My Snapple Bird Feeder Is Working!

Remember the Snapple bird feeder that I made last week?  Well, I'm happy to report that it is actually working!  Here's what I saw when I came home from work last night.  There's only a smidge of bird seed left in the bottle.

I probably wouldn't have even notice if it weren't for the giant Blue Jay sitting atop the Shepard's hook eating.  I don't know how someone that big was able to feed from it, but there he was - the very first Blue Jay that I've seen in my yard.  I was very excited!

Have you tried it yet?

A Long Overdue Trip to the Aquarium

So I visited the aquarium yesterday.  It was a lovely aquarium, lots of conservation messaging, beautiful exhibits and great opportunities for interaction. Although this sign really perplexed me. 

Respect the fish - catch and release when possible.  Hmmm, now I'm all for catch and release when the fish is a threatened species, too small to be removed from the wild or preggers.  But it seems that catching and releasing "when possible" is more like something you would do for the fun of it.  If someone stabbed me with a hook and pulled it out again then let me go, I don't think that would be the most respectful thing they could do for me.  I don't know, maybe it's just me.

Anyway, I did take more pictures and I really did enjoy my visit.  With that, here are some frogs for you to enjoy.

Peek-a-boo

How about this cutie pie!

 And what's an aquarium without a mob of desert dwelling meerkats? ;)

Who's your favorite aquarium dweller?

Put a Tag on It

Growing up, I remember early in the evening on Christmas Eve my mom and dad would barricade themselves in the bedroom with a mountain of packages, piles of wrapping paper, too much scotch tape and at oodles of self stick gift tags.  I'm not quite sure if it's because they where last minute shoppers or if they intentionally tucked gifts away until the big night just to cause a scene.  But it DID cause a scene with my brother, sister and I sitting outside the door trying to imagine what was happening on the other side.

The next morning you could always tell when they had run out of gift tags (or simply forgotten to buy them all together) because some of the gifts would be marked with a folded square of matching wrapping paper.  Well tonight's the night!  Just in case you've forgotten to pick up your gift tags here are few handmade alternatives.

Beverage cans can make some really beautiful gift tags.  They are easy to cut and you can write easily on them with a sharpie.

Here's a really simple gift tag that you can make using a clothing tag and a magazine page. Just use a glue stick to adhere your clothing tag to the page and then trim the magazine to the same size as the clothing tag.

And if you want to get a little more crafty with your clothing tags you can use a little gesso (basically an artists paint primer) to cover the writing on the tag, paint them and layer a couple on top of one another.  Add glitter and other embellishments to really personalize your gifts.

Whatever the holiday you are celebrating, I wish it filled with love and family.  Thanks for following along this year!

Weekend Wrap Up for the Last Minute Shopper

Are you a last Minute Shopper?  Hitting the grocery store gift card section on Christmas Eve?  Here's a way to spruce it up a bit and personalize your gift giving experience.  The best news is that it will cost you nothing to show the thought that you put into your gift.

First grab a magazine that you've already read and find a picture that reflects your gift recipients style, a favorite hobby, etc.  Here's what you'll need:

You'll need to cut four pieces from your magazine; two from the cover or another thick page within the magazine and two more cut from your specially selected page.  For a standard size gift card you'll want to cut your pieces 3" tall and 4 1/4" wide (for other sizes add 1" to the height and width of the gift card).  You'll also need a sewing machine for this one.

Take one of the cover pieces and place it under one of the picture pieces and fold the top edges back  about a 1/4".  Then sew a simple straight stitch across the fold, this will form the clean finished top edge of your gift card holder:

Repeat for the remaining two pieces.  Then place the two joined pieces together with the two cover pieces facing each other and sew them together using the fancy stitch of your choice.  Remember only to sew along the three remaining raw edges:

And viola, now you have a one-of-a-kind gift card holder that you can slip into the branches of the tree, add to existing gift or just give it as is.

Well, that wraps up the Weekend Wrap up for the year.  I hope you enjoyed it and took away an idea or two for trimming the waste from your holiday wrapping.  I'm pleased to say that I didn't purchase a single roll of wrapping paper, bag of bows or box of gift tags this year.  They were all hand made with my gift recipients (and the environment) in mind!

Whatever the holiday you celebrate, may it be all that you dreamed!

Weekend Wrap Up: For the Football Lover

This is a fun way to wrap up a gift for the sports nut (specifically a football fan) in your life and it could cost you exactly $0.00 to pull it off.  The three "main ingredients" are:

1.  The sports section of the newspaper
2.  The drawstring from an old pair of sweat pants
3.  And a soda can (if you can find it, a Dr. Pepper NFL can)

You'll also need a pair of scissors, a sharpie, scotch tape, a hole punch, and a metal file.

 

 Take the newspaper and wrap your gift just as you would with expensive wrapping paper.

You'll need a gift tag, so grab a soda can that is similar in color to a football.  I happened to have a couple of limited edition Dr. Pepper cans that have the image of football laces down the side. Trace out a football shape and cut and file the shape.  If you need a more detailed tutorial on effectively cutting a soda can, check out my YouTube tutorial.

Once you've filed the rough edges of your football shaped gift tag, use a standard size hole punch to make a hole at one end.  Use your sharpie to mark the back (silver) side of the aluminum with the name of your gift recipient.  Now you can wrap the package with the drawstring, threading both ends through the hole in the gift tag. Tie the two strings together to form a knot on top of the tag.  All set for giving!

A Upcycled Tabletop Christmas Tree

Need a few tabletop decorations for the holidays...or something to keep the kids busy (with a little adult help)?  This is a pretty inexpensive and environmentally friendly way to accomplish both of those things. The only thing I needed to purchase was a dowel.

Here's what you'll need to assemble this tabletop tree

1.  Magazine pages in Christmas colors or black and white or anything that works for you.  I was gifted a Paula Deen Christmas edition magazine that had several pages that looked like wrapping paper so I used those along with a couple of sheets that had pictures of Christmas trees
2.  A drill with a 1/4" drill bit
3.  A 1/4" dowel, cut to the height you'd like your tree (I bought mine pre-cut)
4.  A larger plastic lid, I'm using one from a 20 pound jug of cat litter.
5.  And a few basics; scissors, hole punch and a glue gun

To get started, you'll need to assemble the base.  To make sure that your drill doesn't slip off center in the next step, use a hammer and nail to punch a starter hole in your plastic lid.  Now, use that hole as a guide to drill your hole.

Insert your dowel into the lid, set it on a flat surface and make sure your lid and the dowel all touch the surface.  Now add a bunch of hot glue all around the dowel, on the under side of the lid, to keep it in place.  Quickly place the base back on a flat surface and be sure the dowel is straight before the glue dries. 

 

Now you can start building your tree.  Cut your magazines pages along the longest length of the page into 2" strips, bring the two ends of one strip together and punch a hole.

Slide it - gently, it will be a snug fit - onto the dowel to the point were the "bough" just touches your work surface.

Continue to add strips to the dowel and space them out until you have the fullness that appeals to you and then add a bead of glue around the dowel both on top of and beneath the boughs

Now start on the second row.  You'll want to snip off about 3/4" from both ends of the strips that you use in this row, so bring the ends together as you did above and snip at 3/4".  Then punch a hole and slide it on to the dowel just the place where the bough touches the first row.

You'll add another layer that is the same length as the second row.  Then for rows 4-5 you'll snip about 1 1/4" off the ends and for the sixth row, slightly more that an inch and a half.  Of course, you can adjust these as you like.  Once you get to the top of the dowel, you can finish the top off with a holiday decoration or a vintage wooden button as I did below.
.

Make a few in different sizes and deck those halls!

The Weekend Wrapup that Includes a Little Extra Gift

I'm really getting a lot of use from packing material this holiday season and we'll utilize more of it today along with a few other things from around the house to make this beautifully wrapped holiday gift!

You'll need packing paper, an old T-shirt, an aluminum can, a hole punch, an alligator style hair clip (the only thing you'll need to buy) and something to cut your can with.

There are a few handmade components to this gift wrap, so first we'll make a gift tag out of a beverage can.  After you've cut and cleaned your can you can either use your favorite die cut machine to cut the gift tag of your choice or cut one out with a pair scissors.  Then just use a hole punch make a hole near the top of your tag and add a tiny scrap of t-shirt ribbon.  You can use a sharpie to mark the back side of your gift tag.

Once you've wrapped your gift, you'll need to cut a few strips of your t-shirt to make a ribbon long enough to tie around your gift.  If you need a little help making the ribbon, I put together a YouTube video to show you how or you can just pick some up in my Etsy shop.   Okay, wrap your ribbon around the gift.

Now for the final touch, the reusable embellishment - the little extra gift.  Cut another strip of t-shirt that's about 2" wide and a circle that is about 2" in diameter (you can adjust this to other sizes depending on the size of your gift).  Follow the instructions in this tutorial that I found online to make a fabric rosette out of your t-shirt material:

Use a little hot glue to attach an alligator clip to the back side of the rosette.  You'll want to pinch your alligator clip open while you press it into place, otherwise you'll end up glueing the whole thing shut...learn from MY experiences people!

Tie the gift tag to your gift and then clip on to the t-shirt rosette.

Once your gift recipient has unwrapped their gift they still have a beautiful rosette that they can use in the their hair clipped to a headband, clipped to a handbag or even on a jacket lapel. And yes, you can just pick up these fabric flowers in my Etsy shop as well.

Happy Wrapping!

Weekend Wrap Up with a Little Comic Relief

Have an odd shaped package to wrap?  Here's a fun little solution that won't cost a cent.

Gather up a few supplies; the comics section of the newspaper, a pair of scissors and a couple old t-shirts

Take one of your t-shirts and fold it in half lengthwise twice.  Cut 1/2" strips along the bottom and open up the strips so that you're left with a loops of tshirt material.

Take each loop and pull it through your hand to make the edges curl inward.  Then you you can cut that to the lengths that you need for wrapping.  Need a visual?  Check out my video tutorial here.

Now just take a handful of your curled up strips and wrap them around the neck of your package.  Don't make it a habit of keeping old t-shirts laying around?  That's okay, you can get them from my Etsy shop.

The Weekend Wrap Up: Part 1

Welcome to the first in a series of Weekend blog posts that will walk you through how to have beautifully wrapped holiday packages using only stuff headed to the recycle bin or trash can...dare we call it Upcycled Stuff?  Before we get started, take a look at this really nifty tutorial and learn how to make a gift box out of a cereal box.  Once you have the right size box made you can wrap it just as you would any other gift.  Need ideas?  Here's one:

For this gift, I am using paper that was used to cushion a recent online purchase, a flower embellishment made from an Arizona Ice Tea Can and double sided foam tape

Once you've flattened out the paper, wrap your gift (I used an iron on medium heat with no steam).  Then add a small square of tape to the back of the flower

Finally stick your flower to your gift and write your gift recipients name right on the package!

You can check out my YouTube tutorial if you need some help making those flowers OR you can pick them up in my shop:

See ya next week with another creative, earth-friendly gift wrap idea!

A Long Overdue Walk in the Park

As I was running to the post office today, I realized that Autumn had happened and I almost missed it.  I've been working too much lately and decided right then and there that I had stop and take a break.  I looked over at my copilot ...

Copilot

 

and said, "Chico, do you want to go to the park?"  It was a unanimous decision, so off we went.  This is one of my favorite parks, Paris Mountain State Park.  Isn't it beautiful?

 And Chico was incredibly happen to have new stuff to sniff (and even more so...to pee on)!

While we were there I picked up several pinecones in a wide variety of shapes and sizes.  You can bet there will be a couple quick craft tutes in the coming weeks.

I also found some beautiful acorn caps that I plan to make floating candles from for the holiday table.

When it was time to go....well let's just say THAT wasn't a unanimous decision!

Do you see him?  He sat down and watched me walk all the way to the car!

Can't see him?  How but now?  Can you see how clearly he is asking me, "Seriously mom? We're leaving?"

And, no, I didn't tell him to stay - I don't bother because he doesn't listen anyway.  Stubborn as him mom! 

I hope you have a chance to go and enjoy some of the beautiful fall foliage!