They were just too fun to pass up.

And, as I expected, I did indeed find a use for them!

We had a wonderful Hill family vacation this past summer with 22 of us spending an action-packed week together. It coincided with my birthday (Clever planning on my part, huh?!), and my family poured blessing on me.

 I wanted to thank them thoroughly  for the many ways they made this birthday so special.

Aha! Astrobrights to the rescue!

Using this printable, I printed  “So many thanks” in the bottom corner of the paper and then wrote each of the families an individual note.

I filled a page with Thank you! in a variety of fun fonts, printed them and cut them into strips with my trimmer. I used scissors to snip the individual phrases. Along with my thank you note, I sprinkled a handful of the Thank You Confetti into the envelope.

I like to think that when my children opened their notes they felt my sincerest gratitude.

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For those of you who haven’t met her, the Dollar Store Diva happens to be my Mom who has a special power.  She can transform Dollar Store and other inexpensive finds into super fun gifts that would brighten anyone’s day!

My husband and I recently downsized to a small Cape Cod. It has taken some ingenuity to create nooks and crannies for our out-of-town family to sleep when they come to visit. There is actually only one bedroom upstairs, but at the top of the stairs is an open space that I have turned into a bedroom for my grandchildren. It has a single bed and room for a folding mattress to be placed on the floor when needed.

As you may already know, I have 16 grandchildren ranging in age from two months to almost 22 years. The older grandchildren live 1730 miles away, so when my Texas family recently traveled across country to visit, the teddy bears and nursery rhyme books didn’t seem appropriate for my 19- and 21-year-old grandsons.

An online search led me to a Grandma-perfect way to welcome my two over-six-foot-tall grandsons: printable alphabet banners.

I re-sized the online letters before I printed them to make them a bit smaller for the wall space available. I printed the letters on off-white cardstock, then matted them with $1 store kraft wrapping paper. Of course, they could also be printed on plain white copy paper or decorative scrapbook paper.

I hung each matted letter on the hemp cord I had stretched above the bed, choosing to attach them with clothes pins so I could change-up the banner from time to time.

I felt like it needed a few more touches, so  I created a couple of my favorite paper flowers out of multi-colored paper scraps, and–for a final touch–added a few wisps of  fuzzy yarn.

And there you have it: this is what greeted my Texas family as they came up the stairs of Grandpa and Grandma’s little Cape Cod.

I had so much fun doing this that my brain is already whirring, thinking about all the celebration and holiday banners I can make.

Got any ideas coming your way?

***

For those of you who haven’t met her, the Dollar Store Diva happens to be my Mom who has a special power.  She can transform Dollar Store and other inexpensive finds into treasures that would brighten anyone’s day!

Click here to check out more Dollar Store Diva posts.

***

I personally know many wonderful fathers, including my own, my father-in-law, my husband, my sons and sons-in-law. Obviously, this is not a competition, and the message on this card is not literally true. But the sentiment can be.

So, how about blessing the dad in your life with this easy-to-make card.

Check out this quick slideshow to get a better idea of the impact of this card, then follow the easy steps to create your own (click here if you are reading this in an email):

1) Choose a double-sided sheet of scrapbooking paper with a colorful design on one side and a muted design on the other.

2) Print this map You’re the Best Dad  on the muted side of the paper. [I created one map with black text and one with brown so you can print whichever is more appropriate for your card.]

3) Trim the top and bottom of the paper to crop off the text. It will make the card just the right height.

4) Fold the paper into thirds (see photo), leaving the left flap a little longer to slightly overlap the right flap.

5) Print You’re the Best Dad onto a piece of paper that coordinates with the card.

6) Mat it on another scrap of coordinating paper

7) Put adhesive on the back of the mat, being careful not to put any on the end of the word “best”; that will be the flap to open the card.

8) And there you have it! Jot a note inside with a few hugs and kisses and bring a smile to your own dad or to your children’s dad.

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But wait! There’s more!

Stay tuned: I’ll be back soon with another fascinating “You’re the best Dad” tutorial.