DIY- Snow Globes

Hello Everyone!!! 

      The big day is almost here and my little ones at getting a little wrestles.  Due to unfavorable weather, they have not been able to go outside and play and boredom is starting to set in. 

      I know I have not posted any new hairstyles, but Ms. Bree's hair is still styled in two strand twists, but I will unravel all her twists on Sunday before we head out to Church.  

   Here is what her hair looks like now: 

      Now, I'm going to be sharing my friend Yari's idea!  This is a very easy and simple craft that all the kids will enjoy making.   Our scout elf, Snowflake brought the kids some snow globes as a gift, but because it has been raining heavily in the past couple days, she had no other choice but to use some of her magic to protect them.  Unfortunately, she had to disassemble them and the kids had to put them back together.  

    The Materials: 

• Mason Jar (I already had these jars, but you can buy them at any store)
• Glitter (1.99)
• Their favorite figurine (if you think they will notice the figurine belongs to them, you can buy small ones from the Dollar Store)
• Hot Glue Gun

    Directions:

(I did the following while the kids were asleep, after all, these were a gift from Snowflake)

1. Hot glue your child's favorite figurine onto the inside of the lid;
2. Let the glue cool;

     Below you can see Snowflake's special note to the kids  At the bottom of her note are the directions to complete the Snow Globe. 

        

1. Add the glitter to the empty jar;
2. Add water to the jar (all the way to the neck- but if your figurine is a bit in the large size, I suggest adding a bit less water.  You can always add some more later)
3. Carefully insert your inner lid with your special figurine
4. Seal tightly, flip, shake and enjoy your special Snow Globe.

      And your snow globe is all complete!  

      

Oh No, He Touched My Elf!!!!

Hey Everyone!! 

       I am sure many of your are very familiar with the "Elf On The Shelf" Tradition.  Yes, it's a bit annoying at times but let me assure you that the kids truly enjoy having them.  We adopted our little scout elf, "Snowflake" approximately three Christmases ago.  

       Personally, I had never heard of the Elf on the Shelf before until my son, who was seven years old then, came home telling me all about it.  Since it's never too late to start new traditions, we decided to do it.  

      Yes, like most parents we have forgotten to move the elf a few times and we had to blame it on Daddy.  I know, such a bad wife.  But in my defense, in some occasions, my darling husband places the elf where I CANNOT reach her!! 

      Yesterday, we had a very unfortunate incident. Well, our little Snowflake did.  My son had invited some friends over to play and one of them TOUCHED our elf to prove to our kids that Santa and the elves ARE NOT REAL!!! 

      I can't deny that I was furious and seeing my daughter in tears broke my heart into a million pieces!!
  
     While we understand that every family believe in different things.  We truly wish some parents would take the time to explain to their children that it's never okay to destroy  someone else's dream just because they don't believe in Santa, or like in our situation, the Elf on the Shelf.  

     If this ever happens to you, here are a few tips for you to follow to make the situation better for your little ones.    You can use the very same tips even if your little one touches the Elf by mistake, after all, these are children. 

    First, you have to visit Elf On The Shelf.  You will find several activities for the kids as well as ideas for the parents.  

     If the Elf is touched by mistake simply do the following:

1.   Have the kids write a letter to Santa explaining what happened; 
2.  Write a letter back to the kids (this is optional); 
3.  Sprinkle cinnamon around where the elf is;
4.  Have the kids blow a kiss; and
5.  sing a Christmas carol 

     Our kids sprinkled the cinnamon on top of her little blanket, but that was my mistake, my written instructions were not as clear (obviously)... hahaaa 

       Let your little scout elf rest for 24 hours and she will be back to her normal self! 

   Below are the original instructions from the Elf on the Shelf website, we just changed it a bit because of our situation and we needed to address the fact that our son's friend doesn't believe in magic. 

         "Christmas magic is very fragile, and if scout elves are touched they may lose their magic. If your scout elf has been touched, you can apologize by writing a letter to Santa, or saying you’re sorry to your elf. Then, please sprinkle a little cinnamon beside him or her before you go to bed; cinnamon is like vitamins for scout elves, and it helps them get back to the North Pole. Once they arrive, the North Pole doctors will check them out."

    My husband and I put a letter together answering our children's questions and requests.  When our son wrote the letter to Santa, he apologized but he asked Santa for a favor: 

   "Please forgive my friend, ...... for touching our special elf and I ask that you can make him believe in you"...

     While our daughter wrote: "I hope you are not mad at us, I still believe in you"....

    Therefore, we had to write something back, but writing a response letter from Santa it's totally optional.  

     I am glad that this little incident didn't kill the joy or the magic in our house.  Our son will soon find out the truth but we would like to be the ones to tell him.  

Recipe: Classic & Delicious Collard Greens

Hello Everyone!!

     Today I will be sharing with you my favorite recipe to the perfect Southern Style Collard Greens, a.k.a. My Momma's Delicious Collard Greens!

     I love food, just as much as I love the art of cooking.  Now, I have to admit that my cooking skills were very limited when my husband and I first got together, almost twelve (12) years ago.  

     During the last decade I have mastered many recipes and most of them are family recipes given to me by my mother in law.   I remember the first two years, she took the time to teach me how to prepare my husband's favorite holiday dishes, like "extra Cheesy Mac & Cheese, Collard Greens, Baked Ham, Candied Yams", and of course, his favorite "Water Gate Salad".

     Now, I'm the one who prepares the entire Holiday Dinner all by my little self.  While some of the dishes may look like it requires a lot preparation time, let me assure you that is not the case.  

     In order to save time but mostly my sanity, I prepare some of the dishes ahead of time. Like the collard greens, I cook them and then freeze them.   I take the collard greens out of the freezer to thaw at least 12 hours before serving and then just simmer them until they are thoroughly heated. 

      The Ingredients: 

2 Bags (16 oz) of Fresh Collard Greens (I use Glory Foods- it's what Mom uses, so why change it right?) 

5 Cups of Water

3 Cups of Chicken Broth

2 Containers of Ham hocks

3 TBS of Vinegar

1/2 Cup of Sugar

1/4 Tsp of crushed red pepper flakes

Salt and Pepper to taste

      Preparation: 

    Place water, chicken broth and ham hocks into a stock pot;  bring to boil then lower the heat to medium.  Let the ham hocks cook for approximately 45 minutes to an hour.   (Tip:  I like my collard green meaty, but if you don't then reduce the amount of ham hocks)

    Once the ham hocks are a bit tender, remove them from the pot. 

    Add the sugar, vinegar, salt, red pepper flakes and collard greens. 

    While the collard greens are simmering in the pot, cut the meat off the ham hocks.  

    Add the diced meat into the pot and stirred.  Let the pot simmer until the greens are tender.  

     And now you are ready to enjoy this delicious dish! 

How to Easily Create a DIY Christmas Shirt

Hello Everyone!! 

     This week is almost over and we continue to prepare for Grandmother and Papa's arrival.  They will spending time with us during the kids' winter break! 

     Today is Ms. Bree's Winter Feast at school and after the feast, the kids will be doing a short Christmas performance that I can't wait to see it.  

     For this performance, the girls were asked to wear a long sleeve white shirt with a Christmas design on it and uniform bottoms.  You would think, that finding a "Christmas" shirt during this time would be easy... but after a few trips to different stores proved me how wrong I was!! 

     I could not find a "white shirt" with a Christmas design on it and when we finally found an "ivory" shirt, it was the wrong size.  

      Ms. Bree was a bit sad when we realized that most likely she would have to wear a "plain" white shirt.  But like any good girl, she didn't make big deal or had a temper tantrum.  She just simply said, "why can't we make our own?"  My creativity hat went on and I looked at her and said "you know, you are absolutely right, we can do this!"

We purchased the long sleeve shirt from Walmart ................. $3.97

     While she was at her dance class I made a super fast trip to the Dollar Store and purchased the rest of the embellishments. 

Foam Glittered Christmas Trees.................................... $0.99 

Jewels.................................................................... $0.99

Foam Glittered Snowflakes ................... $0.99

      I used Fabric Glue that I had previously purchased from Michaels.  Fabric Glue can be found at any Walmart or at any crafting store.  

 The above 3 pack is the one I bought from Michaels' for $3.99.

       This is the first time I do this, so I explained to Ms Bree, that she had to be extra careful, because I didn't know if the embellishment were going to stay on.  

     She loved helping me create this shirt and her excitement to wear it this morning... well, that's priceless to me!  

     If you can't find the perfect shirt for a program or for any occasion, remember that you can do a lot with simple foam cut out shapes and fabric glue.... I sure did!! 

DIY: Ribbon Christmas Trees

Hello Everyone! 

The countdown to Christmas has begun and our little Elf, "Snowflake" has taken our letter to Santa Claus.  Soon, it will be Christmas morning but first, let's put on our "crafting hats" and start by creating some beautiful Ribbon Christmas Trees. 

These Christmas Trees made out of ribbons are so cute and they have become very popular in the last couple of days.  

I originally crafted these trees for our children's teachers as a "Thank You" for all the hard work they do.  

I have to say that the response from all of our fans.... really overwhelming !

The Materials: 

• Small Box of Pins;
• Ribbon of your choice (approximately 3 to 4 spools);
• Foam cone, I used the medium size cone, approximately 3-7/8 inch x 8-7/8 inch.
• Something to use at the top.  A 3D Star would be ideal but it all depends on you.  I used Small/medium size poinsettias to match the ribbons, and some really nice floral decorations I found at Micheal's.
• Scissors.
• Ruler.

The Steps: 

1.  Cut the ribbon (about 4.5 inches long).  Tip: this is the time consuming part of this project. 

2. Start pinning the first row around the corner. Tip: Make sure is close enough to cover the cone.

3.  Continue to pin the strips of ribbon around the cone until you get to the very top.  (you may chose each row a different color. Remember this is your project.) Tip:  Each row should only be half an inch above each row.  

4.      I used a glittered snowflake foam sticker to cover the very top.  Each end of the sticker will cover the pins on the very top row, and will also cover the top of the cone. 

and your Ribbon Christmas Tree is now done!! 


We have now these beauties available for purchase! 


      Frozen Ribbon Christmas Tree
 
                       
                                               The Traditional Ribbon Christmas Tree

We are currently taking orders, each tree is $15.00 plus shipping.  To place your order please email us your request to caramelcurlznswirls@yahoo.com. 

These are a great addition to your decor or as a gift!