Party!!!!

I just had the most fantastic time with a bunch of my friends. I have to tell you they are some of the greatest women I know. We were missing a few from this group due to work and other engagements, but those that were here had fun.

What was the occassion you ask? Friendship, food, and ornaments! You know me, I love ornaments. So, I arranged an ornament exchange and luncheon with some of my gal pals. The great thing, they all have kids too, so the kids were engaged with each other while we were exchanging ornaments.

The kids got in on the fun by decorating their own wood ornaments with markers, crayons, and for my son, ink pens.



Coloring

More coloring. Aren't they cute???

Everything was very simple. Our food for this chilly damp day was potato and ham soup with salad. Desserts included red velvet cupcakes (YUM! Not to mention they were FANTASTIC!) and Godiva brownies (YUM!).

While I finished up the soup (I was running behind due to my pre-surgery testing), the kids played and gals all talked amongst each other. Some helped me in the kitchen. Then it was lunch time and everyone ate. Then the anticipation came of what kind of ornaments are in those bags??

One wasn't wrapped, so I simply put it in a small bag and since my tissue paper was put away, I did a classy job by stuffing a paper towel in the bag to act as tissue paper. Tacky, I know, but in an pinch, it's what I do.


super fast wrapping job... nice paper towel in place of tissue paper... Desperate times call for desperate measures

When doing the exchange, we drew numbers from a cup and that was the order for picking.

The kids were all getting tired and it was getting later in the afternoon, so it was time to go. As each kid was getting ready to leave, they were given a "gift" (a coloring book, a couple crayons, bubbles and fruit snacks- all from my stockpile). They were so excited as they opened their bags. It was great watching them all. :) What fun we'll have in a couple days watching our kids open their gifts on Christmas. What joy that brings! :) The delight and awe dancing in their eyes as they await the surprise. I love it!

Good times for all. Definitely doing this next year, but I think I'll invite more people and maybe do a mom's night out then a family day for the kids. My house isn't huge, but we'll make do.  I loved it and can't wait until next year.

All of us around the table! Glad hubby stopped home on lunch break to snap this!

Anna on baby duty... by choice, of course!

Someone just wasn't a happy camper today.



Finally! Adults getting to enjoy a warm lunch and chit chat.



Ornaments packaged and ready to be opened.... along with the kids lunches that needed cleaned up.




Katie got a jingle bell snowman



Carole and the glittery pinecone

Lauren and the super funkalicious ornament



Anna and Santa... She had that baby asleep in no time!



Melissa and the jingle bell wreath



Coloring and doodling- not to mention the play food that was all over the table too. At least they know to eat at the table!



Getting more markers/crayons for the wood ornament.

Hanging out in the kitchen (don't mind the mess)

Kids opening their gifts. :)

I highly recommend setting something like this up. Simple, easy, inexpensive, and all out fun!

De-Coupon-Age ornament how to

First, I want to say I apologize that I didn't take pictures during the process. I would normally, but I was covered in Modge Podge, glitter glue, and varnish while the lil guy was escaping with coupons and coloring the new wood table with glitter glue. We have a nice sparkly table in some spots now. Good thing it comes off fairly easily with HOT water and soap. (Can you tell we've done this before? Remember this?)

Here's the low-down.

Supplies:
Bulb ornament (I bought a large clear plastic one from Michael's) Size depends on you
Small bottle of Modge Podge (you don't need a ton)
1 tube glitter glue
1 can of spray finish (shellac, varnish, clear glossy spray paint)
Ribbon
Coupons or whatever you are going to use to cover the ornament.
Sponge brush or paint brush (I liked the small sponge brush best)

Step 1: Cut the items to the size you want. I did circles, rectangles and squares.

Step 2: Use the sponge brush to apply Modge Podge to the back of the paper.  Note, you will get it on you and therefore be sticky, so watch what you touch while doing this. Hence the reason for no pics!

Step 3: Once the paper is covered on one side in Modge Podge place it on the bulb ornament. Be sure to smooth it and remove creases. Again, this is a sticky job, but tons of fun! Continue until bulb is covered in your medium.

Step 4:  Allow it to dry and cover the entire thing with a small amount of Modge Podge to ensure no pieces lift or come off. It doesn't take much. Be sure to spread it around well.

Step 5: Spray with 1 coat of varnish. How you do this is up to you. I hung it up in my unfinished basement and sprayed away. You could also put down paper and spray one side then the other (after the first side dries, of course).

Step 6: After varnish is dry, apply glitter glue and spread to thin it out (this will make it dry faster).

Step 7: Re-spray with varnish. If doing more than 1 coat, allow 15-20 min. between coats to dry. Let dry 24 hours.

Step 8: Apply ribbon and you're done!!!!!

So you can't see the glitter as well as I hoped, but it is there! See the spec on the "S" in Save???

I love this project because you can do this with anything! They also have cute little boxes at the craft stores you could use decoupage for so if an ornament isn't your thing, see what else they have.

De-coupon-age ornament

As I've stated many times, one of my favorite gifts to give people are ornaments. Not only do I like to give these, they're one of my favorite gifts to receive as well. It's always great the next year to get out the ornaments and remember who gave them to you and the memories they evoke.

I have a very dear friend who is a fellow couponer. She and I have co-taught a coupon class at our workplace. We share deals and are known in the building as the couponers. So fun.

Needless to say, I really wanted a great ornament for her with coupons or money saving on it. I couldn't find anything I liked so I decided to make one. I wasn't sure how so I decided on decoupage.

During the process, I had to consult another newer friend who is an art teacher at our school. She was a great help and big encouragement. I had never decoupaged before and wasn't sure what I was doing.

When I finished the product, I was so pleased. As I was making it, I was a little concerned that my piece was not going to work out or would not be appreciated. However, upon completion, I couldn't wait any longer to give it to her. I had to give it to her the next day at school. I was so excited about it, I sent her a few texts about how great it was- in my opinion.

The next day, I ran over to her room to gift her. I was beside myself with excitement and anticipation of her reaction. Needless to say, it was priceless! She didn't even notice the other small gift that was in the bag because she just wanted to look at the ornament! (SUCCESS!!!!) It made it's way around the building to be shown and was appreciated by all.

Before a coat of glitter glue, but after the first coat of varnish.

Purple is her favorite color, so I simply added a purple ribbon. The glitter isn't seen well here. :(

If you have a couponing family member or friend, these are easy to make and supplies are not terribly expensive. Stay tuned for a how-to post coming up soon.

If you don't like coupons, use pictures, themed scrapbook papers, scraps of maps, stamps, book covers, etc. The options are endless.

Traditions 2

Remember this post about traditions? I'm back with another we do in our family.

During the week of Thanksgiving, usually the day before or Black Friday evening, we had to the John S. Knight Center for a Festival of Lights. I posted pics from this year here.

Here are some from 2010. Hope you enjoy!

Gifts for $5 or less - men's version.

Remember this post? I felt kind of bad that I didn't include anything for guys. So, here it is.... :) For the men in your life that are hard to buy for when you have a limited budget. All gifts are around $5, in keeping with the original post for women. This is what I would have suggested if hubby drew another guy's name in the Secret Santa drawing.

1. Cool keychain: maybe with initial or, even better, a laser pointer.

2. Favorite sports team ornament. (I think everyone should get an ornament each year!)

3. Cool new screwdriver or other tool that isn't too expensive.

4. Sharpie pens (if you haven't tried them, they're among the best! LOVE mine)

5. masculine frame (pictures of pooch, pals, loves, etc.)

6. Nivea men lip care (hubby liked his)

7. Deck of cards (for playing poker or other games with the buds)

8. Monopoly Deal (a little more than $5, but it's among our favorite games!)

9. Lottery tickets...

Let's face it, men are harder to buy for, especially under $5!  Got any ideas? Feel free to share by leaving a comment below!

Gift ideas for less than $5!

It was so funny to hear who my husband drew for his Secret Santa at his new job- the CEO's wife. NICE!! Way to pick 'em honey. There are guidelines: 3 gifts over 3 days, give a clue without giving yourself away, and the grand total spent should be no more than $15. It led me to start thinking about what you can do with $5.

Now, the CEO's wife is middle-aged and obviously female. So, how hard could it be? I mean the whole package can't be over $15....

Here are my ideas:
1. Go to Michael's. They have a great $1 section with all kinds of goods (stationary- monogrammed or seasonal, pens, recipe cards etc.). Pick out some stationary - maybe a notepad, monogrammed cards, and a journal. Use the 20% off total purchase. Grand total is $2.40.

2. A cute scarf from 5 below... they're just $5.

Image from five below

3. A personalized ornament found at department stores for usually $3 or less.

4. Target has cute seasonal tip towels 2 for $1 in the dollar section. Get one of those, wrap up some measuring spoons from the dollar store and include a favorite recipe on a pretty recipe card with neat handwriting. Be sure to tie with a pretty ribbon!

5. Always, Hershey's Pot of Gold chocolates- a weakness for me.

6. Bath and Body Works has great hand sanitizers for CHEAP! Travel size goods from there work too, but you never know if someone is allergic to fragrance, so watch! Don't forget the hand soap. It's fantastic!

Image from Bath and Body works

7. A beautiful candle that smells good. Usually found pretty cheap (Michael's had some for $5.99 then the 40% off would make it $3.60.

8. A mug (maybe use craft paint on it to design something pretty) filled with hot chocolate goodies.

Image credit

9. Michael's also had soup mugs for $1. Imagine that filled with some treats and a recipe for a favorite soup. Again, tie with a pretty ribbon!

10. Kohl's had a great broach for $8. I have a coupon for 20% off. Grand total: $6. 40 A little over, but since we saved every where else, it's okay to go over by $1.40.

11. Charlotte Russe has some adorable pins that would easily spruce up a jacket, sweater, whatever. Check out this one at $5.

Image from Charlotte Russe

12: You could wrap up some Nivea Lip Care, trial size lotions and a pair of cheap gloves (the stretchy ones for a dollar). This would be a good hydrating kit for winter!

I'm sure there are more. What can you think of? Leave a comment!

Beaded ornament

Remember the craft party I posted about? Tons of fun and laughter. Well, I promised the instructions to make your own simple beaded ornament. I'm a day late, but here they are! Super simple and basic. I don't even remember where I got them (some magazine) as it was many moons ago that I started to make these.

Supplies:
Plastic beads in any color(s) you wish
Plastic spacers
Cork
Corsage pins or floral pins
Pieces of cork
Glitter glue in your choice of color
If you wish, extra glitter
Fishing line, ribbon, or string

Once you have the supplies gathered, it's easy to complete the task.

Step 1: String the beads onto the floral pin/corsage pin. Do this for at least 6-8 pins to fill out the snowflake. No need for them to be identical! Be sure to leave room at the bottom to insert into the cork- probably 1/4".

Step 2: Once you have the pin complete, push it through the cork. Just don't push it all the way through!

Not all the way through like this! YIKES!

Step 3: Paint with glitter glue and if you would like, add more beads or sprinkle additional glitter into the center. I went simple.

Step 4: Let dry.

Step 5: Tie string around the end of a leg and hang!   These would be cute adorning gifts too!

Some other things about these:
- If you don't like how big the cork is, cut it in half or down a little.
- Instead of using cork, you could try clay or just putting it on wire.
- put some glue around where each leg is placed to ensure it sticks. They will fall apart if not enough room was left to push the pin through the cork to secure it.


When I first saw these in the magazine, I knew I wanted to make a bunch and hang them from the ceiling. How cool would that be?? I made a ton of them, but not enough. Since I was in school part-time and working full-time, I never got a chance to hang them. A lot of them have since been given away or broken. I still think I'll do this... maybe next year.... This year I'm struggling to get out all the decorations! I'm just doing the tree and outside I think....