The Birthday Princess

I really can't believe that the end of November is here already. Tomorrow my 2yr. old will officially turn 3! Since the family all gathered together for Thanksgiving, we have already celebrated her birthday. She had been talking about her birthday for months. She would talk on and on about what would happen on her birthday. One thing she mentioned over and over again was that she would have a birthday hat. I decided a hat would be a good tradition to start--so we picked up a princess party hat that we can use for many birthdays to come. Happy Birthday Little DD!

This and That ~*~*~*~
This month has been a good blogging month for Spell Outloud. When I started this blog earlier this year, I wasn't sure if anyone would read it. I was truly touched when I found out that this blog was nominated for the Homeschool Blog awards in the best new blog category. Then later this month my blog was featured in a column on Examiner.com- Where to Find Inspiration. Such an encouragement to me :)

I've also enjoyed blogging about Making Christmas Meaningful. You can find highlights and links to the posts here.

I also have a give-away going on until Dec. 5th. Enter for a chance to win a one-of-a-kind cookie recipe book. It would make a wonderful gift.
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Digital Layout Supplies:

Sprinkles Kit by Mindy Terasawa
Basic Pink Paper Alphabet by Katie Pertiet
Collageables No. 1 by Katie Pertiet
Little Princess Kit by Katie Pertiet
Stitched by Anna White NO. 2
Stitched by Anna No. 2 Brown
All stitches by Anna
Spring Hop Kit by Lynn Grieveson

Craft & Cookie Party

Last year I hosted a craft and cookie party at my house for my older daughter and her friends. I wanted my daughter to be able to hang out with her friends and create something that they could give away to neighbors. The craft and cookie party ended up working fabulously!

Materials:
cookie totes or shirt boxes
craft supplies
snacks
cookies
camera

On the invitation I had each girl only bring 1 dozen cookies. I didn't want it to be too much for anyone so I actually baked several dozen cookies to add to what they brought. Depending on how many boxes you want each girl to bring home, plan on each participant bringing 1 dozen cookies per take-home box. So if each guest brings home 3 boxes, they should bring at least 3 dozen cookies.

I chose two crafts to have ready at the party. The first craft was a gingerbread man foam ornament. We taped the ornament on the boxes to give to the neighbors. Note: Use glue-dots to attach the foam pieces if there isn't enough time to let glue dry.

The second craft was Snowman Charm Bracelet Craft Kit (1 dz) This craft was for the girls to be able to bring home for themselves or give as a gift.

The girls then split into two groups. One group filled half the boxes of cookies while the others worked on the ornaments. Then they switched. Once the boxes were filled and the ornaments were drying, all the girls worked on their bracelets and ate snacks together. They got to hang out, create and share. Each girl brought home three boxes of cookies--one to keep and two to give away. It was a fun time.



This week on Making Christmas Meaningful we're spotlighting recipes. So if you have a favorite Christmas recipe, blog about it and post it in the blog-hop. Also, don't forget to enter the recipe book give-away!

I've also extended the dates of the previous Making Christmas Meaningful blog-hops. If you have a blog post talking about the following Christmas topics, please add your links.

MCM: Organization
MCM: Christmas Books, Music and Movies
MCM:Christmas Crafts
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Digital supplies used for the invitation:
A Colorful Christmas by Mindy Terasawa
Gingerbread Lane by Pattie Knox

Favorite Christmas Recipes and a Give-Away

Last year a group of ladies from the Designer Digitals creative team collaborated on a cookie recipe album. We each designed a digital layout of our favorite Christmas cookie recipe and compiled the pages into a photo-book. The book is gorgeous! I handed several out as Christmas/hostess gifts last year and they were so well-received. Since this week's Making Christmas Meaningful theme is Christmas Recipes, I thought this book would make a perfect give-away. So I'll be sending one reader a copy of the Doubly Delicious Cookies recipe book--just in time for Christmas. [note: If you only see a big white space after this sentence, you're missing out on seeing the book. :) I'm not sure you'll be able to view in a reader. Visit Spell Outloud to view.]

Click here to view this photo book larger

I've also extended the dates of the previous Making Christmas Meaningful blog-hops. If you have a blog post talking about the following Christmas topics, please add your links.

MCM: Organization
MCM: Christmas Books, Music and Movies
MCM:Christmas Crafts

and add your Christmas Recipe links below. Please remember to post the perma-link to the blog post, not a link to your main page.

Give-Away Rules: **CLOSED**
1. Subscribe to my blog (or follow via Google Friends Connect/Networked Blogs) and let me know by leaving a comment here for one entry.

2. (optional) Twitter or blog about this giveaway and let me know by leaving a link in the comment section below for an additional entry.

3. (optional) Link up a blog post in the recipe blog hop. After you post the link on McLinky, come back to this post and leave a comment letting me know added one.

Total of 3 possible entries per person. You must leave a comment for each entry.

This giveaway is open from November 22 - December 5. A winner will be chosen at random and the winner will be posted on Sunday, December 6.

Please make sure there is some way I can contact you :) If the winner does not respond after 3 days, then I'll draw another winner.

Christmas Movies

When I was younger, my brother and I waited in anticipation to watch our favorite Christmas shows air on t.v. for the Christmas Season. This was back when there were only around 5 channels and no remote, no dvd's, no Hulu nor Netflix. You actually had to wait until the television station decided to air the shows to see them. One of my favorite Christmas movies was Nestor, The Long-Eared Christmas Donkey. This movie told about Christ's birth in such a simple way, and Nestor always made me a little teary-eyed. I was captivated by the story, the emotion-- and there is just something about the Arthur Rankin Jr. animation that fascinated me as a kid. Of course it didn't seem like Christmas unless we watched the rest of the Arthur Rankin Christmas specials--Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town, Frosty the Snowman, Frosty Returns, and The Little Drummer Boy.

Now with my family, we try to watch several Christmas movies during December as a family. We pop some popcorn and drink hot chocolate (note to self--need to buy popcorn and hot chocolate!). It's becoming a nice holiday tradition. In addition to the movies listed above, here are a few more on our to-watch list this year:

Christmas Movie List

1. The Christmas Shoes Not necessarily a movie for younger children because it does deal with death, but what a touching story!

"Two stories converge as young Nathan learns his mother is dying and tries to get her a pair of red shoes for Christmas while lawyer Robert Layton re-evaluates his life and relationships after a chance encounter with Nathan."

2. The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey
"The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey" is a story of love, redemption and above all, hope. When a broken hearted boy loses the treasured wooden nativity set that links him to his dead father, his worried mother persuades a reclusive, ill-tempered woodcarver to create a replacement, and to allow her son to watch him carve it. The commission takes their relationship to unexpected places as the young boy makes greater and more difficult demands of the woodcarver’s ability, and as Christmas approaches, the three of them struggle to come to terms with each other, their painful memories and the process of putting their unhappiness behind them."

3. My Christmas Soldier I have not seen this movie, but it is on my list to see this year.

"A small Georgia town struggles with the rationing and sacrifices of America at war. Christmas is no exception as 11-year-old Gordy (Aidan Rogers) and his sister Priscilla (Emily Jordan) sense a fear in the train station where they await their father's homecoming. Propaganda posters and tense adult talk drive home the evil of the enemy.

When a train loaded with German prisoners arrives in the station, Gordy's curiosity is stronger than his fear. He dares to approach the prison train and makes contact with a young German soldier named Hans (Silvio Wolf Busch). Through the courage to trust and the song "Silent Night", friends and foes learn the true meaning of Peace on Earth, Goodwill Towards Men, and hearts are forever changed. Narrated by Mac Powell of THIRD DAY"

4. It's a Wonderful Life A timeless classic that I think every kids should at least see once.

5.Veggie Tales: Saint Nicholas: A Story of Joyful Giving We also like to have several movies specifically for my 1 & 3yr. old.

"When Junior Asparagus and his Veggie friends learn that Laura Carrot’s dad has lost his job on Christmas Eve, Bob the Tomato decides to tell the kids a very special story about giving. Using a big storybook and a little imagination, they all travel back to ancient Greece to meet Saint Nicholas — the world’s greatest giver."

6. The Very First Noel Great movie for sharing the true meaning of Christmas with toddlers and preschoolers.

"History’s beloved story of the Three Wise Men is now an all-new animated Christmas classic! From Exclaim Entertainment, home of the hit DVD series BOZ, The Green Bear Next Door™, comes The Very First Noel, a beautiful animated holiday special that will joyfully draw families together every Christmas for years to come. Join Melchior, one of the Three Wise Men, (voiced by Andy Griffith) as he narrates the story of his travels in search of a magnificent star pointing him to a newborn King. It’s the journey of a lifetime"

7. Miss Patty Cake's Christmas DVD My little girls love to sing along with Miss Patty Cake, so I'm hoping to add this one to our collection as well.

"Your preschoolers---and you---will discover some surprising secrets when Miss PattyCake and her nativity box come to celebrate Jesus' birthday! Children will learn about this special day as they view pop-ups, pictures, poems, and lots of songs such as "It's Christmas"; "Away in a Manger"; "A Baby Is Born"; "Hap-Hap-Happy Birthday, Jesus"; and many more."


What is your favorite Christmas movie?

My Favorite Thanksgiving Dessert

Pumpkin Squares have been a Thanksgiving dessert staple in our family ever since I can remember. Made with a yellow cake crust, it is a little sweeter than a normal pumpkin pie and tastes awesome cold with a little whipped cream on the top. I've written out the recipe with photo steps for a charity cook-off on Squidoo: Pumpkin Squares Dessert.

What are some of your favorite Thanksgiving desserts or recipes? I'd love to know.

Advent Paper Chains: An Easy Christmas Craft

One Christmas craft that my family has done in the past was to create a paper chain to keep track of the days until Christmas. The paper train had 25 links and each day the children removed one link. Well, my friend Cassie, yes the same one with the IKEA sheves for the workboxes, sent me a link to Jim Elzerman's version of the paper chains. He turned the paper chains into an Advent devotional:

"The links are numbered 1-25 and on each link is a different theme and scripture reference. Hang the chain with 25th link at the top and remove one link each day during December leading up to Christmas, using the scripture for family devotions and the theme as a focus for prayer. It's a handy way to count off the days until Christmas and learn more about the real meaning of the holiday. ~ Jim Elzerman"

The printable on the original site is not working, so Cassie made a new printable based on the scriptures listed by Mr. Elzerman (scroll to the bottom of the post for the link). I was going to make them, but she beat me to it. Cassie planned and designed the chain way better than I would have--and used cool numbers from digital designer, Anna Aspnes. Cassie is using this craft with a group of children, so she set up the file to save ink and paper. Follow her directions if printing for more than one child. If you want to print just one set for your family, you will follow the color directions listed but just print one of each page. On several of the pages you'll have some extras--just put in your scrap pile ;).

First print out the strips on the colors indicated in the file. Cassie mentioned that one way to really dress up the paper train would be to print on double-sided scrapbook paper that has a pattern on one side.

Cut the strips with a paper cutter.

Now I decided to get all fancy with the star. Since I will probably be using this idea each year, I wanted a more durable star. I had a clear cd in my recycle bin that I thought would work perfectly. If you don't have a clear one, use any old cd.

First tie a piece of ribbon through the center of the cd to the top. This strip will be the hanger. Next tie another piece of ribbon through the center of the cd toward the bottom. This will be where the paper chain will attach.

Cut out two of the yellow stars. Use a strong adhesive on the stars. I used double-sided Super Tape by Thermoweb. Make sure the top hanger has the knot at the top and the bottom hanger has the knot toward the center. Place one star on one side to hold the ribbons in place. Place another star on the opposite side.



If you use a plain cd, cut 2 circles of Christmas paper or cardstock just slightly smaller in diameter than the CD. I like to have a little bit of the shiny metal showing. Tape the ribbons in place on the cd so they don't move. Then cover the paper circles with adhesive--spray adhesive, Super Tape by Thermoweb or the Xyron 900 work best. Cover both sides of the cd with the paper circles. It should look like a big circle ornament with a ribbon at the top and ribbon at the bottom. Next add the cut-out stars and any other embellishments. Basically it is a version of an altered CD. For an example of one I've done in the past check out Everyday Digital Scrapbooking and scroll down toward the bottom of the page.

We have a whole stash of old cd's that my children love to decorate with Permapaque Opaque Paint Markers by Sakura. These markers work on cd's ceramics, wood, metal, glass plastic and more. My older daughter did the cd decorating for this craft.

Then start assembling the paper train. The number 25 will be attached to the star. We stapled all our links because that goes faster, but you can glue them or use other adhesives.

What a great way to keep track of the days and focus on the real meaning of Christmas.

Since Cassie does not have a blog, please leave your thanks in the comments below. I know she'll enjoy reading them :) Thanks for sharing the printable with us Cassie.

If you have a Christmas Craft posted on your site that teaches about the true meaning of Christmas, or is something that makes Christmas meaningful to you, link it up in the McLinky found on the Making Christmas Meaningful Crafts post.

Advent Chains Printable

Download terms of use: Please feel free to share this printable with others, but please direct users to this post, not the download. Also, do not upload the file to any online groups or file-sharing sites.

Check out more free Christmas Printables from Spell Outloud

Making Christmas Meaningful: Crafts

This week I am featuring Christmas crafts that help tell the story of the Savior's birth, or have some significance in making your Christmas meaningful.


Several years ago my children made Jesse Tree ornaments for our tree. A Jesse Tree or Jesus Tree, has ornaments that retell the story of Jesus' family tree. The picture above isn't an official Jesse Tree ornament, but that year the kids really got into the groove and filled the tree with all sorts of paper ornaments. I believe that was my son's self-portrait.

Jesse Tree:

Kendra at The Pumpkin Patch made a fabric Jesse Tree.
Here's the post that shows how she made her ornaments out of clay.

Now Jesus Tree Decorations is an awesome resource for this project. They have two free sets of ornament printables black and white and colored. In the already colored set, there are also some updated versions of some of the ornaments in black and white. I think this is what my family is going to use this year.

Here is another resource that has printable ornaments and a devotional to go along with the Jesse Tree.

For some Advent and Jesse Tree craft ideas, this PDF has patterns and ideas.

More Advent and Jesse Tree links listed on the Advent Lapbook Resources page by photojenic.

So link up your Christmas crafts that help make your Christmas meaningful. Please make sure that you are posting the permalink to the exact post, not just to your homepage.

Here's the main Making Christmas Meaningful post. There are free printable pages for starting your own Family Traditions Notebook. You can find them in the organization category link and the books/music link. They are also located in the free printables box listed in the left-hand sidebar.

Christmas Photo Cards

It's about this time every year that I start thinking about trying to get a family photo taken for our Christmas cards. The key words are "start" and "trying". I actually think about it for quite awhile--oh like until the middle of December. I get overwhelmed at the thought of trying to make sure all 5 kids have clean clothes, clean bodies and are in a good mood at the same time. That takes alot of planning on my part! Then when I realize that I just need to get it done, I've procrastinated long enough that no one is offering awesome photo printing deals and I've missed all the free shipping offers.

Well that's not going to happen this year! Well at least I don't think it will. ;) No, I'm determined to get it done before December! So to help me get in the Christmas Photo-Shoot mood, I've been looking at some of my previous Christmas card photos.

The photo at the top is my all time favorite because it just captured the essence of what our life was like at that moment--so chaotic yet fun. I used items from Designer Digitals to create this card:



Another favorite of mine was this picture of my now 7yr. old dd. I think she was 4 at the time. I actually took that ornament picture myself! :)

My friend Katrina Kennedy recently shared on her blog how to capture the perfect imperfect holiday photo. I love the thought of not worrying about having everything staged or matching, but capturing a glimpse of who your family is at the moment. You'll have to check out her photo shoot examples---she does wonderful work!

So to keep me accountable to my claim that I'm going to get the picture done before December (or at least by the first week), I'm going to open up a McLinky on Sunday Dec. for Sharing Photo Cards. That gives me several weeks to get mine done---I should be able to do that-right? :)

And once you get your photo taken, the next step is to make it into a card. Here are a couple new templates that I love. I've written an article explaining the steps on how to make a Christmas photo card. I hope you check it out.

MCM: Nativity Sets

One childhood Christmas memory I have is of me laying under the Christmas tree,watching the bubble lights bubble, while playing with a plastic canvas train set. My brother and I would take turns rearranging all the houses and the trains while under the tree. It was a Christmas decoration that we could use over and over again without worrying about "not touching".

I have 5 kids, so at my house you won't find any breakable Nativity scenes or decorations (that's because they've all been broken already--lol!) So I decided that I want Christmas decorations around that they won't get in trouble for touching. I want my kids to be able to move and play with the nativity scenes. I want them to pretend and bring to life the nativity story in their minds. I want my kids to have good memories pretending, playing and interacting with our Christmas decorations. I tell you I was absolutely thrilled when Fisher Price Little People came out with a nativity set several years ago. I think I have just as much fun as my kids playing with the sets (as you can tell by all my photos--lol!) I'd love to one day have all the add-ons too. :)



(Nativity Widget Not Shown in Reader-Click Blog Post to View)






This year I made a Nativity Scene I Spy Bottle. I purchased a mini-nativity set to place in the bottle. It will be a nice activity to have on hand during the month of December. For complete instructions, see the link above.

We also like to make our own sets each year. Here are some sites I've found that have printable nativity scenes or Christian Christmas coloring pages:

Free Printable Nativity from Scrapbook Scrapbook
Nativity Craft from First-School
Christmas Nativity Felt Board from DLTK
The Nativity:Games and Print-outs
Nativity Scene Clip-art
Christmas Nativity Coloring Pages
More Nativity Coloring Pages
Nativity Coloring Pages from Christian Preschool Printables
Christmas Printables, Games, File-Folder Activities from Christian Preschool Printables
Making Friend's Printable Paper Dolls--Nativity
Nativity Coloring Pages from Coloring Book Fun
Handmade Nativity Set
Nativity Lapbook by Photojenic
3-D Printable Manger
Christian Symbols Ornaments

We also enjoyed this interactive nativity set:



So do you have a special nativity set just for the kids? Do you make your own? Share your ideas or links to your blog posts in the comments and I"ll pull them together in another Making Christmas Meaningful Post.

Homeschool Blog Awards

The Homeschool Blogs Voting has begun! Voting starts today and ends on Nov. 21. You can go to the site to see the rules and then vote by clicking each category link. I'm amazed at how many blogs are out there! Many of them are new to me, so I have a feeling my Google reader is going to get quite a few new additions this week :) Oh, and thank you for nominating my blog in the Best New Homeschool blog category. That was a great encouragement to me today.

MCM: Books and Music

One of my favorite December traditions is our Christmas book box. Each year I try to purchase a couple new Christmas books to add to our collection. On December 1st, I pull out all our holiday books, place them in a special box, and the children pick one to read each day. We don't quite have enough for the full month yet, but with the help of the library and Paperback Swap, we have a good selection. I love that the kids are connecting memories with the books, and that I can use that time to share books that I feel help make the season more meaningful. Several of my books have been worn out already that I'm going to have to look for replacements this year. I often find my kids reading or looking through the pages of our special collection all on their own during the month of December. To make the book basket even more festive, you can wrap a book in gift-wrap and have a child unwrap a book each day. Once Christmas is over, I pack all the books up (I know, some of you just cringed--lol!) and don't pull them out until next year.
(If you are reading this post in a reader, the following Christmas book widgets won't show up unless you go to the actual blog post. Scroll down for more)






In the past we've also used the same concept with holiday movies. We choose one night a week to watch a special Christmas movie together. We usually try to have popcorn and hot-chocolate too.

One thing I would like to implement into our holiday routine is Christmas music. I have a couple of CD's that I enjoy listening to and play during the holidays, but my kids don't really know many Christmas carols. Christmas carols were such a big part of my childhood and evoke so many wonderful memories for me. Unfortunatly, we don't have as many opportunities to sing them now as I once did as a child (Christmas carols were basically the only songs we sang at church during the month of December when I was a kid). So I really hope some of you can share some ideas, units or favorite cd's.

You can read about our past and future Making Christmas Meaningful topics in this introductory post: Making Christmas Meaningful

To help keep organized for Christmas, I've created a couple more planner pages to add to the Family Traditions Notebook.



Do you do any special Christmas book unit studies or Christmas composer units? How do you use books/music/movies in your holiday routine to help instill the true meaning of Christmas?

Orphan Sunday Nov. 8

Did you know that the first Sunday in October is Orphan Sunday? Well neither did I until a friend brought it to my attention. Orphan Sunday's website lists all the events from across the nation for that day. In fact, if you have internet, (which if you're reading this I bet you do ;) ) you can watch the live concert and event featuring Steven Curtis Chapman, Jim Daly, Dennis Rainey and more.

“People everywhere need to know that adoption into God's eternal family is the ultimate expression of His love. Christian families who adopt are missionaries who bring God's love to orphan children by living example. Orphan Sunday remind us that while not all are called to adopt, anyone can love and minister to orphan children in a practical and meaningful way by helping families in their own church and community who already want to adopt.”

Gerald Clark, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Home for Good Foundation

There are so many good organizations out there, but here are a couple that are dear to my heart:


My friend Wendy and her family are in the process of bringing a child from Ethiopia into their family through adoption. In order to help raise needed funds, they are hosting a read-a-thon. The contest starts this Sunday, Nov. 8 and runs until Nov. 21. If you are interested in participating you can find the details on her blog.

Interlink Resources is a non-profit organization that works with orphans in Kazakhstan. Several of my friends have had the opportunity to travel there and work with the kids. My good friend even got to hand-deliver a special package to the child we sponsor. How cool is that?

Getting Organized: Luggage Tags

I love to gather stuff for our homeschool around themes. I have a bad habit of printing off items, finding books or crafts but leaving them all over the place. Then when we would get to that theme or time period, I would forget what I had or where I had stashed it and it wouldn't get used. That kind of defeated my purpose of finding things to go along with what we were learning.

This year I decided to get organized. I found 4 Sterlite baskets (15 1/8" x 12 7/8 x 6") It fits papers, books and craft items perfectly. So when I'm gathing things for a unit I have a place to put them until I'm ready to finalize everything. In order to be able to easily label the baskets over and over again, I decided to customize some luggage tags. That way I could write with a dry-erase marker or a wet-erase marker on the basket and easily erase it if needed.

Supplies:

luggage tags (I used Scotch Self-Sealing Laminating Pouches for Bag Tags 2 13/16" x 4 9/16")

digital scrapbooking supplies

(or regular scrapbooking paper)

ribbon

1. Create a new document: 2.5 width 3.75 height 300 dpi (If your tag is a different size than what I used, make sure your tag is smaller than the exact dimensions of the plastic luggage tag. It needs to be able to seal all the way around.

2. Open any digital elements you would like to add and layer them on your new document.

Roughed Up Notebook No. 2 by Katie Pertiet

Stitched by Anna Borders Red No.1 by Anna Apsnes

Wonders Kit by Mindy Terasawa

3. When you are satisfied with your design, save as a PSD just in case you want to change anything later, and then save again as a JPEG.

4. Open a new document 8 1/2 x 11 at 300dpi. Drag your flattened (jpeg) version onto the new document. Copy that as many times as needed (CTRL-J). Since I have 4 boxes, I needed 4 luggage tags. Adding them all onto one document makes printing easier.

5. Print the tags onto photo paper or regular paper. With luggage tags, thinner paper-weight is better.

6. Cut out and then place on the luggage tag. Seal with the adhesive back.

7. Use either the plastic ties included with the luggage tag, or use ribbons to tie to the baskets.

If you decide to use traditional scrapbooking products to decorate your tag, use the same size dimensions. Try not to make your tag bulky--believe me I've done that and had to resort to using Diamond Glaze to get everything to stick! :)

Now you can use this same idea to use on any of your organizing baskets or crates. Try making some as reusable gift tags or even ornaments!

And while you are getting organized, see my free printables for starting your own Family Traditions notebook planner.

For more holiday ideas see: