Oh Holy Night! Easy Nativity Scene

Several times during the year the kiddos and I visit and hand out little gifts to my husband's grandmother and the other residents at an assisted living facility.  Last year, the kids made door hangers out of melted beads for everyone.  This year I used my Nativity Clipart to create a scene and the kids helped put the pictures in frames.  I got 20 frames at dollar tree and I had the scenes printed at FedEx to save my ink at home, so all together the whole project cost $25.  But, the reactions of the residents and the wonderful conversations and interactions we had with everybody...priceless!  I enlisted my mother-in-law to help me manage my crew and I'm glad I did.  Every room we went in the kids were fascinated with every little trinket.  One lady had a dancing Frosty the Snowman.  Thought we would never get them out of there! Hahaha. One lady had all these little butterflies everywhere she had made and one of my boys said "These are sooo beautiful!"  She was beaming with pride.  Oh, it's no wonder that Jesus loved the little children so!

Made using Nativity Clipart

Mamaw & The Grant Crew

Nativity Clipart

Christmas Card Ideas!

I just got back from an awesome trip to NYC with my Mom and my sister.  New York is the perfect way to kick off the holiday season!  Christmas is just beautiful up there.  Plus, there was an ice storm going on here at home and I completely missed it.  Yay!

Nothing better than getting back and seeing that the Christmas cards I did for my mom and for my family were waiting.  Check out my Dad and Mom's card and let me know what you think!

The Superman, Batman, and Ballerina are my kiddos! :)

I used our Gingerbread Love Clipart & Gingerbread Papers to make the card.  See all the great things you can make with our stuff! (shameless plug! haha)

Thanksgiving Goodies

Just a few little goodies I whipped up for my children's Thanksgiving Feasts on Friday.  They were a big hit with the kids and the adults!

The kids loved working on their pinecone turkeys.  I was a gluey mess by the time they were all done, but that's ok.  They're going to be our centerpieces at the kids table at our house on Thanksgiving.  Along with a tablecloth to be colored by the kiddos, we should have a pretty cute table!

 Sugar Cookie Pumpkin Pie Slices:

You will need:

Pillsbury ready cookie dough
Orange cookie icing
White cookie icing
Gingerbread or tan colored chocolate melts

1.  Roll out the cookie dough and cut into triangles.  After I baked my cookies they weren't very pretty triangles, so I just trimmed them up when they came out of the oven.
2.  After letting them cool, pipe on the orange icing.  Go around the edge first and let it sit for a few minutes, then go back and fill it in.  Let it harden before going on to the next step.
3.  Melt the chocolate according to the package directions.  Then place carefully in a baggie.  (I had to grab another baggie because the chocolate was too hot and melted a little hole in it).  Using scissors, clip a little bit off the tip of the baggie and pipe onto the cookies.
4.  After the orange icing is hard use the white icing to make the "cool whip" on your pie slices.  I let it dry between the 2 round of this- that way it built it up a bit.
5.  Enjoy!

Stacked Cookie Turkeys:

You will need:

Vanilla Double-Stuffed Oreos

Nutter Butters (small)

Candy Eyes

Candy Corn

Stick Pretzels

Red Cookie Icing

White Cookie Icing

Directions:

1.  Slide the candy corns and the pretzel sticks (I broke one stick in half to make two legs) into the cream of the cookie.

2.  Attach the nutter butter to the oreo with some white cookie icing.

3.  Put a small glob of red icing on the nutter butter and then use that to attach the candy corn.

4.  Use the white icing to attach the candy eyes.

5.  Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Party Game

Apparently I'm guilty.  Guilty of procrastinating with this room mom stuff again!  Although in my defense, I sincerely thought I was ahead of the game.  I went last Friday, a whole week before the Thanksgiving party, and a whole 2 1/2 weeks before Thanksgiving, to Hobby Lobby.  The Thanksgiving section was already reduced down to a quarter of an aisle.  WHAT?  I really thought I had it together this time around.  Poor Turkey Day.  The holiday hasn't even got here yet and Christmas is edging it out.  Seriously, this drives me crazy!  Is there some reason that ONE whole aisle can't stay Thanksgiving until Thanksgiving is actually here?  I mean, wouldn't it be okay if we only had 14 rows of Christmas stuff in November instead of 15?  I don't think I'm asking much here!

Although I did eventually manage to track down some paper goods and I got the last of the foam craft kits at Michaels, I couldn't find a party game I liked for my 4 year old twins' class.  So, I decided to just make my own.  It's played like "Pin the Tail on the Donkey" but with a Thanksgiving twist.  My kids loved playing "Put the Hat on the Turkey!"

You find this printable here.  This Thanksgiving game is perfect for a party!  The poster is formatted to be as large as 24" x 36' so you can print it at this size or scale it down.  It can be printed at your local shop or you can order online at uprinting.com.  Just a note- the actual poster does not have a hat on the turkey.  It's featured this way to show you the completed look.  The Pilgrim hats are in PDF format and there are two to a page.   Just print as many copies as you need.

Your party is sure to be a blast with this cute game!

November Craft Owl

November already!?  Here's a little owl craft that I did with my twin boys' class for their Fall Festival.  I got the idea here.  I used flat bottle caps and google eyes though.  The kids loved them!  Easy and cute!

FREEBIE...Pumpkin Bowling - Get Your Halloween Game On!

I'm in charge of getting the game together for our twin boys' Fall Festival at school on Wednesday.  (AND a craft AND a snack.  Guess who's room mom this year?)  I got a great idea from "A Girl And A Glue Gun"- Pumpkin Bowling!  Her pictures are soooo adorable!  She hand drew those!  One talented lady!

You know I love a printable, so in my spare time (hahaha) I whipped up some Pumpkin Bowling labels.  Just wrap empty quart sized paint cans in scrapbook paper and the then add these labels to the front of each can.  Then stack up the cans and roll a pumpkin (real or fake) to knock them down! Cute, crafty, and easy!

Each label measure 4.6"H x 4"W - Perfectly fits empty quart sized paint cans

I used these papers to make the wraps around the cans:
Halloween Fun Digital Paper Pack
Witches Rule Digital Paper Pack

Click here to download

Here are the set of "pins" I made for my boys' class.  Came out great!  The kids had a blast this morning playing with them!

Another FREEBIE today! "You've Been Boo'd" Printables

A sweet neighbor boo'd us yesterday!  This is so fun- I had never heard of it before.  I know, I know, where have I been right?!  I couldn't resist designing my own printables.  So, of course I wanted to share them with you!

They were made with our Halloween Fun Digital Papers and Halloween Fun Clipart & Witches Rule Clipart.

Click here to download.  Enjoy!

FREEBIE FRIDAY! Journal Tags

The RV trip was a success! 

We went to see The Promise in Glenrose, TX on Friday night.  It’s in an outdoor amphitheater and about halfway through a cold front came through.  Thank goodness my father-in-law brought blankets!  Saturday we moved over to a motorcycle race track in near Ft. Worth.  We had a great cookout and then had some ooey gooey s’mores by the campfire that night.  Delicious! On Sunday we watched my brother-in-law and my nephews race motorcycles.  My kids definitely have motorcycle fever now! 

I have to say that I’ve been biten by the RV bug- I want one!  Definitely my style of camping- bathroom, water, and electricity.  What more could a mommy with three little kids ask for when camping? Anybody else been on an RV trip or own an RV?  Share your experiences with me!  Love it or hate it?

I put together a scrapbook page with a few of the pics that I took. Came out pretty cute!

I used our Road Trip Clipart and Digital Papers.  Then realized I needed some journal tags/frames to match.  So I whipped up a few and I'm giving them away today.  FREEBIE FRIDAY is here again!

Journal Tags - Click here to download

FREEBIE Friday! Yummy S'mores!

The RV trip we're going on this weekend has been on my mind.  My fellow Mom friends, you know how it is when there's a trip.  I will be running around packing up anything and everything that anyone at any moment might need.  Clothes, pjs, toothbrushes, car activities, band-aids, snacks, bikes, underwear, socks, etc.  I think I am constantly making lists leading up to a trip.  I wake up in the middle of night thinking of things I've forgotten.  Now I understand why my mom was always so tired by the time we went on vacation.  It's work!

It seems I'm usually packing up all the food or snacks when I'm starving.  Camping food is so yummy! I must confess...I am REALLY looking forward to having a reason to eat S'mores!  All that melted chocolate and marshmallows are reason enough to go camping.  So, in honor of all that ooey gooey goodness, I'm giving away TWO FREEBIES! Click here or on the picture captions to download.

Enjoy and share what you make with us on our Facebook page!

Ooey Gooey Goodness Word Art

S'more Clip Art

Road Trip...in an RV!

Today while the kids are at school I'm getting us all packed up for our trip this weekend.  Our first ever RV Trip! We rented an RV and are heading to Glen Rose, TX to see The Promise.  We're so excited and the kids can't quit talking about our "bus trip"  They were with me on the day I went to rent the RV and try as I might, they still keep calling it a bus. So cute!  Here they are with me that day, showing me where they wanted their car seats to go.

Next week I'll be posting pics from the trip. If you want to get started on your own scrapbooking from your summer trips, try out our Road Trip Clipart & Digital Papers.

Post your scrapbooked pages on our Facebook page to share your ideas!

Road Trip Clipart

Road Trip Digital Papers

FREEBIE FRIDAY! Cute Fall Owl

Two things to be happy about today:

1) You get a Freebie!  Who doesn't love FREE?  

2) It's Friday!!  Just typing "Freebie Friday" always makes me smile!

My cute Fall Owl is perfect for card design, scrapbooking, and even web design!

Fall Owl Download

Here's what I whipped up with the Fall Owl.  I'm going to print it and put it in my daughter's room- which is decorated in owls.

The plaid background is part of our new Autumn Hues Collection.  Rich, vibrant shades of purple, teal, orange, green, and brown with chevron, paisley, plaids, and polka dot designs make this a unique Fall set.  

Autumn Hues Digital Paper Pack

Autumn Hues Clipart

Autumn Hues Bunting

Autumn Hues Tags/Frames

Send us pictures or post to our Facebook page things you create with our collections!  Happy Friday!

Sneak Peek!

Here's a sneak peek of what I'm working on- Little Man Baby Shower! Coming soon!

FREEBIE FRIDAY! Fall Subway Art

Well, it seems I got so excited about Halloween last week that I skipped right over Fall!  So, here's another home decor made easy! Happy Fall y'all! Click here to download.

Halloween Subway Art

My daughter and I made one of the Halloween Subway Art Freebies that I posted on Friday.  Michael's had table frames "buy one get one free."  So, I got a black frame for the Halloween art and I bought a brown one for the Thanksgiving subway art (coming soon).  I picked up two glitter spider webs that were only $1 each.  My sweet Lola helped me hot glue them on.  It literally only took me 5 minutes and it looks adorable!  I love things that are easy and cute!

FREEBIE Friday! Halloween Subway Art Printable!

We all want cute Halloween decorations, but who has time for every Pinterest project?  This is for all the busy Moms out there!  Print it, put it in a frame, and done! Click here or on the picture to download. Enjoy!

8 x 10 print for easy framing!

Superhero Party!

We had the boys superhero party last weekend and it was a blast!  This is the first time we haven't had their party at home so packing up all the decorations was a little new to me.  Thankfully, I didn't forget anything and the party went off without a hitch.

I really must say having a party at Gymboree Play & Music was so much fun.  Added bonus, I didn't have to be in charge, which meant I really got to play and be part of all the activities!

First, the decorations....
You'll notice that I like to purchase things for a party that I will be able to use else wear after the party is over.  This helps me sell hubby on spending the money. I like to be all "see how I saved us money- double use items."  Haha!

• The polka dot backdrop is a vinyl tablecloth.  Now that the party's over I can use it on the table when we do crafts. 
• The Happy Birthday sign is a print I made and had made into a reusable vinyl sticker.  It's now on the playroom wall.
• The "Buildings" are dollar store crates with poster board taped inside.  The crates are now storing toys in the playroom.
• Tablecloth, Napkins, & Paper Plates from Celebrate Express were so perfect!
• The placemats, pinwheels, centerpieces, popcorn boxes, cupcake wrappers & toppers are all part of our Superhero Party Kit. :)

Everyone enjoying all the treats!

Lincoln & Nolan devoured the cupcakes, cake pops, and popcorn!

The kids had a blast with all the activities at Gymboree.  It was hard to get pics of these because they were all running around so fast half the pictures were blurry!

This activity was a real hit!  They had to climb the "tower" and rescue the kitties!
 

The kids loved the parachute games with these soft balls.  Of course, after this, a giant free-for-all of chasing each other and "zapping" each other with these ensued.  This was the activity that brought all the adults in.  We were throwing these at each other and ducking down like we didn't do it!  It was fun to see all the adults get silly and act like kids!

It was a great party and the best part was that the boys loved it!  That's all a Mommy wants to hear, "This was my best day ever!  I love you!"  Makes every minute of preparation worth it!

FREEBIE Friday!

We're still celebrating our boys' birthday so it honor of them...here's your FREEBIE!
You can click on the picture or here to be taken to the site to download the file.

I've got a New Release for you!  Super cute Halloween owls.  Happy Owl-O-Ween!