Away in the Manger

With all the Santas, reindeer, and snowmen out there it can sometimes be hard to decorate for Christmas with Christ in mind, so I made this last project with “The Reason for the Season” to remind us why we really celebrate Christmas! This is a perfect project to do with your child or grandchildren or a Sunday school project.

I started by digging out some material, from my bag o' felt scraps. I drew a little sketch of what I wanted the design to look like...can you tell I'm not an artist!?! I cut all the shapes for the Nativity scene out of felt. I wish I had a full piece of red felt for the background, but I didn’t, so I used green (keeping with the Christmas colors).   I laid the design out on the on the large piece of felt to make sure everything looked good, then I picked it up piece by piece and attached them with glue. You could always sew or glue down the top to make it look like a garden type flag.  I just reused a ribbon in order to hang it.   This was super easy and it reminds us of the birth of baby Jesus. 



A felt manger scene



Supplies (I didn't end up using the Holly)



Put felt pieces in place ....Daisy enjoyed watching  :-)




Tessa working on her manger



Tessa's turned out heavenly.

  




Christmas Illumination

There is nothing like the illumination of candle light during the holiday.  These candle holders are made of recycled bean candles, but you can use any tin can. Old fashion coffee cans would work the best.   Make sure you soak them to get off all the glue.
They are fairly easy to make and they look beautiful when the lights are out, or during the evening. I lite one on my front porch at night and it looks so pretty.  You can use your imagination on where you can use these delightful candles.  Enjoy!

Here are the diections for these holiday candles



Supplies Needed



Tape a Christmas design in the can. Then make marker holes where you
going to drill holes in the can.

  


 

Spray painting the cans with color and sparkles

Let dry for a couple of hours

Now they are dry. Now Add some greens, lights and candles.

We made two Christmas Trees and a Gingerbread man.
So pretty.

  

The Power of an Angel

Did you know that angels are messengers from god?  Most angels are pure and illuminate a bright light.
I have always felt that my house is shared with a few angels, I am sure of two but there may be a third.
At times you will see a small bolt of light bolt across the room and then either stop or twirl around,
I also feel a lightness in my bedroom and I know i feel the spirits of angels in there.  It's such a comforting feeling knowing they watch over me.
Here are a few facts about angels; most of us have three or four angel with us at all times. One of those angels happens to be your guardian angel. If you need their help, all you have to do is ask them. Angels are not human so they can't  read your mind.  You just have to ask for their support or help. So angels are my thing and I love them!  So, based on these feelings, my next craft was to make an angel. We made these precious angels during our last girls weekend at the Jersey Shore.  We had so much fun and the angels turned out unique.

Here is a peek of what they turn out to look like.



Supplies needed

Pick out a few large artificial poinsettias.
They must have a wire stem and wire in the leaves.
I use a large wooden spoon to wrist the stem around it.
This will create the base. Then start pulling the leaves up.







Next step is to take one leaf at a time and mold the leaf downward to create the angels body. Then second layer start to mold and then
bend it downward. Just like the pictures shows. It's kind of making a dress out of the leaf


Our baby Angel.

So Beautiful

You can cut off some of the beads from the center of the flower
and then glue them on the petals. Next, I used the green leaves from the stem
 and glued them in the back of the angels to make her wings. For the head I use a
wooden craft ball and glue it into the center of the angel to make her head

I need to add a bit more sparkle to the left wing.

So Pretty

The Angels together. 

 



They turned out so pretty. 
 I am going to use mine for the top of my Christmas Tree.

Horn a Plenty Centerpiece

Today my granddaughter spent the day with me, because she wasn't feeling well. We cuddled and read books and after awhile she perked up, so I thought we would make a "Horn a Plenty" for Thanksgiving,  (umm.... I was planning to make it this weekend anyway but it's much more fun to make it with her).  It would be perfect for your Thanksgiving centerpiece.   It's made out of Pillsbury Crescent rolls, so it's also edible.  The fun part was I gave my granddaughter a piece of the dough and she made her own. She had so much fun rolling the dough into different shapes and then molding it around her own tin foil. She is so much fun.
Okay, so here is how I made it:
I used 2 packs of Pillsbury crescent rolls, I think it turned nice. After it cools down, you just add some fruits or nuts and Wha La, you have yourself a festive addition to your table.   Enjoy!

Final results

Supplies needed: 2  packs of Crescent rolls, tin foil, a piece of paper and Pam.

Fold the paper into a cone shape. Then shape the foil around the paper.
Mold the tin foil into a horn shape.  Then remove the paper. Spray the tin foil with Pam.
 Next, roll out the dough in a few rope like links and twist around the tin foil.

 

  


Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes

Once it cools down after baking, slowly remove the tin inside
the the horn shaped bread. My granddaughter made the small one. 
How adorable.



 

A Horn of Plenty

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone !



Turkey Time !

Here's a cute and colorful Turkey craft.  I think it would make a cute addition to any Thanksgiving centerpiece. My sister and I had lots of fun making these together and it's a great way to recycle those old light bulbs. Warning.... because this craft uses a light bulb, it's not for young children to make.  I don't want any boo-boos.  Gobble, Gobble !


Here are all the supplies needed, light bulbs, craft paint, small straw hats,
feathers, felt &  small google eyes.

 

Paint the bulb with brown craft paint, then paint 2 wooden hearts orange.
Once paint is dry hot glue hearts to bulb. then glue eyes and a felt beak. 
Then hot glue a straw hat on his head.

Arrange some colorful feathers.

Sad sister, got some hot glue on her fingers..Yikes

Looking Good.....  :-)



Finally,
Two Strutting Gobblers.......Ha Ha !



An Autumn Jack Pot !

I spent this weekend, down the shore with my sister.  We always have such a relaxing time together, just hanging out, eating, drinking and making crafts.  We have no schedule and really do whatever the heck we want to do.  I thank God for my sister and our time together...... <3 her !
This weekend we went to an Apple Fest, a few yard sales and created a Thanksgiving craft (I will post next month).  My sister hit the Jack Pot at a yard sale and I also found a few goodies.  Check out our Autumn treasures.



 Debbie may just use the pictures for the frames alone.
She bought 4 wonderful cloth tablecloths in pristine condition, for 1 dollar each.
 A four piece solid wood TV tables for $2. 

 

A wicker plant stand with real plants for 2 dollars.
 Plus, the plants are happy they are getting
a new family.  :-)

I found 2 pretty pink plates (pretty cookie plates) for 50 cents and 
an awesome nut plate for 50 cents too.

The path is more fun than the destination !

Such as in this chocolate cookie and candy, Spookie House.  My granddaughter had a ball making this concoction. The messier the activity the better, when it come to my granddaughter (like most kids).  I just had to post a few pictures of our fun together last night.

The Cutest Witch ever

She is pretty good at this

Stirring the icing

working together

What to put on next

Hard at work

Beautiful......  : - )

This is my grandkittie, Pumpkin.  She has the softest fur.
(Ya know I had to get a Kittie picture in here) Ha Ha

Family Fun at Knoebels

This past weekend my hubby and I took our family to  knoebels amusement park. http://www.knoebels.com/  It was about a two hour ride, but it was well worth it,   We had so much fun, despite my granddaughter getting a case of the hives.  I packed a picnic lunch and the weather was perfect.  I think it's so important to take some time to be with the people that mean so much to you.  It truly is why god gave me life.....to share special times with the people I love.  Plus,  we wore our Halloween shirts that we made.  I want to share a little slice of my heaven......hope you enjoy the pictures.

We really enjoyed our day.