mountains – mamasbrush

Easy Hiking Theme Birthday on a Budget

I wasn’t sure how I was going to make this “Hiking” themed birthday different from the “Camping” theme we did a few years ago, and let me tell you, inspiration was not coming. I had only general ideas going into the evening before the big day, but hopefully that is just proof of how easy and budget friendly this whole theme was.

Birthdays are a big deal around here, and if you’ve been around a while, then you know that there is always a theme. I was really struggling with what the theme would be this time around since the interests of my now nine year old haven’t changed much over the last few years. I’ve done all the themes already. What he really wanted was a hiking theme, but I kept fighting against it since we just did a camping theme a few years ago.

Added into all that, my husband and I spent 10 days during July in the hospital with our oldest daughter and, while she is in full health now, the week we got home was full of recovery and catching up from being away from home and the rest of the kids for so long. That left only a few days to figure out what I was going to do for this birthday.

Finally I gave in. Hiking theme it was… but I had no idea what I would do. Pinterest is always a huge help, but most of the “hiking” searches brought up tons of great “camping” themed party ideas. Or “national park” themes. Still not exactly what I was looking for. (See my Pinterest board for more ideas!)

One thing I did find was cute hiking signs I could print… but my printer wasn’t working at the last minute, so we didn’t have those.

So what’s a girl to do with no balloons, no streamers, and no idea what to start with? I headed upstairs to to the attic for the Christmas/winter decorations. Yes I did! You may recognize some of these from the Cozy Mountain Lodge Women’s Retreat I decorated for earlier this year too.

I put some of these decorations on my much loved shelves.

Adventure Awaits Hand Painted Card -- Easy Hiking Theme Birthday on a Budget

And I try to paint/illustrate a little card for each of the kids on their birthday. It’s become something that is really special to them. This time I thought it fit nicely in the decoration. You could totally do this painting. I painted the green part of the tree loosely, leaving gaps here and there in a light green. After that dried, I did it again with the same paint, but not going all the way to the edges. Then a third time after it dried again. Once it was all dry the fourth time, I added the brown trunk. Sometimes I simply use a tall triangle for a pine tree. It works great!

The mountains I put on a pedestal in the middle of the breakfast table. (Excuse the wrinkled tablecloth… the epitome of last minute.)

Birthday breakfast was cinnamon roll mountains. Super easy! Two cans of cinnamon rolls from the refrigerated section of the grocery store (though you can make your own if you have the time and inclination). I just unrolled each one and re-rolled it in the slightest cone shape. A little tip: don’t go too high with your cone or it will topple over… but I just made that one mine. 🙂 No big deal.

I made little flags out of scrapbook paper and glued “take a hike” circles on to them. The stick is a skewer I cut into three parts. I hand wrote the “take a hike” but you could use something printed off the computer or even stickers if you can find something you like.

Life's An Adventure... Go Hiking! Chalkboard -- Easy Hiking Theme Birthday on a Budget

The chalkboard was really easy to do. Honestly, the hardest part was the lettering. Again, you could even use a simple tall triangle for the tree if the scribbled lines are too much. I found that the orange chalk gave enough of a brown feel over the black of the chalkboard that it worked perfectly.

Hiking Trail Cake -- Easy Hiking Theme Birthday on a Budget

The cake was the most last minute of all. I baked the cake the night before… but I used too high of a temperature and it was dry. So my daughter and I remade it that morning. That afternoon I was assembling my cake unfrozen (freezing them first makes it super easy to assemble and frost!!) and with no real idea of what I wanted to do. None of the 2-3 pins I found were what I wanted/had time for, so I was on my own. The cake has it’s own post! Click over to find out how I made it! 🙂

And that’s how we did our easy hiking theme birthday on a budget! To top it off, we recommended some hiking themed birthday presents to family who were looking for ideas, so the back pack, nature journal and compass really added to the excitement! 🙂

Gathering here.

Cozy Mountain Lodge Women’s Retreat Wrap Up

This past weekend was our church’s Cozy Mountain Lodge Women’s Retreat. We were at a new venue, which turned out just right. It was in the mountains, we were in a lodge of sorts, and once we were done with set up, it was decidedly cozy!

Decorating - Cozy Mountain Lodge Women's Retreat Wrap Up — Pre-cut fabric squares strung up with mini clothes pins were a cute and colorful addition to our mantle. The fabric was an adorable cabin in the mountains theme. Sorry, I don’t remember what it was called.

Unfortunately, though I promised myself I wouldn’t let this happen, I got so busy that I forgot to stop and take pictures of everything. These are the few there are. 🙂

Lit Tree and Snow Blocks on the Piano - Cozy Mountain Lodge Women's Retreat Wrap Up — White lights added a whimsical touch. Since we used the lights and trees the church already had, it was also a huge budget helper!

When I put away my winter decor at the end of January, I put a number of pieces into our retreat box. The snow blocks, wooden trees and the jar of “snowballs” were some of the ones from my kitchen. And since the mountainside out our windows were covered with snow, it was perfect!

Centerpieces - Cozy Mountain Lodge Women's Retreat Wrap Up

The centerpieces were simple. One of the families in our church had a baby shower this past fall with a woodland animals theme. I was able to use the same tree trunk slabs they had made for that (another budget saver!) Baby’s Breath flowers in Ball jars with rocks were inexpensive and gave a lot of bang for their buck. The little birds in nests were in our decor closet at church as well. That was an exciting find. And for the tables, we used Kraft paper. Simple, less expensive than cloth, and more durable than plastic. Plus it had that rustic quality I was looking for.

Centerpiece - Cozy Mountain Lodge Women's Retreat Wrap Up

The framed cabin print was one of the ones I painted (now available in my shop). All 7 of the tables had one and they were given as prizes as part of the “door prize drawing”. Each person got something. When it came to these prints, they were allowed to choose between one of those or one of the remaining prizes that I hadn’t painted myself. That way ladies who wouldn’t have a use for the artwork, had a choice to opt out. 🙂 I was super excited to see most of them taken.

Birch Tree Pretzels - Cozy Mountain Lodge Women's Retreat Wrap Up — Mountain

Mountain Rice Krispie Treats - Cozy Mountain Lodge Women's Retreat Wrap Up — Mountain

The food table we set out in the evenings was more elaborate than these pics let on, yet still simple. Not only had I brought the Birch Tree Pretzels and Mountain Rice Krispies Treats, but also some veggies and dip, chips, pretzels and popcorn. And other ladies brought things to share also. No one ever had cause to be hungry! 🙂 And my kids were thrilled with some left overs!

DIY Chocolate Wrappers - Cozy Mountain Lodge Woman's Retreat

The custom chocolates I left on everyone’s pillows (read that post here) were a big hit too. And even though I had a ton to do, I disappeared to put them out myself. I’m so glad I did! I didn’t want anyone to know they were coming (even the other helpers) and I wanted a chance to pray a few words for each of the ladies who came.

Get going... in step with the Spirit - Galatians 5:25

The remaining artwork I created for the retreat (available here) was framed and left around the room in cozy places where the ladies sat to visit, read their Bibles, or crochet. Sorry there aren’t any pics of that. Each one has it’s own post: Get Away, Get Going, Get Cozy, and {God’s Got this} Let the Adventure Begin.

God's Got This - Hand Lettered Artwork - Joshua 1:9

Are you planning a mountain themed retreat? I’d love to hear about your plans! Share some of them in the comments for others to enjoy!

Gathering here.

Birch Log Pretzels – Cozy Mountain Lodge Women’s Retreat

While I’ll admit that the spiritual side of retreat is the most important, when I signed on for last year’s (and again for this year’s) women’s retreat planning committee, it was with the desire to pamper, spoil and bless the women from my church. I wanted to help us transition from a “conference” atmosphere to one of restful, retreat. I don’t know about you, but for me, that means food. And at least some of it should be chocolate.

Yesterday, my 6 year old and I made these Birch Log Pretzels. We melted the white candy melts according to package directions. She stirred and stirred while I got the pretzels open and pulled out the unbroken ones. She also stirred for me between pretzel “dips”. Instead of dipping, though, since I was using a shallow container, I spooned the melted candy over the part of the pretzel I wanted covered.

Here they are to set. I left them for an hour or so, mostly because I have six kids and my attention was needed elsewhere, but also because I wanted them good and set before adding the chocolate.

Then I drizzled melted milk chocolate chips over them to get the “birch” look. It was pretty simple. That took a little while to set because our house was comforably warm. But don’t refrigerate them because sometimes that changes the color of the chocolate. Your choice though… experiment. 🙂

I made enough extras for the kids to each try one (mom’s should just do that!) and they were well received! 🙂

Find more posts about this retreat here!

Gathering here.

Mountain Rice Krispies Treats – Cozy Mountain Lodge Theme Retreat Snack

Tomorrow begins the retreat I’ve been helping to plan (click here to see all the posts about our Cozy Mountain Lodge Retreat) and I’m working like crazy to finish some of the little details that I hope will help set the weekend apart. Of course I hope that the spiritual side of the retreat is what will stay in the ladies’ hearts and minds for years to come, but, aside from praying along that end, that part is outside my responsibility. What I signed on for is to make the weekend extra special for the ladies. That means chocolates on pillows, cute decorations, and these Mountain Rice Krispies Treats (among other things).

Do you need some decor to go with your snacks?
I have these prints available in my shop!

It all started with this Pinspiration. But as it turns out, I didn’t follow her recipe or method at all. Click over to see how she did it, hers look amazing as well! Mine were as easy as this recipe for Chocolate Rice Krispies Treats cut into triangles.

I used green and white candy melts for the dipping part. I followed the directions on the bag, I dipped the big flat part into the green and stood them to cool and dry on wax paper.

A couple hours later (because I was also helping the kids with schoolwork and making a birthday cake for my husband, not because it took that long to set) I followed the directions on the bag again, and dipped the point in white.

I’ve got them all packed up in tupperware and wax paper now, ready to cart to the mountains for our retreat on Friday.

The kids and I tested the scraps. They are really good! Husband still prefers the originals and wishes I hadn’t messed with a good thing. 🙂 I’ll have to make him some regular ones when I get back. But the rest of you should pin that top image for later! 🙂 Yum!

Gathering here.

Custom Chocolate Wrappers – Cozy Mountain Lodge Woman’s Retreat

When I invited myself onto the committee for last year’s women’s retreat, I really wanted chocolates on everyone’s pillow. Alas, we were in a hotel and, though there was plenty of chocolate at the Hershey Lodge and even in the rooms, I didn’t get to be a part of it. This year will be different!

For this year’s retreat, we are at a retreat center in the mountains and I’m so excited. The space is homier and easier to decorate than a hotel conference room, we can bring our own food in, and I have access to all those lovely pillows before the ladies arrive! I’m so excited!

So earlier this week I made up these cute custom chocolate wrappers for the Hershey’s Minitures I bought. The wrappers are approximately 1.25 inches x 3 inches and I used tape to attach them. I used scrapbook paper, but anything would work.

Then I cut out a whole bunch of little papers and hand drew the labels. Yes, there was probably an easier way, but with my husband using the computer and my time constraints, it was actually faster to hand draw them. But I actually love the hand drawn look!! I used a glue stick to attach them to each chocolate after the candies had been wrapped with scrapbook paper.

I’ll be sneaking into all the rooms during set up to place these on each lady’s pillow and saying a prayer for each one’s weekend.

So, now I have a question for you. The illustrations were super simple to do and many of you can probably figure out how I did them just by looking, but I’m curious… would anyone be interested in a video tutorial on how to do the simple illustrations I included on these labels? If there is enough interest, I will try to make time for it in the coming weeks.

Gathering here.

Jesus, Our Kinsman Redeemer and Firm Foundation – Art Print

This week is the women’s retreat I am helping plan for our church ladies. This year it is focusing on the book of Ruth, with a general theme of a “Cozy Mountain Lodge”. I decided I wanted to illustrate a cabin (like one of the crafts that came with the Retreat Package) with some of the lesson themes woven in. This is what I came up with.

Jesus, our Kinsman Redeemer Cabin Illustration

It is such a great word picture. Jesus, our Kinsman Redeemer, sheltering and protecting us like the roof. And as our Firm Foundation, someone we can trust and stand on.

And, you may have noticed, I just love to make my smoke and steam the same way most of the time. It has a fun, whimsical feel I think.

This will be framed, like the other art pieces I designed for the retreat, and set around for decorations. Then I’ll give them away as part of our door prize drawing.

Updated 9/2023: This print is available “remastered” , customizable for your favorite Bible versions, in my shop! Come on over and have a look!

Gathering here.

Keep in step with the Spirit – Decor with a Message

Our retreat theme is Cozy Mountain Lodge, so I’m trying to keep in the attitude of mountains and outdoors and all. But I’m also trying to tie it back to the God who made it all and to His Word and it’s application in our lives.

So here I have the attitude of hiking in the mountains (at least it’s what I was going for) with Galatians 5:25: “Keep in step with the Spirit.”

This passage is one that has become dear to me. Galatians 5:24 and verse 25.

“And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also
keep in step with the Spirit.”

You see, I have a struggle with sin. Anyone else?

These days, among others, I’m struggling with gluttony and self control. But these verses were both convicting and encouraging to me when I came across them in my reading some time ago (not that I am done struggling with this self gratification thing). If I belong to Christ (and I do), my flesh has been crucified with its passions and desires. That not only means that I should be making better decisions, but that those passions and desires have already been put to death.

Yet, we so often live with them unchecked. That’s is where verse 25 is so great! “If we live by the faith…”, that’s what we do when we choose faith in Jesus Christ for forgiveness from our sins, then “let us also keep in step with the Spirit.”

This part means that we should be making decision that keep us walking in the Spirit (talking to Him regularly, reading his Word, memorizing it and meditating on it.) When we do this, the other things (our desires and passions) seem to “keep in step” with Him too.

Have you ever spent time meditating on these verses?

Updated 9/2023: This print is available “remastered” , customizable for your favorite Bible versions, in my shop! Come on over and have a look!

Other resources:
Weight Loss Bible Study by Barb Raveling that helped me learn how to renew my mind in this area!
Bible Memory is an app that has revolutionize the way my family memorizes and therefore meditates on God’s Word. Easily! And fun!

Gathering here.

Born for Adventure – Nursery Art

A couple months ago, my girls and I were blessed to attend a baby shower for a gal who grew up in our church. I asked the grandmother-to-be what the nursery theme was going to be for the coming baby boy and what she told me made me laugh. Apparently, it depended who you asked.

Mom-to-be said “outdoors”, dad-to-be said “airplanes”.

“But,” she continued, “the general consensus is ‘adventure’.”

Adventure I can do, I thought.

Before I designed my Born for Adventure Hot Air Balloons, I’d been working on the same idea with mountains. And trees. And a river that comes out from between them. Sound familiar?

Why, yes, that is exactly what the above painting looks like. I already had the sketch, I just finished it up, transferred it to watercolor paper, added the watercolor and the verse. And it was done!

Oh, and I forgot to mention that I found out about this shower 1 week before it. It was sure handy that I already had the design worked out, or I may not have had anything hand painted to bring. And that would have been super sad! 🙂

Gathering here.

Cozy Mountain Lodge Art

Last year I invited myself onto the women’s retreat planning committee and appointed myself the decorating coordinator. (Then I appointed my mom as my helper, but that is another story for another day.) Last year our theme was “Sweet Life Cafe” with all it’s sweets and coffee loveliness. I had fun painting and hand lettering all sorts of fun cafe themed artwork.

This year, the leadership for the retreat changed and it was even easier for me to force my way into the best committee role there is. I’m so glad that all the other ladies have adverse reactions the idea of decorating such an event. It works out in my favor!

This year’s theme is Cozy Mountain Lodge from Group. Now that Christmas is over, I’ve officially begun working on it. This is the first of the artwork I have planned. I love taking something mainstream and tweaking it.

I’m picturing this on a food table or as part of the centerpiece. We’ll see when we get there.

Updated 9/2023: This print is available “remastered” , customizable for your favorite Bible versions, in my shop! Come on over and have a look!

Gathering here.

Tag: mountains

Easy Hiking Theme Birthday on a Budget

Recommended reading:

Cozy Mountain Lodge Women’s Retreat Wrap Up

Birch Log Pretzels – Cozy Mountain Lodge Women’s Retreat

Mountain Rice Krispies Treats – Cozy Mountain Lodge Theme Retreat Snack

Recommended Reading:

Custom Chocolate Wrappers – Cozy Mountain Lodge Woman’s Retreat

Jesus, Our Kinsman Redeemer and Firm Foundation – Art Print

Keep in step with the Spirit – Decor with a Message

Born for Adventure – Nursery Art

Cozy Mountain Lodge Art