Make a Card Monday - Winter Joy Pandas

This week I have another Chinese New Year card. This time a gate-fold with front piece. I love these pandas from the Cricut Pagoda cartridge. To dress up the inside, I also used 2 of the Kanji symbols from that cartridge: winter and joy.

Details:
cardstock: DCWV (card base), Georgia Pacific (white)
patterned paper: DCWV Far East stack
tools: Cricut Pagoda cartridge, Basic Gray Notch and Die tool, Scor-Pal
embellishments: google eyes
stamps: TAC Holiday Liners

Frugal Tip Friday - Home Office Part 1

Here are some tips to help you save in your home office area:

• Wait for Staples or Office Max ads and watch for rebate offers.
• Sign up for Staples “Business Rewards” card or the Office Max MaxPerks card. (Get coupons, store cash, and rebates.)
• Get office furniture at second-hand furniture stores.
• Buy small supplies at the end of the “Back-to-School” sales events (early/mid-September)
• Keep mis-printed computer paper in a folder by your printer. Use the backsides for non-essential printing or coloring pages for the kids.
• Get free programs at www.downloads.com, www.coffeebreakarcade.com, www.popcap.com

Happy saving!

Organizing Greeting Cards

 

I love when I receive cards in the mail as opposed to junk flyers and (ugh) bills. A friend of mine calls cards and notes 'real mail'. I think I agree!
Because I like getting 'real mail', I try to send it as much as I can to others. We have a decent sized extended family most of whom live too far away to see regularly. Other than the usual Facebook greetings on special occasions, I like to send cards.

Real Mail! :)

I probably send around 80 cards a year (not including Christmas) so I need to be organized. Or else I'll miss somebody! (Like my poor nephew Noah on his birthday last year!) He was too young to notice, I'm sure, but I felt terrible. This year I've got a plan in place to be sure not to miss a single important occasion.

I started with my calendar. I found this frame at Goodwill for a couple of dollars. It dresses up our 'command central' area but it's made specifically for Lang calendars. They can be a bit pricey but the artwork is gorgeous so I try to wait for a sale or get one with a coupon somewhere each year.

After I have my calendar (preferably by the end of October the previous year), I sit down with the previous year and work through each month writing down birthdays, anniversaries, and other special occasions that need cards.
I also have learned to write down whenever someone gets married or has a baby on the calendar so that come next year, I can write in that new little person's first birthday. For younger kids, I write in how old they'll be on their birthday too so I can mention it in their card. Note to self: when writing in all the dates each month be sure to check for babies born! I forgot last year which is how I missed Noah! (There goes my Aunt of the Year Award.)

After I have all the names and occasions written in, I go back to January and start tallying up how many cards I'll need. Women's birthdays, men's birthdays, girl birthdays, boy birthdays, anniversaries, Mother's Day, Father's Day, etc. Then it's off to my card stash.

As I make cards, I file them in a stationery box that came home from Bass's work. To prep for the new year, I pull out my stash a box of envelopes and start choosing cards for each event. As I pick a card, I write in teeny-tiny pencil under the flap of the envelope who it's for and when it's due.

Then all the picked cards go into the 'to be mailed' box. This also helps me know if I need to sit down and make cards for particular occasions.

Almost all my cards for 2012 - I need to make just a few

As the days go by, I try to check my calendar each week to see what upcoming cards need to be sent out and then stamp sentiments inside and bring them upstairs to be addressed and stamped (postage).

Ready and waiting to be sent

Picking the cards is the hard part. Once they're ready to go, I'm all set. And less likely to forget anyone! (Sorry, Noah!)

Linking up to some or all of these great blog parties:

Sunday: Sunday Showcase at Under the Table and Dreaming;
Monday: Amaze Me Monday at Dittle Dattle;
Tuesday: One Project at a Time at A Bowl Full of Lemons; Tuesday's Treasures at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia; Show Me What Ya Got at Not Just a Housewife;
Wednesday: Wicked Awesome Wednesday at Handy Man, Crafty Woman; It's Overflowing at Overflowing with Creativity; Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts;
Home Decor & Organizing at Organize and Decorate Everything;
Thursday: Delightfully Inspiring Thursday at Delightful Order; Thrifty Thursday at Thrifty and Fabuless;  Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Creek Cottage;
Friday: Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest; Flaunt it Friday at Chic on a Shoestring;

Make a Card Monday - Panda and Bamboo

In honor of Chinese New Year, this week's card (and my first 'Make a Card Monday' post) has some very Chinese elements---- a panda and bamboo. :)
While it's not a red envelope filled with cash, it does hold a gift card for a music-filled New Year.

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Details:
cardstock: DCWV (card base), Georgia Pacific (white)
patterned paper: DCWV (bamboo) and random stack stash (green splatter)
tools: Cricut Pagoda cartridge, Basic Gray Notch and Die tool, Crop-a-dile, Spellbinders Nestabilities small circles dies, Scor-Pal
embellishments: Making Memories eyelets, Karen Foster Scrapper's Floss in black, google eyes
stamps: TAC Holiday Liners

Frugal Tip Friday - Curb the Impulse Buy

It's too, too easy to just pop into Target, Christmas Tree Shops, even the grocery store and come out with a bill $20, $30, or $40 more than I intended. Keeping the following things mind can really help curb impulse buying. 

New Purchase Criteria:

• Do we really need it? (This one is the hardest to be truly honest about. At least for me.)
• Can we make do with what we already have?
• How often will we use it?
• How much space will it take up?
• How much care does it require?
• Is it durable?
• Does its design and quality meet my standards?
• Is there more information available?
• Is the price right? Could we find it second-hand?
• How much difference will its addition to our home really make?

Keepin' Warm - Fleece Scarves and Rice Hand Warmers

We have friends living overseas where it gets very, very cold in the winter, and I wanted to send some gifts over for Christmas to help keep them warm. I actually did these a year ago but forgot to post them.

JoAnn's had a great selection of fleece fabrics so my little girl and I had a shopping date to pick some.
For the 2 girls in the family, I found a great tutorial online for a layered fleece scarf (but I can't find a link to it now.) It was pretty easy. Cut the fleece to length, layer it, then sew a straight line down the middle. After it's sewn, cut towards the center (without cutting through the sewn line) every 2" or so. Repeat on the other side to create fringe, then fluff.

These are much cuter when they're fluffed up. I don't have a pic of that though. :(

For the guys, I picked solid fleece, cut it to size, and then used a blanket stitch with embroidery floss to dress up the edges. To represent their various personalities and interests, I cut out shapes to applique at the ends, using fat quarters. I ironed the shapes onto fusible webbing and then ironed it on to the scarf and then zig-zagged around the outside edge.

One Phillies fan, one politics guru, and one music teacher

Coordinating hand warmers all around. Cut 2 rectangles of fabric, sew around 3 sides with right sides together, turn inside-out, fill with rice, sew the opening closed. You can make it any size you need. (A more in-depth tutorial here: http://www.ehow.com/how_6669510_make-own-rice-hand-warmers.html)

Just pop them in the microwave along with a mug of plain water and heat them for about 30 seconds or so. They'll stay warm for awhile. I read, on another link that I can't find, that you should be sure to put a plain mug of water in with them so they don't dry out your microwave.

It's that time of year when it's really starting to get chilly. I should maybe make some of these for us!

Button Heart Art

 

We draw names with my parents and siblings for Christmas gift exchanging. This year, we drew my sister-in-law's name. We keep to a set dollar limit on gifts and I knew the "big" gift we wanted to get her would use up most of that limit. So I had to get creative to add to her gifts. I decided that I'd make some cute button art like I've seen all over Pinterest and blogland. Like these: 

button snowflake  and button pumpkin

I toyed with doing a monogram initial but thought that a heart in neutral colors could be the most versatile.

I started with a scrap of Osnaburg fabric from my sewing stash and cut it to fit the shadowbox frame I picked up at Michaels (on sale plus an extra 25% off with a coupon). In MS Word, I used the auto shape feature to grab a heart and stretch it be a size that fit well in my frame. Next step, print out the Word doc and then trace (using carbon paper) the heart outline onto the fabric. Hint: make sure the heart is centered properly on the fabric so that when you pop it in the frame it looks okay.

After I traced the heart on, I started by placing a piece of twine down towards the bottom of the heart and then gluing buttons right over it. I added buttons using hot glue trying to space out the larger sized ones and ones that were the same style or color. Then I kept layering them on, using the smallest ones around the outer edge and on top to fill in any gaps. The very last step was to cut a little tag with my Cricut and then stamp the word 'amour' on it with my Making Memories mini stamp set. Once it was completely cooled, I put the whole thing together. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy for a sweet gift.

Linking up to some or all of these great blog parties:

Sunday: Sunday Showcase at Under the Table and Dreaming;
Monday: Amaze Me Monday at Dittle Dattle;
Tuesday: One Project at a Time at A Bowl Full of Lemons; Tuesday's Treasures at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia; Show Me What Ya Got at Not Just a Housewife;
Wednesday: Wicked Awesome Wednesday at Handy Man, Crafty Woman; It's Overflowing at Overflowing with Creativity; Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts;
Home Decor & Organizing at Organize and Decorate Everything;
Thursday: Delightfully Inspiring Thursday at Delightful Order; Thrifty Thursday at Thrifty and Fabuless;  Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Creek Cottage;
Friday: Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest; Flaunt it Friday at Chic on a Shoestring;

Weekly School Summaries - Europe, Germany (January 2-13)

I respectfully ask that you not pin pictures of my children to Pinterest. Thank you!

 Ahh... the holidays are over; the decor is packed away for next year; we're already decluttering for our spring yard sale; and school is back to it's regular routine. Here's what we did for the past 2 weeks:

Math: Similar to usual. They each had 4 days of lessons and 1 day of math games on the computer. Tenor is doing much better with math because he's taking his time rather than doing all the work in his head and just rushing through. Soprano continues to do well. She's thriving with the Saxon Math method of teaching. She did have a little trouble figuring out a.m. and p.m. I found this site that gave her a visual on how a.m. and p.m. don't mean when the sun is up and when it's dark but how it relates to Noon and Midnight.

Reading and Language Arts: Soprano finished The Hundred Penny Box  from 'Across the Centuries' with a some reading and an evaluation. Then she read 'The Tale of Peter Rabbit' and did a couple worksheets, a watering can activity, and drew the various characters' points of view.

She began her second Phonics book and is showing leaps and bounds of improvement. I'm glad I got these books to help review and cement the phonics concepts. I think she really needs that this year.

English (learning pronouns) and spelling are going well as is her handwriting. We're up to Rr.

Tenor continued with his 'A Reason for Handwriting C' and 'Writing Strands.' But I'm not loving Writing Strands and neither is he. We don't need writing prompts or copying other writers' works, we need a step by step here's how to get your thoughts in order kind of thing. I went to the local Education store and got a couple of workbooks to try. We'll finish Writing Strands in 3 more weeks and then switch. Again. The 5th time's the charm???

He began Homer Price from 'Across the Centuries C Level 1' with some worksheets and an evaluation about the Cosmic Comic and The Doughnuts.

English (learning proper verb tenses with helping verbs) and Spelling (Rod and Staff Level 4) are going well. 

Electives:
Typer Island for their typing instruction and continuing with SOS Elementary Spanish. The new schedule seems to be helping. Our days are getting done at a more reasonable hour. I also am setting the timer on Computer Math games which is helping. Tenor now has 2 days of typing and 2 days of Spanish. He gets Wednesdays off, while Soprano has 2 days of typing and 1 day of Spanish.

They had a safety survey to do for health. We also talked about Irish immigrants in PA and how mechanics are community helpers.

Phys Ed.: Basement scooter riding is going strong. It's a little scary how fast they're zipping around, but we're injury-free so far. I had them do Wii Zumba with me one day. That was fun! They also just started a Tae Kwan Do/Karate program through a local church. A local police officer and trained sensei? is offering free classes for children, families, or adults. They'll go every Monday night and have class with Bass. And it's free! Tenor has been interested in martial arts for awhile but we were concerned about the school of Eastern thought/philosophy that tends to go along with it. The program that they just joined is run by a Christian man who requires Bible verse memorization to advance to the next belt level. And it's free. What a huge, huge blessing!

Bible: The past two weeks included:
Reading about Spain and Turkey
Reading Matthew 12:1-13:30
Memorizing Matthew 11:29-30 and Matthew 6:19

Reading about Martin Luther and John Wesley.

Geography:
We've moved onto studying Germany. We read about German castles in several books.

Coloring the German flag and writing down interesting facts about it.

We also took a field trip to a local shopping area that was modeled after a European village. We walked around and visited a few of the shops. 

Illustrating notecards for headwater, mouth, ford, and meander

And playing the geography game with North and South America and Europe.

Tenor's Europe pages from World Geography were Languages and Religion.

Science: Discussion on Lakes and Ponds, Freshwater Plants and Animals, Getting Oxygen Underwater, Rivers and Streams, and Living by Rivers and Lakes.

Venus Fly Traps and a Playtpus

We also did an experiment on how the freezing properties of saltwater and freshwater differ.

At the beginning

At 30 minutes

At the end, we had a very thin layer of ice on the top of the freshwater glass

Soprano finished the Science and Animals and Animal Facts and Fun pages from The Complete Book of Animals.

Other MFW: Wee sing: Swiss Hiking Song, All My Little Ducklings, My Little Rooster, My Burro, Where is the Ring?, and Ring Around Raja. I played music by Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Chopin, and Liszt too.
 
Art: The first week we skipped the Beeswax Modeling but did the 'Draw Your Own World' activity.  The second week, we painted clothespin nutcrackers and made German hats.

To fill in a bit, we read other books about western European countries and borrowed DVDs from the library. We focused on Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, and Hungary.

Next up, week 18! The half way point for our school year and a new continent, Africa.

Linking up at www.weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com and
at http://2ladybugsandalizard.blogspot.com.

Disclaimer: I'm an Amazon affiliate so clicking on links to Amazon and then purchasing items will put a few pennies into our piggy bank for future homeschool purchases. Thank you!

Frugal Tip Friday -- The 10 Commandments of Frugalness

I have so many great money-saving tips floating around, that I thought I'd share 'em with you. Times are tough and getting things, reusing things, or making things on the cheap really helps. Thus begins, Frugal Tip Friday.
Each week, I'll try to post a helpful hint or tip to help save us all some dough.
I'll start with some overall basics and then get into the random stuff. :)

10 Commandments for Being Frugal:

1. Never pay retail for anything.
2. Know your prices. Create a price comparison book.
3. Watch for sales.
4. Use coupons. (Sign up for stores’ bonus/rewards programs.)
5. Always check the clearance rack first.
6. Recycle as much as you can—think of alternate uses.
7. Trash Pick (also called Dumpster Diving.) Wear black and go at night. (Just kidding! :) )
8. Keep a tape measure in your purse, diaper bag, or vehicle.
9. Research purchases through Consumer Reports to find the best deal (The cheapest is not always the best.)
10. Keep your receipts (always check for errors.)

Let's start saving some money!

Winter Mantel with a Pinecone Garland

I've been wanting to make a pinecone garland since last winter when I saw this pretty one online. 

Lovely, isn't it? Last year, we were still in the midst of mega house renovations and unpacking so decorating, let alone a craft project, last winter was not even close to being on the to-do list. This year is a different story though. Putting this together was so super easy. I got a pack of eyelets at Hobby Lobby and a bag of cinnamon scented pine cones on Christmas clearance at Michaels. Total cost: about $2.00.

 

Step One: screw the little eyelet into the pinecone.

It'll be a little off center because unless you want to break out the power tools, you won't be able to get it in the hard center part. (You might notice in the pic that these pokey little things gave me a slight injury. So be careful!)

Step Two: Thread a ribbon through the eyelets. I had some light cream grosgrain ribbon in my stash so this part was free.

Step Three: Hang.

The rest of my winter mantel came together rather easily. The theme is a brown, cream/white, birds, pinecone mash-up. I started with 2 strands of brown twig and berry garland from my stash and tucked in a strand of white Christmas lights. I used 2 Ikea candle cups to prop up some pinecone leftovers. Assorted taper candles and holders came out of my stash as did a candy jar holding mini pine cones. I kept my Christmas wreath up since the colors are so muted, and it has pinecones on it.

 

I found the little white tree candles and white flocked birds at a local craft/gift shop. They opened a temporary location in our mall and had a big post-Christmas clearance sale.

 

The 2 cloches came from my December beach trip. Super, super cheap. I'm sure I'll find lots of uses for them. The white snowflakes were Christmas decor that I re-purposed.

 

My little ladder made friends with my ice skates on the hearth.

 

And my prim snowman pillow is hanging out in the basket on the other side.

The dining room stayed mostly the same from Christmas. I just replaced the cloche and mini tree with a smaller cloche and dish and a couple of pine cones on the window sill. 

I love having a mantel to change out for the seasons. It's a nice transition from all the glitz of Christmas into the serenity of winter days. And here it is all glowy...

Linking up to some or all of these great blog parties:
Sunday: Sunday Showcase at Under the Table and Dreaming;
Monday: Amaze Me Monday at Dittle Dattle;
Tuesday: One Project at a Time at A Bowl Full of Lemons; Tuesday's Treasures at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia; Show Me What Ya Got at Not Just a Housewife;
Wednesday: Wicked Awesome Wednesday at Handy Man, Crafty Woman; It's Overflowing at Overflowing with Creativity; Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts;
Home Decor & Organizing at Organize and Decorate Everything;
Thursday: Delightfully Inspiring Thursday at Delightful Order; Thrifty Thursday at Thrifty and Fabuless;  Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Creek Cottage;
Friday: Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest; Flaunt it Friday at Chic on a Shoestring;

The Updated To-Do List for 2012

Last year, I posted my project to-do list to help keep me going. Nothing quite as motivating as having a list to check off when projects are completed. :)
Since we're in a new year, here's my updated list:

DONE * A gallery wall for the master bedroom with fabric matted pics and 3D objects like this starfish pic
* shelf decor for the master bedroom like this beautiful room
DONE * a fabric bunting for the old window in the master bedroom
* Moss or twine balls for the dining room like these
* Cloth napkins for everyday use (to be frugal and good environmental stewards)
* Sew fabric runners for the piano and the entry cupboard
* Paint the entry area cupboard
* Make picture ledges for a gallery in the living room
* Dress up the bay window sill (still no ideas other than random seasonal decorations)
* Paint a bird silhouette on an old board we have like this one
* Paint a chalkboard on the kitchen door
* Make art for laundry shelf (I have the frames and the ideas!)
* Make a name sign for Tenor's room like this
* Make a jewelry holder for Soprano's room maybe like this or this
(NOT GOING TO HAPPEN) * Add vinyl house numbers to the front door
After looking at the door and doing some mock-ups in Word, our door just won't work with house numbers on it. The screen door covers too much of the bottom, while any wreath I put up will cover up too much at the top.
* Make a mason jar soap dispenser and clay tag for the half bathroom
DONE * a pine cone garland for my winter mantel
* a summer memories jar with beach sand from our vacations


Plus actual renovation/remodeling/landscaping projects like:
* Add countertops and utility sink in the laundry room
* Make a shelf for above the washer and dryer
* replacing all interior doors
* and make-the-kitchen-work-until-we-can-gut-it projects:
Paint the kitchen cabinets and soffit (replace the backsplash??)
Remove the paneling in the kitchen
DONE Remove the Narnia lamp
(NOT GOING TO HAPPEN) Build out the half wall so it makes more sense
After going around and around with different ideas to build out the wall, we couldn't make it work without really closing off the kitchen from the dining room. We have baseboard radiators along the floor on the kitchen side so we can't make the half wall less deep than it currently is. We like the area more open so until we redo the heating system, we're going to leave it as is.
Replace the lights?
Add a work table/island thing and saddle stools

Looks like it'll be another busy year. Lucky hubs. ;)

KitchenAid Dress-Up

Woo-hoo! Here's my first project of the New Year!
I love, love, love my KitchenAid mixer. It was a super generous, wedding shower gift from my grandmother (who is now no longer living.) I actually didn't use it for the first 3 years I had it because I stored in the bottom of our pantry cupboard and it was too hard to get it out every time I needed it.
Slapping myself repeatedly on the forehead for that one!
I don't know what I was thinking!
I finally dug it out and put it in its rightful spot on the kitchen counter. Now we're best buds. I even named it, following my sisters-in-law's lead. It's a white mixer so now it's me, Betty (Crocker, that is), and Snow White, the KitchenAid Princess. :)


But every princess needs a little fancying up, don't you think?

I wasn't brave enough to pull it apart and spray paint it so I thought maybe some vinyl would do the trick. I got some blue vinyl at Hobby Lobby with a coupon and cut out a little birdy and some flourishes with my Cricut. I found a couple of tutorials online to help me along with process: A Little of This blog and Donna's Dayz blog. (Thanks gals!)

I did practice with scrap paper first before cutting into the vinyl. I made my cuts, took notes on sizes and settings, and then just used a bit of ATG adhesive to stick them on the mixer until I got the arrangement I liked.

Then I cleaned it really well (um, major icky-ness that I didn't realize was on there. Sorry, Snow!) and then rubbed it down with a couple of alcohol swabs.

When it was dry, I used the transfer tape to adhere the vinyl to my mixer.

Now she's extra pretty! Nothin' quite like a gal who can sing and work at the same time.

Linking up to some or all of these great blog parties:
Sunday: Sunday Showcase at Under the Table and Dreaming;
Monday: Amaze Me Monday at Dittle Dattle;
Tuesday: One Project at a Time at A Bowl Full of Lemons; Tuesday's Treasures at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia; Show Me What Ya Got at Not Just a Housewife;
Wednesday: Wicked Awesome Wednesday at Handy Man, Crafty Woman; It's Overflowing at Overflowing with Creativity; Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts;
Home Decor & Organizing at Organize and Decorate Everything;
Thursday: Delightfully Inspiring Thursday at Delightful Order; Thrifty Thursday at Thrifty and Fabuless;  Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Creek Cottage;
Friday: Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest; Flaunt it Friday at Chic on a Shoestring;