Teachers Gifts~ Under $5.00

Well it's that time of year...School is coming to an end. This was Freckle's first year doing part time home school in a class room setting at a Classical Christian School. It was a great experience in which we have decided to go ahead and enter her next year for her High School years. This year she was blessed with some really great teachers. We thought a little token of our appreciation to end the school year was to put together some gifts for each teacher. We wanted our gifts to be fun yet frugal...Since we were buying for five teachers, it can add up. We went to The Dollar Store for this project. We were thrilled to find these clear tumblers with lids and straws....We then thought to fill them up with some goodies and candy. We picked up a package of cute ball point pens, paper pads, sticky note pads, colorful paper clips, glow sticks, gum, M&M's and Smarties. 

We picked out something a little different for her Physical Ed teacher knowing that she is health conscious...We didn't want to put a bunch of candy in the tumbler...We wanted to pamper her with some nail polish and nail manicure goodies. Perfect!

We bought 5 tumblers for $1 each

A package of 4 sticky note pads for $1

A package of note books for $1

2 packages of Smarties candy for $1

4 pack of Trident Gum for $1

4 containers of M&M's at .89 cents each

A pack of 4 cute ball point pens for $1

2 nail polishes for $1 each

A package of  4 butterfly nail files for $1

A package of nail manicure kit stuff for $1

A pack of 4 glow sticks for $1

I had the little chalk board labels in my craft stash at home

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After dividing everything up and filling five tumblers.

 I estimated the cost of each filled tumbler at $5.00 or less.

We tied on a little tag for each teacher. It looks cute! 

And everything inside is useful.

Hopefully these will bring a happy smile to their face!

It was an awesome year!!!

Priceless, Meaningful Gifts

This Christmas I received a very special Christmas gift from my dad. It wasn't something that cost a lot of money or came from the store. It was something so sweet, something that would mean something only to me. The gift was thoughtful and absolutely priceless. Inside this package were two recipe books filled with my Paternal Gramma's recipes as well as a few canning recipes. It means a lot because they were hers. Recipes she used in her home and they were all in her handwriting. My Gramma Charlotte passed away about 12 years ago. I miss her. She was my crafty Gramma. She would always be crocheting or sewing or painting something. She canned goodies and had a frugal knack about her. The end of her life was a sad one since she was unable to remember who we were. It's so hard to see someone you love like this. I remember the last Christmas we spent with her. She sat in a chair among the whole family...We were making memories and reminiscing the old memories. And there she sat...Not realizing who or where she was. But she was having a good time. That was the last day I saw her. I hope she felt loved. I am thankful that is the last memory I will have with her. It was a memory of her being happy. There is a really cool pin on Pinterest where you can print recipes on tea towels. I am going to do a few of them in her recipes. I think it would be a fun display in my kitchen.I'm even going to try my hand at some of her recipes in the books.

The second gift my dad sent me was a beautiful snow white hand crocheted tablecloth that belonged to his Gramma Kate. ( My Great Gramma) Also Gramma Charlotte's mom. This is something my dad acquired from my Gramma Charlotte's things when she passed away. He held onto it because he had some special memories with his Gramma. She crocheted this tablecloth many years ago. My dad remembers being with her as she worked on it. I never got to meet Great Gramma Kate, since she passed away from a broken heart after her husband died also during the time my dad was away in Vietnam. So, after holding onto this tablecloth for sometime, he decided to give it to me, knowing I would be the perfect recipient of such a beautiful treasure. He was right! I cried when I opened up. He shared the story behind it and asked if I would please keep it in the family, and wanted me to hand it down to my daughter someday. I am more than happy to do that. I am looking forward to putting it on my table in my home. So there you have it. Simple and sweet and thoughtful. These sorts of gifts are priceless. You just can't put a price tag on something like this.

They are things I will cherish close to my heart.

Making Candy Cane Syrup & Homemade Pancake Mix

I pulled together a couple homemade gifts from my kitchen for a few friends this year. There is nothing like a sweet, thoughtful homemade gift to give to a friend. Thought I would share the recipes for an easy, inexpensive gift. Most items you would probably already have on hand in your pantry.

For Candy Cane Syrup:

Combine 2 cups of sugar and 1 cup of water to a saucepan. Stir well and cook on medium heat. Add 6-8 broken pieces of candy cane to the sugar mixture until dissolved. It will turn a nice pink color. Stir frequently. Let it come to a boil for about 2-3 minutes and turn off heat allowing the syrup to cool in the pan. Once cooled, pour into a jar with lid for storage.

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I saved my glass maple syrup containers through the year to use for such things. Syrups are easy to make. You can make different flavors and give them to friends or family for any occasion. If you don't have a maple syrup container. A jar will do.

For Homemade Pancake Mix:

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.

4 cups all purpose flour

3 tablespoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons sugar

Mix well together and store in a large mason jar. You can double this recipe to make more!

I made a card and wrote in the instructions to make them:

 Add fabric, twine, tag etc...to personalize the gift to the receiver. Use your clever quips and be creative! Have fun with it!

You can double or triple the recipe for making the pancakes here:

Add 1 cup of mix above

1 egg

1 cup of milk

1 tablespoon melted butter or oil

mix together well.

Preheat greased griddle on medium to high heat.

 pour 1/3 cup of the batter and cook until pancake bubbles on top,

 flip and cook 1-2 minutes more.

Enjoy pancakes with candy cane syrup for a nice

 Christmas breakfast treat.

Enjoy!!!!

Vintage Tins~ Gift Ideas

I recently ran across a post on one of my fave blogs about gift wrapping ideas. This is nothing new I am sure. I have been using tins/gifting for years. And perhaps you have too. I thought about some of my own gift ideas and gave it my personal spin....Perhaps you will find some inspiration to this clever gift giving in vintage tins yourself. Tins are fun to use. I use them in my home for everyday uses like, holding pens or crayons, craft supplies, sewing needfuls and buttons, foodie items, and jewelry The possibilities are endless, especially if you find a cute tin. I like vintage tins. You can find them in all sorts of shapes and sizes and prints, some very colorful or plain...However you like it. I spend between .50 cents~$1.99 on tins in thrift shops or garage sales. You can store them away fairly easily and keep them on hand when you need to give a gift on a whim. I came up with three delightful tin gifting ideas for three sorts of people. 

The Seamstress/Quilter:

I found this sweet quilty looking tin, making it the perfect tin for that special seamstress/quilter. I am a regular in thrift shops so, many of the items I used are finds I had on hand. These sorts of thins are great to purchase and set aside for fun gifts such as this. I added in a couple vintage spools of thread, a vintage tomato pin cushion with needles/pins, a measuring tape, an old thimble, an old pair of sewing scissors, a wooden peg doll, vintage fabric yo yo's and a string of old buttons. Everything nestled perfectly inside with a stack of quarter fabric bundles. I used old tissue from dress patterns. And made a dress pattern tissue flower to top the tin with.

 I pick up old patterns thriftng. Makes great gift tissue! I tied some yarn around the tin and added a tag with a fun little vintage bird in a basket...along with a word card that says QUILT. 

The Tea Lover

I found this tin and had to get it. With it's vibrant colors and sweet picture...It was the perfect tin to use for a tea lover like myself. It was big enough to hold a dainty antique tea cup. I added two different teas and sweetener, a little sugar spoon, a tea house strainer and a little gift book all about tea! It is a lovely gift for the lady who enjoys a nice cup of tea at noon as she reads Jane Austin novels.. Tie a piece of scrap fabric around the tin and add an antique picture or postcard with an oragami bird. Truly a thoughtful gift indeed.

The Writer

For this tin, I kept my daughter in mind She is not only a writer but an avid reader and enjoys painting her nails and doing scrap booking crafts...So... I found this Country Winter themed tin and added vibrant, fun things inside, any writer would enjoy. I added a stack of different note cards and envelopes, a little journal note pad, a vintage reproduction ball point pen, a pencil, library stamp and little lists to fill in, washi tapes, a little gift book about Father Christmas Letters, some nail polish...Because you know your fingers have to look good when you are writing....And let's not forget the hand sanitizer...You don't want to have sticky fingers. I suggest even adding things like lotion for the hands and even some lip gloss...Some writers tend to stick their tongues out when they are writing...So it comes in handy.

These gifts are OOAK and perfectly suited for that special individual. Who wouldn't love a gift that was thoughtfully put together and themed, with you in mind? Make the gift unique by using vintage items and a little bit of this and that inside for fun!

For the little things:

I find things such as washi tapes and stationary cards in Michaels, Target, Dollar Tree and Daiso. Everything is very inexpensive. It will just take a bit of imagination and clever thinking on your part to make this gift. Like I said before the possibilities are endless.

You can do one for:

 The Baker

The Cook

The Artist

The Student

The Kid

The Candy Lover

The Cookie Monster

A baby shower gift

The Neighbor

The Hostess With The Mostess

Have fun creating!

 Stop by and share your ideas!

Thrift Shopping For Men....

As a frugal gal....I do a lot of thrift shopping. Most everything we own is secondhand. Through the years I have found a lot of great bargains that were in our budget and nice. Just because it is thrifted certainly does not mean it's not nice. We have always been on a tight budget...I grew up fairly poor....you learn to appreciate things and to be frugal with everything from buying groceries to buying clothes. I do buy things new at times...But mostly I will buy secondhand. I think even if I had a ton of money in my budget to spend. I might splurge a little, but to be honest, the way I grew up and the years of using frugality...I would probably still look out for the clearance racks and bargains. My husband appreciates the bargains I come home with. It doesn't break the bank. He doesn't mind one bit if I came home with secondhand clothing for him either. Which brings me to this post. He is not one to go shopping for himself. He does not enjoy shopping. Mainly, I have been the one to pick out his clothing over our 20 years of marriage. He feels I have a good eye and my taste is suitable. And, he always likes what I choose for him. He is a simple kind of guy. He is not one that is too concerned, or fussy with his looks or fashion. He is most comfortable in a pair of jeans a T~shirt.

In the most recent years he has tired of wearing just a T~shirt and started to wear casual button ups or polos. That's simple enough. He does however have a preference to colors. He will absolutely not choose to wear pink or purple, nor will he wear pastels or gaudy prints. He generally stays in the earth tones. He like plaids and stripes...Which makes my job very easy. He is still a young man, so I try to stay with what is "IN"...Still keeping to a classic comfortable look. Thrifting for him can be hard at times...depending on the stock of the store. I choose gently worn with no stains or new items. Many are name brand or just nice. I also try to stay in a good price range. While thrifting I do not like to spend over $8 for a shirt. The most recent purchases I made ranged from $5~$7. Sometimes I will have a stamp card from my local thrift that gives me 30% off my entire purchase, or look for tag sales, or clothing sales. If I donate two bags of stuff to my local shop, they in return give me a 25% off voucher for my next purchase. These all come in handy while shopping for my man. 

I was able to buy him 6 button ups, short and long sleeved on sale this week for a whopping total of  $20. It was a great bargain...And he loved what I chose for him! If you are looking for a great gift or just need to stock up on some good clothes for the man, and you or your guy in your life doesn't care if it's second hand...I highly recommend thrift shopping. There are great bargains..A great place to find a whole wardrobe under a fraction of the cost for new things. The items I bought here, are in such great shape, you can't even tell they were previously owned. We are on a budget...This is how we roll. I am not ashamed... not one bit. And boy is he gonna look good!

The Party Is Over....

I stayed up till the morning hours before Freckles birthday morning. I cleaned, made gifts, wrapped it all up and decorated the dining room, with just a mere few hours of sleep, she woke up early, bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready to spend the day together. We woke up her daddy from his slumber and gathered around the table while she opened her gifts....Here is just a few of the things...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After she opened her gifts, I made her special breakfast, which she requested. Crepes with Nutella spread, cut up bananas with whipped cream on top. Now hows that for sweet and full of carbs to start off the day? Below is a good basic crepe recipe for you, if anyone is interested.

 

 

 

We got ready for the day ahead and scoured a couple book stores for the day, had lunch , came home fora little rest, because you know, all Super Heroes need to put up their feet for a bit. Then off we went again to the movies. We got home late....And I still had to make the frosting for her cake.

And what birthday wouldn't be perfect without the birthday cake. So, about ten o'clock I was frosting her cake. She made her wishes and blew out the candles just in time for 11p.m which was officially the time she was born. We sang Happy Birthday...

 

 

 

It was a wonderful day spent with her on her special day.
She actually said it was one of the best birthdays she has ever had.
I agree.

Oh Happy Day...

Just a few weeks back I was reading my friend Viv's blog and saw her sweet ornaments she was doing a swap. I was smitten with her little reindeer ornaments...Oh my. Viv is a very talented gal i have known for many years through blogging...The sweetest soul and so very giving. Last year she gifted me with a little wool reindeer I also fell in love with. I will always cherish these sweet little whimsies from her. In return i made her an ornament which I meant to share, but leave it to me I boxed it up forgetting to take a picture of it. Duh.... So for now I will share with you the
sweet little ornaments she sent me....
Sweet, simple and so stinkin' cute.
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My heart melted when I received it last week right before our move.
   I love the little red nose she added...And I can't wait to hang it on my tree next year.
She sent this little guy too...How sweet is that?
 Perfect little addition to my snowman collection.
Oh Happy Day, it really made my day...It made my week in fact. Isn't it just simply sweet?
Hope you all have a happy day. We are now settling into our temporary spot at my mom's.
 Making our Christmas plans.
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