Be a Defender of the Lord's Plan

This is a fun little treat I made to go with this month's Visiting Teaching message (found here). My inspiration came from this quote by Sister Bonnie L. Oscarson:

"Everyone, no matter what their marital circumstance or number of children, can be defenders of the Lord's plan described in the family proclamation. If it is the Lord's plan, it should also be our plan!"

When I thought about being a defender, I thought about the Book of Mormon and using a bow and arrow. It worked so perfectly that a bow is the same shape as the letter "D" so I was able to incorporate it into the phrase I added to the top of the handout:

"Be a Defender of the Lord's plan!"

To make the arrow I used a small wooden dowel I found at Hobby Lobby. I added some ribbon to the end and a chocolate heart for the arrowhead. It worked out great that Valentine's Day was this month and I had some chocolate hearts on hand, but you could also use a Hershey's Kiss for the arrowhead because it has the same triangle shape.

I think this will be a fun little treat to share with the sisters I visit!

You Are An Important Piece Of The Puzzle

UPDATE (3/5/2017) You can now view and download the file for the puzzle gift tag. Scroll to the bottom of the post for the link!

This is a fun little gift tag/ handout I made inspired by this month's Visiting Teaching message (found here). I loved this quote by Sister Carole M. Stephen's:

" . . . We each belong to and are needed in the family of God."

This quote made me think of a puzzle, so I added a picture of some puzzle pieces and the words:

"You are an important PIECE of the PUZZLE!"

"Without YOU the Family of God is Not Complete!"

I found the puzzle piece ribbon at Walmart and used it to tie the tag to a bag of puzzle piece candy. I made the candy from vanilla almond bark mixed with some green, yellow, and blue food coloring and some red candy melts. I used this puzzle piece mold to shape the candy. I added some Rice Krispies cereal to the middle of the candy to give it a little crunch! My kids taste tested it for me and loved it!

I also thought it would be fun to attach the tag to a fun puzzle. Either one would be a cute little gift to give to the sisters you Visit Teach or anyone who you want to remind that they are important and loved!

UPDATE (3/5/2017) You can now view and download the file for the puzzle gift tag here! Enjoy!

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!