Pine Cone Ornaments

Pine cones are natural ornaments. When you add paint, glitter and ribbons, they become stunning ornaments for Christmas trees.

Need:

- Pinecones

- Paint (any colors you want)

- Paintbrush

- Spray paint

- Glitter

- Cinnamon

- Water and Elmer’s glue mixture

- Small paper bags

- Ribbon

Instructions:

1. Buy pine cones from a craft store or hunt for pine cones in your area.

2. If you collect pine cones from nature, rinse them under running water, set on cookie sheets, and back for 20 minutes at 250 degrees. Once they’re cool, it’s time to decorate them.

Option #1 Paint:

1. Using a paintbrush, paint the pine cone bristles any colors you want. You can get creative with the pattern, too.

2. When the paint is dry, tie on a ribbon or a piece of yarn to the piece sticking out the top of the pine cone.

3. Hang and admire.

Option #2 Spray Paint:

1. Choose a spray paint. Silver or gold are especially beautiful. In a well ventilated area, with newspaper on the ground, lay down the pine cones and spray thoroughly on all sides.

2. When the spray paint is dry, tie on a ribbon or a piece of yarn to the piece sticking out the top of the pine cone.

3. Hang and admire.

Option #3 Cinnamon and Glitter

1. Mix a little bit of water with Elmer’s glue until you have a texture like milk.

2. Dump glitter into a paper bag with some cinnamon. You can experiment by shaking the glitter and cinnamon together and taking a look at it. Want more glitter? Add more.

3. Use a paintbrush to paint the water and glue mixture on the pine cone’s petals.

4. Drop the pine cone in the bag and shake as if you’re shaking a bag of chicken.

5. Remove the pine cone and let dry.

6. You can put together multiple bags with a different colored glitter. Red, green, silver, and gold glitter are great for this time of the year.

7. You also add other spices to the cinnamon such as clove. Whatever spice you like the smell of.

8. Tie on a ribbon or yarn to the piece sticking out of the top of the pine cone.

9. Hang and admire.

TIP: You don’t even need to add a ribbon to hang it but place a bunch in a bowl for a pretty centerpiece. 

QUESTION: Do you like arts and crafts?

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Note: Feeling sick today. I'll return comments when I can. :)

Harry Potter Wand Art Project + You.I.Us Blog Tour

You. I. Us. is a collection of vignettes, small scenes which hint at the story beneath. Annalisa Crawford has taken that idea to another level, because she asked 15 bloggers to ask her one question each, creating small insights into her life and writing.

MY QUESTION: If you could be any Harry Potter character (good or bad), who would you be and why?

ANNALISA'S ANSWER: When I first saw your question, Chrys, I knew my answer straight away!

I would be Luna Lovegood.

She’s weird, and everyone gives her a wide berth to begin with, but she—like so many of the other minor characters—steps up when needed and proves her true worth. She has the strength to be herself no matter what everyone else says, and to stick to her beliefs. Over time, the other characters come to appreciate her for who she is.

I think that’s such a great lesson to teach kids, and adults to some extent. I was never that popular at school, but I learned to embrace who I was.

You. I. Us.

Publication date: June 10, 2016

Genre: Short Stories (Single Author)

Amazon // Barnes & Noble // Book Depository // Kobo // iBooks // Nook

In You. I. Us., Annalisa Crawford captures everyday people during  poignant defining moments in their lives: An artist puts his heart into his latest sketch, an elderly couple endures scrutiny by a fellow diner, an ex-student attempts to make amends with a girl she bullied at school, a teenager holds vigil at his friend’s hospital bedside, long distance lovers promise complete devotion, a broken-hearted widow stares into the sea from the edge of a cliff where her husband died, a grieving son contacts the only person he can rely on in a moment of crisis, a group of middle-aged friends inspire each other to live remarkable lives.

Day after day, we make the same choices. But after reading You. I. Us., you’ll ask yourself, “What if we didn’t?”

About the Author:

Annalisa Crawford lives in Cornwall UK, with a good supply of moorland and beaches to keep her inspired. She lives with her husband, two sons, a dog and a cat. Annalisa writes dark contemporary, character-driven stories. She has been winning competitions and publishing short stories in small press journals for many years, and is the author of Cat & The Dreamer and Our Beautiful Child. www.annalisacrawford.com

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Harry Potter Wand Project

By Chrys Fey

During winter break I watched the Harry Potter movies with my nephews for the first time, and they became so crazy in love with the world of Harry Potter that they wanted to play with wands and run around outside shouting spells at each other. Being the cool, clever, child-at-heart auntie that I am, I created a fun art project so we could all play together like real wizards. 

What You Need:

-       A smooth stick

-       Kid-safe paint

-       Paint brushes

-       Glitter

-       Fabric

-       Feathers (not necessary)

-       Elmer’s Glue

-       Newspaper

My youngest nephew's wand is the blue one. Mine is in the middle.
And the black one with the feather is my oldest nephew's wand.

Instructions:

1. Hunt along the side of the road, near the woods, or in your backyard for smooth sticks that are about a foot long. Clean the sticks and lay down newspaper on the surface you want to use.

2. Let the kids paint one side of their stick. Once it’s dried, turn it over, and have them paint the other side. Unless you have a stand so they can paint all around it at once.

3. Paint glue around the tip of the stick, about two inches, and sprinkle it with glitter. This is the magic coming out of their wand. ;)

4. Put glue on the opposite end and fix a piece of fabric around the stick to create a handle. If the fabric is long and wraps around a few times, you’ll need to add more glue. This piece of fabric is mostly for comfort.

5. You can add feathers to the end of the wand where the fabric handle is, or any other decoration you want, such as ribbons.

Our Harry Potter Game:

-          Decide who will be bad and who will be good. There’s usually one bad one among the three of us.  Pick names. I’m Hermione when I’m good, and Bellatrix LeStrange when I’m bad.

-          For a list of spells go to HarryPotter.wikia.com

-          Have the bad witch or wizard count to ten while the good witches/wizards run and hide.

-          For certain spells, create rules. Ex: If someone yells “Expelliarmus,” which is the disarming spell, you have to toss your wand to the ground.

-          If someone says "Reducto," you have to pause for about five seconds (dazed or wounded) before you can start running again.

-          If someone says the killing spell before you can say a spell, you’re done. LOL

Now go out and have fun! This is surprisingly great cardio.

Nature in a Frame - A Kid's Project

BLOG TOUR:

DCRelief - Flour Tortilla Pizza Recipe 

Tasha's Thinks - Witch Facts 

Lori L MacLaughlin's Blog - Witch of Death Character Profiles

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I’ve got a kid’s nature project that you can do with your kids, grandkids, or nieces and nephews. I did this project with my nephews when they were younger. It’s easy and fun.

Nature in a Frame

Need:

·         A picture frame

·         White glue

·         Flowers, leaves, etc.

·         A paper bag or basket for collecting

·         Glitter for extra decorating

Steps:

1. Take the kids to a park, your backward, or some other area that is rich in nature where the kids can pick up leaves, flowers, petals, grass, and whatever else they see that catches their fancy.

TIP #1: Give the kids a paper bag or basket to hold their nature goodies. 

TIP #2:  Keep an eye on them. Not only can they wonder, but they may end up picking something up that is not good, such as a cigarette butt. My oldest nephew found a bottle cap. When I told him he couldn’t use it he said, “But you said anything.” Yes, the one time he listens. :P

Carmello, my youngest nephew, loved his big leaf.

2. When you’re back home, lay out the items they found on a table. Cut a piece of paper (any color) that they can glue their findings onto.

3. Give them glue and let them apply glue to the items and stick them on the paper in whatever pattern they want. (My oldest nephew said he made a ninja.)

TIP #3: Make sure they leave a little edge so the flowers, etc. don’t get crushed by the frame. 

TIP #4: Teach them how to use only a little bit of glue. (Just a dot, not a lot.)

4. When they are done, put the frame back together. Show them their masterpiece and find a place for it on the wall.

TIP #5: If they want to use a stick, find a deep frame or remove the glass.

TIP #6: You can have them write their names at the top of the paper and even put glitter on it like my nephews did.

Mello's Nature Ninja.

Carmello's Nature in a Frame.

Happy Spring!

QUESTION: What's your favorite project to do with kids in the spring?