Paint Stick Ornaments

I told y'all yesterday when I shared with you the cute snowman gift tag that I'd be showing you some of the crafts that our Bible study did for our "Super Saturday". Today's adorable idea was found through Today's Fabulous Finds. Who'd have thought that making ornaments out of free paint sticks could turn out so cute?

You can find the tutorial here. Or if you're really good at figuring things out from pictures read on... haha.


Have your paint sticks ready in various colors (ours were red, cream and grayish silver).


Gather your supplies. The template for the words can be found here.



Put it all together and here's what you'll get. Super cute and super inexpensive ornaments for your tree or for gifts!

Cute Christmas Gift Tags

Tiffany & I were a part of a Bible study at our church this Fall called Transforming Christmas. One Saturday this month our leader set up a "Super Saturday" for us to work on a whole bunch of cute Christmas crafts to use for gifts and/or decorating. This week I'll be sharing some of them with y'all. Hopefully you'll be inspired to try some of them out for yourself and take care of some gifts for those teachers/neighbors/friends on your list.

To start with, look at these cute gift tags that some of the ladies created.

This is such a cute way to label a gift that doesn't cost much, and is so much more adorable than the little stickers I have used in the past! I think they'd look so cute on solid colored bags.

Check back this week for some more fun ideas.

Christmas Countdown

I love this time of year. I love hot chocolate and cinnamon rolls. And Christmas lights & my kids excitement about decorating the tree. I love celebrating Jesus' birth and watching It's a Wonderful Life. I love hanging stockings and singing Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer with my kids for the 100th time that day.

So this year, I'm slowing down my pace so that I can actually enjoy all of these wonderful things. Even if that means NOT doing everything on my to-do list. I vow to mail my Christmas cards, finish Christmas shopping, and decorate my house all early enough to sit, relax & take in the blessings of the season. For the next 32 days, I'm going to enjoy Christmas :)

A Blog Divided

Happy Thanksgiving

Today is a very special day for 2 reasons...

Thanksgiving & football.

Lindsay and I will both be spending precious time with our families today counting our blessings and eating pecan pie. I have so much to be thankful for and praise God for all He has provided. As for tonight, the final chapter (at least for a while) of A&M vs. UT will be played out on Kyle Field. While Lindsay and I share SO much in common, you may not know that we will be wearing different colors today. We both have deep passion and love for our respective schools and are excited to see are teams meet one last time. We'll be there tonight together, yelling & screaming, just probably not at the same time. :)

Gig'em Aggies! - Tiff

Lindsay Tiffany

Thankfulness

I am!

I am thankful for this week and for the time I am going to spend with family.

I am thankful for our sweet readers who humor us with their visits and the occasional comment. We love them!

I hope you plan to have a blessed time with your families as we celebrate all we have to be thankful for.

If you're hosting Thanksgiving this year, here are some really cute ideas for you to check out to record your guest's thankfulness.

Thankful For spiral

We are thankful chicken wire display

Thankful paper chain

Recipe {Stick Bun Breakfast Ring}

I can't wait to try these this week! I have family coming in town for a couple of days so this will be a great change from the eggs and bacon I usually resort to :)

Here's what you need:

2 small tubes refrigerator buttermilk biscuits
3 Tbsp. butter or margarine, melted
1/2 C. syrup
1/3 C. packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 C. chopped pecans, opt.
1/4 C. chopped almonds, opt.

Spray a fluted pan with non-stick spray. Combine the melted butter and syrup in a small bowl and set aside. In another bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, and nuts (if desired).

Place about half of the syrup mixture in the bottom of the pan. Then sprinkle half of the brown sugar mixture on top.

Lay the biscuits on the bottom of the pan, overlapping edges (closely together) to form a ring.

Top with remaining syrup and sugar mixtures. And bake at 375 degrees for approximately 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool for 1 minute in the pan, then invert onto a serving platter and enjoy!

Yum!! Don't these look delicious?? Thanks Hannah for sharing your recipe!

Fall house tour

Whew! I just now finished decorating my house for Fall.

Just in time, considering Thanksgiving is less than a week away!

So these beauties will adorn my door, bookcase & counter for a whole week before being replaced with Christmas wreaths and stockings.

Ha! Totally worth it.

Because today, I'm pretending that it's cold outside and that the Texas leaves are changing colors like they do on the East Coast.

I'm drinking my Starbucks & being thankful for all of my blessings in my life.

Work in progress

As you can tell from the looks of things around here this blog is a work in progress. I told you about how we won a blog makeover giveaway and Elana is working hard at keeping up with all our edits, suggestions and ideas. Bless her heart...

As I started thinking about posting for this week I really was at a loss. I haven't completed anything new and exciting. I have projects that aren't "good enough" to share with you and I have partially finished rooms all over my house that I'm just not ready to show the blog world yet. So, what to do, what to do?

That's when it hit me... I live in a state of "work in progress". Me, my house, my kids, my relationship with my husband. It's all a work in progress.

The other night some friends of mine were talking about our stresses, failures, challenges and successes as mothers to young kids. We questioned "are we doing it well?" "do our kids know we love them?" "am I spending enough time with them?". The answers to those questions change daily. I was reminded that as a mother I am a work in progress. I don't have it all together, I don't do it right every day, I have areas for improvement, and I definitely have quirks that I'm just not ready to show the blog world yet.

I have three precious kids who are also works in progress. The Lord has granted me (and my hubby) the opportunity to teach them right from wrong; how to be honest, caring and trustworthy; and most importantly to teach them about His great love for us and our redemption through Christ. I have to do all this at the same time I am trying to figure out personalities and sensitivity buttons and the right form of discipline for each child. It's a lot of responsibility - but I am up for the challenge.

I have a husband who is crazy supportive of what I do and what I try to do! :) He knows my faults, insecurities, and all my hidden (at least from you virtual friends) quirks and loves me anyway. But I can't ever assume that our relationship is 'good enough'. It needs to always be something I am working to improve and strengthen.

Are you a work in progess too?

So, while I'd like to show you my latest masterpiece or grand idea, it's just not going to happen today. Today is a reminder that sometimes our "work in progress" sign reveals itself. It's nothing to be ashamed of. You are welcome here!

My name is Lindsay, and I am a work in progress. I challenge you to think about it today... what needs improvement around you? Self; relationships with kids, spouse, friends; relationship with the Lord; or maybe it really is your home and surroundings.

Yet you, LORD, are our Father;

We are the clay, you are the potter;
We are all the work of your hand.
Isaiah 64:8

Kid's Thanksgiving crafts

Don't forget about the kids next week!

Here are some easy crafts to keep them entertained at the kids table...

Turkey Treat Holder

Finger Puppets

Mayflower Treat Holder & Place Card

Thankful Turkey

Good luck getting all of your Turkey Day plans in order!

We won!!

Y'all... I just have to share that WE WON A GIVEAWAY!! Tiffany noticed at Something Swanky a whole lot of giveaways... the ones that caught her eye were for blog makeovers. Let's be real honest ... everything on this blog has been HTML'd and adjusted by yours truly... and as much as I want to be, I am NOT a web designer. So, we needed an upgrade.

And guess what?!
We won!!!
(well Tiffany won for us)

So, stay tuned because in a few weeks That Village House will have a whole new look. Tiffany and I have been brainstorming (and blog stalking) to come up with ideas for our new look...which has also led us to think up some new blogging ideas.

We're excited to work with Elena from Three Little Birdies Designs and see what she comes up with.

Thanks again to Ashton from Something Swanky for hosting this fabulous giveaway!

My first Pinterest night!

I recently had a fun Pinterest night with some sweet college girls from our church. Everyone brought their supplies, I made Pinterest snacks and we had a nice time getting to know each other. I loved the idea of the night so much that I plan to host more of these.

Everything we made (including food) was something inspired by Pinterest. What did we do with out it!?

Chili's Skillet Queso

Oreo Cupcakes

Danielle made these cute felt flowers.

Amanda & Laura worked on these sparkly glass ornaments.

Taylor made this cute t-shirt scarf

And Meghan & Kate crafted fun braided headbands.

So, what are you waiting for? :)

Gather your friends, your supplies, your snacks and get to crafting!!! I can't wait for the next one.