Christmas Gifts 2011

Here are a few things I made for Christmas gifts this year. I really wanted to make handmade items for cost reasons and for to add a piece of me to my gift giving this year.


Some treats we made at our annual "baking day". A day we get together with family and friends to make Christmas treats!! I gave these as gifts to the kids teachers.



I LOVED making these little note/picture holders!! These were scrap pieces of wood from my in laws-they recently had their kitchen redone. I just pain
ted, added eye hooks, ribbon and a small clothespin to hold pictures, recipes or notes. Super cute!


Even Jacob got into the homemade gift giving. He painted a canvas for his sister, CC and Nana.



This is melted crayon art the kids did for CC and Papaw. It was super fun and super easy. Wish the writing was cuter...but I am terrible with handwritting!




This is upside down and I am just too lazy to go back and fix it and upload it again. You get the idea. Another frame made with scrap wood. I loved making these too!!!



Mug Gifts!! Something to mark off my 35 before 35 list...which is actually the same list as my 34 before 34. I am terrible at getting things done on my to do list.



LOved making these crosses! They looked GREAT in Saints colors too!! I will surely be making more of these next year and for other gifts.




Nana's Bragboard. I wanted to make something for Nana to hang all her grandchildren's artwork. Especially since her new fridge is stainless steel and is not magnetic. However after it was made and ready...I really think its way too long......




The big cross I cut out at my Uncle's house. The smaller cross and fleur de leis was bought at Hobby Lobby. I spent a weekend at my Uncle & Aunt's house cutting out crosses and scrap wood. With the intent of making MANY of these!! I loved the 3D effect. I only got around to making 2...but plan on making many more!!!



Here is the other one I made!!




Not a Rebel fan but I did like the way this one came together. Super cute for some friends of mine with terrible taste!! LOL!
Yeah I am behind on my posts....

New Project

yeah like I really need something else to start...and never finish!!

I found this post on a fellow bloggers site Glow in the Dark Soul.
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif and I fell in LOVE!!! I use to LOVE scrapbooking, but with kids and then going back to work, I just haven't had time. So hopefully this will be a great way to reignite that passion and start documenting the lives of my children. I have ordered some cutesy pages so hopefully that will get me running and I can FINALLY use some of my scrapbooking stash for something other than showcasing dust!!!!!

Gatti Town Closing

Gatti-Town Closing

My baby girl is the one with the purple peace sign and she is sitting with a family friend...

Ringing the Salvation Army Bell

Jacob and I volunteered to ring the Salvation ARmy Bell for an hour at Kroger today. It was so cold but it was so much fun. The church we have been attending does this one week during the Christmas season. So we may make this a family tradition!!!!

Christmas Cards 2011

Trying to decide which card to use...will run it by the family tomorrow for the final decision...

One more craft

didn't turn out as well as I had hoped but it wasn't bad for my first try. Didn't help that my modge podge is now tinted an army green...lol.

An artsy kind of night!!!!

I have had a night full of arts and crafts!! I started off this afternoon with the kids trying some "melted crayon" art. It was FANTASTIC!!! wE extremely enjoyed it, I am SURE I enjoyed it the most!! Tonight when my husband got home from work I made a mad dash to Lowe's to pick up a little something to complete a project I have been wanting to make. While there I also found some cute glass tiles and thought hmmm.. I know what I could make with these!!!

So I have made this tonight...

Still not happy with the necklace, but this is what I have to go with around the house. When I get ready to make them for gifts I will have to do a little more research.....

And this, wasn't happy with the results, will have to try another method next time...


I also made this....
another melted crayon art project I saw online....isn't it just adorable. I am so happy that some people come up with the greatest ideas, so that I can copy them!!!


And finally. I have been wanting to make this for sometime now but had not decided on a frame. Plus I needed to buy the screen. Well today I went to the Old House Depot and found this for $5....



all I did was add cup hooks and a hanger on the back and.....

cabinet

i don't know if I have blogged about this or not-and I am too lazy to go back and check. I got a cabinet from a friend several months ago, she is moving and just wanted to get rid of it, so it was FREE!!! I painted it, sanded it and here it is!!!! I am using it to store movies, games and electronics.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Catching Up

I realized while going thru some photos on FB that I haven't blogged about some of the events of the summer/fall. So here is a quick summary ....


JoAnna's first ballet recital...just love that face..LOL...


JoAnna's apron she painted at the homeschool Art Co-op


a little project I made with newspapers...I have an abundance of those these days LOL...

Pumpkin Patch

Visiting Daddy at work
Touring the ambulance
playing with the radio
grilling hot dogs and marshmallows in the backyard....


Our little picnic in the family room...while watching a movie....
JoAnna's first field trip...to the pumpkin patch....
A little project I made for JoAnna's school teacher....

Jace and JoAnna painting...

crayon art: My parents Christmas gift

I will have to wait a while before I can post these on FB as I don't want my mom to see this yet. I haven't finished it yet but this is the progress we have made today. I LOVE IT!! I saw this "crayon art" on pinterest and fell in love!! I was determined to try it this weekend with my kids. So I started getting supplies ready and thought...hmmm... I will make a purple and gold one for my parents. Then I thought...yeah, I will have the kids melt the crayons and then the title will be "Our Family Bleeds Purple and Gold"!!! I am so excited!!! The kids loved it, well except the 2 year old he wouldn't hold the hair dryer....LOL.

MELTED CRAYON ART!!!!

I am so going to try this soon!!!! LOVE IT!!!!

First Karate Tournament

Jacob had his first karate tournament this weekend! He did awesome!!! He received his first belt promotion-a white belt with an orange stripe!!! He did a fabulous job with his combos and the obstacle course. His form is excellent-and I am not saying that just because I am his mother. He takes everything he does seriously and does it to the best of his ability and that shows with each hit, block and kick.

I am VERY proud of him.

My first 5K ..... was a bust

I wanted to run a 5K before my birthday...which is this month. I had high hopes. I started off strong last fall doing the Couch to 5K plan. It was going great. Then the holidays hit. Then I just got lazy. So needless to say I signed up to walk this 5K. I also signed my kids up. My mom, my sister's roommate, my kids and I were planning on walking. My sister of course was running. We get to the starting line...my 4 year old decides she needs to potty. Lovely. So I walk her to the bathroom thinking I will be able to easily catch up with the stroller (which was carrying my two other children)....WRONG! I ended up having to carry her on/off for the first mile. Then I caught up with them, but only because I took a wrong turn-the turn you were suppose to make on the second lap. Long story short I didn't even walk the full 5K. Wasn't my fault. I learned a valuable lesson. Make the kids potty right before the race starts. We made it back from the 5K walk just in time for the childrens' 1 mile fun run. Of course my 4 year old had to potty AGAIN at the beginning of the race. When I explained to her she would miss the race if we went to potty she was determined to race. We made it just over halfway when we had to take a detour to potty behind some trees. LOVELY.

Lots of lessons learned.

Women Clip Coupons For A Cause - Video - WAPT Jackson

Here is a news story on our local chapter of Clipping for a Cause!!! We were so excited to get the oppurtunity to share our story!!!!


Women Clip Coupons For A Cause - Video - WAPT Jackson

Crest Kids

This is the 1st-5th grade program at Ridgecrest. Jacob is in first grade this year so I am very excited that he is now old enough to attend!!!! Now if only they had something similar for the younger kids...

need to get some decorating done in my house

We have been in this house 3 years and we haven't done much decorating.

I have done "baby girls" room but havent finished all the details. I have also considered painting her room, YIKES!

First things first...I really want new floors. I hate carpet. We should have pulled the carpet up before we moved in and had wood floors installed. Now it will be a nightmare to have it done. A nightmare I can probably tolerate if I dont have to stare at this stained carpet anymore!!

Here are a few ideas I have come across tonight while browsing..

First Day of School

JoAnna started 4K on August 8th, Jace started 2K and Jacob started homeschooling on Aug 9th. Its our first year to homeschool so I am sending the two little ones to daycare while I keep Jacob at home in the mornings. I go into work at 12 which gives us plenty of time to get our schooling done. So far its been quick and easy because most of his lessons have been review from last year.

I want one of these......

34 before 34

Well I haven't crossed much off my list YET! Hopefully I will get a lot accomplished in the next 2 months......we will see.

Walgreens

Walgreens: 12 bags of Chex mix, a proglide gillette razor, a box of omega smart, and a few fillers...bag of peanut M&Ms, and 7 laffy taffy!!! Two transactions totaling 76.05.... paid $3.16! Used coupons and $22.50 in RR PLUS got $15 back in RR! so basically they gave me $11.84 to buy $76.05 of products!!