I read about this web-site in one of my magazines and wanted to pass it on.
www.Cyke.com/snowman.swf
This site has a blank snowman that you can decorate with traditional and super funny accessories. It's a kid pleaser for sure! Ava and I have had a great time making silly snowmen today. Then you can type a personal message and print out your picture. When you scroll over the options, like the "Arms" category, the computer will say the word, for those of you with pre-readers. Great distraction for the little ones while you're trying to wrap those presents!!
Monday, December 22, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
Puppet Theater
Well here's the big present for the kids this year. I'm very excited about it! Puppet theaters are so pricey, and though they are much more professional than my humble version, the purpose is the same. What a valuable tool to have around the home! This is beneficial for playing and for teaching. Plus it makes for easy present ideas! How fun will it be to buy a new book for the kids and make character puppets to go along with it. Or to make puppets that coincide with biblical parables? The possibilities are endless!
I won't go through how I made it step by step because some of it's pretty self explanatory. It's made up of 3 pieces: The main blue piece has a rectangle cut out of the middle/top leaving about 5 inches on each side and the two pink pieces are the curtains which can be drawn back during a "show". It's held in the doorway by a tension rod and there is a dowel rod sewn in horizontally under the opening in the blue piece to hold the middle up and open.
I love this idea because it's something that's so simple to make and easy to put up and take down. Plus storage is no problem because it folds up as small as a tension and dowel rod. Besides, because I already had most of the material on hand, it cost me about $8.I also made puppets to go along with this, but because I was running low on time and experience, they're a little homely. I just needed something quick and these served that purpose very well!
We have 2 men and 2 women hand stitched from felt. Then for accessories I made a baby, banjo, guitar, school book/bible/story book/cookbook/song book/etc, pot, wooden spoon, and hammer. These are made out of felt, too, so they will temporarily stick to the puppets. Now, who wants to take up a pool to see how long it takes for something to get lost?
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Homemade baby shoes
Yes, you read that title right! Who would've thought? Well, obviously somebody did and boy am I thankful!
We've always been lovers of soft baby shoes like Robeez and Bobux, but we don't love the price! At $30 a pair, one pair at a time is all we could ever buy and even that was hard on our conscience. But we knew these little shoes were better for our babies feet than those hard-soled, tight shoes.
Serenity has been barefoot her whole 10 1/2 months of life, but now the weather is cold and strangers have started inquiring (Sometimes rather rudely!) about where her shoes are. So Kevin and I started the hunt. We checked Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target, e-bay, etsy, and many more trying to get a good deal. We had nothing but bad luck! So finally I started thinking, "Surely I'm not the only one who has been in this situation and there are many crafty people out there..." So I did a quick search and found so many links to free patterns and tuts on making soft-soled baby shoes!
I just finished Serenity's first pair. It took me about 2 hours and cost about $2!!! Whew, what a relief! Here's the finished product:
Here's the link I used:
She gives really great instructions. The only thing I really changed is the sole. She calls for leather or suede and the local fabric store didn't have either of those. So I bought pleather. I'm sure after time it won't hold up as nicely, but Serenity's not walking yet and I'm impatient, so this was my choice. Next time I'll probably look for something a little more durable.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Frugal Christmas Decorations
Well, the decorating has begun!! We're very excited. We've had Christmas music blaring since Monday. We have the inside of the house almost done. This weekend Kevin will start on the outside of the house. Last year we had over 4,000 lights outside and this year, thanks to hitting up the yard sales, we have even more!
Anyway, you can get really caught up in all of the frillies this time of year, sometimes spending more on decorations than your budget was ready for! But it doesn't have to be that way. There are many ways to decorate for the season without breaking the bank. Here are some of our favorites:
1. Wrap your doors. This year we bought 3 rolls of wrapping paper at the Dollar Tree and that was more than enough to cover all of our interior and exterior doors. Plus I have a little left over for presents. This really makes a dynamic difference in your house. It covers a large, otherwise, bland space with Christmas cheer!
2. Homemade garland is another favorite. This year we strung popcorn and cotton balls onto string with a needle and thread and put these on the tree as well as draping them over windows, doorways, etc. You can also make paper chains in Christmas colors or in just white for a "White Christmas" affect. Pom poms are another option for lacing onto some string.
3. For the kitchen or bathroom, stitch or glue some Christmas ribbon onto some hand towels instead of buying those little expensive holiday towels at the store. You can really get fancy with this! If you have some extra Christmas fabric lying around, cut a piece equal to the length your hand towel plus an inch or two for hemming, and about 3/4 as wide. Hem the ends all the way around, center on your towel, and stitch them together. Super fun!
4. We love to make snowflakes! This year we made a few dozen, put some sparkly glue on them and hung them from the ceiling in the kitchen and dining room. It looks like a winter wonderland!
5. Here's a great web-site that will put the kids to work making decorations. She has directions to make everything from advent calendars to ornaments. We've already gotten a lot of use out of it this year. http://www.dltk-holidays.com/
Ahh... Christmas is our favorite time of year. I'm really looking forward to sharing any other ideas I stumble across this season.
Anyway, you can get really caught up in all of the frillies this time of year, sometimes spending more on decorations than your budget was ready for! But it doesn't have to be that way. There are many ways to decorate for the season without breaking the bank. Here are some of our favorites:
1. Wrap your doors. This year we bought 3 rolls of wrapping paper at the Dollar Tree and that was more than enough to cover all of our interior and exterior doors. Plus I have a little left over for presents. This really makes a dynamic difference in your house. It covers a large, otherwise, bland space with Christmas cheer!
2. Homemade garland is another favorite. This year we strung popcorn and cotton balls onto string with a needle and thread and put these on the tree as well as draping them over windows, doorways, etc. You can also make paper chains in Christmas colors or in just white for a "White Christmas" affect. Pom poms are another option for lacing onto some string.
3. For the kitchen or bathroom, stitch or glue some Christmas ribbon onto some hand towels instead of buying those little expensive holiday towels at the store. You can really get fancy with this! If you have some extra Christmas fabric lying around, cut a piece equal to the length your hand towel plus an inch or two for hemming, and about 3/4 as wide. Hem the ends all the way around, center on your towel, and stitch them together. Super fun!
4. We love to make snowflakes! This year we made a few dozen, put some sparkly glue on them and hung them from the ceiling in the kitchen and dining room. It looks like a winter wonderland!
5. Here's a great web-site that will put the kids to work making decorations. She has directions to make everything from advent calendars to ornaments. We've already gotten a lot of use out of it this year. http://www.dltk-holidays.com/
Ahh... Christmas is our favorite time of year. I'm really looking forward to sharing any other ideas I stumble across this season.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Heating Pads
This year Kevin and I decided to make all of our Christmas gifts in an effort to reduce our footprint on the environment, tap into our creative sides, save some money, and teach some very valuable lessons to our little ones. We've been working for a few months now and we're enjoying every minute of it! I'm sure I'll be posting some more of our creations, but today I'm focusing on heating pads.
While brainstorming gift ideas for some of the men in our lives, I stumbled upon heating pads. The more I thought about it and starting working on them, the more I realized what a wonderful gift idea this is! So I'm making several this year, including one for each of the kids. When gifting these, you can make them personal with different fabric and for kids you could even make them in the form of teddy bears and such. I know my kids are going to enjoy theirs very much. I can just see them on cold nights, curling up with their heating pads, or when they have belly aches, etc. And it's a very manly gift that will come in useful after a hard days work.
So here's how I made mine:
I cut a piece of fabric 8'x14". With right sides together, stitch along the long side and the bottom. Make sure you reinforce the seams! Then, turn it right side out. Cut 2 pieces of muslin 2"x4". No need to turn right sides together or worry about pretty seams. Just stitch the two sides and the bottom together. Then, funnel in about 1 tablespoon of cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon clove. Sew your muslin pouch closed. Now, fill your heating pad about 1/2 full of rice, drop in your muslin pouch, and fill another quarter way up with rice. Leave about 4" at the top empty. Fold your fabric at the opening under about 1/2" and stitched it closed. Again, reinforce seams. Then you're done! I will be adding a ribbon with instructions to heat for 1-2 minutes with mine, otherwise I fear my gift recipients may think I've made them a very large, oddly shaped hacky sack!
While brainstorming gift ideas for some of the men in our lives, I stumbled upon heating pads. The more I thought about it and starting working on them, the more I realized what a wonderful gift idea this is! So I'm making several this year, including one for each of the kids. When gifting these, you can make them personal with different fabric and for kids you could even make them in the form of teddy bears and such. I know my kids are going to enjoy theirs very much. I can just see them on cold nights, curling up with their heating pads, or when they have belly aches, etc. And it's a very manly gift that will come in useful after a hard days work.
So here's how I made mine:
I cut a piece of fabric 8'x14". With right sides together, stitch along the long side and the bottom. Make sure you reinforce the seams! Then, turn it right side out. Cut 2 pieces of muslin 2"x4". No need to turn right sides together or worry about pretty seams. Just stitch the two sides and the bottom together. Then, funnel in about 1 tablespoon of cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon clove. Sew your muslin pouch closed. Now, fill your heating pad about 1/2 full of rice, drop in your muslin pouch, and fill another quarter way up with rice. Leave about 4" at the top empty. Fold your fabric at the opening under about 1/2" and stitched it closed. Again, reinforce seams. Then you're done! I will be adding a ribbon with instructions to heat for 1-2 minutes with mine, otherwise I fear my gift recipients may think I've made them a very large, oddly shaped hacky sack!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Halloween Popcorn Balls
This is a really versatile recipe. We used it for Halloween, but the colors can be adjusted for anything, and who doesn't love popcorn balls?
So, add a few tablespoons of oil in a nice size pot with a well fitting lid. When that gets hot, add your popcorn kernels, just enough to cover the bottom of the pot. Put your lid on and start shaking. Keep on shaking until pop corn starts to come out from under your lid. Set that aside and melt 1/4 cup margarine in another pot on low heat. Add 10 oz of large marshmallows and melt. Add a small splash of vanilla, mix around, then add 3 packages of flavored jello. Stir until the jello is dissolved, then pour the mixture over your popcorn. Gently stir to coat. Now, smear butter all over your hands and start making your balls. I made mine about 2 inches wide. This made about 20 balls. You'll have to re-smear your hands after every couple of balls because this is stick-y! When they've hardened a bit, wrap in cling wrap and tie some ribbon.
So, add a few tablespoons of oil in a nice size pot with a well fitting lid. When that gets hot, add your popcorn kernels, just enough to cover the bottom of the pot. Put your lid on and start shaking. Keep on shaking until pop corn starts to come out from under your lid. Set that aside and melt 1/4 cup margarine in another pot on low heat. Add 10 oz of large marshmallows and melt. Add a small splash of vanilla, mix around, then add 3 packages of flavored jello. Stir until the jello is dissolved, then pour the mixture over your popcorn. Gently stir to coat. Now, smear butter all over your hands and start making your balls. I made mine about 2 inches wide. This made about 20 balls. You'll have to re-smear your hands after every couple of balls because this is stick-y! When they've hardened a bit, wrap in cling wrap and tie some ribbon.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Mummified Hotdogs
We don't normally eat hot dogs... EVER, but in lieu of Halloween, I thought this would be fun. And the kids loved it! Plus, it lead into an informative discussion on ancient Egypt!
Okay, so just take a can of crescent rolls, open it, and divide it into 4 rectangles. Then seal the diagonal seams in each rectangle and cut them lengthwise into 10 strips each, for a total of 40 strips. Next, wrap about 4 strips around each hot dog. Make sure to leave a space for some spooky eyes! I didn't have ketchup or mustard for the eyes, so I tinted ranch dressing with some green food coloring, slipped it in a plastic baggie, and squeezed the eye balls on. Have fun!
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