Cre8 a Behavior Chart

One thing I know about myself, is that without a system, I have chaos.  I just don't have the gene that allows be to follow routines and be consistent without charts, checklists, and color coding.  So, when I decided that I needed a behavior chart for my kids, I needed an easy, systematic system to keep me on point.

I created these "Star Charts" so that I could use those packs of foil star stickers that you can find everywhere to track accomplishments (plus, that let's me color code the charts for each of my little ones).

Here is how the system works:

1. Write down on the blank lines the different behaviors you want to work on with your child (ours end up being things like "dealing with frustration", "doing something my brother's way", "participating in sports practice", "doing chores without arguing", etc.
2. Each time you catch them doing something right, tell them they earn a star and make a point to add that star in front of them as soon as possible.
3. Each star counts for 10 points.  When they get 5 stars, they get to choose a 50 point prize from the prize chart.  10 stars - a 100 point prize.  Finally, 50 stars earns a 500 point prize.  

We came up with our list of prizes together with the kids.  They never fail to surprise me with what they choose.  Often, they choose to have some time with me or their dad rather than video game time!

Feel free to print out the Star Chart hif it would be helpful to you.

Christmas Traditions: Advent Tree

In our home, we try to bring the meaning of advent into our daily lives.  My favorite tradition is our Advent Tree (aka "Presents for Jesus").  This was inspired by a lenten cross my mother would put up every lent with a bowl of stickers next to it. The idea behind this is that when one of the children does something that is kind for someone else, is helpful, or makes a sacrifice for others - these are the presents that Jesus wants.  So, when they do these things, they get to take a "present" and place it under the "tree" or put an ornament on the tree.  The goal is to have as many presents under the tree and as many ornaments on the tree as possible - inspiring and rewarding selfless acts.

I made the tree out of Kraft Paper.  I just painted it with some leftover paint I had from another project.  This was a fun project for my then 5-yo to help.  I stapled it to our CORK DISPLAY BOARD, but you could just as easily tape one to the wall.

I love that this Advent Tree not only has a significant teaching and religious aspect to it, but it also makes a high impact eco-friendly decoration for the Christmas Season.  Everything can either be recycled or saved for next year's use.

You can make your own Advent Tree.  

How about you?  Do you have any Advent traditions that you love?

Cornucopia Bulletin Board

My husband built me this wonderful bulletin board next to our kitchen table.

It is just some chair rail framed around some cork panels.  We use it to display our children's art work that they bring home from school.

During the holiday seasons, however, we like to dress it up a bit.  So, I got out my trusty roll of kraft paper and some paint.

The boys came up with fruits and vegetables and I free-handed them onto the paper for them to paint.

 

 

Sometimes it is hard to get this quality time together.  This time is what I was feeling most thankful for.

Look at all those amazing fruits and vegetables!

Meanwhile,  I painted the cornucopia.

A few snips and staples later we have a bulletin board cornucopia.  We can take it down and reuse for next year, too!

ReCre8 Old T-Shirt Projects: Memory Pillows (Epsiode 1)

So, this is my "5 minute" attempt at creating a t-shirt pillow.  I had this 12x12 pillow form sitting in the craft closet, so I thought I could throw together a pillow case for my 7-yo with his old T-Ball t-shirt.

I didn't want to mess with fusing and such, so I dealt with reinforcing the t-shirt material by using squares of an old sheet to sew underneath them.

Supplies

• 2 13x13 squares of old sheet or similar cotton fabric
• 1 t-shirt
• 1 12x12 pillow form
• Sheers
• Sewing Machine

Instructions

1. Pin the 13x13 square of fabric to the front of the t-shirt, taking care to place any graphics in an appealing place.
2. Cut around the 13x13 square.
3. Repeat for the back of the t-shirt.
4. Layer your squares with the t-shirts pieces sanwiched inside the cotton fabric.  (the part you want to show should be facing each other in the middle.

5. Using your machine, sew around the edges leaving a 1/2" seam.  Leave a 5" opening for stuffing the pillow form in.
6. Turn the pillow form right side out.
7. Stuff your pillow form into the pillow case.
8. Hand stitch up the seam.  (Here is where I tried to take a short cut and use the sewing machine.  You can see from the picture that it does not look pretty!  I don't recommend it!)
9. Ta-Da! now you have a soft comfy pillow.

ReCre8 Old T-Shirts

T-Shirts.

I have WAY too many T-Shirts. I rarely wear them, but I love the memories of special events and times in my life that the T-shirts represent. Being the beginning of the New Year, it is time to clean out some of these unused items from my closet. Rather than just trashing them, here are a bunch of projects to ReCre8 these t-shirts.

1. T-Shirts as Rags. (Instructions: Just cut them up - any shape or size)
   
2. T-Shirt Handkerchiefs/Wipes (Instructions)
   
3. T-Shirts as Reusable Napkins. (Instructions)
   
4. T-Shirt Pillowcase: (Instructions)
   
5. The T-Shirt Quilt. (Instructions)
6. T-Shit Laundry Bag/Tote Bag (Instructions)
7. T-Shirt Memory Scarf (Instructions)
   

I plan to try several of these. What about you? Do you have any ideas to add?

Pass the Weeds, Please (Episode I)

I’ve been intrigued by foraging for food in my backyard my whole life. My neighbors and I searched for wild strawberries, ate “onion grass”, and came up with a recipe for “lemon grass” cheese sauce. At the time, it did not concern me whether or not these things were toxic. Lucky for me, they weren’t!

Now I am a suburbanite who does not want to use fertilizer or weed killer to have a lush, green bed of grass in my lawn. Instead, I like to arm my children with baskets to go collect dinner from the lawn. Backyard foraging has become a fun family activity. Here are some of the things we can find in our mid-atlantic yard:

Purslane (Portulaca oleracea) – This is my absolute favorite weed. I like to just pluck off some of the succulent leave and eat them plain because they are tasty. They have a little bit of a lemony flavor to them. A sprig of purslane makes a great addition to a toss salad, an addition to a tomato sauce, or as a component of a pesto. What is unique about purslane is that the leaves are naturally high in Omega-3 fatty acids, which is rare for green vegetables. The stems are high in Vitamin C. I like to put purslane in a container garden – it doesn’t need too much tending. Most often purslane is considered a weed and people are trying to eradicate it, but if I see some growing in a friends yard, I just say “May I have your weeds?”

How to Identify Purslane

Nutrition Information for Raw Purslane


Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) – This is my second-favorite weed. Besides the fact that it is a beautiful flower and makes great bouquets, necklaces, rings, and hair accessories, it is extremely useful food and herbal remedy. Have you ever eaten that Whole Foods “Spring Greens” in a bag salad mix? You are probably eating Dandelion greens. The leaves are great in the spring for salads, pesto, or sandwich toppings. Dandelion greens are a great source of Vitamin A and C as well as fiber. The roots are great in the fall for a bitter tea or as a nutritional supplement. Dandelion roots harvested in the fall are high in inulin (soluble fiber). The flowers can be eaten raw, cooked, or dried and ground into flour.

How to Identify Dandelions

Nutrition Data for Dandelion: Greens

Wild Blackberries (Rubus allegheniensis) – We have these growing all along our fenceline as well as on our bike-riding route. What could be better than free blackberries? The brambles can be prickly, so take care when picking these. Make sure to wait until they are dark purple before picking – otherwise, they won’t taste very good. Use them just as you would blackberries: Freeze them, make a jam, add to a fruit smoothie, or best – just eat them as you pick!

How to identify Wild Blackberries

Some words of caution…

1. Don’t eat any foraged food that is from an area that may be exposed to insecticides, road salt (from snow), or any foreign chemical substances that you don’t know about.
2. Make sure to clean anything that you pluck from your yard thoroughly.
3. Make sure you can absolutely, positively identify something before you eat it. Many plants in your yard are poisonous.
4. Don’t encourage non-native invasive species to grow. Check with your state or local invasive species organization.

Resources
Properly identifying anything you forage is very important. Here are some great resources to help with that. I am a big fan of naturalist “Wildman” Steve Brill who has written a book on the subject and has a wealth of information on his website: http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/. He includes tons of information on identifying plants that are edible and is working on a book for foraging with kids.

An organization called Plants for a Future (http://www.pfaf.org/index.php) has a searchable database of edible plants with all kinds of information on uses of the plants and any hazards or warnings about their usage. It is an excellent free resource.

Frugal and Fun: Backyard Foraging is a Finer Thing. (See more Finer Things at Amy’s Finer Things Fridays).

This is a series and I plan to share more foraging tips, resources, and recipes to try.

What to Do with Old Pants: Travel Pillow Cases

Adult-sized non-tapered chinos or Jeans are just perfect for very simple pillow-case for a travel-size pillow. I love to have travel pillows with us for naps in the car or to use with sleeping bags on overnight trips to Grandma’s house. However, things get so dirty in the car being accidentally stepped on with muddy shoes or ending up with popsicle sticks melted into them. I needed a cover for these travel pillows that I could just throw into the washer with everything else – and I didn’t have too much time toi spend on this project.

So, after making my “coloring bag” (also good for travel in the car), I took the left-over pants legs from my husbands old chinos and made them into a nice little pillow-case. Here’s how I did it:

1. Get a travel pillow (you could make one from scratch - I found these at CVS).
   
2. Cut off a pant leg from a worn pair of chinos. Choose a 15 in section of the pants that is wide enough to fit around the pillow.
3. Sew: Sew up the side at an angle so the top and bottom end up the same width. Sew down the bottom of the pillowcase.
   
4. Fold under the top of the pillow case twice and sew around.
5. Turn right side out.
   

Once I was finished with the sewing portion, I wanted to personalize them for the kids. (They do love to have their own, personal items. So, on our trip to the beach in the car, here’s how I did it:

1. I had them each choose a picture they wanted on them.
2. Using a ball point pen, I wrote out their name and drew their respective fish, shark, and turtle
3. Then using a back stitch I hand-stitched around my free-hand drawing. Then I embroidered on their names. With such a thick material for the pillow case - I didn't find any need for a hoop.
   
4. Voila – no they each have a one-of-a-kind very special travel pillow.
   

These get a lot of use around here and can easily just get thrown in the laundry for cleaning.

Cre8 4th 0f July T-Shirts (and Rocks)

I love celebrating the 4th of July. This year, we had a nice "small town" 4th of July (even though we live far from a small town). I was looking for a good activity to celebrate with that would appeal to my 13-yo niece as well as my 4 and 6 year old boys. Using some fabric paint and some plain white t-shirts, we made our own Independence Day shirts.



We put coloring books in the middle of the shirt to make sure the paint didn't spread to the back.


And the kids decided to make some patriotic pet rocks....



Fun was had by all.

ReCre8 Frosting Jar: Crayon Holder

This is a very simple project I did for my boys' birthday party. It was useful and I had to assuage my plastic guilt for buying the Betty Crocker frosting. Here's how I did it (as if directions are required):

• All I did was wash the frosting containers
• Cut a strip of card stock to fit around the container and tape it in place
• Add the crayons

At the party, I used Kraft paper as the tablecloths (like you'd find at a crab shack) and put the crayon containers in the center so the kids could just color on the tablecloth. Now I am enjoying having these on-the-go crayon containers for the car, church, or visiting a friend.


Any other uses for frosting jars?

What to Do with Old Pants: Sketchbook Pouch

I saw this great project over at Fun In the Making. Make a protective pouch for your sketchbook or journal using an old pair of jeans. This one looks SUPER easy. I love the idea of reusing that button. The approach is so cleverly simple. You know I'll be making my own and posting up the results... It would look great with a little patch or even some beading.

ReCre8 Bread Crusts: Bread Crust Casserole

I don't know about you, but my kids do not like bread crusts. Especially not the bread crusts from the homemade bread machine bread we make (it tends to be just a little hard on the crusts). I could battle it out and try to force them to eat it, but I like a peaceful meal time.

Since I am taking part in Crunchy Chicken's Food Waste Reduction Challenge, I got to thinking, how can I use these bread crusts rather than just throw them in the composting bin as I have been doing? (Because, to be honest with you, I don't really like eating the crusts either!)

So, I tried out this bread crust casserole and I think it was a pretty good success. (BTW, I count it a success if all the adults eat it and at least one of the kids - so I don't set the bar TOO high!)

So, here's how I did it...

First, I saved all the bread crusts and ends of loaves that got dry in the freezer for a few weeks. I also saved leftover chicken, broccoli, onion, and other vegetables.

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. parmesan cheese
  
• 3 cup bread crusts
• 1 Tbsp. bread crumbs (you can make these by blending up some of the bread crusts)
  
• 1-2 cup vegetable leftovers (I used celery, broccoli, and onions)
  
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
  

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. First, whisk together the eggs, milk, yogurt, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and 1/4 c. parmesan cheese (save the 2 Tbsp. for later). Cut up the bread crusts to about 1-inch. lengths. Spread out the bread crusts, chicken, vegetables, and cheddar cheese in a casserole dish. Pour on the wet ingredients. Let everything soak in for 5 minutes or so. Sprinkle the top with breadcrumbs and the remaining parmesan cheese.

Put in the oven and cook for 30-40 minutes (until the top turns a golden, crispy brown).

Remember, it's casserole, so, in my opinion, all the ingredients are negotiable! I'm not the best recipe writer, so if you have any ways to improve the directions, please let me know!

P.S. I didn't get a picture, but next time I make it, I'll update this post.

Re-Cre8 Pancakes: Fruit & Cake Rolls

My family just loves pancakes. Who doesn’t? I like them too because they are so easy and fun and you can make them a little healthier just by adding in a few other ingredients (more on that another time). I always like to make a few extra pancakes because they make such great leftovers and they are very portable. Just throw them in the fridge overnight and pack them in a lunchbox the next day. But, I’m not willing to pack along syrup or honey. This is just too messy for a portable meal.

So, the other day as I was packing up an on-the-go dinner for gymnastics, I thought I could re-create these leftover pancakes into something very fun. Fruit and Cake rolls. These rolls taste a lot like Fruit Newtons, if you’ve had them (“they’re not cookies, they are fruit and cake” as the commercial goes…).

This couldn’t be easier. Here’s what you will need:

• Leftover pancakes


• Leftover pancakes


• Fruit preserves or jam of your choice


• A knife


• A cutting board


• A portable container

Here’s what you do

1. Spread the fruit preserves on one side of the pancake.



2. Gently roll up the pancake.


3. Slice it up into bite size rolls and place into the container.



4. Now enjoy!

Maybe these are not a whole meal, but a great snack or “side dish” or dessert. These can easily go into school lunches, or be taken along on picnics. And, unlike little Fruit Newton snack packs – there is no plastic involved (if you ignore my plastic transportation container, but that could just as easily be a pyrex) and nothing to go into the landfill.

ReCre8 Milk: Make Your Own Yogurt

I have tried to encourage yogurt eating in my household since my kids were on solid food. It’s a great way to get your calcium, protein, and helpful bacteria all at once. With the right additions you can get a lot of other yummy and helpful nutrients and antioxidants too. Here are some links on the health benefits of yogurt and other cultured dairy products:

• Ask Dr. Sears has an excellent informational site
• An excerpt from FDA Consumer Magazine
  
• Wikipedia always has good info
  

This year, I realized we were spending at least $10-$20 a week on yogurt. That is $500 - $1000/yr just on yogurt! I also realized how much plastic we were acquiring to support this yogurt habit. Many wonderful green and frugal blogs out there inspired me to make my own yogurt. It is super easy to make your own yogurt. It has been a big savings to our food budget and just a lot of fun.

I have researched a TON of advice out there and came up with my preferred method for making yogurt. I’ll explain it here, but I’ll also provide links to the great resources I found out there that can give lots of other ideas.

Before venturing to make your own yogurt, I highly recommend watching the Alton Brown “Good Eats” episode which gives a tutorial on making yogurt. It's called "Good Milk Gone Bad", pretty funny. It is available on YouTube unless it gets taken down. I do mine a little bit differently, but this helps you understand the process really well.

I make ½ gallon at a time, but you can easily adjust this to make any amount. The yogurt will stay good in the fridge 1-2 weeks, but it never lasts that long in my house! This is my method:

What you will need:

• 6 oz. yogurt with LIVE, ACTIVE, CULTURES (this is your “starter”.
• You can use plain or a flavored variety, but if you use flavored, your resulting yogurt will carry that flavor forward)
• ½ gallon of milk (I use 2% organic – in a GLASS bottle, but you can use skim or whole milk as well)
• ¼ c. non-fat dry milk (optional – adds protein)
• 1 2-quart thermos or thermal carafe (must be lined with stainless steel or glass – NOT plastic)
• Kitchen Thermometer (I use a candy thermometer)

Directions

I like to start in the evening, putting the milk on to heat right before we sit down for dinner. Then, by the morning, I have yogurt!

Day 1:

1. Take out 6 oz. yogurt as a starter and let it come to room temperature while you prepare the milk
2. Heat milk at medium heat in your pot to 180 degrees F, stirring regularly (this kills off any bacteria that is currently in your milk)
3. Stir in non-fat dry milk
4. Once milk reaches desired temperature, cool it down to 120 degreed F
5. While milk is cooling, sterilize and warm your thermos or carafe by adding boiling water and closing it for at least 5 minutes. Empty the water.
6. Temper your room-temperature yogurt with the 120 degrees F milk
7. Add starter yogurt to pot and stir gently until dissolved
8. Transfer milk/yogurt combination to your thermos or thermal carafe
9. Put in a warm, draft-free place and leave overnight 8-10 hours

Day 2:
At this point you have a choice. Do you like your yogurt very thick or do you like it a tiny bit runny? If you don’t mind it a little thinner, your yogurt will be done. Just transfer it into a glass container or into jelly jars and put it in the fridge. I like to have my yogurt very thick and creamy, so I always strain out the whey first. To strain your yogurt, place a mesh sieve over a glass bowl. Pour in enough yogurt to fill the sieve. Let it sit and drain. Use a flexible spatula to gently manipulate the yogurt. Don’t mess with it too much, because you don’t want to break up the curds. Once it is at the desired thickness, place it in your glass or ceramic storage vessel (I like to use 4 oz. or 8 oz. jelly jars so I have single servings ready-to-go). Once you have jarred up all your yogurt, don’t discard the whey! It is full of protein and other goodies and it is infinitely useful, as I will cover in another post. Store it in a glass jar in your fridge until you are ready to use it.

Flavoring Yogurt
Now, regarding the flavoring. You have so many options for flavoring. I used to mix up some flavors in the blender and stir them into the yogurt, but it was more work and more to clean. So, I found some super simple ways to make a variety of flavors:

• Honey-Yogurt: A favorite of my kids. Just drizzle a tablespoon of honey (or substitute Agave nectar) on the top of the yogurt and put it in the fridge. When you are ready to eat it, just stir it up.
• Raspberry Yogurt: This is my absolute favorite. Just take about 10 or so frozen raspberries and push them into the yogurt. Leave it out for a few hours until you are ready to eat (this makes it very convenient for a bag lunch – no refrigeration necessary). Once the raspberries have melted, stir the yogurt together. Add a packet of sugar or equal for sweetness. This is really a treat.
• Chocolate Yogurt: Stir in 1 teaspoon of cocoa powder into the yogurt. Put 1 tablespoon of honey or Agave Nectar on top and refrigerate for a few hours or days. When ready to eat, just stir it all up.

These are some of the favorites in my house, but really, you can stir in whatever flavors you like and sweeten it to your own taste.

Here are some sites that have some different recipes and some different approaches:

• Yogurt Maker Coffee Yogurt at Crunchy Chicken
• Fermenting Yogurt in the Oven at Hillbilly Housewife
• Cooler Fermenting Yogurt at Heavenly Homemakers
• Video Tutorial at about.com
  

In the next post, I’ll cover some other great things you can do with yogurt.

What to Do with Old Pants: Coloring Tote

This project involves making a bag just the size for some activity books and coloring books along with crayons out of the butt of a pair of men's chinos. These are size 36 waist pants. Anything smaller might not yield a bag that can hold coloring books, but might be fun just the same.

Here's how you do it:

1. Cut down the side seams of the pants, so you are left with just the back side.
2. Fold in half (top to bottom) and cut off any excess on the sides to make sure it will be square.
   
3. Cut across the butt allowing the height of the bag you want plus 1-inch for a seam allowance.
4. Sew across the bottom of the pockets (on the inside) so that they are at a desired length. (I like them just tall enough to hold some crayons, but so that the crayons can still pop out the top).
   
5. Fold in half side-to-side and inside-out.
6. Sew across the bottom of the bag.
7. Sew across the open side 0f the bag. The top will be very thick, so be careful there.
8. Make the strap:
   • Cut a strip from one of the legs that is ~4 in. across.
   • Fold in half long-ways and sew up the side leaving 1/4" in. seam
   • Turn the strip right side out and sew up both sides with a 1/4 in. seam to keep it nice and flat.
9. Now attach the strap to the bag by sewing at the waste-band.

Now you have a nice kid-friendly tote. Get's dirty? Just throw it in the wash with your clothes. Decorate it up however it seems interesting to you. If you try this yourself, send me some pictures or techniques.

What to Do with Old Pants: Special Bags

My boys all have to wear khaki pants as part of their school uniform. Three of my oldest son’s pants had been worn through the knees (or cut with “safety” scissors). Rather than just getting rid of them, I thought I’d alter them in to khaki shorts. No problem… just snip, snip and hem. I hated to just throw out the bottoms of the pants, but I couldn’t justify adding to my “scrap fabric for creative projects when I have the time” pile.

I got the idea to turn the pants legs into a “special bag” for each of them. Kids, especially ones with siblings with whom they must share everything, love to have something “special” made just for them. Here’s how I did it

1. Turn pant leg inside out.
2. Sew a Seem down the un-hemmed side
3. Optional: (to give it more depth) Rotate to the side and sew a line forming a triangle (do the same on the other side.


4. Flip right-side-out. Cut 2 slits in the existing hem on the inside of the bag
5. Using a yarn needle, take some scrap yarn and work it all through the hem and out the other slit. This will form your draw string
6. Tie a knot in the string and voila, you are done!

You could also finish them off by needlepointing their names on the bags – or even just writing them with a fabric marker.

These bags can be used for snack bags or storage. They are a great reusable alternative to Ziploc bags for that kind of thing. But, when we are going somewhere and the kids want to bring toys, I like to tell them “Get your special bag and you can bring whatever can fit in there.” They love to spend time choosing the toys they want to bring with them and gathering them all up. Last time we went hiking and rock climbing as a family, they brought their special bags full of dinosaurs. My 5-yo did not like to have to carry the bag, so he had the idea of getting a stick and hanging the bag on the stick while resting it on his shoulder. Of course, as soon as he had done this, his little brothers wanted in on the action. Before you know it, we had a parade of boys Tom Sawyer-style hiking up the mountain with their sacks. We got a lot of adoring looks on that hike!



USES:

• Keep Puzzle Pieces Together - Those cardboard boxes don't last long in my house. Using these little bags lets you throw multiple bags of puzzles into a drawer or a basket without getting all the pieces mixed up. Plus, it looks nice.
  
• Lunch Sack - this is a great reusable little lunch bag for bringing on hikes or to the park or even to school.
• Toy Sack - Let your little ones stuff as many toys as they can into the bag to bring with them to a friend's house or their brother's soccer game or rock climbing!
• Travel Organizer - When packing for a big trip (or even a little one), these little drawstring bags are great for putting like things together. For our annual trip to the beach this year, I packed up one bag with all the spices we would need (so I could save $$ on shopping while I was there). I put all the kids toiletries in another one.
• Gift Bag - Rather than buying a gift bag at the store, these make excellent gift bags for smaller items. And it is something that the new owner can reuse or re-purpose.
  
• There are infinite uses. Do you have some other ideas?
  

What to Do with Old Pants: Uniform Shorts

So, my son had worn through the knees in most of his school pants, what to do? I know it is pretty obvious to say "make some shorts". It is so much better than giving them or (gasp!) throwing them away. All it takes is an easy hem on the sewing machine and it saves me plenty of money for buying summer uniforms for my three boys (who can all wear the same size shorts). This was project #1 with old pants.

Here is my method:

1. Cut straight across the legs right above the hole or worn part of the pants (making sure that both legs fall even). This will ensure that the shorts would hit right at or above the knees.
2. Fold 1/2 inch under and iron around for the hem. Fold under again 3/4 inch and iron (this way, you don't have to use hem tape or fray-check or anything.
3. Using your machine, stitch straight around1/2 inch above the bottom of each of the legs and you're done. (If you prefer, you can hand stitch it as well).

Don't throw away the bottoms of those legs, there are great uses for those as well!

What to Do with Old Pants

After seeing how much of the clothes that we donate still end up in landfills, I was reluctant to just get rid of all the outgrown or torn khaki pants without a fight.I started with thinking about some of my simple living goals and what I needed to meet them. One was to buy less clothing and household items. Another was to really cut down on my use of plastic bags. So, my remaking of old khakis turned into four small and easy projects.

1. Uniform Shorts
2. Pant Leg “Special Bags”
3. Personalized Travel Pillow Cases
4. Pocket Activity Bag

I’m sure there are more great projects out there for pants. Anyone have ideas to share?

Reusing Tissue Paper as Gift Wrap

I love a beautifully wrapped gift, but I hate all the expense and waste that goes along with it. Much of it goes directly into the trash within a few hours of wrapping the gift. Many of us reuse gift bags as long as the hold up rather than throwing them out, but what about reusing the tissue paper that invariably goes with them?

Tissue paper as gift wrap is so easy because it is already cut for you. If you can’t find scissors or tape (a typical situation in my home as was the problem when I wrapped this gift), you can use tissue paper to wrap a gift without these. Just fold the tissue paper to the size you want, wrap it neatly around the gift you want and secure with a pretty piece of raffia, ribbon, or even a piece of twine or yarn. It makes a colorful and beautiful presentation with little effort. Also, it’s recreating something that may just have been trash otherwise. By skipping the tape – you also allow for it to be reused again.

What goes great with a tissue paper wrapped gift? A homemade card. My boys were very into sunflowers at this time since they had been growing their own in the garden. I just took a scrap of card stock and drew a simple sunflower on the front. My 5-yo colored it in to make it a personalized card for his cousin’s 1st birthday present.