Lollipop Class Christmas Card!

Spotted over HERE on Makerland, this is such a simple but fun way for your kiddies to hand out a Christmas card/class gift this year. I had this all done in such a short space of time so even with 20 days now till Christmas day you will have plenty of time to get these done.

How To:
(1) Take a photo of your child (have them stand with their hand in a gentle fist out to the side but infront of them). These can be as fancy/dressed up/set up with a particular background etc as you want. I honestly snapped these of my kids on a school morning after breakfast with my iPhone.

(2) Upload the pics to Picmonkey (or photo editing site of your choice). I cropped the pics a bit making sure the side I planned to have the lollipop go in the hand had more space. Picmonkey is also where I added the text to the photos - my kids chose the colours and fonts with me.

(3) Print! I don't have a printer at the moment so we went to Officeworks to print ours off. I did them in a smaller square size rather than a regular 4x6 photo size but this is completely up to you.
(4) Grab some lollipops. I happen to spot a bucket of mini Chupa Chups while we were in Officeworks - Perfect!!
(5) With a sharp box cutter/craft scalpel slice a small slit in the photo just above the childs fist and just below too.
(6) Feed the stick of a lollipop thought the two slits to make it seem like the child is holding it.

Told you it was simple! Now sit back and watch your kiddies have a ball handing these goodies out!

Lollipop Reindeer Christmas Cards!

My girl finishes pre-school tomorrow! Where did that year go???
There is a little graduation ceremony planned for tomorrow night followed by a mini Christmas concert and a BBQ on the preschool grounds for the kids and families. I see this as the perfect opportunity to have Milla and I make up some fun and festive Christmas cards and treats to hand out to all her class mates... Enter the Lollipop Reindeer Christmas Card!

When I spotted these (yep, you guessed it - Pinterest!) I was lying in bed ready to turn out the lights but immediately jumped up and put together a tester reindeer card to see if they really are as simple as Missy Mac Creations claims - she was right! So easy and SUPER cute!!
Off the the shops we popped today for cardboard, glitter glue and lollipops and before we knew it our dining table had a parade of reindeers smiling up at us!

Milla was VERY proud of her Reindeer production line and can't wait to hand these out tomorrow to her friends.

For the 'How To' go HERE and have fun :)

Santa Apron Teacher Gifts!

This is the second year I have had to think of a gift for my kiddies teachers. I automatically think of baking some sweet treats for them but I bet they get sooooooo much chocolate and treats that another bundle would be almost dreaded. So what to do? what to do? - sew!!
After a quick trip to Spotlight for supplies I hit my sewing machine and created a handmade gift for each of Milla's 5 teachers that can be used year after year - A Santa (or Mrs Claus) Apron!!

These were rather simple to put together. A Christmas red basic apron style with red grosgrain neck loop and hip ties. I then added some black ric rac grosgrain ribbon and a yellow felt 'buckle' for the belt. Next I sewed on two lengths of faux fur trim to the top and bottom edges then 3 gold jingle bells on the front for some festive buttons. Each apron also has the teachers first initial appliquéd onto the chest for some personalisation - cute hey??
Our pre-school has had a HUGE renovation overhaul over the past 12 months and is looking fantastic with amazing new facilities for the kids. The renovations have mainly been done by the head teachers' father, whom all the kids affectionately call Mr Wayne. I couldn't leave Mr Wayne out of the gift giving so with some green fabrics, more of the ric rac, felt, bells and red ribbon I came up with a cute elf apron just for the busy builder elf!

Now to wrap these all up and pop them under the pre-school Christmas tree, Yay!

Happy Friday Find!

I can feel it in the air (and see it in every shop) Christmas is on the way - YAY!!
I ADORE Christmas - every single bit and I have already been making bits an pieces to add to our decoration collection with the kids. I am yet to get our Christmas cards organised and have just a few more gifts to buy but after seeing this idea from Papermash for making your own bunting gift tags I think I will add them to my To Do List too - Yay!

Happy Friday xx

Secret Santa planning??

So we are 70 sleeps away from Christmas!!!! (thanks fellow Christmas lover Dee for the count down). That means there is a pretty good chance you should be thinking about or will soon be involved in some Secret Santa gift givings. Maybe at work? or with your mothers group? or with family?
With a bit of time up your sleeve now why not take the reigns and announce that you will be the 'Secret Santa Planner' this year? (don't panic, I have the perfect idea to help you along the way). Just like me, how about you make the process of the Secret Santa a little more interactive and unique...

Surprise Secret Santa Cookie Mixture!

Just some simple ingredients, a bucket of green and red M&M's (that are now available at your local supermarket as it's so close to the festive season), some cheap glass jars from the $2 shop and the 'How To' from Bakerella HERE and I have a bunch of cookie mixture in jars ready to give out - but wait, the catch is, that INSIDE each jar, among the ingredients, is a name.
Once the jars are all handed out to each member of my Secret Santa group they must bake the cookies in order to find the name of the person they are shopping for! Fun, right? (BTW don't forget to attach the method of baking the cookies also found HERE)
This way everyone gets into the festive mood with a bit of Christmas cookie baking, find out their Secret Santa person and end up with a batch of yummy cookies!
Forget the old and boring 'draw a name out of a hat' for choosing who you will be buying for - this is lots more fun (& yummy)!

Easy gift idea for Aussie Summer Christmas!

Do you need a gift for a school teacher? a neighbour? a mother's group/play group friend? a Secret Santa? This one is perfect and sooooo simple!
Head to your local super market to grab all the bits (told you this was simple):


YOU"LL NEED:
* Beach towel (would be great to find a red or green one to keep in the Christmas colours)
* After-Sun Aloe Vera spray (or sun cream or Aloe body rub - whatever you prefer)
* 1 or 2 magazines - whatever one/s takes your fancy
* Festive ribbon

Un-package the towel then with it folded in half place the magazine/s and After-sun on it and wrap them just like the towel is wrapping paper. Tie it all up with your festive ribbons and you are done!


The perfect gift for your recipient to relax in the summer sun over the Christmas break!!
Merry Christmas x

Handmade Angry Birds Game!

We had my side of the family Christmas get together on the weekend. We do a 'Secret Santa' gift system for Christmas with the adults in my family - each person has one adult to buy for with a $ limit so each adult gets one decent gift. This year when I saw THIS I couldn't help but make a set myself to put under the Christmas tree for a little extra gift for my mum!!
Mum is a bit of an Angry Birds fan. She doesn't own an iPhone or and iPad but she will find a quiet moment and steal my dad's iPhone or my iPad when we are together and have bit of a play trying to knock all those green pigs from their perches.


With 6 empty tin cans, some paint, a Sharpie and a plastic red ball I made mum an Angry Birds game for her to play any day of the week. I wrapped it all up in a huge box and attached a card that said "Santa couldn't afford an iPad and he know you would only use it for one thing anyway, so Merry Christmas...." - teehee!!


So simple and it got quite a few giggles!!

Secret Santa/Teacher/Neighbour gift idea...

This is super easy and quick to put together and all the bits you'll need can be found in your local supermarket for a few dollars.

You'll Need:
* A whisk
* 1 pack of Minties (you can choose whatever lollies you want. I went with Minties because they are red, white and green for Christmas)
* A Tea-Towel (I went with a red and white one but you could do a Christmas themed one)
* Christmas ribbon
* Gift card


Fill the 'head' of your whisk with the Minties. Wrap the whisk in the tea towel and tie with your ribbons. Attach your gift tag with a note that reads:
We WHISK you a Merry Christmas


Ta Dah!


Cute hey?? My little girl's pre-school teachers are getting these this year.

Faux Fur Trimmed Christmas Bunting!

Introducing Giggleberry's Limited Edition 'Fur Trimmed Jingle Bell Bunting' for Christmas 2011. Hand made to order every one of these limited edition buntings is professionally finished with double sided flags sewn into soft white faux fur trim, just like Santa's hat, then a small silver jingle bell is hand sewn to each flag point adding a touch of festive fun to your decorating this year!


Just like the original Giggleberry bunting banners, that are loved world wide, these banners look great in so many spots. Hang your limited edition Christmas bunting above your Christmas tree, in your front window or at your Christmas party for some instant holiday decor even Santa himself would want!


This set has 6 red flags with white letters appliqued onto them reading HOHOHO. If you have another word in mind for your banner such as 'Believe', 'Merry Christmas', 'Santa' etc please contact me - giggleberrycreations{at]gmail.com and I can let you know details.
These are very limited in numbers and have been rather popular already so be quick to order yours! Available HERE


Stunning professional photography by Jennifer Scholting Photography - Thank you Jen!

How Monday the hobby horse got her name....

With only 4 weeks until we move house we have decided to do little bits and pieces here and there in preparation so we don't have such a massive job at the last minute.
So over the weekend we filled box after box with anything we won't need to use before the move, we did a bit of cleaning, had some items we sold on ebay picked up and even attacked our garden!
Our furniture is all over the place, boxes are starting to fill our garage and the house is generally just not set up like 'normal'.
This morning Milla was playing in our room while hubby was dressing for work and I was in the shower when she discovered a Hobby Horse I had purchased from Calamity Bolt a few months ago....


This gorgeous handmade horse was (until yesterday) hidden away ready for Christmas but with all the activity of the weekend we forgot to 're-hide' it last night - whoops!
After hubby and I got over the giggles from our hiding fail we named the horse Monday as she was discovered on a Monday morning.


Milla LOVES it and has been galloping around the house all day... I guess sometimes being organised with early Christmas shopping doesn't work! LOL!

Christmas Cookies In A Jar!

This is a fun and yummy Christmas gift that is the perfect answer to those gifts for teachers, neighbors, mothers group friends, babysitters... they are even just a great thing to have in your own cupboard to pull out and keep the kids entertained in the school holidays!
I originally saw the idea on Bakerella and loved it so much I bookmarked it months ago with the plan to use red and green M&M's and make them for Christmas but you could use any colour combination of M&M's or Smarties and use them for all kids of occasions like blue or pink for baby shower gifts, rainbow colours for party favors, orange black and white for Halloween, green for St Patrick's day... the possibilities are endless!

You will need:
Glass jar (the jar in the photo is from Spotlight)
Small off cuts or scraps of Christmas themed fabric
Ribbon or twine
Cardboard tags

Then in each glass jar place:
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour,
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup cooking oats
3/4 cup m&ms (you can buy the Christmas packs to get just red & green)
3/4 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup white sugar

Layer the ingredients in like this:
1st: flour, baking powder, baking soda
2nd: oats
3rd: M&M's
4th: chocolate chips
5th: brown sugar
6th: white sugar

If the jar doesn't completely fill place a layer of baking paper on top then stuff the rest of the jar with scrunched baking paper to keep all the ingredients packed in firm. Seal the jar with it's lid, place a piece of Christmas fabric over the top and tie a ribbon or similar around it. Next attach your small cardboard instruction tags with the following:

Add
1 slightly beaten egg
1/2 cup butter (melted slightly in the microwave)
1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Roll the cookie dough into small balls, place on biscuit baking tray and bake for about 10 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven.


So easy - Have fun!

Christmas gifts in the making....

Some people think I'm a little crazy other think I'm annoyingly organized but either way I'm having fun doing it.... I have started shopping and making things ready for Christmas gifts!
This is one I had to share... I found an easy tutorial on how to make this gorgeous Playmat HERE. So thanks to paypal and Etsy I bought a yard each of the fun Merryville & Street Stripe fabrics by Michael Miller and got to sewing.... I finished the final bits of hand sewing last night while sitting on the couch with a glass of wine and LOVE how it has turned out!!





It will be packed away now into the secret gift cupboard ready for my little man to tear open at Christmas time!

It was the night before Christmas...

Hooray for Christmas eve!!! Everyone is on holidays, relaxing, chatting, eating, and excited about tomorrow... what will Santa bring? I LOVE Christmas... always have and always will and now as a mum it has a whole new enjoyment to it with seeing my girls open gifts, play with the new toys and their cousins we spend the day with.

I just wanted to send a Merry Christmas wish to you and all of your families from me and my little family - Enjoy and I'll see you on the other side of Christmas day when we are looking to the beginning of a new year........
what are you New Years Resolutions for 2009?? maybe this list titled 'Things I've Done' that I found on the brand new blog Vanilla Pixie can help you decided:

The things that I have done are in bold. How about you? What have you done? What could you aim to do in 2009?

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child (a sponsor child - does that count??)
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Feel free to share the things that you have done, and leave me a comment if you blog about it too so we can compare.....

Merry Christmas xoxox

Handmade Christmas

This Christmas I stood by my pledge to buy handmade items for all my gifts and I just can't wait for Christmas day when I get to see the faces of my family and friends when they open all the unique and wonderful items I have found over the past few months by so many different and talented artisans out there.

Both sides of my family seem to be growing bigger and bigger with every passing year so this Christmas we decided that gift buying would be for the kids only and the adult presents would be done in Secret Santa style, meaning we would only have to buy 1 adult gift each... so much easier!!


It's been a blast searching for the perfect handmade gift for each person and I'm so pleased with all of my purchases


There is felt food from Crafts by Keri, ice block cozies from Bumblebeebaby Boutique, custom kid tags from Hootie Coo Company, Samurai pants from Boutique Mia, I Spy bags from The Crafting Corner, a Tractor back pack from Bags and Boxes, a crayon roll from Retro Rugrats, and if you look in the middle of the photo there seems to be a smudge... not really I have deliberately blurred an item that is for my sister and I know she reads my blog so I'll have to keep that one a surprise and tell you all about it after Christmas....

How has your Christmas shopping turned out?? did you take the handmade pledge and follow through with your promise?? Take a look HERE for all the reasons why buying handmade is such a great idea and HERE to take the Buy Handmade Pledge yourself if you haven't already!!