12 Days of Christmas - Day 6 - Charity

I mentioned on Day 1 of the 12 Days of Christmas that I have a terrible time coming up with gift ideas. 

Finding gifts for my male coworkers is no exception!

Especially when you factor in, I make about half to a third of what they each make...and I'm a single income home.  And that there are about 10 of them buy for!  I just couldn't afford to do much.

So, the first couple years I did smaller things.

Like one year I ordered a Kona coffee sampler for each of them....directly from Hawaii!  I didn't pick these up at TJ Maxx folks.  I had them shipped in! 

I figured since I lived there for 6 years and that was the one thing I knew they all did was drink coffee...great idea!  Right?

WRONG!  Only one person thanked me...and he told me he had to mix them with regular coffee because he didn't like too much flavor.

FAIL!!!

They always do a nice gift card from all of them or a spa gift certificate.  So, I always wanted to do something small for each of them. 

So, this one year (keep in mind, when money was SUPER tight) I got Christmas buckets from Wal-Mart for like a $1.  I filled the buckets with movie theater goodies....microwave popcorn, big boxes of candy, etc.  And I got each of them a $5 Blockbuster Gift Card.  I put a tag on each bucket that said something cheesy like "I hope you sit back, relax and enjoy a movie with your family this holiday."

Each of these ended up costing me about $10! 

Image Courtesy of The Polka Dot Chair

All I got was, "Just what I need...more candy and food."

FAIL!!!

I've done a couple other "FAILS" as well that I don't even remember.  So, then I started baking and just decorating brown paper sacks and filling them with home baked cookies. 

But again, I got the "Just what I need" comments. 

Picture courtesy of Sweet Additions

So, last year I decided I wasn't wasting any more of my hard earned money on unappreciative people!!!

(I don't know if you remember this from a previous post...common courtesy is REALLY big to me.)

SO....I figured there were SOME people in this world that would appreciate the money I typically spent on office gifts!!

I have a very special spot in my heart for the homeless.

I guess because I feel most of us are only a generous relative willing to take us in and a paycheck or two away from being homeless ourselves.

So, I started giving my money to the local homeless shelter.  The one where I see the men waiting outside, on my drive home sometimes, for the doors to open so they can get out of the cold and the snow.

Last year I had Doodle make cards for everyone and inside I put this poem (which I wrote...I'm obviously no poet, LOL):

I hope your holiday season is wonderful and bright!

Instead of thinking and thinking with all my might

Instead of heading straight off to the mall

Fighting the crowds, to find the perfect present for all

I decided that we each have everything we need

And that we’d find more joy in being able to feed

The hungry, the lonely, the homeless, the cold

And probably quite a few of the old

So, this year instead of gifts, to the homeless is where we’ll give

As a way to thank God for His blessings and the beautiful life we’re able to live!

Merry Christmas ~ Erin

This year in lieu of gifts, Jessica and I have made a donation to the Wheeler Mission.

No big surprise, no one said a word.

But this time I didn't mind! :)

That's my plan again for this year!  But I suppose I'll have to create a new poem.  Hmmmm..... :)

Until tomorrow....

12 Days of Christmas - Day 5 - Musical Note Ornament

These musical ornaments were unfinished wood pieces I purchased at Hobby Lobby back before Christmas.  I wish I had bought them out then, because they sold out shortly after and I haven't been able to find anymore. :(

I actually made these to put in the craft show I did back in November.  They were kind of hidden on the tree though so nobody really noticed them. 

But that is actually ok, because Doodle is going to give them to her adorable music teacher at school! :)

I simply sanded each of them slightly, painted them black, Modge Podged on musical scrapbook paper, antiqued them, and added some little jewels. 

Oh, and I drilled small holes for the ribbon...because, of course, I forgot to keep the original ones open and couldn't find them after the scrapbook paper was on and dried! LOL

I absolutely LOVE the ways these turned out!  I would love to have a set for myself, so you can bet next year I'll be at the Hobby Lobby waiting for more of these...and I will buy them all! :)

Until tomorrow....

12 Days of Christmas - Day 4 - A Recipe

I know....I know!!  I'm a bad blogger!  I'm, ohhh, 2 days behind on my 12 days of Christmas!!

Sorry!!  As you know I'm redoing Doodle's bedroom.  Well, maybe you didn't realize I was actively working on it RIGHT NOW....IN THE MIDDLE OF 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS.....IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HOLIDAY SEASON WITH PARTIES TO ATTEND, CRAFTS AND DECORATING AND BAKING TO DO!!!

Yes, I am that kind of crazy!! ;)

In my defense...I never said it would be consecutive. LOL

Well, that's my defense anyway. :)

Ok....so.....do you have a special holiday recipe you just love? 

I DO!!

And until this weekend, I have never actually made it myself.  I look forward to my step-mom making this every single Christmas Eve!!

They make fun of me because it is just that one food I can NOT stay out of!  I just keep going back for more nibbles.

A couple years ago, my step-dad was laughing at me about not being able to stay out of the cake.  Shortly after he went to his room for like 3 or 4 hours.  When he came out I was at the cake AGAIN and so it looked like to him.... I had just stood there munching on the cake the whole time!! LOL

YES....IT IS THAT GOOD!!! :)

And it's EASY!

Butterscotch Cake

2 Butterscotch Pudding Cups (yes, actual, like you'd pack in your lunch, pudding cups)

1 Box Yellow Cake Mix

2 Eggs

1/3 Cup Sugar

1 Cup Butterscotch Chips

1/2 Cup Chopped Nuts

Mix the first three ingredients together.  Then spread into a greased 9 x 13 pan.  Sprinkle the nuts, chips and sugar over the top.  Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

Here's the cake before it cooks.  You can't see it that well in the picture, but it is really thick and flat.  So, I had some concerns.

But it raised up just fine during cooking!!

I'm not sure why, but mine just was not as good as my step-moms.  It needed more butterscotch! 

I actually think my problem was the generic butterscotch chips!  Some things just aren't as good generic...and these were one of those.  They were too waxy!

Or maybe I'm just spoiled and am not intended to make my own...that way it remains oh so special at Christmas! :)

Until tomorrow....

12 Days of Christmas - Day 3 - A Craft

I'm really excited to show you this craft!  I had hoped to get more than one made...but you know how that goes. ;)

I got my inspiration from these trees at Shanty 2 Chic's blog.

But...I do NOT sew! 

Not that I can't.  I can. 

I just HATE to sew!

So....I made my trees using wired ribbon instead!!

All my supplies are from the Dollar Tree.  So, my total tree cost me about $5.

You need:

- Styrofoam cone

- 2 rolls of wired ribbon

- Ornament for the top

- Ugly candle holder for base

I painted my tree first with red craft paint I already had.  Just to create a finished looking background.

Then I cut a length of ribbon (I guessed on mine) and scrunched (I'm pretty sure that's a technical term for this technique) the ribbon on one side to create a ruffled effect by using a pair of pliers and pulling on the wire. 

I hot glued each piece in place on the cone.  I also used straight pins to ensure it was secured well.

Continue until it's full.

I used an ornament for the topper.  I pulled it apart, took out the large center, then hot glued a toothpick in between the layers that were left and shoved it into the top.

For the bottom I simply painted an ugly candle holder with white craft paint and hot glued it to the bottom of the tree.

That's it!  Super easy...no sewing....and cheap!  You know those are my favorite kinds of crafts!!  :)

Until tomorrow....

12 Days of Christmas - Day 2 - An Ornament

Day 2 of Erin's 12 Days of Christmas!!

Today I'm bringing you what is somewhat a tradition mixed with a craft...resulting in a gorgeous ornament!

I wish I could give you a tutorial or tell you to run down to the store and purchase a kit.  But unfortunately, they just don't exist anymore....except on Ebay.  Which REALLY makes me sad! :(

The companies I know used to make them are Walco, LeeWards, and Sulyn. They are just shaped styrofoam and the kits included everything you needed, plus instructions to make one of a kind of ornaments.

They were tedious. You threaded push pins with sequins and embellishments. But they were fun to create.  And they are gorgeous when they are done!

As a kid, I remember these ornaments so fondly!

My great grandmother (my mom's grandmother) used to make these every year and give them as gifts to everyone.  I remember as a kid our tree being full of these beautiful and special ornaments. 

I loved unwrapping these little beauties from their tissue paper every year.

My step-mom has them on the family tree now.  And every year while I'm visiting and walk around that tree and look at those ornaments!  I can't explain the attachment I have to those ornaments.  Probably more so than any other thing that belonged to my mom. 

They still stand out so clearly to me as one of my earliest memories of my mom and my grandmother and of Christmas.

So, when I became an adult, I started making the little sequin ornaments for MY tree!! :)

Ten to twelve years ago I could purchase these kits at Wal-Mart for around $5.  But like I said, nowadays you can only get them on Ebay (or so I've found).

But I have a decent collection that I've made.  Usually you would get 2 - 3 ornaments in a kit.

And I hope that mine bring memories for Doodle like my Great Grandmothers do for me!

The kits are still pretty cheap on Ebay, so if you are looking for a special ornament or craft, I highly recomment purchasing some and trying them!!

Until tomorrow....

12 Days of Christmas - Day 1 - A Gift

Woohoo!!  It's finally here!!! 

12 Days of Christmas, Erin style, has begun!!! :)

Today, Day 1, I'm going to show you a gift I give every year to my parents.

I struggle with gift giving.  I never know what to get or give to people....especially my parents!! 

My parents need for nothing!  They have great jobs, a beautiful home, nice cars, all the toys they can imagine or want.  If they want something they pretty much buy it.

And I don't want to give useless junk just to say I gave them something and the make them feel obligated to keep it and store it or display it! 

What do you give to someone who has it all??  I used to ask myself this every-single-stinkin'-year!

So, about 5 or 6 years ago I came up with something they didn't have and I knew would be personal and cherished....a scrapbook!

BTW...All these samples are from 2009. 

Grammy reads my blog and I wouldn't want to give away 2010's just yet. ;)

You see...my parents live in Dallas....we live in Indianapolis. 

So, they only get to see Doodle typically 2-3 times a year.  She spends several weeks every summer with them, we go down every Christmas, and then sometimes Grammy will be 'near' enough to Indy to make a detour visit here and there throughout the year.  But that's about it.

So, since buying them 'stuff' they didn't need seemed silly....I knew they would cherish an annual scrapbook of the Doodle and her year!! 

Not only did they LOVE it....it's become somewhat of a tradition!! 

Here was the problem I encountered Year 1....

I did a traditional paper scrapbook.  A smaller one...but the traditional, cropping, stickers, etc.

Not only was this extremely time consuming....when all was said and done...Grammy got a lovely scrapbook...and to this day I've never had enough time to do one for ME!!

AND...let's not forget that her dad and I are divorced.  So....the scrapbook would be a nice gift for her dad as well.

So you see the dilemma?  Too many scrapbooks...not enough time.

So, Year 2, I decided digital was the way to go!

This way I could just do ONE scrapbook, but print and bind THREE copies of the scrapbook and we would all have one.

I purchased scrapbook software and it worked out pretty good.  But I didn't find the software to be easy to work with.  But whatever, I made a nice scrapbook for that year and everyone loved it.

SO..............Year 3 I changed it up again and decided I should just use what I know and love.......Microsoft Power Point!!

Yes, my friends, now I simply do my annual scrapbook in basic, good 'ol, Power Point.

When it comes to working with pictures, I find PPT to be the easiest of all the programs to use!  Although nowadays I could use Publisher as well with the same ease. 

Granted I am a wiz at PPT and I do work with the program for my job almost daily...so that helps.  But if you can use any scrapbook program, you could definitely use PPT or Publisher...and that is probably already loaded to your PC! :)

I use 'scrapbook goodies' from  Shabby Princess which is where I get all the nifty backgrounds and pretties!  She offers lots of free packages (which you know is what my cheap self I use) and she offers other packages for great prices! 

She also has a blog The Shabby Shoppe Blog where she shows great digital scrapbook ideas!

I usually start out with a cover, then a little overview of the year, then I break down events that we did or places we went throughout the year, usually in chronological date order since it's an annual thing.

For things I may not have captured on camera or seemed it should be 'captured' somehow (like shaving armpits! LOL) I do a page like this:

I scan and include cute things like Doodle's school work, where she tells all about her Uncle Matt forcing her onto a roller coaster over the summer! LOL

I always make sure Girl Scout things make it into the annual scrapbook:

I always do a pet update...because....well, they are family too! :)

I do 'borrow' logos (like the Girl Scouts logo) for some of my pages.  I do alot of 'borrowing' pictures at my work, so I'm pretty good at that too. ;) 

And I get some pictures from free clip art online too.

And then when I'm all done, I print all the pages out and bind them with wire coil spines...which you can have done at Kinko's or Office Depot or somewhere like that.

Or you can put them into a binder.  Whatever works for you.

So...there you have it!  A very personal and inexpensive gift idea!  And so I'm not caught in super crunch mode (which I have learned the hard way), I work on it throughout the year so when it comes close to Christmas, I can do a few tweak and additions and just print!

This gift is especially nice for out of town relatives!

Until to tomorrow....

Happy Christmas Season!

I know....no one says that.  But I'm so excited the Christmas Season is here!! It is defintely my favorite holiday!:)

I hope everyone had a fabulous long weekend!  We did! 

The tree is up, the house is decorated and I've got some really exciting things coming up around here!

If you aren't reading this in a reader, then you may have noticed the new layout!  I love changing for the holiday or season.  :)

Starting Wednesday, don't forget....my 12 Days of Christmas!!!  There will be some crafts...some recipes...some decorating....some traditions....lots of good stuff! :)

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Then....HUGE happenings around here!  Doodle is getting a room redo!!!

LOTS and LOTS of organization planned!! 

Her room does not work for her.  Plus she's growing up!  So a more mature room is in the works!  And did I mention....organization?  :) 

Stay tuned for those happenings! :)

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So, that's it for today.  I'm busy getting ready for the 12 Days of Christmas!!

See you Wednesday!!! :)