Our winter has been so mild, I wasn't sure if we were ever going to be able to create (and enjoy) an ice wreath. I had seen the idea all over the internet, as well as in "The Rhythm of Family" by Amanda Blake Soule. And I just happened to have some seasonal pine-cones and greenery still decorating our house here and there...(ahem). Lucky for us, the colder weather moved in and decided to stay awhile! So we set to work before it changed its mind.

I first froze a small layer of water in the bottom of a bundt pan. Our next steps were donning a crown (highly recommended), then adding our decorations.
First we added our greenery and pine-cones. Then we included some seeds and frozen cherries for the birdies to eat when it melts. A ribbon was added for hanging, then a layer of water. We left room for one more layer as suggested by several people to help keep all the goodies from falling out at once. We froze it, then added more water. Then, when the last layer was frozen...
we hung it outside! This is where it started, but we couldn't see it from the house. So it was moved right outside our kitchen window where we could appreciate it. It's also a handy weather gauge to check on throughout the day and talk about. It hasn't begun to melt yet, so perhaps we'll have a winter after all!

Sidenote: For older kids I think it would be fun to keep an observation notebook where they could record the outside temperature throughout the day and the status of the wreath- same, slowly melting, quickly melting, etc. Wouldn't that be a fun classroom project?

Yes, you read that correctly. You can create this dough in (less than) 10 minutes, let it rise overnight, bake it for an hour and end up with this...

This came from my oven, and I can't even begin to describe how tickled I am. And did I add that you don't even have to knead it? If I didn't make it- and eat it!- myself I'd never believe it. Go here to grab the recipe yourself so you can make it & tell me what you think. I see lots of snowy days & hot crusty sandwiches in our future... (yum)

Update: In response to questions, I used a large enameled dutch oven. It's also helpful to know that I always make sure my water is around 110 degrees (give or take 5 degrees). Some people can just tell "very warm water", after years of baking I've realized I'm not one of them! Thank heavens for candy thermometers. I also substituted one cup of fine whole wheat flour for one cup all purpose, because a little hidden healthy goodness is never a bad thing around here. Especially when it tastes this good!

I loved this shirt. It was worn through two baby bellies- and for a bit in-between. And you could tell. Halfway through this past summer while it was adorning baby belly number two I started to notice a small stain here... and here... and here... And I vowed that, after baby, I would make myself give up the shirt. But then as I started to place it in our donation pile I had to stop & admire it once more. And then I had a vision of a little dress...


And success! The straps became tie straps, the sides brought in & Isia has a new "twirly" dress for playing outside this summer. Wouldn't this make a perfect fairy dress too? Hmm...

It was really fun to see Christmas through the eyes of a two-year-old this year. Santa lived, reindeer flew, and magic abounded. I had a long list of traditions I wanted to begin, finally settling on a few that fit into our time & left my sanity intact. We decorated cookies, drove around to see Christmas lights, snuggled to "Frosty the Snowman," and painted our own wrapping paper.

This was our best Christmas project this year. I started buying presents in July because I knew an August baby was going to make my holiday much more interesting. I was inspired by an earlier project this year- we sent a package to a college friend & I let Isia paint the box. Then we both drew on top of the paint. It made the post-lady smile. So I thought how cute- and thrifty- would it be to use up my brown craft paper to wrap presents, then paint or color them? Some presents ended up more decorated then others- depending on her attention span of the day- but all had a dash of color. There were also Christmas tree potato prints onto newspaper when a friend came to play. I used to cut a potato just in half and then use both halves, but I tried something different this time and it worked much better. I just shaved off a fifth of a long side, which left me more room to make a deeper image and- more importantly- a larger end for little chubby hands to grasp. Of course, the stamping lasted for five minutes before it became finger-painting & somehow they both ended up with red noses :)

Final thought, in order to make the painting more "Christmas-y" I limited her palette to red & green, but I might rethink this for next year. Especially as she's sure to have more opinions as a three-year-old. Why can't a present be yellow or purple or...? And I'd like to include glitter next year- I was a bit nervous of a glitter-encrusted living room if a tantrum begun. I'll try to be braver next year!

Time flies when you're having fun... especially when that includes raising a toddler! A recent goal has been to create more, as well as share that creativity more with those outside our household. Here is what we've been crafting lately, as well as some inspiration. Hope you find some too!


Isia painting onto the construction paper. I also had a heart stamp carved from half a potato for her to stamp with, but she was most interested in painting. This gave me the chance to join in the fun and help with the stamping myself!


I knew I hadn't been creating enough when I realized I was out of the 4x6 envelopes and thought about waiting to send them off until I bought more. Much cheaper- and craftier- was taking apart a used 4x6 envelope and tracing them onto spare art paper I already had. And, I am proud to say, the final product was in the mail early for Valentine's Day.

Where did I get this great idea for painting water on chalkboard? From this blog-
The Artful Parent - which I have been loving. So many great ideas for little kiddos! As you saw above, Isia loves painting and she was really fascinated with the water. I was a fan of the easy clean-up!