Handmade Christmas Decorations ~ Family Fun & Special Ornaments DIY

   I love to decorate for the holidays and I love the special memories this time of year brings!! Leading from this I think THE SINGLE MOST perfect memories and decorating combination is handmade decorations with your children, family, and friends! Absolutely nothing beats the value of those to me! Give me an ornament that is store bought in comparison to an ornament my little boy made for me and the one that will light up my day is the one he hands me with his beautiful art work and a huge, proud smile!!!

   Below I have shown several pictures of ornaments we have made at home this holiday season. 

** Below is the way my sister arranged her special handmade Christmas decorations and I just loved and had to share! She made the little snowmen clothespin son the tree and the terra cotta pot snowmen sitting on the end table as well. 

1) Children's Handprint Ornament

   

   Below is a blank porcelain ornament where the kids painted their sweet little hands and placed their handprints one on top of the other. I just love, love this!!! Immediately made it and every member wanted one! Be sure and let the prints thoroughly dry then spray a sealant for safe keeping :)

2) Terra Cotta Snowman Ornaments 

   These are precious and were simple to make. Well, I say that, but it takes a tiny bit of sewing and prep before it just falls together and my wonderful mom did the prep on these precious pieces. We made this as our Thanksgiving Day craft for all of my sisters and the little ones to do together. 

   First just simply paint your terra cotta white then for the scarf base we just got glued ribbon on. The face is hand painted and little Pom Poms are the ear muffs! :) Feed a couple of bells larger than the hole in the base of the terra cotta pot onto a string and then feed the string through the hole. Knot it off and this is your bell sound and ornament hanging string :) 

3) DIY Clothespin Snowmen

   Just get clothespins from any craft store and paint them white. The scarfs are pipe cleaners twisted and secured in one little spot with hot glue. The hats are the wooden sewing string spools painted black and then to widen the base of the hat more we cut some black felt in a larger circle and just got glued to base of the black wooden spool. Tada! :) So cute!!!  

4) Reindeer Ornaments from Wine Corks 

   These are assembled with hot glue, twigs from our dogwood tree :), and a little screwed on loop to hold string on top so it can be hung as an ornament. I like to crochet so I also just did a simple double crocheted scarf for each to the width and length that was proportional to their size. 

This is mine below. 

Then the one I made for my husband. 

Then the one I made for our son :) who is two and a half. I tried to pick smaller wine corks and tinier details for his. I also painted the tips of the antlers blue like little lights because he liked ;) 

   I hope you enjoyed these handmade ornaments and let me know how's yours turn out as well!!!! If love to hear ideas and requests too for other posts! 

~~ Merry Christmas from Momma Mia and my Family!!

Sports Highlight Odell Beckham Jr. !!

   As a first time mommy of a little boy I'm in training! I'm working to learn and observe so that when my little guy is old enough I'll be able to cheer him on and know all that he is talking about when he wants to!! I want to make him proud and take every opportunity to be a part of his joys in life!!! 

   It's important to note I do know some about sports because my wonderful dad was surrounded by four little girls his and no boys so we learned and participated with him! Playing football in the yard and anything else to spend time with our awesome dad. :) Now I'm just trying for my little boy to take what my dad has taught us to the next level! Luckily I have my dad and husband to continue my eduction on this! 

   So, to touch base on my actual post name, I do have to say that catch was literally the most amazing catch I have ever seen and my dad was through the roof when it happened too!! If I can I'll post a highlight, but it was awesome! He caught it behind his head one handed and brought that football in safely! Awesome job Odell Beckham Jr.!!! Wishing you an amazing career!! What an impressive moment and as a rookie too!!!! 

~~ Momma Mia in Sports Training ;) 

Some Favorite DIY Building Project Finds :)

   Here are some recent finds that I love showing fabulous remakes, up cycling, and repurposing of inexpensive and even free supplies! 

1) DIY Ottoman from a pallet

   Beautiful ottoman and who would even know it is made from a pallet !! 

http://www.chiclittlehouse.com/2012/02/diy-ottoman-ideas.html?m=1

2) Industrial Paper Towel Holder 

http://www.the36thavenue.com/diy-industrial-paper-towel-holder/

3) Simple Table for Display behind Couch

http://www.shanty-2-chic.com/2014/09/free-woodworking-plans-turned-leg-console-table.html

4) Repurpose Old Shutters into a Porch Table

http://makecreatedo.com/2012/08/03/recycle-shutter-inspiration/

5) Beautiful Entry Way Bench Tutorial

   Really this bench would be lovely anywhere, but I think they used it in such a pretty way in this entry area!

http://ana-white.com/2009/11/modern-farm-benches

6) Blanket Ladder

   Again love this and also from Shanty-2-Chic.com. Some really pretty projects!!!

http://www.shanty-2-chic.com/2013/12/10-wooden-blanket-ladder.html

   I just love this list!!!!! As we are house shopping these kinds of projects me almost unable to contain my excitement!! I hope you all enjoy these as well. :) 

   Are there any project finds you have and love? Please share or request projects you would like to see in tutorial form in the future. Thanks for reading! 

~~Momma Mia

Mommy Moment ~ Snuggle Time

   I am here to say that the most priceless moments are when your little one snuggles in for a nap and just hold on to you with all of their love! I will wrap my arm around my little guy and he will give my arm a kiss and squeeze while making a hugging sound and my heart melts into a puddle...

   Being a mommy is the most special change that has ever happened in my life and literally words cannot express my appreciation for the opportunity to be his biggest fan and audience for ever!

Love my sweet little man! What a blessing! I just had to share :)

~~Momma Mia

Workshop Tools INC ~ A Special Family Ran Business & My First BlogFeatured on Another Site :)

   I am very excited to share because yesterday my blog was featured on the website of a company I hold dear to my heart! They are the perfect example of everything our economy is reliant upon and stands for; the small business, free enterprise, iniative, love for our countries greatness while making every effort to maintain its quality roots, and a family willing to work to make things successful! I have had the honor of having their family in my life and being a part of their wonderful business for more than 10 years now.

   I am excited to find they enjoyed a DIY project blog I put together for their website and they posted it which was so nice! :) 

   I wanted to be sure to link to their site because they are a great company and group of people to shop with. I hope you take a moment to check out their blog and website!!

   If you are looking for a great selection of hand tools, power tools by an array of brand names, accessories, and a staff that can answer your questions then I hope you will visit

www.WorkshopTools.com

A Gift You Cannot Buy

   In the past year I have stumbled across and thoroughly enjoy now regularly following Kirk Cameron's Facebook and blog posts. It's wonderfully encouraging to see families thriving in Christ and not changing their values for anyone. 

   I always feel blessed by these articles and I wanted to share. 

   How can you give the gift of Gods word to your children? A gift you cannot buy...

http://kirkcameron.com/gift-buy/

Improving Your Credit Score ~ Steps and Guidance based on our PersonalExperiences

   Do you have a credit score that is less than satisfactory? Do you have financial choices you made when you were young (and maybe not so wise) still haunting your financial freedom? Most of us do or have and let me tell you do not let a low score discourage your family though!! There are so many opportunities out there now that are free and very useful resources guiding you each step of the way as you work to increase your credit score. 

   My husband and I, like so many others, have been working long and hard to fix ours and there are so many options to help you that I want to share as others have shared with me. 

    On a side note, back not terribly long ago credit scores were not released to us very easily. You had to jump through hoops it felt like to even know where you stood vaguely. So many things have changed and the opportunity to stay in tune with your score and who is reporting on it is so much more accessible these days as it should have always been! It's important to remember with these changes in rules comes opportunity to regularly review and effect change on your credit history and in your life. 

SITES TO HELP YOU IMPROVE YOUR SCORE

1) Credit Karma 

   is a well known FREE service that allows you to get regular updates on your score and advice as to how to constantly improve it. You can simulate alterations of your current finances to estimate impact on your score long term as well. Great tool!! There are even apps available for your phone that allow you access and updates on the go as well. The site has more detailed information and guidance than the app, but both are excellent and I use this site all of the time. 

2) AnnualCreditReport.com 

   is the standard once a year free (LEGITIMATE) site that will offer you full detail and accessibility to your credit history on all three credit bureaus once every year. You can download these in PDF form and save for review and records. The site also offers links to easily help you dispute inaccurate information effecting you negatively on your report as well. There are a lot of sites out there that claim to offer this, but this one is legitimate and FREE. 

   

3) iQualier.com

    is another credit improvement site that you pay a fee of $24 a month for their service which I'm not to crazy about however I did use it for a few months and gained some good advice and guidance. If you want to spend a little this site is a good one because it updates details every month showing how you are improving your score and what you need to do next to make the largest and most positive impact on your score. Again this site also has a credit score simulator, but this site offers more detailed suggestions which I learned a lot from. I again paid for this service for a few months and learned a lot, but then discontued the service. I don't see the need for a long term investment here as you are looking to learn and it teaches a lot right off the bat. So if you want to spend a little join this site and just download all of the advice and suggestions for future reference then cancel after a couple months of gained knowledge. 

NOTES FROM OUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCES 

1) Review your score regularly. Not only is this information you need to know, but it also reflects positively on your credit score details to show you review your own information regularly. (Once a year in annualcreditreport.com)

2) Set small, but steady goals. 

3) Don't get discouraged. :D 

4) Be consistent in your efforts to show positive and regular behavior in your credit details. 

    We've been working slowly on certain accounts for years. Our big primary accounts were kept in good order (car loans, student loans, and things of that sort that report to the credit bureaus), but there were medical bills and a few of my student loan accounts I just handled very inefficiently in past years and so my history there really hurt me. Therefore those were more a matter of time and effort to call and make them right. I called my student loans and BAM small improvements on my score in 30 days! 

   The next step we made was applying for a small basic credit card. Now remember cards are dangerous so do not let yourself get sucked in! I have made that mistake and you just have to train yourself to not use that card unless you have to actual money to back the purchase. Now, back to my point, this card wasn't anything awesome. The limit was small, there was an annual small fee, high interest, and minimal perks, but they approved me! Being approved was the first battle won! Then from there we chose to put small gas purchases only on there and to pay it every month to avoid interest and penalties. Two months later and my credit score jumped 14 points just from this type of positive activity and improved credit utilization (those last words are specifically what it said)!! 

   Moving into another option was debt consolidation... I don't mean paying one of the agencies to help you, I mean (if and this is dependent upon each of your personal situations) if this is an option you may prefer and be able to obtain without a heavy loan or risk then investigate small loans to consolidate some of those problem bills. In our case we had a slew of mismanaged medical bills... There just doesn't seem to be enough money to cover it all, but the key is don't just ignore it... Make an effort, any effort, and many times just the effort no matter how small is welcomed from the billing company and thereby avoids you being sent to collections or reported to the credit bureaus. I was able to get a small loan and consolidate most of the remaining debt regarding my medical bills thereby removing several accounts that were in bad standing on my credit report! Yippee!!!!!! 

   Tip: when calling medical bills keep in mind they offer settlements. They are taking a cut off these balances they bill you for either when your is insurance company pays them or when they make an agreement with you. REMEMBER they are more flexible than you think. I knew this vaguely, but then a very kind man that worked at a collection agency (a blessing for sharing his knowledge was what he was for my family) shared with me that often the best way to approach companies is to tell them how much you have to offer them. Meaning I have $200 that I have to put towards this bill. Will you allow this to settle the account balance? He said often companies will take .45 cents on the dollar to close these accounts. I dealt with a company that took $600.00 for a balance of over $1600.00. So just be honest and not intimidated by the figures you see on paper and ask. The worse that can be said is you are denied or receive a counter offer which is fine too because it's less than you would have owed before. If you can do it then take the ofer and if you cannot know they will work with you if you are firm and reliable! 

   I hope this article was encouraging and enlightening enough to help someone out there smile under there's circumstances and also know that there are options and they can improve their finances and credit score. My husband and I were able to improve my credit score by 75 points in six months with the above processes and efforts and I just hope the same for anyone else in this situation! 

   Do any of you have input or suggestions that have helped you in cases like this??? Please speak up and share and I pray this article and any comments left are a blessing to someone situation! 

Smile and know you are not alone! I'll be posting again soon and hope to hear about your experiences and successes!!! :) 

~~Momma Mia~~