Creigh-ations

02/23/2018

Changes to Creighations~ https://www.facebook.com/CreativeReadingAdventures/

Join me over at Creative Reading Adventures! https://www.facebook.com/CreativeReadingAdventures/

02/15/2018

Creigh-ations's cover photo

02/12/2018

Let’s see those Valentines, busy moms! Share a picture of yours in the comments.

Lots of lessons from these Dollar Store bought cards:
💕 Start early
✏️ Great handwriting practice
📄 Practice reading class names
🍷 Practice in patience 😉

01/26/2018

*squee!* Sneak peek of the xoxox banner for the Valentines event on Sunday! YOU, busy mom, get to craft with The Aviary Girls while we throw a Valentines party for your kids with- you guessed it!- a photo shoot with BGB Photography LLC. This banner will be part of your adorable backdrop at NoVA PlayLabs.

👀 Like what you see?! There are a few spots left for Sunday! 💕

01/24/2018

Want to make your very own LOVE themed, farmhouse chic sign while we treat your little ones to a supervised Valentine's party {complete with a professional photo booth!} right down the hall?!

Crafting, farmhouse decor, adorable photos, included childcare... what's not to love?! Grab a mom friend and join us on Sunday, January 28th 11-1 or Thursday, February 1st 5:30-7:30!

01/13/2018

Have you started on your 2018 goals or resolutions yet!? One of my 2018 goals is to read one chapter EVERY day. This latest post shows you how that's possible even with little ones and little time! {LInk's in the comments!}.

📖 In the comments, please leave the name of the book you're reading or your favorite book! {Let's grow our reading lists!}

🖍️ *Bonus* there's a super cute bookmark you can color with your kids in the post!

01/05/2018

Happy New Year!

12/13/2017

Last call for lip balm cards! How cute is the packaging for the little interns’ teacher’s gift card 😍🐧 Last trip to the post office in the morning. Shop is closing at midnight! www.creighations.etsy.com

12/10/2017

Local friends~ come stock up on your teacher gifts and finish your holiday shopping! 💕 {Oh and have a glass of wine with me! 🍷🎁}

13167 Oak Farm Dr. in Woodbridge~ I’ll be here til 6!

12/09/2017

Grab those teacher gifts + stocking stuffers before Tuesday! 💕🎄

12/02/2017

This crafty elf is super excited for December 💚❤️ Have you checked out the shop lately?! It’s gotten a Christmas makeover! 🎄Lots of new items including these “Shine Bright!” ornaments~ perfect for gifting jewelry this Christmas!!

✅ Click to check them out~ www.creighations.etsy.com

11/29/2017

{Help!} I need your input~ what word/phrase screams "Christmas" to you?!
a) Be Merry
b) Joy
c) Merry & Bright
d) add your own!

I'm looking to make one more reversible holiday banner. Any input would be greatly appreciated! :)

11/25/2017

A reason to shop small today + announcing a Giveaway!

11/22/2017

I know that Ashlie probably hasn’t slept much baking so many pies for all of her amazing customers 💕🥧 I’m happy to support her vision to #shopsmall this weekend with these labels!

11/18/2017

Fun fact: my littlest intern saw my fabulous Christmas sweater this morning and wanted to know when breakfast with Santa was today 😂 🎅🏼

I’m just in the holiday spirit for the Stone Bridge High School Holiday Bazaar! I’m here in Ashburn until 2! Come visit me 💕

11/15/2017

Packing up Thankful Kits! What are you grateful for today?!

11/15/2017

Local friends, if you're around tomorrow evening, come stop by the Westover Baptist Church. I'll be there from 7-9 with Gratitude Jars, Thankful Kits, turkey and thankful EOS, and taking preorders for holiday EOS cards. Stock up on your teacher gifts! Hope to see you there!

Date: Wed. 11/15
Time: 7-9
Place: Westover Baptist Church 1125 Patrick Henry Dr.
Arlington, VA 22205

11/14/2017

Thanksgiving is NEXT week! Are you ready?!

To get in the spirit of Thanksgiving, start talking about gratitude with your kids. For those of you who did my {Create a Thankful Heart} challenge, you know the BEST way I like to chat about things with my kids is to use children's books.

An amazing children's book is Thankful by Eileen Spinelli. Read it, chat about some things you are thankful for with your little ones, and report back here! I'll leave what my little intern was thankful for in the comments ;)

Comment below: What are your kids grateful for?! {The funnier, the better!}.

11/06/2017

I LOVE getting texts like this~ meet Tucker, my little interns’ cousin. He is loving the #createathankfulheart challenge. This video was meant for Landon but I got permission to share it with you 😘

Thankful Kits are up in the shop! Two journals are included {with lots of other goodies} for you to continue journaling {1 for you and 1 for your child!}. Click to check it out~ https://www.etsy.com/listing/555771844/thankful-kit-family-gratitude-activities?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=family%20gratitude%20kit&ref=sr_gallery_3

11/01/2017

{Create a Thankful Heart} Kick Off! Make sure you're getting the daily prompts here~ bit.ly/CreateaThankfulHeart

10/30/2017

I know we're prepping for Halloween, so let's discuss my last trip to Target.

We went in for Halloween candy. The little interns and I talked about it on the way there. I parked the car and we repeated that this trip was ONLY for Halloween candy and for nothing else {it's also a nice reminder for me not to go through the dollar bins or down any unnecessary aisles!}. We talked about how the candy was for all of the trick-or-treaters that are coming to our house on Tuesday night. One more time: "What are we buying at Target?" "Halloween candy" ~say my 4 and 5 year olds.

Flash forward to the walk back from the candy. We pass the clothes.
~"Mommy can I get a Halloween shirt?"
~"No, we only came for candy."

Keep walking... you guessed it. Right past the toy aisle.
"But mommy remember you said we could get..."

I didn't even let him finish that sentence~ "WE CAME FOR HALLOWEEN CANDY AND WE ARE LEAVING WITH HALLOWEEN CANDY." This was my mantra for the afternoon.

Cue the tears. The meltdown. "But mommy I NEED that new pup." The screams. The stares from others. {Please tell me I'm not alone in these Target meltdowns!}. People don't know whether to help or run quickly in the other direction. I can answer that~ run... run, as fast as you can!

I usually would calmly explain that we are here for Halloween candy and leaving just with Halloween candy but it was after school, we were all exhausted, and it wasn't worth it. So I scooped up my 4 year old and we did self check out through the tantrums. We made it back to the safety of the van, where the sobs escalated and then finally stopped 2 minutes from home when he realized we weren't going back.

If this has ever happened to you, please leave a comment in this post! I think moms think we're alone in this, but I've seen it happen to lots of busy moms, and we're not alone. {At least that's what I told myself after Friday's trip!}.

In that meltdown moment, I decided to purposefully teach my kids how to be grateful for the pups they already have. For the clothes they have. For the candy we bought for trick-or-treaters. For everything we have.

If you're tired of the obsession with material things, the sense of entitlement, and just plain un-gratefulness, join me as I teach my little ones how to be thankful. It starts on Wednesday, November 1st. You know the teacher in me found some great books to share and lessons to use after this Target meltdown. Let's create thankful hearts together.

10/27/2017

Had the BEST morning presenting to some fabulous MOPS moms! We chatted how to teach pre-reading skills to little ones and craft ideas 💕 Thanks to Katrina for snapping this picture 📷

What are some of your favorite books to read to your littles?! Post some titles below 📚⬇️

10/26/2017

Grab your pumpkin spiced latte and read 3 easy ways to learn with pumpkins 🎃

Join me for my first coffee chat over in the Creigh~ative Connection this morning at 11! We’re chatting.... pumpkins! Hope to “see” you there!

http://www.creighations.com/new-blog/2017/10/15/pumpkin-fun-3-easy-ways-to-learn-with-pumpkins

10/21/2017

You either love ‘em or hate ‘em! What’s your feeling on candy corn?! 🎃
{My answer’s in the comments!}.

You can check out the other Halloween cupcake toppers in the shop! Click here to order for your Halloween treats~ https://www.etsy.com/listing/548574524/halloween-cupcake-toppers-candy-corn?ref=shop_home_active_6

10/17/2017

Heading to a MOPS group in Falls Church with 45 of these Fall/BOO! banner kits. I’m the craft leader {doesn’t that job sound like it was made for me!!?}. I also get to chat about throwing a stress-free birthday party tonight 🎉

Local friends, I can come to you and you can throw your very own banner making party too! You can even earn yours for free! 💕

Click here to order your very own banner~
https://www.etsy.com/listing/247221410/fallboo-double-sided-banner-reversible?ref=shop_home_feat_2

10/12/2017

Can you spot our quick after school creepy-crawly craft this afternoon?

👀 My littlest intern helped count out all of the googly eyes and legs we needed to help prep our craft! My little intern didn’t even want a snack off of the bus~ he wanted to make his spider with his little brother. Makes my heart melt! ❤️

🎨🖌✂️🖍 Crafting and coloring are our time to relax and catch up on the day. While they were molding their Play-Doh I learned all about who turned to yellow today {❗️}, what he made in computer lab, and who he played with during inside recess. If I had asked “how was your day?” I would not have gotten all of that info, trust me 😉

October Creigh~ative Kid Kits head out tomorrow. I can make yours to add to the post office stack, so you can have some Halloween crafts ready and available for the next couple of weeks! Click here to check them out~ bit.ly/creighativekidkit

📸 photo cred to the big intern

10/06/2017

What do you think~ is it too early for the "BOO!" side of this reversible banner?! My accountant and I always have differing opinions...🎃🍂🍁

I guess this is a 2 part question~ 1) Fall or BOO! side for now? and 2) If you say it's too early, when can I switch to BOO!???

08/17/2017

My little interns busy "at work!" I'm going to miss the big intern when he starts school next week! 💻

08/17/2017

Who's ready for the first day of school?! A week from tomorrow I'm sending my biggest little intern to kindergarten {cue the tears!}. I've been pretty open + honest on the blog the past couple of weeks about the mix of emotions this brings! I shared some tips and my favorite book to read before you send your kids off on that school bus, which you can read here~ http://www.creighations.com/new-blog/2017/8/15/the-kissing-hand-preparing-for-back-to-school

08/09/2017

Happy National Book Lover's Day! 💕📚 To celebrate, leave your favorite book in the comments and let's all grow our reading lists!

08/08/2017

Our interning days have come to an end! We are heading home today ✈️

Fun fact~ 7 years ago we were getting ready to be flower girls for Kim's wedding and today she is hanging with us while we wait for our plane! Don't worry, she picked up a new intern while at the airport and she's taking over tomorrow! 💕 Thanks for the Facebook love this week!
~Sarah & Rae

08/08/2017

August Kid Kits~ packaged, sealed, and delivered to the post office!

These kits are so much work! Kim had us craft with the boys, package every single material you could possibly need for every craft, make it look pretty, tape it up, and print shipping labels~ phew! We are exhausted. 😴
~Sarah & Rae

08/07/2017

Took a break from interning to celebrate National Friendship Day ☕️
~Sarah & Rae

08/05/2017

Prop shopping for Kim. We aren't complaining since we heard some special cupcakes may be involved! ✂️☕️ 🍰 Side note: Where is the cupcake emoji?!
~Sarah & Rae

08/04/2017

Happy National Watermelon Day! 🍉 Kim just sent us this picture. She is out to dinner with her friends while we are boxing her August Kid Kits. We think there may be something wrong with this picture...
~Sarah & Rae

08/02/2017

We are leaving for Hershey Park. Our "boss" wakes us up at 6am and we come out to this! This is how our conversation went:
"Kim, what are you doing?"
"Taking pictures of this teacher banner.. I promised I'd have it out today."
"Didn't we finish that banner last night?"
"Yes but I have to take pictures in the daylight- it will take 5 minutes or less!"

While we probably would have used that 5 minutes to sleep, Kim thought it was a better idea to work.
~Sarah & Rae

08/01/2017

Our job can't be that hard since Kim left us in charge of these favor tags. She came to pick up and we just had to say "here you go!" and "thanks!" We've got this intern thing down 😉
~Sarah and Rae

07/31/2017

Say "hi!" to Sarah and Rae, my two newest interns! They are visiting, and while they may have thought they were on summer vacation, I'm actually putting them to work! 🤣

Aside from stuffing kid kits and some other fun tasks, I thought they would take over my social media accounts this week. So you'll be seeing and hearing things from their perspectives! Leave any questions you have for them below and they'll be starting tomorrow 💕