Love at 1st Bite Valentines

Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays. It is full of pink and kisses and candy and hearts and sparkle. Basically it's a little girl's dream...and a little boy's nightmare! It can be really hard to come up with Valentine ideas that don't leave boys running for the dirt pile, and I have to admit that in the past I've made my boys suck it up and take pink, girly Valentine's to school. But last year after Halloween when I came across these cute Glow in the Dark teeth on clearance, I knew they would make a really fun and very boyish Valentine!

I started with a couple packs of clearance Glow in the Dark teeth, cute chevron bags, sticker paper, washi tape, and mini candy bars. I designed the cute Love at 1st Bite printable on my Silhouette software and then print and cut them out with my Silhouette. I saved the printable without my boys' names too, so if you have a Silhouette and you want the printable file just send me an email {kellibwilson @ gmail.com}.

I stuck a sticker onto the cute chevron bags...

...and then stuck in the Glow in the Dark teeth and a mini candy bar. I made the black bags for the boys and the pink ones for the girls.

To close up the bags, I folded over the edge and secured it with a little bit of washi tape.

I think my boys are going to be excited about taking these Valentine's to school tomorrow. They are boyish enough for them, but still really cute and Valentine-like for me {and all the girls in their classes}!

In Celebration of Mardi Gras...

{This a re-post from last year.}

Happy Mardi Gras everyone!

Mardi Gras is a fun holiday for us. I know that it's not as big of a deal in other parts of the U.S., but we are right in the middle of  Mardi Gras country! To our east is Mobile, the official birthplace of Mardi Gras, and  to our west is New Orleans, the place best known for it {sometimes} wild Mardi Gras ways! It is such a big holiday were we live, that the kids get three days out of school for it!

We usually celebrate by going to a local {very family friendly} parade. The boys love all the decorated floats, catching beads, listening to the marching bands, and eating yummy Mardi Gras snacks. Besides the traditional King Cake {which must be from the fabulous Paul's Pastry Shop} that we eat every year around Mardi Gras, we also LOVE a Moon Pie. These sweet treats are so yummy, and they are even better if you catch them at a parade! Unfortunately we missed our usual parade because of storms that came through on Saturday...so no parade caught Moon Pies for us! I decided making some homemade ones would be a fun replacement, and I'm sharing the step by step for those of you who can't get your hands on a store bought Moon Pie!

 Start with some really easy ingredients: graham crackers, marshmallow creme, and chocolate. 

 There technically isn't any cooking in this recipe...just melting and assembling:)

Start by using a small round cookie cutter {mine was 2 inches in diameter} to cut your graham crackers into circle. Each cracker should make two rounds.

 Put a good dollop of marshmallow creme on one graham cracker round and then sandwich it together with another cracker. This is easiest to do if you put the marshmallow creme into a ziploc bag and then squeeze it out onto the crackers! Place them in the freezer to chill while you melt the chocolate.

 Toss the graham cracker sandwiches into the melted chocolate and use a fork to turn and coat them. Lift them out of the chocolate and tap off any excess chocolate then place them on foil to harden.

 These aren't exactly the same as a traditional Moon Pie. The crackers are a little bit crunchier, and the chocolate isn't quite the same but they are a pretty close match without a whole lot of effort...and they taste really yummy!

How do you celebrate Mardi Gras?!?

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Eleven Fun and Easy Valentine Ideas

For some reason Valentine's Day crafting and creating has been difficult for me this year! I'm not sure if it's because I used up all my creativity over the last few years, or if Pinterest has made me feel way less creative than I thought I was. Either way, the new Valentine ideas have just not been flowing much this year. So I thought  it might be fun to recap a few of my past Valentine's Day ideas in one big Valentine Round Up post!  They are all really cute and really easy to do...which is perfect for all us busy moms who really don't have to make all of those amazing Pinterest level crafts!

Number 1: Kaleidoscope Valentines

Number 2: Valentine Chalkboard Candy Boxes

Number 3: Chocolate Covered Strawberry Waffles

Number 4: Valentine Hula Hoop Wreath

Number 5: Tootsie Roll Bank Valentine

Number 6: Love Note in a Pancake

Number 7: See Through Valentines

Number 8: Play-Doh Valentines with Printable

Number 9: I Love You More Than Chocolate Marshmallow Hearts

Number 10: Valentine Mailbox Magnets

Number 11: Ruffled Valentine Dishtowels

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Valentine Treat on a Stick!

Anytime you put a treat on a stick, it is just so much more fun {We've all experience the cake pop phenomenon}! So when I saw these yummy red velvet {Twinkie-like} cakes at the store a few days ago, I knew that I just had to put them on a stick! And my theory was right! They were cute in the package but they are so much cuter on the stick...and the sprinkles are helping a little too:)

I started with a couple of packs of Red Velvet Bingles, white chocolate candy coating, sprinkles, and lollipop sticks.

 I started by melting my chocolate in a tall microwave safe glass. I have found that the tall glass makes it a lot easier to cover the whole cake. Just microwave based on the instructions on your package. I also thinned my  candy coating a little with a small spoonful of shortening. Just make sure to follow the directions on your particular package because not all candy coatings can be thinned this way.

Dip one end of your lollipop stick into the candy coating and then insert into the end of your cake. Place them in the freezer to harden up a little so the sticks don't slip out when you are dipping them. 

After about 20 minutes in the freezer you are ready to dip. 

 Make sure to cover the entire cake with the candy coating. Use a spoon to scoop up the coating and cover the end if needed.

 Place the cakes on a sheet of parchment paper and shake on some sprinkles while the candy coating is still wet.

 These little treats on a stick are SUPER cute from the outside, but they are even cuter on the inside!

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Kaleidoscope Valentines

Valentine's Day is such a fun holiday! I have so many great childhood memories of making Valentine boxes and passing out cute cards in class. And as fun as store bought cards are, I really love making and sending more personalized Valentines to my boys' classmates. {You can look back HERE and HERE to see other examples of the cute Valentine's that I've come up with for my boys to send to school.} This year, I struggled a little with finding a fun {and original} idea...mostly because there are SO many great ideas on Pinterest these days! Anyway, as I was browsing the aisles of The Dollar Tree last week, I came across these packages of cute Kaleidoscopes that I knew would make adorable Valentines. And the major bonus here is that I made enough for Eli's whole class for around $2.00!

I started with these little kaleidoscopes. I picked them up at the dollar store and they came 8 in pack for $1.

Then I used my Silhouette to cut out these little tags that say "Love at First Sight". If you don't have a Silhouette, you can easily just print the saying on card stock and then punch them out with a decorative hole-punch or even just cute them out scissors.

I tied the little tags on with some red and white bakers twine...and ended up with these adorable Kaleidoscope Valentines!

And a bonus with these Valentines is that the kiddos are getting a little toy to play with instead of even more candy!

Simple, easy, and SUPER inexpensive Valentines from just a few supplies and a little trip to the dollar store!

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January Recap Via Instagram

We started January off by working on the chicken coop. And I promise to post more of the {almost} finished coop this week!

 I lounged around in my Christmas pjs and avoided taking down the tree:)

 We took the boys ice skating for the very first time...it was a learning experience for sure.

 But I think they had fun!

 I painted the chicken coop. This is pretty much what it looks like now except Jason has added electrical and plumbing stuff and he is working on putting the run together.

 Eli and I had a lazy Monday at home.

 Jason and I started P90X again.

 This silly boy took his new puppy to school for show and tell.

 I tried to eat healthy...oranges are yummy, but ice cream still taste better:)

 I did laundry.

 Henry and Grant got their report cards. All A's for both of them.

 The boys stayed the night at my parents, so my Saturday consisted of a nice quiet cup of coffee and a pedicure.

 We cleaned out our shed and I sorted through all our old paint cans.

 Preschoolers at church make such pretty messes with paint:)

 Eli and I had another lazy Monday  morning.

 Snow was in our forecast...but it didn't happen! We were kind of sad!

 Henry worked on his reading fair project.

 I made some fun snacks for the 100th day of school.

 Grant made a Froot Loop necklace at his 100th Day of School party.

 Pretty blue skies and a county road.

 I made a yummy malted milk chocolate cake for my mom's birthday.

 We bought another Airstream...I'll have to do a post about this soon!

 Dirty dishes started to overtake my kitchen.

 I made another cake for another birthday. This was Neapolitan for my Grandfather's 77th birthday.

 Eli played outside all day and then had a picnic lunch. It has been feeling like spring here lately!

 I pulled out my old elliptical machine and did a little bit of working out while watching Rachael Ray.

 I gave into peer pressure and joined Vine. Come find me!

 I took a much needed trip to Hobby Lobby and bought all kinds of pretty fabric and ribbon!