Wands, Pop-Tops and Blackboards: Oh My!

Here's a little sneak peek of a few of the new items I'll be bringing along to my only Holiday craft sale of 2012 on December 1st. There will be at least one more new item debuting at the sale. I'll also be sponsoring a Magnet-decorating fundraiser for Attachment Parenting Village Calgary. The magnets will make a great gift for kids to give to grandparents, siblings or friends. Hope to see you at the Sunalta Community Center from 10-3 on the 1st!

A Favorite Christmas Tradition

Making paper chains is one of my favorite Christmas traditions. It's so simple, but I've loved it since I was a preschooler. From a child development point of view, it's a great way for little ones to visualize how long it will take before Christmas happens. It also takes me off the hook for doing the math in my morning-grogginess for the daily countdown interrogation.

We just cut 1 inch strips of paper and assembled them in a pattern with glue dots. We decided to make Christmas 'gold' this year, and the kids were very excited to cut their first link. Hopefully I'll be able to get my decorating done in the next few days!

Seasons Coasters from my Little Artist

I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off for the last two weeks. Lots of family emergencies (everyone's ok now) and getting ready for a craft sale has made it almost impossible to try any new projects or sit down to blog. But I miss my blog so I had to pop in to show you a present from my little guy.

We went ceramic painting a few months ago and I chose coasters for Daniel because I knew it would be like four separate paintings and take him a little longer than just slathering something in purple for 3 minutes!

I suggested he paint the seasons and he did a great job. I was going to suggest giving them to his Gramma and Grampa for Christmas, but when we picked up the package from the shop and he said they were for his Dad and I, they went straight onto the table! I thought I should share before Christmas in case you're looking for a gift for your little one to give this year.

Handmade Stocking Stuffer SWAP CHALLENGE!

I love swaps, I love handmade stocking stuffers and I love a good competition! Here it is, all in one shot; I'm hosting a swap on Swap-Bot and it's going to be awesome.

SWAP: A perfect Holiday swap! Send your partner 6 HANDMADE (by you or someone else) items for their stocking. Only send things that your partner likes (check their profile) or that you would be happy to receive. Ideas below.

WIN THE CHALLENGE: This isn't just a swap, it's a challenge! Post what you're mailing to your partner on your blog or Flikr account. I'll chose the best package and send the winner a little gift!

OPEN TO:
Residents of US & Canada,
Swap-Bot users with a rating of 4.5 and higher,
Newbies with a current blog and well filled out profile only.

IDEAS:  Magnets, Coasters, Slippers, Mittens, Scarf, Hat, Jewelry, Candy, Cufflinks, Socks, Bath/Body products, Pincushion, Stationary, Notebooks, Reusable bags and the list goes on. Check out Martha Stewart, Pintrest, Tip Junkie and other crafty sites for fun, unique ideas. MUST BE HANDMADE.

You can sign up on the Swap-Bot website. Spread the word!

Glittery Christmas Reindeer (or "how to make a huge mess when you're already obscenely busy")

I had the Dayhome Christmas party on the last day that the kids were here. Usually we do a few activities, or a craft and I give them each a gift. This year I thought it would be a great idea to combine the party craft with the craft we make for parents. Oops. At least it turned out cute!

You'll need:
Spray adhesive (We used Elmers, but next time I'd try something else)
Glitter (Martha Stewart glitter worked best for us)
Something to Glam Out. Thrift stores often have ceramic deer figures, or you can use plastic animals, or anything your heart desires.
A lot of newspaper

I found these sweet little acrylic reindeer at Superstore (on clearance!) and thought they'd be perfect.

Spray the whole object with the spray adhesive, one object at a time. The glue becomes less tacky if you wait.

Shake glitter all over the place. We ended up taking handfuls of sparkles and rubbing them right on as well, there were a lot of grooves in these things! Notice how my hands look after about 4 seconds.

I also added a coat of Krlyon Acrylic Crystal Clear spray paint to prevent the glitter from coming off, but I don't think it did much. They look adorable, but I spent weeks cleaning the floors and washing glitter out of every imaginable place! Next year when I pull them out, I am going to tie bright purple ribbon around their necks. Cute!

Christmas with a 3 Year Old

It was so wonderful to watch Daniel at Christmastime this year! He was so interested and excited about everything.  I can't wait for next year...I think the anticipation will make it even more magical.

We have a Christmas Nativity Scene tradition that Mary and Joseph have to "walk" to the stable. They arrive on Christmas eve, and on Christmas morning baby Jesus appears along with all the gifts.  The Magi arrive on the 1st and we talk about how they didn't visit until Jesus was 2. It was my favorite tradition growing up and I loved seeing Daniel checking on everyone's progress to the stable.

We had a quiet Christmas day with just our closest family and it was wonderful to just slow down and enjoy. I got a pair of boots I've been eying up, and a massage cerificate (thanks honey!) to name a few things, and Daniel loved the drumsticks we put in his stocking.

Soon I'll post a tutorial for a simple, glittery-mess craft I made with the dayhome kids. I can't believe how messy it was!

Making Class Gifts: Part 2

Finished and delivered! They couldn't have turned out any cuter. Well, unless we used glitter, but I'm not crazy.

I really wanted Daniel to be able to make most of everything, but I knew he would never get through 18 cards! So he made one and we photocopied it. So much easier, more fun and looked great!

We drew a snowman on the front, put a cute little poem (that I still have memorized from my preschool days) inside and he signed his name. Attaching the rainbow heart crayons was no easy task! I tried double sided tape, tape loops and contemplated an elaborate ribbon structure and crazy glue. But then my genius came back.

I put a tape loop on the card where I wanted the crayon to go, topped that with hot glue and pressed the crayon on. Worked like a charm! Now it won't ruin the card, and the glue will just peel off of the crayon. When all was said and done, I also decided to pop them into cellophane jewelry bags just in case the crayons came off. Better safe than swearing. Ahem, 'sorry'.

So if you need a simple class gift for your little one, go back to Part 1 and create away!

Giveaway Time!

 With Christmas approaching, I think it's time for another giveaway! So....here is your chance to win a mini-matching game for your little one. Your choice of my "Laundry Day" or "Animal Tracks" set if you win!

These mini-matching games make great stocking stuffers or gifts for your childrens' friends and include six pairs hand stamped on lovely wooden tiles in a cotton drawstring bag.

To Enter:
Comment on my last post with an idea- mandatory first entry
Follow my blog-  1 extra entry
Visit my Etsy shop and tell me what you like best- 1 extra entry
Buy something from my shop- 2 extra entries
Become a fan on my Facebook Page- 1 extra entry

That easy, just pick and choose. The giveaway will close at 12pm MST on November 20th 2010, and you will receive your gift on time for Christmas if you are in Canada or the US.

Good luck!

Homemade Stocking Stuffers Part 3: School-agers

 In Parts 1 and 2 of this series I covered homemade stocking stuffers for Toddlers and Preschoolers. On to the next: here are my ideas for the School Aged set. I wish I had more photos but I don't have a big kid yet!

School-Agers:

Make-your-own Goop: Put a cup of cornstarch with half a package of Kool Aid in a (sealable) bag and label it "Goop". When they're ready to make it, just add small amounts of water until it's in between solid and liquid. When they squeeze in their hands, or slap it hard, it turns solid!

Paint with Water Booklet: There is a very cool tutorial here for how to make your own paint with water designs! So cool! You can put them in a small folder or make them into a booklet.

Hemp Bracelet Kit: There are great instructions here, that you can print. Add a small ball of hemp, some beads in favorite colors and the instructions to a small box or tin.

Reindeer Poop: Put chocolate covered almonds in a cellophane bag and make a small paper label that says "Reindeer Poop".  Fold the bag over and staple the label on.

Soap Surprise: Chop up a bar of soap and add a few tablespoons of water. Melt it down SLOWLY in the microwave or on the stove top. Pour into a soap mold, or small sound/square container. Tuck a small plastic toy into the center of the bar. Let it sit for 3-7 days until fully dry. You can use clear soap to show off the toy, or opaque to make it a mystery!

Funny Magnets: You can turn just about anything into a magnet. A pad of paper, a carpenters pencil, wooden shapes, small toys or mini game key chains (just remove the key chain). Just add hot glue and a strong magnet.

Finger Puppets: There is a great tutorial, and patterns at Make Your Own Baby Stuff. Simple and fun!

Stuffed Animal Sleeping Bag: Make a sleeping bag for your child's favorite doll or stuffed animal. If you're good at sewing, make a liner and outer layer from cotton and sew together. If you're a beginner, use a single layer of fleece-it doesn't fray!

Hacky Sack:  Knit or crochet a hacky sack. These are especially popular with boys!

Tiny Needlefelted Animals: This is something that I'd really like to try my hand at! I just ordered a few for Daniel, and next year I may try to make some myself. There is a good Martha tutorial for beginners.

Homemade Stocking Stuffers Part 2: Preschoolers

A few weeks have passed since part one...I don't know where the time went! Busy, busy, busy with getting ready for my first craft sale!

So, at last, Part 2 of my Stocking Stuffer Series. Keep your eyes open for the school age list in the next week or so!

Preschoolers:

Baby Food Jar Matching Game: A friend shared this link with me, for how to make a matching game from jar lids! She even shares her images so all you have to do is print and paste!

Homemade Modeling Beeswax: Recipe- 1 cup of beeswax, 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp lanolin. Melt beeswax over low, remove from heat and stir in oil and lanolin. You can add grated crayon for color. Let it cool in a lined pan. If it's too soft, add a litle more beeswax, if it's too hard add a little lanolin. You can find all the ingredients at most health food stores

Mini Notebooks: It's basically as easy as picking one scrapbooking paper that you like for the cover, cutting it to size, cutting blank paper just a smidge smaller, fold in half, staple in the center and then stamp or embellish the cover!

Crayon Roll: This is a perfect mate to the mini-notebook! It's a great beginner sewing project and because it's small it's easily done by hand too. There are tutorials all over the place, but I like this one.

Funky Fleece Scarf: There's a great tutorial here for a fun, simple scarf. Preschoolers love funky accessories!

Bath Paint: A great way to get a reluctant bather into the tub! Mix 4 Tbsp cornstarch, 1/3 cup body wash and food coloring. Add extra cornstarch if it's not thick enough. Store in plastic containers with lids and top with a paintbrush!

Craft Kit: Put some googly eyes, popsicle sticks, feathers, pipecleaners, ribbon and yarn in a ziploc bag. This is a great thing for when the Christmas excitement wears off just before dinner and you need to distract them!


Lick-and-Stickers: Make your own lick and stick stickers! Cut out your images from magazines, coloring books, old art projects or scrapbook paper. Add a pkg of gelatin to 1/2 cup water. Stir to dissolve gelatin and paint onto the back of images. Let dry wet side up. When they're dry, they're ready to be licked and sticked!

Apron: Kids love helping in the kitchen and an apron makes preschoolers feel even more grown up! You can find all sorts of tutorials and patterns on line and in books. I use the kids patterns in The Perfect Apron.

Shape Crayons: I just bought a silicone ice cube tray from Ikea that I am going to use to make shaped crayons as gifts for Daniel's classmates. All you do is warm the oven, break up crayons into the mold, turn off the oven, wait until they melt and remove and cool. Simple and fun.

Next Week: School-Agers!

Homemade Stocking Stuffers Part 1: Toddlers

Last year we had our first handmade Christmas. It was awesome! And a LOT of work. I am not making everything this year, but from now on, I will always make some or all of our gifts. Here are some of my favorites for toddlers. Be careful, some are a bit chokey for little ones.

Toddlers:

Magnets- you have to be careful because they can be a choking hazard, but I scanned, cropped and printed Franklin Characters onto magnet paper from Staples. Daniel is still playing with them! There are probably all kinds of tutorials for other types as well.

Painted Wooden People- I  painted wooden people pegs to look like our family. They were a big hit but Daniel lost himself almost immediately.

Homemade Play Dough: Here is one site, with a million recipes. You can also pack it in a stainless steel conatiner like this and have a great, eco friendly way to pack snacks later.

Honey Toffee: I use Honey, butter and vanilla and boil to the hard crack stage (it doesn't come out hard because honey is pretty gummy) and wrap it in wax paper. It's one of those treats I don't mind giving Daniel because it has no sugar in it. For those of you who like recipes, there's one here.

Felt Cookies: There is a great tutorial at Prudent Baby, but really it's as simple as cutting felt into cookie shapes, sewing embellishments on the top side of the cookie (beware of small things that may come off) and hand stitch them together. Felt doesn't fray, so it's a great beginner sewing project to do by hand.

Crayon Roll: I made a mini one for Daniel's stocking. I recommend reading a few different tutorials and choosing what you like best, or making up your own! Who doesn't love new crayons???

Crocheted Headband: I made myself a headband from this pattern at Creative Yarn, and noticed that someone modified the pattern to fit her daughter. I made one for a friend and it's cute!

Neck Tube: Best thing EVER! No more scarves all wrapped around to go out and play. Cut a piece of polar fleece fabric about 5x20 (measure you child's neck and leave a little extra room to pull over head), fold it in half and sew it together, right sides together. Voila! We love ours.

CD from Daddy: Or mommy. Or whoever is not the crafty one! My hubby burned Daniel his own CD of favorite songs and it was a huge hit! In fact, he received another one for his birthday. This is a great way for older siblings to make gifts for each other or the non-crafters to get in on the handmade goodness.

Felted Balls: Ours were a bit awkward looking, because it was my first try. Luckily, wonky balls are still fun.

Foot Bath in a Bag: I put a bit of oatmeal, some lavender buds and a bit of loose leaf tea in a bag and Daniel enjoyed his very own relaxing footbath. Yes, he really did sit still! He still talks about it!

Add a candy cane and a Christmas orange (or is that just my family?) and you have a pretty well rounded, toddler stocking full of handmade goodies!

In the next few weeks, I will be posting ideas for Preschoolers, School agers and maybe even grown ups! I don't know if I'm brave enough to tackle a handmade teen stocking!