Oh, Christmas Tree!

Taylor had to decorate a Christmas Tree for homework and one can't make something without the other making one, too. So, using Taylor's tree as a guide, I drew a similar tree for Megan. Then, we went to the local craft store for goodies to decorate them with. The laundry list of stuff we got was huge - and most of it involved glitter or sparkles of some kind. The resulting trees are quite fabulous and oh, so sparkly!

Our own art gallery

There is no shortage of masterpieces that are created in our house and our old method of displaying them just wasn't cutting it. So, I created our own art gallery in the hallway. It was so easy to do and the girls love being able to change out their creations themselves. This is how you can create your own art gallery, too!

1. Pick out 3-4 different colors of paint (I used those small samples of wall paint that you can get at home improvement stores.

2. Paint solid color rectangles on the wall. Since creations can be made with the paper in portrait or landscape configuration, make sure you don't make them all the same direction. Make the rectangles larger than the size of paper that will be hanging in them so it will act like a painted "frame" around the picture once it's hanging. I did mine all by hand, but if the looseness of that will get your blood pressure going, use a level and a ruler to make the lines perfectly straight.

3. Paint swirls, stripes or polka dots on the rectangles so that they'll look fabulous even if there isn't a picture hanging on them. Use your imagination and have fun!

4. Head to the office supply store and pick up some binder clips or bulldog clips to hold the artwork. (I found my fancy clips at Staples). I put half of a Velcro dot on the clip and the other half on the wall. That way, the girls can pull the clips down easily to change out their artwork and then hang them back up again.

Decorating pumpkins

Yesterday the girls and I decorated mini pumpkins. I debated whether or not I wanted to get out the paint, since the end result would be so much cuter, but in the end I went with the Sharpies. Much faster, and much less mess involved. Of course, our color choices were limited, but the girls didn't seem to mind. They both had a lot of fun decorating their little pumpkin people. Taylor followed my lead and did a girl, Megan went off in her own direction and created quite the little alien. Meg apparently has quite the fondness for google eyes! Our creations are now happily gracing our kitchen counters.