Guest Day Thursday: So Cute Bracelet!!!

Sorry it's not the greatest picture, but there will be more to come!! Tomorrow we are having a big craft day at my mother in laws. There will be 12 of us and we are doing 6 great projects. Here is a peek at one of them. My very talented mother in law made the lapwork beads (13 sets of them) by hand. They are so cute and detailed. I can't even imagine how much time it took her. And my very talented sister in law turned them into a bracelet. This is the sample of the one we will all be making tomorrow. I am so excited and there will be more in future posts about our craft festival tomorrow.

Edited to add, that there will be 13 of us, because at the last minute Teri is on her way down!!! Yeah!!! A really long day just to come craft and turn around and go home tomorrow, but worth it!

Veteran’s Day

Instead of posting something yummy to eat on the blog today, we are going to honor our countries servicemen and women.

I attended an assembly where my daughter was playing with the orchestra last Friday at her school. It really made me stop and think, and actually brought me to tears. They had invited local veterans to attend as well. The band played, the orchestra played, the choir sang, and then they produced this amazing slide show. It started out with the song God Bless The USA by Lee Greenwood, which I absolutely love. Along with this song they showed pictures of our military in different circumstances from homecomings to tours of duty. It brought me to tears I will admit (and the middle school girl sitting next to me probably thought I was loony). It then moved to a different song and showed pictures of friends and family of the staff and students who had served or currently are serving in the military. One teacher’s father is serving his 7th tour of duty in Iraq! Seven!!! I was shocked. It then went back to pictures of servicemen and women with their families. To finish off the assembly we all stood and sang the National Anthem, and not just one verse, but three. The kids at the school had made it a challenge to memorize the first three verses, but they provided the words for the rest of us mere mortals (I’ll be honest, I don’t even know how many verses the National Anthem has).

We here at A Crafty Clan have not been untouched by family in the military. All four of our mom’s brothers served in World War II, one of them was drafted before he even finished high school, and all four of them were gone at once (the way we understand it, they couldn’t draft all the boys from one family, but because at least one of our uncles had volunteered for duty, they could still take them all). Our dad’s only brother was also in the military and served in Korea. We were fortunate enough to not lose any of our family to either war, and for that we are grateful. I won’t even mention any of our in laws who served, the list would grow too long.

Today was are so thankful for the men and women who serve or who have served the country in the military. May Heavenly Father’s light shine down and protect those who serve, comfort the families at home, and save a special place in Heaven for those who return home. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!!!

Tadpole Tuesday: Tardy Halloween

So, I wanted to post this way before Halloween, but being forgetful I forgot to take a picture before it went to school. It's back home now, so I can tell you all about it. :) My little guy had to make a "Harvest" pumpkin for school. They were told they couldn't carve them. So we thought we would get one of the craft ones from Michaels and decorate it so we could keep it. First we mod podged red tissue on it. Then we colored and cut out the face (He designed and colored it all by himself!!!) and modpodged it on. Then we put stickers all over it (He loves stickers) and put another coat of mod podge on for good measure (can never have too much mod podge). Then hot glued the yarn on and gave him a "haircut". :)

Mystery Monday: Inexpensive Gift Ideas

In an effort to make the holidays more affordable, I am sure that you are looking for inexpensive gift ideas just as we are. Here are some fun ideas that are easy and don’t cost much. These are great for neighbors, teachers, the lady down the street who helps you by watering your flower beds, whatever.

Recently I had to do some thank you gifts for some community people who came and helped out at the kids school. I had a budget of $20 to do 10 gifts. I didn’t want to do a small plant or something like that, as they ranged in age from college kids to retirees. I came up with this simple idea, it was about $28, so they were just shy of $3 each. You could do them for a little less if you changed what you put in them. I bought a variety pack of Ghiridelli chocolate squares to fancy them up and then I bought decorative pens and packs of peanuts from the dollar store. I bought the “takeout” containers from Michael’s using a 40% off coupon, and the ribbon was on sale for 1/2 price. I then printed a small thank you note on a shipping label to seal them with.

Another easy and inexpensive idea is the old standby jar gifts

Here is one of our favorite recipes to use as a jar gift:

Sandcastle Brownies:

1/3 cup chopped nuts

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/3 cup flaked coconut

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup baking cocoa

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Additional ingredients:

2 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a one quart glass container, layer the first seven ingredients in order listed, packing well between each layer. Cover and store in a cool dry place up to six months. Yield: 1 batch

To prepare brownies: In a bowl, combine eggs, oil, vanilla and brownie mix; mix well. Spread into a greased 8 inch square baking pan. Bake at 350º for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Yield: about two dozen.

*This recipe is from Quick Cooking Collector’s Edition

For more inexpensive gift ideas head over to Just a Girl