"I Spy" Nativity Ornament

Last year (after Christmas) I bought several sets of tiny ornaments to use for Christmas "I Spy" bottles this year.  About a month ago, it occurred to me that it would be even more fun to make "I Spy" ornaments rather than bottles (since we already have a Halloween "I Spy" bottle).  I'm VERY excited about how this turned out!

To make the "I Spy" Nativity Ornament, you need a plastic ornament that opens in half, tiny nativity ornaments, filler (I use bulgur), and a ribbon.  I filled the ornament with the tiny nativity ornaments and bulgur.  It was hard to get enough bulgur in the ornament without spilling any.  Also, the grain left a little dust so after a day or so, I emptied the ornament and wiped out the inside. 




I refilled the ornament, and glued it shut using craft glue. 




I added a ribbon to the ornament and handed it to E(2) who was waiting anxiously for it! 




(please excuse her dirty fingers...Elliott had just given her an oreo...a rare treat, and it was EVERYWHERE!)   This was my first "I Spy" ornament, and I'll share the 2nd one tomorrow!

Weaving Pot Holders

O(5) has REALLY enjoyed weaving pot holders lately! She likes to dress in her "old time" clothes and kerchief while she works.


She's very proud of her finished creations!


E(2) also loves to weave! (of course!) I love her abstract weaving creations!

Turkey Felt Board

Sorry for the week of no posts! I had several posts saved in draft and set to post each day while we were out of town, but, obviously, that didn't work! We are back from a wonderful week in the Bahamas! It was great, but we are glad to be home!

The girls have had fun playing with the turkey felt board (that I made a couple of years ago). They look at the pictures and copy the designs, and they create their own designs.

O's Embroidered Cat

O(5) recently embroidered this cat during our nightly "Mommy and O Craft Time," and she is SO proud!

To make the cat embroidery pattern, she drew a cat and we photocopied her cat drawing. I traced the photocopied cat with an iron-on pencil and ironed the pattern on a piece of fabric. O chose her colors, and I helped her thread her needle and tie knots in the end of the thread. Then, she got to work! She LOVES to embroider, and I do, too! We have BIG plans for a year long embroidery project that culminates in a final quilting project.

Halloween Coloring and Activity Books

The girls LOVE the Halloween coloring/activity books that I made for them last week!
(the zipper pouch is covering their names)

I printed the coloring pages from Activity Village and DLTK. I LOVE Activity Village!


E(2) has really loved coloring in her book!


Here are a few of the pages...





These books have caused so much excitement since they came in the "mail" that I'm already planning a Christmas version.

Laura Ingalls Wilder Fun Pack, Part 2

O(5) received her 2nd Laura Ingalls Wilder Fun Pack a couple of weeks ago. She surprised me by asking about it a day before I had it ready. I was a couple of days late getting it "in the mail," but I didn't think she'd notice. It turns out that she was more excited about it than I realized!

For the 2nd LIW Fun Pack, she received a letter from Laura, a photo of Laura, a Little House Craft Kit (making sachets...I bought a set of these kits off ebay), stick candy, buttons (for her button collection) and a Laura book. She loved everything, but she was especially excited about the buttons and the candy.

Painting Birthday Party Wrapping Paper

The girls had a great time painting wrapping paper for a friend's birthday this weekend!

O(5) loves to cover herself in paint, so she was super excited to see the fingerpaints!

The birthday boy liked his unique wrapping paper, but the best part was the frozen look of indecision on his uncle's face when he was gathering all of the paper to throw it away. He didn't know whether to throw it away with the rest of the paper or save it, and O was watching his every move!

If you like paper dolls...

you can get a fantastic deal on mini-me paper dolls here. This offer ends tonight, so act quickly. I bought one of these paper dolls for my niece last Christmas, and it's just beautiful. O and E will both be getting Lily and Thistle Mini-Me paper dolls for Christmas along with a subscription to the outfit of the month club!

Beach Sand Candles

The girls, my mom, and I had fun making beach sand candles a few weeks ago.

First, we melted the wax on the stove. Then we went to the beach and dug holes for the sand molds. We used a Kleen Kanteen to make the right shape. We put the wick down in the hole, and I held it in place while my mom poured the hot wax into the hole.

We had to hold the wicks in place for a while until the wax hardened a little. We let O(5) one of the wicks after the wax cooled a little.

After about an hour or so, the girls dug the candles up from the beach. They were SO excited!


The girls were very pleased with the candles, but I was a little disappointed (but I didn't tell the kids that I was disappointed!). I was hoping that more sand would stick to the sides of the candles. Also, they are a little lopsided :) We plan to make crushed ice candles next!

DIY Flower Barrettes

My friend Rebecca recently showed me her daughter's flower barrettes, and I really liked them! I was actually surprised that I liked them so much, because I am not a "big bow" kind of mama. I prefer small barrettes and bows for my girls' hair. However, the girls loved the flowers, and so did I!

My immediate thought was "I can make that!" and even more exciting "I have everthing I need to make that!" I love it when I see a project or activity, and I already have everything I need to make it!


To make these flower barrettes, you need artificial flowers (I bought our flowers from Hobby Lobby when they were 50% off), alligator clip barrettes, and a hot glue gun and glue sticks.

I took the stems and back off of the flowers (I didn't take enough of the stem off with the first one I made, and the flower was much too high on the barrette), and hot glued them to the alligator clips...done! So simple and fast!



The flower looks huge on E(1)'s little head, but it was actually really cute...the perfect splash of color to go with her white dress (and she was very proud of her "hot pink!" flower...hot pink is her favorite color).