#3 upcycle project for milk jugs

I decided the milk jug opening had potential but couldn't decide what to do with it.  This project took too much time to come up with but it will still be fun.  Ideally, I'd like to just paint these somehow and they would be great for kiddos stacking them...but I couldn't think of a paint that would be ok if a youngin were to slobber all over it.  So it's a fishing game!

I also had some sock/glove hangers that are part of the packaging when you buy them at the store.  Normally they're just tossed, but I knew I could do something with these hooks.  The ones I used are clear so they're hard to see.  I plugged the cap end of the jug openings with foam and colored a fish and point value.  They face down and have a strip of knotted rubber (salvaged from a bike tire) to be able to catch them with the hook.  I then took a dowel and attached string and the hanger/hook to the end.  I like that this is harder than just a magnetic set of felt fish and a magnet on the end of a pole.  I made these all to the size of the blue canister shown, which I still need to finish decorating.  Complicated, but fun.  Any thoughts?

How are your resolutions going so far?

We focused more on making manageable yearly goals than "resolutions", and things are going alright.  Have I lost a single pound?  Doubtful-but I'm attacking 1 beast at a time.  I have a hard time being happy or productive when my house is a mess...and if you ask anyone in my family, I'm the messy one.  My husband and I aren't slobs, I mean, we don't have a moldy home or cockroaches or anything like that, we just get distracted *Squirrel!*.  I'd rather be crafting and spending too much time on Pinterest or watching a good movie than scrubbing the shower. 

Speaking of Pinterest....my time sucker also became my solution.  I saw ideas about using frames as whiteboards you can write on with dry erase markers.  Here are 2 frames that we got for our wedding but never got around to filling.  The single frame has a print out of a two week rotation.  The top half is for odd weeks, the bottom half is for even weeks.  I planned each part of the house and broke it up-"bathroom" or "kitchen" can be overwhelming to me, so they are divided into smaller responsibilities "toilet", "shower", "dishes", "counter/stove/dining room table".  The 2 week rotation gives us the chance to mix up the responsibilities so we take turns with exceptions such as the budget (which I always do) and the car fluids (his deal).  We each have 2 responsibilities per day and we draw for a weekly chore (those that don't need to be done as often i.e. organize closets, clean oven, clean cars. 

I have been so happy seeing how nice and clean our house is since we implemented this!  A big bonus is being able to cross off the your chores-I'm definitely a check mark person.  The hard part: not feeling guilty about falling short, not being able to cross it off.  I made a rule, to help myself because this is not to make us feel guilty, ultimately, getting something done is better than getting nothing done!  Yesterday it was my job to clean the living room and bedroom...I didn't get to the bedroom.  If I don't get it done today, I'm not going to worry about it.  It will come up again later this week on the chart. 

I've found that we don't just stop at what's on the chart either, we do what we can when we have the time to help the other person with their chores if they're busy.  Anyway, here's 1 big goal in the works, a few more down!

With the collage frames, we put in our 2013 family goals, individual goals, food charts and other misc goals. 

Upcycle-Crafty or Frugal?

I'd say both! 

I've been saving up our milk jugs, inspired by this little container (mentioned a couple posts ago with the kid busy bags) that I found on pinterest:

Then I got to thinking...what about the other parts of the jug?  I'll be posting some, here's my first idea here:

Use the handle for fun!  I have pictured below a couple different options-noise makers or shields!

Noise Makers-the bright orange shapes are noise makers.  Inside the handle, I put in 1)rice 2) toothpicks 3)pistachio shells and 4)bells.  I ended up breaking the toothpicks and pistachio shells in half because otherwise they got stuck and wouldn't shake around well.  I then sealed off the top and bottom of the handle and taped on the paper, doodling on front.  These aren't secure enough for the littlest ones as they could tear off the tape and swallow jingle bells or what not, but otherwise, these would be fun with kiddos-next time I watch my niece and nephew we'll break them out.

Shield-I took a cereal box and cut out a shield shape, wrapped foil around it, and taped it in the back.  I taped on the handle as well.  Not super sturdy, but could be more sturdy with maybe thicker cardboard and hot glue?  This would also be fun for other things-maybe sign props for photos? 







Any other thoughts for using milk carton handles?

Meltdown! (A metalic crayola kind)

Another beauty I've done from Pinterest.  My sister-in-law actually gave a couple of these for Christmas and we just did the first set.  We hot glued the crayons to the canvas (I read this wouldn't work because it would melt...but it didn't cause me any problems).  We had taped a heart in the middle with painter's tape but because of how we arranged the crayons, it didn't turn out like I'd like.  I decided to melt some more to cover that white area and here is the final outcome.  I used an embossing heat gun.

Pin-tastic....Busy Bags!

Still no kiddos here but that doesn't mean I can't prepare and make gifts for others!  I've simmered down on couponing  a lot-partially because we don't get the Sunday paper now, and partially because we have so much stuff and I needed a break.  So off I went on a new obsession: Pinterest.  I said I wouldn't do it, but here I am!  Here is a busy box of busy bags-educational and fun activities for kids.  As I am both a couponer and crafter, I had all of these supplies at home with the exception of the snack size ziplock bags.

 Popsicle Color Match-ups-Match the correct color popsicle stick to the popsicle.  Felt might have been easier, but I have craft foam and didn't want to go out and buy.  I made them in colors that I didn't have for the paperclip activity below.  I like this type because it's fun for them to pretend with even when they've matched the colors up.

 Clip & Card Matchup-Clip the paperclips on the colored cards.  I made these 2 sided-1 side in English and 1 side in Polish.  Paperclips can be harder for the little ones but it's great for both color recognition and fine motor skills.

 Foam Lacing Cards-Again with craft foam, I cut out different shapes and hole punched around them.  I took yarn and made the ends stiff like shoe laces with white glue. 

 Lego Pattern Build-Use the legos to build the patterns on the cards.  This helps with fine motor skills, colors, and pattern recognition.  I made these patterns on my computer using legos we have from when my husband was a kid.

 Foam Number Match-up-Play a game of memory with the matching color dots.  I decided this would be a great use of the hole punches from the lacing cards.

 Popsicle Puzzles-there are 20 sticks-10 sticks per puzzle.  The sticks are double sided so there are 4 puzzles.  I used stickers I had on hand.  To secure them more, I coated them with a white glue coat.

 Milk Jug Container-use a milk jug, cut it to make flaps and sew on a snap.  Viola!  Holds them all :D

The Fall-A memory with each leaf drop!

I love the fall-it reminds me of my wedding and the 16 months I spent in Poland.  My blog's name is a tad unconventional-partially because the first word is Polish.  Rekami means "by the means of hands", so recreation by the means of hands-hand made fun...crafting. 

Thinking on Poland, there are a few things you might want to know when you go (some I learned the hard way...)

-The Polish language is set up much more formal than the English language is.  They use ma'am and sir a lot more and actually address older people in the third person (i.e. How is the ma'am doing today?)  Just tossing out a "you" is offensive-way too personal unless they've indicated you can address them by their first name/"you". 

-Watch where and how you shake hands.  Poles do not like to shakes hands through doorways or crossing other peoples' arms (i.e. you have 4 people shaking hands).  When your hands shaking form a cross with a doorway or other arms, you will actually see most Poles recoil.

-A woman's age is not such a secret in Poland.  You don't go around just asking strangers, but surprisingly they often ask you to guess and then will proudly tell you.

-Only ask how someone is doing if you sincerely want to know.  I heard an American joke once about how Americans just say they're fine, even if their house burned down and spouse left.  If you ask a Pole about how they are, you will genuinely hear about every muscle and joint ache.  I don't mean it in a rude way, it's just different.  I didn't think about how "fake" Americans are when we ask how others are doing until it was pointed out to me.   

-Eating doesn't have any drastic different traditions that I can think of.  Of course you see less cow intestines in American grocery stores, but differences in cuisines are expected.  Make sure to not waste food, and if you're learning the language, be cautious about asking for the pepper...if you say it wrong, you're swearing...

Anyway, those are some fun memories and tips.  If you plan to head to this slightly obscure yet close-to-my-heart country, take heed to these tips and save some room in your luggage to take me please :D

*Sniff* My sweetheart off to school! And how we got books for free!

I'm sappy, I can own up to that.  My sweetheart went to college today for his first time full time.  I'm gonna fall to pieces when we have kids and I have to take them to school the first time!!!  Anywho...because of the program he's going into, it looks like the department is supplying books internally except for 1 class so we only had to get 1 book :)  Instead of using grants/loans/pocket cash to get the book, we turned to our swagbucks stockpile (as rent can't be paid in swagbucks...) 

In January or February this year, we joined swagbucks and earn points various ways (surveys, free trials, etc) but mostly just by searching the internet through their toolbar.  I want to get to my blog?  I search it.  I want to get to my email or facebook?  I search them, and randomly get awarded points.  There are a lot of prizes, but for every 450 points, you can get a $5 gift card to Amazon.com.  We cashed in a few of these and didn't even have to pay shipping out of pocket for his school book!  A great way to really get things for free!  If you're interested in joining swagbucks, just go here :)