The frugalista in me

It's been back to school around here. Maybe you can relate.

And as I help my 2nd grader get herself dressed every day, I'm getting a pretty good sense of some elements she's lacking in her wardrobe. I learned last year that I can be such a smarter shopper just by waiting a couple of weeks into the school year before picking up new clothes.

Today, I got the bulk of our new back to school wardrobe snapped up. Thank you online shopping. Thank you Forever21 for girls. Thank you 'buy 1 get 1 free.' Oh, and thank you free-shipping-on-orders-over-60-dollars.

I shopped it all  up for $36 (plus tax).

How'd I do it?

SALES. Listen, with a constantly changing kid, from the length of her limbs to her personal tastes, I'm not about to pay regular price if I can avoid it. And I can. Plus, when shops pull out their really fabulous promos, like Forever21's Buy One Get One Free event (on until this Sunday), it's time to jump. The only exception I made this time: a pair of teal houndstooth tights, which I paid $5.90 for. 

FREE SHIPPING. I know, on orders of $60 or more. But why pay for shipping? And why buy much more than you really need just to get it all shipped free? What I like to do is find a friend or family member and combine an order. So after I found for $36 worth and my BFF found for $24 worth, we were in the clear. (If I can't come up with a shopping buddy, I think ahead to Christmas and birthday gifts.) And here's the thing. Buy less, not more. I buy what I really need. A sale is not an excuse to go crazy. It just means it's time to buy. My goal was to keep our order as close to $60 as we could.

MIX & MATCH. I am a huge fan of being able to create as many outfits as I can with what I have. A versatile piece is a total bang for your buck. I can create way more than 6 outfits from everything I bought for $36. Do the math: that's less than $6 per outfit. I keep in mind what we've already got in our closet, too. So. many. outfits.

HAVE A PLAN. Shopping online is a little tough at times. How can you be sure it will fit? What if there's an itchy fabric you didn't anticipate? (Itchy = end of the world, by the way.) What if sale items are non-refundable? I know what I'll do in all these cases. If you don't think ahead, you may end up spending more than you bargained for in order to make an exchange, or waste your money buying something that won't get used. And really, if you do that, well, what's the point?

Total retail therapy.

(By the way, the price of all those items at regular price? a few dimes shy of $120. Yup.)

Pinteresting #5 - My love affair

With Mason Jars.

And I'm not the only one, clearly, since ideas abound on Pinterest of how to be surrounded by this canny glass. There are endless ways to turn that Mason Jar into something special.

Pinteresting #2 - Yellow

I. Love. Yellow.

(Yes, "love" is one of those overused words. I am fully aware. But as far as colours go...)

And as I browse the rows and rows of images on Pinterest, some yellow things are just worth remembering. So I pin them. You know, so that I don't forget them.

(Is it wrong that I'm blogging about Pinterest and Yellow whilst my daughter is asking for a snack?)

So have you seen my board all about yellow yet? Here's a sneak. (But you can follow it here.)

Handmade Christmas, week 10 - Some fun sit-down keepsakes

I love handprint kiddie art.

Handprint. Fingerprint. Footprint. I love 'em all.

Here is the last installment of my Handmade Christmas Series. And a little something just for you and the crafty kidlets in your home. Fingerprinting trees.

Handmade Christmas: Almost all wrapped up!

Week 9. Can you believe it? Christmas is practically here! No matter how early I start planning, it always does seem to come up out of nowhere.

We've been running ourselves ragged around here drinking mulled cider, zapping channels for the best pre-bedtime Holiday movie...generally keeping busy with all things Christmas.

Last weekend, we busied ourselves making wrapping paper. I love the look of brown kraft paper. Add a little white and red, and I'm swooning. My six year old was a willing recruit to help make this dream a reality.

Off to the dollar store to get us some brown kraft paper, and we came across some foam stampers in a Christmassy theme. "Wonderful," I thought to myself, "I was thinking I'd be carving potatoes, but this is just the time saving trick I need for wrapping paper 101." Perhaps we'll do potato stamps next year.

The dining room was converted into a makeshift workshop, and off we went...

Handmade Christmas homestretch

That's right. 20 days left!

And week 8 of the Handmade Christmas series.

A couple of weeks ago, I was desperate for your input on advent calendar activities. Inspired by your ideas (*thanks!*), I easily filled up 24 days with something special to look forward to. My daughter charges down the stairs every morning to open up the day's note.

Handmade, part 7: How sweet it is!

A cookie exchange. One of those look-forward-to moments of the holiday season. I had to get my bake on. Except I'm not much of a baker. It's not that my creations don't turn out, but I'm far outshone by my mom. That's one bar that was set mighty high.

No fail recipe to the rescue. Rachel Ray's Five-Minute Fudge Wreath. I've been making this for a few years now, at least one wreath per Christmas. But I don't think I've ever made it just like she lays it out. I'm always throwing in a twist. This time: Sweet n' Salty Fudge. (And not in the form of a wreath.)

Could it be? Handmade Christmas, part six

Could it be? A post with no picture? From, of all blogs, a primarily all-things-photo blog?

Well, it's week 6 of my Handmade Christmas series.

Funny thing about Christmas: So may things are a secret. And funny thing about handmade: So many things are halfway done.

Handmade Christmas, Stockingpalooza

Make your own stockings. There's really nothing to it!

Stockings are one of the most forgiving projects you can tackle. you can make them from easy to use materials like felt and polar fleece. My friend Melissa got a little more daring here, though.

She made her family's stockings to be fully reversible (and smarty pants made 2 extra stockings for any eventual children, keeping buttons and fabric rosettes on reserve to complete the boy/girl cuteness when the time comes). She also custom ordered these fabric tags on Etsy.

When I tackled my handmade stockings, I had a couple of essentials in mind. It had to be fast, fiddle-free, and no-iron-required. My solution was to use felt, and I allowed myself to be inspired by ye old classic wool sock.

Have a hankering to make your own stockings this year? Get your creative juices flowing over at A Fanciful Twist (left) or thanks to Martha Stewart (right). Just a couple of my favorite tutorials you can find online.

A handmade Christmas - Part IV

(Whenever moderately appropriate, I like to write four as a Roman numeral. Just to remind me of one of the many great parts of my childhood. You can catch a glimpse of it here, 4:05 into the clip.)

I can hardly believe we're almost halfway through these Handmade Christmas posts. This week, I'm featuring the fruits of a fab and fun Card Class put on by Elena from Just Me.

3 hours and 2 slices the world's best sour cream coffee cake later, I had this to show for El's guidance and my fingers-glued-together labour...

I like all of them, but my fave is definitely the 3 snowmen encouraging one another to "be merry!" My version of this card, shown above, has a familial vibe to it. But Elena's original still has me in stitches. I think it's the 3 Stooges undertone.

You can book a card class with Elena any time of year. Her Christmas card classes run each attendee $15, and she provides all the goods. (Bring your own itty-bitty scissors and glue stick.)

As for me, I'm having a hard time convincing myself to give away these cute Christmas creations.

A handmade gift for someone named M...

It's week 3 of a Handmade Christmas. And I'm on to lankier projects. This leggy she-monkey, to be exact.

I've made it a rule to freehand my sock monkeys, whether on the sewing machine or (as in this case) entirely by hand. So I know only as I go what the ears and appendages will look like. Knee socks are a bit more predictable. Long.

There's definitely a theme to my hand-making, though. No patterns. There's nothing wrong with patterns. They're wonderful, actually. But they stress me out. They require perfection.

Maybe that's why my monkeys are so intentionally asymmetrical. I can hear Steve Urkel now. " I meant to do that." But really. I did.

In any case, I do hope baby M takes to her new friend.

A foxy handmade Christmas

Chronicles of the handmade Christmas continue...

There's something about making a unique creation without a pattern. Perhaps it's the painter/sculptor in me. maybe it's the idea that, if I'm not following a pattern, there's no "wrong way" unless I say so.

My daughter has specifically requested I make her a fox. I could not have imagined this would be the end result. And I sort of like that. I love winging it; improvising. I got the ears just right on the first try, but it took me 5 or 6 tries to be satisfied with the tail.

By the time I'm done pouring myself into a project like this, I'm not able to be objective about how aesthetically pleasing the final product is. But I am able to vouch for the love it's stuffed with and the personality dancing behind those button eyes.

Looking at it again, I think I'm not done. I think she needs an apron. And a baby fox of her own. She has a whole mommy-vibe going on. (Maybe it's all the time we've spent together.)

Handmade Christmas, week 1

Getting organized. For those slightly more ambitious (a relative term, that is) projects, start early, and plan.

A few things on my to-do list:
  * At least 2 sock monkeys
  * A crochet'd fox
  * A velours rabbit (to be coupled with a copy of  The Velveteen Rabbit)
  * Hat. Details top secret.
  * Salty fudge
  * Gift tags for teachers' gifts

On my tentative list (that is, sounds like a big job and perhaps I've waited too long to start) is an advent calendar. Not sure of what format. There are so many great ideas out there. Stockings, clothespins, felt pouches, matchboxes. But I'm fond of this:

Friendly reminders from blogs (and bloggers) I love urge me on to get started. They're well on their way to a successful handmade holiday.

Like Elena over at JustMe. She's about done the black apple dolls for her 3 kidlets.

I have it on good authority that the post for the 3rd and final doll is not far behind.

To boot, she's started making the stack of Christmas cards she'll send out this year. Like this one. *swooning*

Elena conducts card classes on the South Shore heading into Christmas. I'll be going to a couple myself, and I'm sure she'll again wow us all with her fabulous ideas, guiding us to make cards and tags we'll have swollen heads over. Can't wait!

72 days to Christmas

I'm just about done all my Christmas shopping. It's true. Even though there are 72 days left until Christmas.

That's just about 10 weeks. (Math wiz here.)

But I had promised myself to be more and more handmade each Christmas. And so, with 10 weeks to go, I have already begun the journey to more personalized gift giving.

Slipped in amongst the handmade gifts will be some festive decor. And I promise you I will share more than what I myself have made. Too overloaded with lovely inspiration to ever get it all done, it will please me to brag on how fabulous others' chef-d'oeuvres are turning out. In short, I'll share with your my creative spirit, in full bloom, going 1000 ways at once during this time of year. 

For me, it will be a weekly advent calendar of sorts. A countdown to my favorite holiday by far. Hope you join me!