It's November 4th and I have already been struck by the Christmas bug. My workplace is decorated with candy canes and glitter galore, so it's not really my fault, right?
Every year I try to find something I can do to spread joy to others during the holiday season. Soup kitchens and canned food drives are common this time of year but today I ran across sometime I haven't seen before. The American Red Cross is sponsoring a campaign called Holiday Mail for Heroes. The concept is simple, sign a holiday car for a service member, pop it in the mail, and the Red Cross will make sure it gets to the right place.
There are a few guidelines that the Red Cross asks us to follow:
-sign all cards
-use generic salutations such as "Dear Service Member"
-send only cards, no letters
-do not include any personal contact information
-do not insert additional items, such as photos
This would be a great project for a group of people to do together and multiply the holiday cheer. just think of how many cards a Girl Scout troop, soccer team, or group of girlfriends could produce! The Red Cross will accept cards in large mailing envelopes or flat-rate boxes which could help you save on postage. No need to send envelopes, just cards.
Cards need to be received at the address below by December 6th so they can make it to service members before Christmas.
Holiday Mail for Heroes
P.O. Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456
My goal is to send out 20 cards, who else is with me!?
What are you planning on doing this year to spread holiday joy to others?
I have to admit, Christmas isn't my favorite holiday. This girl is all over fall and that's why the next two projects in this series will pumpkin coated in all their orange goodness.
Have you ever had that experience where your hands wanted to do something crafty but your brain couldn't come up with anything creative for your hands to do? That's how this project was born! My hands were itching for something so I jumped in the car and headed to Hobby Lobby. After pacing down a few aisles I came across a 2 inch square box with a hole cut int he top. My brain went "Ohhhh, okay!"
The stitching pattern is a variation of the pattern in this pin but I had to do some adjusting to fit the dimensions of my box. I also opted to keep the box it's natural brown color; I think it compliments the vibrant orange of the pumpkins.
I've been busy crafting all week to bring you Day 3 of my blog series Craft Through the Holidays 2013. Today I'm featuring a metallic framed cross stitch I just finished.
The best thing about this is you can add literally anything to the inside of the frame. I chose to frame a cross stitch I recently finished, but you could also frame a family photo or a piece of your child's artwork.
I purchased the frame from Michael's for $1.49 and made a hanger out of the same DMC floss that I stitched the ornament with. The frame is white cast plaster which I painted with a metallic silver and highlighted the grooves with a black Sharpie. Super easy!. I didn't want to paint the fame to be too ornate and take away from the stitching.
You might even consider sitting your little one down with the frame and some paint to create their own masterpiece.
Don't forget to become a follower of my blog to get updates and more projects from this holiday blog series. Find the little follow button on the right side of this page. Isn't he cute!
We're starting Day 1 of Craft Through the Holidays with a freebie! Start the holidays off right with a free greeting card from Treat!
I love the options available from Treat. Not only do they have hundreds (if not thousands!) of cards available but they give you the option to personalize almost every part of the card. Every card allows you to add a personalized message, including images, on the inside of the card. And if you're like me and you struggle to come up with the perfect message, they help you out with that too with several pre-composed messages. You can even add your recipient's name on the cover with some and add your own images to others.
With code TREFD3A973you can personalize a card for free
through 12/31/13. In my experience, this is 100% free. No tax, no
shipping, nada. Free.
If you love this card, which I'm sure you will, keep looking at Treat. Most of the cards I have purchased form them are around $3.50 each and come 100% personalized. Hallmark ain't got nothin' on that!
Make sure to become a follower to get updates on this blog series. ---->
With the holiday season right around the corner I'm ready to jump into craft projects feet first. There's nothing more I love than a homemade gift, so I better start early if I'm going to check off everyone on my list!
Join me on my journey to Craft Through the Holidays. I'm starting this blog series of homemade holiday gifts to inspire myself, and my readers, to make some wonderful gifts. I'll update this page with links to all the projects but check back often for the newest project in my series!
Craft Through the Holidays
Day 1: Treat Greeting Card
Day 2: Button Flower Magnet
Day 3: Metallic Frame Ornament
Day 4: Pumpkin Stitched Box
Last week I posted a then in-progress stitching. Today I am proud to reveal the finished product inspired by this pin!
I know I'm behind the eight ball on seasons here...but this cross stitch is by far my favorite to date. Baby chicks in bright spring-y colors always manage to make me smile.
My husband is Irish through and through so for St. Patrick's day we went to a local pub. Along with our festive green beer, we were served a delicious bowl of corned beef stew. Yummy! That meal inspired me and I got to pinning.
I found this pin and went to the grocery store straight away. The recipe is pretty simple; just gather the ingredients, them in a pot and wait (impatiently!). I made a few changes to the recipe from Skinny Taste in an effort to mimic what we had at the pub.
Ingredients:
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 2 leeks, chopped (whites and light green only)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3 medium carrots, chopped
1 yellow pepper, chopped- 1 lb lean corned beef brisket (yields 9 oz cooked)
- 6 cups of water
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley, plus more for garnish
- 1 small head cabbage, cored and chopped
- 1 large potato, peeled and cubed
- fresh pepper to taste
In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium low heat. Add leeks and sauté until soft, about 4-5 minutes; add garlic, carrots and yellow pepper and sauté about 2-3 minutes.
Add corned beef, peppercorns or seasoning packet that comes with the corned beef, bay leaves, parsley and water; cover and bring to a boil. Simmer covered on low heat for 3 hours, until the meat becomes tender.
Remove the corned beef, set it on a cutting board and shred with a fork cube. Return it to the pot then add the cabbage and potatoes, taste for salt and pepper and adjust as needed. Cook until the potatoes and cabbage are tender, about 45 more minutes.
The recipe makes about 6 cups so we even had leftovers. I know what you're thinking....leftover soup isn't always the best. But this was even better as leftovers because the flavors had time to mix and mingle overnight.
When I saw this pin I couldn't get enough of how cute this was. A pot of leprechaun gold and the rainbow all in one jar. The tutorial, provided by Brook McClay gives simple step-by-step picture instructions; I knew this was something I could accomplish!
Well, after searching little Waco for a few days I was unable to find the gold coins shown in Brook's tutorial. I began searching the candy aisle of my grocery store until I ran across Rolos. I remember when I was six and my dad took me on my first plane flight, hanging me a roll of Rolos. It was then that I also remembered Rolos came in a gold wrapper. Tada! gold nuggets in place of gold coins!
So here you have it:
Before long this little cute will be on a journey to my 'lil sis in Arizona.
Total Cost < $10
