DIY Snowman Kit

Our family Christmas gift to our adult children and their families is a three day snow retreat to the mountain resort of Greer, AZ.  Twenty-eight beds, six baths, ten cousins, four generations, three days.... it's going to be a blast!

My hubby wrote this poem as part of our Christmas day gift presentation:

Our gift to you this Christmas Day

We hope that you will find

To be a very special gift

Not like any other kind

We want you to take a trip with us

Up where the air is cold

To share a time of fun and play

A gift for young and old

In Greer there are two cabins

To stay in for two nights

We all will stay together

And take in all the sights

We’ll have some time for sledding

For snowmen, food, and fun

We’ll sit down by a roaring fire

Til our time is almost done

Then we’ll pack our stuff up in our cars

and while we’re on the drive

We’ll start the countdown in our heads

For the next Christmas to arrive

Merry Christmas and Love Always,

Grandma and Papa

Also included in the gift package was some gas $$$ and a snowman kit for each family. Between my hubby and I we made our own DIY re-useable Snowman Kit.

I purchased a tote just large enough to fit the hat.

Each tote was personalized for the family.

Snowman Kit

Hat

Gloves

Scarf

Carrot Nose

Eyes

Mouth

Buttons

Storage tote

I added a fun feature to the store bought gloves.

I stuffed them using rounded wire deeply wrapped in 

strips of plastic grocery bags so that the fingers all bend!

For the scarf I purchased 9" of fleece.

Each family got the same polka-dot print

but in different colors to match the gloves.

I cut the ends of the fleece to create a fringe.

The hat was store bought.

My hubby made:

The buttons (3) and eyes (2) were cut from  from 2" dowel @ 1 " thick.

The mouth (5) from 1 1/4 " dowel @ 1" thick.

The carrot nose (1) was cut from an old broom handle 8" long.

My hubby did some old fashioned whittling to round the ends and

to give the stick the shape of a carrot! 

We used black spray paint for the eyes, mouth, and buttons.

Orange acrylic paint for the carrot with waterproofing spray over that.

I packaged all of the parts in zippered bags

with card stock labeled inserts.

These snowman kits were a big hit as is the anticipation

of the shared snow trip.

Just add SNOW

and get ready to have some fun.

I can't wait to see the "snowmen cousins" decked 

out in their coordinating scarfs!

Boys Keepsake Box

This boy's keepsake box was made for my 5th grandchild. He is eight years old and was baptized on his birthday. It is a tradition for me to create a keepsake box for my grandchildren as a baptismal day gift. On the day of the baptism it is a place to put a copy of the baptism invitation, a copy of the baptismal program, cards, notes, pictures, and any small gifts they may receive.

Each baptism keepsake box it unique. The cousins are always anxious to see one another's  keepsake boxes. Since his baptism was on his birthday I tucked his birthday gift inside which is another grandma and papa tradition. We give the kids their own set of scriptures with a carrying case for their eighth birthday. 

We have the children's names printed on the front of the scriptures. That is something else that all of the cousins have to check out.  Tucked inside the tote are cute bookmarks, marking pencils, and we add a unique zipper pull to each tote. His said "I know the scriptures are true."

The baptism was amazing. Our family came out in full support. Both Papa's gave talks and both grandma's were invited to say the prayers. The "cousins" sang a special musical number titled "Teach Me to Walk in the Light". The kids did an amazing job and the message of the song tugged at my tender grandma heart. I am so grateful for the knowledge that my ten grandchildren are being taught to walk in His light.

As the president of the children's organization stood to welcome my grandson as the newest baptized member of the church she spoke of the "cousins" which he is one of and how grateful she is to have them all  in the children's organization. My ten grandchildren are known as "the cousins" in our church family". Their closeness is seen by one and all!

Following the baptism we celebrated his birthday and baptism with an ice cream sundae bar.

Could he look any more handsome?

The day couldn't have been more perfect.

I am so very thankful for the joy

that days just like this one brings!

  

Inspiration on the Clearance Rack

My annual Back to School Party is many months away but my party planning mind is always on high alert. I love gleaning the back to school clearance sections for inspiration for the next years Grandkids' Back to School Bash.  I will have nine school age grands attending next Fall.

I recently found my inspiration for our 2012 party on the clearance racks at Target. I can't share exactly what I found yet because I keep the theme of this event a big surprise for my grandchildren. What I can tell you is that the inspiration came for just .62 cents from classroom decorating supplies that are meant for teachers.

This clearance priced treasure is what got my creative event planning juices flowing. Since the event is months away I have created a notebook to gather my ideas and resources for activities, hand outs, online links, games, crafts, and more that I come across.

As a grandma, I very often use teacher and classroom supplies for the projects and activities that I do with my grandchildren. I have three little granddaughters that love playing school so teacher and classroom supplies are very often considered as gifts for playing pretend too.

Some of my favorite places to look for useful teacher supplies as a grandma and as gifts are online sites, Target's dollar section, and Dollar Tree. I couldn't be any more excited about the inspiration that came to me from a back-to-school clearance rack. But, I am going to have to keep it all in and you are going to have to wait to hear all about it next Fall!

Much Better Late than Never!

We had nearly a two month delay in this little gals birthday outing with Papa and I. Things kept coming up between our schedule and her family's schedule that kept our special time together from happening.

We had celebrated her actual birthday with her but her birthday gift from us was the outing.

Birthday Celebration on the Lake

The outing was to include a movie of her choice, a dinner out of her choice, and a shopping trip. Her special day finally arrived. She is our little chatter box and she talked non-stop all of the way to the movie theater. It was fun hearing all she had to share.

We went to see the new Smurf movie. She plopped herself down right between Papa and I in the movie theater (still chattering). She couldn't have been any more excited about finally getting her special one on one time with us.

It was a really cute movie by the way.

After the movie we went to dinner.

She chose Wendy's.

Cheeseburger, fries, and a Frosty

was her order!

(It was hard for Papa and I to get a word in over dinner!)

When asked where she would like to go shopping.

It was a quick

Dollar Tree!

All in one breath she said:

"All of my friends always talk about going to Dollar Tree!"

"My mom will never take me to Dollar Tree."

"I really want to go to Dollar Tree!"

Dollar Tree it was.

She and her sisters love playing school so I

suggested looking in the teachers supplies for

some more things to add to their school playing box.

(Still chattering.......)

We were in Dollar Tree for no less than 45 minutes.

She carefully make her selections.

She could hardly wait to get home to show her

sisters all of the new school stuff she had chosen.

I had her pick out a big birthday bag 

to tote all of her new supplies home in.

Papa and I loved our special outing with our

seven years and 2 months year old.

She thanked Papa and I for each and every thing along the way.

We heard the words thank you at least

twenty times throughout our

time together.

One on One birthday outings

with our grandchildren are an absolute keeper!

Scholastic Book Give Away

Bailey  by  New York Times bestselling 

illustrator, award winning cartoonist, and cover artist 

for the New Yorker Magazine Harry Bliss 

is a very funny new book about a dog named Bailey.

Bailey is not your average dog.

He keeps himself well groomed and he likes to look cool!

Once he puts his backpack on he is out the door to catch the school bus.

What, a dog at school?

Yep, and his school day is anything but predictable

because after all dogs will be dogs.

Bailey loves going to school and his classmates

love Bailey being there.

Bailey's antics will make you laugh at every turn

and the illustrations in this book are as cute as they can be!

This book would be a great back to school gift and

a fun read for your home library!

You can see the book trailer here.

Link up with Bailey here.

How the Give- Away Works

1. The give-away will run from Monday, August 29 until midnight on Thursday, September 1. 

2. For a chance to win check out the links here and here and leave a comment on this post about something new you learned about Bailey or Harry Bliss from the links.

3. Three lucky winners will win their very own copy of Bailey!

4. Make sure that I have a way to contact you for your mailing address if you happen to be one of the lucky and randomly chosen winners. You may send your email address to grandmashelley@grandmaslittlepearls.com.

5. The winners names will be posted on Friday, September 2.

6. Check out this fun new book today and good luck!

Baptisms and Memory Boxes

I have secured the privilege from all of my grown children to purchase my grands first set of scriptures when they turn eight years old. I had three sets to purchase this year so I took orders a few months ago for their color choices and I ordered all three sets at the same time. The girls get a custom girly scripture case and the boys get a handsome case that matches their scripture color. I have their names imprinted on the scriptures to personalize this gift.

Turning eight also means that they are able to be baptized. This baptism was for my grandson that I clearly take second place to anytime that Papa is around. He adores his papa. In fact, when he was planning his baptism program he wanted his Papa to do everything!

His baptism service was wonderful even with Papa only having three of the assignments that his mom was finally able to coax him down to.

I created my traditional baptism day memory box as a gift for him. He had chosen bright yellow sunflowers for his refreshment table decor. That color theme helped to inspire this creation.

His first and last name starts with the letter "H". 

The bee stickers on the "H" are symbolic to the quote:

"Be grateful, smart, clean, true, humble, prayerful,"

 positive, still and involved.

President Hinkley

Following the baptism he had chosen an 

ice cream sundae bar for the refreshments.

Yep, that's papa scooping ice cream.

I was pretty impressed with this young man. All on his own he helped out at the serving table and he waited until all of his guests had gotten ice cream before he made his own sundae!

He was a very handsome guest of honor!

Fudge, caramel strawberries, Oreos, peanut butter cups, gummies, sprinkles, nuts, cherries, and whipped cream made for some pretty hard choices!

Some opted for the works!

And, who would ever not top it off with

a cherry on top?

Imagine Our Surprise

Last Saturday we had a houseful. My 21 year old daughter had just moved back home and it was the 6th day of having our three little grandsons with us. My husband was the first to hear it. He jumps up from his desk and starts saying stop him, stop him! I didn't know what was going on but I saw my husband running to the other end of the house. The little boys ran out of the house barefoot to stop him. I'm still thinking stop who?

As I was warning the boys of the hot cement on their bare feet I saw what was causing all of the excitement. My husband returned with his wallet in hand. My 21 year old daughter ran out "as is" and joined in. It was a big surprise for all of us because we had not seen anything like it in the five years that we have lived here. Me, I had to grab the camera of course!

It was the Ice Cream Man!

While my grandsons were trying to make their selections their little feet were doing the hot blacktop dance. I think these folks had bought a used ice cream truck with all kinds of ice cream pictures as their selections plastered on the side of the truck but  they started their business with only a few choices. Every time the kids would choose something they didn't have it. My daughter finally said; "Just tell us what you have!"

We needed ice cream like we need another hole in our head. I had just been to the store and the freezer was stocked with a variety of ice cream bars. But, how could we possibly pass up the opportunity to pay quadruple the price from a rusty and low stocked street vendor? On top of that we didn't get our first choice or even our fifth choice. We settled by golly because things like this just don't happen every day!

Is it the ice cream truck music that draws us in? Maybe it's the feelings we have from being a child ourselves that makes us chase down the ice cream truck for our grandchildren. Who knows? What I do know is that once Papa made the command to "stop him!" there was no turning back!

And, despite the glitches it was

oh so worth the sweet memory!

What's your favorite ice cream bar?

4th of July Goodie Bags

Every year I give my grands some little thing to help celebrate the 4th of July. This is the first year in a long time that we are not all going to be together to watch the fire works show. So, the goodie bags have gone out a little early this year.

The goodies this year were homemade 

Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Treats.

I added red, white, and blue marshmallow

stars for the occasion. I melted down a couple of

marshmallows with a small dab of butter in the

microwave. I used the sticky goo to glue

the colorful stars in place.

Here are all of my supplies.

I added a sticker to my clearance priced blue

bags to make them festive!

Each bag contained a 4th of July writing pad and pencil.

A tattoo for the patriotic holiday, 

the homemade goodie,

stickers and Red Vines.

Each bag had a personalized tag tucked inside.

I topped the bags off with some sparkly red fluff!

The moms and dads got a treat to share.

Their message read to have a safe and happy

4th of July!

While I will be spending the weekend

 with three generations of my family I will certainly

be missing and thinking of my

three grown kids and my ten little pearls

who will watching the fireworks show

under the same big sky but miles and miles away this

Fourth of July!

I wish you all a safe and 

Happy 4th of July!

It's a Very Personal Give-Away!

I can remember being a kid quite some time ago and loving things that were personalized with my name on them. What kid doesn't stop to look to find their name on the personalized displays of pencils, keychains and more in retail shops and catalogs? Most often I was unable to find my name spelled exactly as mine is. They were always leaving out the "e" before the "y". That's NOT right!

The love of personalized possessions has not  changed a bit over the generations. My own kids loved having personalized belongings and so do my grandchildren today.

My new friends over at  mypersonalizedprint.com are hosting  a give-away here at  Grandma's Little Pearls for my blog reading friends.

They are the makers of adorable playtime and mealtime personalized placemats. 

The placemats are covered in extra-strength laminate 

making them very kid friendly and durable.

Whether it is  playtime or mealtime there is a placemat design that will please the the little boy or girl you love!  Check out all of their fun designs here. Each mat is custom made for your special someone.

And there is more....

On the flip side the child will discover a variety of games that can be played with crayons and washable markers. The crayons and markers can be easily wiped off with a damp cloth so that the games and activities can be played over and over again. Fun!

Check out their website for design options and pricing. I especially like that the more you purchase the better the buy is despite your design choices or the personalized names.  They would make great gifts, birthday party decor and favors, and they would be way special to have at grandma's house!

Give-away Rules:

For a chance to win a personalized placemat all you have to do is:

1. Visit Mypersonalizedprintcom Here.

2. Choose the mat style you would like to win.

3. Leave a comment here telling me which mat you would like to win.

4. The prize package is one personalized placemat for two lucky randomly drawn winners.

5. Make sure that I have a way to reach you. You may email me your name, blogging name, and e mail address to my email grandmashelley@grandmaslittlepearls.com

6. The deadline will be at midnight on Thursday, June 9th.

7. The lucky winners will be announced on June 10th. 

8.  I will contact the winners for their final placemat choice, the personalized name choice, and the shipping address. This info will be sent to my friends at Mypersonalizedprints where they will create your custom placemat and ship it off to you. It's that easy!

9. Good Luck!

Easy and Inexpensive Multipurpose Toy

This is a recent travel find that I couldn't pass up. I was in the train station gift shop killing some time before boarding our train ride from Skagway, Alaska to the Canadian border and back. I came across a marked down bin of magnetic animals amid all of the waaaaaaaay overpriced trinkets from the region. They were originally $3.99 each and they had been marked down to just .25 cents each. I purchased two of each kind thinking it would be a fun matching game to add to the things to do at grandma's house.

The kids love playing with the magnetic letters on the front of my fridge. This new game would open up an avenue for me to share the stories of the animals I had seen on my trip and what I had learned about the area in which they live.

Then I came across this idea that would make the new matching game so that it could be played anywhere.

This idea was created by a mom for backseat travel activities for her kids and I thought it would be great for grandma's house too. She shares the how to instructions and many ideas for adding magnets to the different supplies.

Check it out at  http://www.somewhatsimple.com/2011/05/road-trip-travel-trays.html.

You begin with a dollar store cookie sheet and some chalkboard paint.

It is a multipurpose toy!

coloring station

chalkboard station

race car track

magnetic letters and numbers

magnetic dolls

matching games (me)

eating tray

and more......

Other ideas I had....

So simple and inexpensive you could create a personalized stack of them for grandma's house. 

Make them up as a going away gift for your grandchild's next road trip.

Long distance grandma's could use them as a base gift to easily add to through the mail by creating magnetic games, puzzles, and activities for any holiday, season, or special occasion.

Personalized Toy Car Mat

I really can't believe that I am

actually saying things like:

It's at least 30 years old.

I made it over 30 years ago, 

Back in the early 70's....

I guess Grandma's house is suppose to have old things and it has always been that grandma is able to tell her grandchildren about the old days.

It's just that I don't feel old enough to have 30 year old belongings and toys that my children once played with! And, when did the 70's become the old days?

This is an example of something that I made for my son some 30 years ago that the grands now love playing with.

It is a length of canvas fabric that I used crayons to create a personalized mat to play with little cars on.

This was long before the store bought kind or the lengths of cute printed fabric panels you can now purchase.

I had drawn in everything that a little town needs. To personalize it I drew in both of his Grandma's houses that were across town from one another. One even had the swimming pool that he loved to go swim in.

His daddy worked at the Post Office.

Little boys love emergency vehicles so it had

a hospital, fire station, and police department.

I also drew in a gas station and a school with a playground.

As you see I am not much of an artist but somehow it

has continued to capture the imaginations of the little

ones I love for that's right.....

over thirty some years now!

I remember finishing it up late Christmas Eve back in the late 70's. I wrapped it up with a collection of new shiny cars, emergency vehicles, airplanes, and helicopters.

The edges of the fabric didn't get hemmed that Christmas Eve. I'm bound to get to it one of these days!

If you have grandchildren who like to draw this just might be a fun project to create and play with together!

Favorite Things

One of my very favorite things is to have a themed event to plan. What makes it even more fun is to have months to think, create, and to gather ideas and resources to fit the theme.

My upcoming Grandma Camp theme is "Top Secret".  I chose the theme even before my last camp happened. Once my 2010 "Grandkids Rock" camp was packed away I started to think and to watch for great finds for my little "Secret Agents" camp experience this year.

Just after Christmas I happened upon an incredible clearance find that would be perfect for the camp. I could not believe my eyes. Two Sharper Image Spotting Scopes with precision optics. The soft pivot design even provides silent observation!  Somehow, I don't think it is going to be the spotting scope that will have trouble being silent. The box read high quality glass for crisp, clear images. They even came with a tripod. Right there in the store my mind was flooded with fun ways the little secret agents could use the scopes.

I was thrilled with the find and the price was well, more than perfect. The original price was $49.99 each. They were clearance priced at $4.97 and on this day all clearance items were an additional 50% off! That's right two Sharper Image Spotting Scopes for just $4.97. They were mine!

I also gleaned the back to school clearance sales for items that could be used. I picked up dark gray pencil boxes (.10 each) for each secret agent with the plan being to fill them with secret agent and spy gadgets. The school supply clearance also netted little black writing pads and clipboards for pennies on the dollar.

Dollar Stores are always a great resource. My grands get a flashlight of some kind at every Grandma Camp. I found exactly what I had in mind in Dollar Tree with the batteries included.  Done!

I have also been on the look out for t-shirts. I need nine this year. I knew I wanted black and that I want to create them myself with a printing technique using bleach. In Hobby Lobby last week I found the shirts for just $1.50 each and they even had all of the sizes I needed. Done!

I like finding scrapbook papers that fit the theme too. You can get a lot of mileage out of paper. I am still looking so if you happen to see some please let me know. Help!

The other day I needed to take a day for myself. I was not at the day spa or out shopping for new clothes. I took the whole day with secret agent and spy gear on my mind. I couldn't have had a better day. I went to craft stores, party stores, and discount stores. It was so much fun. I was able to find a few gadgets to add to the little campers secret agent boxes and I came home with boatloads of retail inspiration.

While some of the things I came across did not fit my color scheme, my price point, and was not exactly what I wanted they all inspired my own do it yourself ideas.

I loved the target, map, eagle emblem, stars, 

and especially the font used for "Top Secret".

I just might be adding stripes to the t-shirt sleeves.

Sorry for the glare. Although not the right stickers,

I was reminded to look for stickers too.

Mission Accomplished

Award Ribbons!

I'm on it.

Top Secret Grandma Camp

For this years Grandkid's Camp Out I have chosen the theme of "Top Secret". They will each be special agents and our activities will be centered on "Top Secret Missions".

One of my ideas was to have a photo badge for each of the grands with a made up special agent name.

My eyes have been wide open while looking for the things I will need (want) for the ideas that I have had to make this camp out extra "Special" for my very "Special Agents".

To make finding the things I need (I would like to have) even more challenging (and really fun for me) is that I am always looking for a great deal too. Every individual item I purchase will be nine times the price because I will have nine very special little agents at base camp (our mission headquarters)  this year.

This find was one of the top items on my wish list.

My original wish was just pin on badges 

BUT,

While searching Walgreen's for some good deals to spend

a $10 credit (that was expiring that day) I came across these babies.

Originally $3.99 each but clearance priced at just .75 each. 

They were a must have!

A Lanyard, badge holder, and a retractable reel.

How fun are they going to be? Can you believe my luck? They had exactly nine in RED which is perfect for our red and black "Top Secret"camp colors.  I am one very happy camper with this really, really awesome find!

Ho...Ho...Ho...liday Give-a-Way

Most of you know about the Ho...Ho...Ho...liday traditions of my family. They have already begun in my family and today they are beginning at Grandma's Little Pearls! I am filled with holiday cheer as I sit at my computer wearing my bright red Christmas shirt with Jolly ol' Santa and the words Ho...Ho...Ho.. embroidered on the front and red sequined holly berry bling on Santa's hat.  I know what you are thinking and you are absolutely right. My shirt is as cute as it can be!

If this is your first visit to Grandma's Little Pearls please stay a while and feel free to snoop through my many, many posts! 

Today I am going to spread a little holiday cheer here at Grandma's Little Pearls with a Ho...Ho...Ho...liday book review and my very first holiday give-a-way for 2010.

Scholastic Books recently sent me two books from their new holiday collection. They are titled

It's Christmas David and Captain Sky Blue. Both of the books are delightful reads and illustrated beautifully.

It's Christmas David is a fun book for kids and a good reminder to adults on just how many times the word no and other parental commands are heard by the little ones we love through the holiday season. It is a very sweet story that every child and adult are sure to have experienced in their own lives.

About the Book

Readers of all ages will vividly remember trying to peek at hidden gift packages; writing scrolls of wish lists to Santa; and struggling to behave at formal Christmas dinner parties. Always in the background, we know Santa Claus is watching, soon to decide if David deserves a shiny new fire truck or a lump of coal under the tree. From playing with delicate ornaments to standing in an endlessly long line for Santa, here are common Christmas activities--but with David's naughty trimmings. A surefire hit that is destined to be an annual classic!

Captain Sky Blue is an adventurous tale with a heartwarming ending. Children will love learning pilot talk in the book. Bravo Zulu  (high praise for a job well done) to Richard Egielski. I am spooled up (excited) to share this book with my grands. So, if you are putting out a mayday (a cry for help) for holiday gift ideas this season. Check out the Scholastic Books website for these and other wonderfully written and illustrated books for the children you love. Roger (I hear you) that?  Roger Wilco (I will do it) and out!

About the Book

Jack's best toy pal is Captain Sky Blue, a pilot. Sky speaks in Pilot Talk ("Roger! Wilco!").

After a thunderstorm separates Sky and his buddy ("Mayday!"), Sky is abducted by a whale, then left alone to wander a frigid ocean floor until he chances upon a very special place, a place where he's been before ("Now I'm spooled up!").

Captain Sky Blue thinks he has finally found an easy way home, but first he must face a desperate situation?a challenge that puts his pilot skills to the test!

Oh wait !!!!

The Ho...Ho...Ho...liday

Give-a-Way

Scholastic books has asked me to host a Scholastic holiday giveaway. 

Give the gift of reading to your child this holiday season! Scholastic books make the perfect stocking stuffer for any child on your list.

We have a HUGE prize pack filled with the most popular children’s books in the marketplace to offer one lucky reader! Titles include CAPTAIN SKY BLUE, IT’S CHRISTMAS DAVID, OOK and GLUK as well as TONY BALONEY, ODIOUS OGRE and I SPY CHRISTMAS A CHRISTMAS TREE!

One (1) Winner will receive a HUGE gift pack, including:

• CAPTAIN SKY BLUE
•  IT’S CHRISTMAS DAVID
• OOK and GLUK
• TONY BALONEY
• ODIOUS OGRE
• I SPY A CHRISTMAS TREE!

Prize Pack Valued at $89.75

Giveaways open to US Mailing Addresses only.

It is a great prize package 

valued at $89.75.

Thanks Scholasatic Books!

All you have to do for a chance to win is:

1. Post a comment about this great holiday book giveaway, what you like about Grandma's Little Pearls, what you would like to see at Grandma's little pearls, or anything else you have on your mind.

2. To double your chances for winning become a follower of Grandma's Little Pearls today. Current followers will get a chance and a double chance of winning only if they leave a comment on this post.

Comments for a chance to win will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. on Monday, December 6th 

Remember the giveaway is only available to U.S. mailing addresses.

Good Luck and Merry Christmas!

Grandma Shelley