Top 5 posts of 2012 ~ and a whisper of a giveaway

It was fun looking back over the year and seeing the things the kids and I did that I had forgotten about, and to reflect a bit on the past year. Also it was interesting to see that my top favs were not the most clicked on posts. :)  (If you scroll to the bottom of the post you can read of a giveaway coming up.)

Here are the top 5 post of 2012 

(the most clicked on)

The most popular post this year, 2012 were part of the Cardboard Series I did. 

I am combining these as 1.

#1. The top 2 were: 

DIY whiteboard

Homemade Cardboard town

This series was a lot of fun and I have to say cardboard is one of the best materials to bust boredom! 

Click here to see all cardboard projects in our 'Oh for the love of Cardboard Series'. 

#2  Ribbon Wand 

This was my very first post of 2012 and one of the favorites of the year. :) 

#3 No pattern A-line dress

#4. Homemade Abacuses

#5. Glittery Puffy Paint
This post was the most popular of the year. :) 

Just in case you wanted to know...
here is a peak of my 5 favorite posts this year:
It was hard for me to pick only 5. So many of the things we create here have meaning to me, if it was my kids idea, mine, if it was during a hard time, a season of lots of creativity, or something God was speaking to me and the project reflects that. However I narrowed it down, 5 it is. :)

Keepsake fabric book

Enjoying a lived in house

Sweet isolation and the beauty of ordinary

Pom pom ice cream shop

Felt tree pillow

This new year 2013 I wanted to do a giveaway.  So keep your eyes peeled, there is a fun and a very relevant giveaway just around the corner to bring in the new year! I wish I could win it. :)

Thank you for all you who follow along. Blogging in my West corner has been such a fun outlet for me.  We shall see what 2013 holds for me and blogging and all the creative energies God has given me... 
Happy New Year

Becky

Quick/fun gift idea, plus kaleidoscope snowflake printables

Homemade gifts idea:

Hi there. Yes we are three days away from Christmas and this weekend my kiddos are finishing up their homemade gifts for their siblings. We don't feel the pressure of having to be done weeks in advance for Christmas, we are just enjoying our weekend and leisuring finishing up...

My two girls are making their 4 year old brother a homemade coloring book using all the differnt online pages and this fun link.. coloringpagecreator.com, using our own pictures. :)

They are also trying to find dot to dot pages for a fun activity book of sorts.

 After they find and print all the pages they will bind it all together with
scrap book paper on both sides and that will be that.

In the past Autumn for made for one of her friends, a homemade Knock Knock joke book for a christmas gift. We all enjoyed helping her pick the jokes out and it was fun seeing what she thought was funny. ;)

Kaleidoscope snowflakes

We found this super fun coloring page while we were searching today. The girls love it and it kind of reminds us of a snowflake, this time of year anyway. Maybe in Spring it will be a flower and then in fall a bunch of fallen leaves. ;) I thought I would share the fun for all those colring lovers out there. :) 

coloringtown.com

This is just one of 4 kaleidoscope coloring pages. 

There was also some fun Christmas colouring pages for different ages on this link All ages coloring pages. My 4, 6 and 9 year old all found something they enjoyed coloring.

What I am thinking about ~ For the past 4 years we have been a homemade christmas gift family... We share Christmas with two other American families. They each have kids and so we started having the kids make gifts for each other. They have been simple and some very clever and creative through the years. This year however we will not be celebrating with one of our sweet families as they have returned to the States. We miss them dearly and I am thinking of them tonight especially.

 I hope the little homemade gift we shared gave you some last minute ideas that help you invest at home and spend less money and more time with your little ones. :) 

Merry Christmas dear ones. 

Celebrating hope, freedom and life in my little west corner this December 22nd. 

Becky 

Off I go to wrap up some gifts as this post has taken me all day and now night time is upon me.

(oh the sweet few hours of stillness!)

Pom pom and felt garland.

This post is fun, festive and the epitome of my theme 

"use what you have".

                                     This little piece of fabric was my inspiration this year. :)

I am running out of felt and yarn. I have a random variety of pom poms from our

 Pom pom Christmas tree countdown last year and our
Pom pom ice cream shop. (I guess I have a thing for pom pons) ;)

Last year I sat around during the holidays and made pom poms out of my left over yarn and came up with this simple pom pom garland.

Lets just say this year it evolved. So this little garland was put together one evening with all my scraps.  

I would love to make it longer. Maybe I will sit around this Christmas and make more diy pom poms and next year I will extend this sweet Christmas garland. :)

Until then I will enjoy the randomness and fun.

Hope it has been somewhat inspiring to you in your Christmas decorating.

Using what I have - yarn, bits of felt and pom poms. 

In my little west corner,

Becky