Your Grandma will LOVE you.

What grandparent wouldn't want to show off a cute photo valentine?! Once again I've been a wild woman with my "4X6 photo postcards"...this time they are for Valentine's Day!

Once again, here are the super easy steps to get your card:

1) Pick which option is your favorite from the choices below.
2) Pay $5 through payal. {The button is on the right sidebar.}
3) Email the picture(s) to me at toadstreasures@gmail.com & any specifcs info you'd like to add to the card.
4) I email you back the finished product (ASAP) for you to have fun with! You can print them out at home or get prints made. They make GREAT postcards. Super fun.

FYI- I only charge the $5 to help cover my costs of supplies and my time. I wish I could just sit and make each one of you a card! I'm not kidding.:)

Here you go!
Option 1 {The multi-picture} Find 4 fun pictures and tah dah!



Option 2: {Sweet birds} So cute.



Option 3: {Kids card} Your child will LOVE to see their face on this card! Its a fun, original valentine to give to all of their friends!


Option 4: {Classic} Simple and classy. Stick this one on the plate of valentine's cookies to give to your family friends.



Questions? Email me! toadstreasures@gmail.com

Coming soon...a yummy family favorite treat recipe and another simple sewing craft!! Night time is my fun time!:)

PS All materials for the cards were purchases at The Shabby Shoppe. Love it.

Blasting the Water Goal!

God bless these babies.

{above} Haitian orphans

Thank-you! Thank-you! Thank-you!

I'm so excited about the great response from so many to help donate bottled water to Haiti! Originally my goal was to get 450 bottles, but due to the generous donations of YOU we are already up to 1300 plus bottles! That means potentially 1300 people could get nice, clean drink of water!!


Many of you have chosen to donate $ which is GREAT. Just donating $4 buys 35 bottles helping 35 different people! On Tuesday we will take Bob's truck to Costco and load that baby up!

So I say, why stop now! Let's shoot for 2000!! If you'd like to help you can click on my paypal button to make a donation or contact me {toadstreasures@gmail.com} and I would love to come pick up the bottles. Please don't feel like you have to give alot...$4 goes a LONG way for this cause.

And while I'm gathering water I'm sure you're wondering what the boys have been up to...

Well, we are in the middle of decorating Ethan's room to a Jungle theme! Aren't these vinyl animals so cute? I got them from Letter Express it, and Ethan LOVES them.

And speaking of my little monkeys...

It got up to 51 degrees yesterday so we went to the park! Although their noses were running, and their hands were getting frostbit they loved running around! {Check out Aidans hair! Wild man I tell you!}

Anyone else ready for warm weather?

Help the Haitians! {Donate bottled water!}

Like many of you, I've felt a little helpless not knowing what I could do to help the people of Haiti...especially the children. While serving an LDS mission in NJ I met so many wonderful Haitians who now live in the US, and grew to really love and appreciate them. There is NOTHING like a good pot of Haitian rice!!

My ideal way to help is to adopt one or two little ones, but since adoptions have been put on hold (you can read about it here) I guess I'll have to put that dream on hold for now.

I'm so excited though...I came across this great way to volunteer to help!! This really is an ideal way for all of you local to SLC to help out in a way that could really make a difference...

DONATE BOTTLED WATER!


The next shipment goes out Feb 5 and my goal is to get at least 300 water bottles donated. If you are interested in donating that would be wonderful. Just do the following:

1. Email me and let me know you'd like to donate. toadstreasures@gmail.com
2. I'll respond and we'll set up a time that I can come and pick up the bottles.
3. I'll deliver all the donated water bottles to Feed the Poor UT so they can be shipped in the next batch going to Haiti on Feb 5!

Thank-you!

{PS I just changed my goal to 450 bottles! Please donate!:)}

Not into pink? {Free Valentine's Printable}

{I Like Brown}
I've never really been a big "pink" person. So when Valentine's comes around its hard to find a card that doesn't include a color from the pink palette. Do you know what I'm talking about? Maybe its just because I have boys. But hey, what if you want to give something without HEARTS on it to give to male co-worker or family friend?

Well, here's your solution!  A cute little owl valentine!

I put this one together using cute things I got or bought off of Scrapgirls & Scrappin' Cop.
This "printable" comes in 3 sizes so you can do more with them!



Here a few examples of the fun you can have:

With the largest one you can make a lovely card...


The mid size would make a sweet gift tag...




And the smallest one would be great as a gift tag!



You can download the Owl Valentine here. Enjoy!
XOXO

Monkey Beanie Hat Tutorial & Pattern

Yes, the tutorial & pattern for the monkey hat is here! This is a super easy 1 hour project {well, an hour for those sewing rookies...like me}! You could easily transform this pattern into a bunch of other animals (bears, cats, etc.), but we like monkeys around this place so here you go!




{Sidenote}: Actually if you don't have a sewing machine you could still make one of these using Wonder Under! Just grab a fleece hat and stick on the face pieces with the WU!

Monkey Hat Tutorial & Pattern
First, print out the pattern pieces. Cut each piece out on the fabric you'd like to use. Be creative! You DON'T just have to use fleece on a bolt at JoAnn's. I totally bought a cheap fleece throw blanket {$3} a while back and used it as the main part of this hat. Look around your house and see what you can come up with!
*I made the pattern in toddler and preschooler because I have a 17 month old and a 5 year old. You could easily adjust the pattern a bit bigger or smaller to fit your child's head.
Click here for the pattern:

About the hat length:

The "preschooler" size hat shown at the top of the blog is the "longer hat". This will look great if you want a "finished" edge around the hat.

If you'd rather not have to sew around the bottom or just like the "rough" edge better, here is the "beanie" style hat:




Here's the play by play with photos...

OPTIONAL: If you'd like to use Wonder Under to secure the face pieces you can. If you don't have any, you can just pin and sew the pieces on without it. {I did this for the 1st one I made.}

If you are using WU:

Wonder Under and I have a love\hate relationship. I think its so great to have things "stick", but I'm the worst at attaching it.

And if you think I'm kidding...

Yes, I ironed my Wonder Under to the fabric ironing board. Before I realized what I had done I took a picture that I thought would help in the tutorial. Yeah, I know...you can stop giggling now.:)

Now moving on to the next step! If you used Wonder Under:


Now everyone is ready to...


Next,


(Leaving the bottom open.)

Be sure not to sew the bottom shut! Leave it open for the head!!

Before you turn it rightside out...

Now you can turn it inside out and...


Optional: Pin down the material where you the folded it down to hold it in place.



Good luck, have fun, and send me a picture so I can see how it turns out! toadstreasures@gmail.com

PS

For more pictures of the hat and my little monkeys you can click here!:)

One last thing...if you have a little girl who may not appreciate a monkey hat you can always make her one of these!

Its a reversible bubble skirt and its darling. {Especially on my neice Lucy!;)}Click here to get the patttern! {Its only $6!}

XOXO-Toad;)

+Emily Ashby

Monkey Mania

I told you I had a few "crafty projects" coming your way! And although I don't have the pattern/tutorial finished for this one yet, I couldn't help but post a picture of this great fleece monkey hat! Ethan and I just finished it about an hour ago and I LOVE it.

{Ethan actually helped play with Aidan so we could get it done!}

It was SUPER easy. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get the pattern and instructions posted for you to download, because I can't wait for you to make one too!


The entire hat is made of fleece scraps that I had. As you can see, I'm not a perfectionist when it comes to sewing. Details usually KILL me, but this was so fast it was the perfect project for me.

Another great thing is that you can adapt it to make a bunch of different animals! {A few of which I'll try to add to the pattern for ya!}

And speaking of monkeys! We could just stick these two little guys in a cage at the Hogle Zoo as a special attraction...


What am I going to do with this little one? The other night I walked into the bathroom to get the boys out of the tub, and a sopping wet washrag came flying at me and landed right on my shirt...drenching me. You'd think it was my 5 year old...but no, it was this wild baby:

This would be an attempt to get a picture of the monkeys together...that's Aidan's "I don't think so" face:

I know this next picture is not totally focused, but I love it. You can see that this 17 month old is intense at whatever it is he's got going on...

And I can't help but LOVE him.

But back to Aidan's wild ways. Check him out as Bob lights and relights his candles {for him}. Warning! If you haven't seen Aidan in a while---these pictures show how much he's really growing up!





Bless that babe. And bless me to be able to figure out how to deal with him.

Happy Bday Honey!

I couldn't let the day go by without wishing my husband a Happy Birthday! Its so easy to take so much for granted & I'm so grateful for his PATIENCE, LOVE, & GOOD HEART. Let's make this next year a great one big guy! Love ya!