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Earlier in the month, Abby's class had their 4th grade California Native American dwellings and research papers on display in their classroom. It was so fun to walk around the classroom and talk to each child about their dwelling and how they made it and what their tribe was like.
Abby had the Karok tribe of Northern California. They lived in cedar plank houses. She worked really hard on it (along with her daddy, of course) and I think it came out beautifully.
The trees are decorated, the gifts are all purchased and wrapped, and the Christmas cards have been mailed out. The halls are decked and our front door has a fresh green wreath hanging on it. The letters to Santa have been sent out and our gingerbread house has been decorated. We have been out to see Christmas lights twice and my Christmas projects are completed. Just don't tell my girls that I have made them each a soft, squishy teddy bear, it's a surprise.
Yes, I am ready for Christmas.
Check out these cute little reindeer tags that Hailee made for her (core class) classmates last night. They were originally going to be one of my projects for our Family Holiday craft party, but we got sick and had to cancel. Anyway, Hailee whipped these out all by herself in about an hour. She did need a little help at the end, as tying bows can be a bit time-consuming.
Here are the ingredients:
Supplies include: a brown stamp pad, small shipping tags from Staples (approx. 1.5" x 2.75"), ribbon, reindeer stamp, this to-from stamp or that to-from stamp (I have both), and self-adhesive red rhinestones (I found these at Michael's for $1 per package).
1. Stamp reindeer on front of tag.
2. Stamp to-from on back of tag.
3. Adhere red rhinestone to reindeer nose.
4. Add ribbon and tie a bow.
5. Enjoy!
These will look cute tied to pencils, giftbag handles, cellophane bags of homemade cookies, etc. This is also a very quick and easy craft. You can make A LOT in a short amount of time. I think Hailee did a great job!
This little candy station is set up in our dining room ready for guests to stop by. Last night, Wayne and I made these really yummy homemade chocolate covered cherries. They are a bit of work, but well worth the effort. The fondant was a lot simpler of a recipe than I had expected. Yum. Also pictured is my ginormous candy cane purchased over the weekend. Isn't it awesome?
I don't expect to bake a lot this year, as we aren't hosting Christmas Eve, but I made and froze about 10-12 dozen cookie dough balls. I am also planning on making caramels and marshmallows, in attempt to make my own version of See's Candy Scotchmallows.
What are you baking?
Since I have been so bad at blogging, I thought I would take a post or two to play catch up. Here is a picture of the four of us on Thanksgiving. I LOVE the self-timer and have the camera remote on my must-have list of 2009 (along with a new lens).
My mom hosted Thanksgiving this year and it was nice to have most of our family get together for this special dinner. I am truly blessed and thankful for so much in my life. My beautiful girls and wonderful husband top my list!
Here is a picture of my beautiful girls with their baby cousin Olivia. Thankfully, the lighting outside was just about perfect. For the most part, I RARELY use the flash. I hate the way it makes my pictures look.
Even at 5 a.m. on Black Friday, I refuse to use my flash! Here is Hailee with a cup of cocoa in hand ready to brave the crowds and shop til she drops at her inaugural Black Friday. We woke up pretty early, like 4:15-ish. After getting out of the shower, I went in to wake her up. Now let me just tell you that she is the one in our family who sleeps in the latest AND is NOT a morning person. But, I walked in her room and quietly whispered to wake her up. She was up and ready in a flash! Total shock. Wayne said she is going to be like me-the only two times I will get out of bed no problem is for Disneyland and Black Friday! We saw women fight over $1.50 towels at Wal-Mart! Crazy. My mom came with us, as she didn't want to miss out on Hailee's first BF. We were home by 9 a.m. and done for the day. I think she is hooked.
These are the little packages of Snowman Soup (for all of Abigail's classmates) that I am sure you have all seen over and over again. The packaging, however, may be a little different. It was really simple to do. Abby and I made 30+ in just over an hour.
Here are the basic components for the packaging:
Small white lunch sacks (3.5" x 6.75"), red gingham ribbon, a stapler, a brown inkpad, a red felt-tipped pen, this awesome cocoa stamp, and this OLD Stampin' Up snowman stamp that I have had FOREVER. It is a foam stamp. Does anyone remember when you could get wood or foam stamps? That is how old it is.
1. Stamp Cocoa Mug on white bag.
2. Position and stamp snowman or any other small holiday stamp in the mug.
3. Color in the buttons with red pen.
4. Put Snowman Soup ingredients in bag: packet of hot cocoa, marshmallows, 3-4 Hershey's kisses, mini candy cane, and the poem.
Snowman Soup
I’m told you’ve been quite good this year.
I’m always glad to hear it!
With winter weather drawing near,
You’ll need to warm the spirit.
So here’s a cup of Snowman Soup
Complete with stirring stick.
Add hot water, sip it slow.
It’s sure to do the trick!
5. Fold over top of bag and staple small piece of gingham ribbon at the top.
6. Enjoy!
I am going to try and get "caught up" on my blogging, so you might see some posts coming up about Thanksgiving. I also want to post about a couple of projects I am working on. This picture of my girls was taken yesterday in Old Town Columbia. They are in front of the local candy store that makes their own candy canes. YUM! I bought a giant one to bring home with us. Not sure what exactly I am going to do with it though.
Everything looked and smelled delicious. They had so many nostalgic candies too. Loads of hard candies, sugar plums, and the most beautiful ribbon candy ever. I would have taken a picture of the ribbon candy Hailee chose, but by the time we thought about it, it was already broken up and partially consumed. ;)
