Little Leprechauns

Photo Credit

St. Patrick's day was oh so fun in our house. We started our day with a visit from a naughty little Leprechaun. While Cute  was sleeping the sneaky little leprechaun snuck into his room and did lots of mischievous things. Toys were strewn about, books were knocked askew, pillows were disheveled and toilet paper was thrown everywhere. 

How do we know it was a sneaky little leprechaun? Because he left behind some leprechaun poop as evidence. And he left it everywhere. Naughty little guy. 

Cute woke up and instantly shouted, "Mommy! Somebody messed up my big beautiful bed. Annnnd my room! It's a big big mess!". 

I asked him who he thought it was and he said, "Little Cute came into my room and made this big mess!"

I couldn't figure out why he thought she did it, and then he said, "Becaaauuuse mommy. Look at the toilet paper." Touche little man. Little Cute does like to unroll herself some toilet paper. 

Once I showed him the "poop" he realized it was the leprechaun. But he also informed me that those weren't poops, they were treats because "leprechauns know how to poop in the potty like big boys mommy." 

Oh my. Nothing gets by that one.

After we cleaned up the mess, we got dressed and headed out the door for an early morning appointment. It was a holiday, so you know I didn't pass up the chance at wearing theme wear. 

Theme wear complete with sparkles and tulle. Some might say I went a little overboard, but I say nailed it! Just wait until Earth Day. ;)

We finished some errands and our appointment early before we were supposed to meet Carrie Beth and Boo-Boo, so we played at a local park for a little bit. 

We are all loving the abundance of sunshine and warm temps Mother Nature has been sending us lately. It makes me so giddy for summer I can't even stand it.

Boo-Boo arrived and the kids played outside for a solid hour without one single complaint. Carrie Beth and I were able to catch up and the kids climbed/jumped/ran their little hearts out. It was glorious!

After all that fresh air and exercise, the kids started to become ravenous. We took the cue and made way to one of our favorite places for lunch. McEntyre's Bakery used to be our go to place when everyone lived closer to that end of town. It is a yummy treat with its delicious sandwiches and mouthwatering desserts, and whenever we can we jump at the chance to enjoy a lunch date there. 

The kids loved picking out special treats from their endless dessert case. It is so hard to pick just one! 

After we wrapped up lunch, we headed home to enjoy more sunshine and fun outdoors. I didn't even take a picture because I wasn't about to miss one second of this taste of what spring has to offer. 

Finally as the sun started to go down, I called us all in for a late dinner of green eggs. Not pictured because really it was a last minute effort since we stayed out so late, but at least I stuck with the theme, right?  

Hope everyone had a fabulous St. Patrick's Day too! Did you do anything fun? Did the kids get into it? 

Now off to enjoy another sunshiny filled day and to continue blinding the good people of Atlanta with my winter pale legs. It doesn't get any better! :) 

Follow us on Pinterest HERE.

Follow us on Instagram HERE.

Follow us on Facebook HERE. 

View our Etsy Shop HERE. 

Follow us on Tsu HERE.

DIY Yarn Wreath {Tutorial}

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!  This is one holiday I don't really do anything for besides dressing in green.  When my kids were a little younger we built leprechaun traps and played it up more, but this year the extent of my celebrating was buying shamrock sugar cookies at the grocery store. Life has just been too busy lately.  Instead I'm looking ahead to Easter!  In a quest to figure out something to put on my front doors for Easter I turned to Pinterest and tried to find a few ideas.  I saw this yarn wreath and fell in love it it.  

I got to work making my own and I'm so pleased with the outcome! 

I actually made two for both of my front doors.  :-)

I knew I wanted to use blue because it would match the color of our porch ceiling...

And, because I had already made the Easter burlap garden flag and used blue and green.  This way everything could be tied everything together outside.  (You can find the flags HERE in our Etsy shop.)

It turns out, yarn wreaths are really very easy to make, but will just take a little bit of time.  I wrapped mine one night while I was watching TV, so it seemed to go quickly.  I just used a foam wreath and one "thing" of yarn for each of them.

When I brought these foam wreaths home, Boo-Boo was fascinated with them and thought it was hilarious to wear it around is neck.  :-)

To get started, I tied the yarn around the foam wreath to have a starting place.  

Then holding the yarn, I started wrapping it around and around and around, leaving it spaced out a bit to make sure none of the yarn overlapped or got out of line.

 Then I would just push the yarn together to make it tightly wrapped.  

 Then I pulled the end to keep it tight before I started with my next round of wrapping.  

After making it all the way back around, I tied the ends together, clipped the excess yarn and was ready to decorate it!

I hot glued the flowers on (see the full tutorial HERE) and then got to work on my bunnies. I had searched for a flat wooden bunny I could paint, but couldn't find any so I settled for these floral foam ones I found at Target in the Dollar Spot.  I just painted them white using a few coats of acrylic paint.  Blondie wanted to know why I was covering up the "beautiful flowers." :-)

At this point I was stuck because I couldn't figure out how to attach the bunnies to the wreaths. I kind of wanted them to be removable so these wreaths could be used after Easter.  Then it dawned on me that if I could find pins long enough I could just pin the bunny to the wreath in a few different places since they were both made out of foam and the bunnies were really light weight.  It worked like a charm and was actually nice because I could move them around a bit until I got the placement just right.  If you look closely, you can see a white pin on the bunny's foot and I have another one on the tail in the back.

That's it for my Easter yarn wreaths!  It was a super simple project and I'm sure I'll be making more for other occasions.  I just love having the outside of my house festive and decorated for holidays. Now that the weather has warmed up a bit I'm hoping to get some flowers planted soon and then we will officially be ready for spring!

Follow us on Pinterest HERE.

Follow us on Instagram HERE.

Follow us on Facebook HERE. 

View our Etsy Shop HERE. 

Follow us on Tsu HERE.

And The Winner Is...

Happy Monday everyone! Today we are announcing the winner to our $20 Books-A-Million gift card giveaway in honor of National Reading Month.

We loved reading everyone's favorite book choices, and there were many that we hadn't heard of and will have to add to our reading piles stat!

So without further a do, the winner of the Books-A-Million gift card is...

Yay! Congrats to our reader slb3334! Send an email to themagnoliamamas@gmail.com and we will get your prize to you right away!

And just to play along here are just some of our favorite books.

Magnolia Mamas Favorite Books

1: Savannah Blues - Mary Kay Andrews 

(Love all her novels, but the love affair began here.)

2. The Notebook - Nicholas Sparks

3. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom

4. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett

5. Twilight - Stephenie Meyer

(You know you loved it too.)

6. Night - Elie Wiesel

It's so hard to pick just one!!! :) 

Don't forget to join us in our book club and read this month's selection Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard. 

Happy National Reading Month!

Follow us on Pinterest HERE.

Follow us on Instagram HERE.

Follow us on Facebook HERE. 

View our Etsy Shop HERE. 

Follow us on Tsu HERE.

DIY Felt & Fabric Flowers {Tutorial}

Yea for Friday!!!  Next week I am going to share a little Easter wreath project I have been working on, but part of the project included some felt and fabric flowers. I have seen these flowers all over at craft and fabric stores, but I have a hard time buying something that I know I can make, so I gathered my supplies and got to work.  It was actually so simple and I loved how all of my flowers turned out!  

The first flowers I made were using felt and I made two different styles.  

They are made very similarly and for both I started with a small sheet of felt. They sell these at most craft/fabric stores, usually a few sheets for a $1, and they already come cut small enough to work with.  

First I found something round and small to use as a guide to cut a circle.  I used my magnetic pin holder, but you could us a CD, a large cup, small bowl, etc.  

I was able to get 4 circles cut from one sheet of the felt, giving me 4 flowers.  

You can see my circle is not perfect, and that is OK!  I promise you won't even be able to tell once the flower is done, so don't stress about the perfect circle.  

To make the scalloped edge felt flower you will follow the same steps as above, only you will scallop the edges of your circle before you begin and you will start rolling the spiral from the CENTER instead of the outside for these types of flowers.  

Then you just glue the end of the spiral to the back a, voila, you are done! 

Next up is the twisted and rolled fabric flower.  

For this I just used some scraps and left over fabric I've had forever.  It felt good to put it to use and I knew there was a reason I'd been holding onto it for so long!  :-) 

And that is it for the flower making!  It is so simple and if you have all of your supplies, you could definitely knock this out in no time flat.  As I was making them I starting thinking of all different ways I could use them.  Aside from the wreath I made, I think you could use these to make hair clips or headbands, to decorate and embellish a gift, to clip onto a tote bag or purse, or sew onto a pillow.  The possibilities are endless!  I hope someone tries to make these flowers and if you do, leave a comment and let me know how you plan to use them.

I have one funny story to share before I leave.  When I was making these flowers I was going to town.  It was so fun to roll the fabric and end up with the cute floral creations and I just couldn't stop. Next thing I knew, the circuit popped and my glue gun was dead.  Like a spark flying, smoke smelling, totally dead.  We had just been tagged by one of our Insta friends to post #widn (What I'm Doing Now) and this was what I posted about.  My poor glue gun had bit the dust and it was obviously time for an upgrade.  I had worked that thing to death.  :-)

Follow us on Pinterest HERE.

Follow us on Instagram HERE.

Follow us on Facebook HERE. 

View our Etsy Shop HERE. 

Follow us on Tsu HERE.

Happy Hour: The Montana Mule

A few months ago Carrie Beth wrote about her new love for the Moscow Mule. Well today I am going to introduce you to its less mentioned second cousin the Montana Mule. 

The Hubs made this drink during the snow storm we had a few weeks ago, and told me to try it. I was a little skeptical because I might be southern on a lot of things, but bourbon drinking isn't one of them. 

I was pleasantly surprised. I might now be a bourbon convert. You know, as long as it is heavily dosed with lime juice, ginger beer and ice, bourbon isn't that bad. Not at all. 

THE MONTANA MULE

1 - 1 1/2 oz. of bourbon whiskey.

5 oz of ginger beer.

4-5 ice cubes.

Add a splash of lime juice. 

Stir and drink. 

Carrie Beth mentioned where we got our fun copper mugs HERE, but I have also found some new favorites I thought I would share. 

This monogrammed option is a southerner's dream. I also like this monogram option and this monogram option. Who doesn't love a good monogrammed copper mug?

Another new favorite is this set.

I swoon! Hammered copper is my absolute fav! Some other fun hammered copper choices are these, this seriously adorable petite set, and these ones. 

Seriously all of them would be so fun to have in your bar. The cups are almost as much fun as the drink. Almost.

Have a great happy hour! Cheers!

Follow us on Pinterest HERE.

Follow us on Instagram HERE.

Follow us on Facebook HERE. 

View our Etsy Shop HERE. 

Follow us on Tsu HERE.

P.S. - Don't forget to enter our $20 gift card giveaway to Books-A-Million. Winner announced 3/16. For details and to enter click HERE!

Baby, Birthday, and Blogging

Can you tell I had a hard time coming up with a title for today's post?  It's a bit of randomness, but I do feel pretty proud that I strung it all together with my alliteration. :-)

Yesterday was such a fun day for me.  In the morning I got to go meet my brand new nephew who was not even 24 hours old at the time.  He wasn't expected to come for over a week, but his early arrival was an exciting surprise.  He is so tiny and so perfect!

While I was off getting my baby fix, Jen graciously offered to keep Boo-Boo for the morning.  The boys apparently had a blast together pretending to be ninjas and playing all sorts of boy stuff.

I met back up with Jen for a fun lunch and cupcakes to help her celebrate her birthday!  She might share more about her special day, but I had to at least write a little and say how much I love her and how I can't imagine my life without a best friend like her. :-)

Before I go, I want to direct everyone over to The Avenue where we are guest blogging today!  Check it out HERE.  And, don't forget that we are partnering with The Avenue to giveaway a $20 gift card to Books-A-Million.  All the details for entering this easy giveaway are HERE.

I'm off to chaperone a field trip today with lots of 2nd graders, which should keep me pretty busy and very entertained!  Hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday! (I'm on a roll with my alliteration.) 

Follow us on Pinterest HERE.

Follow us on Instagram HERE.

Follow us on Facebook HERE. 

View our Etsy Shop HERE. 

Follow us on Tsu HERE.