Oxi Clean to the Rescue

  I know this seems like a strange thing to comment on, but I am finding more and more people who have NEVER tried Oxi Clean for the clothes or other purposes yet.  I thought I would share this now because I have a new baby now and quite frankly, babies are messy and are pros at staining clothes.  This is my first and probably only girl so of course I want to get the most out of the cute clothes she has.  Oxi Clean has been AMAZING, not just on her stuff, but all of our clothes.

 

   I first started using it about 6 years ago.  I purchased my first container of powder to help with stains we had in our carpet.  I worked SO WELL, I bought the spray to try on laundry.  I first tried it on a blood stain I had gotten while at work (I am a nurse).  It fascinated me when it bubbled up on the blood which vanished almost immediately.  I could literally see it working.  I started using it on every stain I could see and also threw in some with every load of laundry (I use about 1/4 scoop each time).  We moved to Alabama which has red, horribly staining dirt.  I could not get it out with anything else, but it came out with Oxi Clean every time.  Now with my beautiful baby girl, it has saved so many outfits, I can't even count it.
   We were out of town for almost 2 weeks and I forgot to bring any spray with me so her clothes and stains sat there for many days. I even washed them along the way using things like Shout or Zout that were available. The stains did not come out with those.  When we got home, I sprayed all of the clothes and let them sit for about 30 minutes and threw them into the wash.  I was nervous that the stains would not come out since they had sat for so long and had already been washed and dried, but EVERY SINGLE stain came out.  I just had to share it.  
    It has also worked on the stains I have always had trouble getting out: chocolate, pizza sauce, grape juice. It has worked for all of them.  If you haven't tried it already, take a small challenge and buy a bottle of the
spray or a container of the powder and just see how it goes.  You can often find coupons to help save money on it!  You can also find it in many of the laundry detergents now too!  Hope you love it like I have!

~Stacy~

Chalk Paint Refinishes

    Over the summer, while visiting my sister-in-law, I was introduced to the art of chalk paint refinishes.  My sister-in-law had done several pieces in her home and they were simply gorgeous!  She walked my through the steps and encouraged me to give it a try.  We visited a shop there that specializes in refinishing furniture for people and selling pieces.  The cost difference in purchasing a finished product and finishing your own is at least 4X's less DIY.  It is a little time consuming, but definitely worth every minute.

   My oldest son had this small dresser that was my husband's when he was a kid.  My son liked it but asked if we could paint it blue.  We found the perfect color at the shop in Colorado and purchased the other supplies needed.

The items you'll need are:

• Chalk Paint (Annie Sloan is the brand we used.  It is about $40 a quart, but it goes a long way.  There are also several tutorials on making your own if you google it, but I haven't tried this so can't give any tips!)
• Light or Dark soft wax (depends on the finish you are wanting.  You can purchase a dark Finishing Wax from Home Depot or Lowe's for about $10.00.  The light wax can be found from any Annie Sloan distributors.)

         

• A large stippling brush
• Regular size paint brush
• Small paint brush
• Cheese cloth
• Acrylic Paint
• Petroleum Jelly
• Fine sand paper
• Something to refinish

Here is the dresser my son wanted to have painted blue.  It has nice markings on the drawers and lots of scratches and dings to give it lots of character.

1.  Remove all of the hardware.

2.  This next step can just be skipped if you like the wood color and that is the color you want exposed.  If you would like a lighter or darker choose an acrylic paint to suit your taste.  Use a smaller paint brush to apply the acrylic paint to anywhere you think you might want to expose off after the chalk paint is applied.  Good places would be the edges, gouges and scratches, and carvings.  Remember, just because you put the acrylic paint there, it doesn't mean you will be exposing all of it, only some will come through with the sanding.  You will want to apply 2-3 coats of the acrylic paint to make sure it is covered well enough.

3.  After you have all of the acrylic paint on, use the petroleum jelly and apply a layer on each area you want exposed.  You don't want this very think but thick enough that it will allow the chalk  paint to come off.  If you put it on too thick, it will strip much more of the chalk paint than you want off. 

4.  Apply a layer of the chalk paint.  Let the paint dry and then apply a second coat.  Let it set for about 12-24 hours.

5.  Once the paint is completely dry, use your sand paper to remove some of the paint distressing it a bit.  You will be able to see glossy areas where the vaseline areas are.  Focus the sand paper on these to show the color underneath.  Expose as much or as little as you like, just don't make it uniform.

6.  Once everything is exposed you want, use your stippling brush to apply the soft wax back and forth over the painted areas until everything is covered.  Let it sit for about 30 minutes then use about 12 inches of the cheese cloth to rub the wax until smooth.  Apply a second coat of the wax and repeat with the cheese cloth.

7.  Reapply the hardware and display proudly.

~Stacy~

My Baby Girls Nursery!!!

     I am absolutely thrilled that I get to decorate a room for a little girl!  I have loved having my 2 boys and they are so fun, but girls stuff is so darn cute!  I didn't know if I would get this opportunity, so now that I am pregnant with a girl, I am going to make it as fun as I can!  She is just a week away from joining our family and I have FINALLY gotten the room finished.

      I have fallen in love with the pink and grey color scheme and these are the ideas I am pulling together, hopefully for a room she will LOVE!!

     Here are a couple of the room broken down.  The only thing not shown is the cute pink curtains because a temporary bed was in front.  I'll post them later once the initial sleepless nights are over and the bed is moved out!

I plan on posting directions for what I did, but it will be at later time.  I'll link them once I do for anyone interested in using any of the ideas!

~Stacy~

Neighbor Christmas Gift Ideas

     Doing nice things for neighbors at Christmastime is something we learned from our mom.  The was an awesome example of serving other people including our neighbors. She would really go out of her way to say thank you to them and our family friends at this time.  We would usually spend days baking and cooking a large amount of treats to put together for this project.  Among them was almond roca, fudge, peanut brittle, carmel corn, chocolate dipped pretzels.  These always turned out so delicious and us kids were always so sad we weren't the ones getting all of the goodies, but we still had fun delivering them to our various friends and neighbors.

Below you will find the various recipes!

Almond Roca

2 Cups Sugar
1 lb. Butter
1/4 tsp Salt
3/4 Cup Chopped, Blanched, Almonds
1/2 lb. Chocolate, melted
1 Cup Finely Ground Almonds

1.  Put sugar in a skillet first, then add butter and salt.  Cut butter into small pieces coating well with sugar.  2.
    Turn control to HIGH, stirring constantly.  When butter is melted and well blended with the sugar, turn
    burner to MEDIUM.   Cook mixture until it is a deep amber.  Be sure to keep the mixture from the sides
    of the pan.
3.  When the mixture is at the brittle stage (it will spin a thread when you hold the spoon up, or it will be rock
    hard if you drop some in a cup of cold water), pour onto an ungreased tray or cookie sheet.
4.  When set, brush with melted chocolate and sprinkle with the finely ground nut meats, pressing firmly in the
    chocolate.
5.  When this has set, turn over and do the other side.
6.  Break into irregular pieces.

** This recipe stores well in an air-tight container!

Fudge

2 1/2 C. Sugar
3/4 tsp Salt
1/2 Stick Butter or margarine
1- 5 oz can of Evaporated Milk (approx. 2/3 C)
1- 7 oz Jar Marshmallow Fluff
3/4 tsp Vanilla
1- 12 oz package of Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1/2 C. Chopped Walnuts (optional)

1.  You will use a 9X13" pan for this, so grease it and set it aside.
2.  In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, salt, butter, evaporated milk, and marshmallow fluff on low.  Once it is all mixed well, increase your heat to medium until you have a full rolling boil.  Boil and stir constantly for 5 minutes.
3.  Remove from heat and add your chocolate chips and vanilla.
4.  Once the chocolate chips have melted, if you are going to add walnuts, add them now.
5.  Pour into your greased pan and let it cool.
6.  Cut into approximately 1" squares to share!

  

Peanut Brittle

1 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup Light Corn Syrup
Dash of Salt
1 to 1 1/2 Cups Shelled Raw Peanuts
1 Tbsp Margarine
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Vanilla

1.  Grease your cookie sheet heavily.
2.  Combine sugar, corn syrup, and salt in a 3 quart casserole dish.  Stir in peanuts.
3.  Microwave on high until the mixture is light brown (about 8- 10 minutes).  Stir once or twice during this
     period.
4.  Stir in remaining ingredients until light and foamy.
5. Quickly spread onto the greased baking sheet.  Spread as thin as possible for brittle candy.
6.  Cool and break into pieces and eat.

Carmel Corn

A LARGE bowl of air popped popcorn  (I also really like to use the puffed corn now so you don't have to deal with kernels)

1 Cup Butter or margarine

1 Cup of Sugar (you can also use 1/2 Granulated and 1/2 Brown to make it lighter)

1 Cup Karo Syrup

1 tsp Baking Soda

1-2 Tbsp Milk (only if you want to make it sticky)

1.  After you have popped your popcorn, it is a good idea to sift it into another big bowl so you can minimize how many seeds are left.  Set it aside.

2.  In a medium to saucepan, melt the butter.  Add in your karo syrup and sugar.  Mix pretty constantly until you have a rapid boil.  The mixture will start rising in the pan just a little bit.  Continue stirring for about 1 minute or until you are sure the sugar has dissolved.  Take off the hot burner.

3.  Add the baking soda and stir in well until it is mixed completely.  Again, your mixture will rise even more, that is why you want a larger saucepan.

4.  Add your milk if you want the end result to be a sticky carmel corn.  If you want the crunchier type, do not add the milk.  I really don't even measure this anymore.  I just tip the jug for a second or two and that is the perfect amount.

5.  Start pouring this over the popped corn until it is evenly coated.  If you want the sticky carmel corn, stop here.

6.  If you want a crunchy carmel corn, preheat your oven to 200.  Spread the popcorn out onto a cookie sheet, into a 9X13" glass pan, or if you mixed this in a metal bowl, you can use this, it will just take a little longer to finish.  Stick this in the oven and cook in 15 minute intervals, stirring each time until it reaches the crunchiness you want.  Let it cool before putting onto your goody plate!

Almond Joys

This was also a favorite of us kids during Christmas time.  I don't recall making these at any other time of the year!

2 Cups Sugar
2 Cups White Karo Syrup
1/2 Cup Water

Boil to 225° (soft ball in cold water), remove from stove and add:

1 1/2 Lbs. Coconut
1 Cup Chopped Almonds
1/4 tsp Almond Extract

1.  Stir well.
2.  Pour into a buttered pan.
3.  When cool, cut into small squares and dip in chocolate.

**If you would rather make Mounds Bars, just leave out the almonds!

Chocolate Covered Pretzels

    These are so easy and just delicious.  All you need is a bag of pretzels and some chocolate or white  chocolate almond bark.  Melt the almond bark in either a double boiler saucepan or a microwave safe bowl (on 50% heat) until the chocolate is melted.  Add a little bit of oil or vegetable oil to the chocolate to make it smooth.  Once it is melted, take a handful of pretzels into the chocolate.  Use a fork to scoop them out one at a time, tap the chocolate off into the pan, and place the pretzel onto a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper or wax paper.

    After they have dried, you can either leave them like that, or take the opposite flavor of almond bark and lightly drizzle that flavor over the top.  You can also add green or red sprinkles while the chocolate is still wet.

Snow Stacks

This was something our mom used to make to add to the plate and they were always so good.  They are also REALLY easy.  All you need for this is white almond bark and chow mein noodles.  Melt the chocolate as above with the chocolate covered pretzels.  Once the chocolate is melted, pour the bag of chow mein noodles in the chocolate.  Mix around until they are all covered and start scooping them onto a cookie sheet with wax paper or parchment paper in little mounds.  Let them dry completely before moving them.  They take a little longer than the chocolate covered pretzels.  You can add peanuts or cashews or something if you  would like.

12 Days of Christmas Gifts

    We did this as a family a few times and then had it done to us too.  It was really fun on both ends.  Being the one to give the gift, you really had to start coming up with creative ways to deliver the gifts because after the first day or two, the families would start keeping an eye out for you to see who their secret family was.  We would do the same thing.  It was fun to have to try and hide while making the delivery, or sitting at the window to try to catch whoever was delivering to you.  I can't remember what criteria we used to pick our families other than just friends, but one suggestion would be to pick a family you know may be struggling or needing a little extra help around the holidays.

Some of the gift suggestions are:

• A pie
• A goody platter (you could count each different treat as a different day.  Example: 4 different types of treats could be given on day 4)
  
• Christmas Pillowcases (1 for each member of the family and again, just assign it to the day that coordinates with the number)
• A Christmas mug with either candy or Hot Chocolate packets inside.

These hot coco packets were just made out of the icing decorating bags.  Just add 2 packets of hot coco, mini marshmallows, and some sprinkles for flare!
• A Christmas music CD
• A Christmas movie or a movie night packet (basket, pop, chips, popcorn, movie theater style candy, Christmas movie).  
• Polar Express
• Elf
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas
• Miracle on 34th Street
• Home Alone
• An ornament for each member of the family (or just the days-  this could be a good 12th day idea)
• You could spell a word, multiple words, decorate with a reindeer or Christmas Tree
• Candy canes
• A bag of Reindeer food (full of bird seed and glitter)
• You can attach a card with this little saying on it
• "Sprinkle on the lawn at night
• The moon will make it sparkle bright
• As Santa's Reindeer fly and roam,
• This food will guide them to you home!
• Apple Cider Packets
• A cute container long chocolate dipped Pretzel Sticks (12)
• Christmas Cake Pops
• Decorate an empty jar like a snowman.  Fill it with the dry ingredients for cookie dough.
• If finances or not a problem, may a gift of 2 for each family member on the final day.
• Possibly fixings for Christmas dinner: Ham or Turkey, potatoes or mashed potato mix, vegetable, rolls, stuffing, salad (or whatever else you might have for a Christmas dinner.  I am sure everyone is different!)
• A popcorn Tin
• A nativity Set (here is a link for an idea)
• 6 pack of IBC Rootbeer or Cream Soda (or other 6 pack pop) dressed up like Reindeer (idea here)
• A Christmas Decoration
• If you can find a Christmas jello mold, give that and green or red jello
• Christmas cookie cutters and a package of cookie dough mix

Day 1   Day 2   Day 3   Day 4   Day 5   Day 7   Day 8   Day 9   Day 10   Day 11   Day 12

More FUN Christmas Decorations

    There are just so many adorable Christmas Decorations out there, it is a shame not to be able to put all of them into one post.  We have just a few of our favorites for this year we wanted to share.

Fabric Trees

   The first one is something our mom made for us a few years back.  They are so cute and can go anywhere so of course they go out every year.  They are really simple and inexpensive to make too.
   For this little project all you need are 2X4's cut about 4 inches long, dowels in 3 different sizes, 3 different colors of fabrics, raffia and a drill and wood glue.

** For the fabric, we would suggest Christmasy colors, but not necessarily Christmas patterned material.  Example, reds, greens, golds, blues.    You can choose solids or something with a mild print like a star or plaid.  If you get about 1/2 yard per color, you should have plenty to cover your tree.

** For the dowels, you really can choose how long you want to cut them (or have them cut when you purchase them if they offer that service--Home Depot or Lowe's would).  Ours are 13", 16" and 19" and that seems to be a perfect length.

1.  You will start by drilling a hole in the center of the 2X4" piece (sitting flat, it will be a 4X4" by 2" height).  Drill it about 1/2 to 3/4" down.  Add a little wood glue and stick your dowel into it.  Allow this to dry.

2.  Next,  cut several strips of the fabric into 1" strips.  The length of these will vary, depending on which tree they are for.  The smaller ones will be about 6-7 inches long, the medium tree 7-8 inches, and the larger tree 8-10 inches.  Cut one strip the length you think will work and actually tie it on to see if that is how long you want it before cutting all of them!

3.  After you have the strips cut into the lengths you desire, start at the bottom of the dowel and just start tying the strips onto the dowel, one by one.  You will want to tie them at different spots (rotating the dowel around) so the loose edges go all around the tree.  Continue until you get to the top.  The final 4-5 pieces you will tie just a little differently.  Lay one or two over the top of the dowel, then tie 2-3 more around the dowel, over the top of the material you just laid down.  This will cover the end of the dowel and finish it off.

4.  Final step is to tie a long raffia ribbon around the top with the long ends touching the ground and maybe +2 inches!

Shop More Sister Stuff!

We have worked really hard this year to get a BUNCH of Christmas decorations into our shop for this season.  We decorate our homes with these fun items and hopefully you will find something you want in your home too!  Some of the things we have available in our shop this year are also linked below and you should be able to see the rest from there!

Vinyl Platters

Apothecary Style Candy Jar Sets

Christmas Greetings Blocks

Ho Ho Ho

Merry Christmas

Snowflake Stitching Picture

Christmas Glass Blocks

Day 1   Day 2   Day 3   Day 4   Day 6   Day 7   Day 8   Day 9   Day 10   Day 11   Day 12

Christmas Decorating Traditions

Night of the Christmas Tree

   Something we did as a family when we were young that was a fun tradition, happened on the night we finished decorating the tree (and house).  I believe we always decorated for Christmas the Monday following Thanksgiving.  It might have been another night and it wouldn't matter when you choose to decorate.
    What we would do is make egg nog (store bought and sprite added to it, yum!) or hot chocolate for everyone.  We would all come and sit around the Christmas tree and turn off all of the lights except for the tree.  Dad would tell a Christmas story or talk about the REAL meaning of Christmas to start us out.  Then we would sing Christmas songs for a while.  We probably each got to choose our favorite song and would sing until everyone got a chance to choose a song.  I don't know what it was about the singing under the lights, but it sure put us into the BEST Christmas mood and spirit!

Light Sightseeing

   Another tradition we had every year, maybe a week or two before Christmas, was to go look at everyone else's Christmas lights.  My mom would usually make some Hot Chocolate or something we could drink to keep us warm while we looked.  We would all pile up in the car and just start driving around for an hour or two looking at the beautiful lights around us.  There were usually a few neighborhoods or single houses that always had good lights we would make sure to hit.
   One of the homes we always went to went WAY out of their way to show their spirit.  It was SOOOO much fun to see as a kid.  They had decorated several different "scenes" throughout their yard, from the front to the back of the house.  There was Santa's workshop with his elves, Mickey Mouse and his crew working on presents, kids ice skating in a pond, trees and animals in a winter wonderland, a scene from The Nutcracker.  Just about anything you can imagine, he had out there.  You would get out of your car and go walk around.  When you left the yard, the old man was always out there passing candy canes to everyone who came to look.
   As an adult, I have tried to keep up this tradition with my kids because I loved it so much when I was little.  When we lived in Texas, there was this GIGANTIC neighborhood that had competitions each year.  It was really amazing.  Each street had a theme they were in charge of.  They would take a certain Christmas carol or story and starting with the 1st home on that street, they would break the story or carol up with each house doing a small phrase.  It was really incredible how it all went together and how the entire neighborhood participated.  My understanding is that when you bought and sold a home in that neighborhood, the new owners had to agree with participating in their purchase contract!  What a neat idea!

Day 1   Day 2   Day 4   Day 5   Day 6   Day 7   Day 8   Day 9   Day 10   Day 11   Day 12

Black Friday Sale

Hey everyone!  We are having a Black Friday Sale this week in our More Sister Shop!  Click the link to check out the deals you can get for Christmas gifts this year!  The Sale Starts today and goes through Friday!

Some of our featured items are:
Christmas Decorations
Birthday Boards
Infant and Toddler Dresses
Sashay Scarves
Infant and Girl Headbands
Infant and Girl Hair Clips (use promo code SILK5 and get one of these hair clips for 50ȼ.  Must have a hairclip in your cart for the promotion.)

A Time to Give Thanks

  We have all collaborated again to share our best ideas for a fantastic Thanksgiving Day.  We hope you will enjoy all of the ideas!

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Pumpkin pie is kind of a staple for Thanksgiving, right?  I LOVE pumpkin pie but I also like variations of this great pumpkin treat.  One that I found this year is a pumpkin cheesecake and it is so incredibly delicious.

2 (8 ounce) packages Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup White Sugar
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 Eggs
1 (9 inch) pie crust- Graham cracker or regular pie crust
1/2 Cup Pumpkin Puree
1/2 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Ground Cloves
1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg
1/2 Cup Frozen Whipped Topping

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 325° F.

2.  In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla.  Beat until smooth.  Blend in eggs one at a time.
3.  Remove 1 cup of batter and spread into the bottom of the pie crust.
4.  Add pumpkin, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg to the remaining batter and stir until blended well.  Spread this mixture over the batter in the pie crust.
5.  Bake in the oven for 45 to 60 minutes or until the center is almost set.  Allow the cheesecake to cool, then place in fridge for at least 3 hours.  (The original recipe called for 35-40 minutes, but I have made it 3 times now, and it was always closer to an hour cooking before it was completely done).
6.  Spread the cool whip over the top before serving.

Crafts for Kids

    For the past couple of years, the kids have made placemats or some cute Thanksgiving craft at school and they turned out so cute we want to share some of them!  

    This first one is a Turkey made from Pine cones, Acorns, Feathers, Googly Eyes, and Craft Foam pieces.  All you do for these is select an acorn for each pine cone.  The acorns will serve as the head, so pick the size accordingly.

   1.  You can have the turkey standing or laying down.  If it is standing, hot glue the acorn at the top, but facing forward.  If laying down, glue it at the top facing up.  

2.  Glue the googly eyes to the acorn for the face.

3.  Next, cut out a small triangle from the orange foam.  Glue it under the eyes, kind of curving it to form the beak.  You can also cut out feet with the orange foam if you want to add those.  

4.  Add feathers to the back or bottom (depending on how you have it positioned) to make the tail.  

**My son glued these to a paper plate for the display, but you can just have the turkey itself to display!

Another cute Turkey idea is with a toilet paper roll and construction paper.  

1.  First you need to make the feet so they can act as a base for the turkey.  Make it just about a 1/2" around bigger than the toilet paper roll.

2.  Make 4-6 large feathers to put around the back side of the toilet paper rolls for its tail.  Have the kids write something they are thankful for on each feather.
3.  Design a hat and beak from the construction paper and attach accordingly.
4.  You can draw on eyes or use the googly eyes for the bird.

Pilgrims and Indians

This one is another idea to be made out of toilet paper rolls and construction paper.
You will basically follow the instructions for the turkey, just adjust it to the Indian with feathers and the pilgrims in their hats.  So Cute!!!

Placemats

 We have several ideas for placemats, so take your pick, or do them all!

1.  The first option was one done at school.  They used long (11X14") construction paper, preferably 2 different colors.  You could use 8X10" sheets if you don't mind a smaller mat.

       a.  Choose your main color and cut length wise, strips about 1 inch apart all the way from one edge to  

           the other, width wise.  Leave about 2 inches at the end of the paper length wise.  (I hope all of this 

           makes sense.  Hopefully the picture will help with the visual of which directions the strips are cut and 

           weaved)

       b.  Take the second color of construction paper and cut it into 1 inch strips width wise.

       c.  Next, you will take one strip and start weaving over and under the long sheet, starting as close to the 

           2 inch margin as you can.  Continue weaving each strip until you get to the second margin.  

                ***If you get to the end and there is not enough space, just cut the margin a little wider on each 

                      side until the final strip fits. If the last strip has just a little extra room and you don't want to try 

                      to fit another strip in, simply spread the strips apart from each other a little bit.

       d.  Finally, decorate it with the child's name, pictures or drawings.  My son's teacher used some paint on 

            their hands and made a turkey out of it!  It turned out really cute.  (Laminate if you can for future
            years)

2.  The second idea was something Stacy did last year in Alabama.  Since there was no family there, we just had Thanksgiving with several of our friends and their families.  About a week before, we got all of the kids together with a bunch of old magazines.  We used 8X10" construction paper for this project.  We also had stickers and stencils, markers and crayons, and other little shapes they could add to their mat.  The kids went through and found pictures representing things they were thankful for.  

      a.  We had all of the kids glue their pictures and accessories to their paper however they wanted. 

      c.  Have them add their name somewhere on their design.  

      d.  Finally, my friend had a laminator, and if this is available, I would highly recommend it.  You can just 

           make this a one time thing though and skip the laminating!  

               ***If you want it laminated and don't have access to a laminator, one cheater way to accomplish  

                this is to use clear packing tape.  Just tape it across the paper length wise from top to bottom.  Do 

               the same thing on the back side to seal it.  USe your finger or scissors to go around all of the 

               edges one more time then cut the excess off.

3.  

Table Runner
I think a fun tradition to start would be this table runner. You buy a table runner and then have everyone in your family put their handprint in paint in a different color, add the year and voila! Something fun for the kids to pull out every year and see how much they've grown over the years. I think this is so cute!

Beadboard Turkeys

I came across these beadboard turkeys on pinterest and thought they are such a cute decoration for Thanksgiving! Here is the tutorial to make them.

We hope these fun ideas might help make a great Thanksgiving!

Love, The Sissies

 

Name Blocks

My youngest son wanted to get these big letters from Hobby Lobby to put on his wall, that spell his name.  His bedroom is red and white with a sports border at the top.  I came up with the idea to get various sports scrapbook papers to decoupage onto the letters to put in his room.  I think the turned out really cool and he loves them.




Here is how I made them.

1.  I first traced the letter backwards on the back of the piece of paper we were using for that letter.  Add an extra 1/4 inch around as you are tracing.  (You will need that for the edges).  The letters we chose were about 1 inch taller than the paper we were using, so I had to get creative to cover both ends.  Some of them I would add the remnants to the top and bottom, some in the middle, some to the top with a strip in the middle and so on.  I mixed it up so they wouldn't all look the same.

2.  Once you have cut out the paper and made the adjustments (if needed) you will turn both over and start adding the mod-podge to the board, then press down the paper.  I would try to do it about 1/3 at a time so I could adjust the paper as needed.  I would also make sure to mod-podge all of the edges after attaching to the board.

3.  Next you will cut the extra edge with little slits at each corner and around curved edges so you will be able to cover the width of the letters easily.

4.  Start at one end and start moving around gluing a small section of paper to the edges.  This part takes a while, so be patient.  The edges will not hold immediately.  You will have to hold it down until the glue starts sticking, and don't be surprised if you have to go back and hold some sections down again.

5.  Once you have finished all of the edges, go around all of them and the back outer edges with the mod-podge again and let it dry.

6.  Once dry, turn back over and mod-podge over all of the front.  Let it dry overnight.

7.  To attach it to the wall, you can attach picture frame hooks on the back or get some of the heavy duty Command tapes and apply to the back, leaving the little tabs hanging out the edge.  I know you can buy packages of just the sticky tabs if this is the route you want to go.

Here is a look of the final product!    My son does love them.

8.  If you are willing to be patient in getting the letters, you can use a 40% off coupon on each of them.   You can go to this Hobby Lobby website to either print the coupon or put it on your smart phone to show the cashier.  For the largest letters, this will make them about $2.56 each.  The paper goes on sale about every 2-3 weeks at 50% off, leaving each sheet at $0.25 each.

It is a really fun project and looks great in the kids rooms.

~Stacy~

Halloween Decoration Ideas

  I have said before, Halloween is one of my favorite holidays to decorate for.  I really don't like the creepy skeletons, bloody hands or things like that , but I love the cute pumpkins, witches, and ghosts.  I really do try to add to my collection every year.  I have gotten with my sisters to see what ideas they have for decorations this year and this is what we have come up with!

Let's Get Batty!!

My friend had done this on her front door a couple of years ago and I fell in love!  She gave me her template and I finally got the bats made this year.  I just used cardstock and taped them to my front door windows.

Pumpkin Patch

Arizona is really big on recycling, which is nice and it also helped to spark this idea.  As I was throwing away multiple glass bottles, such as spaghetti and pickle jars, I got an idea to save them and use them as pumpkin decorations.  I just painted the outsides of the jars orange.  I painted the lids and  the little pumpkin segment lines brown.  One of the pumpkins I painted over the orange with a beige color, leaving the pumpkin segment lines orange.  I used a sharpie marker to draw on each pumpkins face and finished it with some raffia or Hemp String around the lids.  My kiddos really like them too!

Trick-or-Treaters

Here is a picture of my little Trick-or-Treater group!  I wish I could say I made all of them, but just the little girl with the ghost head is my contribution.  (You can buy one of them in our store if you like her too!)

Gliding Ghosts (and a bat)

Another one of the kids favorite is our flying glow-in-the-dark ghosts.  We have a bat amongst them (my oldest son made in 1st grade a couple of years ago).  The glow in the dark ghosts can also be found in our store or on the blog as a tutorial!  I attached these by using fishing string and hooks in the wall.  I put them up as high as I could reach and just tied slip knots on either end of the fishing string.  Then I attached fishing string to the heads and bottoms of the ghosts and bat (2 strings each) and did a slip knot for each string onto the string strung across the room.  I hope that makes sense!  I think it turned out pretty cool.  (I, Stacy, really shouldn't be taking credit for hanging them though because Michelle actually did it for me!  Thanks so much!!!)

Here is a close up of the bat.  It is just made from a black nylon hose with the end stuffed with cotton.  Tie it off at the length you want your bat.  On black cardstock, draw the bats wings, head and ears and then hot glue it onto the bats back.  You can also add additional googly eyes if you want!

~Stacy~

Witches Hat Garland

This is a project Michelle is going to be doing this week.  It is this really cute Mini Witch Hat Garland.  Click on the link for the tutorial!  I believe Michelle is making the hats garland!

~Michelle~

Halloween Garland

Here is Rachel's Garland she made from scraps of black, white and orange material.  It was a quick and easy project she did with her kids this weekend.  Rachel is also going to make some cute little witches hats for some center pieces at her Witches Night Out Party.

~Rachel~