Altered Candy Box Dots Gift

I am so excited for tomorrow night! I get to go to dinner with my long time friends who I don't get to see nearly enough! We are just going to Panera, but with my friends, it might as well be Disneyland. :) I love those ladies!!
Anyway, we get together to celebrate the birthdays that happen during each month and so, there are 4 friends we are celebrating tomorrow. I don't have a lot of money to spare right now (especially since we pay for our own dinner,) but I still like to do some kind of something crafty, just because I love to do those sorts of things. I will share with you what I came up with.
Super easy... I bought 4 boxes of candy from Dollar Tree. Then I sat down with my Silhouette machine and went to town. I printed an "L" and a greeting, which I cut into strips and dovetailed the ends to make them look oh-so-chic, and cut out white circles to act as a background for the "L"s


... and yeah... That's about it! I just used my tape runner to attach them to the boxes and that was it. Super easy and hopefully they will think I am super thoughtful too. They will, right?? They know I don't have a ton of money. Just keeping it real. ;-) Happy Birthday friends!! Love you!!

Spiced Spider Cider

I have not had a whole lot of free time lately- but for good reason! This time of year starts my busy crafting days and I love every minute of it! MOPS is in full swing and I have been planning and making gifts to bring them each meeting. A recent one came to me while I was at Winco doing my weekly shopping. I came across an excellent deal on Langer's apple cider. $1.78 for a gallon! I thought that was a good place to start.

Next, I had to decide on a cute way to present my great deal on cider. What better way than jarring it up and making a cute little tag?! So that is what I did. It reads, "Along came a spider and sat down be... Cider. Empty contents of spice pack into a saucepan (should have also said, "with the cider," )and simmer for 30 minutes or more. Remove cinnamon and oranges. Enjoy! And BEWARE!" (get it??)

I decided to fill quart jars with cider and water bath
canned them, (covered the jars in boiling water in a big pot and let them simmer for 15 minutes.) Then, I created and added a fabric topper and a tag with a little plastic spider glued to it. I decided on a clever little pun that added to the "cute factor." Hadn't seen it anywhere, so I think it might be my original idea. Don't sue me if I unintentionally copied you... Haha.

It didn't quite seem finished at that point, so, I came up with a little something else. I thought I would add some simmering spices. So, I bought an orange, cut it in slices, dried it in the oven on a rack for 2 hours at 200 degree (flipping them half way through.) When they were good and dried, I added them to a little cellophane bag with a couple of cloves, a cinnamon stick, a pinch of nutmeg and allspice and 1 heaping tablespoon of brown sugar. I then attached that to the lid of the jar with some baker's twine. And voila!  I got lots of compliments on the idea, so I am assuming it went over well. I just think it is so stinking cute!!

I like Halloween, but I don't like the scary aspect of it much. This was my little way to enjoy the spook without blood, guts, and gore. Now, on to my next project...

Happy Halloween!

Kid's Class Valentine's Day Exchanges

I like to plan ahead for things if I can and so I started brainstorming and searching for ideas for little Valentine's day goodies shortly after Christmas. Found a super cute idea for a yarn project where you use regular yarn to make the cutest little "love bugs." I thought that would be a perfect idea for my daughter's class. So, I purchased the supplies and they had been sitting on my craft table since New Years.
Finally found some time so I got busy. I made 36 of my little love bugs, added heart punched antennae attached with chenille stems and then attached them with a dab of hot glue to the end of some Valentine's themed pencils. .

My daughter and I also had fun naming each one. I figured, since I was printing the tags myself anyway, might as well switch it up a little! We used names that we keep  hearing a lot lately. You know, names from popular shows like, Honey Boo Boo and all the Disney princesses... Couldn't resist! ;-)

 Then we used a scalloped circle punch to take "bites" out of the sides of the tags. (Because bugs bite things. Get it?) Haha. So, I am thinking these are the cutest bugs I have seen in a long time!

Next I moved on to my youngest son's class exchange. He ordered "nothing fancy or girly." He is 8, after all... I had found some little heart mazes at Dollar Tree. 9 to a pack!! Super cheap!! Love that. I simply printed out the saying onto sturdy Stampin'Up cardstock and then attached a Tootsie pop to the back. (Son is a MAJOR lollipop fan!) And guess what?? He approved! In fact, he loves them and declared them "perfect!" Hooray!! He made my day. I am excited for them to be handed out. Looking through their cute little Valentine's day card holders when they get home from school, is one of my favorite Valentine's day traditions. I have strawberry milk and heart shaped pancakes on the menu for breakfast  for my 4 kiddos and hubby, along with their traditional card/candy/stuffed animal gifts. Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Flameless Candle Snowman Pins

I wanted to give my MOPS table another little treat and I had seen a cute project made out of a flameless votive candle. I found a package of 3 for $1 at Dollar Tree. Super cheap! I found the trinity poem on the internet and the idea on Pinterest. I put 9 of them together in about 2 hours from start to finish. Just used an orange Sharpie marker to color in the "carrot" nose and a black one for the eyes and "coal" mouth. I hot glued on a pin back in case they wanted to wear them ever (probably not, but it sure made it easier to attach them to the poem cardstock!) So, if nothing else, the pin made my job as assembler much easier.

I think if I had more time to plan this one, I would have purchased some cute polar fleece material for the scarf but since I didn't... I just used up some snowman fabric that I had on hand.
In any case, it added a little cuteness to my MOPS lady friend's days. Or at least I think they did.
Here is the poem, in case you would like to use the idea for a project of your own.

Snowman Trinity Poem
by anonymous

When you see a snowman, three snowballs round, it reminds you that with God, three in one can be found. The bottom reminds us of God, the Father, our strong Rock and Foundation, Creator of all living things. The middle shows us God, the Son, with arms spread open wide, who died on the cross for our salvation. The head reminds us of God, the Holy Spirit, who is our Counselor and Friend. He speaks to our hearts and minds, transforming us into the likeness of Him. So when you are in the midst of your wintertime fun and a snowman you do see, remember the blessings given you through the Holy Trinity.