Make It Monday~Valentine's Card Kit (Altoid Tin Idea)

Here's a little project I whipped up today.  I figured I'd post this as Valentine's is coming up and I have a friend's wedding coming up.  I like stocking up on "love" items during Valentine's sales and after-holiday clearance for wedding/bridal/bachelorette items.  I've got a cute basket made up for a friend of mine and decided to add some of those items as well as these card cases. 

Vistaprint.com offers free business cards on occasion and I like to take advantage of it (just pay shipping).  I had a couple different batches printed up as "coupons" and "love notes". 

I happen to have a corner-rounding punch but you could use scissors and round the corners as well.

Using the usual decoupage I covered up the altoid hints (i.e. nutritional facts)

And voila!  Cute little container for business cards :)

Spiritual Pick Up Sunday~When God Gives Us a "Wrong" Answer.

This video briefly and so perfectly explains some of God's mysterious ways.  I couldn't help watching it and thinking of my own life.  A couple years ago I was offered a promotion at an old job.  It seemed like a position I would like, the pay and benefits were slightly better, and I didn't see why not.  My husband and I both prayed about the decision and felt peace about accepting it.  I took the position and soon began to hate working there.  It got so bad that my husband even asked me to quit (despite me being the main breadwinner) just so I could keep an ounce of sanity.

Why would God give me the OK on something that would not make me happy?  On something that was "Wrong"?  I soon came to see that taking the promotion was actually good for me because it took me out of a dead-end job.   I'm terribly loyal and have trouble leaving bad jobs even when I know I should.  He knew what it would take.  I have since found a job that pays more per hour and gives me complete flexibility on hours worked (I work a lot less and enjoy life a lot more, I can sleep in till 10am, I can work at midnight if I want).  I work from home and have no office drama.  I am truly blessed.  He gave me the wrong road so I could be confident in the right road (reference from this video).  I hope you can see His hands in your life, when it's peaceful and when it's rough. 

Fitness Friday-How to Eat Intentionally: 3 Tips to Help You Have a Healthier Relationship with Food

 I have lost weight successfully for the most part by calorie counting.  It's mundane, it's exhausting, but it's teaching me how to value the calories in food and understand what is really in a portion.  Here are some tips I find helpful so you can avoid the counting if it's not your cup of tea and still train yourself some healthier habits.

1: Portion size-use a smaller plate!  If it's not counting calories and using a food scale while clutching your measuring cup set, then perhaps a simpler method might be helpful.  Eat off of a smaller plate.  You might have heard this tip before, but this picture really helps me illustrate it.  The other day we had mashed potatoes, flank steak, and peas.  I weighed and measured both plates, they hold the same amount.  Tell me that the plate on the right doesn't look full and the plate on the left doesn't look like it's a little empty, like it could use more food on it... Not to mention, going for seconds requires more effort than just piling it all on your plate in the first place.

 
2: Dish up plates in the kitchen and leave the leftovers there.  I don't know about you, but when I'm at my parents' place, I have 2 adorable dogs lovingly and longingly staring me down wanting food.  When I'm at my in-laws' their dog does a more subtle "I'll lay down next to you and lean on you" approach while wishing for food.  Sometimes the leftovers are like that too.  If you bring in that whole pot of mashed potatoes-above and beyond what you scoop onto your plate as a portion, they will stare you down!  I haven't done a scientific study, but I'd go out on a limb and say you're 50% more likely to have seconds if the tasty goodness is there in front of you, beckoning you.  Having seconds isn't always bad, but putting some distance between you will make you think twice and expend a little extra effort to go back into the kitchen to scoop up more.  Or, another alternative is to make extra veggies and only put those on the table for seconds.
3: As I was plating up the above pictured delicious meal, I had to take the lid off of the pot of mashed potatoes to scoop up.  My first instinct was to put the lid back on to keep it warm.  But this is when I made a decision to eat intentionally.  I knew I had enough potatoes on my plate.  I knew I made extras so that I could put some in containers and send with my husband to school during the week.  If I'm going to put it in the fridge then I need it to cool down.  When my brain connected this train of thought, it became one of those silent victories where I was proud to leave the lid off of the pot-to intentionally tell myself "You have enough".

Maybe start by using just 1 of these tips if you need to take baby steps.  Retraining your habits is like losing weight-it doesn't happen overnight!

Thrifty Thursday-1 Savings "Think Ahead" Tip (That I Bet You Never Thought To Do!)

I can't believe I never even thought of this idea, until a few months ago that is!  Here is a picture of a gingerbread kit I picked up at Big Lots.  Regularly $10, on clearance plus a promo sale for $0.80!  92% savings :) 

Of course..it's the end of January, what do I need a gingerbread kit for?  Don't dismiss those wonderful after-holiday sales so quickly!  I talked in this post about opening your mind for creative uses for after-holiday sales, this time I'm going to talk about keeping your eyes peeled for the expiration dates. 

The pictured "Best By" date is over a year away!!!  I can stash this away and use it next Christmas, and only pay 8% of what I would next year when looking for a gift or fun project.  I actually did the same thing with Halloween candy.  I don't have the money to buy trick-or-treaters full size candy bars or anything of the kind...but I did find a way to buy some cuter-than-plain-tootsie-rolls candies for next year and that is by following this strategy.  I don't have a picture because they're up in storage, but I got the cutest little gummy eyes/ears/etc on clearance (50 or 75% off, I don't remember).  They expire well after this next year's Halloween. 

If the expiration date is before the same holiday next year, I default to the "creative use" theory.  I also saw at Big Lots a brownie pop kit that was Christmas Themed.  The only Christmas part to it was the red and green sprinkles.  You could get that and use different sprinkles, or dip them in nuts or coconut instead-be creative and use it for Valentine's or a birthday! 

Buying seasonal clearance deals can be a nice way to keep the dough in your wallet and score some deals that are better than regular store promotions.  An added benefit-you can also use coupons on clearance! 

Weight Loss Wednesday! How I've done it so far...

Since Wednesdays are my "whatever" days, and I missed last week's Fitness Friday, my husband recommended I post today :)  Weight loss has been slow lately, but I'm continually chugging along.  I posted this on Monday on MyFitnessPal.com (where I track my food and exercise) on my 6th month anniversary of starting to lose weight and get healthier:

35 lbs down!

Some facts:

--My main motivator to get myself going was actually my brother challenging me to a sprint triathlon this upcoming August. Lots to lose and practice before then! I did my first 2 5k's last September...man was I out of shape!

--My husband is my biggest supporter. He (at my request) is the holder of the key to the chocolate stash and my personal cheerleader. He could care less about jogging or the gym until I got into gear and it's great to see him lose some gut as well :)

--I have been the organizer of 2 Biggest Loser competitions so far with friends on FB. The first time, I got 2nd place :) We're half way through the 2nd challenge.

--For the FIRST time in my life, I actually feel like this is a lifestyle change. It was never right before...it was always a diet then, with impending self-talk of failure. I have never once in these 6 months thought about "quitting". I was sick for over a month, I had horrible plantar fasciitis, I've been depressed in cloudy, foggy, cold weather...and I enjoyed myself during the holidays :)

--I eat chocolate and candy almost every day. I think that is actually a huge part of my success...if I feel like I'm deprived then it won't last.

--I'm still learning to develop healthy eating habits-I eat a lot less fast food now and I've come to love things like spaghetti squash a lot more, but portion size, cravings, and emotional eating are stills beasts to subdue...just like the weight-habits don't go away over night!

--I don't log food or exercise on Sundays. In addition to being my spiritual day of rest, it's my physical and mental one too!

--I get annoyed when people talk as if the scale is an evil thing that means nothing and losing weight to look good is a bad thing...No, the scale isn't the only factor, but that is the easiest way (at least for me) to gauge progress on a regular basis. I think losing weight for your health is huge...I personally don't want diabetes like runs in my family, and I want to have kids. But gosh darnit, I want to fit in cute clothes and be a hot wife, and THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT! *Steps off soap box*

--I lost the 1st 30 pounds without a gym membership-anyone can do this!

--I have a wall of motivation. I put up pictures, certificates, and running numbers from my 5ks, and I have a before/during picture and a color-in chart where I get to mark every 2 lbs lost.


--I'm constantly surprised by what my body can do. Somehow I thought that I couldn't plank because I can't do a pushup. WRONG. I went out jogging today and felt like Tigger-so much bounce to the step! I was easily jogging along and realized that just 6 months before, I wouldn't be able to jog half as long before walking and out of breath! I kept telling myself tonight "I can make it to that tree" and then as I got to the tree "I can make it to that mailbox" and then "I can make it to that driveway"...and I kept pushing myself...and I will continue to, and I hope you do too!!! You can make it through today, and when you get through today, you can get through tomorrow, and this week, etc!

Holding up 35 lbs of water to represent my progress!  Not just "water weight" ;)

Tasty Tuesday-DIY Herbal Tea Bags

Here's this week's video post.

To watch the video on youtube, click HERE.

A note to add to the video on whole vs ground spices:
Spices are always stronger and better the fresher they are and the more freshly they are ground.  The tea I made in the video was WAY too weak, in part because my spices are several years old, and partly because they came pre-ground (or in the case of the cloves, I didn't break or grind them when I should have).  I should have added probably double the spices I did for good flavor.

I also wanted to add a shout-out to my favorite local cupcake shop: Love @ First Bite!  There are cupcakes and then there are Love @ First Bite cupcakes, which are true to name!  Sooooo good!  They are doing a Kickstarter fundraiser to move into a new storefront (which they really need because their parking is pretty lame right now...hate to say it but it's true...)  Watch their pitch here and consider donating.  The clock is ticking and they have lots more to raise!  If you live in the US of A, you'll get a tasty thank you as part of your pledge (donation of at least $10 for a treat, but you can donate as little as $1)!

Cupcakes and DIY herbal tea, sounds like a great combo to me ;) 

Make It Monday: Altoid Tin Game Craft (Part 2)

For Part 1 ("Color Land and Tic Tac Toe") go HERE. 

Here's Part 2 in this installment of craft projects using Altoid and Sucrets tins. 

This particular tin is the "Roll & Draw and Gold Fishin'" tin.

As in Part 1-I used mod podge for the front and back of the tin.  This time because I don't need the back for part of the games it just has a plain paper to cover the nutritional panel. 

Roll & Draw

This is a version of a game I saw on pinterest with a snowman around Christmas time.  We played it with our landlord's kids and cousin and we all enjoyed it.  Even the youngest could play by rolling the dice, she just needed help with the drawing. 

For this, I made 4 different pictures that are easy to draw and have 6 different components-a house, face, dinner, and stick figure.  You can see those pictures glued on the inside of the tin.  I made dice again with the little cubes I got at Hobby Lobby.  In turn, you roll the die and get to draw the corresponding part of the picture.  If you roll the same number more than once, then you skip that turn.  The person to draw the complete picture first wins :)  I included little scraps of papers with a paperclip and 2 pencils (stole those pictured from our Scattergories game, but I also took some regular pencils, scored them, broke them, and sharpened them to size so they're small enough to fit).  While there are only 2 pencils, you can definitely play with more people, you just take turns sharing the pencils :)

Gold Fishin'

Again, going on inspiration from pinterest, I decided to add a magnetic fishing game.  Though, I know for older kids in particular, it's fun to have points as a bonus instead of just randomly catching fish.  I was partly inspired by this project I had made and know my niece and nephew loved. 

 The fish took forever and a day to do...but then again that's probably my perspective because I was also making 3 kits at a time ;)  Great project to work on while watching a movie.  I cut out felt and stuck in some small scraps of the sticky back roll of magnet I used for the buttons in the Part 1 kit.  Then I hand-stitched them closed and used a sharpie to write point values on the bottom side of the fish.  Since the points are facing down, I decided to have all of the fish be goldfish instead of different colors, for more surprise and fairness in fishing.  I have a little baggie that I put all the fish in for storage to keep it more organized. 

For the pole, I found these mini popsicle sticks at Joann's crafts-I was happy to find them because I didn't think they made short sticks like these but they fit perfectly into the tin!  If you can't find these, a regular size popsicle stick or dowel sawed and sanded down would work fine.  Using some hot glue, I tied and secured the string to the stick.  I used a small rare earth magnet on the fishing pole because it has to be strong enough to pick up the smaller magnets through a layer of felt.  Since rare earth magnets don't do well with glues, I decided to encase it in a small chunk of felt scrap and hand-sew it, connecting it to the end of the pole was easy and secure.  I made just 1 pole per kit, they'll take turns anyway right?

One small detail that might help is to test the fish with the fishing pole before you put the point values on the bottom sides.  If you test them, you'll figure out the polarity and be able to decide which side of the fish is the actual "bottom" by which side is grabbed more easily by the pole's magnet and making that the top. 




I hope you like this tin, leave a comment and let me know which of the games you like the best so far between this tin and Part 1!