Wooden Snowmen Decoration

This was my parents' anniversary gift from all the grandkids right after Christmas that they "helped" with. :)

The only thing small kids can really do is pick out colors, and hand you things to help. :)

I think it turned out really well, if I do say so myself.

Sorry, I'm not big on making tutorials that show every little step--this is me cutting a piece of felt.  This is me spray painting wooden balls.  This is me hot gluing tiny pom-poms. . . When I start a project I just want to get it done as quickly as I can.  And, I hid in my parents basement to work on it, worked at our house, hid in my parents' garage, had Rick do some of it. . . a photo tutorial is just not going to happen. :)

So, I'll just tell you what materials I used and the general steps.

Each snowman is one grandkid.  Seven current ones, and 2 more to come soon.

They each have their own color scarf, and each of the kids picked their own "button" colors and helped picked Pearl and Spunky's colors.

On my parents' mantle after the kids presented it to them.
Those are all "my kids" and my brother's "kids". . . that's a lot. :)  I'll have to get a bigger board when my little brother has some.

Materials:

*unfinished wood plaque-thingy (Hobby Lobby)
*packages of unfinished wooden balls (Hobby Lobby) in 2 sizes.  They have one flat end which worked perfectly for being able to glue it to the plaque, and to glue a hat to the top.
*colored felt (Hobby Lobby)
*stiff black felt for the hat bases (HL)
*tiny pom-poms (HL)
*thick dowel rod (HL)
*spray glitter--clear with silver sparkles (HL)
*black and white spray paint
*black and orange acrylic craft paint
*hot glue gun
*wood glue

Steps:

*Spray paint plaque and wooden balls white.  Spray all over with spray-glitter--kind of lightly since you'll add more later.  If you spray the wooden balls before it's all assembled, you can get more even coverage.
*Cut dowel rod into 1" pieces or so (that was Rick's job in the garage) and spray paint black.
*Cut stiff black felt into circles.
*Use wood glue to glue wooden balls together.  The scarves will cover up excess glue.
*Cut strips of felt, tie around the snowmen, use hot glue dots to hold in place if needed.
*Attach pom-poms with hot glue.
*Hot-glue the hat bases to the dowel pieces.  Hot-glue the hats on the snowmen.
*Use the pointy end of a paintbrush to add eyes and mouths with black acrylic paint.  Use toothpick to add carrot-nose with orange paint.
*Hot-glue snowmen to plaque-base.
*Spray on more glitter!!!

Christmas Crafts

Gotta love Hobby Lobby's half-off craft kits sales!

Got 2 of these kits for $5 each.  They make a TON of ornaments, and would occupy several hours!

Straight pins, sequins, beads, hard styrofoam balls, strings for hanging.

I left the kits out on the table for over a month and they worked on them periodically.  

We have about 6 or 7 completed ornaments, and the fixin's to make a LOT more than that. 30-some.

We will be working on these for a couple years I think.  Quite the bargain.

Also bought some foam craft kits that provided a lot of busy-work, too, for the kids.

Making things with their own hands is SO satisfying for kids. . . I need to be more intentional with craft time.  Have not put in a lot of effort the last several months.  

They are SO happy when they are making something.

Some of Duncan's foam crafts.  *love*

He delivered penguins that we glued magnets to to the doctor's office. . . he loved having gifts to give.

they are perfect.

Ugandan Necklaces

A friend of mine is clearing out all her leftover shirts and necklaces to help us bring the girls home!  She has GREAT items for really good prices!  Check them out here and her second batch here.

We still have the puzzle fundraiser going on, too!

So blessed to think of all the good friends heading up these efforts and supporting the efforts! 

She's Four

"Spunky" turned 4 years old this week. :)

Thinking nonstop about 2 little sweeties. . . will you pray for their well-being, please?

We hope to hear our court date soon!

A Second (and Final!) Shirt Order

Here's one last chance to order a Hope shirt to help support the adoption of Pearl and Spunky!  

The deadline to order is MONDAY, JANUARY 16!

Ordering info can be found here.  Let me know if you have questions about sizing and stuff.  Now that we've seen the shirts, we know how the sizes "run" in the different styles!

Also, the puzzle fundraiser is still going on!  

No set court date yet, but most likely we've only got a couple/few weeks left stateside!

Thanks, everyone, for all your support that has come in so many forms!  

Advent Calender Made in Africa

I finally found an advent calendar I liked well enough to spend the money on for our family.

I looked for several years and we just never had an advent calendar because there wasn't one special/meaningful enough.

Then I spotted this beauty. . . handmade in Africa. . . supports a good cause. . . the 6-year search was over! :)

Everything is hand-sewn. . . Every piece is hand-carved. . .  I can't imagine how many hours went into it!  It's so gorgeous--my pics don't do it justice.

I bought this last year in early December at a craft show that had an Amani Ya Juu booth.  Similar to many other organizations, women in Africa are making the items and earning income to help themselves and their children. . .

I almost felt guilty for snagging the ONLY advent calendar from that awesome booth. . . because I thought someone with really close ties to Africa should have dibs, but I went ahead and bought it before they even opened (since I was a vendor at the show, too).

I just loved that it was all handmade and that it supports a good cause, and of course I like Africa--who doesn't? 

Then. . . just a FEW DAYS later was when we learned about Duncan and it was even more special to have for our family!!!  

That made the calendar even more special of course!