Good Neighbors

I live in a really great neighborhood.  I am so grateful for the friendship I have with so many of my neighbors.  When our house flooded, we had about 30 people come to our immediate rescue to help move all of our belongings out of the house, bring us dinner, and look after our kids.  Some neighbors let us live in their house while they were on vacation, and a few others put us up on their spare beds and couches until we found somewhere else to stay.  Since then we have had help with dinners, cleaning, unpacking, and weeding the garden.  I even had a friend pick peaches from my tree, can them, and bring me the bottled peaches. We have been very blessed.

I Can't Wait for Spring!!

I have been dreaming about gardening.  I can hardly wait until all that snow melts off and I can get my hands in the dirt again!  I went to the garden store this week and got some crocus, hyacinth, and tulip bulbs on a super clearance.  I don't know if I'll be able to get them in the ground or not (frozen solid?), and they may not flower this year, but we'll see!

In the fall my neighbor gave me all her "junk" from clearing out her overgrowth in her back yard.  I planted some things in my grow boxes and got several nice big piles of dead plants to work into compost.  She was happy she didn't have to fill her garbage can; I'm happy to have the compost. Win-win.

Come on, spring time! I'm ready.

Christmas Card Gift Boxes

I'm a day late and dollar short on this post, but oh well!  Treasure it up in your memory for next Christmas.
This is how to make little boxes out of old Christmas cards.

Start by cutting the front off the back of the card.

Cut both sides square.  You can measure with ruler and draw lines, or use the card front and back turned opposite directions for a guide.

Begin making the box bottom with the back of the card.  (In the pictures you will see a card front for illustration purposes.) Turn the card over.  Fold all corners into the center.  You can use a ruler to draw lines from corner to corner to find the middle, or fold two corners in at the same time, making sure their edges are the same length.

Open out two of the sides.  Fold up the edges of the top and bottom to meet at the middle.  Make your folds nice and crisp by running the handle of your scissors across.  (Or you can use a bone folder if you have one.)

Unfold everything, and then turn it 90 degrees.  Repeat with the remaining edges.

Open everything up.  Using scissors, cut in on each side from the center of the edge to where the first folds cross over making a square angle.

Fold up the corners like in the following picture:

Raise the edges to make the top and bottom walls, and push in the little triangle corners.  Bring up the sides over the triangle corners, and tuck them into the center of the box.

Here is the finished bottom of the box.

Repeat all steps with the front of the card for the box top.  You will need to make it slightly larger. This is done at the step where you fold the edges into the center.  Instead of folding all the way to the middle, fold it just a bit away from the middle.  In the following picture, the top card is for the box bottom, and the bottom card is for the box top.

The designs on the picture show how one is slightly larger, even though the original squares were the same size.

One should fit into the other.

Jack-O-Lanterns

Homegrown pumpkins are the way to go!  We had lots of great big pumpkins this year, all free!  (Proof that compost works!)  Here are the jack-o-lanterns we carved.  The headless horseman and cat are patterns from Pumpkin Masters, and the rest are original.

For the above photo effect, I set my camera on the kitchen table and took the shot on the no flash setting.  For the one below, I used the setting that has a long time open shutter and also a flash.  The setting usually has a bust and a star or moon.

Get Out There and VOTE!

Check out your local government website if you haven't already, and make your last minute choices before you head out to the polls today. Voting isn't just our right, it's our responsibility.  (So do it responsibly, please.)

A New Temple of the Lord

Today is a special day for rejoicing!  A new temple has been dedicated in Brigham City, UT.  There are now 139 temples in use across the globe.  Temples are a very special places that feel like a little bit of heaven on earth.  I always get a special feeling when I attend the temple.  I feel peaceful and closer to God.  I come away feeling brighter and more dedicated and able to face the challenges of daily life.

In a holy temple of God, we can be sealed together with our families for forever.  "'Til death do we part" need no longer apply!

I was able to attend one of the sessions of the dedication ceremony today.  An apostle of Jesus Christ, Boyd K. Packer, spoke about how this particular temple is special to him since he grew up and raised his own family in Brigham City.

If you want to learn more about temples and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, visit www.lds.org/church/temples, or mormon.org.  If you are not a member of the Church and would like to visit a temple open house before it is dedicated, be quick about it and you can visit Calgary Alberta or Boise Idaho.  See templeopenhouse.lds.org/.

Money Tree

If money could just grow on trees, I would plant an orchard.

I created this money tree to give to my brother-in-law for his birthday.  To make one, you need one piece of
craft wire for each dollar.  This one has 15.

For the leaves, fold the corners in like how you start a paper airplane.

 Now fold the new corners in a bit.  Repeat on the other side.

Pinch up the middle.

Poof out the leaves to give them a nice rounded shape, so that the folded corners are on the concave side.  Alternate which side you fold in on your dollar bills so that you have a variety in your shades of green.

My wire was already cut in a package, so I didn't have to measure, but I'm guessing it was about 14 inches.  Put all the wires together, and then twist them together at the middle about four inches.  For the branches, divide the wires into two or three sections, twist a bit, then divide again and twist again.  Use pliers to bend the ends into a small loop around the middle of one of the dollar leaves.
For the roots, spread all the wires out so they each point in a different direction, then gather a few together and twist.  Use pliers to roll up the sharp ends.  Adjust the roots so the tree stands up, and each "foot" touches the ground.

To add coin "fruit/nuts," use scissors to cut thin strips of clear tape.  Fold a strip of tape over a branch, and attach to both sides of the coin.