In Which I Make a Trendy Wreath

The primary reason for making a trendy wreath is this bizarre need I have to create things with my hands.  It's not pretty when I go for long spells without making anything.  Oh, sure, I make meals every day and bake all the time, but that just doesn't do it for me.  I need instant visual gratification.

So I made one of those deals with the yarn wrapped around and around and around a straw wreath.  The whole thing cost me about $4 since I had the fabric and buttons already.  I like to think of it as autumn with a touch of elegance (work with me here, okay?).

I found that it was a relatively easy project, but I did originally use a muted yellow for the "flowers" and found that to be too much color.  I also found that the glue gun was the best thing I ever bought and that along with Google Earth, winding yarn around a wreath gives me vertigo.

Made by me, inspired HERE by Homemade Ginger. 

Since this cost me all of $4 (hint: Joann Fabrics takes multiple, competitor coupons), I'm linking up with Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways #46!

Deck the Halls

I got a little carried away this morning as I was collecting cedar, holly, and pine to use at our homeschool group's Colonial Christmas party tomorrow (somehow I got volunteered to decorate).  Having just visited an historical Colonial home with my family this weekend, I was feeling inspired to try out some of the ridiculously simple and beautiful ideas in my home.  Here are the main players, all found on our property:

Holly.  Isn't it gorgeous?

Pine

Cedar

I'm no Martha Stewart, but for better or for worse, here's what I came up with:

Holly and cedar, tied together with ribbon from my neighbor (thanks, Julie!).  I made two, for either side of the fence as you enter the driveway.

Ribbon with cedar on either side of the door.

Bits of holly here and there.

A mason jar with holly and cedar, and a glass bowl with pine and pine cones.  I think mason jars make the coolest vases!

A bit of cedar and boxwood on the mantle.  I kept this low profile since we have a woodstove.  I'm also not sold on the vase, and am waiting for Byron to come home and offer his opinion (unlike many guys, he likes to have input in this department).

And here's another version.  Opinions, anyone?

Saturday update: added some ribbon.

Another update: decking out the wonderful milk can Aunt Dottie and Uncle Hank gave us.  This was actually used by Byron's great-grandfather. (Please excuse the painter's tape!  Renovations are still underway.)

This was my absolute favorite until I decked out the milk can: holly, boxwood, and ribbon.  I want to make 50 of them today so I can give one to everyone I know, but I have some other things I need to do.   

I will warn you that holly berries are toxic.  So if you have young kids, either put the fear of God in them regarding poisonous plants, have the number to Poison Control written on your palm at all times, or skip decking the halls with boughs of holly.  Personally, I prefer option one.

Do you have access to holly, cedar, and pine?  If not, find a friend who does!  It's free, sustainable, and makes storing at least some of your holiday decor a non-issue!

The Dirty Dozen

Winter. Not the best time for fresh fruits and vegetables.  Farmers markets are shut for the season, and much of the produce lining the grocery store aisles have been imported from the nether regions of the earth, where they were picked unripened, zapped with radiation, and shipped to a dinner table near you.  Not to mention pesticides used.  According to the USDA, you expose yourself to more than twenty different pesticides daily if you eat the following foods on a regular basis. And kids, with their smaller bodies, are even more susceptible.

And then there's the organic section, which - let's face it - has the potential to zero all but the stoutest of bank accounts.  So what to do?  Following are two lists, the first of which contains produce which absorb greater amounts of pesticides, and should be purchased organic whenever possible.  They are listed from most to least contaminated:

• peaches, strawberries, apples, spinach, nectarines, celery, pears, cherries, potatoes, sweet bell peppers, raspberries, imported grapes

But there’s good news, too: Here are the twelve least contaminated foods, meaning you’re exposed to about two different pesticides. They are listed from least to most contaminated:

• sweet corn, avocados, pineapples, cauliflower, mangoes, sweet peas, asparagus, onions, broccoli, bananas, kiwis, papayas

adapted from The Sneaky Chef by Missy Chase Lapine

Have Yourself an (Inexpensive) Christmas

We're constantly cutting costs around here.  But around the holidays, it can be difficult to resist the screams of "BUY! BUY! BUY!" from ads in the newspaper, online, and even through e-mails.  I've gotten fairly good at ignoring the hype.  For instance, when I got an e-mail promising me free shipping instantly if I spend $100 or more, I instantly trashed the file.  $100 on what?  Kitchen gadgets and sheets I don't need?  No, thanks!

So in a very Scrooge-like spirit toward marketing gurus and the various wares they hawk, here are a few inexpensive gift ideas this Christmas:

1. I found a recipe for homemade Christmas ornaments here.  These would be fun to make with kids, and since grandparents like anything little hands make, why not make it part of a Christmas basket full of other artwork and goodies?  And that basket?  Go buy one for 25 cents at the thrift store and paint it, should the spirit move you.

2. Do any canning this year?  Jams, jellies, apple butter and the like are always popular gifts.  If you didn't make any, check out a local farm or country store for such items.  Dress up the jar with a pretty, scrap piece of fabric and some ribbon from your stash or in the remnant pile at the fabric store.

3. I've gotten Gifts in a Jar before and love them!  What a handy way to bake something when you need it for a last-minute party or (as in my family's case) craving.  Click here for ideas galore, or click here for Three-Way Hot Cocoa Mix, which will last the recipient for much of the season...especially if you double it.

4. For the kids, I try to go for quality over quantity.  A friend of mine once said she was going to try to stick with three gifts per child, representative of the three gifts the Wise Men brought Jesus.  I limit fad toys, such as the latest Disney Princess and whatnot, and try to buy gifts that will stimulate their creativity.  This includes classic building toys (e.g., Legos and Tinker Toys), costumes (post-Halloween sales are helpful here), craft supplies (good stocking stuffers, especially if you go through as many crayons as we do), books on CD, and classic books I can read to them now but that they'll be able to read in a few years.  The Little House on the Prairie series and Chronicles of Narnia are good examples. 

5.  Finally, Byron and I forgo buying each other gifts.  The past couple years, we've gotten each other something small with the kids, so that they have the opportunity to give and not just receive.  If there's something "big" that is teetering on our family's want/need line, we'll try to find a good deal around the holidays.  In years past, our MP3 player and portable DVD player (purchased primarily for survival purposes on a very long flight with the kids), have fallen into this category.