Polar Express Movie Night

One of our favorite Christmas movies is The Polar Express.  (Who's isn't, right?)  It has a great story, and is a good movie for the whole family.  We all got in our jammies and "vegged out" while watching it.

 

One night dad was away, and I decided we would have a camp out in the living room.  I love doing small surprises like this, out of the norm.  I want the kids to think that I am a "fun mom" and I want them to remember times like these.  I pulled out my best glasses.  Yes, real glasses for this special night!  And I bought some expensive  sparkling white grape juice.  ;)  This was the kids first time drinking this kind.  It's my favorite!



Of course, they loved it!  The bottle was gone before the snacks were.  I know sparkling white grape juice doens't really "fit" with the movie, but I wanted to give them something special that they've never tried.  They have asked for it many times since, too.

I think it's important to show our kids that you can have fun at home.  You don't always need the best toys, or go to the theatre to watch a good movie and have fun.  Sometimes you can do it in the comfort of your home, and try new things!

What kind's of things do you do with your children "out of the norm"?  I need some more ideas!

Thanks so much for reading.

I like to party at these awesome places.

Our Christmas Tree!

So sorry I have been absent this week.  It isn't intentional, and I didn't plan on taking a week off.  Oops.  Sometimes life just happens, and before you know it, you haven't had time to be crafty or get anything else done besides what has to be done. 

 

One thing I have done, is get our tree up!  I love looking at trees, and thought you might as well.  So, here ya go!  Our tree is fake.  I've never, in my whole life, had a real tree.  I like the ease of having it here and ready with lights on it.  That's the lazy side of me, I suppose.  Ha. 

 

I love the way it looks this year.  The whole family agrees it's the best tree we've done yet.  We chose to go with bright colors, snowflakes, and LOTS of glitter!  You can't go wrong with glitter, right?

 

See that small ladder at the bottom?  Be looking for a tutorial on that soon.  It's a new addition to our Christmas decor this year, in honor of all little elf's everywhere! 

Have a great day, friends.  See you soon!

Tip-toe thru Tuesday {Link Party}

Hello lovelies!!  Welcome to tip-toe thru Tuesday co-hosted by myself, Andie from Crayon Freckles, and Kim from Tiaras and Bowties!

Thanks to everyone who linked up to last week's party!  Here are the toP 2 pOSts from last.  Don't forget to check out my faves, and  Andie's fave. If you're featured, grab a featured button!

 

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The Trappings of Waldorf from Happy Whimsical Hearts

 

Milk Art from Keeping My Toddler Entertained

 

PoST aNYtHiNG you've created (show me some etsy shops and giveaways!)

Feel free to share several posts

Link back to my page somewhere on your blog

Stay around and check out a few other links. wE aLL LovE fEEdBaCK!

Tip-toe thru Tuesday {Featuring you}

Happy Sunday, friends.  I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving with family and friends.  We sure did!  Here are some of the top posts that I loved from last weeks party. 

Owl Hoot Chocolate from Tales of a Trophy Wife.

 

Baby Leggings from Once upon a Sewing Machine.



X-Rays from Inspired Montessori and Arts at Bundee Montessori.

Kindle Case from Bacon flavoured Jam.

Felt Snowflake Pillow from Queen B Creative Me.

Printable Polar Express Pack from 3 Dinosaurs.

If you were featured, feel free to grab a button!

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Tip-toe thu Tuesday {Link Party}

 

Hello lovelies!!  Welcome to tip-toe thru tuesday co-hosted by myself, Andie from Crayon Freckles, Kim from Tiaras and Bowties! 

 
Keep on the lookout because the month of december will bring a brand new look to tip-toe thru tuesday!  exciting stuff!

 Kim's husband, Jim, is home from the hospital for now.  They are still working on raising money to help pay for Jim's medications until insurance kicks in.  You can help their family here and with your continued prayers.

Thanks to everyone who linked up to last week's party!  Here are the toP 2 pOSts from last week.  Don't forget to check out  Andie's Fave. If you're featured, grab a featured button!
 

<center> <a href="http://christyscuties.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/m617/yourfavoritelizard/Christys%20Cuties/ChristysCutiesFeaturedButton.jpg"/></a></center>

 



Winter Birds from Like Mama-Like Daughter

Potato Printing Christmas Cards from Making Boys Men

 

PoST aNYtHiNG you've created (show me some etsy shops and giveaways!)

Feel free to share several posts

Link back to my page somewhere on your blog

Stay around and check out a few other links. wE aLL LovE fEEdBaCK!

Wood Floor Photo Prop {Tutorial}

I am lucky to have two photographers in my family.  My mom and sister.  I'm lucky because I like to have pictures done regularly, and have you priced professional pictures lately?  OUCH!  They can be expensive.  With Christmas coming up, I figured I would make some things that they could use for pictures. 

 

My sister is needing some props for babies, and young children. So I started with her first.  And I made a wood floor photo prop.  I love babies setting/laying on wood floors in pictures.  Too bad I'm not having any more babies that should could photo using this.  ;)

 

The husband and I keep a bin of new, old, used, cut, scrap wood in the shop.  This particular wood I rescued from a friends burn pile last summer.  Why burn up good wood?  Of course, when I asked if I could have it they probably thought I was crazy!  But I didn't care.

 

I started by figuring out which pieces I wanted as my ends, and the length that I wanted.  I used the ones that have the curved edges in the above picture.  Next, I marked on wood pieces where I needed to make cuts.  I wanted the floor prop to look like a real hardwood floor.  So all of the pieces needed to be different sizes.

Then I just cut and laid it out, cut and laid it out. 

Once everything was cut, and in line, I flipped the boards over and added some support boards to the back of it.  It will be used as a back ground some I'm sure, but it will also be used on the floor. So I needed it to be sturdy enough for movement and for babies to set/lay on it.  In addition to the boards on the back, I also used wood glue, and nailed the boards together.

I love the way it looks.  I can't wait to see sweet pictures of babies on this.  The project was free, since I had everything on hand.  And only took a  few hours from start to finish.

Now I want to make one for myself, to use for pictures for the blog!  How fun would that be?  Oh, and no worries.  My mom and sister have both been instructed that from this point on, they are no longer allowed to follow along with the blog.  I can't have them ruining their Christmas present surprises now can I?  HA!

Thanks so much for reading.  Have a great day!

I like to party at these awesome places.

Tip-toe features {Featuring you}

There were some great things linked up to last weeks tip-toe thru Tuesday party.  Since this week is Thanksgiving, let's start with a few Thanksgiving posts shall we?

Free Thanksgiving word search from Creative Family Fun

Pop up Turkey from Crafty Journal

 

Inspiration board from Thrifty and Fabulous

 

This is a great post about ways to teach children to express gratitude.  You all know this is close to my heart, since my husband is active duty.  I love it, and you can read more about it at Kindergarten and preschool for parents and teachers.



Lastly, Heavenly Handmade shared her cute earrings

Thanks so much to everyone who links up every week.  I love looking through your work, and you all do a great job!

Tip-toe thru Tuesday {Link Party}

hello lovelies!!  Welcome to tip-toe thru Tuesday co-hosted by myself, Andie from Crayon Freckles, and Kim from Tiaras and Bowties! 

 
Keep on the lookout because the month of December will bring a brand new look to tip-toe thru Tuesday!  Exciting stuff!

 An update on Jim, Kim's husband... the tumor has been removed from his brain.  it is stage 4 cancer.  He is home from the hospital for now.  They are still working on raising money to help pay for Jim's medications until insurance kicks in.  You can help their family here and with your continued prayers.

Thanks to everyone who linked up to last week's party!  Here are the toP 2 pOSts from last week.  If you're featured, grab a featured button!
 

<center> <a href="http://christyscuties.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/m617/yourfavoritelizard/Christys%20Cuties/ChristysCutiesFeaturedButton.jpg"/></a></center>

 



Aqua, Lavender, & Eggplant Butterfly Headband from Littlest Lulu

Gratitude Tree: Countdown to Thanksgiving from Gingerly Made

 

PoST aNYtHiNG you've created (show me some etsy shops and giveaways!)

Feel free to share several posts

Link back to my page somewhere on your blog

Stay around and check out a few other links. wE aLL LovE fEEdBaCK!

Keep in touch with Crayon Freckles on Facebook to get daily post previews and hear about other great activities! You can also follow Crayon Freckles on Pinterest and Twitter.

DIY Chevron Frame

I have a really simple craft for you today.  I haven't jumped on the chevron bandwagon, until now.  I like it, but just haven't wanted a wall or clothing of it.  I decided to start small and do a picture frame first. 

In one of my goodwill trips I found a frame, and I knew I could make it better.  This is what it looked like.

I loved the raised part in the middle.

I used plaid paint for all of it.  The silver is metallic.  I think it looks great with the pink.  A simple change.  But it's great for my introduction into chevron.



Have you jumped on the chevron bandwagon?

I like to party here.

Tip-Toe Features {Featuring You}

Thanks so much to everyone for linking up to Tip-toe thru Tuesday last week.  Here are a few things that caught my eye!

 

Mama Pap Bubba shared her Mango Coconut Chia Breakfast Pudding. We love mango, so were going to give this a try.

 

Queen B and Me made a beautiful Patchwork Quilt.  

 

Aqua Seventy6 showed us these cute Mini Coin Purses from her shop.  I love her items.

Gingerly Made shared this gratitude tree.  I love this.  So many people skip giving thanks for what they have and go straight to Christmas.  This is a great idea to teach thankfulness.

Buggy and Buddy made some felt letters!  So cute.

This scrabble fame is so cool!  It was linked up from an etsy shop. Go check it out! It would make a great present.