Christmas Recycling

This year for Christmas, I decided to do some recycling.  Yes... recycling.  First of all, we had so many yogurt containers I had saved thinking that they could go into the bin, but they couldn't.  So... I upcycled them... into these!

I spent a lot of time on these.  Suprisingly.  There are 32 of them.  I baked spritz cookies (with the kids overseeing, haha) and wrapped them up before placing them in these little baskets.  They are really simple to make, but 32 of them is daunting.  The kids decorated some precut paper which I later added to the yogurt cups.  I used my BigKick to cut a bunch of tags which I stamped and added to the front.  The handles are made from pipe cleaners.  And the tissue paper... also recycled.  I keep a lot of stuff that would otherwise be trashed.  Can't bear to trash things that are so useful!

My husband got a shot of me assembling the premade baskets.  My daughter handed hers out at Cubbies, and both kids handed them out at sunday school.  There are a few left yet to go to some of their friends/cousins.

The other 'recycling' fun I had was with berry containers.  You know, those lovely clear plastic containers that house our blueberries and raspberries?  We made white cookies, I decorated them, and wrapped them up into these containers using my BigKick once again and some fun paper and whatnot to decorate the tops.

I love my snowflake Bigz die!  It is so much fun!  I made a bunch of snowflakes!  I can't wait to have more fun with cutting!

I have many other projects I wish to start soon that use recycled materials.  I just... need to get started!

So, what sorts of things do you recycle?

Advent is Over 1/2 Done!

For Christmas this year I decided to do an advent calendar of activities with the kids!  I've been ambitious and made a few of the activities more 'work', haha.  But the kids love them!  This is the list of activities I decided on doing.  Some of them will get their own post (with photos... cause I love photos!)

Day1:  Play outside in the snow at a park
Day2:  Make candy necklaces
Day3:  Help the toys get ready for Christmas (we did an MLP toy scene with them decorating the tree)
Day4:  Christmas baking!  We made white cookies (or grandma cookies) in Christmas shapes.  the kids helped me pour in the ingredients, cut a few shapes, and lick the beaters.
Day5:  Draw ourselves on paper.  I actually forgot we were going to an annual meeting so we were away from home through the 7th, but the kids got to draw, paint, work with perler beads and whatnot... not to mention swimming!
Day6:  Make ice balloons!  I have to put a pic of this one.  The kids watched (and picked colors) as I put food coloring and water in balloons to place outside to freeze.  Once frozen, we peeled off the balloons from the ice and they are now decorating our windowsill outside.

 

Day7:  Go to a Christmas Concert.  My sister and her husband had one in town, but we couldn't get away from the farm in time, so instead we did the balloons that day, since we weren't home at all on the 6th.

Day8:  Help at Christmas Giveaway.  The kids got their faces painted.  There wasn't much work there for us to do, but we went to help.

Day9:  Deliver Christmas Goodies.  I made a bunch of baskets with the kids using yogurt containers. scrapbooking paper, my new BigKick (made a bunch of labels) and stamps, and pipe cleaners (for handles).  I was thrilled to use my cropadile to punch holes in the yogurt containers to put the pipe cleaners through as handles, and the kids decorated a bunch of papers cut to size which I put on the containers themselves.  Well... they say a picture is worth a thousand words...

Day10:  Make a fort.  We made one with blankets and pillows under the table.  The kids had a grand time!
Day 11:  Decorate a gingerbread house.  I attempted making our own from scratch.  My son wanted a gingerbread train as well (he saw the train kits at Superstore and wanted to make one).  I baked them on Sunday, assembled them on Monday, and we decorated Tuesday.  We're eating it already... couldn't resist (tastes so much better than the ones you buy in kits).

Day12:  Take a pic at 12:12 on the 12th of the 12th month 2012.  Yup.  We managed... barely...



 

Day13:  Enjoy some Hot Chocolate.  We went to a local tree lighting, had hot chocolate and saw Santa! 

 

Day14:  Today was making popcorn balls.  I'm suprised at how well they turned out!  I've never done these before and was told they could be tricky.  A bunch are now on our tree.

 

Aren't they pretty?  I like them.  They taste good too! 

We'll see what else is up in the next 10 days.  Wow.  Is it really 10 days?  Goodness, but I have lots to do!

GAH! It's Almost Here!

I cannot believe how fast the time has flown by!  I haven't been blogging as you can see... I've been too busy trying to work on all the projects I've made for myself.  And I've made too many projects for myself!

I do have 11 gifts wrapped and under the tree already.  Two of which are second hand clothes for the kids (one package for each of them).  I've done a lot of sewing, scrapbooking, and a little bit of clay work.  I've also made all my cards (done that, whew) and handed out over half already.  I started my baking, and I'm happy to say that yogurt cups make adorable spritz cookie baskets! 

One thing I'm really proud of this year... I made my advent calendar inserts myself.  We used a second hand Playmobile advent calendar again this year, and I also pulled out the truck I bought sometime last year after Christmas was over.  It was originally $20 or $25 if I remember, and I got it for $5.  It has little magnetic doors, and inside I put little printed papers with activities we will do together each day until Christmas, along with something that sort of goes with the activity (or candy).  Tomorrow... is decorating a gingerbread house. 

I have NEVER in my life made a gingerbread house from scratch.  When little, my mom bought one of those kits, and that is the same thing I did with my kids last year.  Well, I saw that a friend of mine had made a gingerbread house and it looked so nice (and smelled even better!  Those kits have not-so-tasty gingerbread).  She gave me the recipe, and I baked it all up yesturday.  My son wants to do a gingerbread train (he saw the kits at the Superstore next to the house kits)... so... I came up with a way to make cookies into a train shape as well, once I had cut out the gingerbread house pieces themselves.  Today I assembled all the pieces on the board, and it is ready for decorating tomorrow... to go with our advent activity!  And inside the advent calendar with the paper describing what we will be doing... a few gumballs!  I can't wait to do this with the kids!

So, in all, things are trucking along.  I have another 'half done' gift that I hope to finish this week, three gift ideas in my head I hope to do as well, and two rather large items that I REALLY need to start if I'm to get anywhere on them (my son loves trains... so I want to turn a table we have in our basement into a train table.  My daughter is into Barbie sized dolls now, and it looks like she'll be getting a number of items to go with that newfound love this Christmas including furniture and clothes for the two (soon to be three) dolls she has.  I want to make a simple barbiedoll house).  Wish me luck... I'm going to need it.

As for my husband... I am having an impossible time figuring out what exactly to make him.  He is NOT easy.  Stocking stuffers for him are NOT easy.  I've done my yearly tradition item for him (a Star Wars ornament) and I have 2 or 3 other gift ideas, but I want to do something really special.  Sigh.

Oh... and my budget for the year... is not very high.  $200.  That is it.  For everything (food, ingrediants, anything I need to purchase for crafting whether I use it all or not, etc).  I'm still quite under, which is really nice!

As for hubby making my gift... I am not sure that is going to happen.  He still has to make his ticket gift.  And he hasn't really started on that yet.

Two weeks... two weeks...

It's Coming!

What is?  Why, Christmas of course!  There are only 54 days until Christmas is upon us, and I'm itching to get some stuff done!

Christmas brings so many feelings of joy, nostalgia, and excitement for me!  Also a lot of stress if I'm not careful, but we'll try to do things so that stress is at a minimum for this time of year (if possible).  I get fully into wanting to craft, sculpt, bake, decorate, and get out of the house to enjoy the lights and sounds of the season.

This year, I plan on doing something a little different than last year.

It isn't a big change.  I don't have a large budget for Christmas usually, and I've done similar to this before, but not to the degree I want this year.  I want to make it a handmade Christmas... no bought gifts whatsoever (unless it's a modified second hand item).  I am not allowing myself to buy any ornaments, and I'd like to make a bunch for the tree and fill it with homemade items instead of the purchased ornaments I already have (although I'm sure a few will make it on there anyway.  After all, I already have them).  I am hoping to continue my tradition of baking white cookies with the kids, and this time get my son involved.  I want to try to make my own packaging for gifts in a fun, crafty sort of way instead of only reusing the bags (although those are really nice, too, and if I find I'm running low on time, I will use them anyway).  And... this is the big one... I am going to make my husband's gift, and request (if he feels up to it) that he do the same for me.  Well... make, or purchase second hand and 'modify'.  :)

I have visions of popcorn balls and other foodie treats on our tree, of giving cute edible gifts to friends and family, of making a few more difficult but fun items for the kids... I've started on a couple of things already, but I am a long way from finished.  And the difficult part about baked gifts is that they need to be given shortly after baking.  But that is ok!  I don't mind, as long as I can have one or two days of straight baking I'll be good!

I'm looking at my recycling box and imagining all sorts of interesting items being turned out of those boxes, cans, bottles, and egg cartons.  I'm looking at my scrapbooking papers and fabrics and wondering what I could come up with... and I'm looking at my kids and thinking that salt dough would be a fun thing for them to play with and make creations of their very own for friends and family!

Maybe it's pregnancy that does some of this to me.  I did the same thing while pregnant with my son... none of the other years went quite to that same extent.  Although, shortly after having my daughter, I did a bunch of crafts as well.

So, what do you all enjoy doing for the holidays?  When do you start, and when do you try to have most everything done by?  Do you handmake things?  How do you save money over the holidays?  Christmas grosses the largest commercial sales over any other time of year.  Do you have any fun traditions that you've maybe changed up a little over the years?

I'm hoping (hoping) to post more over the next couple of months some of my ideas, projects, and whatnot... and I'd love to hear any tips you have for me (because I LOVE comments!  And comments about Christmas traditions, tips, and 'tricks' are even better!).  I'm hoping to spend even less than my normal 'budget' for the Christmas season, and use the excess towards a gift through World Vision or something to that effect.  Oh, I have so many things I'd love to see happen!  We'll just see what I can reasonably do without stressing myself!

Happy Holidays!  (Yes... I said it... at least I'm not listening to the Christmas tunes yet, although I've been tempted... and the kids have been singing Jingle Bells, haha).

Long overdue 101 in 1001

Goodness but it has been a long time!  I decided to take a look at my list recently and discovered a few things that I finished without realizing it before I was half way through!  Here they are.

3. take a nature hike and make educational for kiddos
We did this in July sometime.  I went around the yard with the kids (scrapbooked it as well) and we found a bird's nest, a broken robins egg shell, spider webs with dew on them, foxtails, various flowers and leaves (those were fun) and played with kittens.  We talked and asked questions about each thing.  Later, grandpa brought over a caterpillar and the kids got to see a fuzzy one I found on the driveway the next day.  :)

6. Celebrate five strange holidays
On Sept 12 we 'celebrated' National Video Game day by playing old games we had, and I made a nostalgic "It's Dangerous to Go Alone" brownie from the NES Zelda game.  We also had chocolate on Chocolate day on the 13th by eating more of the brownie... but I'm not sure that counts.  i'm sure we've done more, but I can't remember.

15. go to five local fairs (5/5)  DONE Aug 2012
We did this!  Went to the medieval festival in July, and the local Honey Festival in August!  Both were tons of fun!  So, completed as of August 2012!

21. Get the kids to feed ducks (done, June 30 2012)
June 30th we went to the park for a baby shower, and I brought along some bread to feed the ducks in the duck pond nearby.  The kids loved it and have been asking to go back for some time now!

22. find 5 interesting places/events to visit in local area (not already listed 2/5 dec2011, sep2012)
I'm sure we've done more, but I know of one I recently did with the kids.  We went for a walk around a local garden by the library, and my daughter is asking to go back!

34. Save up $10 for each item I complete on this list
I finally got my savings account active again, so now I can deposit the money into the account!  I have it, it's just not in a specified savings!

36. Place at least $10,000 into TFSA’s
My goodness!  I had no idea how much we already had in the TFSA's!  Last December we didn't deposit any, we paid off the van with that money instead, but the interest accumulated really makes me happy, haha.  We have enough we could almost do it!  But we are planning a trip, and depending on how much that costs....

58. Catch up on scrapbooking (digital)
YAY!  I'm done this!  I am all caught up and doing the pages necessary each week to keep it that way!  Makes me so very happy!

63. Do a ‘week in review’ scrapbook for one year (at least) and print it (July? 2012)
I have a printed 2011 week in review scrapbook, and I am loving it so much I am doing 2012.  I'm up to date on that one as well!  It is SO nice to look back on these weeks and remember things that happened that I wouldn't remember otherwise!

87. start reading a Bible verse at the table at suppertime (maybe find a ‘daily bread’ or something small we can do as a family)
I started working on this, but because it's a jar on the side counter, we don't see it and don't remember.  Sigh.  I need a better reminder to read the verses I put in there!

39 down, 62 to go!