Make-your-own marker storage

I've been dealing with little aggravation spots in my craft room this week. One of my biggest aggravations is marker storage. I love my BIC markers and use them on almost every project, but they were shoved into cans lying on my craft table and very hard to get at.

So I checked Splitcoaststampers to see how everyone else was organizing their markers, and I found a lot of ladies were using clear acrylic x-shaped containers. I loved them! But after I put it on my shopping list, I got to thinking ... Couldn't I make something myself and spend that money on craft supplies instead? So here's what I made:



I've had this box for awhile now. I think it originally came from Michaels' $1 spot, but I picked it up at a thrift store for $0.25. I cut cardboard dividers to fit inside and form the "x" that nicely separates the markers.

So there you have it - a "use what I have" alternative that looks very pretty sitting on my craft desk! :)

Blossom Nestabilities Flowers

My friend brought her Blossom Nestabilities along the other day, and I cut a few shapes to play around with. I thought I'd share some of the flower combinations I came up with. There are lots more possible combinations, and I have several more ideas running through my head. When I get the chance to try them, I'll post them.



First of all, I cut the largest Blossom Nestie and embossed it with my Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder. I cut the shape so the petals are separated. Then I punched two daisies (Marvy Uchida daisy punch) from brown patterned paper. Then I cut the circle using my Scallop Nestie and embossed it with Swiss Dots. I ran an orange inkpad over the embossing to highlight it.



Then I thought of my homemade glue gun pearls* and thought to add a few to the center. [*I used this idea and simply painted the resulting glue gun drippings with pearlized nail polish I had purchased just for this purpose, since I don't paint my nails.]



And lastly, here is one I made by layering three different Blossom Nesties (each 2 steps apart) that had been embossed and cut apart. If you bend the petals around, it can look more realistic.

These flowers would make a lovely alternative to a gift bow!

Martha Stewart Punch Around the Page!

Our good friends came today to help celebrate my son's 6th birthday. We carved out a few minutes to run to Michaels, since I had been hearing so much about the new Martha Stewart items and hadn't seen any yet.

Have you seen them? There's a scoring board, Punch Around the Page punch sets, deeper-designed border punches (about 2x a deep as a regular one), punch and stamp sets ... Not all of it was there at my Michaels yet, but I saw plenty of hang tags. They will finally be getting that darling heart lace punch that came out last Valentine's Day!

Anyway, I had a 50% off coupon from AC Moore that was good for today, and of course they take competitor's coupons. So I got this Punch Around the Page set:



It retails for $24.99 and includes a coordinating corner punch and border punch. It's pure genius, if you want my opinion! The instructions tell you what sizes will create a perfect all-around border (3.25", 5", 6.75", 8.5", 10.25" and 12"), and it's so easy my kids could probably do it. Not only that, but I was very impressed with how well they punched. So for $12.50 (with my coupon), I can make unlimited lace-edged paper!

Are you curious how it works? Let me show you ...



First of all, you punch the corners. I'm using a 3.25" square here. As you can see, the corner punch can stand alone. It's so pretty! But wait until you see it combined with the border punch ...



Tada! Isn't that gorgeous? It only looks like it took a long time. I might have spent an entire minute punching these edges.

So how will these preset sizes fit onto standard cards and scrapbook pages?



Here is the 3.25" square on an A2 card (4.25x5.5") ...



... a 3.25x5" rectangle on an A2 card (4.25x5.5") ...



... a 5x6.75" rectangle on a 5x7" card ...



... a 4x6" photo on top of a 5x6.75" rectangle ...



... a lacy 6.75" frame ...



... and a 6.75" square layered onto an 8" square scrapbook page.

I haven't done a 12x12" page yet, but it should look just like the 8x8" page, only bigger. I'm looking forward to playing with these some more. It's quite addicting!

Fun gifts for boys who travel a lot

Our friends' boys range in age from 10 to 3, but I think they were all tickled with the little gifts for them. First of all, I made them each a decorative personalized notebook using old calendar pages:







Their dad and grandpa love to hunt, so I guessed that they'd enjoy these animals. I had to laugh after their son pointed out that the trophy buck had a nice 10-point rack. I hadn't thought to count! :)

I wanted to make them a little something to "play" with, too, so I finally got around to using an idea I've had for years ...



Traveling car tins ...



You can find these mini cars at Dollar Tree, 8 in a pack. Not all of them are from Dollar Tree, though, because I pick these up secondhand whenever I can find them. My first idea was to add magnets to the bottom of the cars, but I was out of magnetic strip and couldn't run to the store for more. So I just put 3 cars and a road sign in each tin and called it done.

They were thrilled! I didn't realize it, but the middle boy had been asking his parents for these tiny cars for months. They hadn't been able to find any, so he was especially thrilled to finally get a few.

I really enjoy making little gifts for children. They are always so appreciative!

A fun gift for a girl that travels a lot

We had another missionary family at our house last night, so I didn't get a chance to post these pictures. I went to college with these friends, and it's always nice to reconnect with college friends!

They have four children who are doing a LOT of traveling while they're back in the States, so I wanted to make them some little gifts that are portable and fun. I changed a few ideas more than once, but here's what I decided on for the girl (8 years old) ...



This is what the tin started out looking like. I had picked it up at a thrift shop filled with the original contents for $0.25. My kids had fun with the pipe cleaners and yarn, but I wanted it for the suitcase-type tin. It's not a tiny thing, either. It could almost hold a regular-sized sheet of paper. After I decorated it, it looked like this (personalized with her name):



And then, of course, I filled it with fun things ...



There are ten notecards and envelopes inside. I left them black and white so she can color them (with the provided crayons) and send them to her grandparents - or anyone else she'd like. I also put a few mini gel pens in that small tin on the left, along with the crayons. That way, she can write inside the cards, too.

The tall journal is for all the secrets girls her age like to write down. I didn't do anything to it, other than stamping her first initial inside the flower. It matched my patterned paper quite well!

And then there is the magnetic paper doll set. I had this set all made up to go into a different container, but the magnets in the other container weren't strong enough. After I finished everything else, I happened to think about this being tin and the fact that the paper doll would stick just fine inside. So I attached her and most of her accessories to the lid of the tin. I experimented, and they stayed on even when I toted it around for awhile. For the fussy little accessories, like the shoes, crown and stuffed animal toys, I decorated a second Altoid tin and put them inside. That way, they won't get lost.

She seemed pretty happy with it, and I was happy with how it turned out!

Anniversary card for my parents

Saturday is my parents' 39th wedding anniversary, and I wanted to send them a special card. [Yes, they married on Halloween. Don't ask me why they chose the date because I still haven't gotten a satisfactory answer on that one! ;) ]



Supplies: digital image (Super Coloring); paper (Serendipity by ATD, Recollections); Vintage Corners die (Cuttlebug); satin ribbon, rhinestones, image coloring with oil pastels and blended with baby oil.

Now you're probably wondering why on earth I chose this image for this card. Every couple seems to have "their song." My husband and I have "Only God Could Love You More," and my parents have "Like A Bridge Over Troubled Water" (by Simon & Garfunkel). I wanted a bridge image, and this was the nicest one I found as a digital image. I really wouldn't have minded buying a digital image for this card, but there are no bridge digital stamps that I could find.

I had fun coloring this image! I bought a small set of oil pastels at Ollie's last week for $0.49 because I had been told they created a lovely effect. I was not disappointed! I put the boldest strokes on by using the sticks directly on the paper, and then I blended that out to the edges to create that nice, soft effect you see. It looks really "artsy," but it's incredibly easy!

I couldn't think of a perfect sentiment for the outside, so I decided to save the words for inside.



Supplies: digital image (Leaves of Time) colored with oil pastels and blended with baby oil.

This is one of those graduation announcement cards, so I "had" to decorate both sides of the inside. On the left, I used this digital image and printed the words to the song underneath. I had to cut out a line or two of the song to make it even, but I chose the words that will mean the most to them right now.

They've gone through some hard times the last five years. Dad lost his good-paying job right about the same time Mom developed health problems that cost a great deal of money. That would be enough to send a lot of couples to divorce court, but not my parents. They're committed, and they love each other. They've been through hard times before, and they're in it for the long haul.

So I continued the last few lines of the song onto the other side of the card and finished with the traditional "Happy Anniversary" sentiment:

Oh, when you need a friend

I'm sailing right behind.

Like a bridge over troubled water

I will ease your mind.

I really like how it turned out, and I think they will, too. I like making cards that are meaningful on many levels, and this is probably the most "meaningful" one I've created to date.

(Mostly) monthly grocery shopping again

Lately, I've been overwhelmed by the number of things I need to do on my "day off" from homeschooling. So I decided to revisit the idea of shopping for the bulk of my groceries once a month.

I already had a monthly menu made out, so I just pulled out the shopping list, checked off the items I already had (i.e. ALL the meat and vegetables!) and went shopping for the rest. I was pretty happy with how I did, but first let me show you my drug store deals for the week:



Rite Aid

• Kotex pads - FREE after SCR and coupon
• 2 GE light bulbs (2-packs) - FREE after SCR
• Vaseline Intensive Rescue (or something like that) lotion - $0.50 profit after SCR and coupon
• 4 Reese's Peanut Butter cups (8-packs) - $0.33 each after sale and coupon [These are my husband's favorite, and it was a "can't-miss" price!]

TOTAL: $1.44, including tax

Walgreens
2 Dickinson's witch hazel toner - $0.49 each after sale and coupon
Dentek flossers - should have been* FREE after coupon and Register Reward
Trident gum - $0.54 after coupon

TOTAL: $0.26 since I used up the last of my Register Rewards

*Once again, the Register Reward didn't print, and I have no idea why. I'm more than a little tired of this happening, and I'm not the type of person that enjoys pointing out these kinds of things (which seem to happen on every shopping trip). So I have decided to quit actively pursuing Register Reward deals at Walgreens. If they ever decide to go to the "club card" like CVS - which they supposedly were going to come out with around August - I might get back on the bandwagon. Until then, I'm not "biting" on Register Reward deals unless it's a must-have at our house. It's not worth my time and effort anymore.

On a brighter note, here are the monthly groceries I got for $57.24:



Now before you have a heart attack that there is almost no meat here, let me assure you that my freezer is almost overflowing with chicken breast, ground turkey and beef, pork chops, ham and roasts that I'll be using in conjunction with these groceries this month. We eat very well around here. :)

That's also the beauty of once-a-month shopping. I can use my stockpiled meat that I got at rock-bottom prices, and then use the rest of my monthly grocery budget to restock as the good sales pop up again. And, to reduce the time in the stores, I'm hoping to be able to limit myself to one grocery store a week. If I get desperate, I just might do price-matching at Wal-Mart, but that's last-ditch desperation here since I like to give my business to others when possible.

So let me just highlight some of the best deals of the day ...

Food Lion
1 dozen eggs - $0.23 after store coupon
nacho tortilla chips (11.5 ozs) - $1.00 after store coupon
2 packs hamburger rolls - $0.27 each after store coupon
Tyson chicken nuggets (2.5 lbs?) - $2.49 after sale and coupon
Jose Ole Taquitos (15/pack) - $1.59 after sale and coupon
Jamestown (?) bulk sausage - $1.00 each on sale

Wal-Mart
Friskies cat treats (for a friend's cats) - FREE after coupon
Huggies flushable wipes - $0.64 each after coupon

Oh, and before I forget ... Did I ever mention buying bubblegum-flavored flouride rinse for my kids at Dollar Tree? Well, there's a good reason you see another brand of flouride rinse in this picture (Hector Inspector - $1.99 after my coupon).

You see, I don't think I have ever been disappointed in anything I bought at Dollar Tree until I bought the flouride rinse. Please don't ever subject your kids to that stuff! "Toxic waste" doesn't even come close to describing the taste. It's so bad it would have probably been better if they hadn't tried to make it taste like bubblegum. I tried it myself, so I know what I'm talking about.

If you know me, you know that I try not to waste anything ... but that flouride rinse was promptly thrown in the trash! When my son woke up the next morning, the first thing he asked me was, "Are you going to make us use that mouthwash again, Mommy?" I'm not joking!! Of course I told him that would be bordering on child abuse and that brand would never come into our house again.

But you can understand that my kids were a little nervous about trying Hector Inspector bubblegum-flavored flouride rinse from Wal-Mart. :) However, it passed their taste test, and I tried it, too. This flouride rinse actually does taste like bubblegum, except that you get most of the "taste" after you're done.

... Just a little "word to the wise"! ;)