Homemade Christmas Ornaments

Today I am going to show you how to make Christmas ornaments for practically nothing. These make great gifts or decoration for yourself. My mom made these for our tree when I was a child and me and Pat made these last year for our tree... we made a few more this year because some got water damaged and to give as gifts.

All you need is:
-water
-flour
-salt
-vegetable or olive oil (optional - makes dough more workable)

Pat and I used this recipe as a base which makes them sugar cookie-like but you can experiment with the consistency (like to make it more sandy looking with more salt). You can bake them if you like but I prefer to let them air dry... just make sure you flip them over to dry. If you don't have cookie cutters you can likely find them second hand at a thrift store, borrow from a friend, or cut them to make your own shapes. I did this with the cat shaped ones.  Also, make sure you make a little hole with a pen to hang them later.

Then you can decorate them with acrylic paints or puffy paint  and glitter like we did. You cold also hot glue funky decorations on them like buttons and other odds and ends if you like! If you don't have puffy paint and like the raised frosting look you can also hot glue your designs then paint them after the glue drys. Try just using what you have rather than buying extra supplies.

These can also be used to decorate gift packages or are nice as a simple gift by themselves. You can personalize a set for your family, recreating each member as an ornament. This year I am giving two out individually and have a little set of cats made up for my boyfriend's stepmum.

A Dorthy from the Wizard of Oz... another happy little gift. Other popular films/fandoms could make a nice set! ^_^

Our tree also has hand made bows, candy canes from last year, extra lights from relatives, and some glass balls that I found secondhand for $0.50 for each set of three last year.  We also have two strings of tinsel, one bought this year and one last year at target (so if you need some extra decoration you can think of something to buold on to next year rather than buying tons of stuff all at once).

~Lydia

Taking my own advice

In my last post I explained a little about voluntary simplicity and encouraged you to try to pair down some possessions (you could give then to a friend/family member, donate to a charity, or even sell it if it has value). I went through my clothing again and found another dozen or so items that I no longer love or that I often wear to put in my Goodwill box. I always try to have a donate box or pile around and slowly add to it. I can always change my mind and pull it out if I end up missing it or want to craft with it; and when it is full off to Goodwill it goes.

I found a few more things even after this picture :)

The box is getting full again!

I also organized my closet and dresser a bit.... it gets a little messy on days that I work. I end up stumbling in the dark to find certain things while trying not to wake my boyfriend. I know it still looks pretty full but since the weather tends to have me layering up I have held on to some things.

I would love to have only 100 pieces of clothing, which is my goal. I still don't know how to count undies and socks though. Any ideas would be helpful! With my basic wardrobe I counted around 115 but I forgot: coats, PJ's, winter gear, shoes, undies/socks, jewelry, belts, stockings, and other odds and ends. My clothing from my costume/sewing trunk is not counted as well. I also need to go through my craft explosion supplies. Still, every little bit help and lightens the load. I'm just slowly turning it down a notch. Have a nice day!

~Lydia

Voluntary Simplicity

Back in January of this year I started my last semester of college at the University of Pittsburgh and with it a class that has lead me to many new changes. The class, environmental sociology, was taken to fulfill a writing intensive requirement. I knew the professor, it fit my schedule, but it wasn't big on my list of desired classes. Sure, I thought that the environment was important and is connected to the lives of humans. However people: human rights, fair treatment, and lessening human exploitation/suffering has been a much more important issue to me. Instead, I found a movement that was empowering, that had easy actions that I could take right away by changing my own habits as well as environmental issues that became added passions.

Much of this personal change was connected to the Northwest Earth Institutes discussion course on voluntary simplicity. Voluntary simplicity is a way of living simply, similar to minimalism and aspects of the environmental movement. It is about living deliberately with conscious choices to improve ones happiness, life, and well being.

"....It examines the view that each person can, at the same time, improve his or her quality of life, reduce expenses, and live more lightly on the Earth. It also explores how to be at ease, free from compulsion and attachment, and without the need to possess or control. The discipline is to consciously simplify, by gradually releasing the things, attitudes, and commitments that distract us in our daily lives."      -Northwest Earth Institute

Much of what I am sharing is connected to this.
I am trying to live by this for a few reasons:

1. I love the idea of having a few well loved items rather than a mess of collected odds and ends.

2. I want to be a responsible consumer while respecting the Earth and the workers who produce and distribute what we buy.

3. Its nice to save money.

4. I am sick of being so cluttered. I want more memories and less stuff.

5. I don't want to live just to work, I really just want to work so that I can live.

I have downsized much of what I own already. Much of this was six big garbage bags to goodwill and an assortment of knickknacks, cosmetics and perfumes, books, craft supplies, and other things that were given to friends, family, and local charities. I feel much freer from things and really love it when I move apartments; but am not yet at my goal of feeling completely free of stuff (which can be different for each person). I still need to trim down on my clothing and craft stuff. Maybe give it it a try, start a donate pile and see if there is anything you don't really wear anymore and donate it and the same with that book that you have not picked up yet. It also might help put things into better perspective this holiday season it could be an early new years resolution. 

For more information:
Northwest Earth Institute
Simple Living
The Simplicity Collective

Other Blogs about  simplicity: 
Be More With Less
Zen Habits
Rowdy Kittens

~Lydia

Restful Days

I have not posted anything new for a while now. You may think that it was a nice break over the Thanksgiving Holiday since I live in the U.S. However, since I work at a popular Pittsburgh attraction I had my first real day of rest in over a week yesterday. I wish I could have been more active here and hope to be in the coming weeks!

So, today is the end of day two out of three of my "weekend" where I have Tuesday through Thursday off. At times I wish I could work more hours or add an extra day of work to my average weeks but after working many days in a row I am very thankful for the extra day (though I am excited for my next pay day). I think I really prefer having the extra time for myself than hours on the clock which is a great aspect of voluntary simplicity.

On the topic of being thankful it seems so odd to me that we as Americans celebrate a day for being happy for what we already have and then the next day push each other and cause a big fuss to get more things that likely aren't needed.  Plus many end up adding more stuff to cluttered homes and going deeper into debt; both can be painful whereas the holidays should be happy times.

On Thanksgiving I made ground turkey chilly, went on a walk in one of Pittsburgh's many parks, and watched Elf with my boyfriend, Pat. Since then (besides working) I have been mending some of my clothing, putting buttons on my winter jackets, reading, and  making homemade gifts for loved ones for Christmas.

Just a lazy day...

I am trying to be very frugal and thoughtful by making as much as possible this year for holiday gifts. I'll share more on this soon! Have a good evening everyone!

~Lydia

Darn it!

Winter is drawing nearer and colder weather is approaching. One of my favorite ways of keeping warm as the temperature becomes chilly is layering up with warm socks. I typically like to wear one longer layer up past my knees and another thick pair on top. However, I have found that many of my longer pairs of socks have some holes in the toes; when they are perfectly fine otherwise. So instead of making waste and adding my holey socks to the landfill as well as consuming more from the stores I mended my socks the old fashion way by darning them.

I am going to show you how you can do the same so you can  make your socks last longer. You can do this for already existing holes or areas that are just becoming threadbare.
 

Area needing fixed. Place a small container in sock for ease in sewing. I used a small vitamin container.

Take embroidery floss (which cost very little) and sew long stitches in one direction. The embroidery floss threads cab be divided in two so it is not as thick. Above I did this half in two different types of long stitches.

Then sew in the other direction, weaving through the previous stitches and remaining fabric.

All sewn up, the second half with the container inside which yielded neater stitches. You can also go back and reinforce areas as needed.

Finished!

You can also turn your sock inside out before you sew which makes it look very nice but is not as comfortable (which is very important since it could be more annoying as you walk). Keep this in mind as you make your beginning and ending knots as well.

Example sewn on wrong side and turn to the right side.

Sewn on the right side.

 There you are! You can match the threads with your socks or use what ever you have on hand like I did. It does not need to be pretty because it wont often be seen, making this a great starter project for learning to sew. I really enjoy doing this as I watch TV because its very easy and repetitive. I'm also glad that I don't need to buy more long socks!

The story of stuff

Today I want to share with you one of the first things that lead me to really look at what I have, what I consume, and how I treat the things that I have consumed (are they really useful? do my things just sit around collecting dust? do they end up in the garbage?). The story of stuff is a cute and informative video that explains the chain of production and consumption.

"From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever. "          -The Story of Stuff

This has been widely watched since it came out in 2007, so you may have already seen it. If not here it is. I hope you find it interesting and thought provoking.

The Story of Stuff Project has other videos that you might also enjoy as well as more information about waste and resources to help us make better decisions. Just remember that this video is 20 minutes long so make sure you give yourself time to watch it, or you can even just listen while doing something around the house. Enjoy!

http://www.storyofstuff.org/

Turning it down a notch....

This blog is a part of my effort to live simply, frugally, and environmentally while sharing this path with others. I hope I can inspire others to do the same and how small efforts overtime can make a larger impact.When we turn down the notch on our wasteful ways and over consumption we can be more in tune with ourselves, others, and nature. I will post my progress overtime and share the little ways I have changed and will hopefully become less wasteful and cluttered while helping others to do the same.

The mess of clothing and art supplies that I create too often... I still have too much stuff.