Cocoa & Conversation Relief Society Activity

For January, we wanted to keep it simple and we just decided to have a get together.

And we decided that the get together was going to be a hot chocolate party.

I mean, after I found these printables at {Upcycled Treasures} it was a must in my mind, cause Baby, it IS cold outside, and everyone wants hot chocolate when it's cold. 

And when I found this quote from Eliza R. Snow, it made me feel even better.  What makes you feel better than warm chocolate along with warm conversation?  Nothing.  The answer is nothing.

So, we got a lovely sister in our ward to host the party at her lovely, inviting house, and brought in all the fixins for a real party!  And this one was A LOT of fun to put together! 

I found these awesome little wooden scoopers and drizzlers on Amazon and prime got them to me right on time. We used the scoopers for most of the toppings, but to make the fudge and caramel sauces easy to apply, I actually put them on electric candle warmers to keep them warm and stuck a honey drizzler in them.  It was perfect.

The jars all came from the dollar store...and they were the perfect size!

I found the stir sticks in the craft section at Walmart, and glued snowflake buttons to the top...and I LOVE how they turned out!

I found these little labels on {Upcycled Treasures} as well, and because I loved them so much, they kind of dictated what we served as toppings, but the list was pretty extensive and I couldn't think of anything else I'd want anyway!  We had white chocolate chips, tiny marshmallows, crushed peppermint, mini marshmallows, chocolate chips, cinnamon sticks, carmel sauce, and chocolate fudge sauce.  And of course whipped cream to top it off!

A little red and white bakers twine was just the thing to hold these labels in place.  I loved the way it all looked!  I brought in my snowballs, my snowmen, and my mini trees to round out the display, as well as some apothecary jars filled with pinecones and berries. 

My favorite purchase for this party is a toss up between the scoopers and these awesome cups, which I also found on Amazon.  I just loved them so so SO much better than foamy cups.  And they came with that awesome cardboard sleeve!  Then, these labels made them just theeee cutest!  I think everyone else appreciated them as well.  Plus, they had lids so sisters could take some for the road.  

Because one serving of all this just wasn't enough!  Gotta do at least two different versions of toppings, right? 

If anyone came to this party cold, they definitely left feeling warmed up. :)

I used {this hot chocolate crock pot recipe} which I found on Pinterest and everyone liked it, plus it was easy to make, serve, and keep warm in the crock pot. 

 We all just had a grand time visiting with each other.  Sometimes it's nice to just get together without a program!  

We are all sisters, after all.

Thankful

The older I get, the easier it seems like it would be to just skip over this Thanksgiving time of year and move right into Christmas.  I love Christmas!  And every year, the time left until Christmas seems to get shorter and shorter.

But, then I see a thankful display like this, and I am once again so glad we have Thanksgiving - especially right before Christmas! 

What a perfect time of year to remember all that we have been blessed with!

I decided to have a go at a thankful banner like this one I saw on Pinterest.

It turned out to be pretty easy!  We cut 8" x 4" pieces out of burlap, folded them in half and cut an inch high triangle notch out of the bottom, then zigzaged the edges.

And I ended up just sewing the flags to the ribbon so they wouldn't slide around - they're about 1/2" apart.

After that, we just cut out "thankful" on a cricut using glitter paper - "anu" were 2.5" tall and "thkfl" were 3.5" tall.

I glued them to the flags using a no sew fabric glue, but at our Super Saturday (craft day for tons of women) we realized that hot glue was just as effective and dried a lot faster! 

And I'm just loving the way it looks on my mantle this year!  What a great reminder it is every day.

After all,

This is the perfect time of year to focus on what we've been given, and all that we have.  As we move into Christmas, which can often be all about the things we want, it's nice to have a reminder of what really makes us happy in life.

Be Thankful!

Tissue Rosette Heart

Do you remember a while ago, that tutorial from {The Idea Room} about how to make rose kissing balls?

I was in love with it then, and I'm still in love with it now.  I totally tried it myself and fell in love with the way they turned out!

This year, they inspired me to do something else.

Move over rosette kissing ball!

I decided my little shelf needed a little something extra.  I already had this $1 frame.  Painted it white, glued this cute pink paper I already had to the back of it, and started making a bunch of tissue paper rosettes.

It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be to make a heart shape using roses.  They don't really stay put, so you kinda have to hot glue as you go, which is a little scary.  But, after squishing a few of them into the shape I wanted and filling it in with some itty bitty rosettes, I got the look I wanted. 

Happy Valentine's Day little rose heart.  You make me smile every time I see you.

Grandparent Gifts

 My Parents rarely read this blog, but if you're looking at this, Mom and Dad, you're going to ruin your own Christmas surprise!  Look Away!

I spent a few days trying to come up with a gift my son could make for his Grandparents that they would actually like.  No offense to all the home made kids gifts out there!

I had seen {This idea on Pinterest} to turn your childs artwork into an {awesome titanium keychain} and really wish I had $80 to spend on a grandparent gift...so I kept thinking.

I saw these supplies at my craft store and it got my mind going.

Had my son draw pictures especially for each grandparent.

He loved this part.

Then I scanned them onto my computer and used Paint and Picasa (I love Picasa) to dress them up a bit: 

I did do colors at first, but found that the keychains were just too small.  They worked best in black or brown and white for me.  Colors would probably look great if you used a larger key chain.  The image for my keychains was 1" square. 

So, I printed them, and cut them out to size.  This is when I decided to just use the white background and brown drawing.

 

I used Diamond Glaze - which is a crystal clear embellishment glue used for scrapbooking.  It dries fast, but not too fast and can cover an image without damaging it, which was my goal.  So, I put a bit of glue on each piece of glass which came with the brown keychains. 

 

Then, I sandwiched the drawings between the glass: picture on one side, name on the other. Then, you just slide the glass into the frame.

You can't really see it from this angle unless you blow it up really big, but the silver one has his name underneath the drawing.

And the others have a window in the back with his name on it.

I'm pretty happy with them, but more importantly, so was my son.

He helped every step of the way and was so proud!  He could not wait to wrap them up! 

We put them in jewelry boxes and tied them up with ribbon.  Then, I wrote the description of the drawing on the card so they'd know what it was.

They'll be on their way by the end of the week!  And a bonus is, they're super small and light, so shipping will be a cinch!

 

Merry Christmas!!

Gingerbread Party

We all love Gingerbread!

Who wouldn't love a Gingerbread Party!!?

Super cute this time of year with all the red and white.

I love the snowflakes hanging down!

Cute little cupcakes.  What a cute way to decorate them!!  Candycanes and M&Ms.  Cute!

Super cute santa hat pops!

Love the decorated hot chocolate mugs!!  And a red plate full of white marshmallows.  So cute!

These would be fun for the kids to make at the party.  Dip marshmallows in chocolate and put sprinkles on top. mmm

Super cute cake pops - with my favorite peppermint on top!! Yum!

What an adorable way to serve fudge!!  I love this idea!

Once again, great idea to have a gingerbread party.  Make a super cute table for people to decorate their gingerbread cookies.  I love the snowflakes and all the red!!

And aren't these flocked branches so cute!!?  Love that the elf is watching the fun.

Cute idea to give everyone an apron too.  What a fun party from {Kara's Party Ideas}!

 

Merry Christmas!