So, what is my sister's gift? What did I make tonight? Well, she and I have both been cursed with very painful periods ever since we started having them several years ago. My mom was the same until she gave birth to all of us. After that, her periods didn't hurt her anymore. But, since my sister and I do not want to be pregnant yet, we've been battling the horrid cramps and aching for years. My boyfriend and one of his ex girfriends discovered that if you apply pressure to the area just above the pubic bone (and/or heat) it makes most of the pain go away. I thought that was ridiculous at first, but he offered to lay with me and put pressure on my stomach. "Maybe it will help," he said. So, I let him and I was amazed when, after mere seconds, my stomach felt so much better. Every time he had to get up, the pain would come back in a wave. So, we searched the house for something heavy to put on my stomach. David came up with the idea of filling a half-gallon jug with warm water; lo and behold the jug was just the right size and weight! Plus, the warm water really helped to relieve the pain as well.
I thought my sister could benefit from this as well so I found an extra half-gallon jug, made up a cutesy label for the front (just for fun), and sewed a fleece cover for it. The cover is made from a child's night shirt that we found at a thrift store for $2. I cut off one of the sleeves and stitched up the bottom, added a drawstring and voila! A yard of fleece fabric at the craft store costs $9 right now... And the material is so cute. It's got little sheep all over it with fences and floating numbers as well as the words "counting sheep." I figured since she'd be going to bed or laying down with it, that was perfect.
Here are a few pictures:
I also found a very nice vase at the thrift store for 50 cents. There were TONS of vases, but I just bought one to see what I could do with it. Turns out it'll make an excellent gift for a co-worker or friend. I saved clippings from one of my larger house plants several months ago and have been growing them in cups on the window sill. They're getting to be a decent size now and are really looking lovely. I took one and put it in the vase with some shiny stones and river rocks. I'm going to hunt down a big bow to go around the neck of the vase, but you can get the general idea here:
I would love to get a gift like that so I'm sure someone else will, too. And it only cost me 50 cents since I already had everything else lying around the house from various other projects.
I found this ADORABLE (hand made!) penguin mug for $2. The other mugs were 50 cents to a dollar, but I love penguin mugs and I had to have it. (My boss got me a really tall penguin mug for christmas last year and it's been my favorite mug ever since. I drink my tea in it and hot coco on special occasions.) I had thought about giving it as a gift, but I don't think I can part with it. Besides, I don't know anyone that likes penguin mugs as much as I do... :)
I also got a giant bag of MEGA blocks for $3. I debated for a while about whether or not it was worth it, but David and I both agreed that it probably was. Turns out we were right. When we got it home and opened it up there were other little toys in there as well. I put everything into a big bucket with a bleach and vinegar solution to kill any germs. All in all we got about 100 giant lego blocks, a full-sized play telephone, some little people and various rattles and random items. That bag is heaven for our Umbrella cockatoo, Snoball. (His blog here .) He'll get to play with everything tomorrow as I'm letting it all soak overnight. I've no idea where that stuff has been and since they were childrens' toys ... well, it's even more scary to think where they might have been. -lol-
