Black and White Inspiration

It has taken me some time to figure this out, but I LOVE black and white together.  I used to think of myself as being drawn more towards whites but ever since I re-did our master bedroom last year, I realize that I have a bit of a dark side too.

Right now I am still working on finishing off our dining room and have continued on with the black and white trend {with a few wood tones and some color thrown in there too!}  Today I thought that I would share some of my black and white inspiration with you....

{Traditional Home}

{Harmony and Home}

{Em for Marvelous}

{Canadian House and Home}

{Better Homes and Gardens}

{Clean and Scentsible}

{House and Home}

{House and Home}

{The Bright Life}

{The Kitchn}

{Copy Cat Chic}

So what do you think?  Do you lean towards white, black or a little of both?

I linked up with Flamingo Toes and I Heart Naptime.

Crab Cakes {cupcakes}

My little dude turned SIX on Monday and I am still trying to figure out where all of those years have gone! It makes me a little sad to see him growing up so quickly but I know that there will be lots of new and exciting adventures with each new age.   We will be having some of his friends over for his birthday party on the weekend but he wanted to bring some cupcakes to school on Monday for the whole class.  Since we are doing an Under the Sea theme for his party, I thought that I would make some "sea inspired" cupcakes as well...

When I first saw these cupcakes over at Cutest Food I knew that they would be perfect.  Decorating cakes and cupcakes is not a strong suit of mine but these guys were so cute and easy to make!

INGREDIENTS

• cup cake mix {or you can be fancy and make your own!}
• white icing {vanilla or cream cheese}
• 1 C graham cracker crumbs
• 1/2 C brown sugar
• 1/4 C butter
• candy eyes
• gummy orange slices
• gummy fuzzy peaches
• round orange gummies {I had to buy a multi-color pack for these and pick out the orange ones!}
• toothpicks

To Do

• Bake and ice cupcakes.
• Mix graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, and butter.  Sprinkle on the top of the cupcakes for your "sand".
• Slice fuzzy peach into a crescent shape
• Use toothpicks {they will need to be cut down} to add the fuzzy peach "claws" to the orange slice "body".
• Use icing to attach the candy eyes to the round orange gummies.  Use toothpicks {that will also need to be cut down} to attach the "eyes" to the orange slice body.

I just love these little guys!  Too bad they were quickly gobbled up!

Enjoy your day! 
 I linked up with Flamingo Toes, I Heart Naptime, Tatertots and Jello, Whipperberry, Crafty Scrappy Happy, Love of Family and Home, The Frugal Girls, Becoming Martha, Tidy Mom, Somewhat Simple, The Shabby Creek Cottage, The 36th Avenue and Stone Gable.

The Creative Spark {No. 91}

Welcome back to another night of The Creative Spark!  I can't wait to see what you have all been up to!  

 I just want to give you a little heads up that there will be a few changes to this link party in the near future.  I really do appreciate all of you coming out to party with me each week and I am always looking for ways to promote your wonderful ideas even more.  I am so excited to share all of the details with you but I just have a couple of things left to work out!  Stay tuned!

This week I showed you some Spring changes that I did in our front entry... 

...and I shared a sweet memory album to write little notes back and forth between you and your kiddos.  Remember to start that communication while they are still little! :)

There was also a free printable that could be framed for a nursery or baby shower gift.

*****************

 Okay, so now it`s your turn!! What have you all been up to? Feel free to link up anything that YOU have created - crafts, DIY, scrapbook projects, organization ideas, decorating, recipes - anything goes!

Want to link up?

• Link directly to your specific post {not the homepage}.
• Please add The Creative Spark button to your post or blog {the code is in my sidebar} OR place a text link at the end of your post. I would love for you to help me spread the word!
• Follow along with Facebook to see if you have been featured throughout the week and pop back on Sunday for my feature post.
• Check out some of the other fabulous links. A few nice comments always inspires us to create more!

Spring Front Entry

Happy Monday! I hope you had a wonderful weekend and all of you wonderful Mother's had a very special day yesterday!  I had a nice sleep in, breakfast in bed, and some hand made goodies from the boys.  Perfect!

We have had some beautiful weather around here for the past couple of weeks and I have been happy to spend some time getting the front entry spruced up for Spring.  We still have a lot more that we need to do {which primarily involves painting and a whole lot of weeding!} but I thought that I would show you where we are at....

I headed down to Home Depot last weekend and picked up some flowers.  I made up a couple of hanging baskets and filled the planters that we already had from last year.  I also added some lavender plants to a wooden basket {love that smell!} and placed some more plants in an old watering can.  I still want to get a couple of small trailing flowers to add to it but I'm waiting to see if these ones survive. :)

I also did a little Spring sprucing on the inside too...

I painted the bench last year with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in pure white.  This year I added a bench pillow and this bird pillow that I absolutely had to have.  {You might recognize it from my Facebook page! }

I found this ladder at an antique shop and brought it home for a Christmas display.  I have been meaning to paint it since then but I kind of like the unexpected pop of red.  It's not a color that I usually have so I am thinking that it might stay for a while.  I picked up the planter on the top at Superstore.  It's filled with mint leaves which will come in handy for some summer ice tea!

 We have a coat closet in the hallway for all of our coats but it is quite full and we don't really have any room for guest's coats.  This coat rack was kind of an impulse buy {I seem to have a lot of those!} but it is working out quite well!

The boys bought me some lilies for Mother's Day and I added some lilacs from the yard.  It smells heavenly...

The flowers sit on top of our Ikea shoe rack that we purchased last year. This thing holds a ton of shoes and I love having everything away out of sight {although I am still trying to train my hubby how to use it!}

Even though it is summer, we still have the pebble shoe tray out tucked behind the door.  Wet shoes are year round around here - whether it is from the rain or from running through the hose!

At some point in the next couple of months, I am planning on painting out all of that oak trim white.  This is one project that I have wanted to do for years but have been dreading!  We have a very open floor plan on our main floor so there will be A LOT of it to do.  The job has been started in the dining room though so there is no turning back now....

Anyways, I hope you have enjoyed my little tour of the entry way.  Of course, now that I am all ready for Spring, the rain has returned.  Fingers crossed that it is not for long!

I hope you have a wonderful week! 
 I linked up with Flamingo Toes, I Heart Naptime, Tatertots and Jello, Whipperberry, Design Dining and Diapers, Love of Family and Home, The Frugal Girls, Becoming Martha, Tidy Mom, Somewhat Simple, The Shabby Creek Cottage, The 36th Avenue, Stone Gable, Lil Luna, Savvy Southern Style, The Gunny Sack, Lolly Jane and Today's Creative Blog.

My Sunday Sparks {No. 90}

Happy Mother's Day! I hope all of you wonderful mothers are being spoiled today and receiving lots of love from your little ones! {and grown up ones too!}

I'm just popping in today with some fabulous features from last week's Creative Spark.  As always, there were lots of amazing ideas linked up

Happy House "spring-ified" her living room.  I am loving all of the colors!!

How cute is this DIY cork trivet from Live Laugh Rowe?  There are so many possibilities!

Get the scoop on how to make your own homemade dishwasher detergent over at The Seasoned Homemaker.

Sweet Little Gals made some fruit flavored water.  It looks so pretty - I must try!

This beautiful vintage crate centerpiece was also from Sweet Little Gals.  The colors make me smile. :)

The Wilderness Wife created this awesome zipper pathway. 

If you have been looking for a farmhouse table, City Farmhouse shows you an easy way to build your own!

Better With Age turned a closet into a fabulous butler's pantry.  So smart!

 
And, finally, for my food pick of the week, check out this homemade granola from Natasha in Oz.  Package it all up for a cute {and healthy!} gift idea too!

Oh, and I have to show you my very favorite feature of all...

{photo from Maddiegray Photography}

Thank- you so much to all of you that came out to the party last week.  You are ALL amazing!!  If you haven't had a chance to check out the links, you can head on over HERE and all features {past and present!} can always be found on my Pinterest board.  If you were featured here or on my Facebook page, please feel free to grab a button from the sidebar.

Wishing you all a wonderful Sunday!

I'll Love You Forever Mother's Day Gift {Free Printable}

Somehow April slipped right past me and it is now almost Mother's Day! I am doing something a little different this year for Mother's Day and giving my kids a present. Well, really it is for me, but hopefully they won't figure that out! :)

My all time, most favorite children's story that I have read to my kids is I'll Love Your Forever by Robert Munch.  If you do not own this book, you seriously have to go out and get it.  Like NOW!  I have read this book countless times with the boys and still get choked up every time that I read it.  My Mom was an elementary school teacher and used to cry every year too as she read it at her kids at her class' Mother's Day Tea. 

Just in case you are not familiar with the book, it follows a little baby boy as he grows up.  As he grows from a baby to a toddler and into a teenager, his Mom continues to cuddle him and sings him a little song:  "I'll love you forever.  I'll like you for always.  As long as I'm living, my baby you'll be."  Eventually the baby boy grows into an adult and his mother becomes old and sick.  The man takes his Mom into his arms and sings: "I'll love you forever.  I'll like you for always.  As long as I'm living, my Mommy you'll be."  

See?  I can't even write this without bawling.  I guess you'll just have to read the book!

Okay, so back to my little gift.  It's kind of like a "love note" book that will pass back and forth between the kids and me {I first saw this idea over at Delia Creates}.  I plan on writing random notes to the kids in the book and leaving it on their bed for them to find.  They can then flip the book over to the other end and write me back a little note {or draw me a picture}.  It's a fun way to encourage their writing and communication skills and will serve as a wonderful keepsake.

Remember that the notes don't have to be anything big - sometimes just a sweet little reminder of why you love them is all that's needed!

MATERIALS

• notebook {I just bought mine from the dollar store}
• printables {see below for links}
• white cardstock
• glue
• paper roller {or use a rolling pin or side of a cup}
• washi tape
• sanding block

TO DO

• Print out the printables in the size closest to your notebook size.  Although the printable was designed as an 8x10, I printed it out as an executive 7.25x10.5 inch size to better fit my notebook.  Trim as needed.  I left a thin border {approximately 3/4 cm} between the spine of the book and where I placed the edge of the printable.  This allows the book to open easier and will later be covered with the washi tape.
• Apply glue to the notebook cover paying extra attention to the edges and corners.  Apply the glue over the back of one of the printables as well.  Don't be stingy on glue here!  Position the printable over the notebook and use the paper roller to adhere it in place.   {You don't have to actually use a roller but I find the paper adheres much better this way!}.  
• Flip your notebook over and make sure you rotate it as well {it should be "upside down" compared to the front cover} so the book will open correctly.  Repeat gluing with the second printable.  If your kids aren't old enough to write anything back you can always just use the one printable and keep it as a memory keeper notebook for yourself.
• As a final touch, I like to sand the edges down along the edges of the covers.  Make. sure you just sand down {sanding up will tend to lift the paper up off the cover}
• Add washi tape along the spine of the book and extend inwards until it just overlaps the edge of the printable.

If you don't want to make a book, you can always just frame the printable - it would be great for a baby or toddler room.  You can also print out a smaller version of the printable and use it as the front of a card.  Add a little handprint on the inside and it would be perfect!

If you are making a book the borderless prints will work best unless your notebook is a in perfect proportion to 8x10.  If you are making a card or putting the print in a frame, you might want to use the print with the border.  I also did a boy and a girl version for you...

{Download borderless "My Mommy" HERE and download "My Baby" HERE}

{Download framed "My Mommy" HERE and download "My Baby" HERE}

{Download borderless "My Mommy" HERE and download "My Baby" HERE}

{Download framed "My Mommy" HERE and download "My Baby" HERE}

Hopefully you enjoy the printables and can come up with some fun ways to use them!  They would make a wonderful baby gift too!

Happy Mother's Day to all of you wonderful mother's out there! 

 I linked up with Flamingo Toes, Whipperberry, Craftberry Bush, The Frugal Girls, Becoming Martha, Somewhat Simple, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Lil Luna, Savvy Southern Style, The Gunny Sack, I Heart Naptime, Tatertots and Jello, Love of Family and Home, Tidy Mom, The 36th Avenue and Stone Gable.