Recycled Christmas Crafts: Light Bulb Ornament

Last year, I decided the Grinch needed the company of his faithful companion Max...



His ears are made out of brown felt. His antler, which is not as visible as I would have liked, is brown foam. His face was drawn on using a black Sharpie marker.
I didn't love the way he came out, which is why I did not make enough as gifts for family and friends, but he's cute enough to adorn my tree!

Recycled Christmas Crafts: Ornaments

I've discovered a fun new way to fuel my passion with handmade crafts. Recycled Christmas ornaments!
No, not antique, re-gifted or one-man's-trash-is-another-man's-treasure "Hey look what I found in the dumpster!" sort of recylced.
But a way to find NEW uses for those things that seemed to have fulfilled their only purpose.
For the past few years those things have been light bulbs and baby food jars.
(I can't believe I haven't blogged about these before, as least I don't think I have as I can't seem to find the pages ANYWHERE but if I am repeating myself forgive me for I know not what I do. Having babies makes your brains fall out.)
(Back to the ornaments!)
They're fun, easy and best of all CHEAP & oh-so GREEN!
The internetz is full of ideas and patterns. With a little searching you're sure to find a project you can do, or become inspired to make up one of your own.
PAY ATTENTION 'cuz I am about to divulge all of my secrets to you.

Last year, inspired by my daughter's love of all things Mumble, I made this Penguin ornament:


I adapted and simplified the pattern from several other penguin light bulb ornaments I found online. The only materials needed were the paints and toddler socks which were used for the hats. (Trimmed, cuffed over and hot glued into place then tied off with the silver rope ribbing.) I make and give ornaments as gifts every year to family and friends, and since socks come in so many different colors, each of these little guys was able to get his own color/patterned hat!

The year before I had an infant who was making her way into solid foods. I had baby food coming out of my EARS! Literally and figuratively. So I found a way to re-use the jars and made these tealight ornaments:


I made this one up as I went along. Basic instructions can be found at the bottom of this post. Oh yeah, and I still have BOXES of these jars stored in my sunroom thanks to donations from the Moms in my daughter's playgroup so... yeah, there WILL be more baby food jar ornaments for years to come.

And this is the bugger that started it all, in 2004.



Instructions for The Grinch light bulb ornament can be found here. All I have to say about this is THANK GAWD for tracing paper! This was the most involved of all the paint jobs I have ever done. But totally worth it.

Baby Food Jar Snowman Ornament/Tea Light Holder

Start with a clean stage 1 baby food far (label removed).
Cover it with the paint-on snow. Apply it thick and sloppy to give it texture.
Let dry overnight.
Meanwhile... make little carrot noses out of orange molding clay (bake according to package directions).
Next day, use black dimensional fabric paint to dot on eyes and mouth and use a dab of hot-glue to attach the nose.
Wrap soldering wire around top of the jar and bend into hanger.
Hot glue black velvet ribbon around the top.
Drop in a battery-operated tea light. Hang on tree, place on your mantel or shelf and enjoy! We always put ours on tree first, then keep it out as Winter decoration once the tree is tossed.
(Note: We tried using a real tea light but the wire hanger gets VERY hot.)

Who says it's not easy being green?
As for this year, you'll just have to wait and see.
(Mostly because I have no idea what I will be making yet.)

Knitting My Fingers to the Bone...

... in preparation for a Baby Shower this weekend for my StepBrother and Sister-in-Law.

Over the holidays, I was given a hand-knitted dishcloth by a fellow knitting friend on Twitter and I LOVE it. It's super absorbent, makes a great pot holder and is oh-so-pretty.

So I decided to make some washcloths to go in a layette basket for my new nephews.



Cute. Right?



And some bibs too ...



I think I may be addicted because they are so quick to knit and I am an instant-gratification-kinda-gal. I predict gifts of washcloths and dishcloths for EVERYONE!

Don't Know How You Do That VooDoo That You Do So Well...

Friday night was supposed to be opening night for Cinderella's school play.
But because Mother Nature SUX! school was closed on account of "freezing rain" and all after-school activities were canceled.
These final weeks of rehearsals and preparations were not without some added (unnecessary) drama - opening night was pushed back a week to accommodate mid-terms, flu befell some cast members and threatened their performance, parental tempers ran high over the late nights of rehearsals - so this last minute cancellation was not taken well.
Cinderella's drama teacher needed cheering up.
So, what else does one do on a rain day but make voodoo dolls to put an end to the bad juju?

All that is needed were two bamboo skewers, some cotton batting, twine and fabric (I used an old pillow case).

I used this pattern for inspiration.

My Knitty Things: Garter Stitch Wrap

I thought I would never be finished with this damn thing, but I did it!
The first thing I've knitted for ME!
It's 100% wool, so it's cozy warm. I've warn it almost every day around our drafty castle.
I simply love the colors.



I used Knit Picks Palette Wool in five colors: Clematis Heather, Fawn, Verdant Heather, Marine Heather & Garnet Heather.

Pattern: AppleLaine Glorious Garter Wrap.

Next up... hand warmers using a yummy malabrigo sent by a friend!

More Irony for the New Year

Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel make a fairytale Gingerbread House of their very own.



I figured if a mom of seven children (whom she homeschools!) can do it so could we. Chris, from Notes from the Trenches constantly inspires me to be a better, funner (yes, it is a word) and more organized Mom. If you are not familiar with her, go read her NOW.



Full recipe and instructions can be found here.

Cards for Kandahar: The Final Countdown

With the mailing deadline rapidly approaching, Prince Charming and I kicked things into high gear over the weekend to get the cards for Kandahar ready for shipping.



I had most of the cards stamped and designed, but still needed to fill them out with a personalized to note to each soldier.



Along with the cards, each soldier is getting their own mini-stocking filled with rubber bouncy balls and kazoos with snowflake designs, and some of this...



Snowman Poop!
Which is nothing more than white chocolate chips (mini-marshmallows would have worked nicely too!) I found the idea on this website which is loaded with tons of holidays ideas. It's been one of my favorites go-to spots for years.



This is one of my favorite designs... maybe because of the (accidental) red, white and blue color scheme, maybe because of the simplicity of it's design. I still have a few cards left to fill out and then this box of Holiday Wishes will be ready to be shipped tomorrow.

***

There's still time for you to help. My friend, BlondeByDesign, has a huge shipment of holiday care packages for Kandahar ready to go. Anyone interested in helping to sponsor a box can do so. From her site:

"If you would like to sponsor or be a part of sending the 30 plus care packages I will be sending out on December 4th (or sooner), sponsorship donations may be made through PayPal. The email address donations are sent to is: spriteskandaharproject@yahoo.com"

Cards for Kandahar

Can't think of a better way to spend this Veteran's Day than doing a little holiday card making for soldiers in Kandahar.
Soon, all of this will be turned into unique personal creations for each on the men serving under SGM Danny Allman in Lashkar, Gah.



(I say "unique" because I have quickly learned that card making is NOT my craft, but I am committed to completing this task and they WILL like them dammit!).

Hansel made sure these cards got the perfect snowflake stickers on the inside.



Want to help honor our brave men and women serving overseas?
Check out this site for tips on how you can get involved in sending your holiday cards.
My Twitter friend BlondeByDesign is also putting forth a spectacular effort on her own and is accepting PayPal donations to help with her holiday care packages, if you don't have the time of don't know how to get started. If you're looking to be inspired, take the time to read through the archives and see some of what she's sent to Kandahar so far.



Once the card project is complete, I get to work on my next care package - a snowball fight in a box!
Stay tuned.

Twitter Made Me Do It

Too many people on my Twitter friend's list are knitters.
All of the talk of knitting and yarns and blocking and pictures like this have piqued my interest.
So that's it. I'm going over the darkside.



My first project will be the baby bib featured here.

Trick or Treat: Special Delivery

Despite my best efforts at consumption* as well as an overhwhelming generosity fueled by my insane pathetic altruistic desire to be the coolest house on the block because DUDE! she lets you take as many candies as you want none of this take one piece and now be on your way bullshit. NOOOOOO!! I'm talking HANDFULS of the delectable sweets which are not the no-name cheapy kind but bona fide recognizable brands right here.


Despite all of this, there is still left-over candy.


The numbers on my scale won't permit any further midnight binges, so thanks to the great advice over at Parent Hacks on what to do with left-over candy, I was able to occupy my morning with some productive crafting instead of filling my face with more chocolate.


The Boy is allergic the peanuts. It turns out, that our postman isn't. That's a win/win right there!

I thank you, Parent Hacks.

My waistline and teeth thank you.

And my mailman thanks you too.



*How much you ask? Well, let's just say enough to cause 6lbs in 2 weeks. Ack!