DIY Christmas Advent Chain Idea & Free Printable!

My family loves the DIY Christmas advent chain... but how do you make it look fantastic? My struggle is that it always looks like some scraggly chain that doesn't fit in with my Christmas decor.

So this year, I used cardstock that matches my home for the chain (as opposed to any old left over cardstock), then made a cute little printable to put in a frame (you can get it too... when you scroll to the bottom)! 

It hangs on the door from a ribbon on a wreath hanger. Then the kids can reach the loops, and it doesn't look like I just taped it to the wall... although I did just tape it to my picture frame. :)

Make your advent chain (many of us already know this tradition, but for those who don't: cut paper strips, write down the number of days until Christmas - one number per paper strip - then staple them in loops in order, and tear off each loop as you pass each day).

Now you need a place to hang it!

Get your picture frame and decide what size of the printable you want on the wall. My frame was square, and much bigger than an 8x10 - but my printer doesn't print any bigger than 8.5 x 11. So I chose a small square.

But my large picture frame needed a matte...

... so I framed my lime green Christmas wrapping paper! Then I added a blue border of cardstock and used my printable for the centerpiece of the picture.

However you choose to doll it up, frame your printable.

Next, hang it up! If you have wall space, great. If not, do as I did - find an empty door and grab your wreath hanger. Use a sturdy ribbon to hang the frame from the wreath hanger.

And last, tape the advent chain to the picture frame. The kids love it. I love it. Actually, my husband thought it looked fantastic too. And I can reuse it again and again. Yay!

In the spirit of giving, here is your free printable!

• free Christmas printable (square version) 
• free Christmas printable (8.5 x 11 size)

 And if you ask my daughter how long until Christmas, she'll tell you. Thanks to the advent chain. :)

Merry Christmas!!!
 -Jannie

A Bouquet of Freshly Cut Hearts!

Here's a fun, easy craft idea you can do with your kids for Valentine's day... Make a bouquet of freshly cut hearts! Simply cut hearts out of differently colored and patterned papers, then make 2 slices in the centers.

Slide the hearts onto a skewering stick. Repeat until you have enough hearts and sticks to make a full bouquet. You can also tape together some of the skewers to make some hearts taller than others. We made several of each. You could also use popsicle sticks, or make a miniature bouquet with toothpicks.

Place them in a vase (if you stab the skewers into styrofoam and put it at the bottom of the vase, the hearts stay put, but it isn't necessary) and put them out on display! Add a little note from little hands, and you're done. :)

They could be used for your child's class valentine party, a teacher's gift - or in our case, a fun surprise for Daddy or Grandma. These are also a great little idea for simple home decorating.

Happy Valentine's Day y'all!

If You Chance To Meet A Frown...

Being the mom of all girls can be exciting. Especially the drama. So, to keep my sanity I have a rule that I strictly abide by during stressful moments. "Only ONE girl gets to cry at a time. If the baby is crying, then it isn't your turn. When she is done, you may have a turn to cry."

Amazingly this idea works. You have to say it with a straight face and really mean it, though. And when they are all done crying, then it's my turn. But usually by the time everyone is done, we have all forgotten why we wanted to cry and end up laughing instead.

A few Valentines

We had 54 valentines to give at school this year. Yes, that is just one child's list. So, this picture isn't even all of the valentine's we made. But it's a good representation.



And being on a budget, I needed something inexpensive and quick, but hopefully still cute. Don't we all need something like that? So, here's what we came up with:


Just some pretty scrapbook paper (heavy kind, so it was sturdy paper), a printer, scissors, and a lollipop. We printed words onto the 8 1/2 x 11 paper, then, by folding the paper down the center of the words, cut out completely imperfect heart shapes around the words. We got 6 to fit onto one sheet of paper.


Cut slits above and below the words and poked the sucker in.



Same idea with this one, but no hearts to cut out and it used up the scraps of the 12 x 12 paper I had cut into 8 1/2 x 11. The "o" has a center hole cut out by a hole punch. A bigger punch might've been better. But it's what we had.



My favorite one is just the heart one. Made a ton and for only $2, because I only had to buy the lollipops. SWEET!

Lovely little wood pile

Here in the land of perpetual sunshine we have little need of a wood pile. Yet in the off chance that the weather gets cold, it is lovely to have. We have had a cold weather system blow through the Phoenix area and had a good reason to use our fire place.

I have found that there is a trick to chopping wood.
Have your big-ol-boy do it! Ha! He gets a kick out of chopping wood because it is a novelty. Isn't it lovely that we can still use our teens for manual labor!

Hazzahh.... it is fire time!