Christmas Traditions

One of my favorite Christmas traditions when I was a child was putting this puzzle together. I don't know why this was so special to me, but I remember being so excited about this puzzle. I remember this tradition far more clearly than I remember the toys I recieved :)

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Another Christmas tradition that we had was to use these Christmas glasses for the month of December. Everyone had a favorite number, and we were (and still are!) to use that glass for the whole month. I'm 8 Maids a Milking :) My mom bought each of us our own set of these glasses, so we have the tradition at our house, too. Although, we aren't quite as strict as my mom :)

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A new tradition that Elliott and I started last year (among many others!) is that on Christmas Eve (after leaving his parents' house), we get Japanese take-out for dinner. When we get home we have a picnic on the den floor while watching old home videos. I can't wait for O to see herself on video from the past 2 Christmases. She's going to LOVE it! We also plan to show her our wedding video and her birth video. After our picnic and the videos, she'll open a few presents from us.

DIY Keep it Steady Game

When I saw the review of this game on Z Recommends I thought that it looked like a lot of fun and VERY easy to make. Luckily, I was right!
To make this game you need a pack of dowels (12 inches long), a saw (I used a miter saw and box), paint, mod podge, sandpaper, a wooden curtain ring, and a block.
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To make this game, I sawed the dowels in half and sanded the ends. Of course, O had to help!

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Then I painted the ends using 6 different colors and painted the block using the same colors. I taped the edges of the block, so I'd have a neater paint job. Then I coated the block with a layer of mod podge to give it a sheen and to make it more durable. I planned to eventually paint the whole sticks instead of just the ends, but now I've decided that I like the look of just having the ends painted :)

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The game fits nicely in a pencil case :) I made 2 of these games at the same time. It was easy, fast, and fun! I hope O and M like them!

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Family and Friends Memory Game

I finished this game last night, and I am really pleased with how quickly it came together. I hope O is going to love it! To make the game, I printed pictures as thumbnails, placed a wooden disk on top of the picture, and cut around it. I then glued the picture to the disk with mod podge. The next day I coated them with another layer of mod podge. Fast and easy! I ran out of wooden disks long before I ran out of pictures, so this will be a work in progress :)

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These disks are pretty small, so you wouldn't want to make this game for a child who still puts objects in his or her mouth. This picture of me is goofy, but it's one of the 1st pics O ever took and I think she did a pretty good job :)

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I originally planned to make a drawstring bag to store the game in, but then I decided that this box would work nicely :) I like how the picture disks look all crowded in the box :)

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A New Spin on Scrabble Tile Necklace Pendants

If you read craft blogs, then I'm sure you've seen the scrabble tile necklace pendants. They are really cool, and they are everywhere :) I decided to give it a try using O's artwork. I'm really happy with how easy it was and with the finished products.
I asked my niece to draw a special picture for my sister that I would use to make a necklace. She was thrilled and got right to work!

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This is a picture of O's marble painting.

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This is one of O's first drawings of lots of O's! I love this one, and it's going to be hard to give it away :) I think I'll make one like it for myself!

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This is O's handprint painting that she made for my mom's birthday. I printed it a little too big, so she's missing a little of her pinkies. Oops :(

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Another handprint painting that O made as a thank you gift.

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This is a picture of O's silhouette. This is another of my favorites, and I may keep this one for myself :)

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These pendants were VERY easy to make. I printed the pictures as thumbnails (or a contact sheet), cut them out, and glued them to the scrabble tiles using mod podge. After a day or so, I painted them without a layer of mod podge. After another day or so, I glued the bail on using super strong glue. The bails were hard to find, but I finally found them at Hobby Lobby. They weren't exactly what I wanted, but I didn't have any choices :) Also, I would have liked to coat the pictures with diamond glaze, but I couldn't find it anywhere! Enjoy! If anyone else makes these using your child's artwork, I'd love to see a picture :)

We Finished!

My mom and I finally finished making O's doll diaper bag and all of the accessories this weekend! It was such a relief to be finished, and we are pleased with the finished products :)
We had a difficult time figuring out how to make the bag. As usual, we didn't use a pattern, so it took us a while to figure it out. It would have been quite simple if we'd had any idea what we were doing!

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Here's all the loot!

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I decided at the last minute that O's doll, Baby Emma, needed a doll of her own. I traced around one of my mom's nesting dolls to make the pattern, but she lost a lot of her shape when she was sewn. She has a little bell inside since every baby needs a rattle :)

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A Gingerbread Cottage Felt Board Scene

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I admit it...I'm obsessed with making things out of felt :) Sadly, I was much more impressed with the felt gingerbread village than O was, so I decided to make a 2d gingerbread scene for her felt board.
I love making felt board scenes. They come together so quickly and easily, and it's nice to finish a project in one sitting :) I admit that I'm still using cheap felt, and I've realized that ecospun felt (made from recycled plastic bottles) is MUCH better quality that typical cheap felt. It's thicker and it doesn't shed (so far). I'd like to make the switch to wool blend felt, but I just haven't done it yet :)

Jingle Bell Bracelets & Necklaces

When M (my niece)got home from school today, she wanted to know when we were doing our craft :) O and I had already built the church, but I had the materials ready to make jingle bell bracelets. You need pipe cleaners and bells. That's it! I quickly wrote a note with the craft idea written on it and put it in M's advent house. The girls weren't overly excited by the activity, but they enjoyed it once they got started :) O needed lots of help getting the bells on the pipe cleaner because the holes were VERY small. M also needed a little help when the pipe cleaner got stuck. M had the idea to also make necklaces and crowns. Thanks to Laura for this fun idea!

O has finished her bracelet and is choosing colors for her necklace.

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Working on her crown, which she later decided would make a great necklace!

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My little O was worn out and almost fell asleep at the counter. We finished the activity shortly after I took this picture, and we all laid down and read LOTS of Christmas books :)

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My Etsy Favorites

Since you may still have shopping to do for extra special gifts, I thought I'd share a few of my Etsy favorites. I love to look at Etsy for ideas and to shop for handmade items. It's really a wonderful place!

These art blocks are amazing. I also love Lissa's wood people family and this rainbow quilt. I bought 2 of her cloth balls for O for her 1st birthday, and they are wonderfully well-made. Lissa is definitely one of my favorite Etsy sellers!

Okay...maybe I'll share more than a few of my Etsy favorites! This leafbuddy is adorable.
These cotton crochet veggies look yummy!
I love these needle felted wool baby necklaces.

I've been reading about a new law that may go into effect in February that will make the regulations so strict that these and many other sellers of handmade items will be put out of business. Click here to learn more about how you can help prevent this law from putting makers and sellers of handmade toys out of business!

We Built a Miniature Church :)

For O's 16th day advent activity, she got to choose a craft kit to complete (I bought lots of foam craft kits last year after Christmas...super cheap!). She chose the church, and she was VERY excited about building it. I was surprised taht she chose the church over the castle and train, but she was very adamant that she wanted to build a church :)
1st she opened a door to get out her note. (We are using M's, my niece, advent calendar house since we are at G & G's house, and I forgot to bring O's advent boxes).

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She enjoyed punching the foam out of the holes on the church walls.

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Building the church.

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Putting on the roof.

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Decorating the church with a wreath, garlands, a tree, and birds. This was O's favorite part!

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Here is our finished church! O was VERY proud :) I was surprised and happy by how engaged she was in this activity. I expected it to be difficult for her, and I almost didn't get the craft kits out of the closet since I thought she might be too young. I was wrong :) She needed a lot of help, of course, but she was able to really help and participate, and we had a great time! I love the look of pride on her face when we finish a project :)

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