Cork Snowmen

Aren't these the cutest little cork snowman ornaments ready for winter, dressed in blue scarves and red ear muffs?  

On Saturday, I made a thirteen of these...some for the grandchildren and some for a charity fund raiser.  

Supplies Needed:

• Corks
• Colored Toothpicks
• Wire
• Pliers
• Glue
• Black Marker
• White Paint

Snowman Marking Directions:

1. Slice one cork into three pieces (These pieces will become their heads.)
2. Sand the cut cork edges.
3. Cut a rounded toothpick into 3/4" length (about 1/2 a toothpick).
4. Dip both ends of the toothpick in glue.
5. Poke the toothpick into the center of the head piece and the other end into a whole cork. Leave about 1/8" space between the head and the body (you'll tie the scarf on between that space).
6. Paint the snowmen/cork white. (I used leftover white wall paint - most people have leftover paint, so why buy anything else when this will work.)
7. Let the paint dry.
8. With a permanent marker, draw onto the painted snowman, eyes, a dotted smile and buttons.
   
9. Cut yarn or a pipe cleaner into 1" pieces (this will be used for the earmuffs).
10. Glue the yarn or pipe cleaner onto the head.
11. Glue on 1/2" pom poms on top of the ends of the yarn or pipe cleaners. Your earmuffs are now done!
12. With a nail or tack, poke a hole where you want the nose to go.
13. Cut an orange toothpick to about 1/3".
14. Dip the cut end in a bit of glue and with needle nose pliers,  push the toothpick into the hole you poked in the cork.
    
15. Tie onto your snowmen bits of leftover ribbon or pieces of fabric cut to about 1" x 4".
    
16. With about 1 1/4" of wire, using needle nose pliers, twist the ends, leaving a loop in the middle.
17. Dip the twisted end into glue and poke the wire into the top of the head.

Once the glue is dry, hang these on a Christmas tree.

Have fun making your own snowmen ornaments! xoxo Grandma

This project was featured on The Dedicated House.

Christmas Neighbor Gift Ideas, Part 2

I hope yesterday's neighbor/ co-worker Christmas gift ideas helped make you feel less stressed about the upcoming holidays.  But just in case you're still looking for super easy - under $4.00 gift ideas, here's a few more ideas with free printable tags too.

1.  "Wishing you joy beyond measure!"  Purchase plastic measuring cups from your local       dollar store. Add almost a full bag of Almond Joy mini candy bars in each cup. Cut and copy these adorable tags and print them on an 8 1/2" x 11" piece of cardstock:  

Cut the tags apart, punch a hole in the center of the tag and tie a tag onto each cello wrapped gift.

2.  "Just popping by with a holiday hi!" This idea is always a hit. Try adding caramel corn or flavored popcorn into a cello bag. These free gift tags are sure to steal the show:

Cut and copy the above adorable tags and print them on an 8 1/2" x 11" piece of cardstock. Cut them apart, tie them to the bag of popcorn and your gift if ready. Super simple, don't you think?

Happy holiday preparation!

xoxo Grandma 

Come see the linky parties here, here, here

Five Christmas Neighbor Gift Ideas

Already stressing over what to give your co-workers or neighbors for Christmas? Well, stress no more. Right now is the perfect time to get those gifts put together.  And if you're looking for some creative gifts, I thought I'd offer a few ideas I've used in years past to help you get going. So, let's get started:

1.  Winter Survival Kits.  

Fill the containers with:  

• Chicken noodle soup
• Facial tissue
• Hot cocoa mix
• Hand sanitizer
• A can of 7-up or ginger ale.  

Decorate your containers with: blue, white or purple cardstock, snowmen shapes, snowflake glitter or stickers and simple pine tree shapes.

Add the following verse written by Kay Winters:

It's just not funny

When your nose is runny;

You feel all soggy

Hoarse and froggy.

Your throat is scratching; 

The germs are hatching.

You know it catching -

KERCHOO!   

2.  A  Johnson and Johnson travel first aid kit.  I added a note that says, "When you need aid, we'll be there."  A budget friendly gift for around $2.00!

3.  24-carrot Co-worker Snack Pack: fill a clear cello bag with mini carrots, light ranch veggie-dip (I found the dip at Target), and a small bag of "gold" chocolate coins.  Perfect if you have co-workers or neighbors that are on a diet.  The tag reads, "So grateful to have you as a 24-carrot co-worker!"  For a neighbor, change the tag to read, "So grateful to have you as a 24-carrot neighbor!"  Here's a link to the download the tag HERE.

 4. A Tropical Holiday Breakfast:  a small box of pancake mix, a fresh pineapple, and a small pint of coconut syrup.  Here's the recipe for the syrup - it's so yummy!

Verse for the tag:                           
Oh, the weather outside is frightful,

And the snow isn't delightful

And since you've no place to go

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

It doesn't show signs of stopping,

So we're giving you breakfast which requires no shopping.

The pancakes, coconut syrup and pineapple are yummy,

So enjoy a tropical treat that's filling to the tummy!

Merry Christmas!

5.  Happy New Year Party Supplies:   Poppers, party snaps, and party blowers all in a cello bag tied with red ribbon add a little crinkle paper to the bottom of the bag.  The best part about this gift idea is, it can be made ahead of time and won't spoil.

For more gift ideas with free downloadable tags go HERE and HERE:   xoxo Grandma

  

Turkey Name Card Holders - Recycle Cork Project

I am so excited to celebrate Thanksgiving this year, because my husband and I get to spend it with two of our daughters, two son-in-laws, and three of our grandchildren, which is huge (since I've mentioned numerous times how far away everyone lives)!  

I decided to spice up our table settings a bit, so this is what I'm bringing for our celebration: turkey name card holders. I know, they don't sound yummy, but aren't they adorable? They're a fun simple craft to make. Allow about 15 minutes of your precious time to make each little turkey. If you can glue and poke things with a pin, you can do this project. Ready to get started? Here's what you'll need to make your own little turkey card holders:

1.  Cut one triangle out of orange felt and one teardrop shape from red felt for each name card holder.
2. Cut one piece of gold wire 4 1/2" long per name care holder.
3. With the jewelry pliers, snip the end of the straight pins to 1/4".
4. Dip the pin into the glue and push into the cork.  The eyes should be about 1/4-3/8" apart.
5. Below the eyes, glue the beak in place.
6. At an angle, glue the red teardrop shape about 1/8" below the beak. (See the photo above as a guide.)
   
7. Wrap the wire around a marker then coil the end of the wire around a medium sized pen tip. (See the photo below).

8.  With a tack, pock a hole in the top of your cork, right about in the center.  Add a little glue to the bottom of the wire and put the wire into the hole you've just made.

9.  Add feathers to the back of the cord, gluing them in a fan shape.  I used 5 feathers each for my turkeys.  It's okay to cut the feather to the length needed.  

10.  After you've printed your name cards, ink around the edges.  I mounted my name cards onto decorative, vintage looking cardstock.

And there you have it! Wasn't that simple? Your Thanksgiving party will love them!

Happy crafting!  xoxo Grandma

Pop Into Phonics Books

Remember this post about reading captivating books to your little ones? Well, I've got a few more books to add to your list. They are "There's a Dragon in my Wagon!" and "A Bear Ate my Pear!"  Both books are by Kent Salisbury. Neither seem to be available "new" unless you want to pay a fortune, but I've had really good luck purchasing these books "used."  

I discovered these gems last year from my sister-in-law, Marsha. I bought a couple of them and they really are fun. These books have bright, colorful illustrations and clever words that rhyme. The dialog is quick to memorize, which makes the books easy to show as you're virtually reading or snuggling with your little ones.

Happy reading, 
xoxo Grandma

For linky parties go to this blog, or here.

Magnetic Owl Pincushion

My old current pin cushion was 32 years old.  It died and was thrown away because it would not hold my pins & needles in it. My husband has vowed he will cut off my sewing if he finds one more stray pin or needle on the floor. What's a girl to do?

My solution: sew a new pin cushion of course! Last weekend I purchased some heavy duty magnets. After searching on the internet, I found a darling pin cushion called "Pinfeathers" designed by Jennifer Wamback. The best part is the pattern was free from Riley Blake Designs.  How fun, right? Here's what I created out of a bunch of fabric scraps that coordinate with my sewing room. 

Besides your fabric, here's what you'll need to make one of these pincushions: 

I added two packages of heavy duty magnets also one of these thin magnets into the front pocket (you know, the kind of magnet that comes as advertisements on your phone books). I made one alteration and omitted the felt feet.  Once the owl was sewn, I added some batting, then the magnets, a little more batting and then in the lower portion a lot of plastic pellets.  Be careful while sewing the bottom of the owl closed because plastic pellets like to slip out. The pellets add stability to the owls base and boy do those needles and pins gravitate to the magnets! YEA - I may get to keep sewing after all!

Happy sewing!  For more ideas visit Nifty Thrifty, The Dedicated House, Welcome to the Mouse House, 2 Crochet Hooks
xoxo Grandma

$1.00 Knit Hat

This quick knit hat refashion only cost $1.00 and it was really fun to create!  The knit hat was purchased at my local dollar store, and after seeing it, I knew exactly what I was going to do to it.

Last year, I pinned this idea from The Life of a Cheap Chickadee.  She made this hat refashion look so easy. I changed it up a little though, and didn't cut off the edge of the hat thus requiring it's edge to be sewn. Now, my version is even easier! I already had the lace flower made and used a left over piece of black seam binding for one of the flowers, I cut it into shape and burned the edges to keep it from raveling.  The other flower was made out of a  piece of striped ribbon, I simply gathered the edges and surged the seams together. 

Plan about 1 hour for this $1.00 project.  This would make a great gift for a friend or granddaughter.

Here's my tutorial:

The hardest part of this project was taking a photo of myself in my refashioned hat!

Let me know if you try this technique. For more fun project ideas go to this site, or here.

Happy hat decorating!  xoxo Grandma

Shared:  Sustaining the Powers