Canvas Art

I was cleaning up my craft area last week and ran across some little 6x6 inch blank canvases. They've been there for a few years now, just waiting for the right spark of creativity to hit my brain. I have seen how other crafters doll them up with paint and paper and I always think how easy that would be to do. So I started painting, and modge-podging (yes, that's a word I just made up) and came up with these.

Not too shabby for my first attempt.
Good thing you can't see up real close,
cause there are definitely flaws.
Not too hard to do though.
And kinda fun.

I may just have to try a few more...

A&J

Christmas Scavenger Hunt

A totally fun idea for the kiddos to add to the excitement of Christmas is to create your own scavenger hunt. This year, we are going to have one on Christmas Eve. I've created several cute clues like this one.

Of course I had to make it super easy because my participants are itty bitty.

I'm going to have them running all over the house for clues. The last one will lead them to one present that they can open that night. It's going to be matching Christmas pjs and a couple of Christmas books.

Kids are so much fun. I can't wait!

A&J

Zoo Membership for Gift

Need another gift idea. Give the gift of a membership to your local zoo. This is great for families and especially new parents that haven't figured out yet how many times they will be going to the zoo.

Just make a cute tag.

And tie it to a cute little guy like this one.

Something for the whole family to enjoy.

A&J

Christmas Card 2009

As always, we are in search of "THE BEST" Christmas card ideas. There are so many creative people out there, the competition is crazy. Even though we've created our own pressure, it's still something we plan months in advance. I love funny ideas. The funnier the better. Ones that will make you smile or even laugh out loud. Here's a cute and funny idea that we used this year. Hope it makes you smile.

A&J

Snow Day Bucket

Trying to find the perfect gift for those friends who have EVERYTHING. I made this snow day bucket for a couple of our friends this year.

I found this snowman kit at Gordmans. Added some Starbucks mugs, some hot chocolate, the perfect movie "It's a Wonderful Life," and some movie candy. I did hide some butterscotch rum in the bottom for the parents to spike their hot chocolate. Depends on your recipients of course. The bucket I chose looked so cute with the theme, but it was a tad small. I would have liked to add some gourmet popcorn, but it just wouldn't fit. This was a huge hit anyway.

Now Bring on the Snow!!!

A&J

Christmas Reindeer Chow

One of my favorite treats with some Christmas color.

Reindeer Chow (aka Puppy Chow when it's not Christmas time) is one of my favorite snacks and is so good you won't be able to stop eating it. I have made the traditional recipe and just added red and green M&M's. This is an easy and great idea to make up and hand out to friends and/or neighbors.

Here's the recipe:

1 stick of butter
1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
8 cups Crispix cereal
2 cups powdered sugar
Christmas M&M's

Melt butter, chocolate chips and peanut butter in the microwave. When melted, pour over Crispix; mix well. Put powdered sugar in large brown paper bag and add the Crispix. Shake until well coated. Add more powdered sugar if needed and shake some more. Add M&M's and you're done!

A&J

Magic Reindeer Food

This is such an easy thing to make and will be a hit with your little ones. It's also very inexpensive to make which makes it a good idea to give to neighbors and friends.

You can find recipes for this just about anywhere, but it's really just Oats and Sprinkles.
Use as much or as little depending on how many you're making it for.

Pile some oats in a bowl, then sprinkle lots of holiday sprinkles on top. I also used the white sparkly sprinkles so that it will "sparkle" in the moonlight, making it easier for the reindeer to see. (you could substitute with some sugar).
Mix it all together and place in little bags. Easy as that!
I got the awesome ready to print labels here. You can download and print.

They have these directions on the back:
"Sprinkle on the lawn at night
the moon will make it sparkle bright
as Santa's reindeer fly and roam
this will guide them to your home"

A&J