F4A253 Challenge

So I decided to have some ME craft time. Nothing to make for anyone in particular, just wanted to get inky and craft. I've been neglecting my stamps lately, so I headed on over to Splitcoaststampers (SCS) to see what the challenge was today. Today was a Free for all, "CASE of Admiration" (CASE= Copy And Share Everything).
Since I've been stamping, my absolute favorite stamper to follow was Faith Horfrechter, you can see the card that I CASED in her SCS gallery

What a fun challenge, I loved getting inky for it :)

Quiet book

So we had a funeral to go to last summer and it was AWFUL! Not because of the normal reasons that funerals are so hard, but because my three year old is CRAZY and doesn't sit still for nothin! Since that horrible, no good day, I decided to make a quiet book for him. Then I put it off because I have other children and a sick husband and duties and such, so it became a Christmas gift (that I finished on Christmas Eve. Yup. Burnt the midnight oil on that one!)

So this is the front of it. Someday, I'll decorate the front to make it pretty. For now, I was just glad that he could open it mere hours after it was finished and wrapped! I got tips and tricks on quiet book covers from First time mom... and losing it

This page was so tedious! I cut out the templates onto paper, then pinned to my felt, then cut out. And guess what?! The kids have been using my good scissors on who knows what- paper, orange peels, wire... my scissors now suck and it was very difficult to cut out all these super cute little pieces. I found the idea and the template for this page HERE

And the make-a-monster page. Don't think my spacing turned out how I wanted it, not sure my three year old will notice though ;)
Got the idea and info for the page at little miss stitchers

The barn page is my favorite, got the idea from A Quiet Book Blog, which is just a wealth of ideas, tips, and tricks! I got my templates from another site though, keep looking!

I am passing you the template that I used for my animals, I got it from Sunshine, Lollopops, and Rainbows. Her template for the barn is also there :)

A couple of learning pages, one on counting and the other on number recognition, practicing using the phone (NO, that is not a real number!! But in his book, they are real so he can learn grandmas, grandpas, and our home info). I got the idea and template for the phone page from Thread Riding Hood. As you can see, I did mine a bit different, mainly due to only being able to use what supplies I had on hand. Not too shabby for making due with what I had, though :)
I got the idea for the beaded counting page from Sugar Bee Crafts

So that's my sons quiet book. And next to a new little bike, it didn't stand a chance. Oh well. I have several other pages that I'd like to still make and add. Maybe I'll update this post if/when I complete them.
Maybe.
"If".
I have lots of great ideas on my "quiet book" pinterest page, feel free to take a peek and pin away!
Hope you all had a Merry Christmas!!

Handmade soap

So this year for Christmas, we're all about homemade. We're trying to get back to what the reason for the season really is: Christ. As a family, we made some gifts for our family and friends that we thought would be useful and fun, and we enjoyed making them :) One of our gifts is homemade soap. I made a new friend that has an old trick- soap making! Once hearing our goal of a total DIY Christmas, she offered to teach me her ways

I fear that I couldn't do it again if my life depended on it! My crazy kids couldn't leave me alone or not need to go potty or behave with each other long enough for me to do anything! I watched some of the process, stirred, and got to wear some pretty cool looking safety gear. The outcome? Lovely Cocoa-Peppermint soap. Smells SOOOOOO good!!

Ugly sweater time!

It's that time of year again... time to go in public in the most hideous, gaudy, most disgustingly ugly sweater that you can possibly buy (or in this case, make). Ahhh, Christmas. With it's many perks, lovelies, decor, and traditions. We made ugly sweaters a few years ago, however due to mold issues in our home (gotta love the Pacific Northwest!!) they were burnt earlier this year. Once the invitation arrived for our church's ugly sweater contest/Christmas party, I made a trip to the thrift store! Now I prefer the hole-in-the-wall shops over the Goodwill. Most of them have lower prices and support a local cause. Sometimes you can even barter with them! Since I consider myself the queen of frugality, cheaper is better! Step 1- Purchase sweater. I opted for a cardigan style, just a plain green thing.

Step 2- Gather your decorations. I bought two bags of misc. Christmas stuff at the thrift store. My bags had everything from tinsel to stockings, stockings to candle holders, bows to bulbs. A "plethora" of decorations, if you will (wanna play name that movie? "If you do not know what a plethora means, then why do you say I have a plethora of gifts?")

Step 3- Start hot glueing anything (and everything) on. Last time we decorated sweaters, I sewed most of it on. I busted both sweaters out in two evenings. Love the convenience of a glue gun! Note: With using hot glue on a sweater, might want to place something in between the layers of material (I used a cut up cereal box) to prevent glueing the front to the back

Step 4- Glue more on. There's always room for more.

Step 5- Add more decorations. Elbow pads, shoulder pads, trim, collar.... what else could we add?

The finished product, front ^ and back v.

The start of hubby's sweater (just the sweater is seriously so ugly. It reminds me of Fozzy bear)

Made a tree out of the leaves from the poinsettias on my sweater. Wreath on one shoulder, dove on the other. Hubby needs a birdy on his shoulder, like a Christmas pirate!

Decorate the tree!

Hubby's finished sweater from the back

Hubby's finished sweater from the front. Yes, that's tinsel chest and armpit hair. I know. Super gross (but totally hilarious!!)

Our finished products. Yes, I'm wearing a tree skirt. It seemed fitting. Yes,we won the ugly sweater contest. Yes, one of my daughters also made one. Yes, my little boys are both in Christmas sweaters (not quite ugly though), and one of them has a thing for Power Rangers currently). And yes, my oldest daughter is too cool to play along.

Thanks for visiting! If you make ugly Christmas sweaters, I'd love for you to share them with me!

Lip & body balm

Yay for homemade products!

I got the idea/recipe from: http://teacupsandpearls.wordpress.com/2013/11/15/frankincense-and-cinnamon-winter-balm/

In her recipe she didn't specify amounts... I used 1/4 cup of cocoa butter, 1/4 cup beeswax,  1/2 cup of coconut oil, and 7 drops of EO.

Excited to hear the reviews on them!