I found the tax shelter in this posting when searching for a gift for my brother. He is a tax preparer and has everything. So I just had to share what I did for him. I took one of those woodcraft houses from Walmart- removed the two screws from the base. I cut a 1" block of wood that fit into the bottom of the house. I glued this block onto the base thus allowing the top of the house to be easily lifted off the base. I cut a 1/2" groove in the center of the block with the table saw so I could set a card of thumb tacks into it. This was hidden in the house until the top was lifted off. I wrote a poem for this & read it to him while my daughter did a Vanna White presentation of the house. Everyone got a good laugh out of this and I finally did a complete craft project! It's been a while. Hope you have as much fun with this as we did. Here's the poem: I drew your name for Christmas It's an honor, don't you know To get my brothers name for Christmas Ah! ashopping I will go. But then I started frettin After searching high and low Whatever will I get 'im (Twas wrong to worry so!) I went into an office shop Maybe something for your desk? I talked to the clerk a lot She tried to aid me in my quest. He could use a tax shelter Is what the lady said It seemed a bit off-kelter But there was nothing left instead. So here's your little shelter All painted so very nice The foundation has been mended The roofs' been polished thrice. The flowers are all blooming In the big pot by the door The bumblebees are buzzing And there's no sawdust on the floor. It seems to be the perfect place I do agree she's right It sure beats a plain old case And your tacks! They're finally safe at night!

Kids and adults always seem to like the jars when filled with sand or rice and some little "treasures" like buttons, charms, small clothespin, etc. and they have to try to locate the list of items while turning it over and over. I think they could be cute if decals or painted designs were added on the sides and a votive placed inside. You could even tie bows or lace or raffia on the outsides. And then there's always the "snow globes" where you add a decoration inside with loose glitter and water or oil. I'm sure there are directions available online. And don't forget that small jars are always great for storage--just screw the lid onto the bottom of a shelf then put the jars back onto the lids. Can hold small items like screws, nails, etc. or even craft supplies like buttons, bits of lace, etc. Luvs

Glad you posted about yourself. Nice to get to know you better. We did this last year too when we had a bunch of newbies, but they all kinda left us after the holidays. ha Hope you stick with us. For myself, I am a self taught painter. My first painting project was a little pumpkin done at a little church craft day and I was hooked. It's hard to find time to paint even though I love it. I am a SAHM of 4 kids ranging from 4-14. My DH works long hours so it's left to me to pick up the slack. Plus I have my retired parents living with me who are not always in the best of health that I am taking care of. It's a struggle to find time to do the things that I love. Family history is my other big love and it takes lots of research time. I paint for myself and to give as gifts. Never done craft shows or anything like that, although I have had a few offers from people wanting to buy my stuff. It's my relaxation so wouldn't want to put pressure on myself and ruin it. I'm a total thrift store junkie and love to find things there to paint and repurpose. Lots of fun different surfaces for way cheap. Luvs finally talked me into using my saw this year and I love cutting out my own pieces. My blade broke and I haven't gotten DH to help me replace it yet, but I need to do that before it gets too cold out. We are so glad you've found us and hope you'll stick around and paint with us for a long time. I'm glad your arthritis isn't stopping you there. I've really enjoyed your projects. It's been fun getting to know Luvs and Bebe who I consider "the regulars" and hope to get to know you better too. Stop by and chat and with Luvs and I here. We are usually here at least a couple of times a week. =) I think the others forget about the conversations side. We kinda have a running dialog going so just jump in anytime. ~Anj

Materials for bird seed ornaments Peanut Butter Suet (look for this at your local grocery store's meat counter or deli) Cornmeal or Cracked Corn Shortening Raffia Assorted Nuts and Seeds Bird-friendly food like cereal, bread slices, peanuts Creating Hard Suet Simply mix together 1 cup of peanut butter, 3 cups of suet, and 2-4 cups of either cornmeal or cracked corn. Creating the Ornaments Use a cookie cutter to form the suet mixture into a desired shape then dip into a seed mixture of your choice. Or, place the suet mixture into an ice cream cone, and decorate the top with seeds. Finally, cut an orange in half and remove the fruit. Place the suet mixture into the empty orange peel, and decorate the top with seeds. Finally, use raffia to hang the ornaments on the tree. Creating Soft Suet Ornaments Simply mix together 1 cup of peanut butter, 1 cup of shortening, and three cups of cornmeal until they form a paste. To make an ornament, simply use a cookie cutter to cut a shape out of a piece of bread. Let the bread dry overnight. Once the bread has dried, smear the soft-suet mixture onto the shape and then decorate with seeds. Or, smear the mixture onto a pine cone and decorate with seeds. As with the other hard-suet ornaments, use raffia to hang the ornaments on the tree. Creating the Garland Simply string pretzels, cereal, peanuts, popcorn, raisins, cranberries or other bird-friendly food onto a piece of raffia. Not only will the birds eat what you've strung, once spring arrives they can use the raffia to help build their nests. THis is taken from the Girl Scouts web site Below is another link with a similar recipe Penny Here is a link that might be useful: bird seed ornaments