Muscians Are So Cute

Over the Christmas break we visited family. 

My Father in law has a recording studio in his basement. My guys Love going down there to play with all the instruments.

Bad timing on my part, I missed a shot of the boy playing the piano. But he was cute too.

My little hippie flower child

 

My wonderful guitar playin', great singin', hubby.

See, musicians are cute!

New Lovelies For Christmas Delivery

I would like to introduce you to some dear lovelies. Won't you please meet:

Party Teal We Drop

BerryLicious

Over The Moon

Grey Matter

Hopelessly In Love

Aren't they just darling! These beauties are some of my favs, and I have been wearing them every day! 

I kinda wish I had more than one set of ears, ya know, just for the sake of being able to wear all of these at once {cuz I'm just so in love with them}

 

If you find yourself smitten, you can always head to The Shop and order up some lovelies. But remember, last day to guarantee Christmas delivery is Dec. 16. 

Chic Christmas Wreath {On The Cheap}

This is a super cute and super frugal Christmas wreath. I just got the idea in my head for the colors and since I already had the turquoise yarn, it was a done deal!

This wreath cost me all of $1, because I already had most of these items on hand. But, if you had to buy all of these things to make this wreath, it would still only cost you a few dineros, like only 4 or 5 of them.

You will need:

Wreath Form {found at the $ store}

Yarn {your choice color}

Head Pins or glue

Fabric -to make the yo-yo's

Needle and Thread

Glitter word {$1 at Walmart}

Hot Glue Gun {to attach all items to the wrapped wreath}

Wrap the form with the yarn several times, until the form is no longer showing {I used flat head pins to secure, but you could also glue} and make sure the ends of the yard all meet on one side

Once completely covered I added a few funky wraps to give it some texture

Make as many yo-yo's as you would like to add on and decorate with your glitter word as well.

{If you don't know how to make a yo-yo, simply google it, there are so many tuts on them}

Star Tutorial

Want to make that beautiful star up there?! Yes? Of, course you do. I knew you would!

Here is a photo tutorial to help you along your way. For argument (and time) sake, I used two different stars, one that I already made (above). And the other to show you  the beginning steps.

Start with your supplies. You will need 6 pieces of square paper (4x4,5x5,8x8-whatever you like), scissors, tape, and stapler.

Fold your paper in a triangle by joining two opposite corners together.

Next, you want to make even cuts up toward the center. You want these to meet but NOT touch. Also, these do not need to be perfect or exact. I tried it both way and you cannot tell the difference. Trust me! (I spent an hour doing one with perfect lines and it looked the same!)

You are then going to lay your paper unfolded so that you are looking at a diamond.

Now, in the center diamond, you want to fold the two point into each other. Like this: (see why I need a photo tutorial) :-)

You want to do the same thing with each diamond, only you are going to alternate which side you roll the corners. Like This:

Do that until each diamond is folded. Once finished it should look like this:

Follow these steps to complete all 6 squares. Once you have completed that you will take 3 of them and staple their point together at the top.

See, there is the staple. Notice how the sides touching are loose? Well, we are going to fix that! You want to staple each side touching, so they don't fall over.

See, those sides are tighter together now. What, you don't see?!

See that little staple hiding up there, he's holding it tight together so when you hang your star it won't flop all over the place.

Do the same thing with your other 3 and then staple the two halves together in the middle. Be sure to staple the last two sides together.

Your finished star will look like first picture.

If I have completely made your head swim with my awful written description, then I hope my photos have helped, and if not, then please feel free to contact me for further guidance and photos.

** I had my Sunday School class make these this past Sunday and they loved them! I also read them this 

as we talked about the birth of Christ. Next week I am having them make a manger scene. And yes, for those of you who do not know, I am a Sunday school teacher... in case anybody cares. :)

Enjoy your stars!

Advent Conspiracy

I am so thankful with our decision this year. Everything is homemade and the children are doing most of it. They have only asked for 3 (very little) things. We decided as a new tradition this year to only give three gifts (homemade, recycled, or purchased). Jesus was given 3 gifts, so that is what we are implementing. It was perfect because the children asked for the three things long before I decided we were only giving three gifts. 

We are focusing on GIVING this year. I grew up with a huge Christmas every year and for a long time I felt I had to give my children everything they had ever wanted and then some. Of course, January would come and I would be freaking out about all the bills due. Last year I funded our entire Christmas by selling all of our old things on Ebay. I made a small fortune in November and used that earned $$$ for that Christmas. It was a form of recycling but I still felt like too much focus was on the gifts. This year is completely different. We are all very excited and I have come to realise that the children would rather bake cookies, paint, have a movie night - all with their parents. That is what makes this time of year so special, spending our time with our little ones, who (unfortunately) won't be this little for long. I am milking it for all it's worth. I want to leave wonderful memories and traditions for my children to pass on. I don't want them to feel the need to buy their children everything under the sun. Each day we talk more about the story of Christmas and in doing so, I am so blessed by seeing them think about it and ask questions. I know they are "getting" it! And that makes for a very happy Mama!

God Bless you all in your Christmas plans, and please, remember the true meaning of Christmas! You will be much happier and blessed if you do so! :-)