Candy Corn!

I'm going to be honest. I'm not a huge fan of this particular treat of the season. The only way I'll eat it is if it's mixed with lots of salty peanuts. But I can't deny how cute it is!

The girls and I have been making lots of fall crafts lately, and I just had to try this one. In the version I saw somewhere in the vast spaces of Pinterest, the crafter used floral foam in the shape of cones. I personally didn't like the shape at all, so I thought I'd make one a bit closer to the actual candy.

So, I bought some cheap rectangles of dry foam from Walmart and cut them to shape using a butter knife. (It was a bit messy, so I did it outside over a grocery bag.) Each brick I cut in half before shaping, so they made two a piece.

Next, I pulled out some plain Elmer's glue, and white, yellow, and orange yarn. (Had to buy the orange yarn, as I didn't have any... which I found out when making some pom-pom pumpkins a few days before!)

I coiled the yarn in a circle on the top to get it started, and held it in place with a thumb tack, then I let the girls wind the yarn around, adding glue along the way! They were great helpers, and they really loved how their candy corn came out.

Such a cheap, easy craft that we'll be able to keep for a few years (I hope.)

Dining Out Much?

Ok. This isn't about crafting. Though it does contain a PDF link to vouchers I created.



We've been making a concerted effort for the past few years to be better stewards of the money God has gifted us. He's been very generous, and we want to be generous to others. How do you do that? Tithing, giving with a happy heart, and putting others before yourself. But in order to be REALLY generous, you must put yourself in a position to do so. We want to eventually reach the point where we can easily give money when the situation calls for it. Church struggling to raise funds? A family struggling and in need? We want to be able to REALLY be there. God has given to us, so we can be wise, be out of debt, and give to others. So we've been getting out of debt, one step at a time, following the plan Dave Ramsey set out for true financial peace.

After borrowing The Total Money Makeover from our pastor, Brian and I bought the book ourselves because we found it so relevant and useful. And, if any of you know Brian, you know he isn't a fan of reading. HE READ THE WHOLE THING. At least twice. It is easy to follow, full of examples and inspiring stories. I loved it, and I rarely read anything nonfiction.

So, we followed the Debt Snowball (it works) and we now have investments set up for the kids, for us, and we are totally free of debt except for our mortgage, which we are now paying extra on and should have completely paid off before we are 40. Brian has been blessed with a great job, and we're so thankful.

Alright, all that being said, we're working on some of the little things that need changed in our lives. We've been combing through monthly expenses and deciding which ones need tossed. And our irregular expenses are getting an examination too. Which leads me to the biggest issue our family has: Dining Out.

We don't even dine out that much! But it is enough. Too much, even. We decided we only wanted to dine out a max of 3 times a month. That is the number we're going to try, at least. See how our budget works out from there.

We've repeatedly said, "We need to lower our dining out expenses. We're over budget AGAIN." But we haven't done anything about it. So I thought, what about a voucher system?

So here it is! I made some vouchers. We will pick the number we're allotted for the month, have them printed and available, probably pinned up with our calendar to remind us that we only have so many a month. And we will use them when we really want to "celebrate!"

Celebrate what? Celebrate the fact that our kids are huge blessings, no matter how crazy they drove mommy that day. Celebrate the fact that, no matter how messy my kitchen is, I am blessed with a home... even if I can't (read: don't want to) cook in it. Or celebrate the fact that it is a glorious day, we we just want to get out of our house.

I edited the voucher in case someone who had children, just not two of them, could simply print them.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/173510190/Eating-Out-Vouchers - PDF of Vouchers

“The wise have wealth and luxury, but fools spend whatever they get.” Proverbs 21:20

Fun Tutorials I've tried!

Okay, so I've been so busy crafting I haven't been posting.

Can you tell we went to Walt Disney World? I sewed hair bands, using this lovely tutorial:
 http://www.redpoppyquilts.com/2011/03/loopy-flower-hair-bow-tutorial.html


And made the circle skirts, following this one: http://www.danamadeit.com/2008/07/tutorial-the-circle-skirt.html

Ok, well...I sorta followed that tutorial. But I didn't cut a pattern. I did the math, determined the measurements, folded the cloth into a forth, and measured from the corner on down. Then I tied some yarn to a pencil, and held one end at the corner (before cutting the corner out) and drew the quarter circle from one fold to the other. I have pictures. I made a new tutorial, but haven't finished writing it up yet. I sewed the elastic on differently too. So... ok, I got the math from this site, and then ran with it. I'll post mine once it's done.

I also sewed a Mickey/Minnie reversible camera strap cover with the extra material. And then I sewed shirts for the whole family! So I was a little "sewed out" by the time I was finished with the trip. But they all turned out nicely, and we got quite a few compliments while there... especially the princess Minnie shirts. Which surprised me, because I liked the pirate ones better. It took me a while to draw a decent tiara that wouldn't be too hard to sew on. And I used sparkly fabric for it too.

And recently, I sewed a ukulele leash. Basically, a uke strap, but designed differently. Like these: http://www.ukeleash.com/ Only I made mine with pretty ribbon, and with snaps. And it cost me less than three dollars. I don't think I'll write a tutorial for that. I doubt it would reach a lot of people. :P

So after all the sewing, I picked up on baking. A lot. I've been trying to saving money by trying some inexpensive recipes, and I must say that this blog is fabulous. http://penniesandpancakes.blogspot.com/

I haven't bought any pancake mix, cornbread mix, rolls, and I've been trying out dried beans (which are way cheaper than canned ones) and various other things that save money. And freezing my leftovers so we can eat them again one day. I just pulled out some frozen crockpot chili I made from her recipe, and it was delish. (If you try it, USE LESS SALT! Her recipe called for a lot of salt. I was surprised. I had to put it over a baked potato to mellow it out. Other than that, great!)


So the point of this post? Just showing what a terrible and infrequent blogger I am, and sharing some tutorials I've been testing out. I love trying other ideas, and even making them better.

Next on my crafting agenda? Painting. Craft show coming up, and I have four gourd birdhouses in the making, and many cute snowmen to make, as well as a few other things. Yikes, it's next month. I need to get to it!

Lanyards and ID Cards

My youngest is a runner. She is turning 2 in May, and she doesn't hesitate to run from us. It could be worse, I know. I've heard of kids that are much faster and more prone to running than she is, but she does like to take off, and she did so while we were at the Children's Museum last month. Fortunately, we noticed right away. Unfortunately, there were tons of kids running around and lots of crowds. We found her surrounded by nice museum employees, kneeling on the ground and talking to her. They were also speaking into radios, and I assume preparing to call for the irresponsible parents of the cutie in front of them over the museum speakers. 

We are heading to DisneyWorld in June, and while I'm sure nothing terrible will happen, I want to be prepared. So, I made them some lanyards for them to wear to carry their information around with them. Most lanyards are too long for them, so I sewed some up using Disney ribbon and attached clasps to them. 

I bought the clasps at JoAnn's for less than $3 for a pack of two. The ribbon I bought at Hobby Lobby ages ago, while it was 50% off. So these little lanyards cost less then $2.50 a piece, which was nice. I already had some little waterproof, zip-up pouches for their ID cards, but you could also laminate your cards as well. 

I probably don't have to explain how to make these, but I will anyway. 

I wanted their lanyards to be sturdy, so I sewed two pieces of ribbon together, cut to their length. Put the pieces face to face to start, and sew across each end. Now, when you flip it right side out, you will have pretty ends when it comes time to attach the clasp. 

Sew up the edge of your ribbon on each side. Now fold them over, wrap both of your ends through your clasp and sew them up nice and neat! Tadaa! If  you have velcro, which I did but opted out of using it, sew only one side through the clasp. Then sew your velcro onto each end, so your lanyard is easier to remove. 

Each card has their name on front, and on the back has their full name, age, a list of known allergies and conditions, who they are in the park with, followed by cell phone numbers. Now they have lanyards to put some Disney Pins on, too! (Those pin lanyards aren't cheap either, so it's nice to save money where you can!)

Another item to check off my list of things to prepare for our trip! 

Drawstring Backpack

First, let me start by saying that my mom cannot stand when I make something without using a pattern. Every time I paint, make, crochet, or sew something without doing it directly from a picture or pattern, she gets this frustrated look on her face. And when I sewed up these bags, and went to show her one, I predicted her response. Exactly. I even told my husband exactly how she would respond.

As soon as I handed a finished bag over to my mom, she got that look on her face, and Brian and I both started laughing. Sure enough, that look was followed by exasperated disbelief and the words, "I can't believe you did this without a pattern!"

My mom is super creative. And very talented. People say that my artistic talents are from her. I don't know how much that is genetic, but she definitely raised me to be crafty. (She also raised me to hold on to random supplies and fabrics, never knowing when I'd be able to use them in a project down the road. My husband is thrilled.) What she couldn't teach me, though, was how to follow a pattern. That is why I've avoided sewing so long. I can't follow those directions to save my life. Not exactly, anyway. And in sewing, that kind of thing needs to be a bit more exact than what I'm capable of. Otherwise, those little triangle marks don't match up, and sleeves end up different lengths, and pants become capris....

 So ANYhow, this bag is something I wanted to take on our vacation to DisneyWorld in June. I like drawstring backpacks for stuff like this. Diaper bags that go over the shoulder are too cumbersome. I found some nice waterproof nylon-type material on clearance at Jo-Ann's and thought, "Weeee! Backpack time!"

This is the final product. (For a Disney touch, I made some Mickey buttons out of clay!) And the best part? It's all straight lines. Which explains why I could sew it. Seriously...I'm terrible at sewing. But with enough practice, maybe one day I, too, can sew a curve, or a zipper, or even a buttonhole!

****A money-saving tip: The cord can get very pricey! I recently found an excellent, very cheap option! 550 Parachute cord. People are making a lot of corded bracelets out of this stuff right now. I found lots of it at JoAnn's, for around $3.50 for 16ft!! It is just slightly thinner than the decorative cord I used the first few bags, but infinitely cheaper, and just as strong. You can also order it online from numerous sites.

Drawstring Backpack PDF instructions

T-Shirt Shrug

First, I need to get this off my chest: SEWING T-SHIRTS IS A PAIN!!!! So much stretch, and wiggling. Bleh!!

There. I feel better.

I wanted to craft today, and lovely Wanda was kind enough to make a suggestion: T-Shirt Shrug! There are tons of tutorials online, so I won't bother making one. It's pretty straightforward.

I used this one.

The only change I would make is that I would add some beads or something to the bottom of the ribbon to keep it from slithering back into the shirt.

I'm going to be honest, I think I look ridiculous in shrugs. My body was not made for them. But it's finished, and it turned out...not too bad! Pretty easy, for any shrug-lovers. And that shirt was in a pile headed for donations anyway, so it was fun to experiment with something new!  And best news? Not much mess to clean up! So I can continue cleaning up messes from my other projects... Brian will be thrilled.

Easter Egg...Gourds!

Easter is coming!

I love Easter. People can get negative and nasty about any holiday that has been commercialized, but I enjoy seeing the positive. I know the real celebration of Easter - the amazing resurrection of our Savior. And I celebrate it! Existence would be meaningless with out this salvation!

However...I LOVE eggs. And springtimey goodness. Little chickies and bunnies and ducklings! ALL CUTE! And the promise of warm weather is something that anyone in Ohio can enjoy, I think. (Our Easters are rarely warm, but at least there is something to look forward to!)

So I will enjoy both aspects of Easter, one infinitely more important than the other. (And I will most definitely enjoy Cadbury Cream Eggs. MmmmMmmm.)

That being said, I like decorating eggs as much as my kids. Likely more. The smell of vinegar always makes me think of decorating eggs as a child. So when I found a way to enjoy decorating eggs that will last from year to year, I jumped on it.

Anyone ever heard of egg gourds? They are fantastic. My grandparents grew them once, and they kept coming back, whether they were wanted or not. But there is something very cool about seeing tons of little greenish-white eggs growing from vines.

And when they are dried and cleaned, they are perfect for painting, cutting, decoupaging...and also perfect for my two little girls to enjoy, without the worry of them breaking.

 My very talented mother and I enjoyed painting and decorating just a few of the gigantic box of gourd eggs that we have. Mom likes hanging them from a cute little Easter tree...hence the ribbons. Just use a small drill bit, drill a little hole in the top, and screw in an eye-screw and you've got an instant ornament!

 This little bunny has two tiny holes in the top where I inserted some felt ears that I cut and glued up. (You can't see it, but he has a cute bitty tail on the back too!)

And I think my little chick here is a personal favorite. One fluffy feather on the top, and he has some major bed-head. Errr...Egg head?

At a recent play-date with my friend Stefanie and her son, I pulled out some tissue paper and let my older daughter and her little boy go to town ripping little pieces, and gluing them to eggs painted a solid pastel color with a little Elmer's glue diluted with water.

Then we smothered them in glitter. Buried them. It was fantastic.

If you ever get a hold of some of these little beauties, get crazy! They are so fun, and you can pull them out every year!