Tag: Christmas

Fun for kids, middle grade, new release, ornaments

Make a Cheerful Llama Ornament

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I am teaming up this week with three other Chicken Scratch authors for a fun event we are calling “AUTHORS & ORNAMENTS.”

Make a Llama Ornament: A Connection Activity for the book SOLEDAD AND THE CURSE OF THE PHOENIX by Mindy Baker

One of my characters in the novel SOLEDAD AND THE CURSE OF THE PHOENIX is a llama named Suri. Why not make this cute little llama ornament with your middle grade child?

You will need:

  1. Felt of two different colors (one for the body and one for the saddle)
  2. Llama pattern to trace (I used this one). I found it online by a creator named Tutitati Tati.
  3. Small amount of batting to stuff the ornament.
  4. Embroidery thread and needle.
  5. Hot glue gun.
  6. Beads and small pom poms for the embellishments.
  7. Sharpie

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Trace and cut two llama bodies and one saddle.
  2. With the embroidery thread and needle, use a whip stitch to sew the two pieces of felt together. Here is a video to demonstrate.
  3. Make sure to leave a small opening for the batting. Stuff the llama with the batting and stitch it the rest of the way.
  4. Create a hanging loop with the embroidery thread by pulling your needle through the top of the ornament and tying the ends in a knot.
  5. Draw the face with a sharpie marker. (Option: cut out a face from the pattern, color it, and glue onto the felt. Googly eyes are also an option if you want the ornament to have a more playful look.
  6. Use the glue gun to attach the saddle.
  7. Use the glue gun to add the embellishments and tail.
  8. Hang on the tree!

Simpler version: Trace one llama shape and one saddle shape. Skip the sewing and stuffing. Glue on the saddle, embellishments and tail. Consider attaching the felt shape to a cardboard shape to make a more sturdy ornament. Add a hanger.

Interested in making more ornaments?

Here are the websites for the other authors where you can find out how to make their ornaments!

SUSAN REIMER: She’s making a horse ornament to accompany her book THE SPACE BETWEEN.

www.susanreimer.com

ROBIN KOLB: She’s making gingerbread horse cookie ornaments to accompany her book GALLOPING AWAY.

www.robinkolbauthor.com

ABBI LEE: She is making a “hidden box” ornament to accompany her book entitled GHOST TOWN TREASURE HUNG about geocaching.

www.abbileebooks.com

All of our books can be found on the Chicken Scratch Books website! In addition, our books are available wherever books are sold!

Which ornament would you like to try? If you make an ornament, I’d love to see a photo of your finished product!

#ornamentsforkids #authorsandornaments #chickenscratchbooks #middlegradefiction #bookishfun #homeschooling #familyfun

Book Review and Author Interviews, Devotional, Parent and Child Connection

Simply Christmas – A New Holiday Devotional by Tama Fortner

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Look what was just delivered into my inbox! It is Tama Fortner’s fresh, new Christmas devotional for busy moms, and it is a treasure!

31 days worth of inspiring devotions along with practical advice to help you keep your Christmas this year simple, yet meaningful!

I loved how Tama incorporated tips to be mindful of others (like at holiday celebrations when you are feeling self conscious) as well as shared reminders about what is really important (like quality time with your kids). Her writing has an authentic tone and is very relatable!

If you have ever compared yourself to others and felt inadequate, Tama has some insights for you from the Bible. I absolutely love the verses she selected for each day! It is such a beautiful thing to read the Scriptures and have God’s Spirit speak to your heart.

So…

This Christmas season, check out this devotional! You won’t regret it! (Scroll down for order link)

Here is the press release description:

Between holiday baking, decorating the house, shopping for the perfect gifts, and hunting for the most picturesque tree, Christmas can be anything but peaceful for moms. Too often, the stress and busyness of the season make it difficult for them to find time to simply rest and dwell on the wonder of the Savior’s birth. 

Fortner’s 31 short yet beautifully written devotions offer moms an opportunity to indulge in a few minutes of calm each day as she takes them back to that long-ago first Christmas. With warmth and wit, she also shares tips for leaving perfectionism behind and becoming the “keeping-it-real mom” instead.

“When I was starting out as a mom, it seemed as if everywhere I looked, there was perfection,” Fortner says. “Perfect clothes, perfect kids, perfect meals, perfect homes. And I tried to keep up with that. And I realize now that much of the pressure I felt was self-imposed. I had to grow into feeling comfortable in my own role as a mom…and that happened as I grew in my faith and my understanding of who I am as a daughter of God.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Tama Fortner is a bestselling writer with more than 35 titles to her credit. As a ghostwriter, she has collaborated with some of the biggest names in Christian publishing to create inspirational books for children, teens, and adults. But her greatest accomplishments happen in a happy little home on the outskirts of Nashville, Tennessee, where she lives with her family and an incredibly lazy dog who doubles as a footwarmer. For more information, visit www.tamafortner.com.

Order the book online at this link

Tama’s Instagram

Tama’s Twitter

**Tama, I wish you all the best with this new release! I think it has the potential to touch many hearts!

Fun for kids, Kid Ministry

Need a photo frame craft for kids?

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This is an sample craft from my Free Downloadable Teaching Guide/Activity Kit available to accompany my book Mouse’s Christmas Gift.

Isn’t Mouse cute?

Step 1: Collect the needed items.

Idea: Let the kids decorate their own frame. You can purchase any Christmas foamies or use markers.

Step 2: Take the photos. Option: Have the kids pose with a battery operated candle, or the book.
Step 3: Print pictures, attach pictures to the frames, and give to the families the following meeting.

Fun for kids, Kid Ministry, Mouse's Christmas Gift

Need a fun idea for a family ministry outreach?

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Need a fun idea for a family ministry outreach?


Idea: Host a “family” gingerbread house building party!



In early December I attended a fantastic event at Harbour Shores Church in Indiana. I was so impressed with how it was organized, and saw great potential for other churches to duplicate the morning with the families in their churches.

Step One– Invite families

Families registered online and decided if they ordered one, two, or more gingerbread house kits. They prepaid for the event.

Step Two– Buy supplies, light refreshments, and prepare the work space

Event organizers made sure to have work space set up in the church gym, and enough gingerbread kits for everyone.  In addition to the gingerbread house kits, extra frosting and toppings were provided and laid out at each work station.

Light breakfast food was served as the participants arrived. The menu included fruit, muffins, doughnuts, juice, and coffee.

There was also a station to do a sticker/coloring craft if the participants wanted to do so.

Families mingled, found their work stations, and ate their refreshments.

Step Three– Read a Christmas story and present the gospel

I attended the event and read Mouse’s Christmas Gift. This was a great way to introduce spiritual truth into the event. After the story, I took approximately 10 minutes to present the gospel, using an object lesson.

Step Four — DECORATE the gingerbread houses

After the devotional time, families worked together to decorate their gingerbread houses. So much fun and so many smiles!

The entire event lasted just under 2 hours.