Felt Superhero Masks

cutesycrafts.blogspot.com
http://pinterest.com/pin/195765915023447980

 

While my nephews were out for the Holidays we decided to make some masks. I had a ton of left over felt from other projects. We simple printed off the masks we were looking to make (we made a ton but I never got a photo of all of them :( We made our own version of Bat Girl (purple) and a Yellow Spider-man.
Simply cut out of felt and either draw lines on with Sharpie or stitch with sewing machine. Add elastic to the back and you're done.

Christmas Printables

Yes, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in my house already. A fun thing to keep the girls occupied with while I'm busy is printable worksheets. Especially when they are home on break for two weeks! I can't have them forgetting all the things they've learned throughout the year already. Here are the worksheets we did, below you'll find a list where you can go to the pin or original site and get them too. Happy learning

Santa:
http://pinterest.com/pin/195765915023888187/
 http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Santa-Add-and-Color


Instead of downloading the Santa to my computer (you can never be too careful) I simple fitted it to paint.

Santa color by number
http://pinterest.com/pin/195765915023961935
http://firstgradealacarte.blogspot.com.au/search/label/Christmas


SnowMan Family sight words
http://pinterest.com/pin/195765915023943650
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Color-Me-Jolly-12-Color-by-Number-and-Sight-Word-Sheets

Roll the dices Christmas Tree game
http://pinterest.com/pin/195765915023961975
http://www.littlegiraffes.com/christmas.html

Another Christmas Tree dice game
teachingblogaddict.com
http://pinterest.com/pin/195765915021964594/

Reindeer Sandwich

andeverythingsweet.blogspot.com
http://pinterest.com/pin/195765915023241933

 

I'm a bit behind on the pins, although I have been doing them. This one I did the last day of school for the girls before vacation. It's very easy. Simply cut the sandwich in a heart shape, add M&M's for eyes and noses (Hannah needed a yellow nosed reindeer) and Pretzels for the antlers.

Elf on the shelf got touched

http://pinterest.com/pin/195765915024105342/

http://www.overthebigmoon.com/elf-on-the-shelf-magical-recovery-kit/

 

 

While our family was in town they met our elf, Pepper-MinT. Like all kids who have come over and met him, they are skeptical and try to touch him. After the second time Pepper-MinT moved, I noticed he looked like her was in a new position. My daughter confirmed that yes, her cousin had touched him. Now, If you have an elf you know that is supposed to take away the magic and the elf can't fly back to the North Pole. She asked how I knew and I quickly told her that  I had received an e-mail from Santa who would fix everything. 

While my family was out I quickly put together a bag of glitter, and  went to the bloggers site,  printed poem:

 

 "Santa heard Elf is feeling blue

His magic is fading fast

St. Nick’s powers are strong and true

And Elf’s sadness will not last..."

 

For the full poem you must visit the original blogger

and made a letter to show I meant business ;)

 

ATTENTION: URGENT

Dear _________ household,

It has come to our attention at the North Pole that Elf # 060320058685, AKA Pepper-MinT has been touched by a child in your house. Touching an elf results in losing his/her ability to come back to the North Pole at night. Enclosed is magic glitter from Santa himself that will help Pepper-MinT regain his Christmas magic. Simply have the child who touched him sprinkle some glitter on the elf. Please be care and do not to it again- Santa’s orders.

Thank you,

Gladice, Elf control

Grinchie stuff

thespeechladies.blogspot.com
http://pinterest.com/pin/195765915024061661/

The Girnch Pills are a silly little holiday thing to make you smile. My nick name through our house is Grinch (and not just during the Christmas season) because I want our kids to remember it's not all about presents. I've accepted this nickname and brought it to fun by wanting or buying things that are Grinch related. This was easy to make. All you need to to id print the label off from the main blogger (You'll have to shrink it a little in paint) and then cut it to fit a tic tac box. You can either mod podge or tape onto the container. Now you have your own Grinch pills.

Grinch painting
http://pinterest.com/pin/195765915021939853
http://www.etsy.com/listing/86499988/grinch-christmas-quote-on-16x20-canvas

Check back for more on the Grinch later.

Snowmen Cupcakes

http://pinterest.com/pin/195765915024064862/
tonispilsbury.com

THEN
http://pinterest.com/pin/195765915024078297
http://indulgy.com/post/wttQhclfT1/snowman-cupcakes

 

So I need to make some cupcakes for my daughters Holiday party. It can't be anything that has to do with any holiday. That pretty much leaves Snowmen and Snowflakes.  It also gets trickier when one of the kids in the class is allergic to dairy. No problem,  I made Vegan cupcakes. They are really good (and moist compared to the other chocolate cupcakes from a box).

I saw this on pintrest about using a marshmallow as icing for a cupcake. I thought this was perfect because I needed something without butter or milk and the only canned icing I had on hand was green.  I placed them on the cupcakes 5 minutes prior to removing them.

 Now I admit I did not look at the end results on the persons blog. If I had, I never would have done it. It was not the texture I was looking for in anyway shape or form.

I ended up having to scrape it all off and making  marshmallow fondant for the top. I got exactly what I wanted.

I then took some clear sugar sprinkles and dipped the tops in it. Using mini M&M's and mini Chocolate chips I made the face. For the Dairy free kid I used Skittles and raisins.

Memory gifts

For Christmas I typically do something memorable for my sister. Since she has chosen themes for both her daughters I found these on pintrest and I decided to do them for her.

http://pinterest.com/pin/195765915022807149/
http://craftideas.ourdogjess.com

Now, you try making a 4 1/2 month old sit still and stamp her hand. She was asleep when I started, but woke up halfway through.

http://pinterest.com/pin/195765915024070645
http://wemadethat.blogspot.com/2012/02/butterfly-foot-prints.html

Amazingly enough the 5 year old was also non cooperative. Except when she got to sign her name in paint.

Christmas Nails

http://pinterest.com/pin/195765915023489190/
http://chloesnails.blogspot.com/2010/12/peppermint-mani.html

What you need:
Nail polish
Tooth picks

For her birthday, Hannah got the "So So Happy" Nail polish set that can be found at Toys R Us. We've been adding designs to their nails since Hailey's pre-school teacher gave us a book about it.
We pained her base coat white, twice. Then with a tooth pick (because we don't have the tools) we added the red stripes. I was a little iffy about using a "kid pack" of nail polish, I was excepting Disney and Hello Kitty quality (doesn't work). But was really impressed with the results.


Our nails for this week were strings of Christmas lights that lead to the Christmas tree on her thumbs. Again, all this takes is a toothpick.
http://pinterest.com/pin/195765915024008111
thefashionmuse.com

Chipotle inspired Veggie Burrito

http://pinterest.com/pin/195765915023979824/
edibleperspective.com

I love Chipotle. The whole thing about them.. I actually feel they are worth paying more for. My wallet doesn't always agree. Thanks to this nice blogger I was able to get a knock off and try it tonight for dinner.  This was incredibly close. More so than I'd ever gotten.

I used:
Pinto canned beans (for black beans check original blogger)
Shredded Cheese (if Vegan, leave out)
Regular Safeway salsa (can make your own if desired)

Veggies:
Green pepper
Green bell pepper
Red pepper
red onion

Heat a pan to medium and add enough oil to coat pan. Once it is hot, add tll the chopped veggies. Sprinkle some salt and pepper to taste. Stir every minute or so until the veggies soften slightly and start to brown. (aprox: 6-8 minutes)

Lime rice:
White (or brown) rice
Lime juice
Salt
double the amount of water (example: 3/4 cup rice and 1 1/2 cups water)

Heat rice and small amount of oil in sauce pan. When it starts to get translucent, add the water and put a lid on it. let it rise to a boil and then reduce heat. Let it cook until done. Add Lime juice and cilantro. Then the one thing I didn't know- salt! What a difference.

Add in any order (or Chipotle order: Rice, beans, veggies, cheese and salsa)

Turkey Veggie tray

livinglocurto.com
http://pinterest.com/pin/195765915023742456/

As part of our late Thanksgiving/early Christmas dinner with my sister the past weekend I decided to make her a turkey out of veggies.  The picture is self explanatory, really. Cut the end off the bell pepper for the face. slice cucumbers for body and various colors of other peppers for the feathers.

Bread Basket

http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/2012/07/02/bread-basket-for-4th-of-july-picnic
http://pinterest.com/pin/195765915023515876/

With my family being so far away half of the time we don't get to celebrate the holidays with them very often. My sister was out this week and we decided we needed to celebrate Christmas and Thanksgiving with her. I chose to make some dinner rolls, a turkey made out of veggies, and a bread bowl.

Now, because this was for a "big event" I did not want to risk using a dough that would be gross. I stuck with the one I typically use. The recipe can be found here:

I started with making the rolls and letting them rise in the oven once. After that I punched it down, and formed most of them into rolls. The other half I rolled into long strips and placed them onto a heavily greased upside down bowl. I say heavily because I did mine lightly and well, it didn't want to come off the bowl. My husband eventually got it off. Once I had a few rows I started weaving longer strips around the side of the bowl. 

After that I let them rise one last time before baking the whole thing like I would rolls. The results were cute. Everyone thought it was cute and a fun idea to add to our made up holiday.

Making your Elf on the Shelf Bend

http://pinterest.com/pin/195765915023979788/
http://dirtydiaperlaundry.com/hack-your-elf-on-the-shelf-tutorial/

I was so excited to get our elf on the shelf. I was prepared to have oodles of fun posing him in different positions and making him do funny things. I was not however aware of the fact that when I got my elf he would not be able to do those things. It wasn't until I came across this womans post about it that I found out what was going on. People doctor their elves by adding wire into their bodies and sewing them back up.

What you'll need:
Wire (she used 14'' I had 24'' on hand and just doubled it up)
Wire cutters (to bend the endges over so that they are rounded and not pokie)
Need
Thread (red and white)
Stitch remover
velco (optional if you want to velco the hands)
hot glue gun (for velcro)


Directions:
Start by taking a few stitched out of the hands and feet. I measured my wire on the outside, but you're free to eye ball it or feed it into the elves body parts and then cut it off where you feel necessary. If you are using thin wire like I did, bend it over and wrap a second set of wire over it to keep it sturdy.  I also added some wire in his back to see if that would help him stay up!

When you have finished with wiring the body, simply close him up. Now we are ready for better mischief tomorrow!  I did not add the Velco because it would be too obvious to the girls and I don't want them asking questions. Check out what Peppermint has been up to this year: Here

Ruldolph Hairstyle

http://pinterest.com/pin/195765915023287240/
http://princesspiggies.blogspot.com/2011/12/holiday-hairstyles-rudolph.html

So we were slightly rushed this morning. 20 minutes to get 3 people up and out the door. I'm amazed I pulled this even remotely off today. I started with a bun and added the brown pipe cleaners for antlers ( I actually kept mine as a whole and twisted it under the pony tail.) I added our google eyes (two hot glued to two bobby pins). Then I added a red pom pom for the nose. She doesn't have a lot of hair the only red pom poms I had were either too big or too small.

Here are our other Holiday hairstyles:
Spider Hair
Turkey Hair

Charlie Brown Ornaments

http://alittlegray.blogspot.com/2012/11/charlie-brown-christmas-ornaments.html
http://pinterest.com/pin/195765915023858254/

My mom loves Charlie Brown. I saw these ornaments on Pintrest and knew I could make them. I first went to the original bloggers page and printed the pattern she so nicely made.  I had all the felt but peach...which has proven to be difficult to get!! For now I made Snoopy, and then Linus, Charlie Brown and Lucy's outfit.

For Lucy and Snoopy I had to draw the design on and embroider (or just a basic stitch) the details on. Then I added the ribbon and sewed the top piece to the bottom. .

For Charlie Brown I just stitched his design on the ornament and sewed it together. For Linus I did rows of zig zag stitches and then sewed it together.