Printable First Day of School Signs

By Brie @Darling Doodles | July 26, 2017 - 5:48 am |June 27, 2017 back to school, Kids, Uncategorized

I can’t believe that it is time to start talking about Back to School! We were just barely enjoying fireworks and parades and now all of sudden it is time for new pencils, backpacks, and first day of school outfits. The schools here start in two weeks so I know there is a lot of to do as everyone prepares. (And celebrates if you’re a parent!) I’ve created some new printables to help you out in at least one part of back to school. The traditional First Day of School Signs for your pictures!

This is such a fun tradition to do every year with your kids. It is so special to be able to look back and see how they have changed and grown over the years.

**Okay, I’ve got to take a break and be honest for a second. If you were sitting next to me on the couch while I am typing this blog post you’d see me sitting here trying really hard to hold back the tears. Whhyyyy are my kids growing up so fast?! I just watched a video where a dad interviewed his daughter after every first day of school and whew, that one really brought on the tears. So taking these pictures is important, you won’t ever get another chance to capture this time in your child’s life again.**

I’ve made signs for every year of school from Preschool to Senior Year. And while yes, you may have to resort to some good natured mom guilt or bribing to get your teenagers to cooperate, go ahead and take their picture too! They’ll appreciate it when they’re older. At least that is what we moms tell ourselves as we are knee deep in laundry and dirty dishes. :)

The First Day of School Signs are all formatted to fit on standard 8.5×11 paper so you can print right from your home computer. You can frame them, laminate them, or simply have your children hold the paper while you snap away. Easy peasy! I’ve broken the signs up into two PDF sets due to the file size so make sure you download both sets!

First Day of School Signs – Preschool thru 5th Grade

First Day of School Signs – 6th Grade thru Senior Year

Travel Busy Book and Road Trip Printables

By Brie @Darling Doodles | July 19, 2017 - 6:36 am |July 6, 2017 Kids, Travel

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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.

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!

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.

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.

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!

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.

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

By Brie @Darling Doodles | July 12, 2017 - 5:29 am |July 10, 2017 Games, Kids, summer

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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!

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!

So 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

By Brie @Darling Doodles | July 6, 2017 - 4:54 am |June 20, 2017 Kids, learning

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

Did 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.

And 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!

I 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!

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.

I 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!

Another 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

Head 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

By Brie @Darling Doodles | July 3, 2017 - 4:11 am |June 19, 2017 Visiting Teaching

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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.

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

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

By Brie @Darling Doodles | June 28, 2017 - 4:36 am |June 16, 2017 crafts, DIY

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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.

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!

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. And that is all the steps required to make your own pretty two tiered cake stand!

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!