Friday, October 30, 2015

Homemade Halloween!

Halloween always seems to sneak up on me. Partly because it's off my radar with being so immersed in "shoebox season." This year though provided to be a bit more of a challenge because while one child said "mom I want to be "Riversong" (from Doctor Who) the other didn't mumble a word to me about his choice in costume.

Thusly I found myself, putting together costumes last minute for the costume dance at CYCM.  My daughters was simpler, we did a google image search on Riversong and then used those outfits as reference when we cruised the local thrift store. A khaki jumper, wonderfully detailed belt, and a couple of additional belts to make a holster for a laser gun. Gave us a good start on completing her look.
Modeling her costume during the costume walk!

I hate Fezzes! 






My son on the other hand has a bit more difficult. The day before he mentions "well maybe I would like to be Robin Hood"  (because he found a really cool feathered hat at a free sale) So Supermom to the rescue. I picked up some green fabric, and then during our homeschool group, I cruised to the sewing room and whipped up a simple tunic and twisted yarn belt. Adding a brown long sleeved shirt finished the clothing part of the costume over jeans since he refused to wear tights...geesh! I picked up a toy bow and arrow set at a local Ben Franklin making a simple quiver out of a "tube box" to finish off his costume.


Showing off the mad bow and arrow skills ;) 
Kids being finished, it was time to start my costume. I knew what I had wanted to be for awhile. I really wanted to create a giant shoebox costume. I knew I could use it not only for the costume dance at the youth center but I could use it during our packing party. The main problem was finding the right sized box! After cutting a few holes, a simple coat of paint,  paper cover for the box top and blowing up the logos on the copy machine and voila` I became an Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Gift!

Happy Halloween! 



Monday, October 19, 2015

From Head to Toe!

I'm know around these here parts as the #CrazyShoeboxLady and I love shoeboxes from head to toe! I wanted to create a fun pair of custom kicks for our upcoming packing party. Finding a pair of knock off converse at our local Wally World, I set out to adding a bit of fun to them.

I started off by downloading the Operation Christmas Child logo, and then printing it on printable fabric. The type I used was from a company called "Threads" and it is designed to be used with your inkjet printer. It comes in a variety of fabric types, I used their "Cotton Twill. " for this project.

Using the printable fabric is as simple as changing a setting on your printer to photo and cardstock. I used the cardstock setting because what I was running through the printer was thick.

The result was my own custom images to then cut out and use as desired. Since I was using them on shoes, I simply backed the image with permanent fabric adhesive and attached them to my shoes.


I added some decorative laces to complete the look. The whole process took less than an hour to complete, in fact it took longer to get my shoelaces to look the way I wanted than to print and attach the image!

Simple way to add some pizzaz to a pair of shoes!

Sunday, October 11, 2015

In the box, out of the box!

As Area Coordinator for Operation Christmas Child, I have the privilege of working with an amazing group of year-round volunteers for the ministry. It is my job to help, encourage and equip this passionate group of shoebox packers to further the ministry and message of the power of a simple gift.

Each year in preparation of national collection week, our area team meets for briefing and training. This year I wanted to create a display for each of our relays to use during National Collection Week. One of themes this year is "What goes into a box is fun, What comes out of a box is eternal!" I wanted the display to reflect what comes out of a box.

Finding some inexpensive photo displays on Amazon, I wanted to create some depth to the display so I had my son cut some blocks of wood, I then coated them with green spray paint then some of Kylon's Glimmer Mist in Emerald. By hot glueing some of the holders on the blocks of wood it would allow them to have different levels of photos in the display.



After printing out photos for the team, I assembled one kit as a display! I love the way the happy smiling faces pop out of the box!


What I loved even more was seeing how my team used what I created for them! Here are some of displays my team created!

Braidwood, IL
Joliet, IL
Palos Heights, IL 
Streator, IL



Thursday, October 1, 2015

Shoebox 1K-2015

It's time! It's time! It's time to register for this year's Shoebox 1K, shoebox packing party for Operation Christmas Child.


For the past 10 years our group has been coming together to pack shoebox gifts. After being filled with; personal care items, school supplies, small toys, a beanie baby, hard candy and more, these boxes are sent all over the world along with the good news of God's love. Last year over 300 volunteers joined together to pack 2129 shoebox gifts most of which were distributed in Ecuador!





This year we aim to pack 2500 shoebox gifts but we can't do it without YOU!! How can you get involved? Click on the button below it will take you to more information on how you or your group can get involved with this years Shoebox 1K Packing party.



First the details:

The party will take place on November 7, 2015 from 8am-9pm, at the Christian Youth Center of Morris, IL. Registrations are available in 2 hour shifts. We ask that in order to allow as many people to participate as possible you only register for one shift. If you wish to work more than one shift please contact Betsy Burnett event coordinator. More information is available on the registration page.

When you arrive at your shift, you will go through a brief orientation video and training, then you will be able to start packing your shoeboxes.

Once again the fabulous team from Shine FM will be there with their amazing team of volunteers running the photo booth for us! So be sure to stop by the booth and have your photo snapped to place into your shoebox!


While attending this event is free, we ask you to prayerfully consider how you can be a part of helping cover the shipping expense for the shoeboxes you pack. Each shoebox gift has a suggested donation of $7 to ship, which is a real bargain if you have ever tried shipping a package to India through the post office! You can bring your shipping donation directly to the packing party or donate online through Operation Christmas Child-Follow your box. (<---click on the link to find out more)  If you donate online you will receive a bar code label to attach to the shoeboxes you pack. You will then receive email updates as your box travels around the world!

Don't miss out on your opportunity to help bless kids all over the world! Click on the link below to register yourself or your group.


Click to View Volunteer Opportunities on VolunteerSpot

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!