You will need a supply of card stock paper for this project, and a box of 5 3/4  sized envelopes found at office supply stores.  Cut the 11 1/2 inch side in half.  The piece you have now should be 8 x 5 3/4.  Fold one of these pieces in half again to form a card.  This will help you to see where all of the additional pieces added to the front of the card should be glued to, if you want them centered.

The fronts of the cards can be decorated with pictures you have cut out of other cards, as a recycling project.  The children may wish to draw a picture of their own on the fronts of the cards.  Carefully cut the portions out of cards you have received in the past, and glue them to the fronts of your new card made from the card stock paper.  Write whatever message you would like inside, or leave them blank if you would like to sell the cards for fund raisers in organizations you may belong to.

This is a project that children can easily do.  If you need a rainy day project for your child, or a project for a group of children, this one will keep them busy for a while.  These make handy card gifts to give to grandparents or teachers.  Everyone likes handmade gifts from children, and it will instill a sense of pride in the child to make this project by themselves.

Most department stores carry small bead boxes, found in their craft areas, that have about 24 compartments.  These boxes usually cost only a few dollars, and are well worth the money for the time they will save you.  They easily store beads, nails and screws, earrings, button sets, etc.

The compartment storage boxes can be stacked as high as you like.  Turn the boxes all in one direction, and label the end pointing out to make finding the items you need easier.  Placing them on a shelf in alphabetical order helps too.   These boxes will fit in tight spaces, such as in shelves on a vanity.  Rings, earrings and other jewelry may be kept safely in them, to prevent items from getting dusty.

Use them in kitchens and bathrooms to put very small items in that get lost in cabinets and drawers.  They will hold money as a cash box for yard sales or fund raisers.  Keep spools of thread or bobbins in them near your sewing machine.  The boxes are a wonderful organizer for anywhere small items need to be kept.

Those who enjoy reading need many markers.  These crocheted bookmarks are a nice gift to give anyone who likes to have several stories going at once.  You will need a few spools of crochet thread, a crochet needle and a few beads or charms.  Single crochet about 10 inches of thread.  Tie it off on the end, leaving a tail about 5 inches long.  Then slide two or three beads onto the thread tail, and tye off with a knot bigger than the last bead hole.

Many of these bookmarks can be made in an hour or two.  They are great sale items for bazaars and craft fairs,  because you can sell them reasonably.  Everyone will want to purchase several of them to give to their friends and relatives.  The bookmarks can be made with charms on them too, instead of only beads.  Children and youth enjoy collecting charms of all sorts, and they can afford to purchase these for gifts themselves.

Everyone likes to sing, even those who can not carry a tune in a bucket.  It allows us to express ourselves and helps us get through the day when we are having problems.  Sometimes we hear a familiar tune and find ourselves humming or singing it the rest of the day.  I’ve often heard people do this who don’t realize that anyone else is paying attention to them.  Songs have a way of lifting our hearts.

We all enjoy listening to choirs or groups who entertain us.  I’ll always remember the first time I heard The Beatles.  They were on the Ed Sullivan show one night, and the kids in the audience went wild.   No matter where Elvis had concerts, there were throngs of people who wanted to catch one of the scarves he threw into the crowd.  I remember the ending song of tribute to all of Bob Hope’s shows to the troops…Thank you too Bob…and I know where you are.

All of us are the stars of the show when we sing to ourselves.

To make several tissue holders for your purse, you will need about one third of a yard of fabric. Lay a package of tissues on the material and cut around it leaving 1/2 inch on all sides. Lay that cut out piece of fabric onto another, and cut the second piece one inch wider than the first. Cut the wider piece down the middle long ways, and turn two of the long edges under to hem. Turn the first piece of material back side facing down, and lay the last two cut pieces back side facing up. Make sure the hemmed sides meet together in the middle of the top pieces.

Pin all sides of the fabric pieces together, and sew around with a 1/4 inch seam. Turn the fabric right side out. Slide a small package of opened tissues into the tissue holder, aligning with the split section. These quick-to-make tissue mini holders make inexpensive bazaar gifts, and will sell very quickly when made in sports team, or holiday fabrics.

Decorating for birthday parties can be just as exciting as the birthday itself.  Children who have upcoming birthdays just can not seem to wait for their big day to arrive, so stretch out the fun by decorating ahead of time.  There are many ways to brighten up a room for the special day, but more often than not, children love to make the decorations themselves.  And an added plus is that it makes it easier on your budget too.

Buying paper streamers to twirl and hang from above adds to the birthday occasion.  Making construction paper decorations is simple too.  Your child may even want to make their own party invitations to send out before their birthday.  The invitations can be hand delivered or mailed out to people before the party.  You can find web sites on packages of candy that will help with all kinds of party activities, including games, decorations and invitations to use.  There is a web site for a popular brand of crayon that has so many activities for children that it will boggle your mind.  I wish we had had these kinds of resources when our children were growing up.  But it makes being a grandparent all the more fun to use the sources now, and we have more time on our hands than the children’s parents do with their busy work schedules.  Use libraries and other community sources to get decorating ideas from, and introduce the birthday boy or girl to that great adventure place for future reference work they may have in school.

There have been times when I try to remember the titles of stories I read to my children years ago, and draw a total blank in my mind.  I remember bits of the story, but not the title.  I’ve wished many times that I had thought to keep a record of some kind, in order to look them up to read the ‘old’ stories to our grandchildren.

While you are a young parent, make a file box with the story titles that you read, or teach, to your children.  Include nursery rhymes and poems or songs that you learn together.  Someday you will be glad you did this to have a reference to come back to.  Some of the older nursery rhymes, songs and poems are no longer included in the more modern books for children.  You may be able to find them through search engines on the internet if you can remember enough the words to do so.  Putting the information of favorite titles in your child’s albums when they are growing up could be the only file reference you may need.  Make sure the information is somewhere besides in your head.  There will come a day when you just can’t remember all of the words to the old favorites from childhood.

     I enjoy gardening, and you can tell it by the yard around our home.  When planting, water is the key ingredient to add.  Digging the hole for the plant at just the right depth, using fertilize, and all of those other things are important; but without adding water at the same time, the growth of the plant will be slow.  Pour water in the hole before covering the plant with soil.  This will make the soil softer for the finger roots of the the plant to grow into for the first few days.

Usually a quart of water will do at the time of planting, but you will need to water thoroughly more often if your region does not get rain regularly.  Watering too little will cause the roots to grow toward the top of the soil instead of downward.  After the plant seems to be establishing roots and growing, you can cut back on watering.  Over watering may cause the plant to develop yellow leaves.  Get the whole family involved in watering and weeding around the plants.  Enjoy your gardens with regular care for them, and you will be getting exercise for yourself too.

When you want an inexpensive way to give a gift, try your hand at covering boxes. You can cover them with fabric, paper, or you could try your hand at painting them. Use a tacky glue when using the paper or fabric to make the boxes. And when painting them, always use a solid coat of white or colored paint to cover the printing on the box before painting the last coat of paint or designs you wish to have as the top coat. You may have to paint one or two layers of the bottom coats of paint, but always allow the separate layers to dry thoroughly before adding another one.

Lining the inside of the boxes with velvet or paper gives the project a nice finished look. Anyone receiving the gift in your homemade box will get two gifts in one. They can use the gift box for anything they would like after opening it up.

      The best method I’ve found for cleaning paint off windows is to use a single edged razor blade.  Most discount stores carry a hand tool, found in the paint department, that is made specifically for this chore.  Regular single edged razor blades are usually used as replacements when the blade in the tool gets dull.

Don’t cut deeply into the putty on the edges of the windows, or you will risk breaking the seal.  The tool mentioned above is the safest way to get the paint off.   Use of a knife is not recommended because it does not have the flat surface that the paint razor tool has.  You will end up spending much more time on the job with a knife too, and they are not as safe.