This is Love


There's nothing that says, "I love you" like your name in chenille stems!

I'm one lucky mama!

Wishing you a Happy Valentines Day!

{Heart} Bookcase Garland

 I have a {little} thing for books.  I think they are so fun and I love to have my favorites up on the shelf.  They sit there and are like old friends--it makes me happy just to see them!
 
But I thought it was time to dress them up a {little}.

 
 
 These are just simple felt hearts stitched together.  
 
I used the pinking shears on some of them, for a {little} extra fun!

 
 
I tried them across the mantel too.  
But I love how they hang down on the shelf so much better.

 
It's fun to have this bookcase garland hang down and go across a shelf and then hang down the next shelf too. 
 
 
 
This bookcase garland is nothing fancy at all, but it fancies those books up just right ;) 


No-Sew Valentine Ruffle Pillow


 
If you are a regular reader, you know I'm a big fan of {little} projects because I can get them done.  And this no-sew ruffle pillow certainly qualifies!
I love making pillow covers because it's so fun to be able to switch over monthly decor in a snap.
So, I picked a fabric and wrapped it around my throw pillow to determine how much fabric I needed.  
It should overlap at least an inch in the middle on the back.


 Then I found the center of the front and started "drawing" my ruffled heart with this darling gingham ruffled trim from Hobby Lobby.  
I love it because it is ruffled down the center so both sides are ruffled!  I also love it because it was $1.50 for 3 yards and I didn't need nearly all of it.

I just pinned around the original size of the heart to make sure I liked the size and then used hot glue between the pins to hold it in place.

Then I took out the pins and glued under those spots too.

I used the pins to pin the next layer/section of the heart and repeated the hot glue and pinning until I made it to the middle.

It's a stretchy trim so be careful not to stretch as you go.     



 The heart is in the center of the fabric like this:



Now to turn it into a pillow cover you just fold back the 2 side edges to hem (either use hot glue or sew).

Then put the heart facing your pillow (inside out) and wrap it around to determine the size (like at the first) and then pin the overlap.

Remove the pillow. And then either hot glue the top and bottom edges or sew them since it's a nice straight line! :)

Then turn it right-side out and stuff your pillow inside!




 

Easy.  Done.
I told you it was a {little} project ;)  

Friday Favorites and Freebies: Living Well and Frugal Tips

I've bumped into some great blogs about living well and living within your means this past week.
 
I feel like I've been through a mini Earth Day week mixed with a financial boot camp at my house with these fantastic reads.  A fresh start is always nice!
Here are some of my favorites that I had to share:

Save money and eat organically and sustainably?  Count me in!



Fun, Cheap, or Free is the idea here-with a how-to for tracking that budget, that's easy!



How to shop for 2 weeks at a time and spend less than $100/week on groceries! Great planning tips!



This girl has ideas for how to replace every plastic item you use with something not disposable.  We can all pick up a few tips here!

Plastic Free book by Beth Terry

I love the ideas here about how to shop without bringing home so much waste.  Again, lots of ideas and we can all start somewhere.

Zero Waste Home


Whew!  So many great things to learn.  

Happy Friday and have a great weekend!

Valentine Math {part 2}


Our question today? Can candy make you smarter??
 
hmmm.  I know it's certainly motivating some math learning around here!

How much math fun can you have with a bag of chocolate kisses?

Here are a few {little} ideas we had fun with:

Division Practice Example: 24 kisses started in the heart. 
Then Jay separated them into 3 groups to see how many 24 divides into.

Greater/Less Than Game:  Of course we used the alligator mouth/heart again!


Estimating: 3 colors of kisses.  How many of each?
We always count in spanish too :)


Grouping (division/multiplication): How many groups of five?
Practice counting by 5's (sing to tune of 10 Little Indians)
Adding/Subtracting in groups of 5 (and 2)

 
Since these are our games from last year, I'm looking forward to playing more advanced math games this year.  
 
The kids are always moving forward in math and that keeps it exciting!
 
 
 
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