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!

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?