Recycled Christmas Card Gift Tags

Last Christmas I received several Christmas cards, and the recycler in me just didn't see fit to throw them out. My sister-in-law suggested that I make some gift tags out of them, so I set about making some! Some cards I saved, some I decided weren't appropriate to make a tag out of, but there were a few that would work out great!

I cut out the bits that I thought would make cute tags, some were big, some were small, One of them I even made round!












After I had cut out all the cute pictures I could find, I glued them all onto a sheet of white paper, and stacked some books on top to squish them straight while they dried. I made a mistake, though. I used a glue stick.
















Once my tags were dry, and I set about cutting the sheet of paper apart to separate them, the edges and corners started to pop up. Remember, folks, just because it sounds easier, doesn't mean it is! Just use some good old-fashioned white glue and an old paint brush, and you'll be set!





Once you've trimmed the paper flush with the tags, all that needs doing is to punch some holes.











A regular office-style hole punch will work fine, but if you have a fancy-shaped punch you'd like to use, that will work out too! Thread a string or a piece of ribbon through the hole and tie your tags onto your gifts!

Repairing Socks

Because, why not? Let's face it, clothes are expensive. Especially when you consider how much money you pay for socks. I'm not talking about gimmicky, rainbow striped socks or socks with sharks printed on them, I'm talking about functional socks that you wear day-to-day. For as little fabric as you are buying, it seems as though an exorbitant amount of money is being paid. All for a piece of fabric that cushions your feet from the inside of your shoe, and wicks sweat away from your feet. Willie is very hard on socks, as he wears boots nearly every day. Steel-toed work boots during the week, and slip-on boots around town and in the yard on weekends. His socks end up with all sorts of holes in the toes. That's just how it goes.
Rather than spend tons of money replacing them every time a toe escaped, he figured it would be a good idea to repair them. The first several times he sewed them up himself, however, I have recently been pitching in on the good fight. It's not that hard, and you can even multi-task! While I'm sitting in the recliner watching William Shatner tell me about all sorts of strange goings-on in this cooky world we live in, I'm sewing up socks. It takes very little effort, and even if it only gets a few more weeks of wear out of a pair, I think it's worth it. Remember, saving pennies adds up!