Recycled Christmas Ornament: Altoid Tin

I was recently given a craft assignment: to make a Christmas ornament using recycled materials. 

Okay, okay. It wasn't MY homework. It was my daughter's first grade homework assignment. Nevertheless, I was excited. After all, it specifically said the project was to be a collaborative effort between the student and his/her family!

Momo and I started brainstorming almost immediately. We searched Pinterest for ideas and pinned like crazy! When we finally narrowed down our choices.....we ended up with a Pinterest fail: 

Trust me. It is NOT supposed to look like that!


More brainstorming. We finally we came up with our own idea of using Altoid tins!

Luckily I have been saving the tins to make more of these:

....but it just hasn't happened yet. Of course being a bit of a craft hoarder I have tons of other supplies, such as bottle caps, fabric, felt, ribbon, etc. After playing around with what we had on hand we finally completed our ornament!

We covered the front of the Altoid tin with red felt and a Christmas bow to make it look like a present:

On the inside of the tin we covered both sides with felt/fabric; glued on some bottle caps; drew a face and buttons on the caps to look like a snowman; attached a gift label to one side and then added a ribbon for hanging!(Note to self: next time put the tag on the front of the tin, so it really looks like a present!) 

Imagine all the possible surprises you can hide in an Altoid tin!

It came out pretty cute and I know Momo is proud of OUR project! :)

If you are looking for more ideas on easy, kid-friendly recycled Christmas ornaments check out my Pinterest Board: "Recycled Christmas Ornaments."

Happy Christmas Crafting! 

Summer Camping at Kahana Bay

And here I am! Ten months later....back to blogging. Please forgive my absence, it's been a long, hard year! Instead of a lengthy, detailed explanation I am just going to jump right back in!

A couple of weeks ago my BFF asked me if I had ever gone camping. Uh, no. Then she asked if I ever would. Uh, no again. She must've waved some voodoo magic over me because the next thing you know I was out buying a tent and other needed camping supplies. 

The thought of camping stressed me out for the following reasons:

1) My husband wasn't going to be there. My own personal Mr. Outdoor/Wilderness/McGuyver/protector! Who is going to protect me from killer toads?

BFF's solution: Not to worry. My husband will be there! We will help you!

2) What to bring? 
    
BFF and I made a list. Many times. We made a list of lists. Again and again.

3) What to eat? (This was not a good time to be doing Whole30!) 
     
BFF's solution: Don't worry about the food. I will take care of the food.(Major hallelujah!)

And maybe the most important concern of all: 

4) What about coffee?!? 

BFF's solution: Starbuck's VIA! 

Okay, okay. I think it might be able to handle it!

We decided to camp at beautiful Kahana Bay. BFF's family got there before we did and had the camp already set up. I was impressed! They helped me unload and get my tents up:

BFF's husband then hooked up the hammocks: 

 

The kids were eager to hit the beach and play. They did, but soon afterwards we got hit with some rain. A LOT of rain.

 
The kids were disappointed. "Really? Rain?" But they managed (and the tents held up pretty good!)

Little did we know that the downpour would bring........

The Lickety Split ice cream truck!!!

While Carter ran to the next parking lot over to stop the truck the girls tried their best to flag it down. Can we all scream for ice cream?

 Great team work kiddos!

The rain stayed away and BFF got to cooking. For lunch (pre-rain) we had some whole30 pad thai (my most favorite whole30 meal yet!) For dinner she fired up the grill and made hot dogs for the kiddos and whole30 turkey tacos for the adults! She also made bacon-wrapped dates (which twenty something days ago I would have never been willing to try!); Okinawan sweet potatoes made with duck fat; beets; etc. You will have to check out her blog, Paleo Eats 808 to see what else she cooked, what was for breakfast; and for links to recipes! Here is a teaser pic:

Yeah, baby. Bacon.

And we had plenty of fruit. Summer isn't summer without watermelon! 

Much like camping isn't camping without roasting marshmallows! And let's not forget the head lamps. Functional at night and fashionable during the day!

We even tried making BANANA BOATS!!! Here is a picture before it was put on the grill. Of course there is no "after" pic because they were quickly inhaled:

After all the excitement we finally turned in. Some of us woke up early enough to see the beautiful sunrise:

And walk in the sand: 

 
The kids were ready to swim just as the sun was coming up. The adults preferred coffee first. Pour a little Starbucks Via into a water bottle and you have instant human!

Kailani went for a solo morning paddle:

And was later joined by the rest of the kiddos:

Lots of uncontrollable laughter coming from the ocean!

While the neighbor camp kids caught crabs in buckets:

We filled ours with:

And the kids went crazy:

 

Of course we had plans to do some camp type crafts, yet that was the one thing I forgot! UGH. The supplies! I was thoroughly bummed. But BFF's husband got a little crafty and made a drink cozie with mustache Duct tape. I was impressed and told him he should open his own Etsy shop.

 There was also some photo bombing that took place:

And the little ones had fun catching fish in the pond:

 

Kahana Bay was so magical we even "found" some pink flamingos on the beach:

 

Rare sighting for these parts.

I have to say, it was an amazing camping experience! A lot of memories were made and we are already talking about the "next time" we go! Thanks to my BFF for all her help and for convincing us to go! Be sure to check out her blog at Paleo Eats 808! :)

 

 

Win a Happy Hapa Apron!

(Happy Hapa? What is that? Well, for those of you that are new to my blog (or for friends of mine that had no idea that I sew) it is my Etsy shop! I also have a shop Facebook page too. Come say "hi!" Keep reading to see how you can win something from me!)

My girlfriend from Sew Fierce Boutique and A Pocket Full of Buttons is celebrating her shop anniversary with a giveaway! Several shops have donated items to win, including myself! Here is your chance to win not one, but possibly several beautiful, handmade items!

Here's what you can win from my shop: 

 

Other items up for grabs include beautiful dresses, headbands, gift certificates and much more!

The giveaway is open until Monday, August 6th so go enter! Be sure to read the rules first, then start commenting to win! Good luck....and congratulations to Sew Fierce Boutique!

PS - Planning on updating my own shop very soon. Have a bunch of stuff to sell but still need to upload pictures! ACK!

Words of Advice for my Kindergartener

Yesterday was the first day of school for my fifth grader. Today was the first day of school for my kindergartener! Technically it was only a parent orientation/student assessment but try telling that to Momo.

As promised I made Momo a cake (see previous blog post for the story). Well, it's not REALLY a cake....it's actually a pan of brownies but that's what she wanted...

 

.....with sprinkles, of course. But she doesn't want to EAT the sprinkles. She just wants them on the brownies. I'm sure all moms understand.

As I send her off to school I think of all the advice that I should be giving her: be nice; make friends; listen to your teacher, etc. Instead, I think these are more important: (limiting it to five. Trust me....I can think of a whole lot more!)

1. DO NOT SAY "DONKEYBALLS" (like you did to your swim teacher yesterday).

2. DO NOT take your shorts/skirt off the minute you walk into your classroom like you do at home.

3. If you have to poop while in school do a good job of cleaning your butt. Nobody else is going to clean it for you. (Also - if you have to poop.....please don't announce it to everyone and/or show them your work.)
 
4. Do not threaten to do karate on anybody. 
 
5. Do not expect Pulehu ribs and a Diet Dr. Pepper for lunch (like you requested at Play School).
 
And those are the ones I got off the top of my head. Just imagine if I put a lot of thought into it!

**********************************

 
Update: She had a great day and did none of the above mentioned. One of the first things she said was, "Mom....they didn't take us to the cafeteria! They didn't feed us!" As well as, "Mom! I didn't get into trouble today!"

Sounds like a great start to me!
 

 
 

Mermaid Tail Towels for Dolls!

It's mermaid time!

My girlfriend sent me a fun request - her daughter already has a Happy Hapa mermaid towel that I made for her. She was wondering if I could make a matching mermaid towel for her daughter's American Girl doll. I've been meaning to do this for some time now....her request inspired me to finally do it!

Luckily I had enough fabric left from the original mermaid towel to make an identical, doll sized one:

I was tickled at the way it turned out! 

Coincidentally I have had a few request for the kid's size mermaid towels. I've made a mental note to keep an eye out for the perfect colored towels to make them. Recently I spotted these:

Oh yeah. I bought them. On my to-do list! :)

P.S. If you are looking for inspiring, fun, and creative handmade projects/gifts be sure to check out Katie's Nesting Spot every Thursday! Click on the button: