Archives for December 2010

Book Advent: Day 14 {Rudolph Flannel Board}

December 15, 2010 10 Comments

It's almost 1:30, but here I am typing away. I have a real problem. I love climbing into bed and going to sleep. But I also have a hard time stopping and going to bed! Like many of you, I'm a night owl! I know I'll be hating life tomorrow morning, but I still can't help myself! Please, tell me that some of you can relate! Or am I the only one with the night-owl disorder?!

We continued our Christmas book advent with another classic book: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer! This particular version was a bit long for Little Man, but we plowed our way through it.

When he woke up from his nap, he found a Rudolph flannel board. BUT Rudolph didn't just have a red nose--he had many different colors of noses! Little Man had fun trying on all of the different noses. He kept trying to get the little felt noses to stick on HIS nose! This was a great way to review colors, too. Little Man is just beginning to say his color words. {So exciting!}

We did a flannel board story that describes Rudolph with all different colors of noses! Finally at the end of the story, Rudolph is ready to help Santa because his nose is red. It's a short and sweet rhyming story--super cute!

The flannel board visual aids were super easy to make. I just cut a face out of tan felt, antlers out of brown felt, and circles out of different colors of felt. I just added google eyes and drew on the mouth with sharpie!

If you would like to download the Rudolph story, you can print it here or here on Scribd.

Have a happy Wednesday!

Thanks for being here!!

PS Michelle from Musings of Me also has a printable Rudolph book using this same story. You can print the story and use colored pompoms or buttons for Rudolph's nose on each page.

Filed Under: book advent, Christmas, download, flannel board story

Book Advent: Day 13 {Santa Belt Candle}

December 14, 2010 11 Comments

A new day, a new story at our house! Little Man is getting really quick at spotting the books under the tree and tearing them open. He loves just about ALL of the books we've read so far, and has them stashed in his crib because he begs to read them to fall asleep to. (He reads books for 30-45 minutes to fall to sleep each night... never tears a page!) Today's featured story was another one of my vintage Christmas favorites:

Poor Santa wishes he had more time to play with all of the toys he makes... he devises a clever plan to make time to play!

Today I was craving a "Mommy" project. So during nap time, I created this Santa belt candle. Well, at least it started out as a Santa belt. I decide to make it a ruffle belt, so I think it looks more like Mrs. Claus than Santa Claus! But that's fine with me!

For this project:

* I bought a red candle at the dollar store. You can't get any cheaper than the dollar store!

* I wrapped the candle first in white felt. I love all of my felt scraps left over from my quiet book!

* I tore a long strip of black fabric. I created a ruffle and then sewed the ruffle in place. I hot-glued the ruffle over the white felt.

* Next, I just added a gold button in the center.

It really brightens up my kitchen window ledge.

I love an easy project!

Filed Under: book advent, Christmas

Disco Ball Ornament

December 13, 2010 12 Comments

Back in October, I became a bit obsessed with making Christmas tree ornaments. I found myself with one extra styrofoam ball, and this little disco ball ornament just happened! It's easy and fun to make... come see!

Supplies

Styrofoam ball

2 rolls of sequins (I just barely ran out and had to buy the second roll. Totally worth it, though!)

Small ribbon loop to hang

Hot glue gun

Begin by hot gluing the end of your sequin roll. Just start wrapping around, securing it with hot glue. Just make sure as you hot glue that your sequin roll doesn't flip around. One side looks slightly different than the other. This happened to me, and I had to re-do that part.

Keep on wrapping...

As you get close to the opposite end of the ball, leave part of it open. Make a small loop out of ribbon and hot glue it into place. Then wrap the rest of the sequins all around. And you're done!

This little guys is really lighting up our Christmas tree!

Oh, and just in case you are wondering about Day 12 of our Book Advent, I'll share a quick recap. We read this book:

This is a simple, sweet story of the first Christmas. I think I purchased it originally through a Scholastic book order. It was absolutely perfect for Little Man. In connection, we read the story of the first Christmas out of the book of Luke over candlelight. This is one of my favorite traditions! Something about reading over candlelight makes it that much more special!

We didn't take any pictures because... well, I only had a husband home for one solid day before he packed up to leave town again... I was scatterbrained to say the least!

In the middle of all of your Christmas baking, shopping, and wrapping,

thanks for reading Oopsey Daisy!

Filed Under: Christmas, holidays

Book Advent: Days 10 & 11 {Photo Bookmarks}

December 11, 2010 11 Comments

Today I have a fun tutorial to share with you, so read on to find out how to make a piece-of-cake stocking stuffer!

I like to take it easy on the weekends! For yesterday's book, we read If You Take a Mouse to the Movies. It may not sound Christmas-ey, but it is full of holiday charm! Plus, my Little Man is literally obsessed with the "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" series, so this book was definitely magical for him! For our activity, we watched a movie and popped popcorn. You could take it a step farther and make popcorn garlands, but I think we'll wait a year or two for that!

We are HUGE Mercer Mayer fans at our house, so today's book was a hit! We read Merry Christmas, Mom and Dad... the story of a little critter who tries awfully hard to do nice things for his parents for Christmas!

Today I am sharing an easy gift for your kids to give to Grandma, Grandpa, or even Mom and Dad! I shared these photo bookmarks at The Scrap Shoppe's Handmade Christmas last week.

Time is very short this holiday season, so I love a short-and-sweet project!! After getting Little Man's new photos, we decided to make a photo bookmark to give his grandparents. Trust me--this project was easy! Come see!

I was thrilled when I discovered a package of these cardstock bookmarks at Michael's. I immediately knew that they would make the perfect stocking stuffers. I think they cost me a $1. You will also need:

* Photo's of your little guy or doll. (I had Costco print a few sheets of wallets.)

* Scrapbook paper.

* Mod podge.

* Scissors.

* Distressing ink.

* Ribbon.

* Photo corners.

* Any other fun embellishments!

I have a new craft pal. This Fiskar's scallop punch is my new best friend! After cutting strips of coordinating scrapbook papers, I dressed up some of the strips with scalloped edges.

I used mod podge and layered all the scrapbook strips to create a little collage. I tied a fun glittery Christmas ribbon through the hole at the top. The new My Mind's Eye Christmas pack was the star of the this project! I love this collection!

Now for the fun part! I wanted to make 4 bookmarks (one for each grandparent), so I decorated the front side of each bookmark a little differently. I distressed the edges just a bit, and then cut the photos down to size. I used some photo corners to really show off the pictures. Let's be honest--that's the best part about the whole project!

I think this little stocking stuffer will be sure to please! In fact, I wouldn't mind making a few more photo bookmarks so I can keep one for myself! Here are a few more pictures of the final product:

I think his grandparents will melt. At least I hope so!

Happy crafting!

And happy weekend!

Filed Under: book advent, Christmas, holidays

Peanut Blossom Cookies {with a holiday twist!}

December 10, 2010 8 Comments

Guess what I've been doing lately???

Just a little baking...

Peanut blossoms are one of my all-time favorite cookies! This recipe is a winner with my husband who doesn't even like sweets! Yesterday I made 4 dozen of these scrumptious cookies. Instead of using regular old Hershey kisses, we used the mint truffle kisses. This was a perfect way to add a holiday twist to an old favorite.

And how about those yummy candy cane kisses?! They are my absolutely favorites! These are a hit with the kids, too! This year, I don't have time to fuss over gourmet recipes... so I'm just sprucing up an oldie but a goodie! They turned out scrumptious! I don't want to admit how many I ate yesterday afternoon!

Peanut Blossom Cookies

1 c. margarine

1 c. sugar

1 c. brown sugar, firmly packed

2 eggs

1 1/2 c. peanut butter

3 1/2 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 T. milk

1/2 c. sugar, for dipping

14-oz. package chocolate Hershey kisses, unwrapped

Cream margarine and sugars together until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and peanut butter. Combine dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture. Add milk and mix well. Shape in 1-inch balls with hands; roll in the 1/2 c. sugar. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately press a candy kiss in the center of each cookie.

ENJOY!

Filed Under: recipes

Book Advent: Day 9 {Snowmen at Christmas}

December 10, 2010 26 Comments

Today was one of my favorite days of our book advent so far! I don't think Little Man remembers snow, and we haven't had any here in Colorado this winter. (Hey, I'm not complaining... I'm enjoying my 60 degrees weather right now!) Anyway, I think Little Man is very intrigued with snowmen.

Our book today was Snowmen at Christmas. This is one of my fav's!!! I don't know what else to say about it but read it. We were so caught up in the snowman spirit that we ended up watching the Frosty cartoon tonight. Little Man soaked it all up!

Today we did some snowman art using shaving cream mixed with Elmer's glue! When I told Little Man we were doing an art project, he immediately took off his shoes and socks. I think he anticipated another reindeer craft. He really enjoyed making "snowflakes" by doing little fingerprints all over the page. (I definitely recommend doing this project just before bath time!)

For this project...

* Mix equal parts of shaving cream and Elmer's glue. The mixture dries puffy just like this.

* Use your fingers to spread the shaving cream mixture and create your snowmen on blue cardstock.

* Add cardstock pieces to form the eyes, nose, mouth, hat, and arms. (I used ribbon for the scarf.)

* I saw this adorable idea here at Homemaking Fun.

This was a last-minute idea, but we made little snowmen treats for dessert tonight. I stuck a couple of donut holes together using frosting. We used chocolate chips for eyes, pretzel sticks for arms, and a Hershey's mint truffle kiss (delicious!) for hat. We tried to stack the donut holes three high, but they kept toppling over.

Do you think Little Man enjoyed it?

Maybe I should have saved this treat for just-before-bath time, too!

Happy Friday!

Filed Under: book advent, craft, winter

Book Advent: Day 8 {Baby Jesus Ornament}

December 9, 2010 5 Comments

I hope you are enjoying our little book advent this holiday season! I love sharing my favorite Christmas books with you. This is my way of sitting back, enjoying the holidays, and simplifying my crafts a bit and trying to make them more meaningful. It's also been fun to enjoy more crafts with Little Man!

Today we read an adorable story that one of my readers recommended: Mortimer's Christmas Manger. This is a sweet story about a mouse who wants to leave his dingy hole and decides to set up camp in the manger--right in Baby Jesus' bed! As much as I love the Santa stories, I really love reminding Little Man *and me* about the real meaning of Christmas!

This Baby Jesus ornament is super easy to make. Simple and sweet--perfect for me! For this project...

* Start with a small craft basket. You can find these at craft stores.

* Stuff the bottom of the basket with Spanish moss. You won't need much. Now you have your manger.

* To make Baby Jesus' head, you just need a small wooden circle. You can also find these at craft stores. Add a face.

* Use a stronger glue to attach the head to a bundle of fleece or muslin, just wrapped in a tight little bundle.

* Wrap the body a couple of times with a gold cord. We also wrapped the head once to add a touch of nobility.

Here is an up-close view. This would also make an easy nativity piece.

A great way to remember the real meaning of Christmas!

Enjoy your day!!

Filed Under: book advent, Christmas, holidays

A Little Christmas Decor

December 8, 2010 8 Comments

Let's take a break from our Book Advent for a moment or two...

I began this little blog in January... please don't go back and read my posts. I had NO CLUE what I was doing. I didn't know any blogging etiquette and rules. I simply wanted to record my projects. The first posts I did were about my Christmas crafts. I don't have time to craft during December (I don't know how many of you create such amazing things during such a busy time!), so I did all of my Christmas crafts during January.

One of my favorite things about getting out my Christmas stuff this year was seeing all of last year's crafts--all tucked away, looking pretty. I found myself feeling pretty proud unwrapping some of my rookie crafts.

I love this Believe banner:

One of the only things I don't like about our new house is that we do not have a mantel! We do have lovely built-in nooks for our TV and electronics. There is a bit of a ledge, but it is high and not ideal for decorating. But I climbed up on that ledge and hung last year's Believe banner in the window. It's actually perfect because we have a spotlight that shines on it. I ended up using a lot of gold in our decor, so this banner was the perfect touch! You can see how I made this banner in my post here.

Here is a little closer view.

Remember my crepe paper wreath? It looks stunning on my little ledge. I just threw on a gold ribbon and suddenly it screams "Christmas!"

Now hopefully I can get my entire decor scheme finished, and I can show you all of it. Figuring out how to decorate a new home can take a little time! Maybe I'll have it figured out by Christmas!

Happy decorating!

Filed Under: Christmas

Book Advent: Day 7 {Hand & Footprint Reindeer}

December 8, 2010 10 Comments

My friends... time is flying by entirely TOO fast! I can't believe Christmas is just 2 1/2 weeks away. I always have great intentions of getting my shopping finished ahead of time, but it was simply not possible this year. I am starting to realize how much I have to do! But I love our book and activity advent because it helps me see the magic of Christmas through Little Man's eyes. It's a good reminder for me to stop and enjoy the season!

Today, we read a book that was new for me! Olive, the Other Reindeer is a silly story about a dog who thinks she is a reindeer. Little Man was laughing through the whole thing! We watched the classic cartoon about Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and Little Man loved it!! He kept saying, "Nose, nose" and pointing to all of our noses.

Here is our project of the day:

Can I just tell you how difficult it can be to get hand and foot prints from a toddler?! Luckily, Mr. Oopsey Daisy was here to help tonight, and Little Man thought it was fun when I painted his toes!

For this project:

* Paint both hands. Stamp at an angle (probably more than we did!) with thumbs pointed in.

* Paint one foot. Stamp with heel overlapping the handprints.

* Add eyes and a red nose.

I wanted to make this something that would last, so we created our little reindeer on a canvas. I want to hang this in Little Man's room every Christmas! It would be fun to do a print each year to see how he has grown.

Thanks for reading! You make my day!

Filed Under: book advent, kids

Book Advent: Day 6 {Candy Cane Mouse}

December 7, 2010 10 Comments

Hello, my Oopsey pals!!

I was a little behind today and didn't get today's book under the tree until this afternoon. Little Man woke up from his nap, ran over to the tree, picked up his book and said, "Book! Book!" He immediately ripped the paper off and wanted to read today's book! It melted my heart that he's already figured out this routine and loves it! I needed some of that affirmation. It makes all of the legwork 100% worth it!

Today we read The Mouse Before Christmas by Michael Garland. This book has stunning illustrations. It is the story of a mouse who wants to meet Santa and ends up joining him in his travels across the world. Very sweet.

For our project today, we made candy cane mice! We used to make these with my Mom as easy holiday favors. I took one apart to use as my pattern, and it was so simple to re-create!