Thank You Cards Made From Upcycled Christmas Cards

After the season is over I can't bear to throw away the beautiful Christmas cards that people shared with us. So here's an idea to upcycle those old cards into something new! I just cut up old Christmas cards, glued them to new card stock cards, added embellishments and stamped "Thanks" on them. I plan to send them out to family and friends who were so generous to us this year.

Cookie Sheet Advent Calendar

This is a cookie sheet advent calendar I made today. It was an old gross cookie sheet that was ready for the trash but of course I cannot throw anything away so I recycled it! The Merry Christmas and the numbers were cut out using the Cricut Expression that my friend Mikelle is so lucky to have. It was like magic using this machine and I must have one. Everything else was just stuff I had around the house. The red border is magnetic and travels to which day it is of the month. The last two spots are also magnets that I made from magazines, one is Santa and the other is Christ. If you click on the picture you can see the paper and other things in more detail. I barely finished it 5 minutes ago so you can still see that some of the Mod Podge hadn't dried yet. The creative options are endless with a craft like this. Love it!

Pimp my Sit and Spin

I think one of my greatest talents would have to be my ability to turn trash into treasures. I got this sit and spin for $4 at Kids Market. I loved the one I had as a kid and plus I need to prep Maggie for the teacups at Disney World so she doesn't puke like her Daddy. Well, the paper on this one was in pretty bad shape not to mention that it is straight from the 80's. Maybe it is the one I had as a kid... well, to make a long story short, the plastic was in nice shape so I bought it, added paper and paper polka dots and then Modge Podged it to seal it up. Much cuter and Maggie loves it!

Halloween Crafts

Last week Maggie and I decided that it was time to decorate for Halloween! The only problem was that we didn't have very many decorations. Solution? Make your own! Also the dollar store has some great buys!

Placemats - Old black fabric that I stamped with paint and a 10 cent foam stamp I bought 2 years ago at an after Halloween sale and paint I got from a yard sale for $1 for a box of 20 different colors. I then sewed it into placemats.

Candles - Candlesticks I got from a relief society activity a while ago. I just melted 2 black crayons and dripped the wax on top.

Bowl of skulls - I got the skulls at the dollar store but needed something to put them in. After looking through the garrage I found a bowl I made in high school ceramics!

Skeleton chandelier - I found a string of skeletons at the dollar store and just hung them up there!

These are little candy jars I made from Maggie's old formula cans, a pair of old work out pants and felt. I used the slick pants to make a little bag which I lined the inside of the can with. I then wrapped the can in felt, hot gluing it on. I then accesorized with more felt, wire, and felt filled with stuffing for the tail and the bolts. I'm going to make a pumpkin, devil, witch and vampire next.

These were all supplies I have been collecting over the years so the total NEW cost of making my Halloween decorations was $3. If you count the old supplies the cost probably goes up to $5. Not bad on the wallet and I sure had a lot of fun making all of it!