Christmas Prep

So I just finished wrapping all of the gifts. Mostly it was just the gifts from Santa. Sorry I have not been too active on posting, but we are trying to get ready for Christmas and more importantly getting the house ready for Hazel's birthday party. Our cleaning people come tomorrow so everything needs to be picked up for them. Here are some of the things I have been up to though. 

We have made our gingerbread house. I bought a kit at AC Moore this week. Hazel has been asking to do it. Here are a few more views of it.

Today Hazel and I baked cookies. We have to have some to leave for Santa plus we will bring some to both grandparents' houses. We made thumbprints using our blueberry jam and some peanut butter cup cookies using mini peanut butter cups from Trader Joe's and mini Hershey kisses.

While we were baking my dear husband took my car to Sears to be repaired. Apparently my tire had a slow leak and being Sunday the only place to get it fixed is at Sears at the mall. Ugh!! What a time for that to happen.

I also made Hazel some new Christmas pajamas. I bought this flannel at Joann's and if they still have some on clearance I will buy it all. It is the softest and warmest flannel I have seen in a long time. I used McCall's pattern number 5965. It is the easiest pair of pajamas ever. The only thing I didn't like is the neck band needs to be a stretchy knit, but it sews up so quickly.

I also discovered HP Create via Pinterest. And have been making some of their holiday projects. I am using this star box to "wrap" a gift card for Steve's stocking. Then I made a bird ornament and a holiday frame.

They have some neat projects to check out! Enjoy!!

FYI: Happy Family Times will not be happening this week due to the holidays. Kelly and I decided we all should be enjoying some time with our family and not posting it. Enjoy!!

Sharing Saturday #51

Wow, it is hard to believe there is only one more Sharing Saturday left after this for 2012!! Last week's was very inspiring!! If you have not had a chance to check out all the great ideas shared, please do so and leave some comment love! This week there was a five-way tie for the most clicked so I am just featuring some of my favorites.

1) From Like Mama ~Like Daughter: Enchanted Childhood Playschool Week-- Lots of great Christmas books and activities to go with them!
2) From The Good Long Road:  Things That Go! Christmas Edition-- A great round-up of Christmas things that involve movement!
3) From Hey Mommy, Chocolate Milk: Snowflake Authority--Bentley -- A book to check out and some great snowflake crafts!
4) From Family Home and Life: Christmas Garland -- A wonderful tutorial on cutting garland of different shapes!
5) From Keitha's Chaos: Sneaky Elf on the Shelf Learning Activities --Keitha's Elf almost makes me want to get my own. What great ideas and her elf is so cute!!
6) From Blog Me Mom: Santa Role Play -- A wonderful way to help kids giveaway their old toys and learn charity!
7) From Learning & Growing the Piwi Way: Christmas Science -- Using some Christmas traditions to teach a little science.
8) From De Gulle Aarde: Hummels -- So adorable!!
9) From Earning My Cape: Traveling with Kids--Milestone Packs -- Great idea for those long car rides (which many of us may be making this week). 

Thank you to everyone who shared last week!! I hope you will join us and share again!! If you are featured here or earlier this week, please feel free to grab a featured button to display proudly on your blog.

Button Code:

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From Your Hostess: Simple Christmas Decorations and Ornaments Part 1 and Part 2

Best wishes for a very Merry Christmas to all who are celebrating!!

Now for This Week's Party A Few Simple Guidelines:
1)  Please follow both hosts via GFC (or one of the other ways that work for you).  
Hosts are Crafty Moms Share and Mama Mia's Heart2Heart. A reminder: Mia is taking a blogging break. Hopefully she will be back soon to host again!!

2)  Link any kid-friendly, child-centered post. Please no etsy shops or giveaways, etc.  Remember to link to your actual post. 

3) Post the button on your sidebar or somewhere on your blog to help spread the word.

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4) We would love it if you would follow us on Facebook and Google+

Disclaimer: By sharing here, you are giving Crafty Moms Share and Mama Mia's Heart2Heart permission to use your photos for features and to pin your craft at Pinterest. 

Coffee Cup Christmas Tree & More

Do you remember the coffee cup angel I shared last week? This wee we made a coffee cup Christmas tree. Well, I made mine out of a Starbucks Venti cup and Hazel used a styrafoam cone that I had. Our first step was to cover it with green construction paper. I did this so if we missed any spots it would not be obvious. Then I made the top into a point for both of us since neither the cup nor the "cone" went to a point.

Then we glued on some green squares of tissue paper and we also used red, yellow and white ones as decorations. Hazel and I had different ideas of this. Here is how hers came out without any help from me on the decorating.

However when she saw my yellow star, she asked me to make her one as well. So I did. 

We also painted the wooden ornaments today and she painted the other side of the stars.

My favorite one that she painted is this star. Maybe I can get her to give it to me for Christmas.

I also made some more felt ornaments. Very simple ones really. I cut felt circles out (tracing the top of a container) and then decorated with more felt cut as holly leaves, poinsettia petals, and the nativity. For the dots I used a hole punch on my felt.

Well that is some of what we have been up to today. What have you been doing?

Simple Christmas Ornaments/ Decorations

Yesterday Hazel and her best friend at school had their last day of school before vacation and then we went to his house for lunch and to exchange gifts and bake cookies. It was a wonderful time even though I am fighting a cold. Both children had been so excited for it so I did not want to cancel on them. Well, part of her gift from him was an ornament kit to paint paper mache ornaments. I had some more so I added to her pile to paint. We decided she would paint them for family members and I marked each one with an initial so we would remember whom it is for. Apparently she really liked the red paint as well.

She got sick of using the paints that came with the kit, so she switched to her water colors. I personally like it much better.

She wanted me to craft with her. Yesterday I had looked through a Better Homes and Garden section of easy felt Christmas ornaments and saw some that inspired me. I had some paper mache heart and tree ornaments as well. I covered them in felt and then decorated them. This could easily be done with pieces of cardboard instead of paper mache ornaments as well. Just use a cookie cutter for the shape.

I tried to cut a heart shaped snowflake out of the white felt for this one.

My original thought was I would cover them in felt and let Hazel decorate with foam stickers. She had gotten bored with crafting so I decorated them.

This one I used a stencil and some of her paint to decorate. It came out all right, but I needed a thinner brush for the stencil and better paint.

I left room on this one for her to still decorate. I might give her my fabric markers tomorrow and have her add some dots as tree decorations.

Then finally I bought many wooden ornaments for her to paint. She had already gotten bored, but I did this one with her water colors.

We will hopefully do the rest of them tomorrow. Happy crafting!!

Hazel's Christmas Gift is Finished

So for Christmas I finished Hazel's playmat. Awhile ago I made her a zoo play mat (for original post go here). I have been making her some animals for her zoo and bought a few. At her school holiday fair I bought her a wooden hedgehog and a fabric pig and turtle. Then I made a wool kangaroo, penguin and lions. I finally finished her male lion. What do you think?

I knew I wanted to make it reversible and decided to make a castle play mat on the other side. I bought her some castle blocks and then found some more that are at an incredible price at Michaels this week, so I bought her two sets.

I was going to make her a royal family, but ran out of time so I bought her one and a unicorn. I bought them at 50% off sale at least.

 I think she will love it. I can't wait to see her open it all. Are you making any of your Christmas gifts this year?

Now I just need to finish her birthday gift and all the decorations and plans for her birthday party.