Who doesn't really enjoy buying the pre-made valentines from the store and assembling them? The ones that come with all of the tattoos or stickers to attach and that almost always tear when you try to separate them into individual valentines?  Well I have my hand in the air because after helping 5 kids assemble valentines last year, I knew that this year I would have to do something different. Plus there is always someone on Pinterest reminding you of just how ordinary your valentines are. Don't get me wrong the valentines you purchase at the store are just fine but can be a headache. With not much time at all I was able to whip up these custom Valentines/ treat bags for my children to take to all of their friends at school.
Needed:
Computer
Printer
Paper
Scissors or paper cutter
Stapler
Snack size ziplock bags
Candy
Clipart ( I found most on the internet, but I also had purchased some from Etsy.com for previous projects)


     I created these Valentines using Excel and Microsoft Word. I put most of my clipart into word and created text boxes for the words. In excel, I highlight the area I wanted my color background and then selected my color to shade in that area. Then I would cut my images and text boxes out of word and paste them where I wanted on the shaded area in excel. Once I had the perfect Valentine, I copied and pasted another one below it so that I could print two on each page.

     I cut them all out and folded them in half, then I just stapled them to the top of the snack sized ziplock bags filled with candy.










     This project did not necessarily take less time than last year but it did go together a lot easier and the end result was definitely more satisfying. The kids feel so special with their original valentines. Although my son did say "Mom, I like them but next time I would prefer Power Rangers over pirates." Oh well, you can't please them all! I hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine's Day filled with lots of LOVE!

xo,
Brittany


     We moved in our home late 2010. We had to give it a pretty big makeover just to make it comfortable enough to move in. Paint, flooring, new interior doors, new base boards, etc... We have been saving up to remodel our kitchen for some time now, but for the past year we have started making progress a little at a time. Then in November this year we really got the ball rolling!

Our Kitchen November 2010 ( the wall that the old refrigerator is on divided the living room from the kitchen)

This is our kitchen one Sunday night in January 2013. We decided to pull out the sledge hammer and get rid of this wall. My theory was that if we did this then we would force ourselves to save up the rest of the money to completely remodel the kitchen sooner.


Another view of our kitchen Jan 2013. We lost some cabinet space on this wall which is why there is stuff everywhere!


And that is pretty much the way my kitchen looked until more renovating continued in November 2013. Scary I know!



 The wall we took out was a supporting wall (it was supporting the trusses basically) so we (Charlie) built a temporary wall  so that we could replace our supporting wall with a long power beam.

Pretty Cool huh? He had to put more support inside the walls at each end of the beam. It was basically a post that was put under each end of the beam once the beam was in place. Then the posts and beam were covered  with drywall which we hired someone to do.



Throughout December our kitchen started to transform. Charlie also added some recessed lighting.

  


   We had our counter tops installed on Saturday and this is what my kitchen currently looks like. I wanted the marble look for my counters but I was advised not to use marble in my kitchen, especially having five kids. I went with a quartz (the one I chose is not man made, some quartz is). I was told by everyone that it was one of the most durable and dense materials which I could use. It was definitely pricey but I am in Heaven! I absolutely love my kitchen now and its not even complete. My kitchen, dining room, and living room are all pretty open to each other and I cannot wait to entertain some of my friends and family in this new space. We still have a lot on our to do list but we are getting there. Keep checking back for more updates.
Still to do:
  1. New window covering
  2. Pendant lights over the bar
  3. Paint ceiling and beam
  4. Install wood/laminate flooring into the kitchen (same as living area)
  5. Install white plain fan flush to the ceiling ( the fan we have now is too distracting and we have the recessed lights now)
  6. Style the kitchen counters
I hope everyone is having a wonderful Monday!
xo,
Brittany