My Sweet Babu

christmas trees, part 2

And this would be our lovely, live tree!  I insist on buying it right after Thanksgiving so it can be up and decorated for my big boy's family birthday party that usually falls the weekend after Thanksgiving.  We are able to pull this off and still have it look fresh and green for Christmas because we put it on the closed in front porch.  Although the windows are new, with the doors to the dining room shut it is still much cooler out there, which helps our tree to not dry out...or get knocked down by little people!

Last year, I realized that we had quite a few green decorations, so I decided that to tie together the rest of the glass ornaments, this would become our "green tree".  Again, I was in need of some decorations to fill in the gaps...so in keeping it "green", again, I cut up some of the cardboard packing boxes we had from my Christmas shopping in the shape of simple triangular christmas trees.

Then I had the kids decorate the the ornaments with green crayon and green glitter paint.  Again, this would make not only a wonderful decoration for your tree, but would also make a wonderful gift for family memebers! 

 
 I have to quickly mention that I do find it rather silly that what we refer to as out "green tree" of live tree is actually neither "green" or alive!  But I figure that buying a cut tree does stimulater the economy for tree farmers.  But getting back to decorations...For a variety of other great holiday craft and gift ideas for you to make with your children, please check out my dear friend, Elyse's blogg, http://bylittlehands.typepad.com .  He book, full of great craft ideas, would make a wonderful holiday gift!!

Have a great weekend!

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reindeer food

Sprinkle this reindeer food outside tonight,

the moonlight will make it sparkle bright.

As the reindeer fly and roam

this will guide them to your home!

My son made this "reindeer food" each year that he was in preschool as part of his holiday crafting, and this year, my little girl made this baggie of reindeer food in her little class that we attend once a week.  She was so excited with what she had made, and it really was the most simple activity!  All you need is some oatmeal, glitter and a baggie or a small baby food jar...

What I love the most about this is it's place in our Christmas eve ritual.  Each year we visit out inlaws on Christmas eve and since we return home kind of late, we leave out our milk and cookies for Santa and the carrots for the reindeer before we head off.  It is really magical to see the excitement on your little one's face as they toss the glittery oats around outside.  It is such a small thing, but it is so fun and such a neat little tradition!

Hope you had a lovely weekend!

a.

christmas trees, part 1

A couple of years ago, our live tree fell down twice, breaking many an ornament and leaving a huge mess.  I decided that I was going to purchase an artificial, pre-lit tree, however, when Christmas came around, I caved and bought the live tree too.  So now, each year, we put up 2 trees....hence the "part 1".

 
For this tree, {my pre-lit tree} I wanted all of the ornaments to be gold.  I decided we needed to fill in someof the gaps and was reminded of an ornament that still hangs on my mother's tree that I made as a child.  Having quite a bit of cardboard from boxes kicking around, I cut out a bunch of star shapes.  My son and I used glue to attatch different kinds of macaroni to the stars, then once they were dry, I spray painted them with gold paint.

 
We used a glue gun to attatch ribbon to hang them and I think they make a wonderful holiday decoration, of would make a wonderful gift to gife to family members?  Easy and beautiful! 

*These also work wonderfully when done on the wooden cut outs available in craft stores...then attatch a magnet to the back!*

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embroidering memories

When I was pregnant with my son, Tobin, my husband was working alot of late evenings, leaving me at home watching alot of Law and Order episodes.  I had not fully tapped into my creative potential at this point, only dabbling in some crafty things when the opportunity presented itself.  However, with all of this time on my hands, I went to the one thing I did know how to do fairly well; counted cross stitch.  I thought about my grandmother's house and all of the beautiful hand stitched samplers she had framed on the walls.  I decided that I would make something that I could embroider my little guy's name and birthday on, having it as a keepsake for years to come.  I loved making this for Tobin, and with each stitch, thought about how wonderfully different our life would be when he arrived; what he would be like, look like? 

When I found out that Sophia was going to be a girl, I began working on her cross stitch.  This time around, it was a little more difficult to find the time to stitch.  My husband was no longer working nights, and I had a little 3 year boy keeping me up and busy!  It was important to me that she have the same special keepsake that I had made for her brother, but it was also important for me to make the time to daydream about her and how special and wonderful she was and would be in our lives when she arrived.  So I did, with each little stitch...

Now here we are with baby #3 comming in just a few months.  Not only is this the busiest time of the year for us, but now I have two little ones keeping me up and running around.  Knowing with certainty that this will be the baby of the family, I am determined to make the time to bond and daydream as I stitch something special for him.  I wanted to wait to begin browsing for a design until I knew what the baby would be, so now I am on the lookout for something special... 

This is not something that needs to be done when one is pregnant, but can be done at any time.  Perhaps a larger cross stitch with two little one's names on it might be a sweet, framed keepsake in your home?  When looking for a pattern, I try pick something that reflects something about our life, or the season.  When my son was born, we were living right by the ocean, so the light house seemed the logical choice.  So this weekend, I will begin my search.  I am thinking about something having to do with the woods?  Or maybe a ship that would compliment the light house?  I am really looking foward to the upcomming cool fall nights when I can sit on the couch with my little ones and daydream about how I will probably not be able to sit on the couch and stitch much of anything for a few years once there are three little ones running around the house!  That actually sounds pretty great.

I'll keep you posted on what I find, and please, let me know if you have decided to begin a cross stitch project of your own!  Have a great weekend!

a.

apple bags

Here is New Jersey, in addition to tomatoes being in season for most of the summer, we also have the good fortune of being able to begin our apple picking as early as the end of August!  I actually only became aware of this when we went to our orchard to pick peaches this summer.  Although not all varieties of apples are available, many are and I for one was looking foward to getting an early start preparing all of the delicious things that I love to make with apples!

But my little ones would surely be needing something special to pick their apples with...  I actually have to give credit for this idea to my son's preschool that he attended for the last two years.  Each September, we took the kids on a apple picking trip, and in preparation, each child decorated a paper bag with a halved apple dipped in paint to create a stamp.  These  bags were then used to carry the apples that they picked at the orchard...

We used a similar technique, however instead of using a paper bag, we used a small canvas bag {found in a craft store} that can be used and enjoyed season after season and in my little ones' daily play.  Instead of using paint or a stamp pad, we used fabric paint and an apple cut in half to create an apple stamp on the bags, then just followed the process of allowing the paint to dry, ironing, washing, drying and ironing again.  {I suggest making these bags with your little ones the weekend prior to when you plan to use them, which will allow the time necessary fot the paint to process.}  We decided to add some extra buttons and ribbons and with a few stitches by mama, our little bags were all set and looked great...all that is missing are the apples!  I am really looking foward to putting these little bags to work when we head off to the orchard this weekend!

Have a lovely day!

a.

Tiny puzzles

This was a project that we worked on over the summer, but I had fogotten about it until my guy Tobin took it out and was playing with it the other day.  This little wooden puzzle was one of my $1 purchases from the craft store that finds it's way into the craft closet {or into "mama's magic hat"} for those times when you need a new little something to give or work on...

I helped out painting this one by using a paint pen to outline the flower after Tobin had painted it.  I was not thinking about making it non toxic when we started the project and allowed Tobin to use non toxic acrylic {plastic based, not natural} paint on his project.  I left it without a clear coat because I was unsure if I would be able to get the puzzle pieces apart if I sprayed a clear coat over it?  Perhaps I'll try it on the bird puzzle?  Or spray the puzzle while it is in pieces and not together?  Either way, however you choose to paint it, I usually try to keep toys out of my kiddo's mouths {unless they are teething toys}.  Since many of our toys are wooden, aside from the toxic issue, I don't want our toys to look as if they had been chewed on by a little puppy, {we have one of those to keep an eye on as it is!}  Plus, I really don't want the babes to be in the habit of picking up toys {in our home or at someone elses home} and popping it into thier mouths!

My little schpiel aside, I couldn't help but think that this was one of those quick easy crafts to work on with little ones durning the hours when they get home from school.  They could even work on this independently at the kitchen table while you are making dinner?  Perhaps we can go on the hunt together for other random, wonderful little projects like this one?  I will surely be on the lookout!

Happy September 1st!

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