Merry Christmas ……

Image from carwheelcookie.

Merry Christmas….hope you have a cool one.

Christmas Concerts, Art Exhibitions, Music Exams, Sports Finals and Presentation Days…….among other things!

9 year old (silly hat) and the school orchestra at the school church service.

Premiers 2012. Spot the 12 year old blondie.

At the exhibition. 14 year old.

6 year old. Not to be outdone!

That about says it all!

Phew…..

Bring on next year!

Advent 2012 ….. part d (the great fiasco)

…..week 3 Advent 2012

16: Sunday

Activity: Serve lunch to NTE mission team and church. 14year old, 9 year old, Tim and I did this one. 6 year old did her best to not need much supervision. A few other families from church helped as well. All in all pretty successful. (12 year old had a birthday party so was unable to participate.)

Had a bible verse planned but didn’t read it.

Extra Joy: Tim and the girls went to the local coffee shops Christmas party. I was all talked out and couldn’t face another conversation so stayed at home.

17: Monday

Activity: Dinner with Cousins. Really, really fun. With almost 3 teens (taking up much space) we are moving into a new phase of fun. Great fun joking about which mediocre superpower we would want…… which super power we think would be not very useful to us.

…..and how much enjoying movies can cost us.

I am loving this new phase of life with no bottoms to wipe or children to hand feed. Wasn’t sure I’d make it…. but we have. Hang in there if you’re not there yet. Older kids can be very funny and helpful and entertaining.

18: Tuesday too pooped for anything. Didn’t do the things planned.

…. a great post by Jodi of  ’Sewfearless’ came into my inbox today, and it really rang true this year. Have a read if you feel like you are failing Christmas. We don’t even have a family photo all together that would have made a great Christmas card.

19: Wednesday Last day of school YAAAAAY

Activity:

Dinner with family friends (planned). Great to get to know friends better and better.

Had a reading but didn’t read it.

20: Thursday

Had things planned but ended up at the pool with school friends and families… Great time. Had other activities planned and readings to read, but didn’t do them.

21: Friday

Didn’t do our reading for advent, although we had planned to, just enjoyed each others company….. over the activity.

Activity: Watch a christmas DVD We all enjoyed Arthur Christmas.

Pleasantly surprised by the number of nativities! The Salvo’s playing carols in a front yard, kids busking for charity…..even an ice-cream van!

22: Saturday

Last minute christmas shopping and packing for holidays.

Extra Joy: We did surprise the girls today, giving them a set amount of money to spend at our favourite book shop in the city. What a great treat it is to have kids who love reading. Tim and I even indulged in some holiday reading.

Did our activity though…..

Activity: Go and see the Local Christmas Lights.

Red tail-lights in the local Christmas Light traffic jam.

Not really being very faithful with our advent this year. I am thinking a ‘non-christmas’ month of readings and activities may be a good idea. We have loved being together though and spending time with friends. I guess it’s good to embrace the moment and not be a control freak!

Some people take their Christmas lights very seriously.

Advent 2012 …… part c (otherwise known as ….Are you really doing Advent?)

Week 2 Advent 2012.

9: Sunday: Catch-up time

Reading: Luke 1: 26-56

Activity: Talk through the different names given to Jesus. Make a Christmas ball  for our tree with the names of Jesus in it. Planned but not done.

Think about someone in our lives that serves us and make them a Christmas ball. (planned but not done)

Charades with lolly pops in our mouths Funny …as always. Made up 2 new categories. “Youtube” and “Theatre” Great fun.

Baked dinner…… potatoes!

10: Monday

Reading: Luke 1: 57-66

Activity: Talk through the passage. Eat a baked dinner together. Took advantage of a coolish day to add this one in. I like to have one in December if we can.

After much concentration the village is made.

Build a lego village together. Super fun. I lashed out and bought a fabulous Christmas set of lego for the family to enjoy each year. It lights up and makes the cutest village scene. The relevance was tenuous….. but was a nod to the community that Elizabeth and Zechariah were part of when John was born.

Half of our family enjoy written instructions.

Extra Joy: Making got intense….left to me and 14 year old. Tim tool the others for a late night scooter in their PJ’s

11: Tuesday didn’t happen…. too many comings and goings.

12: Wednesday (did Tuesdays)

Reading: Luke 1: 67-80 

Activity: Christmas Ball snakes. We ate a jelly snake (representing sin) each. Talked about how sin often comes in very attractive packaging, and how once forgiven (eaten) we have a fresh start (empty glass ball)

Extra Joy: The girls all started inventing advent calendar ideas, including 24 walks, ‘jenga’ advent, 24 travel days…. and the list went on.

Extra Extra Joy: Lead by 6 year old each of the girls gave us a ‘Tell and Show’ (You must tell before you show) Lots of fun.

13: Thursday didn’t happen

Goodbye Mrs Sinclair.

14: Friday activities planned but spent the evenings farewelling special friends. Firstly Mrs Sinclair a kinder/Y1 teacher who three of my four girls had….9 year old for 2 years….. She is off to be the Principal at Tempe. Lucky you. Very sad.

Like one big family.

Then goodbye to our lovely friends Klint and Kirsty. Off back to Brisbane after being an enormous encouragement to us (and others I am sure) being some of the first Joshua Tree members. Sadly our involvement in The Joshua Tree has ended but many fabulous friendships remain. I’m sure we will see you again soon.

I love this photo. Looks like 6 year old is pushing us all over!

15: Saturday again we had activities planned but December got the better of us.

Room make-overing (more on this later), birthday party craft (this too) and Summer Hill Church’s Twilight Markets to raise money for tear.

I sat with the youth kids and wrapped presents (badly) for donations. They made about $40 and had a ball.

Hopefully this coming week we can show a bit more commitment to the cause of advent ….. although giving it up to love and serve our community and each other has great value I think.

How is your advent tracking?

 

 

 

How Pinteresting is….. harrysdesk?

Angels from the Christmas collection. Upcycled from men’s neckties.

As no-one was forthcoming with another Pinteresting idea, I decided to make a board of the items available via my etsy shop this Christmas.

If you have been following along, you will know it has been a very slow year for harrysdesk. Although all the girls are now in school, I have missed my studio greatly. Unfortunately, I haven’t designed a decoration for Christmas this year, but still have some of the past years designs available.

I have a few more items to upload over the coming weeks, so pop back, if you like, and see whats new. I hope to add more owls, hair-ties and t-shirts…… so watch this space.

Now it’s your turn!

What should my next Pinteresting idea be?

You can choose by commenting below.

It can be as quirky or conservative as you like!

 

Advent 2012……. part a

Advent 2012.

Well…. it’s here. The first of December and the kids are super excited about the calendar this year.

Since last advent we have moved house…. so no fireplace to form the backdrop to our countdown. We even had to rearrange the lounge room last weekend to make space for the Christmas tree!

As I was preparing this past week, Tim said he had just this year realised, that I was going to do ‘this advent thing’ every year. He then said he was glad. We don’t have that many traditions that are just for our little family.

So….. bring on the manic month of December….. and we will keep reminding ourselves that Christmas is all about Jesus! We will be using the Luke readings we used a couple of years ago…. and some of the activities that really worked. I have included some new activities as well this year. The contents of the glass balls give a hint to what we might be doing. Can you guess any?

Are you adventing this year? I would love to hear your plans.

A string of advent balls.

 

 

Scallyoop Scoop!

Tuxedo Sam (other characters available) USB sticks.

Today I want to tell you all about a fantastic online store.

It’s owned by my fabulous little sister Hayley and a friend… so I am a little bias in my recommendation…. but after I have shown you a small selection of an enormous range of products, I am sure you will agree with me.

Firstly, I will show you some of the items we have enjoyed from Scallyoop and a few reasons why I like them…. and then give you my recommendations for Christmas….. and leave you with a special offer!

Tuxedo Sam (and Friends) USB stick. 14 year old has one and loves it! Once the kids get to high school the USB becomes their best friend. These little guys wont be lost like the boring generic kind…. and are easily recognisable. Even Dad’s and nephew’s would enjoy these.

Djeco Art Nouveau Workshop.

Djeco make fabulous product. They provide great structured art projects which are vital for building skills. Over the years we have enjoyed many of these craft boxes. They are beautiful indeed.

Covering crafts from colouring, collage, puppet making, folding and knitting these sets ….made for boys as well as girls are highly recommended.

Made by the same company (and often included in the kits) are these felt painting textas and oil pastels. Be warned however….once you buy a child these beautiful textas they will never want normal ones. They make truly beautiful marks and last and last. Well worth the investment.

The oil pastels are also lovely to create art with. you will want to sit alongside your child and draw with them. I think they are better for older children ….. maybe 8+ as they can be a little messy (like oil pastels are)

Felt paint textas.

Oil Pastels.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ni Hao Noodle Bowl. Now $19.95

The Ni Hao Noodle bowl is a fun way to introduce chopsticks to your children. The set comes with a noodle bowl, a patterned plate and a cute set of ‘kid friendly’ chopsticks. The little rubber man holds the chopsticks together making the pinching action that much easier! ….almost like holding a pencil and squeezing. A great gift for 6+ noodle lovers.

 

Roll-up chalk placemat.

We have enjoyed our chalk placement outside and inside. The girls use it to make signs on the cubby house and I sometimes use it to write a list of jobs for them to do…. It’s so much more fun to rub a job off with your hand after doing it!

Alice in Wonderland necklace or brooch.

What is not to love about this sweet Alice in Wonderland necklace (also available as a brooch)? Wood cut and light. Beautiful. You can also get other Alice in Wonderland characters.

Ride on Lady Bug.

The ride on bug.… yes, sadly we are past this, but have many fond memories of the girls zooming around on these. Stylistically so much more beautiful than the plastic ride on…and great for imaginary play.

Skwish classic.

Past this one too but loved it when the girls were very little. I loved the lightness of the elastic and wood….didn’t hurt when it inevitably hit them in the face! Skish Classic.

Throwing Game Klop.

I think my all time favourite gift from Scallyoop is Klop. A fantastic park game. It plays like a cross between bowls and boules with a twist or two.

Our family regularly take Klop to the park just with us or with friends and play across generations. The game is well weighted so adult or child can win….. but it’s not all luck. Brilliant!

Now….. my picks for this Christmas and beyond.

Ziggy Platter….. How groovy!

This one is for me! Yes there are gifts for adults too!

Balsam wood postcard…… can think of a few granddads who would like one of these.

Love this idea! …..and Balsam wood Plane Card just $7.95

Kokeshis Paper Dolls…. great holiday fun.

Another Djeco kit! Un-tricky origami Only $12.50

Beautiful wooden 3 layer puzzle.

How about this exquisite wooden puzzle? Lovely.

Make-a-do. Reusable connective pieces for creating straight from the recycling box.

I have loved these for a while. Such a great idea for the ‘construction kids’. Make-a-do kits.

There you have it!

Some of the best gifts you will find…. and you don’t need to go to the shops! Yay.

The site has soooo many more things to love….. and if you get in quick (before Dec 9) adding the code scallyoop10 will give you $10 off if you spend over $30 and put you into the draw for a $150 scallyoop shopping spree.

Why are you still here?

 

 

Advent 2011 page now available.

Rocks for advent? all the details by clicking on the photo.

Some of you may have noticed a new page below my header…. and not a moment too soon. (like everything I do).

I have collated our advent calendar activities, readings and adventures for you to share and use.

We went with the ‘December is very busy’ approach and although we had a parcel for each day in December we planned from the start to open more than one each day and include some of our communities activities within the calendar.

It worked pretty well…..and included NO LOLLIES but ROCKS!

More advent ideas can be found here if this one doesn’t float your boat.

Yes! This is the week to be finalising your advent plans, if you haven’t already.

Painted rocks for advent.

Facebook Friday

 

Sushi Go by Phil Walker-Harding

A new friend of our family has been designing games for a while now.

Here is a great opportunity for you to help get the next game up and going….and get some awesome Christmas gifts along the way.

My endorsement: We have played Archeology and Dungeon Raiders and are fabulous family games which take up very little space! The video for this one looks excellent. Ally

Click on the Sushi and go straight through to how you can help. Thanks…… and stay tuned. I think a giveaway of Dungeon Raiders would go down nicely very soon.

Kristen Doran fete inspiration.

Image from Kristen Doran’s blog.

Around Christmas time last year I was fortunate enough to win a giveaway on facebook of a bundle of Kristen Doran fabrics. I was so excited, as had for sometime admired this Aussie fabric designer. Kirsten makes beautiful handmade prints and puts simply gorgeous kits together which make you want to make them up RIGHT NOW!

I had great plans for the fabric, but have only realised some of them. This years has been like that! Many plans with only a small proportion of plans materialising. Great and fantastic other things have happened ….. but most of them unplanned….

Annnnnyyyyywwwaaaayyyy.

The Matryoshka Dolls in Red & Pink on White and Gold and Red on white fabric panel was part of my prize, and I decided to use it to make items for the upcoming school Spring Fair.

…. another image from Kristen Doran’s blog.

I think this is what is intended to be made with the panel, but I wanted to share the love around rather than make a larger multi-pieced item which would never get the value on the craft stall…..  and I had to make sure I used every last bit!

That said…. if I still had little girls I would have loved this on their beds and for imaginary play and for using with them when they go through the ‘how everyone in the family fits together’ stage.

Here is what we did with them. (yes I had some other crafty mummies helping me again this year)

Christmas decorations in 3 sizes.

A mother and her daughters.

Here you can see some of the pretty backs.

The tiny ones were made into Christmas decorations and the large Matryoshka Doll prints we made into rice bottomed (so they stand up) padded dolls. I’m so pleased with how they have turned out. What do you think?

Standing up dollies.

Playing in the grass…..

I’m going to find these hard to donate.

I also received some gorgeous fang monster fabric that Kirsten designed with one of her sons… which unfortunately seems no longer in print! I have a plan to make something for my littlest nephew. I will keep you posted.

2 Grandmas, 2 Mothers and 2 Daughters.