Budgeting, Homemade and even Re-Gifting….The New Chic

With our wallets getting a bit thinner, and our budgets getting tighter, this holiday season, its trendy to look at gift giving with our budgets in mind; it is now “chic” to be frugal and “re-gift,!”

Unleash your creativity at home by making wonderful crafts or baked goods, turning them into adorable goodies worth gifting. From handcrafted hair bows, to handmade jewelry, soaps, handmade candles, the possibilities are endless.

Chances are you may not even have to purchase these items from the store. About eighty percent of these items may be “hiding in plain site” in your home.

Take a look around. Didn’t you notice that satin ribbon “fraying” from your beautiful summer dress that is so “ten seasons ago!” Rip it off and turn it into a bow! Adorn a piece of handmade soap with it, or attach a pendant and make a necklace out of it.

Perhaps you have too many mugs in your kitchen and too few people to drink from them! Grab one and give it a make-over. You can decoupage it, paint it, or even cover it in fabric! This can make a great teacher gift to be used as a pencil holder!
Billion of dollars are wasted every year purchasing, wrapping papers, gift cards, plastic ribbons, tapes etc., and these items are then generally turned into landfill, becoming environmental waste.

Instead of spending money fancy wraps, search your house for items that can be used as gift wrap. Use recyclable shopping bags, then the wrap becomes a second gift! You can find some great frugal and green gift wrap ideas, go to www.bowdabrablog.com

Another excuse for your to get together with friends, have a “re-gifting” party! Tell all of your friends to bring one gift they have had in their closet, perhaps that worst gift, might be perfect for your to give to your mother-in-law!

Send Summer-time Mail with Your Own Handmade Envelope and Card | Bowdabra Blog

Send Summer-time Mail with Your Own Handmade Envelope and Card | Bowdabra Blog

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Bendable One Size Fits All Reversible Ribbon Bracelet | Bowdabra Blog

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Bowdabra Products Review by Cozy Home Scenes | Bowdabra Blog

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Summer Flower Brooch | Bowdabra Blog

Mother’s Day Gifts for Gardening Moms

Does Mom enjoy gardening? Brighten her special day with homemade gardening gifts from her children.
There is an immeasurable value in doing arts and crafts with your children. I hope parents and teachers will use the free Mother’s Day garden gift making instructions on the Crafters 4 Kids website to help children create amazing gardening gifts for Mom this Mother’s Day.

Here are just a few ideas:

Garden Kneeler: Gardening is so hard on the knees! Garden kneelers are the perfect cushion for your knees because of all the kneeling down to pull weeds and tend to the plants. Help children create this easy garden kneeler with Sunday’s newspaper and duct tape!

Painted Watering Can: Create a beautiful keepsake that will make Mom smile every time she waters her plants. Paint a metal watering can with acrylic paints. Use lines, swirls, and circles to create an easy pattern.

Wedding Ideas on a Budget

Weddings are a time to celebrate the love and devotion of two people. Weddings can be a mementos occasion without resulting in huge debt and regret. To create a wedding on a budget think of sentimental ways to celebrate the event and include your guests in the celebration.

Money Saving Tips:

DIY Wedding Projects – Make your own table centerpieces, guest book, invitations, and party favors. Designing your own invitations can be a big help to cut wedding costs. Create your invitations and invite guest to bring a photo of you and them together to place inside of the guest book. Guests can place the photo along with a caption in the guest book and your guest book can double as your first family album. For more information about DIY Wedding project ideas visit Bowdabrablog.com and Bowdabra.com

Spring Break Frugal Activities and Crafts for Kids

Spring Break is just around the corner; a week spent with children home from school looking for ways to have fun and be creative. As a parent you want their time spent at home to be quality family time. Plan fun frugal activities ahead of time so that when those adorable faces are staring at you begging for something to do you have a game plan.

1. Visit Crafters 4 Kids Online (http://c4k555.org)-  We have some creative frugal kids’ crafts that do not require a lot of time or craft materials. For instance, make a pet mouse using a rock, pipe cleaners, googley eyes, and a pom pom nose. Children can even take it a step further and design some fake cheese or even make a tiny shoebox home.

Do It Yourself: Spring Salsa Recipe

Searching for the perfect springtime recipe: Citrus Salsa!  The salsa has all my favorite springtime colors and tastes great.

I placed half of the salsa that I made into a canning jar and will be giving it as a hostess gift. The other half I will be putting out with chips for an appetizer before Easter dinner.

Perfect Spring Gift That Kids Can Make

It is just a matter of months before gardens will be in full bloom. Many of us have started seedlings indoors but what to do with all those extra seeds? Seed packets often come with way more seeds than the average gardener really needs. Why not give those extra seeds as gifts?

Skull & Bones Trendy Hair Bow

Crafters 4 Kids has some cute felt skull teen crafts!  Those creative crafters over at Crafters 4 Kids made a ribbon belt with felt skull and a felt skull key chain.  We were so inspired by their teen felt skull crafts we designed a felt skull for the centerpiece of one of our hair bows.

 

Inspired to create your own Skull & Bones hair bow? Head to Sandy Sandler's blog for the step-by-step instructions. Here's the link: Skull & Bones Trendy Hair Bow

Let's get crafty!

How to Make a Ribbon Belt with Matching Hair Bow

We at Bowdabra love Crafters 4 Kids!  Crafters 4 Kids is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing arts and crafts to children and teens.  For National Craft Month, Crafters 4 Kids provided a free tutorial for making a ribbon belt.  To download the free step-by-step picture tutorial click here.  We thought the project was so cool so we decided to make our own ribbon belt and add a matching hair bow!

How to Recycle a Tropicana Carton for an Easter Basket

I love to reuse and recycle and find new and exciting ways to use something that would have been otherwise trash.  I transformed a Tropicana Carton into an Easter Basket as shown in the photo below. Cute isn't it? Wants to find out how you can do it yourself? For the easy-to-follow step by step instructions, simply click on the following link: "How to Recycle a Tropicana Carton for an Easter Basket "

Woven Ribbon Notebook Hair Bow Holder

We love the Ribbon Notebook at Crafters 4 Kids!  Adding woven ribbon to a notebook, textbook, or binder is a really fun way to jazz up otherwise boring school stuff!  We here at Bowdabra decided to follow Crafters 4 Kids step-by-step picture tutorial to make our very own notebook.  However, we decided to take it one step further and add hair bows to the woven ribbon.  This craft will make the perfect Easter gift: a notebook, to use as a journal, that also holds your hair bows, genius!

How to Make a Braided Ribbon Headband

I wanted to design a headband for my daughter.  My daughter is young and very particular on what she puts in her hair, her main concern is comfort.  So I knew that the headband had to be comfortable especially behind her ears.  I spent a lot of time designing it so that the ends of the headband with tucked into each other and there was no sharp edges.

How to Line Snap Clips with Ribbon for Mini Bowdabra Hair Bows

Coordinate outfits with matching hair bows. Use the Mini Bowdabra Hair Bow Tool & Ruler to make easy hair bows to match all of your daughter’s clothes. The Hair Bow Tool & Ruler comes with interactive software to make 70 different hair bow styles. The interactive software gives step-by-step instructions with pictures, an easy to follow material list, a ribbon length chart for all standard bows, helpful hints, and frequently asked hair bow making questions.

Chalkboard with Magnets: Perfect for Dorm Rooms or Lockers

Why paint wood when you can finish it with beautiful colorful ribbon! We embellished a chalkboard with ribbon and then added handmade magnets to the top of the chalkboard.  Friends can leave messages or attach notes.  The chalkboard with magnets is perfect for lockers, dorm rooms, or hang on child’s bedroom door and parents and siblings can leave encouraging notes every day.

Make Your Own Envelope and Card

Need a last minute birthday card with envelope?  Want to make your own thank you cards?  Use our attached pattern to make your own envelope with card.  Use cardstock and ribbon to make a card and envelope for any occasion.  This is a perfect craft for both children and adults.

How to Make Pom Poms Using the Bowdabra

Easy to make pom poms using the Bowdabra.  Pom poms can have many uses; attach to hats, decorations, where on shoes, attach to backpacks, even add to key rings.  Try losing your keys with a big pom pom attached?  Impossible!

St. Patrick’s Day Kids Crafts

St. Patrick’s Day is a holiday filled with magical fun for children. We designed several easy crafts that would be great to make in the classroom, for classroom parties, crafts for home-schoolers, or just a fun afternoon of “craft time” with a parent.

• Create a Leprechaun Snack Cup with cardstock and a small plastic cup. Attach cardstock around a small plastic cup and hold it in place with tape. Add a circular bottom to the plastic cup to form the Leprechaun’s Hat. Finish the hat with ribbon or marker. Children can then use the Leprechaun’s hat to hold their snack.  Optional:  Add a little clover on the side of the hat made with a green chenille stem.

How to Make a Diaper Wreath Using the Bowdabra

A baby shower decoration that can also be used once the baby is born- awesome! I designed this decorative diaper wreath so that it can easily be taken apart after the shower and the infant diapers can be used. Diapers are so expensive it seems a shame to waste even one.

St. Patrick’s Day Frame - Kid’s Project

Who says wood has to be painted?  How about covering wooden shapes with aluminum foil! It is easy and fun for kids.  I love all of the wood cut-out shapes that are available.  They are a fairly inexpensive craft item and come in a variety of shapes.  However, as a parent of young children I don’t always want to break-out the paints when we are crafting.  Sometimes it is nice to just have a simple almost mess-free craft.

Use Bowdabra Bow Wire When Making Tulle Flowers

 

Tulle is a neat ribbon to work with it. It is very lightweight, looks great stacked, and bends easily. I like working with tulle especially when it comes to making flowers. I have designed simple to make tulle flowers with a large pin center. The flowers can be placed into Styrofoam circles, blocks, discs, or wreath forms.

Tissue Paper Pom Poms

Have you seen the tissue paper pom poms that Martha Stewart has on her site? I love the look of them! Today, I experimented with my Bowdabra® to see if the tissue paper pom poms were something that I could make quicker and simpler with my Bowdabra®.

More Valentine’s Day Gifts for Pets

There are quite a few craft ideas for toys for pets on the Crafters 4 Kids website. Today, I am going to introduce you to some more cute crafting ideas for your pets. These are not toys like the crafts that were in last week’s post, but they are more adorable ideas for gifts for your pet – or pets! – for Valentine’s day. They are easy enough for you to sit down and craft with your children and they won’t cost much to create, either, so it’s a win-win-win situation for everyone!

Valentine’s Day Recipes for Kids

With every holiday comes millions of recipes, and Valentine’s Day is no different! I’ve gathered some recipes for you and your kids to enjoy this Valentine’s Day…they’re made with the colors of Valentine’s, they’re easy for kids to make and they’re yummy to eat, too!

 Valentine’s Sugar Cookies
*Package of pre-made sugar cookie dough
*frosting in pink, red and white
*red, pink and white sprinkles
*red hots
*any other Valentine’s colored decor for cookies
This is really simple – basically, just bake the cookies and then let them cool. (You could use a cookie cutter to make them heart-shaped if you would like.) Then, you and the children can decorate to your *heart’s* content. Help the children frost the cookies and then let them add the decorations that they desire.

For more delicious Valentine's day recipes, please read the full article Valentine's Day Recipes for Kids.

About the Author

Sandy Sandler is founder of non-profit Crafters 4 Kids and creator of the QVC best-seller, the Bowdabra. Her frugal craft projects and activity ideas are designed to transform the creatively-challenged into creative pros. Sandy’s focus is on creative and easy projects that parents can do with their kids and that kids can even do on their own that are both frugal and green in nature. Crafters 4 Kids focuses on projects that can be done under 5 minutes and under $5. Visit www.C4K555.org. Contact Sandy at jaimevivre@mac.com

Valentine’s Day Gifts For Pets

Valentine’s Day isn’t just for couples! It’s also for children and grandparents and friends…and pets! Anyone who knows me knows that Nouvelle won’t miss out on Valentine’s Day this year! She, like the rest of us, deserves to be shown that she is loved, too!

You can include your pet in the Valentine’s love by creating some of these crafts and giving them as gifts on Valentine’s Day. If you don’t have a pet, surely you have a family member or a friend that you can either make these crafts for or share the ideas with. These crafts are fun to make and they’ll keep pets busy and happy for hours!


If you know anything about dogs, you know that they love pull-and-tug toys! This braided fleece dog toy is safe for your dog and can be made with the colors that signify Valentine’s Day, if you desire. Beware, though! This toy might inspire your dog to come to you every five seconds to play tug-of-war and catch-the-rope! There’s no doubt that he will love it, though!


Cats love to bat and swing at toys like this fishing pole cat toy. Made simply with colorful pipe cleaners, this toy is sure to catch a cat’s attention! Tie it up on a ledge, where they can bat and swing at it or let them play with it on the floor. This toy is sure to bring you a few laughs; watching your cat’s shenanigans as it plays with it’s new fishing pole toy.


Another fleece dog toy! This one is perfect for playing throw and catch and the fleece is soft on the teeth, so you do not have to worry about broken or worn down teeth when they are chewing on it. This, too can be designed with Valentine’s Day colors.

To continue with the list, please read the full article Valentine's Day Gifts For Pets.

About the Author

Sandy Sandler is founder of non-profit Crafters 4 Kids and creator of the QVC best-seller, the Bowdabra. Her frugal craft projects and activity ideas are designed to transform the creatively-challenged into creative pros. Sandy’s focus is on creative and easy projects that parents can do with their kids and that kids can even do on their own that are both frugal and green in nature. Crafters 4 Kids focuses on projects that can be done under 5 minutes and under $5. Visit www.C4K555.org. Contact Sandy at jaimevivre@mac.com

Valentine’s Gifts Your Kids Can Create

It seems like Christmas just happened and now Valentine’s is merely a few weeks away! And, if you know anything about me, you already know that I have some creative and gorgeous crafts that you and your kids can create together. I’ll be posting a few new craft ideas for Valentine’s Day, each week up until Valentine’s Day, so stay tuned for new ideas!

Today, I have some adorable little Valentine’s Day gift ideas that are a cinch to make – and they are very inexpensive, too! You can find instructions on the Crafters 4 Kids website that will guide you and your child (or children) through each step of the craft creating process, with pictures to help visualize what you are supposed to be doing, too.

So, grab your Bowdabra and gather your children…


When you are filling this Valentine’s pillow with the fiberfill, you could also add some sweet-smelling potpourri to give it a unique scent and add some pizazz! Add it to one of your (or your daughter’s) drawers in the bedroom or give it as a gift to a teacher or grandma. You can find the instructions for this puffy Valentine’s pillow here.


A dainty bag of bath salts is a fabulous gift for Valentine’s Day! This is the perfect way to say, “Pamper yourself!” to someone. It’s simple, yet classy – and you can make several at the same time, if you and your child know a few women who could use some pampering. You can find the simple instructions here.

For more Valentine's gift ideas, continue reading  the full article Valentine's Gifts Your Kids Can Create.

About the Author

Sandy Sandler is founder of non-profit Crafters 4 Kids and creator of the QVC best-seller, the Bowdabra. Her frugal craft projects and activity ideas are designed to transform the creatively-challenged into creative pros. Sandy’s focus is on creative and easy projects that parents can do with their kids and that kids can even do on their own that are both frugal and green in nature. Crafters 4 Kids focuses on projects that can be done under 5 minutes and under $5. Visit www.C4K555.org. Contact Sandy at jaimevivre@mac.com

Valentine’s Wedding Craft Decor

If you’re crafty – or your mom is crafty, or your sister, or even your friends – you might want to consider making your own decor for your wedding! From centerpieces to napkin holders, from hair bows to place cards, it’s fun to make your own Valentine’s wedding decor…and easy too! Needless to say, you could reduce the size of that wedding budget by making some (or all) of these items, also.

This gorgeous centerpiece, filled with Hot Tamales is sure to make your wedding tables hot!  The glass bowl is elegant, the ribbon smothered in lips and the tea light candle, combined, is the perfect mixture of items to symbolize romance and love. If you’re looking for unique and eye-catching, this centerpiece could be the one for your Valentine’s wedding!

These dainty, but festive napkin holders, encircling Valentine’s Day color-schemed napkins, are adorned with gems and satiny ribbon. You can wrap the napkin holders around plain white napkins to spruce them up or you can use napkins similar to the ones seen in the picture, sprinkled with paints or embellishments to add to the festive appeal.

For more beautiful wedding craft ideas,  please read full article Valentine's Wedding Craft Decor.

About the Author

Sandy Sandler is founder of non-profit Crafters 4 Kids and creator of the QVC best-seller, the Bowdabra. Her frugal craft projects and activity ideas are designed to transform the creatively-challenged into creative pros. Sandy’s focus is on creative and easy projects that parents can do with their kids and that kids can even do on their own that are both frugal and green in nature. Crafters 4 Kids focuses on projects that can be done under 5 minutes and under $5. Visit www.C4K555.org. Contact Sandy at jaimevivre@mac.com

How To Make A Wreath

Watch the Queen of Crafts Sandy Sandler as she shows us one of her craft ideas using the Bowdabra. Today, Sandy will help us how to make a beautiful wreath decor easily!

About the Author

Sandy Sandler is founder of non-profit Crafters 4 Kids and creator of the QVC best-seller, the Bowdabra. Her frugal craft projects and activity ideas are designed to transform the creatively-challenged into creative pros. Sandy’s focus is on creative and easy projects that parents can do with their kids and that kids can even do on their own that are both frugal and green in nature. Crafters 4 Kids focuses on projects that can be done under 5 minutes and under $5. Visit www.C4K555.org. Contact Sandy at jaimevivre@mac.com

Valentine’s Wedding Favor Craft Ideas

Valentine’s Day is one of the most popular days to propose (or get married) in the U.S.! It’s a day that symbolizes love, of course, so it makes sense that people would want to get engaged or tie the knot on Valentine’s Day. Here are a few neat little statistics on weddings*:

• 2.3 million couples tie the knot each year
• the average number of guests on a wedding invite list is 178
• the average budget for weddings is nearly $20,000
• Despite the fact that Valentine’s Day falls in February, only 7% of all wedding during the year occur in February (That is still 161,000 wedding, though!)

Due to the fact that 30% of all weddings are now paid for by the bride and groom, rather than traditionally paid for by the bride’s parents*, people are now looking for ways to cut the budget and save some money. If you are looking for last minute, economical wedding favor ideas, you’ve come to the right place! You could even recruit your nieces for help with making them…or host a wedding favor making party weeks before the ceremony. The Crafters 4 Kids website is chock full of craft ideas that are not only easy to create, but also economical, too (they all cost less than $5 each to make). Not to mention, every craft on the website is also absolutely adorable and quite versatile, depending on how creative you are.

Wedding Favors

The Valentine Bath Salts is the perfect little favor! You can set it with the place settings to add that final touch. Your friends will love the care that you put into crafting these little packages as well as the fact that they can go home and relax with their new bath salts while they reminisce about the fun that they had at your wedding reception!

To continue with the complete list of wedding favor ideas, please read the full article Valentine's Wedding Favor Craft Ideas!

About the Author

Sandy Sandler is founder of non-profit Crafters 4 Kids and creator of the QVC best-seller, the Bowdabra. Her frugal craft projects and activity ideas are designed to transform the creatively-challenged into creative pros. Sandy’s focus is on creative and easy projects that parents can do with their kids and that kids can even do on their own that are both frugal and green in nature. Crafters 4 Kids focuses on projects that can be done under 5 minutes and under $5. Visit www.C4K555.org. Contact Sandy at jaimevivre@mac.com

Great Use For Holiday Cards

Happy New Year!

Here are some great green ideas for using your Christmas Cards, wedding cards, Holiday Cards, now that the holidays are over.  From my great friend Sarah Forhan, the inventor of our brand new hair bow tool. I hope you like her ideas as much as I do!

Instead of throwing away the Christmas Cards or storing them, why not make them into Christmas Tree Ornaments.  During Christmas Break I am always looking for ways to keep my children occupied.  This craft is perfect to do before the tree is taken down the ornaments are stored away.  Make the ornaments now and then in a week when the tree is down the Christmas Card Ball Ornaments can be neatly put away with the other ornaments.

My children and I have made these ornaments several years in a row and there is a lot of instructions on the web.  However, the easiest to follow instructions for this craft (with step-by-step pictures instructions) is here at InkSpired Creations.

I prefer to make the ornaments really large just because it easier for my children to work with them.  However, the great thing about this pattern is you can make them as large or as small as you want.  We used ribbon in the center, as well as, adding a few charms and beads at the bottom.  The kids also have fun adding little charms along the edges where the cards meet.









 

article and photos contributed by Sarah Forhan, http://sarahforhan.com/

Mommy Rantings Bowdabra Christmas Review and Giveaway! Ends Dec. 31

You must check out this wonderful giveaway that is going on right now ! It is hosted by mommy rantings and ends dec.31st so get those entries in . here is the link
http://imnotnagging.blogspot.com/2010/12/its-bowdabra-christmas-review-and.htmlhttp://imnotnagging.blogspot.com/2010/12/its-bowdabra-christmas-review-and.html

Holiday Traditions: Something Old, Something New

Family traditions are what the holidays are all about. Creating these family traditions with your children during the holiday season is definitely a tradition in itself! Each year, thousands of families celebrate the holidays with old traditions – and, quite often, they try out a new tradition or two, as well. I’m challenging everyone this year to focus on mixing the old traditions with a brand new family tradition!

A look at our “old traditions”? How can we make them “new”?

Decorating the tree as a family…bring out the old decorations, but then add in some new ones to make the tree look different this year! Make some bows with the Bowdabra to decorate the tree with, or turn some old ornaments into new ones with mini-bows made with the mini-Bowdabra.

Bake the traditional Christmas breads, pies and cookies, but add in some other favorites, like cupcakes, for the children to decorate. Wouldn’t Santa just love cupcakes, instead of cookies, for Christmas this year?

Listen to Christmas tunes…but, this year, listen to some of the new tunes by new artists that your children are listening to on the radio.

Watch an oldie-but-goodie holiday movie with your children and then watch a new one!

To continue reading, check out the full article Holiday Traditions: Something Old, Something New.

About the Author

Sandy Sandler is founder of non-profit Crafters 4 Kids and creator of the QVC best-seller, the Bowdabra. Her frugal craft projects and activity ideas are designed to transform the creatively-challenged into creative pros. Sandy’s focus is on creative and easy projects that parents can do with their kids and that kids can even do on their own that are both frugal and green in nature. Crafters 4 Kids focuses on projects that can be done under 5 minutes and under $5. Visit www.C4K555.org. Contact Sandy at jaimevivre@mac.com

Re-Gifting ... the new chic

Fashion designers are creating a buzz on ramps across the globe with their environmentally friendly collections urging us to think recycle and green!

This holiday season, its trendy to apply this line of thought to gift giving as well!

It is now “chic” to be frugal and “re-gift,!”
 

Unleash your creativity at home by making wonderful crafts or baked goods, turning them into adorable goodies worth gifting. From handcrafted hair bows, to handmade jewelry, soaps, handmade candles, the possibilities are endless.

Chances are you may not even have to purchase these items from the store. About eighty percent of these items may be “hiding in plain site” in your home.

Take a look around. Didn’t you notice that satin ribbon “fraying” from your beautiful summer dress that is so “ten seasons ago!” Rip it off and turn it into a bow! Adorn a piece of handmade soap with it, or attach a pendant and make a necklace out of it.

To continue reading, check out the full Re-Gifting ... the New Chic article right now!

About the Author

Sandy Sandler is founder of non-profit Crafters 4 Kids and creator of the QVC best-seller, the Bowdabra. Her frugal craft projects and activity ideas are designed to transform the creatively-challenged into creative pros. Sandy’s focus is on creative and easy projects that parents can do with their kids and that kids can even do on their own that are both frugal and green in nature. Crafters 4 Kids focuses on projects that can be done under 5 minutes and under $5. Visit www.C4K555.org. Contact Sandy at jaimevivre@mac.com

10 Frugal Tips for Gift Wrapping

For the frugal holiday lovers, I have some gift wrapping tips for you! If you’re tired of spending a ton of money and feeling like the gift wrapping process is tedious, you’ll be happy to know that just a tad bit of imagination and a touch of love can create some attractively wrapped gifts. So, gather up the swaths of cloth, paper bags, and crafting supplies and get ready to have some fun with wrapping this holiday season. Have a wrapping party with your friends or let your kids invite some buddies over to join in the festivities.

1. Leftover pieces of fabric can make softly textured gift wrappers. Use the fabric that is lying around your house to add some creative holiday designs with puffy fabric paint for a three-dimensional, rich quality appeal.
2. Jazz up gifts with some paper bags and craft paper. There are a million ways to decorate presents when wrapped this way! Wrap, decorate…how the gifts come out is completely up to you and whoever is wrapping presents with you. Have your children dip their hands in washable paint and decorate the plain paper with handprints – wouldn’t their grandparents love their personalized paper? *Clever hints: You can recycle your brown paper bags and fasten them shut with double sided sticky tape. Blend the extra seams of the paper bag into the decorative pattern.
3. Instead of a box, use an ice cream container. Decorate the box with odds and ends around the house; you can use some ribbon, flowers, and if it’s for the kids, some colorful, fluffy pom poms are cute.
4. When you run out of wrapping paper in the middle of a present, create a mosaic by adorning the seams with ribbons, beads fabrics or colored duct tape.
5. Use the Bowdabra to make economical and unique bows. To be even more frugal, you can repurpose the scraps of ribbons that you find around your house to design a very distinctive bow.
6. 
7. Use the Christmas cards from last year to create personalized gift tags. Decorate them with scraps of ribbon or fabric, candy, buttons, or glitter.
8. For larger presents, place them into a pillow case and tie them off with a gorgeous bow. For an even larger gift, run to one of the many dollar stores and purchase an inexpensive vinyl tablecloth or fabric remnant.
9. Let your children design some art work. When you wrap presents in children’s artwork, the artwork poses as a wonderful present, too. Artwork is great giftwrap for both grandparents and teachers.
10. Shop at the end of the season. Once Christmas is over, wrapping paper is marked down to prices with amazing savings. Be sure to hit the after Christmas sales and store the paper in a cool, dry spot for the next year.
11. Instead of using scotch tape, try using dots of glue or colorful duct tape.

A bit of imagination, ingenuity and some “crafting time” thrown together can save money and create some fabulous looking gifts. Be sure to look around you house for materials that you could use to wrap and decorate with. The sky is the limit when you “think outside of the box”.

About the Author

Sandy Sandler is founder of non-profit Crafters 4 Kids and creator of the QVC best-seller, the Bowdabra. Her frugal craft projects and activity ideas are designed to transform the creatively-challenged into creative pros. Sandy’s focus is on creative and easy projects that parents can do with their kids and that kids can even do on their own that are both frugal and green in nature. Crafters 4 Kids focuses on projects that can be done under 5 minutes and under $5. Visit www.C4K555.org. Contact Sandy at jaimevivre@mac.com

Homemade Gifts Kids Can Make

What better way to teach children the true spirit of the holidays than by helping them to make homemade gifts for their friends and family?  This year families are searching for ways to make holiday traditions without all of the costly expenditures, and I have some of the cutest and most inexpensive ideas to make that happen.

There is an immeasurable value in doing arts and crafts with your children.  I hope that all of you parents and teachers will use the free holiday gift making instructions on the Crafters 4 Kids website to help children create gifts for their family and friends this year.

Here are just a few:
Holiday Pencil Toppers – Children can create pencil toppers with pipe cleaners.  This is a perfect gift for teachers, classmates, and school age siblings.


Holiday Notepad – Personalize a notepad with foam holiday decorations and give it to adult relatives.  It can be used as a phone message pad, a grocery list, or a place to jot notes.  Children can make an additional notepad for school and use it as an autograph book to remember their friends over Christmas break.


Jewelry – Foam is the perfect crafting material for children.  Children can cut foam into strips, add ribbon, and decorate for fun cuffs and bracelets. This craft requires limited supervision and children can really use their imagination with it.  They can make several different styles depending on the gift recipient.


Decorated Wooden Boxes – Use simple wooden boxes and decorate them with little miniatures tailored to the gift recipient.   Add a little gift or gift certificate inside of the box.


Holiday Coasters – This craft uses recycled lids from glass jars and foam and transforms them into something very useful like coasters.  Children will roll strips of foam and place them into the lid in a mosaic like pattern.  No two coasters will look exactly alike!
 

About the Author

Sandy Sandler is founder of non-profit Crafters 4 Kids and creator of the QVC best-seller, the Bowdabra. Her frugal craft projects and activity ideas are designed to transform the creatively-challenged into creative pros. Sandy’s focus is on creative and easy projects that parents can do with their kids and that kids can even do on their own that are both frugal and green in nature. Crafters 4 Kids focuses on projects that can be done under 5 minutes and under $5. Visit www.C4K555.org. Contact Sandy at jaimevivre@mac.com

Who’s Dreaming of a Green Christmas?

What’s on the top of eco-conscious people’s Christmas wish lists? A “greener” Christmas, that’s what! People are searching for eco-friendly, inexpensive holiday decorations and gifts this year. As a matter of fact, Deloitte has announced that one out of five consumers will be purchasing more eco-friendly products during the 2010 holiday season.  Consumers will be seeking out companies that maintain sustainable practices and products – and they’re not shy about the price of these “green” products, as 17% of consumers reported that they are willing to pay a little more to do their part conserve and save the Earth.

The top two things on the list for conserving the environment this year are:

1)      Skipping the plastic bags. A lot of stores offer handy (and eco-friendly) bags with handles for a minimal fee. Many of these bags are made of canvas and you can use them anywhere you shop. Just because you buy the bags at the grocery store doesn’t mean you can’t use them at the Dollar General or any other store that you choose to do your holiday shopping in.

2)      Gift wrapping will be either eliminated or people will use materials including fabrics and vinyl tablecloths that can be reused for the next season or crafting projects. There are also recyclable wrapping papers to choose from, so keep your eyes open and read the labels when you are shopping.

The Christmas Tree Dilemma


People are wondering if cutting down the real Christmas trees is worse for the environment than buying an artificial tree. The answer is: NO! There are organic tree farms that grow their trees without causing any harm to the environment, plus they specifically grow the trees for the Christmas season and plan to plant more each year. Jus the chemicals that are emitted into the atmosphere while making the artificial trees is bad enough, let alone the fact that they are made out of PVC or non-renewable plastics, which will sit in landfills for years to come when they are thrown out.

You can elect to go without the tree this year to show how environmentally friendly you are, but most of us enjoy the sweet smell of fresh pine, so find an organic tree farm in your area and do your part to have a greener Christmas this year.

Green Lighting

What’s Christmas without the lights? LED lights are the environmental choice this year. They use less electricity, which means you will spend less money on your electricity bill also!

Christmas Cards

You can go in several different directions with holiday cards. The e-card is a bit less personal than the traditional holiday cards, but people are definitely trying out this avenue for their holiday greetings this year. If you can’t tear yourself away from the old-fashioned card-and-envelop-in-the-mail routine, try looking for greeting cards made with recyclable paper.

After the holidays, you can pack the cards that you received this year and reuse them next year. Simply cut them up into small square and rectangular shapes and use them as gift tags.

These are just a few ideas to help you green your Christmas this year. If you are interested in more “green” holiday ideas, stay tuned…I’ll be posting up some green holiday decorating ideas for this season in the near future.

Happy Holidays from your Bowdabra Family!

About the Author

Sandy Sandler is founder of non-profit Crafters 4 Kids and creator of the QVC best-seller, the Bowdabra. Her frugal craft projects and activity ideas are designed to transform the creatively-challenged into creative pros. Sandy’s focus is on creative and easy projects that parents can do with their kids and that kids can even do on their own that are both frugal and green in nature. Crafters 4 Kids focuses on projects that can be done under 5 minutes and under $5. Visit www.C4K555.org. Contact Sandy at jaimevivre@mac.com

Decorating For the Holidays with the Kids

When you involve your children in the holiday decorating, you build long lasting memories and fantastic keepsakes. If you’re looking for kid-friendly, mess-free holiday decorating projects for you and you kids with step-by-step instructions, I am excited to pass on these ideas to you.

Be sure to put the date on the back of your crafts to turn them into timeless keepsakes. Next year, your kids will see the artwork from the previous year (and the fun that they had) when you unpack the holiday ornaments and decorations. Just the memories of the fun times that they had will inspire them to create new holiday crafts year after year. They may even come up with some great ideas on their own!

Mess-Free and Kid-Friendly holiday décor:

Decorate pictures with Santa: Craft some home made frames to adorn the pictures of your kids on Santa’s lap. Decorate them with holiday foam, pieces of wrapped candy, holiday colored buttons, scraps of ribbon, mini bows made with the mini Bowdabra, and other creative embellishments to give them a festive appeal.

North Pole sign: Look around the house for recyclable materials, such as wrapping paper tubes. Wrap some white and red ribbons around the tub to create an innovatively made candy-cane looking pole. A cardboard box can be cut to add the sign to the top of the pole with any creative decorations you choose and write the words, “North Pole” on the sign with glittery glue.

Handprints: Children’s handprints are the best keepsakes, as they change in size every year. Cut out handprints from holiday fabrics, green and red construction paper, or other materials of your choice. You can glue a bunch of the handprints together (in a mish-mash way) to make an adorable holiday wreath.   

Getting your kids involved in the decorating for the holidays will open up their imaginations and encourage them to get their creative juices flowing. Don’t forget to check out the Crafters 4 Kids website for other great holiday projects, too!

About the Author:

Sandy Sandler is founder of non-profit Crafters 4 Kids and creator of the QVC best-seller, the Bowdabra. Her frugal craft projects and activity ideas are designed to transform the creatively-challenged into creative pros. Sandy’s focus is on creative and easy projects that parents can do with their kids and that kids can even do on their own that are both frugal and green in nature. Crafters 4 Kids focuses on projects that can be done under 5 minutes and under $5. Visit www.C4K555.org. Contact Sandy at jaimevivre@mac.com

A Bowdabra Christmas

There’s no doubt that the holidays are a great time for family crafts and decorating together. Have you ever seen someone “Deck the Halls” with bows? Bows on the tree, bows on the stairways, bows on the railings outside…bows on presents. A Bowdabra Christmas is the chic festive holiday decorating scheme this year. Whether your theme is silver or red and green or the new blue or purple, with Bowdabra bows, you can achieve the snazzy presentation you’re looking for.

Gift wrap Bows

Top presents off with your home-made Bowdabra bows, with ribbons to match the wrapping paper. Or go ultra-chic with mixed fabrics and ribbons that contrast and compliment. New blue wrapping pops with silver, glittery bows and the even newer purples are accented with stylish gold bows. Kids will love crafting these bows and helping you attach them to the presents.

Stairways and Railings

Make a variety of diverse (or matching) bows to adorn the indoor and outdoor stairways and railings in and around the house. Get the kids involved with picking the colored ribbon out, designing the bows and tying them around the house. 

Christmas Hair Bows

These are awesome for presents for nieces and granddaughters, classmates and even your own daughter. Create them with the kids or make some new surprise hair bows to wrap and stuff into the stockings. Let your daughter make a hair bow for each of the girls in her class and spread the spirit of Christmas giving or take them to church and give them out. 

Bowdabra hair bows also great crafts to sell at craft fairs for holiday fundraising! People love the craft fairs during the holidays. Whether it’s for church, school, or to make some extra cash of your own this season, whip up some of these easy-to-make crafts and see how fast the sell! 

Bow Wreaths 

Add Bowdabra bows to a pre-made wreath. This is another perfect craft fair/fundraiser idea. You can make regular sized bows for an elegant and large wreath or mini bows for a smaller wreath. Hang your home-made wreaths around your own house as well – you’re sure to receive some compliments on these!

Tree Bows

Have you ever seen a Christmas tree decorated with bows instead of ornaments? You might see this is one of the major department stores, rather than glass ornaments. Elegant and classy, chic and stylish barely covers the presence that a tree decorated with bows displays. In addition, they’re also not breakable like the conventional glass ornaments. Instead of a star this year, make a large bow to top the tree, and then tie colorful – or completely matching – bows on the ends of the branches around the tree.

Make your Christmas a Bowdabra Christmas this year. Get your children, family, friends, and neighbors together, put out some snacks and drinks and have a Bowdabra festivity crafting party. There’s nothing better than being with the people who you love and creating new and easy decorations that will last for years to come.

 

About the Author:

Sandy Sandler is founder of non-profit Crafters 4 Kids and creator of the QVC best-seller, the Bowdabra. Her frugal craft projects and activity ideas are designed to transform the creatively-challenged into creative pros. Sandy’s focus is on creative and easy projects that parents can do with their kids and that kids can even do on their own that are both frugal and green in nature. Crafters 4 Kids focuses on projects that can be done under 5 minutes and under $5. Visit www.C4K555.org. Contact Sandy at jaimevivre@mac.com

Frugal Holiday Decorating Tips

I know that not everyone was born with a creative gene. If you are creatively challenged, I have some easy tips and crafts to help you “Deck the Halls” this season – and they’re budget-friendly, too! So, get over the fact that you are don’t have a creative bone in your body and get some family and friends involved in some holiday cheer.

Mr. & Mrs. Reindeer Apples

Red apples are a versatile decorating item for the holidays. Some brown pipe cleaners and some candy canes will quickly turn the apples into adorable and fun reindeer. This craft is so fun for children and can be given as gifts to teachers, neighbors, or children’s classroom friends.

Beaded Pinecones

Collect pinecones during the fall on your nature walk; get the children involved and see how many they can find. Thread some beads and eclectic thread onto some wire and wrap them in between the scales on the pinecone. You can also attach a bow atop the pinecone.

For placement, tie some string onto the pinecone and into a loop to create a hanger and display it in the window. Or you could decorate the Christmas tree with them, turning them into frugal, natural and green ornaments, too.

Frugal & Green Holiday Table Decorating

A holiday table can be spiced up with items from the local farmers market or simply from around your home, yard, and garden. Gather items from your home like recycled glass containers, pinecones, candles and extra tree ornaments that no longer fit on the tree. The local farmers market is fun! You can purchase dried wheat bundles, gourds, and fruits to brighten up a few bowls.

With the gourd, you can cut a whole and insert a tea light candle. Top the gourd with floral picks or a bow made with your Mini Bowdabra. Grab a large mason jar and simply add the dried wheat to it for a fall and winter decoration. Use the recycled glass jars to make a new candle by adding the tea light candles or a decorative piece with ornaments. 

Simple Table Decoration

Place some of those extra ornaments that are left over after decorating the tree into a punch bowl and place it in the middle of the table as an inexpensive centerpiece. You can add to the centerpiece by setting glass beads topped with tapered candles inside of small glass jars.

Large Vase Filled with Ornaments

Large vases are eye catching when they are filled with ornaments. Allow the kids to carefully choose the ornaments and help you add them.

Nature Walk Centerpiece

Take the kids for a nature walk and ask them to select handfuls of thin sticks that are two to three feet long. Splatter the sticks with a variety of paint colors. Once the sticks are dry, fill a mason jar with popcorn kernels and place the sticks into the kernels. The sticks are held up by the kernels, which add even more fun color to the display.

The idea of this season, during the current economic downturn, is to spend time with family while simultaneously saving money. What ideas can you come up with to decorate on a budget? Kids have excellent imaginations if you just start the ball rolling, so get out the craft supplies and let them do the creative thinking.

About the Author:

Sandy Sandler is the founder of non-profit Crafters 4 Kids and creator of the QVC best-seller, the Bowdabra. Her frugal craft projects and activity ideas are designed to transform the creatively-challenged into creative pros. Sandy’s focus is on creative and easy projects that parents can do with their kids and that kids can even do on their own that are both frugal and green in nature. Crafters 4 Kids focuses on projects that can be done under 5 minutes and under $5. Visit www.C4K555.org. Contact Sandy at jaimevivre@mac.com