Although I have been absent from my blog for about a month now, I have been VERY hard at work. I am happy to say that I have completed not one, not two, but THREE more list items!! I'll fill you in on all of them, but I want to give each one it's own post. Sadly, for those of you waiting for pictures of my 'apartment', you'll have to wait a bit longer. I don't want to reveal my masterpiece until it's complete, and I still have to paint some trim, hang some art and Martha Stewart-it up. So the post on "Help Mom and Dad Clean Out the Basement" will have to wait. I'll also be posting soon on "Move Out of My Parents' Spare Bedroom". But this post, my friends, will be on list item #27 "Hand-make as Many Gifts as Possible".
I found the ideas for most of these gifts on the best site ever, Pinterest. Some of them looked like they were a bit beyond my skill level, but I decided to challenge myself and it all turned out quite well in the end. I'll describe them all and give you a rough idea of how much things cost so you can see that you actually can make nice gifts for a reasonable amount.
The first things I completed were gift baskets, which I made for my grandmother, cousin and 3 friends. The actual baskets were ones that had been in the basement when we cleaned it out. I spray painted them burgundy and gold, and then fancied them up with bows of cream and gold ribbon. Both cans of spray paint were something I already had (the gold was left over from 'Oscar' statuettes I made for a function at work and the burgundy I got in the clearance section of Michael's for 2.99), and I got the ribbon for a few dollars on sale at Michael's.
Each basket had a different assortment of the above items. I don't remember exact prices, but I'll give you a rough idea. I bought 2 crates of 500ml bottles and 1 of 250ml, each about 7.99. I already had a box of 250ml at home and some random 500mls. I also bought 3 boxes of pectin.
Bread and Butter Pickles; Pickling cukes were out of season, so I ended up spending a bit more. 6 for 3.99 I believe, and I bought 2 packs. I had the onions and all the rest of the ingredients and the batch made 5 jars.
Dill Pickles; I actually grew a few of the cucumbers myself, and the rest were given to me by a co-worker who's mother had grown them. Dill was hard to find so I think I spent about $5 on it. I also had to buy garlic bulbs and vinegar. I made 2 batches, so I ended up with about 8 jars. They didn't turn out as well as I would have liked.
Kiwi Jam; 3.99 for all the kiwis I needed. That's all. I haven't actually tried this one yet. I ended up with 5 jars.
Peach Jam; This one was kind of pricey, but the main reason I made it was because my grandmother told me how much she'd enjoyed the bottle I'd given her last year, and if you won't spend $10 on peaches for your grandmother, you don't deserve your grandmother. And my grandmother kicks ass. She went skydiving at 88 years old. But that's another story. I got 2 full jars and a partial jar.
Super Spicy Salsa; I got this recipe from a friend and it made a really huge batch. Sadly, I put too many of the jalapeno seeds in and it is CRAZY spicy. I think I got 12 jars. I gave 3 to friends when I made it, 4 more to friends for Christmas gifts, kept a jar and put the rest in baskets (except for my nan's). It didn't end up costing very much when you divide the costs by 12 jars.
Garlic-Hot Pepper Jelly; I used some of my Mom's giant jar of garlic from Costco, a couple of jalapenos and a red pepper. It made 5 jars.
Grapefruit Jelly; The recipe called for 8 grapefruit and was supposed to make 8 jars. I used 9 grapefruit and ended up having to cut the batch in half, so I only got 4 or 5 jars.
Vanilla Extract; I already had the vanilla beans, which I got at Costco a while ago and had never used. A friend picked me up the vodka I needed when she was in the states, $13 for about a litre. This made 4 bottles (and left me lots to drink!). I had to buy these bottle separately and they were 99 cents each.
I crocheted these dishcloths, which took no time at all. The bottom 2 were for my grandmother and match the oven mitt, pot holder and utensil holder I gave her last year. Left over yarn, cost me nothing. The top 2 were for my sister and my mom gave me that yarn. More free gifts!!
Melted snowman ornaments I made for my friends' kids. The ornaments were on sale at Michael's for about $4 for all 6. The epsom salts I had, the pepper corns I had and the clay and paint I made the noses out of I already had. I decided to go with said clay, after super-gluing myself to the super-glue tube while trying to make them out of paper. I spent 2.99 on the markers I wrote each kid's name and date on the back with.
I made this infinity scarf for my sister. I got enough material to make 2 of them with some material to spare for $4.
Below is a clutch I made my sister. I had the teal material, bought the
flowered material at Walmart (11.97 for 5 squares, and I used half of 1
for the clutch). The zipper was 2.99 and I bought thread for 1.79. I
thought it looked unfinished to I bought the flower which I sewed into a
pin back so she could attach it. The flower cost 6.50. Oops.
This is a picture from one of the best scenes from the musical that my sister requested almost every time she was asked "what movie do you want to watch?", 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'. The picture was in my grandmother's collection which we found when cleaning out the attic. I bought the frame for $3.
These are the hat and mitts I made my cousin. I bought a sweater at Value Village for 2.99 last year and made leg warmer/boot socks out of the sleeves. I then made the mittens from the body of the sweater and sewed dollar store mittens inside for extra warmth. The hat (which looks weird laid out like this but actually looks cute on) is from the hood. Easy peasy!
I made this necklace to go with the hat and mitts. I used flat-backed glass beads that I had in my craft supplies (3.99 for a big bag), some hemp cord that I also had (3.99 at Michael's. This was about a quarter of it), dictionary pages from a dictionary we found in my sister's room when we cleaned it out. I also bought the jewellery loops, 6 for about $5 on sale at Michael's and the super-glue I glued them on with. I did glue fabric scraps on the back too, to cover the dictionary page.
I made this t-shirt for my cousin with bleach in a spray bottle and stickers. The shirt was $5, the stickers were $2 a pack and I already had the bleach and the spray bottle. I could have gotten away with one pack of stickers, but I ran out of Ms and had to dip into the second pack.
I was really nervous about screwing this one up, but it was actually pretty easy, and pretty cool. You don't need very much bleach and it changes right before your eyes. Don't forget the plastic bag on the inside so it doesn't leak through! P.S. the quote is from Harry Potter.
I made this snitch (from Harry Potter) out of a Christmas ornament I had here, some beading wire (5.99 at Michael's, but I didn't use very much of it), tissue paper, glue and some glitter. Attaching the wings was a challenge. I used epoxy and was going to attach them to the sides til my sister pointed out how much easier it would be to attach them to the back. And it was.
This was one of the last things I did because I have no artistic skills whatsoever and I didn't know what to draw. But I finally did. The t-shirt was $5 and the bleach pen was 3.49. I free-handed it, but you could use a stencil. I'll probably be making one of my own here, pretty soon!
I made this the same way I made the other one, same costs, except I used some ribbon that I got for 1.99 at Michael's.
I made two of these, one for my mother and one for my cousin. I paid $6 for the material that made both, and I still have a little bit left over that I could make a smaller one with.
I made this to go with the scarf for my cousin. I bought the beads for 99 cents, the ribbon was 1.99 and the hemp is the same as I used for the necklace above. I made one of these before and really like them. Sewing the beads on is a bit of a challenge, but they turn out well in the end.
Next is the camera case I made my aunt. The material was the same price as the lining of my sister's clutch (
5 for 11.97) and I only used half of a square of each material. I had the elastic, stuffing and button.
I made this trivet for my aunt as well. The foam was 99 cents and I only used half the sheet, the stones were 3.99 for a big bag and I used 4 (yes, 4) tubes of super-glue from the dollar store. I then coated it all with a water resistant glaze, which also helped hide the gobs of super-glue poking out between the stones.
This cake plate was also for my aunt. I got a plate and a candle holder at Value Village for 2.99 a piece and epoxied them together with some epoxy my mom bought me. P.S. I LOVE epoxy. I really didn't think it would work, but the are very solidly attached together!
I made this Kobo cover for my mom. I couldn't find a pattern I liked, so I morphed two together. I bought a book at Value Village for 2.99, took the pages out (which was REALLY weird. It was just a book of stupid quotes, not a legit book), covered it with stuffing and then made a sleeve out of the same material bundles I used for the projects above. Thank you Walmart!! I added some elastic that I had, sewed up the side, sewed the ribbon in place (to hold down the Kobo) and sewed on the button. I had the ribbon and bought a bag of buttons at Walmart for 3.99. Sadly, she got another Kobo cover from my cousin, so I will be keeping this one and I'll make her a cover for her tablet instead.
I crocheted this sock monkey cup cozy for my friend using yarn I had at home. She really loved it and couldn't believe I made it. And it was FOR FREE. Better than a free tattoo from a guy on the street.
I made this Kobo cover for my friend, same way I made the one for my mom. She had actually been pinning them on Pinterest and had tried to make one herself. Now she doesn't have to :-)
She also happens to be moderately obsessed with zombies, so I made her this t-shirt. I made my own stencil with some stencil sheets, a print-out of a picture I found on Pinterest and an Exacto knife. I got the stencil sheets on sale for about $5 for a 3 pack at Michael's, and the Exacto knife was 5.99. I used paint and sponges I already had and borrowed some fabric medium to mix with the paint from my mom. I didn't totally love how it turned out, since it bled under the stencil a bit, but it does look zombie-ish and my friend really liked it.
And so that was my Christmas!! I did buy a few things here and there, but mostly what you see here is what I gave out. And everything was actually not too hard to make! I feel a lot more confident in my sewing skills, which will help me make some curtains and cushion covers for my apartment, AND complete another list item and finish a piece of clothing. I wish I hadn't waited so long to do them because I did feel rather rushed, but all in all, I really enjoyed making all these things and I've already found a few more projects I'd like to try!
"Doctor Who" first aired on November 23rd, 1963 and was originally intended to be a children's show. Having watched those original episodes, I've got to say, either kids in the 60's had a better attention span than those today, or the plan failed miserably. But more on that later. There were 26 seasons in the original run (or Classic Who as it has come to be called), the 1996 movie and the current run is on its 6th season. Each season is made up of a number of serials (roughly 8 per season until the 7th Doctor when it was reduced to around 4), and each serial is made up of multiple episodes (some as few as 2 some, *gulp*, as many as 12). Are you confused yet? Sadly, in the 1960's and 70's, the BBC began destroying much of its older material in an effort to make more room, so much of the footage of the first 2 doctors was destroyed. Many of the episodes were found in possession of other studios and fans of the show, but 106 of the 253 episodes from the first 6 years of the show are gone. Some of them have been restored in audio form, which is an extremely challenging way for someone new to the show to experience the episodes. I have done it, so I know what I'm talking about.
