Make Your Own Thanksgiving Decoration From Yes, Toilet Paper Tubes

I promised to give you the details about the green craft project I did during my Staycation, so here you go. I first saw the idea of using toilet paper tubes to make art on the Growing Up Creative Blog. You’re not going to believe what a pretty decoration you can make from such humble materials!

This heart is made from about 8 empty rolls, each flattened and cut in 6 pieces: 

To make your creation, just lay out the little leaf-shaped pieces until you come up with a design you like and glue them together. Paper clips can help hold the pieces together if they don’t want to stick.

To finish the heart, I picked a few sprigs of dead grass and dried flowers from the garden, taped them together and glued the little bundles to the top of the piece. I hung it on clear push pins that are lightly tacked into the wall.

If you get inspired to make a creation from something recycled or discarded, you know we’d all LOVE to hear from you and see what you come up with.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

How I Spent My Staycation

Earlier this month, my body started trying to get my attention. At first it was just plain ole’ garden variety stress. Then I felt achey, like my body was fighting something off. This was followed by a feeling of tiredness that goes beyond what most parents often feel at the end of the day. During an attempt to meditate one morning the message came:  You need some real rest, a mad little voice said. If you don’t chill out, I’m going to force you to get some rest by getting sick! My own body had resorted to threats against me!

We all know we need times of rest and refreshing. Research confirms that rest will help your body rejuvenate and may even prolong your life, and even God Himself rested on the seventh day. The thing is, life can be so busy sometimes and the ‘To Do’ list can get so long that a person (let’s not name any names) can feel counterproductive and guilty for putting the brakes on. As proof of my commitment to Get My Important Things Done, I had three (3) gift certificates for spa treatements that my family and friends had given me languishing in my desk drawer. Friends, can we agree that if a person has numerous unusued spa gift certificates in her possession something is terribly out of balance?

There was too much on the calendar to take a beach vacation, but I knew I needed relief NOW.  So I X’d out two precious weekdays on my calendar for the following week and let my clients know that I’d be out of the office. Just knowing that I had the time off ahead made me more relaxed during the following days. I also called the spa and booked an appointment.

Here’s what I did over my two days off and the weekend that followed:

* Just as if I was going on a real vacation, I turned on the autoresponder the night before my Staycation so I could take a break from e-mails and the computer.

* I imposed a ban on

Simplify Your Holidays in Minutes with One Easy Step

If you do just one thing this holiday season to make your holidays simpler and merrier, try this. With Christmas just 7 weeks away, now is the perfect time to help your family create an online holiday gift wish list. Our extended family has used Christmas Wish List since 2002, and we love it. 

Here’s how it works: you create an online group for your family, and then each family member logs on and creates a wish list of things they could really use and enjoy for holiday gifts. Group members can note when an item is purchased, but you can’t see the status of your own list. It feels a little funny at first, being so transparent about  The Stuff You Want. However, I predict that if you try it for one year you’ll be hooked.

The advantages are many.  You’ll save hours of shopping time because you’ll know exactly what your hard-to-buy-for father wants. You’ll save time after the holidays, too, because you won’t be returning the light-up Rudolph sweater (size XS Petite), that Grandma bought you. You’ll save storage space, because you won’t be tucking away the fishing lure toilet seat your brother-in-law bought so that you can bring it out the next time he visits. And you’ll probably save money, because you can comparison shop online for the best prices.

Meanwhile, you can ask for something you could really use and enjoy — perhaps a gift certificate to a nursery to buy vegetable seeds next spring. Or something to support your green lifestyle, like a solar-powered battery charger or a rain barrel. Perhaps you have all the stuff you need, and you’d love to direct givers to support your favorite charitable organization in lieu of a gift.

What steps are you taking this year to simplify and ‘green’ your holidays? I’d love to hear your ideas and share them with our readers.

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You might also enjoy:

One Family’s Real Simple Christmas

Can You Compost a Poinsettia?

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