Birthday Sneak Peak...

My *baby* turned 3 a couple weeks ago, but since having a birthday a couple days after Christmas isn't conducive to party throwing (read: mom is way too burnt out to put a party together) we're having her party this weekend.



For our kids first and second birthdays we just do small family celebration/parties and when they turn three they get their first FRIENDS party! I kinda feel like when they're 3 they actually "get it", as in...are more interested in the actual present they get rather than just wanting to play with the cardboard box it comes in, use a fork to eat their cake rather than their fist and can actually play the party games rather than be forced to pin the tail on the donkey they can barley walk to. I feel like, for as much work that goes into a party, they better be old enough to appreciate it! :) Ha ha!

Sooooo....that being said I have been having so much fun this week putting together my very first, VERY girly party!! Eeeek I just can't even tell you how much I L.O.V.E. having a girl!!!! I've done dinosaurs and Superheroes which were both a LOT of fun, but I have to say this has definitely been my favorite party to plan! I won't share the whole thing till after it's over but I thought I'd share a few sneak peak pictures of some of the things I've been staying up WAY WAY too late putting together this week....do you think you can guess the theme??? :)

Have a wonderful weekend! See ya next week friends!

Welcome 2012!!!

HI!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh my friends how are you?!?!?! It has been so weird to go from posting almost every day for the last 3 months, to nothing the past three weeks, but we had a WONDERFUL Christmas break together as a family and I hope you enjoyed your holiday as well!!!

The Mr. started his FIRST day of Classes for the LAST semester today and so we're finally getting back into the routine of having a routine. Oh how I love my structure! :) It's nice to be able to do nothing for awhile and not feel guilty for going to bed early, spending a whole night watching movies, keeping the kids up WAY too late hopped up on nothing but sugar, buuuut I have to say by the time the "vacay's" over I am SO ready to get back to my nice, organized, OCD life! :)

Sooooo, I've spent the last week trying to get ready for the next 5 months. Organizing, goal setting, new years resolutions...just kinda all of that. I'm not a 'resolution' kinda gal per-say, but when I feel like my life is about to spin out of control because there is SO much going on, so many un-knowns, so many changes a comin', I do whatever I can to keep that spin in a hand-reaching radius because I'm a big fan of being in control. (I'm getting better :) ) And what I CAN do-amidst all the spinning-is prioritize, make lists, make more lists, and balance-super important while spinning and kind of the key to NOT falling :).

My 'Goals for 2012' list consisted of six things. Some are things I just want to accomplish by the end of the year, some are things that will need to be done weekly and some are things that I need to do everyday. A couple of them are for my own personal growth, a couple of them are specific to my kids, but most of them include things that will benefit my whole family and our relationships.

I realized after I had made my very short list, that if I truly wanted to achieve these goals balance was going to be the key. So THEN I took my 7 day week, a list of all the things I need to do in a week to be working through my goals, and a calendar and planned out what "goal" per-say, I'll be working on each night. I guess I'm telling you all this mumbo-jumbo so you kinda know what to expect this coming year here on Love Sweet Love.

If things work out *perfectly* :) week to week I'll have posts coming up on Tuesdays and Fridays. Maybe if I find a little extra time here and there I'll post randomly another day during the week or if some weeks are weird the days will shift a little, but the goal is for my craft blog to have new projects posted on those days!

I know that's not very much, and I hope you're not disappointed or think I'm a slacker, TRUST me I wish I could craft and blog every day-ha ha, but I really want to focus on my kids this year and make sure I'm doing absolutely EVERYTHING I can be doing to help them grow and learn and have FUN!

My little boy will be turning FIVE years old next month which means I only have 7 months with him before he goes to Kindergarten!! I don't want to look back once he's in school and think..."when did he grow up?!" I want to think..."I was there for all of it, I watched him grow up!" So during their 'quiet time' during the day (they don't nap anymore so they have quiet time in their rooms) I would usually blog, but I'll be using that time this year to be doing some one-on-one learning activities and projects with them so I will only be crafting/blogging at nights now, and even then there are a few other things I need to be doing with my nights to achieve my balance and get some of my goals checked off so I won't be blogging as much as I was at the end of last year. I hope you understand and will still come back every week to see what's going on!!

Aaaaand believe it or not I am already all decorated for Valentines day :) so I have lots of mushy, gushy, PINK love headed your way the next couple of weeks!!! I have all of January's posts and most of February's planned out so start gettin' excited and get those hearts of yours ready for some serious LOVE!!!

Know what else I seriously love?!?! Shabby Apple!! If you haven't already burned through all your Christmas cash, make it go a lot further by spending it at Shabby Apple because they are kicking off the New Year with 20% off SITE WIDE!This sale last the entire month of January. Use code NEWYEAR at checkout to get 20% off. Just click below to start saving!!



Happy Shopping! Thanks so much for stopping by on my first day back in the new year, talk to ya soon!!

Merry Christmas {and a Happy New Year!}

Well friends it's that time. Mr. Sweet Love is DONE with his finals. This semester has been the hardest semester he's had at school, which consequently means it's been the hardest semester for our family (and yep we live our lives semester by semester. every 4 months we change our routine, our schedule and sometimes where we live! Who else knows how that is?!?!) which is why you can imagine that I am SOOOOO excited this next semester will be our LAST semester of school eveeeeer!!!

There are actually A LOT of benefits of having a husband still in school when I take the time to really think about it and count our blessings (versus being grumpy that he is studying ALL the time :) ) but my absolute favorite thing about being married to a student, is that we actually GET a Christmas break. THREE whole weeks of a husband, daddy, laundry connoisseur, chef, movie buddy and snuggle time. (okay I made that last one up just to make the hubby squirm) But really I can't even relay to you in words that are in the English language how happy I am that we have three weeks of peace and a stress free life! Being that this is our last semester of school I don't forsee having 3 straight weeks of 'hey what you wanna do?...I don't know, what do you wannna do?...I don't know, what do you wanna do?" ever again, so I'm going to take advantage of this time with my family and sign off the blog until January when Mr. Sweet Love's locked back up in the library.

I have about 4 other Christmas projects I did that I wanted to share with you, but just didn't have the time to post about so I guess those'll have to wait till next year-sorry! Instead we'll be...having family here, celebrating my little girl's 3rd birthday, wrapping presents-after I finish buying them!!!, finishing our '12 days of Christmas' for our neighbor, going to Salt Lake City to see the lights on temple square, baking our eyeballs out, going to a couple movies (my favorite way to waste money! :) ), and lots and lots of sleeping {and snuggling}!

Merry Christmas!

From my family to yours.

Framed Ornament Wreath

"It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags!"

We LOVE LOVE LOVE How the Grinch Stole Christmas movie at our house and even though Mr. Grinch is TOTALLY right when he says Christmas "doesn't come from a store"...I doooo have to admit that a big, sparkly bow catches my eye and pretty little boxes all done up in festive love makes my heart beat a wee bit faster. :) So I'm sorta lovin' this *wreath* I made from an old frame, some dollar store ornaments, $ store jingle bells, and $store ribbon-coming in at a grand total of $4-because it's sparkly and festive!

I actually made this last year before I blogged so I don't have any step-by-step tutorial pictures, but it's 100% simple. I spray painted an old frame red and hot glued ornaments (pack of 5 for $1) and jingle bells (pack of 9 for $1) all together in a sort of 3 tiered circle. I wanted it to have some dimension to it so I did 3 "layers", just hot gluing the ornaments side by side and the bells on top of the ornaments.


Then I looped the ribbon between the top 2 ornaments to hang it from the frame and tied the rest of the ribbon up into a bow.


Love!


But before you get too attached to that look (because I'm sure-after 4 pictures-you have already bonded with my wreath) I must tell you that it's actually inside now hanging on my window frame because I put my white coffee filter wreath outside when I finished it.


I kinda loved that it looked like a pretty little present just hanging there on the door though. :)


Thanks for stopping in today, I'm SO happy you're here!! Now I'm off to finish addressing and sending out my Christmas cards! Have I mentioned that I loooooove Christmas! I hope you're enjoying these last couple weeks of December and not letting the stress of the commercial side of Christmas get to you so you can really enjoy and appreciate this season of giving and trying to be more like our Savior whose birth we are celebrating. I have to keep reminding myself...if it's not a "have to" thing, DON'T worry about it!

How do you stay focused on the true meaning of Christmas amidst all the bustle around you??

Linking up to these great parties as well as:

Welcome Jaime from Polka Dots on Parade!!

Today I'm so excited to welcome Jaime from Polkadots on Parade!! I just LOVE the name of her blog and her blog is just as fun as it sounds!! I link up to her Wow Me Wednesday linky party every week and always find such great inspiration there!

So happy to have you here at Love Sweet Love Jaime, show us whatchya got!

Hi Friends!!

I'm Jaime from Polkadots on Parade!

Isn't this fun??

I'm loving this time of the year for all the craftiness it brings out in people!

I think we are all a little more inspired this month!

Christmas to me means baking up some sweetness!

Get your HO HO on with these holiday hotpads!

Begin with 4 squares of Insul-Brite and 4 squares of fabric, 8" square.

Set your stitch length long.

Baste each piece of fabric to a piece of Insul-Brite.

Then pair up the sewn squares, fabric sides together and stitch them 3/4 of the way around the hotpad.

Turn hotpad right side out and stitch all the way around the edge, closing the hole.

And your hotpads are complete!

Unless you want them fancy, and we do!

Cut your letters out of coordinating fabric.

Pin them on the hotpads and applique with a zig-zag stitch.

HO HO!!

Happy HO HO holiday hotpads!!

Thanks Angela for having me here today!

Happy happy holidays everyone!!

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Those are SOOOO adorable! You guys know I do not cook, I do not bake, and I really spend no time in the kitchen other than to eat food my husband makes, BUUUT my cute kiddos and I are having our Christmas baking day this weekend and I'm thinking I just might need to whip these up for the festivities...maybe they will help me enjoy the baking rather than sweat the small stuff...ie my kids licking their fingers and sticking them back into the bowl, throwing flour by the handfulls onto the floor, adding an extra cup of salt b/c he thought it was sugar into the cookie mix....you know, stuff like that. Good thing none of these treats are coming to your house. Sorry neighbors, just bless the treats before you eat them and it'll be all good!

Thanks for the great tutorial Jaime!! Thanks for popping in today friends, EEEEEKK Christmas is coming so soon-I. Can't. WAIT! Love yall!

Shabby Apple Necklace WINNER and a HANDmade Holiday gift!

I wish ALL of you (and me...I'm just gonna throw that out there) could take home this beautiful vintage key Shabby Apple necklace, but today it will just be ONE of you. Are you the lucky one?? Watch and see...

*winner was selected via the generator from random.org but it's just tradition on my blog to have my littles announce the winner on video :)

And just in case you're at work right now and can't watch the video because you'll get busted by the boss man for looking at craft blogs instead of working :), the winner is...

#23 Jennifer said...

I like Shabby Apple on Facebook!

December 6, 2011 9:26 PM

Congrats Jennifer, who blogs at Vintage Gwen, I am THRILLED for you!! Email me at loveseweetlove@gmail.com so we can get your necklace to you!

But you don't have to cry if you didn't win, remember you can still use the code "sweetlove10off" at checkout at Shabby Apple to get 10% off your purchase until Jan. 5th. Merry Christmas!

AND P.S., I absolutely loved reading all your #1 Christmas wishes they were so fun so thanks to those of you who shared those!!!

Alllllso-P.S.S.-, I'm guest posting over at A Little Tipsy today for the sweet Michelle where I'm sharing a Holiday gift idea, I would love for you to stop by and say hi to me over there!! (EXCEPT YOU MOM. Seriously don't. Love you.)

Welcome Jennifer from Delightfully Noted!!

Okay, so I know you have been up to your eyeballs in Christmas this past week, but you are going to LOOOVE the simplicity of today's post by Jennifer from Delightfully Noted! This little treat she has in store for us is the perfect little FREEBIE :) we need at this crazy time of year! Aaaaand if that's not enough, I'm now introducing you to your new best friend forever. Well...she can't be your new BFF cause she's mine, and I'm kinda obsessive about my friends when they're this cool, but she can be your BF mmmmkay? Seriously though you HAVE to go check out her blog-EVERY post. Every. Post. makes me laugh.

Thanks for being here girly, take it away.....

Greetings! I’m Jennifer, the CEO {crafty, enthusiastic oddball} of Delightfully Noted, my little corner of the world where I get to share my passion for all things creative & everything delightfully in-between. I'm also the owner/wanna-a-be graphic designer behind a little stationery shop on Etsy called, well, of course.......Delightfully Noted.

I’m super excited to be in Angela’s hood today. She’s so sweet. She didn’t even bat an eye when I suggested I share with you all the story of the time I accused my husband of hiring a hit man. Perhaps she feared for her life if she said no. Buuuttt I decided to save that tale for some other time mostly because every time the hubby and I tell that story we lose a friend or two an angel gets its wings…..or something like that. I always get that confused with bells. I figured at this time of the year there’s an abundance of angels getting their wings {thanks to the Salvation Army bell ringers whom I’m pretty sure are running a monopoly on angel wings} and I didn’t want to be responsible for contributing to limited air space or anything. Sooooo, on a more cheerful note I decided instead to share a free holiday printable with you all!

You can download your free cupcake flags here.

Print on paper or card stock.

Then all that is left to do is cut & decorate!

Cupcake flags are an easy way to add a little festive touch to any of your baked goods or use them on toothpicks for appetizers. I added little pom pom embellishments to the top of my lollipop sticks to dress them up a bit.

I hope you enjoy your little free treat!

Happy Holidays to you and yours!

Thanks Angela for sharing your space with me.

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Wouldn't these would be SO SO SO perfect to use for some quick neighbor gifts this Christmas, or to take for your kids school Christmas party, or maybe a Christmas party you're hosting??, or just to perk up some cupcakes for the fam?! I love the simple little touches that give things that extra spark-I mean, how could you not be cheery and bright with that little pom pom flag waving in your face ontop a scrumptious cupcake?! Perfection Jennifer, simply perfection! Thanks for sharing your talent for design with us! Don't forget to check out her wonderful etsy shop here and you can find her on facebook here!

Thanks for stopping by today girlies, I hope all your Christmas plans are coming along wonderfully!! Don't forget today is the last day to enter the Shabby Apple giveaway, see you back here tomorrow where I'll be announcing the winner!!!