Christmas Cards at Mpix

So, most of our family and friends have received our cards so I can now reveal them!  Thanks Mpix for such  beautiful Christmas cards!  Don't you love the design?

It was a tough pick because they have so many different choices but this was my favorite.  I love all the colors and that they match little Boo Bears dress perfectly.  One of my favorite parts is that I got to write a special message on the back.  Really love this about Mpix holiday cards. 

It is really hard to tell the picture quality considering I am taking a picture of a picture but it is so clear.  Beautiful colors and sharp.  Did you see I had to bribe little miss with a jar of candy to take her pictures?!  Oh brother!

Very impressed with Mpix and will be using them again next year.  The cards are printed on very heavy quality card stock AND.....

They shipped in less than a week [we are overseas], packaged nicely, and I got extras!!! Yup see that sticker?!  They gave me about 12 extra cards and envelopes and somehow I still don't have enough.  Love it!!!

So if you haven't gotten your holiday cards yet, don't fret!  Head over to Mpix and order.  The site is really easy to use and the cards will ship at lightening speed! 

Graham Cracker Gingerbread House

Wish I could take credit for all the cuteness you are about to see but my friend Adria from the Crunchy Lion put together this fun activity... for us moms. Yup sometimes mom's want to get in on the crafting fun too and so we did.  We were planning on making real gingerbread houses but the idea of cutting and cooking just seemed like way to much work especially with the little ones running around so we settled on Graham cracker houses.  Isn't it darling?!

We bought a box of graham crackers, some canned frosting, and lots and lots of candy!  We put a Christmas movie on for the kids and got to work.  Candy, crafts, and conversation with good friends.  Doesn't get better than that! 

It was so fun eating the goodies while decorating!  And yes the kiddos would periodically come by our work area and beg for some too.  That would be my daughter asking Adria for more candy.  She knows she has better luck getting it from her HA!

                          

Apparently I am the Graham cracker cutting expert.  I just used a butter knife and gently sawed off the pieces to make the front frame of the house.  The rest of the pieces fit in perfectly once the graham crackers were cut in half.  [It is much better to use the butter knife to cut them in half than to try to break them in half].

With some imagination and a little time the mini house will come together.  Here is Natalie's finished product.  She had a talent for making bows out of the sour string for the wreaths.  I also love her little snowman! 

Here is Adria's finished house.  I love her cookie chimney and the cookie logs on the side of the house.  Very clever! 

And since you already saw the front of my house here is the backside.  All pretty with a nice green Christmas tree.  And if you are wondering what the houses are places on, it is just a styrafoam plate covered in white frosting.  

And here is our little neighborhood!  Funny thing is we all are neighbors.  We had such a blast!  Definitely going to try to plan one more mommy craft day before Christmas.

How to Make Fleece Hat in 10 Minutes

The snowy season has come and I love it!  Snow is so magical, but cold [duh!]  Well, because my little one refuses to wear hats, I just never bought her one in preparation for the winter.  Bad mommy...  We went to play in the snow and she had to wear one of my beanies.  So I ended up making her a basic fleece hat to hold us over until she gets a much nicer one.

It is so easy and takes about ten minutes! I took a long rectangle piece from my fleece stash and measured the width of her head based on my beanie that she wore.  

Then, sew down the sides.  If you don't sew, use fabric glue. 

I made the mistake of doing this step while she was napping so it was a little long.  I ended up taking the seam out and fixing it.  BUT fold over the bottom portion twice and make sure it fits your little one. 

Then sew it down or use liquid stitch.

Cut strips at the top.  I liked thinner strips and ended up making them thinner.  Take a piece thin strip of fleece and tie it on the top really tight.  You can also sew the top portion first and then tie it tight, it's up to you.   Trim the strips if they are too long. 

Fluff it, adjust it, and put it on!  It's a cute temporary hat and will keep her warm for now.  I am for sure considering making one for her favorite doll.

How to Download Fonts and Create Coloring Pages

This tutorial is for those of you who have ever had trouble downloading fonts.  Downloading fonts and creating your own printables and coloring pages is simple enough.  Here is the step by step.

First, find the font you want to download.  This one is called MTF Dear Santa.  Click download and then open the file. 

Then a folder will open.  The biggest mistake is to think you can copy and paste the font from here but you actually need to extract the file first.  Click and extract the file. 

It will open an almost identical folder.  You can tell the difference because the new folder will not say extract files.  The one with the star is the right folder and the old one you will want to close. 

Now open the Font folder from your Control Panel.  Copy and paste the MTF Dear Santa file [with the yellow arrow] onto the Font Folder.  You can see that is says installing MTF Dear Santa.

Now open Word and you can start making your own printables or if you have kiddos your own coloring pages!

I like that you can customize your coloring pages.  This train is one of my favorite ones.  The font is called JI Toy Train.  To get the front and back of the train hold Shift 9 for the front and Shift 0 for the back.