Ohhh Star Wars!!

Saw it opening night, two days later, and then a third time in IMAX 3D. 

Teacher Gift Card Books

Very late post but for the youngest's pre-k teachers I decided to do gift card books instead of a gift card tree (easier to get home lol!). 

The kids sent in gift cards for each teacher and I arranged them in alphabetical order in the books using "On the # day of Christmas [child's name] have to me..."

I put some cards in little envelopes, some I attached directly to the page. I used various Christmas cardstock for the pages.

When I had them ready I took them to my local Office Max and had them do the clear cover, a solid color back cover, and the black spiral binding. They turned out great and the teachers loved them. It was a bit labor intensive (and I had to keep reminding the parents to send in the cards) but it was worth it! 

Easy Christmas Hymn Ornaments

The boys and I made these ornaments for our church choir director. These were really easy to put together. 

I wrote the hymns and a few stars on the outside with a gold paint pen. Then I cut the sheet music scrapbook paper and the star paper into thin strips then put several strips of each inside. I added some silver and gold stars and white glitter inside the ornament as well. To finish them off I just tied some thin burlap and gold ribbons into a knot on the hanger. 

Voila! 

Merry Christmas y'all! 

Cub Scout Projects

Thought I'd posted this before but I guess I didn't! 

Oldest son started Cub Scouts last year. If you're involved in Scouts you know the boys get patches for various things but they don't go on their uniform (unlike Girl Scout vests/sashes). You, as parent, also get parent pins when your son moves up. 

I needed a place for those patches and pins. Pinterest search gave me my ideas. 

Patch banner

Parent Pin Ribbon

I love how they turned out. The banner should hold patches throughout Cub Scouts and hopefully Boy Scouts. The ribbon has the colors for Cub and Boy Scouts so I can keep them all together. 

Happy First Day of Fall!

Yeah, I know, post is a bit late but oh well. 

In room mo for my youngest son's pre-k class at church. First day of my favorite season called for a special treat! Browsed through my pantry.

Voilà! 

My fall snack mix! You can add whatever you like to these (I make lots of variations!). Kids love snack mixes! 

For this one I used popcorn, thin pretzel sticks, and candy corn. I created a little tag with fake fall leaves and scrapbook paper. You could do this with any holiday or season. Get creative! 

Ma-Maw's Peach Preserves

My Ma-Maw made tons of canned things. Yeah, I'll admit it. I don't remember much but I DO remember the peach preserves. Its been probably twenty years since I had any fresh made preserves so I was determined to learn. 

And learn I did. 

I got a bunch of peaches from Jaemor Farms and found an easy recipe online (it's from the Georgia Peach Counsel page). It was a bit of work and probably took a bit longer than it should but hey - first time. 

What did I need for 12 1/2 pint jars? 

About 11-12 cups peeled, chopped peaches 

7 cups of sugar

9-10 Tbs pectin

Lemon juice

What did I do? 

Washed all my jars, kids, and rings. Peeled and chopped the peaches. Added some lemon juice (probably a couple tablespoons) to keep them from browning. Put the peaches and sugar in a big pot, cooked until it tried to boil, then added the pectin. Very LOW boil for a few minutes, stirring constantly, until it reaches consistency you want. Put the jars, lids, and rings in boiling water for 5 minutes. Pour preserves in jars, close finger right, put in boiling water 5 minutes. Allow them to cool (you'll hear the kids pop which means they're sealed). 

Enjoy! 

Fun with Burlap

I needed a new wreath for my front door so I decided to try one of those looped burlap wreaths. You don't need many supplies for this one. 

Wire wreath frame (I think this is 16in)

Burlap ribbon (I had 2 15ft rolls)

Accent ribbon

Embellishments (I chose burlap flowers and a metal J) 

There's lots of tutorials online so I'm not going to reinvent the wheel. It took me a few tries to get "the twist" down but once I figured that out and got into a rhythm it was pretty easy. I could've used a little bit more burlap but I made it work. 

I love the way the chevron burlap ribbon looks along the edges and isn't that metal J just darling? I tied a simple bow and hot glued it on with the J and flowers. Here's the finished product: 

Try making one! They're pretty and you can add so many things to them to make each different! 

More Crafty Goodness

I've managed to be crafty despite there being some sort of illness in the house almost every week since New Years. The first picture is the Christmas present for my mom that was finished on Christmas Eve. The rest are for various things. 

Love how this turned out! Will be making one for myself. 

Homemade Valentines for the boys' classes. Not because I'm cool but because I hate the boring, rectangular, gotta-have-some-character on them cards that are sold in stores now. 

Homemade peppermint sugar scrub for the boys' teachers. They smelled awesome...and looked pretty! 

Table decorations for our Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet. The theme was the pinewood derby. I threw these together the morning of the banquet after a frantic call from our Den Leader's wife. :) 

Wall/door hanger for a bridal shower gift. May have to make one for our house, too!