Hello 2014

{My cute planner is from Paper Coterie}

Hi Friends!

I didn't mean to completely disappear like that for the last part of December.  I planned to take a little break to finish Christmas preparations and then I guess I was enjoying holidaying too much to come back until now!

If you didn't already know, I'm in the Midwest and we've been having just the snowiest winter in Michigan, no really.  We just set a new record for snow fall.  It just makes me feel like hibernating & watching TV at night instead of doing anything productive.

Besides the snow, it's been really cold!  We've had FIVE days off this month due to either snow or extreme cold.  Two kids at home means, I get to have more quality time with my seven year old while our two year old is napping.  This is normally when I do a lot of my blogging so that's another reason it's been quieter around here.  Have to take advantage of mother daughter time when I can, because she might not want to drop everything and draw with me forever.

One project I have been making time for is finishing my Journal Your Christmas album.  This is the first year I've taken Shimelle's class and I loved it.  I am not good at creating as you go throughout the month of December, so each day I would do my journaling on the computer and now I am working on making things pretty.  I hope to share some pages soon.

{Digital Journaling Card from the Jade Edition of Project Life}

I have also been reflecting a lot on finding more balance in my life, between motherhood & my own identity, healthy lifestyle versus my natural inclination to be sedentary, blogging and family life.  This is something I struggle with and need to make a conscious and deliberate plan to work toward.

So that is a bit of a catch up, I'm looking forward to what 2014 has in store for us.  How is your new year off to?

Sending a Snowman

Every year we give our Grandparents a photo calendar.  Here's how we wrapped them this time, aren't they cute?  While ours are on the outside of a white envelope, it would also be a fun snow themed art project for any snowy day.  We made some minor changes from the original, using ribbon for the scarf and the end of two different sized brushes to make our mouth and nose. click here for the directions for Push the Envelope.

PS: The photo tag in the top photo is one of the freebies I provided for this kit release.



Linked Up At: my own weekly linky: A Crafty Soiree, The 36th Avenue, and Tickled Pink at 504 Main

Support Handmade Spotlight: Release Me Creations

Today we have Maureen for Release Me Create, read on for the FREE SHIPPING code at the bottom of the post:)  She's also got a beautiful holiday decor project to share with you. One thing I really love about it is, that once you make it you can leave it up all winter long!  It's always so sad to me, when all the decorations go away after New Years, because my house always looks kinda bare then.  This is such a fun way to incorporate natural elements into your home for the entire season.  Hello everyone! I'm so very excited to be a guest blogger today on Katie's Nesting Spot! My name is Maureen, and I blog over at: Release Me Create 

Today I bring you this fun, easy, and ultra cheap diy holiday decor project: WHAT I USED:-Some small branches-Pinecones-Gold spray paint-White spray paint-Moss covered styrofoam "stones"-Tiny white snowflake ornaments-Glass vase1) Find some branches just lying about and remove any foliage or extra stems you don't want

2) Spray paint them white (or gold or silver, or whatever color you like)

3) Find some pinecones, spray paint them gold, slap on some glue and pour on the glitter! (No photo of this as I was impatient and didn't want to wait for my camera battery to charge)

4) Travel to the craft store to find some cute things to fill within the vase, and some ornaments to hang on your branches -I found the tiny snowflakes, the moss stones, and the vase all for $9 with my coupon and their 50% off holiday decor sale at Hobby Lobby! 5) Fill up the vase, add your twigs, hang your ornaments and viola...a cute little holiday arrangement!I added my little white ceramic birds for a final finishing touch. 

Thank you so very much for letting me join you today! You can come visit me anytime on my BLOG, FACEBOOK, or TWITTER! And if you're holiday shopping, I am offering FREE SHIPPING in my ETSY SHOP.  Just enter Coupon Code: MERRYHOLIDAY11

Happy New Year!

As the year begins anew, I have been reflexing on the days that will never be again and anticipating how much our lives will change in 2011. I'm excited for all that the next twelve months bring and I hope you are too!

I've been enjoying some time away from blogging to enjoy the holidays with my family and our friends. December is a busy month for us, because it's also my brother's birthday. We had a tasty taco bar and bumpy cake for him. It's been a wonderful break, and I'm not quite ready to come back "full" time yet. In the meantime, I wanted to share some of our holiday festivities.

ER had the Christmas of her dreams, with Santa bringing the set of fairies she wanted as well as a Lego set that includes a Princess, AND an American Girl Bitty Twin. Big stuff for a four year old:) I found lots of crafty goodness under the tree with three Cricut cartridges, a scoring board, and two new die cut sets. Brad got a lot of new clothes, cause I was tired of seeing his old stuff, but don't feel too bad for him. He also got plenty of fun stuff too!

Snow Play

After our first big snowfall of the season last weekend, Brad and ER got right out to make this huge snowman.Shoveling has become ER's favorite thing to do. She uses her little sand shovel to fill her pail and puts it in the garage. Every day she checks on it. I was kind of surprised to see how much it had decreased in volume. Then she adds more snow on top of what's melted. Funny what kid's like to do!

We also have to make lots of snow balls and...Play time is never over without a snow angel or two. I have to drag her in, even if she's shivering and her cheeks are bright red!
Part of Wordless Wednesday at Five Minutes for Mom, Go Graham Go, Two of a Kind Working on a Full House, and Wordful Wednesday at Parenting by Dummies.

Easy Children's Fleece Gift Set

A few weeks ago ER and I were at the fabric store, when she saw some cupcake patterned fleece. It was pretty cute and she really wanted me to make something out of it for her. Since we already have a no sew fleece blanket, it took me awhile to decide what to do with it. I'm surprised by how far one yard went. I was able to make two sets of projects, I'll share the first one today and the second as soon as I put the finishing touches on it. First I made her a no sew hat, directions from Crafty Mama: Makes 49 Fast, Fabulous, Foolproof (Baby & Toddler) Projects by Abby Pecoriello, @imacraftymama on Twitter. It's a seriously fun book, you should check it out! I had to adjust the measurements for ER's larger head so it's a bit looser than I'd like. The example is cuter, with a bigger fold at the bottom. Oh well, next time! ER has never been a fan of overly tight hats, so in her opinion it's perfect. She wore it around inside, the day I gave it to her. I love the pom pom on top.

I had a random strip of long fleece left over and it just made sense to turn it into a super simple no sew fleece scarf. ER was thrilled by that, she doesn't have one and unbeknownst to me, she REALLY wanted one. She exclaimed, "Oh good Mommy an outside BOA," when she saw it. I guess everything is related back to dress up fun for her:) The mittens were the only thing I had to turn the sewing machine on for. No pattern, I just traced around her hand onto paper, cut it out, and when I traced it onto the fleece I added space around the whole thing. They aren't the warmest or best for playing in the snow. What they are great for is easy slip on and off while we run multiple errands. ER is pretty stubborn about NOT wearing her mittens in the car, but she needs something on her hands while we run in and out of stores. These are quick to put on and off, unlike the heavy duty ones we also have.

You could make the whole set without your kiddo seeing it and use another set of hat and mittens for measurements. Then the whole thing could be kept a secret and wrapped up for under the tree. The hat is seriously cute and I will definitely make more for the littler kiddos we know.


Shared At:

First Snow

One the first day of December we also got our first dusting of snow. Even though it didn't stick and there wasn't much, ER had to get right out into it.

Shared At: Five Minutes for Mom and Two of a Kind Working on a Full House.

Taking Time to Play

We had a lot of stuff we could've been doing. I was supposed to write about the important, inspriational, and interesting things the speakers on the last day of the conference said. Instead we decided to spend our afternoon doing this...

I'd say the time was pretty well spent. ER is obessed with piling up snow, we don't know why. Brad decided since she spent so much time moving around the stuff, they might as well do something with the pile she worked so hard on and sled down it.

You've probably noticed this whole week was a Social Media Mom's Conference recap. Today was supposed to be the final one in the series, but I got side tracked. I'm sure I'll get around to doing it some time. I still have more of our adventures, but I don't want to overload you with too much Disney, as if there could be such a thing! So I will probably space those out a bit.

{for the folks getting this via email or reader, there's a super short video clip in the post, you probably can't see it, so c'mon over☺}

Preschool Snowmen

The last time I assisted in my daughter's co-op preschool class they had several really fun and cute snowmen projects on display. I always enjoy seeing projects other teachers do. The first two projects are from the four year old class and the second two from the three year olds.These glittery snowmen started out as canned food! How clever are these?

This doily snowman is similar to one I used to make with my kindergarten students. It's a simple way to discuss sizes.

I really like the the texture the packing peanuts give to these snowmen. That they hang makes them great classroom decorations.

This one eyed beauty is a snowman ER painted. Aren't these four great art projects and such a nice variety?

Snow Much Fun

Michigan has been hit with snow lately, not a ton but it's been cold enough that it's stayed around on the ground. ER couldn't be happier about it. If given the chance, like most kids, she'll try to run out and dive in the snow the second the garage door opens. After the first few times, we've learned to put the child in the car BEFORE opening the door if we want to avoid a fight to get into the car. She has quite a talent for sticking a leg or hand in random piles of snow or slush, no matter how small, when walking to and from stores and other places. It's like there is some kind of magnetic attraction.
She finally got to build a snowman with Daddy, but he needs to stick with building lasers. Let's just say his design wasn't very good. Our poor guy fell apart almost immediately. I hate to say it Brad but the kids next door totally beat you on that one☺
While she's been begging to build a snowman, I think this is definitely her favorite snowy activity! I am so glad we thought to grab a little sled when they appeared in the stores back at the end of fall. Cause judging by what we've been seeing getting stocked they all think it's almost summer.

She also loves making snow angels, I think because it gives her a reason to get covered in snow from head to toe. It's always hard to get her to come back in to warm up.

Holiday Visits

Last week we finished up our holiday family visits, and stopped by to see Great Grandma at her nursing home. Then we went to see Uncle Mike and Aunt Denise, who were in for the holidays from New York. All of my mom's siblings were able to stop in at one time or another during the night. Above are my mom, Aunt Barb, and Aunt Denise enjoying cookies and coffee after a nice hearty dinner of beef stew. Unce Mike and the "baby" of the family Uncle John are below. The next day we had my friend Margaret and her two daughters over to exchanged Christmas gifts, lunch, and to play. The girls all had fun with ER's new toys and we ended our visit with cupcake decorating.