Reversible Halloween and Christmas banner tutorial

This post was originally written for a guest appearance (doesn't that sound fancy?) over at thejoyfulorganizer.com   This site is an incredible place to find direction when you're up to your eyeballs in clutter.  Look for it on Oct 09!

Reversible Holiday Banner

Dress your mantle with a Boo banner for Halloween, and then flip it to celebrate Christmas!  This makes a darling gift. And it's super cheap!  Get yourself ready for crafty goodness.

Read on to make this banner:

10 Must Do Activities to celebrate America

The 4th of July is my favorite holiday.  My dad is a vet, and I lived abroad for long enough to want to kiss the ground when I returned.  Truly I cannot tell you how thankful I am to live in this country, even with all it's ills.  I love other countries as well, but the USofA is home, and that is where my heart is!

So it makes sense that around here we get patriotic early on. Here are my best ideas for having a fantastic 4th!

1. Decorate your home, so all can see!

Even if I am dirt cheap, I can still afford to decorate for the 4th of Joo-lye.  

Try this:

I'm going for just the fire crackers, as I already have an old table that's busted up and needs re-purposing.  I love that there's an old red cooler out too, giving kudos to the picnic month.

Visit here to see how she up-cycles a wooden post for those firecrackers!

Easter

Easter was sweet this year.

We felt so blessed to have all our munchkins, and see the delight on their faces.

This was the first year that some of our family had been on an official Easter Egg Hunt

The older kids still scramble for the gorgeous pops of color that were hidden so well in the bushes and trees.

Everyone filled their baskets up, reminding us of how blessed we are to even be able to afford such luxuries.

Our oldest was just back from her soccer game, aptly called the 'Blue Butterlies'.  They're so funny to watch as they play and chase the ball around, all grouped up like they just want to hang out rather than chase a ball all over a field.

Such a good sister.

And here the products of their creativity and mine and grandpa's as we all sat down to dye eggs.  Complete with lessons on how to turn an egg brown, we had caterpillar and insect stickers.  Crayons (even if they are a simple technique) made their showiing, and our kids loved watching the eggs turn brilliant aqua and fuschia.

We always have our traditional hunts and egg dying on Saturday, and then reserve Sunday for the more holy part of the holiday.  (I have such a hard time with the Easter Bunny when I want to focus on the resurrection, but these young years aren't many)  We had a special talk at dinner about the resurrection, and we shared how thankful we are that because of the Savior, the bands of death are broken, and we can live together for ever.

This video sums it up pretty well for us:

May the message of the season linger with us a little longer.