Elmer's Painters Paint Markers Canvas Shoes Project #CBias #SocialFabric

  
Sometimes it's fun to relive our best childhood memories through the eyes of our own kids.  I had that chance today!

This afternoon, Lynzie and I took the opportunity to try out Elmer's Painters Paint Markers. Recently, I was thinking back on when I was about her age and how I'd always love to decorate inexpensive canvas shoes from Payless. (We didn't have a Walmart back in those days!) I'd use puffy paints and buttons and make some really cute creations. They'd often end up being too stiff to actually wear, but the fun was in the creating!

I thought Lynzie would have a good time with them too, so I took her to Walmart this afternoon to pick out her supplies. I had been wanting to try out Elmer's Painters Paint Markers, but when I went to look for them in their usual spot, I found that Walmart was clearancing them out.

Luckily, we found some really cute colors on the clearance rack.  Lynzie chose a pack of pastels and an individual gold marker.

When we got to the shoe aisle, we were a little worried because the kind we needed was just about cleared out!  We did, however, find her size!  After that, we shopped for some shoes for Elisha and birthday presents for Liam.  He'll be 2 on Saturday!

When we got home and got all the presents hidden, Lynzie assembled her supplies and got to work.

She removed the laces to get them out of the way, and I primed all of the markers.  I just needed to press each one down on a piece of paper until the paint flowed freely into the tip.  I explained to Lynzie how easy it was to get the paint flowing again if the tip needed a refill. 

She's so creative that she just began and didn't stop until they were adorable.  She even did the laces!

I was really impressed with how quickly the acrylic paint dried and how it didn't affect the flexibility of the shoes at all.  I just think these are the cutest things!  They remind me of Punky Brewster!

Oh yeah, and Mr. Almost Two asked me to include a picture of his foot as well!  Adorable!

To learn more about Elmer's products, visit:

Elmer's Website
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I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias.  #CBias #SocialFabric.  All opinions are honest and are my own.

#ExpressYourself

April Showers Rainy Day Activity #CBias #SocialFabric

It's been sunny and gorgeous all week here in Eastern Oregon.  That is, until today!  The Coller kids woke up to a rainy day and needed something extra fun to do while waiting for the sun to come out again!  Normally, we homeschool on weekdays, but today I needed to do a few necessary things around the house since I'd been gone all weekend.

Last night, Cainan and I went to Walmart to shop for project supplies and TCBY frozen yogurt---just in case we needed a rainy day project.  Whadda you know?  We needed one today!  To see more of our shopping trip, what we chose, and the other fun things we saw and did, visit my Google+ album!

We wanted to create a spring-themed project that also used the frozen yogurt theme, since we would be having a TCBY frozen yogurt party after we were finished with the craft.  We decided to make something that we could reuse over and over---so we made a Bean Bag Toss!

     
We bought a large Elmer's Tri-Fold Display Board and made holes in it with a razor blade. Then we decorated it to look like a great big frozen yogurt cone.  The glitter sprinkles were made using Elmer's Glitter Paint Pens.  We made one side a list of Rules and the other side a list of High Scores.  The scores are written on sticky notes so they can be changed out as scores improve!

Earlier last week, Lynzie made some bean bags in preparation for the game.  Aren't they adorable?  She made them to look like scoops of TCBY with sprinkles on top!  She used felt pieces, beads and beans!

Everyone had lots of fun playing the Bean Bag Toss game!

We taped lines on the floor at three different distances from the board so everyone would be challenged.

Rule #4:  Only those old enough to read the rules have to obey them!

After we were finished with our game, we had a TCBY tasting party!  Have you seen the new line of TCBY frozen yogurt treats that Walmart is carrying? 

Cainan chose one of each pint that our store had in stock and the kids got to try them all!

It cracks me up to see the kids' faces when we give them a big treat like this.  They RARELY get sweets!

What a fun way to spend a rainy day!

For more information on TCBY's grocery offerings, visit:

TCBY Website

TCBY on Twitter

TCBY on Facebook

I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™. #CBias #SocialFabric All opinions are honest and are my own.

#TCBYGrocery

Odwalla CFK Game Day Challenge Round Two #CBias #SocialFabric

Tonight after piano lessons, Lynzie and I went on a little shopping adventure to give to an organization that we are so blessed to have in our community!   This month, Champions For Kids is partnering with Odwalla juice in a SIMPLE Service Project to round up some new or gently-used sports/outdoor equipment and donate it to a children's organization.  We want to give our gifts to Pendleton Parks and Recreation!

Before making our trip, I contacted the Parks & Rec to make sure that they were interested in the donation and to see what sorts of things they needed.  We've never given to a community-wide resource like this, so I wanted to make sure that we were providing things they could use.

One of the items mentioned was a playground ball.  I hope they're able to use the two giant tennis balls we found for them at Walmart!

Another need was bubbles.  Although our Walmart's shelves were pretty much cleaned out from Easter, we were able to find a few bottles left!

Along with our donation of outside equipment, we plan to give an armload of Odwalla juice!

I'm excited to take all the kids as we make our delivery next week! We have benefited from the use of the Rec Center during our homeschool free-play times.  I know the kids will be excited to be a part of providing more fun for the kids of Pendleton!

If you'd like to see more  pictures of our shopping trip and the other neat things we saw, you can check out my Google+ album featuring the #OdwallaCFK project.

For more information on how you can be involved with Champions For Kids, visit CFK at the following places:

Champions For Kids website

Twitter

Champions For Kids Facebook page

I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™. #CBias #SocialFabric All opinions are honest and are my own.

Odwalla Game Day Challenge: Delivering the Gifts! #CBias #SocialFabric

 A couple of weeks ago, I told you about our family's trip to Walmart to purchase some outdoor equipment and Odwalla juice.  We are participating in this month's SIMPLE Service Project with Champions for Kids, and were rounding up some things to donate to a local daycare.

If you'd like to see more  pictures of our shopping trip and the fun things we saw, you can check out my Google+ album featuring the #OdwallaCFK project.

A few days ago, we arranged with Haley to deliver the gifts to her and her daycare kids.  We covered a box in bright blue paper and arranged all of the donations in it.  We gave 2 butterfly nets, 4 large bubble wands, 1 large bottle of refill bubbles, 2 big boxes of sidewalk chalk, 2 big balls, and 8 bottle of Odwalla Juice!

Three of Haley's day care kids were there at the time of delivery.  They were all so excited to receive our gift!

The three boys were jumping up and down and telling us what all the things in the box were.  As soon as we left, they all ran out into the backyard to start playing with their new things.  Many of the bubbles floated around to the front yard and followed us as we drove off!

What a great lesson for our family:  It truly is better to give than to receive.  Putting together this project for Haley's day care was so fun.  I know they really enjoyed having some new fun things to play with outside!

For more information on how you can be involved with Champions For Kids, visit CFK at the following places:

Champions For Kids website

Twitter

Champions For Kids Facebook page

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias.  #CBias  All opinions are true and are my own.

Learning About Holland with Elmer's #CBias #gluenglitter

Last week, the kids and I had a blast creating this fun display board for the country of Holland.  This was the first time I had used an Elmer's Tri-Fold Display Board for a project and, believe me, poster board is now a thing of the past around here!

    
I plan on buying these boards about once a month so we can start making a collection of different displays for countries and other interesting things we learn about.  The kids really enjoyed this project and were worried we might have to give it away to someone.  They want to keep it for our homeschool!

Before beginning our project, we had to run to Walmart for supplies.  Selah really wanted to get this Elmer's Classic Glitter Glue, but we decided to get a package of 10 Washable Paint Pens in Classic Glitter Colors instead.  For more pictures and commentary on our shopping trip, visit my Google+ album.

When we got home, it was time to start creating!  I cut out some strips of construction paper to make a flag.  Cainan cut some grass from construction paper and, along with some of the other kids, colored some strips of scalloped border that I printed from TeacherHelp.org.  Elisha and a couple other kids colored the letters to spell out Holland.

It was really important to me that our project reflect each one of us in it's different creative elements.  One of my favorite supplies to use when we're doing group projects is Elmer's Craft Bond Extra Strength Glue Sticks because they aren't the least bit messy and they dry clear!

We had borrowed this book from the library and Lynzie made a little miniature book with a book report written on the inside.  We glued it in one corner of the display board for a "book recommendation" section.

Selah and I were both really excited to try out the new paint pens!

I wanted to try out this purple one as it had big chunks of glitter in it and reminded me of things I had when I was a little kid.  I love the way it looks---but it did get stopped up easier than the other pens and would sometimes come out a little globby.  Once I got the hang of it though, it was fine.

Selah picked green---her favorite color.

There are many great elements to add to a country display board.  It's basically a big, visual, book report.  We had an info section that listed basic facts about Holland and included a photo of some tulips there.  My favorite painter happened to be Dutch, so we added a little art info section.  Depending on the country, we might change out that section to have information about musicians, political leaders, food, etc.  We also printed a map of Holland from Europeetravel.com.

In addition to wanting the project to reflect each kid's creativity, I also wanted there to be something on the display to appeal to each child.  For some of the older ones, the Art and Holland History sections, as well as the Book Recommendation section, would be most interesting.  The younger kids prefer the map, flag, and colorful pictures.  No matter how you choose to do your country display, I can't recommend enough that you use an Elmer's Tri-Fold Display Board for a sturdy display and easy folding storage!

Happy Creating!

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias.  #CBias.  All opinions are honest and are my own.

#gluenglitter

Linking with:  What's Working Wednesday @ NextGen Homeschool

Adorable Hartstrings Easter Outfits #CBias

One of our family's Easter traditions is to get dressed up as adorably as possible!  I love to make my kids' Easter outfits; but, some years, that's just not feasible.  This year is one of those years, so I was so thrilled when I was given the opportunity to shop www.Hartstrings.com for a couple of cute items for Avalon and Liam!

Usually I go with one color and match everyone, but this year I thought I'd try mixing it up a little.  I normally put Avalon in pinks and purples so I decided to go a completely different direction by picking out a dress for her in blues and greens.  I knew that Liam, with his irresistible strawberry blonde hair, would be sweet in bright yellow!

When I got to the Hartstrings website, I was greeted with a pop-up window that invited me to enter my email for a 10% off coupon!  Being a savvy couponer, I jumped on that!  I looked around the site for a little bit and pinned a few things onto a Hartstrings Pinterest board that I created for future reference.  I had originally picked out a really adorable anchor-button dress for Avalon but then realized it was a newborn size!  Bummer!

One thing that I really liked about the selection on the site was that, in addition to there being lots of different colors to choose from, there were also many different styles to choose from.  This is something different from the cookie-cutter children's fashions I'm used to seeing in some other collections.

Other things I loved about the site included the mouse-over zoom to see products more clearly and the fact that, at checkout, I could see actual photos of what I'd chosen. This helped me remember what I was buying and made it easy for me to compare and make sure the colors would go well together. 

By this time, the 10% off code had been sent to my email so I was able to use that...and...I didn't realize that both the items I'd chosen were on sale!  So, with the sale price and promo code, I saved $25.35!  

At checkout, I do remember wishing that they accepted PayPal, as I do a lot of shopping with my PayPal balance.  But then, I remembered that I had a PayPal Debit Card so I was able to use that!  Yay!  I was excited to see that I was receiving Free Shipping, but I would later come to wish that there were other shipping options available.  

After receiving my shipping confirmation email three business days later, I ended up needing to call the company because the tracking link didn't work in the email.  I found out that they have quite a round-about way of getting their orders out to customers and I would have liked the option to pay to have my order shipped more quickly.  My tracking number was first scanned on the afternoon of the third business day after ordering.  I received it eight days later.  Even so, I'm glad I ordered these early enough to be able to match them with things the older kids have for our adorable Easter!

Our order arrived safe and sound and without a wrinkle!  I was impressed to open up the box and find these nicely packaged in plastic, pressed and folded!  I felt that this was a really professional presentation.  Avalon was so excited to put on her new dress that she was jumping up and down on my bed and clapping her hands!

I chose this tropical print for Avalon---it's just the right length and I love the ruffly capped sleeves.

I like the way this dress hangs and doesn't ride up when she walks.  Later, when I went to change her back out of it, I was surprised to find that it had pockets too!  The way they're cut into the dress, they're completely invisible!

I was totally sold on the crochet trim!

Liam's shirt fit him well and I could tell that he really felt grown up in it!  Both of these pieces were just the right size.  Avalon turned 3 a few weeks ago and I bought her a 3T.  Liam will be 2 in about 6 weeks and his shirt is a 24 month.

The fabrics are soft and comfortable...Liam just might take a little nap after this photo shoot!

When Avalon was born, we had several instances where daffodils ended up being her theme.  These bright colors and good quality items make me want to order more things for our little ones and do a great big family springtime photo shoot!

Happy Easter from Liam & Avalon!

To see more from Hartstrings, visit them here:

Hartstrings.com
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This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias.  #CBias  All opinion are honest and are my own.

#MyHartstrings