Each year around this time, I help plan and execute a vacation Bible school at my church.  We call it Kids Club.  Each year, I am given a theme and my creative partner and I attempt to bring the theme to life.


With the help of another church member (a retired carpenter who built the awesome building facade seen below), and a few dedicated volunteers, Susie & I have tried to bring the Rodeo area to life.



When you enter the rodeo, you encounter the check-in.  This is where we break the groups of children into smaller groups of 8-10.  We have punch cards that help us figure out what activities they experienced the day before and which places they still need to visit.  We then send them to one of 8 stations around the room.



Our first station is the racing station.  There are two events that happen at the racing station.  The one shown here is the barrel race.  The children have to use a broom to herd their balloons around the barrels.  We created barrels out of pop-up hampers, yard bags and duct tape.


Our next station is the Prospecting area.  For two days, the kids get to search for a needle in a haystack (yarn needles with no sharp point) and then the last two days, they will pan for gold.


Next is the Saddle Shop, where we are making paper bag vests and God's Eyes throughout the week.


Adjacent to the Saddle Shop is the Lasso Practice Range where the kids can test their aim by throwing horse shoes, doing a rope toss and a jar lid toss.

Since I have a ton of pictures and ideas to share from Bug's birthday party, I figured I'd divide it up into separate parts. This part is the invitation, gift bags, and decorations for the party.



For the treat bags, I used some small vinyl bags that I purchased on clearance at Hobby Lobby several years ago. We put in a Disney Fairies puzzle, a Tinkerbell pencil, some Tinkerbell fun fruits, a glow stick, and a candy necklace. Each bag was completed with a stamped Thank You tag. I used the Disney Fairies stamp set and the same products listed above to make the fairies pop.


For the entry way decoration, two of my greatest friends stayed up half the night helping me create these cut out fairies! We used the Cricut Fairies cartridge and the Cricut Expression to create these 11 inch fairies. All I can say is, thank God for friends like mine!











This centerpiece was also created with the help of a Cricut machine and the fairies cartridge. One of the previously mentioned friends created this fabulous fairy centerpiece for our party (and for reuse at her daughter's party next weekend!). Have I mentioned that I have wonderful friends?!

I have a tendency to buy things at garage sales and then let them sit around in the garage waiting for me to find the time to fix them up somehow. Usually the thing I buy is something we need but still...

Anyway, I purchased a bookshelf at our church garage sale for about $8 in April. Then school let out and potty training took over and, although I was pestered by Boo, I just didn't get to refinishing it. Finally, Chip decided he would like to have his garage space back, so I started stripping the old stain off. Well, Chip did a second application of stain removal and then sanded off what was left. He also trimmed up the decorative wood that was on the top and cut some scrap wood to create a better looking front siding.
Then he applied the new stain and finishing coat. I'm grateful that he took over the project because, at the rate I was going, it would have been done shortly before Boo graduated from high school! Here's the finished product. It took the place of the smaller bookshelf that my grandfather made (which I refinished all by myself a few years ago!).

Here's the older bookshelf, now in Boo's room. It took almost no time for it to be completely full of her chapter/series books!

For children too young to use scissors safely, you could have them color or paint the leaves and then you can cut them out. They'll be able to help you attach the leaves no problem!

I've finally finished the frames to document Ebabe's first year of life.

When Boo was born, Chip & I bought pre-made frames from Lillian Vernon which are no longer available. Before Bug was born, Chip cut 1/2 inch mdf board into 4x6 frames. He cut plexiglass to the right size and used 1/8 inch backing board to go behind. My sister-in-law and I decorated the set of frames for Bug shortly before she was born. Here's a photo of those frames:

Well, now Ebabe is 19 months old and after much procrastination, her frames are finally done!!


Once again Chip made the frames using 1/2 inch mdf board (see photo). He made them the same dimensions as both Boo & Bug's frames. They hold a 4x6 photo.


The first step in decorating the frames is to give them a few coats of plain white paint - all over the front, sides and inside. Allow a day or so for the paint to dry. Next decide if you want to paint the frame or decopage with scrapbook paper. If painting, apply the first coat and wait about 30 minutes before applying the 2nd coat.

For January, I applied a third coat of white paint and then clear glitter to create a snowy look. August's frame was inspired by our visit to Virginia Beach last summer. I recreated the beach using several sandy colors and a foam brush to create texture. The water was created by using 4 different blue colors and rougher strokes.


If decopaging, turn the paper face down, trace the outline of the frame on the paper and gently cut slightly inside the tracing. Once you have the paper the size you want, cut out the inside of the frame (where the photo will go). Use modge podge or puzzle glue to adhere the paper to the frame.


Next, decorate the frames with accessories. I used many paper crafting embellishments from Jolee's to do mine. I couldn't find the accessories I wanted for the month of March so I created my own using clip art, 3-D glue dots and colored pens. The month titles were found in a scrapbook store in Michigan. July's paper seemed a little plain so I added a few buttons in various colors to enhance the look.






This is a pretty easy project - a great gift idea for showers. If you (or your spouse) don't have carpentry talents, you could easily decorate any store bought frames by simply sanding the finish off first.