11/29/14

A Blonde Elf on the Shelf

Anyone else have a 'love/hate' relationship with "The Elf"? I bought ours 4 years ago. Way back in the day, waaaaaaay before Pinterest was a 'thing'. It was such a nice simple time back then. (sigh)

Yes, I will admit it. I took apart my Elf. I literally cut his body apart! (See why here.)
I heard about The Elf from a friend and was happy to find one in our local Barnes and Noble. Not everyone had one and literally the only thing The Elf did was sit on the shelf. It was simple and fun at first.

But after a week of The Elf, my Afton deemed it frightening. She wouldn't come downstairs in the morning until I showed her where The Elf was. She said his face was creepy. She imagined him sneaking into her room at night. Terror. What a lovely Christmas activity huh?



So with Afton's help, I wrote a note to Santa and sent The Elf back to the North Pole.  Since then, each December we have tried the The Elf again and again. We have tried "other" Elves. I even crafted a girl Elf from a doll and cut up bits of our original "Elf on the Shelf". But it has not been enjoyable for her, so I had all but given up. Plus, even though all those Elf ideas on Facebook and Pinterest are funny, for me- they take too much time and energy. And they don't really have anything to do with the meaning of Christmas. I know that a lot of people enjoy elaborate Elf activities- and that is awesome- but the 'over the top' Elf stuff is not for me.


Now imagine my surprise when my 'baby' Maisy, who is now 5 years old, starts praying at night for an Elf to come to our house.

"Dear Jesus, I know Afton is afraid of The Elf, but I really want you to send a girl Elf to me. Amen."   -Maisy, age 5

Oh my! So here I am. Back to The Elf game. I can't deny my last baby the chance to enjoy a little Christmas magic. Nothing crazy, but just a little sweet magic never hurt anyone right? Last night Jeff went into the attic while I was putting the girls to bed. When I came downstairs, I saw this. Our Elf had returned!


This morning, Afton came downstairs and screamed. "We have an Elf and she has curly hair!!!" And I am not kidding, she was laughing and screaming so loud a few tears rolled down her cheeks. Maisy woke up when she heard the commotion and smiled proudly when she saw her prayer had been answered.


 The weird thing is, neither one of them remember that this exact same Elf came to our house exactly two years ago. (See how I made her in this post here.) Isn't it great when kids have short memories :) They both kept saying how excited they are to finally have a girl Elf!


So my girl Elf is 'new' again and the girls both seem happy to have her. Maisy named her "Carol" like Christmas Carol :) I am hoping she can stay around and hang out our shelves, chandeliers and cabinets. If she inspires the girls to 'be on their best behavior' that's great. Honestly, they are really good kids, so I am not going to push the whole 'the Elf is watching you' thing. That does get a little creepy... Our Carol the Elf is going to be more like a Will Ferrell type personality. You know, the type of Elf that eats candy canes with maple syrup and spreads cheer by singing loudly for all to hear :)

Source

My heart is just happy that my girls can still see the magic in our world, especially at Christmas time. Childhood is short, seems like we all need to embrace it while we can.

December 2010
November 2014
Do you have an "Elf on the Shelf"? Do you go all out and set up Elf shenanigans or does your Elf just hang around?

We will be spending the day decorating our house for Christmas. Take a peek on Instagram @craftytexasgirl to see how it is all coming along.

 
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11/24/14

Silhouettes from Etsy

Most of the time, I am a D-I-Y girl. But more and more, I am turning into a bit of a B-U-Y girl.


For example, my siblings and I were planning a gift for my Dad's 60th birthday. My step mom had mentioned that my Dad would love a set of silhouettes of the grand kids. 6 grand kids and 60 years! So I had everyone send me a profile pic of their kids. When taking a photo for a silhouette, doing it against a blank background works best. For girls, hair should be up or pulled back from the face. Make sure your subject looks straight ahead. No fancy camera needed, we all took our photos with iPhones.


Now I have DIY'ed silhouettes before of my girls. I did it the easy way-- no photoshop or special software. I basically just took a photo of their profile and printed it. Then I traced it out on black card stock and cut it out again. I was happy with the way turned out and I really enjoyed making them. (See the full post from May of 2012 here- it's an 'oldy' but a 'goody'.)


But this time, I was in charge of 6 silhouettes and I wanted them to have a little more detail than I was able to manage with my card stock and craft scissors. Luckily there are a ton of talented designers on Etsy that will turn your photo into a beautiful custom digital silhouette.


I found Olive+Birch  on Etsy and was immediately impressed that their designs had been featured in the February issue of Good Housekeeping. I emailed over my photos and a few days later the digital images were emailed back. The great thing about the digital silhouettes is that I just downloaded them and sent them to Staples for printing. I printed in black and white on 110 pound card stock. When they were ready, I picked them up and popped them into a frames from Hobby Lobby. Easy-peasy!

BEFORE

AFTER

And since I now own the digital silhouettes, I can reprint them as many times as needed! I am going to frame a set for myself. And who knows-- maybe some other lucky grandparents might get a framed copy as well :)


Do you have silhouettes of your kids or grand kids? If not- Christmas is a great time to get some made. A silhouette is such a classic way to capture those little features. I also spied some beautiful family silhouettes that include mom and dad- or even the family pet! You can choose from colored or patterned silhouettes with an oval border, or go with the classic black and white.

Image via Olive + Birch 

Image via Olive + Birch 

Image via Olive + Birch 

D-I-Y or B-U-Y silhouettes- either way it's a win :)

PS...Happy Birthday Dad!

PSS... This post is not sponsored. I am just so happy with the work Olive+Birch did for me. There are lots of vendors on Etsy, but Olive+Birch are definitely worth checking out.


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11/18/14

Salt Dough Napkin Rings

About this time every year, my girls like to make salt dough. It's cold outside and the holidays put us all in the mood to craft. Last year, we used our salt dough to make Christmas ornaments (you can read more about that here). This time, I spied a cute "Salt Dough Leaf Napkin Holder" tutorial over on Imperial Sugar's website and the idea stuck.


This salt dough recipe is a bit different than the one we used last year. It reminded me a bit of making playdough. Here is the recipe via the Imperial Sugar website.  

Supplies:
  • 2 cups salt
  • 1 cup water, divided
  • 1 cup cornstarch
  • Tin foil covered baking sheet
  • Red, yellow and orange food coloring
  • Leaf shaped cookie cutter
  • Straw 
  • Ribbon, twine and/or tulle
  • Paint Pen






 Directions:
  1. Stir salt into 1/2 cup of water in a medium saucepan.
  2. Cook over medium-low heat until hot.
  3. Remove from heat.
  4. In a bowl, mix the remaining 1/2 cup of water with the cornstarch until smooth.
  5. Add the cornstarch mixture to the salt mixture.
  6. Return the saucepan to the stove and cook, stirring constantly over medium-low heat until the mixture thickens into the consistency of stiff mashed potatoes.
  7. Turn mixture out onto a glass plate and cover with a damp towel.
  8. Allow to cool, then divide dough into 3 equal parts. Add red food coloring to one, yellow to the second and orange (often a combination of red and yellow) to the third batch.
  9. Flatten the dough with a rolling pin or with your hands.  Use the leaf cookie cutter to cut out multiple shapes. Make a hole at the top of each leaf with a straw.
  10. Bake the leaves on a tin foil lined baking sheet at 250 degrees for 2-3 hours until completely hard.
  11. Let cool, then add details with a paint pen. 
  12. Attach to cloth napkins with ribbon, twine, or tulle.
For more fun activites to try with your kiddos during the holiday break check out the Thanksgiving page on the Imperial Sugar website. There you can find recipes for all courses- appetizers, main dish, side dishes, candy, breakfast for company etc. Plus lots of crafts for kids, edible crafts, free printables and activity sheets.  Happy crafting!


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11/14/14

Rustic "Days til Christmas" Sign

I don't have my Christmas decor up yet. I like to wait until after Thanksgiving. Then we put it up and enjoy it through New Years. So right now, I have a chance to get a head start on my Christmas crafting.


I am working with Michaels again to share my 'spin' on a Christmas craft. I took their "Christmas Decor" quiz and from looking at the photos, I am definitely a 'rustic' girl who likes a bit of 'glam' too. Which style do you identify most with?

Michaels is hosting a "Pinterest" party at all of their stores on Saturday, Nov 15th from 1-4pm. You can pop into your local store and try any of their Pinterest-Inspired Christmas Projects.

I loved the Count Down to Christmas plate idea. But wanted to make it more 'rustic'. So I shopped my Michaels and found some great supplies to make a Count Down to Christmas plate- with a rustic twist.

 Want to make your own Rustic Count Down to Christmas?


Here's what you will need:
-Black Chalkboard paint
-Wood
-White Chalk Paint (Martha Stewart)
-Stencils (Martha Stewart)


1. Paint your wood with the black chalkboard paint. Let dry.



2. Use the stencils to write "Days Til Christmas". This took a few attempts. I used white chalk paint, so when I wasn't happy with the way it looked on my first try, I just used a wet sponge to wipe it away and start again.


 
3. Let the count down begin!


Pop on over to your local Michaels November 15th from 1-4pm  and have fun crafting!



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11/8/14

Girls with Glasses

I am taking a break from my usual craft posts to bring you a little PSA about 'girls with glasses'.

So here is it is : Glasses are cute!


Glasses have gone from a necessity to a coveted accessory. You can get them in both prescription or non-prescription lenses. Glasses for all!!


My favorite pair is from Firmoo. I am loving the color, shape and quality. What about you? Are you a girl who wears glasses? Whether you need to or just want to-- check out Firmoo for your favorite lenses. (See the ones I have by clicking here.)


Wondering how to choose the perfect pair of glasses online ?
1.You can use the Virtual Look Viewer to check if the shape of the frames suits your face or not. 
2. Comparing the fame size data with the old eyeglasses is also helpful to find your perfect new Firmoo glasses. The specification like weight, sizes of the frames can be found at the product page. 


PS. Want to see a 'behind the scenes' photo from my Firmoo glasses post?? This my friends is what happens when your mom is a blogger... and you learn how to work use the camera timer! Lol!


 Have a great Saturday! 
 
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