By Sun and Candlelight

A Happy Mother's Day Brunch ❤

Well, this has been such a lovely day!

We had an early start (natch) ... I savored my first cup of coffee in bed ... then headed into the kitchen to bake something special for brunch. And just before leaving for Mass, I pulled this buttermilk-blueberry breakfast cake from the oven ...

Earlybird helped, especially with the lemon zest and the tossing of berries with flour. (He has a special love for lemons, lol.) I highly recommend this recipe ... it's very easy to make and super delicious to eat!

In my big red glass decanter, I mixed up a cold, fruity punch - it was just a strawberry juice blend mixed with seltzer - simple, but special. There were supposed to be floating strawberry slices too, but alas - I forgot to buy fresh strawberries! I served this over ice, in our pretty green glasses, and it was a very refreshing drink. The moms got a splash of Malibu rum just to give it a little zing.

EB and I scoured the yard for our "floral arrangements." You really can't beat azaleas for bright, punchy color, and as for dandelions ... well, if you're a mom, there's a special place in your heart for dandelions. :)

The rest of the meal consisted of two homemade quiches (one plain, one bacon) made by my mother, and a plate of apple-chicken sausages grilled up by Bill. There was also fresh fruit, a few pastries and freshly brewed coffee. And then of course there was the aforementioned blueberry cake ... I made up some whipped cream, just to put it over the top!

***

And here's a handmade card from my boys ...

"Mom, like the parable says, you are the tree and we are the branches. You support us and help us in everything we do."

      (And here is my heart -->❤<-- swelling with love.)

Here I am with my Mum ...

I will always count my mum as one of my greatest blessings in life. She not only gave me life - which, hello, you can't beat that as gifts go! - but she showed me how to live in a sincere and honorable way. She taught me how to be a lady, and that family always comes first. Today she supports my life in any way she's able ... she never hesitates to help or encourage, and she's the kindest person I know.

Without a doubt, the mom I am today is thanks to the mom she's been to me ...

I love you, Mum!

❤

And here we have two special gifts ...

The pen was a gift from our pastor this morning - there was a basket filled by the door, a pen for every mom - and how I love the bright pink! (The message is lovely, as well.) And we will always know who this belongs to, because anything pink in this house must be mine, lol! ;)

Now, the item sitting behind the pen takes some explaining ...

Crackerjack, as you all know, is taking an art class this year. He enjoys it so very much and we've been pleased to see him take such pleasure (and pride) in his artistic endeavors. Well, a few months ago, the class worked on clay projects ... I'd pick up CJ from class and he'd be covered in bits of clay, and his hands were so dry they'd drive him crazy! But he told me - very sincerely - that he couldn't tell me what he was making ... but that "someday," I'd know.

(Every mother knows what this means, but we never ever give away that we do.)

Well, come to find out - though not in the way CJ meant me to - he made a little teacup for me, knowing how much I truly love tea. He made some swirly rose shapes for the edge, and painted it all in my favorite shades of yellow, orange and red. And once it was dry and "set," he brought it home, just in time for Mother's Day ....

But then he left it in his bag.

The bag that sat in his bedroom.

Under his brother's bag, and, as the days went by, a multitude of other things such as shoes, jackets, toys and a couple of books.

>.<

While I was out shopping yesterday, Bill tried valiantly to glue it back together for CJ ... but as you can see, there was nothing he could do. The cup was crushed - and so was CJ - he rushed to tell me about it the moment I walked in the door.

And oh my gosh, my heart just broke ... because he tried so hard to make this such a big and special surprise. But I assured my 12 year old son - my sensitive one, who truly takes everything to heart - that I loved this unique cup first and foremost, because HE made it himself. It was made by his hands - with me in his mind and his heart. And that no matter its original purpose, I would love it and cherish it all the same.

So now ... I have a really awesome paperweight! Something that will hold down a stack of papers to grade, or receipts to look through or maybe some magazine clippings to peruse ...

Best of all, it's something that will always make me smile, and that's something I can truly use, every day.

:)

Well, my friends, I hope you've all had a nice Sunday, and if you're a mom (in any capacity) I wish you all a happy and relaxing evening. My night looks to be fairly simple - just as I like it - a little reading, a little supper, a little TV. Can't wait to catch our two favorite shows ... and can't wait to come back in the morning to chat with you all about it!

So thanks as always for stopping by and sharing in my day ... I will see you all again very soon!

The Sweetness of Summer: A Second Winner!

Well very early this morning I filled Crackerjack's bright yellow bucket hat with tiny slips of paper - each one baring the name of one of the Summer Fun commenters - there was probably an easier way to do this but at this early hour and on limited caffeine, it was all I came up with lol - we mixed them all up and then the boys chose a name, our second summer winner is ...

... Melissa R.!

Congratulations, Melissa! Please zip me a note at drhanigan AT comcast DOT net when you have a chance and we'll discuss the mailing details. :)

Now, what summer pastime does Melissa NOT want to miss this year?

Blueberry Picking!

Mmmm, blueberry picking is a must-not-miss in New England, especially if you can make it up to Maine ~ Maine blueberries are so sweet and tender! When I was a little girl I remember wild blueberries grew on the hill behind my grandparents' house. I remember sitting there on hot August days, nestled in and amongst the scrubby wild bushes, filling my tiny dixie cup with those teeny dusky blue berries - always hoping to pick enough for a pie, but never leaving many in the cup. (Most of them made their way into my mouth!)

My grandma made the BEST blueberry pies in the world. To this day I've never had better, and I now resolve to try making one this summer. Actually, a cup of coffee and a blueberry hand pie, eaten outside on a hot summer morning would be the epitome of summer sweetness ...

... or maybe a couple of these blueberry bonanza bars:

Making blueberry jam with the kids would be another wonderful August activity! If you can't pick them yourselves, a local farmer's market would be sure to have some for sale. 

Another blueberry activity - one I have saved in my August journal from last year - is to make blueberry fabric stamps.

How cute are they?!

If you are working on Christmas gifts this summer, these homemade stamps could be used to make a set of pretty notecards or recipe cards. Buy blank cards at the craftstore, along with the cork and blue and green ink pads. Purchase a length of pretty blue or yellow gingham ribbon as well - what a lovely gift and an easy hot day summer project!

A jar of that blueberry jam mentioned above would make a perfect summer hostess gift. Decorate at plain gift bag (another craft store purchase - I always keep several sizes on hand) with your blueberry stamps, pop the jam inside and tie the bag up with some ribbon.

If you have little ones, here are two favorite blueberry books I can't help but mention: 

Blueberries for Sal

and 

Peter in Blueberry Land

Thank you, Melissa, for reminding me of the summer goodness of blueberries! I've made a note in my August calendar to try some of these projects and to request those books from the library. :)

Now, my very next post will be a compilation of all the wonderful summer thoughts you all shared. (I had planned to do it here but I got a little carried away with the blueberry theme, lol ...)

And yes, I am working on that File Crate post - still! I have it about halfway done, and will hopefully get it up early this week. 

Have a lovely Sunday, everyone! Thanks as always for stopping by! :)

A Craft Store Run~

I have tried to stay away from the craft store as much as possible this summer. For one thing, I don't really need any craft supplies right now - I'm not crafting much during these hot, busy months - and for another, I still have all kinds of supplies stocked in the bins I keep stashed downstairs. (Remember the bins?) Before I go craft shopping, I really must go through the bin contents first (now somewhat depleted and rather discombobulated) and take inventory before I buy even one more package of something like hot glue gun sticks. (I have more of those than I can shake a fist at, lol.)

But there's just something about this time of year - between all the autumn and holiday planning I'm doing these days, and the fall magazines appearing in my mailbox, I'm feeling a familiar itch. I can hear the siren song of the craft store (you know the one, don't you?), and I'm eager to heed that call.

A list would be a good thing to start with, but I don't have a list just yet. However. I did have a reason for running into my local AC Moore's this weekend: Bookworm and I needed neon-green t-shirts for VBS. But, of course, while I was there, I had to take a good look around and see what was what - and, of course, I came home with a few more things than were strictly necessary.

Would you like to see? :)

1. Scrapbooking paper:

I love to have a steady supply of pretty scrapbooking paper on hand. I use it for my journal covers, card projects and the myriad binders I make up through the year. I especially love the first two patterns on the left. They are so sweet; they look as if they've been embroidered.

2. Ribbon:

Darnitall, I had a third spool and it must have gotten left behind at the store. Oh well. I like to use ribbon to trim various crafts or handmade cards and also as page markers for my journals. The alphabet ribbon will be used in my September journal and the starry-red ribbon will be used in my holiday planbook.

Yarn:

This blend is called "Crayon," and I love it! What I'd like to do with it is make "school scarves" for the boys. (You know, kind of like how the Hogwarts students all wear scarves representing their house colors, only not nearly so formally patterned?) I bought this particular yarn mainly because the colors appealed to me, but from what I understand, this yarn will yield stripes when I knit, or a pattern of some sort anyway. It will be fun to see how it knits! I don't know as I feel like knitting just now - the days are too hot - but it shouldn't take much time to knit three, possibly four (one for me), scarves once September rolls around. Generally speaking, there's no need for woolens here in New England till the first of November. (Hmmm ... scarves might make nice Martinmas gifts!)

3. Note Cards and Stamping Supplies:

I saw this adorable craft in the August issue of Martha Stewart Living. Martha always has the best ideas! I was sorely tempted to try making the blueberry Keds, but I thought the note cards might be more practical. These would make a lovely gift set - tied up with a blue gingham ribbon ... or you could make a set of recipe cards ... or a gift tag for a homemade loaf of blueberry bread. The possibilities are endless! (And how about a dark red ink pad for cranberries in the fall?) I'll try this project out sometime next week, and let you know how it goes!

4. T-shirts and iron-on paper:

The green shirts, as I mentioned, are for VBS. The yellow shirt and the transfer paper is for Crackerjack. He wants to try making a t-shirt with an image found online. His friends make shirts all the time with this method, and he loves how they come out. He'll probably go with a Star Wars or Pikman theme. (I'm not sure the image will work on yellow - maybe white would be better - but it was what he wanted. We'll see how it goes.)

5. Glue:

In my opinion, one can never have too much glue - especially when it's Martha Stewart glue. ;) It just looks so much prettier than Elmer's! (More importantly, it works really well.) Here I have glue sticks, a bottle of plain craft glue and a ballpoint-tip glue pen - which will be really neat used with glitter. (I'm envisioning homemade holiday cards this year - which is so easy to do when it's not even August, lol.)

And speaking of glitter - oh, how I wanted the Martha glitter. There were so many beautiful glass jars of glitter in the most dazzling, sumptous shades. But at $4.99 a pop, I'd better know just what I'm going to do with said glitter before I buy it. (I have a few ideas - i.e. the holiday cards - and I'm working on more.)

6. Bake Sale magazine:

I had to pop into a Michaels (yes, a second craft store) to return the t-shirts I originally bought for VBS (which were an all-wrong apple green, rather than the neon green required). I had a 50%-off one item coupon to use (burning a hole in my pocket) but by now my head was spinning and I could hardly concentrate. This particular Michaels was having a grand opening and the store was packed - with people and products. I spied this specialty baking magazine and had Bookworm (my baker's apprentice) take a look-through. Several oohs, aahs and oh-mama's! later I figured we should buy it. It only cost me $3 with the coupon. :)

Well, I think I've kept you here long enough, lol. Bill and the boys are just getting back in from an afternoon jaunt. It's time to rustle up some supper and get the boys into baths. Thanks for stopping by and letting me prattle on about my latest craft adventures. I hope you are enjoying your weekend and I'll see you all again sometime soon. :)

Making Herbal Oils and Cleaners

I've had the supplies for this project sitting on my craft shelf for some time now. With the school year at an end, and the bustle of the holiday weekend behind me, I figured it was finally time to try it out! I've always been intrigued by the idea of herbal oils and homemade cleaners ... I've read plenty about them, and taken copious notes. I've grown my own herbs, and dried them. I've envisioned container possibilities and labeling methods ... But I was surprised at how easy it was to do once I got down to doing it! (Isn't that true with most projects?)

Below you see my supplies ...

I found the little glass jars for .99 cents at the craft store; there were plenty of styles and sizes to choose from. The base oils (sweet almond) and essential oils I found at my local supermarket (in the health food section) for 50% off! A lot of mainstream grocers now carry oils, but you can be sure to find them at your local natural markets. Make sure to check expiration dates, or ask store staff about turnover time. You wouldn't want to purchase old oils. The little floral stickers I had on hand.

The project was as simple as this ~ I filled each glass bottle with the base oil and then added a few drops of essential oil for fragrance. Lastly, I added a color-coordinating sticker to denote the blend inside. As you can see in the top photo, I made up Orange-Geranium (brightening and comforting), Lavender (calming) and Lemon (renewing). Depending on my mood, or the time of day, I could pour a little oil in my bedtime bath or smooth some on my skin after a morning shower. Even just a few dabs on the pulse points would be a nice touch. I plan to store my oils in the fridge ... how refreshing would that feel on a hot summer's day?

Literally, this little project took me 15 minutes to complete, if that. These oils would make nice gifts - or party favors!

Next on my list, were some herbal homemade cleaners. These, too, were lickety split to whip up ...

In the foreground are my two favorite books for this subject area: Better Basics for the Home by Annie Berthold-Bond and Natural Beauty for All Seasons by Janice Cox. Lots of great recipes and advice in both of these books. Also pictured some ingredients (oils, tea and vinegar) and plastic spray bottles I picked up at the craft store for $1 each.

I made up the following blends, the first three from Better Basics:

Vinegar Deodorizer "Vinegar is an effective disinfectant."

• 1/4 cup white distilled vinegar
• 2 cups water

Combine the ingredients in a spray bottle, shake and spray along the inside rim of the toilet. Leave on for 15 minutes or so before scrubbing with a toilet brush.

Tea Tree Deodorizer "Tea tree oil kills bacteria, and the strong smell of the oil will dissipate in a few days."

• 2 teaspoons tea tree oil (I used a bit less)
• 2 cups water

Combine the ingredients in a spray bottle, shake and spray along inside rim of the toilet. Leave on for 30 minutes or so before scrubbing with a toilet brush.

Lightly Lavender "Use this spray in the bathroom as a final rinse on the vanity countertop or after cleaning the toilet. It has a lovely scent, and lavender is highly antiseptic."

• 1 teaspoon essential oil of lavender
• 2 cups water

Combine the ingredients in a spray bottle, shake to blend, then spray. There's no need to wipe off.

And this last recipe comes from Natural Beauty for All Seasons:

Fruit-Tea Freshener "The fruit teas make wonderful skin refreshers. For a quick pick-me-up on hot summer days, store the freshener in the refrigerator."

• 1 cup boiling water
• 2 fruit tea bags of your choice (I used Red Zinger)
• 1 tablespoon witch hazel (optional)

Pour the boiling water over the tea bags in a ceramic, heat-resistant bowl. Allow the tea bags to steep for several hours, or until the mixture has cooled completely.

Add witch hazel to the infusion. You may want to strain the solution if you see bits of tea at the bottom of the container. Do this by pouring the liquid through a paper coffee filter.

Bottle the fruit-tea freshener and enjoy. Use a clean cotton ball to apply or use a spray bottle to splash on your skin.

(I didn't happen to have witch hazel on hand, so Bill is going to pick some up for me on his way home.)

This project was also ridiculously easy and quick. And now I have a fridge full of cool scented oils and a basket-ful of natural cleaners at my disposal ...

And on that note, I'm off to try them out! :)

Have a great week, everyone!

Papa, Don't Peek!

*Because what's to follow is a surprise!*

For his birthday (which, as I mentioned earlier, is shared with his Papa), Earlybird received a set of watercolor paints. I wish I could have captured his glee (there's no other word for it) on camera; painting is his most favorite thing to do. Ever. So it goes without saying, he was quite happy with his present and that watercolor painting became the morning's occupation.

We had just rolled up our sleeves when I reminded the older boys (who were researching sea creatures beside us) that we needed to make Papa his birthday card. They asked what his favorite color was and I replied that there were actually two colors: green and blue. Since EB had started in with those two very colors, we decided to use his work as a base for the card!

I shared with the boys how it is I can always remember Papa's favorite colors; it is because when I was little, on the years that we had outdoor lights, they were always blue and green. Now, truth be told, I would have liked multicolor or maybe pink or even white, but blue and green it was (and mostly blue). They were my dad's favorite (and what he grew up with) so those colors always stayed vivid in my mind. We decided to work this bit of information into our card:

Here is Earlybird's watercolored paper, dried and folded in half. It is set upon a stash of tissue paper in cool blues and greens.

I drew (with a plain old pen) a strand of old fashioned lights. Using a pair of manicure scissors, I cut out the bulb shapes, and then we tucked small squares of tissue paper behind each opening ...

Just a few stickers later and we had a card for Papa! (The paper clips are holding the card closed; the paper was warping a bit from being damp.) Final step - a piece of light blue cardstock attached inside upon which the boys can write their message. (That part of the project is still pending due to a much needed lunch break!)

This was a fun and easy craft to do with the boys, one I'll have to remember ~ I can visualize other themes down the road (birthday balloons, Easter eggs, pumpkins, etc.). At the rate EB cranks out those watercolors, I should have cards enough for the whole year before long! :)

For the Kids to Make: Merry Magnets!

I meant to post this a few days ago, and then completely forgot, lol! My dear friend and fellow homeschooling mum, Lisa, told me about this craft - a quick and easy project she made with the kids at her church. (It was Lisa behind last year's sequin ornaments, too!) These little magnets would make nice homemade gifts - perfect for helpful little hands and ready in a flash!

Basically, you are cutting images to fit behind the glass shape, gluing them on, and then attaching a magnet to the back. Sounds incredibly easy, doesn't it? (It is!) But the results are very nice and the variations are endless ... you could use images, simple hand-lettered words, monograms, etc.!

As with many crafts I plan for my boys, I like to do a trial run first - to judge the "fussiness level" and to get a feel for the time involved. Then I can see where we can fit it in. So last Saturday I swung into AC Moore and picked up the few materials required:

• Glass marbles (found in the floral aisle)
• Magnets of varying sizes and styles (so I could see what worked best)
• Elmer's glue

I picked out all kinds of design sources ~ stickers, stamps, scrapbooking paper, beautiful Christmas cards. For stickers, I traced the underside of the marble onto a piece of cardstock (I chose off-white; you could use any color you wished) and cut it out, trimming it to fit the backside of the marble.

I cut scrapbooking paper in a similar way, making sure to center the image I liked before tracing/cutting. And with images I found on Christmas stamps and cards, I photocopied them first onto regular copy paper and then cut to fit:

Cut, fit, glue, done!

The boys, peeking over my shoulder as I worked, began envisioning a whole range of character magnets for their friends. For instance, this happy Pikachu:

Next, I added the magnetic backing. I experimented with various types before finding the adhesive magnetic tape held the marble best. 

A final touch: simple gift boxes make for a nice presentation:

I got these at Target, but I've seen a wide range of sizes and colors at the craft store. The smaller box easily held one or two magnets, while the larger box could hold a whole set of magnets in a simlilar theme (such as the "bird" theme shown at the top).

When the boys wrap up their gifts, I'll let them decorate their boxes as they wish - with stickers, crayons, decoupaged comics etc. But I think these simple brown boxes look nice with just a cheerful bow:

So, this craft is a go then, and it's been added to this week's docket!

Well, I hope your Sunday's a good one! Here in New England it's cold and gray, with a touch of snow in the air. (Actually a messy, messy storm is on the way for tonight.) Church was lovely this morning - the creche was set up on the altar, and the parish breakfast, as always, was yummy! So I'm logging off for now ~ there's a tree to decorate, lessons to plan and one or two football games to watch. ;)

See you all sometime tomorrow!

Over the River and through the Woods ...

To Earlybird's therapy appointments we go ...

As you can see, we had more snow today! It fell at a good clip, too, beginning around 10 a.m. and lasting until just after lunchtime. It was so pretty, covering the last of the autumn leaves and the faded crunchy grass. Not the pavement, though; it was too wet for that. This morning's weather gave us just a taste of what's up the road ahead.

How I love this week, these days before Thanksgiving. I love the anticipation, the flurry of preparations, the happy greetings and the smells! And keeping in the holiday spirit, Earlybird and I made some yummy pumpkin breads to take to his therapists today. You might remember awhile back I mentioned those little ceramic loaf pans I bought at the craft store? Well, today was the day to make good on that promised project!

While the breads baked, I made up some little tags ...

I just cut down a plain notecard into small squares (edged with the pinking shears). EB applied a turkey sticker to the front of each one, and I punched a hole in the upper left corner. We wrote our message inside and tied the tags to the cooling loaves all wrapped up in ribbon:

Little gifts of thanksgiving for three special ladies in our lives ...

Later in the day, my mum came over to help with the holiday preparations. (Oh, let's be honest - she came over to help me clean, lol!) Actually, we ended up spending most of our time chatting over tea, but we needed that time to rest and revise our lists. By the way, the "Holiday" tea we drank today is made by Harney & Sons. (I picked up a tin at Barnes & Noble.) It is absolutely delicious! A black tea, gently spiced with cloves, almond and citrus ~ perfect for the season. I plan to serve it with Thanksgiving dessert. :)

And as we enjoyed our tea, we got the boys started on an "acorn blessings craft." Using a shaped cookie cutter, we traced and cut out many autumn-hued acorns. (Bookworm did the tracing, Nana did the cutting.) The boys wrote things they were thankful for on each one ...

I must say I was eager to read their acorns. ;) They listed, among other things:

• Family
• God
• Earth
• Homeschooling
• A nice house
• An early snow
• The animals who come to our feeders

We hung them all in our windows, but left room for plenty more ...

... because this Thursday we'll set out a basket-full of acorns and invite our guests to share in our blessings. :)

Next year, I think we'll make this an ongoing project for the month of November. We'll fill the basket with acorns at the start of the month and each night at supper we'll write out an acorn apiece. Slowly, but surely, our windows will fill up.

By the way, as I finish up this post (bedtime inching nearer by the second), Bookworm has taken it upon himself to add paper snowflakes to some of the empty panes, in celebration of our weather today.

You know, these apples - er, acorns - don't fall far from their tree! :)

A Pretty Paper Package ...

... all tied up with string ...

How lovely is this handmade envelope? On its own, a present to treasure:

This is what my friend Kim (last night's hostess) handed me just before our meeting adjourned - which was much later than intended, but we were having such fun - as a thank you for bringing my file system to the gathering last night. Well, you can just imagine my reaction to such a pretty paper package, one fastened with silver alphabet brads and tiny tinkling bells ...

Oh, my.

And the goodies inside were equally thrilling:

The brand new Living Crafts magazine!!! (For which I've searched high and low the past two weeks to no avail.) And the sweetest little squirrel stickers, too! Such a thoughtful treat, inside and out. :)

(By the way I've grilled asked Kim for the instructions to the envelope, and I hope to try this handcraft sometime myself. And when I do, you can bet I'll post about it here - though I doubt my results will be nearly as pretty!)

Oh, yes, about the meeting! Well, before we even got started on our topic (organization, if you remember), we tucked into slabs of freshly baked gingerbread with dollops of homemade whipped cream. (Recipe forthcoming!)

Then we got gabbing about all kinds of things - food, health, curriculum, travel - but eventually we did come around to the topic of the night, and there were lots of organizational tips shared. I was able to explain the file crate in what I think (or hope) was a somewhat clear manner (though I'm considering writing up a little brochure to keep it all straight, lol). And best of all, I came home with a fresh eye for my clipboard, an element of the file system I've sort of ignored until now:

No, it's not quite so pretty as practical - but what it holds are the papers and notes for the day at hand (pulled from the week's folder), along with a small sheet of paper for jotting down timely tasks. At the end of the day, I re-file (or perhaps toss) the papers and pull out the next day's materials. I also start a new list of to-do's. My goal is to prepare my clipboard (and therefore preview tomorrow) each night before bed.

Oh, there's more to say, but the late night is catching up with me, so I'm off! I hope you all have a great night, and as always, thanks for stopping by. :)

The Loveliness of Handmade Gifts

There's an old saying that goes, "It's not the gift, but the thought that counts." The true beauty of a handmade gift is, it's both. Because a gift that comes from your hands, comes by way of your heart ~ it's a little bit of your love all wrapped up in ribbons.

I am so pleased and honored to be your hostess for The Loveliness of Handmade Gifts. Before we begin, I'd like to thank everyone who contributed to today's Fair! Reading through your varied and valuable ideas, I have to say, your families are truly blessed to have you crafty and generous ladies! And we are blessed to have a peek into your holiday plans, for they are very inspiring!

So fire up your glue guns, everyone ~ Christmas is just 48 days away! Those seven weeks will fly by, but there's still plenty of time to crank out at least a few handmade gifts this year. I urge you to grab a pen and some paper (not to mention a hot cup of tea) before you begin perusing all the lovely links in this post. I know you will come away raring to craft and create!

But that's enough from me, let's get started with our first handmade gift idea, some heavenly soaps from Genevieve ...

"Last year my daughter Annie (then 7) and I experimented with making handmade gifts using melt-and-pour soap! We bough blocks of clear and blocks of white soap from www.sweetcakes.com and lots of different molds, colorings and scents. We checked books out of the library to inspire our designs. We ended up perfecting a guardian angel soap that was a huge hit with our family and friends. Using white soap, we made cherubs with wings, which we then embedded in oval bars of clear soap. We scented them with a soft fragrance and wrapped them in heavenly blue opalescent transparent papers. For the men, we used gold-colored soap and frankincense and myrrh fragrance and eagle molds. All the recipients expressed delight over the beauty and fragrances of their gifts. Hope this inspires some! This year we may try candles!"

Now let's stop by Rebeca's and admire her beautiful handsewn quilts. She has wisely learned that it's all about the found moments and fond memories.

Sarah and her family are also finding time for crafting, continuing a special Christmas tradition by knitting for the world.

Stop by and see Ann's handmade Christmas - family treasures abound, from homemade cards to a gorgeous nativity set, sunny window stars, and a Madonna and Child ornament I can't wait to try!

Over at Tracy's Pinewood Castle, she's pressing summer flowers into service - as glorious pressed flower bookmarks!

Maria shares a sneek peek at the special knitted surprises in store for her family this Christmas. (Shhh, don't tell!)

A basket of homebaked cookies, presented in pretty wax bags ...

Therese's mom tells us about her favorite handmade Christmas gift ~ thread crochet snowflakes:

"I don't have a camera that allows me to scan photos of them, but they make a lovely, relatively easy-to-make gift. The simplest ones take only a few basic stitches, but as your skills advance, they can become very elaborate and even three-dimensional." They sound lovely!

Ooh, and wait till you see the prettiest little potpourri pies made by Cay and her girls! They're delicious and darling!

Mary Ellen's gifts will feed you body and soul ~ check out her beautiful jars filled with herbal goodies and coffee delights!

Jessica's children will have lots of fun making ornaments and the whole family will enjoy treats from the kitchen - all yummy, and all made with love!

Candace shares lots of ideas for clever and creative homemade cards, and in a second post, some scrumptious homemade treats!

 

Gods-eye ornaments make nice gifts for a pastor or teacher ...

And Beth shares these ideas ...

"Both my sons requested their own oven mitts for Christmas. I have made a few pair in the past, and they want some for all their cooking adventures. My youngest also requested a chef's hat. Of course I love to make lots of handmade items including felt animals, pin cushions, coasters and mostly baby/lap quilts. I've done some mini quilts as well. They can be viewed throughout my blog."

Nori is following in her grandmother's footsteps by working on lots of crafty ideas this Christmas. I can't wait to try out that old fashioned punchneedle hobby!

These hand-sewn ballet bags by Megan are too-too adorable! What lucky little girls!

And speaking of lucky little girls, Cici's daughter will be so blessed by her own little homemade sewing kit!

Meredith reminds us that handmade is best, sharing fabulous foodie gifts and linking us to her (lovely!) new handcraft blog, Threads of Love.

A plate of lemon snowballs with a stash of lemon tea tucked around.

Amy very kindly left me a comment with her exciting ideas for the season ...

"I'm making terrariums for my friends out of antique mason jars. They will have beautiful miniature red rose plants inside the jars. I will be baking up a storm, giving work/school acquaintances, neighbors and the mailman self-decorated sugar cookies and ginger snaps wrapped in cute little white paper lunchbags (purchased at the Dollar Tree store, of couse!). I am planning on making handmade photo books for the family with pictures from our annual beach trip. I've never done handmade book binding before so this will be an experiment. Oh, and I will be knitting mittens for my friends out of this gorgeous recycled silk yarn I got from eBay for next to nothing. We are also making homemade moonshine for our mutual friends and giving out honey from our hives (we're backyard beekeepers!)."

Jennifer's lovely daughter Marianna models a sheer and shimmery stole - just perfect for a day at sea (or otherwise!).

Stef's post is positively chock-full of handmade gift ideas - delicious foods and handmade rosaries, packaging tips and thoughts on theme baskets, too!

Colleen shares wonderful thoughts on why a handmade Christmas is in order for her family this year. Her plans sound lovely!

Styrofoam + sequins = pretty ornaments for someone's tree ...

Terry has started a blog just for sharing her Posh Baskets and wonderful gift basket ideas (lucky for us!).

Cindy shares a beautiful array of handmade cards - in all kinds of styles! I am thrilled by her wreath instructions, too - I'm hankering to try that very craft!

Michelle got an early start on her handcrafted Christmas, but she still feels she has miles to go ... one thing's for sure, she has lots of family support!

Erin shares the tale of her son's gift to his mother ~ a special surprise, hand-built with love.

Laura has been busy crafting Christmas - with colorful soaps, candy bark, dipped spoons, etc. - but wait till you see the beaded rosary made by her husband!

Ann shares the (beautiful!) instructions for making a peace dove Christmas card, and tucked inside are words that describe the best gift of all.

I love Elena's idea this year to write more handwritten and heartfelt notes. What a beautiful tradition to begin - and at the best time of year!

Easy-peasy no-sew puppet curtains, in prints reflecting the seasons.

And if I may quote from Elena in my own farewell note for the day ...

"Sharing one's self is always the best gift of all!"

So give it some thought ... what hobby comes from your heart? Why not make it a handmade holiday this year?

Thank you so much for joining me today! I hope you all, like me, are positively inspired by all the creative, loving ideas shared here! There are just two days till the weekend, my friends ~ shall we meet at the craft store bright and early Saturday morning? You bring the checklist, I'll bring the coffee!

Have a happy, crafty day! :) 

Little Crafts for November

Before I begin, I want to thank you all for your concern, and assure you we are doing fine. The hurricane, such as it was, has come and gone. Technically it was only a Nor'easter by the time it got here, but we still got some heavy rain and wind yesterday. Folks that live down on the Cape bore the brunt of the storm; a dear friend of ours had a tree land on her house! (Thankfully, she is fine.)

It was all clear by morning ~ a bright November sun climbed the sky, and yet it was downright chilly! New England has been spoiled by a very warm autumn, but I think our time is up. We just got in from Crackerjack's last soccer game of the season ... and my teeth have only just stopped chattering!

Earlier today I worked on a couple of crafts I wanted to share with you. These are all tied to Thanksgiving, but can easily be adapted to the Christmas holidays. Since The Loveliness of Handmade Gifts is coming up in just a few days (!) I thought I'd roll up my sleeves and get a little crafty! :)

First I pulled out these cute mini loaf pans I bought at Michael's last month for all of 50 cents apiece:

Filled with freshly baked pumpkin bread, these will make nice favors for our Thanksgiving guests. They would also make cheerful gifts for neighbors, friends, teachers, etc. (The craft stores now have plenty in winter holiday themes.) Once the breads have cooled, they can be wrapped up in colorful cellophane and ribbon. (And this reminds me I'm low on cellophane and ribbon! Hmmm ... I'd better start a list.)

Next I worked on our Thanksgiving invitations ... 

I honestly had no real plan as I set into this project; I kind of just figured it out as I went. I had picked up the rubber stamp last year (it reads Come spend Thanksgiving with us). And just this fall I picked up the dark teal ink pad, russet-print ribbon, and fire-opal glitter (all Martha Stewart line at Michaels). I toodled around with it all, stamping the message on ivory card stock:

and adding a little glitter:

I hot-glued some ribbon to the borders of the card ...

And then cobbled the rest of it together:

Definitely homespun, but kind of festive and fun. :) I only got a few done, but hope to mail a batch out later this week.

Next it was a very quick craft for the month of November:

How I love unfinished wood letters! You can do almost anything with them. I painted these in autumnal colors, and set them up in our classroom window:

This craft took literally less than half an hour, and if I recall, each letter cost about $1. I was sorely tempted to glitter them, but I kept them plain and earthy for now. Come December 3rd, the first Sunday in Advent, the message will change and so will the colors, and most likely there will be liberal amounts of glitter. ;)

Well, I'd best be off ~ Sunday is rolling to a close here and I still have a chicken to roast and a week to plan! Actually, I spent Saturday sketching a lesson plan for the month of November - I'll share it here very soon.

Have a great night!

From the Heart of your Home ...

... come the loveliest of gifts, those that have been made with your very own hands ~ or perhaps the helpful little hands all around you. :)

Handmade gifts might come from the kitchen, the garden or the craft basket ... but whatever their source, they always come from the heart and they are always lovely ...

And so it is with great pleasure I announce that The Loveliness of Handmade Gifts will be right here next week on Thursday, November 8th! And I am cordially inviting everyone to join me!

Please share your thoughts and plans for making homemade gifts this year - or tell us about gifts you've made in years past. Bloggers and non-bloggers alike are welcome to participate (see below for my contact information).

Here are some ideas to jump-start your thoughts ...

~ What are your favorite homemade gifts to give and receive?

~ Do you plan to make some gifts this year?

~ Are you perhaps longing to do so but can't find the time? (A post about not making gifts is fine too!)

~ Do you have a signature gift for which you are "famous" within certain circles?

~ How about your thoughts on how handmade gifts can save a family money?

~ Or perhaps what great lessons they teach children who give and receive them - patience and creativity?

~ Do you set up a "Santa's Workshop" for yourself? What supplies do you lay in for gift making?

~ What are your favorite gift making resources - where do you get your ideas? (Some of my favorites will appear soon on the sidebar at right.)

~ How about handmade cards and gift-wrapping?

~ What about gifts of time, love and energy?

(And for more ideas, please see last year's Handmade Gifts Fair!)

Any ideas about homemade gifts are welcome and I would love to hear from you! If you are a blogger, please send me a link to your post or leave me a link in the comments box below. And if you're not a blogger, you are also more than welcome to join in the fun! Just send me an email with your ideas about handmade gifts (and a picture if you'd like) and I will plug you right into the Fair!

Please send all submissions for the Loveliness of Handmade Gifts to drhanigan AT comcast DOT net. I would like to have everything by next Wednesday night so I can get the post up bright and early Thursday morning!

And please feel free to help me spread the word! Grab the Loveliness button above, and invite your readers to join us!

So let's get our creative engines going, ladies ~ Christmas is just seven weeks away! November is here and it's the weekend! Let's get those thinking caps on ... and get out those needles and that glue and those cookie cutters and that rolling pin ... ;)

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope to hear from you soon! :)

Crafters Night!

I have no time to blog tonight, because I am on my way out to my very first Knitting Circle! Actually, luckily for me, all kinds of handcrafters are invited, not just knitters. Sure I've knitted before, but I'm sort of a random crafter - I dabble and dream more than I actually finish things. ;)

So, I have my bag all packed ...

.. with autumn-hued yarn, felt, embroidery thread and oatmeal-colored linen. Hopefully I'll feel inspired to start something!

But just in case I draw a blank, I am also packing a bunch of craft magazines and idea books, as well as my two most recent journals, in which I have taped loads of clippings and pictures from all kinds of places. I would like to at least maybe write out a handmade gifts list for Christmas. (Oh, and speaking of handmade gifts, ahem, the Loveliness Fair on this very subject will be right here on November 5th! Stay tuned for more details soon!)

Well, so much for no time to blog, lol. You know I can always eke out a paragraph or two, even on my way out the door.

Have a great night, everyone. I'm off to craft!

A Quick & Crafty Apple Tote

Apple picking is such a treasured American tradition; I look forward to it every autumn! Have you been yet this year? We're planning to go next week on Johnny Appleseed Day, and so over the next several days we'll have apple stories to tell, books to read, crafts to make, experiments to try and snacks to eat ... But first, we'll make tote bags to bring to the farm!

This is a fun, kid-friendly project, requiring some quick and easy parent set up. I did a trial run today, and took pictures of each step. Here's what you need:

• a plain canvas bag
• red fabric paint
• a new sponge
• a laundry detergent cap (clean and dry)
• hot glue gun
• sharp scissors
• a black marker
• paper towels

Now, there are plenty of apple-shaped stamps and stencils available at the store, and of course you could always just use an apple half itself! But in the September issue of Parents magazine, I saw a neat idea for making a homemade stamp by attaching a sponge to a laundry detergent cap. Well, I just happened to have an empty detergent container sitting in our recycle bin and a new package of sponges beneath the sink. :)

The first thing I did was to draw an apple on the sponge. Not having any apples on hand for an impromptu still life, I looked up stencils online. I found this one which turned out a bit bigger than I needed, so I eyeballed it:

I used very sharp scissors to cut out the shape, trimming any rough edges.

Next I attached the sponge shape to the top of the detergent cap, using my trusty glue gun (marker side down).

After a few minutes the stamp was ready to go, so I poured myself a good size dab of apple-red fabric paint ...

I dipped in my stamp, making sure to coat all the nooks and crannies, and ...voila:

Sorry that's a bit blurry; it was taken at the very moment Earlybird discovered what I was up to! (Remember this was supposed to be a trial run, lol!) I did find I needed to blot the stamped images gently with paper towels to remove excess paint. Then I set the bag aside to dry.

Of course, then EB got into the act:

And here are the two bags I (or we, as it turned out, lol) made today. We'll make a few more before our apple farm visit next week.

These are smaller bags, just the right size for small hands - whether they get filled to the brim with rosy red globes, or tote home just one or two. :)

I also think these bags would make lovely gifts for someone special - perhaps an elderly relative or neighbor who can't get to the farm on their own. Fill them up to the top, and attach a pretty fall ribbon, bring along a jug of cider and plan an autumn afternoon visit.

Well, I'm off now for the night. Tomorrow's a busy one, so I'll catch up with you all again soon!

May Day in the Afternoon ...

There's just something about May Day - it can be hard to get your head in the game when your day starts with baskets of flowers and damp bunches of clover shaken all over your face. ;)Yes, the tradition continues, and honestly, I think my skin feels a bit softer!

Today was so beautiful, too. Spring perfection - sunny, soft breeze, 70 degrees. Every shrub and tree that can flower is doing just that it seems.

But ... we did manage to get a little math done before lunchtime, and we shared cookies with Uncle Matt who stopped by. Then it was on to the preparations for Crackerjack's CCD class. It was his final class today, though not a regular class, but a group rehearsal for First Holy Communion. Talk about chaos! But that's another post. For now, I'd like to show you the tiny May posies we made for CJ's teachers.

We had been poking through our craft bins and came across our healthy stash of paper towel and toilet paper tubes.

"What can I do with these things?" I asked myself. A few lightbulb moments later, I had pulled out the materials and we set to work.

We painted the tubes in soft colors, and made a copy of several holy cards (mostly Marian, one St. Agnes and one St. Joseph). We pasted the image onto a small golden doiley - you know how I love doilies! - and taped it all onto the tube (once the paint dried). I then stuck a small circle of self-adhesive felt to the bottom to make a base. Hole-punched sides were threaded with thin ribbon and then the tubes were ready to fill! Which we did, with bunches of forsythia from the garden. I'm glad forsythia is so scrappy and easy to grow - it brings such happy, exuberant color to the spring landscape. Save for the dandelions, it's the only thing blooming in my yard right now.

In the picture below you can see how the posies turned out; they are standing up next to gift bags for the teachers. (Here's a little tip - right now all the card stores are carrying a wide array of religious gift supplies for spring sacraments; these are great to stock up on and have on hand for any gifts you might need for your pastor or religious friends.)

In addition to CJ's three teachers and Sister M., the head of the religious education department, we also prepared a posy for our pastor. His was painted green and had St. Joseph for an image (whose optional memorial was today, btw). (As it turned out we didn't get to see Father, so we'll save his for Sunday after Mass.)

Once the bags and posies were filled and ready to go, we turned to CJ's banner. It needed a few more touches and lots of glue to hold everything in place. Here's how it came out:

CJ chose the colors and images; I cut and glued. He loves doves (and asked for two, not just one), and, of course, the color red. He also chose the Chi-Rho symbol after paging through a coloring book we own. He was very happy with how it came out and so was I! By the way, we used self-adhesive letters, and I used Fabri-Tac to adhere the felt shapes - it worked beautifully. We had to drop it off at the parish office where it will be kept until his First Communion Day. We'll keep our fingers crossed everything stores well (i.e. not too many sequins fall off, lol). The banners will hang from each child's pew on their special day.

Well, we're still putting the finishing touches on our May altar - I will post some pictures tomorrow. Oh, and in our rush today, we forgot to have blueberry pancakes - a must for any Marian feast! But since the whole entire month belongs to our Blessed Mother, we'll have plenty of time to partake. :)

Have a lovely night, my friends. See you in the morning ... 

Little Gifts, Big Fun

Crackerjack and I would like to show you the little gifts we made for his CCD teachers yesterday. Here are the materials to make the God's Eyes (a project I posted about a while back) and the decorative gift boxes. (Note the helpful little hand - that would be Earlybirds' - reaching for the glue stick.)

We used multicolored yarn to make the God's Eyes, and then set about decorating the gift boxes. These plain little boxes are available at the craft store in various sizes and colors.

In fact, while we're on the subject of the craft boxes, there is also a long thin rectangular box available that would make a perfect size for a rosary or chaplet. I love the ones at Gardens of Grace and Beads of Mercy, especially. Just by the way. Honey, are you reading this? :)

What we did was cut out a small construction paper star (red being Crackerjack's signature color) and glue-stick it onto the top of the lid. (This one is a demo; on the "real" ones, CJ wrote his name and message before we glued the star down.) Next we used a small paintbrush to apply Tacky Glue all around the edges, working one side at a time.

(A brief aside - can anyone recommend a good craft glue that dries clear?)

Then came the necessarily copious amounts of glitter all around the star. I don't have a picture of the next step which was to glue a thin golden ribbon around the edge of the lid.

And here you see the God's Eye nestled inside the box, a bit of green tissue as a cushion - and the lid ready to pop on once dry. (That would be my cat's ear on the right in case you were wondering. Yes, there are always lots of helping hands and paws when crafting commences around here.)

We just had to post this picture - the boys thought it was very neat that the glittered boxes caught the light in this way on the side of the craft bin. Earlybird thought it was a "gaksee" (or a galaxy)!

Here are the four finished boxes - notice we tucked a couple of delicious candies underneath!

You knew I was going to finagle a basket in here somehow. :) It was easy to carry the very glittery boxes in this basket and hand them out when we reached class.

And speaking of class - what a fun time! We had a Christmas party with a Bible story video, delicious goodies and crafts. Today's project was decorating foam crosses with stickers and glitter glue. Below you see the two CJ made. The teacher was very kind to send home two extra kits for my other boys to work on today.

One CCD party down, one to go! Bookworm's class meets tonight! :)

Two More Poinsettia Crafts

Thanks to Elizabeth's wonderfully clear instructions, I was able to make a poinsettia fairy yesterday in under 30 minutes! (Time is not usually of the essence when I'm crafting, unless I'm trying to do it in such a way that my 5 yo doesn't notice the hot glue gun.)

I really like the way she looks on our tree! This was an easy, but very satisfying craft - and oh, how I love to work with felt, even little bits of it. I think I could make loads of these fairies, maybe in various varieties. Hmmm... where are those Flower Fairy books, anyway ...? :)

Next I set about making a sand dollar ornament, but as I went to follow the instructions at this site, I felt compelled to do something a bit different. (I'm a rebel, I know!) I liked the way the imprint looked on the front, curved side of the sand dollar rather than the one the back. So instead of painting a poinsettia on the back, I "glittered" a poinsettia to the front. I simply used a small brush and some Tacky glue to brush the glue onto the petal-like imprints. Then I liberally sprinkled red glitter all over the glue - tamping it down a bit, letting it set, and then shaking off the excess. (I used a small brush to get rid of stray bits.) I glittered the center with gold as a final touch and then tied the ornament to the tree.

Upon further reflection, I think it looks more like a red daisy than a poinsettia, lol! Next time I woud make the "petals" more jagged to more accurately represent the shape of the poinsettia leaves.

Still, it sparkles nicely in the lights - and it was a fun way to use up some of my glitter stash! :)

Happy Birthday Earlybird (and Papa)!!

Just before Daddy left for work this morning, we celebrated our sweet Earlybird's birthday! There will be more celebrating to come  - friends tomorrow and family on Saturday - but we wanted to kick off his special day in a fun way!

Here he is receving his "crafty" gifts. (Note the green marker on his forehead and crayon clenched in his fingers. He'd already been crafting all morning!)

Oh my, look at that big glittery 5!

Ooh, and even better - new crayons and markers! And colorful containers to store them in ... somebody get this boy some construction paper!

Forgetting all about breakfast, EB set right to work ...

The red circle is Jupiter with its raging surface storms, just so you know. :)

Now, how did this happen? How on earth did my baby boy get to be FIVE?

My Christmas baby celebrates five wonderful years today! I say Christmas, because he was due on the 21st, but came one week early. In fact, he was born on my dad's birthday, just as my dad, possibly (probably) the smartest man on the planet, said he would. :)

When I told my dad my original due date, he just shook his head and smiled. "He'll be born on my birthday," was all he said. And he stuck by his story all nine months long. And wouldn't you know, come December 14th, 2001, I was indeed starting labor at 4:30 a.m.? (Even back then Earlybird was early!) A few hours later, and he was here, sharing his dear Papa's birthday.

My dad jokes that he was "done with his birthday anyway," and that from now on it belongs solely to his youngest grandson ... but Dad, you know we're having none of that! The fact that you share your birthday with Earlybird only makes that day more joyous for our family. And if Earlybird grows up to be anything like his dear Papa, he'll be the luckiest boy on the planet.

Now, dear readers, here are a few things you should know about EB:

~ He is a love, an absolute love, and will hug you the moment you walk in the door.

~ He is bright, happy and brings a lot of joy (and noise) to our family!

~ He works very, very hard to overcome his challenges. His speech is delayed and he has some physical issues - all which have improved greatly in the past year through much therapy and lots of work (and love) at home.

~ He loves, as you know, the planets and stars. His favorite show is Nova, followed closely by almost anything on the Science Channel. He also loves trains, doing arts and crafts (the messier the better), and playing with his brothers.

~ The boy loves to eat. He probably eats more than his two older brothers combined! Despite the fact we keep him on a special diet, he doesn't let that slow him down. His growth is wonderful and his doctor calls him a little quarterback!

~ Finally, Earlybird is so named because he sleeps no later than 5:00 on any given morning! (Did you know the sunrise is absolutely beautiful these days?)

In five lightening fast years this boy has taught me more about being a mother than I ever thought possible. I have grown in so many ways - truly his life and his place in this family is a blessing to us all. I thank God every single day for Earlybird, as I do for each one of my boys.

Before I go, here are a few pictures showing his gifts up close. I worked on these projects one day while EB was napping.

As I painted, I could not help but feel a little like one of Santa's elves, busily making toys in the workshop!

Getting there ...

Done! A star-shaped crayon holder (holding brand spankin' new crayons), a wooden art tote (holding lots of markers) and a wooden star peg for EB's room. He can hang his bookpack and jacket from this hook.

Happy Birthday Earlybird! Happy Birthday Papa! I am so blessed to have you both in my life!

The Feast of The Immaculate Conception

Isn't this like a little breath of springtime in the middle of winter? A soft breeze of May right here in December?

For today's feast, honoring Our Blessed Mother's Immaculate Conception, we baked some sugar cookies - though I held myself back from sprinkles and icing and kept them perfectly plain. But alas, there was no tea! I ran out of milk this afternoon and tea's just not tea without plenty of milk (and sugar).

Above you see our small feast day tableau - the cookies, a book about Mary's life (by who else but Tomie), our Mary statue (on loan from Earlybird's room), and a candle we decorated just for today.

This was not the candle craft I originally envisioned, but time was pressing, so here is what we came up with. (Next year I hope to make (or buy) one like Jen's or as Ruth describes.) I happened to have a plain white pillar candle on hand - I wrapped it with a wide sheer pink ribbon, then slipped a Miraculous Medal onto a thinner blue ribboon and placed it on top of the pink. I tacked the ribbons into place with double-sided tape. (I know, there I go with the tape again! I really have to get my glue gun working.) Gold star stickers sprinkled above and below added a final touch. The effect was very nice actually, and the shades were so light and lovely - it had me thinking of the merry (Marian) month of May.

Feeling all crafty, I next made up a quick bookmark for my new book (which I am loving, by the way).  Here is what I did. I started with a plain white bookmark (available in bulk at the craft store) and pasted on a photocopy of the Immaculate Conception (from a holy card). Then I added 12 golden stars stickers and a pale pink tassel. Done! This craft was a snap to complete and could be done in any number of styles. (This would make a nice gift at Christmas - a decorated bookmark to go with a new book.)

Lest you think I had all the fun, I did have the boys wielding crayons and glue before the day was over! I saw similar projects to this one in A Year with God and Art 1 for Young Catholics but the one we used was from the Mary, Mother of God coloring book.

Here you see Crackerjack's and Bookworm's (left and right, respectively) cardstock Miraculous Medals. We read and talked about them, and looked at the one I have, noticing all the details. They colored the front and back images as they wished (I love how they love color) and then we glued thin yellow ribbon inside the two halves to allow them to wear the "medals" around their necks.

Here they are all finished, below. These are not really for wearing of course, but will look nice on their bedroom wall for a time.

Now this last craft was a spur of the moment thing. We were poking around in my craft bin and found a wooden letter M. M is for Mary of course, and "Hey, how about this cross," Bookworm wondered aloud, holding up a wooden cross image. Together they made the very symbol on the back of the Miraculous Medal!

So a little paint, a little glue ...

and a lot of glitter (we're really into glitter these days) ...

And we had a sparkly Marian ornament for our Christmas tree! It will help us remember this fun day, our beautiful faith ~ and it catches the lights very nicely. :)

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! 

Easy, Sparkly & Fun!

Perfect ingredients for a Christmas tree ornament! This is a simple, satisfying project to work on together these dark and cozy afternoons.

This neat idea was shared with me by my dear little friend Abby (8), whose mother Lisa is one of my best friends. Abby is a crafter like me, and after making these ornaments with her church group recently, she made sure to tell me all about them. In fact, she showed me how to make them last week! I couldn't wait to tell you all here. :)

This craft requires some patience, but is nice methodical handwork. It would be easy to keep the materials in a small basket (or in my case, a tupperware container) and keep them handy for those quiet afternoons leading up to Christmas. A perfect craft to work on while listening to read alouds or maybe while watching a holiday movie.

So, on with the craft! Materials you need: styrofoam balls (the smaller the ball, the quicker the craft), sequins, sequin pins, thin ribbon and a pair of scissors.

It's as easy as this: place a sequin on the ball, and secure it into place with a sequin pin. Repeat until the ball is completely covered, then pin a small loop of ribbon at the top.

Once I started working on mine, the older two boys immediately started in on their own. We found it easy to work with a tupperware lid as our craft tray.

This was our first try and we kept it pretty straightforward, but you could use various colors and patterns to snazz up the design, even layering two sizes of sequins for texture. You might spell out a loved one's name - writing it in marker first, then using one solid color to outline the name before filling in the rest of the space as described above. (How about a set of these bearing the kids' names? A lovely gift for the grandparents at Christmas.)

And here is the final result:

From left to right we have Bookworm's, Crackerjack's and mine.

This craft took a little under an hour to complete. Crackerjack (7) didn't have a lot of patience for this (hence the smiley face instead of a fully covered ball), but Bookworm (11) really enjoyed it. (Bookworm, by the way, is eager to learn knitting this winter. Calling all knitters for help!) As I mentioned before, you could keep the children's work-in-progress in a small container and pick up where you left off as time allows. These sparkly little balls would look beautiful on any tree, but perhaps most lovely on the children's own Blessings Tree.

Many thanks to my sweet friend, Abby, for showing me this wonderful craft! And for a few more ornament craft ideas, please see my recent post at O Night Divine and today's post at Higher Up and Further In. (LOVE that felt gingerbread man!)

Happy Christmas Blessings to you!

Our Advent Log

Our Advent Log "took root" this past summer, when Bill found a fallen birch tree in the woods out back. Birch is such a lovely wood, he knew it should not go to waste, so he chopped a few lengths, and stacked the logs next to our potting shed.

We imagined a few different gift and toy crafts, but as the months passed we gave the wood little more thought. And there the logs stood these many months, just waiting for some inspiration to strike ... and thanks to Rebecca and Alice, it did!

 

This year we decided to place our Advent candles in a birch log rather than a wreath. (We have a very pretty wreath, but for some reason it never holds the candles steady, causing what this timid mother believes to be a certain fire hazard!) So this Advent season, the log it will be!

The morning after Thanksgiving we set to work. Bill and the boys set up the saw on the deck, and brought up the logs.

 

While I kept a close eye on the boys (in other words, at a safe distance), Bill trimmed a log portion to a size that would fit our fireplace mantel:

Next, he drilled four holes (and thanks to Alice's advice, we remembered to use the candles as a guide).

And that was it! We brought the log inside to the mantel. We placed our candles in the holes, and Bill brought in some juniper greens and holly cuttings for a little festive and natural decoration.

And now our Advent Log is ready to serve us these next four Sunday evenings, as we celebrate this special season at home!

For another variation on the traditional Advent wreath, (a smaller-sized candle set for the children), please see my post at O Night Divine.

Have a good night and God bless!