Winner of the Scentsy Giveaway (& More).......

So sorry to keep you waiting!  I've been trying all day to get a moment on my computer to take care of this!  Please note.....that I DID make it on Wednesday though!  :)

This time, Joy used random.org for me (so much easier)!  :)  Anyway, we had 40 comments, however, one of them was just a comment stating a mistake in a previous comment, leaving the comments actually at 39.  So putting in 1-39 and using random.org.....the winner is:

#7.......

which was Tanya!

Tanya said...


Hi Tammy,


What a great giveaway! Thanks so much for hosting! I am just a little familiar with it as a lady I work with started selling it. I haven't bought anything but have checked out scents. I also went to your friend's website and like the Fall and Wintery smells (Cozy Fireside, Autumns and Pumpkins). I'll post your giveaway on my blog!!


Keeping my fingers crossed! :0)


Tanya

Congratulations, Tanya!  I'm thrilled to be sending this stuff your way!  Would you email me please at countrygirlathome@att.net with your address?  Patty will be sending the Scentsy products to you and I will be sending the snowman stitchery and ornament!

I had more to share today but am limited on time, so will be back tomorrow some time to show you a couple of things.  Then by the weekend, I'm going to  begin giving you a tour of different rooms in our home decorated for Christmas!

Thank you so much to those that entered the giveaway and to all of you that stopped by to read my blog!

And to those that didn't win, I'm sure Patty would love to have you stop by her Scentsy website and would be thrilled to sell you some of the yummy Scentsy goodies (and would be very appreciative of your purchase)!

Thanks again!  Have a great evening snuggled up with your loved ones sipping hot chocolate watching Christmas movies!  :)

Scentsy Giveaway (& a Little More)

My blogging buddy, Patty (Blessings Beyond), contacted me and asked if I would be interested in doing a Scentsy giveaway for her.  I am happy to do it!  I only recently heard of Scentsy, but who doesn't love to fill their home with yummy smells?  I certainly do!  Scentsy offers a wide variety of aromas to give your home a cozy atmosphere!

Cover of Scentsy Catalog

This winner of this giveaway will receive a $20 valued assortment of Scentsy products. 

Here's how the giveaway works.  Go to Patty's Scentsy website.  Take a look around and come back and tell me on a comment what your favorite scents from Scentsy are (or would be).  And if you've never used Scentsy products before, you can just tell me in a comment the kind of scents you prefer in other brands.

And I'm throwing in something as well.  The winner will also get this snowman stitchery and ornament.

If you don't have a blog, be sure and leave your email address so we can contact you if you're the winner.  The last day to enter the contest will be Tuesday, December 14th.  The winner will be drawn on Wednesday morning, December 15th.

This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only (due to shipping costs). 

Thank you so much for stopping by and entering the giveaway!  Have a great day!  :) 

Bet You Didn't Know Our Family Could Dance Like This....

We had WAY too much fun with this!  Hope you enjoy our entertainment today!  :)

Favorite Homemade Christmas Ornaments Made By My Kids (And How to Make Them)

As much as I love themed trees and really primitive trees, I can't bring myself to change anything about our big tree in the living room.  It's so full of memories!  It's mostly just things the kids have made, ornaments my mom gives them every year, and special ornaments we've collected or been given.  Each one has a story.  We have so much fun remembering as we're decorating the tree.  There's stories about Colt and Joy, and now Luke will have his own to add to the tree as well.

Today, I thought I'd share some of my favorite homemade ornaments made by the kids with you, and how they were made.

This particular one is really a favorite because I look at it and see a special piece of art work and my kids' interpretation through drawing means so much.  The kids were asked to draw the nativity scene or "when Jesus was born in the stable". 

It's made with 3 craft sticks glued together in the shape of a triangle and a white piece of triangular paper or cardstock glued to the back.  (We didn't use them then, but I'm thinking glue dots would be easy now).  Add a little ribbon at the top to hang it.  Let the kids draw the manger scene.  I think it would be cute done with colored pencils, although my kids used a regular pencil.  Add some raffia or straw to the bottom for the hay in the stable.  Add a stick on star at the top (this one below is missing the star).  That's it and it's so precious.

This one is an old stand by, but a favorite, because it includes a photo.  For this one, you glue 3 craft sticks together in a triangle.  Then glue another 3 craft sticks together in a triangle.  Then place one of the triangles upside down over the other one and glue them together.  Then let the kids cover them with glitter (the fun part) :).  Then crop a picture to glue to the back.  Add a ribbon for hanging.

We've made these lots of times to keep kids busy for awhile.  Save your pringle lids (or other plastic lids in similiar sizes).  Pull out your Christmas cards from previous years and let the kids go through them picking out favorites.  They then crop the cards to fit the top of the pringle lid and glue it on the lid.  Put a border of glue around the edge of the lid on the cropped card and add glitter. Punch a hole in lid (this can even be done with an ice pick or a knife).  Add a hook for hanging or even a small ribbon.

This one is made from a circle cut from a piece of poster board and covered on the back with a piece of Christmas fabric.  Add your child's thumbprint and make a design from it.  Add decorative trim around the edge and a ribbon for hanging.

Salt dough ornaments are always fun for kids too.  They love getting their hands in the messy gooey stuff!  This one was made from a gingerbread cookie cutter and Colt used markers to decorate it like a tiger cub scout during a cub scout meeting.  You can use a straw to punch the hole before baking it.  They then used yarn for hanging it. 

This snowman was made from a plastic spoon and pieces cut from felt.  A face was drawn on the back side of the spoon for the snowman and a hat, body and scarf cut from felt.

And this one is definitely one of a kind. :) His name is Llama Bob.  He kind of reminds me of Squidward of Sponge Bob.  I'm not sure if anyone would ever want to make him and I'm not even sure exactly how he was made, but I had to show him to you.  When Colt got older (and Joy was little and happily making lots of ornaments), I asked him to make me an ornament for the tree.  You know it was during the time that he thought he was too big for such a thing (as boys tend to do) and this is what he came up with.  But it definitely tells a story and was "so Colt", that I love it.

Maybe I'll be back to share some other favorite ornaments, not necessarily homemade, but just some of my favorite ornaments from our big tree.  

So what about you....do you have favorite homemade ornaments made by your kids that you treasure?  I'd love to see them.  We enjoy counting down the days to Christmas and try to do an activity a day.  Making ornaments is usually on the advent list!

Thanks for stopping by today! Have a great day!  :)

Luke Meets His Great Grandma (A Surprise Visit)

Recently, my Uncle Jesse came out to help Daddy complete work on installing a new heating and air unit in their home.  And remember my mom and dad live next door?  Well when Uncle Jesse came, he brought a pleasant surprise with him.......my Grandma!  She's my only living grandparent.  I hadn't seen her since last Thanksgiving when we went to Alabama.

We always tell her to come see us.  However, we know it's hard for her to make the 4 hour trip one way at her age.  She's soon to be 93!  But she did it!  She surprised us all...especially my daddy (her son).  Daddy stops by the mail box to pick up their mail as he comes in every afternoon and he picks up our mail as well and brings it to our back door and says hi to the kids.   Well, Grandma was at my house then, so we "hid her" in the living room on the piano bench.  When he came in, we sent him in the living room telling him to go look on my piano at what I got today.  :)  And there she sat...all 5 feet of her!   He was totally (and pleasantly) surprised!

This was the first time Grandma and Luke had met.  They hit it off just fine.  Luke was so gentle with her and she enjoyed him! 

I was thrilled to get these pics of them.

She does so well for her age and I think she looks great at her age!

We get to spend Thanksgiving again this year with her.  And then, I'll be one of those crazy ones out bright and early on Black Friday.  Alot of us ladies have a great time though and always get great deals.  We all meet up for lunch and eventually go home exhausted having put in a full day, but then we always end up doing it all again the next year!  :)

And speaking of Thanksgiving, I wish you all a Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving with your families!

Hugs and Blessings,
~ Tammy ~

One More Home Improvement Project Checked Off the List....

It feels so good to check another thing off our list!  The shed facelift is done and we're so pleased with how it turned out!  (Please excuse the mess still lying around....I took the pictures as soon as I could....didn't take time to clean up yet).

As a matter of fact, Joy said, "Are we just going to store things in it now?"  "It's so pretty, it should be a little cabin or something".  And I totally agree with her.  As a matter of fact, it has a front porch and I think now the porch is begging to be decorated.  :) 

What did we do?  There were some structural things that had to be done as in replacement of some framing.  Then as time and our budget allowed, we (well....mostly Jason) replaced the siding with Hardie board cement siding. We bought a new front door and Jason built the big side door. 

We painted the siding a color called Ginger Spice and the doors were painted Longjohn Red.  And Jason even painted my barn star red for me and hung it too!  That just completed it!

And so it's done!  Yay!  Now to finish my upstairs bathroom!  The list is never ending.  And believe me I DO have a list!  :)  Wish we had the pocketbook to back up the projects we dream up because it would be nice to have it all right now.  But then again, that's part of the fun......dreaming and planning, right?

And thanks to those that gave me leads on finding a stocking for Luke!  My bloggin friend, Gina, had an unbelievably close match in an old quilt and she's whipping one up for Luke!  I'll show it to you when she finishes and we get it hung!  Thank you so much, Gina!

And thank you so much for stopping by and making a visit to my blog a part of your day today! 

Hugs & Blessings,
~ Tammy ~   

Need Helping Finding One of These For Luke.......

I just love our stockings made from an old quilt.  I bought Jason's, mine and Colt's at the same time, so they are very similiar and are about the same size.  When Joy came along almost 10 years after Colt, I found the lady at the flea market who then had a similiar one, only a little smaller.  Joy has always reminded us that hers was a little smaller too.  :)  Now 11 years later, I need another one.  And I can't find one.  And I can't find the lady that sold them.  Sigh!

So....this is where I hope someone out there can help me!  Does anyone know where I can find one similiar from an old quilt?  Or do you make them or know someone who does?

We could use the size of ours or the size of Joy's; either one would be fine. 

I've already searched Etsy and Ebay and found nothing similiar.

I felt guilty hanging our stockings with only four.  Fortunately, Luke hasn't figured out that there are five of us and only four stockings.....yet.  He has just claimed one and it's a different one each time, so he's okay. :) But I'm hopeful that I will find one.

Thanks for your help!  Luke thanks you too! 

And thank you for stopping by today!  Hope you have a great week!