Gifts

Resourceful

January 13, 2012 by Lena {JOYfilledfamily} Filed Under: Crafts, Frugal Living, Gifts, New Year, Simplicity

Dad and I have made a pact, we will not be buying anything this year. In other words, no shopping. We will only purchase whole, clean food and personal necessities. It’s a call that has been on our heart for sometime now but we I have resisted. We are now cooperating with His grace and moving forward.
We are very limited with our financial resources and are facing some more difficult times. All of which, have been answers to prayers. The Good Lord is making it easy for us to know His will.
We have nothing to fear. We are not going without and trust in His providence. All of our needs are being met, praise God.

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ~ Matthew 6:25-26

We pray that we grow to be better stewards of our blessings (monetary, physical, spiritual,–all things).

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day.

~ Matthew 6:33-34

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No shopping doesn’t mean no crafting or gift giving. The kids and I will use what we have on hand. Here are a few of our latest creations. I did purchase some prints of the photos that I had taken.

Sweetie is my focus group when it comes to all things Little Flowers. I usually have her do a trial run of the LF craft for the month. This gives me a good idea of the level of difficulty for the craft and about how long the craft will take. This month’s craft has to do with knitting.

I took family photographs for Christmas gifts. I used the photos to create photo canvases. I printed enlargements at Costco and applied them to my stash of canvases. (The canvases have been sitting in the bag for almost six years now. I had intended to create personalized paintings.)

Rose and I made personalized trinkets for Dad’s co-workers and her girlfriends. The pictures below don’t do these creations justice. They’re simple, fun and absolutely darling.

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I hope to use up all my craft supplies this year. I’ll be sharing my creations at the weekly Stash Bash and Pinning it Down.

Curtain Aprons

January 9, 2012 by Lena {JOYfilledfamily} Filed Under: Crafts, Gifts, Little Flowers

I held my fourth Little Flowers meeting in early December. The girls made a simple Curtain Apron for their craft. It was a lovely craft edition for the meeting since St. Martha is a patron saint of homemakers. The apron was intended to be gifted for Christmas.

Curtain Apron

this is an up-cycle craft

Supplies:

valance style curtain (I purchased 18 valances from my local thrift store to create aprons for 36 girls)
ribbon (I used a min of 1.5 yards of ribbon for ea. apron)
scissors
safety pin

Approximate cost of ea. apron (if items need to be purchased) – $2

Approximate cost of ea. apron (if items are on hand) – FREE

Directions:

cut the valance vertically at a place that will yield enough coverage for your desired homemaker.
optional: hem the cut side of the valance.
cut ribbon to the desired length. long enough to tie around the waist of the intended homemaker.
attached safety pin to the end of the ribbon.
thread the ribbon, safety pin first, into the top portion of the valance that was indented for a curtain rod.
remove the safety pin and prepare the Curtain Apron for presentation.

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creating aprons

preparing creations for presentation/wrapping

finalizing packages

Gifts for St. Nicholas

December 7, 2011 by Lena {JOYfilledfamily} Filed Under: 12 December, 12 December Saints, Gifts, St. Nicholas 1 Comment

St. Nicholas is the patron saint of many things, one of which is bakers.

Here is a gift basket that I put together for a St. Nicholas birthday boy.

The gift basket included the following:

melamine mixing bowl – $2.50 (Target dollar spot)
2 wooden mixing spoons – $1.59
measuring cups and spoons – $2.09
chef apron & hat – $2.48* (*I found this set and accessories on clearance several years ago. Reg $9.99)
matching placemat – $0.34* (reg $1.99)
matching tablecloth – $0.74* (reg $2.99)
recipe cards – $1 (Target dollar spot)
play dough recipe – free
- magnetic clip – $0.17 ($1/pack of 6 at Target dollar spot. I used this to display the recipe card on the bowl.)
- small bag of flour – $1.77
- salt – $0.77
- cream of tartar – $2.79
- 2 Kool Aid packs – $0.54 (.27 ea)
- 4 ziploc containers – $1 ($1.99/pack of 6)
Lindt chocolate St. Nicholas – $3
- red glitter foam – $0.20 ($1/pack of 5 at Target dollar spot)
- gold glitter pipe cleaner – $0.04 ($2/pack of 50 at Target art aisle)
- printable miter template – FREE from St. Nicholas Center

Total – $21.02 (without tax)

St. Nicholas ~ ora pro nobis

Celebrating St. Nicholas Linky Party ~ Catholic Cuisine

Summer Birthday Gift

July 12, 2011 by Lena {JOYfilledfamily} Filed Under: Gifts, Summer

There’s been a bubble craze in my home since this episode. We have been blowing bubbles almost everyday and couldn’t resist sharing some fun.

I was inspired last year by this display of homemade bubbles. (Yes, it usually takes me that long to get moving on my inspiration. What can I say, it’s one of my many crosses.)

I created this Bubble Bucket as a present for a lil’ guy.

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My Bubble Bucket Included:

White 2 gallon bucket (found at Lowes for $3.27. I personalized this bucket with paint pens and embellished wit with ribbons.)

Bubbles (found at Wal-Mart for $3.00)

Joy Detergent (found at Wal-Mart for $2.97. Add a couple of squirts to the bubble solution to help make the bubbles last.)

Bubble wand (Made out of 1 wooden dowel, cut in half. Attach an eye screw to the top of each wooden dowel. Thread 2 cotton strings through the eye screws. One string will be shorter than the other. Tie the string on each side. Be sure to attached a washer to the longer string.)

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Directions:

Pour some bubble solution into the bucket. A thin layer of bubbles will suffice.
Add some Joy to the solution. You do not need to mix.
Dip the bubble wand string into the solution. Avoid creating suds in the solution.
Pull out the bubble wand with dowels together. Slowly separate the two dowels and blow or use the wind. Bring the two dowels together to detach the bubble from the wand.

Here is a demonstration.

ENJOY YOUR BULLES!

Lenten Family Joy Journal

March 16, 2011 by Lena {JOYfilledfamily} Filed Under: Crafts, Gifts, JOY Journal, Lent

Through the traditional practices of fasting, almsgiving and prayer, which are an expression of our commitment to conversion, Lent teaches us how to live the love of Christ in an ever more radical way. ~ Pope Benedict XVI, 2011 Lenten Message (3)

Finding JOY in my life has been a call of mine for sometime. I’ve been recording my JOY for several years now, in efforts to grow a JOYfilled heart. It has been a much needed spiritual practice for me.
I have recently been renewed by friends, Ann and other bloggers.
Jenny at A Moment Captured and Melody at Blossoming Joy inspired me to step it up for Lent.

In order to undertake more seriously our journey towards Easter and prepare ourselves to celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord – the most joyous and solemn feast of the entire liturgical year… ~ Pope Benedict XVI, 2011 Lenten Message (2)

Here is the JOY Journal that I made for my family. We’ve been entering our JOY each day after family prayer.

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JOY Journal

Mini-Tutorial

supplies: note book, mod podge, foam brush, nail file, and holy images. (i prefer to upcycle items. i used an old religious catalog.)

hand tear or cut the images as desired.

glue the images to the cover. overlap images for complete coverage.
trim the edges with a nail file. be sure that there is not glue on top of the images for this step.

repeat the above steps for the back cover.
apply another coat of mod podge over the images.
let dry.

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Equipping Catholic Families – Unique Handmade Gifts Linky

I hope to use up all my craft supplies this year. I’ll be sharing my creations at the weekly Stash Bash and Pinning it Down.

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