I'm early! (for once...)

Of all my many flaws, one of the ones that I dislike most (and one I am working to overcome) is my propensity to procrastinate.  I always think I have more time to get things done than I really do, and then I end up scrambling or staying up all night before a deadline/trip/holiday/party trying to get it all done.

Two things have been working for me as I try to free myself of the stress that procrastination brings: 

1) DO LESS STUFF.  Not everything has to be homemade or the cutest or perfectly organized or whatever.  I'm trying to let go of some of my self-imposed expectations and you know what?  It's really working out for me.  Sleep is my friend.  Stress is not.

2)  The stuff I need (or choose) to do - try and do it earlier.  That sounds so simple but it's been like a revelation to me.  I've learned that I can't get much done in the a.m. before the girls head to school, so I have to pack lunches/snacks/backpacks etc. the night before.  Same goes for getting their clothes ready.  They MUST be laid out the night before.  Every night.  Every article of clothing.  No exceptions.  Otherwise, the morning just doesn't work.

So, in that spirit, I found myself with a little free(ish) time yesterday and thought we'd get a jump on making Valentines cards.  I'd never made potato stamps before and was always interested in giving it a try and they were so fun and easy to make, I'm hooked!  Now I'm imagining all the possibilities...We can stamp our own birthday cards! Christmas wrapping paper! Halloween decorations!

And then I have to tell myself to dial it back because I can't do it all and keep my head from popping off at the same time.

But aaaaanyway, we DID make the Valentines cards and we had so much fun!

The potato was a bit dried out by the time I got around to taking a photo, but you get the idea.  You can cut your own shape or use a cookie cutter like this.  It really worked well.  I just pressed the cutter in, used a paring knife to trim off about a 1/4 inch slice, then pulled the cutter out.  One tip - when you cut your potato in half, try to get as clean a cut as possible so your stamp will have a flat surface.

Then we just pressed them into ink pads and stamped away!  I hear paint (poster paint/kids art paint) works really well too, but I haven't tried that yet.

I printed out these super-simple cards onto cardstock, four to a page and then cut with a little paper cutter.

Cheap, easy prep, easy clean up. That's what I'm talking about.

Happy Valentines Day a month early!

p.s.  "That's what I'm talking about" - Viv's new favorite phrase.  ????