Homemade Christmas Gifts, Keeping it Simple For Everyone

Mulled Cider Sachets

6 Star Anise
12 Cinnamon Sticks
1 Tbsp  Allspice Berries
1 Tbsp  Whole Cloves

Divide between three bags

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Honey Skin Cream With Herbs

2 tsp each dried mint, sage, & rosemary

1/2 oz beeswax

2 ozs lanolin

1/2 cup carrier oil*

1 tsp honey

1.  Pour 1/2 cup boiling water over combined herbs.  Steep 10 minutes.  Strain through fine sieve.  Allow liquid to cool.  Discard herbs.

2.  Melt beeswax and lanolin in heatproof glass over simmering water.  Add carrier oil, stirring.  Add herbal infusion by teaspoonful, stirring until well blended.  Remove glass from water.

3.  Add honey to tepid cream and stir carefully until blended.  Let cool completely.

4.  Stir cream thoroughly and transfer to clean containers with tight-fitting lids. 

Makes approximately 10 ozs.  Will keep about 3 months.

* Carrier oil: Sweet Almond oil, Jojoba oil, Sunflower oil, Canola oil

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Body Scrub

2 cups Epsom Salts
1 cup carrier oil  (like sweet almond oil)
8 drops essential oil(s)
1 drop food coloring (optional)


1.  Stir together Epsom salts and carrier oil.

2.  Add essential oil, 1 drop at a time.  Add food coloring.  Stir until even throughout.  Spoon into clean jars.

Can also use this recipe with organic cane sugar.

Replace equal parts Epsom salts with organic cane sugar.

 

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Scented Geranium Leaf Pound Cake

12 - 16 unsprayed scented geranium leaves, wiped clean

1 pound butter, room temperature

1 pound sugar

1 pound flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 pound eggs, separated

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Grease your pans and line with parchment.

Arrange leaves, tops down.

Set aside.

Beat butter and sugar, 2 - 3 minutes to light and fluffy.
Sift together flour and baking powder.
Add egg yolks, one at a time, slowly to the creamed butter.
Alternate with flour mixture.

Beat in vanilla, then cream.

Batter will be thick.

Transfer to large mixing bowl.  Set aside.

Place egg white in medium, non-reactive bowl.

Whip to stiff peaks.

Stir in about 1/4 with rubber spatula.

Fold in the remaining whites.

Carefully spoon batter into prepared pans,

filling the mini ceramic loaf pans 2/3 full and

running a knife blade through batter a couple times

to remove air bubbles.

Bake 40 - 45 min. until toothpick comes out clean.

Let cool.

I've adjusted the baking time to accomidate the small ceramic pans.

Ceramic requires longer times, but the smaller amount requires less.

A little investigation, and a careful eye will help.

Do not open the oven while pound cake is baking.

What Can I Do With All These Plastic Bags!!!??

Home From Shopping

Who doesn't recognize this?

Now, I don't know about you, but around here

there are stores that don't even carry paper bags anymore.

Our recycling protocol requires that our

recyclables be organized into paper bags.

More often than not we have run out of paper bags.

At the risk of blaspheming the environment, I rather like paper bags.

I use them when wrapping boxes that I'm 

packaging for the mail.

We use them to cover and protect our children's text books.

Theres nothing better onto which to place your freshly fried foods!

Paper towels get soggy,

paper bags absorb grease

while preserving the crispiness of your food.

We've used them for countless school and craft projects.

But, here we are,

knee-deep in plastic bags.

So, lets make lemonade!

Paint "Shirt"

There are many wonderful uses for plastic bags, too.

This little tot demonstrates how to keep

your tummy clean while painting. 

An impromptu and clever idea when you may not yet have

established a paint shirt.

I use them to cover appliances while in storage.

We have a shelf  in our garage

that holds a crock pot, canning kettles,

roaster, ice cream maker, juicer and bread machine.

All with a plastic bag

draped over them to keep the dust out.

Up in the attic we have recently

put away our fans for storage, each of them covered

with a plastic bag.

This easy extra step preserves the life

of the motor inside by keeping dust particles out

during storage.

With all this plastic literally flying around,

were finding some new uses.

(Naturally, we stumble upon some superfluous uses.

But that is part of the mechanics of ingenuity.)

I'm exploring some practical ideas that we can put to use

in our own homes and lives.

My interest is in turning our abundance,

seemingly negligible,

into daily domestic productivity.

Some will even make enterprising gifts!



Directions For How To Make Plarn





Cut 1 Inch



This is plarn.
Plastic yarn.

Ive blogged about this before, back in March.

Today, however, I would like to share a bit more in depth.

I would like you to see this as something

that you can do to make your life better.

The instructions are simple enough.

You're cutting strips (about 1in) and linking them together.

Once you find yourself with a nice, long length, roll it into a ball.

You may wish to keep your colors separated,

or you may not care.



Balls of Plarn in Assorted Colors





Plarn Bag



With your balls of plarn,

simply knit or crochet your project.

There are many patterns to be found on the web now.

You'll need large needles.

Click HERE for a free crocheted clothespin bag pattern.



Plarn Coil-Weave Bowl



This is a photo of a plarn coil-weave bowl.

You will find directions for how to coil weave on various sites,

You may use clothesline cord, or any sturdy cord or rope.

These make a sturdy textile bowl

that you can shape as you weave.



Spinning Plarn



In order to get that smooth look,

and a smaller stitch,

you'll need to spin your plarn.

This is a whole other step that you may or may not be interested in.

I'm not ready for this, myself,

but Ive highlighted a couple of links for you to check out, if you'd like.

You'll need a drop spindle.

The Joy of Handspinning and Instructables share directions

for how to make your own drop spindle.



Spun Plarn Crochet Angel 



Knitting Spun Plarn



Crocheted Spun Plarn Purse





Spun Plarn Snowflakes



A New Twist on an Old Favorite -
Spun Plarn Granny Squares

Tutorial For Fusing Plastic For Fabric

 

There is another process by which we can

create something new and useful with our plethora plastic bags.

Fusing.

With only an iron and a bit of parchment paper between the board and the iron,

(with your layers of plastic between)

you can create all kinds of things made of this very strong, fused plastic "fabric".

It will take a bit of practice to get a feel for the amount of time

and the temperature you'll need.

The key is to keep your iron moving,

prepare for the plastic to shrink as it fuses together,

and keep on trying!

This is a fun project,

especially when you're itching to create something

useful and practical, but haven't yet learned to knit or crochet.

Give this a try, you'll enjoy it!

Stitched Fused Plastic Bag

Fused Plastic Owl Bag

Click HERE for some very good instructions on how to make a

fusible plastic fabric grocery bag.

Fused Plastic Bag



Above is a fused plastic fabric bag that uses some nice handles.

You may find these at your larger craft stores.

You might also wish to

keep your eyes peeled for some vintage purses that are better-off

in the trash, but have good handles.

 



Fused Plastic Bag



Here we see someone has created a make-up bag

using some trimmings for embellishment.
There are many examples of this, even to the extent of

being considered art.



Fused Plastic Notebook Cover



This is a great idea for young ones in church,

scratch paper in the car, or purse,

or a funky and whimsical gift idea for your teen.

Use paper that you have;

art projects that you can't throw but don't have room to save,

maps that are out-dated,

place mat menus,

anything that would make it personal and fun!



Fused Plastic Weave Bag



Don't throw all those fused plastic bits that "didn't turn out"!

There's a use for just about anything.

In this case, trim your practice bits and use them in a weave.

This is very cool,

and much sturdier than the free cloth bags that we get at the fair.

(What are those made of, anyway?)

Fused Plastic Bib

Who can argue about this as the quintessentially perfect project

for plastic fusing?

Click HERE for a free fused plastic bib pattern.

You can place images in between your plastic bag layers 

for an applique look.

There are great directions for this on Sustain Lane and Craftzine.


Pattern Idea For Fused Plastic




Fused Plastic Reusable Sammy Bag
Click HERE to get these directions.




Fused Plastic iPod Case


 

Fused Plastic Eyeglasses Case

Click HERE for a free eyeglasses case pattern.

Here are a few more ideas from one of my previous blog posts,

Thrifty Letter B With Vicky Lansky:

*Cut up green bags into strips and tie onto child's belt

for Hawaiian “grass” skirt.

*Store over your heaters in the summer,  around your fans in winter.

 
*Cover ceiling fans during remodeling.

 
*Keep in kids’ closet for catching outgrown items.

*Cover well-watered plants with transparent bag just before vacation,

keeping out of direct light.

*Dust covers for seldom-worn clothing.

 
*Store extras in bottom of waste basket.

*Wrap one up to the size of piece of gum, slip rubber band around it, drop in purse

 - never know when you’ll need it!

*Spray paint small items inside of one.

*For intense toilet cleaning, place hand in bag, scrub, then toss.

*Cover shoes before packing to keep other garments clean.

*Keep feet dry inside not-so-waterproof shoes or boots.

*“Wear” when mixing meatloaf.

*Set metal furniture legs into after carpet shampoo to prevent rust.

*Funnel for liquids.

*Waterproof a mattress by splitting and placing under sheet.

*Indispensable for travel, auto, camping, picnic.



Plastic Bags Made Into Flowers



Fused Plastic Flower With Vintage Button

Finally, have fun!

Experiment!

This doesn't need to be perfect, theres not much out there

that's more forgiving.

And, for a while, your resources don't seem to be

in danger of being endangered.

Until then,

proudly display your upcycled plastic, friends!

 

Easy Seasoning Mix Recipes For Gift-Giving

Making home-blended seasonings is a great idea for gift-giving.

You have control over the content, such as sodium or cayenne pepper.

You may put together a sampler pack of favorite tastes.

There's an option for the braver-of-heat, the barbecue king,

Tex-Mex fans, and curry lovers.

There are also copycat recipes for many popular favorites.

There are a few rules to consider when blending seasonings.

The quality of the herbs and spices used

will be reflected in the final product.

We can have an effect on several spices by

lightly roasting or toasting them.

With any seasoning, crushing bring out the oils,

which is where the flavors are.

If you haven't already, invest in a pepper mill.

This is a purchase you'll never regret.

Use freshly cracked pepper for good flavor.

My husband gave me a lovely brass mill as a

Christmas gift years ago and we haven't bought ground pepper since.

They don't need to be expensive,

but I'll tell ya, I've never found the sturdy kind at a garage sale!

Unless otherwise specified, all herbs and spices below should be ground.

When onion or garlic are written as granulated,

it is not the powder but the dehydrated form.

It's good to note that sea salt is not the same as table salt.

Table salt dissolves better, which is great for baking,

 while sea salt has that pleasant briny crunch.

And because it's unprocessed, it keeps it's minerals.

Kosher salt has no preservatives

and is a great salt for preserving.

When a dry seasoning recipe calls for brown sugar,

it becomes necessary to dry it.

This prevents clumping, as well as aiding with even distribution, once mixed.

It will generally be accompanied by salt,

mix the two together and spread this evenly on a baking sheet.

Bake it for about 60 minutes at a low 170°F,

checking the sugar to be sure it is very dry.

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BBQ Jamaican Jerk Chicken, flickr



Jerk Seasoning

1 tablespoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Be sure to remind your gift recipient that

this seasoning recipe will need some oil

 to become a seasoning rub.

Cajun Seasoning

1/4 cup paprika
1/4 cup salt
3 tablespoons black pepper
3 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 teaspoons cayenne
1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons thyme

Creole Seasoning

1/2 cup Kosher salt (1/4 cup table salt)
1/3 cup paprika
1/3 cup black pepper
1/4 cup granulated garlic
1/4 cup onion powder
3 tablespoons white pepper
3 tablespoons cayenne
2 tablespoons thyme
2 tablespoons basil
1 tablespoon oregano

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Tony Cacheres Creole Seasoning, flickr

 BBQ Seasoning

1 cup Sea salt, medium fine
1/2 cup Unrefined evaporated cane sugar (no table sugar, please)
1/2 cup Dark brown sugar, dried
2 Tablespoons Sweet Hungarian paprika
2 Tablespoons Chili powder
2 Tablespoons Granulated onion2 Tablespoons Dry mustard
1 Tablespoon Granulated garlic
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons Celery salt
2 teaspoons Ground ginger
1 teaspoon cayenne

Taco Seasoning

1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Tony Cachere Famous Creole Seasoning

26 ounces salt
1 1/2 ounces black pepper
2 ounces red pepper
1 ounce garlic powder
1 ounce chili powder
1 ounce Accent seasoning (Warning: MSG)
　

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Curry Powder, flickr

Madras Curry Powder

8 tablespoons coriander seeds
6 tablespoons cumin seeds
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
1 tablespoon fennel seed
4 tablespoons cinnamon
8 tablespoons peppercorns
1 tablespoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon whole cloves
2 tablespoons cardamom
2 tablespoons turmeric
2 tablespoons ground ginger
1 tablespoon cayenne (or less if less heat is desired)

Roast the seeds gently in a dry skillet over low heat,

while shaking the pan a bit.

Once they start to pop, add the cinnamon, peppercorns,

nutmeg, cloves, cardamom, turmeric, ginger and cayenne.

Be sure the mixture becomes hot and toasted

but not burnt.

Grind this mixture to a powder using a blender, processor,

or mortor and pestle.

Garam Masala Curry Powder

1 tablespoon dried miniature rosebuds (optional)
A 1-inch piece cinnamon stick, broken into pieces
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup cumin seeds
1/3 cup coriander seeds
1 tablespoon green cardamom pods
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
2 teaspoons whole cloves
1 dried red chile
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground mace

Toss the stems from the roses.

In a dry skillet over medium heat

 stir together the roses with the cinnamon, bay leaves,

cumin seeds, coriander seeds, cardamom pods,

whole peppercorns, cloves, and chile,

stirring often,

until the cumin becomes brown, 2 1/2 to 3 minutes.

Add the nutmeg and mace, then grind to a fine powder.

Jamaican Curry Powder

1/4 cup whole coriander seeds
2 tablespoons whole cumin seeds
2 tablespoons whole mustard seeds
2 tablespoons whole anise seeds
1 tablespoon whole fenugreek seeds
1 tablespoon whole allspice berries
5 tablespoons ground turmeric

Combine the seeds and berries

in a skillet.

Toast over medium heat until their color becomes slightly darker

and very fragrant, about 10 minutes.

Remove from the skillet, allow to cool.

 Grind with the turmeric to a fine powder.

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Salt, flickr

Mrs.Dash Salt-Free Seasoning Substitute

1/2 cup onion flakes
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons vegetable flakes
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons dried orange peel
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons parsley
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon marjoram
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon savory
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon unsweetened lemonade drink mix
1/4 teaspoon crushed rosemary

Lowry's Seasoning Salt

2 Tablespoons pepper
1 Tabelspoon chicken bouillon powder
1 teaspoon onion salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 Tablespoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon marjoram
1 Tablspoon parsley
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1/3 cup salt

Old Bay Seasoning

2 tablespoons ground bay leaves
2 tablespoons celery salt
1 tablespoon dry mustard
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground mace
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Montreal Steak Seasoning

2 Tablespoons black pepper
2 Tablespoons paprika
1 Tablespoons salt
1 Tablespoons granulated garlic
1 Tablespoons granulated onion
1 Tablespoons cayenne pepper
1 Tablespoons ground coriander
1 Tablespoon dill seeds

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