Not Even A Mouse… Okay Maybe One!

Image

I am sitting with my daughter at chemotherapy, and looking around at the patients that are all going through therapy, too. It is sad knowing they all will be feeling badly come Christmas day. My heart goes out to them.

Mirandy is halfway through her first round of chemo, and we are praying she will be cancer free when these twelve sessions are through.

The grand kids are on Christmas vacation so, for me, I will be trying to find something fun (and quiet) to occupy them while she is recuperating.

Crafts are good for all ages… and for some quiet time.

Maybe tomorrow we will see if we can get a mouse stirring!

Here is another easy craft to pass the time with the little ones!

At this time of year, most homes have candy canes laying around, and most of us have leftover felt and googly eyes from other projects. So go raid the craft supplies and  let’s get started!

This craft really doesn’t need a pattern. (Refer to picture for placement.)

It can be made with different materials; ours just happens to be felt! Size really doesn’t matter, as long as the candy cane is shorter than the fabric. I think fleece would work well!

Supplies needed:

Red felt (a bit longer than a regular size candy cane)

Green felt for ears

Cellophane wrapped candy cane for tail

2 googly eyes

1 small pom-pom for nose

This is the underside of the mouse.

Directions: Fold the piece of  red felt long-wise. Cut into a teardrop shape. (see first photo) Make two slits about middle ways for ears and to hold tail for support. (See second photo.) At the bottom of the body make a slit in the middle of the felt to slip candy cane tail in. The candy cane helps hold the ears in place!

For the ears you will need one small piece of green felt.  Fold in half. Refer to photos.

Make a straight cut then make a circle for ears then back straight to the fold. (see first photo) The ears will look like a dumb bell, only with circles at the ends. Slide one circle through slits in red felt. Okay, now you have ears!

Glue on googly eyes and nose.

On the underside of the mouse, slide candy cane straight end (first) through tail slit and run it through the ears. (see second picture)Hook end of candy cane makes the tail.

This would be nice for Random Acts of Christmas Kindness, too!

Don’t forget to take a picture of your special mice and upload to share with us. Thanks.

Do you have an easy craft you would like to share? We would love to see it!

Countdown to Christmas!

School is out for the rest of the year, and it’s cold outside!

What can you do while the kids are home, and impatiently waiting for the ‘big day’ to arrive?

I adapted a Pinterest pin and we made Rudolph Hot Chocolate Mix. (We made ours for the kids’ teachers.) Makes great last-minute RACK (random acts of Christmas kindness) gifts for the neighbors, friends, and family.

Hot chocolate, anyone?

This is an easy craft and the children can help!

For each Rudolph you will need:

1 Wilton decorating bag

2 Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate packets

Handful of miniature marshmallows

Small handful of chocolate mint M and M’s

2 googly eyes (attach with Tacky glue)

Curling ribbon or any tying material

1/2 metallic red pipe cleaner for nose

1 metallic red pipe cleaners for antlers

Directions for Rudolph Chocolate Treats:

Empty packets of hot chocolate mix in bag.

Next drop in marshmallows, followed by M and M’s.

Twist bag closed, tie off with ribbon, twist ties, etc.

For each treat you will need to cut 2 pipe cleaners in half. (I used a small pair of needle nose pliers, but you could use an old pair of scissors that won’t hurt if you cut wire.) You will need one and a half pipe cleaners per treat.

Pictured is pipe cleaners for antlers.

 

Wrap one of the halved pipe cleaners around the tip of bag for nose. Pinch it so it doesn’t slide off of the bag. See first picture.

For each antler you will need one pipe cleaner, halved. Take one of the halves and cut it in half again. Twist the halved one around the top of the bag (where you have it tied off with ribbon or twist tie.)

Then take the quartered pieces and twist around the ends of the pipe cleaner to make antlers.

Glue googly eyes on bag with Tacky glue. (See above picture.)

You could use any powdered hot chocolate mix. Here’s the link to my hot chocolate mix recipe.

These make double cups of hot chocolate. If you want, you could use one package and make a smaller reindeer. Just cut the excess plastic from the top.

BTW… my grand children already drank theirs, so I used an empty one for a pattern! You can tell by the hot chocolate spots on the TV tray! 🙂

That’s it, folks. Occupy the kids and make a great last-minute gift! Be sure to make some for them, too!

For more great Christmas ideas check out  raisingolives.

Life Is What It Is!

It’s been a while since I have written on this blog… lots of things have happened since the last time I wrote. First of all, my computer crashed and I had only my phone to communicate with on the internet. I am back now, though!

Another thing that has happened… my daughter was diagnosed with lymphoma, so I have made the trip from Oklahoma to Illinois to help her through her chemo and help with my grandchildren.

Staying in the city is a change from living in the country!  The city noises are strange compared to the quietness of our rural home, and it’s not easy sleeping with the different noises.

Ashley, Cooper, and I put up the Christmas tree last week, and together we decorated it. We also have crafted some nice decorations, too.

My daughter Mirandy and I thought it would be a wonderful thing if we did Random Acts of Christmas Kindness (RACK) this holiday season with Ashley (9)  and Cooper (4), to give them something positive to think about. We wrote twenty-four kindnesses on a sheet of paper, one for every day until Christmas.

Ashley rewrote them on gift size cards I had previously cut from construction paper. She decorated the fronts of the cards with stencils and colored pens, enjoying every minute of it!

When we awake in the mornings, we take turns drawing out of the big holiday bowl, which holds the cards for our kindness of the day! RACK has been a big conversational topic in this house, and my grand children are feeling good about doing these little things for others.

I didn’t realize just how much Cooper thought about these acts until Saturday evening while he and Ashley were in the bedroom watching a movie. Paul, Mandy, and I were in the living room getting ready to watch bedlam, (OSU vs OU).

All of a sudden Cooper comes running into the living room crying, “Grandma, Ashley is in here doing random acts of meanness!”

I nearly fell to the floor laughing! Well, he’s been told to use his words! 🙂

Have a great day, God bless you, and don’t forget RACK!

Catch you later, Evie! ❤