Fresh Christmas Wreath
I DID IT!!!!! I made my first ever fresh Christmas Wreath and it actually looks……like a wreath! A friend hosted a Christmas Wreath get together recently and a bunch of us put together wreaths. At first I was not entirely sure why I was there….it seemed like all the women in attendance were crafty and have excellent decorating tastes and then me (the person who has been in the same house for 10 years and still doesn’t have curtains up, gulp).
I am thankful that Dee took the time to show me how to get started because without her guidance it would have been interesting I am sure. It was nice catching up with friends (some who I hadn’t seen in months) while I put together my wreath. It only took me a few minutes to get the base completed but as I was talking I continued stuffing more greens into the wreath and by the end this is what it looked like.
I am not really sure how or what I did but I was pleased that it at least turned out well enough to hang on the front door especially for a “not-so-crafty” person! Don’t get me wrong, I love crafts, its just mine rarely turn out looking like the picture or something I would want to hang on the front door!
It was a fun night of food, fellowship, and wreaths. I was shocked when I looked a my watch and several hours had gone by! Guess, its true “time flies when your having fun” or in this case catching up with friends and making wreaths. I am thankful for an opportunity to get together with some amazing women and for all the greenery people brought to share. There were piles of greens in the garage, kitchen, dining, etc…. I am not sure exactly where all my greens came from but they are beautiful and smell awesome. The only thing not fresh on the wreath is the berries. They did have fresh berries at the party, however, I was told they dry up and will drop on the floor so I decided to use the fake berries because they would not get tracked across the carpet.
Thanks Dee for hosting and for giving me a gentle shove out of my comfort zone to try something new. You’re a great teacher! I love having the fresh wreath on our front door! While I won’t be teaching professional wreath making classes any time soon I would be more comfortable putting together another one in the future after this experience.
Brina and Karlie were super excited to check out my wreath the next morning. When I opened the door and they saw it this was their first responses:
Karlie -“Wow, Mom that is beautiful!”
Brina – “The goats would LOVE to eat it!”
Love my girls, they know how to make my day so much brighter!
My first fresh Christmas Wreath hanging on the front door!
Creative Kids: Packing Peanut & Wallpaper Craft
Fun craft for the kids
There are many great uses for the styrofoam packing peanuts. Not only are the styrofoam packing peanuts used to protect items that are being stored or transported they can be a wonderful kids craft once they are no longer needed. The colorful ones are the most fun (at least according to the kids). You can also pick up a big bag of them at your local craft store.
When Jake’s sister and her family came to visit they spent one of their evenings here with friends. Their friends introduced them to this easy and entertaining craft for the kids. They brought home a baggie full of packing peanuts so I got out some wallpaper samples and the kids had a blast building all kids of items with the craft.
The kids used paint brushes and water to wet down the styrofoam peanuts. The wet peanuts would stick together and to the wallpaper like glue once they dried. They can use their imagination and build whatever they want. On the fireplace we had towers, houses, forts, pools and more fun stuff.
If your looking for a fun craft and have a few extra packing peanuts around you should try it.
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Below is a great Christmas craft you can do with the kids!
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A special thanks to U.S. Family Guide and Colortime for sponsoring this post. Any specific product information was provided by Colortime and U.S. Family Guide, however, the opinions expressed in this post are our own. Blessings Multiplied will be receiving a free craft for this post.
Family Fun: Our Cousins Came for a Visit
Nano bugs play time
Earlier this year Jake’s sister and her family came to visit us. We had a blast spending some extra time with them. The kids played well together and we were able to squeeze in a lot of fun activities. Thankful for time spent with family.
Going for a ride on the go cart or “green monster” as the girls like to call it
It takes a team to change a baby doll diaper! 🙂
Yes, that is a snake in his hands!
Making litter bugs at Roper Mountain Science Center
Trying out a new game
A full hammock
Family Activities: 3 Big Pumpkins with 6 Different Faces!
One side of the pumpkins had a Mr. Potato Head type face on it! Karlie’s “serious” pumpkin, Grandma Penny & Great Grandma Willa’s “silly” pumpkin, and Brina’s “puppy dog” pumpkin! This side of the pumpkin took a lot less time to do. It was super easy and if you don’t want to mess with carving or cleaning out a pumpkin this is a great alternative. The girls loved picking out the pieces for their pumpkins and designing a face.We were super excited to have Grandma Penny and Great Grandma Willa come visit us for a few days in October. During their visit we were able to squeeze in a lot of fun activities. One of the activities was carving pumpkins! The girls had a blast hanging out with both Grandmas and have a lot of great memories of their time with us. Thankful that they were able to come visit us. 🙂
The other side of the pumpkins had the carved version on it which was perfect for the evening. Karlie’s “scary” pumpkin, Grandma Penny & Great Grandma Willa’s “cat” pumpkin, and Brina’s “happy” pumpkin sitting on the front porch.
The PROCESS……
Scooping out the pumpkin seeds
Gross……slimy pumpkin hands!
Karlie designed her own “scary” pumpkin face complete with eyelashes! She drew her face on a piece of paper and Jake helped her transfer it to her pumpkin. So proud of her scary pumpkin!
Brina wanted a “happy” pumpkin!
Trying to get Skip-A-Doo to pose with them in front of the pumpkins…..ha! Skipper wasn’t quite sure what was going on, but I have to give them credit for trying to get her to cooperate for the picture!
The girls had a lot of fun doing the pumpkins with Grandma Penny and Great Grandma Willa. They thought it was neat having a “2 sided” pumpkin with different faces on each side. The jack-o-lantern that they carved was their night pumpkin and the silly faces were their day pumpkins. We used the pumpkins seeds to make 3 Seasoned Pumpkin Seed recipes. Did you carve or decorate pumpkins? I would love to see your pumpkins, feel free to post a link to your pictures in the comment section below!
Creative Kids: Wrapping Paper Canoe
Brina and Karlie’s wrapping paper canoe
After a recent celebration at our house we had leftover wrapping paper, tissue paper, and a couple boxes. As I was cleaning up the girls asked if they could use the leftover items for a few days before we threw everything away. After a few moments of hesitation I decided it wouldn’t hurt anything to let them play with the items and get creative. They were thrilled to have such large pieces of wrapping paper and goodies to create something super special.
Once they decided what they wanted to do they took the largest piece of wrapping paper they could find and made a wrapping paper “canoe” out of it. The red tissue paper was used to create four rows of benches inside the canoe. They used some of the cardboard to make oars for their boat. I am not sure why they decided to make a canoe but they both worked together to come up with the idea and did well working together on it. I let them keep out their wrapping paper canoe for several days. I was pretty impressed with how they were able to put everything together all on their own and even made something that resembled a paddle out of cardboard.
Even though my preference would be to clean up the wrapping paper, cardboard, and tissue paper right away after the celebration I allowed myself to let go and let the girls have fun with the items. The items were trash but they had a blast creating, using the scissors and the glue to put together their wrapping paper canoe. Yes, I could have thrown all the wrapping items away as soon as the celebration was over but I would have never had the joy of watching my kids entertain themselves for hours with their handcrafted wrapping paper canoe! It is a great way to reuse the wrapping paper multiple times plus the kids have a blast too!
Cardboard paddle for their canoe
Gift Giving: 12 Days of Christmas
This year we decided to spread the Holiday Cheer out at our house this year by doing the 12 Days of Christmas again. I did this last year and it was a huge hit. Christmas morning can be so busy and this allows an opportunity to spread the fun over 12 days instead of packing everything into one day. Starting December 13th the girls will be able to open one a day until Christmas. The cost was less than $20 total, including boxes and wrapping paper. Most of the gifts were bought on clearance over the past year. We did a joint stack for both of our girls, however, you can choose to do a stack for each person.
Here is what our 12 Days of Christmas includes:
- Day 1: Christmas Ornament for each girl (purchased last year after Christmas on clearance with rewards).
- Day 2: Two Music CD’s by Suzi Shelton (received CD’s from doing a review and giveaway)
- Day 3: DVD Veggie Tales (DVD was free, but paid a small fee for shipping)
- Day 4: Two Giant Candy Canes, one Princess and 1 Cars (purchased with rewards)
- Day 5: Two Christmas Coloring Books (purchased on clearance with rewards)
- Day 6: Christmas Craft, painting ornaments (purchased with rewards on clearance)
- Day 7: Christmas Flower and Snowman (purchased with rewards on clearance)
- Day 8: Christmas Book God Gave Us Christmas by Lisa Tawn Bergren (purchased when it was on sale with Swagbucks gift card)
- Day 9: Two Christmas Headbands (purchased with rewards on clearance)
- Day 10: Game (found on clearance at Kmart and used gift card)
- Day 11: Two Hooded Bath Towels (used a coupon and picked them up on Black Friday)
- Day 12: PJs for each to wear Christmas Eve (picked up on sale and used a coupon)
Other Ideas for 12 Days of Christmas:
- Hair Accessories
- Facial Cleansers or Make Up – if you have a teenager just starting to wear makeup or want to update your collection my Mary Kay contact is doing a 12 Day of Christmas set! If your husband is looking for something awesome to get you he may want to contact Ann too.
- Socks or Tights
- Chapstick
- Socks
- Gloves or Scarf
- Card Game
- Construction Paper
- Markers or Crayons
- Matchbox cars
- Small Toys
- Baby Doll Clothes
- Christmas Underwear
- The ideas are endless!
Karlie & Brina excited about their 12 Days of Christmas
I wrapped them in the original boxes or found ones around the house to put the items into. The Christmas paper was purchased on clearance and I used a coupon. Many of the items we purchased on clearance throughout the year and / or used CVS – ECBs and Walgreens – Register Rewards, Swagbucks Gift Cards or Coupons. I cannot remember the price for all the items but with the rewards it may have been under $10 out of pocket for the entire set of 12 gifts and some days had multiple items in them. We did a joint stack for our girls to save money, however, the items we picked match their individual interests (for example the craft with one being princess and the other being cars). When the girls walked into the room and saw the stack of gifts they were super excited.
Family Celebrations: Catching Up with Family Over Spring Break
Cousins Riding Together on the John Deere Gator! Fun Times! The girls and I had the opportunity to go visit family over their Spring Break this year. We had a lot of fun spending time with Grandparents, Great Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and more! It had been a few months since we had been in the Midwest yet I was amazed how much the girls remembered. They LOVED seeing family and spending time on the farm. Each night they would crash from their busy schedule but they would be up early the next morning ready to (as Karlie put it so nicely) “Go explore more of Kansas!”
I am thankful the girls have an opportunity to spend time with my parents and all four Grandpa and Grandma’s on my side of the family. Each one has a special place in my heart and I am thrilled the girls get to have such wonderful memories of them as well. It has been a nice adventure full of old and new memories. It was such a blessing to see so many family members throughout our stay in Kansas!
Here are just some of the exciting activities we participating in during our stay in Kansas (I hope to have some more pictures to show in a few days):
- Riding Horses – Brina and Karlie LOVED Sassy
- Playing with Dogs, Cats and Farm Animals
- Watching them Work the Calves
- Easter Egg Hunts
- Kids 4 Truth Activities
- Spending Time with Grandparents, Great Grandparents, Uncles, Aunts, and Cousins
- Playing with family and friends
- Riding the Gator
- “Hunting” (Brina’s paraphrase) for Corn Cobs for the Horse
- Coloring Easter Eggs
- Crafts
- Seeing Grandpa’s Big “Sprinkler” (Center Pivot)
- Lots of Pheasants
- Seeing a Coyote chase the Pheasants
- Gathering Eggs in Grandpa Verlyn’s Hen House
- Feeding the Turkeys
- Homemade Food (including special Waffles)
- Hot Chocolate
- Helping Grandpa Russell on the Farm
- Shooting Uncle Lee & Uncle Josh with Nerf Guns
- Puzzles
- The Big Hole
- The Pet Cemetery
- Grocery Shopping with Grandma Penny
- Reading Books with Grandpa Russell & Grandma Penny
- Planting Flowers
- Learning More About our Family’s History
- AND SOOOO MUCH MORE!!!!!!!
The girls and I had a grand time seeing so many family members and spending time in Kansas. A big thanks to everyone for a super fun trip! It is a Spring Break that the girls will be talking about for years. And yes, they found out that Easter does come to Kansas too! Although we made a lot of wonderful new memories during our trip the girls are ready to see Daddy again. Hopefully he is ready for us!
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Gift Giving: 12 Days of Christmas
This year we decided to spread the Holiday Cheer out at our house this year by doing the 12 Days of Christmas. Christmas morning can be so busy and this allows an opportunity to spread the fun over 12 days instead of packing everything into one day. Starting December 13th the girls will be able to open one a day until Christmas. The cost was less than $20 total, including boxes and wrapping paper. Most of the gifts were bought on clearance over the past year. We did a joint stack for both of our girls, however, you can choose to do a stack for each person.Here is what our 12 Days of Christmas includes:
- Day 1: A Labrador Puppy Christmas Ornament for each (purchased with rewards last year after Christmas on clearance).
- Day 2: A CD with Songs and Stories – 1 on Traveling and 1 on Classical Stories and Songs (purchased with rewards in $1 section)
- Day 3: Travel Game for 2 – Connect 4 (found on clearance at Bi-Lo for 49 cents)
- Day 4: 4 Plastic Christmas Cups – Red with Snowmen (purchased with rewards on clearance last year)
- Day 5: Books – 1 on “Helping Others” and 1 on “Forgiving” (purchased at Dollar Tree)
- Day 6: Christmas Craft with Stickers (purchased with rewards on clearance)
- Day 7: 2 Mini Mouse Candy Canes filled with Christmas Tree Candy (purchased with rewards on clearance)
- Day 8: 2 Snowman Coloring Books and 1 Princess & 1 Cars Coloring Craft Ornaments (purchased with rewards on clearance)
- Day 9: 2 Snowman Headbands (purchased with rewards on clearance)
- Day 10: Rub on Color Pattern Craft (received free with a Buy 1 Get 1 Free Deal)
- Day 11: A pair of Fuzzy Slippers for each – 1 Pink Set and 1 Purple Set. (Picked Up on Black Friday)
- Day 12: PJs for each to wear Christmas Eve – 1 with Owls and 1 with Rockets (Picked Up on Sale and used a Coupon)
Other Ideas for 12 Days of Christmas:
- Hair Accessories
- Facial Cleansers or Make Up – if you have a teenager just starting to wear makeup or want to update your collection my Mary Kay contact is doing a 12 Day of Christmas set! If your husband is looking for something awesome to get you he may want to contact Ann too.
- Socks or Tights
- Chapstick
- Socks
- Gloves or Scarf
- Card Game
- Construction Paper
- Markers or Crayons
- Matchbox cars
- Small Toys
- Baby Doll Clothes
- Christmas Underwear
- The ideas are endless!
I wrapped them in the original boxes or found ones around the house to put the items into. The Christmas paper was purchased on clearance last year with rewards. Many of the items we purchased on clearance throughout the year and / or used CVS – ECBs and Walgreens – Register Rewards. I cannot remember the price for all the items but with the rewards it may have been under $10 out of pocket for the entire set of 12 gifts and some days had multiple items in them. We did a joint stack for our girls to save money, however, the items we picked match their individual interests (for example the craft with one being princess and the other being cars). When the girls walked into the room and saw the stack of gifts they were super excited. Now they are counting down the days to Monday, December 13th to start the 12 Days of Christmas celebration.
