Santa prep

 The girls & I made our traditional sugar cookies this week.

(Mostly we made a mess.)

It's an all-day project & I'm so glad, as the girls get older, they can be of more help.

♥

What Are Your Christmas Dreams Made Of?

When I was a little girl, my favorite Christmas present was a big old baby stroller, quilted blue, a flat canopy trimmed with white fuzzy pom-poms, similar to the one in this picture. Beautiful! But the best part of the stroller was that—oh, sit down for this--was that it was a DOUBLE stroller, room for one baby facing forward, the other backward. A feature like that that could make a little pretend mommy dizzy with strolling dreams!

That memory makes me smile because I realize that my deeper desire, beyond taking two baby dolls in and out of their seats hundreds of times, was to nurture a baby. Something about those plastic dolls of my childhood filled my heart with joy, foreshadowing my life to come, when I would be filled with indescribable happiness while holding my own children, and now the twins living in my home. (Oh, the irony! TWO!)

I think that’s often how we approach Christmas, whether we look forward to family meals, giving gifts, children’s excitement, church, music, movies, etc. Something about those activities fills our hearts with joy—and maybe--they foreshadow an even fuller life and celebration to come.

So what are you looking forward to most this year? If you look deeper into that desire, what hope might be embedded in your Christmas wishes and expectations?

Maybe you haven’t thought to articulate your deepest desires because they’re so disguised (wrapped?) in the cultural trappings of Christmas, which we’ve grown to love (or not love, depending on our disappointments). But is it possible that the deepest desire of your heart might include love and peace within your family? Reconciliation with someone? A deep joy? Personal freedom from things that are destroying you? Peace? Forgiveness? Rest? God’s presence? Hope?

If those are the gifts you truly desire for Christmas, they are available to all of us, but you can’t overlook the source--remember the poignancy and significance in the Christmas story when the innkeeper had no room for the babe.

Receive the good tidings of great joy for all people: “The Savior has come; let there be peace on Earth and good will toward men from God!” Let the significance of that sink in; let it shine in dark places and replace despair with hope.

No matter how far-fetched or impossible your hopes and desires might seem, in your heart and in your life, “prepare Him room,” because “Joy to the world—the Lord is come!” Anything is possible!

©
Linda Crow 2011

Show Me St.Louis Christmas Crafts!!

Hard to believe that it's time for the holiday crafts for Show Me St.Louis!

I'd like to give a special thank you to my generous sponsor...HandBEHG Felts! Tami is not only a generous sponsor...she is one talented gal herself!

I would encourage you to visit her website, sign up to receive her emails and then go shop shop shop! The felted balls are so fun to work with and I've only touched on the very tip top of what you can do with them!

Christmas NOEL Shadowbox

Designer: Julia Sandvoss

www.thecraftmom.blogspot.com

Supplies:

GlueArts Glue Glider PRO+ PermaTac  Adhesive

GlueArts Extreme Adhesive Squares

GlueArts U Cut It Foam (www.gluearts.com)

HandBEGH Felted Balls Size 1.5cm and 2cm assorted (www.handbeghfelts.com)

Cricut Expression2  Diecut Machine and Alphabet Essentials Cartridges

Crate Paper Peppermint Papers, Stickers & Chipboard

The Twinery Baker’s Twines

Black Shadowbox

Colorbox Inks

May Arts Ribbons

Instructions:

1) Select the papers or felt colors you would to use for the letters. Hand cut or use a diecut machine, such as the Cricut Expression 2, to cut the letters. These letters were cut between 5 and 7 inches in size. Some other suggested word choices…Wish, Cheer, Love, JOY, Peace, Family…just adjust the letter size to fit inside the shadowbox.  

2) Next adhere the letters using the Glue Glider Pro to the background of the shadowbox. Cut out pieces of U Cut It Foam and adhere to the backside of the inked chipboard ornaments. Attach the end of the twine to the foam before adhering to back of frame.  Be sure to select various ornaments or embellishments  for the depending on the word you chose. Remember embellishments work best in odd numbers.

3) Select your colors of HandBEGH (www.handbeghfelts.com) felted balls and place those randomly into the bottom of the shadowbox. Adjust them to sit how you prefer with the word background. Then close up the box.

4) Next add a bit of holiday ribbon to the right corner and finish off with a beautiful layered sticker.

 Tip…this craft was made to coordinate with my holiday décor…you can alter the look just by changing the color scheme, frame color and more. You can make this type of wall art for any theme too, occasion and size…well almost any size! 

Burlap & Sparkle Mesh Trees

Designer: Julia Sandvoss

Supplies:

GlueArts Extreme Adhesive Squares

GlueArts Hot Glue Gun (www.gluearts.com)

HandBEGH Felts Felted Balls 1.5cm and 2cm assorted colors (www.handbeghfelts.com)  

Silver Beads

Silver Pins

Burlap

The Twinery's Bakers Twines

Paper Mache Cone Tree

Mesh Tree (found at Marshall's)

Instructions for Mesh Sparkle Tree:

This one is so easy..it's almost silly! Simply adhere felt balls onto tree using GlueArts Extreme Adhesive Squares. Then pin beads right onto balls....it's THAT quick, simple and yet absolutely beautiful when done!

Instructions for Burlap Tree:

1) Wrap burlap around cone tree. Trim off any extra fabric. Hot glue onto paper mache base...tuck bottom fabric into base of cone and secure with hot glue.

2) Next using HandBEHG felted balls in 1cm and 1.5 cm... string onto baker's twine. String them in various sizes and colors (or in specific colors as HandBEHG felts offers just about every color of the rainbow!!)

3) Next wrap baker's twine around tree (without balls) for added color. Then add strung garland around tree. Secure the ends with a touch of hot glue. 

Consider a trio of trees as everything looks best in groups of 3! Make different sizes...cover an entire tree with the HandBEGH felt balls...all one color or multiple colors...have fun!!

  

Please check back in tomorrow for more of today's crafts featured on KSDK's Show Me St.Louis!!

Merry Christmas!! (and happy crafting from the Craft Mom!)

Rolled Paper Christmas Tree Canvas

Rolled Paper Christmas Tree Canvas

Designer: Julia Sandvoss

Supplies:

Glue Arts Glue Glider Pro+ Perma Tac, 3d Combo Pac, 

GlueArts Extreme Adhesive Squares and Micro Adhesive Squares

Authentique “Wonder” Paper, Diecut & Sticker Collection

Colorbox Chalk Inks: Warm Red, Creamy Brown, Teal and Moss Green

Canvas 10 by 14 (Hobby Lobby)

Core-dinations Cardstock

Ranger Stickles

Maya Road Mists Spray & Pins

Epiphany Crafts Studio Shape Star Tool & Star Bubble Caps

Making Memories Assorted Holiday Embellishments

Tree Instructions:

1) Begin by choosing a variety of patterned papers and solid cardstock colors. You can mix and match brands however to try to stay within the same color families for the best look. Cut strips of paper approximately 1 1/2 inches wide by 12 inches long.  Use a pencil or dowel to help roll the papers.

Begin rolling the papers and secure with a strip of either GlueArts Perma Tac adhesive or use Extreme Adhesive Squares. Continue to roll about 16 to 18 papers in a variety of prints and solids.

2) Next  ink the rolled papers to give a finished look to the edges. Then lay out the rolled papers and decide which print and solids you like in which order. Once you have laid them out as you like…it’s time to start working on the canvas.  

3) Place the rolled papers onto the canvas allowing a space at the bottom for a trunk. Once you’ve laid them out…it’s time to trim the papers making each one just a bit shorter as you work your way to the tip top of the tree. Keep in mind, you can use some of the rolled pieces you’ve cut off for the top pieces of the tree. Or…hold onto your scraps and make a small tree shaped ornament later!

4) Once the entire tree has been laid out and cut to size…it’s time to adhere to the canvas using the GlueArts Extreme Adhesives Squares. Apply a square or two to the backside of the papers and press down onto the canvas working your way to the top of the tree.

5) Next it’s time to decorate the tree with diecuts, felt embellishments, stickers and more! Use the GlueArts U Cut It Foam to add dimension and depth to the embellishments so they lift off the tree just a bit. Have fun with this step…this is where it really comes together.

6) Add a hand cut trunk and decorative edge cut from one of the papers for the trunk of the tree. Add a few sprays of the Maya Road Mists to canvas for a light color. Finish off with Epiphany Crafts Stars with Bubble Caps tops for a shiny addition.

Enjoy!!

Christmas

Activities & Crafts:

silk.net/RelEd/- Christmas Resources

Christmas Handwriting and Coloring sheet- C is for Christmas

Neat Jesse Tree to Make- Check out this lovely and creative Jesse Tree by Angela

Shine On- Students make punched-tin candleholders. (Bible Story Crafts & Projects Children Love by Kathy Ross, page 71).

allfreecrafts.com- All Free Crafts offers free Christmas crafts to make easy homemade Christmas decorations, Christmas ornaments and easy homemade gifts.

catholicmom.com- Advent and Christmas Crafts and Activities For Children

billybear4kids.com- Christmas Nativity (scroll down to this craft)
A simple nativity scene comprising of Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus and a lamb - great for gluing to a stable background.

msssbible.com- Stable background

*If a large nativity scene is needed, this is a very simple nativity scene that would be easy to enlarge by tracing the pictures on transparencies and using an overhead projector to enlarge the pictures to whatever size you want. You can make the characters on cardboard or poster board and paint them. For the stable, use the picture to form the stable out of pieces of scrap lumber or cardboard.


daniellesplace.com- Crafts and activities about Isaiah predicts Jesus' Birth, Jesus was a Special Baby, Mary tells her Good News, Jesus Goes to Church, Jesus Grew and I am Growing, and Jesus Tempted in the Wilderness

domestic-church.com- Advent and Christmas references. Click on Fridge Art, then Advent and Christmas. Activities, crafts, coloring pages, puzzles, etc.

homeschooling.about.com- Nativity printables

Christmas Lapbooks- Here are some lapbooks that celebrate the meaning of Christmas. Download them for free and use what you want to make your own Christmas Lapbook.

12 Days of Christmas Lapbooks- Here are the directions from various resources on how to do the lapbook. These can give you lots of great ideas to make your own.

noelnoelnoel.com- Festive Candle Holder
Cute, easy craft made out of a baby food jar and tissue paper. Tip: Make a mixture of half water and half glue in a paper cup. Paint with a paintbrush or a Q-tip a small area on each jar with the glue mixture, then cover the area with small pieces of tissue paper. Use a variety of colored paper to cover the entire jar with two or three layers of tissue paper. Coat the finished jar with thinned glue to seal.

freekidcrafts.com- Christmas Crafts

Glitter and Sugar Ornament- A fun and easy way to make lots of pretty ornaments to decorate your Christmas Tree. (The Best Holiday Crafts Ever! By Kathy Ross, page 144 & 145).

theideabox.com- Christmas crafts, games, activities, recipes, music/songs. Tons of great ideas! Click on: Holiday/Seasonal, then Christmas

ehow.com- Melted Crayon Jars
An easy craft that students can make as presents for their loved ones.

kiddyhouse.com- Paper Plate Christmas Wreath
An easy and fun craft that all kids can make.

christiancrafters.com- Several Christmas crafts posted here.

homeschooled-kids.com- Story of the Candy Cane
Print out this story and glue on colored construction paper and give each child a candy cane to tape onto card.

Gratitude Boxes- These heartfelt gifts are the ones you will cherish forever and will never forget.

Birth of Jesus Story Wheel- Children turn their story wheel dial to retell the Birth of Jesus story they learned over and over again. Even though this comes from a preschool craft book, it is appropriate for older children to do. (Preschool Christian Crafts by Linda Standke, page 37, 38, 39, 40, and 44).

Baby Jesus in a Manger- A little manger with baby Jesus is just right for little hands. Even though this comes from a preschool craft book, it is appropriate for older children to do. (Preschool Christian Crafts by Linda Standke, page 47 & 48).

Paper Bag Manger Scene- Preschool Christian Crafts by Linda Standke, page 49 – 52.



Coloring:

teacherhelp.org- Several Christmas coloring pages posted here.

silk.net/RelEd/- Christmas coloring pages

coloringbookfun.com-Christian coloring pages

christiancoloring.com- Christmas Christian coloring pages

sermons4kids.com- Jesus is born manger scene #1

sermons4kids.com- Jesus is born manger scene #2

sermons4kids.com- Jesus’ birth manger scene #3

sermons4kids.com- Manger scene #4

sermons4kids.com- Mary and baby Jesus

sermons4kids.com-Wise Men Worship Jesus

lambsongs.co.nz- 9 Christmas booklets
Print these out for the children to color.

fcpeace.com- The First Christmas Book
A book for you to make and share.



Games:

12 Days of Christmas Memory Game- Print out 2 copies to play Memory

The Birth of Jesus Game- A simple and fun board game for younger children to find Jesus in the stable. (Super Bible Game Book by Linda Standke, page 56 & 57 for game board and page 55 for directions).

Pin the Star on the Stable- Teach the Christmas story with this simple game of Pin the Star on the Stable. Great for younger children. (Super Bible Game Book by Linda Standke, page 47).

kidssundayschool.com- A Search for Jesus
A fun yet simple game for younger children about searching for baby Jesus.

sundayschoolnetwork.com- Eight Christmas games posted here.


Introduce game: What town was Jesus born in? Bethlehem

mormonshare.com- Nativity Matching Game
Play Memory with these nativity cards.

lds.about.com- Nativity Cards
Go Fish game using pictures from the nativity including the baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the angel, shepherds, wise-men, and more. The object of the game is to get the most sets of four to win. More directions are at website. Open and print the pdf files either the two part color files or the b/w file. There are 8 different sets (four cards each) for a total of 32 nativity cards. If you have a large family/group print two sets and combine.

learningtreasures.com- Nativity Dominoes to print out and play


diva-girl-parties-and-stuff.com- Right, Left, Christmas Game
A fun way to review the story of the birth of Jesus.





Gifts For The Baby Jesus File Folder Game- The object of this game is to be the first to collect gold, frankincense, and myrrh.



Lessons:

Mary and the Angel- lesson plan for 1st grade on up with: Objectives, Review, Vocabulary Words, Bible Story with questions, Activities, Crafts, Games, Snacks, Puzzles/Mazes/Worksheets, etc.

Birth of Jesus- (Pre K – K) lesson plan with: Objectives, Word Wall, Bible Story with questions, Songs and/or Finger Plays, Activities, Crafts, Games, Snacks, Coloring/Puzzles, etc.

Birth of Jesus- lesson plan for 1st grade on up with: Objectives, Review, Vocabulary Words, Bible Story with questions, Activities, Crafts, Games, Snacks, Puzzles/Mazes/Worksheets, etc.

children.calvarychapel.com- Several Christmas lessons listed with memory verses, circle the correct words, true or false, fill in the blanks, puzzles, and color sheets.

dltk-bible.com- The Christmas Story (Taken from Matthew and Luke) lesson with memory verse, teacher's guide, angel printables, Christmas Bible Reading Chart, coloring pages, crafts, games and puzzles, Christmas Nativity Felt Board, puppets, or coloring templates, Christmas plays, prayers, and songs, Christmas printables, recipes, take home sheets, etc.

kidsclubs4jesus.com-

Angelic Visit
To Bethlehem
Birth of Jesus
Mary and Jesus
Escape to Egypt
Three Wise Men

lessons with puzzles, coloring sheet, Bible readings, questions, memory verses, key points, object lesson, drama, puppets, etc. (These files are set up and formatted so that they can be easily made into weekly booklets for your children's ministry, youth ministry, etc., with 4 sheets of legal paper and two staples).

kidssundayschool.com- Lesson One: Gabriel Visits Mary

kidssundayschool.com- Lesson Two: Joseph’s Dream

kidssundayschool.com- Lesson Three: Journey to Bethlehem

kidssundayschool.com- Lesson Four: Visit of the Magi

mssscrafts.com- Jesus' Birth, The Shepherds Worship Jesus, & Escape to Egypt (look under Jesus’ Early Life) with tons of resources for illustrating the story, coloring pages/activity sheets, crafts, and songs.

mssscrafts.com- The Christmas Story: Crafts and story ideas here concern the nativity - not the jolly red-suited fellow!



Music/Songs:

kididdles.com- Away in a Manger Song (with lyrics and audio)

kididdles.com- Christ Was Born on Christmas Day Song (with lyrics)

kididdles.com- Go Tell It On The Mountain Song (with lyrics)



Puzzles/Worksheets:

kidsdomain.com- Christmas Crossword Puzzle- Make all the words fit into this crossword. Word bank provided.

angelicsong.net- Christmas Crossword Puzzle with Solution

teacherhelp.org- Several puzzles posted here.

kidssundayschool.com- The Magi Search for Jesus word search

activityvillage.co.uk- Christmas story word search

sermons4kids.com- The angel appears to Mary dot to dot

sermons4kids.com- The angel appears to Mary jumble

sermons4kids.com- The angle appears to Mary word search

sermons4kids.com- Christmas spiral puzzle

sermons4kids.com- Christmas cross word puzzle

sermons4kids.com- Christmas candle dot to dot

sermons4kids.com- Christmas word jumble

sermons4kids.com- The birth of Jesus maze

sermons4kids.com-The birth of Jesus word search

sermons4kids.com-The birth of Jesus jumble

The Angel Said to Them . . . (find the hidden pictures)- Hidden Pictures Explore Hidden Treasures in God’s World: Grade 1 – 3 by Linda Standke, page 16.

Shepherds Find the Baby (find the hidden pictures)- Hidden Pictures Explore Hidden Treasures in God’s World: Grade 1 – 3 by Linda Standke, page 17. (Click on Sample)

comingtofaith.com- The Birth of Jesus
Number each picture as it happened in the story. Then color the pictures.

dltk-holidays.com- Christmas puzzles
Scroll down to Christmas Themed Printable Games and Puzzles for anagrams, bingo, crosswords, cryptograms, dominos, jigsaw puzzles, mazes, Memory cards, riddles, word-mining, word searches

teacherhelp.org- Christmas Themed Worksheets, Puzzles, and Games (scroll down near bottom)

An Angel Tells Good News- Connect the dots in the picture to see who brought Mary good news. (Big Puzzles for Little Hands: Jesus’ Life and Lessons by Carla Williams, page 9).

The Angel Speaks to Mary- Begin at start and write down every other word as you follow the arrows around the crown. You will see part of the angel’s message about the soon-to-be-born king. (Red Hot Bible Puzzles by Nancy I. Sanders, page 34).

Jesus’ Birth Announcement- Use this code to see what the angles said. (Wa-a-ay Cool Bible Puzzles by Nancy I. Sanders, page 34).

Joseph Cares for Mary- In the space draw a picture of what the angel told Joseph in his dream. (Big Puzzles for Little Hands: Jesus’ Life and Lessons by Carla Williams, page 10).

A Trip to Bethlehem- Look at the two pictures. The second picture has 6 missing parts. Circle the missing parts. (Big Puzzles for Little Hands: Jesus’ Life and Lessons by Carla Williams, page 12).

Angels Tell Shepherds the Good News- Match the angels. (Big Puzzles for Little Hands: Jesus’ Life and Lessons by Carla Williams, page 13).

Shepherds Find The Baby (find the hidden pictures)- Hidden Pictures Explore Hidden Treasures in God’s Word (Grade 1 – 3) by Linda Standke, page 17.

Wise Men Visit Jesus- Find the matching pictures and draw lines to them. (Big Puzzles for Little Hands: Jesus’ Life and Lessons by Carla Williams, page 14).

The First Christmas Gift- To find out what the first Christmas gift was, write the first letter of each picture on the line above the picture. (Wa-a-ay Cool Bible Puzzles by Nancy I. Sanders, page 35).

Go to Egypt- Help Joseph take Mary and Jesus to Egypt (maze). (Big Puzzles for Little Hands: Jesus’ Life and Lessons by Carla Williams, page 15).

The Flight to Egypt-Flip the page maze to help Joseph and his family travel to Egypt. . (Wa-a-ay Cool Bible Puzzles by Nancy I. Sanders, page 37 & 38).



Quizzes:

sundayschoolsources.com- CHRISTMAS QUIZ. “How much do you know about Christmas? Instructions. This PowerPoint version is designed to be shown with a digital projector

snopes.com- Christmas Legends Quiz. 10 questions.

a4esl.org- Christmas Story Quiz



Skits:

kidssundayschool.com- The Birth of Jesus- A lively skit about the people and times during the Birth of Jesus.

kidssundayschool.com- Not What I Wanted- Have you ever been disappointed by a Christmas Gift?

christiancrafters.com-Several Christmas Skits, Plays & Dramas posted here

Tutorial: Clay ornament/tags

 We made these ornament/tags for Crafty Night: November last night.

I LOVE how they turned out. I kept seeing them all over the internet, but mostly made

with porcelein clay, air dry clay, or salt dough. I was like, "Uh, what about plain old polymer clay?"

So I grabbed a big block of Fimo soft. (SUCH an awesome clay compared to my Sculpey III frustration last year!)

First thing I did was lay a piece of parchment paper onto my table. Wax paper would be fine too. Just so your clay doesn't stick to the table. And after warming a small piece of clay in my hands, I rolled it out with a rolling pin. That plastic orb thing in the picture is actually part of a two-inch plastic capsule from a gumball machine. It will be used later to cut out my shape.

 Next, grab a doily & press it into your clay by gently rolling the pin over it.

Remove the doily. The cool thing about clay is that if it doesn't come out the way you like it, you can smash it all up & start over.

(This is BEFORE you bake it of course!)

Use your "cookie cutter" of choice.

You can cut out any shape you'd like.

Use rubber alphabet stamps to personalize your clay piece.

These are perfect for gift tags on prezzies if you embellish with someone's name.

And these go from prezzie-to-tree-ornament in a jiffy!

I'm all about the 2-in-1 gifts!

Use a straw to make a hole in the top.

Bake in your oven according to the directions on your specific clay.

Fimo soft is baked at 230 degrees F, for up to 30 minutes. These ornaments were baked for 25 minutes in my oven.

Loop on some string & you're done!
(From the 12.34 oz brick of Fimo soft, we got about 36-40 of these sized ornaments.)

You can paint or seal these if you want. But it's not necessary.

I am going to try "staining" some so the stamping really pops.

I'm totally diggin' the owlie "dream" ornaments & will have some in the shop later this week!

♥

Snowmen Advent Garland

I had this idea a few months ago, &, I know it's a bit early to unveil Christmas-y stuff, but sometimes when I craft I just get too excited & hafta share right away!

The funny thing is, this snowmen advent garland was just gonna be a plain old plastic capsule advent garland until yesterday. I was just gonna hang up the capsules in a pretty little colorful row from some string & call it good. But, THEN, I hit some happy turbulence on my plane ride to Crafty Town.

In case you haven't figured it out yet, the snowmen are made from those plastic capsules you get from "gumball" machines. These large ones were 50cents each. So, step one in this project is to procure your capsules. I hit up a Walmart. (I haven't checked online for a source, but maybe ebay??) And, I'm not saying you won't look like a crazy lady popping all those quarters in the machines, spinning the handles & waiting with giddy claps for the prizes to come out. OK, so maybe I shouldn't have clapped so much. DO have a large sack or purse at the ready to hold all your trinkets.
You'll need to purchase 24 capsules. Beginning December 1st, you open one each day through Christmas Eve.

The next thing you'll want to do is to separate the lids from the bases. You'll be drilling two small holes into the lids of each capsule. I don't know what size drill bit I used. It doesn't REALLY matter. Mine was small---but not too small that I couldn't easily fit my cording through when I strung them all up.

Take your cord, or ribbon or twine or whatever you choose to string the capsules onto, & start adding your lids. You'll go down through the top & then up through the bottom. And you can cut your cord/ribbon/twine to whatever length you'd like.

After your cording is strung through, put some hot glue in the spot right in the center of the holes & add some pom poms. Try not to cover up the drilled holes with glue----so you can slide your snowman any which way if you need to, to adjust the position, etc.

The bases are clear-ish. If you want to maintain an air of mystery about what prizes are inside your advent garland, you'll have to cover that up somehow.
First, I took black puffy paint & made dollops for the eyes & mouth. Then, I cut out long skinny triangles from felt for the "carrot" nose. I hot glued those on.

Now it's time to go outside & paint! It doesn't matter if you do this step or the previous step first or second.
I bought the cheapest brand of WHITE spray paint at Walmart & also CLEAR SEALER. Spray one quick coat inside the bottom capsule. It doesn't have to be solid or perfect. When that is dry, spray another quick coat of the clear sealer. The white spray paint tends to get easily scratched on the plastic surface. The sealer helps to prevent scratches appearing so easily. Of course, you could spend a couple extra dollars & purchase Krylon spray paint made SPECIFICALLY for plastic surfaces & have no problem at all!
Another idea: Instead of painting inside, you can fill the capsule with white shredded crinkle paper. I know they sell it at Dollar Tree, among other places. Your little treasures will still stay hidden quite well!

When everything is dry, pop the lid & base together & you're done!! Isn't it adorable??!!
I'm so in love with this project.
Seriously.

Now, at 50cents each, it might seem kinda spendy to pay $12.00 for 24 capsules. BUT here's a tip: the toys are already inside! No need to go out & buy more trinkets or prizes! Of course, you can if you want. But remember, there's no need to spend a lot of money on little prizes. For me, advents are all about the waiting, the anticipation, the suspense, the surprise...


In fact, my 2 girls received ONE store-bought Barbie advent calendar a couple years ago. There were little prizes & Barbie accessories hidden behind each day's secret door. My girls swapped opening the prizes every other day. So, just because you have multiple kids doesn't mean you have to buy something for EVERYone, EVERY day! They can take turns getting the prize.

One of my favorite places to shop for tiny {& vintage-y} doo-dads is Tiny Things are Cute. They have a lot of fun things & you'll have fun lookin' around!
 

(63 days until the advent starts!)
♥

It's a Holiday

A living statue of Amherst's Emily Dickinson in Thorne's.



At dawn today along the woodland way into downtown Northampton I came upon a scraggly little tree that someone had strung a strip of decorations on.



Here's a video by Northampton artist Dann Vazquez about a real-life local Christmas mystery that concludes with a happy ending.



MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Let's keep Christ in Christmas

I remember growing up in our home it was always Christmas. So one day  I saw that someone had taken Christ out  and put in an x.  I was confused  so I went and ask my mom  what does that mean  why did someone use an x instead of Christ.  She told me  that they had taken Christ out of Christmas.  Well that has stayed with me  thorough out the years  and have found it really bothers me  to  see Christmas spelled  that way.  Is it because  people are in a hurry  and don't take time to write Christmas.

And Happy Holiday  well that dosen't work fo me either,  it is Merry Christmas  and if you tell me Happy Holiday  I am going to say back Merry Christmas.   And I have a Christmas Tree  not a holiday tree.  How sad  that we have became a nation  that feels like that if you tell someone Merry Christmas  you might offend them.  I will say Merry Christmas  till the day I die  and you will NEVER see me take Christ out of Christmas

after all  He is the reason for the season

WhiMSy love Christmas

I thought I'd share some Christmas things. Like the tree...

...& the newest ornament.

(handmade by me!)

...& the wrapping...

(tissue paper wrapped in vintage string, paper circle cutouts & plastic letter beads.

...& the glittery Christmas winter house...

(that took me 3 hours to make! haha!)

...& the family Christmas card...

(from my friend Laura at on3photostudios.com)

...& the prezzies...

(clay cups of cocoa ornaments)

Have fun getting ready for Christmas!!

♥