Kindness Resolution Challenge

As we ring in the New Year, I’m sure that we all have resolutions in mind. Some of us may want to lose weight and others may want to become more financially stable. Sarah and I have dedicated our resolutions to becoming kinder and spreading more love in 2018! We hope that you will join us! Which is where the Kindness Resolution Challenge comes in! Lets all get together this month and make a resolution to spread kindness and love through out our communities!

Below is a list of 30 Random Acts of Kindness. Every time you complete one of the acts, post about it on social media and in the comments below! Make sure you use the hashtags #KindnessCurated and #KRC2018 so that we’ll be able to see you spreading kindness! (make sure your IG account or FB post is public so we are able to view it!) The person who completes the most random acts of kindness between January 1st and January 31st will win a grand prize bundle of our favorite things!! The prize bundle includes Tone It Up workout bands, a prayer journal, and lots of other goodies that will help you with all your New Year resolutions, plus a couple that are just for fun!

1.  Send cards to hospitalized children

2.  Leave $ dollars and a nice note in the dollar bins at the store

3. Compliment a stranger

4. Do an unexpected favor for a family member

5. Donate old clothing that is still in good condition

6. Do an act of self love

7. Send anonymous flowers

8. Donate an unused toy to a children’s charity.

9. Leave a new pack of baby wipes at a changing station

10. Donate children’s toys that are still in good condition to a church nursery or some where else that will accept them

11. Buy groceries for a family that you know is in need.

12. Leave a note of small gift for your mail carrier.

13. Volunteer at your local soup kitchen or homeless shelter

14. Place love notes through out your town.

15. Donate a knitting square to Warm Up America

16. Angel Bags for the homeless.

17. Spread encouragement and kindness online.

19. Pay for the person in front of or behind you in line or drive thru

20. Volunteer at your local animal shelter

21. Do a 5k for a good cause

22. Do a fundraiser for a good cause

23. Work on self improvement

24. Babysit for free

25. Bring in donuts or another treat for unsuspecting co-workers

26. Leave your waiter or waitress a generous tip

27. Give a small gift to a group of people you may normally not give to (teachers, neighbors etc.)

28. Smile at a Stranger

29. Leave the quarter in your cart at Aldi for the next person

30. Pay the parking meter for someone else

Feel free to make up your own acts of kindness and do something that’s not on the list!

PLEASE TAKE NOTE: When making your posts on social media please take this into account. Most charities and organizations that you help will love to be tagged in your posts as well to gain awareness for their cause. However make sure to be cautious when helping individuals that you do not include anyone’s personal information unless they have specifically authorized you to do so! You can still post about your random act of kindness without revealing whom you helped out.

We are so excited for this challenge and can’t wait to see all the ways you decide to spread kindness and love!

💖Corinne and Sarah

Gift Guide: 5 DIY Gifts for the Procrastinator

We all know one, or maybe it’s ourselves. The person who waits until the last minute to go Christmas shopping to find out the shelves are empty of all the good stuff. Well this gift guide is here to help you with those last minute gifts, and hey they will mean much more since they were made with your own two hands! ❤

            Via- Craft Passion

Sock Sloth– This one is perfect for the little ones in your life. I am sure you have some socks hanging around somewhere; you know the ones that don’t have matches. You have held on to them this long thinking you may find its mate, but it’s time to let him go. Turn it into something that someone can use and appreciate. (I don’t mean the old grungy ones; I’m talking the nice ones you may have only worn once.)

      Via-Cute DIY Projects

Infinity Scarf– If you have some yarn laying around than this gift is for you. Watch the tutorial in the link to learn how you can turn that yarn into a beautiful scarf for a friend!

          Via- Fantabulosity

DIY Sangria gift– This gift will require a trip to the store, but you should have no problem finding the things you need for it. Grab a drink dispenser, a bottle of wine, some fruit, and a wooden spoon. Put these things all together and there you go; a lovely gift for the sangria lover in your life!

                Via- Sugar and Cloth

Marble Vases– These vases are beautiful and require very minimal items to make happen. All you need are some vases, black and gray nail polish, warm water, some bowls, and a plastic fork. The decorator in your life will love these homemade marble vases.

       Via- Blackberry Pepper Jelly

Blackberry Pepper Jelly– If you know someone who loves a spicy jelly then get to the kitchen and whip up some of this yummy jelly. Your loved one will love you for it! Pair with cream cheese and some crackers for a real treat!

We hope these gift ideas have given you some inspiration to get your last minute gifts together. We would love to hear how they turned out if you tried any of them!

~Sarah

This is not a paid advertisement. This is my honest opinion. However this blog post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase through one of the links we may get paid, allowing to bring you even more awesome content! Thank you for your support!

A Gift Guide for the Star Wars Nerd in your Life

The Star Wars Fans out there are all giddy today, as the Last Jedi appears in theaters.  So, in honor of the movie release we have come up with a gift guide for the Star Wars Nerds in your life.  My husband being one of them, the man has more Star Wars T-Shirts than a 12 year old boy.  If you aren’t sure what to get your Star Wars nerd hopefully this guide can give you a little inspiration.

Princess Leia Don’t Mess with a Princess T-Shirt–  For the lady Star Wars Nerd in your life, a shirt any tough lady will love!

Star Wars Death Star Hot Air Popcorn Maker– A great addition to any Star Wards Nerds Kitchen.

Star Wars™ Jedi Challenges AR Headset with Lightsaber Controller and Tracking Beacon– This Virtual Reality game will have any Star Wars nerd loving you for gifting this. It’s the closest they will ever get to actually being a Jedi!

Darth Vader Toaster–  A dark addition to any Star Wars Nerds Kitchen (in addition to the popcorn maker.)

Star Wars Death Star Designed Wall Clock– This is great for the office of any Star Wars Nerd you may know!

The World According to Star Wars – A cute little book for the Star Wars Nerds in your life

Star Wars The Force Awakens Chewbacca Electronic Mask– Add a little fun into the life of your Star Wars Nerd with this fun mask.

Star Wars #1 Dad T-Shirt- All the Star Wars Nerds that happen to be dads too…. Couldn’t think of a better shirt to have!

~Sarah

5 Worship Songs for When You Need to Be Uplifted

Whenever I am feeling a little down or overwhelmed, I have found that music is one of the quickest ways to uplift my spirit and my soul. These five songs help me to put things in perspective and put me in a better mood. I hope they can do the same for you!

1. Tenth avenue north- control

“God You don’t need meBut somehow You want meOh, how You love meSomehow that frees meTo take my hands off of my lifeAnd the way it should go”https://youtu.be/kFfztu8-bBQ

2. Micah Tyler-Different

“I wanna be different

I wanna be changed

‘Til all of me is gone

And all that remains

Is a fire so bright

The whole world can see

That there’s something different

So come and be different

In me”

3. Stars Go Dim- You Are Loved

“You are loved

If your heart’s in a thousand pieces

If you’re lost and you’re far from reason

Just look up; know you are loved”

4. Casting Crowns- Just Be Held

“So when you’re on your knees and answers seem so far away. You’re not alone, stop holding on and just be held. Your world’s not falling apart, it’s falling into place” https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tIZitK6_IMQ

5. Zach Williams – Chain Breaker

“If you’ve got pain

He’s a pain taker

If you feel lost

He’s a way maker

If you need freedom or saving

He’s a prison-shaking Savior

If you’ve got chains

He’s a chain breaker”

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cd_xxmXdQz4

💖Corinne

Ultimate Gift Guide: Non-Electronic Gifts for Young Children, Ages 0-6

Christmas is coming!

Even if you don’t have children of your own, most of us will be buying toys for the children in our life! We hope this comprehensive gift guide will give you some good ideas! As the title says, I’ve chosen to only share predominantly non-electronic toys! That’s because I’ve found through out the years that they last longer and get the most use, believe it or not! Kids will use their imaginations and explore the world around them with the special toys listed below! (Some of the toys do have electronic features, such as noises and lights, but the toys main function is interaction and imaginative play)

Activity Center/Tables

The two activity tables above are great because they will last for years and years. They have multiple functions. Starting out as activity centers for babies and turning into tables for toddlers and young children! I highly recommend these activity tables, especially for those with their first child who will get the most use out of these tables and don’t already have anything similar.

1.Oribel PortaPlay™ 4 in 1 Foldable Activity Center – Forest Friends

2. Skip Hop Explore & More Baby’s View 3- Stage Activity Center

This cute little owl shape sorter is another great toy for babies and early toddlers!

3.PlanToys® Owl Shape Sorter

These smaller activity cubes/centers are another favorite! They will get years of use out of these. We have the B. toys one shown above and it’s definitely a favorite. B toys is a great brand that has withstood a lot of wear and tear from my two boys!

4.B. toys Zany Zoo

5.Manhattan Toy Playful Pony

Music Maker

B. toys Parum Pum Pum

This joyful drum filled with lots of different musical instruments is sure to be a hit with any budding musician! My boys both enjoyed it thoroughly!

Bath Toy

B. toys Fish & Splish

I’m not sure why but, Parker has nicknamed this cute little guy Captain Cat-Cat. He LOVES this toy! It’s still in great shape and now Radley plays with it too. It’s honestly the only bath toy you’ll need and it’s great because it doubles as storage.

Ride On

VTech® Ultimate Alphabet Train

This ride on toy has so many great features! Babies will love putting the blocks in the top of the train and watching them come out the back!

Educational Toys

I seriously love the farmers market color sorting set! It teaches colors and babies and toddlers with have hours of fun putting fruit in and out of the baskets!

Also how cute is that balancing circus!

Ages 3+ will LOVE the balancing games! And they double as pieces they can do pretend play with as well.

1.Learning Resources® Farmers Market Sorting Set

2.Kipod Ta-Da Wooden Circus Balancing Game

3.Alex Toys Little Hands Peg & Layer Jungle

4.PlanToys® Balancing Boat Game

Play-sets and Doll Houses

I was happily surprised when hearth and hand revealed its toy collection. They are so perfect and I can only imagine how happy children would be to receive these gifts. I am waiting another year or two before I get my boys a play tool bench, due to all of the pieces that come with it but, this one is seriously the perfect one! I hope it is still around when I’m ready to purchase.

The lil woodzeez house and tree house are so darling! The items and animals within the collection are well made. A perfect house to have the kids imagination going for hours.

1.Wooden Dollhouse with Furniture – Hearth & Hand™ with Magnolia

2.Wooden Toy Tool Bench (38pc) – Hearth & Hand™ with Magnolia

3.Li’l Woodzeez Family Treehouse Playset

4.Li’l Woodzeez Honeysuckle Hillside Cottage

Teepees, Play Houses + Kitchen Sets

If we didn’t already have a kitchen set we would definitely be purchasing the deluxe diner! How cute?! It’s the perfect gift for siblings! It has years of use in it and has a little table where they can enjoy snacks!

Teepees are always great and make the best places to snuggle up with your little one and a book.

Hands down the best $20 we every spent for the boys was the rocket ship tent below! It has gotten so much use out of it! It goes perfectly in their space themed room and houses all of their stuffed animals! The boys love to climb inside with all of their stuffed animal friends and go on adventures!

1.Melissa & Doug® Deluxe Star Diner Restaurant

2.Southwestern Teepee – Pillowfort™

3.Rocket Ship Play Tent

💖 Corinne

This is not a paid advertisement. This is my honest opinion. However this blog post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase through one of the links we may get paid, allowing to bring you even more awesome content! Thank you for your support!

30 Day Gratitude Challenge: Welcome to Week 4 and Your Last Chance to Enter the Giveaway

Gratitude and Thanksgiving

Welcome back for our last full week of our gratitude challenge! We are so grateful for all of you, who have followed along with us this month. We want to wish you a very happy Thanksgiving with your friends and family this week. We hope that all of you will be wrapped in warmth and love throughout this holiday season. Thank you so much for supporting us and for joining us in this challenge. We’ve loved hearing from all of you through our social media channels on Instagram and Facebook. Please continue to comment and join in on our conversations! Now let’s dive in to our last week + 2 days of gratitude prompts and activities! Also don’t forget to enter the GIVEAWAY!

Grab your journals and bring an open heart and invite the beautiful power of gratitude to take charge in your life.

The prompts below will tell you what you should do each day for the next nine days!

Welcome to Week Four

1. Make a list of all your desires. Sit in silence and feel grateful for them as if you already have them!
2. Be grateful for 3 important people in your life! Write in your journal 5 reasons you are grateful for each person.
3. Write about 10 things you are grateful for!
4. We all have things that we regret or mistakes that we have made but we should let them go and know that they have made us stronger. Today write about a mistake and then write about 5 blessings that came from it. This may be hard for some but I promise if you really think about it, you’ll realize good things have come from your “mistake”
5. Say thank you for everything you see around you that you like or want. Being thankful for the things you want, instead of focusing on not having them will attract more of those things into your life.
6. Sit for 2 minutes and meditate on being thankful.
7. Make a list of 10 desires and feel with all your heart that you have them.
8. Turn a bad relationship into a good one with gratitude. Find a picture of the person you may have a tumultuous relationship with or at-least one that could be better. Your husband, your mother in law, your child etc. Write in your journal 10 things about that person you appreciate, like about them or are grateful for. Carry their picture with you today. On three different occasions look at their picture and say thank you.
9. Write 10 things you have to be grateful for!

Giveaway

That’s it! I hope you have a great week and remember that we have a giveaway during our 30 day gratitude challenge that you won’t want to miss! You can check it out here. The giveaway ends on the 30th! So get your entries in!

Please leave us a comment to let us know how the challenge is going for you? Tell us what you have to be grateful for this week. Or ask us any questions you may have!

💖Corinne

Magic Monday Kindness: Self Love

As you have noticed here at Kindness Curated we like to embark every Monday on a Kindness adventure by bringing kindness to others.  We have done things like set love notes around town, given our mail carriers a small gift, and donated toys to the church nursery.  These acts hopefully bring these recipients joy and in return they spread kindness as well.  Today though I want to talk about self kindness.  We can spread as much kindness as we possibly can to others but do we even think about taking time to be kind to ourselves?

For today’s Magic Monday Kindness I would like us to take a minute to be kind to ourselves.  Today I woke up and looked in the mirror, and instead of the usual “I need to lose some weight, I need to dye my hair, etc” I looked at myself and said, “you are beautiful, you are worthy, you are capable of all things you set your mind to.”  Just by saying these things I felt so much better about myself and about the day ahead.

Starting the day being kind to yourself will put you in the right mood to be kind to others.  Random acts of kindness do not have to be huge.  Just by smiling at a stranger you could possibly change their whole day.  Now think if you hadn’t woken up today and told yourself how wonderful you were, you may not have been in the mood to smile at that stranger and change their day for the better.

So wake up, be kind and respectful to yourself each and every day.

~Sarah

Gift Guide: What the Mamas in your Life Really Want

I sure we all know one, a woman who spends her days taking care of the household. Cooking, cleaning, making sure everyone is taken care of. The one who selflessly gives herself every day to make sure her children have everything they need.  These are the woman who deserve to be greatly treated during the Christmas Holiday.  So we have put together a Gift Guide for all the Mamas in your life.

1. Massage Gift Card– Get her a gift where she can get away, relax, and get pampered for an afternoon.  This will be a great mood boost for those Mamas in your life.
2. Gift card for dinner–  Get those Mamas a gift card for her favorite restaurant and write her a letter saying you will baby sit the little ones for an evening so her and the hubs can get out for a night on the town.  This is a great gift idea for a sister or best friend.
3. Wine subscription– For those mamas in your life that love wine… who wouldn’t love a subscription where she can receive wine throughout the year without having to go to the grocery store.
4. Fox Coffee Mug–  This one’s for all the coffee lovers in your life.  I know as a mama I have to start my day with a cup of coffee. Throw in a bag of Starbucks Coffee and you’ll be good to go!
5. Bath Bombs– These fizzy bath bombs are a great gift for all mamas.  They are infused with aromatherapy that will help her relax and rejuvenate.
6. Planner–  We are close to the beginning of a new year, which is a great time for a new planner for those moms who like to stay organized. This Law of Attraction Life Planner is great for those who have big dreams for the next year.
7. Mama Bear Necklace– This necklace is adorable and can be custom made for the amount of baby bears the mama in your life has.
8. Cutting board – This cutting board is complete with a lovely poem just for those moms who love to cook.
9. Mom life Coloring book–  For those moms who love to be creative and color this book allows her to relax for a minute and destress.

We hope this list gave you some inspiration for gift ideas to give those mamas in your life.  What are some ideas you might have for mama gifts?

~Sarah

This is not a paid advertisement. This is my honest opinion. However this blog post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase through one of the links we may get paid, allowing to bring you even more awesome content! Thank you for your support!

30 Day Gratitude Challenge: Welcome to Week Three

Blessed

Welcome back for another week of gratitude! We feel very blessed that you are here with us today! The power of gratitude can bring so much joy into your life. It’s important to find joy in the little moments and remember to have fun! For those who have been following this challenge, I hope that you already feel a little lighter and happier and more grateful! Please check in with us, we’d LOVE to hear from you!

So, grab your journals and bring an open heart and invite the beautiful power of gratitude to take charge in your life.

The prompts below will tell you what you should do each day for the next seven days!

Welcome to Week Three

1 Begin the next seven days by writing 10 things that you are grateful for.

2 Write a thank you card to someone, it up to you whether you actually send it!

3 Make a list of all of your desires, while focusing on the area of your heart, be grateful for each one.

4 Sit in silence for 2 minutes and feel as grateful as you possibly can.

5 Make a list of 10 things in nature you are grateful for. Air, Water Sky, etc. Write why you are grateful for each one.

6 Be grateful for your body and health. A lot of time we only think about our health when we are sick. But let us focus on all the positive things our body does for us and how amazing it is, everyday. Be grateful for your health, especially when you are well.

7 Say thank you before you eat anything today. A lot of people say grace when they sit down for dinner! But make a point to say thank you at breakfast, lunch and dinner and even when your just snacking!

Giveaway

That’s it! I hope you have a great week and remember that we have a giveaway during our 30 day gratitude challenge that you won’t want to miss! You can check it out here.

Please leave us a comment to let us know how the challenge is going for you? Tell us what you have to be grateful for this week. Or ask us any questions you may have!

💖Corinne

A Little Magic Monday Kindness: Operation Christmas Child

It’s Magic Kindness Monday again, where Corinne and I do a random act of kindness to hopefully inspire you, our readers, in some way to spread a little kindness yourself.  Your act doesn’t have to be big to go a long way.

This week we have donated to Operation Christmas Child with Samaritan’s Purse.  This was another week where we could get the kids involved in helping another child in need.  We took them to Target where they were able to pick out a few toys and gifts to place in the shoe box.  It’s amazing to see the joy in a child’s eyes when they know they are helping a little one such as themselves.

 

With these boxes you can choose if you will be giving to a boy or girl and in the age ranges of 2-4, 5-9, or 10-14.  Our boxes were filled for one special little girl 5-9 and a special little boy 2-4.  Operation Christmas Child is a foundation that we like to donate to every year around this time.  Our Church always participates as a drop off facility. We get the boxes from them and then return them on the week designated.  This happens to be the week for the boxes to be returned so you may still have some time if you would like to get involved.  There is a map on the website here that can show you where the drop off locations are.  The only things you need to help is a shoe box and to print off a label off of their website. You can either enclose a $9 check or pay online when you print the label off. By paying online you can also track your box to see where it goes.

 

Samaritans purse is a nondenominational Christian organization that helps people around the world in impoverished countries. Whether it be from natural disaster, poverty, disease, or war times they come in to make the lives of the people a little more bearable. Like the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37) they believe it is God’s desire for us to help those in need whenever we come across them.

We at Kindness Curated commend Samaritan’s Purse for all that they do to help those in need.  We enjoy the fact that we can be a part of this with Operation Christmas Child’s shoe box donation.

~ Sarah