Elf on the Shelf Text Mesages

It’s that time of year again! That time when a special little visitor likes to visit homes with small children to relay back to Santa with naughty or nice reports.

Last year was a first for us.  I must say… It’s a lot of work, but so rewarding in the end.  Our elf helped all of us come together during the busy holiday season by bringing laughter, games, and even setting up an advent calendar made of children’s books so we read together every night.

It all started a couple weeks before Thanksgiving when I got a text message from Joyous Jolly Jingle.

**Reliable third party needed here. Change the name of one of your contacts, and have them send you periodic text messages.  Items needed: Elf, Photoshop, and a creative imagination.**

Every two or three days, a new message came.  It was the best one sided conversation ever!

“Hello family! Guess who.  Santa has heard rumors of you fighting and being naughty. He knows that you children are always on The Nice List, so he doesn’t believe it. To clear up this mix up once and for all, he is sending me to watch over you.  I’ll stay in your house and every night I’ll fly back to Santa to tell him if you were good or bad that day.  I’ll be there son, so you better be ready.”

“Hi everyone! Guess who again. I got a little lost, and I think I went too far south.  No worries, I’ll find my way to you soon.  I wanted to let you know that I’ve sent you something. It’s my gift to you, and I hope you like it. Read carefully and be sure to take good care of it. You never know when you might need it again.  Hurry, go and check your mailbox.”

This was fun because the text came through in an evening, and our mailbox is a half a mile away.  It was dark and cold outside, but we all put on coats over our pajamas and drove to the mailbox.  Can you guess what it was?  That’s right… the book!

“Where, oh where, has the little elf gone?  Where, oh where, could he be? It was a little cold where I was last, and on my way to you I found this warm and sunny place.  I decided to take a little pit stop and soak up some rays.  I’m so happy to be joining your family this Christmas, and I’m excited to find out my name.  Is it Pumpernickle?  Wisk? Flipperflop?  There are so many to choose from.  Pick a good one and I’ll see you soon.”

This text sparked a whole round of ideas.  Some good ones were thrown out, but my daughter blurted out Applejack, and we all fell in love with the name.

**It wasn’t until later that we learned that Applejack was the name of a pony from My Little Pony.  I will always remember this as the day that my little girl pulled one over on her brothers because if they would have known the origin, it would have been vetoed in a heartbeat.**

“Yay!!  This is SO much fun!!  It’s almost as fun as using my magic. I love my magic, so please PLEASE remember not to touch me when I get there.  It would make me so sad not to be able to tell Santa how good you kids are.  I gotta go, the funnel cake stand is calling to me.  Not too much longer till I’m home.”

Each text separately told the kids something important to remember.  That way they were ready when he got to our house.

“Happy Thanksgiving! I think I’m getting close!! Can you tell where I am? I can’t wait to see everyone and hear all your secret Christmas wishes.  I love lots of sugar, so keep a close eye on all your candy. Today, I am thankful for my new family.  Tell everyone what YOU are thankful for.”

The next day, he was in our lives playing tricks and bringing so much laughter to an already joyful home. 

Stay tuned for pictures of our adventures with Applejack.

Until next time…

Happy DIY-ing!!!

Original Photo Locations:

North Pole

Penguins

Beach

Roller Coaster

Chiefs

Real Maple Leaf Basket

The leaves are falling down.  The leaves are falling down.

Red, Yellow, Green, and Brown.

The leaves are falling down.

It’s that time of year again.  The holidays are approaching. It’s getting colder, the leaves are changing color and falling from the trees.

To help bring a little of the autumn softness into our home, I put together this maple leaf basket.

I had seen this on Pinterest, but all of them said to use fake leaves.  I didn’t want that.  I have beautiful maple trees on my property that are beautiful when the sun shines through their leaves.  That’s what I wanted for my home. 

It took a little extra finagling because nature made leaves have a mind of their own, but eventually it came out looking beautiful.  Here’s how I did it.

What you need:

Maple leaves (Pulled from the tree before they fall, if possible. An assortment of colors.)
A Balloon
A Bowl
Mod Podge
Foam Brush
Plastic Wrap

To prepare the leaves… Cut off the stem as close to the leaf as possible.

Next, Blow up the balloon so that the bottom is the size of the basket you want, and tie it off.  Place it, knot side down, in your bowl to keep it in place.

Brush a layer of Mod Podge over the balloon, as big as the size of your basket.

Once the glue becomes somewhat tacky, start layering the leaves over the balloon.

**Unlike fake leaves, real maple leaves are colorful on one side and dull on the other. 

Make sure that when you first start putting leaves on the balloon that they are colored side down.  That way the inside of your basket will be just as colorful as the outside.**

Place a leaf on the balloon, flattening it to the best of your abilities.  There is no way to make natural leaves completely flat.  There will be air bubbles and creases that you have to work around.

 

Brush a layer of Mod Podge over the top.

 

Do this repeatedly with every leaf. 

 

When the inside layer of your basket is done, flip the leaves over so the bright side is up, and place them over the inside layer. Keep going up as far as you want your basket to go.

**The higher up on the basket I went, I found it easier to brush the bottom of the leaf with Mod Podge before sticking it on, instead of covering every leaf once it was on.  This helped to make it not as slippery by limiting the glue.**

Now, because these were real leaves, some corners aren’t going to stay down as much as you want them to.  Once all the leaves are down, go through and brush some glue on the bottom of the edges that aren’t sticking.  Next, cover the balloon in plastic wrap to hold all of them down, and let it sit for close to an hour. 

Slowly peel away the plastic wrap and all the leaves should be flattened to the balloon.

   

Next, gently brush a layer of Mod Podge over the top of the whole thing.

Let dry overnight.

The next day, your leaves should be hardened onto the bottom of your balloon.  Take a sharp object and poke a small hole close to the tie on the balloon.  Slowly let out the air.

 

**If it looks as if the balloon isn’t pulling away from the leaves, you’ll have to gently help it along by peeling it away.**

**At this point, I did not have high hopes for this basket.  The dried glue came off with the leaves and some glue was still wet on the inside. It looked like a hot mess.

However, the inside dried, and I cut off the excess glue with a pair of scissors.  Once I was done, the basket looked lovely.**

Once your basket is done, you can put whatever you like inside of it, and it’s great to have to bring a little bit of that autumn peacefulness inside your home.

On a side note… The basket came out good.  After time, it will become more brittle since the leaves are drying out, but it feels great having made something from trees in my own front yard.  The process took longer than I thought, is REALLY messy, and I’ll probably never do it again, but it was a new experience that I wouldn’t change.

Happy Fall Y’all!!

**My mom made the recommendation to put it outside when I was through with it, and it would more than likely become some bird’s home.  I just might do that, and I will give you an update on how it turns out.** 

Until next time…

Happy DIY-ing!!!

Activated Charcoal Teeth Whitening

Blackening your teeth to a whiter smile!

Ok, I’m going to be completely honest here.   

I am not a big fan of my smile… even though I love to do it!

My opinion of it isn’t as bad as it used to be, but it’s still there none the less.

The nerves to my front tooth were damaged at one point and now it has a yellow tint.  My teeth aren’t pearly white, but that one always sticks out like a sore thumb.  For the longest time it made me so self-conscious, but now I’m too comfortable with myself to care.

However, I am always chasing after the proverbial whitening care.  I use whitening toothpaste, but my teeth always stay the same.  The gunk on the white strips annoy me, plus the cost is outrageous. 

This is why a comment I received on my Charcoal Face mask post really got my attention.  This person used activated charcoal to clean and whiten their teeth. 

I admit that I have seen this before, but with all my issues about wanting whiter teeth, the thought about brushing black powder all over them was a little terrifying.  However, this person swore by it and the great results that they got.  With a shrug and a deep breath, I tried it out.  I couldn’t be happier.  My teeth look and feel amazing.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Activated Charcoal
Small Bowl
New Toothbrush
Water

That’s it!

There’s no need for any harsh chemicals added with it.  It works just fine on its own.

I used two activated charcoal pills and pulled them apart to dump the powder in the small bowl. 

**Yes, it gets messy.  Even after doing this numerous times, I still get black all over my fingers.**

Grab your toothbrush. 

**The charcoal doesn’t fully come out of the brush when rinsed afterward, so you will want a new toothbrush or one that you don’t plan on using again for everyday brushing.**

Rinse your toothbrush with water, then place it in the charcoal.  The water will help adhere the charcoal to the brush.

Start brushing your teeth like normal.

**When reading up on this, I saw that someone suggested to not breathe in through your mouth while doing this so you don’t choke down the powder.  I didn’t have a problem, but I could see how someone might.  Good advice!**

Keep brushing. 

If you think you need more charcoal, place the brush once again in the small bowl and continue brushing.

Once you’ve brushed every last part of your teeth, multiple times, let it sit for a minute.

Rinse.

Rinse some more.  It will take a lot of rinsing to get all the black off. 

I recommend using your normal toothbrush and toothpaste to get the remaining black residue off your teeth.  This will also help with the little bit that’s hard to get from the crevices in between your teeth and gums. 

You should notice a difference right away.

Two weeks after I tried this, I had a dentist appointment and wanted his take on this whole thing.  He told me that he had never read any studies on it, but has heard of the health benefits from charcoal in the past.  He didn’t see anything wrong with it, and even the dental hygienist commented on how good my teeth looked and how little she had to clean.

**Side note: I was told very firmly to never use anything acidic (lemon, etc.) on my teeth and gums, natural or otherwise.  Those will damage your mouth more than help it.**

Some things you need to know before trying:

• This gets messy! Not just the breaking open of the pills.  There is splatter from brushing and the gigantic mess from rinsing.  It’s inevitable, but also easy to clean when all is said and done.

• I don’t recommend doing this every day or every other day.  I know that after one time my gums were a little sore for a couple of days, but quickly went back to normal.

With those things in mind, I hope you try this out for yourself and let me know what you think.

I was happy with my results, and definitely plan on doing it again. I’m thinking once every couple of months to stay on top of keeping them looking nice.

So far I have used activated charcoal as a peel off face mask, and now as a teeth whitener.  What other things have you used activated charcoal for, and what did you think of the results?

Comment below to let me know!

Until next time…

Happy DIY-ing!!!

Organizing Life with Binders

Another school year has begun, and it’s as if the dust has just started to settle from a 3 month long tornado. The inside of all my cabinets felt the wrath… Even I slacked off on trying to keep things organized. 

Teachers have students bring binders to school to stay organized.  Why not take a play from their book and try it out at home?

So far, I have used binders for two things that had otherwise became clutter in my home, and it has already made life so much easier.

First off... My Sports Binder

Anybody that has been paying attention, has noticed that a big part of our lives revolve around our children’s athletics.

Over the years, my kids have been in numerous sports, and every time we purchased the pictures they offered. 

It’s great to look back and see how much they’ve grown.  However, there got to be so many, I was slipping them in random folders and drawers, “for the time being.”  They went from nostalgic to a nuisance.

I finally had enough!  I went to the store and bought:

A Binder
Subject Dividers
Letter Sized Sheet Protectors
4x6 picture Sheet Protectors
Fun Stickers (optional)

Once I had everything, it was all about putting it together. 

I used the subject dividers to separate the kids.

I organized the seasons by date, so when you flipped through, you watched the kids get older. The letter sized protectors were for their team and individual pages.  Then the 4x6 protectors were for any single shots that we still had left over.

After all was said and done, I had a great place to put all of the kids’ sports photos that kept them safe and made it easily accessible for whomever wanted to look at them.

Coupon Binder

If you are anything like me, this is one of the hardest things to keep organized.  You cut out a coupon, stick it in a drawer or your purse/wallet, and then forget about it until it has long since expired.  Then there’s the hassle of flipping through your stack in the store isles to see exactly what you have, or shuffling through store ads to see what deals are out there.

I’d thought about making one of these in the past, but never did.  It felt a little embarrassing to me, thinking that people would judge me as if I were advertising the fact that I needed to use coupons.  That ship has sailed!!  I have long since learned the error of my ways!

Let me tell you… when you have a family of 6, and we all need food, clothes, medicine, and personal items, you need all the help you can get, including (and not limited to) coupons.  This binder has made shopping so much easier and not as stressful.

What I used:

A Binder   
Subject Dividers
Trading Card Protectors

**My subject dividers are the ones with a pocket in the front.  I found this helpful in the store to keep track of the coupons I was planning on giving to the cashier.**

I used the subject dividers to separate the types of coupons. My labels are:

Breakfast, Snacks, Meats & Cheeses, Dinners, Drinks, Laundry & Cleaning, Personal Items, and Misc.

Using the trading card protectors, I organized the coupons.  If I had two of the same one, placed them in the same pocket but made sure the one with the earliest expiration date was on top.

Finishing off the binder… At the back, I used a letter sized sheet protector, left over from the Sports Binder (mentioned above), and placed restaurant and fast food coupons inside.

 

Then making sure to switch them out every week, I slip the shopping ads in the front pouch.

I was then ready to do some shopping.

I have had so much success with this so far, there’s no telling what other things will soon be organized in binders.

Have you used binders to make your life easier in any way?

What other ways have you used to stay organized?

Comment below to let me know!

Until next time…

Happy DIY-ing!!!