pretend pumpkins for a faux Fall

It’s been a looooong summer, especially here in SoCal.  Yesterday it was 99 degrees in my area!  But with decorations, we can at least pretend that it’s Fall now, even if the hot weather doesn’t relent.  On my mantle I have six 3M Command hooks left from our Christmas stockings last year.  Well, I may as well use them throughout the rest of the year too.  It turns out that 6 is a great number for many reasons.  There are 6 people in our family.  And there are 6 letters in the words: AUTUMN, WINTER, SPRING and SUMMER.  How perfect!  I love it when a plan comes together!  After a few clicks on Adobe Illustrator and a few snips on my Silhouette (using left over scrapbook paper), here is the finished product for Autumn:

 

Here is my computer sketch for stringing the seasons on my mantle this year.  I will have to post the others later as the seasons change:

 

 

To get the letter cards to hang straight and even, I punched a ¼” hole on the top, cut a 6” piece of twine, folded the twine in half, knotted the ends and then slipped the folded side through the front of the card.

When the seasons change, I can just slip the twine out and use it for the next card.  To quote my 2nd grader, “Easy peasy, lemon squeezy!”

 

And I mustn’t forget my pretend pumpkins. This was a cute and simple craft we made at my last MOPs meeting.  It’s simply a toilet paper roll covered in fabric with a rolled up brown lunch bag stuffed in the middle.  What a great craft for kids too!  I was so inspired by this 2-minute craft that I also cut a roll of paper towels in half to make a bigger pumpkin.
 

 

The best part - everything is reusable and I didn’t buy anything new for these projects.  Yay!  It’s the “little things,” right?  Now I’m ready to light my cranberry candle, sip some hot apple cider and cuddle up in a blanket…as soon as the weather gets cooler.  Either way, I am reminded to be thankful to God for His blessings, with or without decorations or cool weather.  God is good, even if my circumstances aren’t.  This verse spoke to my heart this week:

Though the fig tree does not bud
    and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
    and the fields produce no food…
yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
    I will be joyful in God my Savior.
 The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
    he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
    he enables me to tread on the heights.
Habbakkuk 3:17-19.

 

May you be refreshed by God’s strength today!

monkey love

This year my 4-year old wanted to make some "monkey" valentines for her preschool class. She seems to be as active as a little monkey, so it seemed appropriate. :) We picked out some foam shapes at the store and some cute valentine pencils. Add it all to a simple card with a Bible verse and we're done! I set-up my file so there were 8 cards on an 8.5" x 11" sheet of cardstock (2.75" x 4.25" each), then printed the verse and trimmed it out. We punched the top and bottom with an old heart punch. It really helps to print a little circle where the punch will be so you know where to place it. I punched the corners with a corner rounder so little hands won't get scratched. My little girl had to do a lot of work sticking on foam stickers and writing her name 17 times. That's quite a lot for a 4-year old. We made these over 3 days so it wouldn't be overwhelming.

By the way, the foam shapes make great pencil toppers too. Just stick 2 large hearts together around the pencil top and squish like crazy until it's stuck. Then decorate with more foam stickers - the more the merrier. My 6-year old has been doing her homework with her special Valentine pencil, which makes it more fun.

"...if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." 1 John 4:11

How ought we to love each other? The way God does. God's love is sacrificial, always giving, never-ending, not based on feelings, but based on His enduring commitment to us even when we don't love Him back. "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) What a great love we are called to show to each other, even our enemies! I know I can't love even my own husband like that without God's help. The good news is that He is ready and willing to help us. All we need to do is ask Him and believe that He will.

Have a Happy Valentine's Day!

valentine butterflies

Love is in the air!  I have too much fun re-living my childhood when Valentine’s Day rolls around.  My daughter has to bring 15 signed valentine cards to school this week and we decided to make them by hand instead of buying them this year.  I saw a cute idea in Family Fun magazine to make butterflies out of old fashioned candy sticks.  So we took the idea and changed it so suit our own needs.  I found valentine message suckers at the store that would make a perfect fit.  First, I scanned in a mock-up butterfly shape and traced it in Adobe Illustrator.  Next, I printed some of my digital scrapbooking papers on cardstock.  Then I used my Silhouette to cut these out.

You can also use traditional means.  Trace the shape on paper and cut it out with scissors.  Then hole-punch the center 2 times so a sucker can be weaved through.  Use a 1/8" hole punch if you have one. My 5 year old practiced writing names on each one.  We both had fun.  Happy Valentine’s Day!

paper ornament craft

My girls and I had fun with a quick ornament craft this Christmas. Even my 3 year old was able to do it. We took a Christmas catalog and cut it into 2" strips. Then we made a "sandwich" out of 5 strips in these lengths: 11"-8"-5"-8"-11". The ends were then lined up and stapled. The result was a colorful oblong paper ornament. I strung 5 of them together to make a garland for my dining room. The clean up was easy and the girls were delighted to show their Daddy when he came home. These would make great party decorations too - just use colored strips of paper to match your party decor. Hang tassles or ribbon on the bottom for extra flair. The idea came from an Etsy shop called Bookity, that recycles old books into interesting crafts. Thanks for the inspiration, Bookity!