How to Make an Angel Tree on a Budget

Today, we are going to make an Angel Tree. 

If you don't know what an Angel Tree is...Basically, it's a tree at your church or place of business with ornaments that have a child's name and Christmas wish list on them. The point of it is to have people take an ornament, shop the items, and return them wrapped to be delivered to the children. It gives people the chance to bless others and become "angels" of God's blessing at the holidays.

Anyways, I had to make one for my church.

At first, I wanted to buy some angel decorations and then attach the list to each one. However, no one makes angel decorations anymore!!! Or else they are really expensive.

So, I perused the Dollar Tree and came up with an idea.

We had 12 children's lists, so I bought two boxes of these red and silver bells for $1 each.

A bag of this decorative shred is $1 as well.

Okay, I couldn't find ANY angel tree toppers, so I made this one out of red and white cardstock and taped it to a Dollar Tree star tree topper. You can look at the next two pictures here and figure out how to make your own.

Okay, here is how I made the angel lists themselves. First of all, get your kids' names (or initials), their ages, and their wish lists. Make one angel per child. (I did this in Publisher.) You can use my template at the end if you need it for the angels. Or just Google "angel clip art" to come up with your own template.

Then, print your angels on cardstock. I printed the boys on red and the girls on white.

Cut them out.

Okay: Really important step. Cut the heads out like this:

This is another view of the weirdly cut head.

Then, fold one side tab in. . .

. . .and then the other one in. . .

Then, slide the folded tabs into the bottom of one of the bells.

Once the tabs are neatly inside the bell, they will sort of unfold a little and that will lock the "head" in place.

Now to make the halo. Get your bag of decorative shred.

Get a little piece of tape like this.

Take a small piece of shred and make it into a loop. Put the tape where both of the ends of shred meet.

Then, just fold the tape around the shred.

Then, slip it onto the head of each angel like this.

Then, you can use the rest of the shred and extra bells to help decorate the tree. 

The whole project only cost a couple of dollars! (Minus the tree...which I didn't buy, so I have no idea.)

Template:

The End!

Sunday School Craft - Christmas Sheep Mask

It's no secret. Little kids love two things: Christmas...and Animal Masks!

So, combine them in this cute sheep mask. I took the template from Pinterest, but added Luke 2:8 on it's ear (the verse about the shepherd watching their flocks). Now that I'm putting this into my blog...I realized that it still has the little mask string dots on either side of its cheek. Oops. Sorry. Anyways, it is available for you to use at the end of this post.

You will need: cardstock, tongue depressors, Exact-o knife, glue, cotton balls, and crayons (optional).

Cut out each mask

Now, take an Exact-o knife and cut a cross over each eye. (Probably do this before the little kids come in.)

Then, cut out the eyes.

Glue on the tongue depressor.

Take two cotton balls and pull them out a little bit.

Put glue on the top of the lamb's head.

Stick on your two cotton balls. (I first put a bunch of balls on the top and when I picked it up, the top started sagging, so that's why I only put two balls on. The cardstock can only handle two.)

You can color it as well, but...I didn't because...I'm lazy! Ha!

The End!

Upcycled Christmas Decoration: Clear Industrial Tube Light...Thing

All right, Guys...This one isn't necessary a DIY for the masses, but maybe it'll give you an idea!

So, remember when I got those awesome tables and cabinet for my craft room? (Click here if you need a refresher.) Well, I didn't tell you at the time, but I also grabbed this weird, clear industrial cylindrical thing off the trailer as well. It is from Duke Power, so who knows what it is actually used for! (If Shirley Coley reads this, maybe she can ask Eddy what it is actually for!)

Anyways, as soon as I saw it, I knew I could turn it into a Christmas decoration!

The first step was to remove the paper.

Then, I wiped it down to get all the dust off.

Okay, so basically, I was just going to stick Christmas lights into it and call it a day. You really don't have to read any more, because that's exactly what I did! 

Anyways, there is one important step that you shouldn't miss in the off chance you find one of these cylinders and are dying to make one yourself!

So, first of all, I looked at both ends and found that there was a little broken notch on one end. That was perfect. That was where the electrical chord would come out at the bottom.

Then, took a piece of brown foam and put the tube upright onto it. The cylinder's weight created a circular depression, so I put glue just inside that line. Notice, that I didn't glue all the way around. This is because I would need to fish the wall plug through this opening. 

(This foam was to protect the floor from scratches when I put it onto the hardwood in the living room.

Precautions like this one help a person stay married.)

Here you can see that I put the notch in the center of the un-glued part.

Then, I stood it up on a flat surface and let it dry for a few minutes.

Then, I fed the light strand down into the tube, laid the tube on its side and fished the plug out the opening in the circle. When I sat it back upright, I made sure that the chord was resting in the notch. (Incidentally, they are LED lights.)

So then, I carried it to its destination (the living room, beside the fire place) and plugged it in. I fed a few more lights into the tube but kept about 1/3 of the lights hanging out.

With 1/3 of the lights still hanging out, I got a plastic butter knife and hung the remaining 1/3 over it. Then, I fed the 1/3 into the tube. (The butter knife kept the lights from falling all the way into the tube.)

The finished project. Pretty unique and minimalist, wouldn't you say?

Do you like our Charlie Brown tree? This is about as Christmas-y as I get!

What weird household items do you have laying around that you can repurpose?

The End!!!

How to Pack for Cold Weather

Since the holidays are coming up, and many people will be traveling, I thought I would take a minute from my packing (to visit Montana on a mission's trip) to show how a woman packing warmly doesn't have to pack a lot. The keys are to stick to one color scheme, pack lightweight yet warm fabrics like fleece and wool, and pack layers rather than bulky items. I've packed everything I need in a small rolling carry on and a large purse. (Incidentally, the carry on has a lock on it and an expandable zipper.)

The trip will last about six days, but with what I've packed, it could last longer because almost everything can go together in different ways. I'll dissect my carry on and purse in a second, but before I do, I want to point out what I will be wearing on the plane: Sketchers boots, a long-sleeved hip-length taupe shirt, orange skinny jeans, and a light taupe fleece vest. (If I get hot, I can take the vest off. I can also pair it with other items in my carry on later if I get cold during the trip.)

Now to dissect the carry on: The inside flap.

1. 5 pairs of fuzzy socks. These are essential for sleeping and really make a difference inside your boots when the temperature drops. They also dry within a day if you have to wash them in a sink.

2. 6 pairs of underwear and socks. (They can also be washed in a sink if needed.)

The Top Layer (sorry, Blogger put it in sideways)

1. 6 pairs of black and grey fleece-lined tights. These can be worn by themselves under long shirts and dresses or under skinny jeans for added warmth.

2. Running shoes inside a mesh laundry bag. I can use the shoes for exercise, but also as alternative footwear if my boots start hurting me. (Always bring an alternative footwear option. You never know how much you'll walk and your feet may need a break.) These shoes are Sketchers "Go Run" and they are super comfortable, but also squish up nicely into luggage. Also, the mesh laundry bag will come in handy at the end of the trip when all my clothes are dirty.

3. Thermal shirt and black sweat pants for exercising. In case I don't get very sweaty, I can also use these as layers under other clothes to keep warm.

The Second Layer

1. A small loofah and a super absorbent towel. The towel is about the size of a hand-towel, but I can dry my entire body with about half of it. I bought mine in Japan, but you can find these towels in most department stores and eBay. If it's still wet at the end of the trip, I can just hang it over my carry on while I travel instead of soaking the inside of my luggage.

2. Thermal underwear. These will be my pajamas, and also a base layer if I need it.

The Third Layer

1. Two pairs of skinny jeans.

2. A black long-sleeved shirt to go under things.

3. My grey TCWC church dress made of a Tshirt.

4. A taupe hip-length long-sleeved shirt.

5. A long-sleeved animal print dress.

6. A casual long-sleeved blue dress.

7. A black hip-length long-sleeved shirt.

8. A taupe turtleneck.

9. A green striped hip-length sweater vest.

10. A Mary Kay stand-able mirror. (In case there is limited mirror space.)

(Notice that all my shirts are hip-length. This is to keep my butt warm!)

Inside the Big Purse

1. My small backpack travel purse with lots of pockets. (Inside I have a sewing kit, some bags of tea, bandaids, vitamins, tissues, etc.)

2. My quart-sized toiletries bag. Always keep your toiletries bag inside your purse (not your luggage) for easy access during security checks.

3. My ipod, phone, and camera chargers inside a compact-able shopping bag.

4. A taupe fleece hoodie.

5. Fleece-lined wool hat and mittens.

6. A fold up raincoat. (Doubles as an outer to go over my winter coat during blizzards.)

7. An inflatable neck pillow with eye mask and ear plugs in the pocket.

8. A "Patagonia"super light-weight compact-able down-filled winter coat.

9. Taupe pashmina scarf.

10. Velcro wrap-around earmuffs.

11. Alpaca sweater.

I still have plenty of room for some last minute items like glasses, small travel flatiron and hair dryer, extra fleece hoodie, etc.

So, hopefully that gives you an idea of how to pack warmly, fashionably, and cheaply this holiday season!

The End.