Our Very First Giveaway! Day 1 of 12 days of Christmas giveaways! GIVEAWAY CLOSED!

For the first day of our Christmas giveaways, the winner will receive a personalized, holiday, navy blue, short sleeved t-shirt.  You tell us your size (S-1X), your name (or the name you want on the shirt) and we'll decorate it for the holidays, using freezer paper stencils.  You'll receive it in plenty of time to wear it for the season. Good luck!

Here are some examples of the type of shirt we could make you.  These are our Thanksgiving shirts.

GIVEAWAY CLOSED!
There are five chances to win this giveaway:
1.  Become a follower of our blog or tell us you already are.  Then leave us a comment saying you are a follower.
2.  Subscribe to our blog via email or RSS feed or tell us you already are a subscriber.  Then leave us a comment saying you are a follower.
3.  Like our Facebook page or tell us you are already a fan.  Then leave us a comment saying you are a follower.
4.  Follow us on Twitter or tell us you are already a follower. Then leave us a comment saying you are a follower.
5.  Repost our giveaway on Twitter or Facebook.  Then leave a comment with the link to your post.

If you sign in as anonymous make sure to leave us your email address so we can contact you!

That is five ways to win!  You can enter until Noon EST on Dec. 2.  We will announce the winner by 8pm EST on Dec. 2.  Good luck to you!

It's coming...12 days of Christmas giveaways!

We are so very excited to start our first giveaways.  Shannon and I have been busy making fun crafts and we want to share them with you!  Help us publicize our blog and we will help you win!

Our first of our 12 days of Christmas giveaways starts at midnight, be on the lookout!  Thank you to all of you who are already following our blog!

Our Weddng Week Part 1

Today is my Dad's birthday.  He's 30 plus 38 :-) Happy Birthday Daddy!

I can't believe November is almost over.  I'm already feeling the December rush.  Family pictures on Wednesday, shopping, baking, planning, decorating... all needing to be done.  YIKES!  With all the holiday stress on the horizon, I'm glad I have great memories of the last two weeks in November to look back on.

We just got back from our "Wedding Week" in Florida.  I was so fortunate to be asked to be a bridesmaid in my friend Mandy's wedding.  It was beautiful.  There were seven bridesmaids and we were lucky our bride was no Bridezilla.  We were allowed to pick from any black, long gown we wanted. We were all thrilled with the dresses we got and we were able to pick dresses that looked best on us.  What a bonus!  Now, if I can just find somewhere to wear my beautiful gown to again.

Mandy's wedding was in Melbourne,  FL.  Melbourne is south of Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral on the east coast of Florida. We stayed right on the beach.  It was a little cool to splash in the waves (even though I saw a few brave souls doing so), but a morning walk on the beach was perfect!  Mandy had a block of rooms, reserved, at the hotel, for her wedding guests.  She had baskets for each room.  The baskets contained a map of Melbourne, bottled water, crackers, muffins, fruit snacks, trail mix, and my favorite... CHOCOLATE!  There was a little note from the bride and groom attached to each basket.  What a great welcome for guests!

Mandy chose to have her wedding on a Sunday afternoon.  I've been told many venues offer great rates for Sunday weddings.  What a great way to stretch a wedding budget!  Because she had her wedding on a Sunday, one of her wedding favors was a red or black paper bag filled with goodies and a note.  (see pictures) What a great economical wedding favor!

She also had her favorite, rock candy, at each place setting. This worked wonderfully to help sustain the kids, while waiting for the buffet line to open.  The only thing I would change is the color of the rock candy.  She chose red, an accent color to her black and white wedding.  Although it was very pretty, my youngest daughter got some on  her dress and as hard as I tried, I just couldn't get the stains out.  I would suggest a clear rock candy wrapped in colored cellophane or with a ribbon in a coordinating wedding color.

Mandy also had the BRILLIANT idea of having a basket full of new flip flops on the edge of the dance floor.  My feet were miserable before these lifesavers came along.  I know Old Navy offers flip flops for $1/pair at least once a year.  If you're planning a wedding, I'd say stock up when this amazing sale comes around!

There were many wonderful things about this wedding.  The bride and groom wrote their own, very personal vows.  So special. They played their favorite music while the wedding party walked down the aisle. So personal.  They broke out into a phenomenal dance routine at the end of their traditional first dance.  So fun.  This wedding was their wedding. It was so personal and unforgettable. I am honored that I was asked to be a part of it.

The perfect gift for kids!

Are there kids on your shopping list that you would like to include on your holiday gift list?  If so, follow this link to a wonderful list of picture book gifts!  I know my daughters adore books.  I'm sure your special kiddos will too!  Ways to give a gift: 2010 Picture Book Edition

Crocheted Candy Corn

On our trip home to Kentucky, I finally got to make these cute decorative candy corns.  These have been on my list of things to make for about two years.  One nice thing about blogging about crafts is it makes me commit to making things I've been procrastinating on for years.  I think these will look cute amongst my mantle decorations next year.

Now that I finished these, I can end my obsession with candy corn for another year.  If you would like to make these, they are super easy.  Here is the link to the pattern:  Candy Corn pattern  If you make them, let me know.  I would love to hear about those of you who are equally obsessed with Candy Corn.  My second child seems to have the same affliction.  He took off a piece of it from my wreath when I was packing things away.  I guess the clear sealant didn't stop a 2 year old!

Bye Candy Corn, we look forward to seeing you next year!

Craft Sharing

      Crafting is an escape for Jill, Lesli, and me.  We love to get together and work on our latest projects. Unfortunately, with seven kids and three husbands between us, we don't always have the time to get together.  We still craft, when our little ones (and big ones) are tucked snuggly in their beds.  In the wee hours of the morning, you can find us working, ever so quietly, to check our craft projects off our lists.
      We've found that it's often financially and time wise to create in multiples.  By the time you buy the materials for a craft, you usually have plenty left over to make a number of the same projects.  So, you can form an assembly line and craft away.  What do I do with these extra crafts?  I share them.  Jill and I have become craft "swapping" experts.    When my daughter's recent bout with Strep kept me from a craft date at her house, I made the project here while she was making another project at her house.  Then we swapped them.  It worked out so well.  We spent less money and time than we would have had we done each of the projects on our own and we got two great projects!  We've actually done this a number times so our decorations are multiplying!
        So, next time you set out to create a craft, might I suggest you make it in multiples and find some buddies to swap with?  You'll soon have a plethora of great decorations for each holiday season.  (This same idea works well for cooking too!)

Happy Thanksgiving

We want to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!  Enjoy the time you have with your families, friends and loved ones.  Remind them how thankful you are for each of them!

We are thankful for all our followers.  Again, have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Kid-friendly Turkey Craft Tutorial

While the kids are off school for the Thanksgiving holiday, it is the perfect time to get crafty with them.  This is an easy craft so you can enlist the help of your children and allow them to personalize it as well.

Supplies needed:

2 Styrofoam balls (one small and one large)

Toothpicks

Brown paint and a sponge brush or Brown spray paint

Popsicle sticks

Red, white and yellow scraps of felt

2 Push pins (any color, mine were yellow)

Various colors of construction paper

Hot glue gun

Glue Stick

Scissors

Instructions:

1.  Take your plain styrofoam balls and prop them up on toothpicks so that you can easily paint them.  I used three to help prop each up.

I used brown acrylic paint and a sponge brush, but if you have brown spray paint it might be easier and faster.  I used quite a bit of brown paint as you have to push the paint in the ball to cover all the crevices.  Allow the balls to fully dry.

2.  While you are waiting for the paint to dry, cut out feathers from your construction paper.  There isn't a pattern for this, just cut a long oval shape.  If you would like the kids to personalize these, they can write what they are thankful for on each feather.  Using your glue stick, take a popsicle stick and glue it  to the back of each feather.

3.  Now cut out two circles from the white felt.  Cut out one triangle from the yellow felt and two long ovals (the gobble gobble) from the red felt.

4.  Once the paint is dry, stick a popsicle stick in the large ball and connect the smaller ball to it.  (This is the neck support).  I used a toothpick at first, but it wasn't enough support.

5.  Using the hot glue gun, glue on the eyes, nose and gobble gobble to the face of the smaller ball. Push in your colored push pin into the white felt circles to create eyes.

6.  Stagger the colors of your feathers and push them into the larger ball.  Make sure the popsicle sticks are facing back.

That's it!  I hope that you and your children will enjoy this craft and maybe make a few for friends.  This would also be a great item for your Thankgiving table.  You could have your kids make one for each of your guests and personalize the feathers to what they are thankful for or like most about that person.  

Have a Happy Thanksgiving spending time with those you love!