Mingle With Us Blog Hop!!

It's Time to Mingle!

Hosted by Happy Go Lucky, I Heart Crafty Things, and Keeping Up With Kristi.

Each week we will choose one blog at random to spotlight at the next week's blog hop.

This week's guest host is: Creatively Blooming

 There are no rules to this blog hop.  Just link up your blog's main page. Then have fun reading new blogs and making new blog friends.  We would love for you to follow the hostesses in the first four spots and our guest host in the fifth spot.

Please leave a comment so we know to follow you back.

Grab our button if you want to share our blog hop with others. There will be a new list every Thursday, so be sure to come back every week.

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We hope you have fun and thanks for joining us!  We are so excited to find new blogs, share great ideas, and inspire each other!

 

Guest Post - Kirstylee from Moms Have Questions Too!

I am SO excited to have an amazing guest poster today, my new friend Kirstylee from Moms Have Questions Too.  Don't you love that name?!  Her blog is FULL of great craft ideas and tons of ways to enjoy your little ones...a girl after my own heart!

Hello! This is Kirstylee over from Moms Have Questions Too. I am so excited to be guest posting here at Blue Skies Ahead. She has all the greatest candy corn ideas for Halloween. Today I will be sharing a fun Halloween craft with you. They are popsicle stick pumpkins and bats.

 

Things You'll Need:

• Popsicle Sticks
• Markers or Paint (black, orange, green)
• Black Construction Paper
• Googly Eyes

Get 7 small popsicle sticks (4-5 if you are using tongue depressors) and place them flat and so the sides are touching. Get another popsicle stick and place it perpendicular over the other popsicle sticks. Make the perpendicular popsicle stick cover all of the other sticks, but only have it overhang on one side.  

 Now, mark the perpendicular popsicle stick where it overhangs and cut off the popsicle stick where it has been marked. I used scissors to cut off the overhang and it worked just fine. If you are worried that your scissors won’t be able to cut through the popsicle stick, you can also break off the extra. Repeat this with two more popsicle sticks. Keep both sides of the 3 popsicle sticks that you cut because you will use the shorter ones for the pumpkin stem.  

 Use glue (hot glue gun works well, but regular glue works fine, too) to attach the three longer popsicle stick pieces evenly across the other popsicle sticks.  

 This will be the back of your pumpkin. Make sure that the glue is completely dry before moving on to the next step. Wait to glue the stem pieces on until you have colored the pieces green. To make your pumpkin orange, paint the popsicle sticks or color them with an orange marker (do-a-dot markers work great!). If you paint them, you will need to wait again until it is dry before moving on. Also, paint your stem pieces green. Once the green has dried, then glue them onto the back of the pumpkin.

 

Now, cut out eyes, a nose, and a mouth from black construction paper and glue them onto the pumpkin. You can also draw the face on with a black marker.  

 Since my son, Little Bear (4) is obsessed with bats this year, I had to adapt this craft to make a bat as well. To make the popsicle stick bat, make the body the same way as the pumpkin, but only use 3 popsicle sticks next to each other (1-2 tongue depressors). You will also only want two short popsicle sticks holding the pieces together in the back.  

 Paint the bat body black or color with a black marker. Cut out bat wings from black construction paper using the template from my flying bats craft. Once the black paint has dried, attach the bat wings with glue to the back of the bat body. Attach googley eyes to the front of the bat.  

 My son loved this craft! He helped me paint the pumpkin and bats which he always loves. When we were all finished with the creations and the glue was dry, we hung the bats from the ceiling so they could be next to the flying bats that we made. The popsicle stick pumpkins went next to the painted pumpkins on our table. We love having so many festive decorations everywhere!  

These popsicle stick crafts are absolutely adorable Kirstylee!  And the fact that I have everything on hand  to make them is an A+ in my book too ;)  Thank you SO much for joining us at Blue Skies Ahead!

If YOU would be interested in guest posting one Friday over here at Blue Skies Ahead...we would LOVE to have you!  Just email me at blueskiesahead6@gmail.com and we will set it up.  I would love to feature the great things you are doing in your lives!

Frankenstein Veggie Platter

 

Can you believe Halloween is in just one short week?!  

I thought of a fun HEALTHY snack my kids would enjoy that would also be great for a Halloween party or your Halloween dinner.  

Make your own Frankenstein Veggie Platter!

All you need to make this guy are some snap peas, olives, sliced cucumbers and baby carrots.  

My kids gobbled up almost the whole thing after school yesterday, and it made me feel a teensy bit better about all the Candy Corns we have been eating ;)

Thanks again for stopping by today and have a great day!!

Linking up at THESE great parties!

Freaky Facials and Spooky Nails!!

I shared this fun activity last week over at one of my MOST favorite blogs, Delightfully Noted.  In case you missed it...here are some fun pampering ideas for the little witches in your life ;)

Every year my sisters and I go to a local event called Witches Night Out...and EVERY year my little girls are so sad that they can't join us ;)  Last year I decided they should not miss out on the fun, and we try to have a Witches Night IN of our own.

This year on the agenda were some homemade facials and manicures!  We had to throw a witchy twist on everything and here is what we came up with.

First up...Wicked Witch of the West Facials!

All you need to make your own homemade facial is half an avocado, 2 TBSP hot water, and 1 tsp of honey.  

Once you have your Wicked Witch Facial all mixed apply generously to your little witch's face.

After about 10 minutes you wipe off with a warm cloth and enjoy that silky smooth skin! 

(Side note for moms:  I used this too and LOVED how it made my skin feel!  Go on...try it for yourselves too!!)

Look at that gorgeous girl!

Finally we finished our night of pampering with some Festive Holiday Nails!

First up we did some Spooky Eyes Nails

All you need for these nails are some black polish and a white nail pen.  I painted a black coat, did two white circles and then using a toothpick added two little black dots.  My girls LOVED these!

Finally we did Candy Corn Nails.  I just painted the whole nail orange, then did a layer of yellow above it, and finished off the top with strip of white!

Linking up HERE

Candy Corn Counting Activity

 I hope you're not sick of Candy Corns yet!! ;)

As much as I have been trying to do fun things with my kids lately, I have totally been slacking in the education department.  

I have REALLY missed teaching my kids and seeing their little faces light up when they learn something new.  I am still not feeling quite like myself, so any activity we do has to be simple, simple, simple!  We came up with a fun Candy Corn Counting Activity that was great and adaptable for 3 of my kids.

To get started you need to print out several large Candy Corns and laminate them.  If you can't laminate them you can just put them in page protectors.

  

All you need then is some Candy Corn candy and a dry erase marker!

For my cute little pre-schooler we worked on number recognition and counting.  I would write a number on the candy corn and my little guy would try and tell me what the number was.  Once we figured it out, he would count out that many candy corns and place them on top.  This was a great visual to reinforce counting...and a yummy treat too :)

For my Kindergartener I wanted to focus on simple addition and writing numbers.  I would put two piles of candy corns on the table.  Then she would add them together and write the number with a dry erase marker on the laminated Candy Corn.

Just in case you want to do this at home, you can print out these cute Candy Corns and enjoy some sweet counting with your little ones!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I am so excited for this week!  We have some great last-minute Halloween treats and activities and a wonderful guest post on Friday...make sure you come on back!!

Fruity Candy Corn Cups

 

Who loves Candy Corn?

Obviously we do at our house ;)  Yesterday we made Candy Corn Bath Salts, and today we had a yummy candy corn-themed treat to go with our fun craft I will show you next week :)

DISCLAIMER!!!

Have you ever had an idea, thought it was totally original, go ahead and execute it...and then happen to find yourself browsing Pinterest only to see your brilliant idea already done and pinned by a bunch of your friends?! 

Totally what happened to me with these fruit cups!  I was feeling so satisfied with myself, that I came up with something all on my lonesome...when I click on Pinterest and see at least 2 other awesome gals that had the exact same idea!  It made me laugh...we are all so inter-connected these days, sometimes it feels like there are NO original ideas anymore.  

Regardless, these are a yummy treat your kids will love...no matter who came up with them first ;)

All you need for this refreshing after school snack are pineapple chunks, mandarin oranges and some whipped cream.

I surprised my little guy with this today...and boy was he happy!  Usually he has quiet time while the big girls are at school and Avrie naps...today we had a little date eating our snacks and watching shows on my phone :)

It was a hit!!

I was excited to have a semi-healthy treat that will help combat ALL the chocolate and treats we will shorty be consuming ;)  

I feel like a broken record, but thank you so much for stopping by Blue Skies Ahead!  I have had so many sweet comments and emails lately, I am always a little surprised that anyone is even looking at our silly little ideas ;)  

Linking up HERE :)

Candy Corn Bath Salts!

Hello, hello!!

Today I am sharing a really fun gift you could make for your friends, teachers, or for visiting teaching.  It took about 5 minutes to throw these together and was really inexpensive as well.

I give you...

Candy Corn Bath Salts!!

If you have never made your own bath salts, you should DEFINITELY give them a try!!  They are so easy to make, and you can choose any scent you want.  I am slightly addicted to baths, I literally take one almost every night.  My favorite thing to do is get a tub full of warm water, dump in some yummy-smelling salts, grab a good read...and RELAX!!

 

All you need to make your very own bath salts are some Epsom Salt, VERY course Sea Salt, essential oil of your choice, and food coloring.  

I told you...easy!!

First up, you want to separate your salts into 3 bowls.  A good rule is to do half and half with your salts. So however much you put in of one, just put in the same amount of the other.  For one mason jar I did 3 bowls with 1/2 C of Epsom Salt and Sea Salt.

Once you have your salts mixed you add a few drops of essential oil.  For our Candy Corn Bath Salts I chose to use Vanilla, I thought that was the most candy-like ;)

Finally you want to add 1-2 drops of food coloring to the bowls.  Don't do any more than that or you may stain your friend ;)

Once you are all done just layer the different colors in the jar, embellish with little bakers twine, and you have a darling, handmade gift ready to go!

And I just have to add...I realize that candy corns usually have the yellow on bottom. For some reason that just never looks as good to me as having orange on bottom :)  So feel free to switch it up however looks better to you!

Thanks so much for stopping by today, I hope you saw something you liked!  Let me know if you try these out at your place...can you think of any scents that you would use for Candy Corn?? ;)

Linking up at THESE great parties!

Family Photos 2012

 I have a love-hate relationship with getting family pictures taken.

I absolutely LOVE the finished product, and it is ALWAYS worth it...but MAN it is so much work!

Just finding outfits is a huge ordeal in itself.  Then trying to get your entire family ready, fed, happy and beautiful at the same time?!  With 4 little ones...almost impossible!

The only thing that makes it all work?!  When you working with a fantastic photographer like

Hollie Hanson at Cherry Tree Photography.  

Now I am a teensy bit biased :)  Hollie is one of my dearest friends, but I tell you...the girl has a gift!  Not only is she incredibly talented at photography and editing, but she really does it all.  She went shopping with me (more than once!) to find the perfect outfits for our family.  She kindly reminded me that I have been wanting purple and yellow for years...every time I tried to ditch it for another color scheme ;)

The day of the photo shoot she brings all her makeup and makes me beautiful...she knows the extent of my makeup knowledge is trying to decide between my Dr. Pepper Lip Smacker and the Strawberry Lip Smacker ;)

She also calls me on my way out to see if I ever found any accessories?  Of course the answer is no...so she brings me some of hers ;)  I told you she was awesome!

But aside from all that...she truly captured MY family.  These crazy, loud, beautiful, quirky people that I devote every single day of my life too.  I cry every time I look at these pictures...I am so blessed.  So sit back and enjoy the fruits of our labors...

Johnson Family Pictures 2012!!

I love Avrie's crinkled nose and squishy face!

Where did my baby go??

Daddy with all his little Daddy's Girls

Me and my girls

10 years into this crazy thing and he STILL loves me! ;)

I love this picture.  It is a true representation of our family.  Avrie hanging on to her Daddy, Skylar and Kendall sassing it up...and my sweet little guy hanging on my leg :)

Even though it was too early to tell...I had a feeling we would soon be announcing baby #5 was on its way!

Hahaha!  Caught ya!

Sweet, tender Skylar.  This child has a heart of gold, finds joy in the smallest things, and is the BEST big sister anyone could hope for.  LOVE her!

Sassy and spunky Kendall!  She always keeps us laughing and even though she acts tough...has the sweetest little heart there is.  

My little man Britton.  This little guy has me wrapped around his finger...no doubt about it.  

My mischievous boy...oh he keeps me on my toes!  Anytime I feel like really letting him have it...I just look at this picture! ;)

The two most important guys in my life!

Adore.

Look at those darling little stinkers.  What a gift they are.  

These pictures came at a perfect time for me.  Sometimes when you are in the midst of all-day sickness (WHO came up with the name MORNING sickness...that is very deceiving ;) and bed rest at only 10 weeks you wonder how you are possibly going to add another child to your world when you feel SO out of control as it is.  How can you possibly be the kind of mother 5 children deserve...when you are in survival mode with the 4 you already have?!

I think these are all normal feelings to have...but looking at these pictures help me see past this SMALL moment.  I see my family.  My greatest source of joy, my posterity.  And I know adding to that family, for us, is without a doubt the best thing we could be doing.  

Now that I'm done being so mushy, I would love to know...how do YOU decide what to wear for family pictures??  Do you like matchy-matchy?  Something really unique?  

Because lets be honest...these pictures are going to be out-dated by the time Baby Johnson arrives and we are going to be doing this all over again next year!! ;)