printables Archives - The Sparrow's Home

Winnie-the-Pooh Baby Shower That’s Sweet as Hunny

September 12, 2022 by Susan 1 Comment

Need ideas for a Winnie-the-Pooh themed party? Menu ideas, decorations, and free printable labels make it truly no bother!

When I taught second grade, I had a lot of opportunities to be creative. Then I had babies, at the height of the scrapbooking craze, and that was my creative outlet. Birthday parties… yes, please. We had character parties like The Wiggles and Thomas the Tank Engine, but also themes like the Farm, Construction, Pirates, and Spy parties.

So I love it when I get the chance to flex my creative ‘theme party’ muscles now and then. And the thing is, planning a fun theme doesn’t have to be stressful. It doesn’t even have to be a party… we have occasional girls movie nights that we try to theme a snack to our movie. [I recently had a weekend with two days of themed get-togethers in a row: Bluey season 3 drop party, and #teamJohnny movie night, ask me in the comments and I’ll tell you all about them!]

But recently, I got to host a sweet baby shower for my daughter-in-law with a Winnie-the-Pooh theme.

Use these questions to break the ice ‘a Skittle’: An easy ice breaker for people who hate ice breakers.

May 7, 2021 by Susan 9 Comments

Low-pressure questions and candy ease tension and set the stage for people to have fun and get to know one another with this easy ice breaker. *Free Printable*

Ice breakers are not my favorite thing.

But getting to know people is not unpleasant. Candy is not unpleasant.

So when I needed to come up with a new way to engage a class in a sharing activity, my mind went to a couple of other things I’ve done before. (Why re-invent the wheel, right?)

I thought of a question activity where folks got to choose the question they wanted to answer. Because isn’t it always the case that when you get assigned a question, you always wish you had the question someone else gets??

And I thought of an M&M Ice Breaker activity that is a lot of fun. Because…chocolate.

Liking both of these ideas, I decided to combine them to create something new!

Make a porch snack basket to brighten the day of your delivery drivers this holiday season (7 free printable signs to choose from!)

November 16, 2020 by Susan Leave a Comment

7 free printable signs for porch snack baskets for delivery drivers. Be a blessing this holiday season!

I was talking with one of our regular UPS delivery drivers in August and he told me that they’d been as busy as Christmastime for months. Months!

My guess is, that level of busy-ness hasn’t slowed down a lot this fall.

I have seen this idea of leaving a basket of snacks on your porch for delivery drivers before, but for some reason, this year…well, I think we can all agree that 2020 is a year much in need of some extra acts of kindness.

So when I decided to put together a thank you basket for my porch for the numerous delivery drivers who frequent our home each week, I thought I’d share some of my ideas with all of you and perhaps we could all spread a bit more cheer together.

Not Powerless: 14 Days of Praying Scriptures for your Country

July 2, 2020 by Susan 4 Comments

14 short prayers based in Scripture that you can pray for your country. With everything going on you might feel a bit powerless, but you are not! God’s word gives hope, strength, and purpose.

if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14

Prayer can give the pray-er a lot of comfort and peace. But so much more than that…God flat out tells us that he responds to prayer and he acts.

Want some proof?

Moses sought God’s favor and he relented. He prayed God’s own words about his promises to Abraham. And the LORD withheld his punishment.

So he said he would destroy them– had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him to keep his wrath from destroying them. Psalm 106:23

But in another case, God told Ezekiel he was looking for someone to stand in the gap and found no one, so judgement fell.

Both groups of people deserved God’s punishment, but in one instance God relented and in the other he did not. The difference seems to be the prayers of God’s people.

You may feel powerless in the face of events that are beyond your control, but God’s people are never powerless.

Before we ever speak or act, our first order of business is to pray. Whatever our differences may be, if you are a Bible-believing Christian, I invite you to pray God’s word for your country. It may make a real difference.

Join me, will you?

No-Fuss, Cheap Copies: Serious Savings on Money and Hassle

August 14, 2017 by Susan Leave a Comment

I love getting the best stuff. And I love a deal. Almost never do those two loves come together. Before I tell you about my new favorite thing, let me ask you a question:

Do you know how much you pay for copies?

I did some research, and found that each black and white page printed on a home laser printer can cost an average of 5-8 cents, and 12-15 cents for a page with color. Pages with solid color graphics can cost even 50-60 cents per page.

And that’s printing at home. The office store nearest me charges 11 cents for black and white prints and 59 cents for color. One sided. And you have to drive there to have them done.