2013 Advent Calendar

This year Matt and I wanted to try our hands at making an Advent Calendar. Since December 1st is this Sunday, I thought I would share how ours turned out. 

{All of this cost less than $10} 

Matt and I came up with a list of ideas to do throughout the month. We did a mixture of fun activities, service, and spiritual related themes for our calendar. We wanted to have a good mixture so we would stay interested in our calendar. 

Then we wrote the ideas on a piece of index paper. We kept the supplies really simple because we didn't want to spend a ton of money on something that would be gone in a month. 

We put the slips of paper inside the red envelopes, and then numbered each envelope. Because we love sweets, we also put two small pieces of chocolate in each envelope. 

We put the envelopes in our tree for the display. You could do so many things to display your calendar. We were thinking of getting string or twine and hanging them from the wall with clothes pins, but the tree thing was cheap and easy. 

 I am really happy with the way our Advent Calendar came together. This was so simple and only took about an hour to put together. 

Here is a list of our daily Advent Activities: 

1. Write Christmas letters to our family

2. Read "The Gift of the Magi"

3. Family Game Night

4. Watch "A Gift to the World" 

5. Read Luke Ch. 10:25-37 

6. Watch The Santa Clause 

7. Go see Christmas lights in Seoul

8. Watch First Presidency broadcast

9. Read an Ensign Talk 

10. Hot Chocolate and Watch "The Coat" 

11. Make Peppermint Bark

12. Gift packages for the Ward missionaries

13. Watch Elf 

14. Visit Lotte World

15. Make Ritz cookie treats

16. Read "Rediscovering the Christmas Spirit" 

17. Read 3 Nephi 17:5-24

18. Make an Ornament

19. Write a 'Time Capsule' letter

20. Play in the snow (backup- breakfast in bed)

21. Go ice skating

22. Make sugar cookies

23. Read "The Best Christmas Ever" 

24. Watch A Christmas Story

25. Read Luke Ch. 2 

Getting Crafty: Shaped Crayons [A Tutorial}

While I was home for the summer, the kids and I decided we wanted to get a little crafty. So I turned to a few of my go to blogs and found a project that the three of us could agree on. 

Make your own Shaped Crayons from My Sister's Suitcase. 

This was perfect because all you need is:

Crayons {We used a bunch of leftover crayons we had laying around and they worked perfectly.} 

A Knife and Cutting Board

And a Muffin Tin or Silicon Mold 

*You guys probably have most of these supplies laying around your house! 

All you need to do is peel your crayons and chop them into small pieces. 

*Note: I had the kids peeling while I chopped. 

Each kid had their own plate where they divided the colors they wanted to use. 

When that is done, put the crayon pieces in the molds. 

Each kid had their own row, so they could determine what their own crayons looked like. 

When this was done, we popped them in the oven at 250 for about 10-12 minutes. 

*Note: We didn't use all the muffin tins because we were tired of peeling the crayons. While I was happy to recycle the crayons we had, it definitely made peeling the old crayons pretty hard. 

When we took them out of the oven we were a little concerned because they looked really ugly. 

But here is how they turned out. 

Pretty cute if I do say so myself! 

Missouri Gets Interesting: Barn Quilts

If you are looking for something to do in Blackwater, Missouri look no further than the Barn Quilts of the Boonslick. While we were in Missouri, we found this really cool thing called Barn Quilts of the Boonslick. All it took was the word quilts and I was on board. 

Basically, different barns around the area pick a quilt square they want painted on their barn, and it goes up. There are about 41 barn quilts in the Boonslick, Missouri area. 

"The mission of the Barn Quilts of the Boonslick Region is to promote and celebrate the unique agricultural experience of the region through the visual combination of barns . . . vital to the economic well being of the rural community . . . and the comfort of homemade quilts that provided warmth, beauty and an outlet for individual expression.  Travel the Boonslick Trail to experience a new trend in tourism.  Barn quilts are large colorful blocks that are designed, painted and then hung on the side of barns.  Click above for a map and further information about the individual barn quilts in  Cooper, Howard and Saline Counties. " {Source via} 

Barry, Mom, and I decided to take a little tour and see some of the quilts around our area. *Note: Mom thought this was really stupid, and made fun of me the whole time. But at least she came. 

I was really excited because there were so many quilts really close to us. 

Here are a few quilts that we got to see: 

"The Trails" 

"Harvest Star" 

"Star and Pin Wheel" 

"Prairie Queen" 

*This was the barn at the bed and breakfast the reunion was at. 

How to Make a One-Straw Lei

As everyone knows, leis are a big part of Pacific Island culture. I love leis; I find all of them to be so beautiful! There are tons of different leis, some take a lot of time and effort to put together and some are really simple to put together. 

In the season of Mother's Day and Graduations, I thought it would be perfect to share how to make a simple One-Straw Lei. These are easy to make, they look beautiful when you're done, and the best part is they are made of yarn so they last forever! 

 I have seen these around since I started living here in Hawaii in 2007, but it wasn't until Matt's graduation that I became really interested in figuring out how to make them. 

I was sitting by a friend of mine during graduation and she was busting out these one-straw leis like nobody's business. I think she made three during graduation. I watched what she did and was like, okay I can do this. 

And I did! My mother-in-law would be proud. 

Here's how to make your own One-Straw Lei. 

What's great about one-straw leis is that you probably have most of this stuff around your house.

You will need: 

Eyelash yarn - you can use up to three different colors at one time. I think using more would just look a little too crazy, and be really thick. For my leis, I used two colors. Here in Hawaii, you can find eyelash yarn at Longs, but on the mainland you could probably find it at your local craft store. If you want to shop on-line you can click here.  There is long and short yarn and regular and sparkle yarn. Just find what you like. One lei will use one whole spool of each color. 

Scissors

Straw (I used a McDonald's straw because they are wider.) 

Ribbon 

Tape

Kukui Nuts (optional- if you do this you will need a needle) 

Start with threading the ribbon up through the straw. Once it's through the other side, tape the ribbon to the straw. 

Now tie the ribbon to the straw, opposite to the side you taped. I tied a double knot to really secure it to the straw. 

Now you just take the ribbon and twirl it around the straw. You do that all the way to the top of the straw. *Make sure you don't twirl the yarn too tight on the straw. 

When your yarn is at the top of the straw, push it down to the bottom of the straw. You will keep twirling and pushing the whole time. You will get to the point where you have pushed the yarn off the straw onto the ribbon. That is okay, just make sure some of the twirled yarn is still on the straw. 

This is what it will start to look like as you progress. {Hopefully your yarn won't change colors.} You just keep going until a) you have the length you want or b) you use all your yarn.

*If you want to add more yarn just tie the end of the old yarn to the start of the new yarn. 

When you have the length you want push all the yarn off the straw. Un-tape the ribbon from the straw and pull the ribbon free. Now you can either tie the ribbon at the top, or string some kukui nuts to the ribbon. 

Thread the kukui nut to each side of the ribbon. 

And there you go! You have a one-straw lei! 

You can make a one-straw lei in a little less than an hour, and under $7. 

This would make the best gift for your mom on Mother's Day. Or get the school colors of your grad and make a straw lei for graduation day! 

If you feel like this is too easy or you don't like the look there are also two and three straw leis for you to try your hand at. 

If the pictures weren't enough, check out this video. 

Enjoy! 

Some Spring Inspiration

It's officially March, and Spring is not far off. It is hard for me to remember that most of the mainland is still in end of their Winter season because it  is 79 and sunny here on Oahu. 

While Spring is not my favorite season, I have seen a few really cute craft/ gift ideas I am loving and I wanted to share. 

{image and free printable via} 

{image and tutorial via}

{image and printable via}

{image and tutorial via}

Happy March Y'all! 

Will You Be Mine

Friday I borrowed a scrabble board from our upstairs neighbors (and cousins) and made this little note for Matt. 

I thought this was a creative way to ask for my Valentine to be mine. 

Luckily for me, Matt accepted! 

Yay for LOVE!