what i made monday {DIY} Fingerprint Necklace

A few months ago I saw these beautiful necklaces with your child's fingerprints that Sarah made over on her blog. I LOVE anything that is personalized or has to do with my children's hand or fingerprints. So I definitely wanted to give this a try. I think any mom would love this, so I thought I'd share this beautiful idea since Mother's Day is fast approaching!! Sarah has great tutorial on her blog, so please go check it out!!

I did mine a little different, so I thought I'd share how I made mine. So here's how:

Supplies:

Sculpey Oven Bake Clay( I used Metallic Grey)
necklace chain
jump rings
pen
needle
pliers







First your going to take a small piece of clay and roll it into ball. I used metallic grey because 
I thought it looked more like silver. Although you can use any color you'd like.




 Next you'll take your pen and roll it out. Imagine your pen is a small rolling pin. I flattened it out to a oval shape. 



Now, if you don't like it. Just start over till you get your desired shape. You want your clay to be not too thin because you need to have it thick enough for the impression. 



Once you have your desired shape, gently place your child's finger in the clay. And if you make a mistake, just start again till you are happy with how it looks. 





Once you're happy with the impression, take the needle and make a small hole at the top, this will be where you'll attach the jump ring. 
Then you'll place your fingerprint pendant onto a cookie sheet lined with foil.
  Then follow the baking directions on your package from the clay. 
I baked mine at 275 for 15 minutes. 

When it's done, let it cool so it can harden before you attach the jump ring and chain. I used a chain that I had on hand. But you could easily make your own or find a completed one at a craft store. 



And that's it! You have a cute personalized necklace any mom would love. 



Here is my necklace! I have 5 kids so I had to do all of their fingerprints.... I don't think I'll wear all 5 at the same time :)

Happy crafting!! 





Michael's 11th Birthday


                          This month we celebrated my oldest son Michael's birthday!
                                             I can't believe how fast he is growing.




He is growing up to be such a sweet young man. 


His birthday was during the week, so he asked me to bring snacks to his class to celebrate. He really doesn't like cupcakes, so he asked me to bring donuts!  He said, " Mom I wasn't sure if you were really going to come to my class, I'm so happy you did!"
Awww.....he melts my heart!


Later that night we took the family out to dinner. Here is a picture of all 5, looking in the right direction for once! This is rare! And they all look happy too, bonus!  Maybe, because they were eating chips & salsa. :)


Here is another one, I had to try and take advantage of the moment! Plus we were sitting in a corner booth and they couldn't escape!... HaHa!


We sang Happy Birthday and enjoyed a yummy warm chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream and hot fudge!!



He had a party on the weekend with some of his friends playing Lazer Tag!!
He drove race cars with his buddies!!



Having fun on the race track!!



Michael, I can't believe how fast you're growing. I am so proud of you! I love you and thank God for blessing me with such a wonderful son!






Happy Birthday Michael!! 



March in cell phone pics

I can't believe the months are just flying by. Daniel is growing so fast and I wish I could just freeze time  to enjoy these moments. Well, actually all the kids are growing up too quick! 
Here is March in cell phone pics. 


  • We celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday with the kids dressing up as the Lorax for school. 
  • Then we saw the Lorax movie, which was so cute! 
  • The kids had dentist appts. and Mike will be getting braces soon! 
  • Dad has been teaching the kids how to play tennis, which they LOVE!!  
  • The boys are still loving guitar club!!
  • Daniel  loves eating baby food and bath time!
  • So does Gabe ( bath time) not the baby food!
  • We tried a new oven baked chicken strips recipe. 
  • The kids love playing with sidewalk chalk!
  • We celebrated St. Patrick's Day with homemade playdough! Lots of fun & so easy!



  • I worked on new designs for the new shop!
  • We went to the mountains and played in the snow.
  • Daniel loved watching the kids sled down the hill.
  • James fell when playing with the neighborhood kids and we had to go to the hospital for stitches.
  • Daniel loves sitting in the shopping cart at the stores.
  • We played more tennis with Dad.
  • Dad surprised us with donuts for breakfast!
  • I made some cute bird nest pendants for the shop.
  • Clothes shopping for Mike's birthday next month.


                                    

We went to Chuck E Cheese last weekend and the kids had a lot of fun.  Michael is counting all his tickets so he can pick out a prize.




     Desi is growing to fast! I wish I could freeze time with my kids and just keep them with me always!            Ok, only when there not fighting :)


We ended the month by going to the Citrus Festival by our house. We saw lots of crafts, a car show, food and a band. Maybe next year I'll have a booth for my shop.....lets keep our fingers crossed :)



It's so hard taking a picture with all five looking at the same time, and smiling, well thats just a bonus. See I got 2 out 5 smiling, that's good!! If they can all look at the camera at the same time, I'm happy :)

                                                 How was your month of March?
               
                                      Linking up this week with Amy at  A Good Life.




Wordless Wednesday: 1st Time On The Swings!

So the weeks have been flying by and I have really neglected my little blog. It's time to catch up around here. Life has definitely been busy with the kids and my little project of growing my business. I have lots of ideas and just not enough time in the day to make it happen over night. I am not giving up, I just have to realize it might just take me a little longer than I thought. 
Ok..Ok.. moving on,  I love taking pictures of my kids and of basically everything so I thought I'd start participating in some fun photography linky parties. So here is my very first post for Wordless Wednesday which so far has not been wordless :)

Here is my sweet Daniel on the swings for the first time at the park.  At first he wasn't too sure of it but then he really started to like the little ride.

                                    

                                                          Here he looks a little scared.

                                                   
                                                         Then he is all smiles again!



I love those little chubby cheeks! He really enjoyed the park so I think we will try to go more often.
So that's it my first Wordless Wednesday! 


Linking up for Wordless Wednesday with Jenni From The BlogLive And Love Out Loud
And Then She Snapped, Parenting By Dummies

My Sweet Baby Cupid



I really wanted to try this when I saw it on Jessica's site. I am so glad I did! I think Daniel came out adorable! It was super easy and now I have a special picture for Valentines Day.
The only part that was a little difficult was trying to get him to sit still.



Jessica has a great tutorial on how to make cupid's wings on her site. I did mine a little different so I thought I'd share how I did it.

Here's what you'll need:
1. White foam board
2. 1 bag of feathers
3. Adhesive
4. white ribbon 

First I had an old white foam board that the kids hadn't used from one of their school projects. I cut it in a half moon shape. Then I spayed adhesive a little at a time and added the feathers.
I waited for them to dry and poked holes on the board to attach the ribbon for the arms. 
I didn't take any step by step photos because I wasn't sure how well it would come out.
I did however take a lot of pictures of my little cupid! 





I also had a red pillow and some red fabric for a background. You could use a red blanket or sheet for a background.  I just used what I had on hand. I am so happy and thankful that Jessica was so nice to share her baby cupid idea. Please go check out her site.

I'll also be linking for the first time to The Simple Things.










A Blog Hop!!




Christa from Young & the Restless is hosting a blog hop, and I'm a new blogger. So I thought it would be nice to join and meet new people. 

Get to know more about me here.

So welcome to the new readers!!
Thanks for stopping by :)



young and restless

Insta-Friday


This week has been really busy which it always is with a big family. So here is a peek at our week. 


The older boys started guitar class after school.  I think Michael liked it except Jimmy didn't enjoy it too much because he was feeling a little sick. He stuck it out though and I'm sure next week he'll have a better time at class.  
                 

               


Michael loves to draw and he showed me his this new drawing which he named,"GERO". Which I think he could live in "Bikini Bottom"  and join the Sponge Bob family. Michael says that "GERO"is not a Sponge Bob character but is a mythical creature. I still think he could be a Sponge Bob character.
What do you think?



Desiree made Gabriel a PB&J sandwich and thought that the jelly looks like a heart in the middle. 
Can you see it ? 



Dad read to Gabriel while we were at the Dr's. office and  I couldn't believe he sat through three books!
When I read to him he'll sit through barely a paragraph, then he takes the book  & wants to read to me.
                                             I guess Dad has a magical touch! So sweet!







James learned how to say his name and write his name in Chinese.  James is "Jie Rui" in Chinese pronounced "Ji Ree".
Next week he'll learn how to say the rest of the family's name in Chinese.... Should be interesting!




And this little guy turned 6 months this week! Time is flying by,  I can't believe that he is getting so big so quickly. I wish I could freeze time!



I love his smile.....so sweet!





Brotherly Love!!


Daniel started eating cereal this week, he wasn't too sure about it . 


After a few tries,  he liked it!  I think it was great week!                                                             

Insta-Friday

These past few days weeks leading up to Christmas have been busy to say the least. With 5 kids, one which is 4 mos. who is nursing and starting up my shop, has been a challenge. I am so blessed to have the support from my hubby & family. Because I don't think I could've did it with out them. I still have so much to do and wanted to to do before Christmas, but sadly I still think I will fall short. Here is a look at our week.



Christmas Concerts

 This year the boys sang "Happy New Year" in Chinese, and "Rocking Around The Christmas Tree". They practiced all week but when they get in front of people they freeze up. They still were cute!


                    Later that night we went to a Cross Country banquet. It was a very long night but worth it. Seeing my daughter get recognized for being on the Honor Roll while being on Cross Country.   Yay!




 My little guy loved helping decorate the tree this year. He liked getting the ornaments out and asked about them. Who's is that one? Where is mine? Who made that one? He loved hearing the stories behind the ornaments.


                                            Every year we take the kids to visit Santa.
                                    This year was special since it was the baby's first time.





                                   Added a new stocking to the mantle this year.




I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas !!

Simply Sweet Sunday

Simply Sweet 





  I know it's late but I still wanted to post our simple sweet Sunday picture. 


  I love looking at the Christmas tree all decorated & lit up.  It makes me happy knowing that we all decorated it as a family. It isn't a perfect tree like at the stores but it is perfect to us. It is decorated with so many ornaments that are special to us. Like the ones the kids bring home from school or that we made together. We all take part in decorating the tree, it is a family tradition.  I"ll share more of our traditions later. 









Insta-Friday

I know it's Saturday but better late than never. Here is a peek at our week. Really busy and not too many photos because I've been working in the shop. So here we go.



                        Daniel and I relaxing and playing with my new iphone. Loving instagram!!





 1. Drinking hot cocoa in our Charlie Brown mugs from Knotts Berry Farm!
 2. Writing Santa and Jesus a Christmas letter.
 3. See the face, thats Santa.
 4. And below the three circles that are faces thats G, Santa and Jesus.
 5. So I asked him what does the letter say?
  Little G: It says Santa I love you with all my heart.  And I love Jesus all my heart. Happy Birthday Jesus!
                                       So Sweet he didn't even ask for a gift from Santa. 
 6. All the letters from the kids ready to be delivered to Jesus and Santa!




1.  Little G happy that he gets a ride with Kermit after Christmas shopping.
2. Baby D not so happy waiting for Little G to get done with his ride.
3. Yummy appetizers at our favorite restaurant!!
4. Hubby and I celebrating 12 year Anniversary with the kids.

                               So there you have it a week full of memories and traditions.
  How was your week?





Simply Sweet Sunday



My Simply Sweet Sunday






I love this picture of my boys working together decorating Grandma's Christmas tree. It is peaceful and my simply sweet Sunday photo. I love seeing them work together and doing it nicely. What's your Sweet Sunday Moment of the week?