The Finished Halloween Costumes

Halloween - Challenge Accepted

Do your kids have their costumes yet? Do you? Do you know that it is only 3 days away? No need to panic, or feel depressed when comparing yourself to the Pinterest Moms.  I may not sew, but I do know that If you have paper, double-sided tape, and scissors, you can make almost anything :)

When I was growing up, my mom never bought me fancy costumes for Halloween. We simply made them with what we had around the house, and I loved it. Now, sometimes we would have to get some supplies like make-up or tin-foil, but for the most part it was extremely cheap or even free, or items bought were something we needed anyway. This was the Halloween challenge...what are you going to be, and how can you make it?

I've now made it my personal mission to do the same for my kids (and my husband and I). We did break with tradition last year and use a $3 M&M costume for Jaelyn from the dollar store, but when you can get costumes for that price I think it fits within the challenge.

This year, I looked in Jaleyn's closet and saw a pink dress with black polka dots, which looked like it would work for Minnie Mouse. I added black tights, a larger diaper cover that her sister won't miss, a shoelace for the tail, and sparkly shoes she already owns. I did have to buy a long sleeve black t-shirt for her arms (and it's actually a Batman one), but I'm going to put it on her inside out so she doesn't see and give it to her for Christmas. She also needed a new knit hat, so I had my friend who makes crochet hats make a minnie mouse one for her. Yes, it's spending money, but it is also something she needs and will use throughout the winter....making it still within my boundaries for the challenge. Cost: $7 for the shirt (which will be added to her Christmas presents...it's not made local or by a work at home mom, but unfortunately most kids clothes aren't) and the cost of the hat, which does support a work at home mom.

For Luella, I knew when I saw her red hair that she would be Strawberry Shortcake. She had a big fluffy white dress, and a pink apron-style dress already (reversed colours, but close enough). My sister and I found green and white striped socks at the dollar store, which I made into leggings, and a pink shower cap as well, which i stuck paper pictures of strawberries to with double sided tape. Add three green diamonds to the front of the apron, and voila! A decent costume. Cost: $3 for the socks, shower cap and strawberry muffin cups.

We are attending a party as a family, so I told my husband he should go as a hunter, since he is one. Cost: free

And Me? Well,  in honour of my husband's first deer that he shot yesterday, and to match his costume, I'm going as a deer. I used wire, electrical tape and construction paper to attach ears and antlers to a headband I already had, and used a brown shirt, paper and double-sided tape to make the body. Add a long-sleeve white shirt and brown pants I already own and it's done. Cost: free!

Oh, and the time to make all of these? About 1/2 hour. Pictures of our whole crew dressed up will be added later.

So, are you still struggling to find something? Look around your closets and house, see what you have and get inspired! And share your pictures with me :)

Colour Sorting

It's been 6 months and 1 baby later, but  i'm back to blogging!  I'll catch up on details of my 'adventures' later, but today I thought i'd post a sorting game that Jaelyn and I were playing.  All you need is a bunch of items that are different colours (we used pom-poms), a muffin tin, and matching colours of paper circles - you could either use construction paper, or plain paper and colour the circles yourself.  Tape the coloured circles to the bottom of the muffin tin, and Voila!  You have a great sorting activity for a two-year old :)

How To Line Your Own Curtains Without Having To Sew

Anyone who knows me, know that I don't sew. I don't even own a sewing machine, to be honest. The last time I can actually remember using one was in grade 7 Home Ec. class, where I made bermuda shorts, and two letter pillows that spelled the word "yo". Oh, there was those curtains I made in college, but they turned out horribly wrong, i can sew on buttons, and hand-stitch things, but I don't think I should be licensed to use a sewing machine :)

I found a great deal at my work on curtain panels, but since they were cotton I knew they would fade in the sunlight. Lined curtains can be VERY pricey. So, I devised a way to line them myself without sewing. I purchased 10 cotton grommet curtain panels, 10 light-weight tab-top white panels, and some sticky-back velcro strips. The two different curtain panels need to be the same size - mine were 44 x 84"

My supplies.

I found our good scissors that work great on fabric, and cut the tabs off the white curtains. Then I put the two pieces of velcro together, and cut them into squares (one strip of velcro made 18 squares - enough for 3 panels). I placed the orange curtain down, with the backside facing me. I then put the white curtain on top of it and folded it back a bit. I removed the backing off of one side of a velcro square and placed it below each of the grommets on the orange panel. Next, I lined up the 'liner' curtain, and removed the other side of the backing off the velcro, lined up the curtains using the already existing hem-line under the grommets as a guide, and pressed down. I did each outer edge first, slowly working towards the middle. My liner was a little bit wider from my curtain, so this ensured I wasn't hanging out over an edge.

Lining up the velcro and curtains - thanks to my husband for the brilliant idea of one square per grommet (if you have tab curtains, it would work too - just one square per tab)

That's all there is to it, Now, if I ever need to wash them, I can separate the panels so there is no colour bleeding, and the life of my curtains should be a bit longer. I was able t get my orange curtains for a out $11 a panel, the 'liner' curtains for $4 a panel, and the velcro strips for about $5 each...and they look great!

Leave a little bit of space at the ends - I used the seam as a guide on the top and sides.  a little bit of  'bunching' on the liner is fine.

Wordless Wednesday - January 9, 2013

My new Boots from Ardene's...they may not be the highest quality, but they were only $15 each!

Three Months Cable Free...And Loving It!

My husband and I just made the realization that it has been three months since we got rid of cable completely, and purchased a Boxee Box.  We hardly even noticed it was gone!  We do still have Netflix (and yes, the Canadian version), and we can stream pretty much any show or movie through boxee.  We can also play videos, some apps, and picture slideshows from my ipad and Darren's iphone.  It was a little investment, but with the cost of cable, to has more than paid for itself, and is now starting to save us money.  Since having Jaelyn, we haven't watched much tv anyway, but when we get a chance, we like to watch a whole tv series.  We've just started watching Fringe :)

Not a great picture, but look how small it is :)

As a side note on Boxee Box...it is not for those unfamiliar with technology...if you are not good with using the internet/computer, then it may not be right for you.  But if you are interested in saving money, you should check it out!

Prepping For A Busy Week

In an effort to help make my life more-stress free, and therefore more enjoyable, I am continuing to try out Pinterest Pins that I think will help me out.  This week:  pre-frozen breakfast sandwiches (my husband is starting his route this week with his new job at a courier company...which means early mornings...I am determined for him to have a good breakfast AND for him to not spend money eating  out!)

English muffins, cheese, egg omelette and ham, all ready and individually frozen!)

For myself, I know I need to drink more water every day, but to be honest...I HATE drinking water!  I ran across this Pin about apple cinnamon detox water and though that hey, it couldn't make water taste any worse, right?

thinly sliced apple, cinnamon sticks, ice and water...sitting in the fridge overnight 

These are now all ready and sitting in my fridge/freezer.  In the next couple days, I will be testing these ideas, and then post a review (I'll also share the websites/Pins where the ideas came from).  

In other news of house prepping, we are also trying to seal off drafts in my house (doors, windows, fireplace), as you can definitely tell the temperature is dropping out there.  It is October, and you won't hear any complaining from me (except maybe about the price of oil).  I actually don't mind cold weather.  

Perfectly Pumpkin!

Fall is by far my favorite time of year, and Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday… I love the whole concept of giving thanks, being around family… And of course the food :-) I also love decorating for fall.  I've collected some inexpensive decorations over the years, and I hope that it will help inspire you to do some decorating on a dime yourself.

Mini pumpkins from a local farm and I-Pick, leaf bunches from the dollar store, and platter from the store where I work when went on sale… Altogether only about $7

I got the garland at the Dollar Store (you need to keep your eyes open for the good ones, and shop around!), and the pumpkin candle holder I won at a baby shower...so total cost was only $1!  I love decorating fireplace mantles!

Again, the garland is from the dollar store.  I also cut up a garland to make little leaf bunches (which work great when tied around napkins with raffia for a gorgeous Thanksgiving table!).  I filled a basket I already had, and placed this on top of a bookshelf.  Total cost - $2

The scarecrow was from a craft I had made at church years ago (just toll painted wood pieces held together with wire, and hay glued into little hoes on the ends of arms and legs).  I placed little sparkly pumpkins throughout my house (I won these as well, but you can get them at Michael's, Walmart or dollar store).

Even though Thanksgiving day is over in Canada, there is still a long stretch of time before I start decorating for Christmas (usually December 1st).  I find fall decorations always give a cozy and homey feel to the house!  I always use the same decorations (plus any new ones I have acquired), but I don't always decorate the same way, in the same combinations.  That way, the decorating seems fresh every year :)

If you have any other inexpensive fall decorating ideas, I'd love to hear them, so please share!

Baby Safe Wipes Box

Who hasn't heard about that dreaded moment when a mother finds that her child has taken every single wipe out of the box and thrown them around the room?  Not only has it made a mess, but depending on how long the wipes have been out and the manner in which they were thrown, they may be unusable.  I recently found a Pinterest idea that was pinned by "A Spotted Pony" (http://aspottedpony.com/fun-for-kids/turn-a-wipe-container-into-the-best-infant-and-toddler-toy/876/)  You take an empty wipes box, and fill it with squares of fabric.  Problem solved.

I decided that this was a pin I would like to attempt, but I realized I don't own a sewing machine and since I didn't sew, I didn't own pieces of fabric.  I did, however, have a bag of baby clothes that I was going to donate to Value Village (mostly items that I couldn't sell, or give to people that I knew personally that needed them, and I wasn't keeping for the next child).  I grabbed some scissors and cut them up into sqaure-ish shapes (hey, I'm not a perfectionist).  I also received free Disney stickers in the mail, so I put them on the box...and voila!  A new sensory toy, and it cost me $0 to accomplish!

Jaelyn is mostly intrigued with the pop-up lid right now, but each time she plays with it, she understands more and more that there are things inside that she can pull out.  ThIs is a great learning toy that any Mom or Dad can make!

Budget Friendly Activities For Baby - "Treasure Baskets"

I was scrolling through Pinterest this morning (as I usually do), and I came across a Pin that described having sensory activities for your baby.  I love the idea of having learning activities for my daughter, but frankly I don't have the money or time to set them up....so I thought.  When I clicked on the link to the site, my mind was blown by all the activities I could have for my daughter and her developing brain, all for free!  Before I go any further, I want to acknowledge the site: http://www.theimaginationtree.com/2010/10/heuristic-play-treasure-baskets.html and encourage all mothers (and moms to be) to check it out.

After flipping through different pages on the site, I came across an idea for a baby 'Treasure Box'.  Basically, you find things around the house and put it in a basket.  You then give it to baby and let her discover things for herself.  Now, usually Jaelyn will play with a toy that I give her, and when she's done she'll throw it, or become distracted by something else.  I was a bit skeptical that this idea would work, but I went ahead and decided to give it my best shot.  While my husband was feeding her breakfast, I found a basket and decided to 'hunt' for things in my house to put in it - things that make noise, she could chew on, etc.  We still hadn't unpacked everything from the move, so I wasn't sure I could find enough (again...wrong).  Here's what I included:
-small wooden cutting board
-small metal whisk
-a milk storage bottle filled  halfway with rice
-a plastic bag clip
-teething ring
-a baby friendly mommy bracelet
-a small plastic toy milk carton
-a baby fork with a round handle
-a spoon
-a small crinkly toy
- a plastic frog toy
-a small ring toy with different textured leaves
-and last but not least, we had a stroller toy (that never really worked for Jaleyn, and always got in the way of the infant carseat handle).  I cut off the two hanging toys, and put those and the plush elephant part in the basket.

Some of these items were part of toys, or toys that I didn't really know what to do with, but found a new use in the basket.

I turned off the TV, and moved all of her other toys somewhere else, and gave her the basket, and I watched her (the site suggested only interacting with your baby when she/he invites you to).  I watched her pull out an object, play with it and set it to the side.  She would then pull out another object, and sometimes go back to the first ones - but she would always concentrate on each one and try to figure out it's use.  By the end of it, she had the whole basket dumped upside down, but she was totally enthralled with it all.

She would occasionally look up at my husband and I with glee (I would never leave her alone with the basket...not all items are completely baby safe) as she found a use for each item (chewing, banging, flipping around in her hand).  Not once did she get upset and cry out for our attention.  She was stimulated and she was learning.  I didn't even plan enough time for her to play with it - after a half hour it was time for lunch, and I packed it up and placed it out of sight in the kitchen until it is time for her to experience the treasures again.

I challenge you to try it with your own baby.  Change out the 'treasures' frequently.  I plan on having a couple separate 'treasure baskets' - ones that make noise, ones with textures, etc.  It didn't take a lot of time, and it cost absolutely nothing to do....but so much more rewarding than always plunking your baby down with her usual toys, with music or TV on in the background.

On a totally separate but not unrelated note, I now have a board on Pinterest labelled "Pins I've Actually Done" (as well as a new label on this blog), and I'm determined to implement at least one Pin a week that I have run across.  Stay tuned for the reviews :)