Young Women in Excellence: Preserve Your Values

A couple years ago I was in charge of planning Young Women in Excellence for our Ward. I realized the other day that I never posted anything about it. Better late than never, so here are some pictures from that night!

The theme I came up with was "Preserve Your Values". Some of the definitions for "preserve" I found from the Merriam-Webster dictionary included, "to keep safe from injury, harm, or destruction: protect", "to keep alive, intact, or free from decay", "maintain", "to keep or save from decomposition". Not only does "preserve" refer to yummy foods, but it also has several definitions that tie in perfectly with what we teach/ are taught in Young Women- we want to PRESERVE our values! 

 I used mason jars and gingham print in a variety of colors to decorate for the night. 

The refreshments were Buttermilk Cupcakes in a Jar. These cute little cupcakes have a cream cheese frosting and are supposed to be served with preserves so they were perfect for the theme. Plus, they taste delicious! You can find the recipe here.

I printed off labels for the mason jars, tied a spoon to each with a ribbon, and added a flower. I think they turned out pretty cute!

Here is a closeup of the "Refreshments" banner and the variety of preserves we had. I chose Smucker's because the packaging matched perfectly with the theme.

Each girl in Young Women was assigned a value or theme and asked to decorate a table with what they had done over the year to learn and grow in that area. We had one Senior who was preparing to graduate in the Spring. Her table was about the Young Women program over all and how it helped her learn, grow, and gain a testimony.

Each table was decorated in a value color and the "Young Women" and "Personal Progress" tables were decorated in a light pink.

Each table had a banner stating the value or theme. I made the banners with my Cricut.

The banners were tied to wooden dowels I wrapped with green floral tape.

The dowels were placed in mason jars with flowers in value colors.

I used glass gems in the bottom of each mason jar to weigh it down and hold the flowers and dowels in place.

I also decorated the mason jar lids with a variety of fruit that I cut with my Cricut and then tied them to the jar with gingham ribbon in the appropriate value color. It was a little difficult to find fruits that matched the color of some of the values, but I did it!

Here is a closeup of the pink mason jar lid.

Each table had a white table cloth and then a square of colored fabric to match the value or theme.

I got the gingham paper used on the banner and lids and the gingham ribbon from Hobby Lobby.

I really like how everything turned out! The Bishop spoke on the theme of "Preserving Your Values", a couple of the Young Women spoke about their value and what they had done over the year to learn and grow in that area of their life, and all the Young Women sang, "I Walk By Faith". I love that song because it goes through all of the Young Women values!

This was such a fun theme to plan and decorate for! I hope you enjoyed the ideas I shared!

Minnie Mouse Birthday Banner

I recently made a Minnie Mouse Birthday Banner for my 4-year-old's birthday! She loves Minnie Mouse so that is the theme she chose for her party. The banner was pretty easy. I cut the banner with my Cricut. Here are the details if you have a Cricut and want to make your own:

I used the Accent Essentials cartridge, the Disney Mickey Font cartridge, and the Disney Mickey and Friends cartridge.

Accent Essentials:

"Accent 31 Shift" (scalloped circle), cut at 5", red cardstock

"Accent 1 Shift" (circle), cut at 4", white cardstock

Mickey Font Cartridge:

Capital letters, cut at 2.5", black cardstock

Mickey and Friends Cartridge:

"Mickey Icon", cut at 5", black cardstock

"Minnie 4 Icon" (bow), cut at 3", red and white polka dot cardstock (I found this at JoAnn's)

"Minnie 4 Icon Shadow" (bow shadow), cut at 3", black cardstock

After gluing everything together, I punched holes in each piece and added 5/32" silver eyelets. I tied each piece together with 3/8" red and white polka dot ribbon that I found at Hobby Lobby and 1/8" black ribbon that I had on hand.

I think it turned out pretty cute and my daughter loved it!

Do you have a Cricut or a similar machine? Have you ever created a banner with it?

Nautical Themed Baby Shower Ideas

One of my friends is expecting a new baby boy next month! I helped with her baby showers and thought I would share some of the ideas I used.

For her first shower I was asked by the hostess to make a banner. The shower was a nautical theme, so this is the design I came up with.

I cut the shapes out with my Cricut.

I used 3-D glue dots to glue the shapes to the background and add a little interest to the banner (unfortunately you can't really tell in the picture, but I promise it looked good!)

I used some jute cord to string the letters together.

The other Young Women leaders and I hosted the second shower for our Mutual (Church) activity (You can learn more about the Young Women Program here). Without consulting with the hostess of the first shower, we ended up with the same nautical theme! Both showers were inspired by the nursery theme that the mom-to-be came up with.

This is the invitation that I made for the shower. I used picmonkey to design it. I recently discovered this site and am having fun designing things like handouts for YW and invitations with it.

We had Dirty Coke Zeros to drink. I printed off some free party circles here. I punched a hole in the top and the bottom and slid them onto the straws for a little something extra!

I tied peppermint LifeSavers around the silverware with some jute cord. I got the idea for it here.

The banner was another free printable found here. It was cute and sooo easy just print, cut, and string together!

Along with pie, we had some other little refreshments. I tried to tie them all in with the theme. We had Chips Ahoy! cookies, LifeSavers candies, Sailor's Knots (pretzels), Fishing Bait (sour gummy worms), Sailing Rope (Red Vines), Swedish Fish, and Goldfish. I got a few of the refreshment ideas here and the rest I brainstormed myself. I printed off some free menu tents here and tied them around the jars as labels for the treats.

Here is a life preserver wreath I made to use as a decoration. I was inspired by this one found here. It was really easy to make: a Styrofoam wreath wrapped in navy and white yarn, a little thick jute cord, and some red and white striped ribbon!

I enjoy throwing parties and this was an especially fun one to put on! Will you be planning a baby shower soon? What is the theme for the event?

St. Patrick's Day Banner

Last Saturday my three-year-old told me that Valentine's Day was over and asked what holiday was next. I told her next was St. Patrick's Day! We went to the bookstore and picked out a few books on St. Patrick's Day to read and this week I started on some St. Patrick's Day crafts.

My first craft was a fun St. Patrick's Day banner.

I cut the letters, heart, and shamrock shapes out with my Cricut.

I added some ribbon and some rhinestones to each letter. The rhinestones are definitely my favorite part!

I think it turned out pretty cute!

Have you started on any St. Patrick's Day crafts or are your Valentine's decorations still up? What do you think you will be making this year?