{Feature Friday} Last Minute Valentine's Ideas

February 11, 2011

We thought we would share some last minute Valentine's Day ideas for those who may be stumped this year on extra Savvy ideas made with Love!!! All of these ideas were found from around the Internet as well as ideas that we found to be easy, cost effective and fun! We hope you find something to your hearts desire!

Why not start Valentine's breakfast with a message of love? This simple recipe of eggs, toast and ketchup can be found over at isharefunfood.com via cutefoodforkids.com

For the kids, TwistyNoodle.com is a great resource for coloring pages and worksheets that lets you customize your page by changing the font and the text!!! This site is also a great educational resource that has practice writing worksheets to keep you little ones busy.

We loved this idea from This Blessed Nest because the ingredients (popcorn, m&m's, candy melts, zipploc bags, and ribbon) are ones that we almost always have in our kitchens! This would be a great idea for your kids to give out at school!

Since we love a CUTE printable, Daphne from Moo Moo's TuTu has created the perfect and FREE 'Valentine Confetti' printable to finish off this tasty snack!
Download here

Another great and FREE Valentine printable comes from the always resourceful Skip To My Lou via Anything But Perfect. This FREE and simply adorable candy bar wrapper fits the standard Hershey's bar and can be dazzled up a bit with embellishments!
Download here

How pretty is this chocolate dipped brownie? Well, for us there is no brownie that is too pretty to eat! The Recipe Girl shows you this great tutorial that will make your mouth water just looking at the pics!

Display the Recipe Girl's heart shaped brownies on a pretty platter or get yourself some craft bags (usually Michale's or JoAnns carries these) and download this FREE Valentine's Brownie Bag from Twig and Thistle If you love this idea as much as we do, every Valentine's day there is a new version created!
Download here

And finally yet another FREE download (Gotta LOVE the internet!). We printed this version of the 'Keep Calm' series from The Hands On Housewife . Print this on a piece of heavy cardstock (here) and place in a pretty frame and display around your home or give as a gift as a friendly reminder! Since we all should take each day to Keep Calm and LOVE ON!!!!

Smiles~

Amy & Bri

Valentine's Day is Sweet!!!!

February 10, 2011

What a fun day we got to spend with Racz Photography at the "Candy Shoppe". This Valentine's mini session was a day full of love and laughter.

As You can imagine it was not easy coordinating 3 3 year olds and a 3 1/2 month to all look and smile at the camera.

What a Lucky guy to have 3 Valentines' to hang out with at the Candy Shoppe.

No Photo Shoot is complete without the perfect outfit and accessories.

How "Lovely" are these shirts from Finley and Oliver. We LOVE the detailed stitching and feminine ruffles.

These Pretty Little Wellies Twirly Skirts were just as fun as they were cute!

And to complete the outfits were Sweet Things YoYo hair pieces.

We dressed up these sweet treats with The TomKat Studio Valentine's Mod Printables. That made the perfect gift for our Valentine's.

Thank You all for A 'Sweet' Day filled of 'Sweet' Memories!

A day without laughter is a day wasted~Charlie Chaplin.

Smiles~

Amy & Bri

CSN Giveaway.......200 reasons to LOVE this!

February 8, 2011

Congratulations Jenny from Crossing the Bugger-Dixon Line!!! You are our CSN winner! Please contact us with your info at www.thesavvymomsguide@yahoo.com as soon as possible!

We are so thrilled to share with you our Newest Giveaway.

Have you ever heard of CSN?

If not you are going to love it.

CSN is comprised of over of over 200 websites to help you find whatever you might need, whether it's an Eames lounge Chair , Le Creuset Cookware, Adorable Pillows, stuff for your kiddos and so much more.

So if there's something on your "Wish" list, check out CSN Stores. Chances are they have your "wished" item and at a GREAT Price.

We adore this "Hide Out" Trampoline tent.

Isn't it fun for the kids.

So what are we GIVING AWAY?

A $35 shopping spree to CSN.

There are 3 ways you can enter to win.

1) Subscribe to Follow our Blog (on the left hand side)!

2) Become a fan of The Savvy Moms Guide on Facebook, and come back to let us know you are a fan here!

3) Follow The Savvy Moms Guide on Twitter, come back and let us know your following our tweets here!

Winner will be chosen on Sunday, February 13, 2011 at 8:00pm (PST). Any entries received after this time will not be considered. Open to US and Canadian residents only. Winner will be chosen using random.org. This is a sponsored post for The Savvy Moms Guide.

Smiles~

Amy & Bri

Savvy Smiles and Thanks to our Community Helpers {Free Printables}

February 9, 2011

The 3 Amigos have been learning about Community Helpers in school.

They met a Doctor, Dentist, Police Officer and his Police Dog "Nero", Firefighter, and a Soldier.

This got us thinking.

Do we encourage and recognize those who serve us?

Do we teach our children of the importance of thankful hearts to those who give and serve our communities needs and wants?

The answer is....we think we do.

We hope we do.

But truthfully we probably don't.

We are diligent and mindful of "Thank You's".

But do we foster the discussion of why we need to be so thankful for ALL Community Helpers?

No.....

We are committed to showing those who do so much for our Community how 'Thankful' we are.

You can too.

Join our Savvy Smiles and Thanks Project.
Bake Some Goodies, Pick up some Snacks or Refreshments, Or Get Creative.

Spread some Community "LOVE"

Download this "Thanks" for a Teacher.

Download these PERFECT Community Helper Tags from The Two Savvy Sisters as Thank You's for your local firefighters, Police Officers, Soldiers, Doctors, Dentists and Postal Workers.

Download and Print this Military Coloring Page from Illustrator Tricia- Rennea and Mail it to a Soldier Overseas. Visit A Million Thanks.org and see how you can bring a smile to a soldiers face.

We can all make a difference in our Community by Showing our Community Helpers Just how 'Thankful' we are for them.

Adorable Tags & Photo from The TomKat Studios. Email toni@thetomkatstudio.com to get this Printable Tag

Gratitude is the memory of the heart. ~Jean Baptiste Massieu, translated from French

Smiles~

Amy & Bri

Rock of Love Play Party!

February 1, 2011

Are you ready for a 'Rockin' good time? A day filled with Savvy Stylings that we hope 'Makes your heart Sing'. Everything is this play party was created for the EveryDay Mom. We are thrilled to share with you our "Rock of Love" Play Party.

For this Play Party we wanted to take the traditional Valentine's colors and theme and incorporate a bit of edgy rock and funky fashion from The Tiny Hiney and Sweet Things Kids. We were able to use records that we had from home and accent with leopard scrapbook paper to create that Rock of Love look we were going for.

We have been seeing glass bottles used in many photo shoots, parties and dessert tables lately. We love the look. So we had no problem buying a case of Starbucks Frappucinos and using the re-purposed bottles for the kids Strawberry milk. We added some leopard scrapbook paper from Jo-Anns and glitter heart stickers from the Target Dollar bins to create a sweet treat for the kids to enjoy. And the best part is we will use these bottles again and again!

We like to always include some sort of healthy snack for the kids that is fun and compliments the theme. So we cut up fruit and used a heart shape cookie cutter and placed them in fun plastic cups we found at the Dollar Tree and accented them with leopard ribbon.

Another Signature 'Savvy Moms' idea are Place mats. We think it is a great way for the kids to get excited about what they are doing if they have something in front of them that is personalized and themed. To create these place mats, and usually all of our Play Party place mats, we use 12x12 sheets of scrapbook paper, usually found in the Target Dollar bins or what we may have laying around. We used our Silhouette to cut out each kiddos initials, place onto a doilie and covered with contact paper.

We found these Valentine Trees at Jo-Anns and used them as our Rock Candy Tree, hanging Ring Pops off of them.

Our cupcake topper printables were created for us by our talented photographer Donella, of Ella B Photography

These were a 'rockin' touch to our yummy cupcakes made by our good friend Jamie of Kolby Kakes .

Kolby Kakes also made 'Rock Of Love Records' or Ding Dongs and fun and funky hot pink microphone cookies that the kids really enjoyed.

The cupcake stand was also a DIY idea inspired by Skip to My Lou. We followed the tutorial on how to make a cupcake stand, replaced the plates with records and added a touch of leopard and glitter heart stickers from the Target Dollar bins creating one Savvy cupcake stand.

We also used records and turned them into serving trays for the cookies, clever and creative!

The kids craft for the day were these adorable wooden guitars and hearts also found at Jo-Anns in the Dollar Bins.

No Valentine's Celebration is complete without a Valentine exchange. When we saw these Adorable Heart Pockets on One Charming Party we knew they were perfect. Savvy and Simple just the way we like it!

Happy Valentine's Day......'I pick you'.

Each of our Play Parties also includes a coordinating story. So we read 'The Night Before Valentine's Day' while they ate their Valentine treats.

We found a great recipe over at Parenting.com for Cupcake Microphones that fit the theme perfectly!! Some serious faces, but they truly made their 'Hearts Sing'!

The kids got to rock out with their Conversation Heart microphones that were also a great DIY idea we shared as a sneak peek earlier in the month. These microphones can also be turned into Valentine topiaries. Just get yourself a metal bucket (found in Target Dollar bins most of the time) or a planters pot and stick into foam, rocks or sand and use for decor for your home or next party.

Rock On Friends........

And keep Making the EveryDay Savvy!

Smiles~

Amy & Bri

Total Cost of this Play Party: $65 (for 6 kids)

Funky Fashions by:

The Tiny Hiney

Sweet Things Kids