Gifts Given

This Christmas our family decided to make as many gifts as possible. We used the month of December to get crafty and creative. We bought real canvases and used acrylic and watercolor paints to create masterpieces for family members.

I also made my first attempt to make homemade bath salts.  Thanks to my friend, Jen, they turned out great.  One afternoon, Kalen and I got out all of our supplies and began making different batches of lavender, spearmint, and peppermint bath salts.  We stood over the lavender for a long time, handling it and smelling it.  By the end of the hour, Kalen had his head laying on the table.  Lavender is known for its aid in relaxation.  The spearmint ended up being my favorite oil (scent) used. 

I used my handy dandy green machine this Christmas.  Yes, I sewed some cloth napkins and helped the kids make some pillows for family members.  I wish I had taken pictures of those to show you.  

Oh, the kids and I also made button bracelets.  They turned out wonderfully.  We just went to our local craft store, Joann's, and bought a container of multicolor buttons for like five dollars.  We already had some stretchy string to put the buttons on.  These bracelets were a hit for the women in our family.  Julian, Madelyn and Kalen all got involved with these.  

We ended up buying some gifts.  But, I really enjoyed working with the kids as we chose what to create for which family member.  It seemed more meaningful.  I think I will start now collecting ideas for next Christmas.  Send me any ideas you all have.  

Here are some of the paintings the kids created.

Madelyn's fish 

Kalen's robot

Julian's sailboat scene

Brayden's designs

Another Brady design.  I never touched his brushes.  He was very intent on using the white space and not touching the marks he had already made.  Adorable.

Kalen's golden apple

Madelyn's waterfall scene

Julian's crab

Madelyn's designs

Kalen's octopus

Madelyn's sunrise

Here's Kalen mixing our first batch of lavender bath salts.