My sister has a hobby ... she polishes and shapes rocks, and then creates jewelry with them. She's very talented, and we've been enjoying being blessed with her creativity. She's given us girls pendants, and made bolo ties for my boys to match their Daddy's bolo tie.
She's finally opened her very own Etsy shop ... The Rock Inspired. She has even made her very first sale! I'm so proud of her, and I wanted to share her creativity with others. She sells some pre-crafted pendants, and some polished stones that she can turn into pendants or bolo ties for you. She told me today that she needs to take pictures of some more items she has, and list them.
Hint, hint ... Christmas is coming!! I'm sure you can find a gift for someone special. Just don't buy the pendant *I* like best.
And keep checking in with her. There may not be a stone in the color or size you want now ... but that can, and will, change.
This e-book includes 100 pages of different designed journaling or notebooking pages to use in your homeschool. They'd also make great lined stationary pages for younger students.
But if you print them on acid-free, lignen-free paper, you can use them in your scrapbooks, as well.
Another gift I'm giving this year is sets of 5 or 10 hand-made blank cards with envelopes. These are pictures of some of the cards I made this year.
I am a scrapbooker, so I have a large supply of scrapbook paper and stickers. But cards could also be made from acid-free card stock, which comes in a variety of colors and weights. It can also be bought in bulk packages, or in smaller numbers.
I tried using my 8 x 10 inch and 8.5 x 11 inch papers first. These were easily cut in half to make 4 x 5 inch and 4.25 x 5.5 inch card blanks. I then folded the card blanks in half. These fit nicely into # 5 1/2 Invitation Envelopes which measure 4 3/8 x 5 3/4 inch.
I used a combination of rubber stamps (of which my children have a large collection), stickers, die-cuts, and papers to create my cards. When I made a dark-colored card, I attached a square of light paper on the inside so a message could be easily written. I like the simple cards with a coordinating paper strip or paper circle on the front. I also liked a card I made with a circle cut out of the front and a coordinating paper attached inside to show through the hole. However, my circle cutter broke, so I quit making the cut-out cards.
Scrapbook stores, large hobby stores, and even Walmart carry a variety of scrapbooking and paper craft supplies. I know some people prefer to use glue sticks, but I really like the photo splits that are little squares of double-stick tape.
I have never made cards before this year. I know I am just a beginner, but it was fun. I'm looking forward to continuing to develop this craft, for my personal use, and for gift-giving.
Donna P (JustMe) asked about the books I mentioned below. If you click on their names, you'll be taken to the Amazon page where you can read about them, or buy them. There is a whole series of Gifts in a Jar and Gifts in a Bag books. They are by G & R Publishing. You can see the list of books at this link: G & R Publishing Books
I finished my 13 Gifts In A Jar. Here is a picture of 5 of the completed jars, and some empty jars that were still waiting to be filled.
Several years ago, my Mom gave me two books for Christmas: Gifts In A Jar: Cookies and Gifts In A Jar: Bars & Brownies. I love these books, because they have the recipes for filling the jars on a page. Then, on the back of that page, they have the information you would need to put on the tag. But, there are also 2 pages of pre-made tags for you to cut out and use. Once the pre-made tags are gone, you can still use the information on the back of the jar recipe page to create your own tags.
For the past 3 years, I've been using this book and its tags to make the gifts in a jar that I give as gifts at church. Today I used the last of some of the recipe tags. Next year, I'll have to make some of my own tags. And as long as I'm making my own tags next year, I'll probably try to branch out to using some of the recipes available on the internet, as well.
But these books gave me the confidence to start making gifts in a jar. I had bought the necessary canning jars several years before my Mom gave me these books. But until she gave me these books, the process just seemed too overwhelming to me. I love it when she gives me gifts and books that enable me to make gifts for others. She's given me several other craft books, as well. (Thanks, Mom!)
I can't remember where I read about this. I'm searching my email and blogs, but can't find it. I've had the link open on my browser for days, and finally got around to showing it to the children today.
I don't know if your children have those plastic, meltable beads for craft projects. Mine have tons! If yours have them, or if you are close to a store where you can run out and buy some, you can find alot of neat Christmas projects (and other holidays) at the website: Perler Beads. Just click on the link for Projects on their left sidebar.
Our five older children are now settled around the kitchen table happily creating Christmas ornaments. The TV is off. No one is running around. No one is fighting. No one is screaming. No one is banging on anything.
What a blessing!!
The baby is napping and I think I'll go turn on some Christmas music ... right after I settle everyone down again ... my 11 yo apparently doesn't want the 2 yo to climb on the table.
Last year, I made photo calendars for many family members. I've had some people ask me how I made them, so I was sharing it with them. Then I decided to blog about it, as well.
I printed the blank full-page per month calendar from http://www.donnayoung.org Then I made 12 copies of it. I filled one in for each month of the upcoming year. I put the month, dates, special holidays and events, and our immediate family's birthdays. Next, I had the 12 months photocopied onto cream colored acid-free cardstock.
I triple hole-punched all the pages, at the top of the calendar. Then, I reinforced all the holes with the donut stickers. At the bottom of the calendar pages, I put a single hole punch for hanging, and reinforced those, too.
I created a title page on a blank piece of cardstock and added it to the front. Then I used ribbon to bind the pages all together. I just tied little knots (not bows) that were loose enough to turn the pages, but not too loose.
I cut small pieces of scrapbook paper for the children to draw on. They split them up evenly, decorated them, and signed them in their own handwriting.
Then I went through and added a photo to each page above each calendar -- as well as a child's drawing, some scrapbook stickers that were seasonal, and the name of the month in larger letters. I wrote a caption under each photo.
We got our photos all printed free from some special online offers last year. "Join our digital print company and we'll give you 25 free prints." I'm starting to look for this year's deals already.
So the back of the title page was January's picture. The back of January was February's picture. Just like a regular calendar.
This year, I am putting a picture of the child who has a birthday that month on the month's page. Non-birthday months will have pictures that hopefully fit that season or holiday. So, we have a 2006 Easter pic on the 2007 page for the month of April. I need to have Steve help me choose pictures. I have a folder with 20 pictures in it, but we need to narrow it down to 12.
This year, I intend to also have the children give me a quote for each month or holiday. I'll either have them write them, or I'll type and print them. I want to add something a child said or wrote to each calendar picture. I think it will make it even more personal and also require less of my stickers and creativity.
All of ours were well-received last year and we enjoyed making them. The children wanted to see every page as I finished it and after I completed a whole calendar they all gathered around to see the finished product, as well. When Steve came in the door each night, they would drag him over to see the latest calendar. Each one was different, except for the photos.
Oh, I forgot to add that after they were all photocopied, I wrote the extended family birthdays for the different sides of the family on the appropriate calendars. I didn't put Steve's family's birthdays on my family's calendars, for instance. It was a final touch.
When I'm done, my calendar is basically just like a regular calendar, except it's all handwritten and the monthly picture looks like a scrapbook page. Here are a few pictures I took last year to share with someone who was asking to see what I was describing.
Perhaps your family would enjoy making photo calendars as gifts this year? Our method was very inexpensive, but more time-intensive to create.
Some other methods are to print the calendar pages that have the month on half the page and a picture space on the other half. Less space to decorate, but also smaller calendar blocks.
I have a friend who makes a collage on a piece of poster board (not a full sheet) and then attaches the calendar pages to it. Every month, they pull off the old calendar page. The picture never changes. This involves less work, as well.
You can also buy blank calendars that are printed, and you decorate the picture section yourself. Less work, slightly higher cost.
Or you can select pictures and go to a copy shop and have them print a calendar using your pictures. The cost for this varies, but it seems to start at $10 per calendar.
We are a Christian homeschooling family with 7 children (ages 13, 12, 10, 8, 5, 3, and 9 months). We love having "room to breathe" in rural Central Kansas, and are working to make the "family homeplace" our own home.
• Steve 36 yo hubby
• April 35 yo SAHM
• A - 13 yo girl
• R - 12 yo girl
• C - 10 yo girl
• J - 8 yo boy
• M - 5 yo boy
• L - 3 yo girl
• G - 8 month boy
