Last Minute Tree Decorating? Make it a Snowflake Decorated Tree!

Many families decorate their Christmas tree on Christmas Eve or right before Christmas – if you are a young family and don’t have that many ornaments, why not make it a snowflake tree?

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Holiday Card Wreath?

Yesterday I received my first 4 holiday cards! My first thoughts were a) I need to send out my holiday cards and b) where do I put these cards? I live in New York and space is limited, so how could I get creative on a small budget? I found a fun way to make a holiday card wreath!  You can hang it on a wall or on an interior door!

Here is what you need:

• Miniature wooden clothespins
• 14-inch embroidery hoop (you can find at a local craft store)
• Wood glue (Elmer’s will do it for ya!)
• Holiday ribbon (to help hang the wreath)

How to:

1. Using wood glue, affix miniature wooden clothespins to a large (about 14-inch-diameter) embroidery hoop.
2. Alternate clothespins to point outward and inward, spaced 1 1/2 inches apart.
3. Suspend from a ribbon, and clip your cards in place as you receive them.

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Homemade Menorah Craft for Kids & Family

Add some twinkle to Hanukkah this season with your own homemade menorah! It is a fun craft for the family and makes your holiday even more personal and special.

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 shop Le Top’s holiday collection here
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Here Kitty-Kitty!

 This black cat won’t bring you bad luck and he’s a fun project for Halloween.

Things You’ll Need:

• Paper plate (small and large size)
• Black crayon/Black wide pen
• Construction paper (black, green and pink)
• White Pen or white out
• Scissors
• Glue
• Ribbon (any color)
• Hole puncher

 How You Make It:

1. Color two black paper plates – one small and one larger size. Crayons are easier to use, but you can also color the paper plate with markers or colored pencils.
2. Cut out two small ovals from green construction paper for the cat’s eyes. Draw a black dot in the middle of each oval with your crayon. Glue the eyes near the top of the small paper plate.
3. Cut out two triangles from some black construction paper. Glue them to the top of your small paper plate for the cat’s ears. The ears should be apart, so put one on each side of the plate. Add two smaller triangles using pink construction paper to create the center of the ear (see image).
4. Cut out a small triangle from some pink construction paper. Glue it to the middle of the small paper plate for the cat’s nose.
   
5. Cut out a long black tail out of black construction paper (make it as long or squiggly as you would like). Glue to the side of the larger black paper plate.
6. Cut out two small “kitty” feet with small black construction paper circles; you can also add curves to the circle as “toes” (see image) – use a white pen or glue to draw lines for toes.
7. Glue the small and larger black paper plates together (i.e. connected the head to the body). Wait at least ten minutes for the glue to dry. For faster results you can use a stapler to connect the two plates.
   
8. Tie a bow with 1.5 feet of ribbon.
9. Glue the ribbon to the “neck” of the cat where the two plates are connected.
10. Wait for the glue to dry and you are done.
11. Using a hole puncher, poke one hole at the top of the cat’s head and string a ½ foot of ribbon through the hole. Tie the ribbon in a knot to hang the cat on your front door or any door inside the house.

MEOW! NOW THAT IS A CUTE HALLOWEEN KITTY!

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Peter, Peter Pumpkin Bird Feeder – For kids!

Fall is here and pumpkins are everywhere! With rain coming our way, what is a fun project – we love the idea of a pumpkin bird feeder.  Here is what you can do as a family that will make a nice outdoor decoration…

1. Go to any local grocery store or nursery and pick up a small pumpkin (3-5 lbs.)
2. Buy regular bird seeds/supplement at a local pet store
3. Cut a 3- to 5- pound pumpkin in half
4. Scoop out the seeds, but leave a ½-inch thick wall
5. Cut a ½-inch-deep groove in the rim for pumpkin seeds
6. For perches, poke holes and insert twigs from your yard
7. To hang, knot two lengths of twine together in the center; tack knot to feeder bottom
8. Fill with birdseed
9. Hang anywhere from your porch to a tree in your front yard and enjoy!

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Celebrate the 4th of July with Patriotic Pedicures and Kids Crafts

Celebrate your independence with your kids with these two fun activities! But first – a little history lesson on why we recognize “Uncle Sam’s” Birthday.

Activity #1 - The Patriotic Pedicure

The 101:
Most people in the United States celebrate the 4th of July, but sometimes forget why it is such an important day aside from barbeques and family fun. In 1776, colonists had more and more taxes taken away from them by Great Britain.  People started getting mad and started to make a plan to make their own rules and no longer wanted Great Britain to be able to tell them what to do. What was their next step? They decided to tell Great Britain that they were becoming an independent country.

To make a long story short, the Congress met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and they appointed a committee to write a formal document that would tell Great Britain that the Americans had decided to govern themselves. The committee asked Thomas Jefferson to write a draft (first try) of the document, in absolute secret, until he had written a document that he thought said everything important that the committee had discussed. On June 28, 1776, the committee met to read Jefferson’s “fair” copy of the document and declared their independence on July 2, 1776.  July 2^nd?!? They officially adopted it on July 4, 1776. That is why we call it “Independence Day.”

ACTIVITY #1
Brighten your child’s toes and let him or her paint their patriotism by decorating his or her nails with stars and stripes!

What is Needed:

• Nail polish in red, white, and blue
• French manicure brush (white nail polish with a thin tip brush)

What to Do:

1. First, apply a base coat of red and blue polish, as shown.
2. Let that dry for 2 minutes.
3. Use a thin French manicure brush to add the white-polish stars and stripes.

ACTIVITY #2
Who doesn’t love punch or lemonade on Independence Day?
Plastic cups tend to look more and more alike at any 4^th of July party. Look-alike plastic cups have a way of losing themselves in a crowd. Cut down mix-ups (and garbage) with guest-decorated designed cups!

Activity #2 - Independence Cups

• Plastic cups
• Large and small star stickers (red, white, and blue)
• Placard
• Marker

What to Do:

1. Add a large red, white, or blue star sticker to each cup, along with a few smaller stars for decoration.
2. Put an assortment of markers on a table.
3. Set up a sign or placard directing guests to choose a cup and write their name on it.

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America, America! Flag Pin Craft Fun!

Hope you are enjoying this wonderful holiday!  Did you know that Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day? It is a day of remembrance for those who have died in the service of our United States nation.

Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, but it’s difficult to prove the origins of the day. An interesting tid bit is that there is also evidence that a women’s group in the South decorated graves before the end of the Civil War. All in all, Memorial Day is intended to honor those who have given their all in service to our country.

Show your patriotism and make this beaded flag pin that is fun and quick.  You can hand out these pins at your Memorial Day BBQ party or have it as a fun and fashionable way to show your American pride with the family!

Follow the instructions below to create your own red, white and blue flag pins.

Items Needed:

• red, white, and blue seed beads (you can find at Michael’s or local craft store)  Note: Make sure you get seed beads with holes large enough for the pins to go through.
  
• a dozen large safety pins. (The exact number will vary a bit depending on your safety pin size.)

Steps to make your Flag Pin:

1. On your first safety pin, you will load thirteen 13 seed beads. Seven will be red and six will be white. Alternate them as you put them on the open pin: red, white, red, white, red, white, red, white, red, white, red, white, red.
2. Repeat that six more times, so that you have a total of seven safety pins with thirteen red/white beads on each of them.
3. On the eighth safety pin, you will start making the blue ‘stars’ section of the flag. It’s important that you load the blue beads first; otherwise your flag will be wrong side up. Put seven blue beads on the pin, and push them towards the hinge-spiral. Then add 3 red and 3 white, alternating. From hinge to clasp should be blue, blue, blue, blue, blue, blue, blue, white, red, white, red, white, red.
Repeat that three more times, so that you have a total of 4 pins with flag sections above the stripes.
With your last pin, you will string all the others, by putting the opened pin part through the hinge-circle of the other eleven. Put all the pins with blue beaded sections on the pin first (with the open sharp part of the pin facing your right), followed by the red-and-blue striped ones. BE CAREFUL FOR THE SHARP POINT!
Close the safety pin, and double-check that your flag is hanging correctly.
Pin on a loved one and enjoy!

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Deck the Halls…from Hong Kong!

I loved hearing from ‘home’ that our office is getting all decked out for the holidays! Paul and I are here in Hong Kong, working on next season’s collections and we always miss home, especially as Christmas approaches. 

Here in Hong Kong – in our ‘other home’ – we can also get into the season – because Hong Kong puts on a huge display of Christmas lights and decorations!  I feel just like a little kid – ‘ooing and ‘awwing as we drive past some of the fabulous Christmas displays.

Paul and I will be home for the holidays with our family – but here is a view of our version of ‘getting into the spirit!’

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Tis the Season

It’s that time of year again!  The smell of fresh pine filling the air and warm fires heating our homes.  Christmas bulbs and twinkling lights are coming out of the closet to fill our hearts with delight!  At the le•top offices we are joining in the festive cheer.  Today, we pulled out the garland and Christmas decals and hung them all around the office, while listening to the merry sounds of songs like Jingle Bells and White Christmas.  Next up, the arrival of our annual Christmas Tree…OOOOOO I can’t wait!!!!

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Holiday Memories

Some of our Turkey Decorations

I was thrilled on Thanksgiving when my aunt and uncle, with their family in tow, joined our small family at my parent’s house.  My husband and I were hoping for the ‘big family’ feeling for the holiday – knowing that Lilah is at an age when memories might become permanent.  I am not the ‘chief cook’ in these holiday scenarios – so I focused on the handmade decorations.  In preparation for the event Lilah and I made the hand/foot turkeys and a couple of other Thanksgiving crafts for the table – it’s amazing how long these craft projects sometimes take but she really enjoyed the process! 

Kelly and Lilah

Our small family (I’m an only child and so is Lilah) relishes the holidays because we see more of our family.  I had the opportunity to visit with my cousin and her children – Kelly (2yrs) and Erin (newborn). They are the only other part of our family with babies in the Bay Area. Lilah and Kelly took an hour or so to warm up to each other but midway through the party they 

Baby Erin

were jumping on beds and feeding the pond fish together – so cute!  I loved seeing them interact as they ran, jumped, giggled and demanded to be tickled. I can’t wait until all three of the cousins are able to play together. It’s not too far away!  What better holiday memory than realizing that you have cousins to share turkey and fun! 

  

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