WFMW - Easy stamps

Works for me Wednesday this week is a whole lot of ideas for keeping kids entertained during the summer holidays. Hmm, well for all of us in the Southern Hemisphere (Yay!) this can be an idea to keep kids entertained during the winter months.

I have been experimenting with making stamps that kids can use in craft that are cheap, easy and can be in any shape or size. And I used suff I would normally throw out so it's environmentally frendly too :).

1. You will need; ice cream container lids (or any thin flat plastic), sponges, something for handles (I used thread spools and drink bottle lids), siccors, pens and glue (I used hot glue gun but PVA is just as good but you'll have to wait over night before you can use them)

2. Work out what shape you want to make your stamp - let your (and your kids) imagination go wild. Draw them on the sponge.

3. Cut out the shapes.

4. Glue the shapes onto the ice cream lids, and when dry cut around the shapes.

5. Glue the handles onto the back of the stamps. make sure they are really dry before you use them.

6. Let the kids have fun. They can make wrapping paper with matching cards. Little kids will spend hours just stamping paper over and over.

And the best bit is they are reusable. Just run the stamps under water to rinse them and let them dry. You'll probably need to dampen the stamps before you use them again.

For more ideas head over to Rocks in my Dryer.

WFMW - Online Stores

Works for me Wednesday today we are meant to tell people about our faviourte online shopping.

I have two;

Sense and Sensibility is a place to buy period clothing patterns so you can sew your own. The patterns are reasonably priced and very easy to use.

And I just bought myself the regency collection with some of my Christmas money so I can sew Regency things to my hearts content. (excited squeal!)
(You can also go to the Show and tell area to drool.)

Another favourite;

TEAR is a Christian organisation that ministers to the poor in the world. One of the ways you can support them is to buy something from the Useful Gift Catalogue. (I have blogged about them before in Dec last year)

You browse the catalogue and decide what you want to give. A goat, or a mosquito net, or a toilet, or a women's self help group or go really crazy and get them a well.

There are 25 gifts ranging in price from $5 - $5000 (heaps of them are under $100).You then 'buy' the gift from TEAR - TEAR will allocate your donation to one of their local partner organisations in the country this gift is from.

All their local partners are 'grassroots Christian organisations who work alongside the poor in their own communities'.

You receive a card that you can give to someone. 'All cards include a picture of, and some information about, the gift you've bought. They do not mention the item's cost. They also feature a short description of TEAR Australia plus space for you to write a personal message.'

Useful gifts can be purchased by anyone - you don't need to be in Australia - check out their FAQ for more info.
(phrases quoted are from the gift catalogue website www.usefulgifts.org)

I have personally supported TEAR for many years, and I know they are a reputable organisation. I know many other charities run something like this, but I like that TEAR is a Christian organisation that works with people in their own country to empower themselves. They reach out to all people in poverty regardless of religion and culture.

WFMW - Finding quotes easily

I really, really REALLY hate it when people write in books. Possibly I'm a book snob, but I just love opening a book, no matter how old and only reading what the writer has written. (And not finding awful dog-eared pages, Is it that hard to find a piece of paper to slip between the pages? Respect for books!!!)

But the problem is that I often love a particular sentence, or phrase and when I go searching for it again I can never find it.

So this is a tip I got from somewhere. Get large post-it notes and stick one on the inside of back cover. Then when you are reading and come across something you want to remember you just go to the back of the book, write down the page number and either the quote or the main idea. (Please, please don't just write it in the back cover, I beg you!)Then later when you are looking for something you remeber reading just turn to the post-it and read the notes to find the page the quote/passage is on.

Ministering to Missionaries - Sending Christmas gifts

There are so many people around the world telling others about the great gift of forgiveness that God offers.

I know how encouraging it is to have people sending letters and little parcels while we were away from 'home'. So first let me encourage you, especially with Christmas coming up, to remember to email, write or send little care packages to the missionaries you support.


Other fun times to send things is birthdays, anniversaries or just becasue.


But it's important to think about what you send to people. While I've made this list specific for Christmas, it's can be used for any time you want to send something to a missionary.


The most important consideration is if the missionary you are sending things too is in a closed country, that is if they are in a country that is not sympathetic to Christians. If that is the case there is a few things to consider;

• Don't send Christmas cards that are explicitly Christian. Try and find ones that say Seasons Greetings, or Happy Holidays rather than ones that mention Christmas


• Be careful what you say in letters, when mentioning your church call it something like "your family at . . . " rather than your church name. Don't mention God or the Bible. If you want to let them know you are praying for them say something like "Everynight I speak to HIM about you."


• If the missionary has given you guidelines about what not to say, follow it!


• Be aware that your mail could be read by authorities (Not mentioning politics etc about the country either you or they are living in is also a good idea)


• If you not sure about something, always verge on the safe side and don't write/send it.


• This all goes for emails to, I have heard of missionaries having their emails screened
  

Most missionaries have a contact at home that you can ring/email to find out about what is or isn't appropriate to send, they may also be able to give you ideas about what would be appreciated.

The parcel you send doesn't have to be big. Anything that shows that someone is thinking/praying for them is appreciated

• Always fill out the documentation that needs to done. It's better to be vague in the declaration, simply saying 'gift' or 'documents' is fine.


• Always put the value of the parcel as '$0', some countries have a high customs tax, putting the value as $0 will ensure that the parcel is indeed a gift and the missionaries don't have to pay tax. (one way to say tis is to write 'no commercial value')


• Smaller parcels are often better, they may have to pay to pick up larger parcels. The things I'll mention to send are smaller and easy to post.


• Before you send things like CD's, DVD's or computer programs check that they will be able to be used. (Most places are fine, but if your missionary is living simply in a village then they may not have electricity etc)
  

Some ideas of things to send to adults

• Tapes/CD's of sermons (not to closed countries)


• Magazines (Find ones that you think will interest them; craft, cooking, science, music, family related) (Once again make sure there isn't anything that could hurt them in a closed country.) It's a good idea to go through and remove any adds that are inappropriate, even a simple add about swimwear could be classified as p*rnography in some countries.


• Music


• Newspaper articles about their home town, their favourite sports team etc


• Books on preparing sermons or Sunday school lessons


• Nice stationary or cards
  

Some ideas for children

• CD's of kids music


• Stickers, coloured pencils, colouring/activity books


• Story books that are relevant to their age


• T-shirts, or baby clothes


• Paper dolls, hair bands, ribbons, simple jewellery for girls


• Marbles, quiz books, small cars for boys

Some other thoughts

• It's not a great idea to send food (unless asked to) We had many parcels destroyed by melted chocolate. (yes, it will escape any wrapping put around it. Believe me.)


• Nothing war related - this includes water pistols


• Remember where your missionary is. If they are ministering to people that are very poor it can be awkward to get lots of 'useless' gifts. Consider something that can be shared, such as a packet of balloons, or pens.


• Don't send money or checks


• Ask before you send. If mail is unreliable consider helping out some other way.


• Don't send junk. If you wouldn't want it, don't send it.

If you have any other ideas, please let me know. And for other ideas head to Rocks in My Dryers.

(photo courtesy of alitaylor at stock.xchgn)

WFMW - Toddler praying

It's been a long day, so I'll make this quick.

Are you looking for a way to introduce toddlers to praying for people? Here is something my friends do. They got an inexpensive small photo album and filled it with photos of people they want to pray for; family, friends, a group shot of the kids at church, missionary photo cards.
They systematically go through the photo album, one photo a night and say a prayer for the person. When their son was really little, Mum and Dad would say the prayer, now Elijah is big enough to repeat it after them;

"Dear"
'ear'
"God"
'od'
"Please"
'es'
"look after"
'-ta'
"Grandma"
'ma'
"and Grand Pa"
'n pa'
Amen
'Uh-men'

So cute. When they get to the end, they just start at the beginning the next night. Elijah really loves it. I think it helps him to have a visual reminder of the person they are praying for.

Head over to Rocks in my Dryer for more ideas

WFMW - The shoe's on the right foot

I don't have kids of my own (yet!) but I work with them and something I know is that there is a period between 2 1/2 - 5-ish when kids can put their shoes on (well, non-lace up ones) but can't always tell the difference between the right and left shoes.

There is a great tip to help them put their shoes on the right feet without an adult helping. Paint the toenails on their right foot in one colour and then paint a dot inside all the right shoes with the same colour. Then repeat the process with a different colour for the left toenails and shoes. This way the child can match their toenail colour with the colour in the correct shoe.

If you don't want your child wearing nail polish or you have a boy, you can use permanent marker to draw a different picture on the bottom of each foot (such as a star and a smiley face, or a simple L and R) and draw the same picture in the corresponding shoes.

It's simple but really works! It gives children a sense of independence without sore feet.

For other tips head over to Rocks in my dryer.