6-Month Daily Quote Calendar from LDS General Conference

I have been working non-stop the past two weeks getting Christmas Eve presents ready.  We have a great tradition in our family (all my siblings, their kids, and my parents) that we have been doing as long as I can remember.  We draw names usually in July or August.  It remains a secret whose name we have drawn.  Then, we hand make a gift that costs us less than $10.00.  I think I speak for our whole family that we look forward to our Christmas Eve gathering even more than Christmas itself!   My mind is going full gear on Christmas now. 

I have also been working to finish (by request) a 6 month daily calendar with quotes from LDS General Conference.  I gave this to several friends last year, as well as my sister-in-law and mother-in-law.  The week after conference they both asked me if I would give them one for this year!  So, if this will help someone for a thoughtful gift, please feel free to use it!  Click here for the .pdf to download.  I have sent this to BYU for printing, so the whole thing is not put together yet.  When it is completed, I will post the picture.  I just felt good having the quote part done!

Directions:

1. I emailed the .pdf to BYU printing (you could email it to any print store), and asked them to print it, put cardboard behind it, cut it in 4, and glue the top, so it is in a pad.   This makes a nice binding so you can rip off the paper each day. Each file makes 4 calendars.
   
2. Cut an 8.5x11" piece of heavy cardstock (or cardboard, or chipboard)  in half so you have two 8.5x5.5" pieces.  Glue each piece with cute scrapbook paper.  I bought pressboard from Home Depot, which my hubby cut for me.
   
3. Hot glue calendar to the center of covered cardstock or cardboard.
4. Tie with sheer ribbon
5. Wa-lah!  A great gift for a friend, sibling, or neighbor.  If you want it to stick to the fridge, put magnets on the back.  These turn out so cute!
 

Christmas Shopping.... At a Discount!!

As the time for Christmas shopping is here, I just wanted to make sure everyone knew about www.pinchingyourpennies.com. It is a fabulous website where, if you check it often, will save you a ton of money. Last year, most of my Christmas shopping was done through this website. My favorite part of the site is under "PYP Forums", then "Screaming Deals Online". It is completely free to use. When people find amazing deals online, they post there. Often times, you need to act quickly, because the deals can go fast. For example, this week I subscribed to one of my favorite magazines, "Taste of Home" for only $2.88 for a year! Needless to say, I signed up for 4 years (total $11.52). This would make a great gift for my MIL as well :)

Last year I purchased Heelie's for my kids for $15 shipped, a real pearl necklace for $3.99 (shipped), 24 scholastic hard books with cd's for $24 (shipped) and many, many more things. Check it out, and hopefully you will find some great deals. I love giving my family a fantastic Christmas without going 1 cent over my small Christmas budget!