Magnolia Mamas

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Leprechaun Lookout Lens {Free Printables}

With St. Patrick's Day only a week away, I have been in full on party planning mode. Last week, I knocked out fun teacher/girlfriend gifts, but this week I am all about the kids. Cute's class has a little party each year, and I wanted to do a fun little favor for he and his classmates. I was trying to come up with something cute and easy for them to use and also tie in with the days festivities.

After some brainstorming, I thought it would be fun for the children to go on a Leprechaun hunt. Then the thought came to create "Leprechaun Lookout Lens" as a coordinating prop.

I created a draft for the printable first, and then browsed the dollar store for some further inspiration. In my mind I was thinking binoculars, glasses or a spy glass would be perfect for tying in the hunt and the favor idea.

I finally landed on these fun shamrock glasses, and there were plenty of them so I didn't have to scour stores for enough pairs. (I did check for you guys, and most major retailers have something similar in large quantities still available.)

After bringing my find home, I printed my tags and attached directly to the glasses. I figure the children will want to wear them right away and it's an easy removal and clean up.

I can't wait to see them running around in them searching for sneaky Leprechauns. Too cute!

If you plan on enjoying a Leprechaun hunt of your own, it's only fitting that you also get your own Leprechaun Lookout Lens. To download the printable click HERE.

While I am sharing fun St. Patrick's day themed printables I thought I would share the following one as well.

I hadn't thought about it and then a friend walked in my home and asked for a copy. It's pretty simple, but I like that it adds a little something fun to our home decor for the holiday.

Since sharing is caring, if you would like to download this free printable for your own home,

click HERE.

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Monday, March 9, 2015

A {Wicked} Good Time

Happy Monday everyone!!! Our weekend ended on a great note last night. Our close group of girlfriends (all 6 of us!!) got together for a girls night to see this spectacular show.

At one of our girls nights a few months ago our friend, L, suggested that we all go see Wicked together when it came to Atlanta and we were all on board! Two of the girls in our group had seen it before, but were more than willing to see it again and I was thrilled because I had always wanted to see this show, but never had the chance until now.

The date kind of snuck up on us and before we knew it, it was the day of the show. We met for an early bird dinner last night since the show started at 6:30. We ate at Cinco and it was a fun meal.

Everyone enjoyed their Latin infused Mexican dinners and then we loaded up in one car to make our way down to the Fabulous Fox Theater. This theater is an Atlanta landmark and at the most amazing place to see a show.

The detail inside is amazing and even without seeing a show there you could spend hours touring the theater, admiring the gorgeous painting, architecture and design.

There was not an empty seat in the theater. It was bustling with excitement and everyone in the audience was anxious for the show to begin. We had hoped to get a picture in front of the Fox, but since we were rushed we settled for pictures in our seats. :-)

And when the show began, we were all in awe. For those that don't know, this show is the untold story of the witches of Oz. Basically, it tells you the story before the story of The Wizard of Oz. We learn about the girl born with green skin and the "good" one. We see how they form an unlikely friendship and both end up learning from each other.

The costumes, the production, the singing, the dancing and the overall heartwarming story are all AMAZING!!! Seriously, if you ever have a chanced to see this show I would say go! It is worth the money and I already want to go back and see it again.

It's no secret why this show has been such a hit on Broadway and won so many awards. It has the audience from the get-go and takes everyone go through an array of emotions. You laugh, you smile, you will feel the sadness of the two witches and your heart is warmed as they both realize how their friendship has helped one another.

I absolutely loved the story and the entire show was incredible. I am so happy I got to see this with my closest girlfriends and can't wait for the next time we are all together...I love them all!!!

If you haven't already, be sure to check out our giveaway for the Books-a-Million gift card HERE. All you have to do is comment to win, so it is super simple.

View our Etsy Shop HERE.

Friday, March 6, 2015

National Reading Month {A Giveaway}

This past week kicked off the National Reading Month, and most students across the U.S. participated in a variety of events to help celebrate. Social media seemed like it was a storm of reading activity, with parents sharing cute photos of their children dressed like story book characters, and big corporations like Amazon doing multiple giveaways and announcing their "100 Books to Read in a Lifetime" list.

On March 2nd, the beloved late Dr. Seuss was honored and celebrated among readers both young and young at heart, and tongues were twisting everywhere.

It is no hidden fact that we love to read, and love sharing that joy with our children. We look forward to sharing each installment of the children's favorite book series, and more recently have had fun kicking off our book club with you.

Which, by the way, I just started reading this month's selection (Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard), and I cannot put it down!

To help celebrate National Reading Month we thought we would do a fun giveaway! Partnering with our friends at The Avenue, we are giving away to one lucky reader a $20 Books-A-Million gift card!

The Rules

The giveaway is simple. No hoops or loops. Simply just leave us a comment letting us know you would like to enter by answering the question, "What is your favorite book?". The winner will be announced on Monday, March 16th.

Happy weekend everyone!

View our Etsy Shop HERE.

Thursday, March 5, 2015

DIY Rustic Sign

Have you ever had one of those things that you get your mind on and you just can't let go of? You know the thing that drives you crazy and it's all you can think about? Well I had one of those experiences a few weeks ago. One of our Instagram friends posted this picture and said she had found these awesome rustic signs at her local HomeGoods.

I loved them and knew it was exactly what I had been searching for. I've had this blank space that was bugging me in my kitchen (see Tuesday's post about my dislike of blank walls) and had really been wanting an antiqued looking sign that said eat, grocery, market, kitchen or something along those lines. It's no secret that I love the farmhouse/rustic style (Fixer Upper is one of my favorite shows!) so the tin letters on these wooden pallets had a hold on me from first sight.

Since I couldn't get those signs out of my head I did what any crazy obsessive person would do...head to every HomeGoods around searching for them. I was determined to find them, but kept coming up empty handed. I searched online, looked for something similar on Etsy, and even had my mom check her HomeGoods in North Carolina. Still no luck.

Then, I found these tin letters at none other than Hobby Lobby when I was looking for frames for my maps and the idea started brewing to build my own sign. And let's be honest, by build my own sign I most definitely mean have my handy husband build me a sign.

And build it he did!

I am in love with the outcome. It has the look and feel I wanted and it fits and fills the space perfectly. I had waited for the letters to go on sale (at 50% off they were only $15 each) before I handed everything over. He built it when I wasn't at home, so I wasn't able to take pictures along with way. However, it seemed like a pretty simple project. He took two boards we had salvaged from built-ins from the original house before demo began and he cut them to size. He attached the boards on the back to form the sign and then measured and hung the letters (which were easily removable...they just sort of hung like a picture would on a wall would.) When I got home and saw how awesome it looked I wanted it hung right away!!! He literally just screwed the whole thing on the wall...that sucker isn't going anywhere.

I really like that it has dimension to it and I am so happy he used the boards from the original house because that is just really neat to me!

With this project complete I am just about done with the short list of house projects I had been hoping to accomplish. Of course, there are always other things I want to do, but these were my top priority, so I'm a happy camper now. :-)

And don't forget that we are teamed up with Savvy Sassy Moms and some other wonderful ladies for the Joovy Tandem Stroller giveaway (a $400 value!)!

The contest ends tonight at 9 PM EST, so be sure to follow us on Instagram (@themagnoliamamas) to find all of the details of the giveaway and for your chance to win. The winner will be announced on Friday via Instagram!

View our Etsy Shop HERE.

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Leprechaun Lacquer

Not being one to miss an opportunity to celebrate a holiday (or the chance to put The Cutes in theme wear), I have started putting together fun little treats and gifts for St. Patrick's Day.

I came up with a super cute and easy nail polish gift for some of the fun ladies in my life. Teachers, friends, my mom...I love surprising them with cute little gifts like these.

While making the rounds at Target last week, I spotted these fun nail polish colors and thought they were perfect for St. Patrick's Day. Reading the fun names (which is my favorite part about picking out nail polish), I just knew that this little project was meant to be.

This green and the gold create the perfect color combo to help celebrate your Irish pride... or at least will keep those sneaky little leprechauns from pinching your hiney.

After adding the duo to my cart, along with 9,271 items I didn't realize I needed before I walked in there, I made my way home and created a few fun printables to pair with it.

I just printed, wrapped in a treat bag, tied with some green coordinating ribbon and voila...a fun little St. Patrick's Day treat complete.

I just couldn't help myself and made not one, but two fun printables to use with this gift. I thought the first one could also be used for a mani/pedi gift card or to pair with a fun foot scrub or lotion.

Sharing both printables for you to enjoy and create your own Leprechaun Lacquer treat.

To download the "Leprechaun Lacquer" printable click HERE.

To download the "Hands/Feet" printable click HERE.

Before we leave one more exciting thing to share. If you aren't following us on Instagram you should be (@themagnoliamamas)!! This week we are partnering with Savvy Sassy Moms, and a team of fabulous other writers/bloggers, to give away a Joovy stroller worth $400! For more details join us on Instagram or click HERE.

Good luck everyone!!

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Framed Maps

Those of you that have been reading this blog from the beginning might remember one of my first posts and home tour of my Living Room. I have been wanting to fill the blank walls behind our sectional couch since we moved in, but I just couldn't figure out what I wanted to put there. I felt like I needed something that would be cohesive on both walls, but didn't want to just buy a bunch of random pieces of wall art. My friend, K, has impeccable design taste and her house looks like a model home...it is so beautiful. One day when she and her kids were over for a playdate I asked her opinion of what I could do with those blank walls and she suggested few things, one of which was to frame different maps that might have special meaning to us. I LOVED that idea and immediately knew that is what I wanted to do.

A few weeks later I was talking with my friend, L, and she had done something really similar so I asked her where she got her maps, how she framed them, and all of the specifics of this project. She and her husband told me about the U.S. Geological Survey website, USGS, where there are maps of all areas of the United States for between $8-20 each, which was way cheaper than any I had found anywhere else online.

That is where my excitement and my project stalled for about 3 months. The website is kind of hard to navigate and every time I would take a look I would get frustrated and just put it off to another day. I finally got sick of re-writing "order maps" on my to-do lists so one night I stayed up late and just got it done. If you decide to order from this site, you can search just about anywhere and it will pull up all of the maps that are available for that area. I went with the 7.5 x 7.5 grid sized maps because that is what my friends had used.

I ordered 6 different maps of places that have special meaning to us...where we got married, the location of the homes we have lived in, the lake we love to go to, etc. It was fun looking at each map as it arrived and the kids were fascinated to see where we used to live and even where we currently live on a map.

My original plan was to have the Mr. build some frames to look like reclaimed wood (a project I found on Pinterest) and he had agreed to it, but then I found these beauties at Hobby Lobby and knew it was the same look I was going for.

Tell me I'm not the only one that takes pictures of stuff as I'm shopping so I can remember what it looks like and what store it's from!?!?

I waited a week for them to go on sale 50% off and then made the rounds to 3 different Hobby Lobby's to get the 6 I needed. I was so pumped I posted them on Instagram!

At one of the stores, I got to talking to the manager and he told me the story behind these frames. Apparently there is a gentleman that builds them for Hobby Lobby using reclaimed barn wood and fence posts from TX. They are all a little bit different and definitely weathered, which I love.

Mr. and I hung them all on Friday night and we were both so happy with the outcome. I am thrilled with the way they look and fill the space I so desperately wanted to fill. And, I especially love that they tell our story and are each meaningful to us.

I have a few other maps I ordered from the same site of some states, but they are all random and different sizes. I am going to have to either have them custom framed or talk the Mr. into building frames for those. That is a project for another time!

While I was on my mission to fill the walls I also found these distressed iron shutters at Hobby Lobby about a month ago. (Are you beginning to notice a trend here?!?! Hobby Lobby is my go-to place!) We hung them over the chairs in our living room and I finally feel like that room is complete now. :-)

View our Etsy Shop HERE.

Monday, March 2, 2015

Book Club: March

Hi Everyone!

Today is book club day! Yay! February's selection was blogger Melanie Shankle's The Antelope in the Livingroom. We hope you enjoyed the selection and can't wait to hear your thoughts. As promised, we will each give our thoughts on the books and then discuss below in the comments section with you guys.

Carrie Beth's Review:

I have a confession to make. I actually first read this book about a year ago and immediately fell in love with it. I suggested it to Jen as soon as I was done because I knew she would love it, too. I just recently re-read it this month since it was our selection for our Book Club. It was just as great and just as funny the second time around.

I love how Shankle writes in a very relaxed and laid back tone and turns everyday stories from her marriage into hilarious life lessons on marriage. I honestly think anyone that has been married for any length of time can relate to her stories. Each chapter focuses on a different lesson, so to speak, and she weaves in marital and spiritual truths into each chapter. I found myself laughing out loud on numerous occasions, to the point that my Mr. would look over and just ask me what in the world was so funny. I think my favorite chapter was when she wrote about going with her non-shopping husband to Gap to buy him new jeans. Hilarious! If you haven't read this book, it is a must if you are married!!!

Jen's Review:

I loved this book! It was fun, witty, and often at times I felt like Shankle I could be friends. I think it helped that her book was written in such a laid back conversational tone that it made me feel as though we were having a chat over a glass of wine rather than me reading from the pages of her book.

I loved her take on new love vs. old love, and the reality of marriage. She continually made me laugh out loud. I also couldn't help but realize maybe all hunter's wives have similar experiences because she might have an antelope, but I have Bob...

Oh Bob. Bob's tale is one best saved for another day.

Overall I enjoyed her book and it was a light, quick read.

Now to Discuss:

Did you enjoy the book? What was your favorite part? Did you learn anything from this book? Want want to hear your review! Post questions/thoughts/feelings in the comments below!

March's Book Club

March's Book Club selection is Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard.

From the Back Cover:

Mare Barrow's world is divided by blood—those with red and those with silver. Mare and her family are lowly Reds, destined to serve the Silver elite whose supernatural abilities make them nearly gods. Mare steals what she can to help her family survive, but when her best friend is conscripted into the army she gambles everything to win his freedom. A twist of fate leads her to the royal palace itself, where, in front of the king and all his nobles, she discovers a power of her own—an ability she didn't know she had. Except . . . her blood is Red.

To hide this impossibility, the king forces her into the role of a lost Silver princess and betroths her to one of his own sons. As Mare is drawn further into the Silver world, she risks her new position to aid the Scarlet Guard—the leaders of a Red rebellion. Her actions put into motion a deadly and violent dance, pitting prince against prince—and Mare against her own heart.

From debut author Victoria Aveyard comes a lush, vivid fantasy series where loyalty and desire can tear you apart and the only certainty is betrayal.

Happy Reading!

View our Etsy Shop HERE.

Magnolia Mamas

Pages

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Leprechaun Lookout Lens {Free Printables}

Monday, March 9, 2015

A {Wicked} Good Time

Friday, March 6, 2015

National Reading Month {A Giveaway}

Thursday, March 5, 2015

DIY Rustic Sign

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Leprechaun Lacquer

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Framed Maps

Monday, March 2, 2015

Book Club: March

Related Posts