DIY Power Outage Activity Kit (with Ideas for Coping with Anxiety)

     For some people, power outages are an adventure; they provide a chance to step outside of one's routine and try new things.  For other people, it's hours of boredom.  For me, power outages amp up my anxiety, especially if the cause of the outage is a major snowstorm.  I need things to keep me occupied so I don't fixate on the "what ifs," but when I'm close to panicking, it's hard for me to think of things I can do.  With winter storms on the horizon, I decided to make myself a "power outage activity kit" in hopes that it will make our next power outage a little easier for me.  As I was working on it, I thought maybe some of you could benefit as well.  Most of the ideas could be applicable to anyone, but there are a few suggestions that are more specifically for people with anxiety.
     Your kit doesn't have to be a physical collection of objects (although it certainly can be).  It can be a list of things and activities that you have on hand that can help you through the power outage.  The important thing is that you know where each item in your kit is located before the power goes out.  Here are some ideas for supplies to keep in your power outage activity kit:

*Deck of cards
*Books or magazines you've been meaning to read
*Humorous books.  If I'm laughing, it's harder for me to feel anxious.
*Board games
*Notebook + pen for jotting down story ideas, sketches, journaling, whatever is helpful to you
*Book of ghost stories for reading with friends/family
*Flashlight with extra batteries and/or candles and matches
*Fully charged phone.  If your phone is something you use to help relieve your anxiety, make sure you have access to everything you need offline.  If meditation exercises are helpful, Excel at Life has some relaxation audios which you can download to your phone.  They also have some panic and anxiety assistance audios which you can also download.  Find a new podcast and download a bunch of episodes.  Brian and I listened to the Darkest Night podcast during the Halloween power outage and that helped keep me occupied.
*Backup battery for your phone
*Battery powered or wind up radio
*Fully charged or battery powered music player such as an Ipod, MP3 player, or CD player.
*Rescue Remedy can help with panic.  It doesn't work as well for me as I'd like it to, but for some people it works wonders.
*If you have any medications you take for anxiety or other medical conditions, make sure you have them on hand.
*Pen + stationary to write a letter.  It can be to a friend, family member, a pet, someone famous, anyone you want to write to.  When the power outage is over, you can choose to send it or not, but the key thing is keeping yourself entertained in the moment.
*Nail polish.  Painting nails can take time, so why not use the power outage as an opportunity to add some sparkle to your day?
*Coloring book + colored pencils, gel pens, crayons, glitter markers, etc.
*Craft kit.  If you have a crafty hobby like knitting or cross stitching, a power outage can provide you with some extra time to work on your craft.  Even if you don't feel super crafty, you can pick up little craft kits, often seasonal with pom poms and pipe cleaners and whatnot, for a few dollars.  You can also scour Pinterest in advance of the impending storm and find some DIY or craft activities that you can do with the supplies you have on hand.  Even if your crafting supplies does not extend beyond cereal boxes and toilet paper tubes, there is something you can do with them.
*Mad Libs
*Glow sticks
*If you have a tablet, make sure it's fully charged and that you have some games on there that don't require an internet connection.  Agent Alice and Best Fiends can both be played without internet.
*Musical instruments that don't require electricity.  Singing works too.
*Exercise mat and/or exercise equipment

What do you do during a power outage?  Let me know in the comments.

Sequined Glitter Ornaments

     Step up your glitter ornament game with some fun sequins.

Materials:
*Plastic or glass ball ornaments
*Ultra fine glitter
*Shaped sequins
*Glitter It adhesive

Directions:
*Layer your work space with newspaper.
*Uncap your ornament and pour in some Glitter It.  Swirl the adhesive around until it has coated the entirety of the inside of the ornament.
*Pour excess adhesive back into the bottle.  Let the adhesive drain out for about 15 seconds.
*Pour some sequins into the ornament.  They will likely stick where they land, so i
f you pour them straight into the bottom of the ornament, you'll have a lot of sequins clustered toward the bottom of the ornament.
*Shake the ornament gently to move sequins onto the sides of the ornament.
*Open a container of glitter and pour into the ornament.  Swirl the glitter around inside the ornament until it has coated the entire ornament, adding more glitter as necessary.
*Pour any excess glitter back into the container.
*Place the top back on the ornament.

Gift Genie: DIY Last Minute Gift Finder

     Need a last minute gift?  Unsure what to get?  Let the gift genie decide!  Better yet, if the recipient is indecisive, give them their very own gift genie to make their future holiday shopping a breeze.

     The "gift genie" may look like your run of the mill "cootie catcher," but it has the power to help you choose some gifts or at least get a few chuckles.  I got this idea from the "It's Different Every Day" calendar.  They had a foldable "psychic gift guide," which I had to play with.  I actually ended up ordering one of my sister's Christmas presents based on the guide's suggestion.  It was such a cute and fun idea, I thought, why not make one of my own?  My gift genie is actually a re-gift genie and it's meant more for laughs than serious suggestions.  However, if you need serious suggestions, the gift genie can provide that too.  See the end of this post for possible gift ideas your gift genie could include.

Materials:

*Paper
*Pencil
*Stickers (optional)

Directions:

*Begin by folding the sheet of paper diagonally.

*Cut off the excess paper that goes beyond the fold.

*Unfold so that your paper forms a square and then fold in half diagonally going between the opposite corners of the original diagonal fold.

*Unfold the paper.

*Fold one of the corners to the center of the paper.

*Fold the remaining corners to the center in the same fashion.

*Flip the paper over and fold one corner to the center of the paper.

*Fold the remaining corners to the center.

*Number the triangles created by the folding 1-8.  Lift up the flaps and write a gift idea under each number.  Fold the flaps back to the center.

*Fold in half.

*Decorate the resulting squares using words, stickers, colors, or other things you can spell out.  I used stickers corresponding to different gift categories: clothes, shoes, makeup, and music (although these did not match the gift ideas beneath the flaps).

*Slide your fingers under the flaps and use as you would a "cootie catcher."

Ideas for gifts:

*Gift card to a favorite store
*Jeans
*Sequin top
*DVD with Jiffy Pop, popcorn seasonings, movie theatre candy
*Boots
*Craft scissors, if they're a crafter
*Concert tickets or other experience related gifts (see here for other experience ideas)
*DIY coupons (e.g. for a nice dinner, a back rub, a day trip, see here for design ideas)
*E.L.F. gift card
*Framed quote (see here for DIY idea)
*Pokemon themed gifts (see here, here, here, here, and here for DIY ideas)
*Lip balm (a good stocking stuffer; see here, here, and here for DIY ideas)
*Earrings (see here for DIY clay owl earrings)

Ideas for re-gifts:

*A rusty paperclip
*Out of season hand towel
*Holiday card with previous recipient's name scratched out
*Strongly scented lotion that has been sitting under the bathroom sink for at least three years
*Unusable nick knack that is at least one foot tall
*Well circulated state quarters
*Item from the back of your closet
*Half used candle

Faux Fireplace

     Hanging stockings above a fireplace is a Christmas tradition for many, one that I've never been able to participate in because I've never lived in a house with a fireplace.  So I decided to make my own.  This is also a perfect way to get the holiday vibe if you're not a fan of open flames.

Materials:

*Foam board
*Box cutter
*Red cardstock
*Orange cardstock
*Yellow cardstock
*Black cardstock
*Glue
*Gluestick
*Pencil
*Ruler

Directions:

*Decide what size you would like your fireplace to be.  If you'd like to see flickering flames in your fireplace, perhaps size it so that it can be taped to the edges of your TV or computer monitor.

*With a pencil and ruler, mark out the dimensions you would like your fireplace to be.

*Cut out the fireplace shape using a box cutter.

*Determine what dimensions you would like your bricks to be.  Cut out appropriately sized brick shapes from the red cardstock and arrange along the foam board.  Once you're satisfied with the arrangement, glue down.

*If you're not planning on placing your fireplace over a TV or monitor, you'll need a fire to go in your fireplace.  Start by gluing together as many sheets of black cardstock as you need to fill in the opening in your fireplace.

*Sketch or trace flame shapes onto the orange and yellow cardstock.

*Cut out flame shapes and glue them to the black cardstock.

*Glue the black cardstock to the fireplace such that you are able to see the flames when looking at the fireplace.

DIY "Ugly" Christmas Cat Sweater: Now with Ornaments!

     In my "ugly" Christmas cat sweater craft instructions, I mentioned that you could add mini ornaments to the cat's garland.  I finally got around to getting some for my own sweater a few hours before the physics department holiday party.  The ornaments I got came with strings rather than hooks.  I didn't want to tie the ornaments onto the sweater because permanently affixing them would make it difficult to wash the sweater, so I needed to come up with ornament hook substitutes.  What did I use?  Staples.  Read on to find out how to make mini ornament hooks from staples.

Directions:

*Separate one staple from the rest of the staples it is affixed to.

*Slide the mini ornament over one end of the staple.

*Fold the staple over, closing the mini ornament inside.

*Fold the other end of the staple down a little to create a hook that you can use to hang up the ornament.  Now your ornament is ready!

Santa Bats

     These little bats are here to spread some holiday cheer.  What, you didn't picture bats as Santa's helpers?  Bats get a bad rap, but these cuties are more than happy to add some whimsy to your Christmas decor.
     I wish I could take credit for this idea, but I didn't come up with it.  I walked into my department's main office earlier in the week and lo and behold, there were bats with Santa hats on the walls:

They were so adorable, I decided I had to make some of my own.  Here's how I made my variant.

Materials:

*Black cardstock
*White cardstock
*Red cardstock
*Scissors, pencil, and X-acto knife (or Silhouette CAMEO)
*All purpose adhesive

Directions:

*Print out a copy of the bat template below (or import it to Silhouette Studio; for directions on how to cut out my templates using Silhouette Studio see this post).  The bat template minus the hat could also be used if you're looking for some cutesy Halloween decor.

*Cut out the pieces of the template.  Trace the bat shape onto black cardstock, the main hat piece onto red cardstock, and the other two hat pieces onto white cardstock.

*Glue together the hat pieces and then glue the hat onto the bat.

DIY "Ugly" Christmas Cat Sweater

Materials:

*Sweatshirt
*Tinsel ribbon
*Felt in the color of your choice (for the cat)
*Small beads (for the cat's eyes)
*Needle
*Thread
*Scissors
*Metallic marker
*Safety pins
*Mini ornaments (optional)
*Mini LED light string (optional)

Directions:

*Trace the cat silhouette given in the template below (or any cat silhouette of your choice) onto the felt and then cut out the cat shape.

*Sew the beads onto the felt to give the cat eyes.

*Wrap tinsel ribbon around the cat.

*Pin the cat onto the sweatshirt using safety pins.  Try on the shirt to make sure you like the placement of the cat before you begin sewing.

*Sew the cat onto the shirt.

*Optional: Hang mini ornaments from the tinsel ribbon.  I'm hoping to pick some up over the weekend to add to mine.

*Optional: Thread a mini LED light string through the tinsel.  For mine, I placed the battery pack in my back pocket, wrapped the lights around my waist once, and then pulled them through the ribbons wrapped around the cat.