Chocolate on my Cranium

Wordfull Wednesday Winners

2009-12-16T01:43:00.000-08:00

Have you noticed we haven't done a Wordfull Wednesday for a while? I'm taking a break until the new year. I've got some really good writing topics lined up. Really good. Here's a hint: It has to do with a 15 year anniversary. A prize goes to the first person who guesses correctly!

Now I haven't forgotten about awarding prizes for October's and November's Wordfull Wednesday participants. So without further ado...

October's randomly selected winner is Lucy from andalucy and November's winner is Momza from Momza's House. They will each be receiving a beautiful hand bound leather journal from Earthworks Journals based in the UK.

Lucy is in the process of writing a book and Momza writes poetry and is a professional calligrapher. I thought these journals would be perfect for both of them. Wouldn't you love to inherit an old leather journal that your ancestor had written thoughts, poems, or story lines in? Their children can thank me later. ☺

© 2007-2009 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved

December 15: my mittens

2009-12-15T18:19:00.000-08:00

I love, love, love these mittens recycled from an old sweater and made by Dana.

© 2007-2009 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved

December 14: Entertain

2009-12-14T16:49:00.000-08:00

Purchased from Arts of the Heart, this nativity puzzle has been a HUGE hit with the littles.

© 2007-2009 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved

The Christmas Spirit

2009-12-13T01:46:00.000-08:00

How are your Christmas preparations coming? Are you stressed yet? Where is your focus?

Mary's Heart by Liz Lemon Swindle

Christ: The Real Gift of Christmas is a wonderful resource to help you and your family focus on Jesus Christ. It has coloring pages for the littles, music, videos, and ideas for a more worshipful Christmas.

There are also several family home evening lessons in my archives.
Christmas in the Book of Mormon
Names of Christ
Sing A Long Christmas Story
Symbols of Christmas

Have a cheer filled Sabbath!

© 2007-2009 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved

December 12: Snowfort Fun

2009-12-12T12:50:00.000-08:00

A whole series of photos today. It snowed yesterday and most of the night. Today was clear and bright. Perfect for a snowball fight!

© 2007-2009 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved

Winners of the It's All About the Baby CD

2009-12-11T09:05:00.000-08:00

Thanks for the great response to the giveaway! The randomly selected winners of the It's All About the Baby CD are:

JRoberts from Welcome to the Madness

Debra Low who has a private blog.

Mamava

and Melanie from Heaven or Hales

Congratulations!!!

Please e-mail your addresses to chocolateonmycranium [at] live [dot] com so I can get them shipped out to you.

© 2007-2009 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved

December 10: Warmth

2009-12-10T12:10:00.000-08:00

December 9: Munch

2009-12-09T08:41:00.000-08:00

December 8: Brush

2009-12-08T21:40:00.000-08:00

December 7: Looking Glass

2009-12-08T20:27:00.000-08:00

It's All About the Baby - Christmas CD Giveaway!!!

2009-12-06T20:48:00.000-08:00

*****THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED*****

Regular readers of my blog know how much I enjoy giving handmade, either by me or made by someone else. The time involved in creating, knowing someone chose to use their time to produce something for you is priceless.

Today I've got a special treat for you, a different kind of handmade gift - the gift of MUSIC. Christmas music to be more specific. As soon as Thanksgiving is over we play Christmas music practically non stop. I enjoy listening to old favorites, adding my voice, belting out familiar lyrics. Discovering new tunes is a treasured pastime. I've found a treasure to share with you.

One of my blog readers put a little bug in my ear about a new Christmas CD filled with ten original songs and three arrangements of familiar Christmas carols. I meandered over to It's All About the Baby to hear some of the songs while reading about the journey Victoria McDaniel has taken in writing, producing and recording this CD. The lyrics she has shared bear pure testimony of that wondrous night so long ago. The songs cover all different perspectives: Mary, the mother, Joseph, and even us. Victoria's arrangements of Silent Night and O, Holy Night are quite unexpectedly, very upbeat. Take a listen to O, Holy Night (scroll to the bottom of the post). My fingers itch to play just hearing the piano in this song! And, the cello, mmmm....heavenly.

I bought the CD. Actually I bought two, one for me and one for you.

And guess what? Victoria sent me three more. FOUR of you will get to own this lovely, took hours upon hours of talented people's time, gift of music.

Rules for entering:

*Leave a comment telling me what your favorite Christmas song or carol is to listen to.
*You can even tell me who sings your favorite version of the song for an extra entry.
*Spread the word on Facebook or Twitter and come back leaving another comment telling me you did so for another entry.
*Blog about the giveaway and get 10 additional entries. Just let me know in the comment section with a link to your blog post.
*That's a total of 14 entries you can earn! Although you can only win one. :)
*Comments will be open until Wednesday, December 9 at 5 pm PST. I will notify winners and also announce them on the blog. I will ship anywhere so international commenters are welcome to enter!

If you are like me and want a CD NOW and don't want to wait to see if you won one by all means go and order a CD from Victoria. They are only $10.99. That's a steal! She's getting down to her last few hundred, and they are selling fast. If she has to order more made, it will take about ten days, and since we are already in the first week of December, that cuts it close to get CDs before Christmas.

© 2007-2009 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved

December 6: Envision

2009-12-06T17:30:00.000-08:00

I Heart Faces Week 48: Sweet Dreams

2009-12-06T17:13:00.000-08:00

Hershey was blessed today at church. It was beautiful. She didn't cry but was awake and attentive. Afterwards she slept peacefully, looking like an angel. I sewed her blessing gown just as I made each of her sisters. Hopefully it will become a treasured heirloom for her.

Catch more snoozes here.

© 2007-2009 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved

December 5: Dream

2009-12-05T16:39:00.000-08:00

I so enjoyed posting a photo everyday in November I decided to do it again in December. I've joined the December Photo Project hosted by View From the Prairie Box. I'm only 5 days behind!

Chenille Stick Snowflakes

2009-12-03T21:39:00.000-08:00

The advent calendar activity for Thursday was to make these easy chenille stick snowflakes. Here's the five year old, Cookie, demonstrating how to make them.

Step 1: Cut 6 white or silver chenille sticks in half.

Step 2: Gather all but one stick together in a bunch. Wrap the one around the middle of the others as tightly as you can twisting the ends together.

Step 3: Spread the chenille sticks out in all different directions to make a snowflake.
(Don't mind the green paint on her fingers!)

Optional Step 4: For an added touch you can string on clear, white, or blue tri-beads to each stick.

My kids found the funnest way to hang them on the tree was to just throw them. No hooks required!

This was so easy and fun. We were done in 10 minutes with hardly any clean up.

© 2007-2009 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved

The Symbols of Christmas

2009-12-03T08:29:00.000-08:00

"Christmas is such a joyful time of year. The spirit of brotherly kindness and charity is more evident in the hearts of men. We feel a greater desire to serve and give to others. Unfortunately, the true meaning of Christmas and what we, as Christians, celebrate can easily be lost because of all the commercialism that surrounds this holiday in our culture. To counteract that and bring the true meaning of Christmas back into focus we like to do “Christmas School” for the month of December. . .This year for part of our Christmas school we will learn about 12 symbols of Christmas and how they point us to Jesus."

Read more of my article at Heart of the Matter today. There's a Christmas Symbol unit study to download!

© 2007-2009 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved

Printable Advent Calendar

2009-12-01T14:51:00.001-08:00

I meant to post this earlier but a sweet little Hershey baby had other plans. She thought mother should hold her all morning. It was so nice to have an excuse to snuggle on the couch. :)

I fancy advent calendars of all types. We have a big one my father made from desk organizer boxes. Others that are trees on which you hang a star or ornament each day. My children made some using ribbon and gum last year. When I was little I loved the ones that had a small chocolate hidden behind a door or window of a Christmas scene picture. I think it's the counting down to Christmas, building anticipation, that makes advent calendars so enjoyable.

Here are three different printable advent calendars I've designed. One is geared more towards children, one features vintage Santa images, and the last one (my personal favorite) has vintage Victorian Christmas images. I created these because there is just something fun about opening a box to see what picture is hidden behind it. A little cutting with a craft knife and some gluing are involved. It literally takes only 5-10 minutes to put one together.

I also noticed today while blog hopping that mibostudio also has a printable advent calendar. Very pretty retro pictures!

If Scribd hasn't worked for you in the past I've also included a link to just download the pdf file from my google pages. Scroll the Scribd window to preview what is included in the pdf file.

Click to download the file -PRINTABLE ADVENT CALENDAR PDF FILE

Printable Advent Calendar

**I should explain why I only do 24 days instead of 25. I've found that we get so excited on Christmas Day that we don't bother to open the 25th box or put up the 25th ornament on our advent calendars. 24 days it is!

© 2007-2009 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved

I Heart Faces Week 47: Tushies

2009-12-01T12:35:00.000-08:00

Happy Scrap Quilt Giveaway at Marie-Madeline

2009-11-30T17:33:00.000-08:00

See the beautiful quilts above? Marie-Madeline Studios is giving one of them away! Head on over there to enter for your chance to win. The happy scrap quilt giveaway ends Dec. 13th. Can you guess which one is my favorite?

My Gratitude List Day 30

2009-11-30T09:19:00.000-08:00

Day 30: Mi Amor. 15 years of marriage, 8 children, 5 houses, and two farms later and we're still madly in love. He's my complement in every way.

My Gratitude List Day 29

2009-11-30T09:15:00.000-08:00

Day 29: First Smiles. Love those big toothless grins when babies realize they can "talk" back through facial expressions and coos.

My Gratitude List Day 28

2009-11-30T08:59:00.000-08:00

Day 28: The Smell of Pine Nuts Roasting. Around this time of year raw pine nuts start showing up in bulk at the local grocery stores for about $10 a pound. Way to expensive for the amount we eat around here. It's much more fun to go up in the mountains, find a good pinion pine cluster, lay down tarps, shake the trees to collect pine cones, and then shake the cones to collect the nuts. We haven't done that for several years. I think I'm going to mark it on the calendar to do next year. Thank goodness for good friends who share their bounty. We roast them in the oven on a foiled lined baking sheet. The smell is pure pine heaven!

My Gratitude List Day 27

2009-11-27T12:30:00.000-08:00

Day 27: My Mother. Thirty-two years ago today she brought me into this world. She has taught me so much about being happy, serving others, being self-less. She's the perfect example of a mother. Someday, I hope to be just like her.

I love you, Mom!

© 2007-2009 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved

My Gratitude List Day 26

2009-11-26T13:47:00.000-08:00

Day 26: Mornings. The sun filtering in greeting the new day with fresh prospects of special moments yet to be experienced.

Handmade Stocking Stuffer Ideas

2009-11-25T12:11:00.000-08:00

I despise the commercialism that surrounds Christmas. To avoid it as much as we can we make our Christmas as handmade as possible. The hardest part for me is coming up with things to fill the kids' stockings. This year I decided to prepare ahead of time so I wouldn't be running to the store at the last minute to fill their stockings with store-bought goods. There are so many wonderful ideas out there for handmade goodies I thought I'd share what I've found to make for stocking stuffers. If you don't have time to make these I've also provided links to those who sell their handmade products so you can at least support the handmade movement and not Walmart. :)

See ya after the Thanksgiving weekend! (I still have my gratitude posts scheduled to publish throughout the next few days)

Stocking Stuffers for Babies

Hat and Scarf from Sweater at Skip to My Lou (or buy from Koi'Lili's or Twisted Yarn)

Basic Bib from Nested (or buy from Francesca Baby or Baby Chunk Monk)

Bitty Booties from Heather Bailey (or buy from Franny & June)

Cloth Shoes from stardustshoes (or buy from Wee Pereas)

Soft Baby Shoes by On Pins and Needles (or buy from Bugaloo)

Baby Tie at sei lifestyle (or buy from Little Guy Ties)

Stocking Stuffers for Children

Scrap Paper Memory Game from Creative Chicks (or buy from Burlap & Blue or db by Design)

Fabric Scrap Memory Game from inchmark (buy from New England Quilter)

Sidewalk Chalk from Mad Maggie Designs

Velcro Catch Ball at Craftzine

Felt Mr. Potato Head from Make It and Love It

Mini Coloring Books by Chez Beeper Bebe

Crayon Rolls by me (buy from Happy Bebee & Beeyond)

Just Add Water Paint Cards by inspired ideas

Covered Barrettes from Angry Chicken (buy from LuLuBug Bowtique or MullyBeans)

Car Cozies by My Little Gems (buy from Little Gems)

Little Boy's Tie at the purl bee (buy from the belle and the beau or Apple & Ivy)

Boy's Bow Tie from 7 Layer Studio (buy from Me & Matilda)

Stocking Stuffers for Teens

iPod case from Bits and Pieces (buy from Egoor England)

iPod Pouch from Made by Petchy (buy from Gadget Armour)

Little Boxy Pouch by three bears (buy from Borsa Bella or Sugarcane)

Reversible Headbands by thelongthread (buy from Precocious or SugarChicBaby)

Corner Bookmark from kootoyoo (buy from Seasonal Delights or Judy's Crafts)

Stocking Stuffers for Moms

Tissue Holder from Skip to My Lou (buy from Crafty Dad or Bobbin Along)

Wild Flower Pincushion by Anna Maria Horner (buy from The Daily Pincushion)

Mini Photo Albums at ShutterSisters (buy from TypeWink or AliDesign)

Body Scrubs (buy from Mad City Soap or Simple Traditions)

Bookplates at My Home Library. Explore this site! It's full of printable bookplates in color and B&W from wonderful illustrators. (buy from Fall into Pink or Montserrat)

© 2007-2009 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved