Merry Christmas

May your Christmas be filled with 

The love of your families near and far,

The spirit of the season

and 

The excitement of a child's face

 on Christmas morn!

Blessings to all

Memories of the past year

Mantel Christmas Cheer

I was strolling through Pinterest

looking for a Christmas saying for my mantel this year-

There were so many to choose from-

I thought a funny one might be great!



or this...



but, I finally decided on something abit more traditional-
maybe next year I'll try the funny ones!

Can't wait to show you the finished product!

See you tomorrow-

Take care, gotta fly

Goodwill Christmas Goodies

I dropped off a load at my local Goodwill outlet

and I couldn't resist a little peak-

I found some goodies that I can add to my holiday decor-

with a little spray paint and some sticker lettering

I will be done-

This framed print needed a quick spray of white

for a clean slate for the lettering-

This empty frame had some lovely embossing for added interest

A silver bucket and silver tree will add to the color scheme of the decor-
plus a little nest-

2 red tins

another frame for a deer!

 An old globe

A chunky paper mache tree adds some whimsy-

Strands of clear and silver beads

and icicles will sparkle on the mantle

the white sweaters will make cozy trees-

Now, let's see if I can get my rear in gear

and add to my holiday decor!

Take care, gotta fly-

Working in an elementary school

 gets pretty crazy around holiday time!

 The kids are bouncing off the walls

 and so are all the adults!

It's a very busy time of year

 and little kids are waiting for the big guy

 to arrive on Christmas Eve!

 So what was I to do but join in on the chaos!!!

 We were in school until the 23rd

 which makes it hard for all-

so last week I began the ornament extravaganza -

 over the past 5 days the kids have made 10 ornaments

 and by the end of this week they will

  have  about 14 ornaments

 to present to their families

 as a holiday gift-

 they are all super excited

 and in the midst of it all

 we are trying to teach!!!

I thought I'd show you the ornaments

 they have made

 but I can't show you their

cute and very excited faces- 

you understand!

I also had to rework some of the ideas I had -

 you forget what a little 6 and 7 year old

 can actually do when it comes to crafts

 so some ornaments

 have been revamped for a 1st grader!!

  We began with an easy reindeer.

 It included 3 Popsicle sticks,

 2 google eyes,
 a brown marker and
 brown pipe cleaner,

 2 red pompom balls

 and a green foam holly leaf-

 the kids colored the sticks in with markers

 and happily glued away!!

 Another reindeer we made was with their hand print.

 They dipped their palms in brown paint

 and pressed them onto blue card stock-

 after waiting overnight,

 they decorated them with ribbon,

 a bell and a pompom-

 what parent won't love a remembrance

of their child's hand at that age!

 On the same idea,

 they dipped their pointer and thumb into white paint

 and then pressed them onto red card stock

 forming a wee little snowman-

 we added arms and a little foam black hat-

 adorable for the tree!

They decorated trees made from Popsicle sticks

 and the sparkly jewels made them smile.

  Next came a little felt mouse

 and an added plastic candy cane

will hang them on the tree.

We made Santa bellies,

 Hershey kiss mice,

 foam gingerbread men,

 plastic spoon santas,

 coffee filter angels,

 styrofoam cupcakes

 and

 they'll be making one more felt Christmas mouse

 with a real candy cane!

  It's so much fun to see their little eyes light up each day

 when I show them what they will be making

 and by Friday

 they will be spinning like tops!!

 But, this is what life is really all about-

putting a little delight in all their little lives!

Oh what fun it is!!

Take care, gotta fly- Claire