundhog Treats*!  All you need is something chocolate covered to be your 'treats' and this PDF label file to create fun goodie bags for all your favorite people.  After printing the file, cut around the labels and then fold in half (the file makes four labels).  Fill 4"x6" cello bags with your 'treat', fold over the top, place the label over the folded edge and then staple to seal.  I also added a little heart to my treats as a reminder that Valentine's Day is just around the corner.

Happy Groundhog Day!

K

Snowy Pecans

One treat which I always associated with the holidays are sugared pecans.  We have several names for them: Snowy Pecans, Heavenly Pecans and Pure Goodness (you can find the recipe here).  We have learned that if you are going to make them, then you might as well make a boat load.  They are great little treats to give to friends and neighbors.  They are also the perfect little homemade something to accompany an impersonal gift card.  This year we planned ahead and bought 12 oz. glass jars to package the pecans in.  To complete the packaging we added a label and baker's twine.  I have included the link if you wish to download our Snowy Pecan labels.  Simply print them on whole sheet adhesive label paper and cut them out.  To affix the label lay the jar completely perpendicular to you and position the middle of label on the bottom third of the glass.  Then smooth out the label from the center to each side.  If the label doesn't align perfectly don't sweat it, it just proves that it was homemade.

-K

Halloween Boo

One of our favorite Halloween activities is 'Booing' our neighbors.  The boys like it because they get to sneak around at night and leave mysterious surprises for our neighbors and I like it because I get to put together fun Halloween packages.  This year I decided to create my own version of the Boo message to be left with the Halloween treats.  Please feel free to download your copy of the Boo poem and spread the Halloween cheer.  Update: Check out our latest Chevron version of the Boo Poem.

If you are unfamiliar with 'booing', then the poem below summarizes it all.

*The Halloween Boo Poem* (slightly modified)...

The phantom ghost has come to town
To leave some goodies...I see you've found.
If you wish to make this a happier Fall...
Continue this greeting, this phantom call.

First, post this Ghost where it can be seen,
And leave it there until Halloween.
This will scare other Phantoms who may visit.
Be sure to participate, you don't want to miss it!

Next, leave treats at two doors where the Phantom hasn’t hit.
You have only two days to act, so be quick!
Deliver at dark when there isn't much light...
Ring the doorbell and run--stay out of sight!!

And last, but not least, come join in the season.
Don't worry, be happy, you need no good reason.
This is all in good fun and we are just trying to say...
Happy Halloween & Have a Great Ghosty Day!

 

 Happy Booing!

-K

Valentine's Day Update

If you are a regular reader of our blog, then you will know Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays.  And you will also know I haven't posted in a long while.  One of my New Year's resolutions this year was to post more frequently, but as you can see the opposite has happened.  The truth is, I haven't been feeling well and have been utterly useless outside of my regular work hours.  Somehow I can keep it together for work, but as soon as I come home I am worthless.  For this reason I was planning on passing on personalizing Valentine's Day cards this year.  However, it only took one person to ask and I found myself opening up my etsy shop.  So if you are interested in getting your hands on a personalized version of our cards please check out our shop.  The personalized cards are $4.50 for a PDF file (with 6 cards) you can print as often as you want.  The non-personalized cards are free to download: Zebra cards, Sweetheart cards, Love is All You Need cards, Playbill Valentine's Day cards, Love Big cards & Penguin Treat Holder cards.

-K

Teacher Appreciation Gift - Wild Thing Cookie Stack

It is that time of year, *Teacher Appreciation Week*--time to show your teachers how much you appreciate them.  I know managing my two boys can be rough at times, I can't imagine managing 25 kids and getting them to learn!  Don't let this week pass by without letting them know you appreciate them.  The class moms have really taken charge this year in both my sons' classes, but I still wanted to give a little something extra from our family to let them know we are thankful for all they do.  Usually I convey our message via song lyrics (examples here and here), but even after reviewing a ton of Beatle's songs I couldn't come up with anything new.  So I reused the lyrics from Wild Thing, but with a different spin: a Wild Thing theme.  After looking online at some Wild Thing parties for ideas, I was inspired by Caroline Armelle's invitations for her son's third birthday--loved the font she used (Kohicle 25).  I created a simple wrappers to decorate individually packaged Chocolate Chip Cookies.  The top cookie had a Wild Thing image with the message, 'Wild Thing, You Make My Heart Sing.'  The the other cookies had messages from the boys.

Finally, the cookies were stacked on top of a gift card and tied with baker's twine to create a sweet Teacher Appreciation gift.  For details on how to attach the bands check out here.  Download the Wild Thing Cookie Wrappers here: Wild_Thing_Cookie_Wrap.

 

-K

Penguin Valentine's Day Treat Holder Cards

The boys and I are still deciding on what they will pass out this Valentine's Day to their classmates.  For the last four years we have designed and made our own cards, but I was beginning to wonder if I was forcing my craft upon the boys.  When I asked them if they wanted to do store bought cards this year, they looked at me like I was crazy.  'No, Mom. Why would we want to do that!?! We always make them.'  Their response definitely made me smile.  When I then asked if they had any ideas for this year, C$ suggested featuring his favorite stuffed animal, Waddle Do.  Waddle Do is a cute little penguin he won at a boardwalk carnival game over the summer and seemed like the perfect subject for a Valentine's Day card.  We added a festive cupcake to the card and the line, 'Wishing you a Sweet Valentine's Day'.  All Valentine's Day cards go best with a treat so modified the format of the card so it could be folded to hold a little something sweet.  If you would like to make your own cards, here is the link: Download the Penguin Valentine's Day Treat Holder file.

The inspiration for the card, Waddle Do...

 

Steps for making the treat holder cards:

1.  Print card, then cut around edges.  Use a corner punch to easily round the corners.  Fold card along the guidelines (thin gray lines).

2.  Align the top of the front and the top of the back.  Then using a hold puncher, punch a hole through the front and back the card.

3.  Put both ends of your ribbon from the front to the back of the card.

4.  Pull the ends of the ribbon back through the ribbon loop (on the front of the card) to create a knot.  Then slide in treat.

5.  Distribute to your friends and secret crush.

-K

Personalized Valentine's Day Cards

Healthy living and organization dominate my New Year's Resolution list.  I have 14 items on my list.  I know it sounds like a lot, but I feel very energized to make some positive changes in my life.  About half the items on my list focus on organization.  I want to be more organized so I can get things done faster and easier and ultimately get more done.  For example, I have already designed and printed out my address labels for my 2011 Christmas cards.  So now when Christmas rolls around and I am working on a million projects, the house is a total mess and I have tons of shopping left at least I have one thing less to do and just maybe I will get my cards out on time.  In that line of thinking, I am making my *Personalized Valentine's Day Cards* available now via my Etsy shop so you can get a head start on Valentine's Day.  There are currently 4 designs to select from, but hopefully I will be adding a few more soon.  For $9.50 you get a downloadable PDF file with the design and name of your choice.  Of course you can always download the cards for free and write in your name.  

-K