Wednesday, February 26, 2014

MOPS: Homemade First Aid Kit

 We decided to use a health theme for this week's MOPS topic.  I've been wanting to make First Aid Kits in MOPS for awhile, but never found the right topic or could figure out how to keep it under budget.  We did it!

I read a lot of posts about how to make First Aid kits on Pinterest.  I even considered using Ziplock bags to keep the costs down, but I wanted to do something more permanent.  I found pencil cases in the Clearance Aisle for $.75 each and decided to commit to it.  I got 12, which cost me about $10.

I asked a couple of the ladies in my MOPS group to help me out (we were doing a fundraiser the same week) by asking some of our local businesses to donate First Aid Kit supplies.  I was so pleasantly surprised by their generosity!  Here's what we got:
  • Asker's Harvest Foods (a local grocery store) - 12 rolls gauze bandages, 12 full-size Anti-bacterial Ointments, 40 Gauze pads, and 12 - 4" Elastic Bandages
  • Primeland (Farm Co-op)  - 10 Co-Flex Flexible Bandages in bright colors
  • Cash & Carry (a local grocery store) - 24 travel size containers of Acetametaphin
  • Syringa Clinic & Hospital - 18 boxes of Elmo band-aids & two boxes of latext gloves
I am so thankful for these donations to our ladies!  Finally, I made a trip to the Dollar Tree for fillers.  I found:
  • 6 - 2 packs hand sanitizers
  • 4 boxes of 3 packs of individual packed Advil
  • 2 packs - 8 packages of tissue
  • Box of 100 Individual wrapped Alcohol swabs
  • 6 - 2 packs of chapstick
  • 1 pack of 200 3x5 cards
Here's my loot all packed and ready to go!  I don't know why this one  really excited me so much, but this all cost me $32 for 12 bags chuck full of goodies.  Each bag cost us $2.67 per bag, but could have cost less if we cut back some of the extra supplies from Dollar Tree.
It did take some doing, but we got it all in there.  For our meeting, I lined two 8 foot tables along one wall and laid each pile of first aid supplies in a long row.  I used a Post-It note on the items that the MOPS moms could take more than one, otherwise, I just told them to take one of each item.  Many had to be taken out of boxes, like the ointment and the Band-Aids, but I think it worked great.

I also had each of the moms take a 3x5 card for each of their children and put the following on it to include in the kit:
  • Child's Name:
  • DOB: (Date Of Birth)
  • Current Medications:
  • Allergies:
  • Doctor:
  • Emergency Contact:
With theses cards in the bag, it really gives you easy access to not only First Aid supplies, but your children's emergency information.  I plan to keep mine in my truck.  I also want to make one up with an Emergency Survival Kit, too.

Please let me know what you think.  I hope it helps in your personal life, or planning an activity for your MOPS group.  I love doing Creative Activities, but sometimes, it's nice to do something that doesn't have a ton of creativity, but is essential.

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Origami Heart Tutorial

I am busy getting ready for our MOPS meeting tomorrow.  I coordinate, but I love to do the creative activities for our group.  Our theme tomorrow is of course Loving our Husbands, so we have planned to write our husbands love notes.  Well, I just can't leave it at plain scrapbook paper for the notes!  I was looking on Pinterest and found a lovely post and video on how to make Origami Hearts HERE. 

It's a great idea and well put together blog post, but the video moves so fast and the girl left out some of the steps in her editing, so I watched that video several times, before I figured it out.  Then I called in my son, who went on exchange to Japan to help me figure it out too.  He had to watch it several times too.

Since it took me so many times to watch the video, I thought I'd do my own step-by-step picture tutorial so you can do it before Valentine's Day!  Once you get the hang of it, you will enjoy giving little notes around the house for those you love!

The supplies you will need:
  • Scrapbook paper cut to 2 1/4" x 4 1/2"
  • Paper cutter
  • Pen


Write your love note!
 Fold the paper in half the long way.
Open it back up and fold the paper in half the short way. 
 Open it up again.  The folds will be guides for your heart.
 Fold the bottom of the paper up to the middle line the long way.
 Fold each bottom, folded edge in, like an airplane.
 Fold the other side too.

Turn the paper over.


  Fold the small edge to the middle guide line (also the edge of the folded bottom edge.)
 Turn the heart upside down (not flipped over), and fold each of the little corners in to the center.
 Repeat on both sides.  This is what the back looks like.
 
There you go!  You did it!
 
I hope this works out for you.  When I teach my MOPS ladies this, I am giving them a pre-cut printer paper to practice on first and then I will have them do the scrapbook paper, once they've figured it out.  I hope this helps you spread some love for Valentine's Day!

Monday, February 10, 2014

Valentine's Cards

We are in full swing of fundraising for my daughter's exchange trip to Japan this summer.  Our local library has offered to allow my daughter to put a small basket of things to sell at the desk of the library.  We've been wracking our brains trying to figure out what to sell and how to make it small, since the high school is already selling candy bars there, so we can't do any food items.  We finally decided to put a small basket of homemade cards for sale for $2 each.

We spent Saturday making cards together (thanks to Stampin' Up consultant for sharing some of her stamps and her Big Shot!) and here are the results. 














Sorry the last ones are sideways.  I can't figure out why they won't rotate.  I've never had a problem, but my internet is going really slow right now, so I think that's the problem.  Sorry!  Hope you enjoy!  If you live in the area of Grangeville, ID, stop in the library to buy some!