I don't know about you but Hubby and I love wine and we drink it frequently. I have saved all of my corks, thinking one day I will make something out of them. I have an entire large box full and have yet to do anything with them until now!I saw this super cute cork reindeer on Pinterest and thought this was perfect for my girls to make and a perfect use of some of my corks!The original post does not have any directions so I had to guess a bit. We also didn't have the same things on hand so we improvised... We quickly discovered that regular glue just won't work so we used our hot glue gun which worked much better!Two and a half corks, some pipe cleaners, "google eyes" as my girls call them, and a pink jewel (because we didn't have red) and we've got a cork reindeer!Ours vs theirs..what do you think?P.S. The original post has some other super cute things to make for Christmas out of corks so I highly suggest you check it out! … [Read more...]
Minty Chocolate Love
One of my favorite "seasonal" beverages is a Ho Ho Mocha. Kind of a silly name but a fabulous drink for the chilly air! This beverage contains two of my favorite flavors: mint and chocolate. I have finished decorating for Christmas (yup...I'm that person) and I was thinking up some new ways to enjoy the tastes of the season.What you will need:mini candy caneswax paperdark chocolate chips (you can use milk or white too)festive sprinklesLay out your unwrapped candy canes on the wax paper in a heart shape, making sure to leave space between each heart.Melt your chocolate chips in a microwave safe container in 30 second intervals...stir between each 30 seconds. Pour the melted chocolate into a plastic bag and snip off a TINY piece of the corner to allow the chocolate to be squeezed through (like a piping bag).Fill each heart with chocolate and add sprinkles. Let the candy hearts set (this should take about an hour) without being disturbed until the chocolate hardens again.Remove from the … [Read more...]
The Spirit of Giving With Your Kids
The holiday season is a great opportunity to spend time together as a family and create teachable moments of giving. There are so many opportunities to give back, especially during the holidays. Below are just some ideas on how to start a holiday giving tradition in your family.You can begin by thinking about the interests of your family and research ways to give to related organizations. There are organizations related to literacy, animals, homelessness and so much more. You may want to reference my recent post on finding a legitimate charity to support. You could also ask older kids to research their own organizations and present them to the family for a vote.Here are a few specific suggestions for giving during the holidays:· Frequently local social service agencies offer an opportunity to adopt a family or a child during the holidays. · Donate toys your kids no longer use to Second Chance Toysor a local organization serving children.· Donate gently … [Read more...]
Advent Calendar Making
I remember when I was a kid that I had an awesome felt Advent Calendar to use every year during the month of December. My grandma made it for her kids when they were young and it was passed down to me. Sadly, I have no idea where the calendar ended up (I sure wish I knew). I was thinking to myself that it would be fun to have one for my kids to use every year....and maybe pass it down to their kids. So I got to work!I Google-searched 24 images of items I wanted for the calendar and printed them out on paper, then cut them out and used them as templates for the ornaments.I made 2-3 ornaments each week during the summer and really tried to add as much detail as possible to the ornaments to make them extra special. I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out. What do you think???I made a stocking for each one of the kidsSanta, Christmas bag, Cardinal (for my grandma), Candy CaneChristmas Tree, Hot Cocoa, Gift, BellGingerbread Man, Ice Skate, Baby Jesus, HollyPoinsettia, Snowflake, Light, … [Read more...]
Reese’s Stuffed Crescent Rolls
If you've been reading our blog for a while, you know that we love to stuff things into crescent rolls and we love to do things with left over Halloween candy. Today's Pinned it, Did it! post combines both of those things!My girls and I couldn't wait to make these as soon as I told them about the pin I saw. We LOVE Reece's Peanut Butter Cups and these are so easy to make!You'll need:4 Reece's Peanut Butter Cups1 can of crescent rolls (8 rolls)That's it!You'll start by unrolling the crescent roll doughs and laying them on your baking sheet. Next, cut each Reece's in half. Place one half on the fat end of each roll.Roll up each crescent around the halved Reece's making sure to tuck the sides so the chocolate doesn't melt out as it bakes.Bake according to the crescent roll package.Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving. (I could not find my powdered sugar so it's not included in our final photo).The original website says they are best served warm but I didn't mind them after … [Read more...]
Bloggy Bootcamp Chicago Recap
As Lindsi said on Friday, I was away this past weekend for a blogging conference--Bloggy Bootcamp Chicago to be exact. What is Bloggy Bootcamp? It is a one day blog and social media conference put on by The SITS Girls and hosted in 4 major cities around the U.S each year. This year they added a 5th stop in Chicago for their first ever 2 day Brand Edition. The Chicago Brand Edition was focused on the business of blogging. Around 150 women gathered together to learn how to be better bloggers, to network, to learn how to enhance their social media presence, and the biggest reason, to learn how to work with companies and brands to earn more income from blogging. I can not begin to tell you how much I learned from Bloggy Bootcamp Chicago! I have 20 pages of notes and too many photos of slides to count! I'm still wrapping my head around all the stuff I want to do for our blog now! My trip, however, started with a little fun. The conference did not start until 2:00 on Friday but it … [Read more...]
