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Posts Tagged ‘DIY’

  1. Take Off All Your Clothes

    January 21, 2013 by admin

    We have ever-growing kids at the TR home, so we are always looking for ways to keep clothing costs from spiraling out of control.

    Some of our techniques:

    • Thrift Stores:  Great for all ages and styles!  A trip to the thrift store is as much an adventure as a shopping trip.  You never know what you’ll find out there.
    • Coupons: For Clothes? YES!!  Old Navy, Boston Store, Famous Footwear—all have coupons either on-line, or in the paper.  You may be surprised to note that evenIMG_1467 some Thrift Stores offer coupons or frequent shopper discount programs.
    • Buying A Size Up:  If you have growing kids, don’t pass up the chance to grab discounted clothes that they’ll grow into later.  We have a box in the basement to put things that we expect will fit the kiddoes in the future.  And remember to save those sibling hand-me-downs!
    • Avoid Impulse Shopping:  You’ll overpay, or end up with clothes you won’t wear, or you’ll have clothing that fits poorly.
    • Watch For Sales:  Especially Target post-holiday sales!  And Old Navy!  We have picked up everything from shirts, to socks, to shoes during post holiday sales.
    • Recycle:  Our clothes tend to move from Work attire, to Everyday clothing, to Project/ Sleep Clothes, to Sewing Projects/ Dress Up Play scraps.  By the time something actually gets thrown away, we have definitely gotten our money’s worth.
    • RepurposeWorn out knees in those favorite pants? Maybe now you have a new pair of shorts?
    • Vegan clothing:  Payless and Target both have many affordable options for vegan shoes, belts, and purses!

     

    We’d love to hear how you control your clothing costs!


  2. Holiday Craft Ideas

    November 27, 2012 by admin

    By Brenda Winter Hansen

    When the winter holidays roll around, I have to constantly fight my Charlie Brown tendency to get all excited only to be let down by how vacuous and fraught it can all seem, especially when the budget is tight. I’ve found the best defense (besides sharing food with friends!) is carving out a little time to help the kids make thoughtful and easily completed crafts for keeping or giving. I’ve collected some worthy standards and a couple new ones to share, so have a look and be inspired to make a little mess with your kids this season.

    Handmade gift tags/bookmarks-Colorful card stock plus string (think yarn, embroidery thread, or something sparkly) is the basic recipe for speedy gratification. You’ll also need cookie cutters, a hole-puncher, scissors, markers, and quite possibly glitter glue. I know it’s so cheap to buy stickers made in China to slap on your gifts, but why not let the younger set make and decorate gift tags with a more personal touch? Colorful card stock is easy to come by from a local craft/paper shop, as is embroidery thread, decorative string, or yarn. Trace cookie cutters onto the card stock and cut them out. Be careful not to punch a hole too close to the edge of your tag or the string will rip through. Cut lengths of string about 10 inches long and attach each one to a tag. One side can be decorated and the other can be the To/From side, resulting in an ornament worth hanging! Cut the cardstock into long rectangles and you have lovely bookmarks.

    Felt ornaments- These are great for giving and keeping. You’ll need several sheets of colored felt, depending on how many ornaments you’d like to make, string/yarn/embroidery thread, pillow fill (optional), a basic sewing kit, glitter glue and decorations are optional but nice. Use cookie cutters as stencils for shapes. Don’t bother to punch a hole for the thread, just use a large-eyed needle for pulling string through to hang it. Ornaments can be a single layer of felt or, if you cut two pieces of the same shape, you can make a tiny pillow ornament by sewing the two pieces mostly together, stuffing them with pillow fill (from fabric store) and finish sewing up the rest. Sequins, glitter glue, and sewn-on scraps of felt are great for decorating the ornaments, just make sure all glue is thoroughly dried before packing these up as gifts or hanging them up. Here’s a link to a free template for felt mushrooms. http://thelongthread.com/?p=5237

    Back in the Stone Age, when I was a kid, my parents did the Yule tree decorating in the dead of night while all six of us were asleep. We’d wake up to the magical beauty of a tree that stretched from floor to ceiling and was covered with enough bling to weigh down an LA pimp. In retrospect, I think it was their version of “date night” during the busy and penny-pinched holiday season. My mom explained once that they each had favorite ornaments to hang, but there were two homemade painted cookie ornaments that waited until last. Dad would hang up “hers” (an angel), and Mom would hang up “his” (a tin soldier), and then they kissed. Not kidding. And you know what? Those cookies lasted forever! What I’m saying is, make these cookies, but do not eat them. Make them into a memorable tradition whether you have a tree or not. Make one for each child and creature in your household. Hang them on the mantle, in a doorway, on the wall. Have fun and be hopelessly romantic. Oh, and it would probably be a good idea to make some edible dough too, or you’ll never hear the end of it.

    Inedible Cookie Ornaments

    300F for 1 ½ hours
    Ingredients:
    3 Cups Flour
    1 Cup Salt
    1 1/2 Cups Warm Water

    -Mix flour and salt and then add water gradually and knead dough.  If the dough is too dry, add water.  If it is too sticky, add flour.

    -With flour to reduce sticking, roll out dough onto baking paper until the dough is about 1/4″ to 3/4″ thick.  The thicker the dough, the longer they will need to bake.

    -Use cookie cutters or hand shape each ornament and place on parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Don’t forget to make a hole in each ornament before baking.

    -Bake at 300F for about 1½ hours. Flip ornaments half way through. Cool completely before decorating with paint, glitter glue, beads, etc. Make sure to use newspaper or parchment paper underneath the decorating station, because it is guaranteed to get messy!

    Linocut holiday cards– This project requires a little more time and money investment, but you’ll be able to use the tools for ages. It’s a great project for the whole family. Some parts of it are suited for an older, steadier hand, and others can be done by the youngsters. You’ll need a linoleum cut set (from a craft store) a couple sheets of linoleum (good to have one to practice on), transfer paper (optional but very helpful), ink roller, bright card stock, and ink. Watch this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kE3Uuhylur0 for a quick demo. If you’ve never done this before, then pick a simple image for your card, like a snowflake or a star. Adults and older children are better suited for using the sharp cutting tools, but smaller kids should be able to help inking the roller and applying it to the cut linoleum. You’re the best judge of your child’s ability, so make sure their task is one they won’t get frustrated with and can be proud of as well.

    Here’s another card idea (low-tech & less expensive) for the older ambitious child: http://extremecards.blogspot.com/2012/01/easy-pop-up-snowflake-cards.html

    Everybody who knows them loves holiday noise crackers– So this year, finish your crafting with a bang and make your own. Fill them with silly things or goody jokes to surprise friends. It’s pretty easy to do these on the cheap and well ahead of time, so they’re perfect for bringing to a party or having them ready for a post-dinner pre-dessert treat. The snaps can be found quite inexpensively online at Old English Crackers. Have a blast!

    http://crafts.kaboose.com/christmas-cracker.html

    http://www.oldenglishcrackers.com/christmas-cracker-components-c-4.html

    HOW TO ASSEMBLE YOUR PARTY CRACKER

    Either use our pre-sized Cracker Tubes (105 x 50mm) or make your own by preparing 3 rolls of card, each 10cm wide x a suggested 30cm, rolled and taped to form a tube of diameter to suit the gift to be included.
    The first roll will be left in the cracker, the other two are for use as temporary end formers and will be removed once the cracker is made.

    Cut crepe paper 35cm x 35cm per cracker (or larger if you wish). You may also use tissue paper, cake board paper, or fancy gift wrap for colour effect. NOTE: THE PAPER YOU USE MUST BE ABLE TO BE TORN EASILY.

    Arrange the rolls on the crepe paper along the grain of the paper. Lay a Cracker Snap between roll and paper, then roll the paper to cover.

    Gently withdraw one end roll approx 2cm (1 inch) then twist and gently (but firmly) tie the crepe paper between the centre and one end roll. Tie the crepe paper securely with narrow ribbon.

    Fill the centre roll with novelties, personal gift, jokes, paper hats, lollies, etc.

    Similarly gather and tie the second end with narrow ribbon.

    Decorate your own special party crackers with ribbons, transfers, stickers, glitter etc. The choices and variety possible is endless.

    The two end cardboard rolls have been used to maintain the shape throughout the assembly process. They may now be removed to use again on your next cracker.

    With a friend, each hold the snap, then give it a quick sharp pull for the BANG. http://www.goldingcraft.com/cracker.htm

    Happy Holidays!!


  3. Up-Cycling!

    September 9, 2012 by admin

     

    We firmly believe in DIY projects and up-cycling.  Turning trash into treasures saves resources, eases use of landfills, and gives you an inexpensive way to learn and test out restoration techniques.   We want our kids to carry this mentality into their adult lives, creating items for themselves when they can.  So we keep a look out for items or projects that can become kiddo-DIY activities.

    Not all curbside trash is worthy of a 2nd look.  But there are some gems to be found.  Recently, we picked up a discarded metal stool.  Managing to see beyond its well worn exterior, we recognized its solid structure and knew we could easily bring it back to life.  And since Bluey has been asking for a higher stool to help with cooking and art projects, it was a perfect find for our family.

    After giving the stool a good scrub down, we purchased a metal friendly white spray paint (under $3) for a base coat.  Then we let Bluey pick out acrylic paint in his choice of colors from our well stocked art supplies.  He got right to work creating a stool painted to his liking.  A few hours in the sunshine and the paint had dried.  His stool was ready to come inside.

    For less than $5 in cost, Bluey has a stool that he proudly uses.  It was a great restoration project that exposed our son to the value and reward of up-cycling while also encouraging his artistic leanings.