Joyful Holidays

Spring fortune cookies

2010-02-15T07:00:00.000-05:00

To make these cutesy fortune cookies visit Kind over matter to download the pdf and see directions on how to craft these.

Valentine paper dolls

2010-02-12T07:58:00.000-05:00

Over at Chocolate on My Cranium you can snag some cute paper dolls for your little valentine to play with.

St. Valentine matchbox craft

2010-02-09T20:29:00.001-05:00

Over at Paper Dali, you can grab the directions for this matchbox craft. This little matchbox may be tiny but it holds a little Saint Valentine picture and a mini peanut butter cup, two sweet things that go great together.

You Rock - Valentine candy bags

2010-02-05T08:00:00.000-05:00

These are perfect valentines for your children to give out - especially boys. No complaints from my boys, since there aren't little hearts with "love ya" and "marry me?" on them. Thankfully, I've found a better alternative. You rock! Visit The Crafts Dept. for instructions on making this valentine treat bags.

Glittered Hearts

2010-02-03T07:00:00.002-05:00

photo courtesy of Skip to My Lou

I plan on making a few of these for a Valentines Day tea we are having at our house with a group of little girls. These are just adorable. I can imagine them hanging in my dining room with little light up heart lights all around. You can see the instructions at Skip to My Lou. These are made out of cereal boxes, glue and glitter.

Free Printable Valentines

2010-02-02T16:58:00.007-05:00

Yep, that's right! These are free printable Valentines for those special people in your life. Download them from Handmade and Homebaked.

Origami Hearts

2010-02-01T08:00:00.000-05:00

photo credit Wild Olive

This video origami tutorial shows how to fold a strip piece of paper into a heart. Follow along with the demonstration to see the necessary fold to recreate this three-dimensional paper heart.

Cupcake Doilie Skirts

2010-01-29T07:00:00.000-05:00

Seriously, how cute are these? Want these right now don't you? Head on over to No Fuss Fabulous.

My Homeschool Blog Has Moved

2010-01-28T17:18:00.000-05:00

And, I'm giving away some goodies if you follow my blog, follow me on fb or twitter, or in a reader. Just wanted to let you know just in case you weren't informed yet! My new homeschool blog home is
http://www.thetiethatbindsus.com

Fuschia and Pink Carnations - Dye Them Yourself

2010-01-28T00:37:00.000-05:00

photo credit Lucas Allen

Remember the science lesson when you put celery in a glass of colored water to see how plants drink water?

The same principle applies to white carnations (and other plants for that matter). They will turn into the color of water that you soak them in.

Now, go grab some white carnations or daisies. Make sure you trim them before you soak them in colored water. Better yet, have your children try to guess what will happen when you put them in the colored water. Enjoy these pretty little things.

Black eyed peas - a New Year tradition

2009-12-30T14:57:00.000-05:00

photo courtesy of Family Fun

Just in case you haven' heard, Hoppin' John is a southern tradition that brings on "good luck" in the new year. Here's a recipe I found in cute parfait glasses, care of Family Fun magazine.

Ingredients:

2 bacon strips, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 cups chopped red or green bell pepper
1/4 cup diced onion
1 tomato, chopped
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
Salt and pepper to taste

2 cups fresh or frozen black-eyed peas
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups cooked rice
1 cup grated Cheddar cheese
Sour cream and cherry tomatoes (for garnish)

Instructions:

In a medium saucepan, saute the bacon for 5 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup of the bell pepper, the onion, the chopped tomato, the chili powder, the salt and pepper, and the black-eyed peas. Pour in the broth and bring the mixture to a low boil, then simmer it uncovered for 1 hour or more, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is absorbed.
Layer the peas, rice, cheese, and remaining bell pepper in parfait glasses. Top with sour cream and a cherry tomato. Serves 6 to 8.

Wishes can come true

2009-12-30T14:53:00.000-05:00

Have you looked back over the past year and wished you had saved money to do something special together? Start a vacation, camping or movie fund for this coming year. Get everyone to pitch in and make it a family affair. Working on it together it will make it all the more memorable. Even if you can afford it without the little ones helping to pitch in, they will be so proud that they got to contribute too!

A new, New Year's tradition

2009-12-30T14:47:00.001-05:00

How about for this New Years day, you spend the entire day trying new things? Try a new food, go somewhere new, wear your hair a different way, really anything goes! How fun it will be to not know what the day will hold?

Waiting

2009-12-22T06:00:00.001-05:00

Peppermint bark recipe - my hubby's favorite

2009-12-21T04:00:00.000-05:00

Ingredients: candy canes, chocolate and peppermint flavoring (optional).

Place candy canes in a plastic bag and hammer into 1/4-inch chunks or smaller. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Combine candy cane chunks with chocolate (add peppermint flavoring at this point if desired.) Pour mixture onto a cookie sheet layered with parchment or waxed paper and place in the refrigerator for 45 minutes or until firm. Remove from cookie sheet and break into pieces (like peanut brittle.)

Christmas pillowcases

2009-12-20T18:36:00.001-05:00

I apologize for such a dark picture. I finished these pillow cases at night, while the children were sleeping. Without proper lighting I had to photograph them before I tucked them away for Christmas Eve. I didn't want my children to see them, because I want them to be a surprise. I may or may not have sewn in secret pockets to tuck in Christmas wishes. These pillow cases are going to get brought out as a new tradition each year.

Is that Marge Simpson? Yup. And, her hair is all decked out in garland and shiny Christmas balls. Bart and the whole clan is there. Don't ask.

Felt play food

2009-12-18T04:30:00.001-05:00

Inspired by, my friend, Angie's felted cookies at Many Little Blessings, I tried my hand at felted ravioli's for my darling two year old's play kitchen. I decoupaged a brie cheese box to house the little tasties with some scrapbooking paper. I'm so proud of these little things. I can't explain it. I keep peeking on them just to make sure they are still there. Angie, can you explain the madness?

Frugal Christmas Gifts - snow globes

2009-12-16T16:01:00.000-05:00

We made these "snow globes" this week. The children liked this fun craft and are trying to decide whether to keep their globe or give them as gifts. We have several. And, as cute as they are, I don't want a globe village.

The material for this are:

an unused or unwanted glass (we went to a thrift store to get some)
miniature ornaments from the craft store (snow men, trees, baby Jesus, etc...)
cotton balls
little round mirrors for the lake
hot glue gun and glue
cardboard

Directions for making these:

Turn your glass upside down and trace it onto cardboard. This will be the bottom.
Unroll the cotton ball and spread it out on the cardboard circle. Then glue it down.
Cut the hanging threads from the mini-ornaments and glue these into place. Give it a little shake to make sure they are secure. If they are not, add more glue.
Glue the little mirrors down.
Place the glass on top of the whole scene and glue this in place. Be careful to not leave "spider webs" inside the glass caused by the hot glue gun.

Grandparents Survival Kit

2009-12-14T05:30:00.000-05:00

Photo courtesy of simplyvintagegirl.com

Want to make something special for the grandparents? How about a survival kit.

Here's some things you may want to include in a Grandparents Survival Kit. Get creative and think of a few yourself too. And grandma, stop reading this post right now or it will spoil the fun!

Safety pin - To remind you to keep safe.
Lifesavers - Because grandparents can be "lifesavers".
Marble - For the ones your about to loose.
Pencil - To write down your memories to share with the grandkids
Tissue - For cleaning up little messes
Candle - To remind you that you're the light in your grandkids eyes.
Mint - Always remember you are worth a mint.
Sugar Cube - For that extra burst of energy.
Sandpaper - For when the grandkids get a little rough.
Extra money - Spoiling kids can be expensive.
Sunglasses- For discreet granny naps.
Extra eyes - You will need eyes in the back of your head.

Make a Mini Tinsel Tree

2009-12-13T04:30:00.001-05:00

photo courtesy of Crafty Crow

Oh my. Aren't these darling? Go here, for the tutorial in pictures. I want one in every room. If you want to get really fancy, make some miniature garlands:

miniature tree garland

seed bead garland

Frugal Christmas Gifts - body scrub

2009-12-12T05:30:00.000-05:00

This body scrub is too die for! It is a brown sugar and spice concoction that you rub into your skin, let sit for a few minutes and rinse. Your skin will be left feeling so smooth and smelling so good. To see how to make this perfect gift for your mother or a dear friend visit Bake at 350 by clicking here.

The Legend of the Christmas Tree

2009-12-11T06:00:00.000-05:00

We read The Legend of the Christmas Tree written by Rick Osborne today. It is a story about a family that goes to cut down their own tree for Christmas. They come across a tree farm that has 3 beautiful trees and a special box that sat beneath one of them. This family learns about the legend of the Christmas tree through the retelling of the farmer. They also start a new tradition of their own.

I highly recommend reading this book, because doesn't everyone wonder why we put trees inside our house at Christmas? After reading this book we made these trees.

The supplies that you need for making these trees are:

hot glue gun
styrofoam cones
pipe cleaners (red and white)
ribbon in different colors
sequins of different sizes
small beads
straight pins with balls on the end
green felt
gold plastic stars

Cut the felt in a triangle shape, large enough to cover the styrofoam cone.
Hot glue the felt to the cone, folding the bottom and top edge over.
Hot glue or pin ribbons or twisted red and white pipe cleaners for garland.
Make ornaments by sticking a straight pin through a bead, then a sequin, then a slighly larger sequin.
Glue a star to the top. (or in our case we had to pin ours through a hole in the bottom of the star)

Isn't our forest pretty? And look, it snowed.

11 Days of Give-aways! (day 11)

2009-12-11T05:30:00.002-05:00

Hello crafty moms! Here you have the chance to win 8 lovely organza flowers that you can add as an embellishment to anything you are making for the holidays. These are made with love by Supplier. She also has a jewelry store on etsy called Ayse Tugrul, which is equally unique.

The Rules:
To enter the contest you can do one or any of the following. Just be sure to leave a separate comment for each thing that you do. I will pick a winner using random.org at 11pm est.
1. Leave a comment. 2. Leave a link to this give-away on facebook. 3. Blog about today's give-away. 4. Place a button in the side bar of your blog.

5. Twitter about today's give-away.

6. Follow this blog.
7. Leave a comment with what colors you would like if you should win.

Frugal Christmas Gifts - mini wool wreaths

2009-12-10T06:30:00.002-05:00

Grab some wool sweaters that your children have outgrown, or head over to your local thrift store and pick a few colorful ones up. Remember, they must be wool. Next, you need to wash them in hot water and dry them so that you "ruin" them or felt them.

After that you cut 1" squares or use a rotary cutter and mat to cut 1" squares out of the sweaters. I used jewelry wire that I had laying around, but you could use floral wire to bend into the shape of a circle. The easy part is stringing the squares on the wire. You do NOT need to get these straight. They look better when they are crooked. I simply twisted the wire together at the end and strung the wreath up by a pretty ribbon. I found this craft at Bella Dia, here, and she gives you a couple of finishing options and a list of the items that you need.

11 Days of Give-aways! (day 10)

2009-12-10T05:00:00.001-05:00

Aren't these gift tags adorable?

So you wanna win these, don't 'cha? Made by Jackie has some fabulous tags, cards and gift boxes for giving to all those special people in your life.

5. Twitter about today's give-away.

6. Follow this blog.

7. Note which items in Made by Jackie's store that you just can't live without.