A Little Elf Magic

I saw a post or an ad about Elf on the Shelf Elves,

and it got me thinking.

I could really make it fun for Lanie and Liam this year.

I could seriously create more Christmas magic for the kids.

Sure it's going to be a lot of work,

it already is a lot of work,

but it's so worth it!

So what did I do?

It all started on Facebook.

Our Elf,

Elfie,

created his very own Facebook page called Elfie Selfies.

What happened next?

Well the FB page didn't show enough Chrismas cheer and fun,

so "he" created a blog.

Yes a blog called Elfie Selfies.

Then posted several craft ideas.

Then I showed Lanie the blog.

Wanna guess what happened next?

Well she flipped!

Her eyes got huge as she read the title of the blog.

Then her jaw dropped to the ground.

Then her head slowly turned to look at me.

"OOOOMMMMGGGG Mom that's  my Elf!!"

She Proclaimed.

And yes she said the actual O.M.G. letters and not the what it stands for,

My little girl who will soon be 7 years old,

was extremely thrilled and glued to my side.

Needless to say,

I couldn't do anything else until she walked away.

Yes yes.

I did it.

I already see the excitement.

The thrill.

The magic.

This year is going to be GREAT!!

Lanie is already requesting that Santa send her a girl Elf,

since we have a boy Elf,

That way there are two of them to watch over both the kids,

She said if Santa grants her wish,

she will name it Selfies.

So the blog can be both their Elves posting.

Please check out the blog,

enjoy the crafts with your kids,

and give feedback.

How To: Make Crayon Drip Pimpkin's

It's fall ya'll!!!

It's here and it's official.

Do you realize what that means??

Cooler weather,

leaves changing color and dropping to the ground,

and

PUMPKINS!!!

There's so much you can do with pumpkins!!

A million ways to eat them!

Endless ways to decorate them!!

I love pumpkins.

Today's post I want to share this technique I JUST learned about.

It's called 'Crayon drip pumpkins'.

Sounds pretty cool huh?

I think it is.

And so much fun for the kids too.

I came across this technique while searching for decorating ideas.

Pinterest is my fave place for ideas.

So what is a crayon drip pumpkin?

(Image of crayon drip pumpkins I found on Google search)

The color possibilities are endless!

How do you make a crayon drip pumpkin?

It's so simple.

(image from polyvore.com)

1) Choose your pumpkin. White pumpkins give a canvas type effect and make the colors stand out more. You can use any color pumpkin you want though.

(image found on google)

2) Choose what color crayons you want to use on your pumpkin. You can use any brand of crayon. Crayola has those color coordinated packs and glitter crayons as well if you want a little sparkle.

(image from mk-creations)

3) Take the paper off your crayons.

4) Glue the crayons onto the top of your pumpkin. You can use basically any kind of glue: elmers, tacky glue, E6000 and i've even seen hot glue. But it doesn't make sense to me to use a hot glue gun because the hair dryer will just melt the glue again.

5) Glue the crayons into the top of the pumpkin as shown below:

(Image from http://blue11interiors.blogspot.com )

6) Use a hairdryer to melt the crayons. Melt to your desire.

(image from purehome.com)

7) Let the crayons cool and harden before moving.

BAM that's it! You've made a crayon drip pumpkin!

A Day For Art

In an attempt to forget about my pain and the misery it's causing I've been hanging out with the kids. I watched them play outside on their playset. They took turns on the swing, climbed the ladder, played in the club house and slid down the slide. They played fetch with the dogs and laughed. It didn't distract from the pain but it did put a smile on my face. 

After showers for both kids, we decided to do some crafts. It was a great way to get out my crafty side since it's been dieing to get out. 

Since Halloween is right around the corner and fall is upon us, I decided some Seasonal crafts were the key. 

We started off with handprint spiders complete with webs. 

We decided Miss Lanie Bug's spider should be purple since it is her favorite color. I love how she choose to make it's eyes pink and green. 

Liam's handprint spider is blue with one black eye and one blue eye. Made with his handprints. He has no interest in decorating it after i put ink in his hands. He decided he was done after that. We're still dealing with some sensory issues there but it's slowly getting better. 

After the spiders Lanie wanted to make scarecrow people out of Popsicle sticks. Lanie and I made one to represent her and one for Liam. 

Lanie wanted hers to have braids and a hair bow. We used felt for the hair. Then I made a hair bow out of the ribbon she choose. She then decorated it with googalie eyes and drew a dress. She said that her scarecrow is picking berries. Since scarecrows are meant to scare off crows she drew crows flying above. 

I got creative when making Liam's scarecrow. I wanted it to wear a hat but thought it would be neat for the hat to be patchwork. Lanie choose the buttons for it's eyes and smile. She also decorated the picture with crows, a sun and decided to go with a stick figure body and big ears. 

I decided to end today's arts and crafts time by making a few hair bows. 

I love these black and white hair bows. Lanie loves them too. She said they were perfect for the fall season. 

I loved spending time with my babies making things. Now I have some pretty artwork to hang. 

It wasn't the ideal day having pain shadowing me but I worked past it and put a smile on my face...as we sat on the bed, me on a heating pad. 

It's moments like these that get you through all the seriously craptastic times. 

S4L Christmas Toy Drive 2012

Crafty Mommy using Salt Dough

Today I decided to try out making salt dough stepping stones. Using a salt dough recipe I found online I created 3 stepping stones today.

And I just had to make this one...

The recipe that I followed was one that was floating around Facebook:

I thought to myself "hey lets try it"

Let me give you a few hints before you make the same mistakes I made.

First off you dont have to bake the stones at 200 degrees for 3 hours!!

This DOESNT WORK!!

My bad for not Googleing this before trying it.

So dont go and heat up your house in this hot weather for nothing.

Luckily for you, after I created mine I searched online.

I found out Morton Salt has a whole PDF book full of recipes and ideas.

Get your FREE copy here

For mine I did use the recipe on the picture and it came out alittle grainy.

To me it just didnt look right. Everywhere else online, including the Mortons Salt handbook uses this recipe:

2 cups (al/l purpose) flour

1 cup Morton

® Salt

1 cup water

You mix it all together and knead for 7-10 minutes.
After creating whatever you going to make you have 2 ways of drying your creations.

Baking your creations:
Bake at 350 for a halfhour per 1/4" thickness.

Air drying your creations:
easier and safer for kids you just let them sit out in the room uncovered for 48 hours.

You can pretty much make whatever you want out of salt dough.

I love the idea of creating the stepping stones every year with the kids footprints. For me its perfect for me to show off how with every step we take through our journey, we get stronger.

Here are some Halloween salt dough ideas:
http://voices.yahoo.com/halloween-crafts-salt-dough-decorations-yourself-2051387.html

Enjoy :)


****Tips: When you make these, you want to make sure to make them thicker so they don't break or crumble. Liam's turned out thin and was fragile. Mine lasted a year but that was only because my kids decided to play with them one day and broke then on accident. I also like to seal my creations with a varnish to protect them from the weather. You can get it in the paint section at the craft stores. Once they are dry, they do not become wet again when water gets on them, but still I like to varnish them. (Updated 9/22/16)****