Thursday, December 6, 2012

The girl with the golden teeth

Last weekend I acquired two new trinkets to adorn our cabinets.


Yes, those are teeth.
Yes, they are painted gold.

Weirded out?  (Hubby totally was at first.)  Let me explain.

Last Saturday I visited the dentist two cavities filled.  These were my very first cavities ever, so I was nervous about what was going to happen.  Before starting, the dentist used a mold of my teeth to help  explain the procedure.  As I listened, I couldn't stop staring at my molds.  How could something look so creepy and interesting at the same time?  I don't know what came over me, but I asked him if I could take my molds home.  Surprisingly, he agreed to make another copy and give them to me.

So I brought them home and painted them gold.

When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.
And when life gave me my first two cavities, I made myself some golden teeth.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Hello

Baby Chuck is currently taking a loooong nap.  He's had a rough couple of days.  He's still fighting  off a cold, yesterday he had a mild fever, and last night he had lots of problems sleeping (which meant that hubby and I also had lots of problems sleeping.  Eek... for all the parents who go to work even after long sleepless nights- I salute you!  You are troopers.  I don't think I could do it....)

While he rests, I'm taking a brief moment to write this post.

One of my best friends recently stayed with us for a couple of days.  It was wonderful seeing her again and catching up.  It was also extra-special wonderful to introduce her to the new guy in my life.

I think they hit it right off.





Monday, December 3, 2012

Hubby alters another dress

Last weekend hubby pulled out the trusty sewing machine to alter a thrifted dress.

It went from looking like a long hippy-ish nightgown 
to looking like short nightgown 
to looking like a dress that I could actually wear out

Three cheers for hubby's sewing skills!

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Blue hands and feet

How was your weekend?

Good, I hope.

Hubby, Chuck, and I have been fighting a nasty bug.  I think Baby Chuck got it around Thanksgiving and then he passed it onto hubby.  My immune system fought a good fight, but I finally succumbed sometime last week.  

Blech. *Sniff sniff*

Baby Chuck and I stayed home for quite a bit, but we pushed ourselves to go to Toddler Time.  This Friday they did a hand and foot painting activity.  I think the children enjoyed being artists for a day.









Friday, November 30, 2012

Crapty Paper Fortune Cookie Advent Calendar



Can you believe that tomorrow is the first of December!  Aiyah!  How quickly the time flies.

I love advent calendars.  I don't know why, but there's something immensely satisfying about moving a little figure from one day to the next.

We own one small felt snowman advent calendar, but I wanted to try making my own out of crap.  (Why?  Why not!  I love crapting.  There's just something immensely satisfying about transforming garbage and recyclables into something beautiful.)

I've always loved eating fortune cookies. (They're the best part about eating Chinese food!) So, I made my advent calendar look like paper fortune cookies.  Unlike their doughy counterparts, these fortune cookies don't contain traditional cookie wisdom.  Instead, each holds a Christmas-y activity that our family can do together or a way that we can serve others. Each cookie also holds a bible verse.

Hopefully these paper treats will help put us in the right frame of mind this holiday season.

Want to make your own paper fortune cookie advent calendar? Read on!

Materials:
- paper grocery bags (<--crap!)
- scissors
- cup
- pen
- computer paper
- glue stick
- gold paint
- paintbrush
- string
- tape
- Bible Advent verses

Directions:
1)  Trace and cut out 24 circles.
 2)  Write down fun Christmas-y activities or different ways you can serve others onto the circle's backs.
 3)  Make your fortune cookies!  Fold your circle in half, making sure your writing is on the inside.
 4)  While still holding your half circle, use your other hand crease the circle like so.  (Thumb and middle finger on the edge while your pointer finger gently applies pressure and creases the paper.)
 5)  Keep applying pressure until you have your fortune cookie shaped.
 6)  To keep the paper in this shape, you'll now need to let go of the paper and dab glue onto center crease. (Or you can use one of those glue dots... but I'm cheap so I just used my glue stick.)
 7)  Now, refold your fortune cookie.  Apply a bit of pressure to where the glue is to make sure both fortune cookie "arms" (no idea what  they're called) stick together.  Insert a bobby pin inside the "arms" so that they remain sticking together until the glue dries.
 8)  Repeat the process to create the rest of your fortune cookies.
9)  Come back 24 hours later.  (Or earlier if you wish.  I just waited to make sure the glue was dried.)  Paint half of the fortune cookie gold.  While waiting for the paint to dry, write out your bible verses and corresponding numbers on thin slips of paper.
9)  Once your paint dries, tape the slips of paper into the fortune cookies.

10)  I wasn't sure how to string the cookies up, so I created small loops out of leftover paper and taped them to the inside of the fortune cookies.) String up your cookies and enjoy!