Wax-Dipped Pine Cones

Remember when I said I had a special idea in mind for these?

Well, I finally got around to finishing the craft. Over the summer, my family and my husband's mom/brother/grandmother/aunts/cousins/foreverandeveramen went to the lake.

It was a bittersweet trip, as it ended up being the last that we'd spend with my husband's Aunt Lori.

Because we knew at the time that things weren't going the way we'd hoped they would for her, I wanted to do something special to remember the trip. While we were there, I spent quite a while scouring the ground for perfectly shaped pine cones. I had an idea for small gifts for the family.

Originally, I thought these would make great additions to Christmas presents, but I decided to make them as "Just Because" presents instead.

My mom died when I was 20. I was a sophomore in college and it blindsided me. We didn't have a fantastic relationship -- we hardly had one at all. But it was still really hard. Unexpectedly hard.

My mom & dad in the late 1970s.

Two months before she died was the last time I saw her. It was Christmas and she gave me two dollar store candles. I remember being mad that she gave me cheap candles -- especially because they weren't scents I liked (Apple Pie and Cinnamon Spice). How horrible of me. Absolutely horrid, childish behavior.

When she died, I kept the candles on my desk. Each time I moved after that -- from a dorm to an apartment, to my next apartment with fewer roommates, to my own apartment in Oklahoma, to this house where I've started my family -- I've kept the candles out.

I burn them whenever the loss is particularly acute. When my kids have a new adventure and I wish I could tell her about it. When I dream of her and wake up lonely.

I wanted to do the same for her family with these tokens from the lake trip. I melted scented tea candles (Apple Pie and Cinnamon Spice) on a double boiler over high heat, then dipped the pine cones in the wax and sprinkled them with sugar.

Whenever the mood strikes, you just throw one of these in the fireplace. The wax will melt and smell wonderful and the sugar will spark around the pine cones until it burns off.

I hope these pine cones are, in a small way, the same comfort for everyone this first Christmas without Lori as the candles have been for me.

Photo Card

Gifted Tag Christmas

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Santa! I know him!

The kids got their wish today -- we visited Santa in the mall.

They've been talking for weeks about what they were going to ask him for Christmas. A morphin, a doll crib, a light up light saber, a doll chair.

Fancy stuff.

When the moment came, and Santa asked them to tell him ONE thing they wanted, the pressure was on.

My boy asked for a teddy bear. My girl? A ball.

It's like the 1930s  up here.

Merry Christmas!

Harry Potter: Nerd Alert

I decided that my almost 5-year-old son was ready for the magic of Harry Potter. He'd seen parts of the movie before and has asked for it for Christmas. Being a book NERD, I told him we needed to start with the books.

I don't care what you do when you're on your own, but while you're in MY house, you will always start with the BOOKS.

New rule.

It's been a looong time since I've read the first book. So I just sort of assumed he'd be ready. I mean, I knew it might be a little over his head, but doable. Right?

Not so much. I mean, there's just a lot of background, you know? Talking about Mr. Dursley's job at the drill company. How he and his wife loathe "weirdos." Just fluff that's not usually in age-appropriate books for him.

Whenever I read books to him, I have him lie down and close his eyes so he can imagine it. I do this for three reasons -- I want him to use his mind to see what I'm reading, to make sure he really focuses AND to make sure he relaxes and hopefully drifts easily to dreamland.

The first chapter is 17 pages, y'all. At page 10 he started to really droop. Page 11, I suspected and page 12 confirmed that he had fallen fast asleep, tucked in with thoughts of a tabby cat and old Professor Dumbledore.

Here's where the nerd alert comes in -- I started to cry while reading the book. I know, I know.

But I was really invested in those books! And starting over, reading about the day James and Lily died and Harry became an orphan -- and reading about all these people who have no idea what's coming next.

And, yes, I realize it's a book. Fake.

But still.

Apparently there's still a part of me that's sad Dumbledore died. Because when he showed up, bah. It was over for me.

My kiddo might be a little young right now. We might have to put it back on the shelf. But I hope when he's ready, that it impacts him as much as it did (does) me. Good books move you when you're reading them.

Great books move you when you think about them, even 10+ years later.

A Preschooler's Homemade Volcano

The kids and I experimented with science this weekend by making homemade volcanoes!

Here's what you'll need if you decide to fill your room with the delicious aroma of Play-Doh and vinegar. Mmm.

First, we made wells out of the Play-Doh.

Am I doing this right?

Take as may breaks as you need to watch your cat chase birds in the yard.

Get 'em, Jack.

Once your well is formed (and make it taller than wide, please! Don't be me ...), add baking soda and a drop or two of food coloring so the lava looks realistic.

I wish I'd measured how much I used of each, but I didn't. Use more than I did, though. The bubbles didn't poof as much as I wanted them to.

Ask your kids to stop running out of the room because of the vinegar smell when you open the bottle. Bribe them with candy, if necessary.

Pour the vinegar (again, I'm not sure how much I used ... maybe a tablespoon?) into each well and watch it ERUPT!*

The kids had a blast! More science experiments are definitely in our future. Especially since my daughter thinks vampires roar like lions and crawl on the ground. While not TECHNICALLY science, I think it's an important lesson she'll have to learn.

*slightly bubble

Christmas Ornament Wreath

So, we had the crafting day yesterday and it was a lot of fun! I meant to take pictures while I was there, but it didn't happen ... too much chicken salad dip and chickpeas.

My favorite thing we made was this:

A Christmas ornament wreath! I know technically I should have filled in the gaps with smaller ornaments, but I got frustrated with the glue gun and just stopped.

All you do is take a wire hanger and form it into a circle, then string the balls along the hanger until it's full and pretty -- and oh, so festive!

Also, I made a few more makeup bags:

So excited for Christmas!

Zippered Makeup Bag

Zippered makeup bags. Love. I first saw this here.These are so easy, and I'm obsessed with making them. Hello, Christmas presents.

Want to see?

Of course you do.

She made them with the intention of using them as pencil bags. Not being a student, I immediately saw travel makeup bag.

I talk so much about HobLob, you'd think I owned the place. If I did, I'd have a much bigger house.

BUT -- I got everything I needed for these gems at HobLob. I bought a $.25, 9"x12" piece of brown felt, and a 1/4 yard of this fabric (on sale for $1.22), which gave me enough for two of these bags with scraps left over. You could certainly use any scrap you have laying around in that size. Or patched pieces of scraps. Or an old skirt. These are just my ideas ... :)

For $1.99, I bought the zipper, and the charms came in a 2-pk for $1.47. Basically, these are cheap. Less than $5 for each one.

Hello, Tarte powder. I love you. Never leave me, OK?

Really, really easy. Check out her site for the full tutorial. I'm a fan.

Today I'm having a craft night with some of my favorite friends. We've got a whole host of ideas of things to make.

Wait until you see what I do with these beauties I picked up from our summer lake trip to eastern Oklahoma.

Get excited!