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craft week

well…i did it!

at first the kids were bummed to be torn away from the tv and computer.
but on wednesday morning while getting dressed out of her jammies annie asked excitedly
"what's our craft today mama?"
that made me so happy.

it was very low key…very laid back…small crafts….took very little time.
and they really did like it. 
and i did too.

scott informed me he "wasn't into crafting" so he would not be participating…at all.
bummer….that time has come.  i missed him.

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monday:

popsicle stick christmas trees
 

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we made them into ornaments.
i let them use the glue gun…i thought they would like that…turns out they don't….HA.
at one point i looked over and sean was playing in the glitter making it like snow.
UGH.

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***edited to add…we used green craft sticks that come pre-colored and i cut them with big scissors to get the different sizes.  don't use good scissors for this…and watch out…the pieces fly everywhere!
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tuesday:

pompom ornament


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cottage cheese break.

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it's simple as can be.  
push stick pins through pom poms and stick them into the Styrofoam. 
 

and even a big kid sat down and made two ornaments herself…
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these were easy and fun.
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wednesday:
 
felt gingerbread men

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i googled "gingerbread man shape" and printed out an image to make a pattern.
we cut them out, picked out buttons, strung our (huge blunt) needles, 
 
  
sewed the face and belly buttons first…then sewed the back and front together with a big stitch.
just before we closed up the last few stitches (10-15 of them….)
we stuffed it with just a few cotton balls for plumpness.

this was a hard craft.
but rewarding.
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annie was tired and playing barbies ALONE-DON"T-BOTHER-ME-GO-AWAY so we let her be.
lauren was studying.
scott was playing ball.
so the just three of us sat on the couch and sewed gingerbread men.
talby said many times "this is fun…i didn't know i could sew!"  
made me feel a little guilty.
but now she knows.  
and sean liked it too…he made one for his friend with his initials on the back…sweet.
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thursday:

sugar cookies (used this recipe from REAL SIMPLE)
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i almost gave up.
i was tired and they were spastic.
but i just plowed through…and i only yelled twice.
 
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****edited to add:  in case you weren't aware…you need TONS of flour on your counter, rolling pin
and hands when working with sugar cookie dough.  it's very sticky.  i don't want you to give up because
you thought you were doing it wrong.  the flour was why i was yelling…SO MESSY!!!****
 

we only baked them…the  frosting part was way more than i could handle.
i was on my own with kids all night.
i was tired.
did i tell you that already?
because i had already been baking all day…
 
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yes…i made the peppermint swirled cupcakes.
so good.
i think i will have another one right now!

i also made the chocolate mint brownies that IS christmas tradition for me. (left sidebar for recipe)

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friday:

gingerbread house.

it deserves it's own post…when (and IF) i do it! 
 
   
i have paid my friend to bake it the past two years but this year on my 35 things list (right sidebar)
i said i wanted to make one myself…what was i thinking?
i have all day today to figure out how to bake one.  
yuck…i get weird about having to learn something new.  change is hard.

are you feeling crafty now?

here is a collage of the arts and crafts i was inspired by and wishing i could make all of them.
maybe i could still…over winter break.
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Crafts
1. cafe mom  
2. clover lane  3. nini makes  4.
  5. parents  6. sarah's art house  7. the joy of today 
8. no time for flash cards 9. just for fun  10. parents 11. zakka life  12. elise blaha 13. sara's art house  
14. martha stewart  15. crafty crow  16. oh so happy together

although i linked everyone individually i found almost all of them through THE CRAFTY CROW.
i love that site.  i check it all the time!
 

are YOU going to craft with your kids this week?
no pressure from me.
but tell me if you do…..i want to know.
i hope my kids still want to do it next week also.   

erin - Wow. Looks like fun! Can you tell me what kind of dog that is?

Dawn Pefley - Found this post on Pinterest. I def thought it was cool to do with my kids, and then I read where you said “I only yelled twice”, now I’m in love!
If I can get through a single one of these crafts with my 4 kids on any given weekend, you’ll be my forever hero! Thanks for sharing!

blakechristina71@yahoo.com - love the round pom pom ornaments, what did you use to attach them pom poms to the foam ball??

Karen - where did you get all of those buttons? 🙂

Wendy - What a colorful collection of crafts! Brava!

adrienne - i love them all! …making such precious memories for your family. thanks for the great ideas 🙂

Andrea - I love all of the crafts you did with your kids. I have 2 and I think next year they will be a the perfect ages to maybe try 1 or 2 of these crafts. Also I have been buying ornaments for the kids each year but love the idea of putting them in a special box to give to them later. I am gong to start that this year. Thanks for the great ideas.

Meg - Oh, did we ever! We made homemade crayons for 2 year old cousin and we made clay pinch pots for the grandmas. We made clear glass swirly painted ornaments for the aunties and tomorrow is granola making for the uncles! And then there’s the baking……

Wendy - Inspirational as usual! Love the crafts and will have to do some more this week. My little girls and I made the snowmen ornaments that look like smores for teacher gifts. it took about 3 hours but we made 13 ornaments that were all individual and cute. then after baking the clay they wrote their names and the year on the bottom. I am going to try the pom pom snowball ornaments for sure! Thanks!

Amy F. - So fun! I can’t wait until my daughter is old enough to do that kind of stuff! One note about the sugar cookies…while you do need a lot of flour I reccommend putting the dough in the fridge for 30 or so minutes before you work with it and it makes the process a whole lot easier. Also, after I cut out the cookies and put them on the baking sheet I place the whole baking sheet in the fridge for a few minutes as it helps the cutouts to keep their shape and cook more even!

Nina - you are such a great mom! Loved all of the crafts…..

Mary - How did my dog get in your pictures??! What kind of dog do you have- she looks exactly like our goldendoodle, Sally!

linda@LimeintheCoconut - Love love love all of the beautiful crafts…and PIctures!
My kids crafted this week too…Not so pretty (just posted about it) I think I’ll stay on your page for awhile instead. oy!

Alicia - Thanks for the inspiration Meg…my kiddos loved your ideas and since we have 2 1/2 weeks to fill…you helped a lot!
With love from CO and Merry Christmas!!

Lisa - Love all of your crafts, and how honest you are (you only yelled twice 🙂 ) I noticed that someone mentioned rolling the dough between wax paper, I have used saran wrap for my sugar cookie and gingerbread dough for years and I have never had a problem. Try it next time you have the energy to bake sugar cookies again. Have a Merry Christmas!!

Kelly - Meg, the art teacher at my school does those plastic cup “snowglobes” with the kids every year and they turn out adorably! There are usually some white packing peanuts involved in some of the kids’ too for snow in the bottom. Fun.
Your projects look great and I was greatly anticipating the report on craft week! So fun! One day . . . Kelly

Heather Giustino - What a fun week you guys had!! I’m thinking of maybe trying the pom pom ornaments sometime next week with my daughter, who’s not quite three.
Thanks for the inspiration!!

jeanne - I just love all of your projects!!! You are now one of my daily stops…I am so glad we met…you bring a smile to my face everytime I visit!!! Your oldest daughter is so gorgeous!!! I will miss seeing this week but can’t wait until it works out. Merry, Merry Christmas!!!! You are such a good mom…truly!!!

Erin Goodman - I love love love your craft week! The tree- adorable how they individualized them! I saw the pompom ornament linked to your blog and love to see that you guys made them. That looks like a sure thing! The gingerbread men..super duper cute. I love felt!
Erin
PS thank you for posting the bracelet I sent on your blog… you didn’t have to do that! Thanks bunches!!!

nichole shinners - Oh man I love your craft ideas and post. Hoping to be brave and try again. For now though I get a big FAIL stamp on my forehead for the glitter craft I did with my four year old yesterday. I think I managed to yell at her only 3 times before the final blow out and she was then put in a time out. Honestly, I always thought I would be awesome at craft time. Not so much.

your cool friend Cheryl - My 2 yr old just mastered scissors, so he looks forward to his brother’s nap every day when we can make crafts together.
Naturally, they all involve cutting paper…

Miranda - this is so fantastic! your kids will remember this forever. i really love how not all of your kids had to participate in all of the crafts too. what a magical way to celebrate the season.

Christina - You are so great for posting this!! I haven’t done much this week at all (and now I have a laundry Kilimanjaro to show for it) since my youngest has been a little sick. These will definitely be on my list of things to prepare and do because I will have two big kids at home next week. Ahhh! 🙂
Except the sugar cookies…make cookies has to be on my top 10 list of things I hate to do. It is just too much. I do have a cute cake pan, though, so maybe we’ll do some mini-cakes. Much easier…and I like to eat them better, too!

Rach - I am so hopeful that I can be this creative when my child gets to this stage. Thank you for your constant inspiration and ideas!

sarah - ok meg…now you definately need to make candy sushi with your kids! It’s so much fun…(I’d advise only this project 🙂
Check it out on our blog!
http://thewalquists.blogspot.com/2009/11/candy-sushi.html
they’re SOOO delicious!

Jennifer Dawn - It looks like craft week went great. I love the pom-pom ornament. My little one is still a too young for this, but just wait until she gets older… We will craft like crazy!

Emily@remodelingthislife - I love crafting with my kids and I am so glad to see you making it look so fun. Love your crafts – so cute!

holly b - PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE tell me where I can find those twinkly pom poms in time for Christmas Eve day…I can’t find them anywhere and NEED them to make those ornaments with my kids and neices and nephews! I need to stay the COOL auntie…LOL!!!

kasey - nope. i won’t be crafting with the kids…but i will live vicariously thru you.
xo

Krista - Hi Megan!
I took some of your inspiration and crafted many things with my girls, although I did copy some of your ideas, I confess. I am making up the cocoa & marshmallow packets that I saw in your archives for teacher gifts. I’ll be including some snowman ornaments that we made from kits that I got at the craft store. AND, we attempted a gingerbread house made from a kit, which turned out better than I thought it would. I think by now my girls are sick of crafting! Thanks for all of the good ideas, looks like you were busy as well! Love the crafts you picked for your kiddos. Any time away from the TV is a success as far as I am concerned!

Beth - Megan, That is SO COOL that you did that with your kids. I love the pompom ornaments. Gonna try that with my kids. And the gingerbread house . . we got one of those ceramic molds from Pampered chef one year that makes all the house parts. It’s pretty cool although we don’t do it every year — big endeavor. We got a kit this year (thanks to grandma 🙂

Betsy - It looks like Waffle wanted in on the Crafty Action 🙂
I love the pompom ornaments! I might try them next year. NOT this year, because I spent most of my winter making button trees: http://theviewacrosstown.blogspot.com/2009/12/crafty-idea-finally-completed.html
Oh, and I TOTALLY want to make that ribbon tree, too! I’ll add it to my list. Seems simple enough & I already have the trees & pins from button tree project!
Thanks for sharing 🙂

susie whyte - i think your thursday was better than mine. i did see your craig when we visited santa, though. i wanted to say hi and introduce myself, but i don’t think he would’ve liked it as much. 🙂 the crafts look excellent!!! and i love lauren’s hair…mine never stayed curled when it was long. hope you guys have a wonderful christmas break!

alyssa - We did our gingerbread house yesterday. I yelled too! Glad I’m not alone. My little one poked a hole in the roof!!! I was not happy, but then I remembered it wasn’t for me, right?! Anyway, he eventually got banned from the gingerbread decorating. He was only eating the candy…there’s always next year for him. The other two had fun.
Once I get through this crazy birthday weekend, we will be crafting at our house next week too. Thanks for the ideas!
That was a really long comment. sorry. I need to get back to my cake decorating. Good job on the crafting.

Stacy - I love your blog. I found it a few weeks ago and cant stop looking at it! I love your ideas for this week, so thank you! Have a Merry Christmas!

tara pollard pakosta - I think we will do craft week next week and take it right into christmas! thanks for inspiring! I know we are doing the cookies tomorrow! did you try to refrigerate your dough for a few hours? that seems to cut down on the stickiness factor for me! and refrigerate in between batches again too if need be!
Love the pom pom ornaments! all are way cooL!
thanks for sharing! you are officially the WAY COOL MOM & a favorite on my blog list! tara

jenjen - I love craft week! What great projects! It’s hard when the older kids get social lives and are not interested. I heard that your kids and mine are very similar ages (my sister told me – she is a huge fan, as am I now). I have a 15 year old boy, 13 year old girl, 10 year old girl and 5 year old girl.
Have a wonderful Christmas with your cute family. I hope you get to everything on your list!
XOXO
Jen

Kat - You did some really great crafts! I love the little gingerbread men. I made knitted trees with gold stars on top this year and sent them to all my family members. Next year I might make gingerbread men.

carly - oh i am completely and totally overwhelmed with the ideas! as if i weren’t already with my own projects!! (weren’t or wasn’t? not sure, but you know what i’m saying’.) overwelmed and in love!! especially the pompom ornament. adorable!
anyway, i’ll have to come back to visit this post sometime in october and november 2010!! thanks for the inspiration 12 months in advance. and i wish i could have a craft marathon week, but there’s no extra time or energy.
PS: i’ve asked santa to bring me some “time in a bottle” for christmas. when i get mine, i’ll send you one, too! ha!

amber - Super fun! Im inspired to craft it up this week! Thank you.
ps the kiddos ( who are sitting on my lap… ya all three of them) are asking if we can come do crafts at your house… i don’t balme ’em. lol
cheers!

Candace - Ah, the gingerbread men are too cute! Moms are superwomen. You are a champ for baking all of that in ONE day!
And I will be adding the mint brownies to my recipe list for this weekend. You can never go wrong with mint and chocolate. Thanks!

Becky @ Farmgirl Paints - Girl you inspire me so! I love the pompom ornament. So going to do that one. I just love that you take the time and do fun stuff like this with your kids. You rock! Your oldest daughter is gor-ge-ous…wowza:) Now I’m off to check out that site.
Meg have a wonderful Christmas with your family. We are off to Illinois on Sun. – long drive- some stress involved. NEXT YEAR we stay home!!

patti - thanks for all the awesome ideas! i’ll be stealing some of these for next week, thankyouverymuch!
i’ve already got one day scheduled with cookie decorating. now i just need to “cowboy up” and figure out which other mess i feel like dealing with. merry christmas!

melissa @ the inspired room - What a completely fun week, thanks for sharing all the great crafts you did. Love all the different ages of your kids, so reminds me of my house.
Merry Christmas to you, Meg. Always a joy to come to your blog and so glad to call you a friend in blogland. Maybe someday we’ll have coffee together in real life? Maybe? You could bring me a brownie or cupcake too.
blessings & xxoxo
Melissa

Meredith - Thanks Meg…these crafts are like a ray of Christmas sunshine. Glad that Sean was so enthusiastic and Lauren joined in. Hope you have some really great coffee in the coming week. Meredith xo.
p.s. I’d forgotten about your mint brownies, I think I’ll give them a go today.

cori barney - I was crusing blogland today and came upon this awesome cookie and thought of you. http://makeitandloveit.blogspot.com/2009/12/playdough-cookies.html
I love your blog. Thanks for always keeping it real!

se7en - Oh we are doing this too!!! But I find it hard to take the first step… it is so much easier to read a story!!! But look at those little faces it is so worth it to make the effort!!!

Susan - I just had to come out of Lurkerdom to let you know how much I enjoyed this post. I love that your kiddos leaped out of bed wanting to know what the day’s craft was. I’m wondering if I can get my teens to play with me next week as school will be out.
I do have a great hint for you with the cookies. Make sure the dough is well chilled and roll it between two sheets of wax paper. No flour, not much mess! Try it! I just did this with 32 preschoolers (8 at a time) with no hassle. So much fun!

julia - I love your crafts…maybe my friend and I will do some of them next week with the kids…the picture of your oldest is wonderful…she’s beautiful.

Mindy Harris - that looks like a blast! I’m going to do snowglobes tonight and will post pictures. there’s a “to-do” on martha stewart’s site.
also, my friend likes all things vintage, and I posted some pics from her house (I took my camera to a lunch playdate; it’s hard not to!)–you may like them.
last thing: we LOVE the pics of Wilder/us and have them smacked all over printed mugs for the grandparents. cocoa to tuck inside. so excited!

Kelly - We are big crafties over here! We made some super easy yet time consuming (read: kept them busy for awhile!) wreaths similar to the ones I saw here:
http://pinkpicketfence.typepad.com/pink_picket_fence/2009/12/-crafting-with-kids-gocup-wreath-.html
You shared a lot of great ideas that I’m sure we’ll be making next week as we try to survive the carzy week before the big day! Thanks!

Melissa - Ohhhh – you go girl.
I do feel “crafty”, and a little sleepy after seeing all the work you did. But boy does that look like some fun. I love your idea of a craft week!

Jenn Thomas - Good ideas! It looks like fun and I should of sent London down to join you 🙂 Maybe we can accomplish a few of those.

mel - LOVE this post. LOVE it.
I am a teacher & my Christmas break starts today!
All next week, when Claire is napping, I have a bunch of crafting/baking/cooking planned with Kate.
I can’t wait.
I am going to add the pom pom ornaments to our list of things to do.
And, the candy cane cupcakes? Yes please. we will be making those also!
Have a wonderful Christmas!

adrienneK - so fun!! looks about like our life lol yay for kids art !!

Flower Patch Farmgirl - I love the pom pom things and the popsicle stick trees. The trees are definitely pre-school-proof. Great ideas! And yes, we’ll be crafting. And baking. And decorating a pre-made gingerbread house from Ikea. 🙂

sara's art house - Oh my word! Thanks for linking to me!!! You want to know what is HILARIOUS- that post that Ashley Ann did about you- she showed your initial bead ornaments –that is where I got the idea for the wire + bead ornaments (I couldn’t find any small beads….)
I am going straight to Wal-Mart to get balls to pin pom poms into!!!!! SOOO CUTE.

Courtney - fun! thanks for sharing. and thanks for being real, too…that not all the kids were there..or happy…and that you yelled! makes me feel “normal” and willing to try it knowing it doesn’t have to go perfectly.

Tara @ the cinnamon post - thank you Meg…my kids thank you too

Laura Phelps - I just bought the pom poms! Did I see this ornament on your blog???? Hmm…I love Annie’s pink pom poms…looks like a puff of cotton candy. I may scratch the cookie decorating on my craft a day next week, and add the sewing felt ginger bread men…less mess and calories-thanks for the idea!
And I have the same red ribbon with white stitch through it..so I am cool like you…at least, I like to THINK I am cool like you (I would have yelled WAY more than twice)
merry Christmas awesome crafty mama!
xo

Trasie Bressler - Ok easy craft………And let out some stress too!
I did this for a second grade Christmas party today at school.
Items:
Large Balloons
Small can of play dough
Take the Balloon and stretch the top of it out roll the playdough out in to a snake and stick it in the top of the balloon. Squeeze to get all of the air out….Tie a knot in the top close to the playdough, cut off the top of the tie and decorate markers.
Super easy and the kids love love love it. I wasn’t sure they would but they had a blast with them thought that they were fun to sit and play with. Kept my 5 year old quiet for 30 minutes!

Lisa K in FL - Thank you so much for this inspiring and honest post! I want to craft with my kids, but I’m afraid of stupid stuff, like the mess it will create. I hate that, because I want my kids to have these experiences and memories. I think I’ll bite the bullet and do a craft day next week. But I might yell more than twice.

jennifer - No mom-led crafting going on here. We’re packing to move in the middle of everything else that’s going on, so no Christmas decorations have been pulled out and the house is a chaotic mess with boxes everywhere. It’s quite a depressing sight! My seven year old son over the last two days has made assorted Christmas decorations and hung them on the wall in our entry way. Last night he told me it’s the hall of Christmas. Too cute and just what I needed!
I love the penguins in the plastic cup. That is super cute!

Elisa - Ok first of all Lauren is so freakin gorgeous. Seriously.
And second, I am so gonna make those pompom ball ornaments. I think my boys would do it. *I think*.
Thanks for the push to get moving and do something fun.
Well until the start to fight and poke each other.

Trina McNeilly - You are super amazing…. these crafts look like so much fun.. I’ll have to keep them in mind for next year!!!! I’m just hoping to get to sugar cookies… but I’m like you the icing is the killer… I’m hoping to maybe, make and bake and then do the icing a whole other day? Everything sounds like a good idea right now but doesn’t mean I can get it done… ha!
xx Trina

Mindy - We’re going to do some crafts next week. My kids are way younger than most of yours. Tip for gingerbread: Last year we had a gingerbread party and invited some friends. I made a little house for each kid and the 2 moms. I hot glued graham cracker to cardboard in the shape of a little house. Then just made some frosting and set out little bowls of candy and cereal and whaever to decorate them. They eat as they decorate and we use our houses for decorations and then after christmas set outside and watch the squirrels eat them.
Here’s a link to it on my blog:
http://murray-triplets.blogspot.com/2008/12/welcome-to-candy-land.html

Brittany - My son and I made the pom pom ornaments this week too 🙂 I’m so excited to do more crafts next week…you’ve given me some additional ideas! I love the button wreath and ribbon tree! Thanks for sharing this with us…you’re AWESOME!

Ruth - i found your blog last christmas and it makes me so happy to see all these fun festive things here again! you’re such a fun mum… i especially love the pom-pom ornaments. and i still wish i had even half of lauren’s cuteness 🙂

Jennifer - My girls finish school today, and we have been so busy with dance and school, that we have had no time for fun. They have 2 parties to attend this weekend (bdays), then the fun starts for us. I have big crafting/baking plans for next week-can’t wait!
PS, what did you use for the tree parts of the popsicle stick trees? They are so cute!
PPS, I love doing sugar cookies….my nemesis is the gingerbread house-UGH! I was so thrilled to discover last year that they were old enough to do it by themselves…then I got sad about that.

sarah - I want to do all of them with Kenzie, but I ‘m pretty sure we’re going to have to do most next year instead. 🙂

sherry - I love this. My kids are still pretty little-but I think they would love to give it a shot:). Loving the pom-pom ornament…so, so cute. Have I told you yet that you are my favorite? It’s true, you are.

Kelly O. - awesome crafts! thanks for the links!

Keri ~ Forever Folding Laundry - Whoa – you deserve some kind of award for all of that crafting! We did the beaded stars from Sara’s Art House this week, and are going to attempt the half-eaten felt gingerbread man ornaments. Doing the gingerbread house tomorrow…but it’s the pre-baked kind from Wal-Mart. The only way to go! 🙂
(LOVE the Crafty Crow too, btw. Too much fun.)

Carrie - Reason #1000 I want to come live with the Duerksens. This looks like so much fun!

TRACI - I AM feeling crafty now!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Andrea - We are doing birdie ornaments that I found on Little Birdie Secrets here:
http://littlebirdiesecrets.blogspot.com/2009/12/little-birdie-ornaments.html
She found them on Living the Swell Life here:
http://livingtheswelllife.blogspot.com/2008/12/tree-trimming-tutorial.html
It is taking us a long time, but the kids are having fun.
For me the biggest problem is that most of the gifts from our house are handmade this year and I’m waaaayyyyy behind. I’m supposed to mail some off today. Not happening. So unfortunately I haven’t had tons of time to sit down and craft with my kids. I’m planning on teaching them how to use the sewing machine I bought them LAST CHRISTMAS in between Christmas & New Year’s. Then it’s back to school for all of us.

Lazy Mom Leslie - Thank you so much Meg for taking the time to put this together for us. I have been thinking about your craft week all week and couldn’t wait to see what you did, so I could copy you! I see pom pom ornaments and snow man pops in my future! Have a great Christmas!

Stephanie Carroll - I don’t have kids, so no, but I act like one (see my post today).
I love Lauren’s hair. Please tell her.
I tried to make the Real Simple sugar cookies and it stuck to my counter like white on rice. I think it’s because I used light cooking butter. I need to buck up and use the real deal.
Again I’ll say, you make me want to be an awesome mom like you…whenever that day comes (ahem like 5 years).

Kate - Thank you, thank you!
I am going to be a COMPLETE copycat ~ You are the best!

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