Melting Snowman Cookies

Meet my cute little snowman cookie friends!

If you're still needing to bake some holiday treats, these cookies are sure to be a huge hit! I have two cookie exchange parties coming up & I'm pretty sure these guys will bring smiles to a few faces!

They are super easy to make. What you'll need:

Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix.

Royal Icing

Decorative icing

Sprinkles

1. Bake the cookies according to directions.

2. Top with royal icing. I had the frosting to dribble down the cookie for a watery, puddle effect.

3. Take a couple of marshmallows & pop them into the microwave for 20 seconds (I suggest spraying your fingers with a touch of cooking spray.) Microwaving gives them a wonky shape.

4. Using decorative icing & sprinkles, add final features (arms, face, etc.)

My lovely little assistant!

The little ones love to help make the cookies but don't be surprised if they eat more than they make :)

Happy Holidays!

DIY Chalkboard Coasters

The holidays are right around the corner which means a calendar filled with lots of social gatherings! This year I wanted to create a fun hostess gift to pair with a bottle of wine/cider/etc.  

What you'll need:
Chalkboard spray paint
Ceramic tiles
Cork sheets or felt
Adhesive or hot glue gun
Chalk

Lay out your tiles and spray with chalkboard paint. I did two coats and allowed one hour drying time between coats.

In the scrapbook section of Michael's, I found some awesome cork sheets that I cut to fit the back of the tile. You could also use felt. These will protect the tile from scratching furniture surfaces. Spread a layer of glue and attach to the tile. Let dry.

Now guests can write their name, doodle and keep track of their drinks.

 

 When the fun is done, clean up is a breeze.

Simply wipe down with a damp cloth and let air dry. 

 Wrap the tiles with some pretty ribbon and a piece of chalk and 

you've got a fun, affordable and unique gift!

Bubble Wrap Advent Calendar

 Looking for a cute, clever and inexpensive advent calendar?

What you'll need:

Round label stickers

Large bubble wrap

Sharpie Pen

Scissors

Using the bubble wrap, cut out a Christmas tree shape. Take the labels and have your little ones write out numbers 1-24. Place one sticker on each bubble. You can place them in numerical order or to make it more of a hunt, place them in random order.

Who can resist the joy of popping bubble wrap? I personally have no self control, so I'll leave this one for my daughter to enjoy! Haha!

Thanksgiving Pilgrim Hat Crayon Holder

Thanksgiving is right around the corner & I need some projects to keep my little one busy while we're visiting family. Paper placemats & this pilgrim hat filled with crayons is sure to do the trick!

What you'll need:

Black cups

Black paper

Scrapbook paper

Hot glue gun

Simply cut the bottom out of a black cup (I only had white cups so I sprayed mine with chalkboard paint). Hot glue the cup upside-down to a circle shaped piece of black paper. Cut a band for around the cup & add a scrapbook paper square for the buckle. Simple!

 These would also be adorable at each place setting to hold disposable silverware setting or fill them with candy treats!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thankful Tree

We're giving thanks in a new way this holiday season with our Thankful Tree! I'm so excited about this new tradition we started this month, reflecting on what we are thankful for and noting every day.

First we painted a 11x11 canvas. Using some polka dot fabric, I cut out the shape of a tree and mod podged the fabric to the painted canvas. Our base is set & can be used year after year.

Each morning my daughter grabs a blank leaf & we jot down one thing she is thankful for. We add a piece of double sided sticky tape to the leaf & attach it to the canvas. By the time Thanksgiving rolls around, our tree will be full.

We try to instill gratitude every day, but sometimes life has a way of distracting us. This a wonderful way to create positive and nurturing thoughts. Plus it's a great way and reminder for little ones to learn what really maters.

Boo! Ghost Berries

Spook up your Halloween with adorable ghost berries! 

Simply dip fresh strawberries in melted white chocolate and & add ghostly faces with dark chocolate.

What you'll need:

24 large fresh strawberries

8 ounces white chocolate chips

1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 plastic baggie

1. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with waxed paper.

2. Wash the strawberries and pat dry.

3. Melt the white chocolate in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until a smooth consistency. 

4. Hold strawberry by the stem & dip it into the chocolate until almost completely covered. Gently shake off excess. Place strawberry on baking sheet. Repeat until all berries are covered in white chocolate. Set aside for about 30 minutes so chocolate can set.

5. Melt semi-sweet chocolate & pour into plastic baggie. Cut off corner tip of bag and decorate the berries so they have eyes and mouths.

6. Let the chocolate completely set before serving.

Serve them at your Halloween party or as a fun after-school treat!

Happy Halloween!

Witch Hat Tee

Add a touch of magic to your little ones wardrobe with a witch hat tee! 

Inspired from an adorable tee I saw from Izzy & Ivy, I followed their hat template as my guide. 

 You'll need: 

Halloween fabric

Fusible webbing

Embroidery thread

 Button

Scissors

Iron

The whole thing took less than an hour to create. And aside from the spiders legs & web no other sewing was involved! Woot!

Add a tutu & pair of leggings and you've got one cute Halloween outfit!

Ghost Leaves Kids Craft

Boo! Say hello to our ghost friend created with silk leaves. Super easy & so cute. We made these little ghouls last year & thought it'd be fun to bring them back! Want to make some with your little goblins? Let's get started.

You'll need white paint, brush, wiggly eyes, glue and silk leaves (we used small & large sizes).

Paint both sides with white paint. Let dry & glue on the eyes. That's it! Super fun Halloween decorations your kids will be proud to show off!

Love how the ends of the leaves started to fray. Adds to the spookiness!

She's so proud! We hung the big guys in our front window and made a garland with the little ones for her room.

Hope you'll try making a few to add to your Halloween decor!
Thanks for stopping by!

Pumpkin Crayons

Fall is finally here & I'm in full force holiday craft mode! Woot!

My Halloween candy idea came to a screeching halt when I discovered my daughters school is sugar-free!  

 While I've been racking my brain for a sugar-free classroom treat, my lil gal lost another tooth last night. Eek! I told her she had the perfect pumpkin smile & then an idea dawned on me...

Boxes of crayons disguised as pumpkins!

Sugar-free & what kid doesn't love crayons? A win-win to me :)

Five made and twenty-one (!!!) more to go!

What you'll need:

Box of crayons

Scrapbook paper

Glue stick

Paper punches (1-hole, circle & scallop)

Bakers twine (or make your own here)

Two of the scrapbook papers I used are available to download for free:

Large orange polka dots paper

Green chevron paper 

Pumpkin face template

Get the adorable gift tag & other Halloween free printables here!

 Happy Halloween my pretties!

DIY Monster Spray

Got monsters lurking under your bed? Just in time for Halloween, make a fun spray to keep those crazy monsters away! 

I'm creating some Halloween goodies bags and was so thrilled to stumble across the monster printable from Chica and Jo! I decided to kick it up a notch.

What you'll need:

Bottle of body (or room) spray

Halloween body glitter dust

Glue stick

Printable from Chica & Jo

Glitter nail polish 

1.  Download and print label (I adjusted the size to fit my bottle)

2. Add glitter nail polish to the printables 'spray' for an added effect

3. Cut out, apply glue stick to label and wrap around bottle

Easy peasy right?

I added about 1/2 teaspoon of body glitter to body spray. 

I love the extra sparkle and shimmer it adds!

Aside from chasing away monsters, it also works great as a room air freshener! Even better, it's a fun non-candy Halloween treat for kids.

Halloween Ghost Feet

I love this time of year! My little gal and I have so much fun doing craft projects together. When I saw this idea posted on Pinterest, I knew we had to give it a whirl.

We started off with a canvas and painted it black.

Next we made a puddle of white paint for her to wiggle her foot in. She giggled and had a blast. Next carefully place each foot down onto the canvas.

We added some googly eyes, adhesive letters and glitter paint 

(cause everything we do has to sparkle, even ghosts)!

She wrote her name and dated the back of the canvas.

Last, I attached some ribbon using my staple gun so we could hang it!

Easy peasy! I love that every Halloween we'll have a special decoration to cherish from when she was little :)