Fancy 350 Dollar February Menu!

We are gaining a wonderful new roommate! And this little introverted Momma is trying to accommodate a range of dinner guests and friends, making our home more welcoming and inviting! So this lovely menu is designed for 3 adults, 2 small children, and occasional guests (abouuuut 2 or 3 people a week total!) As you will notice, breakfasts are planned, they're the first line, and so are snacks, which are the second. Lunches are not planned as they will be the leftovers from the previous night or big ol' salads!!!

February
Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
						1: Oatmeal Hummus and Carrots Burgers and Dipping Tofu
2: Japanese Style Cookies Portobello Wellingtons and Beet Salad with Gremolata	3: Sammies Pears Taco Bowls	4: Hot Pockets Cream Cheez and Crackers Curried Carrot Soup and Dipping Bread	5: Sammies Oranges Avocado Macaroni	6: Granola Pretzels Stir Fry with Ponzu Sauce	7: Sammies Cheezcake Burgers and Garlic Tots with Onion Cheez Dip	8: Oatmeal Hummus and Carrots Burgers and Beet Salad
9: Waffles Cookies Pho	10: Sammies Pears Chimichangas with Lime Sour Cream	11: Hot Pockets Cream Cheez and Crackers Mushroom and Barley Stew with Biscuits	12: Sammies Oranges Bechamel Pasta and Beet Salad	13: Granola Pretzels Peanut Satay	14: Sammies Cheezcake CHINESE (Per Valentine's Tradition)	15: Oatmeal Hummus and Carrots Burgers and Rustic Roasted Veggies
16: Japanese Style Cookies Quinoa and Dipping Tofu	17: Sammies Pears Burritos	18: Hot Pockets Cream Cheez and Crackers Thai Coconut Soup and Simple Sesame Noodles	19: Sammies Oranges Garlic Alfredo and Peas	20: Granola Pretzels Orange Sauce "Chicken"	21: Sammies Cheezcake Burgers and Garlic Potatoes	22: Oatmeal Hummus and Carrots Burgers and Beet Salad
23: Waffles Cookies Paninis	24: Sammies Pears Taquitos with Lime Sour Cream	25: Hot Pockets Cream Cheez and Crackers Curry	26: Sammies Oranges Veggie Stroganoff Pasta	27: Granola Pretzels Tofu Teriyaki	28: Sammies Cheezcake Burgers and Tots with Gremolata Dip	1: Oatmeal Hummus and Carrots Burgers and Beet Salad

And for desserts I am including enough ingredients to make brownies, truffles, mousse, and extra cookies and cheezcake! Plus things for Almond Milk and Coffee, and the usual Soy Milk for my girlies!

The following is your Itemized Grocery List! The highlighted portions are what I actually need to buy this month, as I bought the un-highlighted items last month! You will see that the highlighted total does not hit my budget of 350 which gives me wiggle room...you never know when you will have unexpected spoilage of goods and you'll have to refresh that whole bag of romaine! Otherwise, it is saved for next month, or things like vinegar which I rarely buy because it takes so long for my stock to run out, so it's not even worth putting on the list! The excess will also cover last month's actual total. You will see some items with a decimal quantity, like heads of garlic, which will last me 3 or 4 months, so yes, I bought them in January and paid full price, but I'm splitting it up over four months, so some of this month's "extra money" is actually already spent on prepaid goods. 

This is why the envelope system of cash works well! I pulled out last month's cash, paid for most of my groceries with it, then borrowed in order to be frugal for the following months. I wrote an IOU and stuck it in my envelope. I ONLY do this with groceries, because you can save so much and eat so much better! Now when I have excess money this month, I will funnel it all back into the bank to take care of the IOU. 

It is also worth considering to insert $100 into your envelope from a bonus or tax return, so that you don't have to borrow, you're just dipping into what I call a "buffer" ...just be sure not to spend it because it's there! 

FEBRUARY	QTY	Price	Total
Business Costco
Salt*	0.25	$3.99	$1.00
Toilet Paper*	0.13	$14.99	$1.95
Olive Blend Oil**	0.33	$11.00	$3.63
Tahini**	0.25	$3.10	$0.78
Coconut Milk	6	$1.19	$7.14
Garlic Heads*	0.25	$8.00	$2.00
Veggie Base*	0.13	$11.99	$1.56
Costco			$0.00
Almonds	3	$4.30	$12.90
Romaine	1	$3.49	$3.49
Corn	1	$2.89	$2.89
Peas	1	$2.89	$2.89
Mushrooms	2	$3.60	$7.20
Potatoes**	0.5	$4.49	$2.25
Carrots	0.5	$5.99	$3.00
Bananas	2	$1.35	$2.70
Chocolate Chips	0.25	$8.99	$2.25
Sugar**	0.25	$4.49	$1.12
Soy Milk	0.33	$15.99	$5.28
Vanilla Soy	2	$15.99	$31.98
Coconut Oil	0.33	$19.99	$6.60
Tortillas**	1	$4.00	$4.00
Tator Tots	1	$6.89	$6.89
Onions**	0.5	$10.00	$5.00
Honey	1	$12.79	$12.79
Winco			$0.00
Flour	15	$0.50	$7.50
Pinto Beans	5	$0.91	$4.55
Black Beans	5	$0.99	$4.95
Rice	5	$0.56	$2.80
Oats	3	$0.58	$1.74
Nutritional Yeast	1	$6.87	$6.87
Peanuts	4	$1.68	$6.72
Quinoa	0.25	$1.99	$0.50
Pasta	8	$1.08	$8.64
Sweet Onion	2	$0.76	$1.52
Walnuts	1	$2.00	$2.00
Hazelnuts	0.5	$5.88	$2.94
Peanuts	4	$1.68	$6.72
Cashews	1	$3.29	$3.29
Corn Starch	1	$0.98	$0.98
Oranges	1	$3.98	$3.98
Barley	0.5	$0.98	$0.49
Dried Mangos	1	$4.00	$4.00
Fred Meyer			$0.00
Liquid Creamer	6	$2.00	$12.00
Crackers	3	$1.67	$5.01
Mozarella	4	$2.50	$10.00
Orange Juice	2	$2.98	$5.96
Jalapenos	0.25	$5.99	$1.50
Brown Sugar	1	$1.99	$1.99
Filo Dough	1	$4.99	$4.99
Portobellas	2	$5.99	$11.98
Mushrooms	2	$2.99	$5.98
Mustard	1	$2.00	$2.00
Ice Cream	1	$5.50	$5.50
Ketchup	1	$1.99	$1.99
Miso	1	$3.99	$3.99
Avocados	20	$1.00	$20.00
Sausage	3	$4.00	$12.00
Asian Mart			$0.00
Tofu XFirm	5	$1.10	$5.50
Tofu Firm	5	$1.10	$5.50
Green Onions	1	$0.50	$0.50
Cilantro	1	$0.50	$0.50
Peppers	6	$0.60	$3.60
Broccoli	8	$1.50	$12.00
Udon	1	$3.10	$3.10
Lime	1	$0.15	$0.15
Lemon	1	$0.25	$0.25
Beets	3	$3.00	$9.00
Yam	2	$0.80	$1.60
Sweet Potato	2	$0.80	$1.60
Pears	8	$0.90	$7.20
Basil	1	$4.00	$4.00
Wontons	1	$2.00	$2.00
	TOTAL		$349.64
	THIS MONTH:		$315.99

As always, I keep my pricing as current as possible, excluding sales, which can be found here:

FOOD COMPARISON CHART (OpenSource)
FOOD COMPARISON CHART (Microsoft Excel)

Frugal Hair Care--How to Bleach Your Own Hair and My Vegan Hair Care Regimen

First off, I would not recommend this process to anyone with virgin hair! Please go to a salon and get yourself taken care of how you want your hair to look, and WATCH THEM! Ask what they're using! I did this by natural curiosity first, before ever considering doing my own hair.

If you live in my area, I know the perfect gal, she gave me a friend discount, which if you have a friend, by all means...USE THEM! Otherwise, this girl is good! And has the sweetest, most genuine heart! Her name?

Heather Cochran

In Mukilteo at a J. Paul Salon

Find her HERE on Facebook!

She works at the cutest little shop by the ferry docks, and from her chair you get to overlook the Sound! How's that for a tranquil, treat yourself day?! With skill I would highly recommend!

Buuuut, if you've been to your salon artist a dozen times already, and you know that you need 40 volume to lighten those roots, then now it's YOUR TURN! (Word to the wise though, even stylists let other stylists cut their hair, so DON'T DO IT yourself, unless it's your bangs, you won't be happy!)

Now it's time to head out to Sally's! My hair needs 40 volume to lift the dark roots out, yours may only need 20, so pay attention! So this is my list:

• Powder Bleach
• 40 Volume Creme Developer
• Ion Cool Blonde Shampoo (It's vegan, and takes the brassy out of the blonde)
• Ion Cool Blonde Conditioner
• Ion Effective Hair Treatment Reconstructing Conditioner
• Mixing Bowl
• Brush
• Clips

Then for your colored hair care between treatments, I recommend Ion! Their entire line of products is vegan and it all works very well! You can do a little cheaper if you go to another brand, but I'll pay the couple extra dollars for vegan certification! Use Ion Cool Blonde (purple bottle) every other wash. Ion Keratin Shampoo and Conditioner (brown bottle) every other wash. Then Ion Clarifying Shampoo (clear purple bottle) and Ion Effective Hair Treatment Reconstructing Conditioner (red bottle) once in the middle between treatments.

For a 1lb tub of bleach and all of the tools, volumizer, and shampoo bottles to last at least a year, my end cost was $53. That's less than two visits to the salon (for me) and I covered ALL of my hair care! Thanks to my mom for tipping me off to doing it myself, if I didn't hear about her classy friend doing it herself, I never would have tried! I was saving half off of my bleaches, because I am a lucky girl and have an awesome friend, but now I've freed up her time to take care of higher paying clients, and I'm saving $350 a year!!

Bleach needs

Immediate after bleaching hair care!

To prep, get a clean space, preferably the bathroom sink, and set yourself up with a mounted mirror and a handheld mirror to use reflections to see the back of your head. Get a handtowel to wrap around your shoulders and pin it shut with one of your hairclips. While this will protect your shirt and shoulders from bleach, I recommend wearing clothes you don't care too much about, because you will end up with little bleach dots on the booty of your yoga pants!

Start with the back. Mix up your bleach in the developer. I'm a noob, so I do 1.5 times the amount, because I use it all! Brush your hair! Vitally important, seems like I shouldn't have to say it, but even I've forgotten before! Using a mirror to try to see back there, part your hair into 6 sections for easy manageability. Now, going horizontally (like a ladder) part your hair at the nape of your neck, all the way across. Unclipping and reclipping your sections as needed to get the part. Doesn't have to be perfect, just try your best. Paint the roots of the strands with bleach by lifting the parted hair, painting the underside, laying it back down and painting the top side and underside of what will be your next part. Feel free to dip your brush as many times as needed to fully coat each strand. No need to glob, it will foam and expand a bit, but don't be stingy either! Repeat the process all the way up your scalp!

When you reach your crown, your crescent shaped parts (inching their way up your head) will start to come together, at which point you can decrease the number of clips, and start parting on just one side, as you would part your hair to style it. That is up to your discretion.

Try to keep your parts to 1/4 inch. Yeah. Right. Because you will be so perfect with your little paintbrush tool...as long as you are able to coat all your roots with bleach, you are golden! Or should I say platinum? The whole process takes me 1 hour to complete myself, then I let it sit and sizzle for another hour.

Now rinse and use the Ion Cool Blonde Shampoo! It will take the brassy out, k? I don't use toner, it doesn't work on my hair, and I prefer a more natural looking blonde. I feel that without toner, the depth of the color is variegated in waves with the space between dye jobs and length of process, which is more akin to a natural blonde's hair which lightens and darkens of its own accord. As you're washing out that bleach, be careful not to scratch with your nails, it leaves a burning sensation that does not go away! Use the pads of your fingers instead. Then apply a generous amount of Ion Repair Solutions Reconstructing Conditioner. If you don't, your hair will become very weak and break off easily. Add back in those proteins!

And you're done!

(On the Blue Flash below...pick the 16 oz tub, it's just as economical as buying from Sally's. The shampoos though, Sally's does a buy two get one free deal all the time...so if you can get there, it will save you $12 off of your Amazon list)

Per the concern of my lovely hair stylist friends, while 40 volume works fine on my hair, I would recommend 20 volume twice...giving at least 3 days between application. Always start lower, because yes, your current stylist knows what they're doing, they've been to school for it. You will have an even tone if you apply twice instead of going for it at 40! There are quite a few horror stories out there, scalp damage, etc. There are a lot of factors for choosing your ideal developer and frequency of application, as in time, money, and condition of your hair. Use your best judgement please!

The PERFECT Vegan Cream Cheese! (And Sesame Wonton Crackers)

As a vegan, I am not about substitutions, they are expensive, and typically sport just as many chemicals and preservatives as their meaty counterparts. Most importantly though, they hardly EVER taste right! So the consumer is consumed with regret, remorse, and a pallet in retrograde...simply put, it's just not the same! 

After a month of transition when we originally adopted our Whole-Foods-Plant-Based Diet that slipped into blissfully delightful vegan menus, we figured out that it's not about finding a substitute that was permissible for hotdogs, it was about making fried tofu bites with different dipping sauces! That being said, I never post a "substitute" unless I feel like it is par none! The best of the best! And not about the substitute at all, but about making something scrumptious and delectable!

On that note, a perfected recipe one year in the making...

Vegan Cream Cheese (Neufchatel):

Ingredients:
1 Cup Raw Cashews (I buy it in pieces because it is waaaay cheaper)
1 Cup Raw Hazelnuts (All nuts are UN-salted)
1 lb Medium Firm Tofu
Salt to taste (I used 1 Tablespoon)

Makes a delightful 4 cups of decadent vegan creamy goodness! All for a grand total of: $4.13 or about $1.03 per cup/ 8 oz, which is about a third of the price I can snag it for at Fred Meyer or Whole Foods!

Directions:
Soak cashews for at least 4 hours, up to overnight.
Drain cashews and tofu, then add all ingredients into a blender or food processor. Process for 5 minutes or until the texture is smooth and creamy. Due to being whipped up for awhile, it should have a fluffy texture; store in the fridge to set at least an hour before consuming, which will condense some of the fluff, plus cream cheese just tastes best cold!


WARNING: Do NOT soak cashews longer than 12 hours, soaking does get rid of enzyme inhibitors but also will turn them rancid quickly, resulting in food poisoning! I speak from experience! Stick your nuts in the fridge in soaking water if you tend to forget them, like me.

The crackers you see dipped in the cream cheese are my lovely Sesame-Wonton Crackers.

Sesame Wonton Crackers

Ingredients:
1 Package Wonton Wrappers (Wonton wrappers tend to be vegan, check the label)
2 Tablespoons Plain Soy Milk
1 Tablespoon Corn Starch
1 Teaspoon Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon Sesame Seeds
OPTIONAL:
1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Onion Powder
Course Salt 

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. 
Lay out wonton wrappers, very little space is needed between them as they will shrink in baking. Cut them all in half, whether they are square or round, so that you have a good chip size! Mix the soy milk and cornstarch then add the rest of your ingredients, aside from the sesame seeds and salt if using. With a basting brush, paint all of your wrappers. It is nice to let a child do this part, because essentially you can't go wrong! Then have them help you sprinkle the seeds and salt on top! Stick them in the oven for 5 minutes, flip the tray around to cook evenly, then bake another 5 minutes more! TADA!!

I like to make the garlic and onion recipe, because they are flavorful but go with just about anything, but you can add whatever flavors you want! Just don't go over a teaspoon of powder, it will get hard to manage. The crackers are good plain as well!

Wondering About That Garbage Challenge? Let's Make Dirt!!!

A couple months ago I presented a garbage challenge, and we approached the issue with just the right amount of recycling, composting/foodcycling, yard waste, and paper burning (yes, that's where all that foil-lined paper went...and a lopsided wicker reindeer!) with utmost fervor to achieve a whopping reduction of a 32gallon can once a WEEK down to a 32gallon can ONCE A MONTH!!!

I never thought it was possible, what with two "litter-bug" cats, two babies, and a multitude of Christmas packages! But we did, and it's marvelous! We use our own can that we purchased from Home Depot for $10, and voila, let the savings roll in!

Thank you to those who posted suggestions and encouragement, you were entered into the book drawing, since many of you are unable to reduce your trash impact, I thought I'd encourage right back with a healthy Vegan Cookbook! Now the lucky winner will receive a little kitchen helper, because veggies keep waste output low!

AND THE WONDERFUL, ENCOURAGING WINNER IS...

JOANN HILLHOUSE!!

And no, I promise I didn't rig it, grandma!

But my green-thumb grandma taught me a wonderful trick that helps keep your garden growing strong, and utilizes that lovely compost you are making. I know you've all seen those "grounds for your garden" bags of coffee grounds at Starbucks, or you at least know you can put coffee grounds out in your soil, but how, exactly? 

So we now save our coffee grounds in our cute ceramic compost container, it sits on the counter next to the coffee pot so that we ACTUALLY DO IT! And, I had a little help from Brandan's grandparents, who gave me a whopping 10 # bag of grounds from Starbucks for Christmas!!! Now, you definitely have time to save your grounds from here till Spring to incorporate them, but I'd like to take the opportunity to show you how it's going to look in the end!

First off, you can put coffee grounds directly on hearty rose-family plants: roses, raspberries, cherry trees, and the sort. Otherwise, be cautious, the nitrogen, which is a lovely energy source for worms, will burn your other plants!

And for your listening pleasure, while we're talking dirty, "Worms Eat Dirt" by the Aquabats!! Fun for kids (of all ages)!!!

So I start with a 5 gallon bucket. They are available at any home improvement store-- Home Depot, Ace, Lowes...although Home Depot is cheapest at 2.78 a bucket, Ace's is completely white, so aesthetically more pleasing to the eye! Although theirs is $4 more, so it depends on your budget, and how important it is to you! They're both equal in size, made from the same plastic, and equally water-tight when you purchase the corresponding lid...another buck or so...but for our purposes we don't need a lid on this one!

You will see that my demonstration bucket is white, but I assure you that it is because it was a gift! Although, again prettier, I did purchase my arsenal of buckets for chicken feed in construction orange!

To start the process I took a few shovels of dirt directly from the garden I am going to plant crops in this year, until it fills the bucket 1/3 of the way. Set your bucket outside, I stick mine right next to the back door for easy access. Then add your coffee grounds to it! For us, that means 10-12 filters from our drip machine and maybe some espresso grounds thrown in, but it fills our cute kitchen compost container in a week's time.

Add your week's worth to the bucket, then add more dirt so that it covers the grounds at least an inch! Now MIX! Repeat this process until you have a bucket that's 3/4 full or you're out of time. You can't add compost to soil directly before the planting season, as I said before, it is harmful to plants in concentrate!

Technically, the best time to add compost, in a one-season, cooler-climate, growing area, is in the fall when it has time to decompose over the winter. But don't worry, you're not out in the cold just yet! If you save your grounds over the next 4 weeks, or jumpstart with a bag of grounds from your local coffee shop, you can incorporate your bucket to your garden the FIRST WEEK OF FEBRUARY! Or alternatively, in each separate bed one month before you intend to plant crops. Now, since ours did not fully decompose before it will be time to plant, you MUST mix the composted grounds in the soil, but hey, you were going to till it all up anyway!

Ideally we want an inch of compost on our bed EVERY YEAR, but if you're like me, you missed the memo, and this is our little shortcut! I would recommend adding 3 inches at the end of your growing season this year to make up for our cheater gardening. This will combat erosion too! I will hold myself accountable to it, as dirt is easy to make, not worth the price you pay in-store, and is a problem to mass produce for our poor farming practices. Really we should all be using precision seeders, a conservative farming method that does not involve tilling and exposing loose soil to the elements, thereby eroding the soil. However, I am not an expert in this method, I just know why it's better, but I also know that we can create soil faster than we can erode it! You can foodcycle and let Waste Management compost for you, or compost at home like we are doing on a small scale with our coffee dirt! 

For more passion on dirt, watch this lecture! It's an informational hour, but I don't mind if you're not as interested as I am!!

Foodcycling, composting, and making coffee dirt are great ways to reduce your garbage output! Want a fancy kitchen container? Commit to reducing your garbage output by ONE WHOLE STEP! We made it through Christmas using all of the techniques I shared before the holidays, and that means only 1 can for a whole month! The only thing that might get in your way is take-out, it will wreak havoc on your good garbaging...or buying new things, like furniture or pictures, anything that comes in Styrofoam packaging, which can be stored up and carted to your nearest Styrofoam recycling plant, or it can be used as buffering in packages you intend to mail, otherwise, if you foresee a boatload of peanuts and blocks, also be ready for a cute little $4 excess trash charge. Buy used if you can!

Vegan Pumpkin "Cheese" Cake

Vegan Pumpkin "Cheese" Cake

SOAK TIME: 4 hours minimum, up to 1 day

Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Serves: 12

Ingredients:

2 Cups Cashews, raw and are cheapest in pieces
1 Sugar Pumpkin (Or one can of pumpkin puree)

1/2 Cup Agave
2 Teaspoons Cinnamon

1 Teaspoon Nutmeg

1 Teaspoon Cloves

1/2 Cup Macadamia Nuts, raw

1/2 Cup Walnuts, raw

4 Dates, pitted

2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil

Directions:
Step 1: Soak your cashew pieces overnight. The next day, they will be ready for pureeing!
Step 2: Preheat your oven to  350. Roast your pumpkin by splitting it in half, lopping off the stem, and pitting it of seeds and strings, leaving only firm pumpkin meat. Place both halves face down on a cookie sheet and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 1 hour!

Step 3: While your pumpkin is roasting, drain cashews and stick them in the blender, puree with agave and spices, then set aside.

Step 4: In a food processor, lightly and sporadically blend the macadamias, walnuts and dates, until the end result is a choppy mess! Then add the coconut oil and pulse a couple more times...be careful not to overblend!!! It will get soupy!

Step 5: Press nut base into spring form pan.
Step 6: When pumpkin is roasted, scoop out the soft flesh from the skin and add it to your blender with the cashew puree. Blend well to incorporate!

Step 7: Pour the cashew mixture over your nutty crust, and smooth over with a spatula.

Step 8: Dust with cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves and freeze or refrigerate!

ENJOY!

My original recipe, adapted from Raw Vegan Blueberry Cheesecake from The Vegan Zombie!

Christmas Cards...Lovely Little Holiday Inspiration

First off, don't forget to play the ISPY game for your chance to win a wonderful set of Bob Books! I'm extending the guessing to Wednesday the 11th!!!

I love making my own cards, it adds a personal touch, and for holidays, they get me in the spirit of the season! I also love a bargain, and hand-making 60 holiday cards came to less than $30!!!

It starts with a photoshoot in early November. We pick a different outfit and try new setups every year. Then we choose three photos that are worth handing out to the world of friends that we have! We used to use Vistaprint for holiday cards because they usually have screaming deals and fast standard shipping, so they always look like your typical holiday card, with a bit of personalization. This year, I calculated out some pricing, and found it was cheaper to do what I love and make them myself!

I found glittery green plaid paper that was on clearance because it was deemed "spring" paper, with the green being light and bright, but any green will do for "Christmas green" for me!

For 60 cards you will need:
15 sheets of 12x12 paper --mine was 39 cents a sheet, but you can get them as low as 20 cents on a deal.
3 rolls of thin ribbon at 50 cents a roll (30 on a deal) or 60 strands at 1 foot length each.
10 sheets of Vellum (packs of 20ish sell for 5.99, but use a coupon and you halve that price!)
15 sheets of printing paper, either cardstock or regular paper, something to print your "letter" on (Or a stack of 3x5 notecards will print nicely for a buck a pack! Just flip your orientation if your printer has troubles feeding the smaller paper size)
Spray Glue!
Elmer's Craft Glue
Role of Double Sided Foam Sticky Tape (for dimension!)
Hole Punch
Your choice of pictures. We do 3 different wallet size ones. Which ends up being 3 sets of 15 sheets of wallets that come 4 to a sheet...all of it for $19 ...the most expensive part! (MATTE looks best!)
60 Standard Letter (#10) Envelopes...Office Depot sells a 500 pack for $10! Score!

I like to cut my 12x12 paper into 4 cards, each 4x8 inches. There will be a small 4x4 square left over, but that's great for using as gift tags or other projects!

Type up a cutesy little letter that is about 3 inches tall by 5 inches wide, updating your family and friends of any accomplishments you made this year, goals for next year, and a well-wish for sincerity! It's all right to brag about your family a bit, children and spouses should know that we take pride in them! Especially for those of you who, like me, tend to downplay the behavior of our family, be it kids or husbands or wives, it is a nice reminder to keep speaking well of others and building up your family in love!!

At this point I also like to print a little message on the vellum, because it just looks so darn cool! Merry Christmas in Red and Green, or bolded black! Remember, you will be cutting out 6 of these suckers, so place your text in a 4 inch high, 3 inch wide space; two rows of three! It's easiest to split the page into three columns, then copy paste your original text until you have 6 on one page, then space them as evenly as possible.

Next cut all of your pictures down to size, and your vellum and ribbon as well!

Now it's time to glue! I LOVE spray adhesive, it's fast, convenient, and holds just as much glue as a regular squeeze bottle. You can pick them up for about $4 a can, but if you use a coupon, you'll score some sweet savings on that, and you'll be able to continue using it into future projects! If your paper is glittery like mine, pictures won't stick well to the front side, which is where the squeeze bottle of Elmer's comes in. One line down the middle, place your picture, then move on to the next card. This way it is more like an assembly line, glue. stick. stack. glue. stick. stack. 

When you've finished all 60, go back to the beginning! I like to cut four little pieces of foam sticky tape for the corners of the second picture, so I can stack it slightly askew on top of the first for added POP! By little pieces, I mean slivers about 2-3 millimeters in width, since you're doing 4 pieces affixing each corner, it will be secure and uniform.

Finished another 60 pictures? Now flip it over! The backside of my paper boasts flat, blank whiteness, which is perfect for adorning with a picture and a letter. It also is a close friend of spray adhesive...they hug so hard that they instantly bond! ;) Haha, seriously though. Take a plastic bag from your card making purchase and place it on the floor, or desk, wherever you intend to spray the backs of your card accessories. A quick spray to the back of the picture or letter, and press into place on the back of your cardstock! The plastic bag will catch the excess glue sprayed, and keep your process quick but tidy!

Lastly, place your vellum with embellishment on the top of your card. Hold both the vellum and card in your fingertips and hole punch both ends of the card. The holes will be aligned if you punch both at the same time, so then you can slip your ribbon through and tie an adorable bow! Knots are cute if you just can't get a bow down! And you can snip the ends to any tail length you want! I chose a black ribbon to tie the vellum on, since it matched all of the accents, but they sell the thin ribbon in 9 yard spools in just about any color! I also went with a slot punch, but any hole punch works well! 

Each year is different! Sometimes I like to use little corner frames for my photos instead of foam tape! Sometimes a stamp on the vellum works better than printing it! You can even get really fancy and emboss your stamp, but the embossing gun runs about $25 and the glitter is usually $4 a bottle. All depends on what your future cardmaking plans are!

Have fun cutting and pasting, in the old school, not-so-digital, crafty way!