Full of Great Ideas

My Oma is...Coasters from Grandkids

2013-02-17T16:22:00.002-05:00

I know it is really early for Mother's Day gift ideas, but if I don't share this now I am going to be too busy and not get it posted in time. So at least this way you have plenty of time to use this idea for yourself.

I had these marble tiles laying around from the many other coasters I have made in the past. The first was the half-marathon bib coaster I made for my husband and the second set was the monogrammed coasters I made for a girl friend who was retiring. I purchased these tiles at Habitat for Humanity's ReStore but you can find them for really reasonable at HomeDepot or Lowes.

My mother is lovingly called Oma by her five adoring grandchildren. As with every family, each child has his or her own special relationship with their Oma. So, I thought what better way to express that unique relationship then to ask each of them to describe their Oma with one word and make a set of 6 coasters with those words.

I love how each description was a representation of each child and my mom knew immediately which coaster was from which grandchild.

Materials

Marble tiles (unsealed)
StazOn permanent ink stamp - This permanent stamp can be purchased at Michael's for around $7 (I believe) and if you use a coupon you can get it for 40% less.
Vinyl or stickers to use as template
Sponge brush

Method

There are many ways you can do this craft. I designed and cut the templates out of vinyl with my Cricut, but you can use stickers from the dollar store or even stamps to make them.

I started off by cleaning the tiles with a damp cloth. When I purchased them, they seem to have a powder all over them.

Once dry, I stuck the vinyl directly to the tile. I placed the vinyl in different locations and directions on the tiles so they were more whimsical.

Using StazOn permanent stamping ink in black, I brushed the stamping ink over the vinyl with a sponge brush.

I found it worked best to wipe the brush across the template as opposed to dab it. I waited a minute and did a second coat to get a really dark black.

Here is the one tile I dabbed the sponge on; you can see how the ink bled under the vinyl and didn't give a crisp line. It did not look horrible but not as nice as the others.

Here is one where I brushed the ink across the vinyl like I was painting it on. See much crisper.

Once all the tiles are stamped and all the vinyl/stickers have been removed, you need to bake the tiles to make the stamp permanent and fade resistant.

Don't judge the how dirty my toaster over is...I use it for everything!

I baked my tiles in my toaster oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Once the time was up, I turned off the toaster oven and let them cool in there. They retain the heat for a long time so please be careful.

Also, don't venture too far away when they are baking just in case your tiles do not like to be heated. Just be careful and aware!

I did not put a sealant over the tiles they they can absorb the sweat from cold drinks.

After they were cooled, I put rubber stoppers from the dollar store on the back. I have used the soft felt ones before but found they slid off tables really easily. So these work much better!

I had each of the kids write their names and date on the back of the tiles with permanent markers.

My mom loves them and the kids love to use their own coasters when they visit. The kids have even noticed when Oma was using their coaster, so she now has to pay attention to not use one all the time. Share the coaster love amongst all the grand kids :)

So that is it. Simple, easy, cheap but most importantly personal gift idea!

What do you think..do you see the possibilities with this? Mother's day gift, father's day gift, teacher gifts...really you could give these for so many different occasions.

Stephanie

Free Custom Birth Announcements Template

2013-02-15T14:30:00.001-05:00

I designed this personalized birth announcement for a good friend of mine who was expecting her second child before Christmas. She did not know if she was having a boy or a girl, so I created one design for a girl and another for a boy. That way, when the baby was born I was quickly able to update my template and have a beautiful and personalized gift for her while she was still in the hospital.

I personally favor the little girl birth announcement with the beautiful flower but what parent of a little boy wouldn't love the trains too.

Each image has been designed as an 8x10 in Microsoft Publisher. I was going to share with you step by step how these were created, but it is really easier for all of us if I just provide you with a free template to start your own with.

As always, I ask that you use this only for personal use. Please do not sell these.

Here is what you need to do to create your own personalized baby birth announcement:

Download the girl's birth announcement template here and
Download the boy's birth announcement template here.
Note when you click on the link, Google documents will give you a note saying "Sorry, we are unable to generate a view of the document at this time. Please try again later." That is ok. Simple click on the arrow down button (next to the print symbol) to download the file. You will have no problem opening it in Publisher after you download it. Or it will say "click here to download original file" you can save it by clicking on the link. Be sure to download and not open with Word.
Open the file in Microsoft Publisher. No, I do not know how to convert these to a Mac compatible program...sorry.
Download the fonts (fonts can be found on free font websites or you can use your own favorites). Here are the free fonts I used:

Name, date, time - Poor Richard
Weight and inches - Fang Song
Flower - Kalocsai Flowers

Name, date, time - Poor Richard
Weight and inches - Fang Song
Train - Miltrain

Personalize the numbers, text, colors, and anything else you want to.
Here is a link to a post that will help you with stretching text so that it fits nicely in the space provided.
Each row is in a separate box, so you can manipulate each row independently. Remember you can always Undo, so don't be afraid to change it around.
Sounds like lots of work, but the template will help and it really isn't hard to use.
Once you are happy with the design, save the image as a high resolution JPEG (to do this in Publisher follow theses steps: 'Save As', 'Save as type', 'JPEG', 'Change...' (Resolution), 'High quality printing or commercial printing (300dpi)') .
Upload the image to your favorite photo developer and you have a beautiful but very ~~cheap~~ reasonable baby gift!

Please leave me a comment to let me know whether or not you have been able to download the file and if you create your own. I would love to hear which file you like the best and I would love to see your finished products. Send them to me at fullofgreatideas(at)gmail(dot)com and I can share them with others on this post so we can all benefit from each others creativity.

I was able to give my girlfriend a beautiful baby gift for under $10. I could have done it for even less if I reused a frame I had laying around the house or something I found at a thrift store.

Do you know anyone who you could make one of these for? What do you think?

Have a great day,
Stephanie

A Dad is...DIY Wood Quote/Magnetic Photo Holder

2013-02-13T14:44:00.000-05:00

As I previously mentioned, I set a goal of making most of my Christmas gifts from scratch this past Christmas; however, I really struggled with the gifts for my husband and my brothers.

I had Pinned something similar to this ages ago (here) that I liked but I didn't know how to create the exact look I wanted.

I was talking with my sister and we came up with the idea of using a piece of old barn board flooring from her barn (built over 120 years ago) to make this. My sister found a piece of wood that was approximately 12 inches wide and lightly planed it to get a smoother surface.

If you, like me, don't have access to old wood, you can buy freshly cut 12 inch wide planks from a local hardware store and distress it to get a similar look. Take a hammer to it, scratch it up, sand it a bit here and there. It is quite easy to do.

We cut 12 inch squares and lightly sanded the rough edges. We loved the imperfections, so we did not sand the top and once we were happy with the look, we sealed it using the same sealant I had laying around and used for the tree stump coasters.

Isn't the color gorgeous!? That is without staining it!

I designed and cut the saying out of black vinyl on my Cricut. The metal circle was something I had laying around from the Dollar Store (it was used to hold 5 magnets that I purchased). It was originally bright silver, so I spray painted it Oil Rubbed Bronze. Once it was dry, I hot glued it to the wood.

I found pictures I liked of my husband with each of our children. He didn't like how I picked photos of him with his glasses on but we can always change them!

I put metal hangers on the back of the wood so we could hang it, but I prefer standing behind my couch on the table using a plate stand. Either way I display it, I love it!

Since we found all the materials for this project around the house, we were able to make these for nothing. If I didn't have all the materials, I think I could do this for around $10 each (if making a few).

What do you think? I know need to find something equally great for Father's Day!

Stephanie

Free 'What a Difference a Day Makes' Template

2013-02-10T08:21:00.000-05:00

Do you remember last year where I made the Special Date Art on my $0 Budget? I used some of my favorite scrapbook paper and cut out the numbers on my Cricut. I love the end result but it took too long and was too tedious to make it as gifts for Christmas this year.

So, since I am becoming a wiz with Publisher, I thought I would try my hand at designing one with Publisher. It was very easy and I just love the end result. Grand total to print it was $0.89 and $8.00 to frame. I had amazing Christmas gifts for under $10.

I created two designs, one for a family of 4 plus a wedding date and the other for a family of 5 plus a wedding date.

Aren't they great!?

NOTE: I had intended this post to only be a tutorial sharing with your how you can make your own. But I really want to share with you as much as possible and I know most people aren't as experiences with Publisher as I am....so... I have tried to share my sample files on Google Documents. Scroll to the bottom of the post for the Download template links and instructions.

Here is how I created my own from scratch (and how you will be able to edit the template you downloaded):

Open a new 8x10 file

To set a 0.5 inch margin around the image, select the 'page design' tab, 'Margins' and then set your margins to 'Moderate' .

Then determine how many rows of numbers you need. For example, if there are 4 people in your family (i.e. 2 parents, 2 kids) plus you want your wedding date, you will need 5 rows. To do this, I select on the 'Page Design' tab, 'Guides' and then 'Grid and Baseline'.

I enter 2 columns (so the middle of the page is clearly identified) and then 5 rows (for a family of 4 with a wedding date). If you are a family of 5 plus wedding date, you will need 6 rows. I keep the spacing between the rows at 0.

The next step is to insert a 'Text box'.

I draw the text box to be the full width of the page (between the two margin lines) and almost the full size of the row. This allows me to have space underneath for the names.

Insert the numbers and find a font you like.

The fonts I used are:
'Baskerville Old Face' for the numbers
'Nymphette' for the scrolls on either side of the name
'Adobe Arabic' for the names.

Insert another text box for the name.

Once you get the font and approximate size you like, you can play around with the spacing of the characters. This allows you to stretch the characters so they are the full width of the box (so all the numbers line up on either side along the margin).

Open the More Spacing box and the select Show Tool Bar (bottom left corner)

With this window you can make the letters/numbers further apart, wider etc. Play around and see what you like.

Once you are happy with the first row, I copy and pasted the text 4 more times. This will ensure you have the same font, spacing etc. Once you insert all the new numbers and text, you might need to play around with the spacing some more.

I added a heart in the middle of the wedding date just to add some color.

If you want, you can change the background by inserting a digital scrapbook page and 'send to back'.

You can see how many boxes I used to design this.

Once you are happy with it, save the Publisher file and then save it as a JPEG image. To do this, select File, Save As.

Change the Save as type, to JPEG

Then be sure to change the Resolution to High Quality Printing so that you will be able to deevelop this as a large image.

Save it someplace you can easily find. Either print the image at home if you have a good printer or send it to your favorite photo developer (my personal favorite is Costco).

I have made these for a few friends and family members and framed them in a floating frame. I love how they look and they are so much easier to create than the one I did a while ago where I cut out each number.

Wouldn't this make a great Valentines gift for your hubby?

DOWNLOADABLE Template:

Here is the link to the family of 4 plus wedding date and here is the link for family of 5 plus wedding date. Please leave me a comment below letting me know whether or not you were able to do this.

Here are the links again (I find they get lost in text) to the Publisher files:

Here is what you need to do to create your own personalized baby birth announcement:

Download the family of 4 plus wedding date and download the family of 5 plus wedding date here
Note when you click on the link, Google documents will give you a note saying "Sorry, we are unable to generate a view of the document at this time. Please try again later." That is ok. Simple click on the arrow down button (next to the print symbol) to download the file. You will have no problem opening it in Publisher after you download it.
Open the file in Microsoft Publisher. No I do not know how to convert these to a Mac compatible program...sorry.
Download the fonts (fonts can be found on free font websites or you can use your own favorites). Here are the free fonts I used:

'Baskerville Old Face' for the numbers

'Nymphette' for the scrolls on either side of the name

'Adobe Arabic' for the names.

Personalize the numbers, text, colors, and anything else you want to.
See below on how I made the design to help you with stretching text so that it fits nicely in the space provided.
Each row is in a separate box, so you can manipulate each row independently. Remember you can always Undo, so get creative.
Sounds like lots of work, but the template will help you alot.

Please leave me a comment to let me know whether or not you have been able to create your own.

I hope you are able to use the downloadable files. Please let me know if you were able to do this yourself and/or if you have any issues.

What do you think? Can you make your own or will you try the template?
Stephanie

Free Printable - Pregnancy Belly Stickers

2013-02-09T13:55:00.000-05:00

Have you seen those adorable belly stickers that people have been using while photographing their pregnancies?

If you haven't seen them, they are 4 inch circle stickers that identify the week of the pregnancy. You stick on your belly or (if you are more modest like me) your shirt and photograph your growing belly. The idea is really cute and I wish I had thought of it when I was pregnant. I don't know where the original idea came from but you can find them on Etsy, private sites, specialty stores, etc. and they run between $10-15.

Well now that my sister-in-law's pregnancy has been officially announced, I thought I would share this small gift I made for her for Christmas. I made two different sets of the stickers since I didn't know which she would like the best. One with flowers and the other black and white damask style.

I designed the images on Publisher and saved them as JPEG images. I then printed them on full page label stickers and cut the circles with my Cricut. If you don't have a Cricut or Silhouette that will cut a perfect circle for you, you can use a paper punch or old school it with a pair of scissors.

I was going to give you a step by step tutorial on how I made these, then thought I would save everyone some time and just give you the printables for free.

What you will need to create these are access to a laser or inkjet color printer and full page sticker labels. Be sure to buy the labels that are right for your type of printer as some are designed specifically for laser and others for ink jet. The labels can be found at Walmart or Staples and cost less than $0.40 per sheet. It will cost you about $10 to buy a package but you can make 5-6 sets of these stickers with one package.

I created one extra sheet with 4 extra stickers that I thought would be cute that aren't weeks of the pregnancy. I added Over due (since no on in my family ever seems to go into labor naturally), In labor, It's a Boy and It's a Girl.

To download these images to print:

Leave me a comment and tell me which version you like the best or just that you are downloading it ...please :)
Right click on the image you want and select open in a new window or tab
On the full size image, right click again and select 'save as'
Save it to a place on your computer where you can easily find it
You will need to do this for each of the images.
Print them on a color laser or inkjet printer.
Tip: When I first printed on labels, I had to print a few test pages before I managed to get it to print properly. The oddest thing happened every time I printed the sheets, the ink would smudge. I was stumped. How can a laser print smudge? Then I realized there is an option in your printer setup for paper type of LABELS. This somehow prints differently and they came out perfectly! So look for the paper type option and see if label is in there before you waste a few sheets of labels.
Please only use these for personal use!
Enjoy!!

Here is the flowery version:

Here is the black and white damask set:

What do you think? Do you know anyone you could use these for? Which is your favorite?

We are snowed in today, so I hope to get a few more posts done!

Let me know what you think,
Stephanie

DIY Tree Stump Coasters

2013-01-17T12:32:00.003-05:00

I know this is a little late but I have to say it...Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

It has been a month since I have managed to find time to share with you any new ideas I have had. I have a long list of things I made for Christmas gifts, that I never got around to posting. So, I thought I would just continue to share the homemade gifts and if it is something you like or think you could make as gifts, you can always remember the instructions are here or simply 'Pin It" and come back.

I had set a goal of an almost all homemade Christmas and I have to say I did pretty well. Female homemade items are pretty easy to find and make but I really struggled for ideas for the males in my family.

As I have previously mentioned, my sister lives on a farm so they keep all the wood they cut down in the field to burn in their wood stove. I had the idea of making tree stump ornaments for the men, so I asked if she had any old Christmas tree stumps in her piles. She found a cedar stump that was a nice width that had been in the pile for over a year allowing it to fully dry.

When I went to make the ornaments, they weren't turning out to be exactly what I wanted. After leaving one of the circles sitting on my kitchen counter for a week (does anyone else do that, you don't have a home for something so it sits on the counter?) I realized that it was the perfect size for a coaster. So my gift for the men was found! I ended up making these simple and free tree stump coasters for my husband, brother, brother-in-law and uncle.

They were very well received by all the men!

Materials:

Miter saw
Tree stump (approximately 4 inches in diameter)
Polyurethane (or another sealant)
Foam brush
Sand paper

Method:

I plugged in my miter saw, shoed my kids into the house, put on my gorgeous safety goggles (they really are horrible things, but I would be in serious trouble if I was caught not wearing them) and placed my 3 foot stump on the miter saw.

I held my breath, made sure my fingers were very far away from any moving parts, and cut a 1/3 -1/2 inch slice of the wood off the stump. I continued to do this until I had enough disks. I planned to give each person 4 coasters.

I tried my best to keep the oddly shaped disks together so that they could be stacked nicely when I give them as gifts. The imperfect ones, where a branch came out, were by far the most interesting coasters in the end. So don't worry if they are oddly shaped.

Once all the coasters were cut, I quickly sanded them with some fine sandpaper. If I was smart, I would have pulled out my mouse sander, but I didn't. So each was sanded by hand.

I pulled out my scrap cardboard, laid out all the coasters and gave the tops and sides a few coats of polyurethane I had laying around with those cheap foam brushes. Once dried, I flipped them over and did the same on the opposite side.

After they were completely dry (follow the instructions on your sealant) I stacked the stump coasters, aligning any imperfections and wrapped them with raffia.

I love the idea of making one coaster (or ornament) every year with your fresh Christmas tree. We personally are in the artificial tree camp, but if I were to have real trees, I would make on slice a year, write the date and a special note on it to remember that Christmas. Most tree cutting places would probably cut off a piece for you when you purchase the tree, so you really don't even need power tools to do this!

What do you do with your old trees?

What do you think of this? Not bad for a spur of the moment, first idea failed, gift!

I hope everyone had a great holiday season!
Stephanie

Free Printable - Only an Aunt Quote

2012-12-09T19:23:00.003-05:00

I made this printable quote for my closest aunt for Christmas this year. She is truly is like a second mother to us; so much so she is the Godmother to my son.
I won't put too many words in this post but I did want to mention I created a new tab (page) with all the free printable pieces I made. Be sure to check it out here.

I produced this as a 5x7 image in many different colors. I had a really hard time deciding which I liked the best, so I just kept going with the colors. Please feel free to download, print and use this piece for personal use. I love offering free ideas and cheap gifts to everyone but hate when I stumble upon someone making money off it.

To download the image:

leave me a comment :) (not required but I really do love to know what you think)
right click on the color image you want and select open in a new window or tab
on the full size image, right click again and select save as
save it to a place on your computer where you can easily find it
send it to your favorite photo developer, find a frame and you can cross another Christmas gift off your list.

Which is your favorite? I still have not picked the one I will be printing for my aunt. Any suggestions?

Stephanie

DIY Eucalyptus Yoga Mat Cleaner/Freshener - Easy Gifts Ideas on a Budget (Part 6)

2012-12-08T08:19:00.002-05:00

I decided, at the last minute, to add this Eucalyptus yoga mash freshener for my sister and sister-in-law's spa basket. I know it isn't a perfect fit with bath salts etc., but if you have ever had a smelly yoga mat before, you might appreciate this. Both my sister's love yoga and I thought this might be well liked. Plus, it took no effort and I had all the ingredients on hand... both are great things when making gifts!

In case you are new to this series, here is my running list of spa related items I making (and sharing with you):

Lavender bath salt ($2) DONE
Lavender sugar scrub ($2.50) DONE
Lavender scented wax cubes ($0.50) DONE
Spa towel ($7)
Lavender scented Catalytic Lamp oil (you know like Lampe Berger oil) ($2.50) DONE
Lavender linen water ($1.50) DONE
Eucalyptus Yoga Mat spray/cleaner ($0.50) DONE

If you have not heard of Yoga Mat cleaners/fresheners, well all they really are is a spray that has antibacterial qualities(since eucalyptus is antibacterial) that freshen and clean your yoga mat. You simple give you mat a spritz and wipe it down. You can use other essential oils that are also antibacterial for this recipe; I have hear lavender is antibacterial as well, but I really wanted to use eucalyptus for this one.

I have seen these little spray bottle being sold for around $10 at a local yoga studio. I am not sure the ingredients in those ones, but mine cost my around $0.50 to make and I know they don't have any chemicals. Perfect!

Materials Needed:

6 tablespoons Vinegar
2 tablespoon Distilled Water
20-30 drops Eucalyptus essential oil (or lavender)
Small spray bottle (My bottle was in a travel pack of 3 from the Dollar store)

Note: If you want to do a large batch of this, you can use the recipe as 3 parts vinegar to 1 part water and add essential oil to your personal preference.

Mix the vinegar and essential oil together in the little spray bottle. Add the distilled water and you are done!

To clean your mat:

Spray the cleaner liberally over the surface of your mat.
Wipe with a damp cloth or sponge.
When the cleaner has been removed, 'buff' the mat with a soft dry cloth.
Repeat on the other side.
Allow your mat to air dry.

Has anyone ever used a yoga mat spray like this before? Have you ever made your own?

Merry Christmas everyone.
Stephanie

DIY Lavender Linen Water - Easy Gifts on a Budget (Part 5)

2012-12-07T13:54:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the delay in posting this recipe. I have been kind of frazzled the past week or so. I thought I was completely under control with my 80% home made gift goal until I realized we are in December.

I knew what I was making everyone but had I finished them, no! So that is where I have been. So, my posts might come a few at a time or there might be days in between. But I will get everything posted!

Here is where I am with my spa DIY gift. In case you are new to this series, here is my running list of spa related items I making (and sharing with you):

Lavender bath salt ($2) DONE
Lavender sugar scrub ($2.50) DONE
Lavender scented wax cubes ($0.50) DONE
Spa towel ($7)
Lavender scented Catalytic Lamp oil (you know like Lampe Berger oil) ($2.50) DONE
Lavender linen water ($1.50) DONE
Eucalyptus Yoga Mat spray/cleaner ($0.50)
~~Lavender reed diffuser (Not done yet so I don't have an approximate cost)~~ I decided not to make this.. sorry

I love Lavender linen water. I have used it in my iron, sprayed it on my sheets and towels to freshen them, added it to laundry and used it as air freshener. This is the first time I have made it myself and I am a little shocked at how stores charge what they do for this.

Materials Needed:

2 cups Distilled water (I read this prevents mold from growing)
20-30 drops of Lavender essential oil (or what ever scent you want)
3 tablespoons of Vodka (I know you all let out a little scream for using vodka but it helps the oil mix with water. Just use your cheapest vodka for this)
Spray bottle or jar

I don't really drink, so, I had to send my husband a note while he was at work to ask which bottle to use. I had his really pricey one out about to use it when he responded. I made 5 of these so 3 tablespoons times 5 would have added up :) Good thing he checked his email.

This recipe for Lavender scented linen water was really easy. Some sites will say to mix it all together and you are done.

Here is what one trick I learned that you need to know when making this yourself...mix the vodka and essential oil together before you add the distilled water! This will prevent oil bubbles floating throughout your linen water. So add the vodka to your spray bottle, add your essential oil, swish it around and add your water.

It is really that easy! I didn't even feel it was necessary to share the making of photos.

The grand total is hard to estimate. The bottle cost me $1 at the Dollar store, a huge bottle of distilled water cost $1 and the oil was around $20 but I have used it for all my spa items and still have over half left. So I think $1.50 is a reasonable guesstimate (shockingly, that word did not come up as spelled incorrectly..it is now a word :) ).

How are you Christmas gifts coming along?

Stephanie

DIY Scented Effusion Oil - Easy Gifts on a Budget (Part 4)

2012-11-22T14:20:00.000-05:00

I have had and loved my Lampe Berger for many years(although I always spell it wrong and put a 't' at the end..even on my label). In fact, I love it so much I have two of them. One is pretty and sits on my shelf as decoration (I do use it) and the other is plain but get used very frequently. Both have different scents in them so I don't have to change the scents.

If you have not heard of a Lampe Berger, perhaps you know it as a fragrance lamp, effusion lamp or catalytic lamp. It doesn't matter what yours is called, if you have used one you know it is the best way to clean smells out of your house. In fact the reason I purchased my first one was that someone burnt something in my previous house so badly it was filled with smoke. We were about to put our house on the market to sell it, so I had to find a way to remove the smell and fast. After a lot of research and glowing reviews for them, I purchased my first Lampe Berger.

Well now everyone in my family now has one and I thought I might be able to add this to my Christmas spa baskets. In case you are new to this series, here is my running list of spa related items I making (and sharing with you):

Lavender bath salt ($2) DONE
Lavender sugar scrub ($2.50) DONE
Lavender scented wax cubes ($0.50) DONE
Spa towel ($7)
Lavender scented Catalytic Lamp oil (you know like Lampe Berger oil) ($2.50) DONE
Lavender linen water ($1.50)
Lavender reed diffuser (Not done yet so I don't have an approximate cost)

I found a few different recipes to make your own oils for a very reasonable price and ended up using this one from Christy's Thrifty Decorating. Lampe Berger oils are very pricey and a small bottle will run around $25. Note that Lampe Berger states you should only use their oils within their candles. Similar to my wax cubes I posted, it is up to you if you are willing to void a warranty to save money by making your own scents.

So to go along with my spa basket, I made a few different scents for the oils. I made a Lavender (of course), a Fir scent to burn during Christmas time and an Orange scent. I am a huge fan of anything scented orange but I don't find it really strong enough in this recipe. I did love the Fir version.

Materials:

16 oz or 473ml of Isopropyl alcohol (91% or higher)
1 tablespoon Essential oil
1 tablespoon distilled water

Method:

Remove 2 tablespoons of alcohol from the jar.You can purchase this from Walmart, drug stores, etc for usually under $2.

If you are making a few of these, save the alcohol and you can make a small batch with all the 2tbsp. This is to make room in the bottle for the 2 tablespoons of liquid you will be adding. So if there is a lot of room at the top of the bottle, you don't have to do this.

Add 1 tablespoon of distilled water and 1 tablespoon of the essential oil scent you want the the bottle of Isopropyl alcohol.

That is it! It really is that easy.

If you want to decorate the bottle, remember to be careful about covering over the warning labels. I decided to cover mine but I did not secure it so it can easily be removed after it is given as a gift.

I added this to my growing stash of home made spa items.

The spa gift items are starting to really look nice. I worried it would not be enough, do you know what I mean...I just hoped it wouldn't look like a few items thrown into a basket. But I am really feeling happy with this theme and loving the cost!

Up next, Lavender linen water!

Stephanie

DIY Scented Wax Cubes - Easy Gifts on a Budget (Part 3)

2012-11-21T14:10:00.002-05:00

I have had two posts discussing my wickless candle heater over the past few months. The first was how I removed the bright green wax from my carpet when it spilled and second was how to make wax cubes from my favorite candle. I don't have a true Scentsy but I love it none the less.

As you know I am making lavender themed spa baskets for all the women in my life and I thought I would try to make lavender scented wax cubes to go along with it. Here is my running list of spa related items I making (and sharing with you):

Lavender bath salt ($2) DONE
Lavender sugar scrub ($2.50) DONE
Lavender scented wickless candle pucks ($0.50)
Spa towel ($7)
Lavender scented Catalytic Lamp oil (you know like Lampe Berget oil) ($2.50)
Lavender linen water ($1.50)
Lavender reed diffuser (Not done yet so I don't have an approximate cost)

I knew I could make scented wax cubes from old candles, so I though I could probably make them from unscented, white candles along with some essential oils. I was pleasantly surprised at how well this worked and how cheap it was! Plus, I have read that most of the scented candles out there are pretty bad for you (with the exception of Scentsy products) and these are scented with only essential oils.

Materials:

Candle in a glass jar
Essential oil (I used lavender but you can use what ever scent you like)
Ice cube tray or old wax cube container

Method:

I will start off by saying you need to be very cautious when doing this. I do not know if these candles are meant to be put into boiling water...so just be careful and use safety precautions. I did not have any problems with cracking glass, but just keep a close eye on it.

I boiled a pot of water and carefully placed my prayer candle into the water, being careful not to get water into the wax. To be honest with you, I think a fatter shorter candle in a glass container would work a million times better than this tall skinny version. But this is what I had on hand so it is what I used.

Once the wax starts to melt it turned opaque.

Carefully pour the wax into either an ice cube tray or into an old scented wax cube container.

Then add approximately 6 drops of essential oil to each section of the container. You can use what ever scent you like and as many drops as you like. I found this to be enough for my nose...but it is all up to you.

You will see in the photo below that the essential oil sits in the middle of the wax when it is dropped in. I used a toothpick to stir it around so it was distributed within each wax cube. This is not critical because once you melt the wax in the warmer, it will all mix together.

Let it harden for a few hours or overnight in the container. Once hardened, pop the wax cubes out of the container and wrap the cubes as you would like. I wanted mine to match my bath salts and sugar scrub, so I wrapped them in clear cellophane and tied them up with raffia along with a brown paper tag and some lavender.

Cute huh!

The wax would have cost me $0.50 since I was able to get over 2 sets with the one candle.

See how my basket is starting to come together?

I had to test it out on my own before I gave it away, so I melted two cubes and they worked great! the smell traveled really nicely throughout my house.

The possibilities are endless with this! If you have a favorite scent, go out and buy a small 50ml jar of essential oil, and you can make so much with it. I have a 100ml jar of lavender and I have made gifts for four people (and lots of items for each) and I have barely put a dent in the jar!

Please note that I have read that using non-Scentsy wax in a Scentsy burner will void its warranty.

Up next, the oil for my Lampe Berger! I was at a store yesterday and they wanted $24 for a refill where mine cost me $2.50 to make! So excited to share this one.

Since tomorrow is Thanksgiving for many of you, I though I would share this one more time because I love it so much. (see here for the original post and instructions to download it) I am Thankful for...

For all my friends and family in the United States, have a great Thanksgiving and eat a little turkey for me!

Stephanie

DIY Sugar Scrub - Easy Gifts on a Budget (Part 2)

2012-11-20T09:19:00.002-05:00

As I mentioned in the last post, I am working towards making 80% of all my Christmas gifts this year. I am well on my way and enjoying every second of it!

Here is my list of spa related items I making (and sharing with you):

Lavender bath salt ($2) DONE
Lavender sugar scrub ($2.50)
Lavender scented wickless candle pucks ($0.50)
Spa towel ($7)
Lavender scented Catalytic Lamp oil (you know like Lampe Berget oil) ($2.50)
Lavender linen water ($1.50)
Lavender reed diffuser (Not done yet do I don't have an approximate cost)

To continue with the spa basket gift idea, I made a wonderful Lavender scented sugar scrub. It was a little more work (took maybe 1 minute more) and cost a smidge more than the bath salts, but this stuff is amazing! I have always purchased the sugar scrub from Bath and Body Works but have you looked at the ingredients on those things? It has more chemicals in it than I am happy to admit I put on my body. So for all of you looking for a great DIY frugal gift or for those of you avoiding artificial bath and body products, this will be a great post for you!

Materials:

3 cups sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
10-20 drops essential oil (or however many you feel gives you a nice scent) I used Lavender Essential Oil but you can use any essential oil scent you like
Dried lavender liberated from your mother's garden ( this is completely optional)
Jar with a tight fitting lid

Method:

Add the 3 cups of sugar into a mixing bowl. I used plain old white sugar but if you want to use coarse or brown sugar, both would work great too.

Slowly add the 1 cup plus 2 tbsp of olive oil to the sugar. Carefully mix with a spoon until well blended. I used the cheapest olive oil I could find, so we got a light yellow ting to the scrub. If you prefer a more neutral color you can spend more and get a coconut oil or a lighter colored olive oil. I was being frugal and decided to go this way. Some people add a drop of food coloring but to be honest with you I wouldn't do it. I see how food coloring stains my counters and hands when I use it so why add it to something you are putting on your body. Your call though.

Slowly add the essential oils. I used approximately 20 drops but my olive oil had a stronger smell. So start with 10 drops and see if you like the scent. If you want a stronger smell, add a few more drops of essential oil at a time.

Since I am doing a lavender themed spa basket, I added some dried lavender petals/flowers to the mix.

I then transferred the mixture to a tight sealing container.

NOTE: If you would like your mix to be a little coarser for tougher skin or the men in your life, you can add some Epson salt. However, if you want it a little softer for more sensitive skin, you can add a bit more oil.

To decorate the container, I added a band of brown paper secured with double sided tape.

I made a label with a paper punch I had, added a few sprigs of lavender and tied it all together with some raffia.

It was really that simple! Since I made extra for myself, I have been using this for the past week and my hands and legs have never felt so nice. My mother in law was over when I made my last batch, so I gave her some and she has been using it on her face. Not sure I am willing to try that but she loves it!

Have any of you ever made your own sugar scrub? Have you tried it on your face?

What do you think? Anyone else thinking of making a spa gift package now that you have one place to get easy and frugal methods of making them?

Have a great week!
Stephanie

DIY Lavender Bath Salt - Easy Gifts on a Budget

2012-11-18T15:48:00.004-05:00

So I am officially into my Christmas countdown! I realize most of you are getting ready for Thanksgiving, but I have been working on reaching my goal of an 80% homemade Christmas for some time.

I apologize for the minimal posts lately, but I have been trying to get most of my gifts finished before I start posting.

I have decided for all the women I give gifts for, I was going to create a spa themed basket. I plan to make the following for each person:

Lavender bath salt ($2)
Lavender sugar scrub ($2.50)
Spa towel ($7)
Lavender scented Catalytic Lamp oil (you know like Lampe Berget oil) ($2.50)
Lavender linen water ($1.50)
Lavender reed diffuser (Not done yet do I don't have an approximate cost)

I have made almost all of these items and provided the approximate costs to create them. Obviously you can make them for less or more depending on the products you buy. If you reuse jars you have on hand, you will save $1 on all the costs. It adds up!

I plan to purchase a few accessories (i.e. cozy socks, sponges, etc) to add to all the baskets.

I will start by sharing the easiest gift to make, Lavender Bath Salts. This smells amazing! I have always used Epson Salts for my bath but never thought that it was this easy to make them scented. I will never buy full price bath salts again!

Materials:

1 1/8 cup Epson Salt
24 drops of Lavender Essential Oils (you can use any essential oil scent you like)
Dried lavender liberated from your mother's garden (Shhh don't tell her)
Container that seals tight

This is the essential oil that I used and loved!

Method:

Start by adding 1 1/8 cup of Epson salt to a bowl. If you are wondering why my salt looks like more than 1 1/8 cup, it is because I quadrupled the recipe.

Add 24 drops of essential oil to the Epson Salt

Stir, stir, stir. Once the oil was mixed into the Epson Salt, I added a handful of dried lavender flowers. You don't have to do this, I just thought it was a nice touch.

Transfer the scented salt to your container. I thought it was funny that for the first container I actually used a funnel. You can easily just spoon it into the container without having to use a funnel.

Seal the containers and decorate them as you like.

I used a strip of brown paper, raffia and a few lavender sprigs to dress my containers up.

Using double sided tape, I stuck the brown paper to the container.

Wrapped some raffia around it. It would also look nice with some Christmas ribbon or twine.

I added a tag identifying what was in the jar and a little extra lavender and I was finished.

I figure this probably cost $2 total to make. I think the most expensive item for this was the container which I got at the Dollar Store for $1. The huge jug of Epson salt was $7 at Costco and the large bottle Lavender oil was $20 but I have used next to nothing from either of them so I think I used probably $0.50 of these materials.

I will share the Lavender Sugar Scrub very soon.

Remember, you can use any scent you like. I have done this with orange (my favorite scent) and also have a great recipe for all those athletes out there. I will share the runner's scrub and soak soon.

Wouldn't this make an amazing gift for everyone attending a wedding? The hall would smell great and you have a reasonably priced but beautiful gift for everyone. You could easily make hundreds of these in an afternoon!

What do you think? Anyone else working towards making almost all their Christmas gifts this year?

Enjoy!
Stephanie

Christmas in October- Your Dog's Paw Print Ornament

2012-10-21T08:42:00.001-04:00

I mention my kids all the time on my blog, but have not talked much about the fact we have a dog. Oscar, our little old man of a dog, is the best pet anyone could ever ask for. He loved us and the kids beyond belief and it truly a member of our family. Here is our little old man.

I have looked for years for a way to make an ornament with his paw print and have not found anything that I thought would work well. Oscar is getting old, he turned 10 this year, so I was determined this was the year I would get his paw print so we could have it forever.

Well, when I made the corn starch and baking soda ornaments ( see post with full instructions here ) I had really hoped I could use the same technique to create a paw ornament. I am absolutely overjoyed to share with you that it worked! It worked far better than I had expected.

For the full instructions on how to make the dough, check out the original post here.

There recipe I used for this was:

2 cups baking soda
1 cup cornstarch
1 1/4 cups cool water

Once the dough cooled, I rolled out a large circle to be approximately 1/4 inch thick. With the help of my husband, we carefully placed Oscars paw on the dough. Be sure to put the paw down from the top (not coming in from an angle) and press down on all 'toes' gently. Then lift the paw straight back up again.

Oscar has longer hair and I found that this left no residue on his paws. My mistake was I did this paw print right after he came in from running around outside and it appears he had some dirt on his paw. It adds to it :) I then used a scalloped cookie cutter to make the ornament shape and a straw to make the hole to hang the ornament. I made 3 just in case.

I carefully transfer the ornament to a flat plat (be sure it is flat otherwise the ornament will have a curve). I let them dry for 24 hours, carefully flipping them every once and a while.

Once dry, I took the ornaments outside to my spray paint area and carefully sealed them with a clear flat spray finish. I am sure you can use Mod Podge to seal the ornament too, perhaps even glitter Mod Podge.

Do 3 or 4 really light coats to prevent the ornament from getting too wet. If you are a little heavy with the spray and it appears the ornament is damp, don't worry it will dry again over the next day or so.

You can write the name and date on the back before or after you seal the ornament. I just used a black Sharpie permanent marker.

Once sealed and dry, add some ribbon or raffia and call it a day!

Isn't it great?!

I am so excited about this. I just keep on thinking of all the uses for this recipe. Obviously a baby hand print ornament would work great but I will be making an amazing idea very soon for all you new parents out there that isn't an ornament!

Do any of you out there love their dog as much as we do? Anyone else as excited as I am by this ornament idea?

P.S. This is a great gift idea too. I managed to get my mom's dog (Oscar's sibling) and make a couple for her too. If you have the dough ready, you can keep it in the fridge in a sealed bag. Once the pet visits, it only takes a few minutes to make the ornament!

Let me know what you think,
Stephanie

Christmas in October - Capture a Photo of Santa in front of your Tree for FREE

2012-10-07T13:06:00.000-04:00

WARNING: If you have little ones looking over your shoulder or in the near vicinity, come back and read this post later. Be sure to come back because this is AMAZING!!! But be warned there is a potential spoiler that I do not want to be responsible for sharing.

I am going to leave some space here just in case :)

Just in case my little ones somehow manage to read this: Guys... I will admit it is next to impossible to capture a real photo of Santa in front of our tree because, as we talked about, Santa moves so fast you can't see him. How else does he get all over the world in one evening? So this is just something to make little ones out there smile.

Last year I was lured to a blog by the idea of creating a photo of Santa standing in front of our Christmas tree. I thought it would be amazing to set up a camera with the kids before they went to bed on Christmas Eve to see if we can catch a glimpse of Santa. Well, when I got to the site, all they were doing was providing a link to a site that sells those photos (a digital download) for $10.

I knew it was something I could make myself...but I did not have the time last year before Christmas. So, since I have a couple of months until I need this, I thought I would take a crack at getting Santa in front of out tree. Well 5 minutes later, with very little effort, this is what I produced. Might not hold up the scrutiny of my curios kids as a professionally printed 8x10, but when printed as a 4x6 or viewed on a camera and it is amazing!

This is not my tree. I used a free wallpaper download to make this... I was too lazy to try to find the photos on our other computer.

If my kids do not see this, I plan to take the 'final photo' of our tree on Christmas Eve so that everything will be exactly the same (i.e. mess on the floor :) ) and insert Santa. I will then save the image back onto our digital camera so when the kids come down Christmas morning and look at the images on the camera they will find the one of Santa! The would be so excited...I am so excited right now. How amazing will this be? That is why I am sharing this in October because I just had to get the idea out there for all of you as soon as possible.

Here is exactly how to do this! I do recommend practicing this in advance of when you need it so you won't be disappointed!

Go on the internet and find a free PNG image of Santa. I found a site that offers one image that works perfectly, so here is the link but I can't guarantee it is a virus free site. Nothing came up with my million virus blockers but just be cautious. This is the image I found by searching for 'santa photo png' , you will find other images too that might fit better. When you find the image you like, right click and select 'save image as'.

Source

The PNG image has a transparent background so you can overlay it on top of your tree image. It is hard to tell which images are transparent when looking at them on the internet (they usually have all white around them), but once you save them, you can see that the background is transparent. See how the Santa png 2 file has no white around it below when I save it on my Desktop? That means it is transparent.

Using Publisher, I created a new image 8x10 image but size doesn't really matter. That is what she said... sorry couldn't help myself I love The Office.

Select 'insert' 'Picture'. Find the background image you want i.e. the photo of your Christmas tree.

Enlarge the photo to be the size of the background so you don't see any white.

Then insert picture again and insert your Santa png. If Santa appears behind your background image, click on the background and select 'Send Backwards'.

This is how mine looked. Santa looked like he was floating in the air, so I moved him down, cropped off the bottom of his feet and enlarged him a bit to fit the proportions of the background.

The save the image as a JPEG by selecting 'Save As' andthen select 'JPEG' fro the pull down list.

Be sure to change the resolution to 'High Quality Printing'

Here is the finished image. I prefer the first image where the background is brighter but this is the one I used to make the tutorial and I didn't want to do it all over again.

You can either print this image at any photo printing location (i.e. Walmart, Costce, etc.) or save it back to your digital camera memory and have the kids find it there.

What do you think? Will you be able to use this?

Is anyone else as excited by this as I am?

Please let me know what you think! I would really love to hear what you think about this.
Stephanie at Full of Great Ideas

Christmas in October - Free Printable I am Thankful for..

2012-10-04T10:54:00.000-04:00

This is one of my all time favorite poems, quotes, whatever you want to call it I love it. I originally made this piece for myself to hang in my hallway where I see it everyday. If you have never seen this quote before, please take a minute to read it because it really does make you think. (If you click on the image it will open larger in another window)

The timing for me to share this is appropriate for my fellow Canadian's as this weekend is our Thanksgiving. I know most of you reading this aren't even thinking about Thanksgiving yet, but you can always Pin it and come back in a month and a half if you want to use it for Thanksgiving decoration.
I do not know if this will be a Christmas gift that I will give (perhaps to a couple close friends), but I thought you might like it for a significant other or just for yourself like me.

"I am Thankful" was originally printed in the Family Circle magazine in November of 1999 by Nancy J. Carmody. I have taken her article and changed the order slightly so that 'I am alive' appears at the bottom. I have known about this piece for a while but do not know 100% if the version I have is exactly as she wrote it. To be honest with you, I can't find the original source. Also, there are two different spellings of her name, so please forgive me Nancie/Nancy if I used the wrong one :)

I produced this as an 8x10 image in two different colors. I hate to say this, but please use this only for personal use. I love offering free ideas and cheap gifts to everyone but hate when I stumble upon someone making money off it.

To download the image:

leave me a comment :) (not required but I really do love to know what you think)
right click on the color image you want and select open in a new window or tab
on the full size image, right click again and select save as
save it to a place on your computer where you can easily find it
send it to your favorite photo developer, find a frame and you can cross another Christmas gift off your list.

Here is the red image for download

Here is the teal image for download

If you would like another color or one without the box on the top, leave me a comment and I will try my best to make the changes you want.

What do you think of this? Do you think you will use it for Thanksgiving, Christmas gift or just for yourself?

For all my Canadian readers, have wonderful Happy Thanksgiving and for all my other friends, have a great weekend!
Stephanie

Christmas in October- Free Printable - Be Yourself Everyone Else is Already Taken

2012-10-03T09:56:00.002-04:00

Over the next couple of weeks I plan to make a lot of framed quotes for Christmas gifts. I really like the idea of finding a quote that matches the person I am giving it to and since I can make these for next to nothing, I plan to add one to almost every gift I give.

I received such amazing feedback from the last image I shared here for Grandmothers, I will share all the others with you as well. You can download them for free (as long as you use them for personal use only) and print them off as gifts too. Frames can be bought at the Dollar Store, so you too can have a gift for under $2!

I found this quote by Oscar Wilde and immediately thought of my nieces and daughter. I remembered when I was young and struggling with who I was and how I should act. So I thought this would be a nice reminder for the girls to be themselves.

Here are the fonts I used in case you would like to find them:

Be and Else is Already - Ashley font
Yourself and Taken- Algerian font
Everyone and Oscar Wilde- Rosewood Std Regular

I created this with Publisher as both a 5x7 and an 8x10 image. I think I will give the girls 5x7s to my nieces so they can put it their bedrooms without it seeming too large, but since I made both sized I thought I would share both options.

Here is the 5x7

Here is the 8x10

To download the image:

leave me a comment :) (not required but I really do love to know what you think)
right click on the size you want and select open in a new window or tab
on the full size image, right click again and select save as
save it to a place on your computer where you can easily find it
send it to your favorite photo developer, find a frame and you can cross one Christmas gift off your list.

UPDATE: I have added a few images with more masculine colors below in case any of you want this for nephews or sons or it just fits your decor better.
5x7 images

8x10 images

I would love your feedback about what you think of this and who you would like to give it to. If you would like other colors, leave me a comment and I can see what I can throw together?

How is your Christmas planning coming along? I am working towards a home made gift Christmas and am loving it!

Have a great day!
Stephanie

Make Scented Wax Cubes for a Warmer with your Favorite Candles

2012-09-20T07:48:00.000-04:00

I found my absolute favorite candle scent of Yankee Candle in the world! I have not been a fan of the majority of scents out there; I don't like sweet or berry scents, but I do love apple and balsam fir. So when I was in the Yankee Candle outlet over a year ago and found a Macintosh apple scent I literally let out a scream of joy.

I have only burned that candle on special occasions, just so I could keep it for as long as possibly. However, I am sad to say that it no longer burns. I shed a tear the day when the wick would not burn anymore. I was so sad, I kept the jar with an inch and a half of left over was in it. I hated throwing it out because there was still wax in there and I felt it was such a waste.

For those of you who have been following me for a while know that last May I had a little incident with my candle warmer wax being dumped on my white carpet (see here). Well one day when I was waiting for company, I had an Aha moment. You know exactly that I am talking about! When you suddenly think of what seems like the best idea in the world and wonder how you never thought of it before! I would melt my precious 1.5 inches of Macintosh apple candle and use it in my wax warmer!

So I placed my candle in a pot and put approximately 2 inches of water around the base. Be sure not to get water into the candle because wax and water don't mix. I know this because I tried to wash out the empty Yankee candle jar after I was done with this.

I put the pot on the stove and turned my element up to high. I stood by and watched, the entire time the smile on my face grew bigger and bigger as the wax easily melted into a liquid.

It really is that simple! It took only a few minutes of the water boiling for it all to melt. Be sure not to walk away because I am not sure how long the glass will last in the hot water.

Once it was completely melted, I scooped out the metal wick base with a spoon. I had two containers of scented wax cubes so I thought I would use them to create my new scent cubes.

I took out the Better Homes wax and poured in the new Macintosh apple.

My 1.5 inches of left over wax made 12 cubes or two full containers! I let them sit out until they hardened and then put 2 in my wax warmer and the rest in a sealed plastic bag for storage.

So for almost nothing (except the cost of electricity) I was able to convert my favorite candle scent into scented wax cubes that can be heated whenever I want to. I have been using these first 2 cubes for over a week (only a couple hours at a time) and they still are going strong!

I am going to throw this out there...please be careful when doing this. I don't know if these jars are meant to be heated (although they do get really hot when the candles are burning). I had no problems doing this and I loved the result..but be careful just in case.

I am going to make a few sets of these as Christmas gifts for my sister and my mom. I have a few more candles that are almost burned down!

What do you do with the left over wax at the bottom of your candles?

Have a great day,
Stephanie

Fall Pumpkin 4x4s - Decorating on a Dime

2012-09-18T22:21:00.000-04:00

My husband went away a few weeks ago for a guys fishing weekend and while he was away I decided to spend the weekend doing crafts. Initially it was to be all Christmas crafts but I decided to throw some Fall items in too. You know the adage, when the cats away, the mice will play....well in this house it is when Daddy's away, mommy will craft!

You might have seen in previous posts, I have a corner sink in my kitchen. I absolutely love the 4 windows that surround it but I have always had some difficulty deciding what to do on the large triangle shaped ledge behind it. How do I decorate the little nook? I have thought it might be nice to make that my seasonal decoration spot. In the summer I had herbs there, at Christmas I put my ornament tree and at Halloween I tend to put gourds.

I had a left over 4x4s from another craft, so I decided I would cut 1.5 inch slices off the end of the 4x4 on my husband's miter saw. I have only used this a few times since he bought it so I had to work up a little nerve. So I put on the gorgeous safety glasses he left out for me (why can't they make some that actually fit my small head), plugged in the mighty machine and cut 4 slices of the 4x4. I was grinning from ear to ear after I was done. I ran inside and said to the kids "Look what Mommy just did!" They weren't nearly as excited as I was.

I lightly sanded the rough edges and I painted each piece with a mix of pumpkin orange and burnt umber acrylic paint.

I wanted a deep but not bright orange so this mixture worked well.

I had some large branches left over from the other craft involving the 4x4, so I cut them in 2-3 inch sections. I liked the ones cut on an angle the best.

I hammered in a long finishing nail (I think that is what they are called - the ones with no real head on them) appropriately half way.

I then pulled the nail out of the 4x4.

I flipped the nail over and hammered the head of the nail into the hole I just made. I honestly don't know if this damages the head of the hammer, but I assumed it was ok. My husband hasn't said anything about it yet, so all is good.

I hammer the nail approximately halfway into the pilot hole.

I took the twig and lined the middle up with the nail.

Hammer the top of the twig until the other half of the nail goes into the twig.

Here are the 4 done. Aren't they cute? I like the ones with the knobs on the twig and the one on the angle. I roughly sanded along the edges with a low grit sandpaper to give it a worn weathered look.

I then cut out of vinyl the words Fall and Boo! on my Cricut. So on one side of the pumpkin it says Fall in white and the other side has Boo! in black. I like the idea I can put these somewhere you can see both sides.

I tied some raffia around the stems and made some curly ques with left over paper covered wire from making the wire pumpkins.

I am very please with how they turned out. The wood has started to dry and it has cracked on a couple of the edges making it look a little more rustic, I like that.

So since I had all the materials on hand, this project cost me nothing.

What do you think? Do you do seasonal decorating?

Stephanie

Christmas in September - Free Printable -The Only Thing Better than Having you for a Mom

2012-09-17T19:49:00.000-04:00

It is getting harder for me to post Christmas ideas here on Full of Great Ideas because my family has been known to visit my blog to see what I have been up to. Well, I hope my stern warnings a few weeks ago will be listened to, otherwise there will be no surprises on Christmas day.

I recently saw a wood plaque with the saying “The only thing better than having you for a Mom is my children having you for a Grandma.” I pinned it thinking I love the saying and could make something with vinyl cut with my Cricut. After I spent an hour trying to design it I grew more and more frustrated and thought there had to be a better (i.e. easier) way.

So I went back to my favorite program, Microsoft Publisher, to design the quote. Here is what I came up with.

This is a basic 8x10 file and each row of text is in its own text box, so they can be manipulated independently. In case you are curious the following are the free fonts I used to make this:

The only thing - Alex Brush font
Better than – Gabriola font
Having you for a -Before the rain font
Mom- JT Hidden Vines font
Is out children-Mutlu font
Having you for a- Janda Elegant Handwriting font
Grandma- JT Hidden Vines font

I thought I would give you all an early Christmas gift too and offer this as a free download. I have created the file for Grandma, Oma, and Nanna (Update I have added: Nonni, Nonna, GiGi, Yia Yia, Grammy, Gram, Yani, Mimi, Nema, Nanny, Nana, Nonna, Meme, Queenie.....the list is now really long ). If there is another name your kids call your mother (or if someone wants one for a father), leave me a comment and I will be more than willing to make it and post it on this site for others to appreciate. I am also willing to change the colors…so leave me a recommendation and I can see what I can do.

To download the file, first leave me a comment (not required but I love the feedback), right click on the image you like and open in a new window. Once open, right click on it again and select ‘Save as’. Save it to a place you will remember. Then send the JPEG to your favorite photo printer! As my kids say...Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy. I have uploaded a high resolution image that is large enough to be printed as an 8x10. It might print clearly as a larger image but I have not tested it out.

I hate saying it, but please use this only for personal use. I don’t sell the items I make (this would probably cost $15ish on Etsy) but that doesn’t mean I want someone else to sell it either :)

So here are all the images you can download.Here is the one for Grandmas:

The list of images was getting really long, so I truncated the post. So please Click ' Read more' below to see the rest of the images you can download.
For all you Dutch (like me) and German kids out there, here is an Oma one:

And finally the Nanna image.

UPDATE: As requested by HighDesertGal..Grammy

UPDATE: As requested by April..Gram

UPDATE: As requested Gigi

UPDATE: As requested Nana

UPDATE: As requested Nonna

UPDATE: As requested Nonni

UPDATE: As requested Yia Yia

UPDATE: As requested Meme

UPDATE: As requested Mimi

UPDATE: As requested Momma and Moma

UPDATE: As requested Nanny

UPDATE: As requested Nema

UPDATE: As requested Queenie

UPDATE: As requested Yani

UPDATE: As requested Mum and Hanny

UPDATE: As requested Mom Mom

UPDATE: As requested Honey

UPDATE: As requested Tata

UPDATE: As requested Mamaw

UPDATE: As requested Memaw

UPDATE: As requested Yaya

UPDATE: As requested

Again, if there is a name you would like that I don't have here, leave me a comment and I will make it and post it on here for you to download.

I hope some of you can save a few dollars this Christmas with this frugal gift idea. I honestly believe you could print and frame this for around $10. Really you could do it for $3 if you buy a Dollar Store frame and spend $2 to print it. Not a bad price for a cute Christmas gift.

Let me know what you think,
Stephanie

Christmas in September - Corn starch and Baking Soda Ornaments

2012-09-16T15:36:00.000-04:00

I have tried salt dough with my kids in the past and although they loved it, I never loved the end result. It seemed to take forever for the dough to dry in the oven, microwave and/or on the counter and I found the color was never really nice.

I have longed for a pure white ornament that could be used as gift tags. So when I found this recipe online (I got the final version I used on cooks.com) I was really excited.

I was excited that I had all the ingredients on hand (who doesn't have corn starch and baking soda in their pantry?) and I love that this recipe produced a beautiful pure white dough that seems to have a shimmer. I am not sure which ingredient does it, but when the uncooked dough is in the light it sparkles. I will try this recipe again and add some white glitter to see how it works..I will let you know how that goes.

I tested out two different ways of hardening this recipe, air dry overnight and baking. I have to say I far preferred the results of the air dry. I liked the the kids could have the ornaments within 30 minutes with the baking, but the final result was a a little yellow and the shimmer was lost. So I highly recommend being prepared for an overnight dry time if you want amazing results.

The candy cane was air dried and the bell was baked. It is hard to see, but the candy cane is much whiter. A funny thing is, I didn't notice until now that we put the hole on the wrong side of the candy cane..so when I went to hang it on the tree to photograph it was a 'J'.

Full batch recipe:

2 cups baking soda
1 cup cornstarch
1 1/4 cups cool water

I only did 1/4 of this recipe as a test to see how it worked. I had intended to make another batch with fancy ornaments and gift tags to post it here on Full of Great Ideas, but I absolutely loved this craft and wanted to share it with you right away. You never know, some of you might be bored on a Sunday afternoon and wanted to do something with your kids.

Method:

Mix cornstarch and baking soda in a pot.

Add water to the powder mixture. It will seem like the water sits on top, but after a little stirring in mixes all together into a runny mix.

Place the pot on a stove over medium heat.

Be sure to stir the mixture constantly.

Once it thickens (you will know when it is done..it becomes a ball), turn into a bowl.

Cover with a damp paper towel and let cool.

This is an important step. Don't be impatient like me and try to kneed it with your hands when it is piping hot! I try to teach my children to wait and be patient, but I can't seem to follow my own advice. If you are like me and decide to burn your hands, add one extra step...run hands under cold water and try to refrain from cursing because your children are watching and waiting to the dough to be done. :)

Knead the cooled mixture until smooth. It is amazing at how nice and smooth the dough becomes. I have never used the Magic Dough from Crayola (too cheap) but this is what I envision it to be like.

Roll out the dough to approximately 1/4 inch thick on a flat surface. If you find the mixture to be a little sticky, add a little cornstarch either on the counter on kneed it into the mixture.

Cut out desired shape with cookie cutters.

I had a few cookie press from when I was younger that the kids wanted to try and to be honest with you they are my favorites!

We used a drinking straw to make the hole a the top of each of the ornaments.

My son decided he was going to decorate a snowman with a straw and a butter knife. It is cute and he is quite proud of his work.

When I left the ornaments out to air dry, they dried nicely overnight. I did flip them over before I went to bed to ensure both sides dried evenly. This produced the nicest ornaments! They remained pure white and still have the shimmer to them.

But if you want to bake them, be prepared, they will slightly brown a bit in the process (especially the back). If you plan to paint the ornament, this is a great option for you. I was hoping to make pure white ornaments, so the air dry method was my favorite.

To bake them, preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place ornaments on parchment lined baking sheet and bake for approximately 30 minutes. Be sure to watch closely for the last 10-15 minutes to prevent over browning.

Here is the back of one of the ornaments I baked. See how the back of the ornament is a light brown?

You can seal any unused dough in plastic bag and keep it in the refrigerator until needed. I am not sure how long it will last, so I recommend only making enough for you to use within a few days.

The possibilities are endless for this craft! My kids have always loved making things out of dough, but we have never found a reasonably priced dough that air dries. You can add food coloring along with the water to color the dough and like I said, I think some glitter for Christmas ornaments would be amazing!

My kids have always made ornaments for family members but this year I think the ornaments will double as the labels. Have any of you ever make reusable Christmas gift labels? This will be my first year, but I am excited especially for family members who are just starting out and don't have many ornaments.

Have any of you used this recipe before? What have your results been?

Anyone else getting ready for Christmas already? What are you working on?

Have a great Sunday!

Stephanie

Getting Organized - Plastic Bags

2012-08-26T10:01:00.000-04:00

I am going through something right now; not anything bad, I am just tired of looking at stuff. It is like I want to spring clean but multiply that by 100. Have you ever had that? I literally spent 6 hours in my children's rooms just tearing everything out and only putting back what we absolutely love. I have cleaned, purged and organized under every sink in the house. Closets are on my next to do list...I can't wait. I am not sure what it is about but it is making me happier and I feel lighter.

So, this is not going to be an earth shattering post, but it will be helpful for those of you, who like me, seem to amass piles of plastic grocery bags. I honestly use reusable bags as often as possible, but it seems that they end up neatly piled in our mudroom after I put my groceries away but they don't make it to the car by the time I need them. So over months I am left with a kitchen drawer full of plastic bags.

What do you do to keep them neat and tidy and convenient enough to use them again? Well, I tested out the three technique that I thought were the best options I could find:

Cleaning wipes container
Kleenex container
Folding into triangles

The first two I found as solutions on the internet and the third was taught to me by my mother-in-law.

In all three options I used 6 plastic bags just so I could easily compare how well they hold the same amount.

Cleaning Wipes Container
The first method I tried was to put plastic bags in the disposable cleaning cloths container. Someone on a blog did this and covered the outside of the bottle with pretty scrapbook paper. It really did look nice and I would have done this if I felt this was a viable option, but I really didn't. I have a hard enough time getting those cleaning cloths out without pinching a finger or scratching the back of my hand.

I literally stuffed 5 bags into the container and was quite surprised that it would only hold that many. I might have been able to cram another one in but it was tight.

There were two flaws with this technique. Firstly, I should have cut out the prongs that keep the wipes from coming out in clumps because it ripped the bags as they were pulled out. Secondly, the bags are next to impossible to get out from the bottom. The first 2 came out because I could easily reach them, the last few I have to get a chopstick out to bring them to the top.

I guess if you were really ambitious, you could lay the bags flat and then roll them up so they are similar to a roll of paper towels before putting them in. Honestly, this did not work for me. I have the scratches on the back of my hand to prove it too :)

Kleenex Box
The second method I tested was using a Kleenex box to house the bags.I didn't have any empty tissue boxes on hand, but I had purchased a Kleenex box cover for a future craft so I tried that.

I took my 6 bags and stuffed them into the opening. The container held them nicely and could have probably housed a few more. This isn't a bad option, but I don't think it saves that much space.

Triangle Folding Plastic Bags
My mother-in-law has always folded her plastic bags and I never realized how easy and space saving it was. You might think it is not worth the time (30 seconds per bag) to fold the bags but this is by far my favorite method to store/organize plastic bags.

You start by flattening the bag, tucking in the side folds.

Fold the bag in half length wise so the handles line up. Some bags will have the handle in the middle, so you don't have to worry about lining them up.

Fold it in half again.

Make a triangle on the bottom by folding the one corner up.

Flip the triangle up so the sides line up.

Just keep folding and flipping that triangle....

until you reach the top.

Fold the handles over and tuck them into the opposite side.

Easy Peasy..you are done. You now have a neat little triangle plastic bag.

It is amazing size difference.

Here are the 6 folder bags.

This is my favorite solution! It only takes a few seconds to do each and it really does save a lot of space.

If I had to rank the methods, they would be in the following order:

Triangle Folding
Kleenex Box
Cleaning Wipe container

Look at the size difference between the three methods. All hold 6 but look how small the 6 folded bags are.

I have used a long tube of fabric with elastic on both ends before to hold the bags, but it also really doesn't save much space.

What do you do with your plastic bags? Give it a try to fold them and let me know what you think!

I will be back on Christmas stuff very soon! I did a great ornament with the kids yesterday that I can't wait to share.

Have a great day,

Stephanie

Christmas in August - Permanent Marker Designs on Mug and Plate

2012-08-11T14:15:00.000-04:00

If you have been on Pinterest lately or ever, I am sure you have seen the plate with the recipe written on it with Sharpie. I pinned it a while ago and when starting my Christmas crafts last week I pulled it up only to find out the link was broken; I could not get to the original source from my pin. So after some searching, I found the site that posted it originally and it says NOTHING about a sharpie anywhere. The woman used ceramic markers to decorate the plate! I know... we all just let out a collective GASP.

Don't worry though, I did not give up that easily. This is a great gift idea for grandparents and I had to find a way to make it work this year for Christmas!

When searching online I found a few different methods that claimed you can make Sharpie drawing on mugs and plates permanent. I tested out a few different methods and here is what I found to work the best.

Important Note: The sharpie drawing becomes permanent when hand washed only...it does not withstand the strength of my dishwasher. So if you take one precaution i.e. write 'Hand Wash Only' on the bottom, this will make a great gift idea!

Materials Needed:

Solid color mug, plate, bowl etc. I bought a white plate and mug at the Dollar Store
Permanent markers i.e. Sharpies in various colors (I also tested one Dollar Store permanent marker and it seemed to work just as well)
Oven

Method:
It really is this simple:

Wash and dry the plate and mug
Draw on plate and mug with permanent markers
Write on bottom 'Hand Wash Only'
Place items in cold oven
Turn oven on to bake at 350 degrees
Bake for 30 minutes (after it reaches 350 degrees)
Turn oven off
Let items cool in oven!

Here are a few tips I learned while making ours.
The light yellow Sharpie changed colors when baked (see how the sun is brown in the picture below) so be aware that items might not finish the same color they start as. This was the only color that changed and my son really didn't mind.

If you pull the item out of the oven while it is still hot, the drawing can and will smudge if you touch it. So resist the urge and leave it in the oven until cool.

Remember to write 'Hand Wash Only' on the bottom. We drew cute picture on the bottom, which is great until these dishes end up in the dishwasher and the design comes off. Our next projects will have the hand wash message on the bottom along with the cute drawings from the kids.

Don't heat the oven to 350 degrees and then throw the items in. These are Dollar Store items and probably are not meant to be heated this high. So by heating them with the oven, it prevents the dramatic change in temperature and prevents cracking.
Note: I cannot guarantee this will not break your dishes. Mine worked great but every Dollar Store sells different items, so I recommending testing one item before doing a large batch...just in case.

I am very happy with how these turned out. I will be making a mug for every grandparent and then the kids have asked if they can make a plate and mug for their milk and cookies for Santa. I really can't wait to see what they do for Santa!

What do you think, do you think you will be able to use this?

Any one else working on their Christmas craft list yet? If yes, what have you been making?

Have a great weekend,
Stephanie

Christmas in August - Alphabet Birth Announcement - How to make yourself

2012-08-10T12:12:00.000-04:00

Well it is Christmas in August here at Full of Great Ideas. Last Saturday my husband and I were sitting out back, after the kids were put to bed, enjoying a ~~bottle~~ glass of wine with a little music and for some reason our iPod was determined to play Christmas music. It seemed like every other song in the random shuffle was a Christmas one; so it made me think that maybe it was a sign that I needed to start thinking about it.

I know you think I am insane but hear me out. Don't you find you have great intentions on saving a few dollars by making your Christmas gifts? Then December rolls around and you haven't done the majority of what you wanted to. I have always left my Christmas craft way too late and ended up buying gifts or staying up late of Christmas Eve spray painting something. So, I am making a deal with myself that it is not going to happen this year!

This gift is something I am making for a friend of mine who is pregnant and due right before Christmas. I don't know if she is having a boy or a girl or what color their nursery will be. So I made a few colors and layouts so that when her little one makes his or her entrance into this world, all I have to do is change the name and birth information, send it to Costco for printing and her gift is done.

Here are the designs I made and will show you below how to make them yourself. So for around $10 (less if you have a frame already) you too can make these amazing gifts! They take 10 minutes to design and cost under $2 to print.

These can be made using many different programs but I like to use Microsoft Publisher since I know its ins and outs.

Start by creating a new file. I made mine as an 8x10 image, but you can do any size you want.

Insert a text box and type the complete alphabet in capital letters. If you forget the capitals, you can change the case using the icon that looks like this 'Aa' on the Home tab. At the end of each of my rows, I used a hard return (is that term still used or was the lost when we stopped using typewriters?) so each row can be manipulated individually.

Select the font (I used Penshurst) and font size you like.

Now to get the font to go the entire way across the page, you need to highlight one line of the letters and select character spacing.

Select 'More Spacing'

I change the 'Tracking' so there is more space between the letters but you can also play around with the 'Shrink and Stretch'. Remember you can always undo changes so don't be afraid to try different things.

Once you get all the rows but the last to the width of the text box, insert another text box on the bottom right side. This is where I insert the "is for Christian".

If you want no background, you can skip ahead a bit, but if you want there to be a pattern or texture behind your letters, select insert picture.

I inserted a free scrapbook paper I downloaded off the internet (just google 'free digital scrapbook paper' and you will find hundreds).

If the text box moves down because of the scrapbook paper, select 'wrap text' then 'none'

If the scrapbook paper is in front of the text, select 'Send Backwards' and then 'Send to back'

I then played around with the color of the font. I made all the letters white except the initial and the 'is for Christian'.

I added a button that I downloaded with some free scrapbook paper and I was done with this one.

To save the file as a JPEG, select 'Save As' and then 'JPEG'

Now this is important! Be sure to change the resolution to 'High Quality'. This will allow you to get a nice crisp 8x10 photo printed.

Once I finished with my first file, I easily changed it to make a few different looks. I added another text box to the bottom with weight, date and time.

Then I thought I would do a couple with the name on the side of the page. To turn a text box on its side, use the green circle on the top of the box and drag it around. The image below is with Broadway font.

To add a line below the name, select 'Insert' and 'shape'

This is how you change the color and width of the line

With these templates you can quickly change the look by removing or changing the background, changing the font style and color, etc.

The possibilities are really endless. I think my favorite design is this one.

Here are the other ones I have done so far. Which do you like the best?

F-ing Retirement Gift (Part 2) - Monogrammed Marble Tiles

2012-08-09T13:07:00.000-04:00

As I mentioned in my previous post, a friend of mine decided to take an early retirement. I struggled with a personal gift to make and came up with monogrammed wine glasses and coasters. See here for the wine glasses.

The coasters I made were so extremely simple, that they have been added to my Christmas to do list. I know it is only August, but I have started my Christmas craft gifts already. I will be posting a few of them very soon so all of you can benefit.

I purchases these amazingly beautiful, white Carrera marble 4x4 tiles at Habitat for Humanity for only $0.40 each months ago to make the runners bib coasters for my husband. I scooped up every single one that was not chipped and almost ran out the door screaming "start the car".

For my girl friend, I decided to do something a little different then a standard set of 4 coasters with 'F's (her last name initial) on them. Instead I made one for each of the members of her family. So when they all are having a glass of wine with 'F's etched on them, they can use their individual coaster with their initial on it so they can keep track of their glasses.

I always wash the tiles before I do anything with them because when you first get them they are almost chalky. So after a good washing and letting the completely dry, I added vinyl cut with my Cricut. I tested out a few different fonts, sizes and ended up liking how these lower case letters looked. The font is a free one called Bell MT and each letter (except the 'r') was approximately 1.5 inches wide and high.

I then added four no slip stoppers (you can get these at the dollar store) to the back of each of the coasters. I have used the felt pads on the back before and I found out the hard way they slide really easily off a table. So these no slip ones are much better.

This next step is completely optional. I sealed the fronts of the tiles with a mat spray finish. I did this so that the tiles would not stain, but if you don't seal them, the tiles nicely absorb liquid when the glasses sweat. So it is completely up to you.

Aren't they cute! So a set of 4 costs under $3.00 ($1.60 for the coaster, $1 for the no slip pads, few cents for vinyl) and a set of 6 isn't much more!

Are you ready for Christmas ideas yet? I will be sharing some very soon so don't be shocked.

Have a great day,
Stephanie