Category Archives: Children

Leftover Halloween Candy

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With all the candy oriented holidays in our culture it’s no surprise we end up with an overload of all sorts of different candies. As we move from Halloween to Thanksgiving to Christmas to New Years to Valentine’s to Easter we can use the excess candy from one holiday to supply the next holiday looming on the horizon.

Storing Candy

Most candy can be kept at room temperature without spoiling, with the exception of chocolate. Because fat can turn rancid (ever detect a slight soapy smell on your chocolate?) any chocolate candy that you plan to use thirty days or more from the date of purchase is best stored in an airtight container in the freezer.

RePurpose Candy

Use candy corns to decorate Thanksgiving baked goods, or fill a cornucopia with them.

All types of candy bars can be buzzed into milk-shakes, chopped and stirred into home-made ice-cream, as an ice-cream topping, chopped and stirred into baked goods batter, chopped or sliced and used to decorate the top of a frosted cake …

Gum drops, gummie shapes, candy corns, peppermints, Lifesavers, lollypops – all kinds of candies can be used to decorate Christmas gingerbread houses.

Any red candies can be saved for Valentine’s Day.

Any chocolate candies that can melt down completely can be stirred into hot chocolate or coffee.

Halloween: Cardboard Box Costumes

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X-Ray Costume

Start with a recycled cardboard box that is big enough to get your head and arms into. Cut a hole in the top just large enough for your head to fit through. Cut a hole in the bottom just large enough so that you can slip the box over your head and your shoulders will fit inside. Cut a hole in the front that is the shape and size of a TV screen.

Paint the box silver or black.

Draw or use a computer to create an “X-ray” of human insides on a piece of paper that will be taped inside the box so that it will show through the hole in the front of the box. Wear a skeleton costume, black turtleneck and leggings or a hospital dressing gown.

TV Set Costume

A recycled cardboard box can be the start of a great Halloween costume. Turning it into a “television” gives you lots of options for customizing to fit your interests or message.

Start with a recycled cardboard box that is big enough to get your head and arms into. Cut a hole in the top just large enough for your head to fit through. Cut a hole in the bottom just large enough so that you can slip the box over your head and your shoulders will fit inside. Cut a hole in the front that is the shape and size of a TV screen.

Cover the recycled box with wood grain contact paper or paint it silver or black. Attach a recycled rabbit ear antenna to the top.

Draw freehand, use your computer to create a movie scene, cut a poster, or search the Internet for a movie or television scene. Tape the paper to the inside of the box so that it will show through the hole in the front of the box. Wear clothes and makeup that matches your movie. Wear black, gray or brown leggings to match the TV box.

And if you need more ideas for your Halloween costume, check out About.com’s photo gallery of Recycled Cardboard Box Costumes. The instructions accompanying each photo aren’t detailed but they’re simple enough that you should be able to recreate any you take a liking to.

I just had to add this one extra costume. It’s not made from a cardboard box, but from a piece of recycled foam.

Here’s a great way to use a piece of foam that you might have otherwise thrown out. Sonya Style has detailed instructions for using a piece of foam that you might otherwise have thrown out to make a Fortune Cookie Costume.

Home Redecorating – Un-Decorating Your Home

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I’m approaching home redecorating from a different angle this time around. Instead of buying new stuff and giving away or selling my old stuff, I’m redecorating by un-decorating. I had always thought that by not throwing my old stuff in the landfill that I was being eco-responsible, until I realized that I could go one step further by making more of an effort to not buy new stuff at all.

I started my home redecorating project by removing everything from each room I was redecorating and then only putting back things that I truly wanted in that room. Besides how it contributed visually to the room I considered the fact that anything I put in the room would have to be cleaned or dusted.

Then I lived with each room for a few days to a few weeks, taking away even more things as I found they didn’t add to the room’s visual appeal or usefullness or putting a piece or two back into the room if needed.

Some of the things that I removed from one room I ended up using in other rooms. Other items I sold or gave away.

The next step in my redecorating project was to re-purpose items:

  • quilts became wall hangings
  • tablecloths and scarves became window valances
  • branches from outdoors were arranged in vases
  • I traded bed and sofa pillows
  • an outdoor plant pot became an indoor umbrella stand
  • dining room chairs became a new patio set after the cushions received a triple-coating of Scotchguard and the chairs were treated with marine-grade polyurethane
  • patio chairs received new cushions and became my new dining room chairs
  • a floor runner became a table runner

By the time I was finished my home redecorating project I’d spent less time than I normally would have (since shopping for new things takes a tremendous amount of time), saved loads of money and didn’t add a thing to the landfill!