Christmas Events at Chick-Fil-A

Celebrate Christmas with Chick-Fil-A. Make crafts, and happy memories, and even score a free meal!

Monday, Dec 15th ~ Decorate a stocking (all day)
Tuesday, Dec 16th ~ Christmas stories with Santa Cow (5-8pm)
Wednesday, Dec 17th ~ Free hot cocoa & candy canes (all day)
Thursday, Dec 18th ~ Make reindeer food (5-8pm)
Friday, Dec 19th ~ Dress up like Santa, Get a free meal* (all day event)
Saturday, Dec 20th ~ Breakfast with Santa Cow (8-9am or 9-10am)**
Monday, Dec 22nd ~ Decorate Christmas cookies (all day)
Tuesday, Dec 23rd ~ Design Christmas placemats (all day)

* Head to toe dressing like Santa gets a meal, dressing in something with Santa on it, or Santa-like gets you a free sandwich.

** RSVP required by Dec 18th. $5 for breakfast.

Delightfully Decadent Eco-Decor: Fall & Winter Series; Spiced Candles

The fourth in our inexpensive recycled autumn & winter crafts series for 2008 is the spiced candle.

Ages 10+
(5+ can help parents or older children with some steps)

Supplies:

• Clove & cinnamon essential oil,
• Vanilla-scented candle wax bits in clear. (small bag)
• Fallen autumn leaves
• Glass baking dish
• Corn cob holders
• Stirring stick or spoon
• Large pan (that the baking dish will fit into)
• Scissors
• Whatever else strikes your fancy from your outdoor collection bag or kitchen (nuts, seeds, twigs, spices)
• Pillar candles (unscented, vanilla, pumpkin, gingerbread, or apple work best, but pine may also be used)

Instructions:

1. Place vanilla wax into glass dish and add one drop each of the essential oils.
2. Put 2 cups water into the large pan.
3. Place glass dish into large pan and heat on medium-high until wax is melted.
4. Stir wax to incorporate the essential oils well.
5. Put corn cob holders into the tops of the pillar candles.
6. Remove label from bottom of candle.
   
7. Roll candles in melted wax for one full turn, carefully avoiding touching the bottom of the pan.
8. Artfully arrange decorative herbs, spices, and findings on the hot wax.
9. Roll the candle again in the scented wax and let sit on waxed paper to cool.
10. Cut out the waxed paper the candle was sitting on to fit the candle.
11. (optional) Create your own custom under-candle label.
12. Remove corn-spear from top of candle, and place in the bottom of the candle.
13. Dip top of candle in melted wax.
14. Let candle cool on it's side for 2 minutes.
    
15. Roll candle in melted wax once more.
16. Remove corn-spear from bottom of candle.
17. Affix label to the bottom of the candle.
18. Set upright to cool for 1 hour
19. (optional) wrap in tissue paper or clear gift-basket wrap and tie with a bow for gift-giving.
    

Photos copyright All Occasions Gits.

Delightfully Decadent Eco-Decor: Fall & Winter Series; Leaf Rubbings & Prints

The third in our inexpensive recycled autumn & winter crafts series for 2008 is leaf rubbings & prints.

Ages 2+

For this you will need paper, leaves, tempura paint, and a box of crayons.

Make your own greeting cards, place mats, pretty art presents, photo frame matting, and/or gift wrap with freshly fallen leaves and a little creativity.

This one is quick easy fun that can last a good long time. Simply place your leaf on the table, put the paper on top, then rub the side of a crayon across the leaf to make a rubbing.

For a print, brush a small amount of paint onto the bottom (veigny part) of the leaf, then place the leaf where you want the design printed. Gently roll a rolling pin (or soda bottle, or can of food) over the top to make the print. You may use a paper towel or piece of scrap paper to prevent paint mess getting on the rolling device.

Photo copyright Just Another Family

Delightfully Decadent Eco-Decor: Fall & Winter Series; Autumn Potpourri

The first in our inexpensive recycled autumn & winter crafts series for 2008 is Autumn Potpourri.

Ages 3+

Supplies:

• Clove essential oil
• Acorns
• Small pinecones
• Small tree leaves (Maples are pretty)
  
• Spices: cinnamon sticks, whole allspice, star anise, whole cloves and whole bay leaves

Directions:

1. Place all the ingredients except bay & tree leaves in a large colander.
2. Add some drops of essential oil to the mix & toss gently.
3. Drop in more essential oil until the scent is strong enough for you.
4. Add all leaves & lightly mix.

Display in a bowl. Add a single glass-contained large candle or three glass-contained votive candles for accent and gentle heating of the potpourri for better scent dispersal.

* Since we are running so far behind on these crafts this year, some posts will be served with photos of the creations of others. This photo property of Good Hope Botanicals.

Delightfully Decadent Eco-Decor: Fall & Winter Series

*Whoops!*

I am determined to get some of this done before the holiday season really gears up into full swing.

The family has already started the Thanksgiving tree and countdown turkey this year, so other crafty goodness must assuredly follow. *smile* (Instrictions for 2 different varieties of bonsai Thanksgiving trees, large Thanksgiving wall tree tutorial, crafting a Thanksgiving countdown turkey)

First things first.

To do all of the crafts in fall portion of this series correctly, we must start with a nature walk to gather free materials. This can be a lot of fun, so pick a nice day and get out of the house for a while.

How can you make it more than just a simple no-cash craft-supply shopping spree?

This can be a special family time just as valuable as doing the crafts themselves, so bring everyone, and make the most of it.

* Make a list for each family member, give them two reusable fabric grocery sacks or canvas totes and a plastic grocery bag, and call it a scavenger hunt.

What's the plastic bag for, you may ask? Picking up any litter you might find on your hike! Nothing makes a nature walk even better like leaving it nicer than it was before you found it, and protecting the environment and local wildlife in the process.

* Turn it into an educational event for fall plant and tree identification, a wild food hunt and gathering party, or seed some untended areas with winter food for local animals.
Here's your list of things to get while out**;

Tall grasses with the seed heads still attached. (20)
Twigs with branches off of them, or dead tomato plants with the leaves stripped off. (5)
Dried Leaves (2 plastic bags full)
Small log or large branch section (2)
Pinecones (15)
Small pinecones (20)
Birch bark strips (about 25)
Small nuts, shells, woody misc (1 plastic bag)
Feathers (any you find on the ground)

Other Supplies Needed (or that might prove useful);

Waxed paper
Busted crayons
Scissors
Apples
Cheese grater
Oranges
Markers
Yarn
Hand quilting thread
Whole cranberries
Clove oil
Iron
Baling wire (or metal coat hangers and pliers)
Ribbon
Empty, clean food cans (any sizes)
un-popped popcorn (unflavored)
Glue stick
Air popcorn popper (or other popping method)
Sharp darning needles

From the spice cabinet: vanilla extract, cinnamon sticks, whole allspice, star anise, whole cloves, whole bay leaves, pumpkin pie spice

* State and national conservation areas may have a law regarding gathering of plant matter. Please check your state's regulations and stay legal!

** List is for one-2 of each project. For more projects, get more goodies.

*Whoops* : I accidentally forgot to change the date of posting to reflect the actual date I posted this instead of the date I started writing it. Sorry about that. *blush* All better now!

The Pink Swap & More

Misty over at Rainy Day In May is having a huge shebang to encourage Breast Cancer Awareness in the month of October.

She's going pink all month long!

From pink giveaways, to 31 days of awareness-increasing posts and stories about breast cancer from her readers, and donating all of her blog revenue for the month to the National Breast Cancer Research Foundation, she's really reaching out to the blogosphere to make things happen!

She is also hosting a Pink Swap!

For the swap, the participant's job is to find a minimum one pink item to send to their swap partner, which somehow supports or raises awareness for breast cancer, that also brings beauty and joy into their life. Hand-crafted items are welcome.

You have until October 1st to email Misty, the lovely lady organizing it to get involved, and all of the details are on her blog.


*Yes, this is likely all the most pink you'll ever get from me. *chuckle* See what I'm willing to go through for my friends?

Delightfuly Decadent Eco-Decor On the Cheap

Fall is rushing upon us, and if you're anything like me, you don't have a lot of cash lying around to outlay on cutesy decorations, but you still want to add a festive air to the house.

Here's how we decorate for fall, a little at a time, as the season rolls on.

Notice I said, a little at a time? That's your first clue.

With everyone's busy schedules, nobody really has the time anymore to sit down and craft their little hearts out for an entire day at a time, and with apartments constantly getting smaller and smaller, a lot of us simply photograph their decorations from year to year, and dispose of the decor after the holiday to cut down on clutter.

Most of my family's decorations are made from recyclable materials so that really helps to cut down on things going into the landfill, as we can take it to our local recycling center for re-use after we're finished with it, or simply toss it in with the compostables.

The only things that aren't recyclable in some way are the things that we are keeping from year to year, or that we can give as gifts later. For example, our Halloween box is a mere 4"x2" in size, and goes into our overall decor box for all the yearly holidays, which is small enough to be easily stuffed into the top of our closet.

We have no autumn decorations this year, so we're gong to be building things as the season progresses and posting them here for you to enjoy and create for your own home. Every craft will contain at least one re-used item, and most of them will be fully recyclable when the season is over.

Stay tuned for detailed instructions for beautiful, fun, and elegant crafts in this ongoing series.