Here Comes the Sun: December 2011

I have had such a great week! But I'm soooo glad that it is Friday and a long holiday weekend is ahead of us. This will be our first Christmas spent at home and I'm so excited to share all the magic with my kids.

Homemade projects done...check (well, almost)

Gifts shipped to family out-of-town...check

Presents wrapped...check

Cookie baking supplies bought...check

Clean house............eh, maybe tomorrow. I'm taking a break from all the craziness to bring you another

FABULOUS FRIDAY

The link with the most views from last week's party is....

Rudolph Antler Art with Melted Crayons

{Rockabye Butterfly}

This is such a creative idea! I need to do some melted crayon art with my kids soon. I think they would love it.

Now on to this week's party...

1. Feel free to link up as many projects as you like but please link to your specific post and not your entire blog.

2. Please no linking to Etsy shops, giveaways or businesses.

3. Share the love. Mingle. Check out other posts and comment on them. Your comments can make someone's day a little brighter.

4. Please link back to my blog using either a text link or my button.

I HOPE EVERYONE HAS A HAPPY HOLIDAY WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY.

December 21, 2011

Santa Belly Ornament

This is a craft that I shared as a guest post at Happy Hour Projects a few days ago. It is great for the kids and I hope you find time to share this craft with your kids this season. With the holidays quickly approaching, I have been doing many cute crafts with my daughter. Her face lights up when I break out the craft supplies. My 2-year old is a bit rambunctious to sit still for crafts but hopefully someday he can participate too. We have made several ornaments this season for our tree and this is our Santa Belly ornament.

This is super easy and quick to make.

Here is what you need:

Clear ornament that you can fill

Red shredded gift bag/basket filler

Black sharpie

Yellow acrylic paint

Paintbrush

Ribbon

Directions:

1. Fill the ornament with the red shredded gift bag filler. Kids love this step.

2. Draw Santa's belt onto the ornament with a black sharpie marker.

3. Paint a yellow buckle on the belt in the center of the ornament.

I used the box that the ornament came in as a drying rack. It was then that I noticed that the buckle was completely crooked. Oops. So to fix it up a bit...

I drew a black outline of how I wanted the buckle to look and then filled it in with paint. Let the first coat of paint dry and add a second coat. I then made the belt a bit thicker to go with the bigger belt buckle.

4. Draw a black square in the middle of the buckle

5. Tie on a pretty ribbon and hang from your tree.

I think it turned out pretty good! We have several new handmade ornaments on our tree this year and I have found that this has been one of the funnest projects to share with my daughter. She loves to help and loves to hang the finished product on the tree.

December 20, 2011

Peppermint Stick Cocoa

Do you need a last minute gift idea? I love gifts-in-a-jar because the possibilities are endless. I've seen hot chocolate in a jar but here is a twist...Peppermint Stick Cocoa. YUM! I gave these to my daughter's teachers and they loved them.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup powdered milk

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup miniature chocolate chips

1/4 cup crushed peppermint candy

Directions:

Layer each ingredient in a jar, beginning with the powdered milk on the bottom.

I found it easiest to use miniature candy canes and crush them while they are still in the wrapper.

Then cut open the wrapper and dump the contents into a measuring cup.

Attach a tag with these directions:

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.

For each serving, place 1/3 cup of mixture into a mug and add 1 cup boiling water.

Stir and enjoy.

Keep remaining mixture in an airtight container.

I found cute free printable tags and tied one onto the jar with some twine.

Note: This recipe fills a 1 pint jar. You can use this recipe for other size jars, just keep the ratio of ingredients the same (i.e double the amounts for a 1 quart jar).

December 19, 2011

Guest Posting at Happy Hour Projects

Hello everyone! I am guest posting at Happy Hour Projects today as the Blog of the Week. I am sharing a recent homemade ornament that we made for our tree. Hop on over and check it out!

And don't forget...you still have time to link up your projects to Fabulous Friday!

December 18, 2011

Christmas Tree Snack

Lately, I've been trying to get my kids to eat different types of food. It has been quite a struggle with my 2-year old who refuses to eat any type of vegetable. How do kids know which foods are vegetables and which are not? But my daughter isn't too picky so I decided to try this snack the other day. It has fruit, vegetables and cheese!

I used cheddar cheese and a star cookie cutter, snap peas, and Craisins. My daughter gobbled it all up. My son picked the Craisins off, ate the cheese and would not touch the snap peas. I had high hopes that maybe disguising them as a tree would help. It did not. Nonetheless, it is a healthy and festive snack perfect for the preschool crowd.

December 16, 2011

Fabulous Friday {4}

Friday has snuck up on me yet again and time for another.....

FABULOUS FRIDAY

There weren't too many link ups to last week's Fabulous Friday party. Hopefully it was because you all were too busy getting ready for the holidays. I can't pick a favorite link because I love them all. Check out this gorgeous display from Happy As A Lark.

I love the gold and white together. And I love the idea of putting ornaments into a lantern. Thank you so much for sharing!

I want to encourage everyone to spread the word about my blog. If you like what you see here, please share! I love 'meeting' new followers

I am working on a new button for Fabulous Friday. Exciting stuff, I know. I will do the unveiling next week if I have time to finish it during all the craziness that comes with the week before Christmas. I still have all these grand ideas in my head of things that I am going to make for my kids and I haven't even bought any of the fabric yet. Eeek! There are going to be some late nights in my future.

Now on to this week's party...

1. Feel free to link up as many projects as you like but please link to your specific post and not your entire blog.

2. Please no linking to Etsy shops, giveaways or businesses.

3. Share the love. Mingle. Check out other posts and comment on them. Your comments can make someone's day a little brighter.

4. Please link back to my blog using either a text link or my button.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. I can't wait to see what you share this week.

December 10, 2011

Christmas Porch Planters

I wanted to dress up my porch a bit this season. I made these simple decorative pots last year. Ignore the garland in the background. I've been trying to hang that up for about a week and there are no hooks strong enough for it. Anyway.... here are the pots.

I took plain terracotta pots and added a few coats of white paint to them. I bought some wooden letters at the craft store and painted them red. Last year, I used hot glue to attach the letters to the pots. It didn't work too well. This year, I got smart and used gorilla glue. They are still attached so I will take that as a good sign.

I was going to purchase some small fake Christmas trees to place in the pots but they were $12.99 each at the craft store. Even with a coupon, I just didn't want to spend that much. So, I took a stroll around my yard and found a bush that looked Christmas-like and I pruned it a bit. I seriously should know the name of the bush since I majored in Plant Biology. I think it is some kind of holly. All I know is that it is REALLY sharp.

I cut a few sprigs and put them in vases and set the vases inside the pots. I filled in the space in the pots with soil. You can use any filler you want...mulch, wood chips, pine cones would even look nice. I used soil because it was what I had on hand.

This project literally cost me zero. I think it looks very festive. Now if I could only get those lights up the outdoor decor would be complete.

Sharing at:

Sweet Peas and Bumblebees

Blue Cricket Design

December 9, 2011

Fabulous Friday {3}

Is it Friday again already? This month is going by WAY. TOO. FAST. I'm trying to capture all the moments and pack the month full 'o activities for my kids. I have the weekend "off" while the kids are at the grandparents so it is time to kick it into high gear and get the shopping, gift wrapping, Christmas card mailing DONE so I can relax (??) and enjoy the next couple weeks.

It is also time for another

FABULOUS FRIDAY

Here is a feature from last week's party.

Kaysi from Keeping it Simple

made these super cute mugs and plates as gifts for her neighbors.

Now on to this week's party...

1. Feel free to link up as many projects as you like but please link to your specific post and not your entire blog.

2. Please no linking to Etsy shops, giveaways or businesses.

3. Share the love. Mingle. Check out other posts and comment on them. Your comments can make someone's day a little brighter.

4. Please link back to my blog using either a text link or my button.

I would love it if you became a follower of Here Comes
the Sun!

December 6, 2011

O Christmas Tree

4 comments :

I have been on a never ending quest to get good pictures in front of my Christmas Tree. Every year I stage my kids in front of it and snap a picture. The flash goes off and I am left with this:

Ughhh. Cute kid. Bad picture. Does anyone else have the "tree with no decorations at the bottom because of your toddler?" I had no idea what I was doing wrong with the camera . This year, I have actually learned a thing or two about photography. Mainly...getting my camera out of auto mode. Do it people. Take the plunge. It will change your life. Okay maybe not your life but it WILL change your photos.

Here is my Christmas Tree this year. Please ignore that I cut off the top. The star doesn't light up anyway so does it really matter?

I have to give a bit of credit to this little thing called Pinterest. You may have heard of it.I saw this photo from Unskinny Boppy (love that blog name, by the way) on Pinterest and had to try out the technique. I'm pretty impressed. Beth over at Unskinny Boppy is having a "Show Your Glow" party where you can link up pictures of your own Christmas Tree. Go check it out.

Sharing at:

Sweet Peas and Bumblebees

Blue Cricket Design

December 4, 2011

Christmas Mantle

I L.O.V.E decorating for Christmas. I love all the twinkling lights and the holiday colors. This year, I have decided to go back to the basic red and green with some white mixed in. I'm also very excited to have a mantle for the first time ever. So excited that I broke down and ordered four matching stockings from Pottery Barn that I have been drooling over for years. Thanks to a sale, free shipping, AND free monogramming, I got them for a pretty decent price. I can't wait for them to arrive on my doorstep so I can hang them by the chimney with care.

Here is my mantle for the holidays:

The best part is. I had everything on hand.

I cut red fabric to size and used Steam-A-Seam to adhere the white letters to the red fabric.

Steam-A-Seam basically makes any fabric into an iron-on. I then covered the cardboard that came with the frames with the fabric and popped it in the frames.

Voila. Instant statement on the mantle. I'm a big fan of hanging BIG pictures/art. I feel that a single 8x10 on the wall looks very tiny if it is not grouped in a collage. This is why I like big frames. They look so much better and fill the space.

I added a garland, lights and some Christmas Trees that I picked up on clearance last year and my mantle is complete...almost. Still waiting on those stockings.

Sharing at:

Sweet Peas and Bumblebees

Blue Cricket Design

December 3, 2011

Letter from Santa

HO HO HO!!

One tradition that I have started with my daughter is the letter to Santa. She wrote her letter a few nights ago...filled with requests for Disney Fairies and My Little Ponies. This was the first year that she was able to write the letter herself which was very exciting. I had to tell her how to spell things (she's 5) but she wrote it all herself.

I downloaded a cute template and this is her letter.

But I put a little twist on it. I write a letter FROM Santa to be delivered to her. If you send the letter from Santa to this address by December 10 in a self addressed stamped envelope, they will send it back to you by Christmas with a postmark from the North Pole!

NORTH POLE HOLIDAY POSTMARK

POSTMASTER

4141 POSTMARK DR

ANCHORAGE AK 99530-9998

I'm so excited to see her reaction when she receives the letter this year. She has already started asking "Is that one real"? referring to the Santa in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. So I'm not sure how many more years I can keep the charade going.

I hope it is magical for her this year.

Sharing at:
Ladybird Lane
Happy Hour Projects
Fingerprints on the Fridge
Sun Scholars
While He Was Napping