Sew, did you know?

There are just far too many things to do in the days leading up to Christmas and in and amongst all that craziness I found a few free patterns I really wanted to try for the kids (and one for me too!) Sew, on Christmas Night as Martin sat down to watch one of his new James Bond Flicks I cleared the dust off my sewing machine and managed to get this apron done!

Sean really didn't want me to take this photo but he finally relented by lying on the floor and thinking it was funny...sorry the photo isn't the best but you get the idea! You can find this wonderful pattern at Whosies. Please go check out this along with a bunch of other fun tutorials!

Now, I slipped this one in on Christmas Eve so that I could have these fabulous napkin holders for the table on Christmas day...aren't they sweet? I found the template for this on Skip to my Lou. These are truely a simple delight. No sewing required. You can also add pompoms for holly but I didn't get there and the jury is still out on whether or not I will add them!
Now for the final project (as I finished it on Boxing Day morning...who needs to shop? All I did was go digging through my fabric bins!) I found this lovely tutorial on Hello my name is Heather (I wish I was talking about myself here!) it was amazingly quick and simple to do and Sarah loves it!
How sweet is that...wow! A few great homemade gifts to round out our Christmas giving this year! What a treat!
Enjoy!
Heather

The Night Before Christmas?!?

Wow! It's hard to believe that it is upon us already! We have been very busy over here trying to stay out of trouble which means while there may be a lot of creative stuff going on there is no time to blog it between, activities, stories, diapers and dishes!!!

We had a special Creative Kids on Monday for a friend...a small gathering of friends. They had fun creating this trio of gifts...

A little reindeer food to sprinkle on the snow (please let the snow stay for a White Christmas!!!),
Hot Chocolate for 2 and a Scrapbook Page...everyone's was a little different due to variations in papers and embellishments.


It was a good distraction for everyone! Now today we have some real work to do (sad isn't it?) not much time for creative work left!

Enjoy!
Heather

Tuesday with the Habgoods

Well, Donna of Spatulas, Corkscrews & Suitcases chose Real Butterscotch Pudding and while that does sound fabulous we are down to crunch time on the Christmas Countdown and the kids and I had some things to finish...

So, we got out the mini ice cream cones, some chocolate and sprinkles and started eating, I mean decorating...
Now, I have to say aren't they charming??? They loved today's activity (one of a few, we also made rice krispy squares and did lots of colouring!) Here they are showing off...

And here is our forest with Sarah's Sugar Cookie Tree that we made last week (Sean's has been consumed already) this one will be travelling to an undisclosed location in a few days!
If you have time...you should make a holiday forest! It was great fun to watch the kids get covered...eerrrr, cover the cones in chocolate!!!

Enjoy!
Heather

Snow Day!!!

There seems to be endless excitement these days! We walked a friend to school for a couple of days as his sister and mother were sick and in his running around he said 'what are these trees? Why are they everywhere?' Well, they are our Christmas Cards and they are waiting to be finished and sent out...

On Friday the kids were sent home for a snow day as the weather was so snowy the school closed. So I finally managed to get these cards rounded up and into envelopes!!! Hooray!

Here is a closer view of this year's Christmas Card...I had fun doing them as I used SU! Designer Paper...it was all Certainly Celery but there were 6 different double sided papers making 12 paper patterns to choose from! So fun!

Now when you are trying to get the cards wrangled and the kiddies start to get bored what do you do? Pop in a video, make caramel corn...ahhh, a little peace. But wait they are hungry again? Now we have to get some healthy treats in...

These are deluxe funny faces...they were discovered in England when we were there several years ago visiting Uncle George and Auntie Val. They have morphed into a bit of a competition between my husband and I...who can come up with the coolest funny face ideas. The fun is endless!!!

Now, the cards are done and ready to go but it's too blizzardy to mail them and the house is getting pretty chilly...so the cards will wait another day...

Now that was Friday and here it is Monday...I have to be honest. I didn't get to the post office today either. But I did send the cards off with a friend of ours who came to pick up his daughter after she finished up a visit with us today...so let's hope we can finally say "The cards are in the mail!"

Enjoy!
Heather

T'was the Night Before Christmas Holidays...

Things have been a little hairy around here to say the least...so the night before Christmas Holidays...what did we do?

Well, I was feeling festive so I decided to try out some candy cane sprinkles I had in my cupboard in pancakes...we often have breakfast for supper when my husband works late...just one of the things we do around here!!!

So, I sprinkled them on while they were cooking and then flipped the pancakes. I must say...I was pleasantly surprised by the delightful flavour this created! We may actually revisit this soon!

Next Sarah pulled her first loose tooth out! It was bothering her so I suggested she give it a little twist and the next thing we knew she had it in her hand! I am not certain who was more excited...her or Sean!!!


Finally, Sarah and I walked to Tim Horton's to get gift cards for the teachers and Stan our crossing guard. I don't know what we would do without Stan!!! Anyway, I would normally create something but time is running short so we used these gift card cards and away we went!


Here is a peak at the inside of one! It's nice to be clearing out some of my extra cards I have hanging around here!


Then off to bed to get ready for the last day of school!!!

Enjoy!
Heather

Fit to be Tied

Well, every year we string Fruit Loops on Shoestring licorice but sadly...this year the licorice I bought wasn't fit to be tied. But believe me I WAS!!!So we moved onto Plan B...we used gimp and some silver cord and used up 2 boxes less 4 bowls for breakfast and the broken ones...I love this activity...it's nice in all the hustle and bustle to just sit down and string Fruit Loops. It's kind of like the therapy of colouring...
Here they are on our tree! I bought the holiday ones this year so they were kinda fun for a change!

Enjoy!
Heather

TWD Buttery Jam Cookies

I would like to thank Heather of Randomosity and the Girl for chosing Buttery Jam Cookies on page 80. It was nice to have nut free treats for a change! Don't get me wrong, I am a nutty girl but I do need a selection of nut-free goodies for the holidays.

I didn't get to take any photos while I was making them but here are a few of them ready to go be enjoyed as I deliver them along with a poinsettia and a Christmas Card to an elderly couple that are no longer able to attend our church.

Next week's recipe is Real Butterscotch Pudding as chosen by Donna of Spatulas, Corkscrews & Suitcases. Not sure if I will have time with the holidays so quickly approaching but we shall see!

Enjoy!
Heather

So Long, Farewell, Until we meet again...

Because I do believe we will meet again...this is Reverend Judy and Simon...you may recall the photo from a few weeks ago. Judy is now officially retired from our church however, she is heading out on an adventure to spend a year working at a small church in Bermuda. I am sure that she and her husband John will have many adventures while they are away!

There was a committee (it's a church...there is a committee for everything!) for putting together a goodbye for Judy and John. I was called upon by the committee to make a card for our church family and friends to share their thoughts and give Judy and John their best wishes. Now, the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to do a journal...

So, I found this wonderful Dr Seuss quote that made me think of Judy through and through (I hope she likes it!) and I put together this chipboard journal that has been sitting collecting dust in my workshop for ages!!! I stuffed the book full of colourful pages and brought it to church.


Then something wonderful happened...the book got full! So, I wanted to make a matching book but didn't want to use the same quote. Someone suggested another Dr Seuss quote...well, I am okay with people thinking I am a little different but there is more that inspires me than the great Dr Seuss! So I set off to find just the right inspiration...
And Martin Luther King Jr. won the second time around. As I think that Judy and John feel like they are taking a bit of a leap of faith leaving the friends and family behind and heading to Bermuda for the year.

So thank you Dr Seuss and Mr King...and thank you Judy and John for sharing your lives, your faith and yourselves with us. It's been just less than a year since we joined your family and now you are moving on but I am certain that we will meet again.

Enjoy!
Heather

TWD Grandma's All-Occaision Sugar Cookies

Well, I am quite pleased with myself in that I have managed to complete this one on time in full! Things have been so crazy lately that I have been slacking a bit and when I do create a Dorie recipe it's not necessarily the recipe of the week.

I would like to thank Ulrike of Küchenlatein for chosing Grandma’s All-Occasion Sugar Cookies on pages 146-147. These were the perfect excuse to get my Christmas Trees made and to spend some time with my kids!!!

So, here I am getting everything organized for them...well, here is all the stuff organized at least!

Now here is Sean hard at work...just look at that icing. Wouldn't Grandma be proud?

And here is Sarah...they each chose their colour...
Here is Sarah with her completed tree...we will fill the tray with cookies when it's time to host some events...
Sean's tree is dedicated to a Christmas Party we will be attending next weekend...he is very much looking forward to consuming it!

I am really looking forward to next week's choice made by Heather of Randomosity and the Girls she chose Buttery Jam Cookies on page 80.

Enjoy!
Heather

Another Buggy Birthday

Creative Bug was asked to host another birthday party. We were delighted to have Abbey join us for her 7th birthday! Abbey LOVES horses so that was the theme of the day!

We started off by making cupcakes and creating fondant horses to go on top of them...here is Abbey with hers!Abbey's friends did not want to miss out on the action! Here is another girl with her cupcakes...
These girls sure know how to have a great time!!! They sang to us, started playing Hot Potato spontaneously and were simply fabulous to have in the Creative Workshop!

Here is my fondant horse...the girls sure gave this project their best effort...they also made a mini clipboard and their own lip gloss while there were here.
Finally each of the girls took home a goodie bag with some sugar cookies, icing and sprinkles to decorate at home!
This is the note I just got from Abbey's Mom;

Hi Heather,
Just wanted to let you know Abbey said her party was "awesome" and "the best party ever!". She said she loved pouring in the ingredients and making the horse.
Thanks for a great day.
Sandy

Thank you Sandy for sharing Abbey's special day with us!

Enjoy!
Heather

A Happy Seuss-Day

After our Seuss Themed Halloween Party I was asked to help a friend with her Son's 1st Birthday. She loved the photos from our party that she saw on Facebook and so I got to work...

Now, one of my favourite stories is Horton Hears a Who because of the quote you can see below...this card was just a quick mock-up to show...


Unfortunately, that one didn't fit the bill as Horton is not a familiar story in their house...so I moved on to One Fish Two Fish...

The style of that card was what they were looking for but, the hostess really wanted to see a red fish and a blue fish on the card so I took one final go at the invitations and here they are...


The cards are all ready to be mailed out and will be put in the post tomorrow. Aren't they delightful? I am glad to have made the changes because according to the discerning taste of my 4 and 6 year olds this one is the winner!

Now no invitation is complete without the details so my husband helped me finish these off just right with a little poem inside...The poem was followed by the party details...I hope they have a great time!

Enjoy!
Heather

Decking the Halls

It has taken having children for me to start enjoying the Christmas Season again and I think my husband would agree with that...it always seemed like a lot of excitement and then it all ended so abruptly. So, we try to focus as much as we can on the meaning of the season...

With our new (well, old house) it's a delight to decorate...we managed to find these beautiful stocking holders from Pier 1 Imports...
And I picked up some bigger ones for in front of the fireplace and a sleigh so they didn't look too lonely!

And I have been hard at work outside too...I finally changed my wisteria vines from fall to Winter...I am quite terrified of heights and do not like ladders one bit!!! So it is a stretch for me to change this over with the seasons!


I found some fabulous window basket and urn inserts at a local greenhouse to complete our curbside appeal...aren't they delightful?

Now the kids keep asking for a tree and more decorations...we are trying to ease our way in...I am sure that more decorations are just around the corner though!!!

Enjoy!
Heather

TWD Linzer Sables

So, it would seem that it is Wednesday but for all of you staunch TWD'ers out there...I did have these done yesterday...I swear! Somewhere under the laundry and dishes of being a stay at home mom with a 5 month old, 4 year old and a 6 year old...I have been overwhelmed the last month! So, there have been a LOT of rewinds that were not part of the game but fun none-the-less! In fact, I have to admit to just finishing the twofer pie but never taking any pictures. The family LOVED it though!!!

Here they are...my little babies. These were quite simple to make and very enjoyable, I would like to thank Noskos of Living the Life for choosing this recipe! Although, I do not understand Dorie's fascination with refridgeration. I found that an hour in the freezer made this dough hard to handle...or maybe just too cold to hold!


Now, since it says to put the powered sugar on just before serving I did it at 6am so my DH could take them to work...sadly I couldn't find my sifter and really wasn't going to bend my mind looking for it...so my sugar is a little clumpy.I was sad to pack them up without actually trying one but lucky me my DH had one left over at the end of the day...and it was fabulous!!!
Well, baby is calling!

Enjoy!
Heather