Thanksgiving Friday

For the entire month of November, I'll be treating Fridays as "Thanksgiving Friday". Don't you agree that our everyday blessings are the real TADAs! in life?

First up, I want to say THANK YOU to Filipa for sending me this award a few months back...it's the Premium Meme Award:

In accepting this award, I need to list seven of my personality traits. But let me break the rules a bit and instead, I'll list seven things that I'm thankful for.

I am thankful for these TADAs!...

Catching a peaceful sunrise

Witnessing a dramatic sunset

Lazy days at the beach

The rush of water & sand on my feet

Lovely brownstone houses
(because they remind of Sesame Street)

Garbage cans like this
(Oscar the Grouch, are you there?)

Pancakes for breakfast

Now, I have to pass the Premium Meme Award to seven other blogs with notable personality. I've picked these blogs because of their power to turn something simple into something special:

scissor variations
such pretty things
lovely design
craftynest
record the day
a field journal
cottage


Have a great weekend everyone!

Holiday Ornaments

We're re-purposing these plastic containers that once held fruit.

First a blah...

Now a Tada!
I turned it into a Christmas ornament!

I cut around the plastic, leaving a half inch lip at the top. I glued the half-circles to make a ball and attached some string and a ribbon at the top. I used letter stickers to spell out festive words and holiday wishes.

Just a friendly warning: keep these plastic ornaments away from the electric lights because they are a fire hazard. (The photos here are for demonstration purposes only).

Ornament Storage

Hello Lovelies!

This week on my blog, this plastic container that was once used as packaging for pears will go from blah...

...to Tada!

These come in handy when it's time to trim the Christmas tree. Unpack the ornaments from storage then put them on this plastic tray for easy access while decorating.

Use the same plastic tray when it's time to put down the ornaments after the holidays. Line the groves with paper so the ornaments don't move around. If the ornaments aren't that delicate, stack trays on top of each other and store them in a box.

Christmas Is Coming!

With Halloween behind us, we're slowly gearing up for Christmas. To keep our sanity during one of the busiest times of the year, the secret is early planning and being organized.

This blah used to contain Asian pears.

Tada! It's now a gift wrap station holding ribbons, gift tags, address labels and stamps for all the gifts and mail I need to send out for the holidays. Have a good day everyone!

Pear Containers

Happy Monday Everyone!
I hope you all had a fun-tastic Halloween weekend.

Let me tell you about these Asian pears I get at Costco. They are sweet, crisp, juicy and after all have been eaten, I am left with this plastic container. Instead of dumping it in the recycling bin, I'm turning them from blah to Tada!

After washing and drying the plastic container thoroughly, I use it to transport homemade cupcakes to a potluck party.

The cupcakes can be frosted beforehand or left plain if guests will be decorating their own.

I save a lot of these plastic containers so I can use another as a cover. I simply seal the edges with clear tape to keep the top on. Cool right? My cupcakes will be safe, no matter the weather outside!

When I get to the party, I can remove the cover and use this to hold all the sprinkles and decorations for the party. I might even bring a few of the bears with me!

Kiddie Treats

It's finally Friday and guess what, it's Halloween tomorrow!

If you're doing some last minute shopping for all the trick or treaters who will be knocking on your door, maybe you can consider other fun stuff that isn't loaded with sugar.

Too much candy is a blah!
Even the dentist thinks so.

Give out juice or milk boxes instead.
It's a healthier choice.

And what child doesn't like colorful stickers like these?

Pencils are a neat idea that still fall in the season's
theme but can be used at school, too.

Tada! The kids may think these goodies are a trick (because they aren't candy) but what a treat for parents & kids alike!

Wishing you all a fun, fabulous and safe Halloween!

Treats for Toddlers

One of the things I look forward to Halloween is seeing little babies and toddlers in their cute costumes. They are simply adorable! They can't even say "Trick or Treat" yet and are too young to understand this concept of dressing up. Hey, they can't even have candy!

Babies & toddlers with a bucketful of candy
that they can't eat?!
What a blah!

Prepare treats like these rubber squirt toys that can easily fit
their tiny hands and make them smile.

You can also give out small packs of Goldfish brand
biscuits that they can nibble on.

No tricks for babies and toddlers.
We don't want to make them cry!

See you again tomorrow!

Gooey Ghosts

We're gearing up for Halloween and if you're up to making a homemade treat, you came at the right time!

Giving marshmallows to trick or treaters...it's a little blah.

But with some magic ingredients (chocolate chips &
white chocolate chips), we'll turn them into a Tada!

Step 1: With clean hands, make one end of the marshmallow pointy.

Step 2: Slip the other end of the marshmallow into a lollipop stick.

Step 3: Melt the white chocolate over a double boiler.
Once the chocolate has melted, dip in the
marshmallows, one at a time.

Step 4: Stick on the chocolate chips to make eyes & a mouth.
Allow chocolate to harden.

Tada! Little candy ghosts or marshmallow mummies!

You can add an extra marshmallow so your ghost has a body.

Serve it at your Halloween party as part of the candy buffet.
Use them as fun party favors.
Hand it to trick or treaters that come a-knockin'.
Keep one for yourself and have a super sweet holiday!

Say Cheese!

It's all about Halloween this week and I don't know about you, but I'm getting very excited! Sweets are on my mind and today we're making more treat containers.

Today's blah: empty cream cheese tubs.

Tada! A neat & nifty candy keeper!
We simply covered it with felt (using a glue gun) &
decorated it with our favorite Halloween icons.

Fill it with candy and you're ready to give
when someone's at the door saying "Trick or Treat!"

Hope to see you again tomorrow!

Happy Halloween

Hooray it's Monday and hooray it's Halloween this weekend!

Today we'll turn some of these cosmetic boxes from blah to...

Tada! All we did was wrap the boxes
in felt (attached using a glue gun).

Then decorated the front with Halloween characters
also made out of felt.

Fill these with sweets to hand out to trick or treaters or use them as party favors for your Hallow's Eve bash.

Candies Galore!

Halloween...that day when kids are allowed to take candies from strangers. And a lot of candy that will be, requiring them to carry a bag for all that loot! Yesterday, we made a bag from an old tank top. Today, we'll make a bucket out of these:

An empty ice cream container and yogurt tub...blah!

Clean it. Dry it. Cover it with felt (attached with a glue gun).

Tada! Easy, homemade candy bucket!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Sweet & Spooky Bag

Candy is one of the reasons why Halloween is so wonderful! To children, it's like currency. The more candy they get, the richer they are.

Today, we're doing a little project to hold all the candy the kiddies will get from trick or treating. It's a simple project requiring you to rummage through your closet.

An old tank top is today's blah.

Turn it inside out and close the bottom by stitching
both ends together.

Turn it over and make it pretty!
I used white felt for the spiders & letters.
I used a glue gun to stick them on.

Tada! A bag that's spooky yet sturdy for all your Halloween sweets!