Celestial Marriage Cookies

Today I want to share an idea I used when I taught my Young Women the lesson entitled, "Why is temple marriage important?" You can find the lesson outline here. Although the talks I used when I taught the lesson are not on the current Come Follow Me outline, this idea can still be used! I used the following quotes as the basis for my idea:

Celestial marriage is a pivotal part of preparation for eternal life. It requires one to be married to the right person, in the right place, by the right authority, and to obey that sacred covenant faithfully.

- Russell M. Nelson

(you can find his talk, Celestial Marriage, here)

and

There is no substitute for marrying in the temple. It is the only place under the heavens where marriage can be solemnized for eternity. Don't cheat yourself. Don't cheat your companion. Don't shortchange your lives. Marry the right person in the right place at the right time.

-Gordon B. Hinckley

(you can find his message, Life's Obligations, here)

I decided to take the four "Rights" listed in these two quotes and present them to the girls in a fun way- by making Four Ingredient Celestial Marriage Cookies!

As a visual, I displayed the four "Rights" on a "wedding cake". I took four different sized round boxes I found at Hobby Lobby, wrapped them in wedding wrapping paper, and set them up to look like a wedding cake. I even used my daughter's Little People Prince Eric and Princess Ariel as cake toppers!

As we talked about each "Right", we opened one of the boxes. Inside was an ingredient for our cookies. We then spent some time reading quotes about that "Right"/ingredient.

The first ingredient was the right person. I said this was like the chocolate chips for our recipe. Because they add sweetness, they represented our "sweetheart".

The second ingredient for the recipe was the right time. I used an egg to represent this ingredient because the egg reminded me of an egg TIMEr! 

The third ingredient for the recipe was the right place. This was represented by sugar in the recipe and symbolized the whiteness of the temple.

The final ingredient in the recipe was the right authority. This is the priesthood authority that will seal families together. In the recipe I used peanut butter to represent the right authority because it helps everything stick together.

 After we discussed all the ingredients, I gave the girls the baked cookies with a recipe card attached. This is what it said:

Recipe for: Celestial Marriage

Ingredients: Right Person

Right Time

Right Place

Right Authority

Directions: Mix ALL ingredients together with lots of love, faith, and a commitment to the commandments of God. Work out the lumps with communication and selflessness. This is a recipe that gets better with time. "Your companionship will sweeten through the years, your love will strengthen. Your appreciation for one another will grow." ("True to the Faith" pg. 101)

This recipe serves: 1 Eternal Family

You can find the recipe to make the actual cookies here!

I think it turned out to be a successful and sweet way to teach about the importance of temple marriage!

Are you teaching the Youth this month? What ideas are you using to teach about the importance of temple marriage?

Want a PDF of the Celestial Cookies recipe card? Email me at addapinchofsparkle{at}gmail{dot}com !

Easy, No-Sew Mickey and Minnie T-shirts

When my Preschooler asked if I could make her a green Mickey and Minnie shirt to wear to Preschool for St. Patrick's Day, I thought it over for a second and then agreed. I knew that it would probably be pretty easy . . . and it was!

So easy, in fact, that I made a shirt for each of my six children!

This is all you do:

1. Get some No-Sew Ultrahold Heat n Bond. They sell it at craft stores and you can also get it at Walmart. I got mine at Hobby Lobby.

2. Pick out your fabric. I used black for the Mickey and Minnie silhouette and a fun shamrock pattern for the Minnie bow and the Mickey bow tie. 

3. {Optional} I also got some black and green puffy paint to outline the shapes. You don't have to do this, but because the shamrock fabric had a white background, I wanted to outline it in green so you could see it better.

4. Iron the Heat n Bond to the back of the fabric by following the instructions on the packaging.

5. Cut out your shape. I used my Cricut Mickey and Friends cartridge to cut out the Mickey and Minnie and the bows. (I used the same shape for Minnie's bow and Mickey's bow tie. It was a silhouette of Minnie's bow that I just turned upside down for the tie). If you don't have a machine that will cut the shapes for you, you can always print a shape from the Internet, cut it out, trace it onto your fabric, and then cut out your fabric by hand.

6. After the shapes are cut, place them on the shirt and secure them by ironing them. Just follow the Heat n Bond package directions.

7. Finally, outline the shapes with puffy paint if you would like, otherwise you are done!

Quick, easy, and cute!

Here are my models.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Did you remember to wear green today?

Pot O' Gold Brownie Bites

I made these brownie bites a couple times last week and they were so easy and fun that I thought I would share!

For the pot I used a boxed brownie mix and baked up a bunch in a mini muffin tin. If you are feeling ambitious, you could also make the brownies from scratch! For the gold I used store-bought yellow frosting (again, you could also make your own). To add a little golden shimmer, I added some orange sugar sprinkles. Finally, to top it off, I added a candy rainbow. The rainbows are AirHeads Xtremes in Rainbow Berry flavor that I found in the candy aisle. I took one piece of the candy, cut it into thirds and it was the perfect size for the little brownie bite!

These are so easy and delicious, plus they're kid-approved!

Do you make any special treats for St. Patrick's Day?

St. Patrick's Day Countdown

Soooooo, it has been FOREVER since I have blogged. I like to think that I have some pretty good excuses though. Last February I found out I was expecting and a little while later I found out we were having TWINS! Then we started house hunting. By July, I was slowing down a little and the house hunt was taking A LOT of time. Then all of a sudden in August/September we found a house, moved, and then a couple weeks later the twins were born. It's been five months since the babies came, we love them to pieces, and we are finally getting unpacked, decorated, into a routine and I am finding a tiny bit of time for crafting! I hope to do a little more blogging from time to time when I get a chance!

At our house we love holidays and we love counting down for them, so this is a fun St. Patrick's Day countdown we started this month.

I actually started making this countdown last year, but it was right about the time during my pregnancy that I was REALLY tired, so I got all the felt pieces cut out, but didn't get around to assembling everything until this year. I made the pots out of felt and added some felt "gold" and tied a little shamrock to each one with some gold string. I added some plastic gold coins and a rainbow ribbon to the top.

Each shamrock has a gold puffy paint number. Each pot is actually a little pouch that you can keep a little treat inside. Each day we read a St. Patrick's Day book and get a little treat out of the pot of gold for that day. My kids love it! (You may even be able to see their little hand prints all over the glass covering the fireplace . . . that's how excited they are to look at it and touch it!)

Is your family getting excited for St. Patrick's Day? What do you do to celebrate?

4th of July Gift Basket

I wanted to share a really quick and easy gift basket I put together for the 4th of July. You can give these to neighbors, friends, or someone you Visit Teach. (Visiting Teaching is a program that my Church has. To learn more you can visit this site!)

Here's what I did:

First, I found a cute little 4th of July top hat to put everything in. I was originally looking for a basket or bucket, but this was cute and the perfect size for all the goodies.

Next, I added some tissue paper and some fun treats: pop, popcorn, and party poppers- do you see a theme?

Finally, I added a little card I made in PicMonkey that said:

Just "Popping" by to wish you a Happy 4th of July!

Easy and cute, right?

Do you have any fun plans for the 4th? I hope you have a safe and fun holiday weekend!

Red, White, & Blue Independence Day Wreath

This is my Independence Day Wreath. Usually I have an idea of how I want my projects to look before I start, but I had no idea with this one. I just started crafting, using whatever I had on hand, and this is how it turned out. I think it's pretty cute.

 

First, I wrapped a floral ring in blue yarn. Then I hand-stitched some felt stars and added some buttons and little bows.

Finally, I added some curly ribbon because I thought they kind of look like fireworks!

It kind of has an old-fashioned crafty vibe to it.

What does your Independence Day wreath look like this year?

Quick 4th of July Countdown

I have been wanting to put together a 4th of July countdown for my kids. They love counting down to holidays. With our previous countdowns we have read a book every night and then they get a little treat. I think this has made holidays so much fun! The 4th of July, however, has completely snuck up on me. Yesterday I ran to Michaels and grabbed a few things to put together our quick 4th of July countdown!

First, I found some fun books about the US/ the 4th of July at Barnes and Noble. We will read one each night of the countdown.

I got four cute little patriotic buckets for $1 each at Michaels and added some fun little sparkles and a flag.

I added some numbers . . .

. . . and the candy . . .

. . .  and it was done! It was quick, easy, and cute PLUS I think the kids will LOVE it!

Do you do anything fun to celebrate the 4th of July with your family?