Cookie sheet Advent calendar

Yesterday I mentioned the Christmas Countdown calendar I made out of a $1 cookie sheet. I found the pictures I took last year, so I thought I'd share them today:

Here is the calendar with all the boxes on it (you could also start with the "24" box and work your way down to "1"): And here it is with no boxes on it:


And lastly, here is a blurry picture of the tiny matchboxes that I decorated to hold little treats for each day (a coin or small piece of candy for each child):

Just a few design notes:

• I would not use the clear-type stickers again, if I had it to do over. As you can see in the pictures, those "clear" edges show up. (I'm referring to the pine branch stickers across the top.) Definitely go with closely-cut stickers!
• I covered small matchboxes (found at Wal-Mart in a bundle of 10 or so for around $1) for each day, but I've seen lots of these calendars done with just a punched-out shape for the days. I wanted to be able to have a little surprise each day, so I chose the matchbox idea, which was not original with me. (I just don't remember who I got the idea from!)

If you make one, please leave a link in the comments. I love to see other people's creations!!

More great links for homemade gifts!

I've been collecting these for quite awhile now. I didn't realize how long it's been since I posted a link roundup, so here you go ...

For the sewer:

• Here's a tutorial to make appliance covers. I need to make one for my stand mixer, so maybe I’ll get a few minutes one of these days.
• I love lined baskets, and here's a tutorial to make your own liners.

For the paper crafter:

• This candy carton carrier is so cute! It looks like we’ll have to figure out how to make the tops for ourselves, but it was too cute to pass up sharing with you.
• I’ve made an Advent calendar from a cookie sheet, but this is another great (and beautiful) gift idea for $1 cookie sheets.
• This calendar is a little more involved, but I’ve picked up similar ones at the store before. They’re great for writing your weekly menu. This way, you can design it to match your kitchen.
• Stamp your own napkins for your next party. (Make sure you use smear-resistant ink!)
• Do you have ugly Chap-Stick tubes in your purse? This project wouldn’t be hard, and I’m sure "tweens" would love it, too. (Hint: Wrap packing tape around them once you’ve adhered the decorative paper.)
• This is pretty involved, but WOW! Who wouldn’t like a stationery box? (Or maybe it’s just me …)
• Check out this composition book. Stunning!
• Here's another card portfolio. Cute and easy!
• This is a super-cute Christmas planner that would be perfect for yourself, as gifts – or for both.
• These are so cute! Could these maybe, just maybe, be used for recipe card holders? If not, they’d make wonderful place card holders at a special dinner, or even "markers" at a buffet table to tell what everything is. At any rate, this would be another great hostess gift, especially packaged in a set. Here is a variation on the decoration.

And for the general crafter:

• You can make a "white board" out of a regular picture frame. Who knew? Check out this great gift and/or decorating idea.
• Or make a perpetual calendar using the same concept.
• Here's a tutorial for covering cheap Bic pens with polymer clay. The possibilities are pretty much endless for this, and I could see kids enjoying this activity.
• What 10-year-old boy do you know that wouldn’t like this gift? It’s a lot cheaper than those CSI kits at Toys ‘R Us! It wouldn't take much to fancy up those containers, either.

So who else is going to make something tonight? :)

2008 Christmas Project #2: Gift Tents DONE!

I actually finished these on Saturday, but I didn't have the chance to post them until today. I am so thrilled with how these turned out!!

Our Conference President and his wife were here this weekend, and they told me they know a lady who makes tents just like this and travels all over selling them for $100 each. Wow! I guess the $13 I have in each of them isn't so bad after all ...

Here is my son's tent. I opened the flaps to show you how the kids get in, but those flaps close, too. Isn't the snakeskin at the edges absolutely perfect? It just screams, "Indian teepee" to me! :)

And here is my daughter's, as girly as a tent can be:

And since they take up so much floor space (both of them covered most of the available space in my husband's large study), it's wonderful that they fold up to this size:



When they're folded (and tied with the shoelaces sewn onto them), they remind me of patio table umbrellas.

In case you want to try a similar project, I'll warn you that the kids are still going to need your help putting up these tents each time they come out. It takes a minute to get the "legs" just right, but once they're up they won't be coming down easily.

I cannot wait to give these to my kids this Christmas!!

Frugal framed prints

On Thursday my husband asked me to stop by a local thrift store and see if they had black sneakers. They didn't have any sneakers, but I did get some good coupons from their free coupon basket, as well as this wonderful gift book called Down a Garden Path by Karla Dornacher.

I have seen her books before and thought they were pretty, but I'm not much into the gift book scene. When I opened it and discovered that someone else had written in it, I knew no one would be wanting it for another gift. So I decided to buy it (for $0.25) and frame the pictures for inexpensive gifts.

My Dollar Tree has a nice selection of 8x8" frames, so I picked up a white and black one on my way home, too. I already had a burgundy one at home.

Then I went through the book and picked three pictures that would match the frames best. So here they are:


This is in a burgundy/purplish frame and is for my sister-in-law, whose kitchen is done in grapes. I especially love that these pictures are based on (and include) Scriptures!

I have someone in mind for this one, too. I really liked how the black frame set off the black in the picture and made the colors pop out. It says, "God shall supply all your needs."

Lastly, I just framed this one in white because I thought the white looked so nice with it. I didn't have anyone in particular in mind for this, but I may give it to our conference president's wife when they visit this weekend. I remembered that she likes to put Scripture on her walls, and I'm sure she'd like this one!
I consider this a wonderful frugal gift since it costs only $1 but is quite beautiful. And while it isn't a huge picture, it's a perfect size to go on someone's desk or on the counter in their kitchen.
I'm sure you're wondering how many full-page pictures are in the book. I counted 24, so that averages out to $0.01 each for the pictures themselves. I think my budget can handle that! :)

Another card using my large rose stamp

First of all, a disclaimer: this was not my original idea. Most things I make are not my original ideas, but inspired by other people's creations. I'm not especially good at coming up with a design from nothing, but I can copy like nobody's business! :)

This was inspired by this card and this one. I searched Splitcoaststampers for this stamp to see what others have done with it because those ladies are so talented and they think of things I would never have thought of ... like making the rose 3-D!

First of all, I stamped the rose three times. Then I colored and cut them out, focusing on ever-smaller sections as I went closer to the center of the rose. This took a little time, but not as much as I originally thought it would. Then I added gold glitter, which I think I like better than the red glitter.

Then I assembled the rose, using pop-up dots on each layer (see below). After I made my card base, I attached the rose to the card with more pop-up dots, giving it lots of dimension. I also "popped up" the sentiment.


And here you have it - a card made with just the supplies I have on hand.
I love the 3-D effect, and I think I'm going to be using it a lot more often!

Using my large rose stamp

I've had this large rose stamp from Rubber Stampede for almost a year now. I've used it a few times, but I've always tried watercolor pencils or just colored pencils, and I've never been totally pleased with the results.

So I challenged myself to find a productive use for it. I discovered that I like it much, much better when I color it with markers and give it a bolder look. I used a basic marker set for this, so I'll have to break out my Bic Mark-It set to get more pastel colors.

So let me show you a few things I discovered along the way ...

First of all, I was pretty pleased with how the coloring turned out, and I added some red glitter to accent it. (Gold glitter looks nice, too.) Then I mounted it onto matching red paper and laid it against my dark green card base (a full 8.5x11" sheet folded in half).





Nice, but a bit bland. (Okay, a lot!) So I broke out my new pack of large acrylic flourish stamps to see what I could do for that card base.



That's much better! And just so you know, I'm terrible about random placement. Everything I do has to be extremely planned out, even if it's supposed to look random. So here's a quick peek at how that card base looks without the oval decoration:



I goofed a little on the placement of the flourishes at the bottom, but as you can see from the previous picture, it didn't matter at all.

I still thought the card needed something more, so I added this ribbon bow:



That looks better! I'm actually pleased with this one!

Hostess gift #1 DONE!

I don't think I included the link to my original inspiration for these cute magnetic clothespins before, so here it is. This is a perfect, inexpensive little hostess gift and uses teeny, tiny scraps of paper (for those of us who can't bear to throw them away).


Here's a challenge for you: Can you tell me what is unusual in this picture? I noticed it as I was making them, but I stared at it about fifteen times before that and never saw it. It's really not a trick. I think it's more like a trick our eyes play on us. :) (Do I have you intrigued yet? If no one guesses it by Saturday, I'll try to remember to let you know what it is.)

This is one of several inexpensive little gifts I'm making to demonstrate at our church's ladies' meeting next month. I'm doing a "Homemade Christmas" theme and showing them quick and easy items they can easily make that will help cut costs. I know it seems early to do it in October, but some people like to plan ahead ... and November and December themes are pretty much a "given."