Christmas Advent Craft

Guess what I got the other day?!  A fun new Christmas craft!  I actually got two of them because my little sister is going to do one with me! :)

 

 

I found them at Porter's Crafts - I think it's a local craft store, so I'm not sure where you can get these.  They measure about 16.5"x 16" and the little doors are only 1.5" wide. 

 

You can pretty much do anything you want with these, but the craft store had two different ideas on display.

 

The first is a Nativity advent - very pretty!

 

The second is a cute little Santa one using different craft paper and embellishments...

 

This is the one I'm going to make, because I already have a more religious advent with Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem.  Plus, I want to use up some of my cute Christmas paper!! haha :)

 

I also bought the vinyl they had there, because I didn't want to try to make my own.  I will be cutting out my own numbers, though.

 

We are going to make these in a couple weeks when I go to visit my sister, so I will have to update and show you what we ended up with.  I'm so excited!! :)

 

UPDATE:

Here is the one I made - I LOVE how it turned out!  So cute! :)

We bought the vinyl city scene at the craft store, because I was NOT about to try to do my own! haha  I did make my own numbers on my Silhouette though.  So many fun fonts!

I had so many cute paper scraps, it was so fun to use them.  They look so much prettier in person.  (Some of the paper has glitter on it.)  We stuck it all on with Mod Podge, so it's sealed really well.

My favorite part is the roof!  We painted it gray to match the brick paper we used for the chimney.  Then we hung some little Christmas lights along the edge.  Aren't they ADORABLE??!!  :)

 

 

Anyway, it was a lot of fun to make, and now I get to fill it with cute things! 

30 Day Squat Challenge!

Okay, I know I have been slacking over here lately.  I have been spending all my time running challenge groups on facebook, working out, and making healthy recipes - I have no time for crafts!!  Soooo sad! :(  I will have some new fun stuff up soon though.  Yay!

Meanwhile - you all should join me for a really fun 30 day squat challenge starting next week!  What is it you say?  It's exactly like it sounds...30 days of squats baby! We have a group on facebook, and every day you do the required number of squats and let us know that you did them.  Easy peasy, right?  You could do your squats while you are doing your hair in the morning, or fixing dinner - even while you're on the phone.  Some people have done them in the shower, but I don't know if I would recommend that.  Yikes!  haha :)

 

It's totally free, no obligation - just fun and hopefully effective!!  Grab a buddy for more accountability & let's ROCK those jeans this fall!!

 

Here is the squat calendar for you to use if you want:

 

 

 

Here is the facebook group link:  https://www.facebook.com/beth.m.clark.7?ref=name#!/groups/529048437167474/

Hope to see you there!! :)

Girls Camp Stuff

Well, girls camp is coming up next week, and my house looks like a craft store blew up! Haha 

I have 25 t-shirts drying on my deck that the girls and leaders bleached the other night.  I have canvases, paints, brushes, vinyl lettering, bracelet stuff, nail polishes, glitter - you name it - all stacked in a bin ready to go!! Whew!

 

This is the craft we decided to make:

 

Don't mind the colors - it's just kind of a sample to see if they would work.  I'm sure the girls will make them WAY cuter! :)

 

I bought little 6x8 canvases at Michael's, they came in a pack of 5.  Then the girls will put the lettering and temple wherever and however they want.  Make sure to seal the letters first by painting over everything with white.  (It makes the letters look really clean when you pull them off.)

 

Then the girls can paint however they want. I bought a bunch of fun, bright colors.  After everything dries, peel the vinyl off and embellish!  Super easy!

 

We are also making some cute bracelets with colored braiding cord/twine and beads.  I will update with pictures after camp. 

 

UPDATE 6/26/13:  Here are some of the canvases that the girls made...

 

 

And a couple more...

 

 

I love how they are all individual.  They had fun and did a really good job!!

 

 



I am also in charge of the camp awards.  I found a cute list online and made up some cards to go with them that we can fill in at camp. 

 

 

My absolute favorite is the Big Red award - for the girl with the brightest sunburn!! Haha (That's bad, huh?)

 

If you would like to print these out to use, here is the download PDF file.

 

I made them kind of small, because I was using the regular-sized candy bars and didn't want them to overpower the candy.  Hopefully you can make them bigger.  If not, just leave me a comment and I will upload some bigger ones. :)

 

Oh and I purposely made 2 of the Mentos awards, because I am giving those to the youth leaders.  They get to decide who gets each award and I didn't want them to have to do their own.  Make sense?

 

Happy camping to me!! Haha :)