Wednesday, December 03, 2008

Thrifty Gifty #1

From this

To this

For this (.50¢ plus some scrappy stuff)

Hi Ladies!

I am really excited about our Thrifty Gifty ideas. Here is the first one. If you don't have a little one to make this for, don't worry. We have ideas for almost everyone on your list! Or, if you want to do something nice, these are great for donating to Women's Shelters, children's hospitals and humanitarian organizations that send educational supplies to third world countries.

This is a fun and simple to make counting book. I tried to keep the design quick and easy so that if you decide to make these for groups of children like grandkids or nieces and nephews, they could be assembled in a jiffy! If, however, you would like a more elaborate counting book, for a little girl, check out Maren's blog (it's the Zany Not Crazy link in the right side bar). She has a super cute one!

Around your house, you might have old board books that your kids no longer read. But if you're like me, you might not. So, in my case, I went to the local thrift store and picked one up for .50¢....... pretty steep, I know! Now a few things to keep in mind. Your book may have a different number of pages than mine. No problem. You can count higher by adding a scarf with 5 stripes, 6 snowflakes, etc. Or, you can do what I did. My book actually had one more page. I just glued it to the page in front making it have one less. It was easier!!

Some other Christmas counting themes that are fun include:
The Christmas Tree:
One star
Two presents
Three ornaments
Four lights

The Nativity:
One Baby
Two parents
Three Wisemen
Four sheep

I have included a pattern for the numbers and text on the back cover. The way I did the numbers was to enlarge them to the size I liked on my computer screen. Then I used the screen as a light table, placing my cardstock over the top and tracing it right off the screen. Easy as pie! You are welcome to use my template, make copies, teach classes, whatever. Just don't make copies for sale and we will continue to be good friends!

For the snowman and parts, I used the Oh Joy diecut sheet. I traced the snowman onto the backside of the Mitten Mitten paper and made four total. Use one of the snowman that you traced for the first snowman since its eyes won't be diecut. Do the same thing with the buttons and noses. For the mouth I used a hole punch.

35 comments:

pattyb said...

Oh thank you. I think I found what I want to do for my little group of Primary kids for Christmas. I'll experiment on the theme. I have so many of those board books the kids don't use.

ScrapMomOf2 said...

Oh my goodness, this is so cute! I seriously would have a hard time destroying a book, but I could easily get over it! You can find board books at garage sales too! I love the snowman!! CUTE!!

Anonymous said...

love this! i have to make one now! maybe one for each of my daycare kids. thanks so much for the inspiration!

Maren said...

So cute! I love this idea...my kidos would love this thrifty gift!

BethW said...

Too cute-super idea!

wendy said...

I have always wanted to do a book like this, I have one sitting right here. So I'm glad that I can finally put it to use :) Thanks!

Chelle said...

perfection! i love it!!
thank you!
chelle

carabecca said...

Cute idea. "Love is" is actually the first book I ever read/memorized.

Chris said...

Too cute!!!

cbk said...

Very cute - love your snowman!

Bumbles and Fairy-Tales said...

Adorable idea! My boys have a ton of books - this will be perfect to re-do some of the older ones :)
Thanx so much!

Chrys said...

what a cute idea!!!!!

Andrea said...

I love this idea! Now to get the all items to do it in time for Christmas!

Merdrey said...

cool idea!!!

Gail S. said...

What a great idea!! Thank you for sharing. I have two 3yr. old nieces and this would be perfect for them!

joybear said...

how adorable!

Summer Braxton said...

I LOOOOVE this (said in a singsong voice)!!! Thanks for the idea... i"m all over it!

jo-ann said...

i'm inspired to use some of my board books i have in storage!

Betsy said...

What a cute idea!!! I love your snow men!

Wendy Sue said...

I LOVE this idea - so fun!! :o)

Alex S. said...

Cute board book!! I love it!

twinkle teaches said...

Thank you for this! :)
tina

Debbie Olson said...

Beautiful job and a wonderful project--TFS!

Papers Past said...

What a beautiful book, and so nicely made, too! No board book will ever be lonely again!

Natasja Cats - Verbeek said...

Julie this is so cute!!! Love this idea and I know Noa would love a book like this :)

connie said...

What a great idea! I would have never thought of this.

scandi said...

I LOVE this idea! I have friends having babies so this would be a good gift to give the little kiddos. I just got a Slice machine too so I'm excited to cut out the numbers with that. I hope that's ok to say in YOUR blog but I love your products! I just got some lacing cards for gifts... Christmas crafts here I come :)

Jen Martakis said...

This is absolutely adorable Julie!!

Dolce Deb's Designs said...

what a fabulous idea and so very thrifty that many can be made for gifts and donations. Hope you have a great day and TFS.

Debbie/Phx AZ

Liz said...

Thank you for this idea! I love it, never thought of it and I have tons of these worn out cardboard books!

Rebecca said...

What a wonderful project; my nephew will love it. Thank you for sharing!

kate blue said...

great diea-sometimes you need to ask your local thrift shops (not Goodwill or Salvation Army; mine is called something else) if they'll lower the price if you buy in bulk. Mine lowered to 25 cents a piece since I bought about $6 worth; they were trying to get rid of them to make space for more clothes!

Kristie Larsen said...

I love this and am currently working on one. One thing though; could you post a number 5 in the same size?? I would like to add a scarf to my snowman. I would really appreciate it! Thanks for all the inspiration. i think my kids will love getting these in their stockings. (or maybe i will just love making them for their stockings!)
k

Rita S. said...

Oh yeah!! I love board books! Even more fun is to alter the ones that have hidden flaps or spinners or peek-a-boo windows. I almost feel too cheap when rather than give them away to charity, i hang on to them to alter.

The snowman count up book is VERY VERY cute!!

jules said...

This is an adorable book.