Category Archives: Crafts

Nativity ornaments

Last year, I was inspired to make these toothpick manger scene ornaments after seeing something similar at a local craft show. Since I keep all greeting cards that have been sent to us, [I usually separate the cards at the fold, and keep the main side for future crafts/gift tags and the other part people write on is put into our scrap paper pile…] I just needed to dig out the Christmas themed card fronts, some toothpicks, glue, old beans, & sunflower seeds from the boys’ baseball “stash”, lol.

So I began, but quickly learned that this was going to take waaaaay more toothpicks than I had & it was also pretty tedious. While my 3 boys do not really like to come up with the ideas for crafts, they are usually pretty good with assisting when I have an assembly-line type setup. I really could not see much hope in their assistance with this version, so the manger scene ornament then “morphed” into this:

This was much easier to make – just needed canning lids (which we had LOTS of), construction paper, a couple matchsticks, spaghetti noodles, and stars. I had a cheap plastic necklace in my craft box that was made up of a bunch of green stars, so I cut it apart, and it worked perfect. 🙂

Light bulb snowmen ornaments

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Every year, we try to make a new ornament to go with our homemade gifts. Made these light bulb snowmen in 2006. I had been saving all our old lightbulbs for several years prior, so I had quite a stash, lol! 🙂

First we spray painted the bulbs white. Then we attached wire around the metal part of the bulb to act as the “hanger”. Next we cut hats out of scrap fleece from other projects and hot glued them to the metal part – trying to hide most of the wire part with the hat. Used permanent markers to add faces & buttons and noted the year on the back. Topped it off with a spray glitter & that’s it! 🙂

Garland out of braided, used baler twine

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Nothing fancy here. Just braided 4 strands of baler twine that I had been saving from each bale of hay we fed the cows the winter before. Thought it would be perfect for our mini-ornament farm tree. [Anybody out there who’d like some used twine to make your own crafts, just let me know, lol!] 🙂

This tree also features our very first pullet eggshells (2004) as ornaments. A friend of ours made these for us with her mother. Such a fun keepsake! 🙂

Garland out of ribbon & black walnut slices

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A few years ago, one of the Christmas gifts we made were strands of ribbon garland with sliced black walnuts & bows. I believe I saw the idea in a craft book somewhere…

We collected the seeds from around the farm, and had the boys remove the shells by pounding them through the holes in red bricks. A pretty messy job, but they didn’t seem to mind it too much, lol. Mike cut them into 1/4″ slices once they were nice & dry. (If my memory serves me correctly, I don’t think he was too fond of this part as it was a tedious task & many of the seeds broke while cutting. THIS IS WHY WE DON’T MAKE THE SAME CRAFT TWICE, LOL!!!) Then he sprayed them with some kind of clear varnish. Lastly, I bought a spool of satin-like ribbon and twine-looking string. I wove a double strand of it through the holes in the slices – twisting as I went. At each twist between slices I tied a bow with twine-looking string. As I recall, the ribbon was kinda pricey, so we made smaller strands of garland that work nice for a simple, tabletop tree. 🙂

Baby food jars – Christmas Candles

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Thought I’d try to get some posts up of past craft projects we’ve done over the years.

Did this one about 11/12 years ago. Yes, I saved all the baby food jars from when the boys were little guys…

I honestly can’t remember how I came up with the idea – perhaps I saw one in a craft show or in a magazine ?

I can’t remember the name of the paint I used, or if it’s even still around, but it was a small spray can of “stained glass window” paint found at a local craft store. Not much to it – just gave them a couple light coats & let ’em dry. 🙂

I made a TON of them! Many were used as centerpiece decorations for class reunions & anniversaries. Then I did a bunch of red and green ones that I still bring out for Christmas. A tea candle fits just right and lasts about the perfect time before burning out. A couple jars are too small for the candles, so I remove the metal around the candle & it fits snugly inside. Added bows, and that’s it! 🙂

Homemade Lye Soap from Alander’s Acres

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We LOVE homemade lye soap from Alander’s Acres! 🙂

Here’s a link to their page on Local Harvest: http://www.localharvest.org/alanders-acres-M29791

They are gracious enough to bring us large batches of soap so we can offer them to our customers as well.

In our effort to discontinue using toxic cleaners, this soap has become our “base” for so many things…bathing, shampoo, dish soap, laundry soap, general purpose cleaner – just to name a few! 🙂

We have been using it exclusively for over 2 years now. 🙂

As the concept of “our skin being our largest organ” has begun sinking in, we are thinking twice about what we lather on it.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this soap! 🙂

For laundry & dish soap, I shred the bars of plain lye soap. (The other soaps work fine, too, if I’m out of the plain…) I fill up an old egg carton with 10g of shredded soap in each “egg hole”. Then I dissolve each one in 8 oz. of hot water as I need it. I keep it next to my washing machine, so I’m good for a dozen loads, lol… 🙂

For laundry stains, like grass/mud stains on jeans & baseball pants, I keep a container of the small pieces of soap left from a full bar. I place the pieces in a lidded container with a little bit of water in it. I dampen the clothing that has the stain, get a small & wet piece of soap, rub it well into the stain, spray it with some white vinegar, let it sit a bit, and throw it in with the next load. Works wonderful! 🙂

For dishes, Mike helped me make a soap dispenser from parts of old ones I saved… Click here to read the link on Jill’s post – it helped me with directions. 🙂

I have crocheted small, thick, square cloths from remnants of yarn leftover from past projects. I made enough so I can use a new one each day. I just squirt a few drops of soap on the wet cloth & wash – reapplying as necessary. I have no complaints – this soap works GREAT! It’s especially wonderful for removing “greasiness” from things like broth or butter – along with nice, hot water. 🙂

“Gate Guides” for Father’s Day

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my Father’s Day gift to Mike:

Ever since I memorized John 10:9, every time I see this crushed gate sitting by the barn, it makes me think of Jesus in this passage. I love turning something that seems worthless or is a reminder of a past mistake into a new creation – a “remade remnant”, just like me!:)

The boys helped me move the gate for these pics, I added the words, and a friend printed them for me as 5×7’s.

And to get more of the “depth look” I wanted in this frame, another friend had some dried grass/seeds I glued onto the matting.

This framed project inspired “Part B” of Mike’s gift…Gate Guides.

Just some favorite Scripture and hymn/song refrains I know Mike likes, printed on 11×17 paper, attached to old file folders for a little more stability, covered in contact paper, and tied to gates… (Note: I used a better tool to poke holes through on this project – an old gutter nail, lol!)

My original plan was to have one attached to every gate – until the boys and I counted them all… We have 27 gates!!! Wow, doesn’t seem like we have that many – but once you start counting them, they all add up! 🙂

I ran out of contact paper, so I put the 8 up I finished, & will get the rest up as time goes on. The boys kept Mike occupied with a John Wayne western movie Saturday evening so I could get them hung. It was fun walking with Mike as he saw them afterwards… 🙂

Lord, I pray these gate guides will help Mike stay focused on You while he’s out working in Your Creation. If he’s having a rough day, may they be an aid to guide him back to You. Rid his mind of the doubts satan likes to plant, and replace them with Your Words from 2Timothy 1:7 – that God does not give us a spirit of fear, but one of power, of love, and of self-control. If he’s having a good day, may he use them to sing Your Praises as he walks – perhaps guiding him to a familiar tune to hum. May we always remember to encourage one another and build each other up, as You tell us to in 1Thessalonians 5:11. Amen

Mud boot planter – step by step

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My ~~weed patch~~ flower gardens look like this (click here to read more on that…) :

(Isn’t it amazing that any flowers can still bloom in there, lol?!)

…when I received this beautiful Gerber Daisy from Mike’s sister & her husband for Mother’s Day, an alarm bell went off in my brain…

“Now I will EITHER have to weed my ~~weed patch~~ flower garden, OR COME UP WITH A ‘PLAN B’…”

Still fresh in my memory banks was the inspiration I received from Jill about my mud boot dilemma.

OBVIOUSLY, that’s the direction I went… 🙂

Here’s where I wanted the planter to go. I thought it would be nice & easy to attach it to the gate.

So, I took my broken boot, marked it with chalk, & and started cutting.

Next, I poked drainage holes through the bottom of the boot. I knew better than to use a hammer to pound a screwdriver through the boot (I had made that mistake once before…), so I THOUGHT I was being ever-so-wise as I dug through Mike’s toolbox… and found this…

WRONG AGAIN. 😦 I was informed I used a tool incorrectly AGAIN, and was graciously forgiven for (slightly) denting the tip of Mike’s punch tool.

Mike decided to offer help with my project now (wonder why??), and drilled some drainage holes for me. 🙂

He also said he didn’t think the gate was a good place to hang it.

With all the “action” it gets, he thought the rubbery boot would not be sturdy enough & the flower could fall out.

So, a more stationary position was sought.

Next, I had the boys collect some rocks to put in before the dirt.

Once I planted the flower, I realized something was needed to hide the emptiness of the tall part of the boot.

I’ve had this bag of moss in my craft corner for YEARS – thought it might work for this… (So glad I never threw it away, lol!)

Next, came the tricky part. Attaching the boot to our porch railing.

I decided to use braided twine.

About 3 baseball seasons ago, I braided a big crate of used twine that came off our hay bales as I sat & watched the boys play.

(No, I’m not kidding. I love to create or do things with my hands while I’m sitting!)

My original intention was to use the braids as Christmas roping to decorate our picket fence. That didn’t pan out, so I have a stash of pretty, braided twine in my craft corner, too. 🙂

I must tell you, though, I am NOT an accomplished “tie-er”. You’ll see in this pic from the backside, that I basically just kept wrapping & knotting until the boot seemed sturdy.

Here’s a pic for Susy over at Chiotsrun – I finally got to use my Ethel gloves for this project! 🙂

I knew right away what I wanted the tag to say. I am always praying this for myself, so it is fun to apply it creatively in something I can visually see.

A remade remnant, just like me! 🙂