Thrifty Gifty #2

From this

To this

Those of you who know me, know that my favorite treat of all is Hot Chocolate. There is something about the warm, dark, not too sweet, chocolaty flavor mixed with the smell of warm milk that makes me feel like all is right in the world. I don't even have to drink it, although I always do, but just holding a warm cup in my hands and smelling it makes me feel safe and secure.

So, I happen to have an abundance of empty Hot Chocolate containers floating around my house. If you don't you can pick up tins at dollar stores and even less expensively at thrift stores.

Now, I am too cheap to buy really good Hot Chocolate. I can be content with Nestles mixed with milk and warmed up in the microwave. But, many of my friends, knowing my obsession, give me cocoa mixes for gifts....... which I truly love, by the way! Once, Mike Bellande (some of you might know him) gave me a tin of Bellagio Italian Hot Chocolate. It was like drinking a brownie. It was so good in fact, that I looked for it online. As soon as I saw the price, my "frugal factor" kicked in and I went back to my Nestles! When you drink at least one cup a day you have to consider the expense!

So, here's how to give your friends a tin of hot cocoa without breaking the bank!

When I am not being lazy and using Nestles, I use variations of this simple recipe. CAUTION: It cannot be mixed with water! Only milk, as all hot chocolate should be made, in my opinion.

1 Cup Cocoa (I like a good Dutch Cocoa)
1 Cup Sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix it together. For one serving, warm one cup of milk and add 2T of mix.

Here is a popular recipe from allrecipes.com that I might try too. This one can be mixed in water, but trust me, they always taste better mixed in milk.

6 1/2 cups powdered milk
1 (5 ounce) package non-instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup powdered chocolate drink mix
1/2 cup powdered non-dairy creamer
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Mix it together. Dissolve 1/3 cup cocoa mix in 1 cup boiling water.

Some fun things to try when making cocoa mixes are replacing part of the sugar with candy canes or Werther's Originals that have been chopped finely in your blender or food processor. For the second recipe, you could replace the creamer with flavored varieties like hazelnut or vanilla.

To make the tin, I covered it in Be Good "Ribbons" paper. Then I added the strip of Yultide from the Oh Joy collection around the middle. I covered the edges of the Yultide paper with a bead of glue coated in silver glitter. The tag is cut from the Oh Joy journaling cards. I love the chocolate and mint colored ribbons to go along with the cocoa theme! My canister has a set in lid that was perfect for decorating. I added a bit of glitter to it too, just for good measure!

So get mixing and while you're at it, make yourself a cup. It is the closest thing to peace on earth!

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.

Paper Tree Tutorial

Remember that darling paper tree sent to us by Sarah the other day? Well, some of you asked me how it was made and I said that I would look for instructions. I didn't find any. But, after looking closely at Sarah's tree, I thought I'd give it a go. Mine did turn out a bit differently. I think these are not only great for decorating, but also for holding a gift for a friend.

PS: I apologize for the dark photos. I did this last night by the light of a lamp. Not great for photography!

Here's what you'll need:
1. Two sheets of green cardstock. I used "Wrapping Paper" from our Oh Joy Collection.
2. Brown cardstock for the trunk. Mine is 4x6", but depending on your cylinder, you might need to adjust the measurements.
3. A cylinder. I would have used a tube from a roll of paper towels, but I didn't have one. Funny, but I'm more likely to have a cylindrical Hot Chocolate container than a paper roll tube.
4. Something cute for the top. I used a star from the Oh Joy die cut sheet and matched it up with the chipboard star from our Buck Naked Ornaments.

Here's what to do:
1. Cover lower section of tube to make the trunk of the tree.


2. Cut a bunch of long triangles for the tree. Mine start out 2" wide at the top, tapering to a point and they are 4" long. It looks to me like Sarah's are skinnier than mine. I cut them smaller as I went up the tree. By the time I was up to the top of the tree, the triangles were 1" wide at the top, still 4" long and still tapering to a point.


3. Use a paintbrush or smooth pencil to curl the ends of the triangles and adhere to the tube.


4. Go all the way around the tube, one layer at a time.


5. Continue all the way up the tree, using smaller triangles as you get towards the top.


6. Now for the tricky part! Make a cone for the top of the tree. To do this, I took my second piece of cardstock, flipped it to the backside and measuring from one of the corners, I made a mark 6" down from the corner. Then, I made a mark 6" across the top from the same corner. Continue measuring from that corner down, in between the first two marks until you have enough points to help you draw a smooth curve. Cut out along this curve. Run double stick adhesive down the first edge and roll into a cone. It helps to cut the corner off the top of the cone. It also helps to fold up the edge of the cone with the adhesive on it (before the adhesive is on it) about 1/4" in from the edge. I used the end of a paintbrush inside of the cone to put counter pressure against my hand as I pressed the seam down tight.


7. After the cone part is made, cut the lower edge into a pointed fringe so that you can curl it up and mimmick the layers on the rest of the tree. I cut as far as 2" up from the bottom edge. (I neglected to get photos of the cone as I made it, but you can do it! Give it a try, you'll see.)

Fill your cylindar with goodies to give as a gift, or just place it out as a cute accent piece in your home. If using a paper towel tube, you can make a bottom for it out of cardstock if you want to fill it with treats.

The Flock, The Day and The Game

Good Morning,

Let's start with the game. No weight change this morning. That's two weeks for me on this little plateau. And, this is the last weigh in before Japan (I leave on Tuesday). I will be 12 pounds lighter than when I started my quest!! So, even though I didn't lose any this week, I am still proud of myself.

Regulars to the blog know that if they post a comment today, they will be entered into a drawing for a prize. I never really say what they will win, because I usually haven't decided that yet. Usually it's a new line of paper, and older line of paper and something fun to go with it. Today I am thinking of Fleuriste and Oh Joy with the Buck Naked ornaments so that the winner can make these cute birds if they wish.

The instructions are in the post below, if you didn't see that yesterday. And, I will do the wire holder tutorial, but probably not today.

Why, you ask?

I have kids home from school because of parent teacher conferences...... mine are in 30 minutes. Abby has a doctor's appointment at 10:30. I have a hair appointment at 1:30, but it's a two hour drive (that's a long story, I might have to share it sometime). Anyway, I don't expect to be able to breath all morning!

Oh JOY, Home Decor

Here is a project done by my friend, Lisa Falduto. Don't you think it's cute. I love the "old" looking jingle bells. So, I said, "Lisa, you have to tell me where you got the letters and the jingle bells, my blog readers will want to know." She said that they came already put together and she got them at Michaels. She said that the letters are wooden and had some other items glued to them. She used adhesive dissolver to get them off and then sanded the whole thing, decorated it up, re-attached the jingle bells (they were already on the wire) and TADAAAA, one fabulous home decor project.

This got me thinking. There are probably lots of Halloween and other craft items on sale right now for one reason or another. They are either ugly, out of season or overstocks. The next time I am at my craft store I am going to walk the aisles with Lisa in mind, saying to myself things like:
1. Does the shape work? If so, can you easily change the color by covering it in paper or repainting.
2. Would this work for fall or Thanksgiving rather than Halloween if I altered it. (Think pumpkins, leaves and bare trees!)
3. Why is this ugly and can you change that part of it?

If you find a bargain craft item and turn it into a work of art, send it to krista@cosmocricket.com and maybe we'll feature your creativity on our blog and/or inspiration gallery on our site.

Gingerbread House

It did snow, so I feel justified in posting a Christmas project. I didn't have any holiday photos on hand, but I plan to add them! I used the Oh Joy papers of course, including the ornament covers and strip tease sheet. I also used the Buck Naked Chipboard Ornaments and the green velvet ribbon from Mr. Campy.

Weigh in Wednesday

Hallelujah! Those two pesky pounds that re-visited last week have left the premises! WAHOOoooooo! I'm back ladies. Recommitted, more determined and slightly thinner. How did you do. Let us know or give us some encouragement and you might win a prize!

And, just for fun. Here is a great way to get rid of all the candy in your house. Make a cute gift and give it to your neighbors. Maybe there's a really skinny girl in your neighborhood that could use a few pounds!

Look What our Friends Can Do

We receive several emails each day from Cosmo Cricket fans showing us what they've made with our product. They're are some amazingly talented people out there. It's a shame that there aren't more publication opportunities for everyone! Here are a couple though that really stood out to me. The first was sent to us from Shellye. She took our Buck Naked Ornaments and Oh Joy Die-cuts to the next level! Look how cute this is!

Then, an idea I personally haven't seen before. Stacey Daubenberger took a game board and our Oh Joy collection and made this amazing home decor piece. I think this is such a fun idea. Games with missing pieces are always available really inexpensively at local thrift stores and tag sales. She just really got me thinking about the possibilities!

A Winner and A Sneak

Congratulations Corey! Send us your address and we'll send you your prize.

Here is a sneak peek of our Oh Joy Collection which you will be able to enjoy soon! It will be up on the site for pre-orders shortly and will start shipping mid September!