Last night I found out one of my cousin that lives out of state would be coming to another cousin’s 30th birthday party that was tonight. I haven’t seen this cousin since they have had their second child and part of my tradition is to make a blanket for all of my second cousins. Their first son got this really cute western quilt, but I was in serious time and budget crunch this time around! I figured the best option would be to do a quick applique blanket. I looked through my tubs of fabric and found some really cute green striped flannel fabric and I just happened to have a soft baby blanket in my future project bin. I always love to pick up these blankets from Ross for quick DIY baby gifts for things just like this. 

I decided to keep the blanket simple and just go with a capital “W” for his first and last name. I printed out a few “W” using different sizes to choose from and went to work. I used Heat N Bond Iron-on Adhesive to glue the cut out “W” to the baby blanket before using my sewing machine to sew it in place. I know I didn’t need to sew the letter in place with the iron-on adhesive, but I like the little extra detail the stitches give the blanket. In under an hour, I had a perfectly adorable blanket to give to Wyatt! 

One of my favorite Christmas Day treats for as long as I can remember is good old fashion fudge. There was always a platter with this homemade sweet treat and I always managed to take a few extra pieces when packing up leftovers. I would look forward to sneaking a piece here and there usually all the way up to New Year’s Eve. Sadly however our Christmas gatherings have gotten smaller over the last few years and that means no delicious homemade fudge.

This year I decided to change that and make my own and I could not believe how easy it was! Don’t believe me? Its only two ingredients and only took five minutes…try it. I bet you will impress everyone on Christmas!

Ingredients:
     14 oz can Sweetened Condensed Milk
     2 Cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Directions:

1. Combine the milk and chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 1 minutes.
2. Remove and stir, if not smooth microwave for another 15 seconds, Repeat until completely smooth.
3. Pour the fudge into an 8x8 pan lined with parchment paper.
4. Spread it evenly and let it set in the fridge for at least an hour. 
5. Pick up the parchment paper from the dish and place on a cutting a board and cut into 1 inch squares.
6. Enjoy!

* If desired you can add 1/2 cup of walnuts by mixing in before spreading into pan.

I love getting to make gifts during Christmas and this one was so cute and fun! It also was technically free to make. I had the black fuzzy fabric leftover from Halloween customs, leftover flannel fabric from baby quilts and I already had the fun ribbons. Oh and I already had the reusable plastic bag!
I cut the fuzzy fabric, the flannel fabric, and two pieces of the plastic bag into a square 10 inches by 10 inches. I then cut the ribbon in different lengths and folded them and pinned them in the place. I screwed up the first attempt at sewing this, the plastic would have been on the outside and not the flannel. I blamed it on being tired and rushing.

Thankfully it was an easy fix when I reattempted it the next day. Once almost all of the four sides were sewn together, I turned it right side out and ironed it smooth, folding the unsewn part. Lastly, sewing all along the four edges to give it a clean look as well as, preventing the ribbon or fabric messing up over time.
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It was a really fun toy to make and I can’t wait to see if my niece likes it as much as Andy and I do!

I am trying to bring in more tradition into our home, some from my childhood, some from Jack’s and some completely new. It is currently Advent season and although I still put my Christmas tree up right after Thanksgiving, I wanted to bring something to represent this time too. I made this quick wreath with a four candle holder metal wreath from Hobby Lobby normally $4.99, but was on sale, and also got the three purple and one pink candle from there. I didn’t by another wreath and just used an old one I would put on the gate every year. The pinecones and red ornaments have seen better days and will be replaced next year, but for now, it worked perfectly. Since this is a new tradition for us I found some prayers on Pinterest and printed them out for Jack to read as he lit the candles.

​SO far we are enjoying this new tradition and can’t wait to add more.

​Andrew is a little over a year old now and has entered the phase of getting into everything. Not willing to give up our beautiful Christmas tree or not wanting to put a big baby gate in front of it we came up with our own plan to try first and you know what, it is working…well mostly.
 
We used some leftover plywood scraps and screwed two pieces together. This was only because we wanted more weight. We then glued hot glue to the bottom of the plywood to prevent scratching the floors and prevent the plywood from sliding. Next, we added some metal ribbon with holes in it, we used this to anchor down the plastic tree stand. The tree fit in as normal and even when I tried to pull the tree over, it wouldn’t budge.
 
When we decorated the tree we made sure to put all of our annual ornaments deep within the branches and secured the hook/ribbon by folding the metal branch around them. If the tree somehow ended up falling over this would hopefully prevent them from breaking. We also placed all of these glass ornaments way out of his reach. Closer on the bottom were the simple plastic ornaments. However, we have already had one casualty by him crusting it with his teeth. Thankfully it stayed in once piece, just caved in. Hopefully, this will continue to work for the Holiday season, but if not were ready with the baby gate!

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Update: We had a few more casualties of the plastic ornaments and other than that he is fascinated with the lights, we have had no problems! Overall a success!!