Saturday, November 15, 2008

Baking, baking and more baking

Of course one of the best gifts to give people at the holidays is something you made in your kitchen. Of course with the over abundance of sweets at the holidays you also want to make something that wont leave them feeling overwhelmed with 'more sweets then they know what to do with.'
One year I made my diabetic step-mom several mini-sized loaves of sweet bread- banana and cranberry nut, that were made with Splenda so that she was able to eat them without worrying. I made them small as it would be just for her and she froze them so she could pull them out one at a time and enjoy them.
Another idea is one that would save you from having to do a lot of work at Christmas and would also give the receiver something to enjoy all year around. Give them a gift of a baked item a month. Let them know that every month you will deliver to them a baked item made fresh in your kitchen for them to enjoy. These items could be dessert themed, chocolate themed, different varieties of breads, etc.
So many people these days do not take the time out to bake something fresh from scratch for themselves and having your homemade goods would be a much appreciated gift.

Friday, November 7, 2008



Covered composition notebooks make very lovely gifts. For the scrapbooking lover, it is very enjoyable to make and being able to tailor each book to the tastes of the receiver adds so much enjoyment to making them.

You start out with a basic composition journal, the kind that use to only come in the mottled black and white covers. You also want a variety of papers, card stock, lace, pictures, etc. to decorate the front with. Make sure to use decent glue, they may not need acid/lignet free as the receiver may not be keeping them forever like you would a scrapbook, but it wouldn't hurt to use that type of glue.


You want to measure the base paper to fit the cover and glue it on. If you want to attach a bookmark, then in between the back of the book and the paper that you use on the back you will want to place a thin ribbon, long enough so that you can put it halfway down the back of the book and have it hang over the top of the book and all the way down the front. I attached some beads to the end of the bookmark ribbon.



Once you have the main cover paper on, feel free to decorate it any way you want- like I said, its best to think about the person who will receive it and their personality. Also, be creative about what you use to decorate the journals. In the first picture on this page I used wallpaper boarder for the vines and lace on the bottom of the page. The second journal has letters I traced onto cardstock and some special paper punches. The last one has several layers of paper forming a layered frame, some corners cut with decorative scissors and a cutout of a shell.

These are pretty simple and relatively inexpensive. They are also a lot of fun and the receivers tend to really enjoy them.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Rice/Flax seed bags

One easier sewing recipe that gets rave reviews from the people I make them for is the rice/flax seed bag. This is a small bag filled with rice or flax seed that you can heat in the microwave. It is good for warming your hands, treating a headache or other aches and pains, or keeping you warm under the covers when you go to bed.

These are a very simple project that a beginner could make very easily. I usually make mine so the the finished project is 10" by 6." Another idea I do is to make a cover to go over the bag. If I do make a cover then the fabric for the pillow itself is not important as it wont be seen and can be any old fabric. If you don't make a case for the pillow then try a fleece or flannel for the pillow as it is nice and soft.

Usually for someone who is making these only once, the inside of the pillow is filled with rice. People who sell these often use flax seed as it is a better choice. Flax seed has oil in it instead of water so when you heat it the heat is retained longer. A good read to see the difference is on this site. Whichever you use, rice or flax, you will need a good 2 1/2 cups of it for this project. You can also throw in a 1/3c dry lavender flowers and or a few drops of lavender essential oil.

First cut out two rectangles of your fabric of choice. They need to measure 10 1/2 by 6 1/2. This leaves the 1/4" for a seem allowance and will leave the finished project at 10x6. Place right sides together and sew up three sides of the rectangle. The fourth side you sew all but 2 1/2 inches, leaving an opening to put the rice in through.

Turn your pillow right side out. Pour in your rice or flax seed. Add any lavender or essential oils you may want to add. With a needle and thread stitch up the opening and you are finished!

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Who doesn't like chocolate?

This is an idea we did last year that really looked great yet required little effort or skill. A lot of people do chocolate dipped pretzels, we did them with a twist. We used pretzel sticks instead of twists and then rolled them in colored sugar afterwards. We also dipped the bottom half of a candy cane the same way. The candy cane looked really elegant dipped in white chocolate and rolled in red sugar.

Ingredients:
pretzel rods or candy canes
melting chocolate- milk, dark or white
colored decorators sugar in red or green

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Dip the pretzel/candy cane several inches into the chocolate. You can use a spoon to get the chocolate up higher on the pretzel. Put the sugar on a plate and roll the pretzel in the sugar. Place the pretzel on wax paper to cool. These can be bagged up in a tall skinny plastic bag by the dozen or wrapped up individually with plastic wrap.