Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts

4.25.2011

3 Trees, 3 Dozen Easter Eggs, and 6 Hours Later...

After seeing this craft idea in Woman's Day magazine, my mother-in-law, sis-in-law, and I all decided it would be fun to attempt ourselves:

Cute, huh? And it looked simple enough!



So we gathered our needed supplies...
  • Foam Trees
  • Plastic Easter Eggs
  • Paper Napkins
  • Scissors
  • Hot Glue Gun
  • Spray Adhesive
  • Modge Podge
  • Paintbrush
  • Easter Grass/Gift Confetti
  • Container for tree (optional)
...and got to work Saturday morning.

This is the napkin pattern I chose. It looked Easter-y enough to me and it was all Hobby Lobby had really for bright patterns (I was kinda disappointed!).  It actually ended up being really neat because we were able to create many different designs on the eggs since there were three patterns on the napkins.


Start by peeling off the layers of the napkin--this will help the napkin stick better to the egg. We realized halfway in that we had only been taking off one layer when there were really two (hard to see, and very tricky to get off!). It stuck better when we took both layers off, but it was pretty see-through, so we did a little of both. Also, on a side note, the magazine said to use white Easter eggs but those are not that easy to find. We got colored eggs which actually provided more to the design element. You'll see.
 
The magazine also said to cut the napkin into diamond shapes. This helps with being able to glue them on easily. However, after a while we got tired of being so meticulous and started trying different things of our own including squares, circles, and rectangles. You'll see this later too :)

 

 Now's time for the modge podge. This is Rose podging her egg (notice the large brush...yeah...she switched to a smaller one later when discovering that was much easier). And as with any time you modge podge, you have to be careful of not getting too much or too little. 


 Due to the fact that you're podging (yes, I made this word up) eggs, you have to do the first side, let it dry, then do the other side. We found it easiest to do the top and bottom last. Here are all our eggs drying!!



 Rose and I spraying the grass on our trees...taking a break from the eggs (trust me, we needed it!).

Some of my favorite eggs...


 These two were mine and both were with the diamond pattern.


 This one is one of Diane's! I liked the two patterns she chose and how they overlapped.


Rose did this one and  you can see how the color of the egg comes through and has a neat effect on the paper's pattern.


Another one of mine..using rectangular strips. This is another fav...there are some wrinkles, but you can't really see them in person unless you're inspecting the eggs.

And yet another of mine...

After you're done with the eggs and they are done drying, hot glue them to the tree The example had them all in rows, but we decided to mix it up a little, both by having different sized eggs and randomly gluing them. Looking back now, I also notice the example had an egg at the very top of the tree (I'll have to go back and add one). Anyway....after all that...
taaa-daaaa!


 Mine! I got brown grass because it matched the bucket I bought and goes better with the rest of my home decor.

 Rose's! Fun and bright!
 

Diane's! Very bright and fun! Definitely Easter-y.

I seriously don't think the pictures do them justice. They look really cute. We were proud of them....granted, we cracked a lot of jokes along the way about how sick we were of making eggs (really the reason we got kinda lazy about cutting out the napkins!), how our trees look like cousin "It", and how we weren't sure we would even be done in time for Easter! It did take a lot longer than we anticipated, but it was for sure worth it for the time we were able to spend together--crafting, laughing, and bonding.

We also thought how it would be fun to make similar trees for other holidays, especially Christmas. I can just envision now a white tree with bulbs or pinecones on it...hmmm....


 Proudly showing off our creations.


But we're sure glad we're done!! Haha! Love these ladies.





P.S. Have you ever done a craft that took you way longer than you anticipated?! Did you feel like it was all worth it in the end?

2.14.2011

And they call it puppy love...

Maggie and I had a fun time last week dressing our kids up to take pictures for Valentine's Day.  Here's what happened:



"You want me to WHAT?"

"How about I just play with her hair instead?"


"Yes, this BOW is what I was after".

"Woah, this is... new."

"He he he, this is fun mommy."

Notice Judah's shirt.  I found it at the Mommy and Me consignment store and it launched this whole photo shoot idea.  


And because Peyton took the most beautiful photos, I had to include them.  Just look at those eyes.





12.11.2010

i need me some NOG

egg nog is one of those things that you either love or you despise. i happen to LOVE it. i blame this on my dad. growing up, he would always be the first to buy a carton and we would find it in the fridge usually around late october (no kidding!). it's never too early to start anticipating the christmas season, especially with a little heaping glass of this good stuff. as a kid, it was always a treat, which is why i love it so much now.

those of you who are egg nog lovers, such as myself, you gotta start looking beyond just drinking it out of a glass. this morning, along with some milk, i added a splash to my cinnamon pecan special K and it was amazing! how could i have not thought of this before?! not the most healthy breakfast, but way more exciting and unexpected than plain, old milk and cereal.

i also concocted a drink that's worthy of serving at starbucks (actually, they probably do serve it, i just never go there). i was in the mood for something cold and refreshing, so i poured some milk, tazo chai tea mix and some egg nog all over ice and voila...deliciousness.

ingredients
my little helper...she approved of my new beverage!

final product...delish!

and lastly, for thanksgiving this year, i was given the task to bring the pumpkin pies to brandon's family thanksgiving. along with my pumpkin cream cheese pie, i found an egg nog pumpkin pie recipe, and decided to give it a whirl. and it was a success! it was still the traditional pumpkin pie that everyone loves, but with a hint of spice from the egg nog. so much of a success, in fact, that my father in law had a piece for breakfast(!) every morning! we're talkin', straight outta the pie pan and without a plate. his rationalization? pumpkin is a vegetable! why not?

so, what have we concluded? hannah's vice for this season is peppermint and mine is egg nog. rach....you're up!


11.29.2010

unbutton your top button, folks. it's thanksgiving!

all i've done for the past three days is research food, shop for food, prepare food, smell food, dream about food, EAT food, feed food to peyton, talk about food, re-heat food and eat some more food.
needless to say, it was a great thanksgiving:)

but enough about food...let's talk about the real meaning behind turkey day.

earlier in the month, our small family of three started a new tradition (actually brandon and i started it...peyton will jump in in a few years). i grabbed a jar out of the cupboard and dubbed it the "thankful jar." i cut up some patterned, scrapbook paper, set out two pens and each day, we would each scribble something we felt especially thankful for. although peyton can't quite contribute yet, my hope is that we continue this tradition each year, so that she (and future kids!) can participate. at the end of the month, we'll dump the jar, read each card and be reminded of all the things we have been thankful for. i will keep the note cards in my holiday storage bin (ok..who am i kidding? i don't even have a holiday storage bin. they'll probably end up in a desk drawer somewhere and we'll find them on thanksgiving 2027...) and pull them out each year to read past thanksgiving's thoughts.

here are few of what we thanked God for this year:

I am thankful for....

-snuggling on the couch
-God's continuous love. no matter what.
-a husband who helps with a fussy baby in the middle of the night...(teething crisis of 2010)
-supportive friends and family. AND family who helps us move 2 times in 1 year:)
-my wife and the wonderful mother that she is.
-babies who sleep ALL night. hallelujah.
-every afternoon when daddy comes home from work and plays with peyton...oh, the giggles!
-a really good realtor
-the first time i heard the word "mama".....priceless.
-new beginnings
-God's grace
-quiet moments of reading a story
-a car with good gas mileage
-peyton's laugh


"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever." Psalm 107:1






Q: what are you thanking God for today?