Minding our own beeswax

And that's just what we've been doing, staying inside and keeping to ourselves. The girls came down with the flu (at the same time)! And I'm not feeling too hot myself. Nothing a good hot toddy can't fix--more on that at the end of this post.

Finally a decent snowfall (by southern standards) arrived yesterday afternoon. I had a difficult enough time containing the kids inside, let alone myself-(winter sports are my favorite!)

It has been a rough couple of days as the girls are much too interesting for hours of mind numbing TV. Without our daily walks (oh, the fun in the snowy woods we missed) the days seem to stretch on, and not in a good way.

I remembered I had a few sheets of beeswax and we got into  making some candles.

It is such a simple process, I forgot how fun it is for all ages. 

Beeswax sheets are sold at most craft stores. I had these left over from an order I made from Magic Cabin years ago. 

I like these because they are 100% beeswax and are dyed naturally.

We simply took a wick (found at craft stores) and placed it on the edge of a  sheet of beeswax and rolled it inside. Making sure the wick is pinched in on the first roll.

We cut the wax in different sizes for a variety of candles.

We also used the leftover scraps of wax to decorate the outside of the candles.

We got some pretty nifty candles out of the project.

We all liked the "clean" smell they have. Not like those candles with added fragrance. 

I'm hoping to stay healthy myself. I'm sort of freaking out over my immunity issues, I've been without sickness for over 8 months. I've been sipping a cocktail I've concocted to help sooth my sore throat. I doubt it will help my immune system, but after a few mugs, I don't seem as worried ;)

1 shot bourbon

1 tablespoon each honey & lemon juice 

Mix it in a mug and top off with boiling water. 

Steep in some ground clove and cinnamon. 

Sip throughout a cold, winter afternoon and your sore throat (and worries) will ease.

We are hoping to get outside more in the week to come and are planning a visit with some special friends from afar!

All in a Morning's Work (Icicle Suncatchers)

Well, we were up early thinking there would be school...but wait!! We live in WNC, so of course it's cancelled. After all, we did get a dusting of snow yesterday.

We are amidst one of the coldest spells our area has had in several years. Everyone seems to have their panties in a knot and its hard to carry on business as usual when many places and activities are cancelled.

At least I got to try out the icicle suncatchers that I've wanted make in previous years but couldn't due to mild temperatures.

We filled up our funky ice cube trays (usually reserved for Mommy's Happy Hour) and added a drop of food coloring. 

After freezing them, we filled up pie plates and poured water into them.

We had to put something in the water to make a hole to hang the finished product. We chose a shot glass because we thought it was a great size and there sure is a plethora of them in the house. Then we set them outside overnight to freeze.

We threaded them with yarn and hung them next to the bird feeders. Next time I will put the shot glass more towards the center. As you can see in the photo below, the edge cracked because it was too close to the edge.

One other thing I did to make this winter morning even more delightful was try this nifty idea I found on Pinterest.

I filled a glass container with coffee beans and lit a votive. The house is warm and cozy, and now reminds me of years passed when I had my all time favorite job as a barista, yay!

Enjoy the lame snow day!

Mid Winter

Of course our winters here in the mountains on NC are nothing like what we experience in PA. Just as we were ready to put the holiday season (and sloth-like behavior that's a result of it) behind us, we started to get "snow days".

This may be the weakest snow angel I've ever seen....

So we hunkered down in the house and let the cold snap pass. We spent our time cooking, crafting, playing games, harassing pets, etc. 

We gathered with some neighborhood friends for a trip to the  movies after a 4 day stretch of cabin fever.

This week we tried to get back on schedule even though we have a 4 day weekend ahead of us. But some consistencies are surfacing, such as returning to dance.

And returning our regular healthier diet (and a liver cleanse for me) 

Now that I'm feeling we are coming out of slacker mode, I'm seeing on the horizon; more winter day bike rides, more crafting with my lady friends & kids, (I do need to write about the sweetest group of girls that come over to sew) and more time outside. 

I'm also seeing myself getting ready to plan a polka dot party for my favorite soon to be 9 year old, more on that later...

Mid Holiday Break

Christmas was a hoot and the girls had a blast. So exciting that they are still hanging on to the magic of it all.

With the combination of cold, rainy weather and no travel plans, these days between Christmas and New Years are stretching out. We are loving the nothingness on our schedule and abundance of everything in our home. Plenty of free time, plenty of down time. What a great week it's been!

We also have been reading and crafting. Here's what we are into now:

I hope these next few days last just as long. We are no hurry to get back to the real world this year.

Homemade Holidays

While we made quite a few gifts for individuals, our gifts for a crowd were fun to make.

We made indoor/outdoor coasters for our lovely neighbors. We made them the same way as we did for our outdoor chalkboard (click here for instructions) It's a great gift to make for many people. Tiles were $0.16 at Lowes, and we invested in the alcohol inks long ago. We definitely got our money's worth.

We used the Silhouette machine to cut gift tags. The girls then customized them.

We also made some treats for Dave's office.  We found a simple recipe on Pinterest. The results were fabulous! click here for recipe..

We made over 40 bags which the girls delivered with Dave at his office.

We also were lucky to inherit some crafting supplies from a wonderful neighbor who knows exactly what we like to do here on carfternoons. We used vintage satin covered styrofoam ornaments and embellished them with simple beads and straight pins. The results were awesome!

We had a great time making and delivering these little treats to our friends. I feel so fortunate not only to have time to make these gifts, but to know such amazing people that we can deliver them to :)

 

Merry Christmas! 

Happy Winter Solstice

Lots of reflecting. Lots of blessings. Letting go of what doesn't serve us anymore. Embracing what does. Setting intentions for the new year as we return to the season of light.

Happy Winter Solstice.

Birthdays, Ballet & BFFs (and a little crafting on the side)

Lots to celebrate this past week. We kicked it off with our long awaited Nutcracker performance. The kids were super excited and did great!

Mya was a snowflake and Marlee was a Russian variation.

I was able to work backstage during dress rehearsals, which was kind of cool to be part of the excitement. It was also cool to sneak across the street and slam a few White Russians in honor of the occasion.

We moved on quickly to celebrate Mya's 7th birthday!

We celebrated with dinner at her favorite restaurant. The next day we had fun with a few of her favorite neighborhood friends. This sweet soul is taking this year much easier than last year. Her fear of getting old is subsiding, thanks to an awesome friend she has who happens to have the almost same birthday ;)

Love this kid. 

Speaking of friends, I got a visit from one of the best.

As usual our time together was spent partying, catching up and laughing, always laughing.... Not much has changed.

Surprisingly we got a few things done in preparation for homemade holidays. At least someone around here was taking things seriously:

We started our mass production of neighborhood gifts and a few smaller projects.

Yes, that's Jen in there crafting with Mya ;)

More details on that later. Busy week ahead! More glass etching, edible gifts, and of course sewing! 

We will post all of our ideas & finished products in a few days for homemade holidays.

What a fun and wild time of the year!!!