On the 4th Day of Christmas

my true love made for me a nativity ornament.

I saw this cute hand-stitched, felt nativity on Pinterest.  I thought it would be a nice little gift to include in our Christmas card to Sister Kelly Francis!  

I will not include a tutorial, because the one here is really easy to follow and it did not take me long to make one (I did it this afternoon).  

Materials:  Colored felt, embroidery thread, & pins (I didn't need to use them).

Use the stencil & cut out the pieces

Hand-stitch each piece onto the stable.

My finished product

On the 3rd Day of Christmas

my true love made for me a handprint Christmas ornament.

I thought that while Eva Marie was visiting it would be fun to do some salt dough ornaments with her and Braden.  There are so many different recipes and ideas on Pinterest one, and two .  

Materials:

Salt

Flour

Water

Mixing bowls

Measuring Cups

Oven

Paints or Sharpie Markers 

Tutorial:

First I had Braden help me measure out the ingredients and mix up the dough.  The recipe I used was for 1/2 c of salt, 1/2 c of flour and 1/4 c (or so) of water.  He helped me stir things up and then once dough started to form I kneaded it until it was one ball.

Let's get started!

Braden measuring ingredients

  

Braden really enjoyed playing with the ball and dropping it back into the bowl.  He did not enjoy the taste though.

Braden Kneading the dough

Next I formed the ball into three flat circular shapes large enough for each of their handprints (and one for the Sage's paw).  Then I put them on a cookie sheet on the floor and Eva, Braden and Sage each took a turn making their prints.

Eva & Mommy making a handprint

The final step for making the ornaments was to create a hole (for ribbon to be added later for hanging) and then bake them in the oven @ 200 degrees for 3 hours.  Be sure to place it correctly (ours will be hanging upside down - OOPS)!  

The next day we worked on decorating the ornaments with paint and/or markers to create Christmas shapes.  The possibilities are endless: stars, snowmen, Santa Claus, Christmas tree, gingerbread men, candy cane, etc.  We went with Santa Claus & I did a reindeer with Sage's paw.

Eva & Mommy Painting

Braden paints Santa's beard

And then his Hat

Cheese!

Cheese!

Finished Painting

On the 2nd Day of Christmas

my true love made for me a Family Matching Game

The last few times I have seen Eva Marie she has been really interested in puzzles and is very good at matching the pieces and putting them together.  So, I thought she might enjoy a match/memory type game for Christmas.  But, instead of buying one I decided to make one using pictures of family members and their names.  {Shhh, don't tell Eva}

Bourdon Family Memory

Materials:

3in. wooden circles (found at Michael's, I needed 18 total)

paint - 2 colors

paint brushes

computer/printer

paper

mod podge

Tutorial: 

This project was completed over the course of a few days.  First I painted each wooden circle with a blue paint.  I ended up doing 2 coats per side.  Once they were completely dry I used the 2nd color to paint a medium sized, thin B (for Bourdon).  

While I was waiting for the paint to dry I created a template for the photos using Pages (Mac).  I created a 2 inch circle with an outline, 18 circles in all.  Then I imported a photo for each family member: 1. Mom & Dad, 2. Eva Marie, 3. Princess Mittens, 4. Uncle Mike Aunt Sharon & Braden, 5. Uncle Jon, 6. Grampy, 7. Mimi, 8. Grandma & Grandpa Bourdon, 9. Uncle Josh Aunt Leah - 2 copies of each.  Then I added text so that the names were visible on each picture.  

Once the photos were printed & cut out I used mod podge to glue them into place.  Then I covered them with 2 more coats of mod podge to give the wooden circles a more finished look.  

The finished product:

The next step will be to find a nice case to keep them in and I will include a title: Bourdon Family Memory

On the 1st Day of Christmas

my true love made for me, a Felted Christmas Tree!

As a Christmas present to Braden I have been thinking of making him a felt board.  I would like to create different scenes (car, house, store, seasonal themes, etc) that can be changed through out the year.

So, I found this cute Christmas tree idea on Pinterest to try first and see how much he would enjoy it.  He certainly has fun taking them off the tree or swiping at it so they all fall to the floor.  We are slowly working on picking them up and decorating the tree again.  He has a hard time getting the pieces to "stick".  But, I think it is a great start in helping him learn to clean things up when he is finished.  

Here is my tutorial:

Materials:

36x36 green felt (found at ACMOORE)

Various colored felt (8x11 pages)

Command Strips

Pictures/Stencils of Christmas decorations

Heat n Bond 

Scissors

First I spread out the green felt and used a marker to create my tree outline.  That way I could get the tree shape just the way I wanted and the marker side would be on the back.  Braden helped a little with this process.

Ready to Draw the Tree

Cutting The Tree Shape

I'm All Done Mom!

Next I used the command strips to hang the tree on the wall.  Then looked for various Christmas decoration outlines online that could be printed and used as stencils.  I found a candy cane, gingerbread man, and a few different ornaments.  This blog has downloadable instructions with ornament outlines.  The presents I created free hand  and then using the stencils I cut the other pieces out individually.  

Any details that I wanted to put on top of the ornaments or to add stripes on the candy cane I used heat n bond.  I ironed the colored felt to the heat n bond, cut out the shapes I needed and then ironed them on to the Christmas decorations.  

I love the final product and so does Braden!

The Tree All Decorated

Little Man Posing with the Tree

{This holiday season I have decided to try some new crafts & home made gift ideas.  From December 1st-12th I will be posting the tutorials for things I have tried - "12 Days of Christmas Crafts"  I would love to see/hear about other ideas.}  

I was even successful in creating my own blog button - so please share!

Children's Discovery Museum - Augusta

Eva & Braden

This year we decided to buy a pass to the Children's museum as an (early) Christmas gift for Braden.  We thought it would be a great place to go during the winter months - as a nice change of scenery.  We went with the Passport option, so we could try museums in different locations (Bangor, Dover, Acton, Boston, etc).  

It had been a while since we had spent time with auntie Ashlea & cousin Eva, so we decided to meet them in Augusta to try the Children's Discovery Museum.  Mimi was able to join us as well!

Playing the Piano with Mimi

Little Musicians

It was a very small museum, but Eva & Braden were able to entertain themselves for about 2 hours before it was time to break for lunch!  

"Ball!"

Loved Pushing the Carts Around

Interested in the Touch Tank

Love the Face Eva!

Climbing in the Playhouse

Eva Loved Playing Dress Up!

Nice Face Auntie Ashlea 

Braden Did Not Enjoy Dress Up!

Sixteen Months

A little summary:

* drinks from a non spouted sippy cup

* likes to put things together: lids on bowls, cups, puzzles, stackers

* two more molars popped through top left 10/8, bottom right  10/21

* finally says & identifies "momma" 10/14

* identifies nose, head, belly and is working on eyes & ears

* loves to bring books over to be read or explores them on his own

* says "belly", "shoes", "thank you", "no", "boom" (when falls), "uh oh", "go" 

    "two" when stating "one, two, three" and "keys"
* first earthquake 10/16/12

* moves pillows & objects around so he can climb onto the couch
* loves to point out ball or dog in a story
* hurricane Sandy 10/28/12
* pointing out dadda in pictures or when he comes home

* wants to walk up the stairs now (holding hands or railing)

* loves turning the oven light on 

* loves to imitate the wind 

* says "vroom" when playing with his cars

* enjoys spinning in circles

* follows simple commands: go get your shoes, let's go upstairs, go give daddy kisses goodnight, sit down, turn around (to go down stairs).