How can you avoid the insanity of black Friday? Make stuff!! I love to give homemade gifts. I've been feverishly creating for the past month or so, and I'd love to show you what I'm giving this year! But, many of my recipients are also followers so I can't spoil the surprise...you'll all have to wait until AFTER Christmas!
I don't give homemade gifts because I am too cheap to go buy something, although I always have this feeling in the back of my mind that that's what people are thinking when they receive a homemade gift. Maybe it's my own insecurity about giving something I've made...wondering if the recipient is just being nice by saying they like it. After all, they can't add "something Gretchen made" to their Amazon wish list. So, I always find myself accompanying my hand made gifts with something store bought as well, which leaves me feeling like I've just undermined the value of my own gift and added to the home-made stigma. It's all a little ironic when I think about it, because I know people around the world are paying for the things that I make on my website and in retail stores to give as gifts to others!
While making gifts may very well be a way to save some money, I have found that many times it really costs me the same, if not more, than what I would have spent on a store bought gift. Especially if it is something that I haven't made in the past, that might require some materials and/or equipment that I didn't already own from a previous project. One year I tried making soaps...they turned out okay but I found it wasn't really my thing and now all the supplies sit unused. (Which brings up another good point...thrift stores are a great place to find craft supplies from people who have given up on it!)
I guess in my mind, a homemade gift says so much...it says that I thought about you not just in the instant that I grabbed something on a store shelf so I could cross you off my shopping list, but for the hours, days, and sometimes weeks it took me to create your one-of-a-kind gift.
These days, time is money. Especially to me, a work-from-home mom, who could easily fill up all of my "me time" doing my freelance design work, for which I get paid by the minute. Or a weekend doing a face painting gig...where I get $75 for one hour of work. When you think of it in terms of how much money I could have made in the same amount of time spent working on a gift, suddenly the "value" really shoots up! I mean, you can crochet an hour every night for a couple months to make an afghan! Not to mention EASILY spend $30+ on the yarn alone. I know certain color schemes go out of style, but I'm always so sad to see beautiful handmade afghans hanging in the thrift stores by the dozens for a couple bucks. But I digress..
I'm not trying to bash store bought gifts. It's really fun when you can find just the perfect thing that you know someone really wants or can really use, and like I said, I usually add something store bought with my homemade items. But, it does make me think, why couldn't I scrap the store bought item? Or at least not complete some homemade gift and then rack my brain over what store bought item to "add to it" to make it a "better gift" that measures up to the dollar amount everyone else spent? It would be really fun one year to just agree with the family to only give homemade gifts. You wouldn't even have to be artistic...think of the fun seeing everyone's creative sides come out! Maybe you write a poem, or make up a song, bake something delicious, or make IOU's for an activity to do together!
I've always enjoyed giving photo gifts from sites like Shutterfly and Snapfish, and have even had a couple custom designed puzzles made for my grandparents. These seem to be a nice blend of homemade and store bought...they carry the store bought price tag and perceived value but also the personal, one-of-a-kind touch of being homemade. When I make something, I always like to add a little home-made tag to go on it as well. It gives it that fancy gift feel like something from a store, and gives you a place to call out the fact that this was hand made by you and maybe even describe the process you go through to make it.
I guess my point is this: If you're a recipient of a homemade gift, don't assume the giver is just being cheap...take their investment of time as a great compliment. And if you're giving homemade gifts, take pride in the fact that you are giving a gift that nobody else on the planet is getting from anyone else! After all, years down the road, chances are these are the things that will really last and you'll want to hang on to for generations!
Friday, November 26, 2010
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
"PLAY" Design for Kids Calendar
"Made by Joel" is definitely one of my favorite blogs to browse. Check it out and you'll see why! I just had to pass on this recent calendar project he shared that includes some of his work. Another thing for my Amazon wish list this year!
Monday, November 22, 2010
Fun Thanksgiving Projects
Looking for something Thanksgiving-themed to keep the kids busy while the turkey cooks, after they've already finished tracing their hand and making it look like a turkey? Here are some fun Thanksgiving projects you can do with your kids that will also help decorate around your home and your dinner table!
I like these cute turkey name tags because they also serve a purpose. Beyond calling out who sits where, they are edible, and the tail is made from a napkin which can be used during dinner. These would be cute sitting right on each plate!
These little felt apples are cute. You could easily turn these into place cards as well by adding a name to the stick, but they'd look cute on a shelf too.
I recently came across this little tool at Amazon, made to cut a votive-sized hole
into fruits. This would really make some neat table decorations, whether you use apples, little gourds, or whatever! I added it to my Amazon wish list!
I love the idea behind this Thanksgiving wreath. It's a more time consuming project you might not hand over to a kid to do. But, it's intended to get everyone involved...have your family and friends write what they are thankful for on little notes, and slip them into the paper cones on the wreath. Then, pull them out and read them around the dinner table as a reminder of what everyone is celebrating!
I like these cute turkey name tags because they also serve a purpose. Beyond calling out who sits where, they are edible, and the tail is made from a napkin which can be used during dinner. These would be cute sitting right on each plate!
I recently came across this little tool at Amazon, made to cut a votive-sized hole
into fruits. This would really make some neat table decorations, whether you use apples, little gourds, or whatever! I added it to my Amazon wish list!
Friday, November 19, 2010
Fun Friday Finds
Woah, where has this week gone?!? I just realized I haven't posted since last Friday. Shame on me! Well, in my defense, I've been a little busy nursing a cold, coming to grips with the fact that our house is coming OFF the market, and moving BACK into the house I'm already in. Wow, un-packing is so much less fun when without the new home part. But, anyway, I'm finally back, and here are a few fun things I've come across this week to share!
Okay, well, I've had less time to web surf this week so I only have a few items for you today. But, if you have the time, explore farther into Inhabitots and Gingercake and you'll find so many cool things!! Have a great weekend everyone!!
Friday, November 12, 2010
"STAY at Home Mom"
"Stay at home Mom." Why does that come across as so boring? Sure, I happen to be a "work-from-home Mom" with my businesses, but even without my businesses, just being home to raise my kids is far more work (and more rewarding!) than any paying job I've had. I mean, think about it...you are devoting your entire day (minus nap time and the 5 seconds you have alone in the bathroom before your toddler barges in) devoted to molding a human life into a responsible, contributing member of society. You are influencing someone's future Mommy or Daddy, someone's husband or wife...You're creating the future of humanity for crying out loud! "The children are our future!!"
Yet, somehow whenever I hear someone remark, "oh, you stay at home with your kids?" or "she used to work at such-and-such company but now stays at home with her kids," it comes across as some kind of "easy" route. Because "work" is, you know, "work," so everything else must be like a day off, right? I mean, can't you just toss the kid a snack and a toy and then sit back on the couch with your bon bons?!
I think, to over analyze a bit, the part that urks me is the word "STAY." To me that makes me think of being still, just standing there, doing nothing while everybody else "GO's." Like something you do at the amusement park with the kid who's under 42" tall while everyone else rides the wild roller coaster. It sounds so sedentary...yet "staying" at home with kids is anything BUT that! I don't think a day goes by when I don't feel like I've been run over by a truck by the time the kids are in bed!
When you talk about work, you use the opposite word..."GO!" I'm going to work! Sounds a lot more physical, more active, more...I don't know...exciting? I used to work at Best Buy's corporate headquarters designing store fixtures. Yes, it was a fun place to work...great people to be around, business trips to places like New York and Hollywood, and even the occasional celebrity roaming through the building. But, like any job, it wasn't without it's boring days sitting in the cubicle. Every job has it's up's and downs, including parenthood, but it's ALL hard work!
Today I still get to do the same kind of work for Best Buy and many other companies as a freelancer from my home office. Sure, it may have lost some of it's sexiness, but I love having the ability to keep my career going while being home with my boys. I get excitement in other new ways, like watching my child take his first step, middle-of-the-night trips to the ER, and chasing a toddler with dog poop on the bottom of his shoes as he darts across a newly vacuumed living room carpet.
I looked up the word "stay" in my good ol' non-electronic dictionary (yup, they still print those!) and found paragraphs of definitions...some fitting and some not for the "stay at home mom."
Stay:
"to stop moving; halt" or "to wait; pause" ... seem not so fitting to describe my day at home.
"to endure or persist" or "to hold out or persevere to the end of a race or challenge"...now there's a better definition!
Okay, so just like the job of a stay at home or a work-out-of-the home mom, "stay" can be viewed as both an active or sedentary term. It's all in how you look at it. Maybe I should call myself an "endure-at-home mom" or a "persevere-at-home mom". So as a "stay" at home mom, I thought I'd take it upon myself to remind everyone that "stay" doesn't just mean to sit still or be held back from something.
All stay-at-home moms are work-at-home moms, because motherhood itself is hard work! And "working moms" are ALSO working when they get home from work! In the end, all moms work. I'm a mom, and I work. (and play!) That's it. All moms work by definition. Who cares where you are doing it (office or home?), who you work with (co-workers or kids?) or how you get "paid" (paychecks or hearts drawn with crayon?). When people ask me what I do, I usually tell them I run 3 businesses out of my home with my 2 boys. Maybe I should say that I run 5 businesses...GF Design, Paintertainment, Junk Mail Gems, AND Sammy and Toby! (I just happen to love two of them WAY WAY more than the rest. )
I admire all kinds of moms...those who "stay" at home with their kids every day, those who have part time jobs, and those who have full time jobs. Being a mom is a hard enough [24/7 full-time] job already without having people judge you for your decision to work in or out of the home. Those of you who work out of the home, I applaud your ability to juggle and manage your time and roles! Those of you who stay at home, I applaud your ability to keep up with your kids all day! You're all amazing!! Of course, being that I LOVE my own situation, it's natural of me to want to wish the same upon every other mom I know. But, in reality, I know it's just not for everyone.
Both working and stay-at-home moms know just how much work and how rewarding it is being a parent, whether you are physically with your kids full time or not, and I'm hoping this post will help everyone who does NOT have kids to understand that moms work hard no matter were they "stay" or "go" in whatever location you think is more "work." I think that no matter how confident we try to be in our decisions, the sad fact is that many stay-at-home AND working moms feel just a little insecure sometimes when talking to someone who's doing the opposite or who's not a parent. A stay-at-home mom may feel like other women are looking down on her for being "just" a mom, while a working mom may feel like other women look down on her for not being with her kids 100% of the time.
Let's remember to lift each other up, not look down...We can all use a little support and encouragement! It's a tough decision to make whatever way you go, so pick up the phone today and tell a mom that she is doing a great job at motherhood however she chooses to do it...unlike our "work" lives, moms don't have a "boss" giving us praise for a job well done. So here's a little "quarterly review" for all you moms out there from one of your co-worker mommy peers...
Great job not losing your temper the other day when your kid was driving you nuts! Great job getting out of bed to get the big kid ready for school when you were up all night with the baby and your hubby was snoring away! Good for you for being conscious and vertical when calling in sick was not an option! NO ONE can comfort your child with an owie like you can! You're all AMAZING, even if you feel nobody may notice half of the work you do...keep on keepin' on! Give yourself a RAISE and a big fat BONUS of a little "me" time...if you can squeeze some in! You've EARNED it and you're all SUPER MOMS!! :-)
Yet, somehow whenever I hear someone remark, "oh, you stay at home with your kids?" or "she used to work at such-and-such company but now stays at home with her kids," it comes across as some kind of "easy" route. Because "work" is, you know, "work," so everything else must be like a day off, right? I mean, can't you just toss the kid a snack and a toy and then sit back on the couch with your bon bons?!
I think, to over analyze a bit, the part that urks me is the word "STAY." To me that makes me think of being still, just standing there, doing nothing while everybody else "GO's." Like something you do at the amusement park with the kid who's under 42" tall while everyone else rides the wild roller coaster. It sounds so sedentary...yet "staying" at home with kids is anything BUT that! I don't think a day goes by when I don't feel like I've been run over by a truck by the time the kids are in bed!
When you talk about work, you use the opposite word..."GO!" I'm going to work! Sounds a lot more physical, more active, more...I don't know...exciting? I used to work at Best Buy's corporate headquarters designing store fixtures. Yes, it was a fun place to work...great people to be around, business trips to places like New York and Hollywood, and even the occasional celebrity roaming through the building. But, like any job, it wasn't without it's boring days sitting in the cubicle. Every job has it's up's and downs, including parenthood, but it's ALL hard work!
Today I still get to do the same kind of work for Best Buy and many other companies as a freelancer from my home office. Sure, it may have lost some of it's sexiness, but I love having the ability to keep my career going while being home with my boys. I get excitement in other new ways, like watching my child take his first step, middle-of-the-night trips to the ER, and chasing a toddler with dog poop on the bottom of his shoes as he darts across a newly vacuumed living room carpet.
I looked up the word "stay" in my good ol' non-electronic dictionary (yup, they still print those!) and found paragraphs of definitions...some fitting and some not for the "stay at home mom."
Stay:
"to stop moving; halt" or "to wait; pause" ... seem not so fitting to describe my day at home.
"to endure or persist" or "to hold out or persevere to the end of a race or challenge"...now there's a better definition!
Okay, so just like the job of a stay at home or a work-out-of-the home mom, "stay" can be viewed as both an active or sedentary term. It's all in how you look at it. Maybe I should call myself an "endure-at-home mom" or a "persevere-at-home mom". So as a "stay" at home mom, I thought I'd take it upon myself to remind everyone that "stay" doesn't just mean to sit still or be held back from something.
All stay-at-home moms are work-at-home moms, because motherhood itself is hard work! And "working moms" are ALSO working when they get home from work! In the end, all moms work. I'm a mom, and I work. (and play!) That's it. All moms work by definition. Who cares where you are doing it (office or home?), who you work with (co-workers or kids?) or how you get "paid" (paychecks or hearts drawn with crayon?). When people ask me what I do, I usually tell them I run 3 businesses out of my home with my 2 boys. Maybe I should say that I run 5 businesses...GF Design, Paintertainment, Junk Mail Gems, AND Sammy and Toby! (I just happen to love two of them WAY WAY more than the rest. )
I admire all kinds of moms...those who "stay" at home with their kids every day, those who have part time jobs, and those who have full time jobs. Being a mom is a hard enough [24/7 full-time] job already without having people judge you for your decision to work in or out of the home. Those of you who work out of the home, I applaud your ability to juggle and manage your time and roles! Those of you who stay at home, I applaud your ability to keep up with your kids all day! You're all amazing!! Of course, being that I LOVE my own situation, it's natural of me to want to wish the same upon every other mom I know. But, in reality, I know it's just not for everyone.
Both working and stay-at-home moms know just how much work and how rewarding it is being a parent, whether you are physically with your kids full time or not, and I'm hoping this post will help everyone who does NOT have kids to understand that moms work hard no matter were they "stay" or "go" in whatever location you think is more "work." I think that no matter how confident we try to be in our decisions, the sad fact is that many stay-at-home AND working moms feel just a little insecure sometimes when talking to someone who's doing the opposite or who's not a parent. A stay-at-home mom may feel like other women are looking down on her for being "just" a mom, while a working mom may feel like other women look down on her for not being with her kids 100% of the time.
Let's remember to lift each other up, not look down...We can all use a little support and encouragement! It's a tough decision to make whatever way you go, so pick up the phone today and tell a mom that she is doing a great job at motherhood however she chooses to do it...unlike our "work" lives, moms don't have a "boss" giving us praise for a job well done. So here's a little "quarterly review" for all you moms out there from one of your co-worker mommy peers...
Great job not losing your temper the other day when your kid was driving you nuts! Great job getting out of bed to get the big kid ready for school when you were up all night with the baby and your hubby was snoring away! Good for you for being conscious and vertical when calling in sick was not an option! NO ONE can comfort your child with an owie like you can! You're all AMAZING, even if you feel nobody may notice half of the work you do...keep on keepin' on! Give yourself a RAISE and a big fat BONUS of a little "me" time...if you can squeeze some in! You've EARNED it and you're all SUPER MOMS!! :-)
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Turn your Halloween Pumpkins into Yummy Treats!
Woah, it's November already! November makes me think of Thanksgiving, family gatherings, and those pumpkins that are starting to shrivel up on the front step. This year I made a "for sale sign" pumpkin, in my last ditch effort to market our house to trick-or-treaters. Unfortunately last night some rowdy teenage squirrels decided to gnaw away my designs, so it looks more like a big hole with a cross on it now. Here's what it USED to look like:
My last post was about how to use up some of that left-over Halloween candy, but what about the left-over pumpkin? Don't toss it out just yet! I am going to mooch off of myself and send you to a post I published a couple years ago, where you can find step by step instructions to turn your Halloween jack-o-lanterns into yummy pumpkin pies and bread. Some may argue that you have to use "pie pumpkins," sold specifically for making pies. However, my mom has turned our Halloween pumpkins into the BEST pie and bread every year since I can remember. Yes, it takes considerably more time than opening a can-o-pumpkin, but then there's always something about that warm, fuzzy, Martha-Stewart-like satisfaction you get from knowing that you made your pie from a real pumpkin. The only thing better than that would be to grow them yourself on top of it! In dirt you got from your compost bin!
Oh yeah, these are my pumpkins from a couple years ago. See...pumpkin is so yummy they are eating each other!
My last post was about how to use up some of that left-over Halloween candy, but what about the left-over pumpkin? Don't toss it out just yet! I am going to mooch off of myself and send you to a post I published a couple years ago, where you can find step by step instructions to turn your Halloween jack-o-lanterns into yummy pumpkin pies and bread. Some may argue that you have to use "pie pumpkins," sold specifically for making pies. However, my mom has turned our Halloween pumpkins into the BEST pie and bread every year since I can remember. Yes, it takes considerably more time than opening a can-o-pumpkin, but then there's always something about that warm, fuzzy, Martha-Stewart-like satisfaction you get from knowing that you made your pie from a real pumpkin. The only thing better than that would be to grow them yourself on top of it! In dirt you got from your compost bin!
Monday, November 1, 2010
What to do with left-over Halloween Candy?
Did you get less trick-or-treaters than you expected? Maybe your kid got way more candy than you'd like them to consume? Here are some ideas for ways to use up the Halloween sugar!
I recently read some ideas in a Parenting magazine for ways to use up left-over Halloween candy while helping you consume some more healthy ingredients along with it. I couldn't find it on their website, but here were their ideas...
Banana Split - split a banana lengthwise, fill it with whipped cream, and top with crumbled peanut butter cups.
Candy applesauce - crush lollipops and sprinkle over applesauce. As your kid stirs, the colors in the candy change the colors of the applesauce!
Mini Chocolate Fondue - Microwave a few chocolate bars in the microwave and serve with some fruit for dunking.
Post-Halloween Pudding - Make a low-fat version of pudding (with skim milk) and stir in bits of Snickers or Milky Way before you chill it
Spooky Snack Mix - Combine nuts, dried fruits, cereal, pretzels, etc with small candy bits like candy corn, jelly beans, or M&M's.
Banana Split - split a banana lengthwise, fill it with whipped cream, and top with crumbled peanut butter cups.
Candy applesauce - crush lollipops and sprinkle over applesauce. As your kid stirs, the colors in the candy change the colors of the applesauce!
Mini Chocolate Fondue - Microwave a few chocolate bars in the microwave and serve with some fruit for dunking.
Post-Halloween Pudding - Make a low-fat version of pudding (with skim milk) and stir in bits of Snickers or Milky Way before you chill it
Spooky Snack Mix - Combine nuts, dried fruits, cereal, pretzels, etc with small candy bits like candy corn, jelly beans, or M&M's.
I personally have no problems with simply consuming all Kit Kat bars in their natural state, however, here is a delicious looking cake that uses Kit Kat and Reese's Pieces
Butterfinger:
Baby Ruth:
Snickers:
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