2012: The Greatest Year Ever

I've been doing some research on how to have the best year ever. This post and the 12 that follow will be a list of the best things to do each month of the year. Are you wondering which is the best month to get your coats dry-cleaned? Or what is in season when? I can never remember so this will be a learning lesson for myself as well. Hopefully this is useful to many people so that we can all have the best year ever.

• January
• February
• March
• April
• May
• June
• July
• August
• September
• October
• November 
• December

(I will add the links once the post is done).

9 Christmas gifts you don't have to buy

Well, it's that time again. It's time to go shopping for presents for our loved ones. We stand in long line-ups then race home to wrap it all. It's very stressful as we hope that the recipient will like what we bought them.

I'm not denying that I do this but I have been undergoing a transformation as of late: what about giving presents that you didn't buy? You may think that I am crazy but sometimes the best presents are ones that don't come from the store. What do I mean? Well, here are some ideas that might spark your imagination.

1. Jewelry: an item that was worn by a relative or important family member means more than buying the latest rock. I still get tears in my eyes every time I think of my necklace - it came from my great-aunt. I never take it off. Nothing that was bought can replace that connection.
2. Used hobby items: last year for Christmas I got my great-aunt's old knitting needles and it was the best present ever. Of course, I could buy an entire set into a craft store but she actually used these over the past 50 years. Now I am using them. All my mom had to do was fish them out of the closet! Other great items are pinking shears, scissors, pins, crochet hooks, yarn, fabric, books, patterns and such. If they are sitting around and you know someone who is interested in these items, gift them!
3. Dishes: for our wedding, we received a butter dish from an older lady who had originally received it for her wedding 54 years ago. This became a treasure in my house. Dishes last for such a long time and can be passed down in the family -- especially if they come with a special story.
4. Photos: old family photos are a real treasure. Sometimes everyone wants a copy of each photo, so why not go and get copies made of the old family photos and give those in a nice photo album?
5. Recipe cards: look for the old recipe cards that your grandmother or other family member wrote on. To make this present extra special, include the card (or a really good scan of the card) along with the item itself, made from the recipe. For example, grandma's fruitcake recipe with a fruitcake that you made.
6. Ornaments: just like dishes, some ornaments are treasures that were given to you by someone special. This is a great idea for whenever a grandparent passes away to give your children an ornament that they gave you one year. Perhaps include a few pictures of the grandparent and you with the ornament.
7. Furniture: if you have an item that was passed down in the family or bought from an antique furniture store, why not give that? It could be grandma's dresser or end table that will make someone else's day.
8. Articles of clothing: vintage clothing is very popular right now and you may have some items that you inherited or that you bought a long time ago but don't wear anymore. Some great ideas are purses and accessories but also shirts, dresses and such. I know that even if I don't like the item, I can remodel it and it is still something that my mother wore.
9. Blankets or quilts: family quilts are heirlooms. So are blankets, especially ones made by a grandparents.

10 (mostly) paperless ways to wrap presents

Christmas is so exciting but usually after all of the presents are opened, this is the scene:

Eco-guilt sets in. Especially in some parts of the world where this paper is sent to the dump instead of recycling. Well, what else can we use? Here are 10 mostly paperless (and re-usable) ideas for wrapping presents that can work for almost any holiday (not just Christmas):

1. Old paint cans: Clean them out well and take the label off. If you need to remove any sticky goo then you can get a product to do that. Get two cans of spray paint: one a primer and the other in a color of your choice. Then, spray the paint can first with the primer, allow it to dry, then paint it with the second color. After drying, find a present and some embellishments!
2. The wrapped box: instead of ripping the wrapping paper off of a box, pick some that have lids like shoeboxes and wrap the box. Wrap each part (the box and the lid, or just the lid) separately so that you can reuse it every year. Tie it shut with ribbon, twine or yarn and add a tag and embellishments.
3. The colorful box: you can buy boxes in almost any store (Zellars, Walmart, Dollarama) that have a decorated lid and a bottom. So, instead of wrapping it like the above option it is already done for you.
4. The paper bag: try this tutorial that I did for painting a paper bag.
5. Fabric bags: try this tutorial that I did for making reusable fabric bags.
6. Felt gift bags: try this tutorial that I did for making felt gift bags.
7. Mittens, scarves, hats, etc: wind a scarf around a box and tie it with ribbon or stuff a mitten and carefully fold it over. This way, the present (and the wrappings) are one and the same!
8. Dishcloths, dishtowels, etc: In addition to mittens and scarves, try wrapping the smaller presents in dishcloths and tie shut with twine, ribbon or yarn. You could also use towels, shower curtains, tablecloths or bolts of fabric for the larger presents.
9. Storage boxes or cubes: try buying a set of these (that are part of the gift), add the gift, close and wrap a ribbon around it. If you are gifting a cube, basket or such then cover the top with fabric to hide the gift then add the tag and an embellishment.
10. Reused materials: every Christmas, save the gift bags and wrapping paper so that the next Christmas, you can reuse them. We do this at home and these materials are used to wrap presents (mostly stocking stuffers) for the family.

10 things to do with clementines

It's the holiday season and clementines are in season! What can you do with them?

1. Eat them! Just peel the zipper skin and eat them as is.
2. Boil the peels with some spices in some hot water to perfume or humidify the house.
3. Mandarin cheesecake: try fresh, peeled clementine sections instead* with a little more sugar.
4. Stuff them in the toe of your stockings to eat Christmas morning.
5. Make a fruit salad with clementines, apples, pomegranate seeds and kiwi.
6. Add the peeled sections to a nice spinach salad with a poppyseed dressing.
7. Try making a clementine juice* mimosa.
8. Substitute* mandarins for sectioned clementine in this beet salad recipe.
9. Try this fruit dip with sectioned clementines*.
10. Add the peeled, sectioned clementines to your cranberry sauce instead of orange juice.

*Substitutions: mandarins are sweeter than clementines so you may need to add sugar to achieve the same result.


Of course, no post on clementines would be complete without addressng the wooden clementine box! What on earth can you do with that?

1. Come spring, use it as a planter in the garden or as a window planter.
2. Break it up, remove all of the plastic, paper and staples then use it for kindling in the fire (if that is allowed, double check in your area).
3. Use it in your home organization. Remove the plastic, staples and paper and sand down any edges that could give you splinters. Add items, a label and put on the shelf.
4. Make mulch out of it. Remove all of the plastic, staples and paper then give it to someone who makes mulch out of wood. Once it's all crushed, it can be used on flower beds in the spring.

Here are some more ideas:

• eHow: how to reuse a wooden clementine box
• Clementine box crèche
• apartment therapy: What to do with Clementine boxes
• fun in the making: category: reuse clementine box

Secret Santa Gift Ideas

Are you running a Secret Santa this year? Or, you can't think of anything to get for the event? Well, here are some gift ideas that may inspire you this year. These are also some great gender-neutral ideas if you are searching for gifts for relatives and friends as well.

1. Gift cards: this could be for the grocery store, department store, theatre, coffee shop or a restaurant.
2. Stainless steel coffee travel mug.
3. A coffee set with a mug and a bag of coffee beans. 
4. Box of chocolates, shortbread or candy: this one is harder as so many people have food allergies but you could ask beforehand if anyone objects. You could also make these at home instead of buying them. 
5. Office gift box: think of something that everyone in the office uses and constantly runs out of, like pens, pencils, card clips (if you need a pass that you clip to your clothes), silverware, etc. Just buy it separately and put it together in a basket or something like that.
6. Bottle of wine or other spirits.
7. Gourmet cooking set of flavored olive oils, vinegars and jams: If you are crafty, you can make this at home.
8. A USB key or SD card.
9. A nice photo album or photo frame.
10. A box of homemade Christmas cards with envelopes.
11. A fun new calendar for their desk. Perhaps one of those daily or monthly ones.
12. The latest best seller (hardcover or soft cover) on a topic that everyone enjoys or a book on a topic that everyone enjoys.
13. A holiday-themed candle (I'm always surprised how many men dig candles).
14. A sick kit: pack a basket with cough drops, Neo-Citran, and other things that you use when you are sick. 
15. A set of nice wine glasses (shot glasses, or bourbon glasses). 
16. A nice Christmas ornament. 
17. Any cooking or baking equipment: mixing bowls, baking sheets, cookie cutters, whisks or other utensils. 
18. Small appliances like a kettle, toaster oven, coffee grinder, power whisk, etc.
19. A nice throw or blanket for the house. 
20. A DVD of a movie or TV show that everyone enjoys or one that fits the season.

Stenciled brown paper bag

I was about to throw this bag out when I remembered that Christmas is coming and I needed to wrap some items. So, I got out my stencils and started painting. Why not reuse something like this? It's just going into the recycle anyways.

For this project, I used some leftover newspaper, a stipple stenciling brush, acrylic paint in pink rose, an orphaned container to hold paint, tape and plastic snowflake stencils.

I used the same method as I did for my snowflake shower curtain: use the tape to adhere the stencil to the paper bag (in this case), use stipple brush to paint the stencil, remove stencils and then let it dry.

Stencil the back then the two sides. Done!

Estimated time for this project: about 1 hour, including drying time for the stencils. It was a very nice Saturday afternoon project!

Notes: 

• There was a hole in the paper bag where a staple had fastened it shut but I stenciled over it to hide it. 
• I have to note to properly clean that stipple brush after painting with it. I now have dried paint goo in it and once it's dry, it's hard to remove. Note to self!! 
• To wrap, simply place the item in the bag and roll the top down. Staple or tape into place and add a pink yarn pom-pom or some other pink bow and a tag (perhaps a monogrammed felt one?).

Ideas:

• This will work with any stencil and almost any color paint. I did this in pink to match my mom's Christmas decor as that is where I will be this year. However, I could have easily did this in red or brown for my own Christmas colors. 
• Every time a brown paper bag comes into the house, save it for this project. This one was used to deliver Thai food to my door. It wasn't stained so I reused it. Can you imagine how many bags you'd have if you use them for your groceries or delivery? You'd never need to buy wrapping paper again.

Christmas ribbon out of old men's shirts

I took one of my husband's old, ratty button-up shirts and turned it into long strips of Christmas ribbon for myself. I can use this fabric ribbon over and over again to wrap presents or as part of my everyday decor. It's easy to make too!

For this project, I used 1 old men's dress shirt that matched my Christmas decor, scissors, an iron, matching thread, pins and a sewing machine. A seam ripper, measuring tape and dressmaker's pen would be helpful as well.

To start, I took an old dress shirt (that happened to be in my Christmas colors, cream and red) and cut it into pieces like I did to prepare for my apron. Next, I took the back and cut out strips that were about 20 inches long and 3 inches wide (I needed at least 1 cm on each side for seam allowance). I was lucky because I had a fabric that was checker-print so I just followed the lines. If you don't have this, mark the measurements on the wrong side with a dressmaker's pen and then cut out.

Ironing

Now, I got out the iron. I really hate ironing but this time I did it. I pressed each strip with the seam allowance (1 cm on both sides) so that it would be easier for me to sew it down.

Sewing

Next, I threaded the sewing machine with matching thread, pinned the ribbon and sewed the seam allowance down. I sewed it first very close to one edge, then close to the other for top-stitching. Since it was all ironed down, this was very easy.

That's it! That is all that it took to make these strips of ribbon.

Estimated time for this project: an evening or about 3 hours. It took time to cut up the shirt then cut the ribbon out. Ironing took about 15 minutes then it took about 2 hours for me to sew them all up. For one ribbon, I'd say that it took about 45 minutes.

Ideas:

• You could easily do this with old dress shirts (or pants, skirts) in solid colors or patterned or old skirts, pants, etc. 
• You could try different textures like tweed, corduroy, jean, etc. Mine is a fine whale corduroy.
• You could sew smaller strips together to make a longer ribbon. 

12 Days of Homemade Christmas

I just discovered the 12 Days of Homemade Christmas tag on the Homemade Mamas blog! I have to share this with you because the things that they are making are really cool!

Here are some of the highlights:

• Day 5 (2011): Dried Citrus Ornaments
• Day 4 (2011): Dried Birdseed Ornaments
• Day 12 (2010): Peppermint Playdough
• Day 8 (2010): Gift cans
• Day 7 (2010): Gumdrop Candy Tree
• Day 3 (2010): Homemade Candy Canes

Embroidered Felt Gift tags

This was a great idea that I had to use up leftover felt from my Felt Gift Bags. These are green, reusable gift tags that I can embroider and monogram with the recipient's initials and then use it every year. I can ever color-code the embroidery floss by person (pink for mom, green for dad, purple for myself, etc.). What a great idea!

For this project, I needed strips of leftover felt (cream felt is best), embroidery floss in colors of choice, an embroidery needle, a hole punch and scissors.

To start, I needed tags. So, I took the scraps of leftover felt and cut a tag for a template, about 1.5 inches wide by 3.5 inches high. I simply took a scrap, folded it over and cut to those dimensions.

Once I had the first tags cut out, I used them as templates and cut out more to those dimensions.

Once I had a stack of tags, I had to give them a hole. I took a single hole punch, positioned it and punched a hole. It took a lot of strength (and it did hurt my hand) but I did make a hole. For a few of them, the punch didn't go through all of the way so I used scissors to cut the hole out.

Now that I had some tags with a hole, I got out the embroidery floss and a needle. I cut a length of floss and split it into three threads (it is usually wound with six).

I did a running stitch border around the edge with the embroidery floss and around the punched hole. I now have tags that look like this:

The back looks like this:

I didn't monogram these yet but I think that I will with the first initial of the recipient. I think that I will also color-code these so that each person has their favorite color. I can pick whatever style alphabet that I want for the letters and I am thinking of a nice, modern font.

Estimated time for this project: about 30 minutes for one. It doesn't take long to cut these out, but hole punching can be hard. The actual embroidery took about 20 minutes as I didn't do a quick running stitch -- it looked sloppy. I took the time to put the needle in and out.

Notes:

• I did the embroidery around the hole punch in the beginning as a detour then continued around the edges again. You can see that in the above picture. 

 Ideas:

• You can do this in your Christmas colors instead of color-coding it. 
• This would look excellent with a darker felt and lighter embroidery floss. 
• This is a fabulous idea for using up leftover pieces of felt. You can do it in any color with white embroidery floss.

Fabric Christmas Gift Bags

Last year I started making fabric Christmas gift bags instead of wrapping presents in reams of paper every year. I think the eco-guilt finally got to me one Christmas when I saw all of the ripped paper lying around the floor. Here is an insanely simple drawstring bag that you can use for wrapping Christmas gifts. I make them in all sorts of sizes for stocking stuffers or gifts but the basic principle is the same.

(made for wedding scrapbook gifts)

(made from leftover pant legs - what can't you do with leftover pant fabric?)

(made from leftover tablecloth fabric from my pillow covers)

For this project, I used 1 piece of fabric (size will vary but it should be cut into a large rectangle), scissors, matching thread, matching ribbon (thin, not too wide), a taped safe and a sewing machine.

First, I cut out the fabric. In this example, I was wrapping a scrapbook so I used it to measure how big of a rectangle I needed.

I cut out the fabric based on the amount needed to cover the item with a little room on the sides and about 2 inches extra on each side (for the drawstring top). If you aren't good at eyeballing fabric and then cutting a straight line, you could use a measuring tape and dressmaker's pen then cut.

(Sorry that the picture is so dark, it's November after all)

After the piece is cut out, it's quite simple. Fold one edge under about 1/2 inch (less or more depending on the type of fabric that you have. You want enough space to run a ribbon through the gap though. Pin this edge down and sew it. I just did a zigzag stitch on mine (sew and stop fraying at the same time = awesome).

Then, pin down the cut edge and the bottom (which is now the edge that was not rolled under and sewed before. Sew this down then serge (or zigzag) the edges to prevent fraying.  Turn the bag inside out so that the good side is facing and all of the seams are on the inside. Poke the corners out with your finger.

Using a small knife, cut two holes close to the side seam then pass a ribbon through attached to a taped safety pin. Cut the ribbon and tie both ends to create a knot. Done!

Estimated time for this project: about 20 minutes for the sewing and 20 for the ribbon. This is seriously fast: cut, zip, zip. Sometimes, I do all of the sewing and then thread the ribbon into a pile of these bags another evening. 

Notes:

• Try to make these out of a machine-washable fabric, just in case you wrap something that spills. Almost all of my bags are made out of leftover upholstry fabric. 
• A serger is excellent for sewing up the edges.

Ideas:

• I have tons of these to use for wrapping stocking stuffers and presents. They are all sorts of shapes and sizes. I even have tall long ones for magazines and small ones for gum and cough drops. 
• I've reused fabric for making these: old dress shirts, pant legs, tablecloths, curtains, etc.
• I've made my bags in a color scheme that matches my Christmas decor (red, cream, brown). That is totally possible! You could use a red fabric with red ribbon (or yarn).

Stocking stuffer ideas for Mom

With the Christmas season approaching, here are some ideas of what to add to Mom's stocking:

• Shampoo and conditioner
• Toothpaste and toothbrush
• Mix tape or CD for the car
• Jewellery
• DVD or Blu-ray of her favorite movie (or old movies that are now on DVD)
• Nice hair barrettes or clips
• Cough drops
• Neo-Citran or Cough Syrup
• Gum and/or mints
• Perfume
• Tweezers
• Fingernail clippers
• Coffee
• Napkin rings
• batteries (AA, AAA, C or D), could also be rechargeable batteries with a charger
• Hand cream
• Lip gloss, lipstick or chapstick
• Nail file
• Pens and/or pencils
• A good book
• Tickets to a spa treatment
• Christmas ornament (s)
• a good magazine
• kitchen utensils that she will like
• A tape dispenser shaped like a high-heeled shoe or some other really cool stationary tools like that
• Coasters
• SD card for her camera
• Any craft supplies for her hobby (like knitting needles, yarn, bobbins, sewing machine needles, pinking shears, etc.)

Stocking stuffer ideas for Dad

The season is approaching and it's time to think about stocking stuffers. Here are some ideas of what to add to Dad's sock for Christmas:

• Shaving cream and a good razor
• Toothbrush and toothpaste
• Deodorant
• Cologne
• Shampoo
• Soap or body wash, perhaps also with a bath puff or facecloth
• Socks
• Batteries (AA, AAA, C or D work); you could get rechargeable ones with a charger too
• Cough drops
• Gum
• Pens and/or pencils
• DVDs from his favorite TV show or movies -- my dad likes Clint Eastwood westerns
• A watch
• Mix tape or CD for the car or truck
• A CD of his favorite music genre or artist
• Sandpaper
• Carpenter's glue
• Earphones for his iPod (if he has one)
• Gift card to his favorite store (my dad loves Canadian Tire and Mark's Work Wearhouse)
• a jack knife
• coffee
• fingernail clipper
• Mints (my dad loves Scotch mints)
• ice scraper
• gloves
• a magazine of his favorite genre (my dad likes the special editions of Woodworking magazines)
• paint or foam brushes
• a bag of his favorite candy (bonus points if you had to order it online)
• kitchen utensils for him to use
• Neo-Citran and/or cough syrup
• USB key
• his favorite pudding mix
• a pedometer
• a set of combs
• a bottle of aspirin

Felt gift bags

I absolutely love felt and I love finding new things to do with it! So, when Xmas was rolling around last year I had this great idea for reusable felt gift bags. These are actually quite simple, but they just require some time to measure and cut out.

For this project, I used 2 8x10 inch sheets of felt, scissors, pins, matching thread and a sewing machine. A seam ripper is also useful.

To start, I folded the first sheet of felt over and matched up the edges. I cut the felt on the fold.

These are the two face pieces. Next, with the second piece of felt I folded an edge lengthwise, about half way of the sheet of felt. I cut up the middle first then on the fold.

Now I am left with five pieces of felt: two fronts, two sides and a leftover piece which will be the bottom.

The bottom is tricky. There are no precise measurements. I took the leftover piece and lined up a front and a side piece to get an approximate measurement. I don't want for it to be too small or too big.

So, I laid a side piece on top of this leftover fabric and cut on the right-hand side for an approximate width measurement. I cut slightly larger than the side piece.

I also used a front piece to get a length measurement. I used the length of the front piece to gauge where to turn left and cut out my bottom piece.

Sewing

When sewing, it is done in this pattern: side 1, front 1, side 2, front 2. The bottom is the last thing to be sewn together.

I pinned side 1 to front 1 on the outside (this will not be turned inside out: I want the seam on the outside).

I sewed these two pieces together with about 2 milimetres of seam allowance (yes, it isn't much).

I now pinned side 2 to front 1 and sewed that together.

Here it is sewn together as front 1, side 1, front 2, side 2.

I pinned side 2 and front 1 together to form a "box".

Now for the fun part: the bottom. I started by matching the bottom piece up to one of the corners of the front/side pieces and I started to pin with about the same amount of seam allowance. This takes awhile and I was often pricked like a pin cushion while doing it.

I folded one of the sides down for the sewing and sewed the bottom piece on all of the way around.

Now it is done! I will do another post on how to fasten the bag as I haven't finished that part yet.

Estimated time for this project: about 30-45 minutes. It takes about 10 minutes to do the measuring (with a little more on figuring out that bottom piece). Another 10 minutes is spent on sewing the four side and front pieces together. The bottom is tricky and more time consuming.

Notes:

• You could, of course, take measurements and make pattern pieces for a felt gift bag and use those instead of my primitive measurement method (notably on the bottom). Note to self: make pattern pieces.
• I made my felt gift bags in brown, red and cream to match my Christmas colors.
• If you have cream bags, you may have to use tissue paper or fabric to wrap the gift inside a little bit as it is a little bit see-through.

Ideas:

• Why not make felt gift bags in your Christmas colors and reuse them every year for the holidays?
• You could probably stencil some finished felt gift bags with fabric paint, like my burlap garland and burlap Christmas tree skirt.