Are you looking for a fast and frugal gift to give this  year? These are inexpensive to make and come together quickly. They make a  great gift for a hostess, teacher or someone who has everything. I also love making these and placing them around my house for some holiday cheer!

Supplies needed:

• Tissue box (the tall kind, not wide)
• Christmas Fabric of Choice, for box and a contrasting strip for ribbon
• Sewing Machine
• Scissors
• Thread
• Safety Pin

*All seam allowances are ¼” unless otherwise noted

Time to make: 1 hour or less

Difficulty: Easy

Cut a piece of fabric 17 ½ x 17 for the tissue box. Sew along the length, right sides together.

Turning the piece so the seam is along the back, sew across the bottom.

This will now look like a bag. At this point I usually double check the fit by slipping the tissue
box inside the bag. It should fit snugly but not too tight.

Now you will box stitch the bottom. Turn bottom over and pull so that you have two points on
the bottom of bag.

Using your points, measure in 2” and stitch across on both sides…

Trim off excess.

Turn top of bag down 4”. Stitch along where the fabric meets. Now measure up 2” and stitch
around twice, about 1″ apart,  making a the pocket for your ribbon.

Turn right side out. Place tissue box inside bag. The fit should be snug.
Using scissors, cut 2 small slits where you stitched for the ribbon.

Cut your ribbon 1 ¾ x atleast 32”. You can trim it back after so if its longer that is ok.
Pin the safety pin on one end, and guide the ribbon through one end of the hole around to the
other.

Make sure the fabric is even. Tie into a bow and trim the bottom edges. Leave a little room for
the tissues to come through. Pull some of the tissue up through the top. You can attach a bell if
you would like.

Trim off any loose threads and you are done!

And now for the really fun part!

I have one tissue box to giveaway to one of you!

The winner will receive the poinsettia fabric tissue box (pictured above) ready for gift giving (or to keep). To enter, leave a comment for one entry,  tweet about this giveaway for another, and share about it on  your blog for another (total of 3 entries per person). Please leave me a seperate comment if you post on Twitter or on your blog as I will count each as a separate entry.  I will be drawing a winner on Monday December 14, 2009.

Visit here for more frugal gift ideas.

My youngest son and a few of the neighborhood children have a hobby of climbing trees, building forts, and exploring in the woods. This past Sunday we had a beautiful day that was perfect for little boys outdoor adventure. We were outside doing some chores and enjoying the weather when I noticed I hadn’t seen the boys for a bit. I called my sons name, and he didn’t come or answer back. After several times of calling him, we became a little worried. We headed out to the woods and onto the trail searching, and searching, and searching.

Thankfully we found them after about 45 minutes. They had gotten carried away looking for tadpoles and went out further and further away from the house. Everyone was ok (even me!) but it made me think: if we couldn’t find him, would I be prepared?

It isn’t something that you ever want to imagine happening, but if my child was missing the last thing I would want to be doing is trying to find a photo or anything else that may be needed to find him.

Earlier in the week, My Precious Kids had sent me some items to review, one of them being a Child Safety Pack. In it is everything I would need in the awful scenario that my child was missing. I didn’t realize the value of this item until I had to really think about it. I am so grateful that I have one now, and am excited to have the opportunity to be able to give away one of these invaluable kits to one of my readers.

Each Child Safety Pack includes:

1 – Child ID Card
1 – Child Car Seat ID Card
1 – Medical Release Card
1 – Child Luggage Tag ID Card
2 – Shoe ID Stickers
1 – Disposable Child ID bracelet
1 – Child DNA Fingerprint Kit
Optional Waterproof pen is available

My Precious Kids has also offered to give away 5 car seat id cards to my readers also.

Child safety is never anything to be taken lightly. I am so thankful for companies like My Precious Kids that put this issue at the forefront so that we can prepared if, God forbid, the unthinkable were to happen.

To enter this contest, head over to My Precious Kids and find something you would really like to have and why. Then come back here and leave a comment sharing what that is.  You can also follow My Precious Kids on Twitter and Facebook, as well as subscribe to their blog and share this giveaway on your blog for additional entries. Be sure to let me know each addition as well as leave me a way to notify you  if you win. I will draw the winners here next Thursday.

We were pleasantly surprised when we tried our frozen Wanchai Ferry dinner kit a few months ago. We chose the Orange chicken and my family loved it, which is rare for them to like a frozen meal. I think you will like it too, so enter to win this adorable set and a frozen meal Wanchai Ferry dinner kit and so you can enjoy take out-at home!

To enter, leave a comment and get an additional entry each time you spread the word on your blog, Twitter, or Facebook. I will choose a winner in the next 24 hours and announce here. Please, please leave me a way to contact you!

Giveaway courtesy of My Blog Spark

I put the numbers through random.org, the number drawn was #5

The winner of the My Husband Rocks T Shirt is Amy of Amy’s Finer Things!

Why does Amy’s husband rock? She tells us:

My hubby rocks! He works tirelessly to provide for our family, but ALWAYS puts us first. He welcomes us at his practices and makes us a part of his life all the time.

Congratulations Amy!

And remember, you can still recieve a 15% discount on 2 or more tees (they aren’t just for wives, they have a line for babies, children and husbands too!) from now until October 23rd.  Enter the code: 812Calling15

Tomorrow evening I will be drawing a winner for the My Husband Rocks T shirt giveaway-don’t miss out on  your chance to win! Go here to enter.

Union 28 sent me one of their gorgeous T’s to try out a few months ago. Not only was I impressed with the quality of it, I loved how my husband stood a little taller when I wore it.

Husbands LOVE the admiration of their wives, and what better way to show them how awesome you think they are than with one of these adorable T’s!?

Not only do I have a special discount code to offer my readers,  Union 28 has also graciously offered to give away your choice of their Chocolate or Hot Pink short sleeve fitted or ladies cut tee. Now that rocks!

Just for my readers, you can revieve a 15% discount on 2 or more tees (they aren’t just for wives, they have a line for babies, children and husbands too!) from now until October 23rd.  Enter the code: 812Calling15

To enter to win one of these adorable t shirts, leave a comment below and tell us why YOUR husband rocks! Tweet this giveaway, share it on  your blog or facebook for more chances to win (just let me know that you did it!). I’ll be drawing a winner through random.org next Wednesday evening ( Sept. 30) and announcing here so be sure to check back to see if your a winner!  And don’t forget to check out the great line of T’s at Union 28!

My greatest apologies for the delay in announcing the winner. After a site hack and adventourous weekend I am exhausted and behind on everything! But without further ado, the winners are Denise and and Dee. I have sent you both an email! Thanks for entering!

Don’t forget to enter the gardening giveaway and win a great ebook!

I was so excited when All Childrens Furniture (who sells everything from bunk beds to toys!) contacted me about doing a giveaway on my blog! I instantly knew that the greatest place to give this item away would be at the fantastic Heart of the Matter homeschool conference going on this week.

Attend the conference by going here and be instantly entered to win this awesome Space Exploration kit:

And by the way, aren’t these bunk beds just adorable!? Gosh I would have loved to have one when I was a kid!

My garden is coming in great, and I am gearing up for lots of canning and preserving. I am also enjoying the harvest from local farmers and farmers markets. My goal is to fill my freezer and pantry with lots of in season goodies.

Canning and preserving has always seemed intimidating to me. Actually at one time, gardening alone seemed intimidating! Am I the only one?

If you want to hone your garden skills and get a great start on preserving your harvest, I have a fantastic giveaway for you this week! I have been excited all week about sharing this:

Laura of Heavenly Homemakers has done a beautiful job compiling this ebook, and is generously giving one away to a reader here! Ihave looked through this book and I am so impressed. It is loaded with great tips but my favorite are the color tutorials. I am a visual person, so seeing something done in a photo is so helpful to me! I can’t

wait to get started on her recipes. Here is what Laura says about her ebook:

I love gardening and preserving!! In this ebook, I share helpful tips I’ve learned about having a simple, yet successful organic garden. Read about how to plant, what to plant, when to plant, planting potatoes in both a garden and in a container and much more!

Beyond gardening, you’ll read my ideas about making the most of your farmer’s market!

Then comes my favorite part of the ebook: Freezing and canning all the wonderful produce from your garden or farmer’s market!!

This ebook includes instructions on the hot water bath canning method and step by step picture tutorials about:

*Canning Tomato Juice and Sauce
*Canning Tomato Soup
*Canning Applesauce
*Canning Peaches
*Canning Pears
*Freezing Peaches
*Freezing Berries
*Freezing Pumpkin
*Freezing Apples for Pie or Crisp
*Freezing Cherries for Pie or Crisp
*Freezing Corn
*Freezing Green Beans
*Freezing Broccoli
*Digging up and Storing potatoes
*Making Fruit Leather

I wrap up the ebook sharing a few of our favorite recipes using some of these delicious fruits and veggies!

To gain an entry to this giveaway, participate in this meme this week by sharing your garden photos, tips and tricks on  your blog and entering your link into the Mr. Linky below.  Even if you don’t have a garden, share about this meme and giveaway on your blog and let me know in the comments section. Share it on Twitter or facebook for an additional entry! I will choose a random winner and announce it here next Thursday! Happy Gardening!

Wow I love this giveaway!

We love to write letters, and my daughter has many pen pals that she writes to regularly. I was so impressed when we got this gift basket in the mail the other day. The stationary is very beautiful and  high quality, too. I love the set of post it notes because I am always using them to mark spots in books I am reading and my favorite recipes!

We also love Yoplait yogurt and appreciated the free coupon that came in the gift pack. We have yogurt almost daily in our house, for breakfast, in smoothies and for snack.

This week I have two gift baskets to give away to my readers,courtesy of Yoplait and My Blog Spark! Here is what each winner will receive:

To enter, leave a comment and please leave your contact info. If I can’t contact you, I will move onto the next number drawn. Sorry, I don’t have time to track  you down! You can gain extra entries by posted about this giveway on your blog and another by sharing it on Twitter. Please leave me separate comments for each additional entry. Winners will be chosen through random.org on Tuesday July 28, 2009 and posted here. I will also notify you if you win!