The Magical Sound Of Things

That's what Emmeline can hear without her CI.  One of Emmeline's sweet friends (Natalie) from school had her 3rd hearing birthday today, well maybe yesterday by the time I post this. It's a full on celebration! It got me thinking.  Around this time last year I was with the Audiologist hearing something no parent wants to hear.  You can read about it here and here.  My daughter had lost the remainder of the hearing in her left ear and quite a bit in her right.  I would think I wouldn't take it so hard when I am told things like this as it happens more frequently then one might think.  I still do.  It still makes me tear up thinking about how hard her life is/will be.  We are doing our best to make it easier but it still hurts.  She works so hard.  We all do, but not like her.  Well, maybe Isa does.  That is one tough cookie!  Anyway, watching this other family who has had this similar trial has been great.  Their family is so sweet.  We have really loved getting to know them.   I think we have come up with a new celebration for our house this summer!
Some days I feel all motivational, some days not so much. Yesterday at Auditory Verbal Therapy Miss Sara asked me if I would be willing to participate in a parent to parent panel for hard of hearing families. I jokingly asked if I would be the one getting the support or giving it.  I was only joking.  I feel totally unqualified to be giving anyone advice on any of this.  It's really difficult and heart breaking.  It was a not so motivational day.  Then I watched this and remembered it can be uplifting too :)  It's a video Natalie's parents made about her journey.  These kids are SO AWESOME! and loved by so many! I think I could handle a support group.  Today anyway.

Keepsake Ornaments

So this craft is kind of old, as I did it before Christmas but just now got the pictures off my phone.  To start, have a baby, graduate from something or have some other life event that has something tiny associated with it. Then buy a pack of these, glass ball ornaments from any craft store around the holidays.

 Then stuff tiny keepsake in said ornament. Be gentle.  You don't want the glass to break and slice you.

Pop the top back on and...Tada! Memories preserved!

I then wrote whatever the heck I wanted on the outside.  In this case, Isa's name and birth date. 

Repeat for Emmeline

I had quite a difficult time with this because apparently the '13 was barely too large to fit in the hole :(  The Josh came up the the brilliant idea (he is a Dr) to just take the # off and then tie it to the top with ribbon.

 Dr Harris

I have no totally finished product to show you because I just remembered these after I took down all our Christmas stuff so, sorry.

I would tell you how much it cost to acquire these keepsakes but that might be in bad taste.  But they ain't cheap!!!

The supply costs were:

$2.50 for the 4 pack of ornaments at 50% off with a coupon

I reused the oil based Sharpies from the Very Potter Christmas mug but the are around $3.50 full price (use a coupon!!)

Scrap Ribbon Christmas Shirt

I had a bunch of random ribbon left from some other crafts and I found a really cute idea. Start with 3-4 different ribbon scraps.  I made one for Isa and Emmeline so I needed more of some so keep that in mind if you are making multiples.  

You'll also need this.  Fabric crafting glue.

Cut them in tapering lengths to make a tree type shape. Just eye ball it.  I also burned the ends of my ribbon to keep them from fraying.

Then glue ti down using your fabric glue.  Keep in mind this glue wont wash out so it it gets on things it stains. I also got a spool of sliver ribbon for the bow on top.  I did not use glue on the top, I sewed it.  Since it's so bumpy it wouldn't stick well.  

Here are my cuties in their matching Christmas shirts.  Emmeline didn't really want to have her picture taken but with some antics from Isa she warmed up to it.  Sweet girls.  I'll post about the PJ pants later but just a plug for myself, I made them:)

Price Breakdown:

When I got the ribbons they were .98 per spool.  I had them left over so I wont count those.  Just wait until you have left overs to make it:$0

Silver ribbon: I did buy that one just for this project so - .98

Fabric glue: $1.75 with 50% off coupon

Total: $2.73

Happy Christmas Mug

Someone in our house might be a Harry Potter fan.  I'm just saying.  So, you can understand why I NEEDED to make this, for so many reasons.

I have never done a oil based Sharpie mug before and I am not very good at it.  After several attempts to draw it free hand I ended up making a pattern.

My cute .99 store mug.  I opted for one that was slightly square.

Here is the Sharpie.  It HAS to be oil based.  You can find them at any craft store.  I bought a multi pack but the green was lime color and I ended up buying a single dark green as well.

I cleaned it off and restarted a couple times but here is the tree outline.

I ran into a problem.  Well, two problems.  First my black Sharpie wasn't fine tipped enough so I couldn't do a Hallows for the As and two the yellow was not as dark as I wanted it.  So I had to go get another pen that was finer for the black. But I was too cheap to get another yellow too.

After you get it colored in put your mug into the oven on a baking sheet and THEN set it to 250 degrees and when it comes to temp set a timer for 25-30 minutes.  After the timer goes off, turn off the oven but leave your mug in there until they both cool down.  Tada! My handwriting is pretty atrocious and at the end I realized that my Christmas was a little off center but I wasn't about to erase it again.  I have washed mine pretty aggressively but I haven't tried the dishwasher yet.

Price Breakdown:

Mug: $1.00

Multi pack of oil based paint pens: $2.99 with 50% off coupon

2 additional pen singles: $1.75 each with 50% off coupons

Total: $7.50

Handy Christmas Tree

I got a couple canvases a while ago but had no plan for them. But then I found an adorable Christmas project.

First make a star and stump stencil.  This stump is WAY too big.  I ended up trimming it down quite a bit.

Dish out your green paint...

and paint some tiny, and not so tiny (why is Isa so huge?!) hands.

Then press the open hands on your canvas in a tree type pattern.  I used Isa's larger hands for the bottom of the tree and Emmeline for the top.

Emmeline's hands ended up being a bit smudged.  It was a bit much for her sensory wise but she was a trooper.  She just REALLY wanted to rub after I put her hand down. Note the HUGE stump.

Trace your star and paint it in.

It will probably take several coats.

Big stump

Trimmed down trunk.  I just painted over the brown with several coats of white after the brown dried.

Finished product.  I also made one for a gift which I think turned out even better.

Price Breakdown:

Canvas: I got 2 16X20 for 7.99 but I think you could get cheaper if you bought more in a pack and combined  a sale.

Paint: again, I used paint on hand but it would be .59 per bottle.

Total: We will call it $4.75 each but that's only if you buy paint.

The Other Piece Of Wood

So after I did the State Nail Art for Josh I had half of the 2 by 2 board left.  It ended up being the perfect size for my reindeer sign from Pinterest.  

First paint the base whatever color you want.  Then take a horribly shadowed picture of your board.  It's a vital step.

I got these stencils at Lowes for a project I did last year for my dad.  They ended up being just the right size for this project but you could do it on a smaller board if you got smaller stencils.

I did the first and last letter of each reindeer's names to make sure my spacing was OK.  Emmeline helped.

Then just try and space out the remaining letters in each name to fill the space.

They are a little tedious to paint in but not too bad.  I just used black but you could do any color.  I just think it helps the finished product pop more.

Paint all the letters black except the O in Rudolph.  That one is red (for the nose).  After the red dried put just a touch of white on it to make it look shiny.  Isa REALLY wanted me to put little beams of light coming off of it but I was really afraid it would be too much.

Finished product.

Price breakdown:

Board: $3.23

Paint: I used paint I had on hand but if you bought it it would be .59 each

Stencils: I already had those too but I am going to count them because most people wont have then just laying around: $2.50

Total: $5.73