team mom ideas

Team Mama Idea: Personalized Team Spirit Pin With Photo! (NEW)

~ confessionsofasportsmama ~ Leave a comment

I blinked and four seasons of college football have come and gone. Senior Day for No.1 was yesterday. It sounds cliche, but I honestly do not know how that happened so quickly. I swear we just moved him into his dorm yesterday… sniff sniff.

We’ve made some amazing friends over those seasons; friendships that I know will last a lifetime. I wanted to give my closest ones a little something to make them smile, and what better than a spirit pin with their boys’ faces on it!

I mean, seriously, what sports mama wouldn’t love one of these?! They aren’t only for Senior moms… they’d be perfect for homecoming, banquets, or any game day. And the best part of all, you can make them yourself!

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • Picture of athlete (we used 4X4)
  • Multiple ribbons (in your team colors)
  • Lighter (to seal ribbon ends)
  • Scissors
  • Cool glue gun
  • Cardboard
  • Laminator (w/ 3mm laminating film)
  • Silhouette/Cricut
  • Heat transfer vinyl
  • Heat press
  • Pin backings (1.5in)

Here’s what you do:

  • Cut your athlete’s photo into a circle. If you’re making more than one, use a stencil to be sure they’re all the same size.

  • Cut the same size circle into your cardboard.
  • Laminate the photo.

  • Cut your ribbon and arrange it onto the cardboard as shown below.

  • Continue with the same pattern until the circle is filled.
  • Glue or staple the ribbon down.

  • Glue the photo onto the other side of the cardboard.
  • Add your athlete’s name and number. We used a Silhouette and heat transfer vinyl. No Silhouette? No worries! You can use stickers or even write directly on the ribbon!

  • Use the lighter to seal the ends and keep them from fraying.
  • Attach it to the back of the pin.
  • Hot glue on pin backing.

That’s it!

My college football mamas absolutely loved them. One of them even told me that she was going to hang it up on her son’s sports wall!

I hope you enjoyed this idea and that you try it out for yourself. Be sure to check back often for more ideas!

Team Mama Idea: Team Spirit Shoes

~ confessionsofasportsmama ~ Leave a comment

Hey there, Sports Mamas! I hope you all are well. I’m in the middle of college football season, so life is… busy! In the span of 4 weeks, I’ve been to Louisiana, Buffalo, Connecticut, and PA. We have a bye this weekend which gives me a couple days to relax… and write this quick blog post for you!

You all already know that I’m a loud, proud, team reppin’ football mama! One of the ways I’ve been repping my #8 lately is with my shoes.

Idea No.1: Crocs with allll the charms

Start off by purchasing a pair of Crocs in your team color. Then find the charms (I ordered on Etsy and also found a stand in my local mall)! From letters to numbers to balls… the choices are endless! The more, the cuter!!

Idea No.2: Add your athlete’s number to your favorite pair of kicks

I found these cute, self-adhesive number patches on Amazon for about $2 each! SCORE!!! I received SO many compliments on them… easiest DIY ever!

Idea No.3: Customized Nikes

And finally, I customized my very own pair of Nike Dunks! From the color of the soles to the laces, I got to choose every single detail. And you already know that I wasn’t going to pass up on the chance to add text! I added my boys’ initials as well as No.1’s jersey number. They were definitely a bit of a splurge, but I am so happy with how they turned out!

I hope this post gives you some new ideas!

For more ideas, be sure to join me and 77.9K other sports mamas in the Confessions of a Sports Mama Facebook Group.

GO TEAM!!!

Team Mama Idea: FREE Baseball Printable for Senior Night or End of Season Gifts!

~ confessionsofasportsmama ~ 6 Comments

With many baseball seasons wrapping up, I thought it would be the perfect time to share this post. Kelly S., one of the amazing mamas in the Confessions of a Sports Mama Facebook Group (which by the way now has over 23,000 members!!!) was sweet enough to share not only the idea, but the printable to go along with it!

The cute, home plate shaped printable reads “On this dirt you’ve literally left it all- blood seat and tears. You’ve made friendships that will always be a part of you. You’ve fought side-by-side with the guys who relate with how bad you want to win. This dirt holds your laughter as tightly as it holds your frustration. Life goes on off this dirt but nothing can compare to the feeling you get while standing on it. Each time you look at this jar of dirt, know in your heart what it stands for and remember these years and all of the wonderful memories it holds.”

Click HERE to download.

Once downloaded you simply print it out on cardstock, punch a hole in the top, and attach to a mason jar filled with dirt from the baseball field. You could make it even more special by adding their name to the jar.

They make the perfect Senior Night or end of season gifts.

If gifting them on Senior Night, you could have each player collect the dirt from the field as they are announced. Shout out to Adrienne W. (another mama in our group) for the idea!

Thanks again to Kelly S. for her help with this post! More from her can be found HERE.

And for more daily sports mom inspiration, be sure to join our Facebook Group!

Adult Beverage Gift for Coaches

~ confessionsofasportsmama ~ Leave a comment

We had our end of season football banquet about a week and a half ago. It’s hard to believe that this is the final one for No. 1. Four high school seasons came and went so quickly. 

As in years past, I took the lead on coordinating coaches gifts. I began as I always do by collecting money from the parents. I sent out an email asking for donations. I never specify an amount. The actual wording in my email states that “no amount is too little (or too much!)”. I’ve found that this is the absolute best way to go about getting the most participation (and money!)

We’ve previously gifted our coaches personalized photo balls, framed photos signed by the players, shirts, and gift cards. I knew I wanted to do something different. Besides being unique, I also wanted it to be useful. So here’s what I came up with!

A bottle of their favorite liquor, personalized glasses, and personalized coasters. Seriously, how cool of a gift is that?!?

Here is a close up of the glasses and coasters.

Both were purchased at HomeGoods. The etching and engraving were done by someone local.

On to the tags…

Because let’s be honest, coaching a team during a pandemic is definitely deserving of a drink (or three!).

The coaches were so excited about their gifts. They absolutely loved them!

They also each received a gift card.

And our Head Coach was given this awesome signed frame.

It says “Behind every fearless player is a fearless coach who refused to let them be anything, but the best they can be.” Inside of the word “coach” are team photos. This was another Etsy find.

Here are a few photos from the banquet. 

We had posters with baby photos of our Seniors and Coaches. (It was actually recycled from our Senior Banquet where we used it for a guessing game). So much fun!

And what would a banquet be without a little cake…

Or two?

I’ll miss high school football… but I am looking forward to seeing my boy on the college field!

*** For more banquet and gift ideas click HERE and HERE. Don’t forget to join the Confessions of a Sports Mama Facebook Group either!

DIY Candy Leis for Senior Night!

~ confessionsofasportsmama ~ Leave a comment

Team Mama Idea: DIY Candy Leis for Senior Night!

Another Senior Night is in the books for No. 1! We celebrated our Senior basketball players last week during the final home game of the season. I can’t believe how fast time is going.

I wasn’t Team Mama for a change so not only did I get a chance to relax, but I was totally surprised as well!

There was this cute balloon display, which also served as the perfect photo backdrop.

Each Senior had a banner.

Our Team Mama made special programs which included photos and bios of each of our Seniors. The team managers each got a beautiful bouquet, us Mamas got roses (in our school colors, of course!), and our boys got leis!!!

In Hawaii, leis are given for many celebratory events, especially graduations and birthdays. To honor our Seniors on Senior Night, our Team Mama made them candy leis!

I absolutely loved them! So unique and special. And guess what? She was sweet enough to give me the instructions to share with you all! So if you’re interested in making a candy lei (or several!) for your next celebratory event, keep on reading.

What you’ll need:

  • fun-sized candies 
  • cellophane
  • curling ribbon
  • scissors 
  • tape

What you do:

  1. Roll out your cellophane (about 7 inches wide) and lay out the fun-sized candy bars on top to see how long you’d like to make the lei. (She used approximately 10 candies). Be sure to leave enough space between candy bars to tie the ribbon.
  2. Cut the cellophane to size and fold it over the candy bars, enclosing the candy into the cellophane. 
  3. Tape ends of cellophane, creating a tube.
  4. Cut 10 pieces of curling ribbon (approximately 10 inches long) and begin tying the ribbons between each candy bar. Leave a 2 inch space at the beginning and end of each cellophane tube.
  5. To close the lei, tuck the 2 inch cellophane end into the other and tie a ribbon to close it.
  6. Curl the ribbons between each candy using scissors.

After the game our boys had pizza and cupcakes.

Hard to believe that No. 1’s basketball career is coming to an end. Seems like just yesterday he was shooting the ball into No. 2’s baby swing… bittersweet, for sure! 

We’ll miss you Class of  ’22!!!

*** Special thanks to our Team Mama, Kristin S. for her help with this post! Also to Paolo Films for the 5th pic.

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