10 Things Tuesday: Egg Cartons!

No matter what kinds of egg cartons you have, these are almost an inevitability these days.  What can you do with these?  Well, there are at least 10 ideas here to get you started!

10. ART!  If you are an artsy craftsy person, or even if you're not, you can make some pretty cool art with these cartons...and they can be as simple or complicated as you'd like.

9. Fancy lamps!  I totally love the unique, flowery look of these weird egg carton lamps, made with the cartons, scissors, paints, and a string of lights.

8. TOYS!  Of course, your tiny kiddos would love any free toy given "just because," and I think they love them even more when they help make them!  Check out this transport, or camera (made from a carton and gatorade bottle), or homemade mancala game!

7. Seed starters/grassy caterpillars!  :)  Pretty self-explanatory.

6. Easy sorters!  You can sort just about anything small, from change to nuts and bolts to crayons just waiting to be repurposed, in an egg carton...over and over and over again!

5. Fire starters!  With some dyer lint and melted wax (use your old scentsy wax or old candles), you can make some easy fire starters for when you go camping.  Awesome!  But only use cardboard cartons for this...you don't want to burn the plastic or foam kinds!

4. A nature sort!  I did this with my niece, and it was fun...you just bring some cartons with you on a nature walk, and keep pretty leaves, flowers, or grasses you may find in the different compartments...then, go home and make some beautiful window art by laminating it all (or use contact paper) and cutting it out!

3. Soundproofing!  Experts say this isn't totally effective, but that doesn't stop some places from using it still!

2. A bulletin board!  This would be great in a room with the bottlecap lampshade from last week.  :)

1. Color sorting game!  I love the different variations of this...one lady just painted circles to match the color inside each section, while another took her kids on a nature walk and they found things that matched each color.  What a fun preschool activity!

BONUS IDEAS:

* Egg Carton Butterflies!  These are really pretty all together, and I'm sure you could paint both sides of any egg cartons that aren't clear if you wanted to.  How fun!

* Frog Eye Mask!  These look so silly, but so cute!

*Countdown!  Especially great for the 12 Days of Christmas!  ;)  You just put a small trinket or candy inside each one, and cover them with colored paper so they don't peek!  Then break one open each day!

Well, that's all for today!  Hope you've been as inspired by these eco-friendly ideas as I have!

Cupcake Craft FAIL...#2!

Remember this awful scarf?

Hahaha, I'm really embarrassed to put this up, but just so you see that I really DO struggle with the craft stuff just as much as anyone else who tries...here's what my potpourri-filled crocheted cupcake was {supposed} to look like (the big one on the left):

And here's how it actually turned out:

Even if I {squish} it, it's just not working!!!

Maybe it's because I was using leftover scarf yarn instead of crafty yarn (making it too soft to hold its shape well), or maybe it's the potpourri instead of the fiberfill, or maybe it's because I had to learn THREE new stitches for this particular cupcake...but whatever the reason, it's a craft FAIL that I'm still going to send just because it still smells really good and will make Kerstin laugh and think of me, hard at work in Indiana, trying so hard this weekend to come up with SOMETHING usable... *Sigh*  Back to the drawing board!  I may have to express mail this package.  :)

Show Off Saturday

On top of homeschooling Caida this week, not to mention keeping it together while I'm in a lot of pain and on the verge of an emotional breakdown :), I'm feeling particularly proud of my progress on the cupcake craft front.  I'm about a day behind where I wanted to be, but...I'm getting there.  And I have to send everything out by Monday or Tuesday at the LATEST to make sure it gets there on time, so...yeah.  But here's what I have so far:

My first attempt at a scarf...turned out a little too little kiddish and also reminded me of clowns, which just ended up being more creepy than cute...so I haven't finished it yet.  Cerene wants me to finish the other half for Caida, so...maybe next week.  :)

So I scrapped that and started a new, more "grown-up" scarf...and I love it.  I kinda wish I didn't have to give it away!  It's for charity, it's for charity, it's for charity...

I love the colors, which look so much better in person...as well as the cute applique!

Excuse the oversized model. :)  Just wanted to show you what it looks like ON a person.

Next up: Try (and I do mean *try*) to make something like this...

...out of this:

And I'll probably crochet a cupcake or two for good measure.  :)

What have YOU been up to this week?

Caida meets Bear...and other Caida goodness

Today I introduced Caida to Happy Birthday, Moon! and our tradition that goes with it.  Her birthday isn't for a few months yet, but she found the hat and it just sort of all happened.  She's a cutie when she's reading, making up the stories as she goes along.  :)

I also took her out to McDonald's for lunch (gotta enjoy the last of summer break while we can, right? :) and she gave herself a nice ice cream mustache.

Also, I caught her practicing the song we learned at FHE.  This is the best she's known just about any song, ever.  :)

Thankful Thursday (even though it's Friday)

1. I'm grateful for the crafty talents I have.  This weekend I get to have a day all to myself to craft--Cerene and Caida will be at Mom's, and Paul's going up to Chicago to visit his sister while she's still there.  And my awesome friend Kerstin gave me a crafting mission, which proceeds go to charity, so I'm gonna be hard at work on Saturday for the good of mankind, one stitch at a time.  :)

2. I'm so, so grateful that Caida is as well-behaved as she is.  After they left us the first time, we didn't really do homeschooling, but with school starting on TUESDAY I figured she could brush up on her basic skills (she had forgotten how to write basic numbers and letters, and how to read many of her sight words). I didn't want to make a big deal out of it like before, because these are the last days of her summer vacation and I want her to savor it, but we've been doing a bit out of her workbooks and some art for the last week.  She kept insisting we do more and more of her workbooks and other projects for almost three hours yesterday!  And then I taught her how to navigate a few fun websites on the computer, and she was good for another two hours.  All things considered, she's a pretty low-maintenance kid.  That makes not only watching her easier, but it means I can get other things done around the house if I need to.  Score!

3.  I'm grateful that my hip is starting to feel a little better.  It's been hurting SO badly all week, so any improvement in my mobility is a blessing!

I've had a pretty rough week...if *I* can think of three things to be grateful for today, then you certainly can, too!  So, what are you thankful for?

Why I Believe Wednesday: Women at the Well

At BYU, my friend Clair decided our mega-talented ward needed to put on a production of the LDS musical "Women at the Well."  I was her assistant director and a narrator, but OH! How I wish I could sing the beautiful music there!  If you're not familiar, it's basically a narration and musical walk-through of the women in the scriptures that had personal experiences with the Savior, both from the New Testament and the Book of Mormon, as well as a nice song for us women today at the end.  When I first listened to the CD, I kinda thought, "Huh, that's nice," but didn't really appreciate it much.  Then I saw it come together in person and each song took on a whole new meaning for me.  (Especially the ones that my roommates sang--each song still to this day reminds me of them.  :)  I realized just how loved and important women were to the Savior and how they were in on all the most sacred moments of His life, death, and resurrection--and how quickly they shared their testimonies with others.  And He was just as intimately involved in their lives, healing them physically and spiritually, acutely aware of each of their needs.

My favorite song of them all, though, is probably the song sung by "Mary and Martha" about Lazarus being raised from the dead--called "If Thou Had Been Here."  On Sunday, as I taught our primary kiddos this same story, I ended by simply saying the words from this song, and while the whole lesson was fun and spiritual, this really brought the Spirit into our class in a quiet, goosebump-causing, still kinda way.  I just knew that the words were true--that sometimes it feels as though Christ has forgotten about us, that even though He loves us He isn't aware of what we really want or need...but He's got a plan and everything happens for a reason.  Everything important, anyway.  And if it's important to you, it's important to Him.  I'm still working on believing that, but when I hear this song, I can remember it more easily, even if but for a moment.



And that is why I believe.

The rest of the songs are all amazing in their own way.  My other favorites are "Go in Peace," "Close Enough to Touch," and "He Came for Me."  Check it out, ESPECIALLY if you can see it in person.  You'll be happy that you did.  :)

10 Things Tuesday: Random Things!

In my searches for recycled (should be called REUSED) crafts, I've found a lot of fun things that don't quite fit into any particular category or that involve materials I probably wouldn't have a ton of, anyway...so I thought I'd periodically post a miscellaneous collection of eco-friendly crafts.  Here we go!

10. Bottlecap Lampshade--if you use water bottles a lot, save those caps and tape/sew them into a fancy-funky lampshade!  I think they hung them from a cardboard circle...but I suppose that's up to you and your creative self.

9. Capri Sun purses!  I've seen a smaller version of these at our local farmer's market, but I love that they are waterproof and easy to sew!

8.  Drink Coaster Albums/Decor: You know those small foamy coasters at some restaurants?  Save 'em!  There's this super-cute album from NotSoIdleHands, made with some glue/tape, scrapbook supplies, and photos...and a binder ring.  Also, my step-mom made some of these with letters on them that spelled out "FALL" on one side and "NOEL" on the other...she hung them with ribbon off a stick and they were really cute.  :)

7. A Cookie Sheet chore chart!  The magnetic cookie sheets are great for anything that needs to move around a lot, and I love that this chore chart uses picture-icons for young non-readers.  It's awesome!

6. Faux makeup!  I *LOVE* this idea and may just have to make some for my niece...this fake makeup is not messy like the "real" stuff, which makes it fun for the kids AND for the grown-ups who love them, too!  All you do is clean out your old makeup containers REALLY well, then add in some nail polish in different colors...let them dry for a few days in a well-ventillated area, and voila!  So fun!

5. Fancy fingerless glove/glass bottle jewelry holder.  This is very cute and great for a romantic or goth ambiance.  Fun, yes?  :)  You just put the fishnet glove around the bottle, stretching it high and tight, and then wrap some scrap fabric around it to secure it (you can add a little glue, too)...and then add your earrings!

4. Homemade lip gloss in a reused container!  NotSoIdleHands mixed koolaid with petroleum jelly to make a colored lip gloss, and she made necklace containers for it for her daughters with old gumball machine toy containers and ribbon/beads!

 

3. Pinecone evergreen trees.  I know Christmas is quite a ways away yet...but these are fun and CHEAP!  You just spraypaint pinecones green, and decorate them with paints, glitter, etc.  Fun, and easy!

2. A fun, easy ribbon dispenser can be made out of those plastic sundae cups!  Again from NotSoIdleHands (can you tell I LOVE that blog?), she just cleaned it out, punched a few holes in the top, and threaded her ribbon through...cute, right?  :)  And awesome when you have a million ribbon scraps lying around.

1.  Wooden peg/clothespin dolls!  I know this isn't anything new, but I sure do love them anyway...in fact, I probably have as big an obsession as one who has never made them can!  And how fun to handmake a few toys for your kids, even for your boys!  These Harry Potter and Star Wars themed dolls are beautifully simple!

Happy crafting!  :)

Quick Tip: From Bracelets/Rings to Necklaces

Do you have old bracelets (with clasps) or rings that you've outgrown?  Well, I've got some ideas coming up in a few weeks that give you crafty repurposing ideas for your old jewelry, but an easy way to reuse them is to make necklaces for your kids' dress-up chest.  I bought a bulk lot of small necklace chains on ebay for a few dollars, and by clasping the ends of it to your bracelet you can give it new life!

From this:

To this:

Caida's enjoying all my old jewelry I never, ever wear anymore.  I've done this with rings and bangles threaded through on a chain, too.  And now she's got some play jewelry that I'm not embarrassed to have her wear outside the house.  :)

FHE 8/8/11

Since Paul and Cerene are both working late these next few weeks for training and such, it's just me and Caida at home in the evenings.  So FHE is a little more laid back, but I think that's a good transition for both of us!  Caida's kinda new(ish) to the LDS ways of doing things, including FHE and Primary, and I'm working with her on learning the songs for Primary before the Primary Program in October!  That's a lot of work, but since she LOVES to sing, it's been fun.  Caida has the sweetest, LONGEST prayers ever.  She thanks Heavenly Father for just about everything that happened all day and everything that she's looking forward to tomorrow, and sometimes she throws things in like, "Thank you that Celeste is so beautiful."  What a self-esteem booster she is!  :)  (Sorry the pictures are rotating, Blogger's being dumb and I don't know how to make it NOT do that!)

Opening Song: Popcorn Popping (she still LOVES that one from when she was younger, and we even got to have Paul on speakerphone for that one!)
Opening Prayer: Caida
Family Business: Caida's school stuff (registration on Tuesday, school starting in a week, fears, etc.)
Lesson/Activity: Learning the words to "The Lord Gave Me a Temple"  We worked on it line-by-line and drew our own pictures to help us remember the big/important words.  By the end, she could sing it louder than me!

Mine

Hers

Closing Prayer: Also Caida (I don't want to squander her willingness to volunteer!)
Snack: Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies!  Each Sunday that Caida behaves in church (I talk to her teacher afterwards...she is new to the routines and procedures and being reverent and sharing and all that stuff), we make a batch of cookies together that serve as our FHE snack and desserts for the week. She LOVES making cookies with me, and is such a good helper, so how can I deny her that?  :)  Plus, it'll give me an excuse to try out a bunch of new cookie recipes in the coming months.

FHE is so much more fun when you're planning it for kids!  :)

ALSO, spending so much time with Caida, I have a million stories and things I don't want to forget to tell her someday...but I am bad about writing in a journal, by hand these days...so I started a blog where each post is a letter that maybe someday she'll be old enough to really appreciate.  If you've ever seen the Disney show Good Luck, Charlie, it's the same concept.  Anyway, I highly recommend it!  It's so nice to just plop a quick story down when I'm on the computer--things she's said or done that make me smile, little life lessons I'm learning, things I hope she will understand about her somewhat troubled life someday--and way less time-intensive, especially with digital pictures, than a journal.  I'm going to do one for all my own kids someday.  :)