Day 3 - Make a New Christmas Ornament

So we technically didn't make these ornaments, but the kids painted them, so I say that counts! 

Day 2 - Make a Card to Send to a Soldier

Tomorrow morning Brady & I will deliver these cards to Senator Mike Brubaker's office in Lititz where they will be distributed to our troops.

Christmas Countdown - Day 1

This year I decided to make an advent calendar with different activities for us to do leading up to Christmas.  It was a little difficult to find things to do that fit our busy schedule. 

Day 1:  Take a trip to Chocolate World to see the candy house

We also stopped to visit Sammy the Snow Plow at the Hershey Auto Museum. 
My plan is to post pics each day of our activity.

DIY Serving Stand

Well, somehow posting once a week went out the window in January!  Seriously, where does the time go?   I finally got around to making this serving stand after several months of having the supplies sitting on my kitchen counter.

I purchased the plates at Marshall's for about $10 (for both).  The hardest part was trying to decide what to put in the middle to hold them together.  I couldn't find a candlestick that was the right size.  It was a bunch of trial and error before finding one that worked.

This photo shows the supplies I used.  The glue is Epoxy Gorilla glue that I purchased at ACMoore.

Thanks Megan Nolt for the inspiration!  I haven't decided yet if I am going to keep this for myself or give it as a gift.

T-Shirt Scarves

It sure has been a long time since I posted!  I am amazed at how fast the time goes by.  By goal for the New Year was to post once a week.  Well, week 1 slipped by and I didn't post anything.  Week 2 brought a round of the stomach virus to our house, so no post that week either.  So let's try starting from now.

I  made lots of these scarves for Christmas gifts this year.  They are easy to make and pretty cute.  I found the idea online somewhere one day when I was just looking around at stuff.

Finished product-Not the best picture, but you get the idea

1.   Purchase an extra large T-shirt in the color of your choice.  I found mine at ACMoore, on sale for $2.50.
2.  Lay shirt flat on table.  Trace as many paper plate circles onto the shirt.  I was able to fit 5 on the extra large.  If you want more circles, purchase a larger shirt.  The more circles there are, the more strands you will have hanging down the scarf.

3.  Cut out each circle, going through both layers of the shirt.  Take 1 circle and cut a spiral.  I tried to keep the inside of the spiral around 2 inches.  This determines the thickness of the strands. 

4.  Repeat for all circles.  Then gently pull at each end.  This cause the shirt to ruffle.  If you want the strands to be longer, use fabric clue to adhere to strands together.  In the one I pictured, I attached a half strand to make it a little longer.
5.  Tie the strands together using a small piece of the shirt.

Easy enough, right?

Acorn Treats

Here is a super cute and easy fall snack that the kids and I made this morning.

A few simple ingredients

 Step 1:  Melt some of the chocolate chips (or you could use chocolate wafers).  Place melted chocolate in sandwich bag and cut off the end.  Put a dot of chocolate on each cookie and top with a Hershey Kiss.  Allow to get hard (only takes a few minutes)
Step 2:  Place a dot of melted chocolate on the opposite side of the cookie and top with a chocolate chip.

Amount of "acorns" 1 bag of cookies makes

It took us only about 20 minutes to make these yummy snacks. 
Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Cars 2 Couponing

I am not an extreme couponer, although I wish I were.  I think it's amazing how people can get these deals.  But after today, I have learned that I do not have the time or patience to prepare for a shopping trip.  So bear with me as I outline the awesome deal I got on the Cars 2 5-disc combo pack at Target:

Transaction #1:
There is a $10 mail in rebate if you buy $20 worth of Kimberly Clark products and Cars 2.
Pullups - $9.49
Scott paper towels - 12.79 (after using a $1 manufacturers coupon)
Kleenex tissues - 6.03
Total: $28.31
In one of the coupons inserts in last Sunday's paper, there was a coupon for Target that if you purchased $25 in Kimberly Clark products you would receive a $5 gift card.
There is also a $10 mail in rebate from Johnson & Johnson if you purchase $10 in Band-Aid products and Cars 2.
4 boxes of band-aids - 9.31 (after using a $1 manufacturers coupon)
Total price of transaction #1:  37.62

Transaction #2:
Cars 2 5-disc combo pack - Target sale price $29.99
I took in the ad for Best Buy, which has the same combo pack on sale this week for $24.99.  Target does price match.  So that took the price down to $24.99.  Then I had a $5 off coupon printed from Disney, taking the price to $19.99.  Used the $5 gift card I just received and then I had another $10 gift card for Target, making the final cost that I paid $4.99 plus tax.


So I paid $37.62 + 6.19 = 43.81 and will be getting $20 back in rebates.

I can understand how people get a thrill out of getting great deals, but still very time consuming.  It takes a lot of planning to figure out how to make it all work correctly.

All the stuff I got for $23.81