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here we go.

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#23

2012 was a big year.

we had a lot of changes…we had a lot of work…. 

and a whole lot of  a w e s o m e.

i am excited for everything God has in store for 2013.

are you? 


chiropractors nj - Thanks for the great post on your blog, it really gives me an insight on this topic.

Shalee Shuayto - I need the water color picture! I saw it on the craft weekend blog, looked like it was printed on canvas?? Amazing, love! Do you sell these? Love………..!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ashlee - I adore the picture of your face with paint on it! You look beautiful and happy!

Lori - Yes! And, I just love your blog. The rainbow colors make me instantly happy! Love all these pictures. Happy 2013!

Leanne Mackenzie - What a huge year for you all! And what amazing photos…
I am so excited to see what 2013 will bring!
Leanne xo

Traci - These are wonderful, thank you for sharing! A very big wish for a happy 2013 for all of us, thank you for blogging I enjoy your inspiration.

lisa - You are so blessed! Wishing you and your family a great 2013. I am excited for the new year, too. We built a house, moved, two kiddos started school… I am ready for a quieter year with my family.

Farmgirl Paints - TheSe are amazing. So much love and fun. Happy new year Meg;)

Tracy Fisher - i wish you and your family the happiest of 2013! -tracy

Tiffany - Oh Meg… Your photos are stunning! Such wonderful memories you helped your family create this year! They are so blessed to have you.

amy jupin - i love these collages.
super big time love them.
and i smile every time i see you and chicago jenny together too.
🙂

Meredith Feisel - We sure are excited for 2013! Our baby is due in a few days! What a way to start off our year!

Verna Lantz - Wow, what a year indeed! I love this collage. Happy New Year, friend!

jenny - wonderful photos! a blessed year indeed! God is SO good! 🙂

Tracy - Happy New Year, Meg!!

Kizzy - You have some amazing photos, I have made a promise to take a picture a day and add it to my tumblr site and I’m now really looking forward to looking back at them all after seeing yours.

amy - i love looking back at the year like this in pictures! what a fun, busy, colorful year. have a fantastic new year!!!

jennyonthespot - Love your collages. You always inspire me. Blessings on your 2013, my friend… xoxox

Lisa M. - I love all those pictures! And I LOVE seeing you in so many of them! I am ready to rock this year!!! I am not a goal setter and I am QUEEN of procrastination, but in 2012 I set one goal and stuck with it. Now, for 2013 I sat down and wrote out some more goals (not resolutions!) and hung them by my computer. I want to accomplish these things. All my life, if something was hard, I just quit if I could. I’m done with that. I want to be the best wife, mother and person that God made me to be and I found through HIS strength, I can accomplish whatever I put my mind to…even if it is hard 🙂 He never promised easy, right?
Thank you for your blog. It is a daily inspiration for me. Best wishes for you and your family in the upcoming year. I’m sure it’s going to be a wonderful one! Can’t wait to start seeing Craft Weekend again! 🙂

Tiffany - oh my word, such a fun collage, such a good idea, i want it printed (with my family instead of course). 2013, is here and it’s already awesome. really and truly. happy new year!

gina - Your post gave me the idea that maybe my word for 2013 should be awesome, as in more awesome. That’s what I want in my life fore 2013, more awesomeness.

Lennie Jackson - Great pics! Hope 2013 is all you dream for. Love your blog.

Lorraine R. - Thanks for bringing fun and color into my world!!! My style is warm, muted, farmhouse colors so I love stopping by and soaking in all of the fun vibrant color of your world!!!!
I’m so glad that I found your blog this past year – and will be looking for ways to incorporate a little more color into my life!!
God bless and here’s to 2013!!!! Looking forward to what God has in store for us all <3

Sarah{Handbags*N*Pigtails} - Awesome. Happy 2013!

happygirl - I keep coming back for the pics. Happy New Year.

kerry - aaaah! A post full of fun and A.W.E.S.O.M.E.N.E.S.S!!!
Happy New Year Duerksen family! xxx

Leah - Love your pictures! And agree, 2012 was an awesome year! I did my own collages this year too: http://leahsthoughts.com/2012/12/28/2012-the-year-in-photos/. Thanks for all the inspiration!

dalayney - Loving the recap! So bright and colorful! New to your blog and just wanted to say I’m inspired. And need to catch up! 🙂

Kate - Happy New Year! Let’s rock this!

Aby Gittings Baskette - Happy happy new year!!! I hope it’s FABULOUS!!!!!

donna - love your pics…….! have a wonderful new year.

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throw back craft

i call this a throw back craft because it was based from something my great aunt Liza hung on her wall at christmas time… i don't know where that ended up.
i forgot about it until christmas.
hers was velvet and was covered in pearls and rhinestones sewn to it…in an antique frame.
she hung it above her fireplace.

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we created a modern version of liza's tree…using craft supplies she gave to me.
she always sent me home with a box of supplies that she wasn't going to need any more.
she loved to hand sew, preferably with felt, seqins and beads.
i have thousands.

first we painted a canvas all one color. (this is a 16×20 canvas..we used acrylic craft paint)
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she had bags of scraps of this puffy bright colored yarn.
so now i have bags of scraps of puffy yarn.
🙂
i traced a tree shape (cut from paper) on our painted canvas when it dried
and we hot glued the puffy yarn in the shape.
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this big bowl of sequins and beads is a teeny fraction of the stash i have from her. 

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then we poured glue into the tree shape.
like…. we used almost the entire bottle of tacky glue.

i poured it out and spread it with a paint brush.
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then we dumped the sequins and beads on the glue until every single bit of glue was covered.

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the girls were LOVING it!!

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it was messy.

but what fun is making art if you can't get messy?!

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it's like a game of I Spy.

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the gold star sequins were in their own glass pill bottle.
it was the perfect finishing touch.

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i hope that we will hang this up every year too…for a long time….and that my girls will remember making it.

it is pretty awesome.

different from liza's but perfect for us.

 

Kathy - Love this! It’s just what I’m looking for. Perfect for grandkids to create together and remember every time they see it hanging at Christmas.
Thank you!

10 pomysłów na Å›wiÄ…teczne prace plastyczne – WordPress - […] BÅ‚yszczÄ…ca choinka JeÅ›li dużo szyjesz i w zwiÄ…zku z tym masz mnóstwo cekinów, koralików i guziczków, możesz przygotować z dzieckiem bÅ‚yszczÄ…cÄ…, kolorowÄ… choinkÄ™, wypeÅ‚niajÄ…c włóczkowy kontur lÅ›niÄ…cymi dżetami. Szczegółowy opis TUTAJ. […]

Holiday Classroom Party Ideas: 10 Christmas Tree Crafts - […] (source: MegDuerksen) […]

10 Christmas Tree Craft ideas - […] (source: MegDuerksen) […]

Catherine Gee - 6 yr old girl to make Christmas crafts and decorations.

Christmas Tree Crafts - bright & colourful - Fun Crafts Kids - […] We adore Christmas Tree Crafts – there is something so very special about a Christmas Tree and how it puts us all in a very festive mood. So when I saw this sparkly, colourful and simply cheerful Christmas Tree Craft, I knew we had to share it with you. A great way to use up all those “bits and bobs” knocking around the bottom of your craft drawer, whilst creating something fun and pretty. […]

Lasso the Moon - O Tannenbaum! 10 Christmas Tree Crafts for Kids - […] Vintage Catch-All Christmas Craft I absolutely adore this beaded yarn Christmas wall hanging. It is a must-do on my holiday list for this year. Pin it for later | See full post […]

5 manualidades navideñas para niños: árboles de navidad | Pepita Pancracia - […] 1. No me digas que no tienes botones en la casa que te sobren o no tienes fácil comprar una bolsita de botones la cual no sería costosa. Esta manualidad es mi favorita tienes diversión asegurada con goma y un poco de lana. El árbol botones te enseñan como hacerlo aquí. […]

Meredith @ Homegrown Friends - I LOVE this! Too funny I was just looking at an extra canvas we have leftover from a summer project and was wondering what to do with it. PERFECT timing 🙂 Sharing and pinning!

Top 10 Best Preschool Christmas Crafts - Top Inspired - […] DIY Project and Photo credit to megduerksen.com […]

brittany - i will try this craft with my kids when I get all the supplies

25 Easy Christmas Crafts for Kids - hands on : as we grow - […] Christmas Tree Throw Back Craft Whatever […]

Kris - It’s lovely, what a wonderful idea. What a wonderful memory!

Antonette - This is so beautiful. I love the contrasting turquoise. Really makes the tree pop.
You could bag up some of the beads/sequins and sell them on etsy. I’d buy some. 🙂

Mary - totally rad!
i love it!
what a treasure.
🙂

MissKathy - Very clever use of all those prettys that just can’t be thrown away. I like large scale but I feel inspired to go smaller – would make great personalised cards for family and friends. Sure they would get an extra glow to recieve art made with love.

Lisa - I love this times a TRILLION! Favorite craft you’ve ever posted.

Laura - gotta admit, when i saw this on IG, i thought, “Well now THAT will be a huge mess!”
I grew up the daughter of two artists…two artists who are CRAZY CLEAN AND NEAT
when I got spin art for my 8th birthday, my father took it…and I NEVER SAW IT AGAIN
why?
because it would make a mess
i try really hard to allow mess in my home
and this week, i have succeeded
sadly, not because of crafts
just grief and chaos 🙂
anyway…i do love this
i think it is beautiful
worth the mess!

Leslie - I’ve been blog-hopping and “Pinterest-ing” today and came to your site. I love this tree. What a sweet memory for you and your girls of your aunt. It’s so pretty! I love all the sequins. 🙂

kristina - Fabulous! Funny thing is that I saw one of these at an antique store yesterday and stared at it forever and thought it was awesome. And look at you making one… I think I have to do this for next year. Thanks for sharing!

Abaker71605@gmail.com - Love this Idea, I did it with my kids tonight and they turned out adorable!

Danielle - I was hoping you would post this tutorial after I saw it on Instagram! Thank you! Happy New Year!

Jackie - Definitely a memory maker!

dee - hi-love this idea and i love that this will be a family heirloom one day with wonderful memories-love dee x

Gina - Gorgeous!! I want one! Best wishes for a very happy New Year Meg. Thanks for all the inspiration and fun stories!! I always enjoy checking in on your blog!

Carol S. - Sweet! Awesome homemade Christmas ARTwork. You will love pulling that out each year. Happy New Year! Just the four of us, board games, tv ball games, movies and munchies…more of same tomorrow. That’s a happy holiday to me. Enjoy.

Georgia - Ohhh my god… i had to scroll to the end straight away to see the finished product… its so spangly and amazing… im going to collect buttons etc this year to make it next xmas!
awesome craft! 🙂

Prairie Jenn - Love! My girls would flip! We’ve got to make one next year:)

Lynn - I SPY a jingle bell 🙂 I love this – maybe will try to make one with my boys before they completely lose interest with crafting with me (sigh). Happy New Year.

Janelle - Love this and I already have a canvas painted just like this! Do you add anything once the glue is dry to preserve it?

Heather - So cute. I wish I had seen this before Christmas. It will be on the mandatory list for next year. Thanks for sharing!!

Kerrin Norman - Love it! We are totally going to do this with hearts for Valentines Day! So excited!

lorel - I think Liza would love your adaptation. beautiful!

Lisa - This is so fun!!! You will never get tired of looking at it. I wish I had wonderful bowls full of prettiness like that. Maybe I’ll start keeping a jar to drop in leftovers and found pretties, and by next Christmas I can make my own sparkling Christmas tree! Happy New Year!

Jen - P.S. Once again my 8-year-old daughter is dressed just like your 8-year-old daughter. Same red sweater dress. She loves it! I hope you’re having a great day, Meg!

Amber - Oh my gosh! Perfect! Pinning it for us to revisit next Christmas!

Sarah H. - I love it! I was hoping after I saw this on instagram that you would give us all the details! How fun! I think we will do this for Valentines Day. My daughter would love it! Thanks for sharing!

Amanda - I love this!!!!!

Michelle from Australia - LOVE it!! I had never crafted until I ‘met’ you Meg. But your Christmas bauble wreath post two years ago has resulted in me making nearly two dozen baubles wreaths since. And the orders for them just keep on rolling in. I wonder if I do a button tree like yours whether I’ll have people wanting them too?? Thank you for sharing and thank you for helping me find the ‘inner crafter’ in me that I still get surprised by each time I finish a wreath.

Meredith - As my kids would say…..totes amazeballs!! As always Meg – fun, imaginative, delightful. Much love and Happy New Year from my family Down Under to yours. Thanks for another year of generously sharing life from your delightful perspective. Meredy xo

Kizzy - What a wonderful creation, I will be tryjng this with the kids next year, thank you fir sharing.

Comfypjs - I like it! I just may have to add this to the craft list.

Kelly - Soo fun!!!! Love it. Kelly

Jen T. - I too know exactly what you mean! Every year I hang up our vintage jewelry tree. It’s made with old vintage earrings and brooches and bracelets and so on placed in a Christmas tree shape. It was created on black velvet in a vintage frame as well. And the finishing touch is my uncle (who made it) drilled holes to string up a short strand of Christmas lights. I love it so very much. Your version is absolutely delightful!

Kate - I love this

Karen - Oh my. That is just awesome!!!!

Jenn - So fun!!!

Jenny - ThAt is gorgeous. Thank you for sharing. Happy new year!

Ella - I know exactly what your Aunt had hanging on her wall. My Grandmother had one too that came out at Christmas time & I always adored it as well. I believe hers was on burgundy velvet with lots of “golden” detailing, pearls & some good old fashioned vintage jewels. Loving your modern spin on it and can see doing this craft next year with our youngest one (she’ll be 3 next Christmas)!

Amy Woods - Uniquelyand wonderfully adorable! Love it!!

Heather - I love it! I have an 8 yr old girl that is going to love it too! I am putting it on next year’s craft list! THanks! Merry Christmas!

Pat - Meg, I love the craft and will have to do that with my niece next year! Can you (or anyone else out there) please tell me where you got the JOY christmas wrapping paper? It is so cute!
Pat

April R - Look at that left handed crafting! Love everything about this craft 🙂
And the gold stars in the star were perfection!
Merry Christmas!

Esther - Meg–love it. I think I will do this with my grandkids next year for Christmas, I have to start collecting beads and such–thank you for sharing with us.

Christy K - Ok, this is seriously the cutest craft EVER! Love the creativity and color involved and I LOVE that you found your inspiration from one of your great aunt’s creations! I hope you and yours had a very Merry Christmas and all the best to you in the new year!! : )

donna - that is just too adorable. i love it.

Sarah{Handbags*N*Pigtails} - How fun! And inheriting bowls and bottles of art supplies? Heavenly! Happy New Year Meg:)

Alicia @ La Famille - ok now that is just plain fun! i love every bit. that bowl of randome sparkly things is amazing!! yeah for aunt liza!!!

Kerstie Pederson - Rad!!!! Got my wheels spinning for next year’s Christmas crafts.

Verna Lantz - This is one of the most wonderful things ever! I adore how it turned out. We might have to steal this idea. 🙂

Jen - I agree. That. is. awesome. Want to make one with my girls next year!

Melissa - That. Is. Awesome.

Kristen - That is so cute! I bet it was a blast making this with your girls. Messy is always more fun.

elma - I love it!!!

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christmassy

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sooo….it's over.
that went by WAY too quickly for the amount of work that it was.
bummer.

we started at my parents house over the weekend…. 

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i was in charge of the mashed potatoes.

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no green on my plate.
oops.

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there was a kids table this year.  

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and braids.  :)

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lauren got her first pair of Birks. (i remember mine…)

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some of my gifts.  
how beautiful are the mugs from anthro?! 

my dad had this shirt made from one of talby's drawings.
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the big hit of the gifts at my parents house was Just Dance 4.
my mom has a Wii at her house (we don't have one) so my kids love to play it when they are there.
they started playing right away.

THEN the moms came down…. and we smoked them all.
HIGH SCORE all the three rounds.

oh yeah!
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my niece is so cuddly.

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this was one of sean's gifts.
it was called Cube-bot.
he did not put it down….made it into every shape imaginable.

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family photo 2012.

and gangnum style….
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christmas morning was back at out house….just the seven of us….all in their new jammies and slippers.

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new boots (from santa)
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new movie (from talby to sean)
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new coat (from santa)

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new boots (from santa)

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new book (from santa)
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we almost always give a big stack of dvds as a family gift.

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this was my christmas morning: green water cup from talby, blue water cup & starbucks card from annie (i think daddy helped her out) doughnut pan from sean, candle from scott, cookbook from annie and a surprise gift of an itouch from mr. duerksen.  :)

it was one of the most calm and relaxed christmas mornings we may have ever had.
i guess they really are growing up.
and they were very grateful and kind to each other.

a christmas miracle indeed.

 
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we headed over to craig's mom's house for fondue and gifts on christmas day.
the kids loved playing games with christmas themes.

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they all got new clothes and goodies.

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fondue is their family tradition for like….ever.
my boys LOVE all the meats…and also especailly the cheese with bread.

annie was struggling with her cast and holding her plate so i jokingly suggested she get in the old high chair.
she got big eyes and said "CAN I REALLY?!!"
ha ha ha

she stayed there and had craig bring her cooked meat!
she said many times over that it was her most favorite meal she has ever eaten. 

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and the duerksen family picture of 2012.

we are done with our celebrations.
it went by so fast.
i still have christmas crafts to do though…. we are going to make them anyway.
they are too cute to wait a whole year more.

i hope your family had a nice celebration.
my favorite part of all of it was the christmas eve service we went to.
it brought my heart back to where it was supposed to be all along.

annie goes in tomorrow to get her cast off.
if you think of her…say a prayer for her to be brave and for full healing of her arm.

thanks.

i took four of my kids to a movie today and now…i am going to take a quick nap.

happy december 26 to you.

 

Jamie - oh my i spy mrs. meyer’s soap in a color {scent} i’ve never seen! do tell, please! what scent?

Victoria - Oh my I love Annie’s shirt/dress she wore in the pictures! That is adorable.
What a great gift from your Dad – I would love to have one of my daughters art pieces turned into a tshirt!
Looks like you all had a wonderful Christmas!
Happy New Year!

Robin Heim - What a great recap of your Christmas. Where did you Dad go to have the picture transferred onto the shirt? It’s such a wild idea. I love it!

Laura - i love seeing how everybody has their own style and tradition for Christmas.
the same running theme seems to be family…no matter where people go, what they eat, or what gifts they give.
it is all about family.
love that.
our christmas was a tough and strange one…
i cooked nothing
i bought NOTHING
seriously…Santa is REAL…he came through for our family BIG TIME this christmas
then nick got sick
merry christmas! HA!
BUT…
my family was together
and THAT is awesome
the people in our homes are the true gifts.
although those anthro mugs kind of ROCK
love to your whole bunch, and prayers for a blessed new year!!!!!!!
xoxo

Michele - Your family is just lovely. The family portrait shirt was my favorite :o)

This Farm Family's Life - Love your pictures! I am sad Christmas is over, but I’m already looking forward to next year and warmer weather!!!

Lisa - Where oh where did you get the JOY wrapping paper in your first picture??? Love it! Also, the picture of you and annie is so sweet. Looks like your Christmas was wonderful. Our Christmas morning was a bit lame this year, (Kids woke up by 4:45am and I was mad and having trouble being joyful),but was redeemed by having a real white Christmas and being able to go sledding as a family with my sisters family. I’ve never had trouble getting into the spirit of Christmas but this year was rough. Loved looking at all your pictures! Saw on instagram that Annie got her cast off! Hope it was a smooth process!

Tiffany - Great to be surrounding by family. Thank you for sharing. I see your baby girl growing up so much. Merry Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Sarah{Handbags*N*Pigtails} - Looks like a great time of family & celebration! Ours was kind of a weird Christmas-hubby in bed sick with the flu, his grandma admitted to the hospital on Christmas Eve with what was thought to be a heart attack. That meant no Christmas eve service for us(a true tradition for all of us) and no food/opening gifts at her house thet night either. We’re postponing it all until shes out of the hospital.
I told my husband “as much as we might say traditions aren’t the most important part of Christmas, its hard to let go of them when circumstances demand we do something else.” I love me some traditions:)
Merry Christmas! Enjoy that nap!

Carrie - Merry Christmas. Thank you for sharing your family with us.

Kelsey - I just watched a video that someone shared, and I immediately thought of you and your blog (and your readers!). It’s about having gratitude for each day in your life, but when he said, “Begin by opening your eyes, and be grateful that you have eyes to open… just think about the amazing colors that are here for us to enjoy!” and of course, I thought of your love for bright, happy colors. Check it out if you have a few minutes… very sweet. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nj2ofrX7jAk

Kayla - What? Your Dad doesn’t Gangnam? 😉

Jenny B. - Love that Lauren got her first pair of Birks! I had green ones in high school and wore them to prom (yup. sure did.). I also love that Annie was so excited to sit in the high chair. I think my 8-year-old son would have had the exact same response! 🙂

Kimberly G - Looks like you had a great Christmas.

Danielle F. - Merry Christmas! Love the pic of Shawn with his DVD. Praying for Annie…and her mama. 🙂

Megan - I saw your “cute as a button” chair on sale at World Market today, just thought I’d let you know!!!! (online!)

Shara - I love that you smoked your kids in Just Dance!!! Talk about braggin’ rights! Merry Christmas Duerkson’s!!!

Tiffany - Sounds like you had a great Christmas. I’m so glad. Annie couldn’t be cuter… with the braids, and the high chair. My goodness. It is a lot of work for just a few days, isn’t it?! The wonderful family memories last forever though! Merry Christmas!

Kristin S - 1. Love Lauren’s boots. Wow, Santa did well.
2. Love that you took “all family” pics at both homes. Those will mean so much someday. I only have a few. Wait, I have a couple. That’s it. Two. I wish I had more.

Lorel - thanks for posting Meg – so good to see you and your family. I agree – over too quickly. Love you!

heth_07@yahoo.com - Hi Meg! Precious post! Praying for your sweet Annie!
Do you know where your dad ordered your t-shirt? LOVED that! 🙂

Lori Austin - That shirt is the best!
Sweet Annie and her braids. I will pray for her tomorrow.

Ana - Love your blog. My 3 girls loved the Christmas Tree craft you posted earlier. And they also loved the Zingo board game and some other ones you suggested on your previous post. Thanks, love all your ideas and suggestions.

danielle burkleo - meg! i really love all of these pictures…they make me feel warm and fuzzy. my faves are
lauren’s new boots.
annie in the high chair
all the just dance pictures
your new shirt of talby’s drawing – so sweet!
i imagine that our christmases in the future will look like this.
and that makes me really happy.
love you friend! merry christmas!

cheryl - i’m loving Lauren’s new boots. where are they from? other than Santa 😉

Kimberly Dial - I love big family Christmases. Thanks for sharing yours 🙂

Kimberlee Jost - Loved all the pictures of your families!
Miss you!
Need to run…too much food.
🙂

Susan - We had a wonderful Christmas too! We had snow in Fort Worth for only the 2nd time in my life! My daughter got Just Dance 4 also…huge hit! Happy New Year and stay warm!

Rita - Your mom and I have the same Christmas dishes! Merry Day After Christmas!

jackie chappell - prayers FOR SURE !!! … we have gone through a series of “tramitic” doctor visits of late … so i surley understand how to pray … our doc suggested some atarax (sp) before this last visit … i didn’t do it ..but after yet another GIGANTIC EMOTiONAL experience ..i wondered if it might have been a good idea (our four year old grandson has had a series of warts removed from his lips ..ear lobes ..fingers ..and .. and .. and .. so between the numbing shots ..the scraping .. and ..the cauterization it has just been a struggle … (holding him down is just THE WORST !!!) … so you can count on this nanny’s prayers .. with the hope that this will truely be her last visit … prayers for mommie too !!!
blessings ..jackie (from florida)

Leah - Looks like a great Christmas! And looking forward to your belated Christmas crafts! We still have a week and a half of vacation. So bring on the projects!

Kate - A nap sounds perfect! So glad you had a good one!

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merry christmas.

i have posted this before….but it makes me so happy to watch (and listen to) that i had to do it again.

hope you have a wonderful christmas.

we are all getting on our new christmas eve jammies.
the kids are headed to bed. 
craig is making our breakfast casserole and then we are going to watch It's A Wonderful Life.

it is.
a truly wonderful life….a gift to be breathing and loving and smiling.

merry christmas.

 

 

Vivian - Christmas video was so sweet. I noticed in your picture of your living room, there was a blind string hanging down….please wrap it up out of the way….can cause child strangulation.

Stephanie - they played this video at church at christmas eve service. Love it!

Tiffany - Very cute! Thanks for sharing that. Merry Christmas Meg!!

Carol S. - I still like that video too, thanks for sharing it. Merry Christmas, every year is different but every year is good. God bless your family this Christmas.

Weza - Hi Meg, I love this clip too. The group that created it are from New Zealand and their latest one ‘An Unexpected Christmas’ is written by Simoney the author of the blog Greatfun4kids. I absolutely love it and I bet you will too.
Merry Christmas to you all.
Lisa xxx

Karen R. - Merry Christmas Meg! We loved the clip- and this one by the same church! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TM1XusYVqNY awesome!

laura b - Hope you all have a very merry day!

angie - merry christmas to you and your family!

Catriona - Merry Christmas, Duerksens! I love that ou love this clip, too. You must check out their offering for this year. It’s called An Unexpected Christmas and you can find it on YouTube. x

Stacie - Merry Christmas to you too! It’s a gift for me that our paths crossed in real life this year. You are amazing and inspiring! xo.

Leah - Merry Christmas, Meg! Thanks for bringing wonderful words, color and brightness to my life with your blog!

Terrie G - Merry Christmas Meg!
Praying you have a Blessed Christmas with your family!

Kirsten J - Merry Christmas to you – and thanks for being a bright spot on days when I sometimes need it 🙂

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SNOW! and crafts.

 

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finally.
we haven't had snow for way too long.
even if it knocked out my plans AGAIN today…i am still so happy to have snow.

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talby was sick yesterday all day.
so sick.
poor baby…waffle tried his best to keep her happy.  :)

she felt well enough in the afternoon to work on a project with me.
she was so bored all day. 

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step one for our ripped paper tree is to paint a background paper.
we taped annie's down because with only one arm the paper moves around a lot.

also i painted paper the night before for them to make sure it was dry enough to work on it all at once.
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i used acrylic craft paint (you know…the .97 little bottles in all crafts stores)
for all of the painted paper and annie's background sheet too.

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just green paint painted over the whole thing.

when your green paper is completely dry…then you rip your sheet into strips about 1-2 inches wide.
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when your background sheet is dry you begin shaping your tree.
we forgot to make a snowy ground…. but it still worked out fine.
rip the strips into the right size to form a tree shape.
we used ten strips total.

it's FUN to rip the paper into the shapes you want!
i love how the ripped edge shows, the white on some sides and how all the strips are uneven.
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we also painted paper with different colors to  use for the star, the presents and the ornaments.
we made patterns in the paint by using the pointed end of a paintbrush
and making dots with a pencil eraser dipped in paint.

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macaroni and cheese break!

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you could use a glue stick but i think school glue would hold better in the long run…the painted paper gets heavy.

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add some "snow" with a q-tip or splatter it on.
and some yarn bows on the gifts.
and you have an Eric Carle inspired christmas tree work of art!
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talby chose a night scene and used water color for her background.

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SO much FUN!!!

i found this idea on Artsonia.

 

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How about ONE MORE IDEA FOR A GIFT???

for just $20 you can purchase a stove for a family in Haiti and give the gift of coal efficiency!
Spon1-tiff
you can buy a stove "gift card" to give to someone on your gift list!

how much better is that than another tie?

TODAY IS THE LAST DAY 

TO GET A 

STOVE CARD

mailed in time for christmas!!

you can give it to your dad.
you can give it to your husband.
you can say "it's a gift to me!"  and purchase a gift card.

or two or three or ten.

GO TO The Adventure Project TODAY for information.

 

 

Christine Ishmael - Hey Meg…don’t know if you get time to read all of your comments but I’m wondering if I can buy a print of the chicken coop with snow on it from you? I’m trying so hard to find beauty in all of the snow we’ve had dumped on us…that picture spoke to me…thanks, christine @ christineishmael@gmail.com

Rach - Thanks for the snow pics. I needed that. 🙂

Becki - I LOVE this Eric Carle Craft!

tiffany feger - i just donated. thanks for the idea. i donated to the water cause b/c my dad is really into clean water for the world. my donation will be matched it says. awesome and a great gift for my dad! i’ll forward my email conf Christmas morning!

Kelly - Go to
http://www.featureshoot.com/tag/henry-hargreaves-photography/
for some holiday break rainbow food ideas for your family – or your wall!

kim - Yay!!! I’m glad I’m not the only one 🙂 Merry Christmas!!!

Sarah{Handbags*N*Pigtails} - We just woke up to our first snowfall. Its not much but I’ll take it over the hammering that other parts of our state are getting this weekend.
Merry Christmas, Meg!:)

Jules - Lovely craft Meg! Your girls are adorable, they look so grown up in these pictures! Thank you for all of your bright and happy blog posts throughout the year, I hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas together. All the best for the coming year! Jules x

Tanya - LOVE the trees a lot!
Just bought three stoves for Haiti ~ now my shopping is officially done 🙂
Thanks for the link <3

Tracy - I wish I shared your love of snow. I really can’t stand the cold white wet stuff! It would make it a lot easier to make it through these Kansas winters.
Loved this craft! Look forward to the next one!

Tiffany - I was thinking Eric Carle the whole post, and then you said it! Super cute! I think I’ll have to make one with Olivia soon. She’d love it! Thanks for the idea!

Jen - Beautiful snow, Christmas trees, and girls! I hope Talby is feeling all the way better now. Finally got some flurries here at home last night – southwest Ohio. Happy Weekend!

Ashley - Oh I really like this one…adding to the list…hopefully it won’t stay on the list, but I’ll actually do it with the kids 🙂

lisa - Very cute! I would totally frame those and pull them out every Christmas. They are bright and colorful. Really cute.

erin - The picture of the sun coming through the tree is so pretty!

alicia @ la famille - love this craft and SNOW!! yeah for you guys!!

Patti - Love your craft ideas! Also wanted to say that thanks to a post of yours a week or so ago, I went searching for, found and ordered the Memory Challenge Holiday Edition Game. It arrived a few days ago and we’ve been playing it nonstop in the evenings at our house. Its so much fun!! Thanks for enabling. 😉

happygirl - Great tree idea. I love your snow shots. Kansas and snow just go together. 🙂

Lisa H. - Love this!
Will definitely save in my files to make with my Art students next Christmas.
Thanks so much for sharing your family’s creations.
We love to craft at our house too.
Lisa

Shannon - I love the craft idea! The colors are so bright and beautiful. I’m a whole lot jealous you guys have so much snow, I’m hoping for some this weekend!!
Merry Christmas 🙂

Amy - Awesome craft! Time to break out the paints and gather the kiddos!!!

Eva Scott - Really pretty idea! And fun!

Stephanie Talty - So stinkin cute!!!
I may have to try this craft with my son over Christmas break.
The storm is moving into out area (Ohio) tonight.
It is going to be a white Christmas!!
Merry Christmas to you and your family.
Stephanie

Kim - Made our donation today!!! My youngest daughter & her boyfriend travel to Haiti for mission trips. For a small $20 donation you can help a family 🙂 Great cause & I hope more people donate!!!

Holly - cute idea! Love it!

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snowflakes

 

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this first holiday craft was super duper easy but looks really cool.
we made 3D snowflakes!

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you will need only pipe cleaners and beads.
we choose silver pipe cleaners and clear beads.
(but you could do white pipe cleaners with rainbow colored beads and it would be adorable!)

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clear beads from the plastic crafty bead section at the craft store.
they are like $1.99 a bag or so.

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take 10 pipe cleaners and lay one the opposite direction of the other 9.

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wrap the 9 together tightly a few times with the one pipe cleaner…twisting to make it stay.

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then fan out the pipe cleaners as evenly as you can in all directions.

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then we snipped off a few inches from all the sides EXCEPT ONE.

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on the ONE tall pipe cleaner…place one bead and the wrap the end into a loop.

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next place one bead or more on every pipe cleaner.
they stay on whereever you place them…they don't slide around.
i like that.

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we took some of the small pieces that we snipped off and wrapped them 
around the ends of a few of the points…to give it that "snowflake" look.

and that's it!

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my kids each made several.
and argued over whose was the best.
of course.

happy crafting!

 (idea for this craft was found here)

 

Beth - So cute, meg! I am really looking forward to the days when my kiddos are old enough to do crafts like this – they’re 3 and 1 now.

emily hope - really love this – so simple & pretty. I think we’ll continue making Christmas crafts all month too 🙂

Tracy Fisher - thank you for this “happy” blog today. much needed. love love love the trees and ornaments. cherished items for sure. -tracy

Tammy - Love this idea! I just saw that the Sandy Hook PTA is asking for snowflakes to decorate the school the kids will be going to in January. http://www.ctpta.org/SANDY-HOOK-FUND.html We’ll definitely be making some over our Christmas break!

Amber - I love all your crafts. I really need to step up my crafting lifestyle. 😉

tara - amazing craft idea….
talby looks so grown up. 🙂

Kimberlymccoy@mac.com - oh perfect! Thanks for this. I’ll be doing this with my girl scout troop on Saturday. Beautiful!

Jennifer - Great idea 🙂

Ashley - Woah black and white photos! I am not used to that here 🙂 I like them…just like I do the color ones. Miss you.

laurenrger@yahoo.com - Loved this too! The first thing I thought was they would be great to send to CT! So glad someone alrwady provided the dets.

Lisa - I saw on Facebook they PTA at Sandybrook was looking for snowflakes for the children/school…these would be perfect to send if you have extra:
Connecticut PTSA is deeply saddened by the tragedy that has struck our Newtown community. We have met with the PTA and community leaders in Newtown and Sandy Hook Elementary to offer our assistance at this very difficult time. They have asked us to spearhead the following efforts on their behalf:
Snowflakes for Sandy Hook
Please help the students of Sandy Hook have a winter wonderland at their new school! Get Creative!! No two snowflakes are alike. Make and send snowflakes to Connecticut PTSA, 60 Connolly Parkway, Building 12, Suite 103, Hamden, CT 06514, by January 12, 2013.
Mail snowflakes or donations to: Connecticut PTSA, 60 Connolly Parkway, Building 12, Suite 103, Hamden, CT 06514. Phone: 203-281-6617
For questions or to reach anyone at Sandy Hook PTA, please email us at sandyhook@ctpta.org. The Newtown community has requested monetary contributions, but we do know there may be service and product donations that will be offered. For service or product inquiries, please contact

Michelle from Australia - Maybe we could do yellow ones for the hot Australian sun? Oh for a white Christmas…..

jen - we are so making these this weekend!! thank you!

Tanya H - This might be my favorite craft you’ve ever shared, and we’ve done several of yours in our house! 🙂 Thanks so much!! 🙂

Lori Austin - So pretty and so simple. Thank you for sharing. These supplies are on my shopping list.
Btw, are you aware Katie Brown has a pic of yours on her blog? Wowza!!

Kim - You made my day with this post!! I am in charge of my daughter’s Christmas party at school on Thursday and she really wanted a craft as part of it…but I am just not naturally good at that and couldn’t find anything online that thrilled me. Until this. Perfect! Yeah!!!

Carrie D. - I think this is going to make a great last minute addition to my daughter’s preschool Christmas party!

Kirsten J - Bah!!! How do you make these look so good???? I’ve tried them and they looked like they were done by a two year old in the dark.

alimoll - I love this idea! So simple, but they are soooo beautiful!

Liz - This is so neat – love this craft!
Did you hear about the snowflake drive for Sandy Hook Elementary? Just wanted to pass this on in case you’d like to send some there (c&p from a friend’s Facebook feed):
* * *
So many friends near and far have asked how to help. There is a Snowflake Drive for the students of Sandy Hook Elementary to turn their new school into a winter wonderland being sponsored by the PTA.
Like our children, no two snowflakes are alike. We invite you to
create snowflakes to decorate Sandy Hook School’s new home. Be creative! All colors and designs are welcome. You can mail your snowflakes to
Connecticut PTSA,
60 Connolly Parkway, Building 12, Suite 103,
Hamden, CT 06514
by January 12, 2013.
Please feel free to share this with others.

Jamie M. - So cute!! Thanks for sharing this, I pinned it so I would remember to make it with my kids over winter break.

Kate - Cute! Thank you!

Kimberlee Jost - Those are beautiful!
And seem so easy…even I could do it. 😉
Talby always looks so serious when she is crafting, and I KNOW she’s loving every minute of it.
I wonder if that’s how I look when I’m into my craft.
Ha.

Penny - I agree, so well rounded. He will make someone a wonderful husband!

Tracy - Love this simple craft! And love that there is very little clean-up 😉

Melissa Kojima - Oh, they’re beautiful. I’ve never really like pipe cleaners, but this is perfect for them. I bet your place looks really wonderful with all your crafting decorations!

Melissa Kojima - Oh, they’re beautiful. I’ve never really like pipe cleaners, but this is perfect for them. I bet your place looks really wonderful with all your crafting decorations!

Molly - Also, my daughter needs scissor practicing, do you have any crafts for that?

Molly - I love this idea. I have these beads in green, red and white left over from a craft I did on my own and I think I have pipecleaners too. Thanks, we are off next week, so I appreciate the crafts you are posting. 🙂
My friend did the ice cream cones with frosting and sprinkles with her kids yesterday, have you tried that one?

Linda - WOW My 12 year old son saw this post this morning and said”MOM we have to make those” I was blown away, lately he has been too cool for crafts! Thanks for the great idea!

alicia @ la famille - sooo fun! i love the clear beads with the sparkly pipecleaners.

Seriously Sassy Mama - Love it. Too bad my house is already overflowing with Christmas. This will make a great craft for next year. Love the black and white take.

Debbie Hargadon - Loved This! So simple but so nice, as Jaimie said. Merry Christmas to you and your family, Meg! Thanks for exposing me to so much great stuff on the internet that I do not have time to find myself. Your blog is my guilty pleasure. I’ve found so much great stuff at your direction. And I LOVE Sean! How lucky his friends will be in his adult life with his grounded background of crafts, sports, God, Kansas living – I love how he is not too cool for these things. He seems to be comfortable in his own skin, which is so fabulous for a middle school boy. Bravo to him!

jaimie - Thanks for sharing…what a great craft! Love the simplicity but great impact! Merry Christmas to you and yours!

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