Finished project: another felt pillow cover for Christmas

I had already completed two felt pillow covers earlier this year except for this one. It took a little while longer as I had to do the little holes in the centre by hand.

I made this the same way that I made the other two covers. Festive, eh?

Finished project: Painted nutcrackers

These are my nutcrackers that I bought from Michael's Boxing Day sale. I love these kinds of projects because I can paint them any color that I want and they will go with my decor.

Here is my red nutcracker that goes with my decor in the basement.

Here is my purple nutcracker for my office at work.

And my pink nutcracker to go with my mom's pink and green decor.

A blue one for my kitchen:

And lastly, three little ones for my tree.

The Snowflake Pillows

This post is a little late but that's alright. I bought some die-cut felt snowflakes from Michael's Boxing Day Sale this past year and I knew exactly what I was going to do with them.

For this project, I used 1 package of felt fabric from Micheal's (it measures 36 by 36 inches), 2 die-cut felt snowflakes*, matching red and white thread, a sewing machine, a seam ripper, a measuring tape, a fabric marker, pins and a needle for hand sewing. 

*Note that these snowflakes came already cut. If you want to do this yourself, I am sure that you can find a snowflake design on the internet, print it, cut it out then use it as a template over felt. It can be pinned to the fabric then cut out using a craft knife over a self-healing mat.

To start, I measured a pillow with measuring tape to get the height and width. I folded the felt over lengthwise and smoothed it out so that the edges touched and I would get a clean line. I added 1 cm of seam allowance on both sides and cut the felt up the middle to create two pillow covers that measured 18 by 18 cm.

Pillow #1:

I pinned the snowflake to the center of the pillow on the first layer and pinned it down on all six sides so that it wouldn't move. Then, I sewed the snowflake to the top layer of the red felt pillow cover. This was painstakingly long but completely worth it to achieve a quilted look.

To move around the corners and curves, I would move the fabric quickly or stop sewing with the needle in the fabric, move the fabric, then continue sewing.

Pillow #2:

For this pillow, I cut the snowflake into three pieces for the corners after doing some measurements.

I pinned the main corners of these snowflakes to one layer of the red felt in these positions. Then, I sewed each snowflake to the felt pillow. Again, this was very long, arduous work but it's completely worth it to see this pillow.

For both pillow #1 and #2, once the snowflake was sewn on, I pinned down two of the cut sides and most of the third with a gap for stuffing (as I folded the felt over, I only had three cut edges instead of four). I sewed it all down so that I was left with a pillow cover with a hole for stuffing.

I took an old pillow, cut it open and reused the stuffing for this pillow.

I pinned the open seam then hand-stitched the hole with matching thread and a needle. 

And here is the finished product!

Estimated time for this project: about 3-4 hours. It took a long time to quilt the snowflakes on each pillow but the actual work of cutting, filling and such didn't take long. it's all worth it for a great result.

Notes:

• I was seriously considering dying both of these fabrics before sewing. I was going to dye the red felt burgundy and the snowflakes cream to match my usual Christmas decor colors. The red is a little bright for me but I am sure that I will find a home for it. 

Ideas:

•  Any color combination would work! I did red and white but it's not limited to that.

Greatest Year Ever: February

This is the second of 12 posts on how to have the Greatest Year Ever. Everything listed here is from research that I have done. The sources are listed at the bottom.

Facts:

• Number of Days: 28 (leap years have 29)
• Birthstone: amethyst
• Flower: Viola (violet) and primula vulgaris (common primrose).
• Season: 3nd month of winter in the Northern Hemisphere, 3nd month of summer in the Southern Hemisphere
• Name: from the Latin term "februum" meaning purification.
  

Famous February events:

• February 2, 1943: The last German troops surrendered in Stalingrad to the Russians.
• February 3, 1913: The United States ratified the 16th amendment to the American constitution to start income tax.
• February 6, 1899: The treaty to end the Spanish-American war was passed in the United States Senate.
• February 6, 1952: George VI of Great Britain passed away and his daughter became Queen Elizabeth II.
• February 8, 1587: Mary, Queen of Scots, was executed.
• February 10, 1763: The Treaty of Paris ended the Seven Years War with the French surrendering to the British in Canada.
  
• February 11, 1942: Battle of Bukit Timah in Singapore.
• February 20, 1962: John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth.
• February 26, 1815: Napoleon escaped from Elba.
  

Housecleaning:

• Clean the entryway up from all of the winter rocks, water and mud that comes into the house. 
• Clean the salt off of the shoes to keep them in good order.
• Vaccuum the car from all of the rocks, silt and snow that gets in there. 
• Time to put the car through the car wash! It's probably coated in a thick white silt from the road.

Fruits and Vegetables in Season:

• Oranges and clementines (from warmer climates)
• Beets*
• Turnip*
• Potatoes*
• Cabbage*
• Apples*
• Sweet Potatoes*
• Squash*
• Parsnips*
• Onions*
• Mushrooms*
• Lettuce*
• Leeks*
• Garlic*
• Cucumber*
• Carrots*

* (from harvest or hot house)

February recipes:

• Stews like chicken fricot, beef stew or a pork stew
• Any roasted vegetables like roasted beets, carrots or cauliflower
• Any roasted meats: beef, pork, chicken, etc.
• Light salads using lettuce, field greens or spinach to accompany those roasts
• Vegetable soups like borscht, pasta e fagioli, chicken noodle soup, or pureed vegetable soups like squash, potato or carrot
• Any recipe that uses a slow cooker
• Chocolate truffles
• Chicken mole
• Chili

Holidays:

• Black History Month.
• February 2: Groundhog Day (United States and Canada).
• February 14: Valentine's Day.
• February 29 (if applicable): Leap Year.

Sports and activities to enjoy:

• Hockey
• Skiing
• Skating
• Tobogganing / sledding / coasting
• Snowball fights - with caution
• Making snow angels
• Making snowmen (snow women, children and animals too)
• Snowshoeing
• Snowboarding

February is a great month to:

• Sit in front of the fireplace with loved ones. 
• Try new restaurants for Valentine's Day.
• Buy chocolate, even if you don't eat it for Valentine's Day. It's all on sale this time of year so you'll get an excellent deal and you could probably freeze it. 
• Spend a weekend at a winter hotel, that is, one known for being a winter destination like Québec City or the Ice Hotel.
• Throw a Super Bowl party. This year is the 46th Super Bowl on February 5, 2012.
• Have your yearly physical. It's long enough after the Christmas holidays that your body has adjusted back to normal.
• Have an Oscars party and watch the show live. You can even create ballots before the event and put a prize on the person who wins the most predictions. Serve cocktails and appetizers and dress up like movie stars.
• Start a new exercise routine or get back into your existing one. January is a month of adjustment after the holidays so by the time February comes around you are usually itching to get started.

Things we all hate about February:

• It's still Winter. The roads are icy, it snows and the salt gets on our shoes. Plus this is usually the month that we have the coldest temperatures ever. 
• Valentine's Day - for those who are single it's like a smack in the face. 

Sources:

• Barbara's Entourages, "February Facts and Events," (c) 1998-2006 <http://www.entourages.com/barbs/february.htm> (visited 14 February 2012).
• Foodland Ontario, "Availability Guide," (c) 2010 <http://www.foodland.gov.on.ca/english/availability.html> (visited 2 January 2012).
• Wikipedia, "February," (c) 11 December 2011 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February> (visited 12 December 2011).
• Also, Wikipedia in general. I really referred to it a lot.

Greatest Year Ever: January

This is the first of 12 posts on how to have the best year ever. So, I start with January. Everything listed here is from research that I have done. The sources are listed at the bottom.

Facts:

• Number of Days: 31
• Birthstone: Garnet
• Flower: Dianthus caryophyllus
• Season: 2nd month of winter in the Northern Hemisphere, 2nd month of summer in the Southern Hemisphere
• Name: derived from Janus, name of the Roman god of the doorway

New Year's Resolution:
It is traditional to choose a New Year's Resolution. The most commonly chosen resolution is to lose weight. However, most people who make a resolution don't keep it into February. Here is the Nutrition Diva's fantastic post on New Year's Resolutions and how to keep them.


Housecleaning:

• Put away Christmas and all seasonal decorations. Reuse old egg cartons for small ornaments, add twist ties for groups of lights and such to keep it all organized for next year.
• It's a good time to vacuum and shampoo the carpets after all of the holiday mess. 
• Unpack from any trips that you made and clean the luggage and travel cases before putting them away.
• Dry-clean the lighter coats (if necessary).
• Check the summer shoes for stains, dirt, or any rips, tears and such. Take the leather shoes to the cobbler for fixing or toss the worn-out flip flops.

Fruits and Vegetables in Season:

• Oranges and clementines (from warmer climates)
• Beets*
• Turnip*
• Potatoes*
• Cabbage*
• Apples*
• Sweet Potatoes*
• Squash*
• Parsnips*
• Onions*
• Mushrooms*
• Lettuce*
• Leeks*
• Garlic*
• Cucumber*
• Carrots*

* (from harvest or hot house)

January recipes:

• Stews like chicken fricot, beef stew or a pork stew
• Any roasted vegetables like roasted beets, carrots or cauliflower
• Any roasted meats: beef, pork, chicken, etc.
• Light salads using lettuce, field greens or spinach to accompany those roasts
• Vegetable soups like borscht, pasta e fagioli, chicken noodle soup, or pureed vegetable soups like squash, potato or carrot
• Any recipe that uses a slow cooker.

Holidays:

• January 1 - New Year's Day
• Third Monday - Martin Luther King Day (US)

Sports and activities to enjoy:

• Hockey
• Skiing
• Skating
• Tobogganing / sledding / coasting
• Snowball fights - with caution
• Making snow angels
• Making snowmen (snow women, children and animals too)
• Snowshoeing
• Snowboarding

January is a great month to:

• Throw a New Year's Bash. Welcome in the New Year with a large dinner party or cocktail party and lots of friends.
• Have a re-gifting party: after the holidays are over, invite people over with the presents that they received that they cannot use or do not want and do a Chinese Auction for them. Whatever doesn't get re-gifted goes to charity. 
• Curl up with a new knitting or sewing project for yourself (that is not a gift for someone else).
• Go shopping. Everything is at clearance prices through late January to March.
• Get your Christmas cards - for next year. Everything is on clearance prices after December 27th and you can get big boxes of cards on sale for at least 50-75% off. It's also a good time to stock up on bows, ornaments, wrapping paper and other Christmas gear.
• Find a gym or gym routine that you like so that you can start a weight loss strategy in February.
• Try something new. Take up a new language class, exercise class or hobby.
• Plan a vacation to the South for February -- if you want to do that.
• Visit the elderly. After the holiday rush, it becomes very quiet and lonely so it's a great time to take one Saturday afternoon per month and visit the elderly.
• Contact friends and family. Talk about how their holidays went, how yours went and such. It's a great opportunity to have a post-holiday dinner party. You can get ahold of everyone that you didn't see over the holidays. 
• Detox. Get back on track with a healthy month of vegetables and lots of water. Do a facial, hair mask and try a scrub for your body. Clean everything, inside and out and start new.

Things we all hate about January:

• Shoveling snow.
• Scraping the car windshield off every morning before leaving
• Winter (in general). It's cold, especially if you live in nippy areas like southern Québec, Winnipeg, the Prairies or the North.
• Christmas is over and won't come again for 11 more months.
• Salt stains on our boots and pant legs.
• Driving on slippery roads.

Sources:

• Foodland Ontario, "Availability Guide," (c) 2010 <http://www.foodland.gov.on.ca/english/availability.html> (2 January 2012).
• Nutrition Diva, "4 Secrets to Keeping Your New Year's Resolution," (c) 2010 <http://nutritiondiva.quickanddirtytips.com/how-to-keep-your-resolution.aspx> (2 January 2012).
• Wikipedia, "January," (c) 7 November 2011 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January> (visited 20 November 2011).

10 frugal ways to decorate for the holidays

The holidays are approaching and it's time that we deck the halls to celebrate. Sometimes that stuff is expensive or the decorating ideas that we have cannot be realized with the budget. But, no fear! Here are 10 ideas of how to decorate on a tiny budget.

1. Pine cones: take a trip to the local park or an area that has lots of pine trees with a few garbage bags or boxes and collect the nice pine cones. Really look them over for bugs, mold or any imperfections before bagging them. Bring them home and wash them in a sink of hot water (when I did this, they closed up but reopened as they dried a day later). Then, use them in leftover planters, vases or jars tied with ribbon.
2. Cookies: make a few batches of sugar cookies and decorate them with icing done in your Christmas colors. Before baking them though, put a hole in the top with a wooden skewer. Do designs like snowmen, reindeer, snowflakes, ornaments, or words. Once the icing is dry, string them up with leftover yarn, ribbon or twine and decorate the tree with them. Or, just display them on nice cake stands on the table.
3. Food: create nice displays around the house with clementines, apples, or other seasonal fruit and vegetables. Use vases, jars or cake plates and place them carefully. If you really want to get into this, cover the items with powdered sugar or salt to create the glittery effect.
4. Stockings: make this year's stockings out of old sweaters, t-shirts or button-up shirts. If they aren't the right color, you can buy fabric dye and follow the package instructions to dye the fabric. Sew up with a sewing machine and decorate with ribbon or felt accents.
5. Centrepieces: take some mixing bowls and fill them with Christmas ball ornaments, pine cones, greenery or other items. Or, pack them with a mix of Christmas ball ornaments, apples and other items. Place in the centre of the table. Also, add bowls or planters of ornaments to end tables, magazine tables and other places around the house.
6. Wrappings: try some of the tips in my post about green wrappings along with embellishments like yarn pompoms, Christmas ribbon made from old shirts and other festive touches.
7. Tree: get an artificial tree with lights so that you buy it once and use it for at least 10-15 years. Decorate with ornaments, cookies, gingerbread men, pine cones or (if you want to be really traditional) strings of popcorn or cranberries. You could also decorate with paper snowflakes made out of white paper, dolls, clocks, etc. The options are endless, but start with your favorite colors and a theme.
8. Table: use a clean white tablecloth and use your best dishes but have little touches here and there like candles, decorated paper tags for guests, napkin rings, etc. The food should speak for itself, you don't have to have the table fully decked to the nines.
9. Rooms: add a little touch of the holidays to every room like a special cup towel in the kitchen, or towels in the bathroom. As long as everything is clean and organized, it looks fabulous and doesn't cost hardly anything. You could even do this with well-placed Christmas cards that you received.
10. Outside: depending on your location, try LED lights and topiaries. Or, you could make a wreath out of leftover strips of fabric in your color theme wrapped around a Styrofoam wreath form. You can also put out bowls of ornaments by the entrance.

10 holiday movies to watch

Time for a nice warm blanket, a mug of hot cocoa and one of these movies on Christmas Eve! What could be better?

1. It's A Wonderful Life (1946).
2. A Christmas Carol: and there are many versions to choose from! Many people prefer the version from 1938, while others prefer the one from 1951 or the one that the Muppets did in 1992. It's up to you!
3. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966) or How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) with Jim Carrey.
4. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) .
5. A Christmas Story (1983).
6. Home Alone (1990).
7. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993).
8. Elf (2003).
9. Christmas Vacation (1989). 
10. Lady and the Tramp (1955) - the scene at the end.

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

Stenciled cup towels

Yet another project that adds a touch of Christmas to every room! This time, it's my kitchen. I bought these simple white cup towels and stenciled them with blue paint, almost the same way that I did my shower curtain so I won't bother repeating the instructions.

Cup towel # 1:

Cup towel #2:

Notes:

• As these cup towels are now painted, I don't think that they can be washed -- even by hand. So, sadly, these are decorations only and cannot be used. They look nice though! I will work on an idea that is washable for next year.

Stopping static electricity in the winter

We have a problem in this apartment once the snow begins falling: static electricity. We pet the cat and we pass a static shock or when we sit down on the couch. It drives me crazy! So, we looked up ways to get rid of it. That's when we learned that it is caused from a lack of humidity in the apartment, most likely because we closed the windows and it's cold outside.

So, this is what we do come December until about March or April.

We heat up a pot of water on medium heat and add 2 cinnamon sticks and whatever else I have in the house. Great additions are anise pods, nutmeg, orange peels (or any citrus peels), apple peels and dried herbs. The house smells fantastic and this eliminates the static shock.

Notes:

• Do not forget about the pot of boiling water!!! I did that with my copper Dutch oven only to find it completely ruined. Fill it with water every hour or so. Sometimes I put a kitchen timer on for an hour to remind me to come and refill the pot.

• The water will turn darker with the addition of spices like cinnamon, anise and nutmeg. That's why the water in my pot is dark brown in the picture. Nothing is wrong with it, it's just been boiling down brown spices.
• This does eliminate most of the static in our apartment. We have an 800 sq. foot apartment and this works for almost every room. For a larger space or greater effect, you may need an actual humidifier.

Glamorous glittery ornaments

These are some wooden die-cut ornaments that I bought from Dollarama last year. They come in sets of 4 in various wordings (Noel, Peace, Love, etc.). I got the idea of making these brilliant glittery ornaments from looking at a magazine with some similar ornaments on it. I just thought: those are so lovely...I can make those myself!

For this project, I used the wooden ornaments, acrylic paint, paintbrush, an orphaned container to hold paint/glue, glitter glue, fine glitter in color of choice, a 1/4 teaspoon or small spoon, newspaper, and ribbon or embroidery floss for hanging. I also used a second container which held water when I was painting.

To start, I cut the ribbon off because it didn't match the style of these ornaments. I will restring it later. 

Then, I painted them. I had to do it in two coats and allow drying time in between. I had a system of side one, dry, side 2, dry, then edges. Then I did it all again.

Then, it was time to glitter! The fun part!

I used a smaller paintbrush and painted a thin layer of glitter glue onto the ornament in sections - one letter at a time.  I was moving pretty fast because I couldn't let the glue dry.

I added the glitter to a 1/4 tsp for dusting on the glued part of the ornament.

I dusted the glue part all over with the glitter.

Then I shook off the excess. I reused that glitter over and over until I needed more from the container as I painted each letter with glue then glittered.

Here is the glittery masterpiece! (I only did the front). 

Then I used some leftover brown yarn and strung it up using a wool needle, or knitting needle. Done!

Estimated time for this project: two evenings (about 3 hours each). It took a lot of time to for the painting as it had to dry on all sides. Also, painting the inside curves took more patience. Glittering took time as well but it went fast with a great movie playing in the background.

Notes:

• These were cheap wooden ornaments from Dollarama but this could probably be done with foam cut-outs too, but perhaps skip the painting part. 
• I used acrylic craft paint. 
• After the glitter has adhered to the glittery glue, it should not come off. Whatever excess comes off will come off, but don't expect for it to peel off or anything. Although, some comes off on your fingers when you touch it (that is to be expected though). 
• You could use some spray sealer after glittering to be sure that nothing comes off. 
• Once the season is over, simply wrap these in tissue paper and store away for next year. Fabric wrappings aren't really ideal as they can make the glitter come off.

  
Ideas:

• There are so many color combinations out there for this one! I used a paint and glitter that matched for a glamorous look but you could try a color and glitter that are different colors (ex. white paint, pink, blue or red glitter). 
• You could keep the original tag if it matches your decor more. It might be more difficult to paint around though. 
• You can use many things for threading these ornaments: thin ribbon, embroidery floss, yarn, twine, and metallic string.

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.

10 things to do with eggnog

'Tis the season for lovely eggnog! I'm so excited! Here are 10 ideas for how to use up that eggnog this holiday season.

1. Steam some eggnog instead of milk and add it to your coffee for an eggnog latté.
2. Eggnog cheesecake -- or try eggnog cheesecake bars. You could probably take this very recipe and cut it into bars with caramel on the top.
3. Grog -- add a shot of dark rum to some eggnog for a spirited drink. Or, try an Eggnog Russian.
4. Try making homemade eggnog.
5. Drink it warm with some spices like nutmeg and cinnamon.
6. Make a smoothie using eggnog as the liquid instead of water, juice or milk!
7. Make an eggnog punch! Here is a recipe for Peppermint Eggnog Punch.
8. Eggnog truffles.
9. Eggnog cookies.
10. Eggnog fudge.

Or, you could take any of these ideas and put them into Google Search to find other recipes.

How to reuse a planter

Has your plant died recently? Or, perhaps you have planters lying around the house or garage just waiting for spring. Well, here are some ideas on what to do with those planters during the off-season -- or any time of the year.  

1. Use it to hold vegetables in the fridge: despite what your planter is made out of (plastic, terracota, ceramic, porcelain, etc.) it can go in the fridge. Clean it, and use it to store items like apples, oranges, onions, potatoes, peppers and such. It actually helps you to organize your fridge.

   
2. Use it to store cat or dog toys: every night, pick up the toys off of the floor and put them in the planter. Put the planter up high to store the toys and when you want them again, simply take it down and start tossing them around.

   
3. Use it to display ornaments for Christmas: fill a cleaned planter with ornaments, pinecones or leftover garland and wrap a long ribbon around it, tied with a bow. Display as a table centrepiece or on a night table. 

4. Use it as a transfer vessel: if you store potatoes, onions, pears, apples or anything else in another room, you need to put them into something to bring them to the kitchen. Clean a planter and use it as the transfer vessel. 

5. Use it in your home organization: if you have a shed or a storage room, use it to store smaller items like tennis balls, paint brushes, tools and/or nails, cleaning cloths, etc. This is a bonus if your planter is meant to mount on the wall.  

6. Use it to hold crafty or office items: this could be sewing thread, yarn, knitting needles, small bolts of fabric, embroidery floss, etc. It would be great for holding office supplies or scrapbooking supplies as well. Display it on your desk so that you items are within reach.  

7. Use it to hold scraps of yarn: put the leftover bits of yarn in here for whenever you need a small amount to hold stitches or other uses.  

8. Use it to hold small sports equipment in the summer: when you take the kids out to the park, use the planter to hold the baseballs, tennis balls, badminton birdies or other small items so that you don't loose them.


9. Use it to hold fabric handkerchiefs: once you have a collection of fabric handkerchiefs you need to put them somewhere. Decorate the planter with a ribbon, clean the inside and store them all rolled up in here. Take one out whenever you need one.

10. Use it to hold your keys or electronics by the door: everyday when you get home, put your keys, iPod, cell phone or other daily items here so that you always know where they are. Put the planter on a stand by the door and make a habit of always putting the items here. If you have a key ring, it's still perfect for the electronics. It's also great for holding gloves and scarves in the winter time.