Presents for everyone!

Again, I have neglected this idea for a while, but find myself back here, with a ton of fresh ideas.  June was the month of gift giving and traveling, so we had quite a bit of fun!  My college friends came for the day, so I whipped up a low cost gift basket for them.  I finally got to meet my soon-to-be niece and Daddykins got some baby practice in, which means we brought presents for momma and baby on our visit.  And of course, it was Father's day, so I needed to think of something nice for my step dad!

My first gift basket of the month - the lime green theme!  It was for my best girlfriends who came up for a visit.  It happened to be close to one of their birthdays, so I made a basket for them both, since I didn't send a present for the January birthday gal!

• green basket - $1 
• basket filler and paper - $2 
• stickers (my friend loves them) - $2
• photo book - $1
• picture frame - $3
• photos, 25 printed - $6.75
• Glee game - $8
• Jellies - free (leftovers from xmas presents)
• CD of our favorite songs - free (already had them!)
• wrapping paper and ribbon - free 

So for a gift that covers 2 birthdays, less than $25.  They loved it, it looked amazing and it did not break my bank!

My second gift basket of the month - "play ball" theme!  I was fortunate to be running through my hometown on father's day and was able to give my step-dad his present!  His gift is a little more 'over the top' than I would usually like to spend or do... However, I feel like I must make up for my 20 years of just giving peanut "m&ms" for Christmas, birthday and father's day.  So I step up my game a bit with him.  

•  My step dad LOVES Golden Corral (me, not so much), but our little city just built one, so I hopped on board and tried to get him a gift certificate... after trying FIVE TIMES to get in the door, I finally got one, for $40
• Tickets to a baseball game - I figured since he would be traveling to eat, he could stay for a bit and take in america's past time... tickets for four were only $50 and our seats were awesome!
• Gas card - he didn't really need it, but I thought it tied the gift together and made it more of a carefree day - $20 
• Basket - $1
• Bow - $1 
• 'flair' aka the ball - $1
• basket filler - $1

So our total was a little out there, at $144, but that is including all 4 tickets, not just his.  And like I said, it is money and time well spent because I feel like I need to make up for lost time, and we got to spend a whole day together, which was amazing.  

And now we are on to the new momma and baby!  I had a lot of fun with this one, and my soon-to-be sister-in-law was very thankful and LOVED the chocolate!  It was simple, but had some heartfelt touches.  

• First and foremost - the chocolate.  I went with organic because momma was not using formula yet for the baby, and I didn't want to cause harm.  $12 
• Tea - took some time to research what was ok for new mother's to have, and I think I got it right!  $6 
• Cute little sign "a daughter is a gift sent from above to treasure and forever love" $4 
• a very cute press on/press off owl night light $10 

All in all, she loved it and really appreciated the chocolate!  I think she was very touched that someone thought of her and not just the baby.  

The price was a little high, at $32, but it was much cheaper than sending flowers, fruit or pre-made gift basket that I was thinking about doing just after the baby was born.  And I know she would do the same for me, or even more, so it felt nice to do something sweet for her!!  

Been away for a while, quite busy!  Planned, decorated and baked my way through my soon-to-be sister-in-law's baby shower!  It was quite a blast and according to many many people I should be a party planner... Daddykins might not be that happy with that choice - my poor house was a disaster for quite some time, but I had a blast!

Of course, most of this was done in "DIY" fashion, with a lot (I mean, a lot) of time was put into it!  It turned out so beautifully and the mommy and daddy - to - be loved it, so I was trilled.

First thing's first... the color scheme.  We know we will have a little niece come May, and the nursery is going to be purple and grey.  So the soon - to - be momma wanted the shower color to be purple... so I settled on mostly purple, with pops of pink.  So our theme was not shower centered, but rather purple and pink, classy and used food for fun.

Centerpieces!

So as I was perusing the Dollar Tree on my Friday shopping trip, I found cute, spring like boxes, that would work wonderfully for centerpieces.  It did take me some time to figure out how I would use them, but after some planning, I figured they could be cute with cake pops, white chocolate candies and purple peeps.  

The Box :: With a little floral foam, Easter grass and sticks, I had planned the centerpieces.  Assembling them, other than the foods, was quite easy and people thought they were cute.  

Pops :: The cake pops that went into the centerpieces and filled in gaps on the dessert table, were somewhat difficult to make, mainly because I am a huge perfectionist.  I used a cake pop mold and box cake mix, with pudding added, and they baked ok... the problems occurred when 'frosting' them in the white chocolate. Some of the cake balls fell off, the chocolate was not going on smoothly... horror after horror.  But by the end of it, I had a good recipe (a lot of vegetable shortening) and a good technique (roll the pop on the side of the jar, to achieve a smooth and not too thick finish).  

Chicks :: The peeps were fun to assemble.  We had 4 packages of purple chicks, and we took them apart and attempted to roll them in the purple dust left behind, to cover up the white sides.  It worked well, but wasn't perfect.  We put them in plastic baggies and taped/tied them off so they would not go stale.  It was pretty quick and easy, and a great addition to the centerpieces   

Chocolate :: we also made purple hearts and flowers out of white chocolate to fill in gaps.  Worked out well and added nice contrasting colors.  

I carted everything from home disassembled, and then put them all together the night before the shower while on the tables.  They held up well and were LOVED!!  What people didn't eat, they took home, which was amazing!  :)


Shower Activities!!  

The momma - to - be did not want to play any traditional shower games, and as we had a short time frame (10a - 12), it didn't really matter.  But I was able to convince momma to do two activities:  advice for the momma to be, and a fun little diaper game where guests wrote funny quips on diapers to make momma's late night diaper changes funny and less stressful.  

Advice :: The note cards were placed on the plates, to add color to the somewhat bland room, and I had made them to fit into a 3x5 photo book so that there was a cute "book of advice" for the parents - to - be.  They guests loved giving advice and there were some very thoughtful insights into parenting, as well as some humor and some art from our younger guests!  

The Diaper Rhyme 

Diapers :: The guests also loved participating in the diaper activity and came up with some really cute quips.  Someone wrote "baby got back" on the back of one diaper, and another wrote "the diva demands!" and a third memorable one was "Mom!  Only 3,232,232 diapers until I am potty trained!"  It was quite fun, and gives the mom and dad - to - be a usable gift, which is always nice.  The table also was a cute addition to the decorating and the frame tied everything together.  




The Dessert Table!!  

It was freakin' adorable!  I made and frosted all the cupcakes (some of the ladies said they looked like they were professionally made... I was so flattered!), designed everything and made (most) of the cake stands, and used the cake pops and white chocolate pops as fillers.  

Spray Painting in Winter!

Cake stands ::  they were all dollar store or thrift store purchases (plates and funky cups/dessert bowls), which I spray painted with a frosted glass finish, before I spray painted them with color.  I assembled them after I spray painted (being sure to leave a perfect circle where my cups would attach), but based on my experiences  it could be assembled pre-paining as well.  I found doilies at the dollar store and was sure to put these on the top of the plates, to make sure the food wasn't tainted.  Not pictured was the one I did in pink so I could add a little pop!

Silverware as decorations :: To add more color and tie in the prints throughout the room, the silverware came into play!!  The pink silverware was leftover from a previous party, the basket I had, and the rest was from the dollar store!  It was simple to roll it up, and then tie them off with some cute ribbon or tulle.  It made a nice addition and was very little time and money to set up.  Once put on the table, it was just adorable.  

Welcome Baby 

Cupcake Liner and Note the Purple Chocolate

Cupcakes ::  I had made about sixty, even though we had 30 people slated for the party... I wanted to be sure I had enough, and I had baked them in white cupcake liners.  I used store bought cake mix (3 boxes at $.99 made for a good deal) and the frosting was butter-cream made from scratch.  I had mixed in varying amounts of food coloring into each batch of frosting, so the cupcakes all had slightly different shades of purple.  Once frosted, I put them in one of two fun cupcake papers, which really made the table come together.  I had also made a "Welcome Baby" decal on the computer, and after many attempts, made it exactly an inch and a half wide!  My mom had a scrapbook punch that size, and a scalloped one 2-inches wide, so I was able to quickly and easily make cupcake toppers!  They turned out beautiful and I so thankful to have my mom's help!

The HUGE Mantle!!

Nothing is worse than having a huge, manly mantle in the middle of a baby shower.  So, I tried to work with what I was given,... a few vases and a place to hang a wreath.  And I once again got busy at the dollar store!

The Masculine Fire Place Made Baby Cute

The Beautiful Wreath :: The dollar store had pool noodles - amazing!  So I got some purple and white tulle, I had some leftover pink tulle, and I got cutting and tying.  The problem:  you could see the blue of the noodle through the tulle... so I ended up using some of my leftover spray paint from the cupcake stands to coat the noodle, which made a bit of a mess (it kept flaking) but it worked out ok.  It basically ended up looking like a stripped tutu, and Daddykins said the middle looked empty (and he was right), so I got a letter T (for the baby's last name) from the craft store with the intention of painting it but ran out of time.  So I punched some paper out of paint samples, various scallop sizes, and quick pasted them on the T.  Looked adorable.  And I found small letters and bought "baby" and spray painted those pink and hung them on the side.  The process was pretty easy and quite fun, and turned out so cute!!  And doubles as a nursery decoration!

The Vases :: quick decorating = tulle bows.  Took less than 5 minutes for all of them and really pulled the room together.  Quite simple and earned a lot of compliments.  

The Diaper Table

The Remainder of the Party:

The dessert table from a distance

Puff Balls :: so cheap and easy.  Tissue paper fanned out with fun cut ends, scrapbook paper cut into strips then made into balls, and coffee filters stuck into a foam ball.  Tissue paper packs were less than a dollar each and if I cut them right, they made very different sizes and 2 for the price of 1, and I personally think the smaller ones turned out better.  They really tied the rooms together and they made the decorations.  It was quite simple and created a warmth and sense of welcoming.

The Food Table, prior to the food of course

  




The Banner :: I was so excited to make this - it was originally going to go over the present table, but once I figured out what the site looked like, it wasn't going to happen - and I wanted it to be cute, but not say "welcome baby" or anything like that since she wasn't actually going to be present!  So we opted for "For now in mommy's belly, forever in her heart" and I made each letter independently and used 3d glue stickers to give it a bit of a pop.  It was cuter in person and the picture below does not give it much justice.  



Other Pretty Shots ::

A 'mostly' DIY Christmas!

In our house, we do not believe in anything religious, but we do believe in giving gifts and being with family.  

This year, our budget was tight and we still wanted to do some nice things for people. 

The 'smaller' gifts:

I had my aunts and uncles, grandparents, Daddykins' step siblings, and neighbors to give gifts to, and I had been busy all summer trying my hand at canning, so for presents, I made jelly/jams.

For 8 people:                                                                              

• they got 3 jars of jam each                                        $.66(jar)  ~$1 (jam) x3
• wrapped in bags (leftovers from a few years ago)            $0
• ribbons from the dollar store                                   $.33
• little plastic plates from the dollar store               $.13
• decorative fabric to top jelly jars                             $.16  x3
• and "care cards" that I made from old scraps     $0

  Total each:  $5.92

The smaller baskets, with the small plastic plate to keep the jars stable.  
I used old curling ribbon and scrapbook paper to decorate the jars.  

The 'bigger' gifts:

For the big gifts, I made the the 'couples' or dear friends presents that were a bit nicer and bigger than the smaller gifts.  

For my parents, Daddykins' parents, my sister and brother an law, and soon to be brother and sister in law, I made fun baskets.  We did baskets, but only had to buy 1 basket for these gifts.  Some baskets I was able to make one of the presents work as a "base" which worked out well.  

For 4 baskets:

• They each got 3 jars of jelly (no plastic plate needed)                               $5.97
• I crocheted each of the girls a scarf, with yarn bought on sale               $4.99
• and the boys got small presents, which averaged around $10 (with the exception of my step dad who threw my budget out the window, with his only request for a gift in 20 years)      $10.00

Total each:  20.96 each 

The basket for Daddykins' parents...
strawberry, raspberry and blueberry/cherry jam!

Some of the scarves I made, wrapped in ribbon or tulle, 
put in the baskets with the jelly and guy's gifts  

The tag on how to ensure food quality were 
included in the presents!

For my close girlfriends, they got scarves and jelly:

For 3 baskets: 

• They each got 3 jars of jelly (no plastic plate needed)                     $5.97
• I crocheted each of the girls a scarf, with yarn bought on sale     $4.99

Total each:  $10.96

Random Present Expenses:

• baskets                        $2 (dollar store) 
• basket fluff                $6 (dollar store)
• basket bags                $3 (dollar store)
• candy                           $5 (dollar store)
• wrapping paper        $3 (dollar store, recyclable) 
• 'pet gifts'                     $10 
• random stuff             $2
• 2 Thomas Puzzles    $2 (dollar store) 
• 1 Thomas DVD          $16

Total: $49

Total for 16 people:  $213.08

Lovely Laundry

I had posted the other day about homemade laundry detergent, and I forgot to mention the other steps I take to make sure our clothes are fresh, clean and static free.

In our house, we do the following for laundry:

1/2 cup - 1 cup homemade laundry detergent
1/2 cup baking soda
1/2 cup vinegar
** I used to listen constantly for the washer to start the rinse cycle, but then one day, way back in a shelf, I saw an old Downy ball... so now I fill the Downy cup with vinegar and drop it in the load.  Saves me from running up and down with laundry all day long!

And in the dryer, I use a small bit of tin foil balled up (not too smooth, but not with huge ridges to snag clothes), and it helps keep the "fabric softener" feel without chemicals and waste.  I replace it every 2 weeks or so, as it breaks down.


****Please note, we rent and our house came with the 'old' style washer and dryer.  They work fine, but I am not sure how this method would work for HE washers!!****

Laundry Soap in A Messy Life!

In our world, our budget is our primary concern, and our laundry is the biggest chore, and we don't even have kids!  But between the fur (two border collies) and my job, we need our clothes to be scrubbed clean and smellin' fresh!  And we have the added bonus of Daddykins having sensitive skin, that only tolerated Tide (so expensive!) so I dove into my limited memories of high school chemistry and remembered borax, a fine base!  Which led me to my laundry soap recipe!

You'll need:

1 bar Ivory Soap 
1 cup Borax (found in the laundry detergent isle)
1 cup Washing Soda (usually right near the Borax.. it is Arm & Hammer, but it is NOT baking  soda!)
1 old sauce pot 
1 old cheese grater 
1 large stew pot
A large bucket (I re-use the powder laundry detergent buckets from work, but any bucket will work)

The How To:

1. Fill the stew pot mostly full with hot water (about 2 gallons) and heat it on the stove top in high until ready to use
2. Add about 6 to 8 cups of hot water to the sauce pot, and heat it on the stove top, also on high 
3. Grate the Ivory soap into the sauce pan, and stir occasionally until fully dissolved (water will be cloudy) 
4. Measure out one cup Borax and one cup Washing Soda while the soap dissolves, and then add in Borax and Washing Soda 
5. Stir constantly until mixture becomes quite thick.  It will appear to thicken the moment you add the powders, but it will thicken to a texture similar to honey when it is done.  
6. Empty mixture into your bucket, and then add the now close to boiling hot water to the bucket. 
7. Stir vigorously  making sure it is mixed well.  
8. Let it set for 24 hours, and you are ready to go!  

A few points:

• The finished product will be a mix of 'water' and solid, don't worry, it will still work! 
• Some recipes call for for Fels Naptha Laundry Soap, using only 1/3 of the bar, but with Daddykins' sensitive skin, I kept going with a full bar of Ivory soap because I knew he did not react to it 
• Some recipes also call for using only a 1/2 cup each of Washing Soda and Borax, but we get very dirty, but still need to be very presentable so I use a cup of each. 
• If you would like your laundry to be more fragrant, adding less than one ounce of your favorite essential oil when you are in the final mixing step will not hurt your laundry! 
• I use about a half cup to a cup for each load of laundry, depending on size and soil level.

Cost:  

Tide = about 45 to 50 cents a load 

Home Made =  

• Bar of Ivory Soap: 50 cents
• 1 cup Borax: about 70 cents
• 1 cup Washing Soda: about 70 cents

 = $1.90 per bucket and at least 10 loads (more like 25 per bucket = 19 cents per load (calculating high), and 7.6 cents (calculating low)