Paper Plate Christmas Tree Garland

To begin, may I offer my heart-felt love and support to all those who've been affected by the events in New Town, CT.  It is a bitter reminder that life is precious.  I hope the following post might give you an idea of something fun to do with your little ones...and hold them even closer.

Dolly needed something fun to do the other day. I had seen THIS idea on pinterest, and thought it would be fun to try.

Halloween Round-up

Here is a round up of all my previous Halloween and Autumn posts in one place for you all.

 I've shared some fun projects to do with and for kiddos.

Five for Friday

Just a fun summary of what we've been up to around here.

It's been another busy week.

Boxy Messenger Bag Tutorial

I debated whether or not to write this, but if I'm ever to climb back into regular creating/blogging etc...I've got to start somewhere!

I made Dolly's birthday messenger bag in a way a bit different from others you may have seen around.  You actually sew a fabric box.  This was important because of it's intended use...to house plush critters, dolls, and all their paraphernalia.  Want to make one for a kiddo in your life?  Here's the how-to.

Four

Dolly celebrated her fourth birthday yesterday. She is such a joy to our family.

We had promised her that we'd celebrate her birthday in the new house...and we made it happen!

Sweet Reward

We're finally getting settled.  It's going to take a while to sift through the boxes, some of which haven't been touched since we moved last summer.  

In the meantime, I wanted to share the sweet reward our children received last week.  

Meet Mack and Buddy.

Hooray for teachers.

The school year is done, just as work on our house accelerates to the finish.  Not much of a vacation for the kiddos, but I don't feel too bad...they were able to go to Disneyland!  I did want to do a little something special for their teachers to express my gratitude for a great school year.

I'm so thankful for free printables and great tutorials...they made whipping these gifts up much simpler.

Playing with Pom Poms

Wow, I didn't mean to disappear for a week like that!  It's been a crazy week.  We set the goal of being ready for paint by last Saturday...which meant late nights and lots of extra time at the house.  Good news...we made our self-imposed deadline.  Bad news...the blog suffered a bit.  I hope you'll understand.  I thought today I'd show you a fun take on making little pom poms.

Black Apple Doll

Yesterday my younger son came home from kindergarten and announced he needed to give a gift to his friend.  A friend that's a girl who had birthday this week.

As this was such a rare request from my son, I thought it might be best to comply with such noble desires.

DIY Craft Kits

For Big Sister's birthday, I wanted to come up with something that would continue to nurture her creativity.

Nine.

My oldest daughter is nine today.

DIY Sewing Box

I thought I'd share how I made the sewing box for Big Sis.  I actually made it last spring hoping to make it past the first week of One Month to Win it.  The theme was Mod Podge, and so this is what I made.  However, since I got kicked off the first week, I'd tucked it away until the day when Sis was ready to learn how to sew.

Now, knowing that I made this almost a year ago, please understand I am racking my brain trying to remember how I did all this just based on the photos!  :)

Just like her mom

I wanted to show you how fun it has been for me to see my mini-me in action.

Big Sis and her third grade class took on a big project.  Mrs. O wanted to have a market day, where the students could apply their knowledge of currency, making change, and even a little marketing in a "real world" experience.

Eleven.

Eleven years and one week ago, I became a mother to a tiny little boy who looked just like his daddy.  It was love at first sight, all over again.

Time has passed so quickly.  This kid's hand and feet are almost the same size as mine, and we'll soon be looking eye to eye, even when we don't agree.

The Joy of Giving

As I've done previously, I help my kids make Christmas gifts for each other.  I want them to enjoy the idea of doing something for someone else...even if it's just a simple idea.  This year, we made personal toothbrush holders.

I was inspired by this darling washcloth toothbrush holder from Train to Crazy.

Source: thetraintocrazy.com via Chris on Pinterest

Making Snowmen out of Snow

Sheesh.  Where did the week go?  I must confess, it's been a rough one for me.  Several problems crept up as the foundation work continued on our house, and then the snow flew Friday.  I may or may not have wept some hot tears.  Our window for good weather has passed.

Animal report and a biome

Why is it that when your child gets a big assignment in school, mom does too? My oldest boy was assigned a one page report on an animal of his choice, and also had to create a "biome" (fancy word for habitat). He decided he wanted to write a report on grey wolves. I was pretty impressed with the biome we put together, and thought you might like to see it too.

Our Gryffindors for Halloween 2011

Just a quick hello and thanks for all the fun comments on our Halloween projects this year.  My kids are sound asleep, and had a fabulous day today between school and church parties.  We learned, if you actually trick or treat in the country, you find some wonderful treats!

Hedwig Costume

For the first time, we're having a family theme for Halloween costumes.  My older children are all dressing up as their favorite Hogwarts attendees, Harry, Hermoine, and Ron, which left Dolly to dress up as something.  I ran across this darling costume:

Source: B is for Boy via Chris on Pinterest

and thought it would make a great Hedwig costume.  I shared a preview of my version on my blog's facebook page...and here is the final result.

Egg Carton Witch Tutorial for the Kiddos

When my oldest daughter was in preschool, she made the cutest little witch.  Last year when my little boy was in homeschool preschool, we made my version of this craft.  I thought you all might like to make one with a little one in your life, so here's a quick tutorial and template.