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Christmas Advent Calendar Idea for the Home

November 25, 2012 By Laura 9 Comments

As I type this post, it’s the end of the weekend following Thanksgiving, and the last weekend of the month of November. For many families, this is the weekend their home gets decorated for Christmas! While it probably would have been nice to share this idea with you just a little sooner, I personally prefer to get past Thanksgiving, before I can (or even want to) focus on Christmas. That being said, there still are several days to spare before the first of December is here, so you still have time to do this simple and beautiful idea, for a Christmas Advent Calendar in your home. This idea is something I created two years ago, and I thought I’d share it with all of you, in case it’s something you’d like to try for your own kids.

If your a frequent visitor here at our blog, you may have seen us decorate our french doors like this before. Using door length ribbons, and placing a decorative element on the ribbon strand in each window, I call these ‘fancy strands’. I’ve made them for the season of spring, and also Halloween. So this project started out with the same single intent of dressing up our French doors, in this case for the festive season winter, but immediately turned into the idea of using it as a home Christmas Advent Calendar for the kids. For us, December and the the Christmas Advent Calendar is not so much about the countdown until Christmas Day, but celebrating the whole season each day. This idea made every day really fun for our kids.

You don’t need French Doors in your home, to adapt this idea!
You can do the same thing using other areas or parts of your home. Some suggestions are using regular doors, a large wide window, the banisters of the stairs in your home, or even a wall. Look around your home and find your options, and then just make it work for you! In addition, you can create this using any theme or colors. You may want to use red and green ribbon, with paper gift elements, or gold ribbon and ornament shapes. The theme and look of it is part of the creative fun. I wanted mine to work throughout winter. When Christmas was over, we simply peeled off the numbers on the windows, and the strands stayed through February or so.

I’m going to tell you how I made this Advent Calendar so simply.

The snowflakes were fun to make. I actually did not just buy them this way. The white paper snowflake alone, are die-cuts I bought packaged loose, in the scrapbooking area at Michael’s Arts and Crafts. To give them some sparkle and make them more beautiful, I also found sticky some snowflake-ish elements of glitter and rhinestones, and put them together to make my own specially designed snowflakes. So easy and fun, creating each one!

I chose blue ribbon for my winter theme, and placed a single 1-piece length from the top to the bottom (underneath) of the door, down each row of window frames of my doors.
I measured the height of the doors, and made sure I bought enough ribbon spools for 6 whole full lengths. We have 30 window panes, so plenty for the 25 days until Christmas.

To number the Calendar for the days of December, we cut small white vinyl numbers, and simply put them on the glass besides the upper-right of each snowflake.
However, if you are creating your advent calendar elsewhere in your home, the number can certainly be put ON the paper elements.
On front side of the snowflakes, it’s just pretty.
But on the backside, it was designed to serve a purpose.

When attaching the snowflake to the ribbon, I was sure to put two dabs of glue; one at top of the snowflake, and one on the bottom, leaving a space without glue in between.

Did you notice the little slip of paper slid under the ribbon? There was one for each snowflake, and each little slip expressed something different for that day.

Again, we’re simple folks. Our holidays are kept pretty simple too, and our days of any season are focused on faith and our family. For Christmas, it’s about pondering and celebrating Jesus’ birth, the time we spend together being creative, making things for others, and generally just having fun together as a family.

So our slips of paper behind each snowflake reflected those kinds of things. Some were a surprise activity for the day: maybe a task for serving others. Some were a small treat, and others were a Scripture to remember and reflect on. A good variety of that kind of thing. Again, you can come up with what you want for your family, throughout the month of December, as you prepare for Christmas, and enjoy the season.

Just type up a list in small print on your computer, skipping a line in between, print it out, and cut them into strips to fit behind your elements.

The kids took turns taking out the slip and reading it to the others each morning. That way they knew what was in store for the day.
It really takes very little to get our kids all excited. You would not believe the fun we have each year, just driving around neighborhoods checking out people’s home Christmas lights and displays, with our cocoa and snacks!

The big snowflake represents December 25th – Christmas Day.

I thought it all came out very pretty, and of course the strands themselves are reusable again every year.
It takes no time at all to cut out some new little numbers, and apply them. The slips of paper can be used again if they re saved as well.
Mix them up, add new ones, or create a whole new set. I like to keep our kids on their toes.

This Christmas season, make the most of every day with your family, and keep the spirit and love of what Christmas is truly all about, alive in your hearts and homes.
We hope you find this idea inspiring. Thanks for coming by.

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Thanksgiving Place Card Holder Turkey / Free Personalizable Place Cards Printable

November 17, 2012 By Laura 9 Comments

I’m so happy to offer you some free printable designs I created just for you:
Thanksgiving Place Cards

as well as an adorable turkey craft to hold the cards, or as beautiful added detail to your table, if you’d like.

Thanksgiving is only days away. If you are still scrambling to add a little ‘fancy’ detail to your Thanksgiving table setting, here’s an idea for you. This idea is one I came up with for my own Thanksgiving table setting from last year that I never got a chance to share with you all. Our guests loved them, and hopefully you will too.

Turkey Place Card Holders

I think they are just simple, yet classy and beautiful looking. They are easy to make, and require minimal supplies. It’s so easy, there is no point in even showing you how to make them, when I can simply tell you in a few words:

I got a net bag of plain, natural pine cones at Michael’s Arts & Crafts. They are for crafting and decor. I recommend not using the pinecones from any kind of potpourri, because they can be so strongly scented, and really clash with the otherwise enjoyable aromas of your Thanksgiving dinner.

The feathers were also bought at the same craft store, and come loose in a clear, flat cellophane bag.

The kids and I simply put some glue right between the last two rows of blades, on the backside of the second to last row. Then we simply stuck the feathers onto the backside there, starting in the middle and working our way outwards to the sides,being sure they were facing forward, and fanning nicely as we worked across. That was it! These particular feathers are very fine, so it took just a little patience. But I chose them because I loved the colors in them. We used toothpicks to be able to maneuver the feather into the position we wanted on the still wet glue, without using our fingers and getting glue all over them.

I made them to be place card holders, so I needed to make some of those too . . . . . .
. . . . . . and I’m going to share that customize-able printable with you too, so you can have your own personalized settings like this.
I printed them out on sheets of card stock that a variegated warm beige color to it, rather than bright white.

Of course you also have the option of putting the place card on the table, beside the turkey, as seen in the photo above.

We also did something special on the inside of these place cards; and so this is another idea or suggestion for you:
In light of Thanksgiving, and being most thankful for the blessing of those we love, the 6 of us in our family wrote a little something on the idea of each person’s card, expressing something about that person that we love or are thankful for. It was an unexpected surprise for those joining us around the table this holiday; my father, brother, and a family friend. And I’ll tell you what; they all cried, finding more inside, and reading it! The kids wrote the sweetest things.

If you would like to add a more whimsical flair to your turkeys like these, for just the kids or for everyone, you could add some googley eyes on white cardstock, and an orange waddle with felt, foam or construction paper. I just happened to love the more subtle indication of a little turkey.
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Free Thanksgiving Place Cards Printable

O.k., here is the customizable/personalizable place cards printable I promised you, but you must get it using one of the links to the downloadable file (you choose) below . . . . . .

PSD FILE: This version is still in layers. If you use Adobe Photoshop or any other program that works with PSD files, you can add in each persons name, to personalize each card. The color for the font is hexcode #6f3014, and the font style I used is Cecily. I forget the font size, but if all I just mentioned didn’t go over your head. I’m sure you’ll figure it out. Ha ha.
-or-
JPG FILE: This version is flattened, and ready to print as is. You can simply write in each person’s name with a marker.
Specs: 8.5 x 11 printable – Use same size card stock; I’m suggesting a light and warm or compatible color, perhaps that goes with your table setting.

And now for a little Giddy-Diddy:

If you love this idea . . . . .
Just SHARE it however you do!
But most of all please know this year . . . .
We’ll be giving THANKS for YOU!

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Decorating with Autumn Leaves; Door Garland and Candle Jars

November 10, 2012 By Laura 26 Comments

I think you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone on God’s green earth, who appreciates the foliage that Autumn brings, more than I do. I am mesmerized by the leaves, from beginning to end. Ask my kids. They are often amused at how taken I am, with the beauty of this season. And they’ve certainly come to understand that I don’t want them to miss one bit of it, any more than I do. I get especially excited when we are driving here and there, which with 4 kids I can tell you, we do a whole lot of. “Oh!! There’s a tree starting to change right there! Do you see it guys?” And as fall progresses., each week is more full of awe than the last. As we go along, I’ll burst out “LOOK!….at that GORGEOUS tree guys!! LOOK AT THE COLORS ON THAT THING!!” I’ve startled them. And they’ll be like, “We know Mama! Watch where you’re going!” It’s true. I probably shouldn’t be driving at all in the Fall. Certainly not during peak foliage week. There is just a span of weeks in this season, where the trees are all I can talk about, everywhere we go. Sometimes, I feel God made Autumn, just for me. Perhaps not. But gosh, it sure feels like such a gift of love.

The peak beauty of the season, is really all too fleeting for me. I want it to stay just as it is in those weeks, forever. At least, I want to save as many beautiful leaves as I can. But I’ve never found a great way to preserve them for a while, until this year. Oh yes, there was the waxed paper trick but, I heard that never worked all that well. And besides…..Confession of Domestic Shame: I really hate ironing. So when I learned that using Glossy Modge Podge really worked well, I was so excited to try it. And I immediately started dreaming up a very simple, very rustic leaf garland for my home.

The kids helped me Modge Podge countless leaves they had collected for me, over the weeks. We had them drying and being pressed between the pages of newspapers and magazines all over the house. I’m willing to bet we’ll be finding several we missed finding again, well into spring. But I found you can actually Modge Podge a fresh leaf right away, anyway. I do recommend the Glossy medium. I tried the Matte finish just as a test, and it seemed to strip the color, and not look very impressive once it was dry either. Something about the Glossy really does enhance the color of the leaf, and add lustre. To Modge Podge (MP) the leaves, we just poured some MP in a non-pourous bowl, and used foam brushes to apply it to our leaves, doing the back of the leaves first. Then you can lay them on newspaper or whatever, until they dry. They don’t really stick anywhere as drying, because they are not flat or heavy. MP is so easy to clean up anyway.

I wanted my garland extremely simple and rustic. Jute was just the kind of string for the job. I love this stuff.

I took 4 pieces of equal lengths of the jute, knotted the ends, and twisted the quadruple strand quite a bit before push-pinning it over the frame of our sun room french doors.

Then, I just stuck my leaves in between the twisted jute string, arranging as I wanted to, all the way across.

There it is. Done in like, . . .a couple of minutes.
And I didn’t fall off while standing on the chair I had to keep moving, even once.
(Although I think I had my husband and kids nervous, because they kept reminding me to be careful. That might have to do with the many happenstances I have had. But not this time!)

Look how pretty! Honesty….my heart is racing a little bit right now, just looking at them.
No two alike….such beautiful shapes and colors.

Do you see that long pointy leaf? After being out and about collecting leaves, the kids came running in, so excited to give me that one. They call it my giraffe leaf. I love giraffes, and they saw a giraffe skin pattern in it. I do too now. I felt the love, and that leaf makes me smile even more than all the rest now.

I also used the glossy Modge Podge to apply more leaves to jars. I love that you can just slap that MP all over the jar with a foam (or flat bristle) brush, and everywhere it dries where there is not a leaf, it looks like frosted glass.

Isn’t it beautful?
I’ll warn you that this project took a little more patience than I had anticipated. Certainly not as easy as my garland! It’s worth the little bit of trouble I think though! It’s just that the leaves, which I had MP’d the back of, as well as the jar, don’t want to lay down flat right away. It’s all kind of slippery. It’s only once the MP glue starts setting a little, that is starts sticking as you need it to. You need to MP over the leaves too anyway, so I kept kind of poking the leaves down where they were sticking up. Once the whole jar was dry, I did one more final coat. Oh and I just let stems hang free off the glued down leaf. I liked them that way anyway, if they didn’t want to stick.

They give such a warm glow of radiance.

I can see myself doing these same projects with leaves every year, from now on. And other preserved leaf projects I’ll think of I’m sure now too.
I so enjoyed every minute of working with the leaves, and I am so very happy I found a way to preserve them, and let the beauty live on in my home, as the world around us outdoors drains colorless.

Thanks for coming by, and listening to me go on and on about my love for the colors of Autumn.
It sure was an amazing Fall season this year, and I thanked God for it every day.
Do you get a colorful foliage season where you live, in the Fall? And if so, have you done anything with the leaves?

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Rustic Autumn Wreath | A Simple Craft

September 24, 2012 By Laura 20 Comments

If you’d like to add a touch of crafted Autumn decor to your home, but don’t have a lot of time or energy right now, this wreath is for you! It is so very simple and quick to make. I think it’s beautiful, and has a real rustic flair that fits right in here at our homestead.

I hung our wreath in the sun room, on the wall directly in front of anyone coming in through our front door.

It’s so very simple to make, you really don’t even need to be shown how.
But I will tell to you how, and give you a couple of tips as well.

Start with a stick/branch wreath, which can be found ready-made at your local craft store.

The pumpkins I also found at the craft store. They are very light in weight, made of a paper medium, and some kind of painted wire. They are finished with a shellac, and they came as a bunch in a net bag, much like potpourri comes. So you may want to look in that area.

To attach them to the wreath, I used a small piece of raffia! I simply slipped it under the wire on the bottom/underside of the pumpkin, and tied it onto a branch where I wanted the pumpkin placed. How easy is that? I cut any excess tails of raffia I didn’t need, but I don’t even care if it is seen, because it just adds to the simple rustic charm of the wreath, in my opinion.

Then I added some nice looking faux fall leaves. You can simply just tuck them under the intertwining sticks of the wreath. But if you want to be sure they stay, and/or plan to save the wreath to use year after year, I recommend using a dab of glue from a glue gun at the base of the leaf or stem area, and stick in between branches in an inconspicuous place. The leaves don’t need to be any more attached than that, and keeping the leaves loose gives it a more natural look.

Just follow that technique with leaves and pumpkins, all the way around.

The little birdie is just a clip on, and was also picked up at the craft store at some point. It was one we had, and it not only went perfectly with this wreath, with it’s warm tones, but added new interest.

The wide ribbon is wired, which can be a little difficult to work with, when tying bows or making nice curls. But I found a trick I’ll share with you.
TIP: When working with wired ribbon, use an aluminum can, cup, or any cylinder object to make nice curls for the tail of your ribbon, or uniform loops in your bows. Simply choose an appropriately sized cylinder object, relevant to the size you’d like your curls or loops, and use it to shape your ribbon. You can place the cylinder into the loops to make them nice and round where they curve around, and/or wrap the ribbon around the tails to make nice curls.

It’s really as easy as that! It can literally be done in 10 minutes.

It’s not only a simple and beautiful wreath for this awesome season, but you can say you made it yourself.

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Customized Sketchbooks | DIY idea

September 18, 2012 By Laura 15 Comments

The kids and I are well into a new school year here, and things are going really well so far. Our oldest is a high school sophmore now, and the 3 youngest (triplets) are fifth graders. So naturally, each year has gotten more academically involved, deeper and serious for all of us; myself as the teacher, and they as students. But I can freely admit that I am learning almost as much as they are, and enjoying my re-education as we progress with each year. I love finding new ways to keep their homeschooling experiences fun.

One new idea I came up with this year, actually came about as I was brainstorming a gift idea for a special-little someone-else in my life. While that gift is more elaborate and expensive, and personalized from me, it occurred to me that it might be fun to incorporate the general idea into our schooling, on a more budget level, for my own kids. So I mentioned the idea to them, of keeping their own sketch books throughout the year, and was not prepared for their level of excitement about it! I also wanted them to customize their very own a little bit, so they treasured them more.

The intentions for these sketch books are for the kids to just use freely whenever they want to, to practice drawing, write a little poetry, journal some thoughts, or even just doodle as they feel like it. But I did let them know I may ask them to use their sketch pads to express their thoughts or feelings in any way they’d like, following field trips or other home schooling or life events worth noting, in an artistic way. These pads are for dry medium only, but naturally you can adapt the general idea to any kind of pad, as well as customize the cover using any material you’d like. But today, I’m just sharing with you what we did.

Here’s the basic supplies we worked with:

Inexpensive spiral bound sketching pads
Modge Podge
Foam brushes
Scissors or an X-Acto type blade

And, 12″ x 12″ patterned scrap booking paper. These are the sheets my kiddos picked out for themselves.

Now things are about to get ever-so-slightly-messy. Especially with kids. So I thought I would tell you my cheap little trick I use for protecting the table for all of our craft happenings . . . . . .

TIP: Plastic party table covers, from the Dollar Store! One usually lasts us for many, many projects. When we are done working, we make sure any paint or glue on it is dry, and then we just roll it up in a ball and put it away for next time. (You could fold it, if you really need to. I know some people are like that. Hey, I have my own weird issues, but they are different. I’m not judging! lol)

So the first step is putting a quick layer of Modge Podge on the back of the patterned paper.

You don’t want to put any excessive amount on, or go over and over it, or the paper will get kind of soggy, and buckle.
But you do want to go right to the edge of the paper.

Then also put a layer all over the cover of the sketchbook.

Then carefully place your Modge Podge’d paper, onto your Modge Podge’d sketch pad cover.

You can line up your paper evenly, by using the spiral bind as a guide.
Be sure to smooth out any air bubbles in the paper.

Now, the paper was not cut to size on purpose. You could figure out and prepare the exact size paper you needed ahead of time. But it just seemed easier to me to just put it on their, and then either trim off the excess, or just fold it over into the inside of the cover.

These particular sketch pads were conveniently 12 ” tall, but only 9″ wide, so we had 3 extra inches to fold in. The putting Modge Podge on both surfaces is just a preference, and may not be necessarry. I just know with my kids, these sketch books were going places, and going to take a traveling beating. So, I figured the more secure the paper was adhered, the better.

Granted, not all of them came out with the paper put on perfectly straight anyway, because they are kids, and doing the best they can. And perhaps not as particular and picky as I am! (Which really, has got to be a nice feeling, sometimes!) They just had fun making them, and were really excited about the whole project. Which is really the best part: Kids being proud of what they made, and caring for those things that much more, because it is their own creation, from start to finish.

I’ll tell you, it’s been weeks now, and these sketch books have proven to be a really great idea for my kids. They have really used them, on their very own whims. Regularly! Every day. It’s a beautiful thing to catch your kids sketching this or that. Sometimes really working on a particular one over time, trying to make it come out just right. This is how all of my illustration skills were born!

As you can see, we further personalized their sketch pads, with their initials. Those were all cut in vinyl for them, but they each specified the exact initials they wanted, colors, design and arrangement. I think they all came out so great! And each cover really does well express their individual styles and personalities.

I hope this idea inspires you in some way. I know that for me personally, any notebook or sketch book full of blank or lined paper, gives me the butterflies. IS there anyone else out there, who understands what I mean? The opportunity for expression just laying before those two covers, is exciting! So consider making yourself a special one of your own, and just let whatever wants to come out of your head to your hand, come out. See what happens inside! You may be surprised, and you may just enjoy every minute of it. Everybody should just take time to chill and doodle, sometimes.

Thanks for coming over. Please share this idea if you are so inclined.

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Free Thanksgiving Place Cards Printable

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