Stories of Jesus: Advent Calendar (Freebie)

I'm a stickler for advent calendars. I made {two} a couple years ago. I love watching my kids get so excited to pull another activity down or move Joseph & Mary closer to Bethlehem.

Updating the title on the second one was the first thing I did with my Silhouette last Christmas.
Last year, a woman from church shared with us the advent her family likes to use, click {HERE}. It basically gives a scripture story from the life of {Jesus Christ} tells you to find the corresponding pictures with the story.

I REALLY liked the idea of having a scripture advent, so I printed off the provided diagram. Upon printing, I discover two things: 1. I couldn't read the print out, 2. Since the publication of this calendar, the numbers for the pictures have changed, so I couldn't find the pictures. Then & there I vowed to make the advent into a book before the following Christmas. A book that would contain the scriptures & pictures for each day all in one place.

It is now the following December, and I made my deadline. Barely. :)

The picture on the cover is called, Gentle Christ by {Del Parson}. LOVE it.

I absolutely LOVE it. For the month of December, this will be our family scripture study. Now, since it's Christmas & I'm so excited about making this, I'm sharing it with y'all. Consider it an early Christmas gift. Just, do us a favor, and follow us. ;)

Since I can't redistribute the pictures, I just included the background of those pages. I used {THIS} page & {THIS} to find most of my pictures. The only story that I couldn't find a picture for was the Three Wise Men page, so I googled it & found one I liked.

Gather It:

• Created documents-- {scriptures} {picture backgrounds}
• Scissors
• Laminator (or your nearest copy center)

Create It:

1. Print. Don't forget to find the pictures!
2. Cut off the white trim---optional
3. Laminate. Use your own or go to your nearest copy center (FedExKinkos, Office Max, Office Depot, etc.) & have them do it. IMPORTANT: When you put the pages together, make sure the scripture & picture are on the same page. Then you can read it like a tradition book or fold it over so the whole family can see the picture while the reader reads the story.
4. Bind it. While you're at the copy center, get it bound together, so your family can use for years to come. Be sure to get a spiral.

This is my favorite page:Oone of my favorite scriptures about Christ with my favorite picture of Christ; it's called Christ's Love, also by Del Parson. I love the happiness in His eye's and the gentleness of His smile. I hope He gives me this look one day.

Enjoy.

FREEBIE: Thanksgiving Subway Art

Happy first of November! I hope everyone had an enjoyable Halloween. We went all out this year and hopefully I can get some pictures up later in the week. I'm in the midst of planning my daugther's Minnie Mouse party for next weekend, so that's why I say 'hopefully.'

My son kept asking me if we can have Halloween again.. yeah, buddy, in 364 days :)

In honor of the grateful season, I come to you with another FREE subway art printable! This time it's Thanksgiving!
It was made to be 8x10 or 5x7. Click on the picture, until you get the largest size, then save it. Print it through your favorite store--- personally, I go with Costco.

If you use it, please let me know. Send people back here, help us get more followers!

Happy Thanksgiving season, everyone!

In case you missed: {Halloween}{Easter}

Linking {HERE}

Welcome, Foolish Mortals!

Before this year, our outdoor Halloween decorations consisted of four skulls to hang in the tree, three blacklights, one Styrofoam tombstone & an 'autopsy room' sign. We revamped the autopsy sign and turned it into {THIS}.

We put up the tombstone, but it kept blowing away. I was so sick of placing and replacing the stinking foam that I wanted to make our own set of stones that simply would not move in the wind. We had a couple scrap pieces of 2x8 and 2x12, so we decided to make our own out of wood.

Since we are BIG fans of all things DISNEY, we modeled ours after {The Haunted Mansion}.


Gather It:

• any size scrap wood you want (we used 3 ft-ish of 2x8 & 2x12 scraps)
• saw
• wooden stakes
• screws & drill
• vinyl & cutter or cardstock to make stencils
• ebony color wood stain & brush
• Grey spray paint (I used Krylon double coat) 2 cans, just to be safe

Create It:

1. Find your Wood: We live in a fairly new neighborhood, so there's always some kind of construction going on. If you're lucky, you can find fairly decent pieces of wood for free in their scraps pile; all you have to do is ask.
2. Cut the Wood: We had three original pieces of wood; I drew the top curve of the stones then the hubs cut them out with his hand saw (the guy could really use a miter saw--- Christmas, maybe?)
3. Stakes & Screws: Using two screws per stake, attach two wooden stakes to the back of each tombstone.
4. Stain: Liberally apply the dark stain to the stones. Follow the directions on the can & get every showing piece of wood.
   
5. Create Stencil: While you're waiting for the stones to dry, it's time to create the stencils. Since I wanted to do stones authentic to the Haunted Mansion, I googled for a list of actual tombstones at the Haunted Mansion {HERE}. FYI--- UR Gone is in the mausoleum.. so it is authentic. Then I created the stencils in Silhouette Studio & cut them out. The HM font is called "haunted mickey." As always, if you have a Silhouette & want to make theses, I will email you the document. Weed & apply the vinyl like you would any other vinyl project. If you don't have a cutter, create your stencil by printing your design on cardstock, then cutting out what was painted then use it the way you'd normally use a stencil.
   
6. Spray Paint & Wait: Lay your stones out on some tarps in a well-ventilated area & then spray them like there's no tomorrow. Cover every little itch, wait for front to dry (according the can) and flip over and paint the back. I used all of one can & barely had to open the second. After the paint is dry, use tweezers or a small hook to gently peel off the vinyl. Under the vinyl stayed the color of the stain creating an engraved wore look. If you got the right kind of spray paint & stain, you don't need to seal it, but if you're paranoid go ahead.
   

Your homemade homage to the home of 999 haunts is now ready to display. They'll be dying to see what you did. :)

Stay tuned for one more homage to a different Halloween classic. :)

I'm linking {HERE}

Skeleton Greeter

Two weeks to Halloween!

I have a confession: I love {Pinterest}. I spend entirely too much time on it, but I end up finding crazy awesome ideas. I saw {THIS} idea about a month ago and knew we must make our own.

It's a Skeleton Wreath made by Meg at {Mega-Crafty} & {Mega-Spooky}.

Here's my version:
My Little Notes:

• You really can buy the bones anywhere. We found our at Target. It was $20 for the bones, and I'm sure we could have found them cheaper somewhere else, but I was way too excited to start this project (and so was my hubby) so we caved and got the bones.
• If you follow any of my advice: Don't buy the styrofoam glue (especially if you're impatient like me). In my experience it did not stick at all, I even waited the time it said to, tried to move it and... you can imagine the rest. My husband, the trusty engineer, said he thinks the glue is just repackaged white glue. It sure acted like it... PLUS it's not water-proof; so, if you plan on making it an outdoor wreath, definitely get the corresponding glue. Before I changed my glue, I kept having visions of my Skeleton creation falling apart in the next rain. Even though I don't usually have to worry about THAT in Texas, it DID rain the week after we made this.
  
• Now I bet you're asking, well how do I stick it together now, Amber? Well, I'll tell you: Gorilla Glue (or as our 2-yr-old says Monkey glue--- she has a thing for monkeys and don't ask me how) and some well placed alummium wire to make the joints even more secure. Think about it, Skeleton man doesn't have any cartlidge to help him stay together... that's what the GG does, adds cartlidge.
• Play around with the bone arrangment. Mine started out as a wreath and I quickly realized that wasn't going to be very effective. So we messed around until the bones were perfect. Then we added a spooky sign for an even creepier touch (the sign was actually one of our first Halloween decorations we bought).
• Work in sections at a time, to give the GG a little more time to dry.
• He's hung up with picture hangers and some string behind his head. The positioning of the string makes it so that he protudes out a little... in the face of anyone who comes to the door.

I'm excited to see the expressions of the Trick-or-Treaters... if we get any ;)

I link {HERE}.

2x4 Harry Potter Books

We come from a family BIG on Halloween. I love getting the whole house decked out in a tastefully spooky nature. Each year, we add to our decorations (something I picked up growing up). One of the things we added this year was my "ode to Harry Potter." I'm a rather big Harry Potter fan (still jealous that Meg a.k.a. Mule went to the World in Florida). So, I was bummed our Halloween decorations had no Harry Potter in them anywhere. Que this idea. I loved them so much, I shared the idea with the planning committee for our church craft day and everyone wanted to do them.

2x4 Harry Potter Books

Not attending our Super Saturday and want to make some too?

Gather It:

• 2 ft of 2x4 wood
• 2x2x2 wood cube
• dark stain (optional)
• orange, black, green, purple, cream & gray paint
• vinyl or contact paper
• 2 black pipe cleaners
• acrylic sealer
• glue gun or gorilla glue
  

Create It:

1. Cut your wood. You need two 4 1/2 inches long and two 6 inches long.
2. Stain it using the directions on the stain can. This is an optional step. I wanted my book to look worn & used, so I added an extra layer of color to make the books look really distressed (it's showing through on the Quidditch book).
3. Paint. First, paint the pages. Using the cream paint, paint three sides to make each block look like a book. After that is done paint each book a different Halloween color. I double-coated everything. Don't forget to paint the spider.
4. While you wait for the paint to dry, hop onto the computer and create the book covers, spines & spider face. I used my Silhouette to cut it out of vinyl (or you can use contact paper---thickness 1, speed 2) and use the negative as a stencil. OR-- if you don't have a cutter--- an exacto knife is your friend (I did it A LOT before I got my machine). Trace it onto the contact paper and cut it out with an exacto knife. If you want the Silhouette document, email me.
5. Put the stencils on your books & paint. The bottom books just have spine stencils; the top two have small pictures too. After everything is dry, use a little bit of gray paint to make the books look even more used and distressed--- then seal it so they don't get scratched-- unless you want them to look even MORE distressed.
6. Cut the pipe cleaners into fourths (half--- then half again). Using your glue of choice, glue just enough of the tip of the pipe cleaner to the bottom of the spider... since it's a spider... glue four legs on each side.
7. Assemble the books from bottom to top with a layer of glue in between each, all the way up to the spider. Remember to put the glue on the small book FIRST when you transition in sizes.
8. To glue on the side book, put a strip of glue along the edges of the stacked books, then gentle push the side book on the glue. After that dry, flip the whole thing upside down, and add a little more glue to the bottom of the side book/stacked seams (for added strength).
9. Let dry and enjoy your new Harry Potter addition to your Halloween decor.

If you're not a Harry Potter fan, I also have just Halloween stencil too. The book titles are: Haunting Haunts, Perfectly Potent Potions, Spooky Stories & Tales, and Spells & Charms.

Enjoy!

I link {HERE}.

FREEBIE: Halloween Subway Art

So-- I've been spending most of my time prepping for my church's annual crafting Saturday. We are doing a 'year-round holiday' theme. Every craft has to do with a holiday.

For our super-easy craft, I made (and found some favorites--{Eighteen25} is a GREAT source) Subway Art. The women can either paint a frame or use their own. Like I said, super simple.

One that I designed was the Halloween one. I LOVE how it turned out. Since I loved it so much, I thought I'd share it with y'all.

It was made to be 8x10 or 5x7. Click on the picture, until you get the largest size, then save it. Print it through your favorite store--- personally, I go with Costco.

Happy Haunting!

Click on the link, if you missed the {Easter} one. We included that as one of the Subway options too.

Linking up {HERE}

Millennium Falcon Shirt

As I've said before, my boy is a rather big Star Wars fan. One day, we went clothes shopping and out-of-the-blue, he asks me for a Star Wars shirt. This is how the conversation went:

Knight (what I always call him on this blog): Mama, can I get a Star Wars shirt?
Me (not panicked yet, because that seems do-able): We can look (because we were going to a consignment shop). But, don't you have one? (A Clone Wars one I got at a consignment sale).
Knight: Yeah, but I LOVE the Millennium Falcon. I want one with the Millennium Falcon.

First, I thought it was ADORABLE he was that specific, and then I started to panic. How in the WORLD was I going to find a specific type of Star Wars shirt that was probably sold THIRTY years ago. I know retro shirts are popular, but specifically one with the Millennium Falcon? I knew the odds were against me.

Until, I remembered I was crafty. So, we bought a plain shirt (for $2) and in a couple of days, he had this to wear:

A Custom-made Millennium Falcon Shirt.
Want to make one for your Star Wars fan?

Gather It:

• Plain T-Shirt
• Printable Fabric ( I got mine at Joann's a LONG time ago. It was $20-30 for a roll and I've used it for NUMEROUS projects and STILL have LOTS left. GREAT investment).
• Wonderunder (if desired)
• thread or sewing machine
• freezer paper
• Silhouette or exacto knife
• acrylic paint

Create It:

1. Find a picture of the Falcon using googleimage search. Make sure the pixels are big enough so the picture doesn't look grainy.
2. Follow the directions on your printable fabric to print the Falcon print onto it. (duh). Mine needed to be cut to the right size to fit in my printer. Print and wait for the ink to dry. Follow the rest of the directions to prepare the picture for sewing.
3. Fuse Falcon to shirt with Wonderunder. OR just sew it on with a straight stitch. I did both.
4. Use Silhouette (or word editing software) to create the saying.
5. If using Silhouette, just type and cut with Freezer paper (I use the vellum settings when I cut freezer paper). Be sure to measure the size of the shirt, so the words aren't too big. If using word software, print and trace onto freezer paper. Then, cut out with exacto knife. I did this method before I had my Sil (what I call her), and it worked great too.
6. Paint with acrylic or fabric paint. Wait to dry between coats. Do 2-3 coats.
7. Iron an uncut piece of freezer paper to top of shirt to heat seal the paint.
8. Pull off and let your Star Wars fan enjoy the fastest ship in the galaxy!
   

I think he liked it.Seriously, he does. He wears it almost immediately after it is washed (nope, the picture doesn't fade in the wash). Just remember to follow the fabrics' instructions on how to launder.

I hope you enjoyed my trip to the galaxy far, far away. The force is telling me, I'll probably blog about it again (especially since my knight--- maybe Jedi Knight is more appropriate now---wants to have a Star Wars Birthday party for his next birthday).

Linking {HERE}