What we've been up to

We love to do a lot of crafts during the Christmas season, and we end up with at least 2-3 of each ornament that we make. I decided last year to get the kids their own trees for their bedrooms so they can hang their own ornaments on them. Being the cheapskate, um frugal mom, that I am, I bought them on clearance after Christmas for $5 each.

The boys were all in one bedroom last year so I only needed two. Jake needs one now that he is in his own room, but he has to wait for the after-Christmas clearance sales. :)

Here's the little boys' tree topped with the angel Hank made last year.

Ella's tree with her angel

I thought this was pretty cool looking
Now the ornaments for this year... I stalk The Crafty Crow starting mid-October for craft ideas, and I try to make the crafts with just the stuff I have already. Sometimes I have to breakdown and buy a little something, but I can usually improvise enough to make a decent attempt.

This little cutie was a lot of fun to make. The directions call for the bird being 'one-sided' so that when you flip it over, you see the tissue paper on the other side. I decided to make it two-sided so both sides would be 'pretty': we folded our paper in half to cut two birds out, held them together and punched the holes in both sheets at the same time, glued the tissue on one side and then carefully glued on the other side of the bird.
This is a fun, easy craft that the kids enjoyed. Shane really liked it because he could do it all by himself, and he's a huge fan of sprinkles (glitter). I cut the triangles out using pinking shears to give them a more tree-like texture.

This one was super easy. So easy in fact, I was able to throw it together at the last minute (literally) for our science co-op when our teacher needed to cancel unexpectedly. Below is Jake's nod to the Terps.

I amazed even myself when I made these babies. I didn't have the right paint colors so Ella and I winged it a little. The actual cutting and sewing wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, but I am no artist and the painting was a little tricky. There were no second chances so I was worried about messing them up. I'll put these in the little kids' stockings. Of course Ella will get the girl; Shane saw the fox and really wants it so I guess Hank will get the boy.

There you have it. We might eek out another craft in the next couple of days, but we've had a very fun December.