HEY, BYE SHIRT DIY + DOWNLOAD

I made this shirt the other day for Elliott. It's kind of perfect for his personality and his inability to stay still. Moms, can you relate? It's a simple freezer paper shirt (man do I love those). If you would like to make your very own you can download the graphic here. Just place a sheet of freezer paper over the image, cut it out with an exacto knife, iron on and paint! It's easy and pretty perfect for rambunctious little ones. It would be really cute on a onesie too! Of course you can do any color combo you want. I went with black and white because I love how bold and clean it looks. Point is, we love it and we're pretty sure you will too. 

Again, you can download the template here.

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WE LOVE: CHOBANI + A GIVEAWAY!

Chobani is probably the most famous greek yogurt company out there. And for a reason! It's all natural and really, really tasty. Elliott has been eating it since he was a baby. We love it! We were thrilled when we discovered Chobani's line Chanmpion tubes for kids! They taste even better but are still packed with the good stuff mom's and dad's love. Our favorites are strawberry and the new dragon fruit. So good! I love that the tubes are super portable - we take them everywhere! We have even frozen them to make popsicles. If you haven't tried the tubes, do it. Your kids will love them and so will you! Because we love Chobani so very much and because they love us, we are giving away 8 boxes of Champion Tubes in a variety of flavors! The winner will receive a large box right at their door filled with 8 boxes of every flavor Chobani offers. Elliott loved receiving the package in the mail. Who doesn't love to get mail? We really can't say enough great things about this yogurt. We know you and your family will love it too!

Here's how you can enter to win: (1) Leave a comment below stating where you would take some tubes for an easy snack. (2) Follow us on Twitter and comment using our handle @ardorblog, (3) Like us on facebook and comment. Three chances to enter! The giveaway ends on 09/21 at midnight. After that, a winner will be picked at random and notified. Good luck, friends!

RAIN CLOUD NOTEBOOK DIY

I made this notebook for Elliott with the intention of him using it to draw in, but he decided to take it a step further. He filled every page with pictures illustrating a story about him and his cousins becoming bad, robots, monsters and then good again. It's hilarious to hear him tell you all about it! Now I just have to write it down for his new book to be complete. Look for it in your local Barnes & Noble soon! The notebook is pretty easy to make. You probably have all of the supplies laying around the house so if you have a few minutes, make a couple! The rain cloud is of course optional. But we like it. You can see the full tutorial here on Momtastic.

WE LOVE: THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Elliott officially had his first day of preschool yesterday. I say officially because there were two days of parent orientation. Two! It was harder than I expected sending him off. It's not his first time going to preschool, but for some reason being in a public preschool is different. He'll be in class 12 hours every week which is awesome for everyone, but you know. I'll miss my little man. He of course ran full speed into the classroom and didn't look back. Typical. He loves it! He even came home excited about a little homework assignment. Homework on the first day? Of preschool? It was a fun assignment and he even said "I love homework!" Lets hope we can keep up that enthusiasm over the next 14 plus years. Hope all of you have had successful first days and weeks of back to school!

P.S. Yes, he's holding what he insists is a "telescope" (toilet paper roll)

EASY DUCT TAPE BOOKMARKS DIY

I hope you all had a fantastic long weekend! It feels like forever since I blogged. Maybe the sign of a blogaholic? We recently bought some classic books with newly designed covers for Elliott. They were in the Target $1 bins (go Target!) and we love them. Pretty much every night, we read a chapter from one of the books to Elliott and we thought we could use a bookmark or two to keep our place. These bookmarks are great for your little avid readers in the family. Especially those who are still getting back into the whole school thing. 

I used a cereal box as the base of the bookmark. You can use any cardboard really. Cut it to size and place it on the sticky side of some duct tape. If you are going to use a lighter color, you may need to double up on the tape.

Now for the fun part! To make the decorations, just place a strip of duct tape on a cutting mat and cut the shapes out with an exacto knife. 

Then peel up the tape and you should have your design ready to peel off and stick on your new bookmarks!

Happy reading!