Week at a Glance:

• Book of the week GIVEAWAY: Wherever You Are My Love Will Find You by Nancy Tillman
• Mother’s Day Gift Ideas Made by Kids

Book of the week GIVEAWAY: Wherever You Are My Love Will Find You by Nancy Tillman

Why we love this book:

This book is magical! Both the lyrical, rhyming words and the fantastical paintings are magical.  The message is quite simple, “I wanted you more than you ever will know, so I sent love to follow wherever you go.” A message that all children need hear over and over again! “In the green of the grass . . . in the smell of the sea . . . in the clouds floating by . . . at the top of the tree . . .  in the sound crickets make at the end of the day. . . You are loved. You are loved. You are loved, they all say.”

The sweet phrases encourage children to climb tall mountains, go out on a limb, dance until they’re dizzy, paint ’til they’re blue because, “There’s no place, not one, that my love can’t find you.”

This Mother’s Day, give yourself a treat. Grab a tissue and read Wherever You Are My Love Will Find You. It will be hard to find a another book that so sweetly expresses how much we Mommy’s love our little babes (even if they’re way grown).

This book is an absolutely wonderful baby shower gift. Long after the wee ones have grown out of their bottles, toys and onesies, Mommy can read Wherever You Are My Love Will Find You and both Mommy and child can revisit the magical message of Mommy’s unconditional love.

Homemade Mother’s Day Gifts Made by Kids

 The Kissing Hand Mother’s Day Card

• step by step directions with photos and samples

DIY Mother’s Day Hand Print Canvases Made by Children

• step by step directions with photos and samples
• professional looking DIY gift by kids

Homemade Mother’s Day Collage Cards

• step by step collage directions and samples with pictures

Mother’s Day Portraits

• samples of Mommy Portraits and Children’s Conversations about Mommy

Easy Painted Photo Frames

• step by step directions and samples with pictures
• We painted these photo frames at Christmas for Grandma and Grandpa but they would make a lovely Mother’s Day or Father’s Day gift.

Colorful Herb Container Gardens

• step by step directions, soil mixture and samples with pictures
• Since both Grandma’s love to garden, the kiddos usually plant a special container garden for their Mother’s Day Gifts.

Fun With Feathers Mother’s Day Surprise

• these fun feather designs were dreamed-up and created by my children as Mother’s Day gifts
• photo samples

We’re GIVING AWAY one Hardcover copy of Wherever You Are My Love Will Find You by Nancy Tillman

To enter this contest, use the Rafflecopter to answer the following question. After you leave a comment, you can move ahead with more entries.

Answer the following question in the comments section of this post.

What do you love most about your mother?  (Or just say “Hey.” We’re flexible around here.)

The Rules:

No entries after 11:59 pm Central Time, Thursday, May 9, 2013

The winner must be a resident of The United States.

The winner will be selected at random and announced Friday, May 10, 2013. Check back to claim your prize. It might be you!

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

sharing this week at:

Hip Homeschool Moms

Week at a Glance:

• Book of the Week GIVEAWAY: Hug by Jez Alborough
• DIY Mother’s Day Hand Print Canvases

Book of the Week GIVEAWAY: Hug by Jez Alborough

What more do you want for Mother’s Day than a great, big, loving hug from your sweet, little monkeys? In this adorably sweet picture book, little chimpanzee gets separated from his mother. As he travels through the forest he sees all of the other animals sharing hugs with Mommy. Until at last, he is reunited with Mommy and they embrace for a great, big, loving hug! The story is simply told through the adorable pictures and amazingly just one word: HUG.

Miss Enigma is currently studying bugs and making a bug book. Bug is one of her new easy, familiar words. Hug fits in nicely with bug and the word family ug: bug, hug, mug, rug, tug . . . .

DIY Hand Print Canvases

I was brainstorming hand print projects to accompany our book Hug, when I ran across ultra cute Hand Print Canvases on pinterest. The hand print canvases were originally pinned from Mod Podge Rocks by My Life and Kids. I like ART not crafts. So I let my kiddos put their own twist on their Mother’s Day gifts for Grandma. This is a very simple project that the children can do with a bit of direction.

Supplies:

• White Canvas: I bought 2 in a pack at Hobby Lobby ($5.99 minus 40% discount)
  • 11″ x 14″, almost 1″ thick
• Acrylic Paints
• Scrapbook paper
• Mod Podge ( I used Matte as I didn’t want an ultra gloss look.)
• Paint brushes
• Foam brush for Mod Podge
• Scissors
• Sharpie Marker
• Elmer’s Glue (optional)

Step 1:  Paint Canvas

• The trick is to water down the paints! Then add more water!
• The children created their own designs using coordinating colors.
• I love these watery canvases! I’m buying two more and the children are painting watery Canvas Art for my bedroom!
• We put the canvases out in the sun to dry quickly. You can also blow dry with a hairdryer.

Step 2: Trace Hand

• We simply traced the kiddos’ hands on the back of the scrapbook paper.
• I didn’t want pencil lines to show on the front side after cutting out the hands.
• I helped Miss Enigma trace her hand.

Step 3: Cut Out Hand

• MacGyver could easily cut out his hand.
• Miss Enigma asked for our help cutting out her hand.

Step 4: Cut Out Hearts for Name Card

• I made a simple heart template to trace on white cardstock.

Step 5: Write Name and Age on Heart

• The kiddos each wrote their own names and age.
• MacGyver even wrote his name in cursive. He is big into writing his signature these days!

Step 6: Plan Design

• The kiddos decided which hands they would put together on each canvas.

Embellish Design if Desired! (optional)

• Both of my children are accustom to creating their own works of art. Consequently, MacGyver began cutting out butterflies to embellish their hand prints.
• I absolutely love how my children’s creativity is always one step ahead of mine!

 Step 7: Tack Together Pieces With a Little Glue

• Just to keep all of the little pieces in their correct places, the children used a little glue to keep their designs intact.
• You could also add embellishments after you Mod Podge your entire canvas and hand prints.

Step 8: Write Year on Canvas with Sharpie Marker

• MacGyver asked if he could write the year on the canvas. Of course, go for it!

Step 9: Cover Entire Canvas with Mod Podge

• Be sure your paint has dried so it doesn’t smear under the Mod Podge.

Step 10: Place Hand Prints on Canvas and Cover Again with Mod Podge.

• Our hand prints bubbled a bit during this step. We gently, pushed the bubbles out and tapped down all of the paper. When it dried their were no bubbles. I think we might have needed just a bit more Mod Podge on the canvas for the under coat.
• After the canvas and hand prints dried a bit, we added one more coat of Mod Podge. I just wanted to make sure everything adhered nicely.

Give these Hand Print Canvases to both Grandma’s and then make a set for yourself!

Happy Mother’s Day to You! Wishing you many HUGS!

Life with Jeannine

We’re GIVING AWAY one copy of HUG by Jez Alborough

To enter this contest, use the Rafflecopter to answer the following question. After you leave a comment, you can move ahead with more entries.

Answer the following question in the comments section of this post.

What is the best gift your little monkeys’ have ever made for you? Mine are always drawing me “I Love You” pictures and picking me “I Love You” flowers from our yard. They are such sweethearts! (Or just say “Hey.” We’re flexible around here.)

The Rules:

No entries after 11:59 pm Central Time, Sunday, May 5, 2013

The winner must be a resident of The United States.

The winner will be selected at random and announced Monday, May 6, 2013. Check back to claim your prize. It might be you!

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sharing this week at:

Hip Homeschool Moms

I know Mother’s Day has passed but I just had to share one more post featuring this special day. We celebrated Mother’s Day by spending the day dealing with real-life motherhood! In our home, we have been sick for over three weeks. One kiddo started with a virus, passed it to the second kiddo and then both kiddos were kind enough to share the virus with Mommy and Daddy. Consequently, we spent Mother’s Day just trying not to feel totally miserable, sitting outside in the lovely spring air, watching the children play outside. Putting the sickness aside, the day was pleasantly nice and quiet.

My mother’s day weekend began with a lovely surprise bouquet of flowers from the children. They pick flowers for me almost daily but they went all out on this spring bouquet. These backyard bouquets full of love for Mommy are one of the highlights of motherhood for me. They simply make my heart smile.

But that was just the beginning to their creative surprises . . .

Fabulous Feather Creations

On Mother’s Day the children found a bag of feathers left over from a Sunday School project. One dollar worth of feathers turned into an afternoon full of creativity and extraordinary Mother’s Day gifts for yours truly.The children came up with these projects completely on their own. I was certainly in no shape to contribute to their ingenuity. I cherish these opportunities when I get to sit back and watch my little kiddos blossom!

Supplies:

• small colored feathers
• toothpicks
• twist ties
• clear tape (lots and lots of tape!)

I was first presented with two feathery swimming fish . . .

Next, a hummingbird flew in for a visit.

After a bit of trial and error, two delicate hummingbirds fluttered on over my way . . .

But what are all hummingbirds searching for? Colorful flowers full of sweet nectar, of course . . .

Before long I had a garden of colorful, wispy flowers to share with the hummingbirds . . .

And just like in nature, the hummingbirds were engineered to drink nectar right from the flowers! Mother’s day gifts don’t get any better than this!

I am totally captivated by my two little artistic geniuses. Just as a mother should be.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Life with Jeannine

Sharing this week at:

ABC and 123 Learning

Book of the Week GIVEAWAY: The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn

Why we love this book:

More than anything children want to know that they are loved and they are safe. The story of The Kissing Hand assures children that no matter where they go or what they do, “‘Mommy loves you. Mommy loves you.” When little Chester raccoon is frightened to leave Mommy to go off to  school, Mommy shares the secret of The Kissing Hand. It doesn’t get much sweeter than this story for Mother’s Day!

The Kissing Hand Mother’s Day Card

On pinterest, I saw a sample of a child’s hands cut-out to form a heart.  I immediately thought of the book The Kissing Hand and Mother’s Day. The children created one of a kind collage Kissing Hand Mother’s Day cards. 

Supplies

• The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn
•  white card-stock
• tissue paper
• glue
• pencil
• scissors

Step 1: Trace Hand

• fold card-stock in half
• trace child’s hand with thumb and pointer finger placed on fold of paper

Step 2: Collage Hand

• unfold card-stock and collage entire side of card stock covering hand areas
• you don’t have to trace both hands, you’ll fold again and cut in next step
• it doesn’t matter if child glues outside of lines as the hands will be cut-out
• let the glue dry
• This step is totally optional. You could finger paint or decorate with any art medium. Or you could cut-out the plain paper and be done!

Step 3: Cut-out Hand

• fold paper in half once again
• cut-out hand, leaving thumb and pointer finger attached
• younger children will need help with this step

The Kissing Hands are ready for a special message for Mommy, Grandma or even Daddy on Father’s Day.

Life with Jeannine

We’re GIVING AWAY one copy of  The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn.

To enter this contest, just answer the following question in the comments section of this post.

What is the hardest thing you’ve had to let your child do? Go off to school or summer camp? Go off to volunteer in South Africa? The hardest goodbye I had was when I left my little kiddos to volunteer in Cambodia. I can’t believe I’m going to Cambodia again this summer! (Or just say “Hey.” We’re flexible around here.)

The Rules:

One entry per person, please.

No entries after 8:00 pm Central Time, Thursday, May 10, 2012

The winner must be a resident of The United States.

The winner will be selected at random and announced Friday, May 11, 2012. Check back to claim your prize. It might be you!

Sharing this week at:

ABC and 123 Learning

Hip Homeschool Moms

Book of the Week GIVEAWAY: Love You Forever by Robert Munsch

Why we love this book:

“I’ll love you forever, I’ll like you for always, As long as I’m living my baby you’ll be.” Most are familiar with this classic book and song about the enduring love of motherhood. I’ve been rocking and singing to babies for a long time. This Mother’s Day, I’m getting ready to travel halfway across the world to rock and sing to some very special, little babies.

Meet my baby Alyssa, my almost 26-year-old baby. Alyssa is my youngest child and I guess the youngest child is forever labeled the baby in the family. Many of you know that in January I gave Alyssa a great-big, tear-filled hug and put her on an airplane to South Africa.  Talk about a tear-jerker! I knew there would be no hugs for my baby for six months.

But Alyssa had important volunteer work to do and it was time for me to let her go out into the world to give of herself to others. Since January, Alyssa has been rocking, hugging, loving and caring for abandoned babies at The Door of Hope in South Africa.

Almost immediately upon her arrival Alyssa began asking me to come visit her in South Africa. At first I thought, “That’s crazy, I’m not going to South Africa. This is your adventure not mine!”

Then I let myself toy with the idea, “Maybe I should go. Why not? When will I ever have this opportunity again? It seems just a little too ironic that when I was a little girl I dreamed of being a missionary in Africa.”

But then I came to my senses, “I don’t have the time or money to travel to South Africa! What was I thinking?! No! I’m definitely not going!”

But you know how your little kiddos can talk you into doing the unexpected. Well, it doesn’t get any easier to say no as they get older. Before I knew it, I really let myself begin to dream of visiting Alyssa and volunteering at The Door of Hope.

It’s official, I’m going to South Africa! I have my ticket and everything. This year for Mother’s Day, I’m giving myself two gifts. First, I get to travel to South Africa where I’ll hug my baby and tell her “I’ll love you forever!” Second, in my own way, I’ll get to live my dream of being a missionary in Africa. I’ll hug and rock those sweet little babies and sing them a lullaby like, “I love you forever, I’ll like you for always . . .”

Life with Joyce

We’re GIVING AWAY one copy of  Love You Forever by Robert Munsch.

To enter this contest, just answer the following question in the comments section of this post.

What is the craziest thing your children have talked you into doing? It’s probably also one of your fondest memories! (Or just say “Hey.” We’re flexible around here.)

The Rules:

One entry per person, please.

No entries after 8:00 pm Central Time, Sunday, May6, 2012

The winner must be a resident of The United States.

The winner will be selected at random and announced Monday, May 7, 2012. Check back to claim your prize. It might be you!