Good afternoon on another endless winter day. There is good news in store for the weekend as temperatures actually get above freezing, so I hope you have plans for the weekend.
March has been declared National Craft Month by the Craft & Hobby Association (CHA). The CHA began this tradition in 1994 to instill the joy of crafting for beginners and experts alike. This tradition is a wonderful opportunity for craft retailers to hold in-store events and contests. For consumers, the CHA provides a calendar of tips for each day of the month. This is the opportunity to try a new craft, or for those who don't this is a great time to start! I've dabbled in a number of paper crafting techniques such as origami, scrapbooking, decoupage, and collage. Besides paper crafts, one can learn how to make jewelry, candles, or pottery, knit, crochet, emboss, etch glass, weave with a loom, press flowers, sew, tie-dye, and much more. Let you imagination run wild! About.com shows you many of the basics. Check out your local craft store or go online for special promotions, giveaways, and projects.
Crafting is a very popular activity for birthday parties. Start off with this great crayon-box invitation from Fun Family Crafts.
Cool Mom Picks presents ten craft projects that could double as birthday party favors. I love these purses made from corrugated cardboard.
You know the saying: March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. Why not have the kids make these adorable lion and lamb nameplates from Celebrations? Templates and instructions are provided.
For the spring, kids will also appreciate some homemade glitter Play-Doh. Instructions are also from Celebrations.
Having a zoo-themed party? From Kix Cereal, these crafts, which include a cereal box lion party favor, a monkey hat, a paper plate panda, and an egg carton alligator, are perfect for younger children.
For teens and tweens, scrapbooking is a very popular crafting activity at parties. Hedy of To the Moon and Back styled a Smash scrapbooking party for her daughter. Smashing is taking a shoe box full of memories and cramming it into one little book. Each guest was given supplies such as cardstock, embellishments, stickers, and tags to make their own book.
Today's Freebie Friday is a matching game that celebrates Women's History Month. On Monday, I will talk about International Women's Day. As usual, just right-click to download, save, and print. Answers will be published next week.
Here are the answers to last week's Freebie Friday game.
Here are the lists for this weekend. There is a lot going on!
Today's birthdays: Tyler, the Creator (25), Chris Tomson (31), Bubba Sparxxx (380), Beanie Sigel (41), Amy Pietz (46), Moira Kelly (47), Connie Britton (48), Skip Ewing (51), D.L. Hughley (51), Tom Arnold (56), Anna Maria Horsford (68), Kiki Dee (68), Rob Reiner (68!), David Gilmour (69), Hugh Grundy (70), Mary Wilson (71), and Ben Murphy (73)
Tomorrow's birthdays: Laura Prepon (35), TJ Thyne (40), Jenna Fisher (41), Rachel Weisz (44), Randy Guss (48), Wanda Sykes (51), Bill Brochtrup (52), Taylor Dayne (53), Bryan Cranston (59), Ernie Isley (63), John Heard (69), Peter Wolf (69), Daniel J. Travanti (75), and Willard Scott (81)
Sunday's Birthdays: Kristinia DeBarge (25), Jessica Collins (32), Tom Chaplin (36), James Van Der Beek (38), Freddie Prinze, Jr. (39), Andrea Parker (45), Shawn Mullins (47), Camryn Mannheim (54), Aidan Quinn (56). Lester Holt (56), Gary Numan (57), Peggy March (67), Randy Meisner (69), Micky Dolenz (70), and Carole Bayer Sager (71).
Today's Holidaze: There are so many holidaze going on today, beginning with National Employee Appreciation Day! At work (yes, I do have a full-time job besides running the shop), employees get to pick out gifts from a catalog when they reach five-year milestones. This year will be the 15th year with my company, and this is a small but valuable token of thanks for the the contributions to the goals of the company. Verbal praise is always good, too.
Foodie holidaze include National Oreo Cookie Day and White Chocolate Cheesecake Day, and National Frozen Foods Day. Now in its 103rd year, the Oreo sandwich cookie is loved by millions and now comes in several varieties. However, I will always be partial to the original flavor.
The American inventor and industrialist Clarence Birdseye is believed to be the founder of the frozen foods industry. Birdseye's initial product line featured 26 items ranging from meat to fruit to vegetables. In 1984, then-president Ronald Reagan signed a proclamation declaring National Frozen Foods' Day.
After you eat too many Oreos and pieces of white chocolate cheesecake, you may need to visit your dentist. Let's face it, sitting in a dentist's chair is nobody's idea of a good time, but it's a necessity. National Dentist's Day is the time to show "Thank You" and appreciation for your dentist and all the teeth cleaning and cavity filling that he/she does.
Salespeople are often underppreciated and underpaide. In March 2000, Maura Schreier-Fleming, created National Salesperson Day to honor the professional salespeople and the work they dow.
Today's final Holidaze is National Day of Unplugging, a 24-hour period to do things other than using electricity, electronics, and social media. Read a book or spend the afternoon in the museum if you have the luxury.
Tomorrow's Holidaze: Tomorrow is National Be Heard Day, a day dedicated to the small business owners in the U.S. who are struggling during the "big box era." This is a day for small businesses to be heard through creative marketing and publicity tactics. This day was started by Business Mentor Shannon Cherry in 2006.
There are two foodie days tomorrow: National Cereal Day and National Crown of Roast Pork Day. Cereal has been a part of our breakfast table since the mid-1800s. Cereal is also used in cakes, cookies, and bar recipes. For a comprehensive history, check out The Great American Ceral Book: How Breakfast Got Its Crunch by Martin Gitlin and Topher Ellis. This caught my interest at a local bookstore but didn't buy it until a year later. You won't be disappointed.
There are two foodie days tomorrow: National Cereal Day and National Crown of Roast Pork Day. Cereal has been a part of our breakfast table since the mid-1800s. Cereal is also used in cakes, cookies, and bar recipes. For a comprehensive history, check out The Great American Ceral Book: How Breakfast Got Its Crunch by Martin Gitlin and Topher Ellis. This caught my interest at a local bookstore but didn't buy it until a year later. You won't be disappointed.
Sunday's Holidaze: Sunday is National Proofreading Day, which is a day to promote error-free writing. I see typos everywhere from the daily paper to store signs. As a professional copy editor and proofreader, I feel having these skills is so important in many situations from school to the business world. This day was created by Corporate Trainer Judy Beaver. who provides proofreading tips on both her website and Facebook.
Our last foodie holiday of the weekend is National Peanut Cluster Day. I love the combined saltiness and sweetness of peanut clusters. This is an easy-to-make snack: just melt the chocolate, add your peanuts, stir them together, drop them by spoonfuls into clusters on waxed paper, let them harden, and enjoy!
Tonight, I will be attending a presentation and book signing for the book Legendary Locals of Forest Hills and Rego Park by Michael H. Perlman. I've been chatting with a group from the neighborhood on Facebook and hope to meet many of them at the book signing.
Sunday at 2 a.m. is Daylight Savings Time! Don't forget to turn your clocks one hour ahead!
Have a PRINTASTIC weekend!
Kathy
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