Soft Sock Snowmen

I'm tired this morning, really darn tired. Yesterday was a LONG day. Spin class and then watching my own kids plus two more until 4pm. After they took off we did a quick house pick up and got ready for a dozen playgroup moms and a handful of kids to arrive for the annual cookie swap. A couple of moms hung out to visit until around 10. So yeah, long day. And then the great and wonderful Jojo was up at 5:15 this morning. I'm gonna need either a lot of coffee or a nap.

So I tried really hard to keep the little ones entertained yesterday. We made homemade peppermint marshmallows, reindeer poop, cut snowflakes, and these snowmen from some old socks and tshirts. They were the hit of the day!

We sort of followed this tutorial from Small Fry & Co. The kids had a great time stuffing their snowmen and the big kids enjoyed drawing their own faces on. I especially enjoy that Sweet Pea gave her's eyelashes! I think we may be making a few more of these to put around the house. I only have about a million old socks in a box in the closet!

Okay, off to get this day going. And then take a nap!

$2 Door Decor - GIANT STOCKING!

 Welcome! That's my front door up there! And that's the GIANT stocking that's serving as holiday decor! I hung up some greenery and lights a few weeks ago but have been thinking, the door NEEDS something. I thought maybe a wreath?? Maybe some bows added to the top?? More lights?? I cruised the blog world and my local Walmart looking for something that struck my fancy. Then I remember that I had picked up this huge stocking from the Dollar Tree. I thought, hey a huge stocking, with out really knowing what I wanted to use it for. I am really tickled with how this came out and my mom reminded me that she always hung a big knit stocking on the door during the holidays . . . that must of been why nothing else seemed quite right!

Anyway, here's what Sweet Pea and I did if you want to make your own.

Start with a HUGE stocking. This is from the Dollar Tree. They have red & green and red & white.  They still had lots left at my store this morning. You could also sew one if you wanted but it didn't seem worth the effort to me when this was a dollar!

Really, you could embellish this any number of ways. We decided on a big letter "K" for our last name. I had intended to cut and trace one by printing it off my computer but I was having troubles with the printer so I free handed the letter on to some white felt and cut it out.

I considered ironing on my letter using Steam a Seam or other fusible web but opted for the glue gun instead. I figured it was going out doors and if it get's wrecked by weather it's from the Dollar store and I can make a new one!

And there it is, the big letter K. Sweet Pea was quite excited about this since "K" is the letter of the week at preschool! So yeah, the K is cool but this stocking still needed something.



The something ended up being some of these interesting foam snowflake ornaments. They are also from the good old dollar store. They remind me of packing foam. I considered a row of white pompoms too but they ended up being overkill.

I attached the snowflakes with the glue gun too.

Here it is all done hanging on the front door. I picked up two wreath hangers and pinned down the bottom with a command picture hanging strip.

I really love the look & smell of a wreath on the door at Christmas but I am thrilled to have something different decorating my door this season. Now if I could just get someone to fill it up with presents just for me!!

A Better Beer - Beer Can Vase

This past Saturday night we attended a Holiday Party. No not a Christmas Party, a Holiday Party. The host is Jewish, the hostess is Catholic. It was fun times for all until our friends, who my husband was riding home with, got a flat tire. And had to wait for a ride. During the wait, they managed to pick up these really interesting beer cans. Is it a can, is it a bottle?? Who cares, I thought the shape was interesting, so now it's a vase!

 See, plain old Miller Lite cans. I washed and dried them and cut off the little loose metal ring that was part of the cap.

 Gave them a coat of spray paint primer. Not sure if this was necessary but I had it on hand so I used it. Then I gave them a coat of Rustoleom's Oil Rubbed Bronze Spray Paint. I can't find a photo of the can online but I got it at Lowe's.

 Here is where I apologize for not taking more photos. I don't know why I didn't. Sometimes I just get going on something and forget. Anyway, I waited for the cans to dry overnight and then hot glued a bit of twine around the top to hide the threading from the cap.

I made two of these but here is one of them hanging out on my front table. Like that greenery in there?? Yeah, it's a piece from my old fake Christmas tree that broke a couple of years ago. I kept all pieces and use them to fill vases, cover the top of my piano, make swags. I'm actually cruising Craigslist for another fake tree!

Twine Wrapped JOY

When I was a kid one of my favorite things to pull out of the Christmas decoration box was a figurine that said "JOY" in candy cane striped letters. It had a little elf that peeked out through the center of the "O". A happy little decoration and it cemented the word "JOY in my brain as part of the holidays. That said, when I saw the tutorial at  Sense & Simplicity  for these really cute twine wrapped letters, I wanted some of my own!

So I cut some letters out of my trusty corrugated plastic sheets, fired up the DVR and the glue gun and went to work. I didn't follow the tutorial exactly but you get the idea right?? I threaded mine on another piece of twine and added them to the mantel decor. Not sure they will stay there or if they'll get a new home somewhere else!

Christmas Dinner - Stained Glass Window Jello

I apologize in advanced to those of you who are here looking for craft ideas. Why?? Because this is the time of year where I spend way too much time in the kitchen. And if I'm in the kitchen I'm not crafting. If I'm not crafting I'm not sharing them here. SO yeah, there may be a few more recipe posts here in the next few weeks because that's what I'm up too.

Today I'm sharing the recipe for Stained Glass Window Jello. This is a staple at Christmas dinner at my mom's house. We only make it once a year for that meal. In fact, making it for this tutorial was strange for me and eating it before Christmas dinner with my family was even stranger! Also, making it alone, rather than with the help of my mom and sisters was strange too. I forgot how time consuming it can be. It's one of those do a bit now, wait, and do some more later recipes. The end result is a really gorgeous jello salad for the holidays!


This is the shopping list for this recipe:

1 small pkg orange jello
1 small pkg lime jello
1 small pkg strawberry (or cherry) jello
1 small pkg lemon jello
1 big can crushed pineappple
1/4 cup sugar
1 carton Cool Whip


I pkg each of orange, lime, and strawberry jello. Make with 1 cup boiling water and 1/2 cup cold water. Pour each into an 8 inch pan (or close - can even use 8 inch round cake pans). Let set up overnight.
Then drain 1 big can of crushed pineapple. Heat 1 cup of pineapple juice and 1/4 cup sugar to boiling. Add 1 pkg lemon jello. Then add 1/2 cup cold water. Let this set up for awhile. This is tricky. You want it syrupy, but not set. Check it in an hour. Mix with 1 carton Cool Whip. Fold in crushed pineapple. Then cut colored jellos into cubes and fold into jello/cool whip mixture. Let set up for at least 6 hours.

Start by making your three flavors of jello.

You will mix each packet with one cup boiling water, stir to dissolve jello & add one cup cold water.

Stir, stir, stir and then pour into 8 inch square containers to set. Pie plates or cake pans  work fine too.

Later, after you first three flavors of jello have set up, drain the can of crushed pineapple, reserving the juice. Take one cup pineapple juice and add 1/4 cup sugar. Heat until boiling.

Remove from heat and add 1 package lemon jello.

Put this mixture in the fridge and let sit for approximately one hour, or until it is thick and syrupy. It took about 90 minutes for me. DON'T try to rush this in the freezer. I tried that the first time. It was a disaster. While that sets, cut your three flavors of jello into one inch cubes and spread in a 9 x 13 inch pan.

 If you wish, let your kids, husband or dog eat the jello "crumbs". They will be happy.

When the lemon jello has reached the proper consistency, mix with one container of cool whip.

And stir in the crushed pineapple you drained earlier.

Pour this mixture over your jello cubes and spread evenly. Refrigerate overnight or until jello is set. Cut and serve.

Really, you could use any flavor of jello in this recipe. Just red and green for Christmas. Just red flavors for valentines day. Red & Blue for fourth of July. I think it'd be tasty any time! For me it is a Christmas dish and I can't wait to have it again in a few weeks!

A Day in Bethlehem

The kids and I took a trip to Bethlehem today. We visited the leather shop, the bead works, the potter, the bakery, the weaver & the carpenter. We also saw musicians, the wise men and even Mary & Joseph and their new baby Jesus!

So Bethlehem was in the lobby our our church and each of the vendor booths had a different craft activity for the kids along with a vendor in costume who explained what their shop was like during the days of Jesus. The kids made:

Stamped Pouches - craft foam with punched holes that the kids laced and the staff stamped their names on in the leather works

Beaded Bracelets on leather cord in the bead shop

Playdough cross & star ornaments in the pottery shop

Practiced their hammer skills in the carpentry shop

Stirred and sampled bread in the bakery

Made tambourines with the musicians.

Woven craft foam placements with the weavers

We also gave coins to the beggars and had to chat with the Roman guards to pass to the shops. I wish would have taken more photos but I was too busy helping Jojo with all the crafts! It really is a fun event and keeps the kids minds on the true meaning of Christmas!

Pretty Paper Tree

So you've seen the ribbon trees around right?? The cute ones made from foam cones and covered in ribbons. Like this one from She's Kinda Crafty

Super cute right?? But what if it's Saturday night and it's cold and your kids want to do a Christmas project and you don't want to go out? You don't have ribbon or a foam cone around either but you really want to make a tree like this?? Well, around here we improvise. I made a cone of out some bent up poster board I had stashed beside the dryer, cut up some strips of scrapbook paper & fired up the glue gun.  This is how it went down.

Those are just a few of the strips of paper. This took about six 12X12 sheets of paper cut into 1X4 inch strips.

This the cone. I just rolled up some poster board into a cone shape, trimmed a bit and secured with a few squirts of hot glue. Professional huh?? It's about eighteen inches tall or so. It would make a great dunce cap.

This is the first row of strips we glued on. We glued in a ring two inches from the bottom of the cone. And yes, that is my daughter with her finger up her nose. Classy! I had another photo of the cone at this stage but this one was too funny not to share!

Then we folded the strips up and secured with hot glue. I squirted the glue and Sweet Pea folded up the paper. Be careful when folding not to squish the folds. Squishing them will result in a flat tree.

We glued the second row in a ring about two inches up from the first. I tried to vary the pattern a bit. We then continued up to the top of the tree. For the top I made a ring out of a strip of paper, turned it on it's side and secured it around the top of the tree with glue. I'm totally sure I love that you can see the white side of the paper in all those loops. Might be cool to try this again with paper with a print on both sides or gluing to papers together before making the loops?

And here is the tree hanging out on top of the TV cabinet with my monkey's all dressed up for Christmas.