What if you could capture and save a tiny piece of each day, a small memory from each day in the year, a clip of the everyday and mundane, to the fun and exciting, to the small moments of you and your family interacting together? Wouldn't something like that be priceless years down the road?
My brother Tyler just shared a video he made that I think is brilliant, that I just had to share with you! He started in the middle of 2013, but took a one second clip of video every day and put it all together to make a three minute montage of half a year of vacations, work, playing, hugs, toys, and more. Check it out!
2013 - One second a day from Tyler Little on Vimeo.
After seeing this, I resolved to start filming one second a day of my life and family, too. A very cool tradition and way to document your year that is easy and hardly requires any effort at all. My brother used his Go Pro, his Nikon D90, his Nikon D600, and his iPhone to shoot his, but I think I'll start simple with my iPhone, since I always have it with me.
I just found an app called 1 Second Every Day that makes this easy that I'm going try.
So what do you think? Is this something you would like to start with your family? You could do this anytime and end up with great results, but since it's the beginning of a new year, it's the perfect time to start!
Do you have a great way that you document your family's lives throughout the year? I'd love to hear about it!
If you liked this project, please follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin', and Instagram.
xo, Laura
Showing posts with label Memories. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Memories. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Great Summer Ideas Roundup
With summer vacation quickly approaching, I've been on the lookout for fun ideas to keep my kids busy and to keep them from getting bored during those two months without school. Pinterest didn't let me down, and I have found some great ideas to keep my kids active and having fun this summer... check them out!
Headed to the beach this summer? Hani of Craftionary linked to 22 beach activities for kids that my kids are going to love doing!
Mique from Thirty Handmade Days put together a list of 25+ summer kids activities, including a fun road trip printable that I'll be using!
Valerie of Inner Child Fun compiled 20 favorite summer activities she loves doing with her kids that are inexpensive, easy, and a whole lot of fun!
Crystal from A Jeweled Rose compiled a great list of 30+ summer science activities that I know my kids are going to love. The mixing potions and fun with volcanoes links look especially good!
A couple weeks ago I shared with you 6 free summer reading programs that are available for kids to keep them reading, as well as earning prizes and rewards!
Hopefully this list will help you get started planning for the next few months when the kiddos are out from school!
xo, Laura
If you liked this project, please follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin', and Instagram.
Headed to the beach this summer? Hani of Craftionary linked to 22 beach activities for kids that my kids are going to love doing!
Crystal from A Jeweled Rose compiled a great list of 30+ summer science activities that I know my kids are going to love. The mixing potions and fun with volcanoes links look especially good!
A couple weeks ago I shared with you 6 free summer reading programs that are available for kids to keep them reading, as well as earning prizes and rewards!
Hopefully this list will help you get started planning for the next few months when the kiddos are out from school!
xo, Laura
If you liked this project, please follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin', and Instagram.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
How To Organize Your Childrens' Art and Schoolwork
As the end of the school year approaches, moms everywhere are bracing themselves for the mountains of art, school papers, and awards that their children will inevitably bring home. Neat and organized spaces become home to cluttered piles of papers that represent a year's worth of work to your children that they are not willing to part with.
Supplies:
First, you need a place to hold and store the papers. These papers might include artwork, school papers, awards, invitations, letters, ribbons, doodles, letters, etc.- anything that is important to you and your child will be stored here temporarily.
Here are a few examples of some things that I have kept over the years...
Self portraits made by my kiddos...
Cute little doodles...
A letter to Santa that my daughter wrote when she was starting to not believe...
Special awards that my kids have received...
Memorabilia. Embossed metallic handprints that I created for my kids in 2007...
Diary Entries for important events, like the birth of our son...
To temporarily collect and store the art, I use metal magazine holders, and I have one labeled for each of my children, and one for my husband and I. As my children bring home work, we decide together if it's something that we should keep or throw away. We keep their best work, special awards, my homemade birthday party invitations, letters to Santa and the Easter Bunny (make copies so they're not suspicious), special cards or letters, etc.
Again, anything that is your child's best work or is meaningful to them and/or you. It's also nice to just keep a sample here and there of their work to see the progress they make throughout the year.
As the art and memorabilia come in throughout the year, be sure to date them (if there is no date on it already). I like to write the date and how old my child is, usually on the back of the paper so it's not taking away from the art or work.
Step 2- Label & Organize
Label your tabbed sheet protectors. I labeled mine like this for each child:
If you liked this project, please follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin', and Instagram.
Sound familiar? I truly used to dread all of the papers that came home at the end of the year. It was bittersweet, because I love looking through my kids' schoolwork and art, and yet I can't stand clutter and piles. What's a mom to do?
I came up with an easy way of storing and organizing my kids art and schoolwork that is fast, fun to look through, and easy to keep up with and store.
It's very similar to the method that I use to organize my ripped out magazine pages. It's very straightforward and simple, and yet has made such a difference in keeping my kids' papers and artwork at bay!
It's very similar to the method that I use to organize my ripped out magazine pages. It's very straightforward and simple, and yet has made such a difference in keeping my kids' papers and artwork at bay!
Supplies:
- Binder
- Tabbed Sheet Protectors
- Regular Sheet Protectors
- Magazine holder, storage box, or another holder to store artwork
Step 1- Collect & Store
First, you need a place to hold and store the papers. These papers might include artwork, school papers, awards, invitations, letters, ribbons, doodles, letters, etc.- anything that is important to you and your child will be stored here temporarily.
Here are a few examples of some things that I have kept over the years...
Self portraits made by my kiddos...
Cute little doodles...
A letter to Santa that my daughter wrote when she was starting to not believe...
Special awards that my kids have received...
Some of my daughter's first faces that she drew when she was three- the bottom right one is Charlie from "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." Love. See how I fit four small pictures onto one page?
Favorite pieces of art...
Diary Entries for important events, like the birth of our son...
To temporarily collect and store the art, I use metal magazine holders, and I have one labeled for each of my children, and one for my husband and I. As my children bring home work, we decide together if it's something that we should keep or throw away. We keep their best work, special awards, my homemade birthday party invitations, letters to Santa and the Easter Bunny (make copies so they're not suspicious), special cards or letters, etc.
Again, anything that is your child's best work or is meaningful to them and/or you. It's also nice to just keep a sample here and there of their work to see the progress they make throughout the year.
As the art and memorabilia come in throughout the year, be sure to date them (if there is no date on it already). I like to write the date and how old my child is, usually on the back of the paper so it's not taking away from the art or work.
Step 2- Label & Organize
Label your tabbed sheet protectors. I labeled mine like this for each child:
- Birth-Preschool (or EAK or Kindergarten)
- Preschool (or EAK)
- Kindergarten
- 1st Grade
- 2nd Grade
- 3rd Grade
- 4th Grade
- 5th Grade
Etc... My oldest is in 5th grade, so that's as far as my binder goes ;)
I used Avery Protect 'n Tab Tabbed Sheet Protectors to label each of the different sections. These tabbed sheet protectors are perfect because the tabs stick out past the other sheet protectors so that you can still see them when your binder is put together. I bought mine on Amazon, after searching high and low for something like them at all my nearby office supply stores.
These Avery labels are printable, but I just used my trusty label maker to make small labels that I stuck onto each tab- they fit perfectly!
I also used some Avery Martha Stewart sheet protectors I bought at Staples that have pockets that hold 4 photos. Although I keep separate scrapbooks, I like to add the 4 photos behind each divider, so we can remember what each child looked like when they made their art.
I also used some Avery Martha Stewart sheet protectors I bought at Staples that have pockets that hold 4 photos. Although I keep separate scrapbooks, I like to add the 4 photos behind each divider, so we can remember what each child looked like when they made their art.
Step 3- Add the Art & Papers
Place the artwork, school papers, awards, etc. into sheet protectors. This is a great time to edit the work that has been sitting in the magazine holder. Since you can't keep everything, decide if it really is worth keeping, and then either toss it or proceed. I typically fit one page into each side of the sheet protector, but if there is a stapled booklet that I want to keep, I'll just stick the whole thing inside.
Sometimes a favorite piece of artwork may be too big to fit into a sheet protector, like my son's Cat in the Hat picture. In that case, I will trim it down to fit, or I will cut it in half, and place one half on one side of the binder, and the other half right next to it, so you can still see the whole picture.
I like to keep special little notes and doodles that my kids write and draw, so when they are smaller, I just use an archival glue stick to adhere them to a piece of archival card stock. That way I can save on space and fit a few different things onto one page.
Keep up with it and enjoy it!
Once the binder is initially created, it is really easy (and neat) to keep up! Just slide the work right into the binder as it comes home, and you're good to go! My kids LOVE to look through their binders and reminisce about their art and work. It's a great way to point out to your kids how much they have grown and progressed.
I love this method because it is so easy to keep up and keeps all of the papers nice and neat and organized chronologically. And I love that I can still keep much of my kids' and my favorite work of theirs without feeling guilty because there are no messy piles!
So what do you think? Do you struggle with what/how much of your kids' work to keep, or how to keep it organized? Will you be giving this method a try? Leave me a comment and let me know!
And do you love to keep ideas, recipes, or inspiration pages that you rip out of a magazine? Check out how I keep my magazine pages nice and neat and organized.
I hope this helps you to get and stay organized! It sure has helped me :)
If you liked this project, please follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin', and Instagram.
xo, Laura
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
DIY Metallic Handprints
I am so excited to share with you this idea that I came up with a few years ago. I have never ever ever seen this done, which makes it even more exciting!
This is probably one of the easiest tutorials on my site, and yet is one of the most special and memorable gifts I can think of to give to a family member, or even keep for yourself. It is so easy, so fast, and yet so precious and sweet at the same time.
And for all you procrastinators, this would make an easy and very inexpensive Mother's Day gift for you or your kids' grandmas! You could even "borrow" your sister's, sister-in-law's, cousin's, or friend's kids for a few minutes and secretly make these for their mama, without mom even knowing! Perfect, right? And there's absolutely no paint involved.
Have I got you on the edge of your seat yet?!
Embossing powder. And a clear ink pad.
Here's what you'll need to make these sweet little prints:
Not pictured: a canvas, paper, or block of wood. I bought a 3 pack of thin canvases at Walmart for around $3.50. Super cheap. I bought all the rest of the supplies over the years at Michaels.
The embossing heat tool is necessary, and no, you can't use a bow drier instead. A blow drier will blow the powder right off your canvas, but the embossing tool shoots out less air but a lot of heat. If you have a friend who scrapbooks or stamps, maybe you could borrow theirs ;)
I used sterling silver embossing powder, but any metallic will do, or even non-metallic. You can buy embossing powder in tons of colors at Michaels or Joanns for cheap.
The VersaMark Watermark stamp pad is a must, too. It's great because it's clear, so it doesn't make a big mess! You can use any small paintbrush for this project.
Directions:
Step 1: Decide if you want a plain white canvas or a colored one. If you want it colored, you'll need to paint it. I just spray painted mine with some Krylon spray paint I had on hand that I used for these DIY Party Serving Dishes, and it was dry and ready to go in just a few minutes.
Step 2: Practice with your child where their hand will go on the canvas, show them how far apart you want their fingers, and practice pressing down their hand.
Press the ink pad onto your child's hand, making sure to ink the whole palm, and the entire length of the fingers. The ink is clear, so be sure to be thorough. Carefully press your child's hand onto the canvas. Have them hold their hand still while you press down on the palm, and then each finger, to make sure that they are leaving a print on the canvas. Carefully lift up their hand. Repeat with the other hand.
Step 3: While your child washes their hands, generously sprinkle the metallic embossing powder over the handprints. I use almost the whole bottle each time, because I want to make sure that I get a nice dark print, and that the whole print gets covered. Don't worry, you can make tons of handprints out of just one bottle! Gently shake off the excess powder onto a piece of paper, and funnel the powder back into the bottle.
Step 4: Use the paintbrush to carefully brush off any excess powder off of the canvas. This is important, because once you heat up the canvas, you won't be able to remove any extra little pieces of powder, and they will be stuck on your canvas forever.
Step 5: Now for the fun part! Turn on the heat tool, and hold it above the handprints, focusing on one spot at a time. Watch in amazement as the powder begins to melt together and raise up off the paper into a beautiful metallic masterpiece! Be sure to heat all areas of the handprints until they are raised and shiny and metallic. You can frame the canvas (or paper or wood), or just leave it as is. It looks great either way!
Aren't they lovely? Those are my daughter' hands on the purple, and my cute son's hands on the blue...
The prefect treasure for you, or the perfect gift to give to a family member!! Don't forget Mother's Day is this Sunday! ;)
Another great gift idea is this Easy DIY Wood Mounted Photograph that only cost me less than $5 each!
Or why not pamper mom with this easy Lemon and Rosemary Scrub?!
Or this Rosemary and Mint Sugar Scrub?
You can also make your own custom stamp to stamp a tag or card for mom (or grandma) too! So easy your kids can even do it!
Enjoy!
If you liked this project, please follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin', and Instagram.
xo, Laura
Linking Up Here: Lolly Jane, Sugar Bee Crafts,
This is probably one of the easiest tutorials on my site, and yet is one of the most special and memorable gifts I can think of to give to a family member, or even keep for yourself. It is so easy, so fast, and yet so precious and sweet at the same time.
And for all you procrastinators, this would make an easy and very inexpensive Mother's Day gift for you or your kids' grandmas! You could even "borrow" your sister's, sister-in-law's, cousin's, or friend's kids for a few minutes and secretly make these for their mama, without mom even knowing! Perfect, right? And there's absolutely no paint involved.
Have I got you on the edge of your seat yet?!
Metallic handprints! Shiny, upraised, silver metallic hand prints.
Want to know my secret ingredient?
Embossing powder. And a clear ink pad.
Here's what you'll need to make these sweet little prints:
Not pictured: a canvas, paper, or block of wood. I bought a 3 pack of thin canvases at Walmart for around $3.50. Super cheap. I bought all the rest of the supplies over the years at Michaels.
The embossing heat tool is necessary, and no, you can't use a bow drier instead. A blow drier will blow the powder right off your canvas, but the embossing tool shoots out less air but a lot of heat. If you have a friend who scrapbooks or stamps, maybe you could borrow theirs ;)
I used sterling silver embossing powder, but any metallic will do, or even non-metallic. You can buy embossing powder in tons of colors at Michaels or Joanns for cheap.
The VersaMark Watermark stamp pad is a must, too. It's great because it's clear, so it doesn't make a big mess! You can use any small paintbrush for this project.
Directions:
Step 1: Decide if you want a plain white canvas or a colored one. If you want it colored, you'll need to paint it. I just spray painted mine with some Krylon spray paint I had on hand that I used for these DIY Party Serving Dishes, and it was dry and ready to go in just a few minutes.
Step 2: Practice with your child where their hand will go on the canvas, show them how far apart you want their fingers, and practice pressing down their hand.
Press the ink pad onto your child's hand, making sure to ink the whole palm, and the entire length of the fingers. The ink is clear, so be sure to be thorough. Carefully press your child's hand onto the canvas. Have them hold their hand still while you press down on the palm, and then each finger, to make sure that they are leaving a print on the canvas. Carefully lift up their hand. Repeat with the other hand.
Step 3: While your child washes their hands, generously sprinkle the metallic embossing powder over the handprints. I use almost the whole bottle each time, because I want to make sure that I get a nice dark print, and that the whole print gets covered. Don't worry, you can make tons of handprints out of just one bottle! Gently shake off the excess powder onto a piece of paper, and funnel the powder back into the bottle.
Step 4: Use the paintbrush to carefully brush off any excess powder off of the canvas. This is important, because once you heat up the canvas, you won't be able to remove any extra little pieces of powder, and they will be stuck on your canvas forever.
Step 5: Now for the fun part! Turn on the heat tool, and hold it above the handprints, focusing on one spot at a time. Watch in amazement as the powder begins to melt together and raise up off the paper into a beautiful metallic masterpiece! Be sure to heat all areas of the handprints until they are raised and shiny and metallic. You can frame the canvas (or paper or wood), or just leave it as is. It looks great either way!
Aren't they lovely? Those are my daughter' hands on the purple, and my cute son's hands on the blue...
The prefect treasure for you, or the perfect gift to give to a family member!! Don't forget Mother's Day is this Sunday! ;)
Another great gift idea is this Easy DIY Wood Mounted Photograph that only cost me less than $5 each!
Or why not pamper mom with this easy Lemon and Rosemary Scrub?!
Or this Rosemary and Mint Sugar Scrub?
You can also make your own custom stamp to stamp a tag or card for mom (or grandma) too! So easy your kids can even do it!
Enjoy!
If you liked this project, please follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin', and Instagram.
xo, Laura
Linking Up Here: Lolly Jane, Sugar Bee Crafts,
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Easy DIY Wood Mounted Photograph (and a Giveaway!)
I am so excited to share this project with you today! This DIY wood mounted photograph is extremely easy, very cheap, is beautiful to display in your home, and makes the perfect gift. I am also thrilled to be hosting an amazing giveaway, so stay tuned to the end of this post to find out the details, and how you can enter.
****************************** Giveaway is now closed *******************************
I made one of these wood mounted photographs for my mom's birthday gift a few weeks ago with our family photo on it, and she couldn't believe that I made it. It truly is one of my favorite projects. The finished surface of the photograph ends up looking almost like a canvas, and the end result looks very high end. And with Christmas in the near future, this would make a wonderful and inexpensive gift for your family or friends. I originally saw this idea at Mommy Models.
So let's begin! Here are the supplies that you will need:
I had these 12"x12" photos printed at Costco for only $2.99 each.
First you need to sand the edges of the wood board, just to smooth it down a little.
Then paint the sides of your board. I painted two coats. If you are giving this as a gift, I would recommend painting the back too. If you are keeping it for yourself, you can either paint the back or leave it unpainted, since it will probably be hung on the wall or set on a shelf where the back won't be seen. I think that a woodstain would look really nice, too. I think I'll try that next time.
Next comes the scary part! Brush on a layer of Mod Podge on top of your photo. It will look like you ruined it, and you'll be wondering if you messed it up, but it will be okay! The Mod Podge dries clear, and will look fine after a few minutes.
I used horizontal brush strokes for the first layer, and once that dried, I brushed on a second layer using vertical brush strokes. This gave it a canvas-y look that I liked. Just make sure you use full brush strokes straight across, to make it smooth. Once the top dries, brush the sides with Mod Podge too.
If you would like to see more of Tyler's beautiful photos, you can see them here.
Here are the giveaway rules:
1. You MUST be a local San Diego resident to win the giveaway. Anyone may comment, but only a local commenter can win. If the chosen winner is not local, another winner will be chosen. Winner will be chosen at random, and will receive a one hour local San Diego photo shoot with photographer Tyler Little, and will receive a disc of high-resolution edited images.
2. To enter, please leave a comment below.
3. To earn a second entry, like Make Life Lovely on Facebook. Leave a separate comment telling me that you liked Make Life Lovely on Facebook.
4. To earn a third entry, enter your email address in the sidebar to alert you when there is a new post. Leave a separate comment telling me that you signed up to receive email alerts.
5. This giveaway will close at midnight on Saturday, November 10, 2012. The winner will be announced on Monday, November 12, 2012.
Good luck!!!
If you liked this project, please follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin', and Instagram.
****************************** Giveaway is now closed *******************************
I made one of these wood mounted photographs for my mom's birthday gift a few weeks ago with our family photo on it, and she couldn't believe that I made it. It truly is one of my favorite projects. The finished surface of the photograph ends up looking almost like a canvas, and the end result looks very high end. And with Christmas in the near future, this would make a wonderful and inexpensive gift for your family or friends. I originally saw this idea at Mommy Models.
So let's begin! Here are the supplies that you will need:
I had these 12"x12" photos printed at Costco for only $2.99 each.
I bought a wood board that was 12"x 60"at Lowe's that only cost $7.77. I had someone there cut the board for me into 5 equal pieces, so that I ended up with 5 boards for 5 different photographs. So it ended up costing me less than $5 per photo board, which is a great price!
You can use any color of paint that you like. The color you choose will be what is painted on the edges of the wood, so make sure to pick a color that complements your photo.
First you need to sand the edges of the wood board, just to smooth it down a little.
Then paint the sides of your board. I painted two coats. If you are giving this as a gift, I would recommend painting the back too. If you are keeping it for yourself, you can either paint the back or leave it unpainted, since it will probably be hung on the wall or set on a shelf where the back won't be seen. I think that a woodstain would look really nice, too. I think I'll try that next time.
Next, paint a layer of Mod Podge onto the top of your wood board. Then stick your photo down on the board and smooth it down.
Next comes the scary part! Brush on a layer of Mod Podge on top of your photo. It will look like you ruined it, and you'll be wondering if you messed it up, but it will be okay! The Mod Podge dries clear, and will look fine after a few minutes.
I used horizontal brush strokes for the first layer, and once that dried, I brushed on a second layer using vertical brush strokes. This gave it a canvas-y look that I liked. Just make sure you use full brush strokes straight across, to make it smooth. Once the top dries, brush the sides with Mod Podge too.
Here it is all white with the Mod Podge...
And here are the finished products. Aren't they beautiful? You can see a little bit of the texture on the photographs. This project is so cheap, so easy, is very quick to make, and I hope you will give it a try! If you do make one, or have any questions about this project, be sure to leave a comment below.
If you like this project, you can enter your email address in the sidebar to receive an email when I post a new project. You can also click on the buttons in my sidebar to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, Bloglovin', and Instagram.
Now, on to the giveaway!!!
I am beyond excited to be giving away a one hour photo shoot with photographer Tyler Little, a local San Diego photographer who takes family, wedding, engagement, newborn, and maternity photos.
The winner of this contest will receive a local one hour photo shoot with Tyler, and will receive an edited disc of high-resolution images. This would be the perfect opportunity to get your family Christmas portraits taken!
Here are some examples of Tyler's amazing work.
Here are the giveaway rules:
1. You MUST be a local San Diego resident to win the giveaway. Anyone may comment, but only a local commenter can win. If the chosen winner is not local, another winner will be chosen. Winner will be chosen at random, and will receive a one hour local San Diego photo shoot with photographer Tyler Little, and will receive a disc of high-resolution edited images.
2. To enter, please leave a comment below.
3. To earn a second entry, like Make Life Lovely on Facebook. Leave a separate comment telling me that you liked Make Life Lovely on Facebook.
4. To earn a third entry, enter your email address in the sidebar to alert you when there is a new post. Leave a separate comment telling me that you signed up to receive email alerts.
5. This giveaway will close at midnight on Saturday, November 10, 2012. The winner will be announced on Monday, November 12, 2012.
If you liked this project, please follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin', and Instagram.
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