Christmas cards on the cheap!

 

I wasn't kidding when I said I was going all out cheap for Christmas, this even includes the Christmas card department. I love to send out cards at Christmas and when you figure in the cost of the card plus postage, it can really add up. I spent a while trolling the different options for Christmas cards and I was not able to come up with a ultra cheap alternative. My man uses VistaPrint to make up his cards and post card mailers for his business and claimed he could get post cards for 21 cents a piece. You save loads doing it this way, I mean consider that it only costs 29 cents a stamp and 21 cents a card so, if you have a hundred cards to mail that's only 50 bucks! Cha-ching!
After a little finagling and a well placed business logo he ordered them up and I'll send them out to family and friends and he can hand his out to good customers for networking purposes. Sounds like a plan to me! ;0) So, last call if you missed my facebook event and would still like a card, send me a message with your address and I'll hook you up! Seasons Greetings and all! ;0)

A stitch in time...Christmas is a coming (the results)

Oh, Christmas tree...

My felt wreaths that took forever to complete, but are really pretty!

Spray painted pinecones strewn under the bows...

Your stockings have to match too, right?

and pretty stars in gold and teal, twinkle amongst the branches...

As promised, I provided pics for my decorating madness. Many an hour spent over the last few weeks with needle in hand and painted fingers, provided for some pretty Christmas decor!
I know I mentioned that my colors were teal and gold this year and I had every intention to stick with just those colors and a little cream too, but as I wound the lights over my tree I discovered that I did not have enough white LED lights to cover the whole tree. After an annoyed grumble, I decided that I would use a couple of strings of red lights too. Of course, that meant that I needed something in the red dept. as well. I had a stack of colored foam sheets that had several red pieces and I quickly cut out some red hearts and sprinkled them evenly over the tree. I also twisted some red and white pipe cleaners into candy cane hearts and added them as well. The result is a pretty, if perhaps patriotic-looking tree!
Do you like my  no fireplace mantle solution? Yes, I did just string my stockings through gold ribbon and secure them with our monogram pins I collected last year. I then tied the ribbon to my archway and pushed a pushpin through the middle to secure it, it's pretty I think! ;0)
Not too bad for decorating on the cheap!

TiP fOr TuEsDaY (post 159)

Flaming Christmas tree, eh? That can't be good. As I was sitting here doing a little research for today's "TiP" segment I came across quite a lengthy list of holiday safety tips for children put out by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) here.  It lists tips for keeping kids safe through the holiday season and although I imagine it's fairly helpful to some people, I myself find it rather redundant. For Example:


Never use electric lights on a metallic tree. The tree can become charged with electricity from faulty lights, and a person touching a branch could be electrocuted. 
Um, what? I have never in my life time seen a metallic tree. If I am mistaken, please send me a note, but I'm thinking that they don't actually exist. If they do, I can only imagine that they aren't popular....seeing as though they would be metal...and not at all tree-like. Um, yeah.

When purchasing an artificial tree, look for the label "Fire Resistant." 
Kind of like the picture above, I imagine your tree bursting into flame would be a bit of a bummer. I don't recommend dousing it in gasoline either...just saying.



Avoid trimmings that resemble candy or food that may tempt a young child to eat them. 
If you seriously have children that would be tempted to actually eat the fake food decorations, then me thinks you have bigger problems on your hands! I'm not talking about babies that really would eat anything, or pets, but if your kid is big enough to know better and is tempted to snack on the decorations anyway....yep, that's what I'm talking about. ;0)

Children under age 8 can choke or suffocate on deflated or broken balloons.

Okay, my own personal opinion here, if someone banned balloons all together I would be thrilled. My kids fight over balloons, my kids beat each other up with balloons, my kids refuse to get rid of their balloons even when they are flat and wrinkled, my kids still cry when they fly away because they refused to let me tie them to their wrists. See what I mean?

Bacteria are often present in raw foods.  Fully cook meats and poultry, and thoroughly wash raw vegetables and fruits.

What? I needed to cook that before we ate it? Huh, I guess you learn something everyday.;0)


So hey, don't worry about your kid chewing on the lights cord under the tree or anything...nah, you should be more worried about, "Never use lighted candles on a tree or near other evergreens" Ahh...but I LIKED catching household items on fire...poo. Silly old safety tips anyway! ;0)

tHiS iS wHaT i LiKe (post 158)

Febreze Air Effects!

'Tis the season and all and my house smells of cinnamon potpourri, fresh baked cookies, pine trees...er, not. More like garbage, smelly socks, whatever garlic-laden concoction was made for breakfast, and don't forget poop! Don't think me to be a terrible housekeeper, I really do clean and empty the garbage and do the laundry and make the garlic king's breakfast...it's just that life runs faster than I do! As much I would love to spend every waking second cleaning something (okay, I really don't!) I do have people come into my house and me myself and I would really love my house to smell seasonably fresh all the time, wouldn't you?
Haha, this is where Febreze Air Effects comes in! The scent I have featured above (Cranberries and Frost), I used last year and loved! It made my house smell crisp  and wonderful. This year I have some Pumpkin Harvest  fall leftover and when I use up the rest of that I will be snagging some Cinnamon and Sugar home to try!
Febreze Air Effects is some good stuff and it's safe for kids and pets too! Want your house to smell yummy and seasonably fresh? Try some Febreze Air Effects, I like it and I'll bet you would too! ;0)

ThOuGhT fOr ThE dAy (post 157)

 You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give." Kahlil Gibran

Now how many of our kids think that the reason for the season is getting stuff? I mean, I know that's all I thought about as a kid. We did perform service for the needy as well, but seriously it was all about the stuff! This year is very different for our family, the reality of unemployment and a depressed economic situation in our area is hitting hard this season. While we still have the essentials of food, shelter, and love, we have next to nothing for extras like lots of Christmas presents. My Mom asked me if the kids were excited for Christmas and I had to tell her truthfully that they really aren't this year. It's tough when you know what you would normally be able to provide for them and where they normally get plenty for Christmas, it'll be very little this year. Many homemade presents and goodies and decorations are the reality, but you know what? I love, love that I am able to give the gift of me this year. I've spent many years working through the holidays and I haven't had a Christmas day I didn't have to work in like 7 years and it's nice! The kids are able to participate in activities that they wouldn't have been able to because I had to work and couldn't take them. They can get rides to friends' houses, I pick them up everyday after school. We get to play outside before dark, we get to spend hours at the park when we have time. If we want to go someplace for the weekend, then I don't have to beg for time off of work. We'll be able to make goodies to give away to neighbors and friends, we'll be able to enjoy the company of each other. And as simple as that is, it's plenty.

A stitch in time...Christmas is a coming!

A menagerie of felt ornaments...

and fabric for homemade stockings too...

a little panted star action...

and spray painted pinecones and leaves too!

As I prepare furiously to get the last of my tree decorations finished for this weekend, I thought I'd share a glimpse of what I'm making. Each year at the end of the season when all the decorations are on sale for 75% off, I choose my Christmas color theme for the next year. Last year I was able to snag some adorable sparkly teal bead-garland for like a dollar a strand. This paired with some gorgeous gold gem ornaments, birthed my theme for this year. Now heaven forbid I was able to find matching stockings anyplace, so I got creative. I snagged some material from the remnant bin at my local Wal-Mart that was a good match along with some remnant cream felt and it set me back a whole 3 bucks! I found a stocking pattern off the net and got to work cutting out and stitching together stockings for everyone.
This fall the kids collected three large grocery bags of pinecones at our local park and I used most of them as decoration in my empty window boxes. I purposely saved a bag and spray painted them gold to match, 3 bucks for spray paint, pinecones, free!
I went to Michael's to get some felt for ornaments and came across some wooden stars for like 40 cents each and came home and painted them teal and gold to match and talked my man into drilling holes in the centers for me. A little gold yarn later and I had star ornaments!
The felt was on sale for 5 sheets for a buck and I loaded up. It took me a  little bit to decide exactly what I wanted to make out of them. At first I thought stars...but I had several of them already and I didn't want my tree to read as western in theme. I finally decided on wreaths! I folded the felt into fourths and took my trusty sharpie and a small bowl and traced circles for the wreaths. I next found a plastic cup and traced around it for the centers. After cutting out all my wreaths I decided I should do something with the centers left over. I traced stars out of the cream felt centers and glued them to the teal with a little tacky glue. I then used my gold yarn again and threaded through two points in the middle so they looked like threaded buttons and came up through the backs and tied small bows to the fronts. For the wreaths I blanket stitched the middles together and lined the insides with a strip of batting and blanket stitched the outsides shut. I wanted them to have a little more gold on them, so I wove some more gold yarn across the fronts in a triangle pattern. These are a little more time consuming, but completely adorable!
All of this good stuff will be paired with wide ribbon garland, white lights, some matching glass balls for cheap from Tai Pan Trading and of course the things I picked up last year. I'll post pictures of it all up when it's done! For now I need to hurry and complete my ornaments for Christmas is a coming! ;0)

I'm just being myself...

Sorry that the image is a bit on the blurry side, I swiped it from Amazon. It was so cute, I just couldn't resist! If anyone knows me, they know for a fact that I am a Peanuts nut, Snoopy in particular. How can anybody be grumpy when faced with a happy go lucky beagle? I know I sure can't and I imagine this is the basis for his mass appeal. I am a grown-up though and my house isn't covered with Snoopy based items, but there are two large shelves to house my collection of Snoopy things I've amassed over the years. I have Snoopy on my car, I had a Snoopy flag in my yard (until the mean ol' wind snapped my pole in two) and even when my ex-husband came over to pick up the kids last year (oh yes, he visits that often...) he was able to immediately pick out our house because of Snoopy. "Let me guess, it's the one with the Snoopy flag...", he said to his Mom.
I laugh that I feel the need to point out that I'm an adult because you see I have this Snoopy blanket, this blanket goes with me everywhere I travel. It sits on my bed for snuggling or on the couch as well. It took all I had in me when friends of ours came over last weekend, not to go steal it back after I had forgotten it on the couch and my friend curled up under it. I still had to wash it immediately after she left though...hmmm. I accidentally left it at home last time I traveled and pouted so miserably, my Mom took pity on me and bought me another blanket to substitute. It wasn't the same though! Poor Snoopy blanket, it has seen better days and try as I might, I have never been able to find another. I sat and scoured pages and pages of Snoopy items over the weekend on the web in attempts to find a suitable replacement. After and hour or two I was done and was getting ready to get up when I spied an ad at the bottom of the page I was looking at for a Snoopy twin sized blanket (the size I have now) and for a great price! Score! I motioned to my man and pointed out exactly what I saw and he shooed me from the room. How much you want to bet I'll be getting a new Snoopy blanket for Christmas?! ;0)
I know it's silly to have such a juvenile fetish and seeing as though I'm a 30-something year old Mom of three, you would think I would be beyond such things. I just can't help it though! I'm just being myself and no one can tell me I'm doing it wrong! ;0)