St. Patty's Day Catch Up

This year, I had an idea for a cute little basket for the kids. And I made it. I even photographed it. A day late. Cause, I forgot to give it to the kids ON St. Patrick's Day. Oops. And, then, in Epic Blogging Fail, I forgot to post it.

So, bask in the glory!

To make this:

1 sheet of Shamrock Scrapbook Paper ($.59 spent)
1 Green Metal Bucket, Dollar Spot at Target ($1 spent)
3 Candy Sticks each, $.10/ea at Cracker Barrel- I went with Lemon, Lemon Lime, and Green Apple for shades of green, and yellow. ($.90 total spent)
Green & Silver Hershey's Kisses left from after Christmas purchases (dirt cheap)
1 Green Ink Pad (on hand from Christmas)
Green Good Luck Stamp, $1 at Michaels (on hand with no purpose)
Shamrock Ribbon, $1 at Michaels (on hand from a Shamrock project)

Total spent FOR this project:
$2.49

Total spent including on hand items:

$7ish.

I cut circles of the scrapbook paper, then distressed the plain white side, stamped the kids names on it, and added the "Good Luck" stamp as well. Then, punch a hole, and tie it around 3 candy sticks with the shamrock ribbon.

I added a larger circle to the front of the bucket, and tied it right with the ribbon the bucket came with. I distressed it, and added the Good Luck stamp again.

To keep the candy sticks standing, I filled the bucket in with the Hershey's Kisses.

While I may be a -tad- bit over due in posting this, it would be really cute in pastel colors for Easter!

This post is linked up at the link parties listed here.

Top O' The Morning

Good Morning (again)!

This morning, I worked on a wreath for St. Patrick's Day. I love how it turned out, but I'm kind of sad I can't hang it outside to show off. It's too cute to keep hidden! Maybe I'll hang it outside on the 17th, if it's not too wet out.

St. Patrick's Day Wreath for $3.75

You'll Need:
8 sheets of felt- I used 2 sheets each of white, lime green, kelly green, and forest green. $2 @ 4/$1 not on sale
Green Marabou trim- Clearance at 75% off- $.75
Foam Wreath Form- Dollar Tree- $1
Ball Point Pins- On hand (I've heard that the flat end pins hurt your thumb after a while of pushing them in!)

1. Find something circular to use, and draw as many circles as you can on your sheets of felt. I used a smaller than average size spool of ribbon, and was able to get 12 circles. Anything larger will likely yield less. Smaller, and I could have easily gotten 16, but I don't know how smaller circles would have looked. Cut the circles out.
2. Fold a circle in half. Fold that half into thirds. Pinch it together, and use a pin through the bottom to attach it to the wreath. You could also use hot glue and a pen or pencil to glue the circles straight to the wreath if you are so inclined, but I imagine it would take more work.
3. Fill out the wreath. I added a line around the edge to hide the green florist foam I used for the wreath. If you use a wreath form that's rounded, and not flat like mine, you could wrap the form in ribbon first, and you wouldn't have to add extra circles.
4. Once that was done, and all my circles were gone, I dug out a spool of marabou "ribbon" trim I got on clearance after Christmas for 75% off. I ran it around the edge of the the wreath twice, pinning the rope to the form. I repeated this on the inside. The fur doesn't show up real great from the front, but it completely covered the edges of foam that were visible. 

I was going to add a bow, but I didn't have anything on hand that really matched, and was wide enough ribbon to show up good. I like how it looks without a bow, though. I had also picked up little plastic green "coins" at Big Lots to use, but decided not to.

This style of wreath has been all over the blog world over the past month, so it's hardly original. In fact, Heidi at Craft Monkey did one very similar to mine back before Valentine's Day, instead of doing a red, white, and pink one.

 

  

  

 

This post is linked up at the link parties listed here.

From Christmas Tree to Valentine Tree

This year, I put up my beloved white Christmas tree, and my newest cat (whom we adopted about a year ago, so she wasn't here for Christmas last year), decided that it was too beautiful to let stand there unclimbed. She loved sitting in the branches. Unfortunately, she ruined the tree, as it was a cheap one to begin with.

I was going to donate it, but then I decided that since the top section was intact, I would keep that, and use it as a mini tree next year. As Nick and I were packing things away, though, I decided it would make a lovely little Valentine Tree, so I unpacked it.

I also unpacked a set of 10 mini Christmas bulbs I had that were shiny, pearlized hot pink. Ooo, pretty! I had everything on hand I needed to decorate, or create decorations, except 1 thing- garland. For some reason, I just hate tinsel garland on that white tree. It looks horrid, so even though I had some red sitting out, I refused to use it.

In all honestly, I wasn't going to add garland at all, but I found some cute wired heart garland at Dollar Tree, so I grabbed it. It's pink and lavender, and I'm really glad I did! I love how it looks on the tree.

I made several unique heart ornaments out of felt, and added those to it. I also dug out the last of my flocked red, and pink glitter heart stakes from Dollar Tree (I picked them up for a craft, then hated them in it, and never used most of them), and stuck those in the branches.

For a topper, I took a pink sequined pick I got on clearance 90% off at Michaels after Christmas, and I bent the two middle strands into a heart shape, then two others outward. The lone stray (it was a 5 strand spray), I spiraled around the base. I also formed a heart from some of the left over wire garland, and added that, and one pink glittery heart pick.

Instead of a skirt, I used one of my Valentine's Day placemats under the stand. Last weekend, I picked up 2 glass apothecary jars at Goodwill, and filled them with left overs. One has a couple of pink bulb ornaments, and the left over flocked & glittery hearts, sans picks. The other has the last of the wired garland wrapped around inside of it.

I love, love, love the jars filled with candy, but 2 of my 3 kids have ADHD, with a large emphasis on being impulsive, so leaving candy laying out is an open invitation for them to chow down until it's gone, then look at each other and say "I don't know who did it, Mom!"

So, until the kids are out of the house in 10+ years (my youngest is 8, and this is totally counting on them all going to college, which we are pretty insistent on), the candy displays will just have to wait.

Valentines Day Crafts

I'll admit it freely- before this year, I never really looked at how many cool things can be done for Valentine's Day. There are just so many wicked cool crafts that look oh so sweet! On any given day, I'm finding more and more fun ideas, and more and more takes on already seen ideas.

I am in love with Valentine's Day right now!

Christmas Candy

This week, I need to get going in the kitchen a bit. Here are a few of the recipes I'll be making.

Christmas Crack, found via Jessica at Mad in Crafts

You'll Need:
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
a sleeve of saltine crackers
12 oz. chocolate chips

In a saucepan, combine the brown sugar in the butter and bring them to a boil.  Boil for three minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cover a jelly roll pan with aluminum foil.  Cover the foil with a layer of saltine crackers.

Pour the buttery/sugary mix over the crackers, making sure they are all saturated. Put pan in the oven for 10 minutes.

Take pan out and sprinkle chocolate chips over the crackers. Let sit until chips soften. Spread the chips with a spatula or the back of a spoon.  Freeze for two hours.

Remove the pan from the fridge and peel off the aluminum foil. Crack it up into pieces, whatever size you’d like. Store in an air tight container, or bag.

Peppermint Crack

You'll Need:
a sleeve of Ritz crackers
38 Andes Mint candies (regular packs come 28 to a box, Dollar Store packs come 10 or 12 to a box)
Crushed peppermint candy canes

Bring water to a boil in a pot, then add a smaller pot, or smaller metal bowl on top to create a double boiler. Melt the Andes chocolate in the bowl.

Dip the crackers into the chocolate to cover, then set on waxed paper, and sprinkle with crushed candy canes. Let cool, and store in an air tight container, or bag.

Peppermint Bark

You'll Need:
1 bag White Chocolate Chips
1 bag Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
2 teaspoons Peppermint Flavor Oil
Crushed peppermint candy canes

Line a jelly roll pan or cake pan with wax paper, very lightly buttered.

Melt the semi-sweet chocolate chips in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until melted. Add 1 teaspoon peppermint oil, and stir. Pour onto the greased wax paper and let harden.

While the chocolate is hardening, melt the white chocolate chips in the microwave, again stirring every 30 seconds (to prevent scorched chocolate) until melted. Add 1 teaspoon of peppermint oil, and half the crushed candy, and stir well. Pour the white chocolate onto the semi-sweet chocolate, then sprinkle with the remaining crushed candy canes. You can also add red sprinkles for color. Let harden in a cool spot, then lift the wax paper out, and break the bark up. Store in an air tight container, or bag.

Festive Fudge

You'll Need:
1 bag baking chips, any flavor (Chocolate, white chocolate, peanut butter, butterscotch, etc)
1 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk!)
1 spoonful peanut butter, optional (tastes great with chocolate chips!)
crushed peanuts, optional
crushed peppermint candy canes, optional

Line a Jelly Roll pan or cake pan with wax paper, very lightly buttered.

Melt the baking chips and milk together. If adding peanut butter, stir this in as the chips and milk melt together. Stir often, to prevent scorching.

Once the mix is melted, add any additional ingredients you wish to add, stirring them in well. Pour onto the greased wax paper, and let harden. Lift out of the pan using the wax paper. To cut, use a pizza cutter for super easy, fast cutting.

Enjoy your holiday!!

CVS Extra Care Bucks- $4 w/$20 purchase!

Today, I stopped in to my local CVS. For a few days, they've had a sign up saying that Halloween items were 75% off, and I hadn't had the time to stop in. While I was paying, the cashier offered me a Holiday Catalog, which includes a coupon for $4 in ECB with a $20 purchase. The ECB's print out after the purchase. Also while I was there, I scanned my card and got a $5 off any $30 purchase coupon.

I also found a few things for Christmas in the Halloween items. First, they had 2 bags of "Game Candy", which are cardboard boxes shaped & printed like popular games- Clue, Life, etc. The candy inside is shaped like the game pieces for that game.

Since we are doing a Family Gift of a Game Night, I thought these would be a great addition to the gift. Each bag was only $1.49.

There were also several Halloween themed Pez dispensers, but there was 1 Disney Fairy's one, and 1 Davey Jones from Pirates of the Caribbean each for only $.37! I grabbed both for stocking stuffers.

Re-evaluating the Holiday Crunch

Tonight, I stumbled merrily on to a blog that caught my eye. Right near the top she has a post about Frazzle Free Holidays, where the author, Karen Ehman, talks about how her family made the decision to pare down the Holiday season, in order to enjoy their time together better, and enjoy their holiday.

She talks about the things they decided to change, or give up, such as buying pre-baked, shaped sugar cookies to decorate, instead of making them from scratch. Or, how as a family, they decided which traditions they loved and wanted to keep, and which ones were better off passing into memory.

It really got me thinking, though, about how stressful the holiday season can be, even more so for parents who work, and only have evenings or weekends free. Between school concerts, work parties, family parties, shopping, wrapping, baking, crafting, snow days, decorating, and more, time is scarce.

This year, while perhaps not giving me more time, I've opted to make all the gifts for extended family. It will save me worrying over how much to spend, or finding something that won't just get tossed aside (my gifts are all going to be useful items). It will also save on our budget. I come from a decent sized family, and my husband's family is smaller, but still decent sized.

I have 3 siblings. 2 of them have significant others. Between all 3, I have 3 nieces and 1 nephew. I have 2 sets of parents, and countless aunts, uncles, and cousins. Not that we see or buy for all of them, but I do have a large family.

Nick has 1 sibling, 1 niece, several cousins, second cousins, two aunts, two uncles, and more. That side of the family does tend to buy gifts for everyone, no matter how small. I have one gift purchased, which I had picked up inexpensivly for an uncle, who was recently diagnosed with stage 3 Non-hodgkins Lymphoma. It was a small item, but something that is perfect for him. Everyone else will be getting homemade items, though.

One of the biggest stress moments, though, is getting to the Holiday Parties. Almost 3 years ago now, Nick got blessed with a great job opportunity. It allowed us to be in a better place financially, and cut out the major stress in both of our lives, as his last job was extremely stressing to both of us.

The downside (upside?) to the new job, is that it relocated us an hour from where we were living, which was near Nick's family. Where we are now, it's at least an hour drive in different directions to get to my family or his. It could be worse, of course.

That first year, I planned it out perfectly. We were set to drive up north first, enjoy a morning party, then drive west, enjoy an early evening party, then drive south east back home. Total driving time would have been close to 5 hours, but it would have gotten 2 of the 3 parties done at once. The 3rd party was my dad & step-mom, and they were coming to us that year.

All the driving done at once? Oh, I was so excited by the prospect, even if the idea of spending 5 hours in a car with a 5 year old, 8 year old, and 11 year old was not my idea of fun.

The morning arrived, and with it, one of the worst snow storms I'd seen in a long time. Even with plows going continuously, the highway was pretty much impassable. After driving just 2 miles in close to 20 minutes, I turned around at the next exit. We called, explained the problem, and agreed to reschedule.

Last year, we did not attempt an all at once visit. On the day when we were to drive up north, everything went great. Until about 20 miles south of our destination, when our upper radiator hose sprung a leak, and the van over heated. Thankfully, it did so right outside a rest stop, so I pulled us in, and we called for help.

Nick's uncle drove down, put antifreeze in it, and we drove to the next exit, where we got a container of antifreeze, and filled the van, then drove up to the party. By then, we had missed the food, the snacks were gone, and we were crabby. Did I mention that while it wasn't snowing, the wind was blowing at close to 30 MPH? It was frigid cold.

This year, I am hoping for a good day for our trip up north. That would simplify my holiday stress levels in large doses.

I think I've digressed just a bit from the start of this post. In the post I was reading, the author talked about making life easier during the holidays, by cutting out or simplifying projects that you want to do this year.

She also, thoughtfully, included a little questionnaire you can use to decide what things could be simplified for your family. She does make 1 fantastic point, however, in that the holiday should be about what is best for your family, and what works for you. Not what you see in a magazine, or in a movie, or even down the street. Make the holiday about what is best for your family, and they will remember them for years to come.

For those who missed the link, here it is again:

Frazzle-Free Holiday by Karen Ehman

Make It Yourself- Gag Gifts

One thing many people worry about during the holiday season, is who they are buying for, who they can afford to buy for, and how much to spend.

I come from a large family. I'm the second oldest of 4 kids, with divorced parents. My mom is the oldest of 4 kids. My dad is the youngest of 11 kids. My step mom is smack dab in the middle of 7 kids. My husband is the oldest of 2 kids. His mom is the oldest of 3 kids.

All said and done, we usually hit more than our fair share of holiday parties each year, and I've always bought for a few select people, and tried to come up with something small for the rest of the people. Last year, my 'something small' was "Snowman Poop".

I got the idea on Budget101.com. It's easy to do, and costs pennies to make.

Snowman Poop

What You'll Need:
Mini Marshmallows
Glitter
Plastic Baggie- I used ziplock, because that's what I had, but it would look nicer with sandwich bags, tied with ribbon
A small note pad, or a printer with paper

First, put a small handful of mini marshmallows in the baggie, then sprinkle in a touch of glitter. Hold the baggie closed to shake it, then use a ribbon to tie it off. Please make sure to note that the snowman poop is NOT edible, due to the glitter.

Attach a small note with a poem:
Santa looked at his list,
Even checked it twice.
And he has seen that you
have not been very nice.
Since coal's so expensive,
Here's the scoop,
Santa's filling your stocking
with SNOWMAN'S POOP!

There are a lot of fun ideas at Budget101.com for similar, easy to make, cheap to make, fun gag gifts.

Grinch Farts

What You'll Need:
Green M&M's, Skittles, or other round green candies.
Plastic Baggie- I used ziplock, because that's what I had, but it would look nicer with sandwich bags, tied with ribbon
A small note pad, or a printer with paper

Fill the baggies, tie off with a ribbon, and add the following poem:

The Grinch went down to Who-ville
And loaded up his sleigh.
He couldn't resist the yummy smells,
And sampled along the way.
His tummy started to rumble,
Then it began to shout.
Just when he thought he might explode,
He blasted these mighty "toots" out.

The Perfect Man

What You'll Need:
Gingerbread Man Cookie, decorated and ready to eat
Baggie
Ribbon
Note pad or printer & paper

Bag each cookie individually, tie with a ribbon, and attach a note with:

He's quiet, he's sweet,
And if he gives you any trouble,
You can bite his head off!

The website has a lot of gag gifts, and not just Christmas oriented. Some of these would make fun stocking stuffers, or office gifts, or even just gifts to pass out at family parties for some fun.

Here's one I give to kids before Christmas Eve.

Magic Reindeer Food

What You'll Need:
White sugar
Red & Green Decrotive Sugar Crystals
Raw Oatmeal
Glitter
Baggie & Ribbon

I mix a small amount of the sugars, oatmeal, and glitter together in a baggie, and tie it up. When I give it to the children, I tell them that while Santa delivers his gifts, the reindeer get hungry, too. The magic food in the baggie will help them fly fast all night long. We sprinkle it on the front lawn on Christmas Eve.

These little gag gifts are fun, festive, and best of all- easy to make, and cheap to make. Even the kids can help you make these!

Halloween Treat Containers

With Halloween knocking on the door, here are a few fun Halloween crafts to do with the kids this year.

**Make sure which ever container you use, that you wash it out thoroughly with hot soapy water, prior to use!!

Pumpkin Treat Carton- Craft found originally at DLTK's Crafts, though I changed it around a bit.

What You'll Need:

• 1/2 gallon milk container, or a 2 liter bottle of soda, empty
• Orange, Black, & Green Construction Paper.
• Glue or Tape
• Scissors
• Stapler if you have one.
  

What To Do:

1. Cut the top portion off the milk jug or 2 liter, starting 1" below where the walls curve inward near the top.
   
2. Cut a 1" straight strip from the top- this will be used as a carrying handle.
3. If you have a stapler, use it to staple the plastic strip to the top, creating a carrying handle. If you do not have a stapler, cut a horizontal slit just below the top edge of the carton, one on both sides, just wide enough to slide the strap into. Slide the strap into from the outside, then use tape or glue to secure the ends to the inside of the carton. Let the glue dry before moving on, if you used glue.
   
4. Using Orange construction paper, cover the entire outside of the container, securing the paper with either tape or glue to the carton.

1. Fold the green construction paper to wrap around the handle, securing it with tape or glue. Cut some leaf shapes, and a stem, and glue it to the top of the front of the container, where the face will go.
2. Cut a Jack O'Lantern face with the black construction paper, and glue it to the front.
3. You have a cute container for passing out treats, or for Trick or Treating!

Bat Treat Container- Again, this was found at DLTK's Crafts, and adapted. This is pretty much the same as the one above, just decorated as a bat, instead of a Pumpkin.

What You'll Need-

• 1/2 gallon milk container, or a 2 liter bottle of soda, empty
• Black & White, yellow, or purple Construction Paper.
• Glue or Tape
• Scissors
• Stapler if you have one.

What To Do-

1. Cut the top portion off the milk jug or 2 liter, starting 1" below where the walls curve inward near the top.
   
2. Cut a 1" straight strip from the top- this will be used as a carrying handle.
3. If you have a stapler, use it to staple the plastic strip to the top, creating a carrying handle. If you do not have a stapler, cut a horizontal slit just below the top edge of the carton, one on both sides, just wide enough to slide the strap into. Slide the strap into from the outside, then use tape or glue to secure the ends to the inside of the carton. Let the glue dry before moving on, if you used glue.
4. Using Black construction paper, cover the entire outside of the container, securing the paper with either tape or glue to the carton.
5. Fold more black construction paper to wrap around the handle, securing it with tape or glue. Cut some wing shapes, and glue it to the back of the container.
6. Cut a Bat face with the white, yellow, or purple construction paper, and glue it to the front.
7. You have a cute container for passing out treats, or for Trick or Treating!

Thanksgiving Treats

Thanksgiving is coming faster than I anticipated. Already, I'm looking forward to the lazy day at home with Nick and the kiddos, a warm house, food on the table, and the parade on TV while Nick and I make a wonderful Turkey dinner.

One thing I plan to do this year with the kids, is make some edible Turkey's out of cookies and candy. They're super adorable, and the kids will love them! We've never tried them before, but they look super easy to make.

What you will need:

• Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, or Oreo style sandwich cookies
• Candy Corn
• Chocolate frosting
• Hershey’s Whoppers
• Mini Reeses Peanut Butter Cups
• White tubed frosting

First, you take the cookie, and 6 pieces of candy corn, and insert them into the sandwich frosting, tip first, so that it creates a tail fan.

Next, take the frosting, peanut butter cup, and whopper, and let's make a body. Unwrap the peanut butter cup (actually unwrap two- one to use, one to eat), and turn it on it's side. Smear a bit of frosting onto the top, and press the whopper into it.

From there, you will want to use the white frosting to create two eyes, and a small mouth on the milk ball- you'll want the smaller flat side of the peanut butter cup facing outward.

From there, cover the larger flat side of the PB Cup with more frosting, and press it onto the cookie, towards the bottom away from the tail fan. Use a second cookie to lay flat, and use frosting to secure the bird to the bottom cookie, so it has a 'stand'.

You can play around with other items- some people break the tip of a candy corn off, and use it for a beak on the whopper for the turkey.


For the next treat, you will want:

• Round, baked sugar cookies
• Chocolate or Vanilla Frosting
• M&M Mini's
• Orange tubed frosting

Frost a rainbow type arch along one side of the cookie, and start laying out candy corn on it, to create a tail fan- these can either stick out past the cookie, or be completely on the cookie.

Using more frosting, secure 2 M&M Mini's in the middle to use as eyes.

With the orange tubed frosting, use the small round piping head, and pipe on two feet, and you have adorable Turkey sugar cookies for Thanksgiving!