Consumable Christmas Gifts

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On Episode 2 of Hang your Hat, Firebeard and I did a segment on consumable christmas gift ideas.  These are gifts that are meant to be used up, so they don't hang around cluttering up the house.  Since then I was asked if I might be able to do a visual version of the list perhaps with  links to some of the products we mentioned, and I am happy to oblige.  

Note:  This list contains gifts big and small.  While some would be appropiate for the year's "big" gift, there are also several that would make great stocking stuffers. 

Consumable Gift Ideas

Bath/Body/Grooming (many of these are easy to DIY):

Food (Most of these are easy to DIY):

  • Candy, Cookies, or Carmel
  • Hot Cocoa Mix (Single servings are good presents for office mates).  Add some homemade marshmallows to make it really special.
  • Flavored Sugars or Salts
  • Infused Liquors or Vinegars
  • DIY Vanilla
  • Flavored Simple Syrups (great for drinks)
  • Good Quality Olive Oil
  • Bottle of Wine
  • Meal Kit 
  • Fancy Coffee
  • Local Honey
  • Drinks Kits (ex. Cocktail kit)
  • Special Snacks (that are not normally on the menu)

Services: (Think Gift Certificates)

  • Massage
  • Facials
  •  Mani/Pedis
  • High End Barber Shops / Hair Dressers
  • Oil Change or Car servicing (especially if the person you are giving the gift to normally does these things themselves)
  • Baby Sitting
  • House Cleaning
  • Photographer

Subscriptions:

Gift Cards:

  • Any Favorite Retail Store the recipient is likely to shop at (maybe somewhere that is normally too pricy for the recipient – just make sure that the gift card could cover the cost of an item at the store)
  • Itunes
  • Grocery or Gas Cards (good for college students or recent grads)
  • Coffee Shop
  • Book Store

Entertainment/Events:

  • Burlesque Shows or Vaudeville Performances
  • Sporting Event.  Of course Football and  basketball games come to mind first- but why not a fencing or ballroom dance competition
  • Tickets to the Movies 
  • Tickets to an Amusement Park, Museum, or zoo
  • Fancy Tea Party
  • Concerts or Plays

 

Active Pursuits:

  • Pay for a Goruck Challenge
  • Gym Membership (Think outside the box and go for something like a rock climbing or cross fit gym rather than the standard gym)
  • Sporty Classes (like belly dancing class)
  • Goods that are consumed while participating in a sport (ex. Bike tubes for a cyclist, chalk for a rock climber or gymnast, and dehydrated food for campers)

Miscellaneous:  

  • Hobby or Craft Supplies (ex. Scrapbooking paper or stickers, yarn, paint)
  • Kids Craft Supplies (ex. tape, stickers, erasers, glue, pipe cleaners, pompoms, googly eyes)
  • Fireplace Supplies (ex. Wood, fire starters, matches, bundles of dried herbs, pinecones dipped in wax)
  • Personalized Photo Calendar
  • Starting a 529 College Savings Plan

FO - Grandma's Knit Slippers

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My Grandmother lost her husband this last year.  I know that I can't give her anything to make up for that loss, but I wanted to give her something that would comfort her in her greiving.  I hope she feels that these slippers are like a little hug from me every time she puts them on.

They were made from the Plain of Flowerly Slippery Pattern, which is available as a download from Ravelry as well.  I made them in Lion Brand, Jiffy Solid, an Acrylic yarn, that I knew my grandmother wouldn't have any problem careing for, and was already familiar with (unlike the newer superwash wools, which she is sure to treat like regular wool).  
Even though the flowers will make them slightly harder to care for, I thought they were important to add.  They are my version of my Grandmother's favorite flower, a yellow rose.
~Merry Christmas

Gift Idea #6 - Embroidered Brooch

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Another one bites the dust.  Yet one more Christmas present in my queue has been completed. My latest project was this little embroidered brooch, approximately 2" in diameter.  It depicts the Ebola virus, and will hopefully soon adorn the lapel of a young doctor.  I thought it would be a laugh for her colleagues, and a great conversation starter with everyone else.

Gift Idea 5: Heated Eye Mask

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Christmas keeps comming closer, as inevivible as the passage as, well, time.  With it comes more Christmas presents.  I made this eye mask out of recycled materials for my grandmother who has eye problems.  If you have all of the materials on hand, and hour can see several made.

Materials for One Eye Mask:
1.  Burda Style Pattern Marcel #7997.  This is a free download, and the entire pattern should fit on a standard piece of paper.
2.  Two pieces of soft fabric approx. 9" by 5".  I got enough fabric for 3 masks from the front of a cotton dress shirt (the rest of the shirt had already been repourposed as napkins.
3.  Flat batting in the same amounts as the fabric above (optional).  I used cotton batting let over from a quilt, but fleece, or rescused batting would work well too.
4.  50" to 60" of ribbon, .75" to 1" wide, cut in half.  Deside on the total amount of ribbon you want to use based on head size. I used the ribbon from a kids store's elaborate gift wrapping.  One package yielded more than enough ribbon.
5.  Rice.  I used about 0.125 pounds of inexpensive long grain rice.  You can probably find enough in your pantry.
Instructions:
If you know how to sew, this will probably be a no brainer, but Burda Style has no instructions on this pattern (as of this writting), so....
1.  After printing and cutting out the Marel pattern, pin the pattern piece to your fabric (with the grain of the fabric), mark the side openings noted on the pattern on your fabric, and cut the fabric in pattern.  Do this so that you get two pieces of fabric in pattern shape, then do the same with the batting.

2.  Make the following fabric/batting sandwich; (Beginning on the bottom) batting, fabric (right side up), fabric (right side down), batting.  Then stitch around the edges of the mask with a 5/8" seam allowance, leaving the spaces that were marked "ribbon" on the pattern open.
3.  Turn your "sandwich" inside out.  The fabric should now be on the outside, the batting on the inside.

4.  Insert one of the ribbons about 1" into the ribbon slot, fold the fabric around the ribbon slot inward to that it looks as if it had been sewn with the rest of the eye mask.  Sitich the ribbon in place very close to the edge of the mask. DO NOT SEW THE OTHER RIBBON IN PLACE AT THIS TIME.

5.  The ribbon slot on the other end of the mask is still open.  Use this opening to pout in your rice.  Make a funnell with a spare bit of paper, stick the small end in the ribbon slot, and pour the rice in the large end.  Pour in enough rice so that half of the eye mask is full.

6.  With the rice at the opposite end of the mask, attach the 2nd ribbon as shown for the first in step 4.

~Happy Holidays
Edit:  If you would like to heat the eye mask, place it in the microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute.  Test it's temperature on the sensitive part of your arm before placeing it on your eyes.  It should be warm, NOT hot.

I-Pod Nano Case

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My latest project is finished.  It is an i-pod nano case for my cousin.  The tutorial was from Made by Petchy.  All of the measurements she gives are in cm, so if you, like me, live where yo can't find a metric cutting mat to save your life, let me know.  I have already figured out all of the English measure equivilents and can share them with you.

Closed.

Open, with an "i-pod" inside.  I don't have an i-pod, so I made a paper one to the correct dimensions to make sure the case would work.

Open and Empty.

Gift Idea 3: A Gift Your Toddler Can Make

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Recently my friend K (a former elementary school art teacher) e-mailed to tell me about Crayola's Model Magic - a kind of modeling clay that doesn't stick to anything and dries to a flexible firmness after being left out of it's bag for about 24 hours. Since we both tend to stick to basic art supplies, like crayons and glue, I took the suggestion of such a high tech medium as high praise. She suggested that Violet - my 3 year old - would be able to work with it, and unlike traditional clay the finished product wouldn't easily crack in toddler hands.

We bought some on our next trip out, and Violet set out to make a present for her Granny. While I suggested what to make and how to make it, she did nearly all of the work herself.

Granny likes butterflies, so she is using cookie cutters to cut out butterfly shapes.
I poked a hole through the tops so they can be strung on ribbon and hung as ornaments.
After the medium is dry it can be painted.
I think they turned out beautifully.

Gift Idea 2: Recycled Candles Tutorial

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My kids love candles. They take an especial fancy to expensive pillars and delicate tapers, taking chunks out of them with their sharp little finger nails (so they smell nice), or brandishing them as swords while they wage epic battles with one another. However, their favorite thing to do with candles is carry them by their wicks, breaking them off in the process. Needless to say, candles in my house rarely live out their natural lives, turning slowly into stumpy little bits of over used wax. Our candles are broken, nicked, shapeless, wickless, masses of wax that have never been used. I hate to throw it out. The result; recycled candles.

How to Make Recycled Candles:

Supplies:

1. Broken Candles (feel free to mix colors, but be warned, mixing complementary colors like red and green will make muddy brown)
2. Wick (salvaged, homemade, or store bought)
3. Pretty Heat Safe Jar that the finished product will reside in
4. Something stiff that is longer than the jar's opening - like a pencil
5. A small heavy object to attach to the wick -like a washer (may not be needed if using a store bought wick)
6. A disposable, microwave and heat safe container to melt the wax in - like a paper cup or something from the recycling bin
7. A Microwave
8. A knife and cutting surface

Steps:
Using your cutting board and knife, cut your wax so that it go from resembling small rocks, like this.........to small pebbles, like this.
Place your small pieces of wax in your microwave safe container, and microwave on high until the wax obtains a liquid texture. Make to to check that the wax has not escaped it's container every 30 seconds to one minute.

While you are waiting for your wax to melt, prepare your jar to receive it. First attach your heavy object to your wick. As you can see, I simply tied a square knot around a washer. This is to make sure your wick stays in place while the wax is poured in the container.

Next, place the wick in the jar with the heavy object in the bottom of the jar, and the other end wrapped around something stiff covering the opening of the jar (I used a wrench because it was on hand). Be sure to center the wick over the middle of the jar, unless you would like an avant guard and likely shorted lived candle.
When the wax reaches liquid state, pout it into the jar.....
.....and let it cool.Once it is cooled, snip the wick to 1/4th of an inch.An your beautiful candle is ready to go.

Enjoy!

Gift Idea 1: Melt-and-Pour Soap tutorial

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I have a huge family, and as a result I am constantly trying to find or make nice gifts for lots of people at low cost. This year my mother's sisters will be receiving melt-and-pour lavender soap.

Unlike soap made from scratch, melt-and-pour soap is quick, easy, fairly safe, and can be made in small batches. The following is a quick tutorial on making melt-and-pour soap.

Tutorial
1. Buy melt and pour soap base. It can be found at Michaels, Joann's, and most other craft stores. I got mine from Brambleberry.com which has great prices for large amounts. I am using an opaque goat's milk soap.
2. Find a heat safe mold. You can buy these at craft stores, but there is no need. I used paper cups left over from a party (this was their 2nd use, and they have at least 1 more use in them if not more).
3. If you would like to add anything to the soap, like herbs, put them in the bottom of your mold. I used dried lavender grossa, a non-flowering version of lavender that grows well in my Florida garden. Other herbs or flower petals also look nice, but some discolor in heat, so you may want to test whatever you use before you make a large batch.
4. Melt your soap base in the microwave (on high checking the soap every 30 seconds) or a double broiler (being careful not to get any water in the soap). Add a few drops of the essential oil of your choice after taking the soap off the heat. I melted about 14 ounces of soap base, and added 8 drops of lavender essential oil for a mild lavender scent.

As soon as your EO is mixed in, pour the soap base into your prepared molds. The herbs will rise and mix on their own, but you can mix it yourself while the soap base is still very hot.
5. When the outside of the mold is cool to the touch you can squeeze the sides gently and pop the soap out. The soaps seen below are about 2 ounces each, and about half the size of the bars of soap you get at the grocery store.

Alternative method: You can also weigh the amount of soap you want in each bar, place that amount in your mold, then microwave the mold to melt the soap.

How much? I already had all of the materials I needed on hand, so I didn't spend anything. However, joann.com has 2 pounds of olive oil soap base for only $9.99. That is enough to make 16 2 ounce bars. If you gave 2 bars per person, that would be only $1.25 per gift. Not too bad!

Note: Melt-and-Pour soap does not have to cure like soap made from scratch, but it will sweat for a few days after it's made (due to it's high glycerin content), especially in high humidity. So, it is a good idea to wait a few days before wrapping it in plain paper - although wax paper does a good job.

Enjoy!

Holiday Gift Budgeting Spreadsheet

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I have made a spreadsheet to help us all stay on budget while making and buying holiday gifts this season. The formulas that let you know how much you have spent and how much is left in your budget have already been inserted. All you need to do is type in your total budget, and info about the gifts you are giving. Feel free to save a copy for your personal use, and let other people know about it by linking back to this page.

Holiday Gift Budgeting Spreadsheet

November is the Time for Holiday Gift Making

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Now that the election is over, and we have a new president elect, it is time to focus on the holiday season. If you are anything like me, then the country's current economic situation has not gone un-noticed, and the thought of paying for holiday gift giving gives you pause. I have well over 20 people on my gift giving list, and if I spent only $10 on each person (a ridiculously low amount if I were buying off the shelf), my gift giving budget would still be a couple hundred dollars.

I don't want to go into debt this holiday season, but I still want to give everyone on my list gifts they will really love. What to do? I turn to crafting.

I know what you are thinking. Crafting gifts often leads to gifts that cost far more than they would have had you simply bought them (and many people don't appreciate the hard work you put into the gifts you make). However, I assure you, that beautiful gifts can be hand crafted for little money, if you take the time to plan ahead.

During the month of November I will be crafting gifts for my friends and family, and sharing my ideas, process, and finished objects with you, in the hope that I will inspire you to craft your own gifts.

First you need to know the people you will be giving to. Some people will not appreciate hand made gifts, no matter how perfect. There is no point in trying to make gifts for these people - save your time for someone who will appreciate it. You will then need to carefully consider the type of gift the rest of the people on your list would like (ex. make a hat for a person that likes hats, not a person that doesn't).