New Mantle Decor

As much as I love the Nativity I set

on the mantle for the

CHRISTmas Season,

we are well into the new year

and it is time for something new.

But since - what I really want is

a cluster of family portrait gallery wraps

I don't want to invest much.

I'd rather be frugal now and spend

money on beautiful portraits later.

So, here is what I came up with!

 Most everything I already had.

 This chalkboard is something we use 

when doing event photography.

It's a plain chalkboard with the trim

painted white and an embellishment 

glued to the top.

I used my Silhouette to cut

the wording out of adhesive cardstock.

It's removable - so I can use the 

chalkboard as a chalkboard later

if I choose.

 This frame is one I bought at a yardsale

and painted white.

Then - I took a picture of a picture

in my wedding album and converted it

to black and white and printed it.

 And because an all white mantel does not

match my neutral and brown colors

in our living room, I added two burlap

squares. I used the Silhouette to

cut lettering and wording as well as trim.

I may remove the trim. I'm still undecided, 

but I like the lettering and wording.

 And this family tree frame is something my 

husband once received as a gift from a friend

in his office. I added pictures of the grand children

and it turned out pretty cute!

So cardstock, burlap, paper and ink

probably cost me a grand total of

about ten bucks!

And I like it! I think it will do just

fine until I find myself in the mood

to change it again!

A Very Cool Christmas Present

My husband got me a VERY Cool

Christmas Present. I'm still learning how

to use it, but it looks like it's going to be 

super fun and useful.

It's a Silhouette!

He actually got the the

Silhouette Cameo and the Silhouette Portrait.

I wanted a Silhouette because I'd really

like to be able to cut my own

vinyl lettering, but it's got TONS of 

other uses. While I learn, I am using cardstock

and cutting all sorts of things.

(cardstock is cheap, so there should be no costly mistakes) 

I printed a picture of Asher, and used spray

adhesive to glue it to a piece of 

chipboard. And then, I cut it into a puzzle.

I used a cheap print that I printed myself 

from my home printer. If I were making a gift,

I would use a higher quality paper or

order a professional print 

but this turned out pretty cute for a test project.

I made cute little boxes.

Two favor boxes were made from one 

piece of cardstock. If I were planning

a party, I'd use two colors

because there are hearts around the lid

that do not show. But, this was another

learning project. The boxes would be sweet

favor boxes for a birthday party, a wedding

or a tea party.

I made a pretty teacup using two pieces

of cardstock that I printed myself because 

I wanted something double sided. 

And I made a pinwheel.

For the pinwheel, I used two pieces of 

cardstock. One was pink and the 

other I printed myself with two 

contrasting designs.

I also used a paperclip, a pencil and

two beads. 

Directions called for a wooden dowel,

wire and ribbon, but I was thinking

these might be a good classroom project 

if we could do them cheap, so I used 

what I had. And they would be

a good classroom project if you had

an ideal school situation and a reasonable

sized class. 

My daughter in law has 31 Kindergartener's

and while this would be affordable 

helping 31 unruly kids assemble this thing

might be a little too much. 

So, I'll be saving this idea for grandkids!

Making 3 or 4 should be no issue at all.

And - I'm sure you'll be seeing more Silhouette

projects in the future. 

I absolutely love my new Silhouettes!

 

Gingerbread Men

Another activity we did the

day after Christmas was make 

Gingerbread Men.

 Grace is now big enough to decorate hers

ALL BY HERSELF!

Brilyn can put the candy on hers

ALL BY HERSELF,

but she needs help with the frosting.

(and how I managed to not get a picture of Brilyn, I have no clue)

 Olivia likes putting the candy on hers, too.

But her favorite part is eating the frosting.

They all turned out cute.

I think if these Gingerbread Men kits

go on sale for 75% off, I might 

want to pick a few up.

They would be a great project to do

when you read the book about

The Gingerbread Boy.

And that's not even a Christmas Story.

So - paired with the book

these Gingerbread Kits could

be used any time during the year.

Oh, NO!

The day after Christmas,

Heather and Dustin

went after Christmas Shopping.

They bought me a new tree and

brought it home and assembled it 

in the Tea Room.

When I went to look, the children

were playing nicely in the 

living room.

THEN - I heard something.

ASHER was giggling!

He was REALLY, REALLY Giggling!

I went to look.

And WHAT do you suppose I saw?

It was THIS!

 Heather had picked up some discounted

make up sets for the girls to play with.

And they had that poor boy surrounded!

And HE was loving the attention!

Look at that face.

He's already a lady's man.

 And he's quite handsome, too!

I think we're going to have to

keep an eye on this one!

An Ice Storm

 Just before Christmas

we had an Ice Storm.

I didn't get out to take many pictures,

because I was baby sitting.

But - It was BEAUTIFUL!

I love a beautiful Ice Storm!

 I got out to the back yard plenty.

Because when Brilyn looks out at this...

She doesn't see COLD.

She doesn't see FREEZING.

She doesn't see a single thing to

complain about!

She sees a backyard full of 

REFRESHMENTS!

And she gets excited to go 

pick and icicle!

I love her perception on things.

She's happy. She's grateful.

She sees God's provision when many

see an inconvenience. 

I love that little girl.

She teaches me so many things.

Oh, if we could all just embrace the

heart of a child.

 And find the beauty in the midst

of a storm!

 

Our Very Merry Christmas!

 We had a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

 There were plenty of presents

for the children.

 And a few for the grown ups, too!

 The children were as cute

as could be... and smiles

were plentiful!

 I didn't hear any complaints!

 And we were ALL together!

We had all of our children and

their families.

The little girls got plenty of presents

and had fun playing with new toys.

And the boys pretty much slept through

the festivities.

And I think Caelie got a

New Favorite Uncle!

If mischievousness is contagious

we might be in trouble.

Billy was our mischievous one

and it looks like those two are up to something!

But - they also look pretty good

together. I was happy to have

Andra and Caelie this year.

 

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

May 2014 be a year of 

Blessings and Love!