Traditions

How to Make Your Own Easter Egg "People"


April 10, 2017



Random fact about Megan and I, we worked at a Dinosaur Museum for years and had to blow out the insides of eggs frequently (hundreds of eggs each no joke) for kids to make their own dinosaur eggs. We never thought that skill would come in handy but boy were we wrong. Enter having our own kids and Easter.

So, to get a blown out egg you simply use a push pin to poke a hole in the top and bottom of an egg. Then you put your mouth on one end and blow all the egg out. Rinse, and your egg is ready. 

With this project you could probably get away with using regular eggs that you crack and use and then rinse out but we blew ours out and then took off the tops in order to make little containers to plant seeds in.

Anyhow. Get your eggshells however you like and make sure the openings are big enough to put dirt inside.
Put a few spoonfuls of dirt into each egg. 
Place a few grass seeds in each egg.
Cover the seeds with a spoonful or two more of dirt.

Place in a sunlit area and keep moist. We have been using a spray bottle to water ours.

We are waiting for ours to grow grass before we draw faces on the eggs with marker but in hindsight that might have been a better idea before we planted anything inside of them. 

Wait for your grass to grow and make "hair" on your little egg friends.  

We'll add more photos once we get something to grow. :) Fingers crossed as the kiddos are pretty excited about seeing something come out of those eggs.



Friday Favorites


February 24, 2017



If you follow us on Instagram you know our Dad had a birthday last week. So I thought I'd share a few of my favorites that we used for his birthday and family party in case you are party prepping for a birthday of your own. 

THE CAKE

The man loves chocolate. Really loves it. Over the years we have tried many (and I do mean many) a chocolate cake but have found that the Betty Crocker Super Moist is our favorite. 

THE CANDLES
We try to change up cake toppers a bit every year. This year I found these Happy Birthday candles at the Dollar Tree for a $1 but I have seen them at Walmart as well if you can't find them at your dollar store. The dollar store also has good wrapping paper every now and again so if you see some you like stock up because chances are when you come back it will be gone and only ugly stuff left. 


THE DECOR
Targets dollar spot is always a great place for party goods but I actually found Snoopy plates and party decor (not pictured) on sale in the birthday aisle. If you know you have a bday coming up check there every now and again and you'll be surprised at what you might find. I also found some cool hanging Snoopy decor that the kids and Grandpa loved. Birthday paper is also from the dollar store. Sometimes their stuff is not great but the last few times I have needed paper they have had some good stuff. Worth checking out.


THE CARD
I made photo Valentine cards at Walgreens this year, did same day pick up and was not impressed. But, for my Dads birthday my kids and I made this cute Birthday sign and then I used Shutterfly to make him a birthday card. It will take longer but it will go straight from Shutterfly to my Dad. With the coupon code I used (and they almost always have one) it was $2-4 dollars cheaper than buying a card at the store and sending it. Plus this way he has pictures of his grandkids (it let me use 3) on the card instead of some random picture. It takes a bit of planning. (Ours will miss his birthday by at least a week.) But, next time I'll think ahead and try the same thing again for Grandma.


So those are my latest favorite party finds. If you can't tell I'm loving the dollar store right now. I already have a small stash of stuff for my little boys birthday that is coming up. But, more on that later. :) Happy Friday all! 
xo, Jordy


VALENTINES DAY FAVORITES


February 15, 2017




HAPPY VALENTINES DAY! 

We hope you had a treat filled day of love with whomever you chose to spend it with. We thought we'd give you a peek at our day and some of our favorite Valentines tips that we tried and loved this year. Some we will definitely be using next year and others we will be using for birthdays or other holidays before Valentines even rolls around again.

Enjoy!


White Chocolate Cupcake Toppers
All you need are sucker sticks, melted white chocolate, and wax paper. Once the chocolate is melted place the stick on wax paper and write (we put the chocolate in a plastic bag and cut the tip off) your design or word on or across the stick. Let it dry, or refrigerate until hard and place in your cupcakes. Genius! 



Sidewalk Chalk "Heart Attack" 
We used a cardboard cut out of a heart to trace hearts of all different colors on the neighbors walk. Then left a message. The kids loved helping and it was sweet and cute.




(Mostly) DIY Valentine Making
Targets Dollar Spot and the Dollar Store are great places for Holiday finds IF you get there early before all the good stuff is gone. 


Felt hearts stuffed with chocolate treats can do double duty for decor.


Whoopee Cushions because "Love Stinks"


More Target finds.


 Valentine Balloons
4 words. Dollar Store Must Haves!



The Perfect Man Gift
A six pack of soda with the tag "6 reasons I love You", include a treat if you want because we all know men love food.



Valentine Decor
Twine, Red XO's and lips, and clothes pins made an easy and non destructible Valentine banner.



Pin the Lips on Yourself Game
We got this idea from the Small Fry Blog and while we did a few things different it was such a cute game and the kids loved it. We used photos of our children that had closeups of their heads and then printed 8x8 photos at Costco. We laminated them. Cut out foam lips from craft foam, blindfolded them and they were set. The Small Fry Blog has a template for lips, mustache, and glasses that is great for the game but our local copy store was having issues so we made our own.



Valentines for Grandparents
We took balloons and flowers to the grandparents and had fun making cards to send in the mail a day or two before Valentines day. We also used some of our favorite Valentine pictures and sent photos in the cards. Grandparents love mail right?


Babies first Valentines Day
With no planning on our part we each bought the babes the same shirts for Valentines at different stores but on the same day. Great minds. Aren't they darling?





Tot Tip Tuesday- Easy Tips for Turkey Day with Little Ones


November 15, 2016


By now you have realized that one of the secrets to a successful Thanksgiving is happy and busy kids right? Whether you are hosting Thanksgiving or just on the guest list here are a few things to try this week with the kids on the big day or while they are off school to get that last bit of Thanksgiving in before Christmas hits in full force.

Make Nutty Boats

Walnuts to be exact. Adults can help crack the nuts and hollow out the shell. This might take more than a few tries to get right. While adults are cracking, give children a small piece of paper, 1 inch x 1 inch, and have them design their sail. 


 Once the nuts are hollowed out and sails are made simple bend the paper and insert a toothpick. Use a glue gun to glue the sail to the bottom of the boat. Apply a few layers of hot glue to make sure the sail is set, and give it time to dry.


 Use the boats for place settings at Thanksgiving Dinner if you like, and then take them for a sail if you live near water. If not a shallow baking dish of some kind with a towel underneath works just as well, and keeps you indoors if its cold out.

Happy Sailing! A word to the wise..... You may want to have several sails ready to change out when the boats get wet and little ones get upset. Believe me on this one. We are on our 4th set of boats for the season. Kids of all ages LOVE these!



Dollar Store Decor

Hit the dollar store for some fun art supplies for little or big ones. A roll of white or brown paper will both save your table from spills, and create a blank canvas for little artists. Just add crayons and stickers. Even if you don't use it for your Thanksgiving table, it will keep little hands busy while you are baking and prepping in the kitchen. 







Easy Turkey Tee's

While there are cute turkey tee's everywhere on Pinterest, we opted for simplicity because well, its easier. The past two years we have made Turkey Tee's for our kids. If you can buy a cheap T-shirt somewhere great do that. If not, use something you already have, that you are fine with having Turkeys on it. They will fade with washing but will not completely disappear. Get the little hands out, coat them in paint and get creative. Kids will love showing them to the relatives come Thanksgiving Day.



 HaPpY ThAnKsGiViNg! 

Follow us on Instagram: @MegynJordyn

A Simple "I Love You" for Valentines Day


February 8, 2016


What's not to love about Valentines Day? Between the chocolate, new episodes of the Bachelor, and all the little I love you's its the one Holiday that has just the right amount of sweet. :) 

BUT, did you notice we said LITTLE I love you's? We just had Christmas roughly 6 weeks ago and yet somehow it seems the gifts we are supposed to be giving for Valentines Day are quite large, expensive, and can we say over the top?

So, while we won't judge anyone who goes all out.... hey, do what works for you and what you want to do. We will say this. Valentines, to us, is about saying I love you. Sweetly, simply, and creatively. 

We wanted to share a few things we will be doing this year to say "I love you," to those closest to us. 

Happy Valentines Day!

 Sole Mates
Leave a simple card or note where your Valentine might not expect it but will leave them smiling. On the driver seat of their car, on their pillow or in a shoe because after all, you are Soul Mates.





Ballon Bath (sans water)
No we haven't lost it. Yet. We have just been cooped up inside for the better part of two weeks with sick kiddies. You find yourself thinking of just about anything for a change of pace since you don't have a change of scenery. We filled up the tub with a pack of balloons from Walmart (.97 cents) and let the kids toss them around in the tub before getting them out and playing in the house with them for several days. Would be a fun surprise for Valentines morning with a little note as kids hit the shower to get cleaned up for the day. 



Be A Sucker
We found these suckers at Oriental Trading for a few dollars but have seen similar ones at Walmart, Smiths, and Target. Arrange them in a heart shape and leave them where the kids can find them with a Valentine card from you. 





Little Things Mean A lot
My husband has a million and one things going on as I'm sure everyone does. But he takes the time to wash my car in the deep of winter on a cold, cold, day. Sometimes we get so busy we forget the little things that make people feel special. So, whether you do an unpleasant task for someone, bake a plate of cookies, or just drop by for a visit, remember that the little things mean an awful lot.

Heart Attack
Give your husband, boyfriend, kids, or any other lucky recipient a "Heart Attack." Simply write little things you love about them on paper hearts and scatter them around or tape them to a door, wall, or mirror and leave for your Valentine to discover. We added balloons because, why not? Everyone loves them.



Mirror Message
Mirror, Mirror, on the wall. Leave the best love message of all. Use a marker that will erase, or a $1 tube of lipstick from the dollars store and leave messages around the house for little and big to find. It easily washes off when you are done.


Leftover Love
Mini candy canes leftover from Christmas can be put in the oven for 5-10 minutes (300 degrees) and then molded into hearts perfect for a sucker, cake toppers, or cocoa stirrers. Yep thats a word. They are hearts and adorable. Thats all.

Finding Free
Online printables that is. If you are not creative, don't sweat it. Browse the internet for Valentines that can be printed in no time. Bee Mine (below) and a few of our other favorites can be found here. Or simply search Free Valentine Printables on Google to find one you like.


Keep It Simple
Use what you have whatever that may be and realize that it doesn't need to be long, mushy, or perfectly written. A simple I Love You is simply that. I Love You!



Oh and of course.....


Pucker Up Buttercup
Don't forget your furry friends. Pets need love too so give them an extra pat on Valentines Day.



Megyn Jordyn © . Quinn Creatives .