Category Archives: Crafts

Saving Christmas

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Whenever I go to my Mom’s house, she is compelled to show me all the things she’s working on. For years I’ve suggested she get a blog because it gratifies the “I MUST SHARE THIS WITH EVERYONE” feelings and may actually inspire others to do the same whatever it is she’s working on. In a perfect world, anyway. This blog definitely satisfies my hereditary urge to share everything I’m working on with humanity. The added bonus is that I’m not constantly pulling my husband away from what he’s doing with a “Lookie! Come see what I did!” And yes, I also realize this must stem from my childhood where I was in constant search of approval from my parents – mostly my father, I suppose.

In my previous post I mentioned how much I hate commercial wrapping paper. Every year it really gets to me what a waste it is. Laziness, however, trumps ingenuity and I end up throwing it away like everyone else. Not this year. This year I’ve salvaged a good portion of otherwise useless Christmas accoutrements.

Pictured above I have bows, ribbon, twine, wrapping paper, boxes, and tissue paper. OK, so what am I going to do with all this? Were I about 150 years old and into scrapbooking, I’d have dozens of options, but I’m not. Therefore, the plan is simple. We’re moving in about a month so the wrapping paper will be used for packing material. The tissue paper that’s in good shape will be used again next year as will the boxes and bows. The bows, even if they’re not fluffy anymore, can be taken apart, ironed and made into new bows. I seem to always need ribbon and twine for various projects so I’ll keep that around for uses as needed. ta da!

Everything that was in too bad of shape to save I put in the recycling bin – that is, whatever the city accepts. They can’t take everything and unfortunately, wrapping and tissue paper must have all traces of scotch tape removed before it’s put in the bin. What a pain. I actually didn’t bother and put it in anyway.

All in all, the sorting project took about an hour. If you’re OCD like me, it’s actually kind of fun and it satisfies my hunter/gatherer instincts. We still have quite a bit of new wrapping paper left over, so I’m pretty sure we won’t have to buy wrapping paper for a few years. A minor cost bonus is that we’re saving an estimated $20-$30 on wrapping paper and bows for next year. This means someone could get an extra present next year.

AJB and I aren’t on the skids or anything like that. We do fine. Some years better than fine. The reason I do this is because I feel a sense of accomplishment in diverting trash from the landfills and making use of things we’d otherwise throw away. The monetary savings are minimal for us, but I’m sure others might not think so and for some people $30 is a big deal. And let’s face it, wherever we can save money, the better. Am I right?

My mother in law, who is a wealth of wonderful old timey information, asked me if I was going to iron out the paper for next year – I imagine this is what people used to do in lean years. I suppose I might do that. I’m also on the hunt for a vintage Pixie Bow Maker so I can remake the squished bows that will ultimately get squishier during the next 12 months of storage.

Look at me saving planet!


*Pixie Bow Maker photo stolen from WellWudJaLookAtThat

Sew Cool

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Cheap title, I know. Do you ever cut the bottom of a shirt off because it’s too long or something? I have this really cool 80′s looking tang-top with black and white stripes, I hated the way it looked over my hips, so I cut about an inch or so off the bottom. Problem is, it rolls up where I cut. Anything made out of cotton will do this. I’ve never been able to figure out how to stop the bottom from rolling up. I figured someone on the net might have an idea…it’s such an obscure problem though. If anyone has some brilliant solution, let me know.

While I was looking for some answers, I came upon instructions for making a straight jacket. The Internet is a marvelous treasure trove of ideas. The rest of the site is dedicated to American McGee’s Alice.

 

Yes, I really am that poor

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Being poor does have some advantages, especially if you’re crafty. When I can, I make my own Oatmeal soap. Oatmeal is awesome for cleaning out pores and is great for those of you with sensitive skin. It’s easy to make at home and costs very little.

Make Oatmeal Soap

You’ll Need:

1. Soap Base: Can be either a bar of your favorite soap, leftover slivers of soap or pre-made soap base (I use a brand called “Life of the Party” – can be found at most craft stores or soap making supply stores online)

2. Oatmeal (just enough for a good consistency)

3. Soap Mold You can buy pre-made molds or make your own using plastic cups, pint milk cartons or anything else.

Directions:

1. Using a blender, chop up the oatmeal for a few seconds. You don’t want to make it into flour, but also want a good texture.

2. Add a tablespoon of water to soap. Next, in a microwavable bowl, heat your soap base until melted. Be careful as heated soap gets extremely hot or can bubble over. Usually, it only takes a few minutes to melt.

3. Stir in oatmeal, not too thick.

4. Pour into soap molds and allow to cool for at least a couple of hours.

Tip: Spray a little non-stick cooking spray on mold before you pour. It helps release the soap once it’s completely set. And that’s it.

These make great gifts too. On a particularly poor Christmas, I made everyone soap and they loved it! BTW, if you don’t want to actually make a bar of soap, you can use oatmeal alone as a facial exfoliate.