On the Eleventh Day of Christmas...

...my true love gave to me:

a sick family!

Total bummer:  our kiddos are sick.  Not anything terribly serious, just nasty headcolds.  The Sunbean has a bit of a cough, too.  True to form, she's acting just fine.


Little Dude is another matter altogether.  He's so congested that he can barely breathe.  I've tried everything, and the only thing that's even remotely helpful is just being held by his momma.


So....so much for the 12 Days of Christmas for this momma.  I'm off to hold my baby.


But Merry Christmas to all of you!!

On the Tenth Day of Christmas...

...my true love gave to me:

the Portable North Pole!

 

Have you heard about this site?  It's super-cute.  You just spend 5 minutes inputting your kids' information, and it creates a personalized video from Santa.

 

It's a fun way to celebrate the Santa side of the season.

 

Here's the website.

 

Have fun!

 

 

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On the Ninth Day of Christmas...

...my true love gave to me:

oven mitt tutorials!

Remember the family stocking-stuffer exchange thing?  Here's what I made for some aunts + a bachelor cousin.  They were super easy.  I used a mixture of the following tutorials:

Skip to my Lou

Diary of a Quilter

Heather Bailey Design

I decided to use the Insul-Brite stuff for the inside to make sure they were actually usable.  It was surprisingly easy to work with.

You've still got time to throw together a few of these for a last-minute gift!

 

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On the Eighth Day of Christmas...

...my true love gave to me:

The Land of Nod!

 

Do you know about Land of Nod?  It's a subsidiary of Crate and Barrel for kids.  And it's awesome.  I discovered it last year, and just used it for ideas to re-create on my own.

 

This year, I ordered quite a few gifts and stocking stuffers.  I was impressed by the speed of the free shipping, and how many items ship free.

 

Here are a few of the things I'm gifting this year:

Fuzzy Face Toy

 

Shapes and Shadows Flashlight

 

 

Set Your Sights on Sipping

 

Handle Car

 

Sadly, I don't have a cool giveaway to offer or anything.  I just wanted to let you know about this cute store.  But I did see if you order by the end of the day today, delivery is guaranteed for Christmas.

 

So Happy Shopping, Santas!

 

 

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On the Seventh Day of Christmas...

...my true love gave to me:

a quick coaster gift idea!

Okay, folks, this is thee definition of a quick, cheap, and easy gift.  And it's totally cute.

As I mentioned before, we did a stocking stuffer gift exchange with my aunts and uncles.  I had planned to make some soda can coasters, but that was a giant fail.

So I busted out the Modge Podge and used photos instead:

It was super simple.  I started with the 10-cent tiles from Lowe's, and some 18-cent prints from Walmart (which got flagged as professional photos...score!).  Modge Podge the tile, put the picture on, Modge Podge on top of the picture, and then spray with clear enamel spray paint.

I added some felt to the bottom, tied them up with some twine, and tada!

We gifted these yesterday, and they were a hit.  Give 'em a try!

 

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On the Sixth Day of Christmas...

...my true love gave to me:

the miracle of His birth.

 

Here's another video worth your time.  It's actually a commerical that I saw the other day, and it really touched me.

 

I know each and every baby is a special little miracle.  I've witnessed it twice with my children, but the birth of the Savior was a miracle of epic proportion.

 

And that's a good thing to ponder on Sunday.

 

 

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On the Fifth Day of Christmas...

...my true love gave to me:

a men's tutorial round-up!

This year, with my aunts and uncles, we are doing a 'stocking stuffer' gift exchange.  Basically, every adult buys or makes something to put in the other adults' stockings.  And you know me, this is just a great excuse to try out some new projects.

Except one problem.  Half of those stockings are for men.  And men are notoriously hard to craft for.  I've been searching high and low for some good men's craft tutorials, and here's what I've found to be useful.

Gift Wrap Coasters

Soda Can Coasters

Laptop/iPad Sleeve

PJ Pants

Felt Slippers

Next week, I'll blog about what tutorials I used for my stocking stuffers!

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On the Fourth Day of Christmas...

...my true love gave to me:

Elf on the Shelf ideas!

Do you have an 'Elf on the Shelf'?  I have really wanted this the past few years, but was too cheap to buy the $30 set.  I could have made my own elf, but I really wanted the book, too.

This year, I got lucky and had a $25 reward card from Target burning a hole in my pocket.  The day I went to get it, they were having a deal where you get a $5 gift card to Target when you buy the Elf on the Shelf.  Winning!

Let me tell you...we're loving this new tradition!  It's so cute.  In case you're not familiar with the story, Santa sends an elf to hang out at your house all day, and then the elf reports back to Santa each night.  You'll find the elf in a new place each day.

The Sunbean named our elf 'Nutcracker' and has so far been amused with Nutcracker's antics.  If you haven't started this tradition with your family, you should!  It's been fun for us.  Here's what we've done so far this year:

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On the Third Day of Christmas...

...my true love gave to me:

A Social Network Christmas!

This video has been floating around for a few weeks, and I wanted to share it, too.  It's worth your 3 minutes.

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On the Second Day of Christmas...

....my true love gave to me:

'Festive in 5 or Fewer'!

Forgive me for the cryptic title.  Last week, our Relief Society had a gathering called "Festive in 5 or Fewer".  The idea was that we'd walk away with ideas that cost less than $5, take less than 5 minutes, or require 5 or less things.

It was so fun!  I was asked to demonstrate some creative decorating or gift-wrap ideas.  Gulp.  My first assignment here!  Here's what I came up with, all courtesy of Pinterest.

 This is an old saran-wrap box.  I just covered it with wrapping paper (I used mod podge), filled it with treats, and tied with a bow.

 This peppermint tree is just made from a cardstock cone and, obviously, peppermints.  Just don't try to move it around too much.

 Here's a jar painted with silver spray paint, filled with treats, and tied with a ribbon.

And, my personal favorite, a snow globe containing a gift card.  For this one, use hot glue to attach a gift card and a few Christmas trinkets (dollar store ornaments) to the lid of a jar.  LET IT DRY FOR A FEW HOURS!!  I didn't do that the first time, and had floating trinkets and gift cards.  Then add water and glitter.  Don't let this sit around for more than a week, and I'd include the receipt, just in case.

Hopefully you can use some of these ideas if you need to be festive in 5 or fewer!

The First Day of Christmas

On the First Day of Christmas...

...my true love gave to me:

printable holiday gift tags!

This year, my goal is to be 'wrapped and done by December 1'.  I'm right on track!

Here are the gift tags I used this year, which I created to coordinate with my gift wrap.  Helllloooooo I-have-a-photoshop-addiction.

Here's the image, if you'd like to use my tags.  Just right-click and choose "Save As" to save it to your computer.

 

Check back throughout the holiday season for the rest of my holiday series!

Merry Christmas

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave me to me...a totally easy and free advent calendar, the best Christmas movie ever made, quick gift card cozies, our Christmas tree, a sweet Christmas memory, the story behind the shoes, Mary's Lullaby, homemade Snicker bars, a gift for the pint-sized crafter, a family Christmas tradition, a visit with the jolly old elf, and a Merry Christmas wish!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

I hope your weekend is full of fun with family and friends, and thoughts of the miracle of our Savior's birth.

A Visit with Santa

  On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave me to me...a totally easy and free advent calendar, the best Christmas movie ever made, quick gift card cozies, our Christmas tree, a sweet Christmas memory, the story behind the shoes, Mary's Lullaby, homemade Snicker bars, a gift for the pint-sized crafter, a family Christmas tradition, and a visit with the jolly old elf.

So, here's the story.  I haven't really been talking up Santa much, just because I really don't think the Sunbean is old enough (almost 2.5) to really grasp the concept, and if this is one more year where Santa can get away with being a slacker, then I'm all about it.  I've got some stocking stuffers, but nothing fantastic.

But for the past week or so, she's been dying to see Santa.  Huh?  I still don't understand how she even knows she could 'see Santa'.  I was hoping we'd see a Santa somewhere, but we haven't.  I mentioned it to my parents, and so they're on their way over now.  Yes, we're those crazies who are going to the mall on December 23rd (strike one) to see Santa (strike two).

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Well, we're back now, and it went surprisingly well.  I was thrilled to find that it was free if you brought your own camera (which was nicer than the one they were using and I'm more than confident I have better camera skills than their photographer).  The Sunbean was a little timid, but climbed up to have a picture with the old man.  She's been talking about it all day, and says, "Santa is amazing!".  Love that child.

I loved this shot of the Sunbean getting a sneak peek.

This is probably the best shot I got.  I forgot to change my white balance setting to reflect the lighting in the mall, so that stinks, but I love her little face in this one.  Cutie little girl. 
I wish I would have had about 50 of those outfits with me.  I could have made some serious bank.

We followed up with lunch at Chipotle...a fantastic morning!!

Family Tradition: Christmas Pajamas

 

  On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave me to me...a totally easy and free advent calendar, the best Christmas movie ever made, quick gift card cozies, our Christmas tree, a sweet Christmas memory, the story behind the shoes, Mary's Lullaby, homemade Snicker bars, a gift for the pint-sized crafter, and a family Christmas tradition.

When the Sunbean was a baby, I started a family Christmas tradition.  I make pajamas for the family, and then we open them either or Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.  This certainly isn't a unique tradition, but it's fun to look back at pictures and see the pajamas I've made.  Here's 2008 and 2009:

 

Here's hoping I actually keep up with the tradition and we have a fun collection of Christmas pajama pictures.  I don't make them holiday-themed since we're opening them on Christmas.  Otherwise we'd look like goons wearing Christmas trees and snowmen in March.

This year's are wrapped and under the tree, and they include a matching pair for Bitty Baby.  It's not too late to bust out that sewing machine....

Quick Gift for Kids

 On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave me to me...a totally easy and free advent calendar, the best Christmas movie ever made, quick gift card cozies, our Christmas tree, a sweet Christmas memory, the story behind the shoes, Mary's Lullaby, homemade Snicker bars, and a gift for the pint-sized crafter.

While trolling around on Land of Nod the other week (or was it the other day?  I'm pretty much addicted), I stumbled across this fantastic idea.  An art jar for kids.  If you have a kid in your life like mine, they love to craft.  And if you're like me, you don't love to share your craft supplies.

A fantastic idea?  Yes.  A fantastic price?  Heck no.  Since I'm ridiculously cheap ultra resourceful, figured it would be easy and wayyyyy cheaper to do this on your own.  I'm thinking a big jar would be great, like one of those vats of animal crackers.  I'm sure you could just buy some type of container, but I'd like to think you'd all just recycle something you already have.  Just call me Mother Earth.

So you've got your jar (or maybe jars?) and then all you've got to do is stuff them full of fun stuff, like:

• pipe cleaners
• cool scissors
• glue
• pom pons
• googly eyes
• popsicle sticks
• buttons
• glitter (if you're brave)
• markers
• crayons
• paper
• anything else that looks like it could make a ginormous mess.

After that's all done, you just need a label.  Because I just found a new place to download new fonts, I decided to share the wealth and offer a free pdf of my label.  Because I'm nice like that.  So just click, print, and enjoy.  Feel free to use it for gifting, but let's not go ahead and sell these jars with my label, okay?

Enjoy!

craft jar

Homemade Snicker Bars

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave me to me...a totally easy and free advent calendar, the best Christmas movie ever made, quick gift card cozies, our Christmas tree, a sweet Christmas memory, the story behind the shoes, Mary's Lullaby, and homemade Snicker bars.

I spent all of last week in the kitchen, working my tail off to make 20 bags full of homemade treats.  Phew!  Glad that's over.  The homemade Snicker bars were pretty fantastic and ridiculously easy, so here you go:

1  pkg. chocolate chips
 2 tbsp. vegetable shortening
 1 (14 oz.) pkg. caramels
 5 tbsp. butter
 2 tbsp. water
 1 c. coarsely chopped peanuts

Melt over hot (not boiling) water,  chocolate
chips and shortening. Stir until chocolate melts
and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat. Pour one-half of
melted chocolate into an 8 inch square foil-lined pan;
spread evenly. Refrigerate until firm (about 15 minutes).

Return remaining chocolate mixture to low heat. Combine over
boiling water, caramels, butter and water. Stir until
caramels melt and mixture is smooth. Stir in nuts until well
blended. Pour into the chocolate-lined pan. Spread evenly.
Refrigerate until tacky (about 15 minutes).

Top with remaining melted chocolate, spread evenly to cover
caramel filling. Return to refrigerator and chill until firm
(at least 1 hour). Cut into the desired size pieces and
return to refrigerator until ready to serve. Makes about 2
1/2 dozen candies.

FYI:  This only makes 2.5 dozen if you cut them into too-small pieces.  I got just under 2 dozen.  I also doubled the chocolate.

Mary's Lullaby

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave me to me...a totally easy and free advent calendar, the best Christmas movie ever made, quick gift card cozies, our Christmas tree, a sweet Christmas memory, the story behind the shoes, and Mary's Lullaby.

My Primary children sang this today in sacrament meeting.  I responded with many tears.

Lullaby, lullaby, my little one.

Lullaby, my child so dear.

Thy precious life has just begun;

Thy mother holds thee near.

While Joseph watches through the night,

A star reflects thy radiant light.

Lullaby, lullaby, my little one.

Lullaby, my child so dear.

Thy gentle head shall wear a crown,

For thy Father is the King.

Thy tender hands, so tiny now,

Have blessings great to bring.

Let all creation join my song,

For peace and love this night are born.

Lullaby, lullaby, my little one.

Lullaby, my child so dear.

So sorry, I didn't save the sources of my photos.  A few are Greg Olsen.