YW Lesson ... What is Grace?

(What I wrote on the chalkboard in class) 

I love getting to teach combined lessons on the first Sunday. This means I get to choose which outline..... which equals more options. I didn't really understand WHY I was being tugged towards the topic of GRACE when I was deciding and preparing. I just assumed it was because the Lord knew I needed to brush up on this topic. Heaven knows I do. I always learn more in Young Women's than I feel like I am teaching. But today in Testimony meeting I quickly and quite powerfully realized why this lesson needed shared. Today... one of the members of our ward who I have admired and adored for years shared her healing miracle of cancer that's been ravaging her body for 6 years now and the beauty of the Grace of God that took place in her life along the way. Today was a gift I hope NEVER to forget. I need to go jot down some things in my journal before I forget!

Anyway..... there were many different ways listed that this topic could be approached. I touched on several things and had the girls read a few different scriptures but the last half of class we listened to Elder David A. Bednar's talk.... "Bear Up Their Burdens with Ease."    When you listen to this talk you will see why I created this fun handout to give the girls. I found the trucks at the Dollar store and had the small bags on hand to staple to the handout I shared below. It's already designed as a 4x6 print you can upload to Walgreen's or CVS and print like 4x6 photos. Just save it to your device and print! So much good stuff in today's lesson. Hope this can help some of you as you prepare this month! Happy March!

YW New Beginnings Invites 2018

Wow! I'm in shock how much time has passed since my last post. I guess life has been super busy and fun with my new calling so I haven't taken the time to update with handouts and gift ideas.... which there has been PLENTY of!!! I will resolve in 2018 to be better at updating here.  

I know when it was time for us (YW's Presidency) to start thinking about New Beginnings the first place we went for ideas was Pinterest. (duh!) Sadly we didn't find much that wasn't already done before so I came up with something myself. We are super excited for this special night and the decorating will be fun too!  I am in love with the scripture/theme for 2018. As soon as I read it I thought walking in His path (footprints) and for me personally.... the beach always calms my soul and brings me PEACE so this theme was a natural place for me to go. Plus, for anyone living in cold parts of the country right now.... this would be even MORE fun to have a SUNNY, WARM theme for the evening. 

I am posting the blank version I created BEFORE adding the wording so you can download it to your device and add your own details. It's already sized perfectly to upload to any one hour photo shop and get printed as 4x6 prints to handout for invitations to the parents and girls. I use Walgreen's because it's around the corner from my home and they also have online discount codes every week. 55 of these invites only cost me $11.00 so I am pretty happy with them!  

I will update with photos of our decorations and actual New Beginnings evening. Be sure and leave a comment if you decide to use this! I love hearing that it helped someone! 

Thanks for stopping by! 

***EDITED TO ADD ADDITIONAL PHOTOS FROM NEW BEGINNINGS***

Hi there! Sorry it's taken so long to update this post and add some additional photos from our actual New Beginnings evening. It was a HUGE success. I do have to apologize further though for NOT getting MORE pictures from our fun night. I didn't get any of our desert table that was so cute. It was decorated to match the front table that is pictured below.

One thing we did with the girls was had them all stamp images of their own footprints with paint. We then cut them out and laid them out on the floor of the cultural hall in a walking path. We numbered them and had the girls go around and guess whose footprints were whose! SO FUN!!!! 

Then the other photos are of the table that was at the front of the room which includes our scripture for the year.  

Chews To Love As Christ Loves

I sure love the "Come Follow Me" format the Church has adopted for teaching gospel principles. I love the discussions in our Young Women's classes that invite the spirit as the girls share examples of these principles at work in their lives. Seeing and hearing how your peers are growing their relationships with Heavenly Father and increasing their faith inspires them more than any leader can I feel. I love that it feels like I get to be guiding a discussion instead of just up at the front of a room for 30 minutes preaching to them. I am already in love with my new calling at church and hope the girls will feel my love for them as well.  

Yesterday I shared the "How can I develop Christlike love" lesson. I thought I would share the little handout I made for them. Just something fun. I found some bags of Hubba Bubba chewing gum at WalMart for $2 each. I got two bags since the lesson was combined and we have about 24 girls when they are all there on Sunday. This handout is great for anyone. Primary lessons, Visiting Teaching, anything!!  I posted the graphic I made for the tag so you can copy and save it and resize and print some as well. Hope you like it! Thanks for stopping by! 

Fun Conference Treat Idea

So last day of the month Visiting Teaching isn't normally my thing but in my defense... we had our routes changed last week and I'm just now getting to a gift-drop visit to my sisters in the morning... well... EARLY today since it's technically already Saturday as I'm typing this. 

Anyway.... Since General Conference sessions start today (YAY!!! MY FAVE!!) I thought I'd leave something fun and easy at each of my sisters' homes. A BIG bag of popcorn they can share with their families this weekend. I'm sharing the fun tag I created to attach also. 

Hope everyone has a blessed and inspired weekend! 

Come Listen to a Prophet's Voice - General Conference Notes

HI friends! Thanks for stopping by!  This morning when I was at the gym I found myself downloading an Audio Book through the Deseret Bookshelf app. This is my favorite way to “Read” because hearing the author speak seems to sink in to where I need it to go. It’s also a lot more practical being a busy mom who works from home and has a million things going on. I love getting on the treadmill and learning while moving!  

I didn’t get very far into the book by John Bytheway called Righteous Warriors before being inspired to create this fun worksheet to give our Youth… or anyone really… a place to jot down words from our General Authorities this weekend during Conference.  My new calling in our ward is 1^st Counselor in Young Women’s so of course I was thinking of them when the idea to design this came into my heart.

I have always loved John Bytheway and how he makes learning about the Gospel so fun and easy to relate to. He was referring to Alma 43 as he explained how Moroni, going into battle, seeked the advice of the prophet Alma to know where the threats were.  This same principle applies in our day. Every 6 months we are blessed with hearing the words and guidance of our Latter-Day Prophet and other leaders in our church as they give inspired counsel, direction, and even warnings about what we should and should not be doing as we prepare for the second coming of Jesus Christ and to protect ourselves and our families from the war that 

Satan is waging against us. 

I’m a sketcher and a journaler so I love fun and creative ways I can take important notes. Hopefully this will be used to highlight favorite quotes and counsel but then placed somewhere it can be seen and referred to long after the words hit the heart and paper.  CLICK HERE TO GO TO A PRINTABLE PDF VERSION or save the image to your desktop and copy and paste it into a word doc to print. Either way.... ENJOY!!!!! And have a fabulous General Conference weekend! 

Love Notes

I'm excited to share this simple little thing that I think will make a HUGE impact on deepening our love and gratitude for each other here in our home. Living in a day and age where everything is created digitally or sent electronically.... I'm excited about this special place for HAND WRITTEN notes to each other. The guys in our home will have the solid black notebooks next to their beds and all the girls in our home will have the cute little heart ones on their night stands. I found those at the Dollar Tree by the way!!!! SUPER PERFECT FIND!! Anyway... These will serve as a place for us to leave notes to our family members as our hearts are nudged to!  Tell them THANK YOU for a kind thought or deed, tell them how awesome they did on their math test, tell them how much you love them and are glad they are in our lives.... WHATEVER.... handwritten notes. 

I personally plan on leaving little reminders in my phone at first to make sure I do this for each family member at least twice a week so I don't forget in the beginning. But can you imagine what a treasure this will be to keep forever close to your heart?? Special messages written to you from the people you hold dearest? I'm so excited! 

Here's the graphic I made for these through the AMAZING Rhonna Designs App so you can save this to your phone or desk top and print some to make for your family also! 

If you end up creating some I'd LOVE to see yours so be sure to come here and comment or tag me in your Social Media post! One more thing before I go.... I'm SUPER DUPER excited about a fun announcement I get to make next week!  SORRY FOR THE TEASER BUT I CAN'T WAIT TO SHARE!!!!  Have a great weekend friends! 

A fun and simple Baptism Treat

I just love the age group I teach in Primary. They are all so excited about turning 8 years old and making the decision to be baptized a member of the church. Their eagerness to learn and excitement is contagious. Here's a simple handout I designed that can be uploaded to any one hour photo and printed like a 5x7 photo. Glue on a Kit Kat candy bar and you're all set! A fun little Baptism gift for a boy or a girl! Who doesn't love chocolate and a fun reminder of your baptismal covenants! Thanks for stopping by! 

I Will Go Inside Someday

Hi there! I'm sure if your house is anything like ours now... School is back in full swing! This means crazy, busy schedules and trying to master the calendar. But a busy life equals a very blessed life so I am NOT complaining. I love it! 

One of the things that comes with a brand new school year is Volleyball season. I'm so very proud of my daughter Cassidy for making the High School Varsity Volleyball team for the 2nd year now... She's a Sophomore you guys! YES MAJOR MOM BRAG! Ha! 

With this commitment for Cassidy comes extra financial requirements. I normally help her create something crafty we can make and sell for extra money but there is just no extra time this year as we are trying to 

fund raise for a tournament coming up quick in Las Vegas, NV. 

Normally on this fun blog of mine I like to share freely of my talents and handouts I create as you can see in hundreds of previous posts. But I thought since this is something a little different and special that some of you may see the value in spending the $3.50 on a digital version of this painting I made so you can print as many as you want in whatever sizes you need. These are my hopes anyway! Here's a sample (please forgive the blurriness) of one I have printed and hung in an 11x14 frame I got from Hobby Lobby. Then also a sample of the print itself

 so you can see it clearly. 

These can be printed rather inexpensive at any photo processing shop and would make awesome gifts for the young ladies in your life. If you don't feel the desire to purchase this then pretty please consider sharing this post with a friend who may love to have it! THANK YOU SO MUCH!! 

 When clicking on the PayPal graphic below you will be taken to a secure area where you can use PayPal or your credit card. The cost is $3.50 and once we receive notification of payment you will be sent the digital file via email. If you have any questions please post in the comments and we will reply as soon as possible. Thanks so much and have a great day! 

Primary Lesson 29 Having Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ

Hi there! I'm finally back to a place in my life where I feel like I can stay on top of sharing my creations and handouts for my different callings, Visiting Teaching, and even fun things I create for my children being their mom. Bookmark me, share me, go follow me on Facebook and Instagram! @PaperCakesAndIcing  

So tomorrow's Primary Lesson on Faith is one of my very favorite topics. I can't wait to share these little handouts and plant some seeds in class. I chose Radish seeds because they sprout quickly and my kiddos will be able to come back next Sunday and share their results. 

CLICK HERE TO SEE LESSON 29 ON FAITH. 

Here's a photo of the cups and soil and seeds. I'm also sharing the image/handout I made that can easily be downloaded then uploaded to Walgreen's ONE HOUR photo and printed in 4x6 size. Easy peasy!!!  

Hope this helps someone! I'm not doing as many handcrafted handouts anymore just because my time is so limited these days but I think something quick that can be created in an app can be just as cute and effective. Have a great weekend! 

Lesson 27 - I Can Help Others Be Happy By Sharing

So there's a cute story in Lesson 27 which you can find here about a boy sharing his crayons. This made my idea for a handout for this week pretty simple. Just had to design a tag for it. 

I created a pdf for the tags on these crayons which you can
  CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD. 

THANKS FOR STOPPING BY!!! Have a great weekend! 

Donut Thank You tags with free printable

Hi there! Thanks for stopping by! 

Haven't made a handout to share in a while but I did create these a few weeks back.  This was for a "Thank you" night we had for all our teachers at our monthly Enrichment activity!  I took a photo with some yummy donuts bagged up so you could see how fun and simple this little thank you gift was!  They were a hit! And these could be used for anything really!  Here's a link to download the PDF I created.... 

Donut Thank You Tags Free Printable 

Have a fantastic weekend! 

Lesson 31: I Will Obey the Law

This fun handout may not help anyone out now if you were teaching this lesson today but I promise to start posting them closer to the beginning of the week. I team teach our class of 12 7 & 8 yr olds so there will be some Sundays where I won't have anything unless I'm bored but that is RARE. ha ha  Anyway.... our lesson today was about obeying the Law and this handout was a BIG hit. I designed it in a 6x4" format then uploaded them to Walgreen's to print. This is easiest... just be sure to preview/crop before submitting for processing. You may have to trim them a little too just to make them look even.  Just tape on some Smarties! Enjoy! Making Primary lessons fun!

I Can Be a Good Example

I know it's been YEARS since I've created and shared anything here but I was recently called to teach the 7 & 8 year old children in my ward. It will be fun to start sharing again the handouts I make for them. Here's the one I created for tomorrow's lesson titled ....
"I Can Be A Good Example"

I am sharing a blank one too so you can add whatever quote or scripture you'd like instead of the one I chose. These were designed to be uploaded to any photo processing shop and printed as 4x6 photos. I use the Walgreen's by my house. Have a fabulous weekend!

Primary Lesson 32 Handout

Hi there!  Just checking in real quick to post this week's handout for Lesson 32.  I actually team-teach now because there are some Sundays when I am out of town.  That's why you will notice weeks that are skipped here and there. If you don't already know of this AMAZING resource for Primary helpers you can visit SugarDoodle.net and you're sure to find something that you like.

For this lesson I actually used one of my favorite, if not my very favorite scripture verse in all of the Doctrine and Covenants. I had an experience with these words as a youth and it's stuck with me my entire life.  Love the message.  Happy Sabbath! 



Primary Lesson 29 Handout

I love this handout!  So do my kids!  I had Eleven 10yr olds today as everyone is pretty much back home from their summer vacations.  I am posting a version of this handout with and without a frame so you can choose which one you want to use.  Hope you like it!  ~Shanna



Primary Lesson 28 Handout

Hi there! I forgot to post last week's lesson handout I created. Kind of fun since a lot of kids are going back to school this week. Mine are. My little guy started his first day of Kindergarten yesterday! And my girls are pretty excited to be back as well!  I will share a photo of them below.

Anyway.... hope you enjoy this handout. Just save it to your computer then copy and paste it into MS Word where you can size it how you want and print it out on white cardstock.  My primary class is pretty excited to be getting new handouts each week.  Even the boys think it's cool.  Makes me smile! 

Hugs! ~Shanna

Primary Handout Lesson 27

I just used a scripture and message from the lesson on this one.  Super Simple. Just click on this image to make it larger then right click and save to your desk top so you can copy and paste it into Microsoft Word.  There you can size it how you need it then print it out onto white cardstock. 

Thanks for stopping by!



Primary Handout Lesson 24

This week's lesson is about the Word of Wisdom.  I designed this handout that can just be printed onto white cardstock, cut out and given to your class.  My kids that I teach have really started showing me some excitement with each lesson now.  They look forward to getting a new handout each week that they can go home and pin up on the wall in their rooms.  Makes my heart smile. :) 

Have a great weekend! 



Primary Handout Lesson 23

Here's a handout I made for this week's lesson.  If you'd like to use it to just click on the image to enlarge it then right click and save it to your desktop.  Once it's there you can copy it into Microsoft Word and size it however you need to and then print multiple copies out onto white cardstock to cut out and give to the kids.  Hope you like it.... more importantly...  I hope THEY like it!  Have a great weekend! 

Primary Handout Lesson 22

This is a super quick and easy handout for Lesson 22.

I just photographed my own scriptures and added some words from the lesson to it.  I am printing these out for my kids and probably adding a small piece of chocolate to the upper right corner and telling them that the word of the Lord is a sweet thing!  Cheesy but fun! :)