2011 Reading Fair Projects

Last week Henry and Grant both participated in their school's Reading Fair. We ended up deciding on two Eric Carle books, The Mixed-up Chameleon for Grant and A House for Hermit Crab for Henry. Before the boys started their projects, I did a little research online and found some really great slideshows on the Eric Carl website that show how he illustrates his books. After watching the slideshows, we decided to let the boys make part of their boards like Eric Carle makes his books! I don't have any pictures of the process mostly because Henry and Grant did most of the work in the afternoons and it was too dark for good pics...but also because I was too busy trying to keep Eli from running through all the wet paint to take pictures:)

 To make the Chameleon and the Hermit Crab, Jason fashioned a homemade projector out of a work light and a few cardboard boxes. I traced the cover of the book onto a piece of plastic and put it on the projector, then the boys traced the Chameleon and the Hermit Crab onto some white paper using the projector to make them just the right size for their project boards. After they finished tracing, Henry and Grant cut each section of their animal out and made a sort of stencil to use on the colored paper that they had painted. Henry also got to do some splatter painting to make the sand for his board...I think that may have been his favorite part because of how messy it was:)

The boys didn't win anything at the Reading Fair, but they had a ton of fun reading some great books and learning to illustrate like Eric Carle! I think we may have a few more Eric Carle books in our reading fair future!

Nutter Butter Snowman Snacks

If you have kiddos in school, you more than likely have more than one Christmas party to attend this week. That also means you more than likely need to take some sort of yummy treat too. I know some parents would much rather be the plate/cup/napkin bringers, but I LOVE to bring something fun and yummy for the kiddos to enjoy...even if it is way harder than just picking up some cups:) So if you're like me and crazily think that bringing cute treats for your kiddo's class is fun, then try out these {oh so adorable and really not that hard to make} Nutter Butter Snowman Snacks.

 My inspiration for these cuties came from Pinterest {surprise, surprise}. Here's a link to my pin and a link to the blog post {My Pretty Purse} where the pin is from:)

 Start by dipping your Nutter Butter in white candy coating aka almond bark. I used a toothpick stuck in between the two cookie pieces to dip them {though it didn't work every time because the toothpick slipped out or the cookie broke}. While the candy coating is still wet add two M&M's for buttons, mini chocolate chips for eyes and a smile, and an orange tic tac for the nose. They are SUPER cute this way, but to make them even cuter add some earmuffs too! I did the earmuffs the same way I did with my Simple Snowman Snacks last year....curl up the Pull n Peel and place them in the freezer to harden {this helps them keep their shape while the coating dries} then place the Pull n Peel on the snowman's head with two M&Ms on either side.

SUPER cute and really not that hard to make...though a little time consuming with all the small candy pieces. If you are concerned about nut allergies, you can use any other oval shaped cookie in place of the Nutter Butter.

What kind of fun treats are you making for your kiddos this year?

Nativity Garden Flag

The busyness of the season has made our holiday decorating plans come to a stand still...especially outside. Other than taking down the fall decor and adding a few red and green things to our front doors, the outside of our house doesn't have a whole lot of Christmas cheer going on right now...no lights, no garland, basically no decorations at all.

Since Jason is the crazy brave one who climbs up on the roof every year to hang the lights {and there was no way I was going to try that while he was out of town for work}, I decided to remedy our lack of outside decorations as much as I could by making a new Christmas themed garden flag for our yard. It was SUPER simple to make, and the whole thing was basically free because I used fabric scraps from my stash:)

Burlap and Felt Nativity Garden Flag:

I started by digging out some red and white material, red burlap, and my bag o' felt scraps.

After a couple of google searches for inspiration,  I drew a little sketch of what I wanted the design to look like...can you tell I'm not an artist!?!

I used an old garden flag as a guide and cut a double layer of the red and white fabric {folded at the bottom to make the bottom edge finished}. I added a little extra length to the top to accommodate for the hanger.

I used my pinking shears to cut the fabric so it wouldn't fray and I wouldn't have to worry about finishing the edges. I sewed around the two sides and the top with my sewing machine. You could easily make this no sew by using a hot glue gun!

I folded over the extra fabric to make the hanger, and then sewed {or hot glue} it into place.

I cut a piece of the red burlap to fit on the front of the flag.

I cut all the shapes for the Nativity scene out of felt. I laid the design out on the red burlap to make sure everything looked good, then I picked it up piece by piece and attached them with spray adhesive. After everything was in place on the red burlap, I turned the burlap over and applied a good coat of spray adhesive to it and then placed it on the flag. I also sewed around the edges of the burlap to secure it {and again you could totally use hot glue if you don't want to sew}.

With all the Santas, reindeer, and snowmen out there it can sometimes be hard to decorate for Christmas with Christ in mind, so I'm glad we have this little addition to our decor to remind us why we really celebrate this season! I'm thinking this might make a really cute kiddos shirt too...what do you think?!?

My sweet friend Richella  over at Imparting Grace is hosting a great linky party called Home for the Holy Days! A great place to share the ways you and your family keep Christ the center of your Christmas. Go over and check it out and say a quick hello to the oh so sweet Richella:)