Sponsored by General Mills Cereals

Happy almost Mother’s Day! To celebrate I have a fun and EASY craft idea for the kids in your life as well as some love for TO THE MARKET, one of my most favorite companies. And a beautiful giveaway that will have 20 winners (woohoo!).

As you know I’ve worked with General Mills Cereals in the past. They approached me recently about coming up with a fun craft idea using up-cycled cereal boxes with my kids. I AM NOT A CRAFTY PERSON. But when I told my kids about the project they were all in. You see, they are crafty people. I’m not entirely sure they are my children. Anyway, my kids were doubly in when they learned they would have to eat some of their favorite, yummy cereals, Lucky Charms, Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Honey Nut Cheerios, in order to make the craft happen (empty cereal boxes are a necessity!). Basically, this is their favorite post on my blog ever.

As a lovely Mother’s Day gift, General Mills Cereals sent me a necklace and bracelet set from TO THE MARKET. TO THE MARKET is a company that sells survivor-made goods from around the world. I’ve written about TO THE MARKET before and founder and CEO Jane Mosbacher Morris is one of my favorite people. She was even on my podcast at one point! (It’s one of my favorite episodes, by the way. Jane is the BEST.) Anyway, TO THE MARKET is helping SO MANY WOMEN and their products are beyond lovely. I have a very special place in my heart for their work.

The jewelry that General Mills Cereals sent was created by Haitian TO THE MARKET artists, with beads made from up-cycled cereal boxes. The beads are gorgeous. You simply cannot believe they are made from cereal boxes. Both my girls are enamored with the jewelry (I think Anna might steal it) and felt very inspired for their own cereal box crafting!

Which brings us to today’s craft. For real this is the best craft ever because the parent doesn’t have to do ANYTHING. Just give the kids some empty cereal boxes (the more colorful the better!), scotch tape and colorful straws. Then say, “Go make flowers!” All three of my kids, from ages 5 to 12, had a blast cutting up the boxes and getting creative. Anna’s flower ended up being three dimensional, Cate made an adorable bumblebee for the bouquet, and Owen went completely off book and made a ladybug with a heart to show that the ladybug loves me. I consider it all a crafting success! And I didn’t lift a finger. (Well, okay, I helped clean up the billions of cereal box cuttings strewn about the kitchen. But it was worth it.)

Lucky for our family my beloved mother will be here for Mother’s Day this year. She will be taking home the best bouquet ever!

Giveaway time! General Mills Cereals and TO THE MARKET are providing TWENTY of you lucky people with your own necklace made with upcycled cereal box beads. You can’t buy these necklaces, so this is the only way to get one! Here is how to enter: (Comments must be posted by Midnight PT May 25, 2017.)

• Simply leave a comment on this post!
• Bonus entry (leave a separate comment): Sign up for TO THE MARKET’s email newsletter! (If you are already signed up, just let us know and it counts!)
• Bonus entry (leave a separate comment): Sign up for the This Week for Dinner’s email newsletter! (If you are already signed up, just let us know and it counts!)

BONUS BONUS BONUS: If you head on over to TO THE MARKET’S Stories Blog, they are also giving away these necklaces and you can enter there, too! Yippee! Winners were randomly selected and have been notified via email. Thank you!

Happy Mother’s Day!

I partnered with General Mills for this post because they are committed to strengthening communities around the world through remarkable initiatives, nonprofits and causes that help strength people and the planet. General Mills Cereals partnered with TO THE MARKET to create these handcrafted pieces of jewelry from up-cycled cereal boxes as part of this commitment and to celebrate all the moms, caregivers, aunts, sisters and special heroes who fill the world with love.

Learn more about General Mills Cereals and its delicious line of cereals including Honey Nut Cheerios, Lucky Charm, Cinnamon Toast Crunch and many more at www.generalmills.com/cereal.

It is really easy to make my mom cry. For example, when I was 11 years old, we rented the movie Ghost Dad. I’m sure you remember Ghost Dad because it was awesome, and by awesome I mean, um, not so awesome. But who are we to judge? I loved that movie regardless of how cheesy it was. I’ll never forget the moment when Bill Cosby (the one and only Ghost Dad!) said goodbye to his family looking over to discover my mom’s face streaming with tears. Like good children do, we laughed at her. She laughed, too, though. And we still tease her about crying at Ghost Dad. This isn’t Steel Magnolias, folks. She deserves to be teased.

With the advent of social media, my ability to make my mom cry has increased ten-fold. I can post a video to Facebook or a photo to Instagram and predict which ones are going to do her in. I’ve even called her a few minutes after posting just to catch her in the act. Let’s be honest, I am a cryer, too. I cannot deny that I inherited this trait and have, in fact, passed it on to Cate!

This photo on Instagram just about did her in the other day.

I have to admit that I didn’t predict this one as well. I knew she’d love it, but I didn’t know it would send her to tears. But it did. And, on retrospect, I can see why.

I recently had the opportunity to make a personalized Mother’s Day card for my mom through CardStore.com. I knew immediately I had to use that photo. It’s one thing to see your grandkids randomly pop up on Instagram to brighten your day (and make you cry). It’s another to have the photo printed out for your desk at work to look at any time you want (and potentially cry in front of all your co-workers).

While I could have had CardStore address and stamp the card to send directly to my mom (so handy!), I decided to have it shipped to me first so we could personalize the card even further, with a few notes from the kids and a hand-addressed envelope. The card arrived a few days ago and it is beautiful and will for sure make her cry. Mission accomplished!

This post is sponsored by CardStore.com (as always, all opinions are my own and I think they are awesome!). As such, they have a promotional code for you. You still have time to get a fantabulous, beautiful, cry-inducing personalized card to your mom! Here’s what to do!

• The Deal: Personalized Mother’s Day cards for $1.99 each on CardStore.com
• The Promotional Code: CSF3199
• The Details: Create any Mother’s Day card for $1.99 when code CSF3199 is applied at checkout.  No minimum purchase necessary.  Offer valid through 5/6/13.  Coupon code CSF3199 must be entered during online checkout. Coupon does not apply to shipping & handling charges and cannot be combined with other offers.  Coupon code is not valid on previous purchases, and excludes all plush and greeting card bundles as well as non-card items.  Coupon code may be used to purchase more than one Mother’s Day greeting card but is not valid on orders of 150 cards or more.  Discount applied at checkout. To prevent abuse, we reserve the right to discontinue or modify this offer at any time without notice. Offer is subject to change and expires at 11:59 pm PST on 5/6/13. Offer intended for use in the United States, US territories, and Canada.

I take great pride in making people cry. (I did it at least 3 times this weekend at Big Traveling Potluck, including The Pioneer Woman, Bakerella and Maggy from Three Many Cooks. Booyah!) So, go make an awesome card and let’s all make our moms cry together!