Guest Day Friday Featuring Us

Okay, so we were just trying to get both Guest Day Thursday and Feature Friday done in the same post. It’s been a busy week, and this post didn’t get done earlier, so there ya go. We are featuring one of the projects that we did at craft day (click here if you missed that post). We wanted to do a chunky Christmas decoration that was still pretty simple to create (not so sure that chunky and Christmas belong in the same sentence, but it is what it is today). Here are our NOEL blocks. Sorry there are no pictures of the steps, we were just having too much fun to take the time to take pictures of the whole process. It's pretty simple though, cut a 4x4 down to size (or get friendly with the guy at Home Depot and learn his life story while you spend two hours there getting stuff cut, and then he feels so generous, that he doesn't even charge you for all those cuts. But we wouldn't tell anyone that that's what happened, because we wouldn't want to get the nice guy at Home Depot in trouble). Then you paint them your desired color, Mod Podge on some cute paper and apply the vinyl letters. Voile! It was so fun to see how different everyone's turned out depending on the paper they picked.

Micki’s blocks

Micki’s other blocks (this set has already been gifted)

Teri’s Blocks

Our “guests” blocks (really we were all Laurel and Micki’s guests in real life, but lucky for us, in bloggyland they get to be our guests)

Laurel’s blocks (she painted hers after we left, and the burgundy blocks instead of the cream really show off the letters and give the blocks a whole different look, Micki’s were painted this color and then distressed)

Sabrina’s blocks

Shannon’s blocks

Trish’s blocks (Teri so loved the cute little bird that she had to copy, but her bird met with an untimely decapitation and subsequent Mod Podge assisted surgery, that’s all she is admitting to at this time)

Rozanna’s blocks

Amey’s blocks (had to include the little strip of wall color at the bottom when editing, because it matches the blocks so well)

Suzanne’s blocks

Jackie’s blocks

Sara’s blocks

Michelle’s blocks

Just an editors note about the pictures. They were taken by different cameras, different photographers and in different lights. I have tried to edit them as much as possible to reflect the creativity of the project.

We hope you have enjoyed our celebration of a simpler side of Christmas decor and crafting. Isn’t it fun how one project can have so many unique looks?

Edited to add parties we are linking up to:

Strut Your Stuff @ Somewhat Simple

What’s Cookin’ Wednesday: Laurel’s Most Famous Chili

This recipe was given to Micki's mother in law by and old Italian man who worked with her at the school district when her sons were little.

2-15 ounce cans pinto beans in chili sauce (I use the ranch beans with jalapenos and take the jalapenos out so the sauce is spicy)
1-15 ounce can whole peeled tomatoes or diced tomatoes
1-15 ounce can tomato sauce
1-6 ounce can tomato paste
1/4 T cumin powder
1 T chili powder
1 T salt
1 T pepper
1 T sugar
1/2 T garlic powder

Chop 1 large onion and brown with 1 pound hamburger. Drain off grease and mix with top ingredients. I throw it all in the crock pot and set on low for a few hours. That way it seasons well and the onions are soft (my husband doesn't like crunchy onions).

*Edited to add: Teri's family doesn't like it as spicy or salty, so she uses the chili beans in mild sauce and cuts the salt and pepper down to 1 tsp.

Tadpole Tuesday: Micki's Nativity Crafts

With mom's help with the glue gun my kids made Nativity Kits to proudly display by their trees on their dressers. I personally think it goes nicely with the black tree and the crooked tree. :)
This is what it started as:

This is what it ended up as:

Also participating in Somewhat Simple's Strut Your Stuff Party

Mystery Monday: Christmas Traditions (Teri)

For Thanksgiving, my family and I got to go home to stay with my parents and have Thanksgiving with my husband’s parents. It was such a great trip. Last week we shared some of our Thanksgiving traditions with you here. This month we are going to share some of our Christmas traditions with you every Monday all month. As mentioned last week, we usually decorate the tree the day after Thanksgiving. Our Dad had the tree up and ready to go when we got there on Wednesday, and then Friday morning while our Mom and I were out snagging some hot deals, my Dad helped the kids decorate with their collections of ornaments. Here are the highlights (I have to show you their house, because I haven’t put up one single Christmas decoration yet).

The tree in all it’s collected-over-the-years glory!

Remember the vintage elves we mentioned here? Here are our two favorites, because of course, they’re twins!!! (they are actually 2 separate elves, but they have never been alone, because we are twins, we make sure the twins always get put together)

What would any family decorated tree be without some homemade ornaments (that’s Teri in about the first or second grade, we only know that it’s Teri because it says on the back….the mouse was made when we were in the Brownies in about the third grade)

Our Daddy’s ornament that we got for him one year, because he was particularly Grumpy that year. He always holds a place of honor on the tree.

Hope you have enjoyed sharing a glimpse into one of our holiday traditions. Now for the mystery:

What are your Christmas tree traditions?

Edited: I'm not sure this really counts as DIY, but I DID make a couple of those ornaments (about a few billion years ago), so that counts right? Linking up to DIY Day @ Kimba's ASPTL

Funky Junk Interiors Christmas tree partyLinking up to Someday Crafts Christmas Traditions party