Can a piece of jewelry change the world?

Jewelry to me had always been about frills. An extra layer of stuff (one that admittedly was pretty low on the must-buy list.)

But the last few weeks have made me wonder: Perhaps jewelry can mean a little bit more.

The backstory: My daughter's Girl Scout troop is earning their Jeweler badge. The girls unanimously wanted to earn it, and I admittedly had squirreled away supplies of donations of leftover items the last couple of months.

I introduced the first project, an upcycled necklace, and let them know they could make as many as they wanted, but they could only keep one. Their response: "Could we sell them for Haiti?"

Within an hour we had designed more than 100 upcycled necklaces, which were donated to church for our Hearts for Haiti ministry, a cause dear to these girls.

Some of the upcycled necklaces made by my daughter's Junior Girl Scout troop. Funds from the sale next month go to our church's Hearts for Haiti ministry.

But it didn't stop there. As we later talked about jewelry, what it symbolized and what it was made from, I shared some stories and jewelry from Uganda that I recently received from Ember Arts, a company that works with jewelry artists in Uganda to create upcycled jewelry with paper beads that are just gorgeous. As I shared the story of some of the artists - some of whom used to earn $1 per day in hard work - the girls' response was "Can we help them too?"

Maybe jewelry in itself doesn't change the world. But perhaps the stories behind them can change hearts.

Kansas City with Kids - Frugal Edition

Our trip to Kansas City was derailed before it began.

Instead of spending Fall Break with our family, we were waiting in the car shop. That, coupled with some unexpected expenses, meant we were going to have to tighten down on the trip to Kansas City.

I'd lived in KC for a decade, but we found great ways to enjoy the days with Grandma and Grandpa even on a budget. We weren't completely perfect - we did eat a few meals out and did stock up on some local foods to take home for the year - but these were great budget extenders, and even better activities to do!

Getting Crafty At Kaleidoscope

I'd heard of Kaleidoscope in Crown Center but had never been, as we were childless when we lived in the Kansas City area. An afternoon at Kaleidoscope was just the trick for creative types with a big case of the wiggles.

Kaleidoscope is basically a huge kids craft playground, filled with the leftovers from Hallmark's projects. Paper crafting with glow-in-the-dark paints, making cards, designing your own puzzles. It was the fastest hour spent all week. Everyone from my rambuncious 5 year old son to his preteen cousin and grandfather enjoyed experimenting and creating their own works of art. Best of all, it was free to the public - just requires a timed ticket.

(As an aside, Girl Scout leaders and educators take note: Kaleidoscope offers themed packs that you can take home - for 50 cents per child. For frugal troops, this is a great idea, and they do ship!)

Betting on Basketball in Lawrence

One bet failed, but the other was a hit.

We had hoped to attend the (free!) open scrimmage for the basketball team, but weather and a sick cousin derailed our plans. Luckily, our little jock had the chance to enjoy some KU basketball earlier in the week.

The Booth Family Hall of Athletics at Allen Fieldhouse has a stuffy name, it's far from a boring monument to basketball. Sure, there's 100 years worth of sports memorabilia to peruse, but the kids loved the interactive exhibits. Their favorites? Pretending to call some classic basketball games - from the tie-breaker game against Memphis in the Final Four to a game from Wilt Chamberlain's days. They also loved checking out their wingspan and attempting to palm as many balls as they can in 10 second's time. Mostly, they loved wandering the stands around the hallowed basketball court - site of many a memory for their mom and dad.

Other Free Things to Check Out In and Around KC

Family time is just that, so while we had a lot of ideas on our list, we also kept things simple: a lot of time with Grandma and Grandpa, with ample time at the local park.

On our list to do this fall but didn't get accomplished:

• University of Kansas Natural History Museum (free, though donations encouraged)
• Louisburg Cider Mill - Washed out by a rainy day, my daughter wanted to return so bad she wrote her social studies paper on it!
• Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead

Kansas City natives: What are your favorite ways to spend a week with the kids?

Patience and My Pew

I confess: I am a Country Living kind of gal. I have wishes and dreams of old-fashioned furniture, modeled just so, like the pages of a magazine.

The reality is I live in a six-year-old nondescript house, dressed with a blend of old woodwork, cheap, packed bookshelves and worn-down sofas and chairs. 

Most of my finds haven't taken much effort at all: an old school desk and chair found at an antique store; old dressers that belonged to my husband's grandfather. But really, nothing that screams "me."

And then I found Freecycle. Or it found me.

Until this point, Freecycle had been just a novelty to me, a way to put out calls for strange things like the long-lost DVR remote or to get rid of the random item that just hadn't made its way to Goodwill as yet.

And then one day a magical moment happened.

Someone was giving away pews. Lots of them. Free for the taking.

I'd idealized having a pew in my home, more of a decorative element than anything functional. And I figured when the time was right - when there was no college or grade-school tuition to pay; our debts were paid down - we would get one.

But on this day, Broad Ripple United Methodist Church was doing a massive renovation, and pews - handcrafted in the 1960s - were free for the taking.

I have to say, I've been impressed with the coordinated sweep it took to get those pews out to the homes in just a few hours time. And even more impressed that they thought to donate the wood to those who were interested. Pews found homes in everything from start-up churches to homes like mine.

Right now, my pew has found a temporary respite in the front of my house, while I make arrangements to pass along an old love seat to a new home. And I haven't decided still whether to keep the original finish or to strip it and stain it a nice cherry.

And while it may not be picture-perfect, I've been pleased with the moments this pew has already found - from my children playing "church" to little boys sneaking under it to play. And that beats a picturesque magazine shoot any day.

American Doll clothes for pennies

Sophie is one admittedly unstylish American Girl knock-off.

Since she joined our family two years ago, she's gotten not one name-brand outfit.

Sure, Santa's bought her an outfit or two, and she got a Girl Scout sweatshirt for a birthday. But largely she's been spared of high-priced duds.

Lately my daughter has been begging for more clothes for Sophie. Admittedly these can quickly break the bank. But I found a simple solution: hand-sewn clothes for pennies.

Liberty Jane offers a small selection of free doll clothes patterns on its website. I downloaded the pants and tank top patterns and used some worn khaki shorts of mine to make a pair of pants and a pair of khaki shorts. Sophie also got several tank tops and T-shirts cut from a layered shirt she'd taken a pair of fabric scissors too, and she'll also be getting a swimsuit this Christmas season too.

The patterns are fairly easy for a rusty sewer to work with; in fact, I hand-sewed mine while catching up on Revolution. The only out-of-pocket costs were for elastic.

So if you have an hour to spare and an old piece of clothing, you might consider reinventing it as a Christmas present for your favorite American Girl-type doll.

Hey Carmel, here's where you can stick your school supplies

I don't know whether you read the Sunday Star, but the front-page feature was on a public school teacher determined to have supplies ready for each of her students this fall.

So determined she was, and knowing that many of her students were impoverished, she ended up dumpster diving at the very affluent Carmel Public Schools. She ended up with three carloads worth of school supplies, many of them in wrappers.

This story really struck a nerve with me. And the more I've thought about it, the madder I've gotten.

It's not even about the wastefulness of tossing these supplies. It's that these could have with very little effort gone to brightening someone's day.

So, Carmel (and any other school where this occurs), here's where you can stick your school supplies:

1. Scout troop.
2. Freecyle.
3. Vacation Bible Schools, preschool programs and Parent's Day Out.
4. Day care centers.
5. Homeless shelters.
6. Any social service organization - many clients may have to take their children with them, and art supplies and notebooks would occupy them while they are waiting.
7. Goodwill.
8. Garage sales.
9. Survival packets to take to church (or any other place where kids have to be quiet but struggle.) It's great to be able to hand a frustrated parent some extra crayons and pages to color on!
10. Retirement homes. You'd be surprised what craft supplies will do to help our older generations who just need some stimulation!

Any place else I missed? Where else would you tell them to stick it?

Papa's present

A kid-friendly Father's Day idea!



A few weeks ago, I went to an open house for work, and as usual giveaways are thrust in your hands as you churn through the building. I suppose I could have said no, but being tired (and usually on the hunt for something similar for other activities), I picked up the items proffered.


And at the day, I looked at my loot. In there was a glass candy jar. Not exactly practical in my desperately-needing-a-diet world.

But Father's Day was coming up rather quickly. And the kids wanted to do something for their Papa, who was visiting last weekend.

Sneak into the scrapbook supplies (mom assisting this time, of course), and we had our solution. My daughter happily stamped blue flowers on a small band of paper. We took a scrap of yellow paper and mounted it on a random piece of chipboard that I've yet to use for years. Stamped the phrase "Papa's Treats" on it. My daughter wanted to add the dot stamps - which happily covered over the fact the cheap stamps had borders that were appearing randomly on the paper. Adhered on with glue dots, filled with peppermints and 10 minutes later, done! A fast project, proud gift-giver and, most of all, appreciative grandpa.

Monday evening morale boost

Right now, I'm realizing that my beloved Jayhawks aren't looking so hot on ESPN. And I'm expecting yet another hectic week in the office. So instead of inflicting more torture on myself by watching this game, I'm hanging out at the computer this evening.

I can tell you one thing: I'm not checking out the news. Too often, it reaks of negativity. The economy. The environment. And it's too easy to get pulled down.

So for a little Monday evening morale boost, here are five posts, in no particular order, to remind you that not everything is down in this world:

• Small gifts have great impact
• Nothing says 'I love you' like grilled cheese
• Share it: A lesson in generosity from a tiny teacher
• In praise of Papa's tub
• Finding hopes among frustrations

Have a terrific week!

The holidays are over. Now what?

The Christmas tree is staring me down. It's a week and a half after Christmas, and I'm feeling the guilt of not having taken down my decorations.

Each year, I'm faced with the question of now what? What can I do with the decorations I'm not in love with, the Christmas cards I'd gotten or the tons of Christmas bags my kids received?

The truth is, I can reuse or recycle most of them.

Holiday decorations
While you've likely heard of Christmas tree recycling in your neighborhood (it usually is tied with trash pickup), you can also recycle your dying Christmas lights as well. You can mail old lights to organizations such as HolidayLEDs.com or Christmas-Light-Source.com. The copper, glass and plastic can be stripped and recycled. You could also extend the usefulness of your Christmas lights by using them in your garden with a cold frame. ]

Your unwanted Christmas ornaments can be donated instead of trashed. A domestic violence organization I work with locally collects Christmas decorations in good condition to help spruce up survivors' new homes.

Have a live wreath? Toss it in your compost bin or use the needles for mulch.

Greeting cards
You can reuse your greeting cards in a number of ways:

My husband's aunt introduced me to the idea of using previous year's cards as holiday gift tags.

You can repurpose them into new cards. You can do this yourself, have your kids do it or send them to St. Jude's Ranch.

You can use them for kid art.

Gift wrap
Gift bags can find a second, third, fourth or fifth life by being reused as long as they remain in good condition. If you're feeling crafty, you can just add a little reinforcement to keep the life up.

Hang on to your leftover wrap. Whether it's bows or paper in good condition, you can reuse them for next year.

While gift boxes can be recycled, they can also be stored for next year (unless you're dying to buy more) or find a new life as a children's art project or diorama.

OK, now I know I have no excuse not to clean up...

Homemade Holidays: Wrap it up

You've made your list and checked it twice. Whether you're gifts this year are store-bought, homemade, recycled or regifted, one thing remains the same: You've got to wrap it up.

And if you're like most people I know, you're reading this instead of getting those gifts ready to go.

Relax. Even if you're waiting until Christmas Eve to do you're wrapping, you don't have to take an emergency trip to the store to buy another roll of wrapping paper. As it's just a few days until Christmas, I won't overwhelm you with Martha Stewart-esque ways to jolly up your packages; it's 11th hour and just time to get it done.

Here are some easy ways to bundle your gifts, save a few cents and be a little friendlier on the planet this Christmas season:

Gift bags. On the surface they may not seem green, but these laminated paper bags can be used multiple times before they meet their demise. My family depends on them, and they go back to the depts of the closet after birthdays or holidays. I can't tell you the last time I actually bought wrapping paper because of it.


Green bags. I saw on a scrapbook message board that reusable shopping bags were being used instead of the traditional holiday wrap. Some message board users were even jazzing up the bags. It's a way to be practical. Go traditional green or a holiday red (such as Target).


Holiday towels. Wrap food gifts in holiday kitchen towels or other linents.


Use your leftover plastic grocery bags (I know you've got them!) to cushion packages for last-minute shiping. Either stuff as-is or blow them up into air pockets.


Re-gift your gift tins. Who says holiday tins have to be used for food gifts? Reuse them to hold smaller items instead of wrapping it in paper.


Enlist your budding artists. Reuse kid art as colorful wrapping paper, or have your little ones stamp or paint on scrap paper or newspring.


Turn holiday greetings into gift tags. My husband's aunt years ago introduced me to the idea of trimming Christmas cards to make gift cards the following year. I have to admit, it makes finding the "to" on a large gift far easier!

Re-use that wrap. I admit it, I've rewrapped items in still-good pieces of wrapping paper from a gift trade this weekend. It feels a little strange, but it's likely going to that same landfill anyway. And if you're not comfortable using previously loved wrapping paper on the outside, use it on the inside: as packing material for shipping packages or packaging fragile items for the next holiday season.

Getting creative with evergreen scraps

When you buy a fresh tree, it seems that little branches always find their way onto the floor of the car or your home.

Sure, you could toss it in the trash or compost it, but you can also use the rogue branches to inject a little more holiday spirit in your home.

Head on over to Money Saving Mom for creative ideas to use leftover evergreen branches, including to decorate packages, your mailbox decorations, chairs, your kitchen table and more.

Even if you don't buy fresh trees each year, Monica from The Homespun Heart writes that you can likely get free clippings from retailers that sell trees. Monica writes:

Beginning right after Thanksgiving, weekends are a perfect time to stop by and pick up some free greens. I've found it's helpful to stop at the tree trimming spot on our way in and say we'd like a load of clippings and then go pick out our tree as I've had employees start a pile for me and have it ready when I come out.

Photo from MoneySavingMom.com.

Homemade Holidays Bonus Project: Gingerbread house ornaments

Christmas gifts from the children are those that come most from the heart.

Granted, perhaps not as much "from the heart" as my husband's cousin's son was a few years ago. Inspired by a diamond commercial, he insisted his father let him buy his mom diamonds because mom was the woman he loved most. It's hard to argue with an eight year old's logic.

For those with a little tighter of a budget - and for those who desperately need an activity for kids this Thanksgiving weekend, consider letting them make homemade presents. Cookie tins or ornaments are two easy solutions that can keep your kids out of trouble and make them feel the holidy spirit.

I found these cute gingerbread cards online at Kaboose.com and decided it might be fun to adapt to homemade ornaments. The "recipe" for the cards state that they are for ages 3 and older, though that may depend on your child's ability. It does require parental help.

Here's what I did:

1. Downloaded the template and cut out the house part only out of cardboard that was included in a bag from a scrapbook store to keep papers from bending.
2. Let my 3 year old go wild! First step: Painted "frosting" with leftover acryclic paint from a long-ago project.
3. Glued on buttons and slide mounts, long-ago acquired and unused for scrapbooking projects.
4. I punched holes and inserted eyelets in the top of each ornament so the holes wouldn't rip.
5. Threaded each ornament.

Total out-of-pocket expenditures: $0. (Not including the eventual replacement of the tablecloth, which suffered a few holes from my Silent Setter.)

The great thing is, the project allowed me to use up scrapbook supplies that I hadn't used in years but was hesitant to just throw out.

A bonus: My 3 year old was happily occupied for an hour and a half! And she's eager to share her creations with everyone she knows.

Disney leading ladies and the Halloween Grinch

Frugality and the holidays aren't a natural pairing. Christmas shopping, of course, is what you hear about, but Halloween is a close second. The rows of wrapped-up treats that threaten to rot your teeth, the overpriced, under-quality costumes that will last one hour of your child's life, the aftermath at home and the temptations in the office.

Sometimes, I truly feel like the Grinch that stole Halloween. For starters, I refuse to buy candy for trick-or-treaters (I get popcorn or play-dough instead. Two reasons: The incidence of childhood obesity and my personal fondness for chocolately goodness). And I admit to having major issues with the give-me attitude that heats up among the neighborhood children, who practically climbed all over my swollen, pregnant belly to grab things out of the treat bowl last year.

But now that my oldest is 3, we're tackling a new issue: What to wear. 2008 is different. It truly is a year of decisions.

So far this month, I've heard random comments about being Alvin and the Chipmunks (not sure if she means all three), a frog, a cheerleader a turtle, Cinderella (with "yellow hair" -- and she means it), and a few others that I've managed to purge from my brain. Of course, none of these options are particularly simple or cheap. And all require a shopping trip, something I cringe about these days.

It could be worse. My daughter's friend wants to be a pink Power Ranger, which comes in at a costly $46 for a costume, her mom reports.

Coming from a family that made their costumes (I was raised in the era of those horrible too-tight plastic masks and wrap-around sheaths for costumes), I struggle with the idea of buying cheaply made, un-reusable costumes to dress up my children in for Halloween, especially at such a young age.

The first year, my oldest wore a hand-me-down costume for exactly five minutes, long enough to take a photo. The next, she toddled around in comfortable black sweats, dog ears and a tail. The third year, a Kansas City Chiefs cheerleader dress, found on eBay, which fit her until literally last week.

I tried to convince my daughter that she could wear a pink princess dress (fashioned out of last year's bridesmaid dress). No dice. I told her that the fairy godmothers changed Cinderella's dress pink and green. She got hung up on the green. Nevermind I've got the wrong Disney story -- it was Sleeping Beauty, not Cinderella.

But last night, a burst of inspiration hit. There's one Disney leading lady that my princess can pull off.

You see, tucked away in a box that I found recently was my first communion dress, circa 1983. And you know, it doesn't look that far off from the cover of Mary Poppins. I brought up the idea. Her face lit up. She was sold.

Yes, she'll be drowning in that decades-old dress, but only for that hour. But I can guarantee in the sea of princesses, she'll be the only Disney leading lady on the block who'll be prepared for rain.

A little altered art

Green gifts for 7 year olds are not exactly an easy thing to find. Somehow High School Musical and Hannah Montana don't exactly mesh with an environmentally friendly lifestyle.

I didn't set out specifically to give green this year for my niece's birthday, but economics played a role in my creation of altered art. Actually, a small scrapbook.

"Altered books" was a trend that seemed to peak in the scapbooking world a few years ago. Essentially, you'd take a book and repurpose it (with craft supplies of your choice) to make various art projects. As an avid reader, the whole concept made me cringe: Destroying the printed word?

But then, if the book isn't being appreciated for the literary impact on your life, maybe it's time to give it a new home or a new life.

In this case, it wasn't literature but a small photo album that I'd received when my daughter was born. Branded with the information for a formula company, it was a small album that housed a few dozen 4x6 photos.

For three years, it's collected dust while I waited for someone else to dump it on. For about that long, I have had random stickers, including puffy ones that I'd somehow acquired, that have met a similar fate. The two made a great pairing, as the album received a fun facelift.

Throw in a few dozen photos of my kids and my niece, and you have a one-of-a-kind gift for the girl who dearly misses her little cousins many miles away.

Is it simple? Sure. Is it high art? Hardly. But sometimes you have to put a little heart in your art.

Happy birthday, Sam. We miss you.