Box Tops for Education

Does everyone know what these are? No?

Well they are coupons that are on various types of packages--food, toiletries, etc.--that earn money for schools. Very similar to the Campbell Soup labels that have been around for decades.

Schools collect these Box Tops and then send them in for money to help buy different things. They are super helpful for all schools, but really helpful for lower income schools like the one I work at. Each BoxTop that a school sends in is worth 10c, and that 10c can add up! If you want more info you can check it out here.

I've been collecting them and the Campbell Soup labels for a while, but have always had a messy pile of them in a drawer and then if I don't remember to send them in soon enough they might expire. Boo! Wasted money!

A while back, Nathania had made a little box that went on her fridge to collect them. She made hers all cute with scrapbooking paper and such and actually had a label on it. I finally made one and it was easy as can be.

Here's what you'll need:

A small box--I used a straw box, but a mac and cheese box would work too.

Fun looking duct tape--I've found lots of cute stuff in the dollar bins at Target

A magnet--I used one of the free ones you get in the mail.

To make this handy-dandy organizer, I cut the top off the box, covered it in duct-tape and voila--cute box!

                                   

I just matched up the lines of the tape. and created a cool looking chevron pattern.

                                     

I then just taped the longer sides of the magnet on to the back and stuck it up on the fridge.

Now, this isn't a take forever project, and probably not pin-worthy, but it organizes those Box Tops and keeps them visual so I bring them into school more often!

Win in my book!

If you don't already collect the Box Tops and soup labels....please do! It really is free for you to do, and can help schools in need out. Check with your local school to see if they are collecting them! If not I know a great school in Anchorage, AK that would love to be the recipient!

Sarah

Plums....everywhere!

Long time no post...but we have enjoyed this amazing summer that Alaska had this year!

Recently, I have come into some plums...for free...

Now I can't resist getting free food, and can't really think of anyone who can. So I took the plums home and made plum jam!

I cut out the stone and cut each plum into about 8 pieces. Sticky work, but isn't the color awesome! Love the color of these plums.

I put the plums in the pot with some lemon juice and some sugar and began stirring. And stirring. And stirring.

Then I got impatient and decided they were done. I put them in jars and a water bath for about 15 minutes. 

The plum jam may have turned into more of a thick sauce due to my impatience. I've made this before with better success, but I should have waited until it was more of a honey consistency. Oops! It still tastes great and will be fantastic on ice cream. So I still count it as a win.

Here is the recipe I used:

8 cups of plums

3 1/2 cups of sugar 

4 TBSP of lemon juice

Cook, stirring consistently until the plums become a honey like consistency. Then put them in sterilized jars and give them a boiling bath for about 15 minutes.

I have more plums....lots more so I'll probably freeze them and then make more jam...maybe even a salsa!

Are you preserving any food lately?

Sarah

Christmas Ornaments on the Cheap

As my husband likes to say...I'm a little bit of a hoarder. I buy things thinking about the future, especially when the price is right. Things may have gotten a little bit out of hand, but in reality I have made lots of headway in the stuff department. I'm actually using the things I bought and not buying more.

So all of that was to say that last year after Christmas, Nathania and I found these ornaments at Target for less than 10 cents a piece. I bought a whole bunch in them with plans of using them with my students at school. Which I'm still planning on doing, but recently the girls from my small group at church came over to make some ornaments for a service project we are doing.

(I don't know how to flip it...)

Before they came over I looked through my crap craft room and found Christmas fabric scraps, yarn and ribbon, pulled out some felt scraps and of course a glue gun. Some of the other ladies brought in yarn and some little odds and ends to decorate as well. Let me tell you...I have a ridiculous amount of fabric and crafty things...but they came in handy for a project like this.

There were no rules in decorating these ornaments, which was really cool because everyone came up with a different decoration for the ornaments. All similar but still each one unique. Love it.

The overall cost of each of these ornaments was 10 cents. If you had to buy some fabric or paint or such they may be more, but its kinda fun to see what you can find around the house to decorate something like this.

Anyone else doing cheap crafty things lately? Love to hear about them!

Make Do March Day 16: all hung up

If you haven't guessd by now...I love me som Value Village...thrifting is such fun!

Anyways, I got this old-school coat rack at value village for a buck. It was  little worse for wear and so it needed some updating.

It got a spray paint lift. I had found this lovely plum color at Home Depot for a buck...cause it was a color they no longer had in stock. Win for me...

I used multiple thing coats to get the all around purpley goodness.

It's being hung up in the craft room for now, but it may become an addition to my bathroom that I'm re-finishing. we'll see! Either way, walking away with a fantastic purple coat rack for 2 bucks is A-OK with me.

What are you Make Doing?

Sarah

Here we go again....

Howdy hoo—

Yup that’s what I said howdy hoo to you! Hope things are going well for ya'll in your neck of the woods…it’s been getting lighter and warmer here, which is something we can’t complain about!

So we’ve all heard about March Madness…the whole college basketball thing…well that has never been our cup of tea (although if you met me in person one of the first questions you may ask is if I played basketball… cause I'm tall....which I would say no, you don’t want to see how uncoordinated I am!), but I digress....so Nathania and I decided that we wanted to do another monthly series…so instead of March Madness we have for you:

Huzzah!!! Yup, we decided that in theme with our blogs mission of frugality we would have a whole month of using stuff we had. We have a few rules we are going to follow:

1. We use only what we have in the house---no shopping trips to Joann's, Home Depot, Michael's or the Thrift Store, etc…

2. We finish projects that have been started and abandoned first…get er done!

3. If we need an additional item, we can call a friend/sister to see if they have it, but if not…no dice…we make do!

4. We put up a post every day! AHHH!!

5. Host a linky party…yup stepping it up…every Monday!

Them's the rules. We're gonna stick to it...hopefully...and you'll be proud of us...we already have some projects ready to show, a sure sign that we're fully committed and not procrastinating. 

So who wants to join us? I know that there are plenty of people out there who have plenty of unfinished projects; large enough stashes to stock a store, and who just need a reason to stop procrastinating…all categories of which Nathania and I fall into…so join us for Make DO March and reduce the stash, get the projects done and get your rear in gear!

Series will start March 1st, so stay tuned! You know there will be a giveaway or two...

Ready? Hope so!

Sarah

faux basket tutorial

Anybody else out there love the cool baskets that Michael's or Joann's sells, but just doesn't want to pay for it? Well I have the solution for you!(do I sound like a commercial yet?)

But seriously, I do love those baskets and never want to pay for them and ones I've found at the thrift store are often broken, so being the frugal person that I am, I made my own:)

Here's what you'll need:

1 Bucket...find something from the recycling bin

A roll of twine, whatever size you prefer

a glue gun

glue

I used a bucket and didn't even both taking the stickers fully off. I couldn't be bothered since they were going to be covered up anyways.

1. Flip the bucket over, find the middle of the bottom and glue the end on

2. Start a spiral

3. Keep gluing and spiraling--I glued every inch on the bottom

Isn't starting to look perty?

4. Keep gluing every inch until you have about an inch up the sides. Then just wind it up, periodically gluing, tacking it into place.

There was a little lip on mine about an inch from the top--I used more glue so the twine would lay flat.

5. Put a strip of glue on the top and lay the final bit of twine down to get a more finished look. Finished product! Huzzah!

I actually needed something for my markers that looked somewhat decent and this was what I came up with. Cute?

I think if you wanted more pizazz you could put some ribbon or fabric around it or on the top...but I like the more rustic look.

Super duper easy project...with high quality outcomes...my kind of project. AND...it didn't cost me anything cause I had it all in the house anyways!

Happy Gluing!

sarah

Linked to:

Frugally Sustainable

Crafty Bonanza Day 31....we made it!

GUESS WHAT???? WE MADE IT!!!! Sorry...slightly excited that we actually were able to do a post a day!! Now, I don't know if this will continue to happen daily, but I think we are in more of a mindset to post more regularly:)

I promised to show the finished framed project from yesterday, so here it is:

There is more room to add more frames which I like! Also, the blank spot on the patches is for a specific patch I went all around town for yesterday, but couldn't find. I also...the blond in me really...got the wrong map...so this is Andy's old one being a place holder until the stores open again and I can go get the right map. I'm going to put it on a white foam board and then he can put pins in the peaks he's already done.

The skis are his old ones...he got TWO new pairs this year! They aren't actually good skis anymore...the binding are no longer safe so I put them on the wall! He really liked the final product...which is all I wanted:)

 

We hope you enjoyed following the Crafty Bonanza!

Happy New Year!

Sarah

Crafty Bonanza day 24....Holy Cowl! A winner!

GIVEAWAY WINNER is...Jean in BC! Congratulations! Please email us with your favorite colors and address so that we can get the mittens made and sent out!

So...I may have gotton a little obsessed with the cowl necklaec thing....and I made three more today!

I tried three different versions...and I think I like them all!

This coral colored one is not quite long enough to make it around the neck twice, but it gives an outfit a lovely burst of color...

This braided one is from Andy's inspiration...he suggested that I make one out of a loose braid...I think it turned out really well! It's a little fuller than the other ones.

 Last but not least is the blue and tan...it is able to be wrapped around twice for a fuller look.

For all of the cowls I used a thicker acrylic yarn, and for the braided and then blue one, I used two differnet colors, adding to the chains thickness. I've really got to stop making them...not sure what I'll do with these:) but they are so fun to make! If there is interest in seeing them on a person I can try to take a picture tomorrow!

Happy Christmas Eve!

Sarah

Crafty Bonanza Day 17...pretty in pink

Anyone else out there love a good bunting/banner/pretty string to jazz up their lives? Well I definitely do! I made this pretty in pink bunting to decorate a banner in our house. I really like the added pop of color it gives...

...isn't it cute?

 I used some felted wool scraps in different size circles and then layered them. I ran out of the dark pink so I put a solid pink bobbly and made a cute little pattern.

Two colored

Solid pink bobbly

Once again, one of the most fantastic parts of this craft was that I spent...$0!!!! I was able to use some cotton yarn and then the felted wool that I already had in the house. WOOHOO!!

You know what else is great? I'm officially on Christmas Break!! I'm super excited to get to sleep in, craft, ski, hang out with family, play in the snow...and most importantly see the sun!(my office at school has no windows...so I go to work in the dark and leave in the dark!) Bring on the Vitamin D!

Sarah

Crafty Bonanza Day 13...ornaments

With the arrival

 of my daughter last September I decided

it would be fun to do a photo ornament each year for

Christmas. Last yr I purchased a store made one (after

Christmas of course when it was clearance)

 but this yr I decided to make one out

of the clear glass ornament balls.

Here's what you will need.

• package of glass ornament balls
• vellum                                          
• scissors                                       
• a circle template                         
• printer                                          



First print out your picture on a sheet of vellum. Make

sure to hold onto the end of the paper as it comes out

of the printer because it rolls up on itself since it is so light.

Lay it flat and let it dry completely.

Next cut out your picture using your circle template.

For my circle template I used biscuit cutters but any

household item will work. Find one that is the same

diameter as your glass ornament and trace a circle

around your picture and cut it out.

I left the top of my picture flat and it ended up fitting really well.
Now take the top off the ornament, roll your picture up and stuff it
in. It will unroll itself and you can adjust the position as needed with
pencil. Second to last thing to do is put the top on and voila you have a super cute
picture ornament. Make sure to put the prongs from the ornament top behind
 the picture. Since you used vellum you can see the image on both sides and
the Christmas tree lights shine through it which I think is very pretty.  You can
also experiment with adding beads or anything else to the bottom for added
decorations. Last thing to do is wash the outside with windex to get all the finger
prints off and make it nice and shiny.

Happy crafting

Nathania

Linked up to:



Natural Cottage

Crafty Bonanza Day 12...woven table runner/rug

I have a multitude of ill-fitting or just plain old t-shirts that need to be retired, so instead of throwing them away, I decided that there was good fabric that could definitely be re-used/refurbished into something new(yes Mom, this should have happend years ago:)...) A few years ago I took out a book on weaving from the library, but never got around to actually doing any, so yesterday was the day.

I forgot to take picture in process (oops!) but if someone wants a tutorial let me know!

This is the finished product. It's a little wonky, and I learned better methods as I went, but overall I like the way it turned out.

Up close view...it's certainly rustic, but funky and I like it!

 I think it wil be a very cute table runner...but I think it really could go anywher as a decorative peice.

It's just the right length to add some pizazz to the table top. What do you think?

GIVEAWAY UPDATE: We've decided to extend the giveaway until today at 9 PM Alaska time...so GO ENTER, by leaving us a comment or becoming follower! Winners will be annouced tomorrow AM... I promise this time:)

Happy Sewing!

Sarah

Crafty Bonanza Day 8...Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree...

I've always secretly loved those tiny

 Christmas trees in pots that go on your porch BUT they're

 always a bit too pricey for me, imagine that :)!!!  So when I saw a lighted

 ChristmasTree made out of tomato cages on Pinterest (again)

 I decided to give it a try. 

Ideally it works best with 2 cages the same size that you place

 inside one another so that you have evenly spaced spokes to wrap

 the lights around and get a circular tree.  But because I hadn't removed all

 my tomato cages from the ground this fall and because winter comes early in

Alaska they are frozen solid in the ground and I was left with only

 1 medium and 1 small cage. 

  

To keep the cages from moving you can use florist wire to

 tie them together but I couldn't find mine so I wrapped some fake garland

 around the cages first and used some of the branches

 to connect the cages together.

I then started wrapping the lights around,

 starting at the base and covered it all with one strand of lights.

It looked a little

 bare so I added a second garland

and I like the final look.

Tomorrow I will see if any of my

   flower pots are large enough to place my awesome

 Christmas tree in as a base.

Not bad for tomato cages, garland and lights!! 

Now it's your turn

Nathania