Thursday, November 30, 2017

Cards for the Elderly-Part 2: Supplies & Designs


            Welcome back! If you missed Part 1, you can catch up here. (Don't worry. It's not too long. :) ) Today we're going to talk about how you can get your own card-making party started...For cheap!
            First of all, if you don't know, I love crafting AND saving random things, such as Christmas paper, so we already had quite a few things to work with to begin with. But, I also bought quite a few things too. However, they were not nearly as expensive as I was afraid they were going to be. Like I said in the first post, I wanted to make lots of cards, but I didn't want it to cost an arm and a leg either! So here are my tips on where to get supplies:

*Use what you have. Who DOESN'T have some old wrapping paper laying around? Old Christmas cards shoved away somewhere? Recycle them! Even paper bags are fair game.

*The Dollar Tree and Dollar Stores are your best friends! Who doesn't love The Dollar Tree?! I can't remember what all I got from here, but I know stickers and boxes of 20 or so Christmas cards were some of the main items. I also found some really awesome rolls of tape with holiday designs on them at the Dollar General store. This year, my mother in-law found some really cute snowflakes for $1 at Walmart that we were able to make, like, 10 cards with! Awesome!

*Look for deals. I noticed the other day, while looking for something else, Michael's had a deal on their cardstock: 3 for $10, which isn't bad considering they are normally $4 each for 100 sheets, if I remember correctly. Maybe it's just me, but that way you can stick to exactly what you want too instead of settling for a multi-pack. I like to stick with green, red, and blue, though I have made quite a few white ones so far this year. :)

*Ask people for their old stuff. Several of my family members were more than willing to share some old Christmas stuff that they never used or was just “junk”, such as leftover wrapping paper, old Christmas cards, stickers, etc.


            Still not quite sure what to use for decorating your cards? Here are some ideas!

-wrapping paper
-paper bags
-aluminum foil
-stickers
-stamps
-decorative tape
-pictures cut out from old Christmas cards
-ribbon
-old Christmas fabric
-and the list goes on! Seriously, get imaginative here, people!


            Need some design ideas? Here are some of the cards I have made and what materials I used. (My #1 tip? Keep it simple!)

*Decorative tape snowflakes (You could also try ribbon.)
*Decorative tape trees
*Trees made from old fabric
*Ornaments made from old fabric and aluminum foil
*Gift boxes made from paper bags and decorative tape and/or ribbon
*Trees made from paper bags and decorated with markers
*Trees made from old wrapping paper
*Ornaments made from old wrapping paper and aluminum foil
*Decorative items glued on the front

            I wish I had taken pictures of more of the cards I made last year, even if they weren't my faves. I feel like I'm forgetting some ideas!
            As far as the inside goes, I chose to use a stamp (which my then 4 year old loved helping with) and a few stickers (she liked that too) to decorate it with, along with signing the card. Since we just dropped ours off at the closest rehabilitative center closest to us last year and didn't know any of the residents there, we just signed our cards “from the Owen family”, but you can do yours however you want, obviously.

            Well? What are you waiting for? Time to get out there and get some card-making supplies! :)

https://www.ethannevelyn.com/fabfridaypost-112-01-12-17/
This Is How We Roll Thursday Party

Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Personalized Race Across the USA Game Giveaway

Welcome to the Personalized Race Across The U.S.A. Game Giveaway!

1 winner
This giveaway is part of our Holiday Gift Guide – Stop by to see all the giveaways and great products.
This contest is hosted by the Social Media Gurus Network!
Host that put together this giveaway is Michigan Saving and More
Below is a list of all the bloggers involved in the gift guide giveaways.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now let’s get to the sponsor!

I See Me!

Race Across The U.S.A.

Personalized Race Across The U.S.A.

$29.99 RV
See review HERE.

~~~~~~

THE GIVEAWAY

This giveaway is in no way endorsed, affiliated, or associated with Facebook, Twitter or any other Social Media Networking Site.You are not eligible if you have won a prize from the sponsor in the last 12 month. This Giveaway is valid in the United States Only and Entrants must be 18+ years of age to enter. This giveaway event will end at 11:59 PM (EST) 12/20/17. The winners will have 48 hours to email their information back to las93063 at gmail dot com or a new winner will be drawn, you may want to put this email address as safe as it could go to spam. The sponsors are each responsible for shipping of the above prizes. No blog associated with this contests are responsible for prize fulfillment. If you would like to be a sponsor in a giveaway like this please email Laura Smith at las930 (at)gmail (dot) com. If you take an entry you must stay following for the entire contest or you will be disqualified.

Also we all “love it if you like us” on Facebook! If you like our blogs on social media it helps us bring you only the best giveaways and more of them!

Enter below and Good Luck!

Monday, November 27, 2017

Cards for the Elderly-Part 1: Starting a Tradition


            Hey folks! I think the majority of us feel a little more giving and open-hearted this time of year, don't you? (Well, after the initial Black Friday non-sense, anyways. ;) ) I know lots of people have different service-type traditions that they and their families do this time of year. For some of us it can be hard, even if we want to help out in some way. Some people simply don't have the time to spare between kids, jobs, etc. Many don't have the money.
            Last year, we participated in a Family Volunteer Day. I left with several fun ideas that I could even do with the kids as far as projects go. However, they still cost money. (I would love to make tons of fleece blankets for retirement home residents or a women and children's shelter, but fleece is pricey!) So, it finally dawned on me that, “Hey! I should do something I enjoy and already have the materials for!” Which, in our case, is making Christmas cards! And thus was born (what I hope to be) a long time tradition for us.
            I learned a LOT from our experience making cards the first year.

*Start early! I think I started a little after Thanksgiving last year. This would probably be a reasonable time for most to start, but turned out to not be for me for a couple of reasons listed below.

*I had a pretty lofty goal of making 100...By myself! Sure, my 5 year old did help decorate them some, but 100 is a lot for one person.

*I perhaps got too elaborate with some. In other words, while they looked really neat, some were almost too time consuming to be worth the effort. With that high of a goal on top of that, I ended up getting burnt out for awhile and it was no longer fun.

            Needless to say, I am taking all of that into account and learning from it! So, this year I am...

*Starting much earlier! While I am posting this at the end of November, I've actually been working on cards already since the beginning of the month. (I'm writing this on 11/5.)

*While I would definitely like to reach 100 again, I'm not as worried about a specific number this year. But, I may not be worried about a number as much also because...

*I've enlisted more help! One of my Facebook friends who is still in the local moms group we used to go to saw my post asking if anyone would like to help us make cards. She is using it as an opportunity for her December service project with the group! Yay! Couldn't be more excited. :) I'm also hoping some gals who volunteered to help in our nature school group follow through too. I would love to have tons of cards to hand out!

*So far, I am not getting as elaborate with the designs on the front as I did last year. Perhaps if I have time near the end I will make some “fancier” ones.


            Next time, I will be sharing tips on what supplies to use, where to find cheap materials, and design ideas!

https://www.ethannevelyn.com/fabfridaypost-112-01-12-17/
This Is How We Roll Thursday Party

Aucee Tracker Trail Camera Giveaway

AUCEE Tracker Trail Camera Giveaway

Welcome to the AUCEE Tracker Trail Camera Giveaway!

2 winners
This giveaway is part of our Holiday Gift Guide – Stop by to see all the giveaways and great products.
This contest is hosted by the Social Media Gurus Network!
Host that put together this giveaway is Michigan Saving and More
Below is a list of all the bloggers involved in the gift guide giveaways.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now let’s get to the sponsor!

Aucee


This giveaway is part of our Holiday Gift Guide – Stop by to see all the giveaways and great products.
This contest is hosted by the Social Media Gurus Network!
Host that put together this giveaway is Michigan Saving and More
Below is a list of all the bloggers involved in the gift guide giveaways.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

>AUCEE Tracker Trail Camera

Tracker Trail Camera

$99.99 RV each

Available on Amazon.

See review HERE.

~~~~~~

THE GIVEAWAY

This giveaway is in no way endorsed, affiliated, or associated with Facebook, Twitter or any other Social Media Networking Site.You are not eligible if you have won a prize from the sponsor in the last 12 month. This Giveaway is valid in the United States Only and Entrants must be 18+ years of age to enter. This giveaway event will end at 11:59 PM (EST) 12/25/17. The winners will have 48 hours to email their information back to las93063 at gmail dot com or a new winner will be drawn, you may want to put this email address as safe as it could go to spam. The sponsors are each responsible for shipping of the above prizes. No blog associated with this contests are responsible for prize fulfillment. If you would like to be a sponsor in a giveaway like this please email Laura Smith at las930 (at)gmail (dot) com. If you take an entry you must stay following for the entire contest or you will be disqualified.

Also we all “love it if you like us” on Facebook! If you like our blogs on social media it helps us bring you only the best giveaways and more of them!

Enter below and Good Luck!

Saturday, November 25, 2017

The Grecian Soap Company Giveaway

  Welcome to The Grecian Soap Giveaway @Greciansoap @SMGurusNetwork
1 winner
This giveaway is part of our 2017 Holiday Gift Guide
Stop by to see all the giveaways and great gift ideas.
This contest is hosted by the Social Media Gurus Network!

Presenting this giveaway to you is All About My Deals

Below is a list of all the bloggers involved in the gift guide.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now let’s get to the sponsor!

The Grecian Soap Company

Gift package

$39.95 RV

~~~~~~

THE GIVEAWAY

This giveaway is in no way endorsed, affiliated, or associated with Facebook, Twitter or any other Social Media Networking Site.You are not eligible if you have won a prize from the sponsor in the last 12 month. This Giveaway is valid in the United States Only and Entrants must be 18+ years of age to enter. This giveaway event will end at 11:59 PM (EST) 12/10/17. The winners will have 48 hours to email their information back to allaboutmydeals at gmail dot com or a new winner will be drawn, you may want to put this email address as safe as it could go to spam. The sponsors are each responsible for shipping of the above prizes. No blog associated with this contests are responsible for prize fulfillment. If you would like to be a sponsor of a giveaway like this please email Amy Rodenberg at allaboutmydeals (at)gmail (dot) com. If you take an entry you must stay following for the entire contest or you will be disqualified.

Also we all “love it if you like us” on Facebook! If you like our blogs on social media it helps us bring you only the best giveaways and more of them!

Enter below and Good Luck!

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

My Wish List: A Gift Guide for the Eclectic Farm Family


            Hey folks! I have been blogging almost 5 years (WHAT?!) now and have never made a holiday gift guide. To be totally honest, I'm not exactly sure how they work from the blogger end. It seems like there are several ways people do them and the version I am familiar with from my early blogging days is not the same as what goes on now. So, consider this a “wish list”, not a “gift guide”. ;)
            Also, to be totally honest, John and I usually aren't into the whole gift exchange thing. But, I have to admit that I have come across some cool things both in stores and while perusing my mom's Lakeside Collection catalog recently. So, at the very least, I hope you find this list entertaining or helpful in some way for your holiday season!

I am not affiliated with or receiving any form of compensation from the following companies or brands...I just thought they had some cool stuff! All rights for pictures belong to whatever website they came from.


For the Kids!

Wal-mart finds...

I thought this looked like something Ripley might like. And bonus, it's educational!(There was one with the alphabet too. Of course I couldn't find a picture of it online.)

Uuummmm so I kind of meant to get this for Myka's birthday and forgot to write it down, therefore I forgot about it. :/ Oops! She saw it the other day, so I definitely won't forget now!


Rural King finds...

Myka is obsessed with horses. (What 5 year old girl isn't?) For some reason, she has gotten it in her head that we are going to own horses some day...Which is totally not happening. Maybe a toy pony will do?

New Ray/Country Life has tons of different farm and outdoor playsets. I really like them, but I'm still trying to decide whether the kids would too. Sometimes they like minis, sometimes they don't!

Imagination Adventure Series also has some great sets for the little outdoors lover in your life. Fishing, camping, ATVs...What's not to love?!


Lakeside Collection finds...

Myka is interested by geography, so I really think she would like this. Fun and educational!...For both of us! ;)

Both of the kids are obsessed with this giant checker board at the library, so this is a no-brainer. Myka and I have even been playing the regular sized checkers at home.

These books are as much for me as they are for Myka. I love reusing things for crafts and I'm sure I can work some of these into school stuff too!

All of these look fun. (There are 4 different ones in the catalog.) My kids are interested in all of these things and I like that they're compact!

Dinosaurs never get old in our house, so this is a no-brainer. Ripley likes them now too and Myka has been into them since she was 2!

A train AND bubbles? Say no more! Shut up and take my money! Ha ha

Again with the dinosaurs. Myka has been really into dinosaur books lately. And being Smithsonian, you know they're good.

I've been wanting to get the kids one of these for awhile. These ones actually look decent-sized too.

I've seen these things over the past few years, but never really looked into how they worked until I helped promote a giveaway for one recently. They look fun and unique!

A dinosaur that makes noise AND has a remote control?! 100% sure my kids would fight over this.


For Mom AND Dad!


Not only would this come in handy while camping, it would actually be even more useful for nights around the fire at home!

We LOVE watching shows on National Parks, so this book looks amazing.

Not gonna lie: We've both been wanting one of these for awhile. Then we would have a better excuse to make a chicken tractor!

We've both been wanting one of these since we moved into our current place. One day, one day...


For Mom!

I actually got some of those fleece-lined leggings at Walmart recently. They're just as amazing as I thought they would be!

Just because we live on a farm doesn't mean I'm into the whole kitchy farm décor or even the ever-so-popular farmHOUSE décor. But...I thought this set was cute. :)

I debated whether to put this on here since I will only have 2 months left by the time I would get it. I don't really care to where as long as they have PLUS SIZES and stuff that's not hideous! It is so hard to find plus size clothes that aren't fugly as hell.

You know what else I would love? Some more photo books! My mom actually made these for me one year, but I think a present to myself this year might be some more! At the very least, I would like to get a bunch of pictures printed and start an album.


For Dad!

He wasn't really specific, but don't most guys not mind getting tools? I don't think mine necessarily just meant like your pliers and whatnot. I think he meant gardening implements too.

John keeps bringing up hoop houses every now and then, so this is the first thing I thought of when I tried to think, “If money were no object, what would John want?” lol

Have you ever seen the prices on these things? They're insane! I know they're good, but jeese...The only reason I have some are because they were on super sale at Rural King last year.

Because you can never have too much storage!


Just for fun, what is on YOUR wish list this year? (It can be something that is purchasable or not!)

https://www.ethannevelyn.com/fabfridaypost-111-24-11-17/
This Is How We Roll Thursday Party

Monday, November 20, 2017

Homesteading Update: I'm Dreaming of a...Christmas Tree Farm?


            Hey folks! You know how in my last homesteading post I mentioned wanting to focus on berries and fruits? Well, I've kind of come up with some more money making ideas that will help us out in different seasons. You know. Because I like biting off more than I can chew...Or have money for. :)
            First of all, I have GOT to have a pumpkin patch next year. It doesn't have to be huge, but I want to have our own pumpkins again for fall next year, at the very least. We neglected the pumpkin seeds we planted this year, so no pumpkins AT ALL this fall. :( It's made me very sad. We had volunteers last year and ended up with about 20 pumpkins. It was awesome.

I think this looks like a perfect spot for a pumpkin patch, don't you?

            Aside from that, it seems like we're always short on cash in the fall. Every. Freaking. Year. It always seems to (inconveniently) happen right before Myka's birthday. So, a little extra cash for that time of year would be nice. Plus, it would just be fun having people visiting and meeting new people, to be totally honest.
            For my second plan, I got the idea for it driving past the place we bought our Christmas tree from last year. You guessed it: Having a Christmas tree farm! Nothing too huge, especially since we don't know how well it will go over. There aren't any other people selling live Christmas trees around here from their farms, that we know of, but they do sell them in town across from the grocery store. (Can't remember which group does it.)
            Obviously, I am aware it will take several years to get this project going, but I think it sounds like fun. It will be nice to have some more evergreen trees around here too! Plus, we won't have to buy one any more. Ha ha The extra money around Christmas will be nice too, of course.

Doesn't look like much, but it's a start!

            Myka actually had a good idea for something recently too. We started clearing an area out to turn into mulch for the garden. (Seriously. I promise we're not the “clear cut all the forest type of people, but we have a LOT of woods!) I've also been talking about how I would like a nice, big open field somewhere someday. (Though it probably wouldn't stay clear. I'd probably end up planting an orchard. Haha) Myka remembered, surprisingly, all these things that I had kind of mentioned offhand and suggested we make a field in the area we were clearing. Duh! It's right next to the other area we plan on planting a bunch of fruit trees. (Sooner rather than later, I hope.) So that is going to be our new project this “off season” too.


What do you think of my crazy ideas? Would you do any of them if you had the room?

http://simplelifemom.com/2017/11/28/homestead-blog-hop-163/
https://www.ethannevelyn.com/fabfridaypost-111-24-11-17/


This Is How We Roll Thursday Party