More Crafty Christmas
05 Dec 2010 Leave a Comment
in craftables Tags: christmas, crafts, DIY, gifts, tips
Here is the project I have been looking forward to finishing: Star Wars peg people for my nephew.
You can find a tutorial with better quality pictures here.
There are many places that sell unpainted peg people. Michael’s (which I assume to be one of the more expensive places) sells 2 large for around $1.19. You get 3 of the smaller (Yoda) ones for the same price. I’m sure there are other retailers that sell them. I already had the paints, Fimo, glue, and gloss. So, including the 25 cent piece of felt i got from Walmart, this project cost me around $5.
You don’t have to make Star Wars guys/girls you could make your own family, a miscellaneous family, cartoon characters, movie characters. Whatever your heart desires. These are fabulous little figures made with love. They can also be light on the wallet too.
Enjoy 
I have one more gift up my sleeve, and a rehabbed step stool that I got for $1 coming up in the next weeks.
Crafty Christmas
03 Dec 2010 Leave a Comment
in daily trials & tribulations Tags: christmas, gifts, tips
So, as I mentioned earlier in the week. I was hoping to post a few entries about crafts I have been doing. Affordable crafts, that is. I have one that is 90% done and is fabulous. I will have it finished by Sunday and post then. For now though, I have today’s craft. It cost me $1.28 (not including glue/fimo). It isn’t anything fancy, but it makes a cute cheap centerpiece for my Christmas guests and it will stay on my table through the month.
Materials:
• 3 pieces of cardstock or scrapbook paper. I did a mix of 2 scrapbook pieces and 1 cardstock. Both worked just as well. Currently Michael’s is selling scrapbook pieces for 25 cents (I am not sure if this is a deal, as I never buy them). So if you had to do a bunch of these now’s the time to buy! They also frequently have 20-40% off coupons that you could use to make this cost less than a dollar.
• Wooden skewers. I had a bag of these left over, but normally they are under $1.00 per bag of 100, and they have multiple uses.
• Glue, Scissors, a Compass (or items you can trace that are circular: cups, plates, etc.)
• A base to hold up the sticks, can use old spools, sand, clay, erasers.
• Optional: Fimo clay for the ball on the top. I made mine a bit too big 
If you had to go out and buy everything new then this craft would be a bit more money, but most of the time we have the odd spool or bit of playdoh or clay laying around.
The directions can be found at Martha Stewart’s Christmas Craft Section.
Here are how mine turned out:
Instead of spools I used bits of Fimo stuck to the bottom of my bowl and I used Fimo for the balls on top.
Not as good as Martha’s, but I am still pleased. I also like the variation of patterns rather than using just green paper.
Have fun!
Frugal Giving
08 Jul 2010 2 Comments
in resources Tags: christmas, gifts, resources, tips
As you will eventually see, I love making things, upcycling, recycling, freecycling. I find crafting and being creative can make your money go a lot further. It is my plan in the coming months to furnish my new apartment in used furniture that has been revamped. I have been scouring crafting blogs for the last few months and found many great tips to turn a $3 chair into something very unique and awesome for very little money. When I finally arrive in my new digs I will have a better idea of what I will have to work with and craft accordingly…posting before an after shots of course.
So, this brings me to gift giving. I love giving handmade gifts when possible. It is often affordable, but also much more meaningful, than simply purchasing something from the store that you aren’t even sure your recipient is going to like! This year I am sure my holiday budget is going to be even more skint than in previous years. However, I love giving gifts and don’t want to let a bit of frugality limit my gift giving when it comes to Christmas/The Holidays.
Therefore, like with my other “resources” I will be updating links and ideas that come along for my files and future use. December is still a few months away, so this project would be something that could be started in the near future: Off the List’s Homemade Vanilla Extract . I think these would be a great, affordable gift for co-workers or friends who like baking, especially if you gave it to them a few weeks before the holidays so they could use it in their holiday baked goods.
