i am my own biggest fan!

i found this for only $4 at d.i. and i had to have it.

of course, i don't really have a place for it except the floor of the piano room.

suggestions?

it is about 18" by 12"

(no, it doesn't fit on the shelves above my fire place. bummer)

so very christmas thrifty!

as i was working on some christmas projects this year, i wanted to use up all of my old holiday scrapbook paper (so i could buy more and not have guilt!)

and, of course, i ended up with a bunch of weird, small scraps.

with the help of my stampin' up  ornament punch (which is so old, it isn't even in their catalog anymore!), i punched my little heart out.

and made some adorable tags for gifts!

so simple, but i cant tell you how many times i ran to walmart just for tags for christmas gifts (and left with much much more!).

but some quick helpful hints...

yea, you should always check the back of the paper to make sure it will actually work.

if not, you risk using more energy than needed.

happiness comes in 3s!

i have 3 friends who work out me with most mornings.

well, actually, i have more than 3 friends who jazzercise with me most mornings, but there are 4 of us who are class managers.

nice title, it just means you get to come early and turn on the heater at 5am.

but when i was out for about 2 months with back issues this fall, i realized how much i loved them

(always knew that) and that i missed seeing them daily.

something about 'girlfriends'...

then one day while at deseret industries i found 3 of these!

each says 'hope, faith, love', and all in the same colors, just different order.

a great all year 'round decoration.

and they were a sweet price for some sweet friends.

and you know they are true friends...they have seen me with my makeup off and still love me!

what are those balls for?

when i went to the down town salt lake deseret industries, i found these balls...

and the guy behind me asked me what i was buying those balls for.

(i didn't question the broken crap in his hand, but whatever)

i guess this man never reads my blog.

they were each 50 cents, so quite a deal!

and what did i do with the small one (and some other balls and bells and ornaments?)

this!

top view...

isn't that HUGE bell cool?

i swear as soon as i figure out something to do with the big ones, i will post!

ball-y gifts

there are a group of young women in my neighborhood who i always give birthday and christmas gifts to. not all the same girls i went to camp with, just some of them.

this year, in the spirit of thrifty-ness, i came up with a brilliant idea!

one word people...

BALLS.

no one should be surprised.

but these turned out so very cool!

and cheap!

maybe free if you have the items in your stash of crafting/christmas stuff!

i got some christmas balls from the thrift store. these cost $1.

one thing i would do different...spray paint them all white/cream/light color. i had one ball that was painted cream and it was alot easier to work with than the lovely blue ones above.

next, find some tissue paper that you have been hoarding since last january.

pretty, huh?

you can either paper mache or modge podge the tissue to the balls.

i ripped my tissue up. but i guess you can leave it in one piece.

ripping is funner.

i would do half a ball, then put it on the top to dry and work on another. this took a few days as i had been sick. see the one in the front, 1st full ball on the right? that is the cream ball. it only took 1 coat of tissue. the rest took many.

of course, since this is a church group, i wanted to put something on the balls to help them remember the true meaning of christmas. so i printed out this scripture on regular printer paper.

'And they came with haste, and found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a manger.'

i just modge podged the scripture on top then gave all the balls a spray of clear coat.

i had some funky rick rack ribbon that i cut and sewed into a circle for the hook.

and here is the finished project!

more christmas ideas!

ok-another reason why i love thrift stores!

both of these cast iron molds were in their boxes-

BRAND SPANKING NEW!

totally ok by me!

i am giving one to nate's teacher and one to his reading specialist.

with some muffin mixes

and wrapped all pretty like this...

who wouldnt want to get them?

ps-we are doing holiday postcards this year instead of cards, and i got 100 of them.

wtfreak?

so they are going to be note cards too this year!

i'm all christmas-ed out over here!

a few years ago, chris made this tv nook into shelves. isn't he useful?!

i should have taken a before photo but oh well. it is all christmas-ed out now and i want to highlight a few things.

this right here is one of my 10+ manger scenes in our home. but this is my favorite. the kids and i made it one year when chris was on a business trip to sacramento. everything has a toilet paper base and things stuck to it. the brown one on its side isn't a piece of poo, it is parkers attempt at a donkey. and nate had this 'thing' about making baby jesus with a golden diaper (if you have seen the movie 'tallidegia nights, you will remember the baby jesus that will ferrell liked to pray to). i don't think there will be a year that i don't display it.

in the middle of the photo below, you can see my plates for santa.

(nate still believes, i don't think parker does)

in the upper left corner is a jar i got here and filled it with some candy canes.

and on the middle shelf on the right side is the ball from here.

balls.

and on the same shelf on the left side is one of my kick-butt stars from here!

so i didn't actually buy anything, but it looks amazing!

if you want to share your christmas-ed out home, be sure to leave a link in your comments!

HANDS DOWN my most favorite thanksgiving decoration!

last fall we took hand prints that look like turkeys of the kids.

(my kids are turkeys, so they might as well make these!)

now i wish i would have done that every year, because they are my favorite thing to put up for thanksgiving!

i just got some frames at $1 store, but i bet you have some laying around your home.

nice crooked pictures ba!

they get big way too fast...

oh yea, i had a giveaway winner that i needed to announce...

first, i need to apologize. actually, summer should. she dragged me all over the salt lake valley yesterday. we hit savers, orsen giggy and some chinese store that had dead birds hanging up in it.

i must love her.

and we had some drama. we were looking at ugly sweaters for one of summers daughters because of an 'ugly sweater dance' coming up. here is what we found...

it doesn't look bad until you realize that the little deer is sniffing the big deers butt.

really-would you want your teen girl wearing that?

then there was the sweater that summer picked out.

and please remember that this wasn't for a ugly sweater dance, this is because she LOVED it!

if you don't know summer, she isn't as old as this sweater suggests!

she CLAIMS that she will make this into a pillow.

i think she will wear this around town with a big sign that says 'ba loves my sweater!' just to annoy me.

and that, my friends, is why i didn't post the winner yesterday.

so the winner was picked by my almost 10 year old parker (because nate wanted to play star wars on the xbox instead of helping).

so congratulations trish!

she said...

I'm thankful for my taste buds. They bring me great joy.

i actually know trish and will be dropping this by (hopefully) today so you can get as much use out of it as you can this holiday season!

i'll be thrifting for christmas. you can count on me!

i hate to admit this, but there are actually a few board games that my kids DON'T have.

how are they functioning in society?

(don't answer that if you really know them!)

on a recent trip to deseret industries, i went down the toy isle.

let me stop there...i ALWAYS go down the toy isle. i have gotten legos and star wars toys on amazing deals. just like any thrifter knows, you never know what you will find!

this particular day, i

found...

and

this...

 for $1.50!

now, the packages are always taped shut, but believe me, i always untape them.

i stood in the toy isle and put perfection together (without the timer on!).

i have trained my kids to put all games pieces back into the baggies on all games.

i realized not all moms are as perfect as me.

(insert laughter here!)

but both had all the pieces. so after i scrape the d.i. sticker off and put all the pieces in baggies, i'm wrapping them and they will be under the christmas tree in 40 days.

and my kids will never even notice.

girls go crazy for a sharp dressed man...

my nathan is adorable!

he is turning 7 today and can not wait. in fact, for the past month, he asked me to tell people that he is 7 because 'i basically am'.

at church, i used to put himin a golf shirt and tan pants and call it good.

that is no longer working for mr sharp dressed man. he needs a tie.

i made him one awhile back here and he alternates between the one i made and the christmas one.

the last trip to the thrift store i knew i needed to find a new church shirt (his was short sleeved and we are getting to long sleeved weather here in utah). well not only did i SCORE on a $4 arrow, wrinkle free shirt but this cute tie as well!

if you can't tell from the look in his eyes, he is a child who will cause me lots of trouble.

but he will be well dressed doing it!

oh and ps...dont forget my giveaway!

today i am grateful for nate!

i had totally forgot that i had got this cornucopia at savers ($2.99!) last spring.

well, forgot until nate comes upstairs wearing it as a hat.

and then blowing it like a horn.

now that looks like fall!

my poor husband!

it was was the very tolerant chris's birthday sunday.

can  you guess how old he turned?

being thrifty like i am, we used some election signs that were still up (i had parker jump out of the car, snatch them and throw them in the trunk. he loved it!) and just stapled paper to them.

and for his birthday he got the new jon stewart book, earth, but mostly because i wanted to read it.

(yup, that is how it works here).

then we gave him this simpsons christmas tie.

(he is NOT going to like me for posting this photo!)

also being thrifty, i got it from d.i. for $2!

it was in perfect condition, and wasn't even all wrinkled where the knot should be!

of course, chris won't wear it until thankgiving is over.

kill joy.

but he is also getting a ski pass, which will not be thrifty. but hey-i love the guy and he puts up with ALOT!

oh, and by the way, i have strep for the FOURTH time since september.

i have been to an ent dr and it turns out i have reflux that comes up pretty high in my throat. the damage from that is allowing (we think. we hope.) the strep to get into my system. we are treating the reflux and will see what happens.

so if i post something weird (i announced on fb that captian kangaroo died), please forgive me and blame the strep. and i plan on using that excuse as long as possible.

halloween decorations-finally

i know! i should have done this way way earlier in the month!

but between strep,and an early halloween party at school and getting ready for disneyland, going to disneyland, getting strep AGAIN...

let us start with this...50 cents at the d.i.! i left it on '31' all month because

1. im lazy and

2. that is what i was decorating for and i liked it.

the little coffins on the right the boys decorated.

one is glow in the dark but it doesn't really show up on the photo well.

those are my scary halloween balls on the bowl type thing on the left.

and candy corn in the cups for the hubby.

(i have refilled those cups about 10 times!)

oh and the cup holder thing?

thanks to d.i., i only paid $3!

dont hate me because im beautiful...

but you can hate me because i found this at d.i. for $5.

it was used EXACTLY 3 times (i can tell what she cut out from the white mat thingy).

it didn't come with the cartridges, but i think i will be ok!

i love saving chris money!

you oughta' be in pictures

i just found this at savers for $1!

it is a leather frame from pier 1 with the original price tag still on it! ($12.99)

TOTAL SCORE!

 what am i going to put in it? well this photo...

and im sending it to my aunt. i always send her photos of my kids, but i thought she could use an updated one of her favorite niece!

not yet, though. im in the middle of a project for her and her class. stay tuned!

oh. my. awesomeness!

sometimes i hit d.i. (stands for deseret industries). sometimes i hit savers.

sometimes i wish there were more options.

but these aren't too shabby!

this sweet find was $2.99 from williams sonoma

(they are usually $24.99!)

we always hold at least a superbowl party at our home ever year.

more depending who the utes are playing on an away game.

not all 3, just the brown one. i think i will leave it brown for now and put a pumpkin on it.

only 99 cents.

now if there were only MORE thrift store to visit....

just think of all the money i could save chris!

what can YOU spell?

a long long time ago i got a bunch of these wood 2x4 square blocks. the person who donated them to d.i. had panted and sanded all these, and then i come along and buy them for 25 cents each.

so worth it!

so i primed them.

then painted them black, but not with black spray paint. that was my original plan, then modge podge some letters on the blocks.

i used chalk board paint. 

can you see where i'm headed with this?

so this is kinda halloween-y.

this one worked out well too.

then my nate came home from school, picked up the chalk and wrote this...

yes friends, that says 'poo'.

very typical nate.

although, poo can be very scary. so maybe i will leave it up.