Pinecone Elves

Isn't this a cute craft idea to do with kids!? 

It looks pretty simple, too. 

Thank you, {Martha Stewart}!

And this one from {Woman'sDay} looks even easier!

Super fun.

Merry Christmas!

Peppermint Bark Cookies

I am a HUGE fan of peppermint bark...peppermint anything, really.  So, naturally these look divine!  I'll have to try them out sometime.  Visit {My Blessed Life} for instructions.

Merry Christmas!

Wooden Doll Nativity

I fell in love with this Spool Doll Nativity from {Holes in my Shiny Veneer}.  Here's {part 2} of her adorable nativity, in case you're interested.  So, I set out to make my own. 

Within a week, I came across this wooden nativity backdrop at Target for only $2.50!  I was seriously so excited!  Then, I went to get some wooden spools and doll heads at the craft store and while I was looking I saw these little unfinished wooden doll bodies:

They already have a head and I love skipping steps, so I bought them.  They have two different sizes, too.  Perfect for a nativity, since you need a smaller one for baby Jesus.

Anyway, I spent an hour one day cutting scraps of fabric and ribbon and hot gluing them onto these dolls.  The link mentioned above has a great tutorial which I looked at just to get ideas and see how she did things.  For me, it was as easy as cutting strips of fabric and wrapping them around the doll bodies, and in some cases their heads.  Then, putting on embellishments to create different characters.

I'm absolutely in love with the way they turned out!!  And my son was very excited with each new addition I put out for him to put in his "house".

I might eventually paint faces on them, but I'm kinda worried I'll totally mess them up, and I kind of like them faceless... 

It's a perfect little durable nativity that my little guy can play with to his hearts content without me worrying about him breaking something.  And even if he did, the whole thing cost under $8.00, so it wouldn't be a big deal.  I think this is a really cute and easy way to help my 3 year old understand the real meaning of Christmas.  We love playing "Baby Jesus" with them, and I hope we will continue to play with them year after year.

Jingle Bell Joy

I saw this last year somewhere and thought it was a super cute craft idea!  Love the way it looks!!

Christmas Book Bags Advent

There are so many great Christmas books!  I think a good advent idea would be to read one every day until Christmas.  And to make it fun, you could make book bags to put them in, so it's a surprise every night.  

Visit {Design Dazzle} to get the scoop on how to make these cut book bags.

Merry Christmas!

Nativity Advent

If you were to look back over all my {Christmas Posts} you would see a little obsession I have over advent calenders  I have documented plenty, and here's another great one!

It's a Nativity with 25 pieces - add one a day until Christmas! 

Not only do I love the religious nature of this one, I love that it is a kid friendly decoration! 

How much would a child love putting this together piece by piece!!?  Find out more about this Nativity Advent at {Craftiness is not Optional} and you can purchase it, or a kit to assemble it, or a pattern to make  it {here}!  Super cute!!

The ABC's of Christmas

Just thought this was a really cute idea from {Poppies at Play}

If you were really creative you could make it into an advent calender...but you'd have to start a day early...  Anyway, just a fun idea.

3D Felt Pumpkin

start with a piece of felt cut to size to fit in a frame of your choice. 

cut 8 pumpkin shapes outta orange felt. 

fold a pumpkin in half and hot glue along the fold. 

glue it onto the felt background and repeat for all the pumpkin shapes.

so the glued edges of the folds are all right next to eachother 

cut a tiny green spiral 

glue one end of it to the top of the pumpkin along with a brown piece as a stem 

put it in the frame and cross-stitch "give thanks" onto the felt.

Cute huh!?  Visit {Simple Serendipities} for all the details.

Fun with Sweaters

This is just a collection I've gathered of some new ways to use old sweaters.

Some pretty cute wintery bracelets if you ask me!

Wouldn't sweaters make the most comfy cozy blanket!!?

How about some cup warmers?  Love it.

And I love this sweater scarf idea I blogged about a while ago {here}.

Love these sweater pillows, and the tutorial to make them on {Brassy Apple}. 

And here's a cute idea to winter up some candles, or vases.

Time to get cozy!

Acorn Ball

Isn't this pretty!?  I love the way it looks, and I think it would be a good transition piece between Thanksgiving and Christmas. 

Spray paint a foam ball brown. 

Get a bunch of acorn tops. 

Glue them to the ball and then brush some mod podge on the edges and sprinkle them with glitter. 

Isn't it a pretty tree ornament? 

But, I love the way it looks all by itself, too.  So pretty!  Visit {Sweet Something Design} for all the details.

Q-tip Skeleton

Thought these were a cute idea for a kid-friendly Halloween craft!  Super fun and easy!! 

Visit {Brassy Apple} for more details.