THE POST CHRISTMAS CALM....

The rush is over and things are slowly getting back to normal. We're not rushing around as much and things just seem calmer...............this is the way I hope 2010 will be.

Texas has seen so much snow (for us it's a lot of snow!!)......and I love it. It has made for days where we've cuddled up inside, drunk mug upon mug of hot tea, and I've even managed to get a little bit of crafting done.

I've decided to post the last few Christmas craft photos..............and then I promise it'll be over until next year.

First, the candy wreaths I mentioned in my last post. I just need to find a way to preserve them now so that they can be used next year - they're to pretty to throw out

Then there was this scarf. Remember the treasure chest cake? Well these were part of the treasure that the kids hunted for at the party. I cut lengths of fleece and cut tassles into the ends. I then cut flowers out of felt using my Sizzix die cut machine, and attached them with a button. The kids loved them and they were really easy and quick to make. They're a great way to use up the off cuts that you always have left over once your finished with your bigger projects.

I couldn't resist including a picture of my snow babies on Christmas Day...............it could be another 80 years before anyone can get pictures like this again here!!!

I think I could fast be becoming a swap addict..........anyone know of a Swap Addicts Anonymous??? I took part in my first one around Halloween and have done 2 more since. I have had fantastic swap partners in every swap - they have spoilt me rotten!!! It is such a fun way to meet new people with the same interests as you, and let me tell you there is a wealth of talent out there!!! I am taking part in 3 swaps already this year. A Year Of Enchantment (hosted by Yarni Gras) - this one has me soooo excited. I'm also taking part in her Hot Mama Apron Swap - now who could possibly resist a title like that!!! Then I'm also doing The Martini Madness Apron Swap (hosted by Shawnee at The Flirty Apron). Here are a few peeky hints for the first two swaps I mentioned....

This is what I've used for the January Theme of Year Of Enchantment. The ornies are infact finished and I'm busting at the seams excited about them...............however, I can't show them to you just yet as our partners this month are not a suprise and I don't want to spoil the suprise for her - I hope she loves them as much as I do:-)

These are some of the goodies I'll be using to make the apron for the Hot Mama Apron Swap - my partner chose Old Man Winter as her theme.....I'll keep you posted on its progress.

Until next time, keep warm and keep crafting!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND YOURS...

A very Merry Christmas to you all - I hope that 2010 turns out to be a year full of love and laughter for you and your families.

Our Christmas day has been busy...starting at 1:30 this morning when hubby caught boy child and girl child rummaging through the presents under the tree!!! Little stinkers:-)

They were swiftly sent back to bed, and we did it properly at 7am.

It also included our Christmas Feast - we shared it with some special friends of ours (we're all foreigners and neither of us has any family here). It was really yummy:)

Sadly we bid farwell to our little elves last night.................Goodbye friends and we'll see you back again next Christmas.

They still managed a last bit of mischief - they baked the kids cupcakes one night.....oh were they good!!!

They entertained themselves with a game of ludo...........................I need lessons next year guys!!!

And then the grande finale - they got wind of our Christmas Eve Advent Activity and decided to send the kids on a treasure hunt (the clues were hidden in helium balloons that they had to pop). They found 4 items, which gave them clues as to where we were going.......a pair of gloves, a sachet of hot chocolate, a knitted beanie cap and the picture of the grinch.........can you guess where we went? Read on to find out:-)

Our Advent activites included a few more items we made that we decorated our house with. This Advent idea has been amazing. We've done so much together and have created some amazing keepsakes.............this has become our new tradition.

We decorated gingerbread houses..........who doesn't love doing that!!!

Everyone did a great job I thought. They were proudly displayed on our mantel today.

We made candy wreaths as well - I am yet to take a picture of these. We hung one wreath in each of our breakfast room windows - they looked very festive.

Our final Advent activity - I know you just can't bear the wait any longer can you..................we went to see ICE at the Gaylord Texan. It had a Grinch theme this year and was very pretty. Those people who carve those ice sculptures are super talented in my opinion.

Last night saw a mad scurry to get those last few gifts done...........needless to say, there are no pictures of them. My photography skills at midnight are not good, I can promise you that.

Now that the Christmas crafting is behind us, I'm looking forward to getting stuck into some other fun things. I have 2 swaps that I'm signed up for. I've also decided that this will be the year that I challenge myself to try some new things...............1st on my list... to give knitting socks a try!!! Watch this space, it could be pretty entertaining!!!

So as we put away the Christmas fabric and yarns, lets look forward to new ideas and new challenges in 2010.

Thank you for reading this blog....I'm glad I took the step into the blogging world:-)

BUTTERNUT SNOWMEN &SWAP PACKAGES

Hello crafty friends.....

Well the mailman has been busy around our street over the past few days............parcels from home have been arriving (oh how I LOVE those) and guess what else.....my swap parcel from The White Christmas Flirty Apron Swap. Oh boy, did my partner Edy spoil me:-)

My apron was made from the cutest reindeer fabric ever, and I got all sorts of other fantastic treasures........Edy thank you sooo much!!!

In other crafty news, we had such a fun Advent activity tonight. Paint, glitter, fabric and vegetables..............now I bet you're wondering!!!

This is how these...

became these...

Are they not so cute!!!

We painted them with 2 coats of glossy, white acrylic paint. Once that was dry we glued on our googly eyes and paper hats with the glue gun. We finished them off by poking in their noses, tying on their scarves and drawing on their mouths:-)

They were so easy to do and are adorable............now if Texas could just have a dusting of snow, it would complete the picture for them..............OK, so we can still hope can't we!!!

The elfy mischief continues...

They've emailed the Chief Elf, although they never did get to finish their email. Boy child kindly pushed the send button for them:-)

Then this morning, it appears they went for a spin around the neigbourhood...in my car!!! They also stuck stickers (the easily removed type) all over my windshield. I don't think there is any end to the mischief these two can get into.

Hope you're almost done with you To Do Lists............I think I'll be burning the midnight oil for the next few nights!!!!

CAKES AND CAMPING...

Who is stealing the hours in the day??? They seem to be dissapearing rather fast!!

School is out, and I'm one VERY happy mama. There's something very homely about having our children around us, without the distractions of homework and hectic schedules.

Last night's Advent activity was Family Campout around the Christmas Tree. OK, so maybe the floor was a little hard, but it was fun none the less. I made us all new jammie pants. Hubby and boy child had the same fabric and myself and girl child had the same fabric.

Today was a special friend of mines daughters birthday party. I got to make her birthday cake....that's become a bit of a tradition:-) Her party theme this year was a treasure hunt. I had a lot of fun making the cake, and she liked it, which was really all that mattered.

Well, we only have a few more days left with our elf friends - their stay here always seem so short!!! The other morning we found them in the fridge............I really do think they're beginning to miss the North Pole cold. Let's face it, this is Texas after all!!! They had made vanilla pudding and had got themselves set in it.........talk about a mess!!!!

Then last night, they put their sewing skills to the test yet again............they're definately improving!!! They made themselves matching sleeping bags out of the jammie scraps. Clearly they didn't want to feel left out:-0

Wishing you lots of crafty fun............ only 5 more days tu go!!!

EASY TEACHERS GIFTS

Hello....hello

One more day and then school is out for 2 whole weeks..............I am more excited about this than the kids are I think. We can sleep in, wear our jammies all day if the mood takes us - you get the picture!!!

So I had to give teachers gifts some thought -I was very late getting onto it this Christmas........shame on me:-) Between both the children, our teacher numbers have swelled from 2 to 6!!! So, what do you give that many teachers you ask????

I saw these long bottles that you use for salad dressing and oils at Walmart and wondered how I could make them more gifty and not so blah. Take a look and see what I did. I filled them with each teachers favorite candy, replaced the spout with a cork and added a label, some ribbon and a small Christmas decoration - I love the way they turned out, they look cheerful I thought.

Then of course you have the teachers whose favorite candy doesn't fit down the neck of the bottle......not to worry, I found some acrylic boxes at Hobby Lobby ($1-15 each on sale). I filled them up and added a label and a nice big candy striped bow:-)

In other craft news, another parcel is on it's way to the North Pole.............Santa please wait for it, I know I'm leaving it to the last minute, but you understand..............don't you???

This parcel had a few more goodies I'd made as gifts - jammie pants (I didn't take a picture) and this wallet (I cant remember off hand which blog I got it off, when I do I'll let you know). I had to fiddle around a bit with the wallet to get it right, but I did eventually. I was happy with the way it turned out.

The Elf News reports that the elves are still having a blast!!! They've been hiding in a bowl of Hershey Kisses (yum, you can't fault them for doing that) and making snow angels...........even Mr Leaky Leg and his friend joind in on this one.

Our Advent activities have been overshadowed by schedule madness over the past 2 days but I'm very excited as tomorrows activity is going to be so fantastic............I have no doubt that the kids are going to be ecstatic................you'll have to watch this space!!!

Happy crafting:-)

ALL THINGS CHRISTMAS....

This week is turning out to be super busy...... a 5th Grade field trip with girl child today, class Christmas parties later on in the week, and then..............2 weeks of no school!!!!

So what has been happening in our little world?

Boy child and hubbys cake (as I blogged about in my last post), won them a ribbon................they won in the Most Creative Category. Way to go guys - I'm so proud of both of you!!!

I've been busy sewing MANY pairs of PJ pants..........I even had a dream about them last night!!! What do you suppose that tells me??? I haven't taken any pictures of them yet, I thought I'd wait until they're all done - the picture will look sooo much more impressive:-)

Last night our Advent activity was simple but humbling. We delivered those trays of cookies we all decorated on Sunday night to the Police and Fire Departments. They were very excited to get them........the kids commented on how glad they were to have been able to make them happy - that's what it's all about.

Tonight we had a little gluey, glittery fun - we made special hot chocolate placemats. We'll use these on our breakfast table on Christmas morning:-) They turned out so cute.....almost good enough to eat (or drink)!!!

Are those not super cute!!!

As the time gets closer for our little elfy friends to return home, they seem to be getting more daring!!!

On Sunday night they snuck into boy childs room, abducted Fred the Head (shame on them!!!) and placed one of hubbys hats on his head. They then scaled great heights to place him, after which they hopped onto the hat brim and spent the night partying in that spot!!!!

This morning they endeared themselves.....yes elfies after my own heart!!! Just look at what we found this morning.................how can you not love them???

The little stockings they made are just darling!!!!

So how is your "To Do" list looking?

KNITTED HATS, CAKES AND ALL THINGS CHRISTMAS

It hasn't been as craftier weekend as I'd hoped, but it sure has been fun:-)

Saturday's family Advent adventure was a matinee movie - we went and saw Old Dogs. The kids loved it and I thought it was quite funny as did hubby.

Once the New Year begins I have every intention of putting our Advent activities into a scrapbook - it'll be fun to see what we do year upon year. This is definately going to become a tradition in our home.

Today, I decided that it was time for our family to give back - to show our appreciation for those who keep us safe.....our local police and fire departments. This evening our family gathered around the dinner table to decorate cookies that we will drop off at the police station and fire station tomorrow.

Don't they look yummy.....................I wont lie, I had to keep an eagle eye on those cookies, to make sure than none mysteriously disappeared - the kids really believe that I know EXACTLY how many there were....hee...hee!!!

Today boy child and hubby took to the kitchen, to create their masterpiece!!! It will be entered into our Scout Packs Annual Dad and Lad Cake Bake tomorrow. The theme this year was Happy 100 Years of Scouting.

Look at that masterpiece - I think they did a fantastic job!!!

Now those of you who know me, will know JUST how hard it is for me to stand back and not get involved in this little operation......just a little more to this side...no, no that's not straight - but alas I stayed well out of it:-)

Are you all sitting down........drum roll please because.......Grandmas hat is finished!!!! And I love it. There was a time midway through it's construction that I didn't like it too much, but now that it's finished and I've put it's decoration on, I'm happy. The flower is a pin I made. That way if she doesn't like it or wishes to wear it somewhere different on the hat than the place I put it, all she needs to do is move it. I made it out of wool felt. It was just too plain and boring without the little something.

Thanks Fred the Head.......................he is so accomodating!!!!

The pattern came from the book One Skein Wonders.....that book has so many cute things in that I want to try:-)

Our elves are doing well.......the senior elf with the leaky leg is still recuperating. The 2 little monsters are still up to no good. Saturday night saw then enjoying a picnic (they had elf size furniture and all!!!) under the Christmas lights.

This morning we awoke to the remains of a night spent racing radio control cars. We have no idea which of the won, but they sure had fun!!!

Only 11 more days to go!!!!

CHOCOLATE SPOONS AND ELF TALES

Yesterday came and went.....................what can I say, it's that time of the year.

I have coordinated Staff Appreciation Lunches at the kids school for about 4 years now....Today was lunch day!!! Each lunch I try to think of a favor to give all of the staff as they head back to their classrooms.............with 60 staff members it can be a challenge to come up with cost effective ideas. I hit on a good one this time.....(OK, I think it was a good one:-).........chocolate dipped spoons and a packet of hot chocolate mix.

What I used : - plastic spoons

- white and milk melting chocolate

- crushed candy canes

All I did was : - melt the chocolate

- dip the round part of the spoon in the chocolate

- sprinkle with the candy cane now if you want to

- put on a foil lined baking sheet, and refrigerate to set

- you can drizzle with the other color chocolate at this point if you wish.

Voila............a simple, but pretty and useful gift!!!!

Now onto our visitors from the North Pole.... One of the big elves has been a little under the weather for the past 2 days - a leaky leg I believe!!! He's in good hands though, his friend has taken him under her wing and is keeping a watchful eye on him - especially on his fever.

Surgery is scheduled for tomorrow, recovery time is estimated to be short, and then back to work for him!!!

Note the thermometer:-)

The little elves have taken advantage of the situation, and for the past 2 mornings we have woken up to a mess..........a HUGE mess!!!

Thursday morning we found this:

Toilet paper EVERYWHERE!!! They had made their own obstacle course!!!

Then this morning this is what we found:

Post It Notes EVERYWHERE!!! I believe boy child stopped counting at 176:-0

Our Advent activities have been a little understated over the past 2 days, due to everyone having a hectic schedule. We have however, managed to squeeze a little something in of the beverage variety. Last night between choir concerts and Scout leaders meeting we managed to nip into Starbucks for a little warm, yummy goodness!!!

I'm planning on making this a Christmas crafting weekend...................hope you get a chance to craft a few more "To Do's" off your list too.

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER

Last night my update just wasn't going to happen......I needed to get to bed before midnight:-)

So here I am bright and early this morning!!!

Debate rages on in our house.....

Were the BIG elves sent to help or hinder? Take a look at the evidence and you decide!!!

Is he sitting up there trying to get the little ones to come down OR did he help them up there and onto that swing?...............What do you think?

Last nights Advent activity was simple,. but the kids loved it.

Thank goodness it was, as we ended up making 2 trips to the car dealership last night.... one to collect my car after it was repaired and a second to retrieve the garage door remote control I had left in the loan car!!!! Yes I know......silly me:)

We all got to enjoy a special Christmas dessert that I had made....Now don't go expecting anything elaborate, my family have very simple taste when it comes to food.

I made layered jello - in Christmas colors of course, and set Christmas picks into it......I LOVE that wobbly, jiggly, jelly stuff!!!

We had that with cream....yum:-)

Just look at those excited faces!!!

Well today should be bliss for me today.........and productive. I have a rare day when I have nothing scheduled on my calendar. So, once boy child and girl child are safely delivered to school, and hubby is safely delivered to work, I plan on hiding out in my craft room and being VERY productive.......lets see how many Christmas pressies I'll be able to mark off my list as done by the end of the day.

Have a super duper December day!!!