The 6th Invitation and a Science Fair

Hard to believe I have done six of these...

I had planned to make a tri-fold with a slip cover, then I found these wedding invites at Target.  Glitter was the key and would save me tons of time I didn't have.  It is officially official...we are having a Barbie party.

This past week, Amelia and her classmate participated in the school's science fair.

Hello science...here we come.

This was pretty much done in a day or two.  After the kids came up with the experiment they wanted with mom's putting their 2 cents in, we had a playdate to conducted the experiment.  It was tough to decide...play or experiment.  Since the experiment involved water and  a few toys, they agreed to focus their attention on the task at hand.

 

The mad scientists...

There were math games to play as well..

This one was with her teacher and by the looks of it she still doesn't like to lose...even if it is with Mrs. Madill.

I would not trust this face.  Where there is a cheat...there is a way.

In the end, Amelia won with no cheating.  And I think Mom and Dad are the only ones she is a sore loser with. :)

And a guesstamation table...I am sure we did not win. 

Then gawking at other science experiments like these girl's lava lamps with glitter (Amelia's favorite).

We picked up a couple of science books on our way out and called that a successful night!  Until next year :)

Next...Aloha...and the master bath project has begun.  Goodbye carpet, 80's tiles and 10ft mirror...I will not miss you at all.

before: 

after might be awhile :)  Stay tuned...

Valentine's Day and Beyond

It was a very relaxing Valentine's Day.

The heart box is a build a bear box that housed How to Train Your Dragon, Stormfly.  I painted and stickered it quick, with the thinking it might throw her off the Build a Bear scent when she sees their familiar box :)  Will add a few more accents and paint touchups to go with the other two I have made that she uses as fairy houses.

Yep...very relaxing....

We built legos and read to Stormfly...

and colored on our new Color Alive coloring book.  You color the pictures...download the app and watch them come to life. This we did for hours.

Next day ... was all but leisurely.  It was President's Day and off from school.  What better way to spend it then skating, bowling and pizza.  We did have dance that afternoon too...she was exhausted by 6 o'clock.  And somewhere on the far right side of that mountain in the center (Mt. Baldy)...is our house :)

We met our friends Talliah and Uriah and their Mom, Dad and Grandma Renee (our neighbor) down at the community skating rink that was pretty much covered with ice shavings...

 Renee and I watched all the kids (big and small) from the sidelines.



Next...bowling...then headed to Pizza hut for their buffet for refueling. 

The following day we had school but headed to friend Sadie's house to work on their science fair project they are doing together...

It is entitled ... "Sink or Float" :)

This pretty much tells you what happened...but more to come on that. 

Since this week is full of 1/2 days and days off... we moved our skating lesson time.  I figured it might be less a less crowded time, so I brought the Nikon.  Only a hand full of skaters...lucky me.

We switched to semi-private lesson with instructor Malia...and wow couldn't be happier.  Amelia got out of the car before her class and said "Mom, skating and dancing are my thing".  Fantastic.

 Having Malia as a teacher helps with that statement.

Working feverishly on invites and hope to have them done for next weeks post!

Won't You Be My Valentine Part B

Our Valentines are all done and waiting to be delivered on Friday for their Valentine's Day Party.  

I found the cutest vintage Valentine's at a favorite local gift shop, but found them on Amazon too.    I couldn't resist. 

   

I had Amelia do all the names on the actual valentine and then sign her name.  Two to three a day for about 2 weeks.  If I had waited and had her do the full list ... she would have been sobbing after 5.  This way she took her time and concentrated and picked out the perfect valentine for each of her classmates...it was quite fun.   I put them in the envelopes and wrote their names (once again).  Then we assembled goody bags.

Since it's been a few years (cough, cough) since I did a class valentine swap.  I asked her teacher on protocol.  

They have made big heart envelopes to hold their Valentines so I put all the cards in the large felt pink envelope that I bought at Target (they have the greatest $1 stuff!).  Amelia will go to school with those and fill their envelopes.

 Since I am coming into help for the party I will bring the goody bags to hand out as they are leaving.  There are no names on them ... just solid pink bag for girl ... striped for boy.  This way teachers don't have to hand out specific goodies for 21 kids.  They have her Love, Amelia tag tied on too with the glittery clip attached to that.  I hadn't finished them in time for this photo :)  I bought the lip balm after Christmas super cheap, the animal erasers form the $1 target bins (set of 4), pencil valentines and baggies from last years Valentine clearance.  Cute and inexpensive if you plan ahead.

Of course, her teacher and teacher's assistant needed gifts too.

Since I am not sick of the oil pen on porcelain quite yet...

Amelia did the drawing and I wrote on the back.  Put in cold oven, bake 30 minutes at 350 and let cool completely in oven...and you have a beautiful ...

Candle holder!   My mother in law had these candles in a wooden "candle holder" that her husband made her and I have admired it with every visit.  This Christmas...he made me one with these beautiful LED candles! When lit they look like the real things .. flickers and all.  Will post a pic in next post if I remember.  I thought this would be a great idea for teacher gifts.  Found the dishes ($2 each) and the candles ($8 each) at my local Fred Meyer.  The candles have a little bit of gold glitter toward the bottom...perfect for Valentine's Day.

Besides the candle and holder, they each got a few goodies too (teachers need cute lip balm, pencils and erasers).  They received some special chocolates and one of those vintage Valentines  as well :)

I looked at paper gift bags and found the ones large enough to hold the candle and goodies were up to $5 each!  I thought I'd check the plastic tote section and found the black/white/pink chevron bag for less than $1!  AND they can reuse these for all kinds of things! Luckily I thought REALLY fast and bought a ton of them for her upcoming Barbie party, where each of her guests will get one when they arrive at our Barbie shop :)  I have lots to do on that!  Stay tuned.

Next...Valentine's Day.

Won't You Be My Valentine's Part A

Made our tags for all our Dance, School and Teacher Valentines :)

Since Dance class is Monday...we made theirs first.

I had made Amelia a bag to hold her ballet slippers and had left over material, so made each of her dance buddies one as well.

Should have ironed them before I took the pics!  

Would have made all the same, but didn't have enough of one material.   Again, this is like tying a shoelace for someone who can actually sew, but for me it was something I figured I could do pretty simply.  Think they turned out ok, but like always...never look TOO close!

We filled them all with goodies ...

ready to go for Monday's class!  

Since some of the girls in dance she also goes to school and skating with, I had to be careful not to have the same goody bag for both.  Luckily there are only 5 in dance.

Next Saturday we will bring her skating instructor hers as well...

Her teacher is young and in college, so tried to include fun things she would love :)  Found the skating ornament at a local shop here and bought Amelia one too.

Finished up our Valentine cards for family too...they are all out in the mail.

Next time...class and teacher gifts!