Are you ready for part three? Let's get started with this post and finish up all of this. Almost three months later. I have been busy as most everyone else in the world is.
Calendar Journal
I thought this would be great for anyone who has a new baby or even a newlywed. You could also use this as a blessings journal. The idea is to write down something (quickly) that happened that day. You keep it for 10 years and each year you can look back to see what was happening each day in your life. I actually made two of these. One for myself and one for a gift. I can't post pics until after Christmas because one is a gift. I will include a couple of links to show the different versions people are making. For dividers you could use greeting cards or even pictures to divide the months.
http://www.designsponge.com/2010/12/diy-project-vintage-postcard-calendar-journal.html
the blessing box design
http://www.lemusingsofmoi.com/2011/01/blessing-box.html
Another design
http://www.thegeekysaver.com/2011/01/inspired-for-2011.html
I am going to post this for now. I might go back and edit it later. I have found so many other things that would be cute and great gifts. Not just at Christmas but for birthdays, anniversaries, etc. I know that I have forgotten a few things but this will get everyone started thinking about fun, creative gift ideas for others. Gifts should be from the heart not just because we feel the need to do so.
Thursday, December 08, 2011
Creative Gift Ideas Part Two
Book Basket
Continuing with our creative gift ideas, another idea was a book basket. We had our daughters put together a book basket based on Little House in the Big Woods. In the basket (metal pail) they included a copy of the book, a sack of peppermint sticks, a stuffed animal horse, ribbons (like Laura would have worn), and a bonnet. This idea could be for any book. You just need to put together objects that go along with the book. This gift would also work for any age, depending on the book of choice.
Memory Jar
Another idea is to take a mason jar (or any empty, clean jar) and put cards that have memories on them. This is a great gift for a mom or grandmother. Everyone writes different memories on a card or tag they have with that person. Along with the jar, include a journal for the mom/grandmother to write her memories as well. It would be great to have 365 cards in the jar so she could pull one out each day. What a great way to have a journal with all of the memories in it.
Blessings Jar
Wouldn't it be great to write a blessing or something special each day of the year for one year and pull out one blessing each day the next year? This was another mason jar idea that we had come up with. On the outside of the jar we glued words from the song Count Your Blessings. Tie a cute ribbon around the top of the jar along with a tag that a scripture verse written on it. A variation of this would be to put in different scripture verses for them to be pulled out daily or weekly or even monthly.
Seasonal Candles
In a basket we put four candles, one to represent each season. On each candle we labeled them with brown kraft paper spring, summer, winter and autumn. On a tag we found scripture to go along with the season. You could also do this for twelve candles. One for each month. Again, find scripture verses for each month or season or just twelve of your favorite verses.
Bookmarks
Bookmarks are great to give along with a book. You can make your own or buy them. I have made two kinds and both are very simple. The first one is a corner bookmark. Here is a video tutorial http://www.thehybridchick.com/2010/01/corner-bookmark-video-tutorial/
I also make one using charms and stretchy string from the jewelry making section of the craft store. You cut an 18 inch section of string and thread the charm on it. Tie a knot next to the charm at the bottom (string should be in half) and tie a knot near the top. I will try to get pictures of the bookmark up soon.
Stay tuned for post number three!!
Continuing with our creative gift ideas, another idea was a book basket. We had our daughters put together a book basket based on Little House in the Big Woods. In the basket (metal pail) they included a copy of the book, a sack of peppermint sticks, a stuffed animal horse, ribbons (like Laura would have worn), and a bonnet. This idea could be for any book. You just need to put together objects that go along with the book. This gift would also work for any age, depending on the book of choice.
Memory Jar
Another idea is to take a mason jar (or any empty, clean jar) and put cards that have memories on them. This is a great gift for a mom or grandmother. Everyone writes different memories on a card or tag they have with that person. Along with the jar, include a journal for the mom/grandmother to write her memories as well. It would be great to have 365 cards in the jar so she could pull one out each day. What a great way to have a journal with all of the memories in it.
Blessings Jar
Wouldn't it be great to write a blessing or something special each day of the year for one year and pull out one blessing each day the next year? This was another mason jar idea that we had come up with. On the outside of the jar we glued words from the song Count Your Blessings. Tie a cute ribbon around the top of the jar along with a tag that a scripture verse written on it. A variation of this would be to put in different scripture verses for them to be pulled out daily or weekly or even monthly.
Seasonal Candles
In a basket we put four candles, one to represent each season. On each candle we labeled them with brown kraft paper spring, summer, winter and autumn. On a tag we found scripture to go along with the season. You could also do this for twelve candles. One for each month. Again, find scripture verses for each month or season or just twelve of your favorite verses.
Bookmarks
Bookmarks are great to give along with a book. You can make your own or buy them. I have made two kinds and both are very simple. The first one is a corner bookmark. Here is a video tutorial http://www.thehybridchick.com/2010/01/corner-bookmark-video-tutorial/
I also make one using charms and stretchy string from the jewelry making section of the craft store. You cut an 18 inch section of string and thread the charm on it. Tie a knot next to the charm at the bottom (string should be in half) and tie a knot near the top. I will try to get pictures of the bookmark up soon.
Stay tuned for post number three!!
Friday, November 25, 2011
Creative Gift Ideas for Christmas Part One
In preparation for the Christmas holiday, I am putting together a list of creative gift ideas. I will share links for instructions on how to make them. Most of these are very simple, fairly inexpensive but nice to put together for an easy gift for a neighbor, children, parents, grandparents. Most of these are gifts that another woman and I put together for a Creative Gift Ideas presentation to a mom's group at a church in our area.
http://papervinenz.blogspot.com/2011/09/back-to-school-magnet-board-tutorial.html
Tile Coasters
The next gift is also easy. I made some tile coasters using inexpensive tiles from the home improvement store, scrapbook paper, mod podge, and polyurethane. This were very easy to do. The longest part of this project was the time it took for the glue and polyurethane to dry. Here is a link to how to do these.
http://www.curbly.com/users/DIY-Maven/posts/6125-Curbly-Video-Using-Paper-Napkins-to-Make-Decorative-Tile-Coasters
I used scrapbook paper instead of napkins. I also used mod podge to glue the paper to the tile. Then I put three more coats of mod podge on top of the paper. After that was completely dry I put a coat of polyurethane and let that coat dry. I put a second coat of polyurethane on top to ensure a good seal.
Quiet Time Basket
As mom's we don't always have time to have our quiet time with God. However, this a very important time for us to connect with God. It helps us to be better moms, wives and women in general. I put together a basket that contained Ann Voscamp's book, One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are. I also included a pen, a journal and a ceramic travel mug. The journal was a composition book that I altered by covering with scrapbook paper and ribbon. Here is a link for an example of an altered composition book. http://www.squidoo.com/altered-composition-books?utm_source=google&utm_medium=imgres&utm_campaign=framebuster
For the pens, I took a scrap of paper 3 1/2 inches by 7/8 inch and a Pentel RSVP pen. I removed the top and rolled the paper around the barrel. I then slid the paper down into the barrel and replaced the ink tube and top.
Girlhood Basket
In this basket we included a book, an eye mask, fuzzy socks, a pillowcase, rag rollers, bath salts, notebook, and pen. I picked up the eye mask and fuzzy socks at Michaels in the dollar section.
Here are in the instructions for the rag rollers: http://rocksinmydryer.typepad.com/shannon/2008/09/works-for-me-ra.html . I really need to make these for a stocking stuffer for my daughter.
Here is the link for one style of pillowcase: http://raisinghomemakers.com/2011/sewing-tutorial-how-to-make-a-pillow-case/ This link does not have a contrasting border.
Here is a tutorial for a pillowcase with border. She also has some great tips so be sure to read through the whole tutorial before starting. http://kirstencan.typepad.com/kirstencan/pillowcase_tutorial/
I will continue the ideas in the second post. I hope that some of these help you with your holiday gifts. Remember, even if you are not a crafty person you can still put together a great gift very inexpensively.
Glass Magnets
The first gift is a relatively easy one - Glass magnets. The link shows using lettered scrapbook paper for making the magnets. This is a great idea for a child just learning letters, or how to spell or read. Another way to use these would be to make decorative magnets using scrapbook paper. These would also make a great gift using pictures to make a gift for a grandparent with pictures of the grandkids.http://papervinenz.blogspot.com/2011/09/back-to-school-magnet-board-tutorial.html
Tile Coasters
The next gift is also easy. I made some tile coasters using inexpensive tiles from the home improvement store, scrapbook paper, mod podge, and polyurethane. This were very easy to do. The longest part of this project was the time it took for the glue and polyurethane to dry. Here is a link to how to do these.
http://www.curbly.com/users/DIY-Maven/posts/6125-Curbly-Video-Using-Paper-Napkins-to-Make-Decorative-Tile-Coasters
I used scrapbook paper instead of napkins. I also used mod podge to glue the paper to the tile. Then I put three more coats of mod podge on top of the paper. After that was completely dry I put a coat of polyurethane and let that coat dry. I put a second coat of polyurethane on top to ensure a good seal.
Quiet Time Basket
As mom's we don't always have time to have our quiet time with God. However, this a very important time for us to connect with God. It helps us to be better moms, wives and women in general. I put together a basket that contained Ann Voscamp's book, One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are. I also included a pen, a journal and a ceramic travel mug. The journal was a composition book that I altered by covering with scrapbook paper and ribbon. Here is a link for an example of an altered composition book. http://www.squidoo.com/altered-composition-books?utm_source=google&utm_medium=imgres&utm_campaign=framebuster
For the pens, I took a scrap of paper 3 1/2 inches by 7/8 inch and a Pentel RSVP pen. I removed the top and rolled the paper around the barrel. I then slid the paper down into the barrel and replaced the ink tube and top.
Girlhood Basket
In this basket we included a book, an eye mask, fuzzy socks, a pillowcase, rag rollers, bath salts, notebook, and pen. I picked up the eye mask and fuzzy socks at Michaels in the dollar section.
Here are in the instructions for the rag rollers: http://rocksinmydryer.typepad.com/shannon/2008/09/works-for-me-ra.html . I really need to make these for a stocking stuffer for my daughter.
Here is the link for one style of pillowcase: http://raisinghomemakers.com/2011/sewing-tutorial-how-to-make-a-pillow-case/ This link does not have a contrasting border.
Here is a tutorial for a pillowcase with border. She also has some great tips so be sure to read through the whole tutorial before starting. http://kirstencan.typepad.com/kirstencan/pillowcase_tutorial/
I will continue the ideas in the second post. I hope that some of these help you with your holiday gifts. Remember, even if you are not a crafty person you can still put together a great gift very inexpensively.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
God's Great Power
Tonight as I was cleaning up some stuff, I ran across some papers. I was ready to throw them away, but decided to look through them to see if I needed to shred something. In the stack of papers I found a song that Eoin had written. It brought tears to my eyes. I asked if he had copied it from some where or if he actually wrote it. He said he wrote it and did not copy it. Here is the song:
God's Great Power (he says to the tune of Amazing Grace)
The power of God is so so great. It saved my soul. I asked He gave. He is the Lord. He healed my heart. Sin is conquered. No greater power than God's presence.
I know that it is short but the words came from his heart. Simple words that mean so much to any of us that believe in the power of a mighty God. Simple words from an 8 year old boy. I still tear up when I read them.
Simple words that come from God.
Will this ever be a hit song. No, but it will be a hit with this mommy who loves her little man so much.
God's Great Power (he says to the tune of Amazing Grace)
The power of God is so so great. It saved my soul. I asked He gave. He is the Lord. He healed my heart. Sin is conquered. No greater power than God's presence.
I know that it is short but the words came from his heart. Simple words that mean so much to any of us that believe in the power of a mighty God. Simple words from an 8 year old boy. I still tear up when I read them.
Simple words that come from God.
Will this ever be a hit song. No, but it will be a hit with this mommy who loves her little man so much.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Busy
We have been busy. Life has been busy. School has been a work in progress at best. Some days are great and run smoothly but other days.....let's not even discuss them. It seems we are having more of the 'let's not discuss them' days than we are the wonderfully smooth days. Part of it is because winter is NOT ending in these parts. We had several inches of snow yesterday morning. It was melted before dinner but still. It was tough to wake up to that again. It is almost May and I am craving warm sunny days of spring and summer. My patience has been sorely lacking with the kids and myself. But let's move on to other things than my complaining, shall we?
Eoin- this little man turned seven in October. I am starting to see the compassion for people that he has most days and he is working at being a very obedient young man. He is growing up and it is getting hard for this momma to see at times. I wish he was still a little tiny baby at times but I know that this is good. He started playing baseball this spring and boy has that been a learning experience for this momma. The equipment that is required ........ uh, we won't talk about it. Let's just say that his daddy had to take him shopping for a very important piece of equipment he needed if I ever want to have grand kids, and I do. I was so not ready for that one though. It really threw me for a loop.
Emmalee - she is now nine and growing up. I am seeing so many changes in her personality. They are good though. She is patient, kind, compassionate and helpful. This girl is beyond helpful. I love it. She has a real passion for creative writing and dancing. She has begun writing a book about a princess and a lost horse. She is very obedient and loves to read her bible daily.
This year for school we used My Father's World Exploring Countries and Cultures. It has been a good year but we are starting to get tired. We have been traveling the world and it has been fun. It is a very good curriculum and there are a lot of fun things to do with it. However, I have found that for my kids, some of the concepts are wee bit above their levels so far. I believe that it is good to know where many of the countries are or at least what continent they are on. But, I know we got tired of the same routine with each country. Color this picture, color this flag, etc. I understand the concept of teaching children where the countries are before studying about the ancient civilizations. Anyway, after discussing with Mike continuing with MFW next year or switching to another curriculum we have decided to make the switch. I have purchased Tapestry of Grace Year One. I spent a lot of time praying and agonizing and getting other mom's opinions. Mike and I looked over the scope and sequences that MFW Creation to the Greeks and Tapestry Year one had on their websites. Mike preferred what was on Tapestry of Grace. He also liked that we buy the base curriculum over the next four years and just change the books the kids read until they graduate. I like that too.
Another subject that we had to change curriculum for this year was math. Emmalee was struggling so much with Horizons 3 math. Mike and I discussed this and decided to switch her to Saxon 3 math. My thought was that Saxon would at least help to build up her confidence with math before going back to Horizons. She finished Saxon a couple of weeks ago and is back to working through Horizons. We are going to have her finish Horizons 3 and then move her into Saxon 5/4.
There were so many times I thought over the last few months that I would love to do a blog post but just haven't gotten here. I promise that I will try to be more purposeful about getting here over the next few months. We are just busy and missing the warm weather.
Eoin- this little man turned seven in October. I am starting to see the compassion for people that he has most days and he is working at being a very obedient young man. He is growing up and it is getting hard for this momma to see at times. I wish he was still a little tiny baby at times but I know that this is good. He started playing baseball this spring and boy has that been a learning experience for this momma. The equipment that is required ........ uh, we won't talk about it. Let's just say that his daddy had to take him shopping for a very important piece of equipment he needed if I ever want to have grand kids, and I do. I was so not ready for that one though. It really threw me for a loop.
Emmalee - she is now nine and growing up. I am seeing so many changes in her personality. They are good though. She is patient, kind, compassionate and helpful. This girl is beyond helpful. I love it. She has a real passion for creative writing and dancing. She has begun writing a book about a princess and a lost horse. She is very obedient and loves to read her bible daily.
This year for school we used My Father's World Exploring Countries and Cultures. It has been a good year but we are starting to get tired. We have been traveling the world and it has been fun. It is a very good curriculum and there are a lot of fun things to do with it. However, I have found that for my kids, some of the concepts are wee bit above their levels so far. I believe that it is good to know where many of the countries are or at least what continent they are on. But, I know we got tired of the same routine with each country. Color this picture, color this flag, etc. I understand the concept of teaching children where the countries are before studying about the ancient civilizations. Anyway, after discussing with Mike continuing with MFW next year or switching to another curriculum we have decided to make the switch. I have purchased Tapestry of Grace Year One. I spent a lot of time praying and agonizing and getting other mom's opinions. Mike and I looked over the scope and sequences that MFW Creation to the Greeks and Tapestry Year one had on their websites. Mike preferred what was on Tapestry of Grace. He also liked that we buy the base curriculum over the next four years and just change the books the kids read until they graduate. I like that too.
Another subject that we had to change curriculum for this year was math. Emmalee was struggling so much with Horizons 3 math. Mike and I discussed this and decided to switch her to Saxon 3 math. My thought was that Saxon would at least help to build up her confidence with math before going back to Horizons. She finished Saxon a couple of weeks ago and is back to working through Horizons. We are going to have her finish Horizons 3 and then move her into Saxon 5/4.
There were so many times I thought over the last few months that I would love to do a blog post but just haven't gotten here. I promise that I will try to be more purposeful about getting here over the next few months. We are just busy and missing the warm weather.
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