How To Make Felt Valentine’s Day Refrigerator Magnets

When it comes to making Valentine’s Day crafts with older kids, this is a quick and easy project that will cost less than $1.50 to make. I recently made this project with a group of girls that range in age from 8 to 11 years old.

Here is what you will need:

red and pink craft felt
red embroidery floss with blunt tip sewing needle
2″ wide piece (strip) of magnet
scissors
paper patterned heart measuring 3 1/4″ wide by 2 3/4″ tall
disappearing ink marker
all-purpose craft glue

Pattern: You can just free-hand a heart pattern by folding a piece of paper in half and cutting it into a heart shape that measures approximately 3 1/4″ wide by 2 3/4″ tall.

Trace your heart pattern onto a piece of red felt. Using scissors, cut off 1/4″ around the edges of your paper pattern and then trace the smaller heart that you just made onto a piece of pink felt using a disappearing marker.

Using a blunt tip sewing needle and three strands of red embroidery floss, hand stitch the word LOVE onto the pink heart. Once that has been completed, use three strands of red embroidery floss to blanket stitch or simple whip stitch the pink felt heart to the red felt heart. You will want to stitch around all of the edges to attach the pink heart to the red heart.

Cut an 8″ long by 1/4″ wide strip from red felt. Using the photo for reference, make an arrow from the strips and hand sew them to the back side of the red felt heart. Once completed, use all-purpose craft glue to attach a magnet strip onto the back of the red heart. Let dry for 1 hour and then your new refrigerator magnet is ready to use!

This craft project idea is copyright 2010 by Work At Home Business Options, All Rights Reserved. Please do not reprint this project, instructions or photo without our permission.

Frugal Valentine’s Day Card Holder Ideas

When our daughter was little, every year we would sit down and make our own handmade Valentine’s Day greeting card holders. Since this holder was only used for a few days every year, we would always try to make one with items we had around the house… aka…the frugal way of doing things :)

Here are a few ideas that we did over the years.

1. Take 2 foam or paper plates and cut one of those plates in 1/2. Use a hole punch to punch holes around the edges. Using some ribbon or yarn, thread the ribbon through the holes to attach the two plates together. The 1/2 plate should be the one on the front. Then use stickers, left-over gift wrap, contstruction paper, magazines, etc and let the children decorate their new card holder.

2. Take a cereal box and cut it in half. Use construction paper, stickers, gift wrap, magazines, etc and let children decorate their own box.

3. Plastic or paper shoe boxes make great card holders. Give children some crafting and art supplies and let them decorate shoe boxes to hold all of their Valentine’s Day goodies.

4. Empty round cardboard oatmeal containers. These containers are the perfect size to hold those little Valentine greetings the kids exchange at school. Give your child some craft and art supplies and let them decorate their own container.

Making your own Valentine’s Day greeting card container doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. Look around your home and grab up some of your left-over arts and craft supplies and let your children spend the afternoon crafting up some Valentine’s Day Items!

Shelly

How To Find The Best Post Holiday Shopping Deals

From Black Friday and right up until the Christmas Holiday, we scour the newspaper ads and the Internet shopping ads looking for the best pre-holiday shopping deals. Now that the Christmas Holiday is over, its time to grab some post-holiday shopping deals and pack them away for next year.

I like to go out and hit the retail stores the first few days after the holiday and once I am in the store, I immediately head to their seasonal section and snatch up gift wrap, gift bags, to and from tags, ribbons, bows and other gift wrapping essentials. At most retail stores, you can now purchase these items for 70% to 90% off. This is also the best time to snatch up your holiday greeting cards for next year!

If you are like me, I love buying tree ornaments and using them in gift baskets or as package toppers. You will want to hit the trim-the-tree section next and snatch up some Christmas Tree ornaments to pack away for next year. When I am purchasing the ornaments, I look for ones that have no year or date on them…no one likes getting an ornament that is dated 2009 when you are giving it in 2010.

After I am done in the seasonal section of the store, I head to the holiday gift section and look for pre-packaged gift sets. I specifically look for bath and bath gift sets and foodie gifts. You can give them as a gift next year or break them down into smaller individual gifts or stocking stuffers.

Example: When I was out earlier today, I purchased 5 bath and body gift sets and each one was marked down to $3.50 per set (originally priced at $15.00 to $18.00 per set) and contained 5-6 products in each set. You can take the gift sets apart and break them down into smaller frugal gifts.

If you received any gift cards this year from Santa, now is the time to redeem them. Yes…I know the stores are busy with everyone trying to get their post-holiday sale items…but in reality….you can get a lot more with your gift card if you redeem it now because all of the retail stores are having big after the holiday clearance sales.

Now you might be saying to yourself…where am I going to store all of my post-holiday bargains? That is easy….head on over to the house wares department and purchase some plastic under-the-bed storage containers. Last year I found some on clearance for $3.00 each and I have 8 of them laying under my queen-sized bed. These are also handy for any little gifts that you might pick up during the year to use next holiday season.

The best time to go out and snatch up the post-holiday season shopping deals is the first 3-4 days after the holiday is over. Be prepared to stand in long lines, have a hard time finding close parking spaces etc. However, going out early in the morning and taking your patience and good cheer with you…will help you get through the shopping day.

Happy Shopping!

~ Shelly ~

Happy Holidays!

Sophia and I would like to wish all of our blog readers and their family’s a very Happy Holiday and a Merry Christmas!

We really appreciate it that you take time out of your busy schedule to come read our posts over here on the Work At Home Business Options blog. We value YOU (our blog readers) and the comments that you leave for us.

We hope that you enjoy this holiday season with your family and friends.

~ Shelly ~

Giving Back During The Holidays

During the year its always important to give back to others around you…this ‘giving’ can be to friends and family members or to complete strangers who are in need.

When it comes to giving, it is even more important to give back to those in need during the holiday season.

As I sit here this morning having my bagel and coffee, I am reflecting back over the entire year and remembering everything that I have done for those through out the year.

We have donated clothing (adults and kids) to those in need. We have donated a bag of groceries every month for the past 12 months to a single mom with 4 children. I have taught crafting and cooking classes to local troubled teens in our area 6 times this past year.

We have done a lot…including volunteering to mow grass, cleaning and home maintaince for local seniors in our community who can’t afford to hire outside help.

As I sit here sipping on my coffee this morning, I am very proud of the ‘good deeds’ my husband and I have done all year long to help others who are less fortunate than ourselves. This brings a smile to my face and a warm feeling in my heart.

Have you remembered to ‘pay it forward’ this year? Have you done something special for someone in need this holiday season? If not, the year isn’t over yet and there is still time for you to do something special for someone else.

~ Shelly ~

10 Ways You Can Spend Time With Your Family This Holiday Season

When it comes to spending quality time with your family during the holiday season, there are many things that you can do that are free or low cost. The following ideas are both in-home and out-of-the home ideas.

1. Singing Christmas Carols – You can go out singing Christmas Carols in your community with a community based or church based group.

2. Tree Lighting Service – You will find that most communities have a free tree lighting service that you and your family can attend.

3. Holiday Decorating – Involve your entire family in the holiday decorating task. If you can afford it, order take-out food and decorate your home and yard for the holidays.

4. Attend a holiday play or concert – Its the season to be jolly and almost all communities, churches or schools will put on some type of play or concert event. Gather up the family and attend a few events which are free or low-cost activities that you all can enjoy.

5. Holiday Baking – Here at my home, several females in our family get together the second Saturday in December every year and we do all of our holiday baking together. We will make pies, tortes, cookies, brownies and several cakes. We all bring a covered dish so that we can have lunch and dinner together and we make it an all day event. We send the men in the family out to hunt down our Christmas trees and to do ‘their’ own gift shopping. This is totally a ‘girls’ only day.

6. Arts and Crafts – Schedule one to two days and sit down with your children to make some holiday theme’d arts and crafts. Children love to craft!

7. Volunteer – If you have the time, I recommend gathering up the family and doing some volunteer work. You can volunteer your time at your local Food Pantry, Women’s and Children Shelter, Nursing Home, Homeless Shelter, Humane Society, etc. All of these types of charities need volunteers…especially around the holidays.

8. Christmas Lights Sight Seeing – Pack a few snacks and pile the family into the car. Drive around your community and check out all of the festive holiday lights and displays. We make this an annual event at our home and look forward to it every year.

9. Adopt A Needy Family – If you are financially stable, I recommend adopting a needy family in your community. You can locate those in need through local churches. You can make a few baked goods and purchase a few inexpensive gifts and drop them off to the family in need. This is the season to give back to others who are less fortunate.

10. Adopt A Military Soldier – There are many programs where you can adopt an overseas military member or his/her stateside family. You can send a care package to a military member overseas or offer help to his/her family here stateside. Whatever you do…make sure you show your appreciation to our military members.

~ Shelly Hill ~ Copyright 2009, All Rights Reserved

Oatmeal Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies Recipe

The holiday season is swiftly approaching which means many people are now beginning their holiday baking. I know for myself, I will be baking 15+ different types of cookies for my family and friends.

The following recipe is one of my family’s favorite cookie recipes.

Oatmeal Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies

1 cup butter
1 3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups peanut butter chips
1 1/2 cup quick oats (oatmeal)
3/4 cup jelly

Cream butter and brown sugar in a bowl. Add eggs and vanilla, beat until light and creamy. In another bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to creamed mixture. Reserve 1/2 cup peanut butter chips. Stir in oats and 1 1/2 cups peanut butter chips. Shape dough into 1″ balls. Place balls on ungreased cookie sheet. Press center of each with your thumb to make a deep depression in the cookie. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes until done. Remove from cookie sheet and cool. Fill center of each cookie with 1/4 teaspoon of jelly. Top with a few peanut butter chips.

Shelly

Kids Craft Project – Beaded Felt Ornaments

This is a really easy craft project that you can do with older children and it only requires a few supplies. Since there is a little hand sewing involved, I recommend ages 7 and up with adult supervision.

I find that this is a great group project for scouts, youth groups, after-school programs etc. because they are quick, easy and inexpensive to make.

These ornaments would look cute hung off a holiday tree, garland or your holiday packages.

Supplies Needed:

Green Felt Sheets
Red 2 MM or 4 MM Round Beads
Dark Green Sewing Thread and Sewing Needle
Scissors
Red Satin Ribbon 1/4″ Wide
All-Purpose Craft Glue

Pattern: You need a 3″ diameter circle (I used the bottom of a drinking glass). Use a bottle cap to to make a 1″ diameter circle inside your large circle so that you have a wreath shape.

Trace your pattern onto green colored felt. You will need two wreath shapes out of felt for each ornament that you make. Using some dark green sewing thread, hand sew on red beads to the front side of one wreath shape.

Place two felt wreath shapes together and whip stitch the center circle closed. Once finished, whip stitch the outer edges closed. Cut a piece of red satin ribbon that measures 1/4″ wide by 5 1/2″ long and tie it into a bow. Glue this bow to the top of your ornament.

Using doubled green thread, make a hanging loop and attach it to the top of your ornament. Let it dry for 20 minutes and then its ready to be hung onto your holiday tree.

Project copyright 2009, Work At Home Business Options, All Rights Reserved.

Holiday Craft Project – Clay Pot Toy Soldier

If you enjoy making homemade holiday craft items, I think you will appreciate this inexpensive clay pot toy soldier project.

Ages: 8 and up with adult supervision.

Materials Needed:

all-purpose craft glue or hot glue gun
1 wooden candle cup
1 1/2″ diameter wooden ball (flat ends)
3″ clay pot
two 2″ clay pots
acrylic paints: peach, red, pink, black, yellow and brown
paint brushes
clear acrylic sealer in a spray can
several sheets of newspaper (because you will be painting)

Note: If you have paint markers, you can use those to add facial details and clothing accents if desired.

Painting: Paint the wooden candle cup and both 2″ clay pots solid black. Paint the large clay pot red and the wooden ball for the head peach. Once they are dry, go back and add the details as shown in the photo to make the face, hair and clothing accents. Once your pieces are dry, spray with a clear acrylic sealer and let dry for 1 to 2 hours.

Assembly: The easiest way I found to assemble the toy soldier is by using a hot glue gun. You can use craft glue but it takes forever to dry if you have the patience for it. Turn your clay pot upside down and hot glue the head on. Once it has dried, turn the candle cup upside down and glue it on top of the head. Turn your small clay pots upside down and glue the large clay pot on top (gluing the body to the legs).

You will want to let this project dry completely before moving it around.

This craft project article is exclusive to Work At Home Business Options and can not be reproduced without our permission.

Kids Craft Project – 2 Easy Reindeer Holiday Tree Ornaments

When it comes to keeping the children busy during those cold winter days, as parents…we often look for inexpensive craft projects. About 15 years ago, my daughter and I spent an afternoon making some cute reindeer holiday ornaments.

You can make several of these in just a few hours and use them on holiday packages or your christmas tree.

Clothes Pin Reindeer Ornament

scissors
all-purpose craft glue
paint brush and brown acrylic paint or brown marker
2 wooden craft-type clothes pins
2 tiny wiggle eyes
4″ piece of red embroidery floss
scrap of green felt
2 small red pom-poms

Using brown paint or a brown marker, paint on the reindeer hooves and set aside. Using a piece of green felt, cut out a small holly shape and glue 1 small pom-pom on the center of the left, set aside to dry. Take the red piece of floss and tie a knot in it to form a loop. Using the picture as a guide, glue the 2 clothes pins together, sandwiching the red floss loop in the center. Glue on the wiggle eyes, pom-pom nose and the green holly onto the head. Set ornament aside to completely dry.

Wine Cork Reindeer Ornament

scissors
all-purpose craft glue
paint brush and brown acrylic paint
1 gold chenille stem
2 tiny wiggle eyes
1 small red pom-pom
4″ piece of craft wire

Paint the wine cork with brown paint and set aside to dry. Cut off a 4″ piece of wire and twist it close to form a hanging loop. Cut your gold chenille stem in half and shape it into antlers as shown in the photograph. Using the end of your scissors, make a small cavity in the top of your wine cork. Squirt a nice side glob of glue down into the hole and insert your wire hanger and antlers. Glue 2 tiny wiggle eyes on the front of the face and a red pom-pom for the reindeer’s nose.

This article is copyright 2009 by Shelly Hill and can not be reproduced without my permission.

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