We'd love if you'd share with us your crafty completed eggs as we're always looking for good ideas to share!  

A few weeks after my daughter was born, I saw the following commercial for Google Chrome on TV and knew I had to do this for her.  Now, since my son has recently arrived, I have set up an account for him too.  

WARNING:  This commercial is likely to induce tears.  

You may have to "fib" in order to set up a google/gmail account for your kids as they are clearly technically not old enough to legally own one (based on google's policy).   Not to mention, who knows what email addresses may be available for them by the time they are older or if their name alone may be available.  


I have written my daughter at least once every two months since setting up her account and have included pictures, videos and shared stories of what's going on in our lives at the time I'm writing.  As the commercial states, I can't wait to share this with her when she's older some day!  I figure there will be tons of things I forget as time passes and this is our own little time capsule gift to her.  One day after her father and I are long gone, she will then have these to share with her kids and grand-kids as well.  


In a world where we are now given this kind of opportunity with such ease and little time, why not?  You're giving your kids the best gift you can -- a life full of loving memories!  

February is the time to send chocolates, flowers, and messages of love.  Although we can’t help with the first two, Paper Coterie has some adorable printable love notes that serve as a perfect opportunity to share big messages of love in cute little ways! 

Whether your recipient is big or small, everyone likes to know that they’re loved. To get started simply print, cut, and begin your masterpiece.  Make sure to get the kids involved and take this opportunity to turn it into a fun project for the whole family.  

Paper Coterie is giving away a gift card when you share yours on twitter, instagram or facebook with the tag #pclovenotes between now and next Friday.  GOOD LUCK AND SHARE AWAY!  

I know, I know, it's barely the beginning of the new year, but I can't help to think ahead and start mental preparation for Valentines Day.   I know many have dubbed this day a "Hallmark Holiday", but I absolutely adore it.   I mean, what's better than telling someone how much you love them?!?

This year I'm preparing cute little INEXPENSIVE gifts for my daughters teachers and here's some of the ideas I'm tossing around.  

So this picture shows different colored M&M's -- which happen to be my daughters favorite. A great idea would be to make the customized M & M's that have your child's name on some and a cute message on others.  However, I'm thinking Hershey Kisses/Hugs are a home run too!  All you have to do is add a little ribbon to the top and maybe have your child write a little note to attach to the top and you're done.  I'm guessing total cost to be about $2/jar.  

Again, SUPER CUTE idea!  Shovels are available for less than a dollar at Target or any craft store and the plastic cellophane wrap is as well.  Fill with plain or customized M & M's themed for the holiday, add a card and ribbon and VOILA!   

ALERT, ALERT -- BIG HIT WITH GRANDMA!  

Now, these cards seem to be a tad labor intensive, depending on the age of your kids.  However, they are a HUGE hit with grandparents and a keepsake they will treasure forever.  Although they are a tad messy and my child will likely not sit still long enough to complete one, we'll definitely be giving these a try this year.  

I'd love to hear what you've created in the past or what you plan to give this year!  Please share with us and we'll feature our favorites in an upcoming post.  

Share your favorite DIY holiday crafts or gift ideas with us!  We will be sorting through your submissions and selecting some at random to share over the upcoming two weeks.  

My mother still hangs all the handmade ornaments from the 80's when I was a kid and I simply cannot wait to do this with my daughter this year!  I'll post pics of how they turn out when we're done... In the meantime, give it a try yourself with these step-by-step instructions.  

Ingredients:  

• 4 cups flour, extra for rolling
• 1 cup salt
• 1 1/2 cups water
  

Instructions:

• Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
  
• Prepare your inedible dough. Mix 4 cups flour, 1 cup salt and 1 1/2 cups water until well blended. Knead it in the bowl for 10 to 15 minutes until the dough reaches a workable consistency.
• Roll the dough out to 1/3 of an inch thick on a lightly-floured work surface. Place your child's hand on the dough and use a butter knife or a plastic knife to cut out the shape of your child's hand print. Poke a small hole through the top of the cut out handprint so that you can string it later.
• Bake the handprints for 20 to 30 minutes in your preheated oven. When done, remove them from the oven and allow them to coo.  
• Decorate your ornaments. Use paints, glitter or sequins to give your ornaments their own personal style. Spray a coat of clear polyurethane on your ornaments to preserve them and keep them looking great year after year.
• Use ribbon, yarn, twine or hemp to string your ornaments.

Now, I am a HUGE fan of candy corn, but I know not everyone loves the taste. Here's a simple and fun recipe from Baked Perfection, on how to make candy corn themed pretzels.  I can't wait to try these!!  

Ingredients:
1 lb bag pretzel twists
2 14oz bags of white (or colored) chocolate candy coating (can also use white chocolate chips, or almond bark)
Sprinkles to decorate
Candy coating in additional colors to decorate

To prepare the pretzels line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

To melt chocolate, empty contents of 1 bag of candy coating into microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals stirring between until the chocolate is melted consistently (melt the 2nd bag of white chocolate when the 1st bag is just about finished). Using only the unbroken pretzels place the pretzels into the chocolate, covering them completely. Use a fork to "fish" the pretzels from the chocolate shaking the fork back and forth to remove any extra chocolate. Place the pretzels on the parchment lined baking sheet.

If you are going to decorate with sprinkles or colored sugar make sure to sprinkle the pretzels before the chocolate hardens.

To decorate with drizzled chocolate, place chocolate in a sandwich bag on a microwave safe dish and microwave in 30 second intervals moving the chocolate around between. Using scissors, cut the very tip off the sandwich bag. The smaller your cut, the smaller the drizzle. Use the sandwich bag to pipe the chocolate back and forth over the hardened chocolate covered pretzels until you reach the desired look. When the drizzle has hardened (you can put them in the freezer to speed up the process) break off any extra chocolate with your fingers or the back end of a fork or spoon.


Note:  This recipe is copied here directly from Baked Perfection as locating the link to the initial recipe is tricky to find.