Wooden Animal Toddler Gift

I am in love with these little animals. Isn't it funny how *proud* of yourself you can feel for something so simple to make?? I love the look of these....that watercolor wash that still lets you see the grains, the simplicity of the patterns. What I love most of all is that these toys encourage imagination without all the bells and whistles of modern toys. I've tried my best to fill my house with toys that are simple and inspiring, rather than overwhelming with all the technology. 

 These toddler toys were made for my nephew for Christmas (sorry for the preview Sis!!). It only took an evening to finish it all!! So easy. I found the pattern/tutorial for the bird HERE. The rest of animals were made in the same way, but based on sketches I found online and blended with my own drawings. They've got a great folk art feel to them. 

Someone is in love with Kangaroos right now. :-)

 I used watercolor paints to color them and a coating of beeswax to seal them. 

Of course, I picked my Nephew's favorite animals....minus a cow, which split in two during the scroll saw step. Well, everyone else turned out fine. Phew!!

I shared this post at these fabulous Linky Parties:

Frugalicious Friday

Three Or More Tuesday

Works For Me Wednesdays

Blue Sky Scrubs

When I spent a few days in the hospital (years ago) for an attack of appendicits, I got a chance to get look at the health industry and what makes it tick. My doctors were great, but fairly unavailable. The people who helped me the most were the Nurses and CNA's. They made me so comfortable and they were all so friendly and helpful. It really made me ponder on the work that they do and how they are truly the "heart" of the hospital. I was so thankful that I had them during my stay. The same goes for my visit to the hospital when our child was born....they weathered every thing I handed out to them (and believe me, I did my share) and afterward, they were so understanding and so knowledgeable. Every time I saw a pair of nursing scrubs coming through the door, I let out a sigh of relief because I knew they could help me answer any questions I might have. I couldn't thank them enough. 

To work as Nurse or CNA you've got to be dressed the right way. There is a great site called Blue Sky Scrubs that provides great scrubs for anyone in the field of medicine. Nursing uniforms, lab coats, and even surgical hats can all be found at this great site. Scrubs for men or womens scrubs...they've got it all!! 

 They have got some really great patterns for surgical hats too!! Here's one I found that would be perfect for this time of year. It's called Kris Kringle:

Isn't that lovely?? I'd like a yard of that fabric!!

This post was brought to you by your friends at Blue Sky Scrubs!! All opinions in it are my own. 

Using My Quilting Skills for Christmas Ornaments

Guest post written by Esther Norman

My mother taught me how to quilt way back when and I think that ever since then I've constantly been working on one quilting project or another. But right now the project that I'm working on is making some quilted Christmas ornaments to give to my family and friends as Christmas gifts.

I was trying to get some ideas for a new quilting holidays project by looking at a lot of arts and crafts blogs with our Clear tv bundle. I wanted to do something that was a smaller project because I've been doing all kinds of other holiday projects and things like that, so taking on an entire quilt wasn't what I wanted to do.

I found the quilted ornament idea and knew that that was exactly what I had in mind to do. I'm working on a couple of different ones and it really isn't taking hardly any time to do each of them. I'm giving them as something a little extra in the gifts that I was already going to give.

Legacy Family Tree Review and Giveaway

This Giveaway Has Ended!!


Update: We have a WINNER!!! It's Deb who said:

"$19.95 isn't bad at all. I'd love this for my sister. She's the genealogy historian in our family. :)"



Have you ever thought about charting your family's history? Over the past three years, I have researched my family tree to the point where I've got my family back to the 1500's!! This is the perfect time of year to think about genealogy....as your family gathers for holiday parties. A known history of your family is the best gift of all. 

With all the genealogy research I've done, I've accumulated a LOT of information!! Believe me, you need a place to organize it all. I've tried a few different programs online, but they are all pretty quirky....and take quite a bit getting used to. I was recently offered the opportunity to review the Legacy Family Tree Delux Edition and I can tell you I've been really pleased with it. Not only is it excellent for records management, it also has 98 features that the standard edition doesn't contain!! Here are a few of my favorite special features:

*New Relationship Calculator: Now you can figure out how any two random people in your chart are actually related!! Who's your 2nd Great Grandfather one removed?? Find out!!

*Mapping: Use Microsoft Virtual Earth to plot and pinpoint your ancestors stomping grounds!!

*Attach Documents: Now attach any document, video, audio, pictures, etc. to any individual or marriage. I find this extra handy, since in your searches you may find a plethora of really fascinating documents about relatives and now you can easily attach them. 

*Interview Reports: over 1,200 interviews and memory triggers to capture your families memories.

These are only a few of the great benefits this program can offer you!! You have got to check it OUT!!!!

So, now that I've captured your interest, I'd love to give one away for free!! :-)

This Giveaway Will end on December 19th at Midnight EST. 

To enter for a chance to win you must leave a comment for EACH type of entry:

1. (mandatory) Go to Legacy Family Tree and tell me what the holiday sale price is.

2. Follow Legacy on FACEBOOK.

3. Follow Legacy on TWITTER.

4. Follow Marvelously Messy on Facebook.

Good Luck!!

Pajama City Adult Footed PJ's Giveaway!!

This Giveaway Has Ended!! Thanks for Joining The Fun!!
The Winner of the giveaway is  Mintaburst who said, "GFC follower."
 Congrats!!
These Dino PJ's are SO AWESOME. I got these for the Hubby as an early Christmas present. IN this family, we *love* all in one clothing. As a parent I can tell you that there have been so many times that I've been folding the footed pj's of my munchkin and longed for the time when I used to wear them. Never fear, PajamaCity is here!! 

PajamaCity makes footed pj's for adults. Soft fleece ones, flannel ones, tall, and extra wides....you name it they've got it!! What is the most hilarious is the prints they have on them. Here are some of my favorite styles:

Cupcake Print 

 Outer Space and Robots

Green Frogs

My two favorite features of the pajamas are:

1. The dropseat for bathroom convenience:

2. The friction dot soles to keep you from sliding all over the house:

Overall, these are just the awesomest things since sliced bread. :-) You know you want some. 

Wanna win a pair? :-)

This contest will end on Friday, the 17th of December at Midnight.

It is open to residents of the United States and Canada. 

To enter, you must do a least one of the options below and fill out one comment for each type of entry:

1. Go to PajamaCity and tell me what kind of footed pj's you'd like to have.

2. Like PajamaCity on FACEBOOK

3. Follow Marvelously Messy on Google Friend Connect.

4. Like Marvelously Messy on Facebook.

That's it!! Good luck!!

Standing Joy

I like that name: Standing Joy. :-) Wanna make this??

You'll need:

Wood letters (found mine at A. C. Moore) 

Hot Glue/Wood Glue

Paint

Wine Corks

(sidenote: I used hot glue to attach the letters together but I just broke one by mistake.....perhaps wood glue instead?)

~Take your letters and glue them into the position you'd like them to be standing in with the hot glue. 

~Paint each letter individually.

~Use hot glue to attach the corks to each other to make a flat base. I glued mine while they were already on a flat surface to make sure that they'd be even. 

~Take one cork and slice out a rectangular shape that wide and long enough to fit the bottom letter into and hot glue it into place. 

Pretty simple, eh?? My favorite kind of project!!

I shared this project at these fantastic linky parties:

Frugalicious Friday
Three Or More Tuesdays
Works For Me Wednesday 

Puplight Review

Here's a really handy product for you AND your pet. It is called the Puplight. The purpose of the Puplight is to illuminate the way for the dog, allow the owner (and other people/drivers) to see the dog, and even to help ward off wild animals!! Here is a complete rundown of the benfits the Puplight website has listed:

• Keeps Both You and Your Dog Safe Since It Allows Drivers to See You at Night
• Convenient, Provides Illumination So You Don't Need To Carry a Flashlight
• Allows You To See Where Your Stepping and What Your Dog's Getting Into
• Makes You Feel Safer At Night Since You Are More Visible
• Allows You to See Your Dog When He's Outside Your House at Night
• Helps You Locate Your Dog If It Runs Off and Keeps It Safe From Cars If It Does
• Extends the Amount of Time You and Your Dog Can Safely Walk
• Helps dogs with poor vision see better
• New, Unique, Makes a Great Gift !!!  

After my experience with the puplight, I can tell you I agree with every one of those benefits. I have a new puppy and I live in the city....we go for a lot of walks and now that the day is so short, a lot of those walks happen at night. This gives us a huge advantage: we can take a longer walk AND we can feel safe while doing it. 

Another benefit I find particularly helpful is being able to see what your dog is getting into. You see,  my puppy corprophagia. Do you know what that means?? From time to time, she eats her own poop. Most puppies do it at some point. It's totally gross. Chloe started this habit right after we first brought her home. I was letting her explore the house and she just "happened" to poop in my Munchkins room. I walked back into the room to see what she was doing and when I saw the poop I got the Mad Face. You know the face?? Well, my Mad Face gave her so much guilt and anxiety that she ran straight for that wayward poop, dropped her lower jaw down like a front end loader and scooped that poop with one fell swoop and swallowed it whole (though, would you *want* to chew poop??You know, give it the old 30 chomps recommended? Probably not). Then she looked at me like, "There Mom, you didn't see nuthin'". Bottom line: I was totally grossed out. It has happened a few other times and it is always when we're outside in her potty area and I turn my head for a second and in that moment she scoops the poop and it is GONE. Grossness. Long story short.......this puplight lets me see what she is up to when I take her out to go potty at night time. Now I have the upper hand (or paw).

I also let my father borrow the Puplight to give it a try on his aging Airdale, Harvey. It was a little tougher for Harv to understand the method behind it. You see, Harvey had a hard time getting over the fact that the light stayed on and went with him wherever he went. He (in his mind) was bringing daylight everywhere. He couldn't understand it. He spent a great deal of time with the Puplight on just *staring* at the ground trying to fathom it all. Deep thoughts. Never the less, we are going to keep trying because Harv is very active outside at night and he also is losing his eyesight, so this could be a BIG help to him. 

Ultimately, I found this light to be really handy on so many levels. I know you will too. This is the perfect holiday gift for the dog lover.....or the dog lovers best friend. ;-)

You can find Puplight at your local Petco store or at Cabelas (in store or online). 

Or buy it from the website online HERE. 

Find them on FACEBOOK as well!!