Christmas Crafts

Everyone knows I love to make crafts. For the last 5+ years I've channeled most of my crafty enthusiasm into paper crafting. It is just so much fun! I held a Handmade Holidays class last month and had a fabulous time. Here are a few of the gift projects, plus a few home décor items that I did for myself.

I'm making one like this as a gift for Cooper's teacher. The magnet/dry erase board is store bought, but I made all the magnets. They were so much fun! I like the green because it looks so Christmas-y with the ribbon but the ribbon can easily be changed out for any season. I thought the stand looked nice, but you can see it left dents in the board, so I wouldn't recommend it.

Now that I've become a vinyl addict I am always looking for surfaces to put it on. Rub ons and vinyls adhere best to matte surfaces like this plate (Dollar Tree). I love the contrast of the blue and brown.

I've been wanting a hand-made advent calendar. My mom had one made of felt when I was growing up and it is such a strong Christmas memory for me. I made this from a set of tin wedding favors. I used my circle cutter for the paper and the magnets on the back. Then I did the numbers in painted chipboard. It all fits neatly on the fridge and we love it! Even better, this project took me less than an hour from start to finish. Next year I'll get more creative with what's inside each tin, including treats, toys, holiday traditions and service ideas (right now there are just kisses).


This card is actually made with a Stampin' Up! set called Pumpkin Patch. I will NOT take credit for the idea -- it is totally cased and then Cori-fied. :-) Who would have thought those little pumpkins would make such perfect ornaments?


Another great case. These little "treat tents" are made from two die-cut tags. They are simple enough that our primary kids (some as young as 3) made them without any trouble. They are the perfect size for a snack bag of M&Ms!


This fun Christmas decoration can be made with any collage frame. I happened to find this two-toned version at the dollar tree. A combination of metallic ink, rub ons, and punches gives this some dimension, texture, and bling. Don't you love the new ornament stamp set with a perfectly coordinating punch?? So fun!

When I saw the Build-A-Bear die cut sets for the Big Shot it was love at first sight! I ordered some magnetic paper, cut out my bears and their little clothes and have felt like a little girl again playing dress up! I am polite enough to share with my boys, and they love them too. I had a few of these CD-sized tins that make a perfect home for my bears. I also found some decorative metal serving trays at Dollar Tree that make a good surface for the magnets and Walmart has some Gingerbread Men that come in their own tin -- a perfect little place for the bears after the Gingerbread Man is gobbled up. I made 20 of these for Cooper's classmates because they were so easy and so cute!

This was a Super Saturday craft. I had no part in the designing, but I did put it all together! I especially love that the blocks are reversible so you can display any three-letter word or phrase you choose for the rest of the year. The tops are cabinet hardware. So clever.

Luckily for me someone else cut the blocks, sanded, painted, and then sanded again. When I showed up for Super Saturday all I had to do was modge-podge the papers on and then rub on the vinyl words and numbers. The kids LOVE this!

This is my favorite creation this season. It was super simple and looks fabulous. I'm addicted and have at least two more of these planned. I especially love decorations that help us remember Christ's birth that we are celebrating.

Comments

For anyone who has tried to leave comments I think I finally resolved the issue. Comment away! :-)

Winter in Indiana

Winter finally arrived in Indiana this week. The temperatures plunged, snow fell, and we stayed inside sipping hot cocoa from our new Cocoa Latte machine (thanks Christy!).

What do two boys do inside all afternoon? Build a fort, of course! For anyone who missed this important part of childhood, here's a how-to:

*Gather up every possible pillow, sheet, and blanket in the house.

*Bring said pillows, sheets, and blankets to pre-determined location, preferably where it will be least convenient for parents trying to get other things done.

*Create a fort with only one entrance, preferably too small for any adults.

*Get mad when your brother knocks down your fort.

*Start over.

Chris got in on this action one Saturday (which probably explains why it's in their bedroom instead of the living room or my bedroom). A daddy-assisted fort is a happy, happy thing!

Ready for Christmas!

It's not Christmas yet.... However, we think it's fun to celebrate St Nicholas Day (Dec 6th) European style by letting the kids put out their shoes. "St Nicholas" stops by and fills them up with toys and candy.

Just a typical moment at our house. You never know which action figure might be guarding the toilet. Don't worry -- Spidey's got your back!

First Snowfall.

Luckily I happened to be out during the short window between when the snow fell and when it melted.

Once Jasper saw the snow he couldn't get outside fast enough. Snow, snow, snow!

I took a day to go shopping for my sister Stacie's wedding. It didn't take long to figure out that bridesmaids are expected to look like hookers. But I finally found a dress that can at least be altered into something I will feel comfortable in. And luckily shopping for the boys was much more simple. Two black suits, two white shirts, and two ties matched to the bridesmaids color swatch. Whew. And no, my ringbearer is not for hire!

Fall Fun

Even with the craziness of unpacking and getting settled, our fall was full of fun moments.

Now that we have a front-load washer/dryer Jasper never has to let his blanket out of sight! It's better than television :-).

Dave and Carole came to visit in October. Despite it being the coldest weekend all fall, we had a great time! We finally took a break from unpacking to enjoy some of the area around us. Many towns have small festivals in the fall. This one was in a small Indiana river town (even smaller than Madison!) called Bethlehem. It was very small-town festival like. The boys loved the tractors and antique cars.

A cold day at Clifty Falls. This amazing area 5 miles from home is a state park. It is breathtaking.

Later in October was Cooper's Fall Break. Chris took a day off and we headed to Indianpolis to the Children's Museum. It was a lot more fun with my own kids than I remember it being with 60 4th graders! They were having a Star Wars exhibit that had all three of my boys jumping with excitement, drooling over the costumes and light sabers, and begging for pictures.

Here is a fall view of the lake from our house. I like the composition of this picture, but it doesn't do the colors justice. They were so vibrant!

Cooper's friend Caleb was a UPS man for Halloween. They live down a little lane and don't get any trick-or-treaters so he brought the treats to us -- inside a UPS box! How clever is that? Caleb lives just down the road and is in Cooper's class at school. They have become good buddies.

We also enjoyed some Halloween fun at the school carnival. I got to bring out the dark side and use the Darth Vader costume. The storm trooper is local law enforcement. He had quite the authentic costume!

One day I caught myself saying, "Cooper wants to be Luke Skywalker for Halloween. Maybe Jasper could be R2D2." Immediately the idea wheels in Chris's head were spinning! Nothing like a Star Wars project to get him excited!! The above photo is the result of a couple of weeks and several man hours of Chris's free time.

Once Dave and Carole had come and gone we enjoyed an unusually warm fall! We decided to take advantage one Saturday in November and hike the Heritage Trail. It is a paved trail that connects the historic downtown by the river to the "hilltop" -- about 1.4 miles at a fairly steep incline. I wanted the extra exercise so I parked the car at the bottom, then hiked the hill to find the boys. Then we all came down together. It was great. We hope to do it many, many times in the future.

This photo is proof to all that Jasper is not quite ready to make his millions in child modeling. This is what happens when he tries to pose. :-)

My three handsome boys on the trail.

At the bottom the trail parallels the former train tracks -- at one time this was the steepest railroad incline in the world.

View of the Ohio River from the trail.

We celebrated Veteran's Day by making breakfast for Chris's whole office. That evening after work Chris got decked out in his uniform so he could participate in a Eagle Scout Veteran's Day program. The project was to get a flag pole and raise a flag at the church we attended when we lived in Jeffersonville. This was the culminating event. A friend told me Chris looked "smashing" and I have to say I agree completely!

Our city's light-the-tree event was held mid-November. It seemed a bit early, but the older I get the earlier I want to get Christmas started! It was perfect -- a couple of short musical numbers, lighting up the town, then pictures with Santa. Short, sweet, simple. The historic downtown looks so magical with the Christmas lights. It literally looks like something straight out of a 50s-era film.

We also attended a desert auction/potluck dinner that was a fundraiser for another Eagle Scout project. The turkey cupcakes I made got a lot of attention. I used Karo syrup to "glue" on the eyes. The feathers are made from folding Fruit-by-the-Foot over a toothpick and then trimming them with scissors. Fun and festive at its finest!

The Goings On

Here is what's been happening with us...

Here is a great summer view of the lake. Yes, this is the view from our back yard. The boys' room, living room, kitchen nook, and Master bedroom all look out over the lake. Sure makes it easier to wake up every morning! :-)

I love my front porch! Hopefully by spring we'll find time to put together our rocking chairs. Rock on!

We finally bought a king-sized bed. And yes, it is big enough for the whole family! We usually manage to keep the boys out, but all the changes and adjusting were a little rough (on everyone!).

Jasper after a cinnamon roll. This is just here to make you smile. If this doesn't make you smile you probably have a heart of stone.

Cooper's first day of school! I have a Kindergartener -- crazy.

Closetmania! Fortunately our house was mostly move-in ready. The main job we decided to tackle before our belongings arrived was replacing the poorly designed wire shelving systems with sturdier custom closets. It took a lot of time and energy to design and install the closets. Fortunately I am now the proud owner of a table saw! And you can see the effort was well worth it. Here is a view of the Master. We also did both of the other bedroom closets, the coat closet (transformed into craft closet) and the pantry.


Move-in day! About six weeks after we arrived in Indiana our belongings arrived. 4 pizzas, a 12-pack of Coke, and 8 hours later everything was off the truck and in the house. The crew of 5 was done with their work and ours was just beginning.

Chris took the boys for an overnighter to Chicago to meet up with his brother Mark. They went to the Aquarium and Cooper practiced his karate skills in front of a Chicago skyline. I stayed home and unpacked. I was able to accomplish quite a bit without any interruptions but it sure was lonely.

My Cute Kids

December 12: All bundled up and ready for our first good snow.