Crafty Christmas Wrap-up Part 2

As the sun set on the first day of Crafty Christmas, the kids were bright-eyed and bushy tailed for the next morning.  They were eager to get started, but I had to remind them that we have to eat breakfast.  I made some homemade cinnamon-sugar doughnuts and bacon to fill their stomachs in preparation for the crafting ahead.  And they ate all 30 of those doughnuts...I think I had one.  Oh well...on with the crafting.

We began with the traditional decorating of the Gingerbread man cookies.  These are the crafts that really bring out the real artistic side of everyone.  What was funny is that as we were making them, the kids realized how good the icing was,,,and they started to eat it.  then, before I could get a picture of their finished products...they were already eating them.  Most of them ate the legs first...I like to eat the head first...either way, they tasted so good with the icing.  I did manage to take a picture of the ones I created.  I also flipped the gingerbread cookie upside down to decorate it like a reindeer.  How cute is that!  I always think outside the box when crafting.

They ate them before i could take a picture!

Eating the icing

We did make peppermint bark using melted chocolate and peppermint white chocolate.  We took Snowflake cookie cutters and used them as molds.  We started with the chocolate, then layered the peppermint white chocolate on top.  After being in the freezer, we put them in a gift bag to give away.  Nice part about this craft is you give the cookie cutter with the candy.  Two gifts in one!  You know...I didn't get a picture of this craft.

Last but not least....we settled down to a quiet craft of making a Christmas card.  It included a foam reindeer to assemble and add your own greeting/decorations.  I observed how the theme for the day was making crafts for Daddy...which I think is so cute since I was a Daddy's girl.  Girls love their daddy!

           

    

Terri painted her card

When Crafty Christmas came to an end, we were left with an abundance of Holiday ornaments and keepsakes.  In doing Crafty Christmas, I hope to instill a sense of togetherness and family time into my children as well as others around us.  I also hope to release that inner artist that lives inside of all of us.  

Moral:  Holiday time is about family and making memories that will lasts.  I think I accomplished that this year!

See you next year for another Crafty Christmas...

Good times...Great memories...priceless!

Santa's Hat

I was heading out to the store one day last week not wanting to fix my hair up all perfect and remembered what my mother would do in this situation.  This is the season where you can throw on a Santa hat and it's okay.  And that is what I did.  Amazing how this hat can brighten any one's day.  This hat alone received cheerful and welcoming smiles from all I encountered.  Friendly conversations with strangers were made while perusing the aisles at Target.  All it took was a red and white hat atop my head to get those responses.  Even driving to the store I felt like a celebrity at a red light with little kids in adjacent cars waving at me.  I would look to my right and see the driver of the car peering over at me and receive a smile.  Wow!  All this feel-good gestures from wearing Santa's hat.  This hat alone creates a merry moment, a festive feeling and a seasonal sensation in everyone.  It brightens up any occasion and definitely a long line at the store! 
   

     Santa's hat has a special place in my family.  We all put them on to decorate the Christmas tree and the house for the holidays.  We replace our chef hat in the kitchen for our bright red and white Santa hat to bake our sweet treats.  It is a symbol of the holiday and of the season that is Christmas.  My favorite memory of Santa's hat comes by way of my daughter Tyra.  I believe she may have been 4 years old and Christmas always made her excited.  We would tell her how on Christmas Eve, her father and I would wait up patiently for Santa to arrive.  When he did, we would help him with all the presents and write everyone names on each gift for him.  She believed us and would hurry upstairs with her younger sister, Selena to go to bed.  So, my husband and I would wait for them to fall asleep and put all the presents under the tree.  Of course, we would do it with our Santa hats atop our heads.  This particular Christmas Eve, I left my hat next to the fireplace.  The next morning, Tyra woke us up with an abundance of excitement.  "Santa left his head, Santa left his hat, Santa left his hat!" is all she keep yelling.  Then I realized that in her hand she was holding my Santa hat.  She was convinced that Santa left his hat in our house.  She felt like the luckiest little girl in the world.  Every year there after, when we would take out our decorations as well as the Santa hats and Tyra would point to one particular hat and say "That's Santa's hat!". 

Moral:  There is magic and memories in Santa's hat...just put in on your head!

Crafty Christmas Ideas



I have been thinking about what I will do for this year's Crafty Christmas at the Powell House.  I have seen some really fun crafts in my holiday crafts research.  I thought I would help you this year if you are planning to make your Christmas time crafty.  Crafts don't have to be time consuming or even need too many supplies.  Some of the ideas utilize stuff you have either in your pantry, your office or your kitchen.  I hope you find a craft to do and make it a tradition in your house. 

DIY Sweater Wreath:
I saw this idea on The Today Show and thought this was a really good idea especially if you have any old sweaters in your closet.  You can also go to Goodwill and try to find wool sweaters to use for this project.  You can also cut the sweater in long strips and tie it around a small foam wreath. 



Button Wreath Ornament:  This ornament is compliments of Martha Stewart.  You can buy a bunch of buttons and the color schemes are endless.  This is a great craft for young kids with some assistance.  I definitely think this one is on my Craft list.



Now for the Crafts that come from your kitchen...

Cookie Puzzle:  Many of us will make cookies this Christmas.  So what better to do with the cookies than to make a cookie puzzle!  This creative idea is a great gift for that puzzle lover in your life.  This craft can also double as a game and a snack!

Gingerbread Reindeer Cookies:  Now this cookie is great for using that gingerbread cookie cutter!  I absolutely like this idea.  Each person can get 2 cookies and enjoy decorating them two different ways.  Genius! 

Another craft goes on the list for me!



And for Peppermint Lovers everywhere...

Peppermint Ornament:

I don't know about peppermints in your house, but they don't last at all in my house.  But, this craft idea gives you something to do with those round peppermint candies.  The ideas are never end with this craft, so go crazy with the decorations!

I love all these ideas!  I may need 2 days of Crafty Christmas this year!

More great ideas to come, so look for Crafty Christmas Ideas Part 2!

Crafty Christmas

I always have Crafty Christmas for my children.  It is a day we set aside and do crafts the entire day.  And I do mean the entire day.  We usually do 3-5 crafts depending on the difficulty of the craft and end with the traditional gingerbread house.  Of course in between we enjoy snacks and festive drinks like hot chocolate with marshmallows as well as some lunch.  I have found that my kids are pretty crafty.  You will be surprised that one child will shine in one craft and struggle on the next...discovering what they do best is what they learn.  Some are better at fine details as others are good at color schemes and then you have one child who just makes a mess!  Crafty Christmas is a time for family, fun, and festive memories.  Isn't that what the holiday is all about?
   
I wanted to take this time to share past Crafty Christmas projects my kids and I have done.  I was looking at the ornaments on the tree as I took pictures for my blog and began to reminisce about our Crafty Christmas days.  The ornaments speak for themselves as some are dated back to 2003.  I always have my children write their names and the year on the ornament so we can remember how old they were when they made it.  It is really cute to see their how they write their names especially when they are 5 and 6 years old.  I even make the ornaments and do the crafts to help release that Crafty Queen inside of me. 

So, now for the past creations from the Powell's Crafty Christmas Days:

This ornament was made from a clothespin, festive pipe straws, and YES!...Cupcake liners!!!  

These two yarn ornaments are from when I was knitting/crocheting and had tons of yarn left over and needed something to do with it.  So, we made angels and snowmen ornaments.  The angel is my favorite. 


And then you have all the painted ornaments that you can get in kits at Michaels Craft Store.  Lots of fun to sit and paint like an real artist!

 Remember to have them put their names on the back and the year!

How cute is it when you see their name and year on the ornament.  These ornaments are 5 and 8 years old!  WOW!

And you have to love the ornaments made from ingredients in your kitchen that to this day after 8 years, still smell like cinnamon!

Still smells like cinnamon!

 I enjoy spending this time with my kids making these crafts/ornaments that one day I hope they may do with their children.  I have great crafts for this year.  Now that they are older, we can really get Crafty!!!

Moral:  Make Memories for the Holidays that will last a Lifetime!

Happy Crafting!

Santa Wants Cupcakes!

I love the tradition of making cookies for Santa.  We bake chocolate chip cookies or gingerbread men or woman (or boys/girls) to decorate, or even those reliable sugar cookies to frost and create masterpieces for Santa to eat.  My advise to all, make cookies that you will eat so when the kids go to bed and your up half the night wrapping presents or putting them under the tree, you'll have something to snack on.  Smart move, huh?  I think this year in my house the tradition is going to change. 

I think instead of cookies, we will leave cupcakes for Santa.  We will bake mini cupcakes which will help Santa with his weight issue.  This is a perfect portion and easy to grab, pop in his mouth, and Go!  I also think these cupcakes will be a good foundation to our traditional Crafty Christmas. Red Velvet cupcakes are very popular at Christmas.  The bright red color represents the color we most associate with the holidays.  The hint of chocolate you get with the smooth tangy cream cheese frosting is just divine.  I officially think this is my new favorite cupcake flavor.  And I think Santa will love the Red and White themed cupcakes, instead of those cold, hard, ugly cookies that he tends to leave behind anyway, right?

                                                      

Moral:  Make Cupcakes for Santa, not Cookies!