I have a friend who is doing poorly lately. Years ago we used to trade decorating magazines, so my first thought was to get that girl some colorful magazines. And now that I can sew, I should make a pretty little tote for them, maybe with a personalized tag. I’m using Michael Miller’s delicious Cotton Couture solids — I can’t resist the colors! I’ll show you more when it’s done.
If you haven’t yet made Noodlehead’s Zippy Wallets,
I highly suggest trying her tutorial.
They make wonderful last minute gifts and use up little scraps of fabric. This is a GREAT way to give someone a gift card!
As you can see, they’re a little addictive.
All of these have already been gifted, so I may need to make a few more to stash away for future gift giving readiness!
I hope you are all having a wonderful Thanksgiving! We’re getting ready to visit my cousin, and I’m bringing her a little bottle of something all wrapped up in a “sleeve” bottle wrap. I just sliced the sleeve off an old, unused shirt and stitched the bottom closed. The cuff can button around the bottle, but I kind of liked it turned down.
And oh yes, that’s a bottle of Bailey’s Irish Cream. Perfect for sipping while you decorate a Christmas tree or sit with your sweetie in front of a toasty fire. Bring on the holidays!
This one is for my sister in law who wanted to learn to make cinnamon ornaments — it’s so easy and is a great project to do with kids!
First, you can find a lot of different recipes, but it’s pretty basic. Mix equal parts of cinnamon and apple sauce, maybe a cup of each. You can add in a tablespoon each of ground cloves and nutmeg and also a couple tablespoons of regular white school glue if you like. (This is the recipe I used.) Mix the ingredients together until they form a smooth dough. If it’s too sticky, add a bit more cinnamon. If it crumbles apart, blend in a little more applesauce. After a little stirring and kneading, it should look like this:
Sprinkle a little cinnamon on a rolling pin and roll out the dough. You’ll want to keep it at least a quarter inch thick so your ornaments won’t be too fragile after they dry. Then use cookie cutters or freehand cut out shapes. (I used a wine glass and a smaller glass to shape simple wreaths.)
Use a pencil/chopstick/dowel/straw/whatever to make a little hole in each ornament for hanging. Knead the scraps back together and roll it back out again to use as much of it as possible. Keep dusting cinnamon on your rolling pin as needed to avoid sticking.
Transfer them to an ungreased cookie sheet. You can either leave them out for a couple days until they dry, or bake them at very low heat (200F) for several hours. When they’re completely dry, they’re ready to use.
You’ll end up with wonderfully scented ornaments for your tree or package tie-ons!
We’ve already had one Christmas with out of state family, and (along with other great gifts), my sister in law gave me a craft book and all the supplies needed to make one of the crafts. I loved that! Some of the supplies were in a pretty red gift bag.
It’s a Wrapsack, and when I opened it I saw this tag:
What a cute idea! I love how it encourages recycling and also lets you track your bag’s travels. If you start a bag on its way, you can set a goal for it. Maybe it wants to hold an engagement ring someday, or make its way from coast to coast.
Now to think of who should have it next … I might need a few more!
CoopCrafts 