wooden bead garland

 

just string them on and tie a double knot...

stick and bead tree mobile

cut sticks to desired lengths,

drilled a hole in the center,

and Ji stringed them

(altering with xl wooden beads)

 

 ...and St got to play

 

 zorro ? :)

stamped wrapping paper

we did some stamping with the boys :)...

 

 

...just some ordinary erasers, ink/paint and paper

i cut the tree out of an ordinary white eraser with my exacto knife, used a pencil eraser for the dots and stamped onto ordinary brown packaging paper

tip: make sure you have suitable ink/paint and paper - test it out first...so that the ink/paint soaks into the paper and doesn't smear. usually really smooth or glossy paper doesn't work well...
p.s. ikea has this really cheap brown paper, but i haven't made it to the store yet, so i can't tell you how well it works.

card gift wrap

a simple way to wrap a print/photo/children's drawing gift into a card...

 

 

cut out a simple deisgn,  then fold paper,

wrap gift in colored tissue paper and insert :)

 

Our anual St. Nicholas Day ride :)

 

 

...when we got to the station, the sun was just rising and it was so magical!

inside we sat next to a coal burning stove and there we 2 devils(St. Nicholas' "accomplices") with

guitars sitting behind us and the whole ride we sang carols and folk songs - it was so much fun!

willow and birch branch advent wreath

h a p p y   a d v e n t !

...same technique as the advent mobile, only after

i weaved in some birch branches and decorated :) 

willow branch advent mobile

just some willow branches intertwined into a circle,

wrapped in jute ribbon and red twine

attached straw ornaments

 

 

tip: when weaving the circle, you need to tie

the intertwining branches in at least 3 places

to keep the unruly branches in place :)! after tied, 

you can form it a little more - to make a nicer circle ;)

sparkling morning frost

after a couple of really gloomy fall days, this morning we

got to see this! on our front lawn while eating breakfast....

 

 

 it only lasted for a couple of minutes but the sparkling colors were so magical!

some fabric...

 

why do i always come home with more fabric, than i intended on buying? ;)

papier-mache hot air balloon decoration

we used this pinata tutorial, only ours is a decorative and healthier version.....no candy ;)

 

p.s. this tutorial uses the flour-water "glue" - great for smaller kids!

 

a craft for both of the boys :)..... i love it when they work together!