Hot Chocolate

After seeing all the cute pins on pinterest of hot chocolate bars I really wanted to do one, but I didn't have time to do an all out fancy, intense one so I threw this one together for a little get together with a few friends.  Maybe someday I will do a big one.  The hot chocolate was to die for.  And of course I got the recipe off pinterest, Best Hot Chocolate Ever - seriously so good.  I also made this super good, super fast, super easy fudge Five Minute Fudge. Yum yum.  Good times with good friends.  I meant to get a picture of all of us but forgot- next time!

Ornaments

At church I teach and do activities with the MiaMaids (14-15 year old girls).  For our Christmas activity we learned to make fudge.  And of course, ate fudge and cookies.  Then we started planning activities for the upcoming year.  I also made a super simple ornament for each of them.  I put a picture of Mary, Joseph and Jesus in clear glass ornaments.  I thought they were really pretty.  However, one of the girls had already destroyed hers before she even left - what can you do?  Oh well, I guess that's just teenagers.  Gotta love 'em.  haha

If you want to make a super simple, inexpensive Christmas gift I would recommend them. You can find clear glass ornaments a variety of places, I got mine at Michaels.  Then just print out the pictures the size of your ornaments and cut them out.  Roll them to put them into the ornament and then use tweezers to unroll them one they are inside.

Nativity cross-stitch

I started this back in November and worked on it for a couple days and then didn't get back to it until today. It isn't quite what I was hoping for, but I'd say that for designing it myself it isn't too bad. It is Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus cross-stitched onto a kitchen hand towel (in case you couldn't tell). It may have missed Christmas this year, but Christmas will come again next year and I can get it out then.

Ornaments for Primary

I have been trying to come up with something to give my primary class for Christmas this year. I've been thinking about it for weeks and nothing was working out. After searching for ideas again yesterday (Saturday) and not coming up with anything I about gave up. Then while lying in bed about to fall asleep I had this idea. That only gave me Sunday morning to make them (the only good thing about afternoon church), but I am glad I did it.

They are baby food jars turned into ornaments. I printed pictures of the nativity and mounted them on scrapbook paper and stuck them on one side, then printed out "My gift to Jesus" and mounted them and stuck them to the other side. Then I hot glued fabric and twine to the lids.

In class we talked about Christ's birth and then we talked about what we could give Jesus for his birthday. The kids had great answers. Some of them were "our love," "being a good example to others," "being kind to others," and "being good." Then we wrote on strips of red paper our gift or gifts and put them in the jars. And they took them home to hang on their trees.

Tree Skirt

I planned on making this much earlier in the season (I bought the supplies in October). But, better late than never.

I cut two pieces of fabric in circles as large as I could get. Then I cut small (6" diameter) circles out of the middle. I sandwiched them right sides together with the fringe in between and sewed them together. Then I turned them right side out and folded over the raw edges of the small circles and top stitched. It was very simple and didn't take very long. I like the way it looks under our tree. Now we just need to cover it with presents. :)

snowmen jars

We're into the baby food stage again at our house. So, I have a ton of baby food jars that just beg to be crafted. Since it is close to that winter/Christmas time of year, what would be better than little snowmen jars?

I painted the lids black and the jars white. Then I added a construction paper cylinder to make the hat and drew faces on with sharpies.

Then I filled them with candies.

Then I made a few more.

And a few more.

hot pads

I actually made these in November, but I wanted to wait until after Christmas to post them. I made one for each of my married siblings and their family. They are super cute, super easy and usable.

Then I added a bread pan and a few of my favorite bread recipes and I had a great little gift for each of them.

If you are wondering how to make these hot pads, they are super easy. I just cut out two pieces of fabric and one piece of insul-bright the shape of a hot pad (I traced ones I already had). Then I sandwiched the insul-bright between the two pieces of fabric and sewed bias binding around the edges, making a loop out of the bias binding at one corner.

Countdown to Christmas

This is an awesome advent Christmas countdown that I made with my sisters, sister-in-law and mom. I wish I had taken pictures as we made it because it is really cool. Each of those squares is chipboard covered with scrapbook paper and the number and on the back is a magnet and some activity to do that day. The back board (the off-white) is metal covered with scrapbook paper so you can stick the magnet squares on and then take them off each day. Under the squares is a picture of baby Jesus, so as you countdown you are uncovering the picture. It is really cute and we enjoy doing all the activities and counting down.

Lena's Christmas Dress

Wow, it's been over a month since I've posted on here. I guess I haven't been very crafty lately. Anywho, this is Lena's Christmas dress. I claimed to be following a pattern, but it totally doesn't look at all like the pattern. I guess that is just me. I am like, well, I want to change the sleeves and I want to make the skirt a patchwork and I want to add lace and I'm not going to put anything in the middle, etc etc. So it turned into something quite different. Anyway, it is made from the leftover fabric I had from making our stockings last year, so she will match our stockings :) But I thought all the fabrics looked really good together and that way I didn't have to buy more fabric.

Lena's Christmas Dress

This took a lot of work, but I love it! I used one of my mom's patterns that she used to make a dress for me when I was little. My dress was a bigger size and blue, so cute! But I thought it would make a great first Christmas dress in green. My mom even kept my dress for me so in a couple of years Lena can wear my dress.

This dress has a lot of lace and ribbon and ruffles, so feminine and sweet! And I found the cutest little snowflake buttons.

And it looks beautiful on my beautiful daughter (if I do say so myself).

Her very first Christmas dress.

Mom, aren't you proud of me?! :)

Stockings

Yay! I finished one of the things I was intending to do before Christmas! haha I am really glad that I got our stockings made and hung. After all, we have a fireplace to hang them above this year!