Cass Life // Valentines Edition

Happy Valentines Day!!!!! I love this holiday! It gets a lot of gruff from people, but I have always loved it. Single or not. I remember being 19 and getting a bouquet of flowers from an anoymous friend, "I am waiting for you! Love, Your Knight and ShiningArmor!" I have always taken 2.14 to show my peeps they are special! I love spoiling Andy, Zion and Zakiyah! Love all around! We made lots of cards this week for the holiday! 

We picked up these cute envelopes at Hobby Lobby and put a foam sticker and sucker in each one. Zion addressed 35 total! She did wonderful! Her little classmates were so excited for the party at church.

I found this free printable here! I loved doing a candy alternative! Plus, I tend to say "lame sauce" and this was a little more positive! Zion colored the tops to put on. We brought these to my friend's daycare to celebrate with her kiddos!

I found this lovely idea on Bonnie's blog! (She is one of my favs) I didn't use sticker paper like it said. I just used paper and double stick tape. My hus loves tea and I thought it would be fun and sweet to surprise him with this! I chose a Hot Spicy Cinnaman Sunset for the flavor // perf for V Day. I also got him so new shoes to spoil him, considering he has been duct taping the bottom of his to not get water in them;)

I got the ladies some adorable Zubel yarn dolls. Mermaid and Ballerina! They have napped already today in Zion's room! 

Zion has been walking around in her night gown for a day now! She got it as a trade in for all the candy she has collected from V Day. I have fun with all the exchanges, but can not handle the whining/negotating for candy. Problem solved…..

Not sure if you checked out my Bathroom Reveal yesterday! I am in heaven when I am in this new favorite room!

 CUTENESS OVERLOAD!!!!!!!! Prepping for a 4th birthday party! Check out my ballerina! Zakiyah and Zion are stoked to celebrate. Five days of Zi/Andy starts tomorrow. Their birthdays are on 2.19! Tinkerbell party is under way…...

This little lady is offically 18 months next week! She is hilarious. Offically, kissing us all the time…..trying to talk. Yells "Mama, DaDa, Zi and Kiyah"! We are chasing after her and keeping her safe. Ha. But, man she knows how to make me laugh! Love her so much.

My dear friends had their first baby girl (third child) this week! Look at her! What a miracle! Her name is Zayda Ever Dawn! She is loved so much by many!!!!!!

 Happy Valentines! Loves to all my THL friends. Thanks for sharing this space with me!


{Link up with Jeanett and Lauren}

DIY PLAYDOUGH for the kiddos in your life

Being a mom is awesome. 

I get to relive my favorite childhood memories.

I get a do over at many amazing things that are for KIDS.

I get to make and create with my little ladies.

This past weekend, we took advantage of the snowy day and made Playdough! It was super fun and messy! I tried two recipes and from here and here. One thing I loved was using JELL-O for the scent/coloring!

The recipe we tweaked:

1 cup of flour

1 cup of water (reviews say to use warm water)

1/8 cup of salt

2 T. of Cream of Tartar

1 T. of cooking oil (I used canola oil)

1 box of JELL-O

food coloring for a extra punch of color

Glitter (my daughter is obsessed with all things sparkly)

and that is it……. we are totally going to be making a rainbow of colors this week! I am going to buy the neon food coloring! 

Mix all of the ingredients in the pot! I let my daughter do all the dumping and stirring! She was soooo PROUD! It is amazing how excited kids get when we involve them on these projects! 

For the glitter- you can use a lot! I let my daughter sprinkle as much as she wanted! 

Once everything is mixed, you will stir the ingredients over medium heat for 5-10 minutes. Make sure that you keep stirring the whole time. It is ready for the next step when it turns into a big clump. You will know when this is happening! Mama needed to help the 3 year old-, it was too heavy to stir! :) 

Here is the first batch after it turned into a ball. Transfer the play dough to a floured surface and allow to cool for a bit. We let it cool for 20 minutes! 

While it was cooling, we started another batch! 

Once the playdough is at a good temputure, you can start kneading the dough to your desired consistency. We added 1/8-1/4 c. of flour to the dough at this point. Use your judgement on what it needs! 

The little lady was not a fan of this part! I took over for her, which I didn't mind at all! 

We are storing our playdough in some rubbermaid plastic containers. I am super happy about how it turned out! 

I will keep you posted on our next batch! 

Happy Monday! Have you been up to any fun DIY activities lately? January in Minnesota is such a great time for craft projects! 

Handmade Christmas Gifts!

I made this lovely canvas the other day, and I am quite pleased with how it turned out! I love making homemade/handmade gifts for the holidays. This art piece only took me a 1/2 hour! The possibilities are endless for ideas when using gold glitter!

Materials needed:

Embroidery Hoop

Duct cloth or fabric

scissors

mod podge or glue

glitter

stencils (for numbers)

I started with stretching the canvas on the hoop. I chose 3 sets of numbers: 05 (wedding anniversary), (10) year of Zion's birth, and (12) year of Zakiyah's birth! I used my stencils that I got at Michaels and put mod podge down with a paint brush. I sprinkled the glitter on and shook the canvas on a magazine to remove the access. Then let the project dry over night! 

I hung this up on our gallery wall on the stairs! I like adding art to the wall to switch it up a bit! 

What do you think? 

"Thankful" Frame A R T

I love the idea of November, being a month of celebrating being THANKFUL! I saw an idea similar to this frame in Better Homes & Gardens magazine, and knew that it would be perfect for our dining room! 

I bought the 18x24 driftwood frame at Hobby Lobby. The cage wire is from Lowes. It is the easiest project for a afternoon (while the girls napped) :) I cut the wire to the according measurements. I was going to staple in the wire but the frame is too narrow for the staples. They were exposed on the front, so I just made it so it would sit perfectly in the frame. I still am going to use a super glue to secure the wire, but for now, I just have it snapped into place.

I hung it up next to a frame in our dining room! So everyday, in the month of November,  i ask Zion what she is thankful for and I write it down on random paper. I clip it on to the wire with mini clothespins. 

I spy a cute 3 year old eating breakfast! :)

I like how it is personal and fits our family's style! It goes well with my lovely farm table too!

I plan to use the frame year round for other fun items too! I am thinking:  Advent, Things we LOVE for valentines, Birthday cards, flash cards etc. It should be fun! Do you have any ideas of what I could use it for? Please share in my comments! I am always up for ideas! It will be fun to have Zakiyah participate next year!

Today, I am thankful for my red robe and coffee! Last night, at bible study, we were discussing the Beautitudes and It is such a good reminder to be thankful for all circumstances. I choose to look at my life from God's perspective. Choosing to be thankful. Choosing to rise to the occasion. Choosing to be a day maker. Choosing to be CONTENT.

(Matthew 5: 3-12)

3 “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.

4 “You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

5 “You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.

6 “You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.

7 “You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.

8 “You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.

9 “You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.

10 “You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.

11-12 “Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don’t like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.

Happy Monday!