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Welcome to another lovely edition of Muffin Tin Monday, the blog link up that has kids smiling everywhere and where we share the Muffin Tin Meals we make for our kids (and shhh, sometimes ourselves) each and every Monday. This summer, we are taking a break from the themes, so if you have been holding out and not participating, now is the perfect time!I did kind of a half theme this week. Stars in honor of Muffin Tin Monday. A few of us have been chatting via the new MTM facebook page about what...

I know you are all in the midst of a glorious 3 day weekend and enjoying your families as you remember our fallen military servicemen and women, so I will get righ to it!Here are this week's links:These toilet paper roll clown puppets from Katherine Marie are so cute! And look very doable.Have you seen these Winnie The Pooh Cake Pops from Bakerella? Ack! So sweet!I am incredibly inspired by the paper butterfly wreath (by Alisa Burke) featured over at The Crafty Crow .I enjoyed pouring over the kid's...

I have figured out a way to "save" and store children's artwork without actually saving it. It's the end of the school year for our family and we have garnered piles of glittery-glued on-painted-handmade craft projects. Each of my children made many wonderful pieces of artwork that we have been able to treasure all year long. In particular, Muffin Tin Boy made a handful of Letter Of The Week craft projects and I have saved them all. But, most of them are 3D masterpieces that well, take...

Are you on facebook? Well, if you are, then you can join the Muffin Tin Meals facebook page! There I will keep you updated on themes and post exclusive photos and hold exclusive giveaways, and it will be a place for muffin tin mamas who don't blog to come and see what the fuss is all about! Want to join in the fun on facebook? Click on the box below or link above.I had been debating it for awhile whether or not to add a facebook page, but with FB having over 400 million users...Well, it just seemed...

Welcome the 2nd installment of the Muffin Tin Monday Springtime mini-series: Seeds Plants, and Flowers! This week I had particular fun putting together the muffin tin meal and if Muffin Tin Girl wasn't so hungry, I would have made more of those miniature open-faced flower sandwichs.On a side note, did you know that playdough tools (washed and dried of course) can make great food shape cutters? Just sayin....Back to the fun. Here's what I put together: Leaves (or grass, take your pick): Fresh...

It happened again, I picked up the newspaper and it was doom and gloom, from page to page. Can you relate? Well, I have the perfect alternative. Links made to inspire, encourage and lift the spirits!Here they are:A Pocket Full of Buttons (pictured above): I love the  3D photo family tree craft that stephanie's daughter made. So super cute!Paper Cakes Finds: "Your Daily Dose of Handmade Eye Candy" They. Aren't. Kidding. Oh, I could spend hours pouring over these links and photos!The Lunch...

We made stick puppet faces this week and had a blast! Here's waht you'll need:Stick Faces (Ours are from Creatology, found at Michaels's Arts and Crafts)Googlie EyesYarn for the hairChenille pom-poms for the nose (super mini size)Glue - regular school glue works great! I prepped all the pieces before the kids got involved. Assemble at will!We then took our stick puppets and put on our very own puppet show. There was much silliness involved and it was so much f...

Oh...my...stars! I have found a deliciously simple and oh so tasty morning breakfast sandwich! The Egg and Cheese Waffle Sandwich via the Incredible Egg website. Special thanks to Jamie of Momma's Playground for inspiring me via twitter to make it! If you haven't checked out Jamie's blog yet, pop on over!I made it again this morning for our family and everyone but Muffin Tin Boy loved it! For full instructions, follow the link to the Increble Egg site.And as a side note, when I am not blogging,...

Are you ready for the first installment of the Springtime Series theme for Muffin Tin Monday? I am! This weeks theme is Birds and Nests. If you are new to Muffin Tin Monday, I am so glad you are here! Take a look around, visit the FAQ page for a little more info. Here's ours!Here's the new mini 12 cup muffin tin I got for Mother's Day from Wilton. I love it! In this tin: bird food: granola & berry trail mixcheezits: I have no idea how these got therelittle birdies: cucumber and...

Who needs the Sunday paper with links like these:Family Fun: they scored big with me recently with their organizing section! so many fun ideas!Nanny Goat: Adorable spool dolls. I've made something similar in the past, but these are just so cute. and she has a complete tutorial!I am kind of digging what handipoints.com is all about: printables for just about everything. Bonus: they canSomeday Crafts featured A Place For Us's super charming way to spruce up your hallway at home. chic DIY signs above...

There's something quietly magical that happens when you find an idea on another blog and try it out yourself. I remember last year seeing these mason jar cupcakes and thinking how adorable they were and wanting desperately to do them myself. Fast forward to this week. The muffin tin kids' school is having a bake sale this week to benefit St/ Jude's Research Hospital (a young boy in MTG's class has a brain tumor and was treated at St. Jude). I knew this would be the perfect opportunity to get creative...

photo by jcandeliI have been dreaming up what I will do for this Monday's Muffin Tin Meal and I just thought I would share with you a few ideas I have been brainstorming.When I think about a themed Muffin Tin Meal, I usually start by writing down a bunch of words associated with the theme.For example, the next theme is springtime: birds and nestsbirds and nestsbirdslove birdssong birdseggsnestowltreesleavesbirdhousebird bathbird seedwormschickswingsfeathersThinking outside the box:storkbabiesDifferent...

It's Monday!! You know what that means. It's time for Muffin Tin Monday. Since yesterday was Mother's Day I thought I would give me you a break from doing a theme this week. As always, you are welcome to come up with your own themes on non-theme weeks. For more on the Muffin Tin Meal blog link up called Muffin Tin Monday be sure to check out the FAQ page.Here's what we had:(rolled salami, mozarella cheese circles, and sliced apples)Jo at A Bit of This and That has a great Muffin Tin Meal themed...

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY FRIENDS!photo property of: mama dramalougesIt's that time again...Sunday, where I share links from around the web that inspire! Who needs the paper with links like these?Here they are:Make and Takes: While it might be too late to whip up these adorable Chenille Pipe Cleaner Flowers, who says you can't make them together as a family on Mother's Day? Make them for Aunties, Grandma's and Sisters too!Found in the "Ali": No-sew halter top (found via dollarstorecrafts.com) . I...

When Muffin Tin Boy broke his elbow last week I knew I wanted to do something for him that would make having a cast a little bit easier to bear. Sharing it with family paid off! My brother-in-law discovered this amazing company! I knew when I saw it that this would be just the thing.It's called Casttoo. Their mission is to provide "happy healing" to those who are mending a broken bone.Casttoo was created by the talented and adventurous Jessica Smith who herself had a broken bone from a bicycling...

Children love to be told how proud you are of them and how much you love them. They love to hear specifically what they have done that has earned a compliment or moment of praise. Nothing beats hearing "I really like it when you.." or "wow! You picked all your toys without whining or complaining. I am so proud of you. Keep it up." And while that is always a top priority it my book, a little "love gossip" is a great way to well, share the love, so to speak.What's "love gossip", you ask?Here's how...

Making bracelets with perler beads and chenille pipe cleaners is a great way to work on fine motor skills with your child as well as patterning and counting, and still have fun. They wont even know they're "learning".Perler beads and chenille pipecleaners can be found at your local craft store or online. Both typically come in bulk, so be prepared for hours of f...

Add a twist to the traditional game of memory match-up game gets a using family photos! Use a deck of playing cards from the dollar store as an easy backing. I made this simple and creative game in about 20 minutes using a only a few supplies.You'll need:A deck of cards from the dollar store (The Dollar Tree to be exact).Glue StickSmall paper cutter or scissorsPre-printed photos at home from my HP Touchsmart Web PrinterHere's How:Print out 2 sets of photos of your choosing. (I printed mine on 4x6...

Happy Muffin Tin Monday! Every week we share the muffin tin meals we make for our kids and link them together here - and we call it Muffin Tin Monday and sometimes "MTM" for short. :) Muffin Tin Mom is the "Official Home of the Muffin Tin Meal and Muffin Tin Monday" and I am so glad you are her to join in the fun by either submitting a link to your blog post about your MTM or just here to browse all the other submissions. For more on Muffin Tin Monday be sure to visit the MTM FAQ page.This week's...

Here are this week's links!Lunchville: Chic and eco-friendly lunch bags, containers and drink bottles. They even have cloth sandwich and snack bags! Some of the lunch bags are so cute, they look like purses!Tuesday I will be giving my presentation on cyberbullying. During my research, I found this cyberbullying PSA from the ad council to be riveting. Teacher Appreciation Week is this week, beginning on May 3rd. Our school isn't celebrating for one more week, thank goodness. However I want to encourage...