Hi everyone, today I have some BIG news to share with you! I have started a new blog called  32turns!!   I am so extremely excited about my new site and have been blogging there on a consistent and regular (pretty much every day) basis for the last few weeks! I know I have been super less than consistent about new content on She Made it and for that I apologize!

But let me make it up to you by having you come visit me at my new home.

 

32 turns, is a lifestyle/craft blog where I share easy crafts, ideas for the holidays, great and simple recipes, and things to make your life easier, and more organized. Plus I share bits about me and my life because that is how friendships work. I will share me with you, and hopefully you will come and visit often and comment and let me get to know you better. 

Here is a taste of some of the things you will find over at 32 turns:

I love blogging, and since I have done a rotten job of keeping up with it on this site, I just wanted a fresh start and a clean slate. But don’t fear, I am not abandoning you, I am still going to be blogging here at She Made it, I promise at least a few times a month. I love She Made it, it was my first blogging endeavor and it means a lot to me. But again I am GIDDY with excitement about 32turns! 

Come and take a peek!

Last night the blog mixer at Downeast Basics was really a lot of fun! I  ended up buying 2 items; one that was on my pre-shopping list, and one that was not. Surprise that my time spent pre-shopping online

paid off! Maybe this needs to be a new strategy to spend less and be quicker in the store..hmmmm.

I have been looking for a great pair of jean capris and found some! They sit up a little higher on my waist (who doesn’t like that….it hides more of my mid-section!) and the pockets are cute but not too “blinged” out. I am in my 30’s now, no more blingy bummed pants. Totally ok with me! Aren’t they cute?

This of course is not my behind, I wish!

 

I also bought a lace tee, because let’s face it, they are just super cute over a tee or under a cardigan. Great blue color and I am excited to see what I can find in my closet to pair with it.

It was a super successful evening, lots of great ladies there and the staff, as always, were incredibly nice and helpful.

Me and my friend Jenna from fromeve.blogspot.com

Me and my dear friend T.J.

This is my mom and my littlest sis who is expecting in just a few short weeks. She is adorably pregnant.  I just love both these girls to pieces.They were able to come and shop too which made the night really wonderful!

THANKS Downeast for a FABULOUS evening out!!!!

I am so lucky and tonight I get to head out to a fabulous blog mixer at Downeast Basics! If you don’t know what that is, it is an awesome store with super cute clothes, swim wear and accessories.

We are leaving for Disneyland tomorrow (sqeal!) so I can’t stay long at the mixer shopping as I want to get a goods night sleep tonight so I got on their website and did a little pre-shopping. I think I know what I want and can’t wait to try on a few things! Here are my top picks:

Now the above 2 picks are totally predictable for me. They are super cute but definitely not branching out at all in the way of my normal style choices. Love them but maybe I should be changing it up a bit???

 

I absolutely LOVE the Tandem top and this Maxi Skirt. Both look really fantastic, a little out of my normal style range, but I think that is good. I can’t wait to try them on tonight and see if they work well on me!

 

What do you guys think? Have I made good possible choices? You should go to their website and check out all the great stuff they have. I will definitely let you know what I choose and whether it is my norm or something different!

I know in the past I have posted a tutorial on a chore chart for your kids, but my girls are just getting older (time goes by WAY too fast!!!) And I needed a new chore chart. One that I could use to add extra chores to on a daily basis, or just have basic chores if the day is really busy. My oldest is in kindergarten and I wanted to have a place that she could mark off her school work and her assigned reading each day. I wanted one that was a little more interactive, so that my youngest who is 3 could understand which day’s chores we were working on. I wanted one that I could incorporate an incentive program into.

I was using my chalkboard chore chart (which was great) and just giving the girls a .50 a day for finishing all of their chores. But then I would take them to the store with their money to buy something and they wouldn’t understand how much money they had and what they could buy with it. They always wanted something that was out of their price range and they didn’t understand why. The fits that were happening in the store, oh man! Definitely time for a new system. I decided that instead of money as a reward I wanted to have a family store where they could earn points for chores done and then turn those points into me once a week to “shop” at the family store.

I searched the internet….I searched Pinterest…and I FOUND IT! I have been using this chore chart system in our home for 3 weeks now. (I wanted to make sure it was successful before I blogged about it to you.) It is successful! Yay!

You can find the tutorial and instructions HERE. It took me some time to print out everything, cut it out, laminate it, and then cut it out again. But well worth the effort don’t you think?

The lady who made all these wonderful chore chart graphics did a great job, I did have to make a few of my own just to fit my family exactly.  I pretty much use the system the way she designed it to be used with just a few changes.

It works like this. Every day is a different color. The girls are responsible for doing the chores on their chart in that color each day. If they whine and cry at me about doing their chores, they still have to do the chore they just don’t get a ticket. When a chore is done, they remove the card and place in underneath to show it is completed. At the end of the day they trade me completed chore cards for tickets in the same color. At the end of the week they trade me for shopping privileges. The pink tickets don’t go with a particular day, I use those to reward special behaviors or extra help around the house that doesn’t have to do with a chore. I also take away tickets for bad behavior. 

 

When they have 20 tickets they get to shop in the “ticket box”. This is full of treats, toys and surprises. Mostly from the dollar store, or dollar bins at Target and Michael’s. They think this is awesome, and then I don’t have the money issue!

 

On top of earning tickets the girls can also earn stickers for their rewards card. They earn a sticker for each day that every single one of their chores is completed. After 9 stickers their card is full and they can shop from the “card box”. This box has even better stuff like bigger treats and more expensive toys like little lego sets or polly pocket/princess toys. Or a new toy for the pool, etc. I also added some laminated cards for a play date, ice cream date with Dad or Mom, video game time, etc.

They can also shop from this box with a “Bee-havior card” I give these cards out for VERY special behavior. Like a whole day of awesomeness, or something really big. These are not given out very often, it is kind of a big deal to get one!

So far, this system is working great! The girls think it is a blast to earn tickets and “buy” their own stuff with their tickets. We will see how long it lasts, hopefully a long time! I think this summer I am also going to put into place an independent behavior system. Like a green, yellow, red stoplight program. The girls will be home all day, everyday, and their behavior will need to be monitored (really I mean their ATTITUDES which get huge and scary and sassy!!!! Ahhh!!!)

 

Anyone every use a behavior system????? I would love to hear which one and how it worked for you!!!

 

HERE is my pinterest board for all the chore chart ideas I collected in case you want to check it out!

With General Conference coming up this weekend I of course went on the hunt for some great conference packets for my girls ages 3 and 6. These 2 were my favorite finds of all the packets I searched through. Just though I would share the links with you so you didn’t have to search around!

I made like 10 of these for Christmas 2 years ago for my 2 daughters and for all my nieces and nephews. I am not a proficient sewer by ANY means, I really just sew well enough to get by on simple projects. These were SO easy to make and my girls still use theirs every Sunday.

 

I LOVE the crayon roll-ups for church because it stops those pesky little crayons from falling out of the box or ziploc bag and falling off the pew onto the floor or the row behind you. I know a lot of you can sympathize with being in a skirt/dress and trying to fish around under your seat to find that missing crayon! Ugh! But since my girls have been using these rolls, the crayons STAY PUT and fall onto the floor much less often, which makes the efforts I took to sew these babies totally worth it!!!

 

We have also used these on car trips and it works just as awesomely for all the same reasons! The girls just lay their crayon roll up over their lap and color away, and I find WAY less crayons all over the floor of my vehicle waiting for a hot day to MELT into the mat!

 

I found the tutorial HERE, try it, I promise you will like it!!

These are a few of my favorite things! I LOVE Rice Krispie Treats and Egg shaped goodies and most of all CHOCOLATE!

Pin It

When they meet up all together in the same goodie, lets just say YUM!

Want to make some, here’s how:

First make up some Rice Krispie Treats.

Use greased hands to shape eggs, or press the cereal mixture into flip top eggs sprayed with cooking spray.

Place eggs onto wax paper to cool.

In a saucepan melt 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips and 5 Tablespoons of shortening. You can use semi-sweet chocolate chips or milk chocolate. I like the milk chocolate ones, they are SWEETER!

Stir the chocolate mixture over medium-low heat until smooth.

Pick up your egg and dip the bottom portion into the chocolate. Yum!

If you want you can then roll the chocolate covered portion of the egg in sprinkles, small candies, or anything else you want.

Now, not only is your egg yummy, but adorably cute as well! I made these last year for Easter and they were a big hit. My kids had fun helping me make them and we all had fun eating them. We will definitely be making them again this year!

Hey all! I know I haven’t blogged since Christmas! YIKES! Where does the time go?? Seriously, how does it fly by so fast. I have actually had these Valentine’s Day decorations up since mid January and I am just now posting them for you. Lame me, I know! Hope you enjoy them!

The top of  my piano is the only place in the house that the decorations change for every season. It makes it fun for all my piano students! Plus then there are always treats and candies on the piano for me to bribe them with!

 

I LOVE apothecary jars, they are so pretty and fun. I like the challenge of coming up with different things to fill them with for every season.

 

I painted the “Be Mine” sign and the birdhouse. The columns I made myself and I top them with different cutie things whenever I change out my décor. To see the post on how to make your own columns go HERE.

 

Happy Valentines Day Everyone! Go Love someone!

DIY Ballerina Themed Party

Does your little girl love crafts and all things pink? A ballerina themed party will put a smile on her face all day and can be rather simple and fun for moms to organize!

 

For the party, have the girls arrive in tutus or have a few extras on hand for them to borrow. You can easily find inexpensive ones or you can reach out to friends and family in order to borrow some. Begin their day as ballerinas with a princess tea. Serve cheese and crackers, muffins, an assortment of fruit, and accompany your snacks with juice and sweet tea.

After the little ballerinas have had their yummy princess brunch, put on some music and have them dance about in their tutus. If possible, have the girls look at themselves in a mirror as a few moms direct them in twirls and pliés!

 

Choose pink for the standout color of the affair but pair it with a soft blue or yellow. Be smart and crafty by decorating with pretty pieces you already own, like gauzy curtains or a delicate tablecloth. A fun activity that will add to the décor of the party is for the girls to draw themselves as ballerinas and have them hang their finished work of art around the party area.

After the girls have had a good bit of activity, have them sit properly in their chairs like good ballerinas and serve them a homemade cake fit for princesses. This easy party will be a favorite memory of yours and of your precious ballerinas!

 

About the Author: Lisa is a guest post writer who specializes in crafty, DIY activities for children and parents, particularly with Mario Bros party supplies.

Merry Christmas to all my blogging friends out there! You are all wonderful, have a fantastic day full of family and friends.