One of the highlights of this year’s holiday season has been the Kids Craft Weekly card swap. We were put in a pool of 10 families from around the world to exchange kid made cards with. It was a delight to make them as well as receive. I loved the notes included in some of the cards–a four year old from Switzerland will learn 4 languages by the age of 6! An Australian toddler will spend Christmas by the pool at Grandma’s. It has been such a great way to learn about different countries and cultures! This will be a yearly tradition!
Now a bit about how we made ours. I cut a triangle shape from a potato and a star shape into the ends of some VERY fat carrots. We used a silver stamp pad for the stars and just plain green craft paint for the trees.

The stamping took some practice and lots of trial and error. I ended up cutting out sections of the black paper and glueing them onto the cards–it was easier to find sections that resembled trees!! I think the black paper makes them extra special looking.

We made extras for family members and will for sure frame one as a keepsake. We have so enjoyed seeing what other families have created as well. Have a look!

I am always on the search for new, fun things to try with Harrison while Truman is napping—things with a bit more detail and difficulty.  I read about building with toothpicks and marshmallows–somewhere–and stored it away for awhile.  I remember my mom soaking peas for hours in order to soften them up so the cub scouts could build structures with PEAS and toothpicks.  Mini mallows are much more fun!!

Its great that this involves a mere two items.  I left the marshmallows out for an hour or so to harden them a smidge.  Makes ‘em easier to build with —sturdies them up.  We practiced a few shapes and built a few cubes together.  When left to his own devices, Harrison came up with some even more interesting things!

I love how this activity meets you at whatever your level of skill or interest is—older kids can build larger, more sophisticated buildings, little ones can just master making something that stands or even 2-d designs.   The marshmallows do harden nicely overnight—so these can sit out on a shelf and be admired and shown off for awhile!

I love that I get to experience the excitement of Halloween all over again with my kids. Harrison had his party at school today. It was a good dry run for the ghost costume I managed to pull together with advanced beginner sewing skills. After contemplating buying more accessories–a chain, perhaps?—I decided enough was enough. simpler is better afterall. I cut a hole in a thrift store sheet and sewed some extra tulle-like fabric underneath for a little lift and flow. The hat is basically two semicircles of white fleece sewn together. The spooky spiders are hot glued on.

Goody bags for the class were wrapped in a square of thrift store gingham. H. carefully added cheery faces to my ghosts. Inside was a healthy Clif kids bar, a monster Stabilo pen and some foam stickers. I think I spent less than a buck a kid!!

Recently I have noticed people going all out for Halloween in the decor department. In our neighborhood you could practically do a tour of lights just like at Christmas time. While I am not quite into that, it is nice to do a bit more than a single lit jack-o-lantern in the window(remember when that was it?) My solution was 4 bucks! I swapped pumpkins for our wilting flowers in our front boxes. The plentiful asparagus ferns should hold up for a few more weeks—hopefully until Halloween.

This guy was a recent $2.50 thrifting find—I thought it looked a little moody and perfect for the season. I saw a woman pick it up and say, “ugh, horrible.” Taste is a funny thing, isn’t it. I am glad she hated it, because now its mine!!

I came across an old quilt at the thrift store awhile back and just fell in love with it. A ridiculous bargain at 3.25, I could not leave it there. I contemplated a use for it and went for the easy and predictable pillow. I love it and will make another so it will be a pair. Its so homey and hodge podge looking.

The quilt has log cabins on both sides!! Someone put hours and hours of loving work into it. It had been obviously patched with fabric from different eras and many spots are in need of more work. I do think its amazing to think of who created this and where it sat and was used all these years. I am happy to put it to a new use AND, in doing so, honor the person who created it.

I visited a friend’s house last week and was so inspired by their art COVERED walls. It made me think ours were a little bare. I looked to my own children–and a few thrift store finds—for inspiration. Two thrift finds in particular—some old frames and a cool, albeit a bit ruined, graphic vintage kids book–were my starting point.

I spray painted the frames—some red and some black to begin. I like the fact that the glass was missing. One less thing to worry about breaking in little hands. I carefully cut the pages from the board book with an big utility knife. It was just by chance that the page fit perfectly into one of the frames.

We had done some resist painting the week before….just simple -and I do mean SIMPLE-pastel drawings painted over with watercolors. I love how this technique really makes the colors brilliant.

These little bits of art add such personality to our home and their size makes them perfect to insert almost anywhere….onto working on some bigger scale pieces……

I spoke and the Universe listened. I had been pining for a learning tower for quite sometime. Trolling the web and craigslist, etc. Then I stopped—-too much money, too big, etc.—-I was trying to talk myself out of it. And then when I least expected it—I literally bumped into one at Goodwill—for 15.00!!!!

Cooking is one of our favorite family activities and this bring both H. and T. right up to counter level, safely–no more falling off stools. They even love to use it to watch Daddy out the window when he leaves for work. Yes, it is big and our kitchen is rather small, but it brings such joy to all of us, that its completely worth it!!

I used Geoboards all the time when I taught grade school–they are great for talking about shapes, lines, all sorts of figures, really. I have wanted to get one/make one for H. for a long time now. This post from an awesome blog called Filthwizardry, finally got my butt into action. I never dreamed of one this large, but darn its fun!!

We purchased a peg board from the hardware store (they cut it in half for us) and a packs of nuts and screws(make sure they fit thru your peg boards holes!) I randomly decided to go every fourth hole for good stretchiness. H. helped me attach the screws and nuts. Then you just need LOTS of rubber bands–colorful ones would be more fun. This is best done on a non-scratchable surface. An area rug is working for us.
I may make a few of these for birthday gifts!!

1. Under the table
2. Have a picnic on your bed
3. Decorate a brown paper bag and eat on the steps of a museum
4. Have breakfast for lunch
5. Pack your fave lunch and switch with a friend
6. Eat your way thru the alphabet…Apples, Brownies, Carrots,…..
7. Eat it backwards–dessert first
8. In your PJ’s!
9. Drive to a neighboring town and find a new park
10. Next to your favorite tree

My husband has deemed these, ” the best oatmeal cookies you have ever made.” I found the recipe here and made a few alterations because I did not have brown sugar or eggs. (when I am in the mood for cookies NOTHING can deter me)

You need:
1 cup butter
1 cup white sugar( I used 1 c. of organic brown rice syrup)
1 cup packed brown sugar( i used a big dollop of blackstrap molasses and 1 c. white suger)
2 eggs( I used 1 full banana and 1.2 t. of baking soda)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups quick cooking oats

Whatcha do:

Cream butter and sugars, add eggs one at a time (or banana and baking powder!).
In another bowl combine flour, baking soda, and salt, then stir into butter mixture.
Mix in oats and chill for an hour.
Place by rounded teaspoonfuls onto a baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes at 375 degrees.
I took them out when they still looked a bit gooey. That way they are nice and chewy!

Enjoy!!