Are you up to your ears in leaves? If your yard is home to numerous trees, you might find yourself overwhelmed with leaves this fall season. So what exactly can you do with all of those leaves, other than rake them? Well the good news is they do have a few fun uses! Take a peek at these 5 creative ways to use fallen leaves, in ways that are both fun and frugal!
1. Craft a scarecrow.
Fallen leaves are perfect for stuffing and filling scarecrows. Save leaves so when you are ready to craft your scarecrow, you have plenty to create the body, legs, arms, and of course, head. Leaves make perfect stuffing material and fill up the scarecrow nicely.
2. Make giant yard pumpkins.
Buy orange yard waste bags found at your local home improvement store or Amazon. Some are plain orange while others might have the pumpkin faces already on them. No worries if you can’t find any with faces, you can always add your own with a black marker. Simply fill the bags up with leaves, then tie the top for yard pumpkins that make the perfect outdoor fall décor.
3. Craft spooky ghosts.
Take white trash bags and fill the bottom with a handful of leaves. Twist the bag and tie it to create a round head shape. You can use a black marker to draw the face of a ghost directly onto the bag, and then add string for hanging. Place the ghost in a tree or porch for a spooky effect.
4. Make spooky yard spiders.
Take a black trash bag and fill it with fallen leaves. You can then use white paper to craft eyes and attach them with craft glue. Painted PVC piping can make legs as well as long cardboard tubes or even pool noodles. How spooky would these be to see in your yard around Halloween!
5. Create a leaf fort.
Find a large cardboard box that can be used as the fort’s main foundation. Cut a square to enter. Spray the box with spray adhesive and apply the leaves to the outside of the box. One or two layers is sufficient. When you are done you should not be able to see the box and it will look like the entire piece is made from leaves.
Did you ever think that leaves could provide so much fun? Start raking up those fall leaves and then give these fun ideas a try and see all the ways you can put those fallen leaves to use. You are sure to enjoy lots of family fun with very little cost to you.
Fruit flies can be so annoying, can't they? It seems they are impossible to avoid and eliminate. If you find your home filled with pesky fruit flies, I have a tried and true technique to get rid of them. It's so simple and requires only two easy to find ingredients. Here's how to catch fruit flies at home:
Next, fill a bowl with apple cider vinegar and add a few drops of dish soap.
Bam! That's all you need to catch fruit flies! Soon you'll be seeing those pesky things floating in your concoction.
The fruit flies are attracted to the sweetness of the apple cider vinegar. The soap reduces the surface tension of the liquid, causing the fruit flies to sink and drown when they land on it.
By placing a jar or two in areas where you notice a lot of flies, you'll soon be seeing a lot less fruit flies in your home. Whew!
Check the traps regularly and empty them when they start to accumulate fruit flies. Rinse out the traps and replace the apple cider vinegar and dish soap as needed.
Here's how you can prevent fruit flies:
Wash all produce when you get home from the store.
Refrigerate promptly the produce that belongs in the fridge.
Freeze or toss overripe produce.
Clean up any spills promptly.
Keep your kitchen sink and drain clean.
Regularly empty and clean your garbage cans.
With these simple tips, not only will you know how to catch fruit flies, you'll know how to prevent them from showing up in the first place.
How have you dealt with fruit flies? Tell us in the comments below!
I have got a super simple St. Patrick's Day treat for you today! It's cute and tasty! Make someone's day with this St. Patrick's Day Skittle rainbow treat bag. The recipient is sure to enjoy the marshmallows, the skittles and the chocolates!
If St. Patrick's day coincides with a birthday, I think these would make great party favors for older kids. Heck, I think I'll keep one for myself 😉
Valentine's Day is fast approaching! That means it's time to show some love and appreciation to our valentines. Sweet treats are a great way to show some appreciation, but I happen to think homemade treats are extra special!
Today I want to show you how fun and easy these Valentine gum drops are to make. Get the kids involved with cutting out the shapes too. This set of heart shaped cookie cutters has a variety of sizes to choose from, but any small shaped cookie cutter will work!
Forget the candy this Valentine's Day! Make a really cute and simple DIY heart shirt for the people in your house! Perfect for Valentine's Day at school or really, to wear year round. (I think hearts look great anytime of year.) 🙂
I’m thinking you could also use the same template on a tote bag or pillow case. They would look equally as adorable! That’s the nice thing about crafting though, you get to put it on any little thing that makes you happy. Now, read along, I'm off to make my own heart shirt. 😉
1. Print out your heart stencil "here". 2. Lay your shirt flat, and place a piece of cardboard or a few sheets of paper inside the shirt, right under where your design will go. 3. Cut out your printable and place it on the front of your shirt. 4. Take all the caps off your markers so they are ready to use. 5. Hold the heart into the shirt using one hand and hold your marker in the other, using only the tips of your marker begin dotting around the heart almost like you are tracing it. 6. You want to have a lot of dots directly around the heart then have then fade away the further you go out. 7. Now switch colors (do this 3 times). 8. You can always go back if you don't have enough dots. 9. Now move your heart stencil out of the way. 10. Let dry for 24 hours before you wash but after that these markers are permanent.
If you are in need of a simple, thoughtful gift idea, I present you with... gifts in a mug. 🙂 Once I started creating one gift in a mug, the ideas kept flowing! The options are endless!
These are a perfect gift idea for friends, teachers, your boss, really, anyone!
The idea is simple. Pick a cute mug, then fill it with your recipient's favorite things.
To help you get your wheels turning, I want to show you three simple ideas that can be done on any budget.
I found my supplies at Walmart, Amazon, Dollarama and my house.
Gift in a Mug #1 - Self Care Mug
This coffee mug gift idea includes a face mask, cozy socks, lip balm, hand cream, and a milk chocolate bar. This would make for a great gift idea for a friend, mother in law or teacher!
Mug - Walmart Fuzzy socks - Dollarama Hand cream - Walmart (was in a set of four, perfect for splitting up!) Lip balm - Walmart Chocolate bar - Walmart Face mask - Walmart
Gift in a Mug #2 - Desk Essentials
This coffee mug gift idea is perfect for someone who works in an office or from home. Anyone really! For this gift in a mug, I put in a mini stapler, hand cream, two pens, gum, a chocolate bar, a small notebook and a small day planner. Because the notebook and day planner don't fit in the mug, I am just going to place them underneath the mug and wrap it all together in some cellophane.
This idea makes me so happy! It would be perfect for a hostess gift or for a holiday party. Swap the Christmasy items for more neutral items and you could have the cutest birthday present for a friend. To this gift in a mug, I added a mug cake package, a fork, a napkin and a couple of candles. Simple and cheap.
Mug - Walmart Mug Cake - Amazon Fork - my party stash Napkin - my party stash Candles - my party stash
Other gift in a mug ideas I had:
Hot chocolate mug: a mug, a packet or two of hot chocolate, a candy cane, a special treat, marshmallows, a chocolate covered stirring spoon.
Kids themed: a mug, a Pez candy dispenser, a special pen, a notebook, small kid things from the dollar store.
Craft supplies: a mug, fun craft supplies for an adult or a child.
Liqueurs in a mug: a couple of those tiny liqueurs that would taste yummy in coffee or hot chocolate.
Kitchen Essentials: I have seen mini whisks, tongs and the like at Superstore. These would be cute tucked into a mug with a dish cloth!
The ideas are endless!
I hope my ideas will help you out if you want to try gifting a Gift in a Mug this year!
