Day 2 of #RAOK

So yesterday was a fun day! I met a friend in Madison, WI for lunch and catching up. After lunch I decided I needed to hand out my Random Act of Kindness for the day. (did you miss my post from yesterday?) I wanted it to be a surprise this time. So, as we went to our cars, I found one that looked like it was a "moms" car--you know, with car seats inside! And I carefully stuck a rolled up magazine in between her driver side window and mirror.

The magazine I handed out is an awesome one. You can subscribe to it or pick it up at your local grocery store or book store. It is the one and only Live Happy. Have you seen it? It is jammed packed with positive stories and happiness insights. So much better than most of the junk on the newsstands these days. Check out their website--they have a TON of articles available for free. Their mission to to Make the World a Better Place. 

This week they are even sponsoring an awesome FREE 1/2 hour webinar/conference call called Wake Up Happy! You can register for Free by clicking here. They are a great way to start your day!

I'm excited to see the reaction for today's Random Act of Kindness...it's a bit fun, spunky and silly!

Have a Happy Wednesday!

It's a countdown!

Yesterday marked the 40th day before my 40th birthday. I decided to do something meaningful and fun to celebrate. Not that this idea is new or anything, but thought I'd try to brighten someone's day while approaching my big 4-0!

And so it begins...40 days of Random Acts of Kindness!

I'm going to do my best to do daily updates with the RAOK I committed! So, here is the first of 40:

I made the tags on the coolest new site I discovered, Canva. I was "working" at Panera and there was a hard working young lady cleaning up the dining area, bathrooms and coffee station. I decided she needed this. On my way out of the store, I stopped by her and said: "Here, I hope this brightens your day." She looked at me surprised and said, "thanks." And that was all I needed.

Can't wait to share with you what I do today!!

Happy Tuesday!

Tasty Tuesday -- Pinata Cake

I'm not sure about you but I am FREEZING!! We certainly didn't ease into winter here in Illinois. However, with the cold also brought snow. It was a beautiful sight to see, but man, I hate the cold.

Remember the post on my son's Bowling Birthday Party? Click here to find out all about it.

Well, I attempted my first Pinata Cake because thought it would resemble a bowling ball. So, today on Tasty Tuesday, I will show you how easy it is to make one of these! And...how fun it is to eat!

 Even though it looks a bit complicated, 

it really easy fairly simple.

Grab two boxes of cake mix--your choice of flavor. Prepare as directed and place batter into glass bowls. Bake as directed on the box or until golden and set in the middle. Mine took about 10 minutes longer than the box suggested.

 

Allow cakes to cool slightly. Carefully turn cakes over to release from bowl. Allow to cool completely.

Next scoop out some of the center of the cake. About a 1/2-1 inch border around the perimeter of the cake and down into the center of the cake.

 

Next, fill with candy. We used Sour Patch Worms, M-n-M's, candy corn, Skittles and Gummy Bears. Next frost the edge of the cake. Not too much frosting, this is used like the glue for the top and bottom of the cakes.

Now carefully place the top onto the base of the cake.

Frost as you would like. For us, I wanted it to look like a bowling ball, unfortunately, it looked more like a ghost. I didn't want to frost it all black because I didn't want to send all the kids home with black-died lips, tongue and mouth!

I still love how it turned out and I loved the reaction from the kids! This is definitely worth trying for an upcoming celebration!

Have a fabulous day! 

If you liked what you saw, please share it!

Bowling Birthday Party!!

It's been more than a month since we've celebrated

my son's 8th birthday and I am finally getting around

to sharing it with you.

It all started with his idea to have a bowling party.

And my obession of going overboard.

Here's what we did:

These were the invites I created in Publisher. I printed them on White Card Stock and sent them as postcards.

These are the treat bag toppers. I filled the bags with gumballs and Rolo's.

I cut these out and taped them to a wooden skewer. I used this "picks" in the pails of food on the table.

We bought red and blue plastic table clothes to coordinate with the colors in the invite. I used my Cricut to cut out white card stock circles for the black cake plates--they look like bowling balls!

Here you can see the STRIKE picks displayed in the food pails!





I decided to make a Pinata Cake for his birthday because it would be round like a bowling ball. Unfortunately, it looked more like a ghost after I frosted it! I didn't want the kids to have black-stained mouth, tongue and lips by frosting it in black, so I went with the white frosting. Once I put the finger holes of the bowling ball on the cake, I realized it looked more like a ghost than a bowling ball. (didn't help that his birthday is only a few weeks away from Halloween!)

OH WELL!

It was fun watching the boys reaction when I cut into the cake! I stuffed that cake with Skittles, Gummy Bears, Sour Gummy Worms, M-n-M's and candy corn. It turned out great, but the boys were really only interested in the candy!

I'll share the how-to for the Pinata Cake later on!

I'm already working on Hailey's--she wants a sledding party. Not sure what PLAN B is if we don't get enough snow by the time her birthday rolls around at the end of December!.

Here's what we did last year for his 7th Birthday:

Football Party

Do you ever get carried away planning parties for your kids? Share a story with me!



Happy Halloween and Happy Birthday to ME!!

Happy Halloween!!

Are you dressing up this year?

We have a party on Saturday--can't wait!

The hubs and I are dressing as Gilligan and Ginger!

I'll share pics on Instagram, so make sure you are following me there!

Today is my birthday, too!! (WAHOO!)

Yep, every year, I get to celebrate with the ghouls, goblins and witches! It's my last year in my thirties, so I'm going to LIVE IT TO THE FULLEST!!

Here are a few things on my birthday wish list.

(this contains affliate links)

Fitbit One:

 

Exercise Capri's:

 

 

 

Exercise Gloves:

 



 

 

Winter Boots:

 



 

 

Friends Season 1-10 DVD Complete Set:

 



 

 

Thank you so much for stopping by! Have a great day!

 

 

 



40th Birthday Gifts for Men

Remember last week when I shared with you that it was my husband's 40th birthday? Poor guy had to share that milestone with Friday the 13th! I still think he had a great day!

My ideas all came together as soon as he went to bed Thursday night! Thankfully he goes to bed early enough when he works the next day. We had lots of surprises for him to show him how much we love him.

#1
The kids and I came up with 40 Reasons to Love him. I was going to make it a printable, but I decided that we would get some posterboard and cut out a 4 and a 0 and hand write all 40 reasons. Hailey and I did this while the boys were at football practice. After he went to bed, I found the perfect place for it so he wouldn't miss it in the morning. (he goes to work at 5 am)

#2
The next surprise waiting for him was something I had to do when he went to bed. It was fun to do--I forgot how much I love sidewalk chalk! The outside garage lights were bright enough for me to see most of the way down the driveway! He saw this when he got into his car. (his police squad is parked outside) It read Happy 4-0 D-Rowe. Most of his friends call him that!

#3
I blew up balloons (again after he went to bed) and filled his squad card. I hid our little gift to him in the back seat. He found the balloons and gift right away and brought everything back into the house. Thankfully, he didn't recruit me to help! He did miss some in the far back of the hatch (he drives a Ford Escape). While he was driving around with the window down, the balloons started dancing in the back. He got a big kick out of that. You may recall the other 40 Blows gift I made for friend. I wanted to do something different, special for him. This is what I came up with:

I included $40 worth of scratch off lotto tickets, his favorite snacks, gum and candy bars. What guy wouldn't want that??? It was a BIG HIT! Here's some close-ups:

I am even sharing a FREE PRINTABLE for you, should you decide to make this for your favorite guy friend, husband, brother or neighbor!

If you like this idea, I'd love for you to share it on Facebook, Google + or Twitter or even Pin it to Pinterest! I'd also love for you to leave me a comment--how have you celebrated the BIG 4-0 for the men in your life?

Thanks for stopping by,



40 Blows! It's a Great Gift Idea!

I'm at that age where a lot of my friends are turning 40! Thankfully, I've got another year for the big 4-0! With my creative bones in me, I can't just simply send a card or drop a Facebook message to wish them a Happy Birthday, nope, I've got to create!

I can't take complete credit from this, however, I did put my own "Crazylou" spin on it! I found my inspiration from Pinterest, which lead me to this blog.

I decided to etch a wine glass to give it a more personal touch to my friend. I've done etching before and it was easy, so I gave it a whirl. LOVE IT!! If you haven't tried etching, you really should. Its super easy and very quick to process. Here's a close-up:

Now that the wine glass is etched, stuff a green florist block down inside. I had a circle shaped one and needed to trim a bit off the sides! This is what the suckers will stick into.

Fill the wine glass with gum balls. Next take your blow pops and arrange as many as you can on the top, securing the sticks in the florist block.

Attach a cute ribbon and tag and you are set!

Here's a FREE Printable for you to use! Right click the image to save it or click here to download it.

Here's a list of the products I used, you can get them off of Amazon or from your favorite craft store!
(I am an affiliate for Amazon, so if you do purchase off of these links, I will receive a small compensation from the purchase)



So, have you done anything crafty to celebrate a friend's birthday? If so, what was it?

 

Wahoo!! Crazylou is 1!

Whether you are new here or have been with me all along, I am giving you a big virtual hug today! I am celebrating my one year writing this blog called Crazylou! Thank you so much for sticking with me and supporting me along the way. This blog is a hobby of mine, something I do in my spare time. I love it. It's my creative outlet and way to connect with other creative people. It's been a whirlwind year. I have so many dreams and visions for this blog and I can't wait for them to be realized.

I am working on a birthday surprise for you, but it's not quite perfect yet! BUT...I still have a surprise for you on Monday, so be sure you come back bright and early---this is something you don't want to miss. Seriously.

Happy Birthday to Crazylou! Go out and have a cupcake to celebrate!

Happy Birthday MOM and AMERICA!



Today is a great day! It happens to be my Mom's birthday as well as America's birthday! How lucky is she, that every year, she gets a nice fireworks display on her birthday?

This was taken a few years ago when we visited my parents down at their Florida home. Not sure where my son and dad are, but this is the rest of the crew!

Here is a recent picture of my mom! I love her so much! She is very supportive and caring. I remember in college, she used to send me care packages, but not just for me--they were for the entire dorm wing. Everyone was always so excited when I got a big brown box delievered. She also molded me into the cook that I am. She is a fantastic cook and I have mastered a few of her "famous" dishes! She is a loving "Nanny" to my children. She will do anything for them. I know we didn't always have the best relationship growing up (sorry mom,!), but I would be lost without her--her loving support and unconditional love! Thanks for being a great example and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Hope you have a safe and Happy 4th of July!