Christmas Countdown with Books

Here's another late Christmas idea...

I read on multiple blogs this year the idea of wrapping up a book (or just stashing in a basket if you don't want to have to wrap them) for every day of December leading up to Christmas day. I just LOVE this idea and plan to start my book acquisitions!! (I already have a few, but have a ways to go!) If you have any must reads, leave it in the comments section below!

I do hope to wrap mine, but I want to make special reusable cloth wrapping paper so as to cut down on the environmental waste. Not exactly sure how I will do this...whether it will be fabric bags or some other creation, only time will tell! Will try to remember to update next Christmas!

Reindeer Food

So this is a little late to use this year, but found the cutest idea last year. Several sites have different takes on it, so I'm surprised I had never heard of it before...reindeer food!! The "recipe" is:
Dry Oatmeal
Red Sugar Sprinkles
Green Sugar Sprinkles

Mix them together and pour into bags. There was a cute poem to use with it at the following site:
Reindeer Food Poem

I ran out of sprinkles while making it, so I had to improvise. I tinted some sugar with food coloring and it worked pretty well. Not quite as sparkly, but it worked!

This is our second year of doing this. Last year, we had blizzard-like conditions and over a foot of snow, so we just opened the front door and threw it out. This year both girls got to sprinkle some food. It was a little too cold out for Little Sis, but Big Sis had a blast and went to town! (Furry Dog did try to eat much of it before we could get him back inside...so keep your pets away!)

This will definitely be a tradition for us!

Belated Merry Christmas!

We are in between family gatherings, but thought I'd maybe post a pic or two (if I can find any good ones) along with some links to the most-requested items from our Christmas dinner!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

Sausage and Tortellini Soup - I fix this every year around Christmas (and at other times too) - it is one of my favorite crock-pot soup recipes. My recipe is just slightly different, but I think this version would be equally good!

Corn Pudding/Casserole - Couldn't find the exact recipe that I use. This one was close. I usually mix everything but the cornbread, then add that. "Everything" also includes 1/4 tsp. salt and pepper to taste. Mine usually needed 1 hour to bake, especially if doubled. Yum!

Strawberry Salad/Dessert - This is another family favorite. I have yet to try mine frozen...it is really delicious served as is and refrigerated (just won't keep quite as long most likely). I omit the pecans (I think this recipe lists walnuts) due to a nut allergy in the family. I also use more cool whip - use a medium or large size depending on how much I want (and also how it tastes as I mix it in...ha!).

Reindeer craft and attempted fingerprint cards

A couple of weeks ago, we spent a late afternoon crafting! First, Big Sis made a reindeer (Lil Sis wasn't interested and just wanted to play). Big Sis is simply crazy about Rudolph, so we used another craft from Ramblings of a Crazy Woman (and yes, her title is right...it was super easy!).

First, we folded some brown construction paper to make a triangle (I trimmed off the excess). Big sis dipped her hands in brown paint and made handprints on a piece of white card stock (took us two tries to get good handprints).

I cut out the handprints for her as her cutting skills aren't quite there yet, then she glued them on along with two googly eyes and a big red pom pom. Then she decided to decorate him a little more with glue (can't remember what she said she was "drawing"...I think maybe a mouth, although it's in a funny position).
(Notice that we used the washable Elmer's glue this time...I think this was the day after the Gingerbread Man Mod Podge incident!)

What I love about this is that it could even make a cute card to give in person - to a preschool teacher, grandparent, etc. since he can open up! Big Sis loved hers too much and wanted it in her bed, so we tried making the following for a card:
Finger Print Art from Ramblings of a Crazy Woman

Big Sis decided she wanted to make a Christmas tree, so I had them watch me make an example. Here's how they turned out...(note that Lil Sis got a hold of my card, so it's hard to see the "example"...ha!)
Big Sis decided to give her card to Daddy, so for her preschool teachers and music class teacher, we decided to do glitter stamps. We used a Christmas tree cookie cutter (it was a small one from our Play Doh kit), dipped it in glue, then sprinkled glitter on top. On the inside of the card, she drew a picture and wrote her name (in marker of course...that is her favorite medium outside of paint right now). She also put some Christmas stickers on the card. I don't have any good examples left to show, but she just loved doing this project. Glitter is actually even better than paint or markers!! We did this same craft for Valentine's Day last year using a heart cookie cutter. She stamped it several times, overlapping, on the front of the card. They turned out really pretty!

Happy Christmas Crafting!

Gingerbread Man Craft

A week or two ago, Big Sis and I decided to craft while Lil Sis napped. We tried making gingerbread men using the directions from Ramblings of a Crazy Woman.

First, we painted our gingerbread men and sprinkled on cinnamon while the paint was still wet. Once the paint was dry, we started gluing on our "accessories" (googly eyes, pipe cleaner mouth, white pom pom buttons, and ribbon for the shirt and pant cuffs). Right now, it's easier for Big Sis to paint on Mod Podge than to squeeze out some glue (something we need to practice, just never feel like practicing in the middle of a craft!) and glue sticks just never seem to work well for us. (Sorry for no pics - this was pre-blog!)

Needless to say, Little Sis woke up just as I had finished mine, so while Big Sis continued to glue, I took Lil Sis to get a snack and help her wake up. This is the scene I found when I returned:

If you can't tell from the pictures, she went crazy with the Mod Podge while I was away. There IS a gingerbread man buried underneath all of that white. Don't know what made me think I could leave her alone with a bottle of Mod Podge! (Especially since she becoming a "Scientist" like Lil Sis!)

Needless to say, after thoroughly washing our hands and changing some clothes, we let it dry and cut it out. She has one very stiff, shiny gingerbread man! Hers doesn't smell very cinnamon-y, however! Ha!

Such a cute idea!

Christmas in the Air

While trying to come up with teacher and Sunday school teacher gifts, came across this really neat idea. Due to the stomach flu running rampant, I haven't been able to try the pretzel/Hershey kiss/M&M treat given, but looking forward to making some for Christmas! (For our Sunday School teachers, we just put the M&Ms and a few of the kisses in a canning jar topped with some Christmas fabric I had on hand.) Such a neat idea!

M&M Nativity Story at My Computer is My Canvas

Merry Christmas!

Stomach Flu and Christmas Crafts

Well, so much for posting last night! The girls so graciously passed along their stomach flu, so computer time was the last thing on my mind!

With Christmas just around the corner, we have been doing a lot of Christmas crafting! My eldest (still need to come up with their blog names!) LOVES LOVES LOVES crafts and art projects (the younger one enjoys them as well, but not quite to the same degree as big sis yet).

On Thursday, we had the opportunity to work on a craft from one of my favorite sites, Ramblings of a Crazy Woman. We decided to try our own version of her bottle Christmas tree craft.

Instead of using liter bottles, we used smaller water bottles. First came the painting:

(We used washable paint, so it didn't work as well as acrylic would have. The youngest one is my "scientist", so I must use washable supplies with her!)

While the girls washed their hands, I used the blow dryer on our "trees" so that we could immediately proceed to the next step.

For ornaments, we decided to almost exclusively use stickers. (Love the 2/$1 holiday sticker packets at Walgreens - they were the perfect size for this project!) Towards the end, the eldest decided she wanted to add pony beads, so we tried using Mod Podge and attached a few.
Finally, we added stars to the top. Mommy had to step in and help a bit with this step, especially since the youngest one was going to town with the Mod Podge/paintbrush! Here is our finished product:

The one on the left is my eldest's, then mine, and then the youngest (you can still see all the Mod Podge fun!)

Thanks again for a great craft idea!! We had so much fun!

First Blog!

Well, here goes! Finally joining the rest of the world in creating a blog. I'm not entirely sure what direction I will take with this blog yet...will it become a daily diary of memories with my little girls so that extended family can keep up on our daily lives and to serve as a memory archive for when the girls are old? Will I start posting and sharing the various crafts I try, both alone and with my girls? I'm guessing it will be a combination of the two...but only time will tell! Regardless, here's to the journey that lies ahead! Will try to post an "official" blog tonight.