The WINNER is.....

Thank you to random.org for making this selection unbiased and therefore me 'unblamable' for choosing the winner of the Christmas Countdown Calendar giveaway!

The winner is...

 Number 9 on the list is:

 

Tasha said...

I follow too :) I thought I already was, but apparently that was a figment of my imagination, lol. This is totally cute!

November 28, 2010 6:08 PM

Natasha you are now the proud owner of this cute little kit.  

I'll be sending it in the mail to you and posting a 'how to' tutorial on this blog so you know how to put it together when you get it.  All you need is modge podge, a sponge paint brush (little one) and some sand paper!

Congrats I hope you and the girls have fun with it!!!!

Give away!

Leave your comments here and become a follower to win this Christmas Countdown Kit!

(just one)

(final product)

Draw date is next Monday November 29th.

DON'T FORGET TO BECOME A FOLLOWER TO ENTER!
(the button in the left bar that says 'follow')

In the works...

Mostly done these projects... I had a productive week, and then a not so productive week.  

My fall blocks just need the beadwork done!

My Christmas Countdown Kits are finished!

My cookie sheet advent calendar just needs some number pieces to go on it!

Having fun making things again though :)

Plans...

I am determined to make each of these before Christmas.... here is to hoping that the 'morning' sickness wears off quickly so I can get at it.

The fall crafts that got pushed aside:

A similar wreath

FALL blocks that will be like this... but not like this (you will see)

For Christmas:

 Cookie sheet advent along with at least 2 more advent calendars (something from my childhood).  I am pretty much obsessed with counting down to things... really everything, but Christmas is my favourite.

 Treat jars for friends that will include the glass etching hopefully!

hmmm... what else.  I am making my family an FHE board for Christmas.  I have name blocks to do for a few friends babies and hopefully some awesome baking. I'm pretty stoked about it all... and I think up endless ideas as I lay 'couch bound' for an indefinite amount of time!

Oh please, please let me feel good enough to craft :)

Van Gogh!

Amazing I know!  I actually didn't make this.... Hailey and her day home friend E did.  They are pretty talented ;)

This was our first experience with finger painting.  It was VERY controlled as I didn't want to clean up an insane mess.  It went fairly well but I think I won't do it till next summer... on a hot day where I can stick them in the swimming pool to clean off!

Jars complete

Here are the finished jars!

Finally put it up

I made this a whole year ago.... and finally put it up on our house.  How many times do people come ring your doorbell after 7pm?

When you have a sleeping baby it does not make a good start for a salesperson.  If anyone rings the bell now they will loose their hand ;)

Shortly to follow will be a NO SOLICITING sign... though I guess the door to door season is done :)

Re-purpose

Do you use store-bought baby food for your child?  I do!  I tried to go au naturel and make my own stuff at home... but guess what little stinker REFUSED to eat the stuff I made?  Yes, it was Hailey.  So it was back to the store-bought for us.  Since we started giving her the stuff at 5 months I have been collecting baby food jars.  I have not kept all of them (gosh that would be ridiculous) but I do have about 50! (okay that is ridiculous too).  I had a plan to do 'something' cute and crafty with them. and I have been using a few of them to store colour-coordinated buttons and ribbons.  I just haven't finished making them pretty to show you.  (not yet at least)

I have, however, almost completed another use for them.  Ever heard of "Till Debt do us Part"?  I think Gail is brilliant working with these crazy overspending families to get their debt down and save some money.  Check out her personal website here!  It has all the instructions and budgeting forms you will need.

Now we aren't one of those crazy over-spenders but we also haven't made much effort to save some money.  So Ian and I decided to try out her cash budget plan. We have been going for almost a month now on cash only.  I am surprised that it isn't as inconvenient as I thought it would be.  We started with a smaller budget than we had normally been spending so we were saving money from the start and we still had leftover cash at the end of each week.  It is surprising how easy it was to spend 250$ at the grocery store each week.... now we have only a 150$ grocery budget to get what we need... The whole experiment has been very exciting for me as I was never a good 'saver'.

Well this post is supposed to be about something I made... and I am finally getting to it.

For the budget plan you need jars to put your cash in.  Here comes the baby food jars.  Now these ones are a bit small for it but bills fit just barely into a Gerber jar.  You need 6 for the categories: Food, Clothing/Gifts, Transportation, Entertainment, Other and Savings.

 I painted the lids black.... still waiting for them to dry to get you the final pic!

Used my vinyl cutter to make the words on the jars...

And will be putting these pictures on the tops of the lids so they are quick to identify.

All in all a quick easy project that is proving very useful for our weekly budgeting.  I wonder how much we will save if we do this for a whole year?


So if you have a stash of jars, and want to save some money too try the cash budget plan.  Also there are so many other things you can do with baby food jars.

This is what my button jars will become when they are done.  With different colours though...

And these magnetic spice jars are pretty cute too

See what you can re-purpose in your house!

Here it is!!!!

I didn't check the tan vinyl colour before I cut it out though and it is far too close to my wall colour.  I think I will change the trees to white if someone is interested in this one let me know.  I'll check my costs and let you know what I am charging.

A Preview

I finished my family tree project tonight (well part of the larger picture) but it is too dark to get a good shot.

To give you an idea I took a couple of these

added some of this

cut this in half and put half on each...

I know you can see it right now!  no?  okay then check back tomorrow for a picture!

A hit!

The potato salad was AWESOME!  Pretty much the best I've ever had.  So here is the recipe for those who are interested.

Creamy Potato Salad

oh and Miracle Whip is a must (rather than mayo)!

Monogram shirt

This is something I might try.... obviously with an "H" though.

I didn't buy it

My very first potato salad!!!!!

Made specially for today's Canada Day BBQ with the Hardy's

I know.... not a big deal! It is a potato salad, right! Well it is a milestone. I always found it easier to buy one pre-made (and it really is easier) than to make it myself. Of course I needed to bring something this afternoon and Ian is at work with the car (not to mention the potatoes that needed to be used up).... so I did it. Yay for me. I haven't tasted it yet (Betty Crocker don't let me down) but I am sure it is just fine.

Happy Canada Day!

Yes I Did!

I have started another blog.... This one is all about the crafty things I create!

Upcoming projects:

Monogram shirt/onesie for Hailey
Split canvas vinyl art for my kitchen
Personalized plaque for Hailey
Growth chart on board....

Don't expect too much at once ;) It may be a slow process but I need goals to work toward. I am getting a bit bored being at home. I plan to get projects done this summer before I open my Day Home in September. I figure I spend TOO much time checking out what other people are doing in their lives. Time to make a life for myself!