It's Time for Valentine's Crafts!

It's cold outside, the kiddos need some entertainment and Valentine's Day is quickly approaching… so grab your crafting supplies, a sense of adventure and the desire to embrace red, pink and hearts!

This first idea comes from Red Ted Art: Bringing Colour & Art to Children's Hearts. (Seriously, with a blog name like that, this needs to be a site I frequent!) Butterfly Valentine's:

Check out her LIST of Valentine's kids crafts, too. For me, just browsing ideas jump starts creativity. (But I have to do it alone, because it jumpstarts my kids, too…!) So, happy browsing!


Then we have Love Rocks. Seriously! These are awesome. Does anyone else have a plethora of rocks, collected from walks with your children? This makes them into a sweet little collection. Find the original idea at Red Bird Crafts.

Or Yarn Hearts. These make me happy. Their homespun, imperfect nature makes me think they'd be perfect for a preschooler/mom joint venture. Thanks to Family Chic for the idea.

Here's another compilation of ideas, including these adorable Love Birds:

And if you have a tiny one in your home these days, you have to make these: Heart Footprints! Step by step instructions, including a cute little verse for the inside of the card can be found at Jany Claire.

Ok, and in hopes of including our spunky little guys in our crafting adventures, here's an adorable little Valentine Alligator from Skip to My Lou:

And, Valentine Superheros!

I also saw a version of these with cute face masks… I guess it depends on how complicated you'd like to make your craft.

Okay. Stay warm, have fun and feel loved! See you next Wednesday for our Marriage Panel meeting.

Craft Day Recap

Thanks for another great meeting, ladies!

For those of you who missed us, we hope to see you February 12th.

Today was Craft Day. The materials for three crafts were set out and all were free to create, chat and enjoy one another. It was a day of great connection, space to grow friendships and time to relax.

The best way to remember is through a few pictures:

May we all continue to grow closer and closer in likeness to our Creator God, maturing from one degree of glory to another.

Thanks for participating with us in this common space, sharing your stories, struggles and triumphs. Creating with y'all was a blessing this morning. May God's peace surround you until we meet again.

More Thanksgiving Crafts

I wasn't thinking I would post any more craft ideas, since there were some good ones on Monday, but then I remembered these:

From National Wildlife Federation website

These Snowy Owl Pals are super cute, super fun and super easy. My daughter and I made them over a year ago & I've used them as decoration for fall, spring and winter. I typically put them away for a period, but then "discover" them anew and just can't resist putting them out again. In this picture from Ranger Rick Jr, they seem very wintery, but in reality the sticks and pinecones lend a very natural, brown look that works very well with autumnal decor. Have fun!

The instructions are here: http://www.nwf.org/kids/family-fun/crafts/pine-cone-snowy-owl-pals.aspx

And then, I was just surfing around one evening and found these:

Photo from A Place for Us blog

I just have to make these! You can read the tutorial here: http://aplaceforusblog.com/brown-paper-flowers-tutorial/ So far I've only gotten as far as purchasing brown paper bags, but I'm sure my daughter and I will be cutting and gluing soon together at our kitchen table.

I was also just reminded of a couple kid-friendly Thanksgiving recipes. Ella and I made the Pilgrim Hats a couple of years ago - and she needed help, but they were indeed a 3-year-old friendly creative treat. I think Ben and I will attempt the chocolatey mess of the Acorn Cookies this year (he's 3 now). Check these out if you need a tasty activity: http://abcjesuslovesme.com/holiday-ideas/thanksgiving#recipes

Oh! And don't forget - the classic Thanksgiving craft for kids: Handprint Turkeys! These always turn out adorable and they kiddos think they are fantastic. You can do it with paint like this:

Find directions at abcjesuslovesme.com

Or, for a little twist, trace your little one's hand in pencil. Let him/her color it like a turkey. Glue on a googly eye. Glue on dried beans to make the "feathers." It is helpful to use card stock. The kids got uber-creative this year and decided to make a "pumpkin turkey" and a Thanksgiving dolphin (covered in beans of course) to go with our 2 handprint turkeys.

Happy Crafting! Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Crafts

Have you gotten yourself into the Thanksgiving spirit yet? How do you do it around your house - in your heart, through your decorating, in the ways you talk with your kids?

This year my in-laws are coming for the holiday. It is rare for our family to have visitors at this time of year. We usually do Thanksgiving on our own, occasionally with friends in town… and I rarely go to any extravagant ends because Christmas is coming and I always decorate for Advent.

Historically, my mother did a great job with food - and Thanksgiving was about getting together with family. There was no decorating that I recall. We usually began our Christmas decorating the Friday after Thanksgiving.

BUT, I'm brimming with gratefulness this year. And I have family coming to my house. And I have two children who might just understand the point of this holiday. So, I'm looking for some ways to celebrate Thanksgiving - starting today. I want to decorate and do crafts with my children and look forward with anticipation to our feast.

If you have any ideas, please share them as comments!

Over the next week and a half, I will share some of what I find…


Starting with these cute, easy crafts:

This photo originally appeared in FamilyFun magazine.

Directions to make this Pilgrim Pal can be found here: http://spoonful.com/crafts/pilgrim-pal

This photo originally appeared in FamilyFun magazine.

Directions for these Harvest Linens are here: http://spoonful.com/crafts/harvest-linens

Or, here are 21 crafts & activities to do specifically with kids for Thanksgiving: http://www.parenting.com/gallery/thanksgiving-crafts-ideas

    - I love the cute Mayflower made out of a coffee cozy!

    - And the idea to make a collage of all the things you're thankful for & turn it into a placemat.

    - And this little guy… come on! Who doesn't want turkey oranges on their table for Thanksgiving!

Copyright Tina Rupp

And if you're in the mood for a banner (or 4), check out this site: http://organizeyourstuffnow.com/wordpress/10-thanksgiving-banner-ideas

From Organize and Decorate Everything:
http://organizeyourstuffnow.com/wordpress/thankful-banner

Or you could go all out and make this Thanks Giving Tree: http://www.aholyexperience.com/2012/11/a-christian-family-thanksgiving-activity-the-thanks-giving-tree-free-printable/

From A Holy Experience

Happy crafting and preparing, my friends! Have a blessed Monday.

Meeting Recap 11/13

Thank you, once again, for a fantastic MOPS meeting, ladies! The food was delicious, the company spectacular and the discussion stimulating. For those of you who missed us, here's the scoop:

We enjoyed breakfast as usual - hot and sans children. We talked and talked.

Lorna Brooks, one of our Mentor moms, shared a short Thanksgiving devotional from Ann Voskamp's devotional book One Thousand Gifts. The excerpt was about the whirlwind messes our children leave behind them - and our reactions. Ann shared her journey from frustration into thanksgiving and thus joy as she stepped away from a focus on the mess and into a place of present gratitude. She began giving thanks for the arms she has that allow her to pick up said messes. And thanks for the children who surround her and are able to help. And it transformed her anxiety-filled afternoon into a time of peace and rejoicing as they all continued on into the kitchen for a delightful chocolate treat. She wondered for us, "When did I stop thinking of life as dessert?"

Then Robin showed a short video clip by Lysa Terkeurst on Controlling Your Emotions. Lysa is always entertaining, with her personal examples, and she brought up some good points. She reminded us that conflict is going to happen when we are in relationship with other people, emotions are going to rise - and then she asked us to consider what we do with the conflict and emotions. She broke down four basic negative reactions for us and then offered some ways to spin them more positively. She said, "Conflict arises when we feel either Exposed or Opposed." Her four groups were:

     - The Exploder who blames others

    - The Exploder who shames herself

    - The Stuffer who builds barriers

    - The Stuffer that collects retaliation rocks

She recommended thinking about these things: the problem with blaming others is that you are attacking the person instead of the issue, in order to avoid shaming yourself - bring yourself a little perspective before you react, if you are a stuffer - don't build barriers and thus shut down communication - instead, implement honest boundaries and continue in communication, ask yourself if you are trying to prove that you're right or improve your relationship.

She ended with this fabulous verse out of The Message: Proverbs 18:21 - Words kill, words give life; their either poison or fruit - you choose.

So, after the video we enjoyed chatting with one another at our tables about her message. And then, we did a craft. To get us prepped for the holidays, we made Holiday-Themed Flour Sack Towels using flour sack towels (duh, I know), fusible interfacing (stitch-witchery) and fun fabric shapes. Those who finished theirs at the meeting left with a pretty great kitchen jump-start on the holiday season - and everyone else took their materials home for a fun afternoon craft during nap time. :) If you missed out on this activity and you're interested in getting a picture or the instructions, please email sheridanmorningmops@gmail.com and I'll make sure you get everything you need!

Have a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving everyone!!! See you the 2nd Wednesday of December (for our Christmas meeting - it's always festive and very fun - don't miss out).

Reminders!

This week is a MOPS week!

Our meeting is Wednesday morning, November 13th from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM at FBC. We are looking forward to seeing y'all again. This month's meeting is entitled "Emotional Messes: Controlling Your Emotions." Seems like a great topic for moms of young kids to me!

We will also be making Holiday-Themed Flour Sack Towels during the meeting. They're a great item to use to spice up your kitchen or kick-start your gift making/giving for the year. We made one during our steering committee meeting last week - and WE ARE EXCITED about this craft. You're going to love it!

To help us with the craft, please bring an old towel and fabric scissors with you - if you have some & they are handy.

Due to the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, the 11/13 meeting will be our only one for the month of November. So don't miss it! And invite your friends. We can't wait to see you there.

Have a blessed week.