Moments: Dealing with Doughnuts

This is going to look like a Christmas post.

That's because it was supposed to be posted at Christmastime.  

Still, it's a moment that made me smile, so bring on the Christmas-ness.

Sparkles, our Elf on the Shelf, brought us pumpkin Krispie Kremes for breakfast.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....

Yummy.

The girls were pretty thrilled.  They don't get doughnuts very often.

L, in fact, is still figuring out how to say it.

Me: Say "doughnut."

L: Pancake

Me: Doughnut

L: Pancake

Me: Dough...never mind.

L: Pancake!

Someday she'll get it.

She might also figure out that this may not be the best way to eat a doughnut.

Then again, maybe it is.

Shaffer Sisters Guest Post

Hi friends!

I'm so excited today to be guest posting with the Shaffer Sisters.  These girls are amazing.  

Seriously.

I hope you'll come see me and stick around and get to know them as well.

Snowflake Glitter Art, My Turn

So...

I was really excited about the snowflake art my girls did.  It was fun.  I mean, who doesn't like to play with glitter, right?

I decided to make my own.

This time, I found the masking tape.  It worked waaaaaaaaay better.

First I drew the shape of the snowflake on the canvas.

Don't do that.  It's too hard to cover up and really not necessary.  The shape is pretty basic.

Then I picked out and mixed the color I wanted...

(while playing a little footsie with the Mister...)

And painted over the entire canvas, taped snowflake and all.  Then I waited.

A long time.

Well, it wasn't so bad.  I just went to bed.

The next day, I peeled off the tape. 

ooooo-oooooo!

  (See those stupid pencil marks....they don't come off.  Bad idea.)

I decided to try and cover up the pencil with white paint. Don't do this either.  It's unnecessary.

Especially if you are like me and have an ongoing war with straight lines.

Or if you do this.

Interesting thought:  I was told once that there is a tribe in some far away place that will intentionally add flaws to the crafts they create.  The idea is that only the gods can do perfect and they don't want to offend the gods by creating something perfect, so they purposefully add an imperfection.  

So, there you go...that's my imperfection.

 Now it gets fun.

Ok, it was already fun.  Not it gets more fun.

I got some Mod Podge.  I got some super fine glitter.  We had a party. 

Looking back, I kind of wish I had maybe added even more glitter and maybe even experimented with a little paint.  I'm not sure how that would have worked out, though.)

It took some time, but I globbed that happy mixture on top of the snowflake. 

 I laid it on thick.

And I giggled with glee as I watched it dry.

It is so sparkly!

Then I let it dry and... 

TaDa!!!!!!!!

I have to say, I like it...but I'm not really in love with it.  If I did it again, I wouldn't make the background color so dark and I would try to find a way to make it look more glittery.

But still... 

It's pretty.

And I got to play with glitter.

Everything is better with glitter.

And chocolate.

Moments: Playtime Envy

 I'm not sure what they were playing.

It involved a large floor pillow, a bean bag, and a lot of laughter.

It is hard sometimes to be small.

He wants to play with them, but he can't figure out how to get in there.  

So, he watches and he laughs and he loves his sisters.

Snowflake Art Unpinned: The Kids' Version

I found this idea here at Ten kids and a Dog. Head on over there for her tutorial and stay awhile at her cute blog.  It's got some great ideas!

We love to paint here in this house.  This is basically a tape resist on canvas.  

I couldn't find my masking tape, so I used some clear tape that I found floating around.  I don't know what it is designed for, but tape is tape, right?  

We'll see...

So, I got some cheap little canvasses.  I have a ton of them, because I love them.  You never know when the mood to paint something will strike. 

I taped off the shape of some snowflakes.

Can you see it?  Instead of one big one, I gave the girls a bunch of little ones.

Then I told them to paint away.

And they did!

L didn't want me to take pictures of hers, but she got a really nice blend of yellow and white (she chose the colors...yeah, it was basically just light yellow).

O chose blue and red.

It took her a while to understand that we were going to be taking the tape off.  She initially just painted where the tape was and I had to explain a few times that she needed to paint the whole thing because the tape we were putting on the tape was going to be taken off.  She got it in the end, though.

After our paint had dried overnight, we took the tape off.

Then we decided to add glitter.

Everything is better with glitter.

And chocolate.

Anyway...

I gave them a little plastic cup filled with Elmer's glue and they each got their own bowl of glitter.  They were instructed to paint the glue on the snowflakes and then sprinkle the glitter over the glue.

O was very careful about the whole process.

She sprinkled the glitter very carefully and very precisely...but she still managed to get it over the entire painting.  I'm not sure if she did that on purpose or not.

L, on the other hand, was not so dainty.  She globbed the glue on and then dropped the glitter on top in fistfuls.  And look how seriously she took her work.

Here is O's finished project.  

(L didn't want me to take a picture of hers, but it was lovely too, trust me.)

I like it.  I think it turned out very pretty.

Oh, and fair warning...glitter is messy.

Have a vacuum standing by.

-Sarah

A wreath for January

Hi.  This is going to be a short and quick post.

I wanted to let you know I'm still here.  I've been reading a lot, because it is winter and cold and snowy and that always puts me in the mood to cuddle up with a good book.

I have to be quick because all three of my kids are asleep!  I have to take advantage of that: read some, sleep some, craft some...enjoy the silence.

I love wreaths.  I don't know if I've ever told you that, but I do.

I like to make them.  They are so simple and yet so pretty and so versatile! 

I'm trying to make one a month this year.  It's not going to happen, but I'm going to give it a good try.

So, now that January is over, here is the wreath that has been hanging on my door this month.

I used light blue and white yarn together and wrapped around a foam pipe cover.  (For a great little tutorial on how to get that pipe cover to make a nice smooth circle, head over to Gail Made.)

I added some beads that I had leftover from a project I don't even remember.  I thought they were pretty and kind of look like little ice crystals.  They are strung in the middle using fishing line.

Here it is against my bright yellow wall so you can see the beads better.

I'm working on February's today!  Oh boy!