Quick Update

Just wanted to pop in for a quick update. I have successfully completed 6 of the Christmas gifts for my family (sshhh - I made all of the kids a quilt and decided Prince Charming needed one too!) And I am almost finished with 2 more gifts for family members, they just need to be framed. I will do my best to post pics tomorrow.

I thought I would share a couple of really cute ideas from some fellow bloggers. Mine for the Making has this great tutorial up today. You really need to check out her blog!

Reindeer Poop!

What you will need:

-Reindeer Poop poem

-red glitter glue

-cute baggies
-stapler or ribbon 

-candies/treats to represent "poop"

How to make silly Reindeer Poop:

-Copy and paste the poem into a word doc

-Add a cute reindeer clip art

-Print and cut

-Add red glitter glue to the reindeer's nose and let dry

-Fill baggies with candies

-Staple or tie poem to baggy

-Give to guests, friends, neighbors, students, children, family, etc.

-Watch them giggle as they read the poem!

Reindeer Poop

I woke up with such a scare when I heard Santa call...
"Now dash away, dash away, dash away all!
I ran to the lawn and in the snowy white drifts,
those nasty reindeer had left "little gifts".
I got an old shovel and started to scoop
neat little piles of "reindeer poop".
But to throw them away, seemed such a waste,
So I saved them, thinking ~ you might like a taste!
As I finished my task, which took quite awhile,
Old Santa passed by and he quietly smiled.
And I heard him exclaim as he rose in the sky,
"Well, they're not potty trained, but at least they can fly!"

And the Happy Home Fairy did this great post yesterday, that you can read here. I think it is such a cute idea! You "plant" your mints in the evening and by morning they have "magically" grown into candy canes! And she posted a cute little tag to go with it 

There are so many awesome ideas out there! Let's get to crafting!

Christmas Tree Paper Garland

I thought I would share this cute, easy garland with you today. I have been seeing these precious buntings and garlands all over blogland and had to jump on the wagon. Hope you enjoy!

Supplies needed:

Christmasy scrapbook paper/cardstock

3-D dots

Scissors

Pencil

Jute/Ribbon

Scrap fabric for bows

Ruler

Hole punch

Begin by making a template for your triangles. Fold a piece of cardstock in half and using your ruler mark a line from the fold to the bottom edge of your cardstock.

Cut the triangle out with your scissors. Now cut out two more triangles that are smaller/larger than this one.

I cut out three different sizes so the trees would have more dimension/color. Cut a separate template out for each triangle. 

Now, take your Christmasy paper and flip it over to trace your triangles.

Cut them all out and get ready to assemble.

Decide the order you want to stack your triangles. Place a 3-D dot on the bottom triangle and place the middle triangle on top. Repeat with the top triangle. Now you have three stacked triangles.
Next you want to punch a hole in the top of the "tree" so you can run your jute/ribbon through.

Decide how long you want your garland. I cut mine 6 1/2' long. Tie a knot at one end of the jute.

Thread your tree onto the jute.

Tie the jute so that the "tree" will stay in place.

Take a piece of your scrap fabric and make a little tie on the jute. Slide it over to cover the knot.

Continue about every 6" with the "trees" and ties and you should end up with this...

These can be embellished in so many different ways...glitter, ribbon, whatever your little heart so desires.
Have a blessed Sunday!

Christmas 2010 - A Change of Focus

Over the last couple of weeks I have really been thinking about Christmas and how our family celebrates. For most of my childhood and early adult years I knew that Christmas was a celebration of the wonderful gift God gave to us in Jesus, but what it really stood for was presents - how much are we going to spend on each person, and what did I want! I do not want that to be the focus of our Christmas celebration this year. So....some changes are being made!

Until this year, I had heard the term Advent but was not sure exactly what it meant. I grew up in church but this was not something we practiced/observed officially. I have been doing a little research :) and in my words, Advent is a celebration of the birth of Jesus that begins on December 1 and lasts through Christmas. I know that Advent is celebrated in different ways by different people with wreaths/calendars/etc and within different time frames. For our family, we are going to begin the celebration today and read a verse from the Bible each day through Christmas Eve. I found these wonderful Daily Bible Verse Advent Cards over at Happy Home Fairy. 

I would like each day to also include something fun for the family to do together...an act of service for others, make a garland, bake cookies to give away. Any other good ideas?

Another change we are making is in the gift giving department. This year I want the gifts that I give to mean something to the recipient. I want them to know that I really put some thought into their gift. Over on Honey Bee Buzz, Melissa was talking about gifts for Christmas. Some of the ideas included....

1. Give each child four gifts - something they want, need, wear, and read.

2. Give each child three gifts to symbolize the three gifts the wise men gave to Jesus

           one for Gold - garment/clothing

           one for Frankincense - fun

           one for Myrrh - mind

3. Each child gets three presents - one from mom, one from dad, and one from Santa

We are leaning toward the four gifts, but I really like the symbolization of the Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh. I am also attempting to make many of the gifts we are giving this year, which should get an interesting response!


Overall, I just want my kids to understand what the season is really about. Yes, I think it should be fun because it is a celebration! But I want their focus to be on thankfulness, for the wonderful Gift and gifts that God has provided for them.