Book Character Day

Today is book character day at school. The girls had a blast planning their outfits.

Claire went as Fancy Nancy. She certainly was fancy.

Lilly was Lilly from Lilly's Big Day and Lilly's Plastic Purple Purse. She was so cute! I painted her brown worn out boots bright red with a white star to match the book character. It took many coats, but they are really cute.

I was really surprised how many Fancy Nancys, Hannah Montanas and Disney Princesses there were. It made me miss the Laura Engles, Pippi Longstockings and Anne of Green Gables. Maybe I need to encourage my girls to broaden their reading.

I am sure this will be a very fun day for both girls.

The Last Christmas Party of 2010

I know that it actually happened in 2011, but this was the last Christmas party scheduled for 2010. However, my beautiful niece was born on December 28 and I postponed the party so I could go see her.

I invited some friends and neighbors over for a casual meal and an evening of gab. We were going to play a game, but ended up talking all night. Jim said "How was the game night?" I said "The night was good, but we just talked the whole time." He didn't get it. How could we just sit around and talk for 5+ hours.

Anyway, everyone brought a bit to pass. We had more food than we knew what to do with. I also provided soup and sandwiches. We made our own panini sandwiches and grilled them on the

George Foreman grill. They were great! I also made cheddar broccoli soup.

The table looked wintery and not Christmas. I changed the plan a bit based on the timing. I went with a brown tablecloth and gold chargers. Do you have chargers? You should. They can make a table. I got mine at Hobby Lobby for $1.99 each. They have silver, gold, red and black.

I also used kraft paper wrapped candy bars for the place cards. This was a dual purpose item as it was a place card and a favor.

Anyway, we had a wonderful time and mentioned several times during the night that we must do this more often. It seems that we all go into hibernation mode during the winter. It is pretty sad when I talk to my next door neighbors more on facebook or the phone and they live 50 feet from me.

We will do it again soon.

Ladies Christmas Party

The last party for 2010 is actually being held in 2011. I am having some friends over from all different parts of my life. Some neighbors and some "school" friends.
My original plan was for Christmas decor, but my tree is down and my red and green have been put away. So, change of plan!
The new plan is for winter theme. We will be going with earth tones and cozy feeling. I had seen the sweater candles in catalogs, but never could bring myself to buy them. While at the dollar store I saw the glassware and decided to take a stab at making them myself.
I stopped at Goodwill and picked up several cable knit sweaters for $2.99 each. I ended up using only one for this project, but will use the rest for another decor project I'll share soon.
Here are the quick and easy instructions.
1. Lay your vase on the sleeve of the sweater with the cuff toward the top of the vase.
2. Cut the sleeve leaving about 1 1/2 inch overhang on the bottom.
3. Hot glue the sweater to the bottom of the vase and cut off the excess so that it doesn't tip.
I know what you are thinking. 2 sleeves does not equal 3 candles. For the third one I used the bottom band of the sweater and just hot glued up the side as well.

For the twine candle, I just wrapped twine randomly around the vase and hot glued the ends at the bottom.

The glitter candles are a mixture of Modge Podge, glitter and cream paint.

These beauties will all be displayed on a brown "velvet" tablecloth with gold chargers and linen napkins.

I will be sure to post a picture of the finished product later.

Claire and Lilly's Valentine Cards

Here are the cards that the girls will be handing out to their classmates this year. I saw them somewhere (sorry, I can't remember where) last year and made a mental note that this would be a great idea for this year.

Each card will get an exacto knife cut on the top and bottom of the fist and we will insert a pink lollipop. Claire will write the message on back and Lilly will just sign her name.

Quick, Easy and Cute! All of the things I look for in a project.

Merry Christmas!

I think that all of my cards have made it out so I can reveal it on the blog.Huge thanks to my friend Jen Kroll for her time and talent. The pictures are amazing!

This past weekend we were in Chicago to celebrate Christmas with my parents and Leah and her family. We stayed in a really cool hotel downtown, braved American Girl Doll, went to ZooLights at the Lincoln Park Zoo and had a great time.For those wondering - no baby for Jason and Leah yet. She is taking her own sweet time!

Third Grade PowWow

The third grade put on a great presentation for the parents last week. Claire was part of the Chinook tribe and her Native American name was Fast Tree Frog. After a wonderful program full of poetry and song, we had a Native American feast. Each child was instructed to try something they had not eaten before. This would not be difficult. The menu consisted of:
Corn, pies, roasted pine nuts, venison, goose jerky, fry bread, fruit, berries, mashed potatoes, and squirrel. Yes, you read that correctly. And yes, Claire ate some. The kids all learned a lot and had a ton of fun! Thanks so much Mrs. Pfruender and Mrs. DeHaan!

Advent Calendar

I know I said I'd share projects earlier so you could have time to complete them, but this one slipped my mind.
I created a magnetic advent calendar for this year. I purchased different size tins off of etsy and ebay and covered them with decorative paper and the number.
Each day there is a little surprise. Candy, coins, cards, pens, lip gloss, you name it. The girls are enjoying opening a new tin each day.
Sorry for the horrible pictures. I snapped them on the way out of the house this morning. Not great light! You get the idea.