Christmas Fondant

Elizabeth is completely hooked on fondant and made two different Christmas desserts that featured her works of art.

Edible Book Fair

This week, JPII held its first ever Edible Book Fair - a book fair comprised of projects made by the students that are completely edible.  As I'm sure you can imagine, I was not thrilled when I learned about this project as I am pretty much the least crafty person I know.  Elizabeth had the great idea of involving one of our neighbors, who makes amazing cakes for her sons' birthdays, and she graciously showed the girls how to work with fondant and lent them a bunch of her tools.  The girls set to work, practicing and practicing and put together the fondant accessories for their projects.  They told me what kind of cake they wanted, which I baked for them.  Their final projects, along with all of the other projects made by 4th through 8th grade, we presented at the Edible Book Fair on Thursday.  Some of the projects were absolutely amazing, but we are so proud of what Elizabeth and Emily designed, all on their own!

Practice makes perfect.

Elizabeth designed a tea table, as the pivotal scene in her book occurred during tea time between the Queen of England and a spy.

Emily created a Harry Potter cake, complete with Harry's scar, scarf and glasses, as well as the sorting hat.

Capelet

Elizabeth took another sewing class at Joann's Fabrics, this one stretching out over two sessions.  She made a very cute capelet and was very proud of the finished product.

Session one included using a pattern and properly cutting fabric. 

She's getting quite handy with sewing machine. 

Pushing through the elastic. 

The finished product!

Let it Sew, Let it Sew, Let it Sew

Elizabeth has been sewing little projects here and there, but has really been bugging me to learn how to sew.  I can sew, although I rarely do, but I'm not a good teacher - in sewing, or anything else. I simply lack patience.  So when I found out that Joann's Fabrics offers sewing classes, I found one that was perfect for Elizabeth - and, even better, it was 50% off the day that we signed her up!!  She was a bit nervous going into it, but so excited once she was there.  She learned how to use a sewing machine and made a great pillow case.

The class was two hours long, so I did not have to stay.  She was just finishing up when I returned to pick her up. 

Bracelet Makers

A few months ago, my friend Karen told me about a new bracelet maker that she had purchased for her daughter.  I took one look at the video and said no way am I getting that for the girls.  No way.  Fast forward a few weeks - we faced the last two weeks of summer with no activities planned and two quibbling girls.  I bit the bullet and ordered the Rainbow Loom from Amazon.com and when it arrived, I told the girls that they had to figure it out themselves (If you know me, you know that I am the least crafty mom on earth!).  With the help of YouTube and various designs they found at craft stores, they were quickly pros.  Before school started, they made bracelets for all of the girls in their classes, as well as their teachers.  Once school started, they were bringing home orders for more.  They love making bracelets and learning new designs.  They get a bit frustrated - still haven't been able to successfully make the starburst bracelet - but overall, it's a great way for them to spend their time.

Working away.

This is what the sunroom floor usually looks like.

One of Emily's masterpieces.

Another creation, she texted this to me one day.

The batch of bracelets that we mailed to the Boucher Family.

Monster High Doll theme - these were all the rage in Elizabeth's class.

This is my everyday look.  A few weeks ago, I was in a meeting in New York City and noticed, as I looked around the room, that almost everyone present was wearing at least one rainbow loom bracelet - men and women.

Emily made (and wears) this cool ring.

Christmas Odds and Ends

Here are more photos from our Christmas season:

Lovey, with all of Emily's other lambs.

Pretty in pink, Emily loves her new outfit and purse.

Vacation week was filled with craft making! 

New books for Christmas. 

All tuckered out. 

More crafts! 

And drawing. 

Flitter Fairies from Santa were a big hit! 

She loves her Baxter. 

Many new American Girl accessories to play with. 

So, we got a lot of movies..... 

One of Emily's favorite gifts was Shimmer Shine, which allows her to give everyone glitter tattoos.

Even Daddy couldn't escape.

Odds and Ends

In the weeks leading up to Christmas, the girls have kept busy wrapping, making presents and, most recently, putting together a beautiful gingerbread house.

Elizabeth wrapped (and made) all of her own presents. 

Working on Christmas ornaments for our family.

Their very own gingerbread house.

They were both very good with the details.

Finishing touches.