Snow Globe Art Project for Kids {@ Or So She Says}

I had this post put together several days ago, and here in Utah it looked more like spring than winter then.  But yesterday, Mother Nature delivered!  It snowed ALL DAY LONG!  Huge, white, wet snowflakes falling like cotton candy from the sky.  It was glorious, at least I thought so!

So, the snow globe art project I'm sharing over at Or So She Says today seems a bit more fitting than it did last week.  It's a great activity to do with your kids to bring a bit of the winter wonderland indoors.  And the snow globes always turn out as unique as each creator.  Provide a variety of embellishments to dress up the globes, and let your kids go crazy!   

Stop by and visit me at OSSS (click here for the entire post) for the supply list and how to.  

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

Linking up to these parties & Savvy Southern Style.

Let it Snow Printable

Here's one of my favorite winter printables from last year.  I really do love embracing everything about winter during the month of January.  Especially the beauty of the snow.  The white blanket of snowflakes makes for amazing views, and gives nature a new, enchanting look for a few months.

Click to Print

I'm completely spoiled to live in such a beautiful mountain valley paradise (Midway, Utah).  This valley is gorgeous year-round, but it's extra special in the winter.   

These pictures were taken during an early October snow we had last year, but they were the most recent ones I could find that showcase a bit of my amazing surroundings.  I never tire of  seeing the first snow of the season, the middle, or the last.  I can't even imagine living somewhere without the beauty, purity, and stillness of a snowy winter.  

Midway, Utah Ice Castles by Roger Blakey

And without winter, we wouldn't be able to witness these amazing ice castles.  They're truly breath-taking.  My boys and I drive by daily just to get a glimpse of them.  They're stunning in the day, and magical at night with the lighting.  If you're planning on being in Midway any time before March (they expect the castles to make it until the first of March), you have to stop by the ice castles!  You can pay to walk through them, or you can enjoy them from the outside.  Last year they were on our town square, but this year they've moved them up to Soldier Hollow.  I believe they're to be bigger and better than ever this year.  Click here for more information about the ice castles, hours, and pricing.

So, have I convinced any of you Florida-dwellers to head a bit north?  Probably not, but I have to say I second what today's printable says, "Let it Snow!"  I also love these words from Robert Frost.

"You can't get too much winter in the winter."

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

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January Pinterest Board

The first Monday of a new year.  I love a clean, fresh start!  Sometimes my drive and ambition fizzles off before I'd like it to, but for now I'm motivated and I'm going to go with it.  I'm motivated to improve on many areas of my life, and blogging is definitely one of them.  The little break I've taken these past few months have been very clarifying for me.  I've realized I do love blogging, I don't want to give it up entirely, but I've also realized that I can step back from a few things and all will be well.  And by taking a step back in certain areas, I hope to be able to channel some energy in new directions with my blog.  Nothing major, just a few things I've been wanting to do for quite some time and haven't.  

Follow Brooke @ blissfulroots.com's board January on Pinterest.

I always like to start off the month with sharing my Pinterest board for the month.  If you follow me on Pinterest, then you know most of my boards are organized by months.  That's how my mind works- in seasons and holidays.  I've been doing this for a year now, and so you may have seen my January board last year, but don't worry.  I'm a pinned!  I've added plenty of new pins for you to check out this year.   Lots of snow, snowmen, snowflakes, and winter.  January is a beautiful month!  Enjoy!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

Linking up to these parties & Savvy Southern Style.

Let it Snow Printable

If you follow me on Instagram, or if you've checked out my Instagram or Pinterest widgets in my sidebar, then you probably have noticed we kind of enjoy winter around here.  

Click to Print

I'm completely spoiled to live in such a beautiful mountain valley paradise (Midway, Utah).  This valley is gorgeous year-round, but it's extra special in the winter.   

These pictures were taken during an early October snow we had last year, but they were the most recent ones I could find that showcase a bit of my amazing surroundings.  I never tire of  seeing the first snow of the season, the middle, or the last.  I can't even imagine living somewhere without the beauty, purity, and stillness of a snowy winter.  

Midway, Utah Ice Castles by Roger Blakey

And without winter, we wouldn't be able to witness these amazing ice castles on our town square.  They're truly breath-taking.  My boys and I drive by daily just to get a glimpse of them.  They're stunning in the day, and magical at night with the lighting.  If you're planning on being in Midway any time before March (they expect the castles to make it until the first of March), you have to stop by the ice castles!  You can pay to walk through them, or you can enjoy them from the outside.  We even have an ice rink right next to them, so you can skate and enjoy the scenery.  Click here for more information about the ice castles, hours, and pricing.

So, have I convinced any of you Florida-dwellers to head a bit north?  Probably not, but I have to say I second what today's printable says, "Let it Snow!"  I also love these words from Robert Frost.

"You can't get too much winter in the winter."

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

Linking up to these parties, Savvy Southern Style, &

January Pinterest Board

It's been awhile!  We had a picture perfect holiday season with our wonderful families (I hope you had the same).  It was so nice I didn't get around to posting a single post for an entire week, but I'm glad to be back in the saddle!  

Follow Brooke @ blissfulroots.com's board January on Pinterest.

Here's my Pinterest board for the month.  We usually have a lot of winter in the month of January here in Midway, so we like to embrace it, and do a lot of snow, snowmen, snowflakes, hot chocolate, things like that at our house.  I find the more I embrace winter (instead of wishing it away) the more I enjoy it.  It really is a beautiful time of year!

  I also have a lot of New Year's Eve ideas.  Sorry they're a few days late for this year.  You can repin for next year.  You can also take a peek, and follow if you'd like, all my Pinterest boards here.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

Linking up to these parties & Savvy Southern Style.

Snowflake Symmetrical Art

In one of my very first posts, I mentioned my cooperating teacher my first year at Aspen Elementary was Mrs. Linda Lewis.  She was an amazing teacher, and had so many great art projects!  This was one of them.  It not only involves art, but symmetry as well.  We did it for Valentine's Day (using hearts) when I taught, but the end result is always so stunning that I had to adapt it for other holidays.   Here's a winter version for you.  

Supplies

*12 x 12 piece of card stock

*snowflake cut outs (in varying sizes, colors, and designs)

*Winter Lace Cricut Cartridge (optional, but SO handy!)
*pencil

*yard stick

*glue

How To

*Cut out your  snowflakes (mine range in size from 1- 3 inches).
*Draw a large X on your card stock using a pencil and yardstick.

*Then, the fun part!  Lay out your snowflake design on the penciled X.  It's fun to play around with the different configurations and layering.  I usually start with a larger snowflake in the middle and work out from there.  Remember to keep it symmetrical.  
*When you're happy with your design, glue all your snowflakes into place.

You can adapt the size and color of your paper and snowflakes to make this project much bigger, or smaller.  Experiment and see what you like.  The one below is what my six-year-old twins came up with. 

Be sure to check back next month for the Valentine's Day version of this project.
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Here's your Tuesday quote.  
(I decided to start making printables of the Tuesday quotes.  What good is a quote if it sits here on my site?  So, go print one out for yourself and put it somewhere you'll see it.   Click here to print today's quotes.)  

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Winter Wonderland (& Printable)

It started snowing yesterday afternoon here, and didn't quit until late last night.  This is what it looked like this morning.  A winter wonderland!  

I sometimes get anxious for the snow to be gone once Christmas is over, but when it looks like this I can't complain.  

Here's a printable for you in honor of the snow today!  If you have snow where you live, go find yourself a reason to be out in it.  

Happy Friday!

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Snowman Game & Printable

There seemed to be quite a bit of interest in the Roll a Christmas Tree game I posted about last moth, so I decided we needed a snowman one.  Snowmen are perfect for this game!  I had a hard time deciding which snowman elements to use in the game.  I couldn't fit all of the ones in I wanted to.  There is the 'Add your own item' when  you roll a number nine, so anything that I left out could be used on that roll.

    

My boys and I played the game yesterday (I had sick boys- well one sick twin, the other couldn't go to school without him).  Some of us got a bit more elaborate with our snowmen than others.  It's always fun so see how different each snowman turns out.

I hope you enjoy the game.  I know we always do.  The fun thing is we play it over and over and our snowmen are different each time.  I'm thinking we need to start a snowman wall to display all of the ones we've made. 

Click here for the instruction sheet.  Happy snowman making!

DIY Winter Ornaments

I have a bit of a hard time taking down Christmas decorations without knowing I can put something else up right away.  Winter months can get long, but they really are pretty!  I love white, and January is the perfect month to decorate with it.  

I was shopping for my sisters' Christmas presents this year, and found cute little white Christmas trees.  Well, I had to get them (my sisters love holidays as much as I do), and I had to get one for myself! :)  I've been wanting a white tree for quite awhile now, and I'm so glad I got it.  I'm enjoying it just as much as I thought I would.  I worked over the Christmas break making some fun winter ornaments to put on my tree. 

I made a little garland with my Cricut.  I cut sliver glitter circles from my Classic Font cartridge and white snowflakes from my Winter Lace cartridge.  Then I sewed them together.  I LOVE how it turned out.  I'm going to have to make more.  I can't wait to get started on a Valentine garland!

Next I made a few pom poms.  I've been wanting to make pom poms for awhile now, and decided this would be a fun time to try them out.  I watched Martha Stewart's How To Make Mini Yarn Pom Poms video.  She makes her pom poms with yarn and cardboard.  There are pom pom makers, but I found the cardboard to work just fine.  Instead of plain yarn, I used Bernat Boa yarn in Dove.  I got mine at Walmart for under $4.  These are my favorite ornaments I made.  They look just like little snowballs.

I also use my Winter Lace cartridge to make some white snowflakes.  I cut out the snowflakes, sprayed them with spray adhesive, and then sprinkled them with glitter.

I got the Ribbons & Rosettes cartridge for Christmas and found this cute little bird on it, so I cut a few of them out and glittered them up just like the snowflakes.

I didn't make the sliver glitter tree behind the bird above (although I probably could have with my Cricut).  I found them on clearance at Walmart.  I was looking for snowflake ornaments, but went with the trees instead.

Here's a few pictures of what the ornaments look like on my tree.  Oh, the silver bead garland was a dollar store necklace I cut and used.

I was a bit worried about all the white on white, but the tree has a very slight blueish-gray tint to it, and the white ornaments I made look slightly off white.  It worked out perfectly!  I love how the tree looks in the day...

...and at night.  Did I mention the tree was pre-lit in white lights?  The glow at night with all the white and silver is beautiful!

I already have plans to make Valentine decorations for my tree once February comes.  I have three boys, so decorating with pink is a rarity.  I love Valentine's Day just for the excuse to finally decorate with pink!

How do you decorate for the winter months?

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