Felt Decorations for Your Holiday Beverages!

It's time for holiday parties and family get-togethers! Wednesday night, I got together with my friend Caroline to do a little crafting with felt. She's having a many, many houseguests this month as well as a Christmas celebration at her home. So, she wanted to make some simple decorations for beverages during the holidays. We had a great time, and my girls even joined in. Here's what we made:

So, what exactly are these?

Beverage Identifiers Made from Felt!!!!
These little babies can help folks identify their beverage (or empty glass) from everyone else's. This is great during a party OR even if you just have a home full of houseguests and don't want to wash every single glass each time it is used.

Originally, I designed these fun felt cup identifiers to go on regular beverage glasses. But, when I was playing around with them, I realized that they would work well on mugs...

 AND wine glasses as well!

Rather than stretching the elastic band around the cup itself, just loop the identifier around the handle of the mug or the stem of a wineglass. However, if you want your identifiers to fit on any style of glass, make sure that your decoration can be turned in any direction and still look right. Otherwise, you might have a sideways reindeer!

If you plan on using the identifiers primarily for wine AND you have a decoration that needs to be in a particular direction, then position your elastic band so that it is vertical rather than horizontal. For instructions on how to create these, stop by DIY Your Way and check out my felt cup identifier tutorial!

But that's not all that I made...check this out:

After Caroline left, I couldn't stop crafting. I decided to make a little decor for wine or other bottled drinks. With a strip of felt, you can make a fast, frugal, and fun little "scarf" for the bottled beverage of your choice.

How to Make a Wine Bottle Scarf:

Supplies:

• felt
• scissors
• hot glue
• other embellishments (optional)

Directions:
Cut a strip of felt to your desired length. Since I wanted to tie my scarf "european style," I needed a longer length. So, I used a 20-inch by 1-inch strip of felt. (Felt can be purchased off the bolt at a fabric store if you want a longer length. Otherwise, you can purchase a 9" x 12" sheets at the craft store for about $0.30 per sheet.)

Embellish the scarf however you wish. I glued smaller strips to the ends to create "fringe" for my scarf. You could also glue on sequins or rhinestones for a bit of bling.

When the scarf is done, tie it around the neck of your bottle. If you want to tie it European-style, fold the scarf in half with the ends together. Wrap the folded scarf around the neck of the bottle and pull the ends through the loop. Ta da!

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For other holiday craft ideas, be sure to stop by the Holiday Home Linky Party featuring Crafts at Centsational Girl on Thursday!

Getting Ready to Welcome Auntie Ray!

I gotta say, I feel really blessed to have married into the family that I did. They are all wonderful! It is difficult to be so far away from our families, so it is that much sweeter when we get a visit from them. This weekend, my sister-in-law Rachelle is coming for a quick visit. Her husband Peter Mathios is a very talented wildlife artist and has an art show in Maryland, so she'll be driving down to visit us for a couple of days while he's at the show. We're so excited to see her -- it's always fun to have Auntie Ray around!

We don't have house guests that often, but we always enjoy welcoming friends and family into our home. If I remember in time, I usually like to create a little "Welcome Bag" for our guests. My sweet big sister prepared a similar bag for me when I visited her for the first time after she moved to Kansas City. It was such a simple gesture, but it spoke volumes about how happy she was to have me in her home. Although it was years ago, I still haven't forgotten that little token of welcome.

A little "Welcome Bag" doesn't cost much to put together, but it tells your guest that you've been looking forward to having them with you. It's also a great way to involve your kids in welcoming a friend into your home and teach them about hospitality. Some things you might include in a "Welcome Bag" could be:

• Water Bottle
• A snack or two in case your guest gets hungry late a night. A bag of pretzels/nuts or perhaps a granola bar of some kind.
• A sweet treat like chocolate. If you know your guest's favorite candy, that is always a great choice.
• A souvenir of your town. It could be something as simple as a postcard or a little magnet.
• Anything other little gift that you think your guest might enjoy.
• Something from your kids like a drawing.

Today, L and I are going to head out and pick up some things for a bag for Auntie Ray. Typically, I don't spend more than $5 on this little bag.  It is a fun and frugal way to demonstrate a bit of hospitality.

Here are a few other articles that I've found online about demonstrating hospitality to your guests during this holiday season:

• 7 Ways to Say "Welcome" with Your Decorating from Lisa of DIY Your Way
• Kids Room to Guest Room in 30 Minutes or Less from Becky of Organizing Made Fun
• Make a Beverage Basket for the Holidays from Jessica of Life as MOM
• Get Organized to Welcome Unexpected Guests from Prerna, guest contributor at Life as MOM

Celebrating Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is in just one week! I don't have plans for date night out. Very rarely do we ever go out on Valentine's Day. However, that doesn't mean that we don't celebrate it. Since we started our family, it has become a tradition to enjoy a special meal together at home. But, it's easy enough to make it a whole day affair...especially with kids! This year, I hope to turn it into an "I Love You Day" Celebration.

I haven't figured out all of my plans this week, but I hope to make the day special for my family in a variety of ways -- decorations, gifts, some fun and of course yummy food. If things work out, I'll be sharing some of my plans throughout the week.

One thing that I know that I will do this week is to make Valentine's cards with Ella for her class. Last year we crafted our own (shown above) using this cool Friendships Blossoms Valentine Craft from Family Fun. The results were so cute...and best of all, Ella loved making them with me. It should be a week of fun!

Valentine's Day Blooms

This Saturday was a quiet day at home. My husband was off supporting his Mock Trial team at the county competition, and I was at home with the two girls while it rained and rained. I'm kinda a homebody, so I didn't mind too much. But, it helped that I was armed with a plan. A plan to make these...

Source: Family Fun

I found this adorable Friendship Blossoms Valentine's Card craft in Family Fun Magazine (February 2010), and since I had all of the supplies on hand, it was a no-brainer. Better yet, Ella is celebrating Valentine's Day with her preschool on Wednesday so it was a great time to get them ready. I had to resist the urge to run out and buy more scrapbooking paper to try to copy these with their pretty pastel colors. Instead, we used some from the huge stacks that I already own, and I let Ella make her own creation. She was very happy with the results, and that is what matters right? Here is what we created together:

Happy 4th of July!

This morning, we headed off to see the 4th of July Parade in downtown Solvang. We went to it last year and Ella really enjoyed it. I think it was there that she learned what the American flag is, and since then I've heard shouts of "American Flag!" every time her little eyes spot one.

Earlier this week, I told Ella that we'd be going to the parade. Her first response? In a timid voice, "Mom, there aren't going to be any clowns, are there?" I had to be honest and tell her that yes, there probably would be clowns there. But, Daddy told her that he'd protect her. In the picture below, you can see her taking refuge in her daddy's arms from the harmless, yet scary, clowns.

Lucie didn't last very long with the parade. By the time we arrived, she was fading fast and ready for her nap. So, we let Ella sit on the curb -- a much better position to get the candy being thrown -- and let Lucie nap in the stroller. She slept through the entire parade so I guess we'll have to wait until next year for HER to develop a fear of clowns like her sister.

Not only is it Independence Day, it is also Lucie's half-Birthday! She is officially six months old today. In celebration, we just may have her try some rice cereal...her first solid food, with the exception of course of the tiny bites of ice cream we fed her on vacation. :) I'm sure all post some pictures of that milestone at a later date.

Happy Independence Day everyone!