The Real Reason

My mother always did Advent for her grandchildren until they reached 13 years of age. She made little gift bags and each year they were filled with erasers, candy, hot chocolate, socks and other little gifts counting down the 24 days until Christmas.

She passed in October 2010 but had everything purchased ready for Advent for that coming Christmas. That was very special to my almost 11 and 12 year old children to be able to celebrate Christmas with Grandma even though she was spending hers in heaven, celebrating with her Saviour. This year I wanted to do something to continue on the tradition for our youngest who is coming up 12.

I saw this kit made by Kaiser Craft and decided that this would be perfect.
It came with MDF pieces that needed to be painted and assembled. Then there were little chipboard numbers that needed to be decorated. Sorry about the pic - I need a better camera!
Then the little chipboard 'drawers' needed to be folded, fastened and decorated.
Then I made a trip to BulkBarn! :) I bought candy treats for each day. I saw these 'Grandma' candies and I squealed in delight. My grandmother always had a dish of these 2 kinds of hard candy at Christmas time. She passed away in 1990 and I honestly don't know if I've had these candies since then. So two of the drawers contain these candies.

All finished!
And much to the delight of the older five children still living at home, there is candy in each drawer for them too!
No matter how old we are, it is fun to celebrate the Reason. Beyond the fun, we have great joy and gratitude for our Saviour and that is the real reason for our celebrations.

ADVENT

I can talk so easily and chat your ear off, but when it comes to sharing what I have been doing and putting it on paper aka writing it down for putting on this blog, I am at a loss for words. So without further ado
... here is my advent for our grandchildren.
There I think I've about said it all, haven't I? LOL Somehow it seems like bragging to me or it is my insecurity, but....OK, so here goes....I wanted a focus for the children on the Reason. It is so easy even when Christ is the focus in our minds to still get so caught up on wish lists, getting, parties, and traditions. I wanted to create an opportunity for my grandchildren to learn, give, share, and be grateful, and of course to treat them.

I made Christmas ABC flash cards.
I made 'activity' cards. Not quite one a day, but almost. Some are actual activities, some are family stories, some are other readings to keep their little hearts in focus on the Reason.





I decided to take different sized envelopes and decorate them numerically. I asked my husband to make a wooden box to hold and provide an element of display for their table or bookshelf.

I bought Playmobil's nativity and wisemen sets and gave them to each household. I conned my husband into telling one of his imagination stories for the video camera and then I made it into a DVD. I suspect this will be more for my children but nevertheless a great family memory captured forever and onto the next generation. And of course I sent along a few little treats (candy, balloons, etc.)
Each year my daughters will stuff the envelopes with a piece of Playmobil with the 25th bringing baby Jesus along with the other items. And each year I will create some new 'activity cards' for Advent as the children grow and mature taking into consideration the age appropriateness even into the teen years.

GIVEAWAY....

Would you help me spread the word about my little business, and enter to win a beautiful keepsake you'll cherish forever!

5 ways to enter and you can do all 5! (leave ONE comment for each entry)
1. Follow www.alwayssomethingcreative.blogspot.com
2. Blog it!
3. Post it to facebook
4. Share on twitter
5. Place an order = 5 entries

So you could have a possible NINE entries to win! If you are commenting "anonymously", please leave me your email address so I can reach you. Winners will be drawn by a random number generator at 12 noon on Monday the 28th.

Baby Gift

Have a subway art baby gift designed for you...




...then frame it! A great gift that can be displayed in the proud parents living room on the coffee table or in the baby's room. Let me know your "baby details", your colour theme and desired size at thekennedyklan at gmail dot com. I'll email you a draft for your approval. Then a JPEG file will be emailed ready for you to print. Easy peasy no hassle shopping!

your custom wall art

JPEG file $20.00 CAD Option 2 $20.00 CAD Option 3 $20.00 CAD

choose your size

4x6 5x7 8x10 12x12 8x8 poster size

personal art

This makes a spectacular gift for the hard-to-buy for. Or a perfect way to treat yourself and have a unique decoration for your own home.

Birthday Art. Your choice of background colour and design. Highlight a few of the dates, your choice which ones, and in what order they appear. In this case, it is a family, and the parents birthdays are highlighted. Available in sizes 4x6 through 11x14

Another different colour choice. The highlighted date is their anniversary. This art looks so cool in every colour and design!

Another cool personalized item for the hard to buy for family member or friend: For the world traveller - countries, major cities, important sites visited. For Grandparents of a big brood - all the names of the grandchildren or great grandchildren. For couples - all the places you've lived (street names, cities, areas). The ideas here are pretty much endless! You will have a choice of a few fonts, and will submit all the words you want included. Each one will be very different and unique.

Available in sizes 4x6 through 11x14. Either portrait or landscape orientation (your choice). Background colours suggestion either solid black or brown, but again your choice if you prefer something different. If you do not specify, it will be black & white.

HOW TO BUY/PRICING:

Email me at thekennedyklan at gmail dot com. Each design comes with very personal attention. You will be sent a proof by email to be sure that the colours & fonts are what you desire, and that all the dates are correct. After approving the proof, a JPEG file will be emailed to you ready for you to print at your local photo development place. The file size will be rather large, so that the picture will print with supreme quality.

sizes available: 4x6, 5x7, 8x10, 11x14, 8x8 and 12x12

Ask me about larger/different sizes, photo panels and canvas, mugs, mouse pads etc.

your custom wall art

JPEG file $20.00 CAD Option 2 $20.00 CAD Option 3 $20.00 CAD

choose your size

4x6 5x7 8x10 12x12 8x8 poster size

Like Mother, Like Son.

Our son, K, came to me with a glass in hand, "Here, Mom, taste this!" I did. It was good. He said, "I was thinking of vanilla coke and then I thought, 'I wonder what pina colada and coke would taste like'."

Want to indulge? Pour about 1/4" of pina colada mix in the bottom of your glass and then pour in your coke. Enjoy!

Were they in their right mind?

We had a good chuckle when we saw this wall sconce during the viewing of the home with our realtor. It didn't deter us from purchasing the house, but we knew it was something we would be fixing!
We just built the wall to fit the sconce!
We have purchased another home and are wondering the same thing. Were these people in their right minds? The middle drawer of the vanity could not be opened because of the positioning of the toilet paper holder. Easy to fix. Move to the other side! And now we get to paint! :)
You could call some of these home decor decisions creative I guess, but I choose to call them crazy! Who in their right mind would.......?

Chocolate Gingersnaps

I have created a recipe! With my daughter's allergies finding things for her to eat is quite the task. She loves this recipe from "Kids' Cake Mix Magic" (Publications International, Ltd.) but cannot eat it.

Chocolate Gingersnaps
¾ cup sugar
1 package (18 ¼ ounces) chocolate cake mix without pudding in the mix
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350. Spray cookie sheets with nonstick spray pour sugar into shallow bowl.Combine cake mix and ginger in large bowl. Add eggs and oil; stir until well blended. Shape dough into 1 inch balls, using about 1 tablespoon dough for each cookie. Roll in sugar to coat. Bake 10 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Necessity breeds creativity!

Beccy's Chocolate Gingersnaps

Mix together:
9T cocoa
1 1/2C sugar
2C whole wheat flour
3/4t baking soda
3/4t salt
1 heaping T ground ginger
Then add:
1/2C oil
4 eggs.
Mix well. Roll into 1" balls, flatten slightly on greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 350. Take out of oven and let cool for 2 minutes on cookie sheet.Then dip the top face of the cookie in white sugar in a shallow bowl or plate. Place on cooling rack to cool completely.

And the vote in our house, is that the newly invented recipe is better than the original. And it makes more too! You'll have to try it and see for yourself!

Mexican Dip

1 1/2 lb velveeta cheese, cubed
1 lb sharp cheddar, cubed
3 jalapeno peppers,chopped
1 can (28oz)delmonte stewed tomato
6 cloves of garlic
4 green onions,chopped fine

Layer cheese in a casserole. Pour other ingredients over. Bake at 250°F for 2 hours. It helps to chop the tomatoes a bit before mixing. This also freezes well. Serve with potato chips, naco or tortilla chips for dipping.