When I was younger, my family went on an epic trip out west. We went to a dozen national parks, broke up all the driving with big hikes, and had lots of time in the car to bond ;). Recently, I realized that we had all done different things with our souvenirs - I liked that they reflected our different styles, and thought it could give some inspiration for everyone else's adventure memorabilia!

I collected patches at each national park, and added them onto the canvas hiking backpack I'd brought on the trip. I remember ironing on each new patch as we got to the hotel room at night :). When I got home I sewed the edges down to reinforce them, and my brother likes to use this backpack still - 12 years later!

My sister collected pins instead of patches, and put cork inside a frame to display them. I love that she left open space to keep collecting!

My other sister collected these cool vintage postcards - they had this series in every national park gift shop. The matting shows off the retro colors, and I love how sleek it looks!

What's your favorite thing to do with souvenirs?

One of my favorite memories is that growing up, for every big holiday, someone would make place cards for the whole family. The cousins took turns doing it, and it instantly made the meals feel more festive! Here are some ideas to dress up your Thanksgiving table - all simple enough that the littles can help:

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Hi Mama! We know that right before baby arrives there is always so much on the to-do list. We wanted to help ease some of the pre-baby stress by creating an all-encompassing hospital bag checklist for you and baby. This list has everything you will need for bringing your little nugget into the world. Enjoy Mama!

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Happy fall! We haven't quite gotten around to carving pumpkins yet, but this fun (and super colorful) craft is holding us over until we do! 

I found these pumpkins in the dollar aisle at Target (which is why I always, always take a look there when I'm shopping). They're made of foam and paper, so they're very light...and not breakable!

I had the kids paint them with white paint so that the pom-poms would really pop. Put down a long sheet of craft paper so that you don't have to worry about where the paint does or doesn't end up! :)

After they dried, it was time to glue on the pom-poms. They picked neon and classic colors for a fun variety:

Since using the hot glue gun was a job for a grown-up, I let them "art direct" by picking the next color and telling me where to put it. :)

I loved how these turned out! They were supposed to go in their rooms originally, but they've been carrying them all over the house, and I don't think they're going to stop ;). Such a fun twist on fall decorations!

Like most kids, my oldest loves art! Coloring, painting, tracing...she does it all. This means that we have a LOT of masterpieces being created daily. She's been asking me for awhile to put them in frames on the wall, which makes me so happy! But I also know that she wants to change them every other day, and dealing with changing out frames that regularly leads to broken nails (those tabs always get me) and less enthusiasm. Since she was still set on actual frames, I had to get creative to find a way to make them truly changeable.

I started with some super basic IKEA frames. The plexiglass fronts had been scratched, but that didn't matter since I was taking it out anyway!

First, I attached a string to the back side of the frame, about an inch from the top. I just knotted it and used a thumb tack on both sides, to make it super speedy!

I had planned on painting the frames, but even after sanding, the frames repelled every drop of paint! Since I still wanted some whimsy and color, I thought of washi tape. I left the top third black, because I thought the contrast looked a little more modern and would give good contrast to the art inside.

As I went to hang them up, I kept looking at the girls' (very plain) door and decided that it could use some decor more than the walls did! I used a nail on the top of course, but since it would be swinging open and closed, I added some double-sided tape to the bottom of the frame to keep it secure there, too. And I added to mini binder clips to the string - mini clothespins would work also!

The kiddos adore their new gallery! They love that they can change out the art whenever they want...and I love how quick this project was :).