Painted Peg Doll Necklaces

Painting these tiny little dolls was one of my favorite handmade Christmas gifts this year (along with the Thing Finder Necklaces). I've been planning to make peg doll necklaces for O and my niece since last Christmas, but I was not looking forward to it since I did not enjoy making the peg doll family for O's birthday in July. However, I really enjoyed this and plan to make many more (maybe this will be a good item to make and sell on Etsy...).

To make the dolls, I painted them with acrylic craft paint and then added details using paint pens. I painted the dolls to match the girls' Christmas dresses (yes, we have matching dresses for ALL 3 girls :). After I painted the dolls, Elliott drilled a tiny hole into the top of each doll and screwed a small circle screw into each hole. I then painted them with a coat of mod podge to finish and protect them. I threaded a thin ribbon through the screw to make the necklace, and they were done (I may switch the ribbon for a stretchy elastic cord).

I wrote the girls' names and the year on the bottoms of the dolls. After Christmas, we can shorten the ribbon and the necklaces will turn into keepsake ornaments for next year's Christmas tree. E (who is only 3 months old) is obviously much too young for a necklace, so her tiny doll is already hanging on the tree. My niece was SO excited when I gave her her necklace this afternoon. I'm already planning on making tiny birthday doll necklaces for the girls. These dolls would also be great additions to O and E's birthday ring!

The Most Amazing Baby Quilt EVER!

(and I don't mind saying that since I didn't make it!)

They say it's the thought that counts...if that is true, this quilt is worth millions! I've been thinking about and planning this quilt in my mind for more than a year, and it turned out BETTER than I expected! I did the planning, purchasing, and cutting, and my mom did ALL of the sewing! Isn't she AMAZING?!!! (I planned to help, but I'm not a very good seamstress, and I certainly can't sew while nursing a baby which is how I spend my days :)

Now, let me tell you about the quilt...My favorite side is the Visual Stimulation/Peek-a-boo side. We decided to only use red, black, and white fabrics on this side.

Mom sewed clear plastic pockets onto 5 of the squares and created a flap to cover the pockets creating a peek-a-boo effect. O has already put one of her drawings into a pocket, and we plan to rotate pictures and drawings through the pockets for E to enjoy :)


The other side of the quilt is the Texture/"I Spy" side. I chose several "busy" fabrics so that we can play "I Spy" with the quilt when E is older. To add various textures to the quilt, we used fleece, flannel, velvet, satin, and corduroy fabrics. Many of the different textures were cut from my old clothes (my favorite cords from my college days and a velvety red Christmas shirt that I loved), which makes if even more special to me.

We had fun making this quilt. It was hard to find the time to do it (I cut all of the squares before E was born, but that was as far as we got), but it was well worth the effort. I hope that E loves and treasures this quilt as much I do! Thanks, Mom! We love you!!!

Handpainted Santa Trivets

O painted these cork trivets (from IKEA) using her handprint for her aunts, grandmamas, and me! These gifts were super easy to make and turned out better than I expected.

To make the Santas I painted her fingers white for Santa's beard, and I painted her palm pink. I painted the bottom of her palm and thumb red with a little dot of white on the tip of her thumb (we used acrylic craft paint and tempura paint). Then we mashed her hand onto the trivet. I repainted her hand for each trivet. I added the eyes with a permanent black marker. I thought about adding a few more facial features, but then decided to keep it simple. I didn't seal them with anything, so I hope they will last...

The idea for painting cork trivets from IKEA came from Let's Explore. Thanks Amy for all of your inspiring ideas!

Oh, we also put a handprint turkey on the back of my trivet, so I can use it for Christmas or Thanksgiving (although I doubt I'll actually use it for anything other than decoration). We ran out of time before we could put turkeys on the backs of the other trivets :( Next year I really will finish our handmade gifts earlier...it's so much more enjoyable to make gifts without a deadline weighing down on you.

Glittery Letter Ornaments

We had a GREAT time making glittery letter ornaments! First, we sanded the edges of the letters (bought from Hobby Lobby in packs of 2 for a dollar).

Then she painted the letters with glue.

Then she went crazy with the glitter. I was distracted by a phone call during this activity, and we somehow ended up with glitter EVERYWHERE in our house...even in the toilets! Next time, I'll just let the phone ring :)

O made ornaments for herself, her baby sister, and one of her favorite people.

I'm glad she had fun making these ornaments because I think it's the last time we'll use glitter for a while...if Elliott has his way!

Candy Activities

I bought a candy cane filled with Christmas star candy for us to use for various activities. We used them for a couple of days before I let O in on the secret that the stars were actually candy (she was calling them beads). She was amazed and thrilled!

She's gotten quite good at using the chopsticks. She likes to create a pattern when transferring the stars.

For this activity, she counted out the correct number of stars to match the numbers. I was surprised by how much she enjoyed this activity. I only had the numbers out to 5, but she insisted on doing the numbers up to 9. (Hopefully, her early interest in numbers indicates that she'll be better at math than I am!)

Christmas Card Puzzles

O loves to do these Christmas card puzzles! To make the puzzles, I cut 1 or 2 rectangles out of each card (using an x-acto knife). I put the rectangles in a bowl and the cards in a stack and gave them to O. She had fun matching the pictures to complete the puzzles. The idea for this activity came from Let's Explore. (Please excuse O's dirty table...it's covered with paint and glittery glue :)

Handprint & Paper Plate Reindeer

When I saw this reindeer craft at my school on Wednesday, I knew that O would love making it, and I would love having it as a keepsake (since I love to make things with O and E's handprints).

To make the reindeer, O colored a paper plate with a crayon rock (our favorite crayons!). She went a little crazy with a glue stick and covered almost the whole plate before placing the eyes and nose on the plate. I traced her hands onto stiff brown felt and then cut them out. I hot glued her felt hands to the back of the plate, punched a hole in the top, and looped a ribbon through the hole.

O was excited and proud to hang the reindeer on our tree. He's a little big for our 4 ft tree, but we don't mind a bit! This activity went along perfectly with our advent book, Snappy Little Christmas. (Somehow, I keep getting lucky and our activities and books are fitting together nicely without any planning :)

Snowball Surprise Soap

O and I made Snowball Surprise Soap to go along with the book, Dream Snow, which was our advent book on Friday. To make Snowball Surprise Soap, you need a bar of white soap (we used Dove), a grater, a small toy (we used a plastic penguin), and a bowl of warm water.

First, we took turns grating the soap.

Then we wet our hands in the bowl of warm water, picked up handfuls of the grated soap, and pressed it onto the penguin.

As we pressed the soap onto the penguin, we rolled the ball in our hands to make a snowball shape.

This was a fun and easy activity, and this soap would make a great handmade gift for kids. I think we'll definitely add this to our list of handmade gifts to make for next Christmas!

(The idea for this activity came from a magazine...probably Family Fun, but possibly Parents.)

E's Handmade Christmas Stocking

O was VERY upset to see that E did not have a stocking when we decorated for Christmas last week. She said "she doesn't even have a nail!!!" O was very sweet and concerned for her sister's stocking. She said she wanted E's stocking to be next to hers with my stocking on one end and Elliott's on the other end, so their stockings (O and E's) would be safe.

I used patterns from Wee Wonderfuls for both girls' stockings. (E's stocking has the Peppermint Fairy on it, which you can buy in the store. The actual pattern was much smaller. Since I wanted the stockings to match, I enlarged the pattern to the same size as the elf girl pattern). Here is O's stocking.


I'd cut and embroidered E's stocking before she was born, but we didn't finish it until last Thursday. Thank you a million times over to Guh-guh who finished E's stocking for us. There's no way I could have done it without you!!!

Chocolate Striped Pretzels with Sprinkles

O and I made chocolate striped pretzels with sprinkles for her Christmas party for her dance class. I spread out the mini pretzels in a single layer on a sheet of waxed paper, melted the Wilton's chocolate in the microwave, and used a fork to spread the melted chocolate over the pretzels. O helped spread the chocolate on the pretzels, but she especially enjoyed shaking the sprinkles onto the pretzels. She went a little overboard with the sprinkles, but it was easy enough to just pour the leftover sprinkles off the waxed paper and into a bowl to use for the next batch.

Painted Glass Ornaments

O and I had fun making painted glass ornaments again this year.

To make these ornaments you need clear glass ornaments with removable tops and craft paint. I removed the tops, and O squeezed the paint into the ornament. She twirled the ornament around to let the paint spread. After a few minutes, we added another color. We used lime green and hot pink paint in these ornaments since they are gifts for her dance teachers, and the dance studio's colors are pink and green. This was fun, easy, and quick, and the ornaments look great!

A Felt Gingerbread Boy Activity

Another repost...

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For O's 10th day advent activity, we did this felt gingerbread boy activity. This activity is identical to the snowman and turkey felt activities, just with a gingerbread boy :)

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I showed O how to dress the gingerbread boy to make him match the picture. However, she was not interested in copying the picture AT ALL. She wanted to dress him her own way, which was fine, of course :) (Just in case you happen to notice...O is wearing a leotard because she was a "baby balla-eena" and I was the "mama balla-eena." She really wants me to get a leotard!)

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She asked for the snowman after we played with the gingerbread boy for a while. She insisted that he have legs!

A Gingerbread Cottage Felt Board Scene

Here's another oldie, but goodie (originally posted in December 2008).


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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 :)

Felt Gingerbread Cookie Activity

I've decided to repost a few posts from last Christmas. O is enjoying this cookie set again this year, and I'm hoping to make a few more felt Christmas cookies for her for Christmas (although I may not finish them until Christmas Eve!).

For O's 12th advent activity, we had a treasure hunt to find a special handmade gift :) The 1st note sent her to the ottoman where she found another note (Elliott read the notes to her). That note sent her to the sliding glass door by the stairs. She pulled the curtain back to find the note on the door. Then she headed to her seat at the table. There was a note stuck to the bottom of her seat which directed her to the pots and pans cabinet. When she opened the cabinet door, she found her special prize! O didn't really understand the treasure hunt at 1st, but once she understood what we were doing she LOVED it. I plan on having a couple of more treasure hunts for her to find handmade gifts for advent.

O's special prize is a felt gingerbread cookie making kit! I've seen sugar cookie kits similar to this on etsy and at various online shops, and I couldn't wait to make one for O. It was easy to make, but it did take a while. I did all of the sewing by hand, which I really enjoyed (I'm still a little intimidated by the sewing machine!).

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Here are the freshly baked and decorated gingerbread girl and boy. I'd planned to embroider the details, but then I realized that it would be MUCH easier, faster, and would look more like icing if I painted the details with puff, fabric paint! O immediately took these cookies to her play kitchen :)

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Guh-guh quickly made a coordinate gingerbread man drawstring bag for storing the gingerbread making kit before she left our house this morning. Thanks, Guh-guh!

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