Sun Scholars

For the Kids Friday #53

2012-03-08T20:30:00.000-06:00

Welcome to another great kid-friendly link-up!
I've been in China for more than 7 months now. I can't believe that much time has already passed! Right now, the gears are turning in my mind... what is it that I want to put my time and energy into. I think that this blog and my Sun Scholars program is definitely on the list. So here I am... sitting in a Starbucks with my laptop... sipping a coffee and working away while my children are at school.

Yes... I'm in China!

There may be some changes to come... but I promise that they will be awesome ones! I'm just trying to decide what those changes might be... should be.

AND, if you have any suggestions for me, please! I would LOVE your feedback!

Check out my favorites from last week's party!

If you've been featured below
grab my A++ and brag about it to your friends :)

Now onto the Party!

1) I would LOVE for you to first be a follower of my blog. (And why wouldn't you want to be?!)

2) Grab my For the Kids Fridays Button and place it somewhere on your blog. Be sure to link back to me!

3) Link up as many KID-RELATED activities, games, recipes, parties, gifts, clothing you've created, crafts, traditions, lessons, and so on... that you would like to share. Please add a different link each week. They can be old or new... this is just a place to share ideas for our kids to enjoy. Bonus points to those that serve some educational purpose too! Link must be to the specific post, and not your general blog page. Please don't link to your store.

4) Share the love and comment on at least one other link. Everyone loves to get feedback.

That's it! Have fun, and thanks so much for participating!

St. Patrick's Day Inspirartions

2012-03-04T09:43:00.003-06:00

Do you have any fun traditions for St. Patty's day? It is a very special day in our home for several reasons. It happens to be the day that I met my husband. We always try to make it a special day in our home to celebrate how lucky we are.

Here is a collection of ideas I've found inspiring... and I hope you do too!!

And, be sure to check out my

St. Patty's Day Inspirations from last here HERE.

Ice Cream Leprechauns

here at Sun Scholars

Shamrock Pretzel Snacks

here at Sun Scholars

Simple Pinch-Free Pins for St. Patty's

at TinyPrints

Shamrock Drops

at Disney Family

Irish Bow Tie Tee and Props

at Snap Dragon & Ginger Roots

Irish Blessing (free printable)

at cocodot

Shamrock Shortbread Tutorial

at Cheeky Kitchen

Vintage Looking Chenille Leprechauns

at Skip to my Lou

17 Fun Things to do to Celebrate St. Patty's Day

at Secrets of a Super Mommy

Leprechaun Pajamas

at Kid Giddy

Toilet Paper Roll Leprechauns

at Moments of Mommyhood

St. Patrick's Day Rainbows

at Our Best Bites

St. Patrick's Breakfast (free printables)

at eighteen25

Free St. Patty's Day Cupcake Topper Printable

at The Cupcake Blog

St. Patrick's Day Handprint Rainbow Craft

at B. Inspired Mama

DIY Applique St. Patty's Day Tee

at Finley & Oliver

Scratch Off Shamrocks

at Little Wonders Days

St. Patrick's Day Table (free printables)

at Shindig Parties To Go!

St. Patty's Day Cake

at I am Baker

G is for Green - Mommy School Packet (free printable)

at Oopsey Daisy

A Lucky Lunch

at Meet the Dubiens

Make "Magical" Shrinking Leprechaun Hats

at The Teacher Wife

DIY Pot of Gold

at Yesterday on Tuesday

Leprechaun Trap Cake

at Not Martha

St. Patrick's Day Cookies

at Amanda's Cookin'

Shamrock Garland

at Etsy by PaperPolaroid

Homemade Leprechaun Spirits

at Design Sponge

Printable St. Patty's Day Gift Tags

at Hello, Good Gravy!

Shamrock Pizza Squares

at Quick Dish

And... no St. Patty's Day would be complete without...

Leprechaun Trap (tutorial)

at RVA News

Happy St. Patty's Day!!!

For the Kids Friday #52

2012-03-01T20:30:00.000-06:00

Welcome to this week's party!
So happy to have you here!

Here are some of my favorite link ups from last week....
You are all SO inspiring!! Thanks so much for sharing!

If you've been featured below
grab my A++ and brag about it to your friends :)

Now onto the Party!

1) I would LOVE for you to first be a follower of my blog. (And why wouldn't you want to be?!)

2) Grab my For the Kids Fridays Button and place it somewhere on your blog. Be sure to link back to me!

4) Share the love and comment on at least one other link. Everyone loves to get feedback.

That's it! Have fun, and thanks so much for participating!

Homemade Yogurt

2012-02-28T08:00:00.000-06:00

Before moving to China, I would have never known that I could make my own yogurt. How did I miss this? Of course, here in China milk is much more expensive to buy than it is back at home (in the US). For many of you, this will be a great money-saver! I am not happy with the "runny" yogurt options available here in China, and I wasn't having much luck finding yogurt without added sugar.

So then I found THIS great tutorial by The Frugal Girl

My directions are NO DIFFERENT. I'm only sharing my version because I found it difficult to sort through all of the text to understand the process. Once I got it down, it really is a no-brainer! What can I say... I'm very visual!! So here is my attempt to make it super simple for those of you more like me! PLEASE refer to The Frugal Girl post if you want more details I'm not sharing here.

I've made this now 4 times, and I have had awesome results EVERY time!

Supplies

- 1 gallon of milk (less fat, less thick your yogurt will be)

- 1 cup of good quality, plain yogurt, unopened

- Air-tight containers (I'm using recycled jars and Tupperware)

- Large, thick-bottomed sauce pan

- Whisk

- Thermometer

- Cooler

- Measuring pitcher (to help you pour into jars)

Directions

1. Make sure your jars or containers are clean and well sterilized. You will end up with 4 quarts of yogurt (a gallon), so 4 1-quart jars would work perfect.

2. Pour milk into a thick-bottomed sauce pan. Heat over medium-high heat, while occasionally stirring with a whisk, until you reach 185F-190F (85C-90C). As you can see, a meat thermometer works just fine. I used a paperclip to hold it on the side of the pan. ;)

3. Once at temperature, transfer to a sink with cool water. Allow the temperature of the milk to drop down to 120F (50C).

4. At 120F (50C), whisk in 1 cup of good-quality yogurt until well blended. I save a small jar of yogurt from each batch I make to use for this purpose. If this is your first time, you can use a store-bought yogurt.

5. Transfer some of your yogurt to a pitcher to make it easier to pour into your jars. I do this in the sink to avoid making a huge mess!

6. Fill your jars or containers. See those two jars I've set to the side? They still smelled of spaghetti sauce... ack! I don't think spaghetti-flavored yogurt would be too popular in our house! And please.. disregard the mess of milk in the photo. I over-filled my pitcher making it difficult to pour without the mess.

7. Skim the milk froth/bubbles off of the top of each jar/container...

... and your jars will end up looking like this! Now add the tops and tightly seal.

8. Transfer all of your jars/containers to a cooler that you have filled with a gallon or so of hot water.The Frugal Girl's directions say 120F, but I just use the hottest water I can get from my sink. I figure that has to be pretty close since it is too hot to put your hands in! Make sure your cooler is in a warm place in your home, away from cool drafts.

The water only looks murky because some of my jars were sitting in milk. You may also notice I covered the jars with some plastic wrap before adding the lid... just in case the lids were smelling a little spaghetti saucy! Because I didn't trust my Tupperware containers would be safe in the water, I was sure to stick something underneath them so they were not submerged.

9. Close the cooler and leave your yogurt there for 3 hours.

10. After 3 hours in the cooler your yogurt will begin to set, but will still be a bit runny. At this point, transfer it to the fridge. After a few hours your yogurt will be ready to go!

11. Remember I mentioned saving a small jar of yogurt to use as the "starter" for my next batch? I make sure to mark it and tuck it in the back of the fridge.

Delicious!!!

The Frugal Girl offers some instructions for making vanilla yogurt on her post, if you are interested in trying that as well.

Now.... Want to know what I'm doing with my yogurt?? I'll have another post to share soon with those details!

Happy Yogurt Making!!!

Puzzlewich - Feed Your Brain!

2012-02-26T08:00:00.000-06:00

I am thrilled to be featuring Shelisa from a great educational (and FUN) blog called Think Magnet! Her blog is full of creative and simple ways to incorporate learning into the home. I love how her posts are short and sweet... and many ideas shared can be done with the things you already have on hand. She also shares some great advice on how to parent learners within your home. Be sure to stop by and see what great things Shelisa is sharing at Think Magnet!

Some of my personal favorites over at Think Magnet...

1) Sweet Spelling 2) Snow Day Science
3) Think Boards 4) If You Give a Dog a Donut Book Club

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

FEED YOUR BRAIN!

It's the simple, easy teachable moments that become my favorite. My husband grew up with puzzle sandwiches. I love continuing this tradition.

A food for thought chance to practice spatial reasoning, geometry, problem solving and PATIENCE! Also, buys you some time while you're busy filling drinks, cutting up fruit, or actually sitting down to eat your own lunch. When your child is old enough, have them design and cut a puzzlewich for you!

Apply food puzzling to other foods like pizza, breakfast toast, cheese slices, and tortillas!

I also recently broadened our Puzzlewich tradition in creating a Tangramwich!You are what you eat...so what if you eat puzzles.

Happy Puzzle Eating!

Shelisa

For the Kids Friday #51

2012-02-23T20:30:00.000-06:00

Welcome to another week of For the Kids Friday!
I am so proud of the success of my blog over this past year, and it is great to see so many people coming to share here each and every week! As a HUGE THANK YOU to all of you, I am now offering my 12 Week Summer Program at a reduced rate from here on out. Instead of ~~$50~~ for this amazing program, I'm dropping the price to $30. That's it.. not a special... no need to grab it this second... the price will not go back up!

If you haven't heard about my program, I'd LOVE for you to take a moment to check it out. You can find all of the details HERE.

Here are some of my favorite link ups from last week....
You are all SO inspiring!! Thanks so much for sharing!

If you've been featured below
grab my A++ and brag about it to your friends :)

Now onto the Party!

1) I would LOVE for you to first be a follower of my blog. (And why wouldn't you want to be?!)

2) Grab my For the Kids Fridays Button and place it somewhere on your blog. Be sure to link back to me!

4) Share the love and comment on at least one other link. Everyone loves to get feedback.

That's it! Have fun, and thanks so much for participating!

Promoting Good Behavior - Reward Store

2012-02-21T20:00:00.000-06:00

Don't call me mother of the year. I think like most mothers out there, I am always feeling like I could be doing a better job at one thing or another. Recently, I had both my Chinese driver and my Chinese housekeeper tell me that they thought my children were so well behaved, and always listen to me. THIS, coming from people that spend a LOT of time with me and the kids. I about FELL OFF MY CHAIR. I for one, feel like my children NEVER listen to me. Please tell me I'm not alone here.... PLEASE!!

Ok... so another attempt on my part to bring some "lets work together" harmony into our home. A while back I had seen THIS idea which I shared on a collection of Parenting Tips, Tricks & Inspirations. I think this will be the perfect motivator for my kids, the perfect thing for me to implement, and a great way offer positive reinforcement in place of the nagging I've resorted to. I have made some changes to make it more appropriate for our home. And of course... after using it for a few weeks, I've learned a thing or two. I'll share...

Our living room now proudly displays the Reward Store.

Rather than offering an allowance, or using a chore chart, my children earn Mommy Money that they can use to buy things from the Reward Store.

First...

We went shopping together! I told the children that we were buying things that they wanted to go into our store. We had a nice variety of items, some inexpensive, and some more. Some toys, games, treats, books, and so on. The kids were great about helping select the items. And no... I didn't buy EVERYTHING they brought to the cart. ;)

Next...

I had the children put prices on each item. I tried to keep it in "real" terms. If it was a $5 book, then they put a $5 sticker on that item. If it was a $20 basketball, it got a $20 sticker. However, I thought it was likely smarter to put a higher ticket price on the candy we tossed in. Instead of a $.50 package of M&Ms, we marked them at $3.

You know your kids better than anyone. I know, that if I have a Reward Store full of candy, then my kids will be buying nothing but!!! So after a few weeks of using our store, I'm debating as to whether or not I keep the candy in the store. If I do keep it, I will be increasing the price, I am sure.

A great thing to add...

Years ago my sister gave me this AWESOME Kids Coupon Book.

It was the PERFECT addition to our Reward Store.

I added this book to our store, but added a price tag to the back of each. That way the kids can choose an item from the coupon book as well. It is your choice if you allow the children to reuse coupons, which I decided to do. Of course, who needs a book! You can create your own coupons for your Reward Store!

Some of my favorite coupons in the book are...
* Stay up one hour past your bedtime
* Your choice of one item at the grocery store
* You don't have to clean your room for a week
* Your own batch of cookies, to share or keep for yourself
* A birthday cake, and it doesn't have to be your birthday

Ready, Set, Display!

Find a place that is up and away, but visible to display your Reward Store. I found a great plastic tub that I was able to fit most of our stuff in. My daughter was excited to make a sign for the store, which we hung on front, then we placed our "store" on top of the bookshelf in our living room.

So what about the Mommy Money?

You can download the template that I used to create my Mommy Money HERE (it is a Word 2007 Document).

I found a photo of myself and my husband, and cropped the image to the shape of an oval. If you see below, I am using Word to do so with a photo of my husband.

1. Add the photo you would like to use

2. Right mouse click on the photo and select "Format Picture", click the "Layout" tab, and select "In front of text"

3. Select from the "Format" tab on the Word menu then "Picture Shape" as seen in the image above.

There, you will see the oval shape option (circled in red). Select that.

4. Resize your photo to the appropriate size, and place it in the middle of your bill.

5. Copy and past your cropped photo into each of the other bills.

Earning Mommy Money

At our house, it is WAY harder to earn a Daddy Dollar than it is Mommy Money! You need to decide what things you want to encourage in your children. It may be different for each kid in your house too. For me, having the kids pick up after themselves, get ready for school and bed without my nagging, doing homework without being told, and being kind to each other, are my BIG things. So these are all things they earn money for.

I reward my children with $1 for each morning we get off to school on time without me having to tell them more than once.. "Finish your breakfast!"... "Get dressed!"... "Put on your coat!"... and so on. If they are going out of their way to be helpful, they can earn a dollar or two. If they, on their own accord, are exceptionally kind to another sibling, I may be willing to offer up even more.

The key is, decide what you want to encourage in your children!

It is up to you if you think confiscating Mommy Money is a route you want to go. I have told my children that being unkind to each other will result in them having to "pay" the other child from their own Mommy Money stash.

Also keep in mind how quickly you'd like your children to be able to redeem prizes from the Reward Store. If you are forking out enough cash for your child to be buying items from the store each day, you may need to rethink your strategy! Give out less money, or raise the prices in the store!

Adding to the Store

How many times do your kids come up to you at the store BEGGING to have this or that?? I think the Reward Store is a great solution to that. Now you might be more inclined to buy that item, only to stick a price on it and toss it into the store. Your kids are still selecting the items.. and are more motivated because these are things that they really want, right? So keep adding the store. Make it fun and mix it up!

If you give it a try, I'd LOVE to hear how it goes for you!

What things do you have in your Reward Store?

Happy Kids... Happy Mommy!!!

More Dr. Seuss Inspirations

2012-02-19T08:25:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!!!
It's that time of year again! I've got a GREAT collection of amazing ideas to inspire you!

And don't miss my Dr. Seuss Inspirations shared last year HERE.

Lots of fun ideas!!! Thanks to all of you who share your fabulous creativity with all of us!

Thing 1 & Thing 2 Cupcakes
at Good Life Eats

Dr. Seuss Wall Art
at Artsy Fartsy Mama

Dr. Seuss Birthday Party
at HWTM Daily Blog

Dr. Seuss Upcycled Chair
at Seusstastic Classroom Inspirations

Seuss Prints
at Groupon

Dr. Seuss Snacks
at Simple Girl

DIY Dr. Seuss Treats
at Doll House Bake Shoppe

Strawberry Shortcake Cat in the Hat Treats
at The Hokey Pokey Kitchen

Green Eggs & Ham Costumes
at MADE

Dr. Seuss Scrappy Lap Quilt
Available on Etsy by Plum Cozy Cottage

Dr. Seuss Wooden Name Blocks
Available on Etsy by Me and These 3

Dr. Seuss Wall Hanging - Lift the Flaps!
at A Cuppa and a Catch Up...

Oodles of Dr. Seuss Printables
at Bing Images

Storybook Pages as Place Mats
at Real Simple

Sweet Dr. Seuss Snack
at Random Thoughts of a Supermom!

Links to Free Dr. Seuss Fonts
at Coolest Family on the Block

Truffula Tree Tutorial
at Art Projects for Kids

"There's a ______ in my pocket." Classroom Book
at A Place Called Kindergarten

Cat In The Hat Hats (from toilet paper rolls)
at Stuff by Ash

Grinch Punch
at Taste of Home

Thing 1 & Thing 2 Puppets (with printable)
at Crack of Dawn Crafts

Knit Hat & Tie
Available at Etsy by Sweet Pea Toad Tots

Cat in the Hat Suspender Tie Shirt
at Etsy by Bubbles & Bugs

Seuss Party Centerpieces
at Amy Ro. Creations

Cat in the Hat Pizza
at Gallamore West

Dr. Seuss Cake
at And Everything Sweet

Cat in the Hat Cake - And a Great Seuss Party
at Him.Her & Company

ObSEUSSed Link Collection - Add your Seuss posts!
at obSEUSSed

Dr. Seuss Learning Units

Green Eggs & Ham Themed Unit
(Click to Download) by Sun Scholars
A Free Sample of my 12 Week Summer Home School Program

Dr. Seuss Learning Pack (free)
at Living Life Intentionally

Dr. Seuss Unit
at What the Teacher Wants

Dr. Seuss Unit
at 2 Teaching Mommies

Dr. Seuss Directed Reading Thinking Activity
at TeachersPayTeachers

For the Kids Friday #50

2012-02-16T20:30:00.000-06:00

Welcome to this week's For the Kids Friday Party!
This is party #50... which I think is worthy of some celebration!
I'm working on putting that one together ;)

Here are some of my favorite link ups from last week....
You are all SO inspiring!! Thanks for sharing your ideas with us all!

If you've been featured below
grab my A++ and brag about it to your friends :)

Now onto the Party!

1) I would LOVE for you to first be a follower of my blog. (And why wouldn't you want to be?!)

2) Grab my For the Kids Fridays Button and place it somewhere on your blog. Be sure to link back to me!

4) Share the love and comment on at least one other link. Everyone loves to get feedback.

That's it! Have fun, and thanks so much for participating!

For the Kids Friday #49

2012-02-09T20:00:00.000-06:00

Valentine's Day is almost here!
What will you be doing to make it a special day for the ones you love?

I am hosting a Valentine's Day Cookie Party.
I'm inviting all of my mommy friends over next week. We will enjoy lunch together and decorate cookies to share with our kids after school. Some of my friends will bring cookies... some will bring frosting and decorations. It is sure to be a fun afternoon! I'm sure I'll see more of your great Valentine's Day ideas at this week's party. I can't wait!

Thanks for all the awesome links last week!!! Another great party!

Here are some of my favorites....
Seriously, there were TOO many great ideas to narrow it down much this week.

If you've been featured below
grab my A++ and brag about it to your friends :)

Now onto the Party!

1) I would LOVE for you to first be a follower of my blog. (And why wouldn't you want to be?!)

2) Grab my For the Kids Fridays Button and place it somewhere on your blog. Be sure to link back to me!

4) Share the love and comment on at least one other link. Everyone loves to get feedback.

That's it! Have fun, and thanks so much for participating!

I Love You Because Bars

2012-02-05T08:00:00.000-06:00

I had a great idea to use along with THESE granola bars that I shared earlier this week...

I'm calling them, "I love you because..." Bars.

I took the pile of granola bars I made this week and wrapped them in scrapbook paper.

Then I made little labels for each (by hand, though you could type them up and print them out too). Each label says "I love you because..."

Since I toss these in my children's backpacks for school snacks, I thought it would be sweet to write something special on them before I do. So each morning I think of something that I love about each of my children, and write it on the bar for them to find later that day.

This one is for Tate. She is our little diva! Clothes, shoes, accessories, fake hair.... yeah, she didn't get that from me. She is always saying, "Do I look fashable?" or "That is SO fashable!" Haha... so this one is for her.

And Charlotte... who gives great hugs!

I also thought it would be fun to use "I love you more than..." and each day writing something that you love your child more than on the bar. Such as chocolate, Disneyland, movie parties... you get the idea.

These would also be fun party favors, class treats (make sure you don't have any nut allergies), and even Valentines! How about "You make me GRIN-OLA the time!" haha... ok, that's cheesy. ;)

Just a fun way to show your kids they are special.

For the Kids Friday #48

2012-02-02T20:30:00.000-06:00

My kids are officially BACK in school after a long winter break. With a little more time on my hands, I am hoping to have lots of things to be sharing with all of you! And since I wasn't able to feature any of your awesome ideas last week, I'm making up for it today with a double load of kid-friendly fun.

LAST WEEK WAS CRAZY here at Sun Scholars!
There were so many hits to this site, and all I can attribute it to is Pinterest. If you are a Pinterest junkie, like me, thank you so much for sharing my ideas there as well. More traffic to my blog, means more people sharing their ideas at For the Kids Fridays, and more traffic to you! Awesome!!!

Thanks for ALL of you who shared last week (and there were MANY of you)!!!
If you've been featured below
grab my A++ and brag about it to your friends :)

Now onto the Party!

1) I would LOVE for you to first be a follower of my blog. (And why wouldn't you want to be?!)

2) Grab my For the Kids Fridays Button and place it somewhere on your blog. Be sure to link back to me!

4) Share the love and comment on at least one other link. Everyone loves to get feedback.

That's it! Have fun, and thanks so much for participating!

Homemade Granola Bars

2012-01-31T02:31:00.001-06:00

I know there are dozens of homemade granola bars out there, but I thought I'd share our favorite! I've been making this recipe since we moved to China. Granola bars are hard to find, and often hard as a rock when we do find them! My kids LOVE these, and they are really simple to make.

Don't they look yummy?

My 8-year old wants me to add that they are "Delicious!"

**ALLERGY ALERT**

Yes, I know many of you will ask if this recipe contains nuts. It does (in the form of peanut butter).

Ready to make a batch?

Throw your dry ingredients into a large bowl. Rice Krispies, oatmeal, flaxseed and cinnamon (both optional). Toss until blended.

I like to line a 9"x13" baking dish with wax paper. My kids like chocolate on their bars, so I spread some chocolate chips on the bottom of the dish ahead of time.

(You can substitute regular chocolate chips here... I just usually use the mini.)

Place honey and brown sugar in a medium sauce pan. Heat to boiling over medium heat while stirring constantly.

Once boiling, remove from heat.

Add peanut butter and vanilla to your sugar mixture.

Stir until well blended.

Pour your peanut butter/sugar mixture over your dry ingredients.

Acting quickly, gently blend until it is well combined.

Pour your granola mixture into your prepared dish (the one with the wax paper and chocolate chips). Use a spatula to spread the mixture evenly. I like to add some sprinkles over top at this point. I made a second batch (on the right) with sprinkles for Valentine's Day.

Use your spatula to firmly press your granola mixture down so it is nice and compact.

Set the pan aside to cool completely. I like to give it an hour or so. I've placed it in the fridge in the past, but if it gets too cold, your bars are more likely to crack when you cut them... so be careful not to leave in the fridge for too long.

(I'm annoyed with this photo. It will not rotate for me!!!)

When your granola is cooled, transfer to a cutting board. This is how I like to cut my bars. I try to get 16-18 bars cut with each recipe.

Wrap them up with plastic wrap, and toss them in the cupboard so they are ready for school lunches or snacks!

Happy Snacking!

Heart Felt Pocket Warmer Tutorial

2012-01-28T23:06:00.000-06:00

Valentine's Day is drawing near, and many of us are sitting in some pretty cold temperatures this time of year.

Not long ago I came across these on Etsy (created by WormeWoole)...

These adorable little fleece hearts are re-usable pocket warmers!

With three kiddos on the go, I thought these would be the perfect thing for our cold morning runs to school. Pop them in the microwave for 25 seconds, toss them in their pockets, and we're out the door.

So simple to make.... are you ready??

Supplies Needed

- Fleece, I used 4 - 4" x 3.5" pieces for each pair

- Thread

- Rice, about 1/3 cup for each pair

Optional: Pinking Shears, Funnel

Directions

1. Cut your hearts! I made a paper pattern by folding a piece of paper in half and shaping it until I was happy with the result. My heart pattern was approximately 4" wide and 3.5" tall. Then I cut out all of the hearts I needed from the fleece. You will need 4 fleece hearts for each pair.

2. Start Sewing! Match two hearts, back-sides of the fabric together, and stitch around them as you see in the photo above. Make sure to leave a small opening! I used a 1/4" seam allowance.

3. Fill 'er Up! I found it helpful to use a funnel to add the rice to each pocket warmer. Fill them with as much rice to get a fairly plump result... but don't go over-board! The more rice inside, the harder it will be to sew your opening closed!

4. Close it Up! You might want to hand sew here... I don't have time for that sort of thing! I held things together and ran the fleece through the machine to sew my opening closed. Here's proof that I'm not perfect ;) See what I mean about stuffing these full of rice?

5. Trim Your Edges! Ok, so this isn't necessary... and if you don't own a pair of pinking shears, skipping this step isn't going to make these any less functional. I just thought a little edge would dress them up a bit.

.. and Viola!!

How To Use

Pop these in the microwave for 25 seconds, and stick in your pockets for up to an hour of warmth. Be careful NOT TO OVERHEAT, as these can get very hot. Test them out before you pass them onto your little ones. They can be used over and over again. Just keep dry!

The Downside... they aren't washable... but being so simple and inexpensive, they are easy enough to whip up when you need a new pair.

I made a pair for each of my kiddos...

My daughter says they make nice eye-warmers too. Perhaps mom can use these when she puts her feet up!

Super simple! I'm thinking these would make some pretty sweet little Valentines.

What do you think?

For the Kids Friday #47

2012-01-26T20:00:00.001-06:00

Welcome to this week's party!
Sorry to keep this one short and sweet. I am enjoying some time in Beijing with my family. I'll catch up with a double load of features next week. Thanks for sharing!!

1) I would LOVE for you to first be a follower of my blog. (And why wouldn't you want to be?!)

2) Grab my For the Kids Fridays Button and place it somewhere on your blog. Be sure to link back to me!

4) Share the love and comment on at least one other link. Everyone loves to get feedback.

That's it! Have fun, and thanks so much for participating!

More Valentine's Day Fun Inspirations

2012-01-24T20:00:00.001-06:00

Looking for some more Valentine's Day ideas?
There is no shortage of fabulous ideas out there! Check out these ideas that have inspired me...

Hanging Valentine Tutorial
here at SunScholars

Valentine's Day Felt Garland

on Etsy by Aidies Hideaway

3D Valentines (with free printables)

at Martha Stewart

Handmade Valentine - Box of Memories

at The Lettered Cottage

Valentine Doll Cut Outs (free printables)

at Teri Pettit

Valentine Ornaments

at Paper. Scissors, and Superheros

Double Thumbprint Heart Cookies

at Munchkin Munchies

Stained Glass Heart Cookie Pops

at The Tomkat Studio

Valentine Kissing Ball

here at SunScholars

Valentine's Day Arm Warmers

at Alisa Burke

Felt Heart Garland

on Etsy by LoveFromChloe

Two Ingredient Strawberry Fudge

at Cookies and Cups

Heart Cake Tutorial

at I am Baker

Valentine Heart Ribbon Garland

at Our Best Bites

Five Games with Conversation Hearts

at The Party Animal

15 Free Valentine Printables

at Sprik Space

Felt, Beaded Hearts

shared on Flickr by Pavoreal

Papercraft Heart
at Mondocherry

Valentines Strawberry Hot Chocolate Recipe
at Best Friends for Frosting

Valentine Centerpiece Tutorial
at JesseKateDesigns

Valentine Fortune "Cookies"
at Design. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

Candy Wrapper (free printable)
at Less Cake {More Frosting}

Valentines Lunch
at Three Pixie Lane

Valentine Gnomes
at GardenMama

Valentine Heart Strings Pillow
at Etsy by Felix Street Studio

Red Velvet Crepes
at Duhlicious

Paper Flower Centerpiece
at The Decorista

Valentines Minute-to-Win-It
at Stacy Julian

Create Your Own Bokeh Tutorial
at DIY Photography

Pancake Art
at Modern Design

Valentine Jelly Pops
at Tablespoon

52 Reasons I Love You
at Papervine

Valentine Heart Day Celebration
at Sheek Shindigs

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Chinese New Year!!

2012-01-22T21:54:00.000-06:00

It's the Year of the Dragon!

Yep... those of my three crazy children,

posing in front of a Chinese New Year display at the mall near our home.

We had decided to stay put during the Chinese New Year, though many of the other expats are vacationing away from China this week. We were told that there would be fireworks.... LOTS of fireworks. That was no joke. Here is a video I took from our apartment window (from the 24th floor) around 11:45pm last night.

The Chinese LOVE fireworks!

You can buy these fireworks year-round, but in preparation of the CNY, you can find stands selling boxes and boxes on every street corner. Don't think you'll be paying the big bucks for these either! The displays shooting off closer to our building can be purchased for about $15 USD a box (with 50 rockets inside).

Here are some great shots I managed to capture...

I have been told by my Ayi (I like to call her the "other wife", as she cooks, cleans, takes care of the children, does the laundry and ironing... etc.) the Chinese celebrate the CNY with fireworks, food, playing games, food, fireworks, and more food. No work! While we give gifts of all sorts for Christmas, the Chinese give gifts of money and clothing. So in honor of the CNY, we gave our children money in the traditional red envelopes.

You should never give an amount with a '4' as that means 'death' in Chinese. It wouldn't be a very nice gift to give a wish of death, right? However, the number '8' is very lucky in Chinese, so giving a gift of 88RMB (about $13USD) or 888RMB (about $130) would be very well received.

So in honor of the Year of the Dragon,

I'm sharing some great Dragon Inspirations.

Flying Dragon Puppet (with free printable)

shared at Sun Scholars by JellyfishJelly

Dragon Slipper Tutorial

at Made by Rae

Paper Dragon (with free printable)

at Martha Stewart

Dragon (Monster) Eggs

at Creating Through Life

Dragon (Dino) Tail Tutorial

at Running With Scissors

Fire-Breathing Cake

at Family Fun

Chinese Lantern Craft

at Alpha Mom

Happy Chinese New Year!!

For the Kids Friday #46

2012-01-19T20:30:00.038-06:00

My kids have been out of school now FIVE weeks! I have officially reached my limit, and am looking forward to a new routine once school starts up again. We are preparing for the Chinese New Year, which we've been warned is NON-STOP FIREWORKS for days on end. So we are off to Beijing to live-up the experience!

I've also been trying lots of new things this last week. I think I've gotten my swing back :) Keep watch for lots more to be shared here at Sun Scholars!

... and SPEAKING of sharing!
Here are my favorite posts from last week's link party! Thanks so much for linking up with us each week. You guys rock!

If you've been featured below
grab my A++ and brag about it to your friends :)

Now onto the Party!

1) I would LOVE for you to first be a follower of my blog. (And why wouldn't you want to be?!)

2) Grab my For the Kids Fridays Button and place it somewhere on your blog. Be sure to link back to me!

4) Share the love and comment on at least one other link. Everyone loves to get feedback.

That's it! Have fun, and thanks so much for participating!

Kindle Sleeve Tutorial

2012-01-17T09:06:00.001-06:00

Santa brought my daughter a Kindle for Christmas, but he did not bring her anything to store it in when she wasn't using it. Charlotte is 8, and it was inevitable that the Kindle would be doing quite a bit of traveling to keep up with her. So I needed to whip up something... but it had to be girly as well as functional, right?

So here it is... made entirely of scraps and took me less than 2 hours to create!

I was inspired by THIS Kindle Case, dubbed as a 'Fail' at Blue Robin Cottage.

Perhaps a 'Fail' in function, but I thought it was darling!

Ok... so I was determined NOT to fail on this one. Here is how I created my Kindle Sleeve.

Kindle Sleeve Tutorial

Materials Needed

Fabric:

- Outer Sleeve, Cotton (2 - 6"x8" rectangles, 1 - 6"x16" rectangle)

- Outer Sleeve Band, Cotton (1 - 3"x8" rectangle)

- Liner Fabric, Fleece (2 - 6"x8" rectangles)

Thread

Optional:

- Shoulder Strap, Cotton (1 - 3"x40" strip)

- Fabric for Rosetts

- Vinyl (1 - 3"x4" rectangle)

- Wax Paper (small chunk, if using plastic)

Directions

1) Measure your Kindle. I'm not going to assume that they are all the same size, but perhaps they are! Measure just to be sure. My daughter's Kindle measures 4-1/2" by 6-1/2".

Depending on how many rhinestones you have added to yours,

your Kindle may or may not measure larger. ;)

2) Cut your fabric!

You'll need to select two fabrics for the outside (I've chosen the pink polka-dot and the black with paws), and a soft flannel or fleece for the inside. Cut your fabric as directed in the photo above.

3) Prepare your band.

Turn the edges under on the length, about 1/4" to 1/2", and press.

4) Prepare the ruffled front. Take your long rectangle (8"x16") and create three gathering stitches as shown in the photo below. One gather stitch will be down the middle, and the other two about 3/8" stitch from the edge.

You will want to create a gather on each stitch so your long rectangle matches the length of your smaller, 6"x8" rectangle.

Once they match, pin A onto B, as shown below.

I chose to pin back-sides together, but it doesn't really matter which direction your B fabric is facing... just as long as your ruffle print is on top! Once it is pinned you can even out your ruffles a bit.

Next, sew your fabrics together. Sew along each edge where you have your ruffle stitch (not the center), with a 1/4" stitch. Do not sew over your gather stitch, or it will make it difficult to pull out!

Pull out the gathering stitches along the sides (leaving that in the center).

5) Attach the band. Decide if you want your band in the center or slightly off-center. Pin it in place, making sure your ruffles are evenly separated underneath.

Then sew along the edge of the band to secure it.

When you are finished, you may find that the "front" panel of your sleeve is a little out of wack. No worries... just trim it back to it's 6"x8" size and carry on... :)

6) Add an ID pocket. Optional
I happen to have some vinyl on hand from a previous project, so I thought it would be great to add a little ID pocket in case the Kindle was left behind somewhere.

SOMEWHERE in blogland I remember coming across a tip to use wax paper over top of the vinyl when you are sewing... as it keeps your needle from sticking. AWESOME tip!!!

Add your vinyl square on the 6"x8" rectangle to be used for the back of the sleeve, place a piece of wax paper over top, and sew along three sides of the plastic to secure it.

Now you just carefully tear away your wax paper!

7) Finishing it off. With right-sides together, pin a 6" edge of one lining rectangle to a 6" edge of your sleeve front, like below.

Then... with right-sides together, pin a 6" edge of the second lining rectangle to a 6" edge of your sleeve back, like below.

Then sew, using a 3/8" seam allowance.

Lay your pieces, right-sides together, as shown below...

making sure your seams are lined up as shown in the photo on the right.

Pin the three sides as shown, leaving the end of the lining fabric open.

Sew along all three edges pinned above, using a 3/8" seam allowance.

Snip the corners as shown below, being careful not to cut into your stitching!

Turn right-side out....

Sew a stitch along the open edge of the liner. You will never see this... so don't worry if your thread doesn't match, like mine :) Just sew close to the edge!

NOTE: I first trimmed off about 1/4" since I wasn't using the 3/8" seam allowance here.

Tuck the liner inside... and Viola!

Here's the real test... does it fit???

SUCCESS!

8) Finishing Touches! I love the fabric rosettes that have been popping up everywhere. We have made several for other projects, and I thought they would be perfect for this. So I found three fabrics in similar colors, but different texture, and made some embellishments. I also cut a couple of leaves from the extra fleece from the liner to make leaves.

I attached the rosettes and leaves using a glue gun.

HERE and HERE you can find some great tutorials for making fabric rosettes.

9) Need a strap? I thought it might be useful to have a strap so my daughter could use it more like a purse, as we travel quite a bit. So I cut a long strip, folded it in half, and stitched along the edge like you see in the image below.

Turn it right-side out, and attach.

Now... I wish I had thought to add this sooner, as I would have sewn with the lining. Because I hadn't, I tucked the edges in to make a nice ends on the strap, folded them in and stitched them onto the sides as you see in the photo below.

It works! :)

And here, Charlotte has added her ID card, with her name. I put my phone and e-mail contact information on the opposite side.

One happy reader, and one safe Kindle!

Now... to make one a little less fancy for dad.

Happy Sewing!

For the Kids Friday #45

2012-01-12T20:05:00.044-06:00

Welcome to another week of For the Kids Fridays!!

Did you catch the Homemade Valentines Inspirations I posted earlier this week? So many great ideas there, and I know soon you all will have more ideas to share. I can't wait to see what you are all doing to celebrate Valentine's Day this year!

Thanks for all of the great ideas shared last week. I'm sharing some of my favorites below.

If you've been featured below
grab my A++ and brag about it to your friends :)

Now it's your turn!

1) I would LOVE for you to first be a follower of my blog. (And why wouldn't you want to be?!)

2) Grab my For the Kids Fridays Button and place it somewhere on your blog. Be sure to link back to me!

4) Share the love and comment on at least one other link. Everyone loves to get feedback.

That's it! Have fun, and thanks so much for participating!

Homemade Valentines Inspirations

2012-01-09T22:23:00.001-06:00

Is it too early to start thinking about Valentine's Day?

Well, if you enjoy making your own Valentine cards, I think now is the time to be thinking of ideas. I have always LOVED making Valentine cards with my kids to give to their classmates. So I've been busy collecting ideas!

Here are some great Valentine ideas that have inspired me..

I hope you find some that inspire you too!

DIY Doilie Candy Hearts
at Chic Tags

Nuts & Bolts Candy Robots
owner unknown... found HERE

Shaving Cream Valentines

at Modern Parents Messy Kids

Eye Heart You

at Etsy by kraze4paper

O 'Fish' ally be Mine

at Tammy Mitchell Photography

Pirate Valentines (with free printables)

at Mer Mag

Pockets (Warmers) Full of Love

at Gratz Industries

I Dig You (with free printable)

at The Fry Family Blog

Candy Heart Note Cards

at Etsy by Jojolarue

Felt Fortune Cookie Valentines

at Martha Stewart

MUAH Valentines

at Funky Polkadot Giraffe

Tic Tac Toe Valentines

at Shim & Sons

Photo Sucker Valentines

at Keepin' it Real

Valentine Treat Cones

at Tammy Mitchell Photography

Valentine S'mores

at Two Shades of Pink

Guess Whoo Loves You Cards

at Etsy by kraze4paper

I 'Chews' U Valentines (with free printable)

at Living with ThreeMoonBabies

Super Valentines (with free printable)

at Zakka Life

You Make My Heart Bounce

at The Crafting Chicks

Friendship Bracelet Valentines (with free printable)

at Winter Dandee

Sliding Door Valentine (tutorial)

at Positively Splendid

You Make My Heart Glow (with free printable)

at The Teacher Wife

Love Juice Valentines (with free printable)

At Second Street

Airplane Valentine (with free printable)

at Giver's Log

Play-Doh Kits

at Impressions

You Rock Valentine (with free printable)

at A Small Snippit

Valentine Match Boxes

at Life in the Thrifty Lane

Matchbook Valentines (with free printable)

at All Things Simple

You are O 'Fish' ally the Best!

at eighteen25

Candy Filled Heart Valentines

at See Jane Blog

Valentine Kisses

at I am Momma - Hear Me Roar

Sweet Spot Hearts

at Martha Stewart

Valentine Candy Bar Wrapper (with free printable)

at Anything But Perfect

... and from here at Sun Scholars

Postcard Valentines

Hershey Kiss Valentine Roses

Happy Valentine Crafting!!!

For the Kids Friday #44

2012-01-06T00:51:00.000-06:00

Based on the number of posts shared at last week's party, I'm guessing you have all been a tad busy over the holidays ;) We are gearing up for the Chinese New Year over here. I am told that we will find ourselves in the middle of non-stop fireworks... 24 hours a day... for several days on end! Are we crazy for staying in China over the holiday??? I guess we shall find out! haha...

For those of you who did stop by to share at last week's party, thank you!!! I'm sharing some of my favorite ideas below. And... I am looking forward to what you have to share this week!

If you've been featured below
grab my A++ and brag about it to your friends :)

Party! Party! Party!

1) I would LOVE for you to first be a follower of my blog. (And why wouldn't you want to be?!)

2) Grab my For the Kids Fridays Button and place it somewhere on your blog. Be sure to link back to me!

4) Share the love and comment on at least one other link. Everyone loves to get feedback.

That's it! Have fun, and thanks so much for participating!

YUMMY - 5 Minute Beer Bread

2012-01-01T05:54:00.001-06:00

Happy New Year!

To ring in the new year, I have an amazingly simple and delicious (and versatile) recipe to share with you. So simple that your little ones can even help whip this up in about 5 minutes, as you will see in my photos below. You're going to LOVE this one!

One of my new friends here in China (another expat wife, like me) shared this recipe with me after bringing this delicious BEER BREAD to our Christmas party. She wasn't joking when she said this was simple!

SOOOO YUMMY!!

And, yes, I said BEER! This bread uses a can of beer in place of yeast!

Ok, so are you ready for it? Here's the recipe...

Yummy 5 Minute Beer Bread

Ingredients

- 3 cups Flour

- 1 tbsp Baking Powder

- 1 tsp Salt

- 3 tbsp Sugar

- 12oz beer (one can)

- 2 tbsp Butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375F and grease a loaf pan.

2. Combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a large bowl, and mix until blended. Add beer to your flour mixture and stir until well combined. (Your mixture will be pretty gooey, as in the image below.)

3. Transfer dough to the prepared loaf pan. Pour melted butter over top. Place bread in the oven and bake for 45 minutes until the crust is a golden brown.

4. Let bread cool for 10 minutes in the loaf pan, then 10 minutes out. It is ready to enjoy!

Delicious!

I'd like to add, there are SO many ways you could play with this recipe to make some delicious breads. My friend Megan said she added some cinnamon to the recipe, then sprinkled cinnamon and sugar over top with the butter before baking. You could add shredded cheese for a cheese bread. You could add cinnamon and raisins, or maybe even garlic! I can't wait to try some other variations.

This bread is AWESOME toasted too!

I hope you give it try!

Enjoy!

For the Kids Friday #43

2011-12-29T20:19:00.000-06:00

Wishing you all a very, happy New Year!!
I can't believe Christmas has already come and gone! There are so many great holiday posts from the last two parties, it is a shame to have to put them aside for another year. But if you are like me, you're busy pinning these great ideas so you don't lose track of them!

Thanks so much for being here each week and sharing with all of us. I hope you and your families have had a wonderful time over the holidays, however you celebrate. I'm wishing you all the best in the new year!

Here are some features from the last two parties. Awesome ideas!!!

If you've been featured below
grab my A++ and brag about it to your friends :)

... now show me what you've got!

1) I would LOVE for you to first be a follower of my blog. (And why wouldn't you want to be?!)

2) Grab my For the Kids Fridays Button and place it somewhere on your blog. Be sure to link back to me!

4) Share the love and comment on at least one other link. Everyone loves to get feedback.

That's it! Have fun, and thanks so much for participating!

For the Kids Friday #42

2011-12-22T21:00:00.002-06:00

Merry Christmas Everyone!
Be sure to check back after the holidays for a bunch of great features.

I hope you and your families have a wonderful holiday!!!!

1) I would LOVE for you to first be a follower of my blog. (And why wouldn't you want to be?!)

2) Grab my For the Kids Fridays Button and place it somewhere on your blog. Be sure to link back to me!

4) Share the love and comment on at least one other link. Everyone loves to get feedback.

That's it! Have fun, and thanks so much for participating!

For the Kids Friday #41

2011-12-15T21:00:00.000-06:00

Merry Chrishtmas!

Yep, I meant to type that!
We're decking the halls of our home here in China, and we are SO excited for the holidays!
Though nice holiday decorations are hard to come by here, we did manage to find some things to help us feel in the Christmas spirit. One of those things, this Santa poster, which has inaccurately spelled "Christmas".
I had to buy it, right? So it now resides in our kitchen for all to see. ha ha... love it!
We have our Christmas tree up, our advent calendar, the Elf has been sneaking around our home... Christmas MUST be near! Yesterday I celebrated the holidays by hosting a Cookie Exchange Party. I had 20 friends join in on the fun, and it was perfect! What a fun way to share with friends! I'll be sharing more on that soon.

Christmas is just over a week away. There have been SO MANY great holiday posts!
Check out some of the great ideas shared at last week's party. Thanks so much for being here to share, and for those of you visiting for ideas, I hope you find some great ones!!!

If you've been featured below
grab my A++ and brag about it to your friends :)

... now show me what you've got this week!

1) I would LOVE for you to first be a follower of my blog. (And why wouldn't you want to be?!)

2) Grab my For the Kids Fridays Button and place it somewhere on your blog. Be sure to link back to me!

4) Share the love and comment on at least one other link. Everyone loves to get feedback.

That's it! Have fun, and thanks so much for participating!

Santa Cookies

2011-12-15T09:08:00.000-06:00

Ok... hold onto your hats my friends.

I have actually MADE something that I am sharing WITH YOU!!!

I've been wanting to make some iced sugar cookies for Christmas, and I realized that I didn't bring any of my holiday cookie cutters with us to China. :( So I was stuck using a cup to make boring, old circles. I had seen THIS great idea which I used as my inspiration. Of course, I had to add my own special twist.

This is what I came up with....

Aren't they cute?!

I had to improvise a lot here. I used a ziploc bag to pipe my frosting, and made the "black" for the belt using loads of blue and red food coloring. In the end, I think they turned out pretty cute.

THIS is the sugar cookie recipe I always use, and love!

and THIS is the awesome icing recipe I use and love.

Happy Baking & Happy Holidays!!

For the Kids Friday #40

2011-12-08T21:00:00.029-06:00

Time for another Party!
We have our Christmas tree up, our advent calendar, the Elf has been sneaking around our home... Christmas MUST be near! Yesterday I celebrated the holidays by hosting a Cookie Exchange Party. I had 20 friends join in on the fun, and it was perfect! What a fun way to share with friends! I'll be sharing more on that soon.

Check out some of the great ideas shared at last week's party. So many Christmas ideas... I just LOVE it!! I wish I had more time now to be creating and sharing for you all. Thanks so much for being here to share, and for those of you visiting for ideas, I hope you find some great ones!!!

If you've been featured below
grab my A++ and brag about it to your friends :)

... now show me what you've got this week!

1) I would LOVE for you to first be a follower of my blog. (And why wouldn't you want to be?!)

2) Grab my For the Kids Fridays Button and place it somewhere on your blog. Be sure to link back to me!

4) Share the love and comment on at least one other link. Everyone loves to get feedback.

That's it! Have fun, and thanks so much for participating!

Christmas Goodies - Inspirations

2011-12-05T08:00:00.000-06:00

For those of you trying to watch what you are eating this holiday season, let me apologize in advance. I just couldn't pass on sharing this collection. There are SO many fun holiday treats out there. Here is a list that has inspired me to be crafty in the kitchen this season.

Decorated Christmas Cookies

at Tidy Mom

Red Velvet Brownies

at Freutcake

Star Mint Meringues

at Better Homes & Gardens

Santa Pancakes

at Gather Round Our Table

Crunchy the Snowman

at Family Fun

Christmas Tree Cupcakes

shared at Cutest Food

Peppermint Rice Krispies Treats Snowballs

at She Wears Many Hats

Snowman Cheeseball

at Karla Dornacher

North Pole Strawberry Smoothie

at Betty Crocker Recipes on Flickr

Gingerbread Reindeer Cookies

at Meet the Dubiens

Red & Green Cupcakes

at Sugar Swings! Serve Some

White Chocolate Covered Oreo Cookies

at Cup Cakes and Crab Legs

Santa Hat Cupcake

at Created by Diane

Marshmallow Snowman Treats

at Shindig Parties To Go!

Melting Snowman Smores

at Relatively Reagan

Snowman Cupcakes

at Betty Crocker

Snowman Shots

at Babble

Reindeer Pop Treats

at The Idea Room

Candy Cane Marshmallows

at Martha Stewart

Defrosty the Snowman

at Family Fun

Santa & Snowman Milkshakes

at Whisk: A Food Blog

Starlight Mint Cupcakes

at Hello Cupcake

Coconut Snowmen

at Martha Stewart

Reindeer Food

at Sweet Cheeks Tasty Treats

Golden Santa Bread

at Taste of Home

Snowman Pizza

at Delia Creates

Rudolf Cake Pops

at Lisa Storms

Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip

at Jamie Cooks It Up!

Chocolate Filled Raspberry Meringues

at Save the Date for Cupcakes

Fruit Christmas Tree

at Ginger & Garlic

Chocolate Cups

at A Taste of Koko

Cookie and Pretzel Christmas Reindeer Cupcakes

at Hoosier Homemade

Whimsical Eggnog Christmas Cake

at Bakingdom

Santa Party Mix

at Cookies and Cups

North Pole Cupcakes

at Kara's Party Ideas

Snowman Eggnog

at ifood.tv

Tell me that these aren't amazing! I LOVE this time of year!
Enjoy!!

Advent Candles

2011-12-04T08:42:00.000-06:00

It has been WAY too long since I have posted one of my crafty projects with you! Being in China has been a big adjustment for my family. It took me a while to get into the groove again, and just as I was, I took on a teaching position at the International School my children attend. As busy as we have all been, I haven't had time to share with all of you, which I do hope to do more of soon!!

But check out our latest project... Advent Candles!

I wish I had a chance to whip these up BEFORE we fell into December. I was having a hard time hunting down the candles to make them. Even so, I just had to share.

A while back my friend Laura at Come Together Kids had shared with me THIS post. I had used Laura's tutorial to create the most adorable Mother's Day candles with my Girl Scout troop. I thought that this was a perfect idea for making homemade advent candles! Beginning on December 1st, each day until Christmas you light the candle so it melts down to the "next day". You use the candle to count down your days to Christmas. Here is what I did...

Supplies

- Candle

- Tissue Paper

- Wax Paper

- Markers

- Heat Gun or Hair Dryer

- Scissors

I was thrilled to find candles in red and green!! How perfect.

But yes... we are in China. The "Blue" Apple Candle label only proves that! ha ha.

Some Notes:

1. Select a candle and tissue paper color light enough for your drawing/writing to be seen on the finished project. You should be fine, even with a dark red candle, if you use a black pen or marker.

2. For this project you will want to have a candle that melts down completely! These I selected weren't a good choice, as they melt down into the middle. I think a tall, pillar candle would have been a smarter choice!

Ok... Now for the Instructions!

Cut your tissue paper so that it wraps entirely around your candle, with little overlapping, if any. Make sure you cut it a little shorter than your candle to allow for some space above and below.

Next, I used a pen to gently number my tissue paper from 25 down to "Merry Christmas" in the center of my tissue paper. Then, I passed it onto my children so they could add their own drawings.

Yeah, this kid's a ham!

Next, wrap your tissue paper around the candle so that it is nice and smooth all around. Secure it in place by wrapping the entire candle with large piece of wax paper.

Using your heat gun (or hair dryer), heat the surface of the candle until you see the candle melting through the tissue paper. Hold onto the wax paper as you do so. You will know when it has happened, as the surface will look darker. You will likely need to rearrange the wax paper half way through to melt the other side of your candle.

When the tissue paper has been entirely melted into the candle, I remove the wax paper and do some touch ups where needed with the heat gun.

.. and VOILA!

You have created your very own Advent Candle!

And of course, I don't have candle holders, so my dessert plates will have to do! ha ha...

Counting Down the Days Til' Christmas!!!