Travel Busy Book and Road Trip Printables

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I recently heard the saying that once you start travelling with kids you no longer go on vacations, you go on trips. And while that made me laugh it is also kind of true in a way. The stress of travelling with kids can sometimes take away the relaxing vacation aspect parents so desperately need! But yet we travel with our kids anyway! Because there is nothing better than a family trip that creates memories, brings you closer together, and allows us to explore the world around us! I absolutely LOVE to travel and hope to go on as many family vacations as we possibly can! In preparation for our upcoming trip (which I’ll blog about later) I created a Travel Busy Book for each of my sweet kiddos to pass the time during our very long car ride.

Create a Travel Busy Book to bring more adventure to your next family vacation!



Each child receives their own binder with a few fun surprises inside! The Dollar Tree is a great place to find goodies for a road trip. You don’t want to spend a ton of money and they actually have some really fun items. Stickers, coloring books, short story books, and I even found these really cute dry erase bingo games! Heck, Sam and I might even play them on our own as we drive down the road!

Create a Travel Busy Book to bring more adventure to your next family vacation!My four year old loves hidden pictures! So when I found some online I knew I had to include them in our travel busy books too. My two year old is still a little young for them, but I printed the hidden pictures for his book anyway. He can enjoy looking at the images and scribbling on the pages so it is still great entertainment! You can find lots of free hidden picture printables at All Kids Network.

Create a Travel Busy Book to bring more adventure to your next family vacation!



Paper and  color pencils or crayons are a must! I put them in a zipper pouch rather than leaving them in their boxes to try to minimize the mess and spills. And of course a folder to hold any treasured artwork that is created along the way.

Create a Travel Busy Book to bring more adventure to your next family vacation!I also found this really cute free printable race track at Free Time Frolics, and it is perfect to include in the book for my car loving boy. A couple of hot wheels are all he needs to get lots of fun time out of this page!

Create a Travel Busy Book to bring more adventure to your next family vacation!I love these free alphabet and picture tracing printables from Tot Schooling. We have been working really hard on writing our letters and I love giving my daughter a fun way to practice as we drive.

Create a Travel Busy Book to bring more adventure to your next family vacation!And I am sharing the Adventure Awaits covers I created for our travel busy books! There are three different colors to choose from and they are made to be printed on a regular 8.5 x 11 piece of paper. Perfect for printing at home and slipping into the cover of your binder!

DOWNLOAD THE PDF

I hope this gives you some good ideas as you get ready to hit the road! Now go make those memories!




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The BEST Water Play Games to Beat the Heat

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Well we are full blown in the middle of an Arizona summer here and I am always on the lookout for water play activities to beat the heat! My kids and I recently came up with a new activity that has become our standard afternoon play in the backyard. We all love it! And it is definitely keeping us cool! Check out our video below!

Beat the Heat with Water Play Activities and Water Silhouettes





How many crazy outlines do you think you and your kids can come up with? Each different pose has us cracking up with laughter! Every family member from our littlest to us big kids loves joining in!

Beat the Heat with Water Play Activities and Water SilhouettesSo go outside and start playing! All you need is a hose and a wall or fence. And let’s just go ahead and be honest…this can totally count as bath time for the kids. :) Mom win!!!



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Printable Pretend Play Restaurant- Tiny Tots Cafe

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Welcome to Tiny Tots Cafe were we serve up a daily helping of imagination with a large side of fun!

Printable Pretend Play Restaurant - Tiny Tots CafeDid you know that when your children engage in pretend play and use their imagination not only are they expanding their creativity, but they are also developing critical thinking skills, building their language skills, and increasing social skills such as empathy and positive self-esteem? It’s true! There are so many more benefits to pretend play besides just giving children something to occupy their time. In fact, pretend play is vital for normal, happy childhood development.




Printable Pretend Play Restaurant - Tiny Tots CafeAnd along with all the studies and research saying how important pretend play is…it is also just FUN! Silly and funny moments turn into precious memories. Kids love playing when they are given the chance! And hey, if it distracts them for even just a few minutes, Moms enjoy some time to themselves!

Printable Pretend Play Restaurant - Tiny Tots CafeI had the idea to create a pretend play restaurant after my daughter and I spent an afternoon playing and taking turns being the waitress. Since I created this set for her it has become one of her favorite pastimes. She LOVES it! We play together all the time, she plays with her dolls, even her little brother loves to join in on the fun.

The set has been such a hit in our house that I decided to add it to my Etsy Shop! This printable set comes with everything you need to start your own restaurant!

Printable Pretend Play Restaurant - Tiny Tots Cafe


And this set can be fully printed at home, or sent to any local copy store for printing. Everything is formatted to fit on 8.5 x 11 paper. There is also an extra copy of the Tiny Tots Cafe sign that can be printed at 11 x 14 if you are wanting a larger sign.

Printable Pretend Play Restaurant - Tiny Tots CafeI recommend laminating the items after they have been printed, this will allow you to write on the order and receipt forms with a dry erase marker! Once you’re done playing just erase the marker!

Printable Pretend Play Restaurant - Tiny Tots CafeAnother huge benefit of buying printables? If anything should happen to one of the items all you have to do is print another one! It is bound to happen with kids, things get bent or ripped all the time. But since you now own the files you can print another menu in seconds, no additional purchases required!

Here’s a closer look at everything you get in this set:

  • Welcome Sign (large and small size)
  • Open Sign
  • Closed Sign
  • Menu
  • Order Form
  • Receipt
  • Placemat
  • $1, $5, $10

Printable Pretend Play Restaurant - Tiny Tots CafePrintable Pretend Play Restaurant - Tiny Tots CafePrintable Pretend Play Restaurant - Tiny Tots CafeHead on over to the Etsy Shop and pick up your set! You can be serving your kids a fun filled afternoon in no time!



July 2017 Visiting Teaching Handout

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July is here everybody! Along with fireworks, parades, swimming, popsicles, and the heat of summer comes another month for Visiting Teaching! The message for this month is called That They May Be One and teaches us about the importance of aligning our will with God’s. Sister Neill F. Marriott, Second Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency, bears testimony of the blessings of striving to align our will with God’s will: “I have struggled to banish the mortal desire to have things my way, eventually realizing that my way is oh so lacking, limited, and inferior to the way of Jesus Christ.  His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come.”

In the message Sister Linda K. Burton, the former Relief Society General President, quotes they hymn “I’ll Go Where You Want Me to Go” and I chose to use the beautiful lyrics from this hymn as the handout for the month.

July 2017 Visiting Teaching Handout- Free Printable to give to the ladies you visit teach!



I hope that as we study these words and share them with our visiting teaching sisters that we will feel an increased desire to do and become what the Lord would have us do and be. You can download the PDF or save the JPEG below and then share it with your sisters in a text, email, mail them a card, or print and take it to them as you visit.

DOWNLOAD THE PDF

July 2017 Visiting Teaching Handout- Free Printable to give to the ladies you visit teach!

As you head out to celebrate the 4th of July, stay safe and enjoy the holiday! I hope everyone has a wonderful Independence Day!




DIY Cake Stand – A Two Step Tutorial

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If a project only takes two steps to complete, can you really call it a tutorial? What if you can complete the project in only one step? I don’t know if tutorial is exactly the right word for this post. It is probably more like super-awesome-incredibly-easy-why-didn’t-I-think-of-that-tip! I made a pretty two tiered cake stand and it is a great, easy project that anyone can do. It starts with a candlestick and two plates.

DIY Cake Stand, make your own in two easy steps!Now in my case the candlestick definitely needed a coat of paint. It was a very unattractive blah beige and clashed with the pretty gray and white plates I picked up on clearance at HomeGoods. They are a nice melamine and surprisingly sturdy so they were perfect for this project.




So this is step #1: Paint the candlestick. And if you are working with a glass candlestick or you have one that already matches your plates then you can skip this step! But for me, white spray paint to the rescue!

DIY Cake Stand, make your own in two easy steps!I’m pretty confident you can all figure out the next step on your own. Ready for step #2: Glue the plates onto the candlestick. Mind blowing, I know! You can use any strong adhesive or epoxy to glue your plates, just make sure it is something stronger than regular glue. E600, Gorilla Glue, Weldbond, all good choices.DIY Cake Stand, make your own in two easy steps! And that is all the steps required to make your own pretty two tiered cake stand!




DIY Cake Stand, make your own in two easy steps!Once the glue had dried completely these are great decor for parties or holidays, or just to use around the house. You can vary the sizes depending on how big your plates are and how tall your candlestick is. They would make great stands for cupcakes, a place to hold jewelry or make-up on a bathroom counter, or by the sink as a place for sponges and dish soap. Lots of possibilities for such an easy project!

DIY Cake Stand, make your own in two easy steps!DIY Cake Stand, make your own in two easy steps!



DIY Wall Art- From Gift Bags!

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There have been times when I am buying a gift bag for a present and I can’t help but look at all the cute bags and think that they would make adorable home decor! There are so many cute patterns and designs on gift bags, for any occasion or holiday too. Well after thinking about it for some time I decided to just go ahead and make my own DIY Wall Art, from gift bags! And just in time for the Independence Day holiday.

DIY Wall Art - From Gift Bags



I started off with three bags that I bought at the Dollar Tree. You can’t beat $1 DIY supplies! And in full disclosure when I was cutting the bags I accidentally ripped the bag with the heart. Eh, it wasn’t my favorite bag anyway. And since I only spent $1 on it I wasn’t too worried.

DIY Wall Art - From Gift BagsI cut the front off of each bag and then cut out a piece of wood to fit each bag. I’m getting a little embarrassed about how often I say this, but this wood is some plywood we picked up off the side of the road because someone was throwing it away. Why let good supplies go to waste?!

DIY Wall Art - From Gift BagsBefore I put the bag onto the wood I wanted to paint the sides. I spray painted the sides a dark red and while that dried I folded some laundry. It is like the Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous over here.

DIY Wall Art - From Gift BagsThe next step called for the ever useful ModPodge. I applied a thick coat on the board and then laid the bag down on top lining up the edges.

DIY Wall Art - From Gift BagsTo completely seal the bag down and make sure there were no air bubbles I covered the project with an old cleaning cloth and used a rolling pin to really press it down and just wiped off any extra glue that leaked out of the edges.

DIY Wall Art - From Gift Bags



After a few minutes it was dried and ready for the next step. Since the print comes from a gift bag there are two small holes at the top where the ribbon handle came through the gift bag. You could simply cover it up with a bow but I decided to drill through the small holes into the wood and string some twine through to hang up the board.

And done! An easy and definitely budget friendly afternoon project.

DIY Wall Art - From Gift BagsThis DIY WAll Art looks so cute hanging above my entry way table and across from the patriotic display I created on my piano.




I can’t help but think of how many other ways to use this same idea. I just love some of the designs they have for baby gift bags, this could make some beautiful and inexpensive nursery decor. Or themed decor for your child’s room! Or use wedding bags for a master bedroom. And just think of all the pretty gift bags that come out around Christmas time. Yep, this is probably not the last time you will see a project like this on my blog!

DIY Wall Art - From Gift Bags



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