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!!

'Hang Your Stockings' card

Almost Christmas time!!

Nothing tells me that the holidays are closer than the arrival of Egg Nog. And guess what that means? It means that I get to have my very special super duper favorite drink of all time!! Egg Nog spiced Chai Latte!! Yummy. Seriously. Best thing that has EVER been in my mouth! We used Stampin' Up!s new scented embossing powder on this card, "Sugar and Spice" (get more info on it HERE) so when the recipient opens the envelope, they smell the goodness. Pretty simple card, love those frame dies, the possibilities are endless with them! See the whole SU collection of framelits HERE

Christmas wreathes

i made two wreathes this year. the red & white one was made for my mother in law. the blue and silver one was for us (hubby loves the look of those two colors at Christmas time!)

i got all supplies from the $ store and michaels AFTER Christmas last year when every holiday item was up to 80% off. i went back a couple of weeks ago to stock up on holiday items for next Christmas. can't beat clearance!