Creative cardboard box toys

Kids have the most awesome imaginations.

They can make toys out of anything and everything.

If your kids are anything like mine it seems like most days they prefer playing with trash

(i.e. old boxes, oatmeal canisters, paper towel rolls, etc.)

over all their pricey toys.

Just the other day I saw these cardboard box creations over here.

I loved how they turned plain old boxes into cute and fun toys!

I had to share.

How cute is this castle?!

I know Mackenzie would have hours of fun playing with this princess baby bed.

And Wesley is a sucker for anything that involves balls.

And for the more serious box makers...

check out this car and gas station

and this fun kitchen.

So many fun ideas!

Or if the thought of spending all that time making a piece of trash cute seems silly to you

just give your kids a plain ol' box.

I'm sure they will love that too :)

Curly Hair

I have curly hair.

crazy. out of control. giant frizz ball.

kind of curly hair.

(In case you were wondering...

The awesome hat is Mackenzie's most recent craft project from Bible Study. She insisted I wear it for the picture. How could I resist?).

Most days my hair looks likes this

except not quite as pretty.

Which makes me want to go like this

and then contemplate shaving my head.

Anyways, I was wondering if any of you fellow curly hair people out there have any tips for me and my hair.

We need help.

Lots and lots of help.

Any of your suggestions and/or favorite styling products would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much!

Hopefully happier hair days will be in my future :)

Funky Vintage Kitchen giveaway!!!

I'm so excited for today's giveaway!

Meet April,

the girl behind the Funky Vintage Kitchen,

"Hi, I'm April! Lover of jeggings {not embarrassed to admit it} and boots, the colors grey, turquoise, red and mustard yellow, my husband and children. Obviously they come before the jeggings! My husband considers me a horder of cute vintage things, crafting supplies and fabric but I'm not admitting to this just yet! I consider myself trendy and am inspired by color and texture. I only create items I would personally wear, use or decorate my home with. I won't make anything that doesn't make my tummy tingle with butterflies."

I don't know about you but just about everything in April's shop makes my "tummy tingle with butterflies".

That means I need one of everything right?

Take a look at a sampling of the cuteness from her online shop.

My ears told me they would gladly wear these

e.v.e.r.y.d.a.y.

I agree.

love this sweet little ring.

yes. yes. a million times yes.

This bad boy would have come in handy yesterday.

Let's be honest, it would be a great daily reminder for all of us.

Although mine should probably be a little longer and include

be patient, keep calm, PRAY, and carry on :)

I need this chalkboard.

period.

so. crazy. cute.

Isn't her stuff adorable!

This week April is giving away

one pair of earrings of your choice!

So exciting, I know!!

How can you enter to win?

I'm so glad you asked :)

(Please leave a separate comment for each)

1. Visit the Funky Vintage Kitchen's shop.

Come back here and tell us what your favorite item is.

2. Visit the Funky Vintage Kitchen's blog

and leave some comment love.

3. "Like" The Funky Vintage Kitchen on Facebook.

4. Follow my blog.

5. Follow April on Twitter.

6. Follow me on Twitter.

7. Blog about this awesome giveaway.

Make sure to let me know the blog address you linked from in your comment.

8. Tweet or Facebook about it.

9. If you had $30 to spend on someone other than yourself how would you use it?

Giveaway will end at midnight

Thursday, March 3rd.

Winner will be announced the following morning.

Good luck!

April is also giving Lu Bird Baby readers 10% off everything in her shop while the giveaway is going on.

Just enter the coupon code LUBIRDBABY.

Happy Shopping!

Winners!!

What a week full of giveaways!

The winner of the {Mur}made giveaway is

barneyn

and the lucky winner of the Lil Stein Styles St. Patty's giveaway is

Tiffany.

Congratulations!!

Email me to claim your prizes :)

Sneak Peek!

I've finally made some girly onesies!

Here is a little sneak peek.

What do you think?

What I Wore

I've officially entered the 3rd trimester.

Less than 3 months until we get to meet little Miss Madelyn.

I. simply. cannot. wait.

Well I can,

because let's be honest the reality of 3 little ones 3 years old and under makes me a little nervous

but I am super excited to meet our newest daughter.

And since today is Wednesday here is my weekly style recap

(a.k.a. my online accountability chart).

Thanks for keeping me motivated to get out of my pjs and actually look some what presentable each day :)

I'm sure my husband and kids thank you.

long sleeve shirt: Nordstroms

jeans: H&M maternity

boots: Cathy Jean

long sleeve shirt: Banana Republic

sweater wrap: Macy's

jeggings: Forever 21

boots: Cathy Jean

necklace: Walmat

long sleeve shirt: Old Navy

dress: Target {new}

jeggings: Forever 21

boots: Cathy Jean

beaded shirt: Target maternity

cardigan: Macy's

jeggings: Forever 21

black boots: H&M

teal tank: Old Navy

cardigan: Forever 21

jeggings: Forever 21

boots: Cathy Jean

top: H&M

jeans: H&M maternity

flats: Payless

shirt: Old Navy

jeans: H&M maternity

flats: Naturalizers

And don't forget to check out our two current giveaways!

Mur{made} is giving away an adorable kid's beanie of your choice from her shop!!

and Lil Stein Styles is giving away a super cute custom Saint Patrick's Day tee (for your son or daughter)!

Be sure to check them out and enter soon! Both giveaways end Thursday night.

St. Patty's Day Giveaway!

I'm not really into Saint Patrick's day.

It probably has something to do with the fact that

I hate the taste of beer,

don't like getting pinched

and think little leprechauns are kind of creepy.

However, I do think Saint Patrick is pretty awesome

(did you know he was a missionary to the Irish and used the 3 leaf clover as a tool to explain the Trinity)

and I do love the color green.

So in honor of those 2 things

I've decided to share with you some of my favorite Saint Patty inspired Etsy finds

as well as a super cool giveaway.

Enjoy!

lovey. love. love. this dress.

I think Madelyn needs a pair of these.

Possibly in every color.

Wear this around your neck for an extra dose of luck.

I'm pretty sure even a creepy leprechaun would look cute in this.

Holidays are always a good excuse to bake (and eat) lots of sweets.

{cupcake toppers}

I may not like beer but I do enjoy a good glass of wine

(when I'm not prego of course).

{wine glass}

How precious are these tiny bows?!

I'm pretty much a sucker for anything with a giant flower attached to it.

This is no exception.

These Mr. Lucky shirts are

so. crazy. cute.

I can't stand it.

If you have only girls don't feel left out.

There is a little Miss Lucky shirt too.

Maybe you will be Little Miss Lucky today

because Cristil from Then There Was Five

is giving away a custom St. Patrick's Day (boy or girl) tee to one of my lucky readers!

Since this is a Saint Patrick's Day giveaway

and I want you all to feel lucky

there are a ton of ways to enter.

Ways to enter:

(Please leave a separate comment for each)

1. Visit Cristil's etsy shop Lil Stein Styles.

Come back here and tell us what your favorite item is.

2. Follow my blog (Lu Bird Baby).

3. Follow Cristil's blog (Then There Were Five).

4. Follow me on Twitter.

5. Become a fan of Lil Stein Styles on Facebook.

6. Blog about this giveaway.

Make sure to let me know the blog address you linked from in your comment.

5. Tweet or Facebook about this giveaway.

6. Tell us your favorite thing that is the color green.

7. Tell us your Saint Patrick's Day plans.

8. Tell us a cool fact about the real Saint Patrick.

Giveaway will end at midnight

Thursday, February 24th.

Winner will be announced the following morning.

Good luck!

Message Board Tutorial with guest blogger Angie

Soon after I got into the crazy world of blogging I met Angie.

I'm pretty sure I was looking up ideas for Mackenzie's quilt when I stumbled upon Angie's blog and her quilting genius.

Then I saw these adorable ABC fridge magnets she made and I knew we would be blogging friends.

She has let me pick her brain and answered my silly quilting questions and now I get to share her with you.

Meet Angie...

I am so thrilled to be over here at Lu Bird Baby today!

My name is Angie and I am from the blog This and That.

I love to keep my head spinning with ideas, projects and recipes.

Today I am going to show you how to simply transform a picture frame into a message board.

I sprayed this picture frame white a while back, as it sat behind my couch I had all sorts of ideas of what to do with it. A message board was one idea.

What I did?

I just replaced the picture that was behind the glass with a piece of ironed light colored fabric

That way you can write on the glass with white board markers and have a message board.

To make, cut the fabric about an inch longer on each side, lay in frame on top of the glass and cover with the cardboard that came with the frame. Press the little metal tabs down onto the fabric to secure in place.

And the best part about these message boards is you can switch out the fabric as often as you want. Just make sure you go with lightly colored prints or solids.

Thanks for having me Kristin!

Thanks Angie for sharing such a cute and easy project with us!

I'm sure I have an old frame or two just begging to be made into a message board :)

Groupies

Mackenzie is a total Jana Alayra groupie.

We listen to her music, watch her DVDs and go to her concerts when they are in town.

We are kind of like Jana stalkers

except we actually know Jana which makes it not so stalkerish.

Anyways, Jana had the filming for her 3rd live in concert DVD a couple weeks ago and she asked Mackenzie along with a few of her friends from church to be in the video.

Mackenzie pretty much thought it was the coolest thing ever.

I can't wait until the DVD comes out and she actually gets to see herself on the TV.

I'm pretty sure she's going to want to watch it every day.

The filming was like a real concert so there were a ton of people who got to come and be in the crowd as well.

Apparently some of your kids are Jana Alyara fans too because I got to meet a few of you there!

So much fun!

{Mur}made Giveaway!

Sometimes I wish I lived where it snowed

just so scarves and beanies could be a part of my daily winter attire.

But then I remember it has to be cold to snow.

Really cold.

And I hate the cold.

So for now I'll be the crazy Southern California girl who totally sports her Uggs, scarves and pea coats when it is only 60 degrees out.

Because let's face it

60 degrees is really cold to me.

So whether you live in the snow or like to pretend that you do

you will love today's giveaway.

Meet Muranda, the lady behind

{mur} made.

"I am a real estate agent by day and a crochetaholic by night! Somewhere in there, I get to be a mom to my two darling little boys and a wife to a very patient husband!

I hope you enjoy some of my creations..."

love. love. love.

this ruffly piece of goodness

i think my neck would be very happy in this.

a.d.o.r.a.b.l.e.

fingerless gloves

with ruffles

yes please!!

Muranda makes some crazy cute kids beanies.

I love this aviator style hat for the boys.

you already know how I feel about owls.

enough said.

what little dinosaur wouldn't love to sport this?

so fun!

precious.

I'm pretty sure this hat would solve even the worst case of bad hair day.

See doesn't Muranda's crocheted goodies make you want to live in the snow?

Just a little bit.

This week mur{made} is giving away

one kids hat

of your choice!!

How cool is that?!

How can you enter to win?

I'm so glad you asked :)

(Please leave a separate comment for each)

1. Visit {mur}made's etsy shop.

Come back here and tell us what your favorite item is.

2. Follow my blog.

3. Follow me on Twitter.

4. Blog about it.

Make sure to let me know the blog address you linked from in your comment.

5. Tweet or Facebook about it.

6. Do something nice for someone else

just because.

Then come back here and leave the word "nice" as a comment.

Giveaway will end at midnight

Thursday, February 24th.

Winner will be announced the following morning.

Good luck!