popsicle stick trees

I must confess my love affair with Pinterest. There are so many amazing crafts and ideas and stuff to look at. I will admit that sometimes I may not get to all my crafting because I am busy pinning things to work on later. Sad but true.

Anywho... I found these popsicle stick trees on Pinterest and knew I had to make them for the PTA Turn Off TV Week raffle baskets. I am working on creating a basket of handmade Christmas goodies to be raffled off in March. Yes, I am a little bit ahead of myself, but I want this done so I can create a few more baskets of goodies for the school. We'll see!!

After checking the link on Pinterest and not finding any directions (bummer) I did find some directions here at You Can Do It! I guess the original post that should have had directions was actually for a contest and the contest is done so all entries were erased. Thankfully Rebecca had gotten the instructions and then posted them on her blog. whew!!

I had to improvise and figure out sizes of branches and such, but I am totally happy with how these came out. Take a peek....

I got the larger popsicle sticks, a bag of wooden stars (1 1/2 inch size) and a bag of wooden blocks (one inch size) from Michaels. They do have the pre-painted and decorated stars, but for about the same amount of money, I could make my own and have extras in case I want to do this project again!! The wire on the two small trees, I had in my stash as all the paints were there too!

I have been painting sticks for days and I never thought I would finish. I was so happy yesterday when I started dotting the branches (end of my paint brush and I also used a dry embossing tool to do the small dots) and could see the end coming to this project! The larger trees are made with two popsicle sticks that have been trimmed and one of the branches holds both sections together. I used craft glue on the dotted branches and used hot glue for the wire branches and to attach the trees to the bases. It seemed to hold better and quicker than the craft glue and think I would use that if I did it again.

Sizes and quantities used....
SMALL TREES- trunk 1 stick, branch sizes- 2",2 1/4", 2 3/4", 3 1/4", 3 3/4"
LARGE TREES- trunk 2 sticks one cut off 1 1/2" and the second cut off 1", branch sizes- 1 1/4", 1 1/2", 1 3/4", 2", 2 1/4", 2 1/2", 2 3/4"

To give the trees support, I glued three sticks together lengthwise (and painted them) which is attached to the back of the tree (once the branches are attached). I used one more single stick to attach the whole tree to the base. I put this stick about halfway down on the back of the base to give support once everything was attached. Hope that makes sense.

And the sizes of the branches are totally what I came up with. Maybe you want thinner or fatter trees... I wanted to give some sizes for you to start with. Have fun with this. I know I did.

goodbye and more adventures

We had to say goodbye to Nana and Papa today... until Christmas. The kids were not happy about it one bit. Alex would not look at me this morning at drop off for the picture. I think he saw someone he knows in the parking lot. And yes it is warm enough here for light jackets. Shhh... don't tell Mother Nature. We are enjoying the warm temps.

More fun with Scout. On this day he took a bunch of Kira's Pokemon cards and laid them out along with a couple of her reference books and some of Alex's Pokemon toys and some of Kira's Pokemon toys to stage this fun scene. Alex did not find it funny in the least bit. He was thinking he couldn't play with his toys because Scout took them. As soon as I explained that he could play with his toys, that the only thing we couldn't touch was the card Scout was holding, he seemed to be better with things. whew...

He spent the next day hanging on this picture which is at the top of our stairs. He could see what everyone was doing and where they were going. It was a good spot for him.

Last night, he was watching over Nana and Papa (who were camped out in Kira's room) The kids found him after a bit hanging from these butterflies. Looks like he could have a fun day with his new friends!!

I am loving having him around the house and I know the kids are too. Looking forward to seeing what other adventures he will have until Christmas.

the fun continues!!

Our little buddy Scout seems to be making himself right back to home this season. The kids did a scavenger hunt for him using four mini Hershey chocolate bars and some M&M's. He had to find all the chocolates and let them know which was his favorite. He decided all of them were pretty darn good. Then he found himself a nice comfy spot to relax his tummy from his chocolate fest.

Close up of his face with the evidence of a great night of chocolate!! The kids LOVED it!

Kira suggested to him during the day yesterday that he needed a bath to get rid of the chocolate. So this is where he ended up this morning!! Up by the light hanging on the baby powder. Along with a dry towel (gold color) and the wash cloth on the bottom shelf. He also left them a note thanking them for the bath on the small mirror. He also moved the bath soap to the sink for his bath. I'm glad he is cleaned up, but does he have to make such a mess??

 This is my project at the moment. I am painting a boatload of popsicle sticks for this project. Hoping I can wrap it up next week. We'll have to see. It depends on how much time I will get for painting. And if I can get my white paint to play nice. It is a bit thick. I added some water earlier so hoping it will work better after I finish posting this.

I will say I have my Christmas music playing. Love this station. They run Christmas music online all the time. Off to do some painting.

scout is in the house

The kids have been wondering when our Elf on the Shelf would be returning to our house to pull all those fun pranks on us as well as deliver messages from the kids to Santa himself on a nightly basis. Well it happened last night. He arrived and left a small message on our kitchen blackboard.

Alex found the message and then ran to get daddy to read it to him. He is getting along well with his reading skills... as long as I don't ask him to read. If I ask, he says he doesn't know the words. Stinker.

Anywho... this was his message....

 He also rearranged Alex's chore magnets into two smiles on the fridge to start the holiday fun.

Then the fun was to find WHERE in the house Scout was hiding. The kids did pretty good and found him in the family room hanging out with the speakers on top of the entertainment center. He is currently watching over everyone who is hanging out in the room. 

Happy the little guy is back. We'll see if he can help with the sibling fighting we seem to be in the midst of on a daily (hourly) basis.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

adorable!

Part of our fun visit to the Burlington Mall in Massachusetts included a stop at the Build a Bear Workshop for their Happy Feet Two event. Here are my kiddos with the new star of the movie, Erik!

He was so adorable. In between hanging with the kids in line, he would do a little boogie or two. So sweet.

That's all I wanted to share. Too much to do today and tomorrow when all I really want to do is crawl into bed. Hoping this passes soon. I hate being so sleepy all the time.

tis the season

Today we went to the Burlington Mall in Massachusetts to see their Santa. Personally, I think they are the BEST in the area and well worth the forty- five minute drive to get there. The best part today was there was NO LINE to see the jolly elf. Usually we have to wait for at least a half hour to see him, but today we walked right up and had a great time.

Here is photographic proof of the fun the kids had with Santa.

After they were having a celebration for Santa in center court where the kids could write letters to Santa, color in puzzles, do other crafts, make reindeer food and frost a cookie. Oh the fun we had!

Did some window shopping. Stopped in Build a Bear Workshop for a potty break and for daddy to check on the store. Hit a great sale at Bath and Body. Then went to lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. Lunch was great. Kids ate well and the rainstorm was faboo as always.

After we went back to Build a Bear Workshop to see Erik the penguin from the the Happy Feet Two movie. He was so stinking cute!! Need to get those pictures off the camera to post.

Anywho... it was a great day full of fun and smiles. I will ignore those moments of low blood sugar for both kids and remember the happy times. Works for me!

christmas gifts

I have mentioned this amazing idea I found at Scrapbook.com from a very creative scrapper 3peaspress. Loved it so much, I decided everyone should have these this year. So please act surprised when you open them. LOL 

I have already made the kids teachers theirs, now to work on everyone else I want to give them to. I am also making up a set of six to donate to our Turn Off TV Week basket raffle. Along with some other goodies ;)

Anywho... I think these six are going to my friends or they will be part of that basket. Still not sure yet. Have a few more to make up. And I need to get some more silver letter stickers. Michaels did not have these ones when I went last week and I was not happy with the selection at Joanns. I just want some silver letter stickers. You would think that would be easy... but NOOOO! So impossible. But I shall overcome.

Glass ornament balls, ribbons, silver letter stickers and blings all from Michaels. The paper pack... I cannot remember where I got it from. It would either be Michaels or Joanns. It is Cloud 9 Design Seasonal Paper stack.

These ones are for Kira's friends. I used the DCWV glitter stack for the rolling of the papers. Didn't need as much paper for these as the paper is heavier and doesn't roll as tight. But I still like the looks of them. I thought the girls can put them in their rooms after Christmas if they were fun and bright colors. 


Ribbon was at Michaels. Three colors on one spool and 50% off. I was a very happy lady.

Close ups of the front two. The front left is Michaela... a very long name for an ornament. I was going to do initials with paint/ ink. But I could not get the hang of it so that it didn't slip or smudge or look like poo-poo. I like the look of the names.


Feathers from Michaels. They were EVERYWHERE today in my scrapping room. I attached them with hot glue and managed to not burn my fingers too badly. Miracles do happen!!

These are the back four. I think Kira will love them. And she will be surprised they are done. 


I am going to make her decorate brown lunch bags for us to give them to the girls in. Figure I can take some scrap Christmas wrapping paper and run it through the shredder to keep them safe for travel. We'll also add some more of this great ribbon to keep it closed.

I am so happy to have these twelve ornaments done. Need to do a few more sets. Guess I should get trimming and rolling. Again... act surprised when you get these!! ;)

halloween garland- FINALLY

Hey look at this mom... my machine DOES sew fabric! Who knew??  :)

This is the base for the Halloween flower garland. I like it.

Here is the completed garland hanging up on my mantel. I still have left over flowers that I didn't need. I guess I got on a creating frenzy with them. They are so much fun though.

Continuing down the mantel.

Still going...

Getting to the end...

At the end...

I know... a little late but at least it was still in the same year that I posted the pictures!! LOL Thanks for looking. I think this is my last post for today. I've left you plenty to enjoy.

project life weeks 38-43

Here is the last batch of my pages. I know... we don't have that exciting of a life but it's ours. There are many things in this scrapbook that I don't think I would have ever scrapped traditionally but since I only need one quick picture and some journaling... all is preserved for the future.

The best part of Project Life?? You can do it however YOU want to. Love the flexibility of the products. Especially the new ones coming out now and in the future. You do not need to do a picture a day. You can do a layout for a month... or two. Or even a vacation album. Or maybe a few vacations in an album. With the different plastics available, you can set your album up however you choose. There are even these amazing Big Envelope Pages available. Talk about great for souvenirs and other goodies all scrappers collect. 

Sorry for the hard sell on Project Life... but I think it is an amazing way to capture life and all that entails. Enough from me... enjoy the pages.  :) 

project life weeks 31-37

Here are the next group of weeks completed. I am very excited to have this years album done and start working on next years. I am thinking I shall be using the Cobalt kit. Then again, the Clementine kit is very pretty. 

In case you haven't looked before, this year may be the year that you might want to peek. Instead of having to purchase the entire kit (binder, core kit, plastics, dividers, extra papers) for one price, you now have the option of buying just what you want/ need/ can afford. Love this!! Click here to look at prices and options.

The plastics for this coming year are amazing!! I have ordered them and received them. I ordered some for my 2012 Project Life book as well as enough for two school years books. That is when Becky gets them out (hoping for early spring of 2012) It's a start on my journey to organize all that paperwork the kids generate from learning at school.

Anywho... here are a few more weeks of 2011....

project life weeks 25, 26 & 28

I had to print out one picture from each of the following three weeks to finish them up. Finally got around to doing that. Had a bit of help with a great deal from Snapfish... 300 prints for $3. Of course they get you with the shipping fees but it was still a good deal for me to catch up.

I am totally loving doing Project Life this year. When I did it in 2009, I got very far behind both in doing the journaling cards and printing pictures that I was discouraged. This year I am making an effort to keep up with things and it seems to be working well. I have gotten all the pictures printed and journaling done through October 31st. Pretty amazing!!


Gonna post some more weeks to share.

fun in the sun

Yesterday was such a lovely day, a group of us moms decided to take the kiddos to a local park for a picnic and some fun in the sun before the rain and snow begin their falling. We had a good group of kids. My friend Nicole snapped the following two pictures of the kiddos and they are wonderful! So perfect for my Project Life picture. Aren't they just the cutest kids??

We got there around 11:30am and didn't leave until a bit after 2pm! Alex almost fell asleep on the way home but managed to keep going until 8pm. The only reason he was up that late was I had a PTA meeting and daddy had to work late. He didn't make it much past his head hitting the pillow.


Today I get to go hang with the kindergarten kids. Love my Wednesdays (and any other day the teacher asks me to come in) So much fun hanging with the little ones.


Nope... still haven't gotten the Halloween garland pictures off my camera. Hoping to do that later today when I have a minute to myself. Cross your fingers!!

halloween 2011

Here are a few pictures from the towns Halloween Haunt that was last weekend before the snow hit us. It was SO COLD!! We were lucky the kids costumes both had gloves but we couldn't layer too much under their costumes as they were just the right size. After we did the parade, daddy went and got the kids their coats to keep them warm.

Sonic the Hedgehog and Pikachu before the parade down Main Street. They even closed Main Street down so everyone could walk right in the street. Love my small town.

Here's my kiddos walking down the road. We dyed a pair of daddy's socks and added some shelf gripper stuff to the bottoms and then slipped Kira's shoes inside of them so she would have yellow feet for her costume. Worked out okay, she scuffed her feet a bit so there was a small hole on one foot.

The backs of their costumes. The kid in the red hat would not leave Kira and Alex alone! He kept talking about video games and characters and such. I finally had to tell him we were doing stuff as a family and he should find his. He is in practically EVERY picture of the parade!! At one point he said he would let Alex wear his Super Mario hat if Alex would let him wear his Sonic hat. I had to tell him no.

I did finally take pictures of my garland but haven't removed them from my camera yet. I promise they will be posted soon. Today I spent the day uploading pictures to be printed, copying my pictures onto CD's and deleting them off the computer. I hadn't done it since April! It needed to be done badly. Now I won't lose things if the computer crashes. 


Of course that means I am beat beyond belief and need to get off the computer for a bit. Catch you all on the flip side.

scrapping goodies giveaway!!

Okay... it's not me personally giving stuff away (not that I couldn't unload a few million items from my house) but this is from the Dear Lizzy blog. Let me tell you, if you are not following her blog (and why are you not following her?) then you should! She is an amazing woman, wife and mother. She oozes inspiration with every post. And don't get me started on her better half Collin- he is always good for some laughs (follow him on Facebook, you won't be sorry)


Anywho... to get my name entered into the latest amazing giveaway on Liz's blog, I had to link and post on my blog so here I am posting the link for all of you to get in on this too!! Trust me, you will want your name added.


Thanks for playing along with me. Promise the next post will have something scrappy related. Still need to post my Halloween garland.