A bit of Christmas in the jungle

We have not been doing a whole lot of preparations for Christmas this year.

Usually we spend all of December making decorations, keeping traditions of different kinds

and baking cookings. This year however there have been different priorities.

We do still have the little dry Christmas tree and a lot of our home made decorations from years past.

Kaleena also took it upon herself to make us an advent wreath. Usually this marks the beginning of our Christmas preparations, the first sunday in advent we make œbleskiver, 

hot cocoa and make the advent wreath, but this year Kaleena finally got tired of waiting for me to make one so in this last week before Christmas she made us one beautifully.

I have also added the Christmas cards that we have received to the tree, this is a first but I really like it.

My mom and dad sent us a box with Christmas candy and goodies and in it was also a kit to make little gnomes, the children found these in one of their advent bags and they

 loved having a little craft to get into. 

Finally we found some of our favorite christmas books which we read every night,

so while this years Christmas will certainly be quite different at least there are things familiar to the children through this special time.

I once again realize why these traditions and celebrations are so important for children. 

It supplies them with an anchor, a place of familiarity, something that they can count on to return, time after time no matter how life may other wise be different around them....

~May this Christmas be filled with joy and peace~

~Blessings~

Christmas days

We have spent some lovely days with family celebrating a traditional Danish Christmas.

On the morning of Christmas day the snow starting falling in thick blankets, and we spent the day playing in the snow. (In Danish tradition the main celebration is on Christmas eve)

We made these sweet frosted candle holders for our Christmas table, we used Mod Podge, white tissue paper, Bows, Raffia and greenery. Check Gardenmama for a full tutorial.

It snowed and it snowed, our first real snow this year and it came exactly on Christmas day...

It was and still is extremely beautiful, and provided many hours of fun...

~wishing you sweet family fun~

Handmade Holiday, A glowing wax lantern

Today I finally got around to making this glowing lantern for my Mom for Christmas.

I followed this wonderful tutorial from Rae @ Morningsunrae. I have been wanting  to do this for some time now, I got myself a brand new crock pot from a fellow Freecycler, (love love that that group, 

all giving and receiving) and I received the beeswax that a bunch of us mamas ordered from a local farm at a good price. I was a bit concerned about dipping the ballon, but followed Rae's direction and dipped a leaf first to check the temperature, and after the first couple of dips, Kaleena took over. The children were fascinated with the warm softness of the hardened wax, 

and the smell in the whole kitchen was just delicious.

Kaleena also wanted to prick the hole in the balloon which sent a fountain of water over the sink.

I used the technic mentioned at the bottom of the tutorial, standing the lantern on a hot pan for a second to shape the bottom, and later to smooth the top edges. I dipped the pressed flowers into the wax and then added them to the side of the lantern before dipping the whole thing again. I think I dipped too many times as the flowers almost disappeared, yet once a candle is lit inside they show up nicely.

For the first try I think it came out very nice, 

and it will look pretty on my Moms breakfast table back home.

Besides a few little remaining projects that pretty much wraps up my 

Christmas gifts for this year, pretty much....

~with love and gratitude~

Cookies, Christmas and gnomes

Cookies and Christmas, it just goes together so well, doesn't it?

Each year I make at least too types of cookies, and these are the same cookies that my mom used to make each Christmas. Christmas was the one time a year that we would bake cookies growing up, so these certainly bring back Christmas past for me..

For these I used;

2 1/4 sticks of soft butter 

10Ts of sugar

12ts brown sugar

2 eggs

300 grams of flour

1ts baking soda

1ts salt

1 1/2 cups of nuts (I used walnuts)

200 grams of chocolate pieces

they are placed on wax paper by the teaspoon full, with a top or they will get very flat when baked.

Baked on low, 250 or so for 8-10 min.

 My favorite part of these chocolate chip cookies is getting a big chunk of semi sweet chocolate and chopping it up myself..

 And yet another favorite part is dressing up the cookie jar and making it  part of the Christmas decorations, as well as wrapping little individual boxes for neighbors and friends.

 The other night I felted a gnome for Keenan to go with the book Pico the gnome, and well these little guys are addictive, tonight I want to attempt a female. Aren't they sweet?

I though I might make some more and add to my Etsy shop, which I have left positively abandoned.

I used this tutorial and adjusted it to fit my need as I was not making ornament.

~with so much love~

Christmas projects

We have not been doing nearly as many christmas project as I usually would. Living at my sisters house I am limited to none messy projects, at the same time there are so many other joys of sharing this special time together, lots of cozy chats by the fire, and a bonding time we have not had in many years. 

Soon our lives will once again bring us far apart (geographically), and it is so nice to have shared this past year.

So instead of the crafting I would usually do with the children all this month I have come up with a few simple  projects, that they can do without too much mess.

Next week we will mess up the kitchen in a big way though and bake cookies:)

 We have been making presents for grandparents, my parents are coming to spend Christmas, so the children have been very busy making cards and gifts for them. They each painted a cup for them and then made a special gift bag to set them in ( I got the idea for the bag here ), cutting felt pieces and gluing them to a plain bag.

 One for Mormor and one for Morfar.

 Kaleena made this for Mormor

 and Keenan made this for Morfar

I saw these on The Crafty Crow, a simple tree ornament, made with cardboard and string. Both children adored making these. They are so simple and very pretty on the tree.

 We also made woolen hearts. Keenan loves sewing, he is always asking if he can please sew, and he is getting very confident with the needle.

We cut the wool from felted sweaters sewed it up and stuffed it with wool batting. Lovely for the tree and also for a vase with pine branches on the table ( how I would usually have them)

~sweet blessing~