Toddler Time

My sister gave us this book for Christmas and it is so fun! I've seen other craft books and other toddler entertaining books. But, they are all really too advanced for a toddler. But, this one is not!

I've gone through and written one idea on the calendar for each morning (M-F) for Emily and I to do together. I call it craft time and so far she has been eating it up! Obviously I will not be sharing our ideas every day, but I thought I would share one that we did recently.

We swirled glue around on a piece of paper. Then sprinkled it with colored salt and shook off the extra! Tada! She loved it so much she wanted to do it again - so we did, three times!

Another thing I've started in the mornings is to watch a 30 minute DVD of something educational. So something like this, this or this ~ I hope these habits we start now will serve us well in the future as we hope to homeschool.

Speaking of TV time, we've kind of settled on a routine that works for us. After trying no TV, extremely limited TV and tons of TV, we have found that one thirty minute DVD in the morning (as mentioned above it will usually be something educational) and one thirty minute DVD after supper in the evening which can be something like Veggie Tales or Hermie and Friends. This is working really well and feels very doable.

Organizing: Car Trunk

Well, while we're in the organizing mood - let's talk trunk of the car! This is one of those places that never seems big enough in my current stage of life. But, here is my attempt at trying to keep it orderly.

A metal basket on the left hold jumper cables, fix-a-flat, a shopping cart cover for little girls, bug spray, a towel, Snugli and various other items you may need in a car. On the other side of the stroller - we keep an old quilt for picnics or any other need and a bag of canvas totes for carrying groceries. Even a small space becomes even smaller when it is disorganized!

Snow Party

Well, I'm going to host another gathering at my house. Remember the Harvest Party? This one won't be as elaborate - but I hope it will be a lot of fun!

I was inspired by this magazine - and the section on adorable snowmen and planning a party around the theme that I decided to have a snow party! Plus, I love snow!

So, I'll be sharing my ideas - here is the first one. The invitations! I used a plain white envelope and drew a little face with the word "snow" on the front. Then I cut a piece of orange cardstock and traced a quarter, nickel and dime for the snowman body and cut out of white felt. A small clipping of orange paper glued on to make the nose and some black puffy paint made the eyes. Glue felt on with tacky glue and let dry. I wrote the details on the back of the card.

We'll be making a snow-themed placemat, learning about snow and having a devotion and sharing lunch! Stay tuned for more ideas!

A Peaceful Moment

While both little ladies were napping yesterday afternoon (a rare treat in itself) I was running around like crazy trying to get lots done. And, I felt the stress closing in. I knew what I had to do - I needed to sit down and get re-focused. I had just finished baking some cookies - so poured a mug of milk and grabbed a Christmas gift. I only sat there for maybe ten minutes, but it was enough to refresh and refocus my thoughts and my priorities. Ahh, much better!

Christmas: Thank You's

A friend recently wrote and asked me for some ideas for card making for thank you notes after Christmas. Here are some ideas I shared with her:

* Magazine page card: you've all heard me mention these before and they are simple. You could also use wrapping paper scraps left from packages, Christmas cards (cut off a pretty part and use on the front of the card) or magazine pictures. One year, I included the following poem that I wrote for the thank you because it was getting tedious to list each gift someone had given and I seriously wondered how meaningful the thank-you was:

Christmas comes and Christmas goes
along with paper, ribbon, and bows.

But what will last throughout the year,
is what began with, “Have no fear!”

The greatest gift given with love,
sent to Earth from Heaven above.

We follow this example by giving gifts to one another
choosing something special we hope will bring joy to the other.

Thank you for sharing of who you are
as we celebrate the Christmas star.

And now as this new year begins
we’ll gratefully think of you again and again!

* Similar to the first, you could make a card with a picture that describes something you appreciate about that person. I made these for favors at a brunch once and it was so special. For example, the person you are sending a card to is very easy to be around, comfortable - you could choose a picture of a cozy sweater or comfy reading chair and explain the meaning inside the card. Or, someone is sweet and gentle - look for a pretty light pink rose and compare her heart with it's soft beauty. This makes the card a gift to them in itself.

* Use your children's artwork - let kids watercolor or paint on larger pieces of paper and then cut them into card size and write a message on the inside. Make sure to note who the artist is!

* Make a Christmas 2006 Memory Thank-You: especially for someone who wasn't with you during Christmas. You could make a "cover" out of the heavier paper and then fold regular paper inside - tie a ribbon around the middle to hold it all together. You could include things like: drawing from one of the children, small photo, a favorite recipe you enjoyed, a special memory or gift that will be remembered from this Christmas, a verse that was meaningful to you during Christmas or that would share Christ with a family who are not believers, a brief thank-you from children or let them write their names, etc...

This year, I just wrote thank you's on blank notecards - though I was hoping to do the little memory thank you's. Maybe next year!

Organizing: Craft Cabinet

So, as is the case every January, I am in the mood to organize! To sort. To clean out. To purge. To straighten.

I started in a wonderful place! My craft cabinet! This cabinet is over my dryer in our laundry room. The question was asked recently how I store all my magazines and clippings for notecards and envelopes, so I thought I'd just show the whole cabinet.

My Mom helped me get this in order over a year ago and it has really been manageable to keep it fairly tidy. Plus, it helps me set limits on what I can keep.

Starting on the top shelf:

Small spice jars (thrift store) hold jingle bells or small craft items.
Flat gold box has ziploc bags in it filled with clippings for notecards. And, on top of that is a "craft" journal. Where I can log ideas that I've tried or want to try.
The next box holds wooden goodies: old spools, beads, etc...
And, a small cardboard box on the end gathers all my stamps and ink as well as craft paints.

The next shelf has a box of sewing notions, jar of buttons, the black floral box holds all my ribbons and then the twine dispenser on the end.

Moving down - this shelf is really the "notecard making" shelf! The right side are the magazines that I've read and are ready to be cut up. When this stack is at its max - I have to get rid of some and I did have to do this while straightening this up. The left side is all my paper. The red folder is craft ideas I want to save and try someday.

The lowest shelf is obviously the things I use the most. The ice cube bin on the left holds all notecards and envelopes that are already made and ready to be used. Next to that are canning jars with colored pens, pencils, and goodies such as tin stars, mini clothespins and the like.

Then a small wire basket holds all my paper punches and glue fits behind that. The white metal container at the back holds fun scissors and colored pencils.

Two white wooden containers next to that hold crayons and glues of all kinds. And, a 2/$1 organizer on the end is perfect for my good fabric scissors and pinking shears.

I do have a few other supplies that just won't fit here (like 12x12 paper) and those things are inside my living room coffee table trunk (which I call our rainy day cabinet - a story for another day) and it also holds extras of things like glue sticks and spiral notebooks.

All my fabric is in a little stand in my closet - and that is my limit on craft supplies. I need the limits of keeping things in certain places and not exceeding that or it gets out of control rapidly! I'll share more as I continue organizing!

Drawstring Jewelry Pouch

My mother-in-law wanted one of these for Christmas and I thought about buying one but could hardly find one. And, I remembered my Mom making them for gifts a few years ago - so she sent me the directions. I was SO pleased with how it turned out! There are little sections inside the pouch for your jewelry and it closes with a drawstring. If anyone wants the directions, I'd be happy to e-mail them to you! These are a great gift! The total project took me about three hours from start to finish and I'd never made one before - so not too bad!

Happy New Year!

As we begin a New Year - it is so easy to fill my mind with lists of things I want to accomplish, ways I want to grow, books I want to read and more. But, starting a bunch of things usually ends up in failure of most of them for me. So, I'm trying NOT to make resolutions! Though, it doesn't hurt to have goals - just not too much pressure.

With that said, I tried many years to read through the Bible in one year. It never stuck - because I got so behind that I could not catch up! I always struggled with this because I wondered how I would ever stand before my Heavenly Father one day and have to say that I didn't have the discipline it took to read through all the words He gave us. So, it continued to be a goal of mine to read through the Bible in one year.

When I worked at Glen Eyrie, we were each given a One Year Bible and encouraged to read through it together. This provided mutual motivation and encouragement! And, we were given opportunity to share what we were learning. Well, that year I DID IT! It was an amazing journey through God's Word and I have such fond memories of the experience, I'd like to try it again this year.

So, I'll probably be sharing here and there what jumped off the page and would love to hear from you too!

I do have some books I'd like to read this year (yes, this stack will take me at least one year) although I am not setting a one-book-per-month goal or anything like that. Shown here are the books I hope to complete this year.

I'd love to finish some projects, learn new things, and grow in my roles as wife, mom, sister, daughter, aunt (a new one!), child of God and friend.

I look forward to the journey ahead and to sharing it with you! As we face the days ahead - the best prayer that comes to mind is the one often quoted by Father Tim as "the prayer that never fails."

Your will be done.

Christmas Blessings

Hi, dear friends! I hope you all had a wonderful and blessed time with family and friends! My heart is overflowing with thankfulness and blessings and I just have to spill over a few!

Saturday, Emily and I were invited to a Happy Birthday Jesus party! Collectively, we adopted a family to buy Christmas gifts for and were assigned what to bring based on our last name. I had forgotten until that morning. But, this is how God provides...earlier in the week, I had gone to use a $10 certificate at Penney's and had found some adorable little girl clothes size 4T. With my coupon, they ended up being 0.67 each. Saturday morning when I read the invitation again, I realized we were assigned to bring a clothing gift for a size 4 little girl! Isn't that amazing?! I was so excited at God's great provision! I found some new socks and hair bows in what we already had and it wrapped up to be a cute and fun gift, I hope! I am still smiling at God's faithful provisions not only for us, but also for others through us.

The party was so cute! They acted out the nativity (about 30 kids) and had a cake for Jesus' birthday. This cake was so neat! It was made by my friend, Angie. It had black, red and green layers and each thing about the cake symbolized part of Jesus' birth and life!

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve also! We had our traditional cheese fondue dinner and drove around and looked at Christmas lights - Emily loved it!

Christmas morning was so fun because Emily is actually getting into all the Christmas things this year! We gave her a little kitchen and she LOVED it! It was so fun to watch her enjoying it!

My sweet husband knows that I miss snow (from living in CO) and gave me a box with paper snowflakes and pictures of snow with a certificate for a family trip to the southern mountains to experience the snow as a family! I am SO excited about this! And, even more, I am touched by his creativity and thoughtfulness!

My Mom out-did herself this year! She made me the above card to explain a gift of a new blog design! This is something I've been wanting to do for a while, but I am SO EXCITED to receive this great gift and am busy thinking about how I want this space to look! Yay!

She also gave us a Simpich doll. Now, that probably doesn't mean a whole lot to most of you. But, here is why it is special to me. The Simpich family lives in Colorado Springs and this business started out of their need to create gifts to give their family when they were newlyweds and didn't have a big gift budget! It turned into a thriving business that is well-known in that area. Well, they have been in business for years, allowing people to come into their shop and view the dolls being made, painted, and dressed. I have so many memories of going there to see this and seeing their puppet shows! After 54 years, they have decided to close their shop ~ and my Mom got us one of their special creations to remember being raised in CO and visiting their shop. I was SO touched that I cried! I will treasure this sweet gift for years to come.

I will be sporadic about posting this week as we are planning lots of family time, but just had to share some treasures from my weekend!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, my dear friends! I'll be away from my blog now until after Christmas. I thought I'd share with you a sonnet I wrote for my senior British Lit class. Enjoy...

A king was born in Bethlehem one day
The animals were there and heard His cry
This baby came to give His life away
For all our sins so that we would not die.
Time passed and He grew to be a young man.
Lots of people came to know of His deeds
He learned and taught and lived His Father's plan.
And this God knew would plant so many seeds.
The apostles would spread what they had known
The love tht had been shown to them Divine.
They would tell all men, of God on His throne
In hopes they'd also say ~ "this love is mine."
Jesus was a human like you and I
But, willing to give up His life and die.

Christmas Dinner: Place Cards

Martha's idea for Tree Place Cards is just the kind of idea I love!

You can get the ends of Christmas trees that have been trimmed free at Lowe's. When you go to get some free greens, scoop up a few of the little slices of wood as well.

Now, pull off all the spindly branches or twigs and any needles. Bake in a 350 oven on a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil for about 30-45 minutes. It will harden the sap so they are not sticky and will give your home a delicious smell!

After creating a small hole in the center, just hot glue on the "tree" and star!

Christmas Gift: Neighbors

I loved this idea I saw in the December Country Living - cookie dough wrapped up in waxed paper! It is ready to pop in the freezer and be used whenever the recipient chooses. Often at this time of year we can end up with too many baked goodies - so I liked this idea because it can be saved for another time when they need and would enjoy it so much more.

Each roll of dough is 1/2 batch of the following recipe which is included under the wrapper.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 c. butter, softened
¾ c. granulated sugar
¾ c. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 ½ c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2 c. chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients together and bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. Yield: about 6 dozen.

Inspiring Freebie!

I can keep this to myself no longer! One of the style editors for Country Home, Matthew Mead, has come out with his own magazine FILLED with great inspirations for Christmas and beyond. I have found LOTS of great ideas in here and have been inspired to host another fun theme party in January (keep watching) that was inspired by the snowman pages!

Anyway, they are allowing viewers to download this issue for free by signing in to their website. Click here to log in and experience the inspiration for yourself! Ok, it gets even better ~ visit Matthew Mead's website and you can download patterns, templates, fun papers, gift tags, etc... Check out the Bonus section for past goodies and ideas as well!

Have fun!

Christmas Gift: Cookie Decorating Kit

Here is a fun idea that could be used for a number of different people. I once took one of these to a family where the husband was recovering from surgery and the mom was working full time. They had two elementary age daughters and I thought they might not have time to bake - but that this could be a fun family activity for them to do together.

Bake sugar cookies either from homemade or store bought - it is the thought that counts here! Mix white frosting in desired colors - I used store bought as I had a coupon for a free container. Then I put plastic wrap between the colors so I only had to part with one container. I found the sprinkles on sale for 0.39 at Walgreens recently when their spices were on sale and put some peppermint sticks in a small plastic bag. Put all the "ingredients" into a cute gift bag and deliver!

This decorating kit was delivered to our local children's shelter for children who are removed from their homes when it is unsafe.

A small investment of time and certainly inexpensive, this is a great way to reach out to those around us at a time of year where not everyone has time or resources to do this on their own!

Oh, and if you open your cabinet to find that when you last put the red food coloring away there was only one drop and it has dried: add a few drops of water and shake - the color won't be as strong but it got me out of a pinch!

Christmas Gift: Church Nursery & Class Teachers

This year for nursery workers and Sunday School teachers, I decided to come up with something a little different. I decorated this basket and filled it with eight gifts (should be more than enough, but I don't want to run out!). Included are two of these, two of these, two sets of these and two envelope books all that I made.

I also made bookmarks (blue) out of cardstock with a photo of our girls and a thank you note letting them know how much we appreciate their faithful service. I printed out a tag on the computer and it explains that they can each select their own gift and a card from us!

I may decide to adopt this as an annual tradition for them - letting them choose from a small variety of homemade inexpensive gifts.

Christmas Home Tour

Remember the Blogging Tour of Homes from this summer? Well, it is back and in Christmas fashion! Welcome to my home, dear friends! Please come in ~ we have a cozy fire and peppermint hot chocolate ready, let's sit and visit for a while! Click the button above to visit the list of other holiday homes!

Our Christmas Tree - a live one! We have enjoyed this tree so much, it is so beautiful and apparently some birds thought so too as we found a nest in the branches! We decorate with family ornaments that we have collected through the years - it always brings back so many memories to unpack the ornaments and decorate the tree!

Now, go ahead and relax in front of the cozy fire...

... and remember the real reason we are celebrating Christmas!

Here's your hot chocolate! This recipe is from Everyday Food

Peppermint Hot Chocolate
1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 quart milk
1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips
7 peppermint sticks; 3 crushed (1/4 c.), 4 left while
pinch of salt

Place cocoa in a medium saucepan. Gradually whisk in milk until cocoa has dissolved. Add chocolate chips and crushed peppermint; simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until chocolate and peppermint have melted, 8-10 minutes. Bring to a boil and immediately remove from heat. Add salt. Ladle into mugs; serve each with a peppermint stick! Serves 4.

Oh, don't forget to add one of these to the top when you're done! Yummy!

Here are our porch and front door decorations!

You Are Loved Little One!

I have been enjoying seeing Christmas through Emily's little eyes this year - she is noticing Christmas for the first time and is so full of wonder and excitement. It has reminded me of this song:

She sat by the fireside 'til her eyes became too heavy,
and she wandered off in dreams with elves at play.
Daddy found her sleepin' and took her up to bed,
where she would spend the night in Santa's flying sleigh.
Christmas was a whisper in her ear
Sounds that only children's hearts can hear.

Little one, in the morning when you waken
You'll find your every dream has taken form
There'll be joy...
Christmas day will come to life because of you
you are loved, little one!

Mary lay and pondered until her eyes became too heavy
and she finally found the rest she'd struggled for.
Joseph sat in silence, watched the baby sleeping
wondered what the future held in store.
Angel voices whispered in his ear
Reaching down, he drew the baby near.

Little one, in the morning when you waken
the world will find that God has taken form.
They'll be joy...
And the earth will have new life because of you
You are loved, little one.

Written by Shirley Watson
Recorded by The Oak Ridge Boys
Listen to a clip here.

Biting the Bullet...

I've been putting off and putting off switching to the new Blogger - but after all the comment troubles, I decided to go ahead and do it today. So, bear with me as I'm learning the new deal here. If you have any suggestions on this transition, I'd appreciate hearing from you! Thank you!

Comments?

Is anyone else having trouble posting comments? I've tried to post on several other blogs in the past couple of days and it will not allow me to...any ideas?

Tinseled Glass Place Cards

I made these place cards several years ago, so I cannot tell you what they cost to make though I do remember it was more expensive than most of my cheap ideas. But, it is an old-fashioned craft called tinseled glass. I have used a dry-erase marker to personalize so that they can be re-used! You simply use 2x3 or 3x4 inch pieces of glass that are painted on the back. You then crumple foil and put that between the glass and a cardboard backing and seal with copper foil tape.

This idea was from Country Living, December 1998.

I'll be sharing another placecard idea in the next week or so!

Stockings, Part Two

Thank you for all of your wonderful suggestions and ideas on stocking stuffers. I have continued to have this urging to make the stocking something more meaningful. So, after perusing my local dollar store and dollar bins elsewhere - here is what I came up with. I will print out these verses and add them to each item to be read as the item is opened. I'll only list the things for Emily's stocking here: (some of these are more of a stretch than others, but use your imagination!)

Toothbrush: Psalm 51:7, “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.”

Candy Cane Headband: Isaiah 53:5, “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”

Pony: Psalm 20:7, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.”

Animal Crackers: Psalm 119:103, “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”

Paper: Proverbs 7:2-3, “Keep my commandments and live, And my teaching as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; Write them on the tablet of your heart.”

Apple: Proverbs 25:11, “A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”

Donation: Matthew 25:40, “The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'”

Necklace: 1 Peter 3:3-4, “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight.”

Ice Cream Cards: Isaiah 55:1, "Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.”

If you're interested in finding verses to go with your stocking stuffers - try a site like this to search by word or phrase in multiple translations.

Diaper Deals

I don't know if any of you have checked out Baby Cheapskate - but, Angie brings us ideas day after day of how to diaper, feed and entertain the little ones in our lives on the cheap! Her ideas are sometimes Atlanta based, but a lot of it is universal!

She e-mailed me today to share a post on diaper deals that we thought you might enjoy. And, if you want my two cents - I use Target brand exclusively. They are the cheapest (even with a coupon on a better brand) and I have been pleased with the quality.

Thanks, Angie for compiling all this info and sharing it with us all year!

Homespun Wrapping

This has turned into my signature gift wrap and I love it because I am not trying to store a bunch of rolls of wrapping paper and figuring out what goes with what. Instead, I start with two great basics (that are cheap, need I mention?) and then get creative from there.

These basics are brown paper (Walgreens often has this on sale for buy-one-get-one free or 99 cents a roll) and brown twine (available at the Dollar Store, Big-Lots or Wal-Mart).

I like to decorate mine with a magazine photo (I know, you are so surprised to hear this!) and a cute tag. I either tie on the tag or use a mini clothespin (available at craft stores or sometimes the Dollar Store). The rusty tin snowflakes were a great find on the after-Christmas-clearance last year. I love their primitive look!

You can adapt this to anyone by simply choosing a photo that reflects them or an interest of theirs. Catalogs and magazines provide lots of options for pictures to be clipped! You could also use photos of your family or cut up Christmas cards that you've received to make the pictures or tags.

One thing I've learned: regular Scotch tape will not cut it at holding this paper together. You have to use packing tape - I like the Scotch clear packing tape that Walgreens puts on sale every so often.

This bag is a simple brown kraft paper gift bag. I gathered a few sprigs of evergreen and tied with torn fabric. You simply staple one branch of the greens to the bag and voila!

Tagged!

I was tagged by Tessa to complete this, so here goes!

Three Things

*Scare me: Bugs, Bugs, Bugs (Did I mention I am scared of bugs?!)

*I love: God, family, friends, and if I may add a fourth - home and all it stands for.

*I hate: Evil, my own inadequacies, and injustice.

*I don't understand: why common sense isn't so common any more, why people rely so heavily on the government, why anyone would hurt someone else.

*Things on my desk: DVD remote, clipboard, David's mug of sweet tea

*I'm doing right now: Before completing this: I made recipe cards while watching taped episodes of Martha and started working on my to-do for this week.

*I want to do before I die: Make a difference, see my daughters come to know the Lord, and appreciate each day that I do have.

*I can do: Crafty things, smile, and hum!

*I can't do: Drive a stick shift vehicle, draw, make crispy southern fried chicken.

*I think you should listen to: Here I will simply insert Phil. 4:8, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things."

*You should NEVER listen to: If it doesn't fit with the above.

*I'd like to learn: How to make rag rugs, old fashioned handwriting, and successful vegetable gardening.

*Favorite foods: Broccoli, M & M's, and homemade bread!

*I drink regularly: Water, milk, and Coke!

*Shows I watched as a kid: The Cosby Show, Brady Bunch, and (my favorite for a while) Punky Brewster! (I even wrote a letter to the TV station asking them not to take it off the air when I was 8? years old...)

If you want to play, consider yourself tagged!

Homespun Wrapping: Gift Cards

The idea for these little cuties was born one afternoon this week after my first idea did not work! I had determined NOT to spend anything to create wrappings for a few gift cards I am giving as gifts. So, I scrounged some felt scraps and got out my sewing machine! I experimented with different stiches, some have stitches showing and some were sewn and turned right side out. On one, the sewing machine decided to switch stitches mid-stream, but I left it and just decided to say, "it adds character!" I attached little bows and tags with a small safety pin.

To make:
Cut two pieces of felt scraps about 1/4 inch larger all around than gift card.
Cut a small shape or initial out of a contrasting color felt scrap.
Stitch straight down the middle of the shape onto the front of one piece of felt.
Stitch pieces together as desired leaving one edge open.
Make a bow and attach it and a tag with a small safety pin.
Cost: FREE! (Or, if you did choose to purchase the felt, they come in sheets at craft stores or Wal-Mart for 20 cents a sheet.)

Merry Christmas, Martha!

You all know by now how many great ideas and inspirations I receive from Martha Stewart! I love the emphasis she puts on home and enjoying home to the fullest. Keeping it clean, organized, decorated, and full of yummy smells from the kitchen. In one of her recent magazine letters - she shared Christmas card ideas and asked her readers to send her a sample of what they made. So, as a little Christmas gift to her in thanks for the ideas she so freely shares all year long, here is what I made:

Stockings

My Mom made us stocking when we were little, and I loved mine so much that I decided to keep the felt appliqued theme and make this kind for my family.

Here is mine:

Here are the ones I've made in the past few years:


This year I'm having a hard time with stocking stuffer ideas. We always make a donation to Samaritan's Purse in each of the girls names and put a card in their stocking noting that. But, I'd love to hear your ideas on other *cheap* and *fun* gifties!

My Mom read this poem in Victoria magazine years ago which we have adapted for our gift-giving. Maybe I'll adopt this for stockings instead.

Something to eat,
Something to read,
Something to play with,
Something you need.

Tree Skirt

Well, this has turned into the tree skirt that wasn't...but, I still have hope that it may turn out. I told you I was working on it and this is what I tried:

I cut the fabric in 1 inch strips and tied them together and wound it all together to make a ball. I had two fabrics and did this for both. Here's where I went wrong - the plaid fabric is thick - it doesn't have enough give to crochet. Lesson learned: use soft cotton fabric and it should work much better. I was then crocheting it into a tree skirt, in a circular pattern, but with a slit so it could be laid around the tree. It was getting so tight that it was turning into a bowl! So, I ripped all that out. Above you will see what I had started after I had ripped out half of it, I decided I should take a picture to remember what I had done so far.

But, I don't want to waste all the fabric I have, so - I am trying a new method. I used two strips of plaid and one strip of green fabric to create lengths and lengths of braid. Now I am going to sew the braids together like a rag rug to form the tree skirt. I hope this will work. In theory, it is something like these ornaments.

In the mean time, I offer you Grace's cute idea - which is to drape homespun fabric around the base of the tree. Oh, the simplicity. My ideas tend to be complicated. So, what do you use for a tree skirt?

Trim the Tree Meal

I am starting a new tradition this year. We usually purchase our tree on a Friday night, let it sit overnight - and decorate it Saturday morning. So, after being inspired by a photo in a magazine, I decided to implement this traditional breakfast for this morning that we trim the tree! However, for a change this year, we decorated our tree at night - so I just served this for dinner!

Make your favorite French Toast recipe. Diagonally cut slices of bread into triangles. Lay three triangles of toast to create a "tree". Sprinkle with green sugar. Make a trunk out of sausage links - serve this festive meal on Christmas plates if you have them and play Christmas music in the background!

Hanging of the Greens

Yesterday afternoon, I did one of my favorite traditions in decorating! Hanging the greens and decorating our porch! We always purchase our Christmas tree at Lowe's and I take advantage of their free trimmings pile - this is so wonderful! They are going to throw these away, and you don't have to purchase anything to take some.

So, here are my free decorations put to good use:

When my parents were here for Thanksgiving, my Mom and I went to this great store looking at all their Christmas decorations. I saw a door swag that I loved for $68! So, we looked closely and I made the above (very similar) version for zero! I used a wire hanger for the base, wired on evergreen branches and made a homespun bow from my fabric stash. Then I hot glued on some pinecones that I picked up while at Grace's house (actually SHE picked them up - thank you, Grace!) and wired on the old red lantern. I love how it turned out and especially that it was free. Around the door frame, I hung an evergreen garland (not out of real greens) and twisted white lights through it! So welcoming and inviting!

I always love to tie some greens to the two rocking chairs we have on our porch - just lay out the greens and tie on with twine. The red pillows work perfectly, though they are there all year!

This little maple syrup bucket is easy to fill with sprigs of greens and tie a bow around! I love it's greeting at the front door and have another bucket inside the house filled as well! Smells great too!

I also always put greens on both sides of our mailbox. Tie on with twine and make a cute fabric bow from scraps! When I was out there doing this, I was hoping it would cheer our sweet mail lady!

This picture is dark - but, I also tied a few greens to Emily's red wagon! So, when we're out for a walk she will be festive too!

Looking forward to reading all of your ideas as well!

Blogger White Elephant!

I received a box today from Aubrey which included three very wonderful White Elephant gifts!

Here they are:

Emily will adore this soap and I will enjoy the notepad!

Emily will also enjoy this ornament which plays music and has a couple dancing on it!

And last, but certainly not least, we received our very own complete set of costume false teeth!

Thank you, Aubrey - what a fun box!

Thank you, Megan for such a fun idea!