Brownie Friendship Fun

This bracelet was not only fun to make but will be treasured for years to come. We went to our co-op art teacher, Miss Juli's studio to finish our Art to Wear Try it. Juli, being the mom of scouts, understands trying to kill two birds with one stone. So it came as no surprise when she incorporated this requirement and also took care of one for Friends Are Fun.

We started by taking string and learning to tie a square knot. The girls did better than I did. It is simple but a little tricky to keep track of if I need to tie left or right! After that was mastered we were given this beautiful ribbon which we did our square knots on above and below a center ribbon. This was to become our bracelet. We kept tying our knots until we had made a long enough ribbon to tie around our wrist.

Next we drew a picture or design on plastic shrinky dink material. We duplicated our drawing 8 times, one for each of our Brownie friends. While these were in the oven baking we headed out to Juli's fun zip line to do some zipping around. FUN!

We returned and lined up with bracelets on to receive a charm from each of our Brownie friends. Miss Juli attached the charm and we shared with each other why we had drawn the picture we chose. Lindy drew her a puppy to represent her favorite stuffed puppy. Lily made a beach ball to represent how much she loves playing in the summer. AnnMarie loves butterflies so she made a butterfly. Mary and Claire have much love to give so they created hearts full of love. Laura made a kitty in honor of her newest family member additions, Princess and Tiger. Mackenzie made a sunshine for summer fun and her sunny smile! Paige wrote her name in a decorative way so everyone will know that charm is from her. How incredibly special to wear this bracelet and think of all of your Brownie friends and their favorite things.




Four knot practice tying.

Ribbon tying our bracelets.

AnnMarie and Paige model their bracelets before charm attachment!

Lily's beachball drawings.

Paige, my little graphic designer.

Lily and Mackenzie chatting and drawing.

Mary loves art so she was very happy coloring away.

AnnMarie zipping!



Paige

Charms, charms, and more charms. They turned out so cute!

Miss Juli attaches our charms to our bracelets.

Lindy tells the troop about her puppy charm.



What a great bunch of girls. They have formed great friendships that they will remember always.

Thank you so much Miss Juli for a fun afternoon! We all love our bracelets.

Nature Boats

Fun nature findings to build with.

How cool is this pile of nature gems! Sticks, petals, leaves, dried grasses, and bark. Throw in a little glue and some craft feathers and cork and we were ready to build our nature boats. All the kids had a blast. There were some very creative boats and little boat people. Next week we will see how they do in the water but until then they make pretty spring decorations.

Thanks Jenny for getting this together. We are looking forward to next week's sailing event!

Paige and Ethan were really getting into their construction.

Paige and her finished boat.



Lindy my little glue loving girl, looks way too excited to have 5 bottles of craft glue within her reach.

So nice to see Ethan getting into a project.

Erin also worked really hard and loved using the flowers.

So That's Where I Get it From!

Paige's card

This is Paige's birthday card for Erin. We both had made cards and went to share them with each other. Paige cut all her paper pieces and created a picture of Erin. Imagine my surprise to see that we had the same scrappy-crafty idea. These girls are constantly creating such cute little projects. I think I know where I get it from! They are always a source of inspiration. This little cupcake also came from Paper Crafts.

Lindy made Erin these itty bitty paper dolls that she wrapped up in this little tin. They each came with their own purse. She loves to make tiny things out of paper and any kind of craft material. They are super cute!

My card:

Lindy's itty bitty paper dolls.

Pray for Kayleigh

I stumbled on this little baby's family blog about her journey since birth as a one pound premature baby. She is now 10 months old and not doing well. She has never left the NICU. My own kids have become attached to her story and progress. Her family is having many challenges not only with her severe health issues but with the financial strain. To say they are having extraordinary circumstances is not saying enough.

If you have time to click on the button on the sidebar, read her story. If you can, GIVE. We are all so blessed with so much materially and with the health of our children. Having worked as a nurse I have seen so many horrible things happen to people and this is one of those situations. Take a minute and read their story and be thankful for everything we have. Most importantly PRAY for Kayleigh and her family, they need every prayer they can get.

From all the Millers

One Very Happy Birthday Girl

The first candle of the day.

What a wonderful way to turn 4! Erin woke up early, about 7, Paige and I were already waiting for her. She had selected these chocolate donuts the day before at the grocery store and thought they would be better if she had a candle in one. She mentioned this before she went to bed so Paige helped me get a special plate and candle together and we then sang a quiet round of Happy Birthday to our little cupcake!

She then put on her new dress from Mimi and off we went to church. In the effort to make sure she ingested as much sugar as possible on her big day, she took mini cupcakes to share. I made every effort to try to provide something healthy at 9:15 in the morning but she was not interested and it was her day!

After church we met up with Bill and Kyle post camping trip for presents. She loved everything but the moment we were all waiting for was her new bike. She was so very excited that we went on a test drive before lunch at Bob "Ebans" where her favorite macaroni awaited her!

Her guests began to arrive for an evening of pizza, cake, and presents. She loved every one of her gifts! She was most tickeled with having everyone she loves there to celebrate with her.

Thank you everyone I love you ~ Erin

Her rocking chair I made for her first birthday and we have used it as a measuring stick for the last few years. I am happy to report that her feet now touch the ground! Yea!

Bike unveiling and test driving. Her siblings were SO excited for her. It was wonderful to see such joy.

Bob "Ebans" Rocks!

Crashing in the car!

Aunt Whitney and Uncle BJ got Erin this adorable dance skirt.



This sleeping bag came complete with a pillow and her name on it, it too needed a test drive,

No party is complete without one meltdown! Erin decided to get this out of the way before dinner. Then it was on to cake, icecream ,and pictures. Really what more could a 4 year old ask for. Happy Birthday sweet girl, we love you!

Homemade Birthday Banner

Another project I have been working on is a birthday banner that I saw in Paper Crafts magazine. I loved the ice cream cones! I was planning to use a die cut machine at the local scrapbook store but never made it over to get it done in time. Since I have my great precision scissors, I thought I could tackle it myself. Yes, die cutting would have saved time but I enjoyed every minute I worked on this so I am not complaining.

This banner is not just for Erin but to use for the entire family for their birthdays. Based on the response when everyone saw it today I think they will love having it up on their special day. Here are some peaks!