Easy Paint Stick Sign

I am loving this "&" sign I made the other day! It was so easy & pretty cheap too.

What you'll need: 

- paint stirrers (got mine FREE @ Home Depot)

- stain (any color you want) 

- glue (I used hot glue in this case)

- canvas or something to mount sticks on

First I stained all the paint stir sticks & allowed them to dry completely. I also used wood sealer on these to give it a shinier look. Next I just glued them onto an old canvas I had for the last couple years. These stirrers taper a little on the end so I made sure alternate sides as I lined them up - this way the gaps were on both sides instead of one. On top of the sticks I glued on my "&" sign - this one was around $2 at michaels but you could use whatever you'd like. I think this would be cute if you stenciled on the stir sticks or even wrote a cute saying! 

The Amazing Letter A

For the letter A we were all about apples!

Gracie's favorite project was Apple painting. What can I say? The girl loves to get messy. Claire enjoyed helping with the Apple painting too! We read all about the lifecycle of apples and apple trees and we read the Dr.Suess Classic - 10 Apples up on Top! 

Fancy Nancy & the Mermaid Ballet

Fancy Nancy is one of Gracie's favorite book characters. I am always on the look out for these books at the library because they never sit on the shelf for very long. During our last trip to the library we found Fancy Nancy and the Mermaid Ballet. I loved that this story dealt with jealousy and someone else getting what you want. We have had this type of trouble more frequently in the last year with Gracie becoming a big sister! In the story Fancy Nancy gives her friend a beautiful shell tiara and Gracie and I decided to make our own. I didn't have any shells at home or a real crown so I improvised with construction paper and a shell coloring page. The end result was the same - a beautiful crown to practice ballet in AND Gracie was occupied for a good chunk of time. Win-win if you ask me! 

2old2color - Review & Giveaway!

I have to confess that I've stolen some pages out of the girls coloring books and took them for myself. When I was little I loved coloring with a passion. I loved the smell of crayons and I day dreamed about being the person who got to give each color its crazy name. If you're like me then you are in luck! No more stealing the princess pages and sneaking crayons. 2old2color is an incredible shop that I found on Instagram (@2old2color) and I am excited to announce I have teamed up with 2old2color to giveaway one of their amazing coloring books for grown ups! I have never seen books like these ones before. The pictures are so detailed and so much work has gone into making each page that its like coloring in a masterpiece. Check my instagram (@ashtonwitz) for details on how to enter the giveaway! Its one you won't want to miss!

Finding Peace

This week marks our first back to school season - Gracie has started PRE-K! I can hardly believe it. After a jam packed summer (more to come on that later!) our family is more than ready to get back to a routine. Gracie is already in love with her teacher and all her new friends and I am so thankful this has been an easy transition.

On Tuesday morning while we are getting into our morning groove we found a FROG in our house. How does no one notice a frog in the house?! I successfully scooped the little guy into the backyard after chasing him for what seemed like forever. We got Gracie to school on time and I googled the meaning of frogs because it had been in the back of my head all morning. Did you know frogs bring peace and tranquility in times of change? I had no idea until now. I am choosing to believe this with my whole heart because it fits our life so well for the moment.
Some of my favorite ways to find peace in this crazy life are listed below. What helps you guys?! I'd love some new ideas!

 

Yoga - I always feel more in tuned with my self after yoga whether it was by myself or in a yoga class.

 

Books - There is something about getting lost in a good book that makes me just feel better when I come back to the real world.

 

Art - Coloring, drawing, painting. I love creating things and this is something Gracie and I love to do together. She always laughs at my drawings and I'm always inspired by hers. There is a peaceful quietness to this activity that helps me go to my happy place. I know of some great grown up coloring books too - check out my review of 2old2color here!

#WitzontheRoad

Hey ya'll ! I am writing to you from sunny Wisconsin. The family and I packed up our truck & hit the road for some summer fun. Taking a little break from blogging while we are on vacation but check us out in August for lots of new ideas for kids crafts, activities and fun! Follow me on Instagram (@ashtonwitz) to check in on our trip - I'm also having a few giveaways that you won't want to miss!

With love, Ashton

MOSH

 

MOSH stands for museum of science and history. Lucky for us that museum is pretty close in downtown Jacksonville! Prices are decent, they have military discounts and if you plan it out right you can get in for just $4 on certain days. My Mom is here visiting this week (YAY!) so we decided to head on over to MOSH. This summer they are all about dinosaurs and ever since they covered dinos in preschool Gracie has been all about them too. When you walk into the Dino exhibit it's like you're in Jurassic Park. The models of dinosaurs are HUGE, they move, they roar and I'll admit I thought it might be a little scary for Gracie and Claire. I was sure wrong. Claire is obsessed with waving at the moment and she waved at every single dinosaur (and human!) she saw that day. Gracie's favorite part was pushing the buttons that controlled the dinosaurs head, arms, tail and ROAR!

We also visited the planetarium and watched the star show. The showing we went to was perfect because our host was Elmo! The museum also had an exhibit where you walk through time, not as exciting for Gracie and Claire, but  my mom and I found it so interesting. I love exploring this new city with my girls!!