Aaronic Priesthood Theme for Young Men - FREE

My son is new to the youth organization at our church. He and his quorum have set a goal to memorize the new Aaronic Priesthood theme for the Young Men. The church website had a free download for the Young Women theme but there wasn't one available for the Young Men so we decided to make our own. I kept the design nice and simple and the lettering large and easy to read. 

Feel free to print off your own 8.5 x 11 copy through the link below. 

Download the NEW Young Men theme HERE.

Also, find my NEW Young Women theme poster HERE

and free printables for the 2020 youth theme "Go and Do" HERE.

Magnetic Bookmark Gift Set (Gifts Kids Can Make)

This magnetic bookmark gift set makes the sweetest little gift for anyone. It's perfect for parents, grandparents, siblings, and teachers. They're extremely budget friendly and easy to put together.

This year I helped my four year old make some of these bookmarks to give to her older sister and brothers for Christmas. I've probably said it 100 times, but I'll say it again. When children have opportunities to give they learn to love giving. Christmastime is the perfect time to give kids this opportunity. I especially love the value creating a homemade give adds to the experience. I've seen how the time, thought, and effort my children put into their gifts makes them especially excited about giving them. They become so focused on the gifts they're creating that they don't have much time to think about all the things they want. Be sure to check out more ideas on gifts that kids can make and give HERE.

Didn't these turn out so cute?

This is the perfect project to use up small scraps of scrapbook paper, or digital designs can easily be printed and used. I cut out strips of paper that were five inches long and 3/4 inch wide. The corners were then rounded, which was the perfect task for my four year old to help with.

We then folded the bookmarks in half and applied magnetic tape to the inside. I LOVE this ultra thin magnetic tape. I always have some on hand. It comes in handy for so many things and works perfectly for these bookmarks so they don't end up too bulky. You can see the bottom portion of the magnetic tape is slightly off center. This is so the magnets will line up evenly when closed. Experiment with the magnets you use so that they will be sure to close correctly.

To gift the bookmarks we packaged them together on a card with a quote at the bottom.

For my daughter we stuck with a Paris/music theme. For the boys we did Harry Potter and Star Wars.

I love the subtle Harry Potter hint these digital papers give. I probably could have easily come up with some wise words from Dumbledore or a found a great quote from JK Rowling to add to the bottom of the packaging but instead picked a quote that I thought my kids would love the most. Even though the quote doesn't really fit with the theme I knew my 10 year old would get a kick out of this one. Sticking with the Harry Potter theme though I used a free font called Harry P found on dafont.com.

This last one is for my Star Wars obsessed seven year old. Again, the quote isn't Star Wars related but he'll love it. I used the font called Star Jedi found on dafont.com.

My four year old especially loved clipping each bookmark onto the cards. She helped me wrap them up, complete with lots of pretty Christmas bows and put them under the tree. Her book obsessed siblings are going to love these bookmarks. I have a feeling they'll get a lot of use.

Find more gift ideas that kids can make HERE.

3D Perler Bead Pikachu

My kids went back to school this week. I feel like we start so much later than most of the country since we don't go back until after Labor Day. We had such a great summer that it was hard to send them off. My goal is always to give my kids somewhat of a good ol' fashioned summer. I want summertime to be a chance to slow down and explore life. To keep their eyes away from screens and give them a chance to get plenty of fresh air, go on bike rides, catch fireflies, carve soap, chew gum and learn to blow bubbles, swim, play at the park, read a lot of books, do arts and crafts, and hopefully have enough free time that they actually have a chance to be bored once or twice.

One thing my kids had fun with over the summer was creating things out of perler beads. My kids love these things! My nine year old got really creative and figured out how to make a 3D Pikachu. He then went on to make some other Pokemon characters and then my other kids started making them too and before you know it we had a house full of Pokemon!

My son thought other kids might like to learn how to make a 3D Pikachu too so he suggested we could put the instructions up on my blog. So here it is:

How to make a 3D Pikachu out of Perler Beads

Follow the pattern below to create the pieces to build your Pikachu. As you can see the feet on the green plate need to be on a plate that has pegs at an angle.

Here are all the pieces ironed and ready to start building. The key to making your Pikachu come together easily is to iron the pieces just enough to have them melt together. If you use too much heat and pressure so that the pieces get too flat it will be hard for the pieces to fit together easily.

Putting your Pikachu together is kind of like building a 3D puzzle. The pieces fit and lock together. Follow the visual instructions below to build your Pikachu.

All done! Isn't he cute?

Using the basic design of the Pikachu it's easy to create other Pokemon. Here are a few favorites: Wartortle, Charmander, Pikachu, Minccino, and Charizard.

Learn how to make a 3D Perler Bead Pokeball HERE!

Now go create 'em all!

Felt Tool Set (Free Pattern Included)

Remember these . . .




If you've been hanging around Serving Pink Lemonade long enough you'll remember when I made my felt tool set years ago.  I made them for my oldest son when he was little but they're having a second go around now with my four year old.  This kid is my handy man.  He loves anything to do with tools, construction work, and trucks.  He loves this tool set and I love that I don't have to worry when he hammers the wall or saws my kitchen table because they're made out of felt and super soft.  It's a win-win!

Browsing around Pinterest I came across my pattern made into a quiet book page--which is so perfect because I don't think you can find a quieter set of tools.  This set would also make a fun homemade gift for a first or second birthday.

Find the instructions and template to make your own felt tools HERE.

And the toolbox?  HERE.



Happy crafting!

Baby Shower Printable

A friend of mine is expecting a little baby boy any day now.  I threw her a little shower last month to help celebrate her upcoming arrival.

I kept the decorations fairly simple sticking to a blue and white color scheme.  I decorated with a pennant banner, lots of balloons and this printable to help personalize the decor a little.  I just love pastel blue to celebrate baby boys.  There's just something so sweet and cozy about that color.

After creating my printable I stuck it in this frame from Ikea.  These frames cost only $1 and I love their unique shape.

 I just have to mention that these balloon sticks have been one of the best purchases I've ever made.  They come in handy for everything and make it so easy to decorate for birthdays or parties.  I got a pack of 144 and they are going to last me forever.  When I bought them I wasn't thinking that I could reuse the sticks when I was done with them so I think I'm set with balloon sticks for just about the rest of my life.  I picked up these glass vases at the dollar store filled them with tissue paper and stuck three 9" balloons in each one and placed them on a large paper dollie--my favorite touch.  Simple, inexpensive, big impact.

Here I used the balloon sticks again, this time in a larger vase, to create a bigger "bouquet".  I love how it turned out.

Feel free to use my printable for yourself  . . . or a friend.

Gifts Kids Can Make: Super Hero Magnets

Like many little boys, my boys love super heroes!  Batman has been especially popular at our house since the Lego Movie came out.  My son even had a super hero themed birthday party a few years ago. When I saw these free printable super hero stickers at Great Kids Birthday Parties I immediately pinned them.  I knew they would come in handy for something fun sometime . . . I just didn't know what yet.

As I was helping my kids come up with ideas for gifts they could make their siblings this year for Christmas I remembered these super hero stickers and realized they would be perfect for making some fun homemade magnets.

To make the magnets we printed off the stickers we wanted (I had to shrink them down a bit to fit our stones) and cut them out.  We then used a thin layer of modge podge to glue the super hero images to the glass stones (like I did here).  I've stocked up on glass stones from SSC Supplies.  I love the size and uniformity of their stones.  They come in handy for so many things that I like to always have a few around.  Last year I used them to make these pendant necklaces.

We then added a magnet to the back of the stones using some hot glue and they were ready to wrap and put under the tree.  I love how they turned out!  I'm kind of tempted to make a few more . . . 

Gifts Kids Can Make: Peg People

A few years back my husband and I made some peg people for Mr. J's Christmas gift.  Last year, he decided that he would make some peg people for his brothers.  It was fun to watch him decide what kind each of his brothers would like the most.  He made 3 sets of peg people: 4 little ninjas, 4 Minecraft characters, and 4 super heroes. 

This is such a fun gift for kids to make!  All you need is a bag of peg people (we picked ours up at Hobby Lobby), paint, and some paint brushes.  Then let your imaginations run wild!

13 for your 13th

You may not know this but Amy and I have a brother that is much younger than us.  He recently turned 13.  The older Jacob gets the harder he is to get gifts for.  And now he's a teenager! Teenage boys may just be the hardest demographic to shop for.  Another sister, Elise, and I decided to put together 13 little gifts for his 13th birthday.

We brainstormed and came up with some ideas of things he would like.  These are obviously specific to our little brother but maybe they will help you come up with something awesome for the teenage boy in your life!

1. A movie

2. 13 reasons why he is awesome

3. Red Vines (food is always a hit with boys)

4. Colorful sharpies for his newfound interest in art

5. Sweet and Salty granola bars... his favorite snack

6. 13 new recipes for him to try

7. A monogramed bucket... he can store those new sharpies inside!

8. A framed picture of Jacob with his sisters

9. Fun duct tape... to make a wallet or tie or anything else he can imagine up!

10. A cd of songs we love and that he should know

11. Thank you cards--since he is  always stealing Mom's 

12. Sudoku

13. Cereal.  Something that he loves and our mom doesn't buy much of!

I think the gift was a big hit (especially all the food!) What creative gift ideas have you come up with for the teenager in your life?