{Love} Month: I love jUice! Valentines

I really loved making last year's Valentines with the kids' faces.
It seemed so personal and a fun way for the kids to participate
in their Valentines with their neurotic perfectionist mother :)
But this year I was stumped!
I couldn't figure out what we could do that hadn't already been done.
Pinterest is an amazing thing, but it also puts on the
pressure to think of something new and exciting.

On Monday I was perusing the Dollar Store to pick up
some glitter bugs.
Isabella talked me into the the "treat" aisle
so she could go and get some Jesse juice boxes
like she got on our last trip there.
They didn't have any Jesse juice, but they did have Hello, Kitty!




They were so dang cute and got my wheels turning.
Juice.
Olive juice.
I love juice.
I love jUice!!!!!



So we started with our photo shoot again.
She was easily distracted and got bored :)


And then she got silly.



But then we captured the perfect one and added
a little red text to match her cute Joy's Hope dress.

Once I had the picture I had to figure out how to package it all up.
I remembered a cute idea for a Cupcake Take Along,
so I used it as a jumping point.


Since I was making them last minute (what's new?) - I was glad I had
all the items to make them in my stash :)
My inspiration used a fancy glue thingy, but I just used my glue gun
and a gluestick and they worked like a charm.
I added a tiny bit of Velcro to keep the Valentine closed
until you open it to reveal the secret.


If you'd like to make some I love jUice! Valentines of your own,
I have a PNG file for your picture - you just slide your picture
in behind in a photo editing software program
and a PDF file of the I love jUice! page for you to download.
You can get them HERE!!!

{Love} Month: Valentine's Day Printable

Here's a fun 8x10 Valentine's Day subway art printable

I made for all of you as my Valentine to you!
Thanks so much for being loyal readers of
Funky PolkaDot Giraffe.



I appreciate all your kind comments and encouragement.
Thank you!!!

You can download them HERE and there
are three color schemes to choose from:
red, pink, and multi!

Enjoy!





Fine Print:

Please feel free to use this printable for your personal use.
Please be kind and give credit where credit is due.
Any questions or comments please do not hesitate to contact me.

January Fun: Snowman Printable

Here's another fun printable to help celebrate
the wonderful month of January!

It's an 8x10 and you can download it HERE!!! Enjoy!

Fine Print:
Please feel free to use this printable for your personal use.
Please be kind and give credit where credit is due.
Any questions or comments please do not hesitate to contact me.

January Fun: Winter Subway Art Printable

Happy Friday!!!
It's been a wacky week around here,
and so I've had lots of bed rest along with
lots of chicken broth and Gatorade :)

So I made some winter subway art while
I was kicking on the couch and watching The Help.



They are 8x10 and I made it in two different color options -
multi to match my Winter Bucket List or all blue.
I always print mine at Costco
with a "lustre" finish and turn auto correct off.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Fine Print:
Please feel free to use this printable for your personal use.
Please be kind and give credit where credit is due.
Any questions or comments please do not hesitate to contact me.

January Fun: Keep Calm and Snow On Printables

Can you believe we're halfway through January?
Here are so pretty printables to keep your house pretty
until we hit February!

You can download them HERE!!!!

Fine Print:
Please feel free to use this printable for your personal use.
Please be kind and give credit where credit is due.
Any questions or comments please do not hesitate to contact me.

January Fun: Roll a Snowman

The January snowman fun continues!

When I first started this project, I was going to make
it out of paper, but decided making good use of the
abundance of felt that I've collected over the past year
would be an awesome idea.

You'll need:

• felt
• snowman template
• Roll a Snowman Card
• old cereal box
• freezer paper (not necessary - but awesome)

First I traced the snowman shape onto freezer paper.
I love freezer paper, because then you can iron
it onto your fabric and it adheres temporarily.

Next I cut two pieces of felt that were slightly
larger than the piece of cardboard that I cut from
the cereal box.
I wanted it to be semi-stiff.
If you want yours to be soft and pliable,
you can skip the cereal box.

Then cut out your snowman and sew it to one
of your larger pieces of felt.

I hadn't planned on giving him arms,
but this really bothered JT, so I used some
pieces of ribbon as arms.

On the other piece of felt I sewed a little pocket.
Mine was 7x9" and I folded the top down 1"
and top stitched before using a 1/4" seam
to attach it to the large piece of felt.


Next I stitched around three of the four sides with a 1/4"
seam, leaving the top open so I could slip the piece
of cardboard in between.


Then I closed off the top and my snowman board was ready!


Next I made the pieces.
Except for the hat, I just free-hand sewed the shapes.
It was my first time doing such a bold thing and it was a lot of fun :)


I used kind of a reversed technique where
I had two squares or rectangle pieces of felt sandwiched together
and then I would free-hand sew the design on and then cut it out.
It worked really well.


I made both a carrot and button nose again for JT,
because, "Mom, Frosty has a button nose."
Awesome.

I made the Roll a Snowman card
(which I plan to laminate),
and we are ready to ROLL.


You can download yours HERE!!!!



You can do this with paper and laminate the pieces
if the felt thing isn't your gig.
If you do make one for your kids, I'd love to see it!
You can link it up to my Flickr group - it's looking a little sad.

Picture a Christmas: A Christmas Lesson

This year it was my turn to teach the Christmas
lesson to all the Young Women at church.
I worried for weeks about what to do,
and then one evening I realized I wanted to use the theme
"Picture a Christmas" from the LDS Children's Songbook.
One Christmas was I was about 9 years old - I'm guessing -
Christmas fell on a Sunday and I sang it for sacrament meeting
and then I sang it for the children at juvenile hall.
I've been in love with the song ever since.
(P.S. I can't believe my mom took me to juvi to sing!)

So I asked my friend Leilani and her beautiful girls to open my lesson
by singing "Picture a Christmas".
My friend plays ukelele and they all sing beautifully.
Leilani writes her own harmonies,
so the song was gorgeous.

Then I shared the quote by Elder Neal A. Maxwell,
"Each of us is an innkeeper who decides if there is room for Jesus!"

And then proceeded with the following
activity/experience that I found on Sugardoodle.net.
I used my favorite Nativity that my Grandma Meyer gave me.
It is truly a treasure.
I wrapped each piece individually and placed them in a large basket.


I had each girl take a gift from the basket,
and we opened them in the order below.
I created the cards using some of text from the lesson
on Sugardoodle and the digital scrapbook kit
by Jacque Larsen at The Lilypad.

After the Shepherds my friend Jen and I sang
"Were You There" by Natalie Sleeth.









After Joseph I read an excerpt about Joseph
from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's talk -
"Maybe Christmas Doesn't Come from a Store."
Then I played for them a recording of the song
"Guard Him, Joseph" by Sally DeFord.



After Mary I read I read an excerpt about Mary
from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's talk -
"Maybe Christmas Doesn't Come from a Store."



After we opened Baby Jesus I shared this video that I also
found on Sugardoodle.

I ended by bearing my testimony of the divinity of
the Savior and my gratitude for His life, his sacrifice,
and his resurrection.
I shared my gratitude for His mother and surrogate father,
for their sacrifice and strength.

I reiterated the quote by Elder Neal A. Maxwell,
"Each of us is an innkeeper who decides if there is room for Jesus!"

And challenged them to make room for Christ in their lives
this Christmas season.
I gave them a pillowcase to remind them that
when they go to rest their head, that
Jesus had no place and to give Him a place.
I also printed a set of the cards for them so
they could use them with their own families.

Free Printable: Winter Bucket List

We had so much fun with our Summer Bucket List
and Fall Bucket List . . .





That now it's time for a Winter Bucket List!!!!



I made one for you too!!!
(DOWNLOAD HERE)
There is a version with text and a BLANK version,
in case you have no idea what a beach sandman is:)
ENJOY!



As always - please adhere to the rules:
- Funky PolkaDot Giraffe printables are for PERSONAL use only.
-Please do not remove the watermark.
- Please link back to this site if you post anywhere on the internet.