It's Party Time! Let's Dare to Share!

It's Friday night, and you know what that means.. 

It is time to Dare to Share!  

Happy Memorial Day weekend! 

I'm sorry that the party is going up a little bit late this week.  Both D and I had the day off today, which totally threw off my schedule.  All day Thursday I thought it was Friday, and that I should write the Dare to Share post.  Today (Friday) I kept thinking today was Saturday,  and not that I had the day off of work for the holiday weekend. Since we had some extra time off today, we stopped by a park near where we live and went for a short hike.  We had just been to the same park in April, when the trees were just starting to bud.  Today everything was lush and green, and perfect weather.

Speaking of green, graduation weekend went very well.  The ceremony was enjoyable, and everyone had  good time. The very last picture I took that day was when he was goofing around and jumping in the air.  I just happened to catch him mid air, and this was the result.   This picture is definitely frameable.  

Graduation was definitely on my mind this week. In my shop this week, I got my Graduation Candy Bar Wrappers listed, and will have my Graduation Game up this weekend.   We will be using versions of  both at our graduation party in a few weeks.  

I wrote a blog post called the unofficial start of summer this week.  Is anyone else as amazed as I am that summer is already here?  

Well now that you know what I have been up to, I would love to see what you have been up to. Since this party is already  starting late, I better get it started.  Link up and HAVE FUN! 

 

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The Unofficial Start of Summer

Happy almost Memorial Day! It's kind of hard to believe that the unofficial start of summer starts in just a few days. I wrote in previous posts that this May has been a blur. It won't slow down much in the upcoming weeks, because we have things going on pretty much every week until after the 4th of July. 

We survived graduation week. This was the last picture that I took at the graduation.  We thought this picture was really funny when I caught him mid jump. It is a keeper for sure! I am currently planning his graduation party which is planned for mid June. 

While I will be making some custom wrappers for our party,  I did just add some new  printable graduation candy bar wrappers in my Etsy shop this week.  

We are looking forward to having a few extra days off of work to celebrate Memorial Day this year.  We will be attending a cookout, but I am not sure about the rest of the weekend.  If you are having any parties or cookouts that you are going to host or attend,  here are a few of my previous patriotic posts  if you are looking for some new ideas. 

While I originally created this post for 4th of July a few years back, these Easy Pops might be a fun treat for your Memorial Day parties.  I have been asked to bring potato salad to the party we are attending, but I might make these again for the 4th of July.  

If you are out and about buying flowers this weekend, I thought I would share one of my favorite planters I made.  I loved the look of the red, white and blue flowers.  You can read more about how I put it together here.

When it was time to celebrate the 4th, I added these easy fireworks to make it even more festive.  This would be a fun craft to make with kids. 

Whatever you do this during this unofficial first weekend of summer, I hope it is a good one! 

 

 

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It's Time to Dare to Share

It's Friday night, and you know what that means.. 

It is time to Dare to Share! 

Remember a few weeks ago when I mentioned how busy May is if you have a student.  Well, this week is the BIG week in our house.  On Wed, we had our first ceremony, where my bonus son had his Senior recognition ceremony (basically graduation since they were wearing gowns) for his career and technology high school. They are wearing different colors because kids that attend come from many different districts.  Today was mandatory practice for his official high school graduation from our home district, and he just happened to have also passed his drivers test today.  On Sunday we have his official graduation.  We have set the dates for his graduation party, and I am in the midst of making plans.  It will be in June, so I have a few weeks to work on it.  

   

While I did not have the chance to do an extra blog post this week, I did get a new listing adding to my Etsy Shop   I love making Treasure Hunts and my latest one is for Father's Day. If you are looking for a fun activity to do with dad, go check it out.  

Now that I know what you have been up to, I would love to see what you have been doing.   Link up your links and HAVE FUN! 

 

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Dare to Share Saturday!

It's Friday night, and you know what that means.. 

It is time to Dare to Share! 

One more week into May, and more activities have been added to our busy schedule.  In the upcoming week is an award ceremony, a mandatory rehearsal, and of course graduation. Today we rented the location for the graduation party which will be in mid June. We just don't have time to have the party before then.   Mother's Day this weekend will be a little low key.  My mom and my kids live in other states, so I will not be seeing them on Sunday. I will be talking to them by phone, and have plans to see them soon. We have plans to visit D's mom on Sunday, so it should still be a nice day. 

Last weekend was a lot of fun!  I shared a post about our visit to the Hot Wheels Monster Truck Glow Party this week. We had a really good time. There are many more upcoming locations, and I definitely recommend checking out if they will be in your area.  Tickets are affordable, and it's a great family activity.   

I did not list anything new in my Etsy Shop this week, but I am almost finished with a few new Father's Day listings. I hope to have them up in the next few days. 

Now that you know what I have been up to, I would love to see what you have been doing this week.  Link up and HAVE FUN! 

 

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Our visit to the Hot Wheels Monster Truck Live Glow Party

I am going to start the post right off by saying this is not a sponsored post.  We saw that the Hot Wheels Monster Truck Live Glow Party was going to be in our area, and decided to check it out. We bought our own tickets, where were very affordable. While we do not have younger kids or grandkids, we went to the show without kids and still had a great time.

When we first got to the show we saw some of the cars on the floor doing some practice runs and making sure everything was okay with their cars.    (pictured are Bone Shaker and Race Ace) 

It was nice to see the cars before hand in the light, because they are harder to see once the show starts. In this picture Demo Derby is in the front on the left, Gunkster behind her,and Bone Shaker on the back right.  The reason why I said her when I mentioned Demo Derby is because that truck is driven by a female driver named Taylor Holman.  She is in her mid 20s and grew up around trucks her whole life.  In fact many of the drivers of the other trucks are here family.   Her husband, dad, father in law and uncle are all drivers in the show.  

In this photo you can see the some of the cars lined up before the show.   This is the view from our seats, and from there they really did look like actual Hot Wheels.  Starting from the left are Big Foot, Mega Wrex, Race Ace and Gunkster.  Not pictured are Tiger Shark, Demo Derby, and Bone Shaker.   

During the show we were at Bone Shaker had some mechanical issues and went out after the first competition. 

This show is called a Glow Party for a reason.  All of the vehicles in the show were lit up for most of the show.  Many of the people in audience were given glow sticks and wore glowing bracelets and necklaces. 

About halfway through the show the motocross riders came out and did some amazing jumps and tricks. 

One of the most exciting parts of the show is when Megasaurus made an appearance.  The crowd went wild when the moving dinosaur vehicle eats an actual car.  

While all trucks were amazing, the star of the show had to be the Tiger Shark, who you can see jumping in the video above.  

If would love to go to a fun activity that is good for the entire family definitely check out the upcoming event locations and see if it is going to be in your area.  

 

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Time to Dare to Share!

It is Friday night, and you know what that means.. 

It is time to Dare to Share! 

Welcome to May! 

For those of you who have anything to do with a school as a parent, teacher and even the students), May is the busiest time of the year.  May is very busy in our house this year.  My bonus son is finishing up high school in the next two weeks, and graduating in three weeks.  We will sometime in the next month or so be having a graduation party which I still need to plan.  My son finished up his first full year at MSU this week, and will be starting his summer semester in a couple of weeks.   At the preschool where I work, we are finishing up the school year, and will be having a graduation and party there as well.

This week over in my Etsy Shop I have been busy creating lots of new printables for all the things going on in May like Mother's Day, Teacher Appreciation, and Graduation.   One of the favorite things that I added to my shop are these Teacher Appreciation Gift Card Holders. 

Every single weekend in the month of May big things are happening.  This weekend is eventful with the Kentucky Derby, and  Coronation. On Saturday evening we are going to a really cool monster truck glow show that is sponsored by Hot Wheels. I will be posting about our visit, in case it comes to your area. (there are A LOT of upcoming shows)   Next weekend is Mothers Day, the weekend after that is graduation, followed by Memorial Day the weekend after that.  Whew!  It is tiring just to think about.   

Do you have a crazy month of May as well?  

Well, it is getting late and I need to get some sleep for our busy weekend, so let's get this party started. 

Link up and HAVE FUN!!  

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It's Time to Dare to Share!

It is Friday night, and you know what that means..

It is time to Dare to Share! 

Happy Friday! 

Is it just me, or did this week fly by? On the Fridays I am not visiting Michigan, my good friend and I text Happy Friday to each other. Tonight when we chatted, both of us were amazed it was already Friday again. It truly feels like I was just in Michigan yesterday.

Even though this week was a whirlwind, I did get things accomplished.  

It is almost graduation season! Did you know that I am planning a graduation party?  D's youngest will be graduating this May as long as he gets everything finished in time.  In my post graduation party ideas this week I shared a lot of the supplies I picked up already from the Dollar Tree.  If you have not checked out their 2023 graduation line, you will definitely want to see it. They have so many great things that will help you throw a graduation party on a budget. There will also be a birthday party coming up in a few months as well, but more on that later.  

 

I also added two new Mother's Day listings to my Etsy Shop.   Working with preschool children now, I am seeing a lot more crafts for younger kids like this Butterfly Mother's Day Handprint Craft

and this Mother's Day Flower Handprint Craft.  In the next few days I will be adding several new teacher appreciation and graduation listings in the next few days. 

Now that I shared what I have been up to, I would love to see what you have been up to this week. 

It is getting to be that time, so let's get this party started! 

Link up and HAVE FUN! 

 

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Graduation Party Ideas

 

It's that time of year again, it's graduation season.  It's hard to believe how fast this last year went, and that it is already the end of school year.  This year I will be involved in two graduation ceremonies/parties.   My new job is at a preschool and daycare, and we will be having a graduation ceremony for the kids who are moving on to kindergarten next year in early June.  If everything goes well in the next few weeks, I am also planning a graduation party for my bonus son.  I have been picking up a lot of graduation party items from the Dollar Tree to prepare for our party sometime this summer. 

**this post contains affiliate links

While I have bought more than what is posted, here are some of my favorite items so far. 

I bought this sign from the Dollar Tree. I think is would look great in photos  while being held by the graduate.  

We are going to use this as the cake topper. It has a nice elegant look. 

I am not sure what I am going to do with this graduation cap yet, but I really liked the size of it. 

These party picks are new for 2023.  They would look great with various party foods. You get 24 per pack.    Also available are picks that say Class of 2023. 

I plan on hanging this 2023 graduation banner on a long wall in the dining room or in our main hallway. 

If you plan on having a photo booth, these photo props will be fun and inexpensive to use. 

How adorable are these graduation gnomes! When I saw them I just had to get them to add to my gnome collection.  

I 

I picked up these led number lights recently.  I can not find them on the website, but if you see them grab them, because they were going fast! 

We are still in the early phases of the planning our party, so there will be more posts with food and other ideas in the coming weeks.  Did you know that on the Dollar Tree website there is a value seekers blog with a lot of graduation ideas ?  There are many great ideas over there, so be sure to stop over and check it out. 

Over in my Etsy Shop I have a few graduation party listings currently available like this chocolate bar wrappers. Over the next few weeks, I will be adding several more items for this graduation season.  

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Dare to Share Saturday

It is Friday night, and you know what that means.. 

It is time to Dare to Share! 

Somehow this week got away from me. I know I was busy, but I can't remember exactly what I did this week. It was a pretty average week, with nothing major coming to my mind.  Do you ever have weeks like that? I worked every day at the preschool/daycare, and spent some time on my Etsy shop.  D somehow tweaked his back on Sunday and hasn't been able to do to much this week so we did not really do anything exciting.  We are visiting friends and family in Michigan this weekend, which is why the party is going up a little late tonight. 

I was hoping to write a blog post, but it did not happen.  I will try for two posts next week.  I was also hoping to get a new listing up.  While I have been working on some, they are not quite ready to list. 

Hopefully you have more to share than I did this week.  With that let's get this party started.    Link up and HAVE FUN! 

 

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Time to Dare to Share

It is Friday night, and you know what that means.. 

It is time to Dare to Share! 

Did you have a Happy Easter? This year was a little different for us.  We had warm beautiful weather on Easter Sunday. A few of D's kids had other places they needed to be, so D and I had a few hours to ourselves.  We decided to go to a nearby park and go for a hike.  They trails were not that long, and there are some very pretty spots for pictures like at this waterfall. Some days it is really nice to go out, relax, and admire nature.

 

Now that Easter is over, I am starting to work on Mothers Day on both my blog and Etsy Shop.    On the blog I shared this post on how to make Flower Cupcakes, and in my shop I have products for mom like coupons, a questionnaire from kids, and breakfast in bed menu. I am hoping to add some more new items in the next week or so as well.  

Well it looks like it is time to get the party started. I would love to see what you have been up.  So link up and HAVE FUN! 

 

 

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Flower Cupcakes for Mother's Day

Now that Easter is over, it is time to think about Mother's Day.

 This year it will be interesting celebrating Mother's Day, because not only do I live in a different state than my mom, I now also live in a different state than my kids who are college age.

We will probably spend the day with my boyfriend's mom that day.  She is like a bonus mom to me, so I might be making some of these flower cupcakes.   I made them a few years back for one of my best friend's birthday which is right before Mother's Day, and she loved them. 

After you bake and frost your cupcakes (I used a box mix), it is time to make the candy flowers.  You will need a bag of candy fruit slices, which you can find reasonably priced in most candy aisles.   Sprinkle some granulated sugar on a flat surface, and lay the candy piece on it.  

 The sugar is needed to keep the candy from sticking when being rolled out.  Make sure both sides are covered with the sugar as you flatten it.  It should about 1/8 th of an inch thick. 
 

Cut the flattened candy in half lengthwise.  You will need to have about 3 strips per flower, so if you make a dozen cupcakes, plan on making at least 24 strips. (12 pieces of flattened candy) 

 Once you have all of your candy pieces flattened, it is time to assemble the flowers.  Start by rolling the pieces, and pinching the bottom as you roll to make it stick together.  Use about 3 pieces for each flower, or until you get the size flower that you like.  It's okay if it looks little blobby at this point, because it looks much better when it's placed on a cupcake. 

Once you have made the flowers, it is time to make the leaves.   To make a leaf, you will use green chewy candy. To be honest, I can not remember what kind I used on my cupcakes, but light green color was a pretty addition.  Place the chewy candy in the microwave for a few seconds and until it is soft enough to shape in the a leaf. 

I added the leaves to the cupcakes, and also some red sprinkles to a few plain cupcakes.   My friend was definitely surprised and loved her cupcakes.  

Another gift idea for mom to give her in addition to the cupcakes is to give her coupons.  I have several versions like this one, and some other Mother's Day printables in my Etsy Shop if you are interested in checking them out. 

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