Jeans Recycling Project: Tic-tac-toe

For months now I have been hoarding jeans as I mentioned in my earring hanger I posted a few days ago....well, one little project wasn't going to use up all the jeans I had so I decided to try and make another project. I was slightly dismayed when I discovered I was able to make this and the earring holder (and mess up once on the earring holder) from one pair of jeans...I did wind up using a second pair of jeans to make the game board as I wanted contrasting colours...plus hubby's leg is bigger than mine so it made for a more spacious game board! haha

So...here goes..here is what you'll need:

• textile glue
• scissors for cutting the jeans
• 1-2 pairs of jeans
• packing peanuts or stuffing
• Washi tape
• Twine or ribbon

1. First, you will take a piece of the jeans and cut it so it is in a rectangle. I then folded it "hamburger" style and cut it in half, now I have two pieces, on one side of each piece it is sealed with the original seam. 
2. Using the textile glue, glue two of the open sides together, leaving one side open. 
3. Repeat steps one and two until you have 10 game pieces.
4. Once the sides are dry begin stuffing with packing peanuts or stuffing. Once it seems full add some glue to the final seam and glue shut.
   
5. Using some of the scrap pieces put X on five of the pieces and O on the other five. Let dry.
6. Using the full leg of jeans that is left cut off a nice large rectangular section (see photos for ideas). On one seam, cut it down the middle so you can now open the leg and have one large rectangular piece.
7. Using washi tape create the "pound" board in the middle making 9 nice size squares.
   
8. To finish off the board trim with washi tape. Add accents as you wish to make it a little stylish.
   
9. To create a storage bag cut off more of the leg. Turn it inside out, with textile glue make a seam by glue the "right sides" together. Let dry. Turn right side out.
   
10. At the top, fold over by about a quarter to half and in and snip just a tiny cut, repeat all the way around the top of the bag you are creating and lace with twine or ribbon. Put your board and game pieces inside and now you have a cute little travel game.
11. 

This is such a cute little game and has brought us lots of fun on these nice days when we walk or bike to the park and can layout having a little picnic. 

What do you do with your old jeans when they are too worn to wear anymore?

Make sure you check out the other projects I've posted during this A to Z Challenge...and check out the other bloggers too at Blogging A to Z!

10 Family friendly games and movies for the Christmas season!

I hope you've been following the Countdown2Xmas here or, especially, through the Quintessential Mommy, who was gracious enough to host this wonderful gathering of 72 bloggers to bring you a fun craft, delicious recipe, or great tradition from 3 different bloggers each day. If you haven't been 'round to visit all these lovely bloggers you really should, there are some wonderful ideas and most of the crafts don't take but a quick minute to complete!

Speaking of traditions, every year around this time we settle in to watch some of our favorite Christmas movies and, since the sun sets so early, we seem to have extra time for playing games as a family as well! So, I want to tell you all about our family's favorite movies and games!

Movies

1. Elf. We watch the movie year round honestly. It is quirky and embodies everything that the Christmas season is about to our family-quality time and the spirit of giving.
   
2. A Christmas Story.  Everyone knows you have to be careful if you want a Red Ryder BB Gun for Christmas! I think my favorite part is when poor Ralphie gets kicked down the slide by Santa. That part makes the three of us crack up every single time we watch it, and I've watch it umpteen million times since I was 4 years old!
3. Christmas Vacation. This one my husband hadn't seen until he married me. It cracks me up and now that the kiddo is 15, it is even better since she gets every single innuendo in the movie we can all laugh hysterically together. All the family dysfunction is more than I can bear, I wish we had an Uncle Eddie in our family. This one is much like A Christmas Story for me, no matter how many times I see it, I will crack up every.single.time!
4. Rudolph, The Red Nosed Reindeer. I remember these coming on CBS during the Christmas season as a little girl. I loved the nostalgia with my daughter and am so glad to own this on DVD. I love how this teaches you to never give up and always have a kind, loving spirit.
5. Frosty the Snowman. Ah, the 60s, a time of claymation. This one followed Rudolph every year and we still watch them in that same order. No matter how many times you see it you always get a little bit nervous for Frosty because you always want him to come out on top!
6. A Charlie Brown Christmas. Oh the nostalgia. A movie for everyone, young and old alike. I think everyone wanted a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree when we were little. A little something to care and nurture no matter what it looks like because it is dear to your heart.
7. The Santa Clause. All of them, 1-3. We always binge watch one day a year, we can't help it they are just so darn cute! The first is of course the best, but all are so worth the time. A kid who wants nothing more than for Santa to be real and to believe in his Dad. What isn't to love about that?! Plus, the north pole is dreamy in every movie!
8. Home Alone. I remember being 10 years old and thinking this would be the best Christmas Vacation ever! It is why Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree is my favorite carol! When I dance to it I still do Kevin's dance every time!
9. Miracle on 34th Street. I will be honest, I never watched this all the way through until I married my husband. He obviously is a much more serious person than I so we always fit in his favorites. I love how this reminds us to believe and it will all be ok!
10. White Christmas. This is the final one we always watch a few days before Christmas. This was another I didn't see until I married the man of my dreams, and it always reminds me of my love for dance. The kiddo even loves it and it always sparks some great conversation about some wonderful singers and dancers.

Games.

1. Monopoly. I think by now everyone knows this game. It is one you either love or hate. My husband and I, not fans...the teenager, LOVES it. So, it is our gift to her that at least one time a year we sit and play a full, unhurried game with her. She loves it, our bonds are either solidified or broken depending on how hard core the husband goes after us and in the end we laugh and vow to play again next year! haha But, this is a fun one when the days get dark and cold for a long time this takes a few hours and gets us around the table with nothing but time.
2. Pandemic. This is one for families with older kids. It takes some time to learn but once you have it down, it is a blast. It takes a lot of team work and I think that is the best part. No one is working against each other so no arguments should ensue...note, should. I make no promises. ;) But it is definitely one you should check out.
3. Yahtzee. This is my favorite game of all time. Simply because it reminds me of lazy days on the beach vacationing with my family. Plus, it is fairly mindless, pretty much anyone can play it and there isn't a ton to keep track of but your simple little scorecard. Grab some cocoa, a blanket, and start slinging your 6 die.
4. Singstar. Being a household where the primary breadwinner is a game developer you knew some video games were going to make there way in here! We have loved all of the Singstar's and the newest one we just got, Singstar Ultimate Party, is no different! We gave this to the kiddo for her birthday and played for a solid two hours! The best part about this, the mic is your smartphone! So fun!
5. Mario Kart 8. We sadly had to say goodbye to our Wii U when we moved to Europe, but I felt I should include this because we played it all the time. Our "smack talk" was always the best when we'd play and try to beat each other. I remember playing a version of Mario Kart all the way back on the Super NES, this has been a long time favorite and am glad my family had the experience of enjoying it together. 
6. Mario Party. I usually don't link to Wiki sites, but this one really tells about all the different Mario Parties. We loved Mario Party 8 for the Wii, but played many over the years. These are fun because you not only move around a board game but there are always mini games each round to compete against the other players or sometimes play cooperatively either against another player or the computer.
   
7. The Game of Life. I never played this until my daughter expressed interest in it. We always have so much fun trying to beat each other around the board, knocking each others cars over or complaining about how we got "stuck" with so many kids in our car! haha This one is nice though because it can lead to bigger discussion about school options, career options, and everything in between!
8. Ohana Mana. This is one the kiddo and I picked up during our trip to Hawaii earlier this year. It is hard to come by as it is made in Hawaii, but it is so much fun! It is a Sorry style board game and you race around the board, answering trivia and using a little strategy to get ahead in the game. It really fosters friendly competition and conversation about all the native Hawaiian trivia you'll be answering.
9. Settlers of Catan. This is such a wonderful game. This is similar to pandemic in that it takes a while to get going the first time or two, but after that it is a total blast. This one is more for families with older kids, but they do make a junior version. We love this because it gets a fun competition going and it is never the same game twice! Plus, it teaches the general principals of trade and that is never a bad thing.
10. Super Monkey Ball. This is another game that brought us hours of unique family fun! We'd be up out of our seats just trying to keep our monkeys on track. The getting up never worked, and probably made us do worse, but the fact you can play cooperatively or against each other always meant more fun for us. 

What are your family's favorite movies and games to play this time of year?

New Restaurant Friday: Pizzaria Ludica

Hello! This weekend we did our regularly scheduled New Restaurant Friday. We tried a restaurant I had found thanks to a FB "suggested pages" ad! Normally I ignore those things but it was marketed as a "board game restaurant". There is nothing more the teenager & I love more than board games...the husband, well, he's in games for a living so he's always up for a fun new experience that involves games.

We ate at Pizzeria Ludica. I'm a terrible blogger & didn't take a picture of a logo, or the outside because. well, I'm terrible.

I made a reservation on their website. Super easy and fast, and we were guaranteed a table this way.

This place was very welcoming when we walked in. Lots of long tables, great for groups. The entire back wall was games.

Teenager selecting a game. They had everything there from super easy family games like mousetrap & yahtzee to more complicated, intricate games like Settlers of Catan.

She chose Munchkin. It was one she had been wanting to try so it was the perfect time!

Hubby had to actually look something up as the game in the restaurant had no tokens so we wanted to make sure we could play without the tokens! We could, it was no problem.

At one point I was a half-breed halfling elf! There are treasure cards & battle cards. You never know what you will get and if it will be a blessing or a curse-quite literally!

So this picture looks super sweet right?! He's "helping" her through a battle, great father/daughter time...right after this he got to choose two cards from her & won the whole game! We have to get more savvy when playing games with this guy...you would think after 15 years I would have figured it out...

So, the game was super fun but the food was amazing as well. My expectations were pretty low because many times at restaurants like this you go for the atmosphere, not the food. Here though, you can rest assured you will go for atmosphere & food!

Four cheese calzone! For a dollar you can turn any of their pizza's into a calzone...my fave!

This was the meat pizza. The crust was delicious, very fresh. The meat on it was ham, pepperoni, and bacon. A perfect combo for my meat lover husband! He is still talking about it two days later.

Since it was New Restaurant Friday we could not pass up dessert. This is a nutella pizza. It had nutella, walnuts, and a caramel drizzle, and was sprinkled with cocoa powder. It was amazing. 

Then we each got an Americano. Very good espresso and they served with fresh cream.

This was a fantastic experience and I cannot rave about them enough! Great place for groups, families, or just to shake up the regular ole date night. They are just steps off the Chinatown Skytrain station in Vancouver, BC. Very convenient location for any one using transit!