Merry Christmas!

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas!

Last minute sewing. . .

I have been working on my Christmas Quilt and had a few star points that just weren't working so I made them into a little mat for a special someone for Christmas.

Christmas Tree Gift Bags

I just loved this painting idea from No Time For Flashcards. She used a fork to paint the needles on a pine tree. We painted on brown paper lunch bags added a few sparkles/sequins and then used them for Christmas gift bags.

A Few Christmas Cards

A few weeks ago I was able to make it to a card class and here are a few cards we made.

Cinnamon Ornaments

Having a snow day yesterday we decided to make cinnamon ornaments.

Mix 1/4 cup cinnamon with 4 TB of applesauce. Either roll out or I had my daughter hand press out to about 1/4 inch and then we used cookie cutters to cut trees. Poke a hole to hang it with a ribbon. It will take about a week to dry all the way.

The house smells yummy in the process!

Christmas Candy Cookie Trays

A few days ago we made spin art with our salad spinner in hopes of making these.

Then we baked cookies yesterday and wanted to take some to our neighbor and as I was looking at our paper plate piles I came up with this. . .

Cover you plates with plastic wrap so the paint doesn't get on your cookies. Plate on bottom. . .

plate on top. . .

tie up with cellophane or we used some clear bags we had on hand. And now you have a Candy/Cookie Tray.

I think we will make a few more of these today!

Christmas Quilt

Last Christmas I wanted to make a Christmas colored quilt but never got around to it. Throughout the year I have been adding to my red and green stash. After seeing Crazy Mom Quilts and her quilts of valor project; I thought the Wonky Star would be a perfect fit for my Christmas quilt.

I know it won't be done for this Christmas but it will for next!

The leaves are falling. . .

I actually think all the leaves are finally done falling. It is strange how we don't have one single tree in our yard but everyone's leaves. So we made up a tissue paper leaf tree. . .

And I suppose we should get the leaves cleaned up before it snows. It is hard to believe last year at this time we already had 20 in of snow!

Happy Halloween!

We just got done making last minute treats for the neighbor kids. Place 8 sixlet "spider legs" in between 2 black circles ( we used double sided tape) and add some spooky eyes. . .

Pumpkins and Ghosts

Another super fast and easy pumpkin creation. . .

and ghost. . .

Creepy Crawling Spiders

We needed a craft tonight before dinner and it needed to be a quick one. Preschool Playbook had these cute and simple spiders.

Then I made some popcorn pumpkin balls from Little Nummies for tonight's snack.

Let's get crafty. . .

A few days ago we made these leaves from Ramblings of a Crazy Women. I think they turned out great!

Today, the boys had a day out to the movies and dinner for Mr. P's birthday and I asked Miss A what she wanted to do and she said "Let's get crafty" So, we made cookies. . .
made pumpkins. . .
stamped ghosts with our cookie cutters. . .

and made these cool Pixo necklaces I found at Target. . .

and very long and fun filled day of activities.

Birthday Celebrations

This weekend we tackled 2 birthday parties. On Saturday we had Mr P's 3rd birthday and he requested a "digger" cake.

On Sunday we celebrated my nephew's birthday and Mr P together. My sister baked this awesome cake to incorporate the 2 birthdays.

On the road again. . .

This past weekend we hit the road (another 6+ hour trip - ugh) to my sister-in-laws wedding. Both the kids were in the wedding. Everything turned out wonderful (after a little bribing!)

This week was my nephews birthday. I thought I would make up a pillowcase for the special birthday boy. He is having a "Thomas" birthday. I have had this fabric laying around.

This coming weekend is our last event of the year, Applefest. It is one of my favorites. I love the fall festivals. I am also so glad it is the end!

Paper Plate Apples

We decided to make some apples on Miss A's day off of school yesterday. I saw the idea on Preschool Playbook. For our apple I sent Miss A out to find a stick and a leaf. She did probably 90% of the projet herself and did a great job!

We've been busy. . .

The school year finally started for us today. I am happy to get back on a schedule. It has been a busy summer with our business and I am glad it is almost over and we can start relaxing! We just got back from a little trip across the state. We hit up Hershey, Sesame Place, Philly, and the Lancaster area. It was a nice trip - but long drive with the wee ones.

In other news. . . we are expecting baby # 3 in the beginning of March so it has been several months of tired and not feeling great. But I am now getting some energy back and hope to start some more projects.

I made this pillowcase for a friend who loves to keep us entertained with all his Sesame Street stuff animals - I hope he liked it!

Wagon Trails

Monday we met with family at Wagon Trails, in Vienna, OH. You can take a safari ride through the property and get up close with lots of different animals - zebras, ostriches, elk, deer, water buffalo, camels, donkeys and more. . .

They give you a bucket of feed and the animals come right up and eat out of it - watch out the ostrich likes fingers!

The kids are still talking about how much fun they had!

Grape Salad

This is one of those recipes that every time I make it for a party/picnic everyone wants the recipe. Now I can just tell them to check here.

Grape Salad

8 oz cream cheese
8 oz sour cream
1 TB vanilla

Mix together. I have used light/no fat and see no problem in doing so.

Mix with
4lbs red grapes, washed, dried

Then, mix 1/2 cup brown sugar and 3 full sized butterfingers that are chopped finely

Place grape mixture in a wide bowl and then sprinkle the Butterfingers topping on top.

Refrigerate and enjoy the same day.

This does make a lot. It is a good amount for a picnic but once you make it you can cut it down to a family serving.

Enjoy!

Where the ducks walk on fish

This weekend we met some friends at Pymatuning State Park to feed the fish at the spillway. We had several HUGE bags of bread leftover from a festival.

It really is amazing ( and quite creepy!) how many fish there are in one spot!

We spent a good hour feeding the fish and then enjoyed a nice picnic.

Discover Presque Isle

This coming weekend is Discover Presque Isle. It is a three day event held at Presque Isle State Park. It is one of the ways the park raises funds to keep it running. There are over a hundred food and craft vendors (hubby's yummy food!). There is so much to do. Check out the schedule of events and join the fun!

Roar On The Shore

This past weekend Erie hosted Roar On The Shore Bike Rally. The weekend started with Bringin' in the Roar Bike Parade that the kids and I watched. 45 minutes of motorcycles - a blast! We also watched the stunt show one night. . .

Bikes lined the street for blocks. . .

Organizers expected 20,000 people over the 3 day event and they had over 20,000 the first night. Can't say it was much of a family type event but we snuck in were we could! Plus the hubby was cooking some awesome food!

Tissue Box Cover

I saw a tutorial for this reversible tissue box cover over at Pink Penguin. I thought I would make one real quick to add to my mom's birthday presents.

It did go together really quick and I just used fabric that I had on hand.

We have a 5 yr old. . .

It is official - we have a little 5 year old! I do believe Miss A had a great birthday. Her Dad took her to lunch at Bob Evans - her choice, all because of a bendy straw! And she ordered a baked potato, yogurt, and chocolate milk. . .her choice again. . . if I was five I think I would have went for dessert! Then they went to the movies. Her birthday dinner request - steak, mashed potatoes and corn ( in a can - even though she ALWAYS wants corn on the cob??) We then celebrated with a princess castle cake and presents. . .

This is her cake from her Jolly July 3rd party.

2 celebrations down, one to go!

Jolly July 3rd Party. . .

We decided to make these shirts and got the idea from our Family Fun Magazine. They were fun to make. A little more mommy crafting then the little people crafting. I didn't use the glue and glitter like they suggested. I just used regular fabric paint.

I also used the pasta stamp to make party favor bags. . .

And in the bags I made individual pinatas in the shape of fireworks.

A few more things to do in the kitchen and then PARTY time! - YEAH!

Party Decorations

This morning on One Pretty Thing, she had a Fourth of July Roundup and had a link to
Lilly Cakes for this red, white, and blue fringe paper. I thought I would make it to add to our decorations for our party on Friday.



It was very simple and I got a " O mom that is so pretty" from the birthday girl.

A few projects to do. . .

This weekend was a busy weekend. .. we enjoyed a picnic at the local arts festival - listening to music and watching the boats sail by. We worked another local festival and enjoyed a birthday party. And today we are catering a meal for 400 for company picnic. Food will be served in less then an hour. . .hope all goes well!

Flag Stamping

Today we decided to start making some decorations for our Jolly July 3rd Party. The party is to 1/2 to celebrate the 4th of July and 1/2 to celebrate Miss almost 5!

I carved a flag into a styrofoam tray ( silly me forgot to reverse the image and I have no more trays)

and then let Miss A paint the colors on. . .

and then let her stamp away. .

They turned out cute, now I need more trays. . .