MOPS Worker's Gifts

I wanted to share with you the gift that we made during one of our MOPS meetings for our Moppets workers for Christmas.  We wanted to give them something to show we appreciated, but of course, we were on a limited budget for the year.

The Sparta MOPS right now has three round tables that we sit at for our meetings, so we divided making the bags into three different chores.  One table made the cocoa and bagged it up, one table made the card on the front, and the other table assembled and bagged everything up.  I wasn't sure how this would work out for us, but it went really smoothly and we had a great time working together, too!

 So, the inside of the bag had hot cocoa, a bag of mini marshmallows, a candy cane, peppermint stirring sticks, Hershey's kisses and Andes mints.

We had a cute poem that I found on the internet, but now I can't find it.  I am so sorry to whomever I stole it at this point.  I had it earmarked and for the life of me, I can't find it again!  Here's what it says:

Was told you've been real good this year,

Always glad to hear it.

With freezing weather drawing near,

You'll need to warm the spirit.  

So here's a little Snowman Soup,

Complete with stirring stick.

Just add hot water, sip it slow,

It's sure to do the trick!

We asked if there were people in our group if they wanted to contribute ingredients to make these, and we got donations for everything, except the bags!  We made enough so that each Mom in the group could take one home, plus six extras for our Moppets workers for around $4!  Not bad for Christmas gifts!

Check out those blogs I love to link up to.  Have a very blessed and Merry Christmas!

I'm sure most of you have been busy getting ready for the Christmas season, as I have also!  I've been so busy with getting my gifts made and some other major life changes, which I can't go into quite yet, that I haven't been posting as much as I'd like to.  I'm going to share one of the gifts I've been making for my daughter.  She asked for a large purse, so when I saw this pattern at I am Mama Hear Me Roar for a Tohoku bag, I knew that I had found a great purse for her.  I hope that she likes it, because I am very excited about it!It has a pleat in the front and I did the droopy bow.

I added a pocket with a larger section and a cell phone section.

 The material was from some that I had on hand.  The black, red, and white is a wool material and the top section is from a skirt that was gorgeous, but didn't look right on me.  It has a very fine pin stripe in it.  The inside of the purse is lined with the skirt lining - a satin.

 I made the handle out of the skirt belt.  I think that it turned out great and cost me nothing!

Make sure you check out all those wonderful blogs I love to hook up to in the right column!

Jesse Tree Update

I thought I would share an update of what we did for our Jesse Tree.  I put up our biggest fake tree in the middle island between the kitchen and living room with just lights on it, and then each day, we'll update it with the new ornaments.  I actually made three copies of the ornaments, so that we can use two, and then I'll save a hard copy for next year, if I want.

Oh, my daughter made the wreath at MOPS last week, so that had to be added to the Jesse Tree!  Cute, huh?

Here's a closer look at the ornament.  It's really simple and cheap to make.  I just used some leftover scrapbook paper, cut into a 3"x3" square and then used a Corner Rounder to make the corners pretty.

If you missed that link, here's the post for the Free Jesse Tree Printable!  Don't forget to check out those blogs that I love to link up to on the right column.

Free Jesse Tree Printables

I don't have a picture for this project, because I am going to do it for the very first time starting December 1st, but I wanted to share it with you also, so you can use it too.  The best thing is that it is free to do with your kids.  

I don't know if you know what a Jesse Tree is, but the printable actually describes it for you.  Basically, you can read a scripture story to your young children, while they color a corresponding ornament.  You cut them out and attach it to a 3"x3" card stock or scrapbook paper and hang them from a tree.  I think it's a great way to focus your kid's perception of Christmas onto the actual story of Christ.  

Here's the link: Jesse Tree Ornaments

Really Great Deals for You!

Sorry that this is late, but probably like a lot of you, I have been busy getting all of the Black Friday deals and then recovering!  Please consider ordering from my website HERE!  If you haven't taken a look at Creative Memories for a long time - you will be pleasantly surprised at the changes!

Dori Stowell Your Independent Creative Memories Consultant My Website Link doristowell@yahoo.com

Shabby Birdie

I just wanted to share with you a little shabby birdie that I included with an order for someone on Etsy.  It is going with four of my Chenille Stockings - so I made it all white to go with them.  I am trying to just go the extra mile with my orders for my Etsy shop, so thought it would be exciting to get a Christmas ornament that I wasn't expecting.

 I used a scrap of the Chenille to make the bird body and then a scrap of a floral cotton for the wing.

 I little stuffing makes this little birdie seem more real.

I especially love the clear antique button, with it's original threads still in the holes.  Love it!

Let me know what you think and check out the blogs I love to link up to on the right column.  Oh, and if you are inclined, please check out my Etsy Shop.  I've been listing a lot of things for Christmas gifts.

Ruffles and Burlap

As you know, I have been getting busy for a craft show with some friends this last weekend.  One of the things that I really wanted to make, but just didn't get to was a burlap table runner.  So one hour before set up, I set out to make a burlap table runner with ruffles.  This turned out to be my absolute favorite item that I made, and of course it sold!  I thought I would share this beauty!It was 17 inches X 55 inches long.  It went the whole length of my table and had some hanging over.

 I put ruffles on each end of the runner.  The burlap was from a coffee sack and the ruffle from the edge of the material I used to back a quilt a few years back.  It was already cut and folded in half, so it was perfect for this project.

 I measured it out to have this stripe down the middle of the runner.  It was down the middle of the sack.

I love the fact that it even had some markings from use.  Give sit more character.

I am going to have to make some more of these for sure...what do you think?  Make sure to check out some of the blogs in the right column that I love to link up to.