Birthday gift for toddler girl (would also make a great baby shower gift) - $2.50

DIY growth chart gift for $2.50

This coming weekend is a crazy mess of wonderful activities. Among the planned goings on is the birthday party for a sweet two year old girl.

Gifts for two year olds are tough. Nothing too simplistic (they are not "babies" anymore) but nothing too intricate or with small or loose pieces (they still put many things in their mouths as a way to explore their world).

Originally my plan was to make her a hair clip bouquet. This little girls mom always has both her daughters dressed perfectly right down to matching hair accessories, so it seemed fitting.  But it didn't feel perfect.  It didn't feel exactly right.

So what's a gal to do when something just doesn't feel right in her craft life? Why, Pinterest-therapy of course!! And that is where I found this adorable blog on how to make an inexpensive growth chart.  I was drawn to the idea that the growth chart was removable (unlike tick marks inside the kitchen door frame) and could move if the family ever moved homes. This I liked! This was good! I was excited!

The above linked blog served as my inspiration but I did do a few things differently. Here is how I made a DIY growth chart gift for $2.50 in about an hour.

First I bought 2 yards (6ft) of jute webbing from Hobby Lobby for 99 cents a yard. If you, too, decide to take on this project you might find yourself in a craft supply store without any idea where to find jute webbing (in which case you would be exactly like me).   When I asked a sales associate for help she looked at me blankly.  If your sales associate does not know what "jute webbing" is just describe it as 3 1/2 inch wide burlap- type ribbon with red lines running down either side.   As soon as I said that the dear girl knew exactly what I was looking for and showed me where to find it.

When I got home I used my Cricut to cut out my numbers. I have to use my Cricut because I lack any and all artistic ability.  If you're like me but do not have access to a Cricut or similar cutting machine I did see some stencils last time I was at Dollar Tree that would work nicely for this purpose.

Why is the lighting so bad? Because I forgot to use the flash!

 Then I used the negative image of my numbers and, using a Sharpie marker, drew inside the image right onto the jute webbing.

Much better lighting

 Just colour in the number for a nice contrast look.

All coloured in

 I did numbers 1 through 6.  Although I bought 6 ft of jute webbing I started with the one ft mark right at the bottom.  This means two things. One: The chart does not have to be hung right at floor level and Two: It left me enough room at the top to customize it for the birthday girl.  I used a measuring tape and ruler to be sure of my spacing.

All my numbers drawn in.
Yes, it gets a little disorderly in my house when I'm crafting. 

 Then I added the tick marks at every inch with a slightly longer tick at the 1/2 ft marks.  The aforementioned blogger wrote in the numbers for each inch on her chart.  I was a personal fan of the clean effect of the tick marks only.

looking good!

 Again using my Cricut I cut out the little girls first name and stenciled that onto the top portion of the growth chart.  Just for fun I cut a heart from craft felt and adhered it with some hot glue.

I think its adorable. 

 In the other growth chart blog she added small paper tags on safety pins for the parents to mark the childs growth with.  I thought seriously about following suit but then decided against it.  In the end it would simply be unsightly when packaged to include 16 or 18 paper tags on safety pins.   Instead I opted to attach a Sharpie marker so the family could mark directly on the chart.
We had bought a package of 12 Sharpie makers last year for $6, so this one represents 50 cents of that cost.
I simply rolled up the chart and tied it with a ribbon.

All packaged up. 

 Taa-daa!!! I am so pleased with myself I think I will whip up two more for my nephews!

A cutlery drawer makeover for $0

Am I the only one who can't stand the cutlery drawer? I mean, really cant stand it?

We had bought one of those standard plastic cutlery trays.  You know, the ones that are supposed to keep your drawers tidy? But they don't! They never have enough spots for all the different types of cutlery. From steak knives to plastic spoons for the kids, these trays just never remember all the other pieces outside of standard service.  So where do these "extra" types of cutlery go? Inevitably they wind up shoved in the drawer beside the tray. Because, here is another issue, they trays never fit the drawer!
So you neatly place the plastic spoons beside the tray in the morning as you empty the dishwasher.  But over the course of the day, with the drawer being opened and closed a bazillion times, they slip and slide until most of what you're looking for is under the tray.

Then you find yourself thinking cuss words at a cutlery drawer and realize something has to change!
At least that's where I was at a few days ago.

Back at the end of September my parents had gifted That Guy and I a new dishwasher for our seventh wedding anniversary. As we were unpacking the dishwasher I noticed some strips of hyper pressured paper. They were just a "waste" packing material but they were calling to me. They resembled pieces of wood even though I knew they were paper.  That Guy was not thrilled when I announced "I bet I could use these for something someday" and stored them in our basement already filling up with so many other such items.
But now I actually have used them for something! They were perfect for this drawer makeover.


To begin I think its important that I show you, gentle readers, just what I meant about my drawer disaster.

This is a terrible cutlery drawer. 

So That Guy and I took out everything from the drawer and figured out how many spots we really needed and what was important to us. Like having the steak knives at the back of the drawer and the plastic kids cutlery easily accessible at the front.

Empty drawer and hyper compressed paper packing material.
Of course this would work just as well with wood. 

 Then we drew out a couple of arrangement options inside the drawer to see what we liked best.

One of the design options

Then, easy peasy lemon squeezy, we cut the paper packing material and using liquid nails glued them in place according to the design we liked best.

 Next I took some on hand shelf liner and cut it to fit our spaces.  Yes, I had shelf liner on hand. I buy it buy the roll from the dollar store and use it when I make hair clips for babies so they grip better. I still had plenty on the roll.

Shelf liner in

 Then I put all the cutlery back in the drawer and...Taa-daa!!!!

So tidy and lovely

I smiled every time I opened the drawer that day.  Sometimes I find thrills in strange places ;)

An intimate post about my....deodorant

Here is my morning routine:
- be woken up by a five year old who is very anxious to start the day
- wash my face
- brush my teeth
- moisturize my face
- apply body lotion
- put on deodorant
- get dressed
- put on make up
- quickly do hair, usually involving some hair spray or anti frizz serum
- spritz some sort of body spray
- leave my bedroom for the first time that morning

Here is the thing to notice about the above: if you count "put on make up" as only one act (and we certainly know it is not) I have touched man made products or chemicals to my skin eight times before I even leave my bedroom!

Recently a friend started asking some questions about green alternatives to deodorant. Now, I love green options as much as the next gal, but lets be honest gentle readers - they are usually very expensive.  So I started doing a bit of research.
The internet abounds with free recipes to make your own deodorant, both green or traditional.  But much of the time I did not have the items I needed for the recipe on hand, like clay.

So I narrowed my search to things I would have in my house. I found some recommendations for baking soda or cornstarch. So I tried them.  Perhaps I was using them wrong but I was not happy with the result. Although the baking soda left me smelling fine I had yucky white bits under my arms. Same happened with corn starch. This time of year the appearance of my under arms isnt really a big deal since its too cold out for sleeveless tops.  But if I am going to make a switch from chemical deodorant to natural I wanted it to be a lasting change - even in the summer months.

When I first came to the suggestion of using a lemon I passed it by.  I figured the juice from the lemon would start to smell "bad" during the course of the day and that would negate any deodorant properties it might offer.  But in continuing my search, lemons kept popping up.

I decided that lemons are certainly cost effective and something I had immediately on hand. In other words, it was worth a shot.

So one morning I got up and did my morning routine, minus the deodorant. I came downstairs to the kitchen and cut myself a slice of lemon.

my lemon slice

Then, feeling like a total goof standing in the kitchen with my hand up my shirt, I wiped a lemon slice under my arms.  The feeling of goofiness was not at all reduced when Walter asked if he could eat some lemon too and I had to explain that I wasn't eating the lemon but rubbing it on my skin.

However, the lemon works AWESOME!! I do not smell like bad lemon juice. I don't even smell like lemon (which is kinda too bad because I really like the smell of lemons). I just don't smell.   Like anything at all.  I don;t have weird residue under my arms either, as I did with the baking soda and cornstarch.

This is a mad cheap, readily available and totally green option that I have wholeheartedly switched to.
So why not save yourself some money, some chemical exposure and some white residue and try out lemons?

Be kind. No exceptions. Random acts of kindness on a budget

Friday, November 1st was Random Acts of Kindness day. And, gentle readers, upon hearing this I was less than kind.  The very first thought that popped into my head was "Is it really a random act of kindness if the calendar has to tell you to do it?"
At least my heart had the decency to be immediately ashamed.  As my cheeks burned I remembered that the important part wasn't the "random" bit, but the "kindness" bit.

That Guy and I try very hard to instill a servants heart into our children (and obviously I need to remind myself of these lessons too) but I felt like it would be very fitting for us to make the very best of November 1st- all on a very tight budget.

As many of you know right now I run a home daycare. November first was a regular care day, so all our acts of kindness had to happen outside regular business hours.

For Walters birthday his loving aunts has sent him a gift card for Toys R Us and I had promised him he could go spend it tonight.  Since we were going to be there anyways I thought I would focus our acts in that part of town.

Here is what we did.

First, Walter and I used some Sharpie Paint markers and decorated some stones.  We thought these would bring a smile to the face of anyone who found them.

Our decorated stones

"You are enough"

"You are awesome"

"Be joyful"

"sparkle" and "shine"

 We took our stones and left them, one by one, on the sidewalk during a walk to our doctors office.  We took a different route there and back to offer more people the opportunity to find the stones.
We were on the way to the doctors office to bring some books and puzzles for the kids section of their waiting room.

Some of the books we brought for the waiting room.

Walter and I wrote on some note cards and, using double sided tape, attached a quarter to each card. We made $2 worth of cards, eight in total.  Then we went to the mall and taped them to some gumball machines.

"Please enjoy this random act of kindness"

 As we were walking out of the mall two small children saw these cards and were SO excited when their mom said they could each have a gumball.  Hearing their joy had Walter literally skipping out of the mall.  This was, far and away, his favorite act of kindness.

We also popped into Toys R Us (so Walter could do some birthday browsing) and I left some diapers and wipes on the baby change station.  Diapers are expensive and this was only possible for us because Audrey was potty trained before she finished her last box of diapers.

"You're doing a great job! Enjoy this random act of kindness"

The total monetary cost to us here came out to $2.  The benefit to someone else, well I will never know.  The soothing of my own heart and watching the joy of giving beam through on my sons face.... worth more than money.

DIY last minute Halloween decor

Happy Halloween, gentle readers!
I enjoy this holiday for all the dress up fun and whimsy it has to offer.  Plus, lets be honest, this might be the only time of year you get to see all your neighbors in one evening.

But what about those of us who feel like the holiday tip toed up on them? Who woke up this morning and thought "Oh yeah! That Halloween thing happens today!".   To those I say, fret not! I have a very inexpensive 20 second exterior home decorating idea that will trick everyone into thinking you were on top of things!

Here is how to make spooky glowing eyes!

First gather:

supplies

toilet paper tubes (people, these tubes are NOT garbage! save at least a grocery bag full for all your impromptu crafting needs!)
Scissors or craft knife
Duct tape
Glow sticks
Marker

With your marker draw the shape and position of your eyes

Yes, they are not perfectly shaped. But I promise it wont matter

Using your craft knife cut out the eye holes.

Don't judge me on my cutting skills, please

Crack and shake your glow stick to activate it.  Then put the glow stick inside the tube.

she glows!

Seal the ends with duct tape.  Sealing the ends allows the light coming though the eye holes to be more concentrated.  It also allows people to believe the eyes belong to some spooky being hiding in your bush because the magic isn't ruined by light seeping from either side of an open tube.

Won't matter that my duct tape is blue, honest

Place in your trees, bushes or shrubs.

They see you!!

 Enjoy this fun and festive day, gentle readers!

Last minute DIY (modest) Halloween costumes

*Deep breath* LastweekIturned30.  phew, yup, I said it - last Tuesday I turned 30. Then this past Saturday we attended a friends Halloween party. Although only days separated me from 29 and 30 I suddenly felt silly in those pop up Halloween costume shops looking at the tiny dresses made to be costumes for 19 year olds.  And they might be adorable on a tiny 19 year old, in fact I sometimes wish I had worn these costumes when I was, in fact, a very fit 19 year old.  But now I am 30 and have had two kids, mix in struggling with my own personal body image,  and I feel the furthest thing from comfortable in something called a "sexy peacock" costume.  And paying $90 to wear a costume I am not comfortable in? Not a chance!

Yet a costume at the Halloween party is absolutely mandatory. So, of course, I decided to DIY one that would fit inside my budget and comfort level when it came to modesty.

I went as a sailor.

I pulled out a knee length navy skirt and a white tshirt I had
I used white, red and blue duct tape I had left over from making this costume for my son.
That Guy, with permission, took home a coffee filter for me. And I borrowed a headband from my daughter and my sons red marker.   My only real cost here was $4.50 for three packages of brass buttons.

supplies for sailor costume

 First I put my skirt on and marked with chalk where I wanted my brass buttons.

marked in chalk

 I hand stitched the brass buttons in place

brass buttons in place

The tshirt was a crew neck.  If I had a boat neck shirt I would have used that but I didn't.  Also crew necks are not the most flattering on me which is why this shirt had never been worn.  I was hoping that drawing a v neck onto the shirt might be just the thing.  So using one of my sons washable markers (since I will not be wearing this costume next year the marker being washable was totally fine) I drew in a v neck and coloured what I hoped were nautical stripes.

nautical stripes?

Using duct tape That Guy taped along my "v" for me and made the neckerchief design on the back of the shirt.   We also added blue duct tape stripes to my sleeves and two white duct tape stripes to the bottom hem of my skirt

That Guy is such a great help!

 Next I tool a length of Bristol board cut into a strip and used duct tape to secure it into a circle. Any cardboard could work here though.  Also, for the record I think I got the height here wrong.  All night I was being asked if I was a flight attendant, but I think if I had cut the strip of Bristol board thinner it would have looked more "sailor-ish".

taped into a circle

 Then, using the coffee filter, I made the inside for the hat.  Again, I think this would have been more successful if I had cut my cardboard thinner.

coffee filter hat- inexpensive and stylish

 Using more duct tape and another brass button I finished off my "hat".  Upon reflection I think I would have been more successful in the sailor vibe if I had put an anchor rather than a bow on the hat.  But I love bows so I did it my way. :)

who doesnt love a bow?

 I used some more duct tape to attach my coffee filter hat to a head band borrowed from my daughter.  As you will see in the photo below, I also decided that the crew neck just did not work on my frame and decided to cut a small v neck into the shirt myself.

$4.50 costume 

 That Guy also had to find something quick and in expensive to wear for this party.  He went as Wolverine. He used his own leather jacket, shoes and jeans.  He sacrificed one of his white t shirts to rip up and add faux blood too.  The claws were a $10 purchase and he used a can of spray in black hair paint for $2.

Woverine/ That Guy

We ended up with a total cost of under $17 for two adult Halloween costumes.  Not too shabby in my books!

DIY New Baby Gift- Baby Sundae

Yet another sweet baby has made her appearance in the family of some friends of ours. This baby sundae is part of a gift for her.

I make variants of these sweets themed baby gifts. Everything from sundaes to lollipops, peppermints, candy apples and salt water taffy.  I do not usually do the cupcakes simply because I see them everywhere. I am able to sell many of these gifts and as such often buy the baby items whenever I see something good quality for a decent price.  So as it worked out for this I had all materials on hand.

What you need for the baby sundae:

-plastic feeding bowl with lid- I usually buy mine 5 for $1 at the dollar store
-plastic feeding spoon - 10 for $1 at the dollar store
-two baby washcloths - with careful shopping I am usually able to find these for roughly 50 cents each
-one newborn diaper- I use newborn size for two reasons 1. That is usually the size new parents need, 2.                 They are often the only sized diapers that have a white exterior without being covered in licensed                    characters which would ruin the look of the sundae.
-one red pom pom

First I start by taping the lid right to the bottom of the bowl.

lid taped to bottom

Next I take my first baby washcloth and open it up.

Washcloth open

Then I fold it almost in half leaving about 1 inch exposed.  I fold this way because I have found this fits best into the bowls I have.  If you find your washcloths don't fit as you would like into your bowls you can likely just refold to solve the problem.

Folded almost in half

 Then I fold the bottom edge up

edge up!

 Then I folded in half again .

in half again

 Just tuck the washcloth into the bowl.   Repeat the process with your second washcloth and tuck that one inside the first one.

tuck the washcloth into the bowl

 Onto the diaper! Open your diaper up...

Opened diaper

Then fold in half lengthwise

Folded in half

 Starting at the back end of the diaper (the side that would be on the baby's back, not her tummy when she is wearing it) roll the diaper.

roll up the diaper

 If you rolled from the front side of the diaper instead of the back the top of this roll will have the brand logo on it- not desirable for our purposes.

diaper roll up

 Take your diaper roll up and place it in the bowl in the center of your two washcloths.

diaper in the center of the washcloths

 You may notice that your sundae looks a little... sad at this point.  We can fix that! Just give a little tug here and there to fluff  things up and it will look much better

ahh, much better

 Finally take a red pom pom and place it on the tip of the rolled diaper.  I do not use anything to keep the pom pom in place- I am just sure not to do cartwheels while delivering the gift and it has always been fine. Add a brightly coloured plastic spoon. Taa-daa!!

adorable

I usually like to package mine in a small cellophane bag tied with a length of ribbon.