Magnetic Christmas Advent Calendar {using IKEA magnetic spice jars}

I love Christmas countdown calendars. I have made several different kinds in the past, and would probably sew one, if I had the patience for it. Years ago, that darn Martha Stewart made this one.  I finally got around to making my version this year.  {Twig and Thistle has a free download for for very cute numbers for this!}

I simply used my magnetic board that is always hanging in my kitchen and some magnetic spice jars from IKEA. These jars are about $4 for 3 of them. They can be used for anything, and I use these for other things throughout the year- such as paper clips, tacs, and small items like that. I could only fit 14 jars on my magnetic board -in the shape of a Christmas Tree, so that is what we are doing. I may change it and add more and not do it in a tree shape, but I really liked the tree shape, so that is what I did. {My kids won't care- we have lots of countdown advent calendars!}

I used scrapbook paper and rubber stamps to make my numbers. You could use anything. Then I filled each one with a few small objects or candy for the kids. Each day- starting on December 10th (since I only had 14 of them) we'll open up one. Some of them may include a fun activity we have planned- such as looking at Christmas lights, visiting Santa, etc.

I think this might be my easiest and favorite countdown calendar yet! Happy Holidays!

thanks for reading oxoxo

Butterscotch Bars

I made these a few months ago... and I haven't been making many sweet treats lately because I have been trying to lose some weight. And I'm not giving up on the weight loss part, but I might make these again tonight...cause sometimes you need a little sweet treat.

I found this recipe via pinterest.
Butterscotch Bars

8 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 cup unbleached flour

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup butterscotch chips

1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.

Grease and flour a 9x9 baking pan (I use Pam for Baking or Baker's Joy cooking spray).

Cream the sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a medium bowl until smooth.

Add the cooled butter and mix until well blended.

Measure the flour, salt and baking powder and sift directly into the batter.

Gently mix the batter until well combined and no traces of flour remain. Stir in the butterscotch and chocolate chips.

Spread batter into prepared baking pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with crumbs.

Cool for 1 hour. Cut into 12 or 16 squares.

You can get a printable version of the recipe from here.

{plus there is a mouth-watering picture over at that link too.}

thanks for reading! Happy Holidays!

Christmas Tree Healthy Snack or Appetizer

 Happy Black Friday! If you aren't out shopping, and over did it on Thanksgiving, this is a great healthy snack that the whole family will love- especially the kids! It is also a great idea to bring to those Christmas parties, if you want something more healthy among all those Christmas cookies.

 I saw this idea in Family Fun Magazine, but they used parsley. I used green leaf lettuce, cherry tomatoes, and cheese. Cut your cheese into little cubes or squares. Lay out your lettuce to form a tree shape- I used 2 leafs of lettuce. Lay everything out on a tray to form a tree.

I added a star to mine- with a cookie cutter I cut a small star from cheese- of course this was the part all the kids wanted to eat.  This was fun, simple, and easy to do, and my kids ate it all up.

Happy Holiday Season!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! Tonight we made our traditional handprint/footprint t-shirts. Here are few of the other crafts that have gone on at our house this month.

I had the preschoolers put on this cute turkey hat, and I sent a copy of the photo to their parents. My child, however, wanted to hold it like he was a "hunter" and be a piligrim guy like he saw in a book. That's my boy!!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! We have so much to be grateful for!!

DIY Christmas Decor & Gift Idea: Save the Date Blocks

 In October, I made up these little blocks for the holidays. (excuse the boring photos...but you get the idea.)  There were some 2 by 4's or 2 by 6's sitting in the garage, so I had my husband cut them up for me. I painted them a solid color, and then printed out the dates on my computer. I found a font I liked and played around with it until I got the right size. These are LARGE. I think I used the font at size 300. Here is the fun part. I applied the letters 2 different ways. I did some using freezer paper stencil. BUT an even easier way, was to print the letters, and use a sharp item- such as a ball point pen. Place the paper on top of the painted wood, and trace the letters onto the wood pressing very hard. When you are done, you have the outline of the letters in the wood. Now you just have to fill it in with paint. (I will try to do a tutorial on how I did this is if I just confused you...)  This is how I did the OCTOBER one. The other two are freezer paper stencils.  Of course you lucky people who own a fancy cutting machine, can just use that to make something like this.

 I thought it would be fun to make a few of these, Christmas, Halloween, Valentine's and the 4th of July, and give them as a gift-- to that person who likes holiday decor.  The best part of this is that it was FREE (already had the wood and paint) and EASY. After painting the dates on, I sanded the blocks lightly. This helps you to hide any mistakes, and give it that "old  shabby look." (don't ask me what it is called...)

Thanks for reading!

Crafting with Kids: Turkey Craft using Textures, & Cardboard Tubes

Is Thanksgiving really next week? I have almost skipped it this year. Not that I am not THANKFUL...I have skipped it in "blog land" trying to enjoy my children who are growing up so quickly!

This was a little turkey craft we did in preschool and I thought I would share it with you. Whenever I can, I try to combine at least two things in preschool. So we talked about textures and make a little turkey using different textures. The front is sandpaper, with felt pieces and googly eyes. We attached that do a cardboard tube (1/2 of a TP roll). For the feathers, we used coffee filters. Instead of markers, we colored them with crayons, since we had made the turkey with coffee filter craft before. That was it. I attached everything usinga  stapler or glue.  This was a cute craft because it can stand up all by itself! The kids enjoyed it!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Christmas Eclipse CD WINNER!

The winner of the Christmas CD by Eclipse is: #12 Aubrey!

Aubrey said...



I LOVE Christmas music...this would be great to have!!


Please contact me within 48 hours (comment -won't be published- or email me your contact information so I can get you your CD.  It is a great CD- if you love Acappella music, you just might want to add this one to your Christmas Music Collection!

Happy Holidays!

Shabby Apple Dresses Review -Teacher's Pet Skirt

  ***Christmas CD give-a-way ends SUNDAY. Make sure to enter if you like acappella music***

Sometimes I like to share with you some of my favorite things. I always make sure that these things are really my favorites- in that I have tried them myself. This skirt is one of those things! I wore this skirt Sunday, and got a ton of compliments on it. It comes from Shabby Apple, an online boutique specializing in women's dresses and little girl's dresses too. They have very stylish items and you can find anything from a white dress, a black dress, a sophisticated dress for a party, or a flirty vintage dress.

What I really love about Shabby Apple, is their fit guide. It is very accurate, and they have little tips on what size to order, depending on how the item runs. They even have a "generous fit" which is really nice when you are ordering online and can't try the item on. I also really like their designs. They have so many choices, you are not going to find everyone wearing your new dress at church - if you know what I mean. (wink wink)

So check out Shabby Apple. You can find them on Facebook here.  And if you order in the next 30 days, and use the code "littlegemscrafts10off" you can save 10 %!

Thanks for reading! Have a great weekend!

Give-a-way: Eclipse CD-It's Christmas Time

Have you been watching the Sing-Off on NBC? If so, you will love Eclipse.

Shadow Mountain Records, (a.k.a. Deseret Book) would like to give you a copy of this new Christmas CD from Eclipse.  Eclipse is a group of 6 guys, singing A cappella. They use no instruments, just their voices. They are so good, I had to check the CD case to make sure they weren't using any instruments.  This is their first Christmas CD since 2003. It was released on November 1st.

Their sound is so fresh, upbeat, and fun! This is a perfect CD to lift your spirits and put you in the Christmas mood!

If you want to listen to a sample, click here.

Want to win a copy?

LEAVE A COMMENT!

Give-a-way ends Sunday night, November 13th,  at midnight, P.S.T.

Good luck and thanks for reading!

WINNERS of the Shutterfly Christmas Cards!

I love when there can be multiple winners! And I love when Random.org picks numbers that aren't usually the numbers that get picked. So here are the 3 winners according to random.org. YOU MUST email me to get your code/prize within 48 hours, or I will pick a new winner.

Winner 1:
rebecca said...



Yay! I love Shutterfly! Maybe if I finally did these, they wouldn't looks so last minute:)


Winner 2:


The Clark's said...



I got free Christmas Cards from Shutterfly last year and they turned out amazing! I would love to get my Christmas Cards from them again!



Winner 3:
momto2boys said...



I Love shutterfly and I love your blog! We had some family pics made at the beach this year that would be perfect for Christmas cards...and free would be awesome!!! :) Thanks!


 Happy Monday! And Thanks for reading! Another little Christmas give-a-way will be up this week!

Give-a-way: Shutterfly Holiday Cards {for 3 readers}

I love Shutterfly. They have so many wonderful photo gifts and options to chose from. We just got some family photos done, and I can't wait to see the results so I can start putting together the annual "crazy" family Christmas card for this year. Shutterfly is here to help all of us with our holiday cards this year.

 Three readers will get a code good for 25 Holiday Cards from Shutterfly. Yay!

So what is so great about Shutterfly?

One of my favorite products they offer is the photo books. I have made several of these using Shutterfly. I love how easy their website is to use, and how great the books look! They also offer 100% Satisfaction Guarantee on their products. Not only that, but they also have fantastic prices on their photo books. I am hoping to use Shutterfly to make a few little books for my family for Christmas this year.

Last year, I used Shutterfly to make a custom calendar for my grandpa. He absolutely loved it. They actually have a deal going on right now on their calendars.

Shutterfly offers so many personalized photo products.

But since Christmas is around the corner, and we are all thinking about our holiday cards.....let me show you some of the great  designs Shutterfly has for this year:

  I love that they offer all kinds of designs and colors, as well as folded and flat greeting cards.

They really do have 100's of designs to chose from! There are so many great options, I might have to order a few different ones. (hee hee)

SO would you like free Christmas cards this year from Shutterfly?

Of course you would !

LEAVE A COMMENT.. (please remember that it is your job to contact me if you win. If I have not heard from you within 48 hours, I will pick a new winner.)

THREE- yes THREE READERS will get 25 FREE cards from Shutterfly!

This give-a-way will end on Sunday, November 6th, 2011, at midnight, P.S.T. Winners will be announced Monday. You must contact me within 48 hours or I will pick a new winner.

All opinions are 100% mine. I received no compensation for this post.

Thanks for reading! Good luck!