This Sunday I am having my first Christmas Cookie Party. All of our young friends and their parents are invited over for milk and cookies. A simple idea (from HGTV) to get everyone together for the holidays with out spending much money.
The idea is that everyone brings a dozen cookies. You munch on a few at the party, then each guest gets can take a variety of cookies home for later.
I really wanted to have Santa come too. The original idea was to have "Cookies with Santa", a fun little way for the kids to meet the Jolly Old Elf. And the added bonus of avoiding long lines and high prices for pictures with Santa at the mall. Not to mention the chances of getting a good picture would be much better.
But due to the economic downturn Santa has had to layoff some elves and is currently picking up the slack in his workshop. Also his travel budget had been limited to only Christmas Eve. Maybe next year....
Instead this year I will be playing Polar Express and just letting the kids play together.
I am really excited and cannot wait to post pictures next week!
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Monday, December 8, 2008
Tree Trimming
This weekend we picked out the perfect Christmas tree and I was finally able to put up all the ornaments that have been consuming my evenings for the past few weeks. Every single one on the tree are homemade by me! My goal was to make ornaments that Jake could take off, rearrange, or whatever so I didn't have to worry about him getting hurt or breaking special ones. And I didn't have to constantly tell him not to touch it. After all Christmas is for the kids too!
It took a little bit of time but was really easy. I made 2 different kinds and I love the way it all came together. I like things to be uniform so I decided to not put any of the regulars out this year so I wouldn't have to keep them all at the top.
The paper stars that you can see pretty well. Made with white computer paper, tape, a stapler, and scissors. And then a little bit of ribbon to top it off. They were pretty simple just took a little bit of time to get them all done.
To make the stars: Accordion fold paper. Fold in half to find middle. Staple. Cut both end to a point (for a star look) or more rounded (for a flower look). Unfold and tape sides together to form star. Punch hole. Tie ribbon through. Hang on Tree. **stars look better if you make really good creases when you fold it**
I also elaborated on this same technique but used color paper and added a little bit of glitter. Next time I would make sure to use thinner paper. I used scrapbooking paper and I thought I picked out pretty thing stuff but it was hard to crease and fold. Origami paper would probably be the best thing to use (big surprise right).
The other type that you can't see as well are yarn pom poms. These were also really easy. The only supplies you need for this project is yarn and scissors. A small crochet hook is helpful too.
To make yarn pom poms: Hold end of yarn and wrap around your hand. Keep wrapping until you have a good amount. The more you wrap the fuller the pom pom will be. Try to keep all the yarn pretty close together on your hand. It will make the next step easier. Pull yarn off hand and now wrap around middle of bunch (I should have taken pictures because this is harder to explain). Don't cut yarn just keep wrapping and make sure you keep it pretty tight. Go around the middle a couple of time. Then (this is where the crochet hook comes in handy) thread yarn through middle and tie a knot. Cut off yarn but leave enough so you can tie into a loop to hang on the tree. Or you can add one later whatever works best. Then snip the loops on both ends and there you go. This might be a little confusing....I'll try and get a god close-up so you can see it.
Overall, I love the way the tree turned out. It is not as full and sparkly as it normally is...but I think I like this much better. Its simpler. It has also been great for a toddler. Jake likes to take the ornaments off and move them. He also likes to touch them very "softly" which then ends up with hitting them much like a cat would. But I have nothing to worry about because these are cheap and easy to make! So far there has only been on incident where Jake crumpled a star...but you can hardly tell. And the best part of all. I had most of the supplies except yarn, colored paper, and glitter. So to make a whole tree of new ornaments it cost less than $10!
Friday, December 5, 2008
Crunch Time
As of Yesterday, there are 3 weeks until Christmas. Before Thanksgiving I felt like I had a good grip on everything and would be done with all my gifts with extra time to spare. But now as the last of the turkey sandwiches are eaten I am feeling the squeeze (and not just because my pants now feel about 2 sizes too small). I have a few project finished...even 2 already wrapped, I have a few more that are partially completed, and then some that have not even been started.
So...to keep myself straight and in case you care....below is a list of the thing I am making
Shawn:
*A Beanie-Crocheted...then Felted (a cool new technique I learned about at craft warehouse). If it doesn't work out I have enough yarn to just crochet a new one.
* A Vacation Savings Jar for his change. Shawn has been wanting to go "somewhere tropical" ever since I can remember. I found a huge glass jug at my grandma's house that I am going to use. I am going to make a thermometer type thing (like they do for fundraisers to see how close you are to meeting your goals) up the side. At the bottom there will be really lame vacations and the higher you get the better the vacations will be. I even have some loose change to get him started.
Jake: I am going to buy all his presents this year. I had some cute ideas but I am going to wait for his birthday in April so I can spend a little more time on them. Shawn and I are going next Saturday night and then to dinner.
Mom: Jewelry Box. I bought a wooden box at Michael's and painted it to match her bedroom. Then modge podged a picture of Jake to the inside. She wanted a divided one but I didn't want to attempt that so my sister and I both made one in different sizes. This one is finished and I really like how it turned out.
Dad: Joke Book. I wrote a little about this before. I have found some pretty good jokes so far. I also paid good attention when I was at their house for Thanksgiving for some Jerry originals. Now I just need to put it together and print it. I found some paper that I already had to print it on and Shawn can bind it at his work....so not too much more work on this one.
Niece: A dress-up kit. My sister and I found a bunch of cute things are Target in the $1 section that were 75% off. We also hit up the dollar store and some second hand stores. We found costume jewelry, dresses, skirts, purses, etc. We are still on the hunt for an old suitcase to put it all in otherwise this would go on the done list too. I think this is one of my favorites and still was pretty cheap.
Nephew: Crocheted hat and matching scarf. I made it out of 3 colors of leftover yarn I had for other project. This one was free too....just a little sweat equity. And another one on the completed list!
Mom-in Law: An assortment of cards...thank you, just thinking of you, etc. I had a bunch of blank cards in all colors with matching envelopes. I also found a bunch of rubber stamps and ink pads that I forgot I had. Shawn helped me do the stamping. They turned out really cute and Shawn and I had a fun time doing it. To quote Shawn "Thanks for making me do this...it is actually fun". Not too bad for FREE!
Sister-in-law: A recipe box....for a different sort of recipes. I found a bunch of recipes online for homemade beauty treatments. She is a hairstylist that loves make-up and that type of thing. Something different that might be fun for her to do. I am coping them on recipe cards (while at work I might add) and including some blank ones so she can add to it.
Father-in-law: Homemade blueberry pie. He loves dessert and is very picky so it make getting him gifts very hard. He mentioned the other day that he would like to have a homemade blueberry pie. Obviously this one cannot be done too early. I have never made one before so hopefully it turns out. My sister makes great pie crust so I will get that recipe from her. And then don't you just buy the filling in a can? Couldn't be that hard right? Shawn and I are going to do this together so at the very least it should be fun!
Grandparents in Boise: Framed family picture. I found the frame on Clearance at target for $2. I am so on top of this one that it is already wrapped.
Grandma in Pennsylvania: See above. I am also doing this same thing for Grandma in Pendleton.
I have a few other things that I am doing for friends and people that might be reading...so I will not include those.
For the past few weeks I have been busy making some ornaments that I am really excited about. We are getting our tree this weekend so I will get pictures up as soon as I can! I will let you know more about those then. It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
So...to keep myself straight and in case you care....below is a list of the thing I am making
Shawn:
*A Beanie-Crocheted...then Felted (a cool new technique I learned about at craft warehouse). If it doesn't work out I have enough yarn to just crochet a new one.
* A Vacation Savings Jar for his change. Shawn has been wanting to go "somewhere tropical" ever since I can remember. I found a huge glass jug at my grandma's house that I am going to use. I am going to make a thermometer type thing (like they do for fundraisers to see how close you are to meeting your goals) up the side. At the bottom there will be really lame vacations and the higher you get the better the vacations will be. I even have some loose change to get him started.
Jake: I am going to buy all his presents this year. I had some cute ideas but I am going to wait for his birthday in April so I can spend a little more time on them. Shawn and I are going next Saturday night and then to dinner.
Mom: Jewelry Box. I bought a wooden box at Michael's and painted it to match her bedroom. Then modge podged a picture of Jake to the inside. She wanted a divided one but I didn't want to attempt that so my sister and I both made one in different sizes. This one is finished and I really like how it turned out.
Dad: Joke Book. I wrote a little about this before. I have found some pretty good jokes so far. I also paid good attention when I was at their house for Thanksgiving for some Jerry originals. Now I just need to put it together and print it. I found some paper that I already had to print it on and Shawn can bind it at his work....so not too much more work on this one.
Niece: A dress-up kit. My sister and I found a bunch of cute things are Target in the $1 section that were 75% off. We also hit up the dollar store and some second hand stores. We found costume jewelry, dresses, skirts, purses, etc. We are still on the hunt for an old suitcase to put it all in otherwise this would go on the done list too. I think this is one of my favorites and still was pretty cheap.
Nephew: Crocheted hat and matching scarf. I made it out of 3 colors of leftover yarn I had for other project. This one was free too....just a little sweat equity. And another one on the completed list!
Mom-in Law: An assortment of cards...thank you, just thinking of you, etc. I had a bunch of blank cards in all colors with matching envelopes. I also found a bunch of rubber stamps and ink pads that I forgot I had. Shawn helped me do the stamping. They turned out really cute and Shawn and I had a fun time doing it. To quote Shawn "Thanks for making me do this...it is actually fun". Not too bad for FREE!
Sister-in-law: A recipe box....for a different sort of recipes. I found a bunch of recipes online for homemade beauty treatments. She is a hairstylist that loves make-up and that type of thing. Something different that might be fun for her to do. I am coping them on recipe cards (while at work I might add) and including some blank ones so she can add to it.
Father-in-law: Homemade blueberry pie. He loves dessert and is very picky so it make getting him gifts very hard. He mentioned the other day that he would like to have a homemade blueberry pie. Obviously this one cannot be done too early. I have never made one before so hopefully it turns out. My sister makes great pie crust so I will get that recipe from her. And then don't you just buy the filling in a can? Couldn't be that hard right? Shawn and I are going to do this together so at the very least it should be fun!
Grandparents in Boise: Framed family picture. I found the frame on Clearance at target for $2. I am so on top of this one that it is already wrapped.
Grandma in Pennsylvania: See above. I am also doing this same thing for Grandma in Pendleton.
I have a few other things that I am doing for friends and people that might be reading...so I will not include those.
For the past few weeks I have been busy making some ornaments that I am really excited about. We are getting our tree this weekend so I will get pictures up as soon as I can! I will let you know more about those then. It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Repurposed
This weekend I was looking for something to finish one of my craft projects. I knew it was in the hall closet (scary!) with a bunch of my other craft stuff because that is on of the only places I have to put all of it. Is it just me or do houses these day just not have enough storage space...but that is a totally different topic.
Anyway, by the time I found what I was looking for I had all my stuff on the floor in the hall. And I also found a ton of stuff I didn't even remember I had. Things even that were on my list to buy the next time I went to Michael's (my new favorite store). It was obvious that I needed a better storage solution for my craft supplies so I could not only find them but also not buy things I didn't really need.
And the answer was right there in the closet too. For a short time I was a consultant for Body Shop at Home. I still had the bag that you packed all your products in to take to parties with you. There is probably a name for it but I don't know it. It has all these clear zippered pouches that Velcro in and it all zips up for transportation or storage. Almost similar to the expensive totes they sell at craft stores for scrapI was keeping it because it was just too nice to throw away but one of those things that just doesn't seem right to take to goodwill. And now I am glad I did!
Now it conveniently and neatly holds all of my craft supplies. A solution to my storage problem and it was free. Not to mentioned I saved money by not buying some supplies I now know I already had. You can't get much better than that.
Anyway, by the time I found what I was looking for I had all my stuff on the floor in the hall. And I also found a ton of stuff I didn't even remember I had. Things even that were on my list to buy the next time I went to Michael's (my new favorite store). It was obvious that I needed a better storage solution for my craft supplies so I could not only find them but also not buy things I didn't really need.
And the answer was right there in the closet too. For a short time I was a consultant for Body Shop at Home. I still had the bag that you packed all your products in to take to parties with you. There is probably a name for it but I don't know it. It has all these clear zippered pouches that Velcro in and it all zips up for transportation or storage. Almost similar to the expensive totes they sell at craft stores for scrapI was keeping it because it was just too nice to throw away but one of those things that just doesn't seem right to take to goodwill. And now I am glad I did!
Now it conveniently and neatly holds all of my craft supplies. A solution to my storage problem and it was free. Not to mentioned I saved money by not buying some supplies I now know I already had. You can't get much better than that.
Manners
Last night we were eating dinner and Jake was ready to be done. As is the case most nights these days. He doesn't want any part of dinner, whether is something he loves, likes, or otherwise.
After throwing food and pushing away his plate and drink and I told him (very nicely I might add) that we use good manners at the table. He looked at me and put his foot up on the table. It was so cute that I had to try so hard not to laugh. He obviously knew exactly what he was doing. Of course at 19 months I don't expect him to have good manners or even really know what they are. But I also don't want to wait until he is older to try to teach him what is appropriate at the table.
So I asked him (again very nicely....while trying not to laugh) to take his foot off the table. He then proceeded to put the other one up there too.
What a funny kid. Everyday I think he couldn't possibly be much cuter....but he is. I can't wait to see what he does tomorrow...but I also think that the days of saying what an easy baby are over and here comes a stubborn toddler with a mind of his own!
After throwing food and pushing away his plate and drink and I told him (very nicely I might add) that we use good manners at the table. He looked at me and put his foot up on the table. It was so cute that I had to try so hard not to laugh. He obviously knew exactly what he was doing. Of course at 19 months I don't expect him to have good manners or even really know what they are. But I also don't want to wait until he is older to try to teach him what is appropriate at the table.
So I asked him (again very nicely....while trying not to laugh) to take his foot off the table. He then proceeded to put the other one up there too.
What a funny kid. Everyday I think he couldn't possibly be much cuter....but he is. I can't wait to see what he does tomorrow...but I also think that the days of saying what an easy baby are over and here comes a stubborn toddler with a mind of his own!
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Holiday Wrapping
One of my favorite things at Christmas is wrapping presents. I love wrapping paper and bows. I like to pick 2 or 3 coordinating papers so the presents look uniform under the tree. And I HATE gift bags!
However, trying to conserve this Christmas and cut down on waste it would seem that gift bags are the better way to go. But I just can't do it. They look awkward under the tree. They are easy to peek into (I would have loved these when I was younger) and for me it takes away part of Christmas that I really love.
But luckily I have a solution. I am wrapping all of my presents in newspaper and topping it off with real/reusable ribbon in either green or red. I think it will look really great under the tree if the ribbon is coordinated with a variety of stripes and polka dots in reds and greens. It will be unique and different.
I will save money on the wrapping paper but will spend a little more on the ribbon so it will probably be a wash. And I am reusing something that would have just been tossed out anyway. And after Christmas it will be totally recyclable and reusable.
Thanks to my Dad for this idea. He used to wrap all our birthday presents in the Sunday funnies. And thanks to my sister for telling me how to spell polka dots!
However, trying to conserve this Christmas and cut down on waste it would seem that gift bags are the better way to go. But I just can't do it. They look awkward under the tree. They are easy to peek into (I would have loved these when I was younger) and for me it takes away part of Christmas that I really love.
But luckily I have a solution. I am wrapping all of my presents in newspaper and topping it off with real/reusable ribbon in either green or red. I think it will look really great under the tree if the ribbon is coordinated with a variety of stripes and polka dots in reds and greens. It will be unique and different.
I will save money on the wrapping paper but will spend a little more on the ribbon so it will probably be a wash. And I am reusing something that would have just been tossed out anyway. And after Christmas it will be totally recyclable and reusable.
Thanks to my Dad for this idea. He used to wrap all our birthday presents in the Sunday funnies. And thanks to my sister for telling me how to spell polka dots!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Pumpkins
2 weekends ago we visited a little pumpkin patch called Spyglass Gardens.
It is actually an All Natural Farm that has pumpkin patch in the fall. What a cool place! We were on our way to Linder Farms but it was so crowded that we didn't want to bother. Especially with at 18 month old who is very independent these days and does not want to hold your hand.
It is actually an All Natural Farm that has pumpkin patch in the fall. What a cool place! We were on our way to Linder Farms but it was so crowded that we didn't want to bother. Especially with at 18 month old who is very independent these days and does not want to hold your hand. The day was beautiful and we had a great time (mostly). Jake was really excited about the pumpkins. He sat on them, laid on them, and tried to pick up even the biggest ones up. They had a hay bale maze that he ran through over and over and chickens that he thought were hilarious.
I think his favorite part had to be the rusty old wagon we got to pull our pumpkins around in. He didn't want to ride in it and he didn't want to push it. But it didn't move well enough for him to pull it so he just stood there hanging onto the handle...If I tried to help he got mad and when we finally had to go (after more than 30 minutes of this) he was so upset! I have never seen him throw such a big fit. He calmed down as soon as he saw the dogs in the owners yard so we quickly paid for our pumpkins an left. At that point I was really glad we decided to go to the much less crowded pumpkin patch!
When we got home we enjoyed even more of the nice day by carving the pumpkin in the back yard. Jake loved to play with the pumpkin guts. And the dogs loved it too....they ate most of them as well as the top of the pumpkin. I managed to save some of the seeds from the dogs to roast which turned out great.
Overall this was the perfect fall weekend. I am excited to go back to Spyglass Gardens through out the the coming year for fresh produce, a farm tour, and maybe a class.
PS.....I have a ton more pictures to post but my computer is slow and I so am I when it comes to this stuff. I will get them up soon. And if you can see the scarf I am wearing...I made it!
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