AMANDA'S BASKETS: An Inexpensive Decoration

Monday, December 12, 2011

An Inexpensive Decoration

The Yin and The Yang, or in other words...Chip and Dale!!! Sleeping comfortably on a warm fleece winter blanket! Oh, what a life!!!

I've been playing around with markers lately. They don't seem to cover as well as I would like, but it's been fun... Think I will try a different brand!

Remember these, I made several when the kids were young and we had very little (no) money for extras. Might be something to make for these economically challenged times...

This one had only three folds which you do on each page separately. I also folded the covers and then used tape - double sided - to hold the covers together. If you use a clip (which does make it easier) you will need to finesse the pages to make a complete circle. This magazine was around 150 pages. If you want a fuller tree, use two magazines (same size) and attach cover to cover on both sides.

First Fold:

Second Fold:

Third Fold:

I have used them as is and I have spray painted them green or gold or silver depending on how I used them in decorating. By the way, this was a normal size magazine.

I remember making a Mr. and Mrs. Santa Clause using a reader's digest size magazine, spray painting white, then using a styrofoam ball for the heads and red, white and black felt to make clothing, hats, arms, etc. They lasted for eleven years!!! Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of them. Maybe I'll make another set.

Well, I will be out of commission for a couple days...tomorrow is my oral surgery...hoo-rah!!!

Hope your holiday plans are coming together...

Thanks for visiting...

MY JOURNEY OF CHANGE:

I had to actually go into my storage area to retrieve some things. Last time I did that, Peacock was still living. So, I wasn't sure how I would react. Boy, was I surprised! It was so nice to see all those pieces of furniture which we kept...things that have been with us from the beginning of our marriage...and I felt so at home. Now I really can't wait to get back here after my next trip around the states and set up housekeeping. It was a grand experience to be among all those things we used in our home. Not sad at all...comforting...

CRAFTING IDEAS

I am always looking for a small piece of paper to write down something which will later be disposed of. I decided to use some of the scrap paper of which I have a ton. I mostly use the paper for glueing projects. I decided to cut the paper into a small size. (Six pieces from a piece of copy paper.). But just having them sitting on my desk would get messy without a container. So, using a cardboard box, I cut it down to size and using a hot glue gun I glued the ends together. Using a picture from a magazine cut into pieces and stick craft glue, I glued the pieces to the box inside and out. I also used some decorative tape for the outside edges. And to finish the top corners which were not covered, I used straight pins with colorful tops. Looks nice and works well.

MAGAZINE IDEAS

(New) One article in the Farmer's Almanac 2024 is a list of trends. One I knew about is the trend to downsize in just about every area. Another trend that I was surprised about was called ''The Human Library' which offers people on loan to talk about specific subjects. Finally, more folks are adding pets to their family and as a result, stores are adding more pet food, toys and medication to their offerings. There's also a nice garden article which suggests mixing vegetables and flowers together for success.

RECIPE IDEAS

Have you every made Cherry Dump Cake. It calls for 2 cans of Cherry Pie Filling (21 ounces), a white cake mix, 1/4 -1/2 cup butter, melted & 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans. In a 9 by 13 pan, spread both cans of cherry pie filling. Add the melted butter to the cake mix and break apart the resulting mixture and crumble it evenly over the pie filling. Sprinkle the pecans evenly over the mixture. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35 - 45 minutes until the topping is golden brown. Serve with vanilla ice cream. Fast, easy and very delicious.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

What if you want to establish better habits, then decide what habit you want to work on. Again, try an easier one first for that good feeling of success. Let's consider more exercise. Start small. Don't try to run a marathon right away. Set the amount of time, the type of exercise and when to do it to begin making sure that it is within your reach. If it works for you each week add a bit more. Walking is one of the best ways to get good overall movement but there are many exercise videos on YouTube of varying lengths and difficulty to check out. Change your exercise routines to eliminate getting bored. For hardcore exercise with weights, give yourself a day in-between to recover. Even on days you would rather not exercise, do it and see if you feel better. It takes an average of 66 days to establish a habit. Just think 66 days to establish a good habit for a lifetime. Sounds like a good thing to me...how about you?