Elf on the Shelf Has Arrived

Hello all!
 
     Yesterday was Thanksgiving and The boys have learned what Thanksgiving is all about and why we celebrate it! We sat around the table and said what we are Thankful for and my youngest son, looks over at me and says, "I'm thankful for you mommy and my family." My heart just melted! He said he loved Thanksgiving. It really made my day!

     The boys had a visitor that made their day yesterday. Sparkles Magical, is his name and the kiddos get so excited when he is around. They spent all day yesterday guarding him so that he didn't get touched and would lose his magic. My husband and I enjoy figuring out what to do next with him. Preston woke up extra early to see where he is today. This magical tradition brings joy to our family. The kids get a long better, the magic of christmas is much more "magical". When I was a child, I believed in the magic of christmas so much that I still want to believe and so I am able to give that to my children and I can see the joy in their eyes that I once felt as a child myself!

Stay tuned to see all of the wonderful ideas and mischief that Sparkles will get into. We try not to go overboard because then they expect it and it is overwhelming for my husband and I to come up with more and more elaborate ideas. So we stick to cute and small and the boys love it just fine!

So here is how Sparkles arrived at our house for the second year and the boys loved it!
Our elf, Sparkles, arrived with a note from santa, a notepad around his neck that is a "checkoff" notepad that he gives to santa every night reporting how the boys have been.

this is the notepad that Sparkles had around his neck. You can put anything on there you want. 

Here is our note from Santa:

I got this blank santa letter here

The website is http://designeditor.typepad.com

The boys were so excited, they gave him some chocolate and we made him a book bag to carry things to and from the North Pole. Spencer put a crown in there for him to check off on his list.

So stay tuned for what happened and where Sparkles is today. Let me just say, he had chocolate on his face and brought magic elf seeds for the kiddos to plant. :)

#elfontheshelf #elfontheshelfideas #christmas

Do-It-Yourself iPhone Skin

Hello, here is my iPhone skin cover that I made for my iPhone. I used a digital scrapbooking kit called, "Monkey See, Monkey Do" by Touched by A Butterfly. 

If you want this kit, you can click on one of the stores below.

TBAB store

or 

Mymemories

This is an adorable kit!

#iphonecrafts #iphone #digitalscrapbooking #digitalscrapbookinghybrids #crafts #touchedbyabutterfly

Minecraft Ghast Halloween Costume

My son loves Minecraft and I am into making their costumes. This year my oldest son didn't really know what he wanted to be and so he changed his costume several times. He ended up wanting the be a Minecraft Enderman but we didn't get finished with it in time and so he put together a little mixture and still looked fantastic!

My youngest son loves Minecraft and so we are making Minecraft everything! This Halloween he wanted to be a Ghast and so the journey began.

To make this costume, I used things I had around the house and so this costume cost us nothing!

Supplies

Large size box (size is based on child) needs to be equal on all sides  (not rectangle, but more of a square/cubed).

White, black, red, and grey acrylic paint

White spray paint

a couple different size paint brushes


whatever you want to use for the Ghast's tentacles (I used exam table paper rolls)

#minecraft #halloween #costumes #minecraftcostumes #crafts #DIY

Minecraft Creeper Pumpkin Tutorial

Ok, I finally had some time to post my how-to on carving a super cool Minecraft Creeper Pumpkin.

I didn't get to take too many "in process" pictures but I think what I have will help. I think that if you don't have a general idea on how to carve a pumpkin then maybe you shouldn't follow this tutorial. :)

My son absolutely LOVES Minecraft!!! I will be posting pictures soon on a how too make a Minecraft Ghast Costume for Halloween.

Supplies

pumpkin

Creeper template (or draw your own)
Carving utensils
imagination
Paint (if desired)


Instructions
1. I cut out a template I made and then taped it onto the pumpkin so that I could trace it lightly onto the pumpkin.

2. Then I cut out the top to make a lid. (Don't forget to save the lid so that you can place it back on the pumpkin later.

3. Take out all of the stuffing in the pumpkin and save it for later to make pumpkin pie or to plant seeds next spring!!

4. Then, start cutting out the face that you traced. I didn't take a picture of this part but you get the idea.

Next, if you have a curious 6 year old that is FULL of questions-you will probably have to answer a few questions such as this one that my 6 year old asked me…

Son: "Mommy is this pumpkin still alive?"
Me: "What do you mean, he never was alive except for on the vine."
Son: "Yes he was. Now he isn't alive anymore because you took his guts out" What are we going to do now" I bet he is hurting really bad."

I had a hard time answering that….. LOL.

5. We coated our pumpkin with a  acrylic varnish and let it dry REALLY well before we lit it with a candle. We did this to help the pumpkin last a little longer.

Here is our Creeper pumpkin! (Yes, he is sitting on our toilet, and this is because our bathroom has no windows and we wanted it dark. :) )

We did one more step…...

6. We painted the pumpkin green on the outside and then just the sides of the mouth black to match the creeper colors.

We LOVED the end results! My boys loved it and that is what counts!

#minecraft #creeper #minecraftcrafts #halloween #pumpkincarving #crafts