It’s all here for you – just click on the links for pages you need detailed information from and enjoy your special Valentines Day!

How to Plan Your Valentines Day Party

Valentines Day Gift Ideas

Valentines Day Centerpieces

How to Choose Your Valentines Day Rose

Best Romantic Movies

Have a wonderful and loving Valentines Day and please send me your comments, suggestions and experiences – your input is very welcomed and much appreciated!

Almost 40 years ago, I made Christmas stockings for my two boys. The older one – Dusan – was just little over 2 years old and the younger one – Daniel was only 6 weeks old at the time. I made the stockings form couple of pieces of red quilted material, trimmed them with white and embroidered their names on it. We hang those stockings up every year – no matter where we are. and as the boys got older, the added tradition was to fill the stockings with little goodies and a large Toblerone bar. And as the years went by, I added stockings for new members of our family, When Dusan got married, “Kara: stocking went up, When Daniel got engaged to Nicole. “Nicole” stocking was added and when Abbie got engaged to Dave, “Dave” stocking was another addition. But the best and greatly cherished addition was the stocking that has “Jax” on it – that one is for Dan and Nicole’s son – our precious grandson Jaxson. And that stocking is about 3 feet long and it fill our hearts with joy to try to fill it for him.

Sounds simple and normal – I know that lots of people do this or something similar. But for all of us, one of the stockings became a very special Christmas memory. Dusan died tragically in a car accident in February 2010 and the first Christmas without him was very, very difficult. But that little tradition of putting all our stockings up became even more important. Dusan’s stocking just had to be with us – it was almost as if he was too.

And now – there is the second Christmas without him – and it is now time to start another tradition. . Last week, Daniel asked me if I would make a stocking for Jaxson, one they can put up in their house – just like I did for him and his brother. That made me feel so very, very good – it meant that the Christmas traditions I started are very special and Daniel wants to make sure they continue. I made a special stocking for Jaxson and added two more – one that says “mommy” and another one that has “Daddy” embroidered on it.

Maybe you want to make a special stocking that will start and very special memory for you – so – I am sharing what I did.

Here is a step by step process of how I made Jaxson’s special Christmas stocking:

1. Instead of making one from scratch, I bought a plain – and large – red and white stocking.

I started with just a plain red and white stocking - it had a little holly already embroidered on it, so that was a bonus that suited my design idea well

2. With a thin marker, I sketched Jacson’s name on to get ready for embroidering it into the top part of the stocking

Marking the letters with a thin marker before embroidering the name helps to make sure the letters are nice and even and still have that handmade touch

3. The special design I wanted to make was to start putting Christmas pictures of Jaxson onto the stocking and adding new ones as he is growing up. So far – I had two of them and the way I did it was to create fabric transfers that I could put a nice simple border around and attach them to the stocking. Making your own fabric transfers is not difficult – you will need transfer sheet you can buy at any store that sells office supplies and follow directions on the package.

Transferring pictures onto a plain white piece of fabric was easy, using readily available transfer papers and a hot iron

4. Once I peeled the transfer paper off my pictures, I trimmed the shapes about 1/2″ from the edges and clipped out little notches, getting ready to edge and “frame the pictures, before attaching them to the stocking

Cutting out little notches in the fabric helps when you need to fold the fabric to edge the picture - it won't bunch up on you. I trimmed the picture with a crochet ribbon - easy to make from a pure white material that has a gold tread in it.

5. I decided to add a pretty trim to the stocking, between the white and red part – again just a simple crochet from fun material that is easily purchased from a craft store. You can buy ready made trim of your choice and tack it on with either small stitches or fabric glue.

There are a lot of fun materials you can work with available - the one I used here is a yarn made of different colour little balls with pieces of yarn in between. As you work with it, the balls become connected - fun!

6. And then I attached Jaxson’s pictures to the stocking:

You will need to put a piece of cardboard into the stocking as you are attaching the pictures to make sure your stitches don't catch the back of the stocking. My special stocking now has Jaxson's first and second Christmas - and next year, I will be attaching Christmas #3 for him.

7. Here is what the stocking looks like when completed – with hopes of lots of special memories to come!

One of a kind special stocking for my grandson - with hopes of many special memories to come

8. And here are the two additions to Jaxson’s special stocking :

"Mommy" and "Daddy" stockings - because they deserve the special little goodies that Jaxson can put it for them - I know they have been very very good!

I hope my personal story will inspire you to take a little time and start creating your very own special Christmas memories.

Please send me your comments, suggestions, experiences and pictures – I love sharing with everyone and hope that you do as well!

Have a wonderful Holiday Season!

First – go through your Christmas decorations and pick pieces that you would like to have on your wreath – set them aside. Then – venture out into your local store (Walmart will do nicely and you will save a few bucks too) and buy a plain artificial wreath and a basic set of mini lights if you want to light up your wreath. The alternative is taking a walk a picking up evergreen branches and then making a really nice, natural wreath – I am actually thinking about doing that.

Then sit down with all your stuff and start creating your very own wreath! And do not worry or get discouraged – remember that if you are not happy with what you are doing – just change it!

Wreaths can be embellished to achieve a variety of looks. You can add ribbons, ornaments, floral materials – anything that will reflect your personal style and add to the theme of your home Christmas decor.Artificial evergreen wreaths are very easy to decorate – you just simply twist the branches around each item to secure them – or use floral wire or hot glue to do that.

Start with using one item at a time, spacing them evenly around the wreath to achieve a balanced look. Add the large items first and fill any bare spaces with smaller ones. Secure items at  the surface as well as closer to inside of your wreath – that is to achieve a sense of depth.

And if you are going to put mini lights on – put them on first, light them and work your other items around them – you will be able to see better what the final result will be.

Here are a few ideas for you:

Artificial evergreen garland is wrapped around a grapevine wreath. A natural look is created by adding birch bark and twig birdhouses, artificial birds and stems of rose hips.

Santa's elf wreath is created by wiring a small elf (or choose another of your liking) figurine to this wreath, creating a focal point. Dried fruit slices, cinnamon sticks and paper twist are added to give this wreath a nice country look

Create this elegant wreath by first attaching a gold wire mesh bow to the top and then adding metal ornaments. This wreath works very well with the addition of mini lights.

Village house becomes the focal point on this wreath. Additional springs of greenery, cones and berries add texture and fullness. For the snowy effect, spray artificial snow over polyester fiberfill

I think these are beautiful wreaths and consider this: if you are still thinking about how to decorate your tree – extend the wreath decorating ideas  - they could be easily applied to that task!

Hope you have enjoyed this information, please send in your comments, suggestions and experiences – and pictures as well! – your input is very welcomed and much appreciated!

Here is the recipe:

Old Fashioned Butter Cookies:

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of flour
• 1 cup of confectioner’s sugar
• 1 cup of col unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• Optional:
• Egg wash: 1 large egg white beaten with 2 teaspoons of water
• Decorating sugar and sprinkles

Directions:

1. Place flour, sugar, butter and salt in a bowl of a food processor and process until mixture is the texture of course oatmeal. If you don’t have a food processor, you can do this with a fork
2. In a small bowl, lightly beat egg yolks and vanilla and with motor running, add to food processor. If you are not using food processor, using electric mixer on a low speed will do the job as well.
3. Process until dough forms
4. Making cut out Sugar Cookies
5. Divide dough in a half and form into two ½ inch thick discs
6. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill until firm – about 1 hour
7. Preheat oven to 350F
8. On a piece of floured waxed paper, roll out one disc to a 3/16 inch thickness and chill again
9. Repeat with the remaining dough
10. Flouring cutters ads you are working along, cut dough into desired shapes and carefully transfer to baking sheets
11. Re-chill rolled out dough it if gets difficult to work with
12. If you plan to decorate your cookies, brush them with the egg wash and sprinkle with sugar or decorative sprinkles
13. Bake cookies until edges are firm – not brown – 15-20 minutes
14. Cool for couple of minutes on the baking sheets and cool completely on a rack

You most probably have a glass bowl already, so think about filling it with various sizes of pumpkins and colourful gourds – definitely not difficult and not expensive at all. But it does look great and I am sure it will add a special touch to any table

Do you have children’s table to set up? What a great idea this is – just get some colouring placemats. decorate a napkin paper ring and a crayon pouch with Thanksgiving theme pictures (you can use stickers you buy at your local discount store) and you will have something that will keep the kids occupied!

I love the simplicity of this setting and the use of colour. Adding a little pumpkin adds just the right accent and the moss green colour is very effective in contrast. matching the potted, simple centerpieces.

How adorable is this centerpiece? And all it will take is a pumpkin – fresh or a plastic one can be used here. Collecting some branches outside and adding colourful leaves, little birds and a cute little bird house can be very easy and very inexpensive. i have seen all these items in our local dollar store – and this is the centerpiece I am definitely going to make! I would recommend placing a florist foam into the pumpkin first and securing all decoration in that way.

Again  – simplicity is what makes this decoration effective. Most items used can be gathered outside – why not take your kids out for a nature walk and make several of these beautiful decorations together?

One of my favourites – using different heights and colours of pillar style candles – especially adding a metallic one, nestled on a bed of fall leaves, along with a few colourful gourds will make a centerpiece all your guests will admire! And think about using this concept for your Christmas table – it would be very easy to replace the leaves with pine branches, add some pine cones and colourful Christmas balls or bells…. are you thinking?

Warm and very friendly – that is what I would call this design. Love the round wicker place mat under the plate – think about how well this would work if you are using disposable plates! The leaves could also be replaced with ones you could gather outside, or you could purchase silk leave garlands or arrangements at your local craft store and remove individual leaves. The candle holders are great – and definitely easy and inexpensive!

Hope you have enjoyed this information – please send me your comments. suggestions and experiences – and pictures of your holiday table settings! Your input is always very welcomed and much appreciated!

Guide to the Perfect Pumpkin

And selecting the perfect design is not always easy – I have done some research for you and picked the 10 designs I really liked – None of them look too difficult to create and you can always find the website I have listed, most of them have complete instructions with templates to make your Halloween pumpkin carving easy and fun. Here are my favourites:

1. 

Traditional pumpkin design may be the best one for you to start with if you are looking for easy, traditional look

This design with more information comes from My Lot website- and there is a lot more on there for you to explore!

2.

Easy and cute kitty face - definitely easy to carve and delight for kids!

From The Taste of Home website – always great information that is easy to follow

3.

This design doesn't look too difficult to execute and I believe it would get trick or treaters attention!

The website where you can find this and other scary and bizarre designs is:  Bizarre and Weird

4.

Just have to have some witching presence in your Halloween - this one is really nice and doesn't look too difficult to make

More designs and very nicely written directions are on Women’s Day website

5.

If you are going to go for ghosts, you might as well make it a cute one!

Definitely one of my favourite and at the top of my list for this year – you can find information about this design on Family Fun website

6.

How about a real scary face - make sure you pick a tall pumpkin for this one!

This scary pumpkin face with instruction can be found on She Knows website

7.

Why not wish everyone Happy Halloween? This is puts a smile on your face, doesn't it?

Looks like you need a good sharp knife to make this pumpkin – but you can check out instructions on Free Stuff website and decide if you are up to this one

8.

What an awesome design - this one is another one I really love to try this year - don't you?

Great website with tons of Halloween ideas and instruction: Celebrating Halloween

9.

Talk about attention getter ! If you make this one - please send me your photos

You can find this and other very interesting ideas on: How Did I Do It? website

10.

Always a website that offers lots of great information - Kraft Canada - Check out their Halloween Centre

Check out Kraft Canada’s website for tons of Halloween information

Hope you have a wonderful Halloween and please send me your comments and suggestions anytime! If possible, I would love to get photos of your creations – your input is always welcomed and very much appreciated!

]]> http://www.mama-knows.com/featured-articles/10-best-pumpkin-carving-ideas.html/feed 0 http://www.mama-knows.com/featured-articles/best-halloween-ideas.html http://www.mama-knows.com/featured-articles/best-halloween-ideas.html#comments Tue, 18 Oct 2011 15:25:06 +0000 Hanna Trafford http://www.mama-knows.com/?p=6422 I love this time of year! For me – it is always been so much fun decorating the house, making costumes, watching the little ones run around collecting goodies – it is a happy time for sure!

And you are probably surfing the net to find the best ideas for your Halloween celebrations – it can take time and energy – so I decided to lend a helping hand and give you a variety of Halloween ideas and tips all in one place! From being able to tell your kids what Halloween is to making your own costumes, creating the perfect Halloween treats to decorating on a budget:

Thinking about planning a party?

Check out:

Party Planning Tips

Best Halloween Tips

Halloween Party Planning Tips

Wondering about decorations that wouldn’t cost you arm and a leg?

Here are some ideas:

My Decorations on a Budget

Easy Halloween Decorations

What do you tell your kids when they ask you what Halloween is?

 Here is your answer:

All About Halloween

Oh yes – costumes! Want to make some for your kids?

Take a look at:

Homemade Halloween Costumes for Kids

What about adult costumes? Or tips on how to win a Halloween contest?

Easy Adult Halloween Costumes

10 Easy Halloween Costumes

How to Win Halloween Costume Contest

And let’s not forget fun food:

Fun Halloween Snacks

Everybody wants to have the perfect pumpkin!

Check out these tips on how to make sure yours is perfect:

Guide to the Perfect Halloween Pumpkin

Hope this will make your Halloween planning easier – please send in your comments, suggestions and experiences – your input is welcomed and very much appreciated!

Making Easter eggs can be lot of fun – especially if you get your children involved. You can create a very festive centerpiece, use them to decorate various points of your home of create small baskets your children can give away to friends and family. Here are couple more easy to make egg decorating ideas for you:

Drip Dot Eggs

Materials:

• Boiled eggs
• Acrylic non-toxic craft paint, your choice of colors
• Paintbrush
• Empty egg carton
• Dish of water

Directions:

1. Be sure that boiled eggs are cool and dry.
2. Place a double folded kitchen towel and place it on the table underneath child’s hands so if the egg slips out it will have a soft cushion to land on.
3. Place boiled eggs into an empty egg carton for stability.
4. Place some paint onto a paper plate or a small dish or palette. Add several drops of water to the paint to thin it out.
5. Using the paintbrush, place a generous dot of paint on top of your egg. If the paint is not thin enough to start dripping down the egg, add another generous dot. If it still doesn’t drip, dip your paintbrush in water and add to the dot on the egg until it begins dripping down the egg. Repeat this several times so that it drips down around the egg several times. Use two different colors to create your drips.
6. Allow the drips to dry completely. If your eggs begin to stick to the cardboard egg carton, carefully loosen them and scrape off any cardboard from the egg with your fingernail, then move them to a different area of the carton to continue drying.
7. When completely dry, carefully hold the egg upside down and paint the bottom half of the egg solid, this will cover up the end of the drips. Place the egg upside down to allow the solid area to dry. If needed, repeat with another coat and let dry again.
8. When dry, use the handle end of a paintbrush dipped in white paint to add polka dots to your solid color. Let dry.

Easter Egg Heads

Materials:

• Boiled eggs
• 3-D paint or glitter glue, in a variety of colors
• White craft glue
• Wiggle eyes, in any size
• Cooling rack or film canister lids
• Marker
• Mini bowl (optional)
• Tweezers (optional)
• Empty egg cartons

Directions:

You will need to decorate only one side of the egg at a time. Let the eggs dry either on egg cartons turned upside down, on a cooling rack or film canister lid. Decorate other side when first side is dry.

1. Place egg into an empty egg carton for stability.
2. Use glitter glue or 3-D paint to “draw” on hair. This will need to dry for several hours.
3. If you wish to add a bow, place a small construction paper or ribbon bow into the 3-D paint or glitter glue hair before it dries all the way.
4. Decide where you want to place the wiggle eyes and glue them in place.
5. Add a nose by gluing on a miniature pom pom
6. Draw on a mouth with a marker.
7. Place on a decorative plate, an Easter basket, or make an arrangement for your table.

Hope you have lots of fun creating your special Easter eggs – please send in your comments, suggestions and experiences, your input is always welcomed and very much appreciated

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The beauty of this centerpiece is the simplicity of it. Just impressive large rose blooms in a great colour, placed into 2 glasses with a few rose petals around on a while tablecloth

You can cut the letters from styrofoam, paint them in red and trim them with a ribbon. Place a rich bouquet of flowers in the centre, arrange letters and match colour of napkins to the red in letters and flowers - simple and very effective!

Nicely arranges white mums and red leaves around little red candles - all on a white tablecloth will make a simple and elegant centerpiece

The beauty and effectiveness of this creation is in the fact that the red accent colour is used only in the centre heart - all remaining elements are in pure white - beautiful and very elegant!

 

A combination of red and pink carnations placed in a wider shape vase filled with red candies can be used as a centerpiece or as an added decor for your coffee table of any other place you want to add that special Valentines Day touch to

If you visit your local craft or a dollar store, you will find a good selection of hearts and other decorations already attached on a stick. All you have to do is arrange them with some fresh flowers and you will have a very happy looking centerpiece in no time!

Use a styrofoam heart to attach green leaves cut out from cardboard stock and then fill the heart with fresh roses - how beautiful is that?

This is an incredible simple and inexpensive idea that would be suitable for just about any occassion - turning wine glasses upside down over a beautiful rose bloom and placing a candle of the top - awesome!

No doubt that the effectiveness of this arrangement is in the beauty of the roses. Matching the dark red colour with placemats and napkins definitely adds to the elegance and simplicity of the entire creation

Using a straight shape vase, filling it with small blooms and topping with a ball put together from same blooms creates and incredible simple and beautiful centerpiece

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Thumbprint Valentines Card

You can make this card with even the youngest child – just help them to dip their thumbs into poster paints and show them how to put them onto the card (you may want to do a little practice  session or two)

What You Need:

• Sheet of pink construction paper
• Red and pink poster paint
• Shiny pipe cleaner
• Markers

How to Make it:

1. Fold the sheet of construction paper in half and crease to create your card – trim to desired size
2. Dip thumb in red paint and press onto card at slight angle. Lift and repeat to create the desired design – check out the picture for guidance, but feel free to get creative!
3. Use the pipe cleaner to create a heart for centre of the card and markers to write your – or your child’s message. You can get even more creative here – use the marker to add arms and legs to the heart and even add a smiling face!
4. Then just write a message into the centre of the card and you are done!
5. Instead of construction paper, you can use white or coloured stock for this card

For more cards and Valentines Day crafts, recipes and tips,  check out:

Easy Valentines Day Crafts

Valentines Day Breakfast Recipes

How to Pla

n Valentines Day Party

Valentines Day Dinner Recipes

Best Romantic Movies for Valentines Day

Hope all this information will help you have a very special Valentines Day – please send in your comments, suggestions and experiences, your input is welcomed and much appreciated