Elf on the Shelf Text Mesages

It’s that time of year again! That time when a special little visitor likes to visit homes with small children to relay back to Santa with naughty or nice reports.

Last year was a first for us.  I must say… It’s a lot of work, but so rewarding in the end.  Our elf helped all of us come together during the busy holiday season by bringing laughter, games, and even setting up an advent calendar made of children’s books so we read together every night.

It all started a couple weeks before Thanksgiving when I got a text message from Joyous Jolly Jingle.

**Reliable third party needed here. Change the name of one of your contacts, and have them send you periodic text messages.  Items needed: Elf, Photoshop, and a creative imagination.**

Every two or three days, a new message came.  It was the best one sided conversation ever!

“Hello family! Guess who.  Santa has heard rumors of you fighting and being naughty. He knows that you children are always on The Nice List, so he doesn’t believe it. To clear up this mix up once and for all, he is sending me to watch over you.  I’ll stay in your house and every night I’ll fly back to Santa to tell him if you were good or bad that day.  I’ll be there son, so you better be ready.”

“Hi everyone! Guess who again. I got a little lost, and I think I went too far south.  No worries, I’ll find my way to you soon.  I wanted to let you know that I’ve sent you something. It’s my gift to you, and I hope you like it. Read carefully and be sure to take good care of it. You never know when you might need it again.  Hurry, go and check your mailbox.”

This was fun because the text came through in an evening, and our mailbox is a half a mile away.  It was dark and cold outside, but we all put on coats over our pajamas and drove to the mailbox.  Can you guess what it was?  That’s right… the book!

“Where, oh where, has the little elf gone?  Where, oh where, could he be? It was a little cold where I was last, and on my way to you I found this warm and sunny place.  I decided to take a little pit stop and soak up some rays.  I’m so happy to be joining your family this Christmas, and I’m excited to find out my name.  Is it Pumpernickle?  Wisk? Flipperflop?  There are so many to choose from.  Pick a good one and I’ll see you soon.”

This text sparked a whole round of ideas.  Some good ones were thrown out, but my daughter blurted out Applejack, and we all fell in love with the name.

**It wasn’t until later that we learned that Applejack was the name of a pony from My Little Pony.  I will always remember this as the day that my little girl pulled one over on her brothers because if they would have known the origin, it would have been vetoed in a heartbeat.**

“Yay!!  This is SO much fun!!  It’s almost as fun as using my magic. I love my magic, so please PLEASE remember not to touch me when I get there.  It would make me so sad not to be able to tell Santa how good you kids are.  I gotta go, the funnel cake stand is calling to me.  Not too much longer till I’m home.”

Each text separately told the kids something important to remember.  That way they were ready when he got to our house.

“Happy Thanksgiving! I think I’m getting close!! Can you tell where I am? I can’t wait to see everyone and hear all your secret Christmas wishes.  I love lots of sugar, so keep a close eye on all your candy. Today, I am thankful for my new family.  Tell everyone what YOU are thankful for.”

The next day, he was in our lives playing tricks and bringing so much laughter to an already joyful home. 

Stay tuned for pictures of our adventures with Applejack.

Until next time…

Happy DIY-ing!!!

Original Photo Locations:

North Pole

Penguins

Beach

Roller Coaster

Chiefs

Real Maple Leaf Basket

The leaves are falling down.  The leaves are falling down.

Red, Yellow, Green, and Brown.

The leaves are falling down.

It’s that time of year again.  The holidays are approaching. It’s getting colder, the leaves are changing color and falling from the trees.

To help bring a little of the autumn softness into our home, I put together this maple leaf basket.

I had seen this on Pinterest, but all of them said to use fake leaves.  I didn’t want that.  I have beautiful maple trees on my property that are beautiful when the sun shines through their leaves.  That’s what I wanted for my home. 

It took a little extra finagling because nature made leaves have a mind of their own, but eventually it came out looking beautiful.  Here’s how I did it.

What you need:

Maple leaves (Pulled from the tree before they fall, if possible. An assortment of colors.)
A Balloon
A Bowl
Mod Podge
Foam Brush
Plastic Wrap

To prepare the leaves… Cut off the stem as close to the leaf as possible.

Next, Blow up the balloon so that the bottom is the size of the basket you want, and tie it off.  Place it, knot side down, in your bowl to keep it in place.

Brush a layer of Mod Podge over the balloon, as big as the size of your basket.

Once the glue becomes somewhat tacky, start layering the leaves over the balloon.

**Unlike fake leaves, real maple leaves are colorful on one side and dull on the other. 

Make sure that when you first start putting leaves on the balloon that they are colored side down.  That way the inside of your basket will be just as colorful as the outside.**

Place a leaf on the balloon, flattening it to the best of your abilities.  There is no way to make natural leaves completely flat.  There will be air bubbles and creases that you have to work around.

 

Brush a layer of Mod Podge over the top.

 

Do this repeatedly with every leaf. 

 

When the inside layer of your basket is done, flip the leaves over so the bright side is up, and place them over the inside layer. Keep going up as far as you want your basket to go.

**The higher up on the basket I went, I found it easier to brush the bottom of the leaf with Mod Podge before sticking it on, instead of covering every leaf once it was on.  This helped to make it not as slippery by limiting the glue.**

Now, because these were real leaves, some corners aren’t going to stay down as much as you want them to.  Once all the leaves are down, go through and brush some glue on the bottom of the edges that aren’t sticking.  Next, cover the balloon in plastic wrap to hold all of them down, and let it sit for close to an hour. 

Slowly peel away the plastic wrap and all the leaves should be flattened to the balloon.

   

Next, gently brush a layer of Mod Podge over the top of the whole thing.

Let dry overnight.

The next day, your leaves should be hardened onto the bottom of your balloon.  Take a sharp object and poke a small hole close to the tie on the balloon.  Slowly let out the air.

 

**If it looks as if the balloon isn’t pulling away from the leaves, you’ll have to gently help it along by peeling it away.**

**At this point, I did not have high hopes for this basket.  The dried glue came off with the leaves and some glue was still wet on the inside. It looked like a hot mess.

However, the inside dried, and I cut off the excess glue with a pair of scissors.  Once I was done, the basket looked lovely.**

Once your basket is done, you can put whatever you like inside of it, and it’s great to have to bring a little bit of that autumn peacefulness inside your home.

On a side note… The basket came out good.  After time, it will become more brittle since the leaves are drying out, but it feels great having made something from trees in my own front yard.  The process took longer than I thought, is REALLY messy, and I’ll probably never do it again, but it was a new experience that I wouldn’t change.

Happy Fall Y’all!!

**My mom made the recommendation to put it outside when I was through with it, and it would more than likely become some bird’s home.  I just might do that, and I will give you an update on how it turns out.** 

Until next time…

Happy DIY-ing!!!