Paper Wreaths

I've seen these before and really liked them, but I didn't give them a try until fellow consultant, Amy, provided a great set of instructions here last Monday. These are so much fun and so addicting, I love making each of them different! Here are all of the ones I have made so far! I made the first one for the mom of the boy I babysit - I added his cute picture in the middle and stamped '2008' on the back - I just need to add ribbons and pictures to the rest!

Snowflakes

I didn't make these ornaments, but they are very special to me - my mom made them and I remember them on our tree growing up. She gave them to me a few years ago so they are now on my tree! My tree just wouldn't be the same without them!

The girls also got a new snowflake ornament at church today and it came with this poem which goes along perfectly with today's post, so I thought I'd share it here.

***

For I Am A Child of God - by Shel Eldredge

I look outside my window,

And see the fallen snow,

The world is still and silent

With a peaceful, heavenly glow.

And as I stare in wonder,

Upon my window falls

A single lovely snowflake,

So delicate and small.

I marvel at the pattern

As it slowly melts away.

Arwork from the sky above,

I wish that it could stay.

Another lands and then one more,

I study them with care.

Each snowflake is so different,

I cannot help but stare.

I am like those snowflakes

That dance up in the sky.

For I was created, uniquely me,

And sent to earth to fly.

God loves me and He watches me,

Just like I watch the snow.

He wants me to be the best I can,

To sparkle and to glow.

I'll try my best to do what's right,

I'll hold to the Iron Rod.

I am more precious than falling snow,

For I am a child of God.

Gaudy Balls

You've probably seen lots of pics that I've posted here of my girls making these - it's one of their favorite projects to do with Gma Nae - or Damma Nae as Brailee calls her ;-) Here are the end results - these are made with styrophome (sp?) balls, straight pins, beads, and sequins - fun, simple project to keep little hands busy, just beware you might end up with sequins everywhere!

3-D Circle Ornaments & Boxes

We used to make these ornaments out of old Christmas Cards when I learned how to make these growing up - I've had fun making these with the awesome CTMH papers lately. Here are some of both kinds and different sizes. I use my Coluzzle circle to cut out the pieces for the 3-D Circle Ornaments, which is SO much easier than we used to do it - we used to trace and then cut out each circle. I also mixed in some different shapes in here - circles with a square inside, squares on squares, etc, they're really fun to play with! The bigger balls have 20 circles, the smaller balls have 8 circles, the square ones are made up of 6 pieces.

I made these ones for friends who had babies within the last couple months - the other side has a spot for baby's picture.

These are the ones the girls made. I cut and scored their circles, they picked their paper and cut and pasted their triangles and then put them together. These are proudly hanging on our tree.

Clay Ornaments

As some of you may not know, I also like to play with clay! All through high school I would use polymer clay and make beads, figures, and other fun clay creations. My mom found a darling clay angel ornament about 7 or 8 years ago and gave it to me for Christmas, so that's where I got the idea for these ornaments. These are the ones I have left that I have managed to not sell or give away ;-) I have more mini ornaments and still lots of clay, the girls and I might make some more while they're off for Christmas Break - their last day is Friday and they get two whole weeks - I think we'll have fun! Plus David is only working 2 more days this year and the rest of the year he's taking off, plus no kids to babysit, so we will have some great family time together!

Homemade Ornaments

I always enjoy learning how to make new ornaments - instead of plates of goodies for friends and neighbors during the holiday season, I make ornaments, which is a tradition that I stole from my mom. Over the next couple of days, I am going to post some of my favorites - most of them I learned how to make with my mom and/or Grandma Sager growing up and have enjoyed making more and teaching my girls how to make them, too. So, stay tuned for more ornaments!

I'll start with these fun stars - I came across one about a couple months ago that my mom had made and called her to remember how to make them. They are Moravian German Stars and I Googled them and found this really great website with instructions and pictures - click here if you'd like to learn how! If you make any, be sure to leave a comment with a link - I would love to see what you create! They are so much fun to make with different sizes and it's fun to experiment with the strips to see all of the different results! To get all the different sizes, I have used 1" strips, 3/4" strips, 1/2" strips, and 1/4" strips (which is the size I re-taught myself with - it's a bit tricky that small, so I suggest trying with a bigger size until you get it down). They really aren't very difficult at all, I've figured that it takes me less than 10 minutes to make one star, and that includes cutting the strips. They are the perfect project to do while sitting and watching a movie because they don't take up any room at all. NOTE: The double sided paper is the best for these as both sides of the strip will show - but they have also turned out cute with just the solid side showing. Happy paper folding!

Oh Christmas Tree

Growing up, we always would put our Christmas Tree on Grandpa Sager's birthday, which is today - Happy Birthday, Grandpa! Once David and I got married, however, that tradition changed for me ;-) He likes to put up all decorations as soon as Thanksgiving is over. This year we're still a little slow since we were out of town Thanksgiving weekend, and he's been really sick for the last few weeks and just hasn't had the motivation. We did get our tree up and finally finished decorating it this week. Here are some pictures. Maybe I'll post more of our decorations later.

In years past, David has been known as Griswald, and this year neighbors, family, and friends were getting worried when his decorations weren't up ;-) and he'll still probably worry them since he didn't end up doing everything that we've done the last 4 years.

***

Here is our village...we've been collecting pieces over the last 8 years.

I would love to see your Holiday decorations - leave me a comment if you have them posted on your blog!

All Kaylee Wants For Christmas...

...are her two front teeth! And she just might get them, they are really coming in! She keeps saying 'Now I'll have buck teeth like my friend Ashley' and if she's anything like her mother, she sure will ;-)

And here is Kaylee and Brailee exactly one year ago - Kaylee had lost her first two bottom teeth and Brailee had her two top AND bottom teeth in - it's hard to tell in the first pic, so we took this other pic from below.

B'onna

When Brailee is upset or trying to get her sister's attention, she will actually say Brianna's name correctly, but really emphasize by saying Bri-onna! But when she is just playing or talking about her sister, she shortens it to B'onna, it's too cute! My girls really love each other and I am so proud of the way they play together. I thought with the two older girls that Brailee would get left out, but they all play together so well! Here they are yesterday morning before school - forgive the bed hair!

Monthly Word Puzzle Workshop

Here is my upcoming workshop - choose from the following options: (2) 6x6 layouts, 12x12 layout, or (3) cards. View the details here. If the 6x6 options look familiar, it's because I am 'stealing' the ideas for those ones from the Unit Monthly Word Puzzle Swap that we did a while ago - you can view all swap pages here. Techniques/Products featured in this workshop are Stamp Rolling, Second Generation Stamping, Sculpting Foam, 3-D Foam Squares, Waxy Flax

6x6 Option

Card Option (all patterns from Originals)




12x12 Option (pattern from Cherish)


Thanks for looking and for your comments - I really appreciate them!

Cherish Challenge

Here is my layout for this month's Cherish Challenge - the left page is also a sneak peek at this month's Monthly Word Puzzle Workshop using the February Word Puzzle and the Key To My Heart stamp set. This month's featured products/techniques are Stamp Rolling, Second Generation stamping, and using Sculpting Foam and 3-D Foam Squares.

1st Birthday Card

I made this card about a month ago, but forgot to post it - mostly because I forgot to send it and didn't want to spoil the surprise as my SIL reads my blog. My nephew turned one last month and this is the card that I made for him - I finally remembered to get it in the mail last week, and they received it, so it's safe to post ;-)

I used MCC #33 but changed Sorbet to Autumn Terracotta to make it more boyish. I used a PageMaps Card Map for the layout of this card and the fun CTMH Nursery Bash stamp set - it's one that I don't use nearly enough, but it's darling!

***

Thanks for looking!

All Decked Out

It's been snowing here just about every day this week - not much, only a skiff, nothing that really sticks, but it's been getting me in a snowy mood! I found these cards that I created last month but forgot to post, so here they are! I used November's Stamp of the Month, All Decked Out, to create a card for a gathering I had. I made two that I didn't like before I finally made one I liked and felt was good enough for the ladies to create at the party. I'll show my favorite first and then the others. For this first one I used Liquid Applique on the top of the hat, ends of the scarf, and middle of the snowflakes.

This was the first - I love the snowman, but it was a lot of cutting for not a very fun card.

This one was next - I liked it better since there was more to the card, but still too much cutting for a gathering project. I used Liquid Applique on the hat and scarf and Prisma Glitter on the swirls.

Thanks for looking!