-19: Semi-handmade Gifts

If you love DIY projects, but sometimes need a little help starting out, check out Poppyseed Projects. They sell project kits for things such as antiqued temple pictures, wood signs, wood photo blocks, little wood countdown calendars, and lots more. It's also a great resource if you like this kind of stuff, but don't want to spend a fortune to buy it already completed. The genius behind Poppyseed Projects is that they provide you with the idea for the project, and the basic materials--wood, vinyl lettering, etc. You provide the materials that make the project personal--scrapbook paper, colored paint, photos, etc. and save money by putting together the project on your own. You could probably save even more money finding the basic materials yourself, but sometimes it's nice to have that jumping off point. 

I found a picture of this adorable temple block online and searched until I found the source of its creation--It was Poppyseed Projects.

 I ordered my kit for 3.95 which included the block (about 5x5 in), and the temple print with lettering. I painted it, sanded the edges, and added my own paper. It took me probably 10 minutes to make after the paint was dry, and voila! Now little babe Error has a temple displayed in his room. And a cute, child-style one at that. I'm hoping to make more for the nieces and nephews for Christmas. Check out the site for other great gift ideas for the people on your list! They ship anywhere and offer free pickup locally. 

-20 Days: Christmas Books

This will be short and sweet since the day is almost over. The holiday idea for tonight comes from my creative and talented sister-in-law, Rachel. A few weeks ago I ordered a few Christmas books from Amazon to begin a little collection for Grant. (I love ordering books online, and did this frequently when I was teaching last year because you can get some really good, used copies for cheap. I recommend it.) I wanted to do something special with the books, but wasn't sure what. Just found out tonight that Rachel has been building up her own Christmas book collection for her kids and does something absolutely WONDERFUL. She has 24 now (some really special, and some she says are less so) and wraps them up each year to put under the tree. Each night leading up to Christmas the kids get to unwrap a new book to be read. Isn't that perfect? I definitely don't have 24 books yet, so it will take a couple years to get ready. But this is definitely a tradition I am going to start preparing for. Thought I'd pass it along so you can do the same!

21 Days- Family of Shepherds

Last night we made our acting debut as a family. That's right. Jared and I, and even little Granty, were all shepherds in the ward Christmas program. Our role consisted of walking out onto the stage and basically creating ambiance. No, we didn't have any lines (Jared was just holding the mic for Mary after her solo), but we were a pretty big deal nonetheless. 

This isn't a very good picture, but I love it anyway simply because Grant is dressed up like a little shepherd! Seriously. How cute is that? It was pretty silly, but it's a reminder to me that I really do want my baby to be a seeker of Christ, and to want to be the kind of shepherd the Savior was. It reminds me of the important Christmas traditions I want to establish with my family. I definitely don't plan on dressing as a shepherd every year, but I do want the Savior to be our focus.

I'm really excited about the First Presidency Christmas Devotional this Sunday to really set the tone for the rest of the month. In an attempt to maintain the focus, we're going to start the tradition of having our own family devotional sometime later in the month. Kind of a special style Family Home Evening (better start now while Grant is too young to contest it). We don't want this to be a yearly repeated message , but a chance to prepare something new and special. lds.org has tons of great resources--talks, media items, a special fhe lesson, etc. compiled into a Christmas Topic Page. If you're looking for ways to focus on the Savior this Season, check this out! I spent just an hour today browsing through the ideas and talks and felt a rush of true Christmas spirit.

Just to give you a little taste, check out this cute little VIDEO of Kids' thoughts about Christmas. As the little Shepherd Grant proves, you're never too young to focus on the real meaning of Christmas.

Paper Potential (22 Days Left!)

Yesterday I attended a most glorious holiday event--American Crafts' Scrapbooking Warehouse Sale! Thanks to my good friend Lyndsey, ex-American Crafts employee, who invited me. If you're in the area and use scrapbook supplies at all-go. You won't regret it (I've pasted the flyer at the bottom). I told Jared that I probably saved at least $40 dollars in craft store trips for the next 3 months and that he should be glad :).

I LOVE cute paper. You can do so much with it, and around the holidays there are endless uses. Wrapping paper, tags, cute cards . . . the list goes on and on. I'd like to add one more little paper project to your holiday repertoire. For those who have long tired of cutting snowflakes, use these paper ornaments for decor!

These ones are hanging in one corner of my living room. Try them in front of a mirror or in a window.

They are the easiest in the WORLD to make. You need five strips of paper of three different lengths. The one in the middle is the shortest, the two right outside it are a little longer, and the outermost two are longer still. Stack them on top of each other and fasten them on both ends with brads. And voila! The varying paper length creates the ornament shape. Enjoy.

1 Day Down, 23 to Go!

tThe weekend is fast approaching and there are lots of fun activities out there to be enjoyed. If you live nearby, may I recommend the Riverwoods in Provo? Great food, shopping, and Christmas lights. Also, on the weekend they offer free horse-drawn carriage rides, and La Jolla Groves offers free hot chocolate and dollar sugar cookies. (If the Riverwoods isn't in your neighborhood, any place with lights, treats, and Santa will do to really get you in the holiday spirit.) We kicked off the season there a couple weekends ago at the tree lighting. The objective: to take Grant's first picture with Santa and enjoy a festive atmosphere. When we first got out of the car, I really feared our little trip would backfire. It was FRIGID, crowded, and loud. But, it IS the season of miracles, and Grant--who was bundled from head to toe in his stroller, slept through all the chaos until about two minutes before we reached the front of the line to see Santa! We didn't do much else besides wait in the 45 minute line, but it actually worked out quite perfect for us. The line was close enough to the stage to enjoy the entertainment, but far enough away that our ears didn't bleed. We got to see all the pretty lights and shoppers bustling around. AND, I even escaped for a minute to get us a caramel cheesecake brownie from LJG to enjoy in line. All in all, it was a success. Here are the pics to prove.

24 days of Christmas: A Countdown!

Welcome, December! You make the snow outside a little more bearable. Christmas season is really underway now, and I am L O V I N G it! I said it at Halloween, and I'll say it again-- holidays just come alive again when you have kids. All last month I was looking forward with an eye single to Grant's first Christmas (Hopefully this didn't detract too much from being thankful which is customary during this time.)--"What should I do for our first family Christmas card? What should Grant wear in his first picture with Santa?" (Thankfulness definitely should have replaced that frivolity.) "What kind of fun and silly traditions do we want to start? What kind of meaningful/service-oriented traditions do we want to start?" etc. etc. I have been racking my brain and scouring the internet for ways to make this first Christmas extra special. In light of the season, I have decided to share my holiday spirit with everyone in the form of a holiday countdown! I will share at least one holiday idea, project, or experience that I'm using to make Christmas special every day from now until Christmas. Brace yourselves (all three of you who are reading this).

Day 24

What better way to start a countdown than with an ADVENT CALENDAR! Seriously, one of my very favorite things as a kid at Christmastime was my own advent calendar that I could count down the days with. I loved opening the little doors on the paper calendars and seeing a new picture each day. Anticipation is half the fun of anything, after all. I found this little gem on the Queen of Craft herself, Martha Stewart's website:

http://www.marthastewart.com/article/baby-sock-advent-calendar

It was love at first sight for me. You put a treat or small toy inside each sock to pull out each day till Christmas! The socks are hung with little clothespins on a ribbon, and the ribbon hangs from your mantel or staircase. What a cute, crafty, and classy spin on an old favorite! I bought most of my baby socks from Kid-to-Kid (and Grant sacrificed a couple plain white ones), I bought the small clothespins at the craft store, and I cut the little numbers out on my Cricut. Here is my final product:

Since Grant is still too little to enjoy treats or toys small enough to fit inside baby socks, most of the loot will be for Jared this year. I've come up with various cheesy puns to go with the treats.

24 more days!

This is Halloween

Halloween is fun again! This past weekend proved to me that holidays really are more fun with kids. I had such a great Halloween. The real anticipation began about three weeks ago when I made Grant's costume. I was feeling in the spirit enough that I decided to plan a Halloween dinner party. About a week before the big day I had nothing festive left to do to show my enthusiasm so, I made Grant his own baby-sized trick-or-treat bag. I honestly haven't looked forward to Halloween this much in a LONG time. You might even say I was a little OVER-zealous, considering that we also planned to move apartments that same weekend. ugh. Well, with me there is a very fine line between fun and stress. I like to take it to the limits. Good thing there is enough time in between holidays for me to forget the stress part, so I can plan more crazy fun (poor Jared I don't think ever forgets, but he supports me anyway).

Anyway, here are a few pictures commemorating my baby dalmation's first Halloween.

Jared was Pinnochio for his work party--his department's theme was Shrek. I made him take off his nose so he wouldn't scare Grant. He still looked kinda scary, though.

Grant's eyes crossing due to his mother driving him crazy with all this Halloween exuberance.

Grant got to meet his Aunt Rachel, Uncle Paul, and sweet cousins this weekend. Him and baby Brooklyn were so cute in their costumes.

I LOVE this picture of Grant with all his cousins. Jared and I had the best Halloween. Special thanks to Grant for providing us with renewed enthusiasm, cute pics, and a little bag full of trick-or-treat candy.