Target hacker

Chris and I did a little Target hacking this past weekend to one of the super popular tin Joy signs that everyone seems to have grabbed lighting fast this year. I liked the brown faux bois pattern but it just wasn't totally me. We thought about spray painting it red or covering it with Christmas fabric but in the end I used some of the Orla Kiely wallpaper scraps we have left over from our old place, and I kind of love the results. I might even leave it up after the holidays!

I had Chris take it apart for me, it took a little brute force and a few of the bulbs went out so if you are planning to do something similar make sure to do one letter at a time. I simply traced the letters, cut them out with scissors and used an exacto knife to create holes for the lights. It's really not perfect but with a little clear Mod Podge it's doing the trick in our living room right now patiently waiting for some more decorations to join it.

I have been slower than usual getting things out this year but enjoying the season nonetheless. Wishing for some snow and soaking in my busy bunch as much as I can. What about you are you all decorated for Christmas already or taking it slow like me? Hope you're having a great week! xoxo

perler bead oven ornaments

I saw this pin on Pinterest awhile back and was super intrigued by the idea of melting perler beads in the oven. The pin isn't in English and even translated, a bit confusing so I decided to experiment and see if we could find a way to make our own ornaments with cookie cutters and beads this year.

We tried a few times but finally found that heating the oven to 250 degrees was the right temp to not completely melt and distort the look of the beads. I placed the cookie cutters on parchment paper after giving them a quick spray with cooking oil. The kids helped put a single layer in the bottom of each and I used a skewer to arrange them a bit (this tool was key and so helpful when I figured it out) it takes a bit of patience to cover the bottom.

I baked them for about 50 minutes in the oven (make sure they look like they are melted and stuck together) and then let them cool. Popped them out of the cookie cutters and added some bakers twine to the tops before displaying on the tree.

A pretty fun little project for the kids to do - Pinterest win I would say!

I am still working on my little bottle brush trees - I haven't had many free hands the past few days - little Zeb is sick and has literally the worst, most persistent diaper rash I have ever dealt with. We are talking up every hour or two in the night even screaming in pain. Anyone out there with any tips on treating the worst sort of rash this tired Mommy would be so appreciative I feel like I have tried it all!

Hope you guys have a great Friday...I can't believe we only have four more days until Christmas! I will be back with more tree pictures I promise!

dyeing my vintage bottle brush trees

Well now that's addicting. Good grief did I have fun dipping a few of those white trees into some pink dye this afternoon. This took about half an hour during which I was also picking up the place...I am officially a bottle brush tree addict! Next up glitter, glue and gems - do not think I am beyond putting my real swarovski crystals on these babies...

If you are following along on my tree journey (he he) then here is what I did today to make them pink. I simply put hot tap water into a Pyrex with a bit of liquid Rit dye (fuchsia) and stirred. Then I poured some of the dye into two tall glasses and turned the trees upside down in each letting them sit anywhere from 1 minute to about 15 minutes...rinsed with cool water and set them to dry!

bleaching my vintage bottle brush trees

Oh how I have wanted to do this for so long! I bought a big bag of vintage bottle brush trees a few years ago for a couple of dollars at the thrift store and have imagined them in white ever since. After seeing many tutorials around recently I finally got the guts to go for it this morning and am loving the results so far!

I simply put them in a bath of water with a generous splash of bleach and let them soak, using some tongs to stir them every now and then. At about fifteen minutes I took those two light green ones out because I loved the color they turned but the rest stayed put for about an hour and a half until they were all creamy white. I rinsed them in water and set them on a tray to dry.

Later in the week I will share how I decide to decorate them...I have plenty of glitter and beads ready for a quiet moment to play!

kid friendly white chocolate peppermint fudge

Quick and easy for little hands to help - this peppermint fudge recipe was found in an issue of Family Fun magazine and is definitely Josie and Levi approved!

White Chocolate Peppermint Fudge

2 bags of white chocolate chips (24oz)
1 can of sweetened condensed milk (14oz)
1 cup of crushed candy canes
pinch of salt and 1 tsp of vanilla

Melt the chocolate and condensed milk over medium low in a double boiler. Once smooth stir in the vanilla, salt and peppermint candy (leave a bit of candy canes to sprinkle on top). Pour into a parchment lined 8x8 square baking pan and refrigerate for a few hours until hard. Cut into squares and share!

yarn bow garland

Just a little christmasy garland I have been working on here and there the past few days. Inspired by this pin - some easy crochet bows, felted balls and bakers twine...as if I need another garland around here but you really can never have too many now can you...

to make a bow chain up 65 (I used a size 6 hook)
turn and add a single crochet into each chain
weave the tails back in and tie into a bow
string the bows onto some twine with felted balls and enjoy, simple as that!

Here's to a wonderful first week of December - I am still fussing with my decorations, how about you?

...ps at our house if you're christmas decorating you get to drink hot cocoa with homemade marshmallows, so I think I might be fussing for awhile! :)

make something monday :: sweater bangle

Over the holidays I picked up several thrifted fair isle sweaters that I had planned to use to make some new stockings for our family. One of them in particular was a sweet little red and purple one that I loved but it was a super tiny baby sweater and was badly moth eaten so not really something that could be worn again and in the end a little to small for a full stocking.

I wanted to use it somehow though because I just loved the print and so I cut it up and set it aside knowing that it would be perfect refashioned as a chunky bangle for the winter months. As luck would have it on Christmas Eve my baby sister Katie gifted me a big chunky hand knit bangle (for the record she hand knitted the big purple one because she has real yarn skills - she always makes such sweet hand knit gifts for us I love it!) and the color matched perfectly to the one sitting on my crafting table at home! It was just enough incentive to finish up the one I had started and I love how it turned out. I thought I would share a little step by step with you today in case you are in the mood to make a stack for the chilly winter months too!

 This project is super quick and easy all you need:

old or thrifted sweater
bracelet form
scissors
ruler
needle and yarn or thread

Simply cut a rectangle that is long enough to fit around the bracelet form. Mine was ten inches around the outside and I ended up cutting it down to nine inches to allow for stretch but all sweaters stretch differently so play with the size a bit. and cut it wide enough to allow for sewing down the edges a bit. Again I really just eyeballed this thing and once the rectangle fit pretty well I sewed about 1/4 inch seams on each side and then sewed the whole thing together inside out at each end...make sense?

Then I slipped the sweater over the bracelet...

And used a needle and yarn to hand sew the sweater closed. You could alternately use glue and just glue the sweater down but I wasn't really feeling like fussing with glue on this - if I did use glue I would have used Fabritac my personal favorite!

And that was that, simple and quick a fun little accessory to brighten up these long winter days. Hope you have a wonderful week friends and happy Monday!

PS. another fun sweater project HERE!

december 20

The countdown is really on isn't it - only four more days until Christmas!!! We have been enjoying so much these last few days of the advent season as a family. I have several posts I am dying to share here but have been finding myself out and about running errands, and spending time with loved ones enjoying it all so much. It always feels good to come in at night absolutely exhausted and full from a day really well spent.

I promise to be back really soon but in the mean time here are a few links to posts I did last Christmas when I first started A Bit of Sunshine - I hope you are enjoying the countdown this week too!

doily printed wreath shirt

sequins paper chain necklace

kissing ball tutorial

I am over at Sunshine and Carousels today sharing a simple tutorial for this festive kissing ball. If you get a chance come on over and say hello! xoxo

make something monday :: friendship tea

I remember making this tea when I was younger and packaging it in little bags for my friends and teachers at school. It has such a nostalgic smell and taste that always reminds me of Christmas.

Chris loves it too and remembers having it as a child and so I made up a big batch this year and we have been enjoying it for a few weeks now in the evening by the Christmas tree.

This recipe makes enough to package up for friends and neighbors as a simple and inexpensive gift as well as enjoy yourself!

Friendship Tea:

2 Cups powdered orange drink (such as Tang)
1 Cup powdered lemonade
1/2 Cup unsweetened instant tea
1/2 Cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon of cloves (heaping)
1 teaspoon of cinnamon (heaping)

Pour all of the ingredients in a big tupperware, add the lid and shake it up until mixed well. I usually add about two or three heaping spoonfuls of mix to a big mug of hot water but adjust the amount depending on how sweet you like it!

I hope you all have a wonderful day today - can you believe it's less than two weeks before Christmas?!

scalloped felt wreath

I have wanted to create one of these for quite a long time. After seeing several around blogesphere Rachel's being my most favorite, I finally had some time to raid my felt stash and get it done. Although I admit it took me several sittings to finish (my biggest tip for crafting with kids: be willing to start something you know you won't finish in the first or second sitting just do a little here and there and eventually it will get done!) i think it was worth it I love how it turned out. The colors are reading a little weird in the photo but it matches the green mirror in our entry.

 A tutorial isn't really necessary here but I will list the supplies I used:

- a foam wreath
- five 9x12 sheets of felt I bought mine HERE
- scissors
- fabritac glue or glue gun
- a card stock scallop template (I drew mine by hand)

I will mention that I used almost every square inch of felt from all five colors. And I got about twelve scallops out of each piece by folding each one in half the long way and then doing six scallops per side. I just glued the first one down and then layered each piece until I got back to the start and then tucked the last one under the first one. I finished with a white bow and that was about it!

I am sure this will get some good use for years to come!

Also I wanted to say a HUGE thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of the sweet words and love you guys shared over our big news! I will confess that I was super nervous about posting about it...sometimes posting personal stuff is the hardest because I am not sure if anyone will actually care. (hows that for being vulnerable? :)) You all made me feel so good and your joy is truly helping me get even more excited over having a fourth baby and I am definitely looking forward to sharing more of the experience here too!

I hope you all have a wonderful day today and thanks as always for being a blessing to me!

a little bit of sparkly snow

I honestly can not believe it is December second. I know you probably feel the same way. I love the Christmas season more than anything and want to savor every single thing I can about the blessing that it is. I want it to go slowly and sweetly and be covered in sparkly snow and twinkle lights. I hate the moments when the holidays become overwhelming. Decorating my home always helps me find the deepest anticipation and I admit that we have already been in heavy decorating mode over here the past week.

This morning I took some time to make a little snow village in my candy jar display in our entryway. I love how it turned out and so do the boys. They were really mesmerized by it to be honest oohing and ahhing over the sparkly snow.

The easiest of projects just some epsom salt poured into my vintage jars and then I added some bottle brush trees, deer and a putz Christmas house too.

Easy and magical are the best kind of projects to do this time of year so it was a perfect pause for me today to thank God for the love He has for us sending us the sweetest gift in his son Jesus.

I have lots of other Christmas projects planned for our weekend and so many more things I am just dying to share with you all too.  But now I must take my little ones to yet another doctor appointment. Praying that Josie will miraculously be able to get her cumbersome cast off early - oh that would be the best!

Happy Friday friends may your weekend be filled with something magical...honestly some real snow around here would be perfect in my opinion!