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My quest to bring Spring to the freakishly red upstairs continues.

Today’s attempt:  Make An Easter Tree

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Or as I like to call it, “One last holiday display from my ready-to-retired stick tree that keeps hanging around.” (See it for other holidays here and here).

But as soon as I drug out those bright plastic eggs and saw just how violently they clashed with the walls, I immediately switched tactics:

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Plan B: I’ll just paint them.

Except as it turns out, I didn’t have spray paint in the colors I wanted … and craft paint isn’t on speaking terms with plastic …

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so I dug through the left-over birthday stuff and improvised.

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Paint + Podge + left over gift bag tissue =

Easter eggs that play nice with red

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And these were so easy to make:

Glue eggs together … paint a base coat to match tissue paper …

April 2011 BLOG1

… mog podge tissue paper to eggs … let dry and swoon.

A small loop of clear thread hot glued to the top finishes these little babies off.

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Of course then you could skip the loops altogether for display on a bookcase or coffee table.

Other than wanting a few more eggs to fill in the bare spots on my Easter tree …

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… I’m loving my red-friendly Easter tree with the beautiful damask print and bright teal pop.

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Linking up to:

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Easter Egg Wheat Grass Centerpiece from THRIVE

So, it’s almost Easter. And you’re making omelets. Or cookies. Or anything with eggs.

Easter Egg Wheat Grass Centerpiece from THRIVE

No biggie.

Just crack open those white shells and toss the whole thing, right?

Wait! Don’t toss that!

Easter Egg Wheat Grass Centerpiece from THRIVE

With two seconds of prep and some wheat from your food storage, those shells and carton can double as cute, FREE centerpiece for Easter brunch.

Easter Egg Wheat Grass Centerpiece from THRIVE

These come together in nothing flat—so easy.

* Gently crack your egg shells on the narrow end, remove the egg yolk and white, and make something delicious.

* Rinse shells in hot, soapy water and dry. Dye with natural or store-bought dyes as you would for traditional hard-boiled eggs.

* Add a tablespoon-ish of potting soil to each egg …

Easter Egg Wheat Grass Centerpiece from THRIVE

… and cover with sprouted wheat. *

Easter Egg Wheat Grass Centerpiece from THRIVE

Cover with plastic wrap and make sure soil stays moist, but not soggy.

Easter Egg Wheat Grass Centerpiece from THRIVE

Wheat will start to sprout in a day or two, with 4-6 inches of growth about a week later.

Easter Egg Wheat Grass Centerpiece from THRIVE

If the grass gets too tall or shaggy, just grab your scissors and even it out.

Easter Egg Wheat Grass Centerpiece from THRIVE

The carton doubles as a display tray by trimming down the sides with your nicest dollar store scissors.

Easter Egg Wheat Grass Centerpiece from THRIVE

And you can change up the look depending on how many eggs you use:

FULL DOZEN

Easter Egg Wheat Grass Centerpiece from THRIVE

HALF DOZEN

Easter Egg Wheat Grass Centerpiece from THRIVE

SINGLE PLACE CARD

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(name written on egg)

Easter Egg Wheat Grass Centerpiece from THRIVE

(name on egg carton)

And when you’re done, EVERYTHING gets composted or recycled so there’s nothing wasted.

So …

Egg shells and carton?

March 2013 BLOG

It’s What Not To Toss this weekend!

* – Spouting wheat is easy and simply involves soaking and rinsing whole wheat kernels in water so that they start to germinate. There’s a great video of process HERE.

 
 
Ah, Halloween.
I love seeing all those fun costumes at the stores, but they’re not cheap.
And with six kiddos to outfit, it turns out that I’d rather pass on spending $120-$200 for a night of trick-or-treating and funnel that money towards Christmas instead.
So I say, “Rock-what-ya-got!”
 
If you …
1. Shop Your Closet
2. Shop Your Stuff
3. Shop Around
… you can probably throw together some of the 100+ costumes below using items you have on hand and an item or two from the dollar store.
Ready?
 
Got church clothes?
We can rock church clothes.
 
WHITE DRESS SHIRT, DRESS PANTS, SUIT COAT, etc. 
Here’s what you can make:
 Men In Black
Shop Your Closet: Suit coats, black ties, white dress shirts
Shop Your Stuff: Sunglasses
Shop Around/DIY: Spray paint toy guns from thrift store
Secret Service Agents &
The President of The United States
Shop Your Closet:  Suit coats, white dress shirts, dress pants, ties
Shop Your Stuff: Sunglasses
Shop Around/DIY: Dollar store ear buds, split apart, dollar store gift bag embellished with the presidential logo printed off in color on a printer and attached with tape
Frankenstein
Shop Your Closet: Black suit jacket, white dress shirt, dress pants, church shoes
Shop Your Stuff: mom’s eyeliner for faux stitches
Shop Around/DIY: Frankenstein mask $1 at Target OneSpot or use green make-up
 
Clark Kent / Superman

Shop Your Closet: Black suit jacket, pants, white dress shirt, Superman t-shirt, red tie
Shop Your Stuff: n/a
Shop Around/DIY: dollar store glasses with lenses popped out
Abraham Lincoln
 
Shop Your Closet: Black suit jacket, pants, white dress shirt, dress shoes
Shop Your Stuff:  mom’s make-up for beard
Shop Around/DIY: Wrap a dollar store top hat with black butcher paper; black bow tie make out of scrap fabric and hot glued together.
Member of the Press
 
Shop Your Closet: Suit coat, pants, white dress shirt, tie
Shop Your Stuff: notepad, pen
Shop Around/DIY: Write “press” on a 3″x5″ card and hot glue to a dollar store fedora
The Mad Hatter
Shop Your Closet: Suit coat, pants, white dress shirt
Shop Your Stuff: tea cup
Shop Around/DIY:  bow tie hot glued together from an old shirt; dollar store top hat embellished by adding height and shape with poster board and covered with tissue paper. Paint green, add scrap t-shirt fabric band and hot glue “10/6” paper to side.
News Reporter

Shop Your Closet: White dress shirt, pants, tie
Shop Your Stuff: mom’s trench coat
Shop Around/DIY: purple dollar store glasses spray painted black; dollar store microphone embellished with a blue cube folded out of blue cardstock.
Private Investigator
Shop Your Closet: white dress shirt, pants, tie, shoes
Shop Your Stuff: mom’s trench coat
Shop Around/DIY: magnifying glass and fedora from dollar store
Scientist
 
 
Shop Your Closet: white dress shirt, pants
Shop Your Stuff: pen, safety glasses
Shop Around/DIY: dollar store bow tie from girls’ hair section; dad’s shirt was temporarily “hemmed” by ironing the bottom edge up to create a level, bottom hem and held in place with clear tape. Cuffs were tucked up into sleeve and secured with tape or rubber bands.

 


MAD Scientist
 
 
Shop Your Closet: white dress shirt, pants
Shop Your Stuff: pen, safety glasses; glue cleaning gloves from dollar store
Shop Around/DIY: bow tie made from scrap fabric and hot glued together;  scientific beakers made from a dollar store spray bottle and clear toothbrush holder; dad’s shirt was temporarily “hemmed” by ironing the bottom edge five inches up to create a level, bottom hem and held in place with clear tape. Cuffs were tucked up into sleeve and secured with tape or rubber bands.



Bill Nye, The Science Guy

 
 
Shop Your Closet: white dress shirt, pants
Shop Your Stuff: n/a
Shop Around/DIY: bow tie made from scrap fabric and hot glued together;  scientific beakers made from a dollar store spray bottle and clear toothbrush holder; dad’s shirt was temporarily “hemmed” by ironing the bottom edge five inches up to create a level, bottom hem and held in place with clear tape. Cuffs were tucked up into sleeve and secured with tape or rubber bands.



Doctor
 
Shop Your Closet: white dress shirt, pants, tie
Shop Your Stuff: clipboard, pen, sunglass holder used as a pocket protector
Shop Around/DIY: dollar store purple glasses spray painted black; lab coat – dad’s shirt was temporarily “hemmed” by ironing the bottom edge five inches up to create a level, bottom hem and held in place with clear tape. Cuffs were tucked up into sleeve and secured with tape or rubber bands.
Doc McStuffins

 Shop Your Closet: purple striped shirt, pink leggings
Shop Your Stuff: stuffed animals, pig tail holders, headband
Shop Around/DIY:  dollar store doctor kit; lab coat – dad’s shirt was temporarily “hemmed” by ironing the bottom edge five inches up to create a level, bottom hem and held in place with clear tape. Cuffs were tucked up into sleeve and secured with tape or rubber bands.
Chef
Shop Your Closet: white t-shirt, dress pants
Shop Your Stuff: n/a
Shop Around/DIY:  chef’s jacket – dad’s shirt was temporarily “hemmed” by ironing the bottom edge five inches up to create a level, bottom hem and held in place with clear tape. Cuffs were tucked up into sleeve and secured with tape or rubber bands. Collar was turned down and taped to stay down.  The side of the shirt with buttons was pulled far across the chest to create the off-set look of a chef’s jacket and held in place with double-stick tape.  Chef’s hat was made from white cardstock and tissue paper similar to this one HERE.
 
Airline Pilot
 

Shop Your Closet: white t-shirt, dress pants, black/navy tie
Shop Your Stuff: toy pilots wings (or print off wings on cardstock)
Shop Around/DIY: pilot epaulets made from black cardstock and wrapped with gold ribbon, tape or paper. Held in place with double stick tape.
 
Waiter
 
Shop Your Closet: white dress shirt, tie, dress pants, shoes
Shop Your Stuff: plate, saucer, white pillow case
Shop Around/DIY: wrap white pillow case around waist for a faux waiter’s apron



Russian Dancer
 
Shop Your Closet: white dress shirt, dress pants, boots
Shop Your Stuff: mom’s make-up for faux beard, old red t-shirt
Shop Around/DIY: fur hat from thrift store, red sash made from cutting a long, 4″ wide piece of t-shirt and tying it around the waist.
Newsies
 
Shop Your Closet: dress shirts (any colors) or long-sleeve shirts, vests, dress pants, shoes
Shop Your Stuff:  roll newspapers
Shop Around/DIY: newsboy hats $1 at thrift store
Pirate
 
Shop Your Closet: white dress shirt, dress pants, shoes
Shop Your Stuff: old red t-shirt
Shop Around/DIY: pirate hook, sword, patch/earring kit from dollar store or Target OneSpot; sash and dew rag cut from an old t-shirt and tied in place.
 
 
Magician
 
 
Shop Your Closet: white dress shirt, dress pants, shoes
Shop Your Stuff:  n/a
Shop Around/DIY:  cape, top hat and mustache from dollar store. Wand available at dollar store or DIY by wrapping a straw with black/white paper or vinyl.

 

Vampire
 
Shop Your Closet: white dress shirt, dress pants, shoes
Shop Your Stuff:  medal from toy box, tied with ribbon (or at dollar store)
Shop Around/DIY: dollar store cape, vampire teeth; sash made from an old, red t-shirt.

Need more ideas for boys church clothes?
* Fairy Tale Prince
* Game Show Host
* Accountant/Business man
* SPY
What about girls’ church or dressy clothes?

Got ya covered.
 
FANCY DRESSES
 
Diva
 
Shop Your Closet: any ‘fancy’ girls dress
Shop Your Stuff:  mom’s cell phone and sunglasses, jewelry
Shop Around/DIY: dollar store boa
Pageant Queen
Shop Your Closet: any ‘fancy’ PROM dress
Shop Your Stuff:  costume jewelry
Shop Around/DIY: make a sash from an old sheet or fabric. Add letters with paint, stencils, iron-on vinyl, sharpie or iron on letters from the craft store.
Fairy Princess
 
 
Shop Your Closet: any girls’ dresses, especially “Easter” or pastel colors

Shop Your Stuff: tiaras, wands from the toy box
Shop Around/DIY: dollar store wings



Glenda The Good Witch


Shop Your Closet: pink ‘fancy’ or ‘princess’ dress

Shop Your Stuff:  n/a
Shop Around/DIY: dollar store wings; crown made from poster board wrapped in fabric with ribbon trim hot glued.



EVERYDAY DRESSY CLOTHES
 
Skirts, dress shirts, cardigans, etc.
 
President of the United States
 

Shop Your Closet: white dress shirt, cardigan, black skirt
Shop Your Stuff:  n/a
Shop Around/DIY: dollar store bag embellished with a color print off of the presidential seal. Attach to bag with tape.

 

 

Librarian
 

Shop Your Closet: plain dress, cardigan

Shop Your Stuff:  book(s) of choice
Shop Around/DIY: n/a

 

 
Teacher
 

Shop Your Closet: white dress shirt, skirt

Shop Your Stuff:  hair clip, folder, pencil
Shop Around/DIY: n/a

 

 
Witch
 
Shop Your Closet: basic black dress
Shop Your Stuff:  black shoes or boots, crazy socks or tights
Shop Around/DIY: witch hat or fascinator

 

News Anchor / Reporter
 

Shop Your Closet: white dress shirt, dress skirt
Shop Your Stuff:  lanyard/work ID badge
Shop Around/DIY: dollar store or other microphone

 

See how easy this is?
Got school uniform clothes?
We can rock school uniforms.
NAVY SLACKS + PLAIN WHITE SHIRT
Han Solo
 
Shop Your Closet: navy pants, white long-sleeve shirt, shoes
Shop Your Stuff:  toy gun painted black
Shop Around/DIY: Add orange lines to pants with vinyl, washi or other reflective tape; vest is an old t-shirt cut down the center with sleeves removed. Raw edges around arm holes and jacket front are “hemmed” with black electrical tape. Faux boots are made by wrapping black fabric (I used vinyl) around pant legs and taping down the back. Fits over black church shoes.
Police Officer
 
Shop Your Closet:  navy pants, white polo
Shop Your Stuff:  n/a
Shop Around/DIY: dollar store police toys; police hat from Target OneSpot
Knight
Shop Your Closet: navy pants, church shoes
Shop Your Stuff:  dad’s white long-sleeve shirt; mom’s grey scarf
Shop Around/DIY: helmet, sword, shield, arm plates from dollar store; red sash from an old t-shirt; faux boot covers made by wrapping vinyl fabric around pant legs and taping together.
 
KHAKI PANTS + PLAIN SHIRT
Explorer
 
Shop Your Closet: plain black shirt and khaki pants
Shop Your Stuff:  n/a
Shop Around/DIY: dollar store explorer hat, vest and binoculars
Need more school uniform ideas?
 
* Paramedic (navy pants/shirt)
* Uncle Sam
 
Got jeans and t-shirts?
 
We can rock jeans, too!
 
Super Fan
 
Shop Your Closet:  Team jersey, jeans
Shop Your Stuff:  football
Shop Around/DIY: Foam fan hand from Michaels ($3 w/out coupon) or make a hand out of two pieces of colored poster board staples or taped together.
 
Cook
Shop Your Closet: white t-shirt, jeans, shoes
Shop Your Stuff:  dad’s apron, dew rag; bowl and spoon from kitchen
Shop Around/DIY: n/a
Construction Worker
Shop Your Closet:  jeans, white tank top
Shop Your Stuff:  dad’s tool belt/hammer
Shop Around/DIY:  dollar store construction helmet
Dr. Who
Shop Your Closet: jeans, white dress shirt, black socks and shoes
Shop Your Stuff:  suspenders
Shop Around/DIY: dollar store light up wand (Sonic Screwdriver); bow tie from thrift store or hot glued from scrap fabric.
 
 
Cowboy
 
Shop Your Closet: jeans, long-sleeve shirt, boots
Shop Your Stuff:  toy pistol, rope
Shop Around/DIY: dollar store hat (or use own)
Cowgirl
 
Shop Your Closet: white long-sleeve shirt, jeans
Shop Your Stuff:  red bandana
Shop Around/DIY: red cow(girl) hat and vest from dollar store
 
Lumberjack

Shop Your Closet: jeans; long-sleeve shirt
Shop Your Stuff:  knit hat
Shop Around/DIY: “outdoorsmen” beard from the dollar store; glow-in-the-dark hatchet (extra visibility at knight.
 
Sheriff

Shop Your Closet: jeans, long-sleeve shirt
Shop Your Stuff:  n/a
Shop Around/DIY: dollar store sheriff’s badge, vest and toy gun
Mario & Luigi















Shop Your Closet:  red/green t-shirts
Shop Your Stuff:  overalls (or get at thrift store)
Shop Around/DIY: white gloves ($1 at Walmart); two red or green foam visors. Cut Mario and Luigi symbols out on Silhouette/Cricut/by hand out of vinyl and attach to visors.
 


Minion (Despicable Me)

Shop Your Closet:  Yellow Hoodie
Shop Your Stuff:  $1 knit gloves; overalls (possibly); black vinyl
Shop Around/DIY:  Dispicable Me 2 glasses at party stores 8/$1.49.
 
Train Conductor
 
Shop Your Closet:  long-sleeve grey shirt
Shop Your Stuff:  red handkerchief, train hat (or look for at thrift store); overalls
Shop Around/DIY:  n/a
 
Rosie The Riveter
 
 
Shop Your Closet: denim/chambray shirt or jacket
Shop Your Stuff:  red bandanna (or red polka dot handkerchief)
Shop Around/DIY: n/a


Need more ideas for jeans?

* ZOMBIES!
* Bob the Builder
* 50’s ‘James Dean’ (with leather jacket)
* MAGNUM, P.I.

What about black pants and a black shirt?
 
Black is the new black.
 
Mime
Shop Your Closet: black leggings, striped shirt
Shop Your Stuff:  n/a
Shop Around/DIY: suspenders  and  hat were $2 at thrift shore; face paint; $1 gloves from Walmart
Firefighter
Shop Your Closet:   black shirt; sweats or pants
Shop Your Stuff:  kitchen fire extinguisher; fire hat from free from fire department
Shop Around/DIY:  cute an adult, long-sleeve black shirt straight down the center. “Hem” raw edges with black electrical tape. Stripes are made with yellow and silver Duck brand tape. Faux jacket clasps are made from pop can pull tabs being hot glued in place. To keep jacket closed, you can attach adhesive-backed Velcro or use double stick tape.
Luke Skywalker

Shop Your Closet: black long-sleeve shirt, black church shoes, black sweats
Shop Your Stuff:  single black glove
Shop Around/DIY:  Make the black belt on the shirt using black electrical tape; green faux light saber is from the dollar store; faux boot covers are made by wrapping the pant leg in fabric (I used vinyl) and taping the covers in place down the back of the leg. 


BLACK LEGGINGS + SHIRT

Minnie Mouse

 

Shop Your Closet:  black leggings/skirt; red polka dot shirt
Shop Your Stuff:  red shoes; Minnie Ears
Shop Around/DIY: n/a
Need more ideas for black pants + shirt?
* NINJA
* ARTIST (with smock + artist pallet)
* SKELETON (white vinyl bones stuck to clothing)
* STICK FIGURE (white lines painted on shirt/pants)
* CAT/CHEETAH/TIGER
* SPIDER
* BAT
 
Got old sports equipment?
We can have fun with sports equipment.
 
Football player
 
Basketball Player
 
 
Fisherman

 
 
Soccer Players

Rugby
Alpine Skier

Hockey Player

Karate Kid / Martial Arts

 
Ice Skater
 
 
 
Tennis Player

 
 
 
Need more sports ideas?
* GOLFER
* GYMNAST
* BASEBALL PLAYER
* CHEER LEADING
* WRESTLING
* TRACK & FIELD
* BALLERINA
* DANCER (Jazz, Tap, etc.)
* DANCER
Got any Camo Shirts or Jackets?
Hey, where did you disappear to?
 
Hunter
Shop Your Closet:  hunter camo coat/shirt, jeans
Shop Your Stuff: n/a
Shop Around/DIY:  dollar store bow & arrow (or use own); florescent cap from thrift store
 
Inspired by Duck Dynasty
Shop Your Closet:  hunter camo coat/shirt, jeans
Shop Your Stuff:  n/a
Shop Around/DIY:  beard from dollar store, $1 Duck Dynasty bandana
 
Military/Soldier
 
 
Shop Your Closet:  camo shirt, hat
Shop Your Stuff:  n/a
Shop Around/DIY:  toy dog tags
What about plain ‘ol shorts?
We got shorts covered.
 
Lifeguard
Shop Your Closet: plain white shirt, shorts, flip flops
Shop Your Stuff:  towel or whistle
Shop Around/DIY:  red vinyl “Lifeguard” cut and added to the shirt (or paint, stencil or use iron-on vinyl)
 Clown
Shop Your Closet:  n/a
Shop Your Stuff:  dad’s shirt, shorts, socks and shoes
Shop Around/DIY:  dollar store clown nose and fedora; suspenders
Surfer
Need more ideas for shorts?
* SWIMMER
* CHARLIE BROWN
Anything else we could use?
Got an old graduation robe?
Harry Potter
Shop Your Closet: white dress shirt, grey vest
Shop Your Stuff:  scar made with mom’s eye liner pencil
Shop Around/DIY:  scarf is made from scrap t-shirt fabric sewn together; glasses were $1 at Michael’s; wand is a bamboo skewer covered with paint and hot glue;  robe is from graduation (or $5 from thrift stores).
 
Hermione Granger
Shop Your Closet:  brother’s white dress shirt; grey vest, 

Shop Your Stuff:  n/a
Shop Around/DIY:  add stripes to a red tie with yellow vinyl or tape; robe from graduation or $5 from thrift store; wand is a bamboo skewer covered with hot glue and painted brown.
 
 

Gospel Singer

Shop Your Closet:  n/a
Shop Your Stuff:  old graduation robe or …
Shop Around/DIY:  … or $5 from thrift store

Graduate

Shop Your Closet:  n/a
Shop Your Stuff:  old graduation robe or …
Shop Around/DIY: … or $5 at a thrift store


What about a leather or canvas jacket?

Katniss Everdeen

Shop Your Closet: leather or canvas jacket
Shop Your Stuff:  Mockingjay necklace or pin
Shop Around/DIY: bow and arrow (or bow and arrow from dollar store); quiver made from cardboard and covered in black duct tape.



Even Cardboard Can Make A Great Costume

Really? Yes, really.

Here’s some cardboard-based costumes we’ve used in years past.

Wall-e

Shop Your Closet:  long-sleeve shirt, black sweats
Shop Your Stuff:  duct tape
Shop Around/DIY:  square box painted yellow and embellished with paint and vinyl; Wall-e’s track is strips of duct tape down the front of the black sweats; hands are grey to-the-elbow dollar store gloves that have fingers taped together with duct tape.

Butterfly

Shop Your Closet: black shirt and skirt
Shop Your Stuff:  black head band
Shop Around/DIY: cut wings out of cardboard and paint as desired. Attach to child with old nylons. Make antennae by wrapping black pipe cleaners around black headband.
 
Thomas The Tank Engine & Friends
Shop Your Closet:  jeans and t-shirts
Shop Your Stuff:  sharpie markers, glue and tape
Shop Around/DIY:  train costumes are made entirely from different colored poster board taped at the shoulders to fit over top of a child.

How about using an old sheet?

* MUMMY
* GHOST
* STIG (from Top Gear)
* PRINCESS LEIA
* GREEK GODDESS
* CLEOPATRA


Happy Halloween from THRIVE!

(Bringing out a final project from the THRIVE archives before Tuesday when you’ll be able to find 100+ costumes you can make for $3 or less. Hope to see you Tuesday!)

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And it begins.


My daughter’s convinced that she needs an extensive Halloween wardrobe.

I’m convinced that it’s not gonna happen.

Luckily for her I have a closet full of  these ripped, stained and worn out gems.

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Toss in some thin elastic and scissors and I came up with this candy corn themed, ruffled skirt refashion in a single nap time.

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Ah, compromise.


And this has got to be one of the easiest sewing projects ever. Start with a white t-shirt that easily fits around your girl’s waist.

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When you flip the cut-off rectangle upside down, you see that you’ve got a handy-dandy skirt base with a pre-sewn waistband all ready to go. And since t-shirt fabric doesn’t have to be hemmed, that raw bottom edge doesn’t need any sewing at all.

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You’ll need to cut and piece together strips of white, orange and yellow t-shirt scraps to make the ruffles for each layer. The width is up to you and how long you want each layer. The length of all your pieced together strips for each color needs to be double the width of your t-shirt base.

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My t-shirt base was 15” wide so I made sure my strips totaled 30” long.  I stitched my scrap strips together to make three long loops of fabric …

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… and then ran a long basting stitch along the top edge of each one. I gently gathered each loop of fabric until they were the same width as my t-shirt base.

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(Make sure that any screen printing, stains, etc. are facing the inside of your ruffled layers!)


Pinning and attaching each ruffle layer to the t-shirt base was a quick and easy.

Candy Corn Skirt Refashion Choose To Thrive 10


And the best part was using that already-sewn bottom shirt edge as a casing for the elastic. Love that.

Candy Corn Skirt Refashion Choose To Thrive 11.jpg


The only thing left to do was sew the elastic ends together!

Sweet! Done and done!

In less than an hour I wound up with a cute t-shirt skirt refashion in time for Halloween that’s the cat’s meow.


Um, apparently.

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And while I was cleaning up, I put those left-over scraps to good use.

I cut some rag ribbon for easy piggy tail love, Halloween treats, or whatever.

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So there you go!


I hope you take a look at your fabric stash and have fun whipping up something awesome during nap time!

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Featured on:

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This week while my kids were off track, we drug out the food coloring, cookie cutters and went totally crazy with dessert staple.

 

100_4570

I mean holy-cow-that’s-a-lot-of-food-coloring crazy.

Behold the Extreme Home Makeover edition of the basic Kellogg’s Rice Krispy treat.

 

Sept 2011 BLOG4-5

*EEK*

 

I kinda love them.

 

The end result was crazy-bright, marshmallowy mash-ups that are so stinkin’ cute and not much harder to make than the original.

 

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The sky’s the limit here for the colors, patterns and shapes you could use. Here’s what we came up with:

 

Ghosts & Stripes


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Bats


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Pumpkins & Stripes


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Plain Stripes & Even Quilt Block Shapes (ha!)


Sept 2011 BLOG4-6

 

Mini Bites


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Once you get started it’s sorta hard to stop.

 

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Everyone knows how to make these so I’ll skip the full tutorial thing. However, there were a few tweaks I made to pull these off that I’ll pass along:

 

1. To get the color super saturated, you’ll need copious amounts of food coloring – like a full teaspoon of the Wilton jells for most colors. For the black, it’s more like a full jar … um, seriously.  (Try not to think about it … it’s only once a year. 🙂

 

First batch with 1/4 tsp. food coloring jell: too pastel-y

 

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Second batch with a generous 1 tsp. jell: much better

 

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2. The other trick to getting a solid color is to use half the amount of cereal the original recipe calls for. Here’s what I wound up doing:

 

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3. To make the stripes, cut long strips from solid blocks of color (like on the tray above) and mush them together.

 

Sept 2011 BLOG4-2

This worked much better than taking small clumps of each color and trying to form it by hand.

 

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4. Use a generous amount of non-stick coooking spray on the cookie cutters. You’re welcome.

 

5. Let the cereal cool for 10-15 minutes at room temperature before cutting. That way the cereal mix will be somewhat set, but easier to work with. Once your shapes are made, go ahead and refrigerate to set.

 

Have Fun!

 

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I’m always on the lookout for fun holiday projects in keeping with the Thrive Philosophy:
No money. No shopping.  No problem.
And just in time for Halloween, I’m sharing five of my favorite post from the Thrive archives this week before new projects post in October.

Check out these frightfully cute lanterns!

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Perfect for adding some whimsy to your mantel, piano or shelf …

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… and rocking out a mitten tree until the snow starts to fall …

Oct 20108

… and especially for  keeping your little monsters safe and easy to spot on Halloween night!
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Ready to make your own?
lanterns
(and a battery-operated tea light that I forgot to include)
As always, I hope you’ll
Rock What Ya Got
and adapt the materials I used to make what you have on hand work.  With a little creativity, you’ll probably be able to make this project without a run to the store.
Cut a small piece of sticky back Velcro (mine is 1/2” wide) and attach one side to the inside of the jar and the other to a battery operated tea light. Set tea light aside.

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Apply a thin coat of Mod Podge (or a mix of half water, half white school glue) starting at any left over seam from the label.

Oct 201010

Trim craft tissue to the same width of the jar plus an extra 1/2” inch.  Line top of tissue up with the top of the jar and very gently press into place, working from the center out.  Careful—tissue will tear very easily.
Work around the jar one small area at a time, thoroughly covering the entire jar surface,  and overlap tissue along back seam by a 1/4 – 1/2” inch, trimming if necessary.
Oct 201013
Don’t worry if there’s a slight gap along the back (like in the pumpkin above) or a few tears.  Just cover any gaps with more Mod Podge …
   

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… place a small tissue patch over top …

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… and cover with a thin coat of Mod Podge.  Easy peasy. 

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Cover the entire top of the tissue with a good coat of the glue as well to make sure all the tissue is good and stuck.

Oct 201014

To finish, cut a small circle of tissue slightly smaller than the bottom of the jar, coat bottom of jar with glue, place circle down, smooth in place …

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… and finish bottom with a coat of glue as well.  Let these dry upside down for an hour or so—until completely dry to the touch.

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While the kiddos are waiting for their lanterns to dry …

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… and waiting …

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It’s time to work on the lids!  Mark your handle holes … 

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… and drill through with a drill bit large enough for your handle. (I used a 7/16” bit for the lids with pipe cleaner handles and 9/16” for the lids with glow sticks).

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Trim away any rough plastic on the holes with a craft knife …

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… and paint lids whatever color you’d like.  I had black paint so I used black.  White for the ghost and orange for the pumpkin would have been cute, too.
After the lids and jars are dry, turn the kids loose!

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You could use craft paint, vinyl face shapes from a Cricut or Silhouette machine or plain ‘ol Sharpies like we did.

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And the best part is the fun faces that appear … like the “Scribble Monster” and the “Vampire Guy With A Bloody Nose and Furry Teeth.”

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And your kiddos will be so proud of themselves for making something so totally awesome.

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To attach the handle, thread your ribbon/pipe cleaner/glow stick through the holes and tie, glue or attach the ends for form a loop.

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Then pop your tea light into the jar …

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… screw the lid on and, voila!
Houston, we have Halloween Lanterns!

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These fun lanterns are sure to bring out the spooky and the silly in your little goblins:
Day …
 Oct 20107
… or night!

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Thanks for stopping by!
Hope you all have a safe and wonderful Halloween!

How to make a travel schedule board - great for special needs children and traveling - Choose To Thrive

Why make this?

When my oldest was diagnosed with Autism nine years ago, we soon realized how critical structured, predicable routines were. They made a night-and-day difference in my son’s behavior that he began to thrive around.  To help our son (who was three at the time) and our younger, non-reading children understand those routines, we made schedule boards modeled after the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) that allows non-verbal individuals to communicate using pictures of everyday activities.

We had a large board for our home routine (getting dressed, grooming, eating, chores, etc.) and a small, travel version that became our lifeline to handling errands. Shopping trips around town, by nature, were unpredictable and so hard for our son to handle. Using a travel schedule board in the car helped him (and our other kids) see exactly what to expect better than vague words like ‘errands’ that differed every day.

Who needs one of these?

Everyone!

While I created the schedule boards specifically for my special needs son, our whole family did better with a set routine—even our littlest kids knew what to expect and we as parents felt less frazzled and in control.

These schedule boards were a staple in our home and car for a few years until our son was able to handle his routine through verbal prompts and discussion only. The schedule boards slowly went away and I hadn’t thought much about them until I saw Nicole from MOMentity.com posting Instagram pictures for her own schedule board last week. I realized how crazy our lives have become and how those boards could help our family become more organized again.

Nicole and I decided to share our family’s schedule boards today to show how they can help any family with their routines, but especially those who have children with special needs: Autism for my son and Sensory Processing Disorder for Nicole’s son.

We don’t have special needs in our family. Can I still benefit from this?

Yes!

Schedule boards like Nicole’s for the home or mine for the car can help:

* Non-readers easily see and understand sequences and events

*  Help children track progress and assess time in a visual way while running errands or traveling

* No more, “Are we there yet?” or “Are we done yet?”

Making A Schedule Board

You can check out Nicole’s awesome magnetic schedule board using Instagram pictures with a full tutorial HERE.

How to make a magnetic routine board from MOMentity.com

To make a travel schedule board  you’ll need:

How to make a travel schedule board - great for special needs children and traveling - Choose To Thrive

I took cell phone pictures of all of the places we typically visit throughout the week: grocery stores, church buildings, post offices, parks, friends/family homes, schools, etc.   I inserted them into a Word document and printed the thumbnails off on cardstock. (You could also print them from Instagram).

How to make a travel schedule board for special needs children or road trips - Choose To Thrive

Trimmed images were laminated for durability and got a Velcro tab on the back.

How to make a travel schedule board - great for special needs children and traveling - Choose To Thrive

Each of our pictures are stored on the inside of the file folder (use both sides of necessary.)

How to make a travel schedule board - great for special needs children and traveling - Choose To Thrive

Our schedule gets mapped on the outside.

How to make a travel schedule board - great for special needs children and traveling - Choose To Thrive

Using Schedule Boards in the Car

Before we roll out of our driveway, I list the places we’re going in order of travel on the back of our folder. As we visit each place, the thumbnail gets returned to the inside so the kids know what’s still left. If I need to change up the routine mid-route, I stop and change the pictures. Kids can then see exactly what’s changed and how the rest of our trip will go.

Tips:

* Though clip art and stock images will work fine, the most effective way to help children ‘map their day’  is to take pictures of the actual buildings your family visits. This helps children recognize and connect the sequencing and places along the way.  My kids love seeing their school, their church, their dance studio.

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(For internet security, I avoided showing my neighborhood schools, parks, etc., but do use those personal pictures on our boards.)

* Don’t forget the less frequented, but still regular stops like dentists, doctors, stores in other cities, etc.

* Add words to thumbnails to reinforce literacy.

How to make a travel schedule board - great for special needs children and traveling - Choose To Thrive

* Make a few blank squares that you can write on to handle unexpected stops with ease. (I use a plain marker.)

* For road trips, print off pictures of landmarks or city signs for each anticipated stop.

* If the schedule changes, change the board!

My son loved seeing exactly what stores we were going to visit on a particular trip (ex. Walmart, Maverik for gas and suckers and then the Post Office.)

How to make a travel schedule board - great for special needs children and traveling - Choose To Thrive

If for some reason I had to change the sequence (Walmart, Post Office and then Maverik) and didn’t visually make that change on the board, my son became confused and upset. Pulling into the Post Office to him meant, ‘What?? No Maverik? Where’s my sucker?!!’.

But he did much better if I would stop in the Walmart parking lot and show him, “Hey bud, there’s construction on this road so mommy’s going to go to the Post Office first and then to Maverik where you can get your sucker. Can you help mommy change our board?”

How to make a travel schedule board - great for special needs children and traveling - Choose To Thrive

All better.

Hope you and your family enjoy getting organized!

Be sure to check out Nicole’s magnetic, instagram schedule board over at MOMentity.com. You’ll find a full tutorial as well as great resources for women lost in motherhood who want to achieve their own personal goals while still nurturing home and family.

Make 4th of July pillows from t-shirts and old stuffed animal filling from THRIVE

So … summer.

It’s time to actually spruce up the ‘ol front porch for the 4th.

Turns out, though, I’m fresh out of décor for the 4th of July or porches in general.

And as usual, my budget is zero dollars and zero cents.

That means I’m left with whatever I can make out of my classy craft stash of old, stained shirts and trashy I’ve-been-through-six-kids stuffed animals.

Nice.

But with a little creative cutting, sewing and repurposing, I still managed to come up with:

3  pillows + 3 ways + 3 stuffing types

4th of July pillows8

As always I hope you can take this idea and Rock What Ya Got and make your own version without a run to the store.

#1 – Striped Pillow with zippered close + old throw pillow

Make 4th of July pillows from t-shirts and old stuffed animal filling from THRIVE

I grabbed two stained polo shirts, pieced together wide stripes for the front  and added a solid (red) piece for the back. Stained fabric? No biggie. Use the back side … no one cares or will notice. I added some top stitching for extra awesome points along the stripes, a zipper at the bottom and slid in an old throw pillow to finish. Done and done.

#2 – Blue Star pillow with button closure + fiberfill stuffing

Make 4th of July pillows from t-shirts and old stuffed animal filling from THRIVE

I ironed Heat’n’bond ultra to the back of some scraps and then cut stars on my Silhouette machine (hand cutting works great, too). Shapes were ironed on and top stitched for again—extra awesome points. Because I’m lazy I loved the wide hem on the bottom of the shirt, I used that look to finish the pillow. Fronts and backs were pinned together right sides OUT and then stitched completely shut.  How’d I get the stuffing in? Easy! I just flipped the pillow over (to the old front of the shirt) and inserted the stuffing through the three buttons that ran down from the neckline. (Yup, I totally left them attached to save time.) Once the pillow was stuffed, I buttoned the shirt back together, flipped it over and voila! Finished pillow with a sneaky closure.

#3 – Camo U.S.A. pillow + old stuffed animal fluff

Make 4th of July pillows from t-shirts and old stuffed animal filling from THRIVE

Oops, I did it again. I pulled a few ratty stuffed animals out of the ‘toss’ pile and pulled out all the stuffing to add to this pillow.  So sick of still having Easter plush around the house. Those clearance isle Easter Bunnies that are falling apart need to go bye-bye. I cut the letters on my Silhouette CAMEO, but again, scissors work great, too. The side seems were already in place from the shirt and the top/bottom edges were machine stitched closed in two seconds flat. I left a small opening along the bottom to stuff the pillow and whip stitched it closed.

So there you go – 4th of July flair no matter what you have on hand!

Now go grab those fabric scraps. Slip cover an old throw pillow or two. Use the buttons on a t-shirt for a quick closure. Put the stuffing in those unused stuffed animals to work.

Bet you come up with something flat-out-free and fabulous!

Make 4th of July pillows from t-shirts and old stuffed animal filling from THRIVE

Ever have this happen?

Use a busted tape measure to decorate shelves - choose-to-thrive.com

I have.

My kids have killed three tape measures in the past year and it’s getting old. Really, really old.

Oh well. Time to bundle up yet another pile of measuring mess and haul it out to the trash, right?

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Wait! Don’t toss that!

Tape measure metal is a cinch to cut with regular scissors and is loaded with all the organizery-measury goodness that’s all over blog land right now.

I used mine to dress up the fronts of some temporary shelves I have in my bedroom-turned-impromptu-sewing-station.

See?

Use busted measuring tapes to decorate shelves - choose-to-thrive.com

I didn’t want to mess with painting these shelves with the whole ‘they’re temporary’ thing. But some extra color helps a lot.

Here’s the finished product:

Use busted tape measures to decorate shelves - choose-to-thrive.com

Oh, and did I mention how handy it is to be able to measure fabric and ribbon on the fly?

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I just hold up my yardage for a quick and accurate measurement.

Love that.

Here’s a few tips for anyone wanting to dress up their own shelves:

1. Be careful! The metal cuts easily with scissors, but the edges are sharp. Go slow, wear gloves and you’ll be fine.

2. Remove the measuring tape from the container by either unclipping the yellow portion from the blue tab or cutting it away using regular scissors.

Use busted measuring tapes to decorate shelves - choose-to-thrive.com

3. Use a strong adhesive like E-6000. Craft glue, hot glue and the likes won’t cut it. And don’t fight the natural curve in the metal. You’re not going to flatten it out so don’t try.

4. The easiest way to glue these is to remove the shelves from the the wall (if possible). I ran a generous bead of E-6000 down the board and used duct tape to keep the tape measure from shifting while it dried. Again, don’t try and flatten the metal—just keep it from moving.

Use busted tape measures to decorate shelves - choose-to-thrive.com

4. For the first shelf, I cut  a piece from the very end of the measuring tape and glued it to the left side.

Use a busted tape measure to decorate shelves - choose-to-thrive.com

The next morning I started at the beginning of the tape measure and glued it along the front and right side.

Use busted tape measures to decorate shelves - choose-to-thrive.com

For the remaining shelves, I measured the sides and front of each one and cut a single piece of metal tape. I glued the fronts of the shelves first and allowed them to dry overnight.

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Then I carefully bent the tape measure around the corner and glued it to the sides of the shelves. Again, duct tape kept everything in place while it dried.

Use busted tape measures to decorate shelves - choose-to-thrive.com

Super easy and cheap.

So …

Busted tape measure?

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It’s What-Not-To-Toss this weekend!

Faux Sleeves-001


Holy easy project, Batman.

This was such a fun no-brainer—a trifecta, really, of circumstances that yielded kid #3 something like 50 new shirt combos:

#1 – it’s dang cold outside

#2 – baby girl has lots of these in her closetMake faux sleeves from baby legs or knee highs - choosetothrive.blogspot.com

#3 – I’ve got a bunch of these left over from past projects:

Make faux sleeves from baby legs or knee highs - choosetothrive.blogspot.com

Women’s knee highs, Target; Leg warmers, Pick Your Plum

Voila!

Faux-Layered Awesomeness in two seconds flat.

This shirt can be worn plain. And sometimes plain is fine.

Make faux sleeves from baby legs or knee highs - choosetothrive.blogspot.com

But sometimes plain gets the boot with a funky 3/4 ruffle or striped, full-length sleeve.

Faux Sleeves from Thrive

Just slip socks or leg warmers on all the way up to the shoulder and you’re set.

You can attach your new sleeves with a zig zag stitch/serger  to make them permanent or just wear them opera glove style depending on your fashion fancy. Go for a more polished look by wearing the faux sleeves with the finished edge showing or keep it super casual with the raw edge exposed.

Make faux sleeves from baby legs or knee highs - choosetothrive.blogspot.com

Here’s another example:

most days this is just a plain black shirt.

Make faux sleeves from baby legs or knee highs - choosetothrive.blogspot.com

But add some faux sleeves and you’ve got a holiday wardrobe in seconds.

See?

Make faux sleeves from baby legs or knee highs - choosetothrive.blogspot.com

Make faux sleeves from baby legs or knee highs - choosetothrive.blogspot.com

Make faux sleeves from baby legs or knee highs - choosetothrive.blogspot.com

So …

Go hack up some socks or drag out those old leg warmers

and stay warm (and cute) this winter!

Make faux sleeves from baby legs or knee highs - choosetothrive.blogspot.com