Today has been a fun day. With the rain forecast, doing much outside was sort of a risk. DH and I had tried to get as much done earlier in the week outside so we could do stuff inside.
As mentioned before, I have been making greeting cards. I wrote down all the people from now until the end of the year and as I have time, I make a couple here or there. It's not really a cost savings, but I enjoy making them. Dollar Tree has had some cool little embellishments so I add those in addition to some buttons I had. Not sure how many of you have button jars or tins. I have saved buttons for years. When I have a shirt or another piece of clothing that just can't be used or donated, I cut off the buttons and save them. If one has priced buttons lately, they are outrageous!
The hubster has been working with his laser. This week was a laserfest which was free, which meant watching lots of ads, but one has to pay for one's thrills, right? But he got some good ideas and learned a few things. We watched a few together and we both learned some things, so that's a plus. If you watched to the end, the presenter then would give the viewer the free pattern so that was a nice addition.
Today I worked on pouring some candles. They aren't the fanciest, but I'm trying to use up wax from older candles and clean up my area. The next couple of days will be major cleaning since we are hosting Easter for the family. So, I wanted to get some stuff cleared away and then clean up. DH had me stain some wood stuff he lasered. It will be dry by tomorrow so we can clean up the craft area. Again, this isn't the cheapest hobby, but a friend gave me some used candles. She volunteers at a thrift store and they were going to throw them away. I had to melt them down and add some color to try and get a workable color, but I figure I'm helping by not throwing stuff away. I reused one of the candle containers after washing it. I have antoher one I will have to really scrub. It was a huge jar. It only had aobut 1/3 of the wax, but I could tell it didn't burn evenly, so I think the jar might have been too big and the opening too narrow. I was thinking about scrubbing it up and maybe using it as a vase for flowers since it doesn't have a top. Who knows, hubby might laser it and decorate it.
Last night I attended a door mat painting event at a local library. It wasn't super expensive -- $20 and that included all the stuff. I worked on a spring/summer type mat which I figure will come in handy at the door. Plus, now I know all the tips on making my own.
Recently I ran across this group called Mather. They are out of Illinois and offer free things. One thing was an art kit. You had to be over 50 and live in Illinois, but they send you the materials and directions and you can learn how to make some new things. It's grant funded so it is legitimate and they don't advertise, so I figured, this might be a good way to learn some new things to do. The beauty is if I don't like the craft, than I'm only out my time. I told a friend of mine about it and all she could do was complain that she didn't think she would like some of the stuff. I'm thinking, free is free and learning new things is good for the brain, even if you don't plan on doing it again. Oh, well, as my mom used to say, some people would complain about everything.
April 3rd, 2026 at 03:10 am 1775185822
I have a button collection. I rarely use them, but I save them anyway. My grandmother always had a button box, and I remember playing with them, and how much I enjoyed that. Simple pleasures in the old days!
Recently I've been learning French on Duolingo. It's free, as long as you ignore all the attempts to upgrade. I like going at a slow pace, anyway. Great for the brain, and fun.
April 3rd, 2026 at 02:15 pm 1775225743
https://www.mather.com/programs/dit-art-kits?utm_medium=paid&utm_source=fb&utm_id=6563019460396&utm_content=52522641865400&utm_term=6563019460596&utm_campaign=6563019460396&fbclid=IwY2xjawPt9QhleHRuA2FlbQEwAGFkaWQAAC_FIleh4GJyaWQRMU1HcWdPYUJ6cEtqMGx0allzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEe3Gl56WPuofggqlFEZb4_VFFQzvXGUIA5wOtA_ANCwOTdrvneRmB2oiC9Pzw_aem_NigRcGAsEcisxi71mEAzmg