Gingerbread Man Visit

Candace told me to share a funny letter I wrote to her little boy who sent
me his Flat Gingerbread Man (a version of Flat Stanley) right before Christmas break.
I was scrambling at the last moment for this one but I guess he enjoyed it so we hope you will too!

Dear Andrew~

Do you know who’s writing you this letter?  It’s me~you’re favorite Aunt Nicky!  Guess who I found hiding under my door mat the other day….I think you might know him~he’s the gingerbread boy!  He is the cutest little fella’ and has the funniest little giggle I’ve ever heard.  I was hoping that maybe it was you coming to visit me because you make me so happy!  I figured you would want me to take care of your little friend and I needed to think of something to call him, so I named him Gingy!

Gingy had quite the adventure at my house!  I live right up the hill in Boise where all the really tall trees grow.  Gingy was missing his family very much and wandered over to the gingerbread houses to look for them…..but they weren’t there.

Next he wandered into the Christmas villiage~but he scared all the villagers because he was so big!  They thought he was King Kong coming to make banana splits out of them!

So over to the kitchen he came to help me make some yummy cookies for the Christmas party tomorrow at school.  Gingy had to be careful~I almost ate him up when he was hanging out with the other cookies!  Yum!!!!

In the family room Gingy heard a noise!  As he got closer he saw there was a squirrel there.  You see I help rescue baby squirrels that fall out of their nests and raise them till they are old enough to live outside.  This squirrel’s name is Fifi.  She is the nicest sweetest squirrel ever!  Gingy thought she was the perfect size to ride and he’s always wanted to be a cowboy, so he hopped right on Fifi’s back and went for a trot.  All he was missing was a cowboy hat and boots! 

When Gingy was done with Fifi he needed to cool off and headed outside.  Before he knew it he was surrounded by big beautiful ducks.  “Be careful Gingy!” I cried!  Those ducks love to snack on anything especially tomatoes and little gingerbread boys!  These ducks are named Buddy and Jo Jo.  Buddy tried to take a bite out of Gingy and he barely escaped!  Can you see the duck slobber he left behind on Gingy?

 Gingy ran inside and hid inside Dad’s stocking till the coast was clear. 

Phew!  That was a close one!  Now that the coast is clear Gingy is headed back down the hill to you Andrew.  Thanks for letting your friend come visit me and keep me company today.  He is such a sweet cookie just like you are.  Merry Christmas and make sure to come visit me again soon!

Love,

Aunt Nicky

eyeball gumball necklace

This week we are getting ready for school Halloween parties.  

We have a couple of Halloween ideas to share with you, hopefully each day...but don't hold us to it.  Our children, laundry and husbands beckon us... 

First up, an eyeball gumball necklace made from a store bought candy necklace.  

Kinda gross, but the boys love it!

I picked up a really cute gumball necklace at our local Holiday House Boutique.  The necklace is made by Emily, she will be selling more at the next boutique on November  9-10th & November 16th-17th.  I love it and had to ask her how she makes them.  She uses a dremel bit to drill holes through the gumballs and then weaves ribbon to create the necklace.  

Sadly, it doesn't quite work for my boys....

I stumbled upon some gruesome candy eyeballs at TJ Maxx, I thought they were funny enough to buy and I knew my boys would get a kick out of them.

Yeah...they are pretty gross and bloody.  I could have done without the blood, I like happy and cute Halloween.

To "cuten up" the gross eyeballs,  we added them to store bought candy necklaces.  

Next, we drilled through the eyeballs.  

(Clean the drill bit and either use a dremel or a controlled speed drill.  Watch your fingers!

Hold the gumball with a good set of pliers and to avoid scuffs, use a soft towel between the pliers and the gumball.  Drill on a cutting board or a piece of wood to protect your work surface.)

The candy necklace elastic was a little too short for us to work with, so we cut a longer piece of new elastic thread. We used a needle and it was much easier to string the candy.  Bead the candy and gum balls on and finish with a tight knot. Super easy!

They are a hit with the boys and will be so funny to hand out to their friends!

If you are looking for gumball eyeballs, we found some over at Oriental Trading Co.

Another option is to use edible cake/cookie decorating markers and make your own eyeballs on white gumballs.

We have a several more easy Halloween ideas to share, so come back soon!

Music Apron with Pockets

Hi there!

Last week I had an opportunity to participate in a class that shared ideas for teaching nursery age children. I made an apron to share with the other people in the class, filled with objects that go along with songs. 

I was inspired by my friend Monique's apron, that she made several years ago for our church nursery.  She made her apron out of oil cloth with large pockets.  I have wanted to make one ever since, and the class gave me the perfect opportunity. 

I had my 5 year old son model the apron for the pictures, he was willing for about 5 seconds to sit still! He did not like wearing a "girly" apron!

We filled our pockets with star wands, rubber frogs, farm animals, flower petals, and monkey erasers.  The options are endless! If you are using this for church music, you can add pictures of Jesus, for example.  Anything little that the kids can hold will work.  I had a hard time finding finger puppets, but those would be cute too.  

Here are a couple of our song choices to go along with the objects:

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

Old Mac Donald Had a Farm

Five Green and Speckled Frogs

Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

The fabric and the pre-made apron came from Craft Warehouse.

Using a pre-made apron made this project really simple and it was a bonus that the apron was long and could hold several large pockets. I also used several different pocket sizes ranging from 8x10 inches to 4x8 inches, they just need to be big enough to hold your supplies.  To make the pockets easier to sew on the apron, I first ironed the edges over by 1/4 inch, then I lightly glued (with fabric glue) the pockets to the apron.  After the glue set, I sewed each pocket on with my sewing machine.

I love the bold color and pattern and I think the kids do too! The apron is a hit with small children, they love holding things as they sing.