Parasailing, What an Awesome Way to End My Year!

Soaring above sparkling turquoise waters over the beach in Ecuador  was not only breathtaking but to fly over it feeling my hair dance in the wind and smelling the fresh tropical breeze was, exhilarating.  My new prayer "Dear God, please give me wings to fly." 

Squeeze Bottle Christmas Pancake Wonders

I love using my Squeeze Bottles to make pancake art!

You will need:

• Squeeze Bottle
• Pancake Mix
• Food coloring

1. Mix your pancake mix as directed on box. 
2. Once mixed separate into different bottles but don't fill to the top.
3. Add your food coloring choice to each.
4. Put some butter or cooking spray on your griddle.
5. First, outline your pancakes as seen in picture.
6. Then fill them right away.
7. You can also spell out as show above we spelled Feliz Navidad.

Limitless options  for your pancake art! We made stockings, santa hats, trees, candy canes......

How to Make Reindeer Antlers with Chocolate

I  am so glad you stopped by, I know your dying to find out how to make reindeer antlers from chocolate. NO more Mickey Mouse ears Reindeer Antlers for you.
Here it is, drumroll please:
You need wax paper, melted chocolate and a ziploc bag.

Last night I was rushing to get through my to do list of Christmas party goodies, classroom goodies, Christmas program sheep costumes etc..... To my surprise I discovered that using pretzels for antlers on my cupcakes wasn't going to fly like it did on my cookies. Mostly due to the shape. On my cookies they look like antlers on my cupcakes they looked like Mickey Mouse the rednose reindeer.

Frustrated and with little time to waste I tried something new that I vaguely remembered reading somewhere.  Desperate I trusted my vague thoughts, on how to trace shapes of things with chocolate onto waxpaper. 

I am here to report it's easy and it worked great. See for yourself Mickey Mouse the Red Nose Reindeer and Rudolph, big difference huh.

Here are the antlers cooling on wax paper.  If your afraid to mess up or want more intricate antlers draw them on first with a sharpie on the back side and then flip it over and trace with the chocolate.  In a small bowl melt chocolate and insert into a ziploc bag. Twist bag and make a small snip at the end to squeeze chocolate out.  They peel right off!

The truth of the matter is the kids could careless if they look like Mickey Mouse or Reindeer so don't fret and enjoy your holidays!

Teacher Gift: Snowman Candleholder

Between my two boys who are in 1st grade and Pre-kinder they have 16 teachers. Yes, that was not a typo, 16.  We love them all so every year it's a challenge to find an affordable to practical gift to give 16 teachers.  I felt a little pressure after writing this article The Truth About Teacher Gifts but I think it passed the sentimental and practical criteria. This year my boys made them this adorable Snowman Candleholder. 

Note they wrote Miss and Mrs. they are still trying to figure that one out.

I wanted a craft that they boys could make that was easy, practical and cute.  You need: a round shape glass or jar, construction paper, tissue paper and modge podge or your homemade version of it.

Cut tissue paper into fat, wide pc and start gluing them on. Let it dry and then add the face with the construction paper. Insert candle and your done, told you it was easy! Our boys had so much fun making their teacher a gift.

Another Snowman craft we made for class gifts:
Snowman Bubbles

Sun-dried Tomato & Bacon Cheese Ball

Once again I came up with a recipe using my favorite ingredients: bacon, sun-dried tomatoes and cheese!  From the series Simplifying Christmas Gatherings: Day 2-Appetizer

12 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 cps (8 oz.) shredded cheddar
1/4 cp finely chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
1 Tbsp. onion flakes
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cp of shredded mozzarella
chopped walnuts
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp. pepper

1 lb. crumbled bacon, cooked
1. In a bowl mix all of the ingredients above except for the mozzarella cheese and walnuts.
2. Once mixed, form into a ball.
3. Mix mozzarella and chopped walnuts and roll ball in it.
4. Refridgerate for a few hours or overnight.

Pears and Gingerbread Oatmeal Breakfast Bake

Our mornings are crazy, crazy and did I say crazy! I am hoping this last for a couple of breakfast meals this week.
I first had this when a friend brought us a meal after our baby was born. She said you can eat this lots of ways: for breakfast, for dessert, with milk, with out milk or with icecream.  The other night I envisioned this Oatmeal Bake with a Gingerbread flavor and pears. 
So now I am trying my craving out, enjoy!  This is one of our 5 Must Try Christmas Breakfast Recipes from Inspired by Family Magazine.

6 cups oatmeal
4 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. salt
1.5 cup brown sugar
3 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves

 

Stir in another bowl:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups milk
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 cup molasses (if your molasses is strong in flavor or if your not a big fan of molasses/gingerbread flavor reduce amount)

 

sliced pears or apples

 

This recipes does not require flour. When baked it will rise like a cake but with a fluffy, crumbly texture.
Directions:

• Mix together first 7 ingredients.
• Stir the other 5 ingredients in another bowl then add this mix to your dry ingredients.
• Place in baking dish and layer on top thin pear slices. You can also dice them up and put them in the dry ingredients.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes in a lightly greased pan. Make enough for 6-8 people.

 

If you want it to be sweeter drizzle it with caramel sauce or for dessert add a scoop of vanilla icecream!
To reheat add a little milk or water, cover and microwave for 30 to 60 seconds.

 

 

Image via Kyla Roma

 

 

Faux Feather Tabletop Christmas Trees

I know, there are tons of tutorials out there on how to make this trendy tissue paper trees and now I am going to add my 2 cents to the mix.

Using posterboard paper was really ideal or you can buy cone shaped foam.

Supplies:
Glue
tissue paper
Poster board that matches your tissue
styrofoam/plastic cup

1. First cut your poster board paper into a large rectangle and begin shaping it into a cone.  As shown in picture some of it may overlap and the ends may not come out even just cut the ends as needed.

2. Place cone inside cup and glue it in. This will give you a solid base for standing.

3. Cut tissue paper into long strips.

4. Then cut paper into little strips but not cutting all the way through just enough to where each strip hangs together.

5. Begin glueing, because I  used white poster board I had to cover the cone in red tissue paper first so later I wouldn't have to worry about white gaps showing.

For the second type of tree (tree on the right on mantle picture above)I used a different effect.

For this one cut tissue paper into squares.

Fold them up like this.  I don't like the ones that are twisted at the end and the front is fluffy so I folded mine to give it a more leveled look. 

Glue them on starting at the bottom first.  I made the mistake of starting at the top. 

Fresh Flower Christmas Wreath

Last year, in a magazine I saw this vibrant red fresh flower Christmas Wreath, and it was love at first sight.  I finally got around to making one this year. I LOVE IT!  Carnatations are resilient so I think it will last for awhile.

Supplies:
Floral foam
Floral Tape
Bright Red fluffy Carnataions or whatever color you want
Red Wide Ribbon
Skewers

1. I could not find floral foam in shape of a wreath so I created mine buy cutting the blocks of foam and making a rectangle like this.

2. I used wooden skewers to secure it and then taped each side.  I would recommend that you use the green floral tape instead of the masking tape I have here:

2. Once it is secure begin inserting your carnations. Until the top is completely covered.

3. Then go around and place that wide red ribbon around the outside and inside of the rectangle.

4. Secure the ribbon with straight pins.

Yes, it was as simple as that!

Fun Christmas Party Game- Mr. Wright Christmas Book Exchange

This is such a fun game and the older they are the easier it is for it too flow.  Though I have played this game with preschoolers and kindergardeners, with some extra adult help.  We have also played this game on Christmas Eve with the whole family to decide who gets to open the first present on Christmas Eve. With this version we just pass around THE Card that says YOU GET TO OPEN THE FIRST PRESENT. Whoever ends up with this card at the end of the reading is the first picker.

• You will need the short story The Wright Family Christmas. 
• Each child should bring to the party a wrapped book either gently used or new. 
• Have everyone sit in a circle and instruct them that when they hear you read in the story the words RIGHT or LEFT they need to pass the book in that direction. 
• Everyone at the end should end up with a book that is not there own. If they do then they can switch with the person next to them.

This is one of the many Kids Christmas Party Games and Ideas from Inspired By Family Magazine.
picture credit: Billy Kids

Frosty the Snowman Onesie

Gotta love the DIY way!  My adorable little birthday boy got to strut his cute little "milk belly" with Frosty on it.

Supplies:
Onesie
Felt pieces: Orange, black
Fabric glue
Optional: needle & thread

1. I cut a carrot shaped nose by rounding the end.
2. 2 large circles and 5 small dots for the mouth.
3. I layed them on their first to figure out the placing and then I glued them on.
4. If you would like sew them on for extra support.  I know I will never use ours again so I just glued mine on. 
The birthday boy!

For more Kids Christmas Party Ideas & Games

Frosty the Snowman Drinks

These were so fun to make!  All the kids at the party loved them!

Supplies:
Lemonade Sippers
Black marker
Ribbon or Fabric for scarf
Twizzlers for nose
Choco chips for eyes
Edible Marker for mouth
Skewers

1. I drew the buttons with the marker and cut a strip of fabric for the scarf.
2. For the face I used a White Chocolate Sandwich cookie. You can buy them here they are called Tango if you can't buy them pre dipped just buy oreos and dip them in white chocolate and before they cool off add the face.
3. Choco morsels for the eyes, twizzlers for the nose and with the edible marker draw dots for the mouth.
4. I use corn syrup or white choco for "baking glue" to keep the face on.

For more Kids Christmas Party Ideas & Games

Sundried Tomatoes, Gouda & Bacon Quiche

I am one of those cooks who loves to try new challenging recipes in the kitchen but I skip right over a lot of the easy stuff.  One day I decided to make crossaints, yes, warning it is very challenging. At that point I had never made Pie Crust, which is a whole lot easier than crossaints. Silly I know but maybe some of you can relate.

One of the easy things I have skipped over is making Quiche so recently I have been experimenting with it. Three things I realized:

• They are super easy to make
• You can pretty much make any kind of quiche
• I don't like crustless quiche

One of my many favorite flavor combinations is Sundried Tomatoes, Gouda and bacon. Your mouth will be bursting with flavors.  Here I made Stuffed Chicken with Sundried Tomatoes and Spinach recipe
So I am going to have at it adding this flavor combo into a Quiche!

Ingredients
prepared Crust either your favorite recipe or store bought
6 eggs
1 cup whole milk
3-4 pieces cooked bacon, crumbled
1/4 tsp fresh cracked pepper
3/4 tsp fresh sea salt
1 cup grated gouda cheese
1/3 cup grated mozzarella
1/2 cup chopped spinach
6 Sundried tomatoes chopped w/ a little bit of it's oil

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350.
2. Lightly grease a pan and press crust into pan and crimp edges.
3. Beat the eggs and milk until light and fluffy, add salt and pepper. Whisk in bacon, spinach, SD tomatoes, cheese. Pour into the prepared crust.
Bake for 35-40minutes or until set and not wiggly in the middle.

For more CHRISTMAS BREAKFAST PARTY RECIPES

Great Reads for Children

Great Reads for Children (any time of the year):
Reading to our kids is such a beautiful way to bond with them whether your a parent, grandparent, teacher, caregiver....

The List

One of my favorite Authors: Robert Munsch:

• Love You Forever- Can't finish this story without crying.
• Kiss Me, I'm Perfect  
• Smelly Socks- My son loves this book b/c he relates.
• We Share Everything
• Make up Mess
• Class Clown

Whoever You Are by Mem Fox

The Mitten by Jan Brett

The Donkeys First Christmas by S T Schroder

The Brambley Hedge Series by Jill Barklem

The Fern Hollow Series by John Patience

The Three Trees by Elena Pasquals

Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney

You are Special by Max Lucado

With you all the Way by Max Lucado My boys love this because it's about Knights.

The Christmas Sweater by Glen Beck Great story and illustrations

The Ox Cart Man by Donald Hall

What a Wonderful Life by George David Weiss We love to sing so we would sing this to our boys when they were little. It has the lyrics to the song in book form.

A Wish to be a Christmas Tree - Colleen Monroe

The Way I Feel by Janan Cain I love al the color in this book.

Peeping Beauty by Mary Jane Auch Great little story for girls.

The Christmas Giant - Steve Light

Percy the Park Keeper by Nick Butterworth

The Little House by Burton

The Pine Tree Parable- Liz Curtis Higgs
 
The Chronicles of Narnia Series

The Twelve Prayers of Christmas by Candy Chand

Mixed Up Chameleon by Eric Carle

Nicholas Cricket By Joyce Maxner

I Like Myself by Karen Beaumont Great illustrations and the counselor in me just likes this book.

Dream Snow- by Eric Carle

Anna Dewdney series on Llama Llama - Llamas run wild here so when we go camping we have been able to hang out with them!

• Llama llama Misses Mama  
• Llama Llama Red Pajamas
• Llama Llama Holiday Drama

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever -by Barbara Robinson My FAVORITE book and movie

Room for a Little One: A Christmas Tale -by Martin Waddell

How Are You Peeling? Foods with Moods Great pictures

The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka Hilarious book

Snowball Fight!- Jimmy Fallon

Mooseltoe by Margie Palatini The boys love his moosteache

The Series of There was an Old Lady books by Lucille Colandro

The First Bear in Africa by Satomi Ichikawa

The Snow Tree - Caroline Repchuk

I Love You More Than Rainbows by Susan E Crites

The Butterfly by Patricia Polacco Portrays the Holocaust for children in an excellent way

Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen

All the Ways I Love You by Theresa Trinder

Christmas Book Countdown

This is one of the many Advent ideas from our Simple or Fancy Xmas Advent Calendar Ideas .

I am in love with childrens books! I love the illustrations, the colors they use and the stories!  My dream is to be a children books writer. It most likely will never happen but hey a girl can dream, right. 
One of the things we do in our home is have a Book Countdown to go along with our Advent Calendar.  Depending on how many books I was able to purchase prior to Dec. that is where we start our countdown. Last year, the boys were lucky and we had 24 books! One year we did a 12 days to Christmas countdown.

The great thing about this is you can also check out books from the library and wrap them up and of course return them when your done.  We have done that and I actually prefer that but we don't have a public library here, I know sad but true.

We use a variety of books not just Christmas books below are some of the books that have made it to our Christmas countdown.
Great Reads for Children (any time of the year):
One of my favorite Authors: Robert Munsch:

• Love You Forever- Can't finish this story without crying.
• Kiss Me, I'm Perfect
• Smelly Socks- My son loves this book b/c he relates.
• We Share Everything
• Make up Mess
• Class Clown

•  Whoever You Are by Mem Fox
• The Mitten by Jan Brett
• The Donkeys First Christmas by S T Schroder
• The Brambley Hedge Series by Jill Barklem
•  The Fern Hollow Series by John Patience
• The Three Trees by Elena Pasquals
• Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney
• You are Special by Max Lucado
• With you all the Way by Max Lucado  My boys love this because it's about Knights.
• The Christmas Sweater by Glen Beck  Great story and illustrations
• The Ox Cart Man by  Donald Hall
• What a Wonderful Life by George David Weiss  We love to sing so we would sing this to our boys when they were little. It has the lyrics to the song in book form.
• A Wish to be a Christmas Tree - Colleen Monroe
• The Way I Feel by Janan Cain   I love al the color in this book.
• Peeping Beauty by Mary Jane Auch  Great little story for girls.
• The Christmas Giant - Steve Light
•  Percy the Park Keeper by Nick Butterworth
• The Little House by Burton
• The Pine Tree Parable- Liz Curtis Higgs
• Giraffes Can't Dance by Giles Andreae  You can buy this with the cd and I love the violin playing cricket part.
• Merry Christmas Curious George - Margret and H.A. Rey  Our boys love George!
• Narnia Series
• The Twelve Prayers of Christmas by Candy Chand
• Mixed Up Chameleon by Eric Carle
• Nicholas Cricket By Joyce Maxner
• I Like Myself by Karen Beaumont    Great illustrations and the counselor in me just likes this book.
• Dream Snow- by Eric Carle

Anna Dewdney series on Llama Llama - Llamas run wild here so when we go camping we have been able to hang out with them!

• Llama llama Misses Mama
• Llama Llama Red Pajamas
• Llama Llama Holiday Drama

• The Best Christmas Pageant Ever -by Barbara Robinson  FAVORITE book and movie
• Room for a Little One: A Christmas Tale -by Martin Waddell
• How Are You Peeling? Foods with Moods    Great pictures
• The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka   Hilarious book
• Snowball Fight!- Jimmy Fallon
• What Santa Can't Do - Douglas Wood
• Mooseltoe by Margie Palatini  The boys love his moosteache
• The Series of There was an Old Lady books by Lucille Colandro
• The First Bear in Africa by Satomi Ichikawa
• The Snow Tree - Caroline Repchuk
• I Love You More Than Rainbows by Susan E Crites
• The Butterfly by Patricia Polacco  Portrays the Holocaust for children in an excellent way
• Was That Christmas - Hilary McKay
• Mouse's First Christmas - Lauren Thompson
• Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen
• All the Ways I Love You by Theresa Trinder

What are some of your Children Book Favorites? 
We get most of our books from Scholastics because they are inexpensive, also Walmart has a good selection online to choose from and they are well priced.
Enjoy reading! 

Picture from Babyccino Kids.  A great website I stumbled upon Christian Children's Book Review  not all her book reviews are from Christian writers.

Sunday Linky Parties

http://www.flamingotoes.com/
http://www.iheartnaptime.net/link-parties-2/
http://niftythriftythings.blogspot.com/p/link-parties.html
http://petitehermine.blogspot.com/
http://www.sistersofthewildwest.blogspot.com/
http://my1929charmerblog.com/
http://www.homemakeronadime.com/
http://www.marvelouslymessy.com/
http://www.bystephanielynn.com/

Shabby Chic Rosette Christmas Ornament

Lovely Rosettes on your Christmas tree from our Drab to Fab DIY Christmas Ornaments Collection.

Supplies-
Crepe paper
STYROFOAM balls
Craft glue
ribbon
paper clip

1. Cut strips of crepe paper about 10inches long and twist them.  I don't twist them tightly b/c I like my rosettes to look a little fluffy.
2. Loosely twisted paper and roll into rosettes.

3.Once rolled glue them to styrofoam ball.
4. Insert paper clip so that you can hang it on the tree.
5. Make a bow and glue at the top.

DIY Ornament using Napkins

From my Fab to Drab Collection comes this clear glass ornament covered w/ a snowflake napkin using my homemade Modge Podge. 

Cut the pieces into squares and start applying all over ball. Let it dry.

Pottery Barn Knock Off Tree Advent Calendar

Every year my advent calendars get better!  I started off with a shoe organizer calendar and last year I sewed felt pockets and stringed them to ribbon.  This is one of the many from the collection Simple or Fancy DIY Xmas Advent Calendars.  Inside each pocket is a card w/ an activity and candy. We use it in conjuction with What God Wants for Christmas which comes with 7 gift boxes that we place inside each pocket of our advent calendar.  An example of the Activity card:
Day: 21 Sharing the Good News
Ornament: Mini Megaphone
Verse 2:16-20
Activity: as a family shout the good news

or more involved
Day: 19 Jesus is God's Gift to Us
Ornament: Gift box
Verse: Mt 1:21-23
Sing: Away in the Manger
Activity: Find something in your house that you want to "give" to another family member and stick it in a gift bag. It can be silly or for real either way at the end of the game it all goes back.  (last year I got a pacifier)
Open Box #4 from What God Wants for Christmas (You can find this at your local Christian Bookstore)
If you would like a copy of the Advent Activity Cards below in the comments write your email or email me at inspiredbyfamilymag@yahoo.com.
This is my inspiration from Pottery Barn.
Supplies:
Felt
Christmas stickers
Xmas scrapbook paper
Fabric glue

1. Using chalk draft your tree onto green felt then cut it out. I made lots of mistakes while drawing so I was glad for the chalk.
2. Cut the tree, trunk and star out.
3. Make 24 or 25 red pockets all the same size. We celebrate Xmas on the 24th a Latin American tradition.
4. First lay pockets where you want them to ensure they will all fit and then glue them.
5. Glue ribbon to each pocket. You can use a variety of patterns or just one as I did.
6. Then glue stickers on to ensure that they will stay.
7. Make circles from Xmas paper and number them.
I used silver glittery alphabet stickers to monogram our tree.

No sewing involved and if I do say so myself it turned out pretty darn cute!

Advent Calendar using Toilet Paper Rolls

We have moved the details to this post to our new website Inspired by Familia!  You can find the details for this easy craft over here.

Little Baker Apron

Your adorable little baker must have their own little adorable apron.
Supplies:
Ribbon of different widths
solid child size apron

1. Gather your wide ribbon and sew it together. Place a smaller width ribbon over it and sew it.
2. Cut the straps that come with the apron and replace them with thin width ribbon. Sew it on each side.

You can find these child size aprons at your local craft store or order them by the dozen from Oriental Trading Company.
Add a cake box mix and mixing spoons to the kit!

   or a cupcake baking kit like this!

picture from Bake it Pretty

Visit Inspired by Family for all 18 DIY Gifts & Stocking Stuffer Ideas

Paint Your Own Ceramic Gifts

This is a great gift idea for anyone in your life! No need for special equipment just use your own oven! Bake at 300 degrees for 30minutes.

Sassy Mug-This one is my favorite!

Supplies:
Plate or mug
Pebeo Porcelaine 150 your color choices
Pebeo Porcelaine Gloss finish
Dry Erase marker

1. Use the dry eraser marker to draft your design and get an idea of what you want it to look like. Erase it and then start your painting.
2. Follow the directions on the paint. These paints are permanent and dishwasher safe once baked.
*Since many vitreous and ceramic materials cannot withstand sudden changes in temperature, we recommend that you place your piece in a room temperature oven and allow it to warm up with the oven. After 30 minutes, turn the oven off and allow it to cool back to room temperature gradually.

Personalized plate and bowl set.

Teacher gift: The flowers are the kids fingerprints. I traced around their fingerprints and added a stem. It says "Plant a Seed and Watch it Grow".

Poppies Serving Platter I ordered my paints online but you can get them at your local craft store.

Visit Inspired by Family for all 18 DIY Gifts & Stocking Stuffer Ideas