The Fifty States By ColorIt: Missouri

I have a new coloring book that I absolutely love and I'm so excited to share it with you! The Fifty States by ColorIt is everything I want in a coloring book (affiliate links here and below). The hand-drawn illustrations are gorgeous, the thick paper is very high quality, and the spiral binding on top means the pages lay flat. 

I love that each of the designs features so many of the official state symbols. I picked a random page to color first, which happened to be Missouri. The design includes the state animal (Missouri mule), state bird (Eastern bluebird), state dessert (ice cream cone), state flower (hawthorn blossom), state game bird (Northern bobwhite), state grape (Norton), state insect (honeybee), state monument (Gateway Arch), state musical instrument (fiddle), state tree and arboreal emblem (flowering dogwood), state tree nut (black walnut), plus the state seal and state flag. 

I colored the page with Prismacolors. They performed beautifully on the thick, smooth paper. I am really happy with how my page turned out and can't wait to color another state!

State Symbols That Have Changed

Recently, I've been working on a lot of crafts inspired by state symbols. That got me to thinking - has any state ever changed one of their symbols? Obviously, states have changed their flags and their seals, but has any state decided that their state bird no longer represents them? Or that there's a better choice for a state tree or flower? Let's dive in and find out!

State Birds

Here is the current list of state birds, along with their scientific name, picture, and the year they were designated. There have been quite a few additions in the form of state game birds, waterfowl, raptors, etc. but I only found three examples of states that changed the actual state bird. Florida just tried to change theirs, but it stopped in the Senate. 

• North Carolina had originally chosen the Carolina Chickadee as its state bird in 1933. Due to concerns about its unpopular nickname, they repealed the designation after less than a week. Ten years later, NC selected he Northern Cardinal as its state bird. 

• South Carolina changed its official state bird from the Northern Mockingbird to the Carolina Wren in 1948. They felt the Carolina Wren was a better choice because it is found in all areas of South Carolina and doesn't migrate away from the state. 

• New Hampshire changed their state bird from the New Hampshire Hen to the Purple Finch in 1957. While there are no plans replace it, reports suggest climate change could push the species out of the state, potentially affecting its status.

State Trees

Here is the current list of state trees, with their scientific names, photos, and years they were adopted. I was only able to find one instance of a state changing their state tree. Kentucky had a bit of a kerfluffle with theirs, but ultimately it was not a change. Florida updated the cocoa tree on the state seal to the Sabal palm when they adopted it as the state tree in 1953, but that wasn't a change of state tree either. 

• Utah changed its state tree from the Colorado blue spruce to the quaking aspen in 2014. The aspen is much more widespread in Utah than the blue spruce, which is the state tree of Colorado. 

State Flowers

Here is the list of state flowers, their scientific names, images, and dates of adoption. Like the state birds, there have not been many changes, but there have been additions as states have designated state wildflowers and floral emblems. I was able to find two states that changed their state flowers. Tennessee had a bit of a crazy history with their state flower(s) but I'm not counting it as a change. Georgia has legislation in progress to replace their state flower, but it hasn't happened yet. 

• Kentucky is the Bluegrass State, but they changed their state flower from bluegrass (which is not a flower) to the goldenrod in 1926. 

• Indiana has changed its state flower from the carnation (1913) to the tulip tree blossom (1923) to the zinnia (1931) to the peony (1957). There is a vocal minority that wants to change the peony to a native flower, but for now the state flower is the peony. 

New Year's Eve 2025

We usually host a small get-together for New Year's Eve, but Trevor and I were flying home from Boise that evening. So instead of having friends over to our house, we asked them to meet us at Dos Coyotes near the airport for a non-traditional New Year's Eve dinner. The food was excellent and it was great fun to end the year with some of our very favorite people. 

Celebrate NYE (affiliate link)

I'm frustrated with how the metallic stickers scanned. In real life, the gold is shiny and you can barely see the clear part of the sticker. On the scan, it's the opposite. Oh well. The layout is complete. It's in the album and up on the blog. Mission complete!

Fabric Applique Wall Hanging

After making the stuffed cross ornament, I tried another idea using the same fabric. This basic applique project is a great introduction to hand sewing and makes a cute wall hanging. Obviously, you can use a cut-out design from any fabric; it doesn't need to be a cross. The link in the materials list goes to some adorable forest animals. Affiliate links below. 

Fabric Applique Wall Hanging

Materials: 

• applique fabric
• iron-on interfacing
• fabric scissors
• background fabric
• embroidery hoop
• embroidery floss
• needle
• craft glue

Steps: 

Cut out the image you're going to applique, leaving a 1/2" border around the edges. Fuse the interfacing to the fabric, then cut out the image precisely. Cut the background fabric about 2" larger than the diameter of the embroidery hoop. Put the background fabric into the hoop, then position the applique piece where you want it. 

Cut a length of embroidery floss in a matching or contrasting color. Choose a hand stitch for your project. I debated blanket stitch but decided to go for the simpler whip stitch. Sew all the way around your shape. 

If your applique is not perfectly centered in the hoop, loosen the embroidery hoop slightly to adjust the background fabric until it looks good. Tighten the hoop, then trim the excess background fabric, leaving 1/4". Glue that to the back of the hoop. 

More Graphic Design Work for St. Mark's Lutheran Church

I've been doing more design work for my church, St. Mark's. We wanted to have more eye-catching, modern, and cohesive graphics to use in the newsletter. The first is for our Bible Study and the second is for our community-building and education activities, which we call Growing Together. 

I like the way they look separately, but I especially like them together. This is what we had before. They were done by different people, years apart. 

We have a 3-part mission statement at St. Mark's. Our mission is to: 

• Nurture Discipleship
• Communicate the Gospel
• Serve the Community

Each year, we focus on one of the three. In 2026, or focus is on Serve the Community. Pastor Karen asked me to make a graphic for that back in late December. I didn't blog about it at the time, so I'll share it now. 

I love doing design projects like these. I am especially glad to be able to use my time and talents to benefit my church. 

Christmas 2025

It's out of character, but I took very few pictures last Christmas. I'm not sure why, but I didn't insist on a family picture in front of the tree. I didn't take pictures while we opened gifts. I didn't take pictures at my in-laws' house. I did take a picture of Trevor in front of the tree and Trevor giving treats to the bunnies. I paired those with a photo of me reading during the Christmas Eve church service to make this layout. 

Christmas 2025 (affiliate link)

I actually combined two different pictures of Trevor feeding the bunnies since they weren't close enough together to both appear in the frame of either photo. I fussy-cut Tulip and Trevor's hand that was feeding her and layered them on top of the photo with Brayden in it.

It's not my favorite layout - far from it - but I'm glad to have it in the album. 

Puzzle Piece Crafts

There are some people who don't mind if a puzzle is missing pieces (Karen Puzzles famously doesn't care), but it bothers me. If I open a brand new puzzle and there are pieces missing, I contact the manufacturer for a replacement. If I get a used puzzle with missing pieces, the remaining pieces become a craft supply. There are a lot of fun things you can make with puzzle pieces. Here are 7 of my favorite ideas.  

Puzzle Piece Crafts for Kids

Puzzle Piece Monarch : Create a beautiful monarch butterfly from a puzzle piece! You can use the same idea for any species of butterfly.

Puzzle Piece Alien: Start with puzzle pieces, paint, googly eyes, and wires, then let your imagination go wild as you imagine what aliens look like!

Twisteezwire Girl with Flowers: You can make all sorts of cool sculptures using Twisteezwire and puzzle pieces. My girl is holding flowers, but she could just as easily be holding anything else!

Puzzle Piece Ladybug, Crab, Bug, and Spider: Fashion the cutest ladybug ever out of a puzzle piece, beads, and wire. This link has instructions for a crab, bug, and spider as well. 

Puzzle Piece Flower Bouquet: I love this cheery bouquet of flowers, made from puzzle pieces, pipe cleaners, tissue paper, and pom poms. It's so pretty!

Puzzle Piece Reindeer Ornament: My son and I made these ornaments when he was 6. They're still one of my favorites. They look so cute on the Christmas tree each year!

Puzzle Piece Minions: When I made my puzzle piece minions, I experimented to see if I could make them from a bunch of different piece shapes. Some work better than others, but I think they're especially fun all together like this. 

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Click here to find a few more puzzle piece crafts I've made, as well as all of my other puzzle content. Enjoy!

Stuffed Cross Ornament

Our quilt group has been receiving a lot of fabric donations recently, which we appreciate so much. As we go through the donated fabrics, we sort by color, and occasionally by theme. We also pull out any fabrics that cannot be used on LWR quilts. This includes any prints with religious, patriotic, or military symbols, language, or messages. 

We can't use this fabric for our quilts, so our leader suggested I come up with a craft using it that congregational members could potentially do after church one Sunday. The four different crosses read love, faith, peace, and joy. Each is about 5" tall. 

My first idea was to make ornaments. I cut out two of the yellow joy crosses, put them with the right sides together, then sewed around the edges, leaving the top open. I turned the fabric inside out, stuffed it with Polyfil, added a loop of gold cord, and then used craft glue to close the opening (affiliate links). 

It came out fine, but it's not going to be a great option for the congregation members who usually come to our craft sessions. I have another idea for a project using this fabric that might be a bit easier and less fiddly for the very young and very old who attend. Stay tuned. 

Painted Popcorn Craft

Indiana is the largest popcorn producer in the United States. Several major brands, including Orville Redenbacher's, originated in Indiana. So it's no surprise that Indiana named popcorn as its official state snack. Illinois is also a major popcorn producer that has named popcorn as its official state snack. I love popcorn and thought it would be fun to design a popcorn craft focused on the 4th graders in Indiana and Illinois studying their state symbols rather than the preschoolers who typically make popcorn crafts. Affiliate links below. 

Painted Popcorn Craft

Materials: 

• cardstock (white and red)
• microtip scissors
• 1" circle punch
• acrylic paint (yellow and white)
• 0.4" paint pouncer
• craft glue
• Flair pen (red)
• colored pencil (brown)

Steps: 

Cut a rectangle from white cardstock, approximately 3" x 4". Cut a square that is about 3.5" then cut a wiggly edge on all sides. The easiest way to do this is to keep the scissors still and move the paper back and forth. Punch a white circle. Cut four strips of red cardstock, each about 3/8" thick and longer than 4". 

Protect your work surface, then dip the paint pouncer in yellow paint. Pounce it randomly on the wiggly cardstock. 

Without cleaning the pouncer or letting the paint dry, dip the pouncer in white paint and continue pouncing randomly until the cardstock is covered. Be sure not to cover up all of the yellow. 

While the paint is drying, glue the red stripes to the white rectangle to make the popcorn box. If you were to glue the popcorn to the box right now, it would look like this. 

Center the words POP and CORN on the punched circle using the red Flair pen. Then color around the outside edge of the circle. Glue it to the popcorn box. 

Use a brown colored pencil to lightly outline some of the popcorn kernels, following the lines created by pouncing. Add little brown triangles between some of the pieces to show where there would be shadows between kernels. Add a few small curves here and there to mimic popcorn hulls. Then use the scissors to refine the shape of the popcorn. Follow the colors, thinking about how popcorn would actually sit. When you are happy with it, glue it to the top of the popcorn box. 

I really enjoyed this project. Paint pouncing is FUN! After making it, you'd better believe that I ate some popcorn!

SIX: The Musical

Have you seen SIX: The Musical? It tells the story of Henry VIII's six wives (divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived) with a decidedly modern Girl Power vibe. The music and the costumes are fantastic and it's such a fun show! Missouri Street Theatre did the Teen Edition of SIX in December and it was spectacular. 

SIX: The Musical (affiliate link)

MST had a neat idea for a fundraiser - donate any amount and take a picture with the cast. I wish the teens were in the front and we were in the back so that you could see their incredible costumes, but it's still a really fun picture. The layout came together really quickly. I used the playbill for my title, then added journaling, a strip of glittery washi tape, and the crown to finish it off.

Crayon-Resist Swallowtail Butterfly

I liked the results of my wax-resist Colorado hairstreak butterfly so much that I used the same technique to make a different butterfly. This time, I chose the Eastern tiger swallowtail. It is the state insect of Virginia, the state butterfly of Delaware, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, and both the state butterfly and mascot of Alabama. Affiliate links below. 

Wax-Resist Swallowtail Butterfly

Materials: 

• watercolor paper
• crayons
• black paint
• microtip scissors
• colored pencil

Steps: 

Because I wanted my Eastern tiger swallowtail to be accurate, I printed out a picture first at the size I wanted my finished project to be. Then I used the window to trace the butterfly onto watercolor paper. 

Next, I used yellow, orange, black, blue, and white crayons to color in the butterfly. Since this is a wax-resist project, press hard and leave a thick layer of wax where you want the paint to resist; color lightly in the areas where you want black to cover most of your crayon marks. 

Create a wash by mixing a few drops of black acrylic paint into some water. Brush the wash over the butterfly. The paint will resist the areas with crayon. When the paint is dry, cut out the butterfly. 

The wash dried a little lighter than I wanted, but it was an easy fix. I used a black colored pencil to darken the areas that needed to pop. Here you can see the difference between the right side that I've colored and the left side that has just the wash. 

Here is is with both sides colored. 

The Eastern tiger swallowtail is such a pretty butterfly! I'm really happy with how my project turned out. 

Tomato and Strawberry Easter Eggs

Today's Easter eggs based on state symbols are so easy to make that you get two-for-one. First up is a tomato, the state fruit of Arkansas, Ohio, and Tennessee. Second is the strawberry, the state fruit of Delaware, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Oklahoma. Affiliate links below. 

 

Tomato Easter Egg

Materials:

• egg (raw, hardboiled, or empty)
• acrylic paint (red)
• felt (green)
• scissors
• craft glue

Steps: 

Paint the egg red. While it is drying, cut out a multi-pointed star shape from felt for the tomato's leaves. Cut a thin strip for the stem. When the paint is dry, glue the leaves to the side of the egg and the stem on top of the leaves. 

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Strawberry Easter Egg

Materials:

• egg (raw, hardboiled, or empty)
• acrylic paint (red, yellow)
• felt (green)
• scissors
• plastic fork
• craft glue

Steps: 

Paint the egg red. While the paint is drying, cut out a multi-pointed star shape from felt for the strawberry's leaves. Cut a thin strip for the stem. 

When the red paint is dry, use a plastic fork to apply yellow dots to the egg to mimic the strawberry's seeds. 

When the yellow paint is dry, glue the leaves to the rounded end of the egg. Glue the stem onto the leaves. 

Deer Easter Egg

For my next state symbol Easter egg, I chose a deer. The white-tailed deer is the state animal of Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina, the state game animal of Oklahoma, and the wildlife symbol of Wisconsin. Affiliate links below.

  

Deer Easter Egg

Materials:

• egg (raw, hardboiled, or empty)
• acrylic paint (brown)
• brown cardstock
• scissors
• colored pencil (white)
• black paint pen
• craft glue

Steps: 

Paint the brown. While the paint is drying, cut out a pair of antlers, a pair of ears, and a tail. Make each a little longer than needed; fold back a small tab at the base. (This is where you'll be putting glue.) Use a white colored pencil to color the inside of the deer's ears. Color the edges and the underside of the tail white. 

Use the paint pen to add a nose to the pointed end of the egg. Add eyes and a mouth. Glue the ears,  antlers, and tail in place. 

Ice Cream Cone Easter Egg

Ice cream cones have been around since 1904, when visitors to the St. Louis World's Fair tried a revolutionary new treat. Vendors folded waffles into cones and filled them with ice cream. In 2008, 104 years after the birth of this now-ubiquitous treat, Missouri named the ice cream cone their official state dessert. Honor the ice cream cone by making an Easter egg version. Affiliate links below. 

 

 

Ice Cream Cone Easter Egg

Materials:

• egg (raw, hardboiled, or empty)
• acrylic paint
• cardstock (tan)
• colored pencil (tan)
• scissors
• craft glue
• binder clips
• Sharpie

Steps: 

Start by painting the egg your desired color. While that is drying, work on the cone. Use a ruler and a colored pencil to draw diagonal lines on the cardstock, first in one direction and then the other. There's no need to measure - just get some lines on there to mimic the look of an ice cream cone. 

Roll the cardstock into a cone shape, making sure the lines you drew face out. Measure the cone against the egg and adjust the wide end of the cone accordingly. I ended up cutting down my paper significantly. You may want to make a template with scratch paper first if you don't have another use for the excess cardstock. Glue the cone and add a binder clip to prevent it from unrolling while it dries. 

Use a Sharpie to add flecks of chocolate to your mint chip or chocolate chip ice cream, or skip this step if you chose a different flavor. When the glue on the cone is dry, trim to the top to make it even and nestle the egg inside. 

Another fun Easter egg idea, inspired by a state symbol!