Holiday Fun!

The holidays are Here!   I have been baking up a storm this week so I have plenty of goodies to give as gifts and to bring to the Christmas feast at my brother’s.   I am really looking forward to all the family fun and “Eating” we will be doing!   I have already had quite an exciting week receiving Christmas gifts … the same day that I received my new Mac computer, I also received my wonderful “huge” box of presents from a recent giveaway I had entered.   The Pantry Blogger gave away tons of cooking tools (and I mean tons!) and I WON!   Believe me they are very appreciated and will get well used!

This was left at my door ………  yes, there is a Santa aka The Pantry Blogger!

I opened the package and took out each item … in utter disbelief of all the wonderful goodies I now have.    Remember that feeling on Christmas day when you open all your gifts and then organize it all and just sit there and “look” at everything?   You don’t want to use or put anything away just yet … it needs time to be cherished.   And so …. my gift still sits all laid out so I can take it all in and think about each item individually.

Of course, Ms. Billie thinks I am out of my mind and worries about my sanity at times!   It’s OK I tell her……  it’s ok to believe in Santa Claus!

Handmade – A Gift that Keeps on Giving

Fall definitely ushers in the start of the holiday season and thoughts of gift giving begin taking shape in my mind.    I start a list with everyone’s name and make a plan to either create something special or buy a meaningful gift for each person listed.    This can be a very exciting task and it is a good idea to start early; especially if you plan to create a gift from scratch.    Last year I made embroidered name pillows for nine little recipients and I was spinning the needle right up to the last minute!    This year I have ordered 10 wooden name keychains from DustyNewt Keychains as part of my special gifts to give.    The planning has begun!

The gifts you create yourself are from the heart and hold a deeper meaning that can be felt throughout the years.    Some gifts though don’t make it through the years such as gifts of food – either from your own garden or baked up in the kitchen.    Everyone loves to receive a basket full of canned goods or a special box of cookies or candy made especially by you! 

 A little tag attached letting them know it was made by you is great and an easy decoration. 

Kitchen Baking tags can be purchased here

When you plan your garden for next year make sure to plant a few extra plants for canning and gift giving.    Canned tomatoes, jams, peppers and garlic are great choices.    Garlic oil and vinegars are easy to make and super gifts for the cook on your list or as a hostess gift when you attend all your holiday parties.   

I have created a feature called a Linky on one of the pages on my website where you can add a link of your own if you sell handmade gifts.    Every few weeks the theme will change so make sure to bookmark it and check back.

I will be working on Running Garlic’s fan page on Facebook - like me and stay tuned to updates via facebook!

Dried Fruit and Broomcorn

I grew Broomcorn this past summer and it’s a really neat plant to use in crafts.  It can stand alone in a vase or with other dried flowers as a nice decoration or you can  use it in making wreaths or swags and I even attempted to make a broom with some of my harvest!  A good broom takes a lot of stalks … I believe I read 60-80 for a nice broom; I used more like 20 so it was sparse and more a decoration item.

Broomcorn in vase

 Finished broom

This past week I wanted to create a decoration using some dried fruit I had recently dehydrated and I thought the broomcorn would make a great base for the project.  I love my Excalibur dehydrator and you can read more about how I use it on a regular basis at a previous post I wrote if you are interested in owning one yourself.  Like I said I Love mine!!

 Sliced lemons

I sliced lemons, oranges and apples and added them to the dehydrator.  I gathered some cinnamon sticks, pinecones, a few red bows and, of course, the glue gun!

 

Pinecone wired to stalks

 Closeup of glued fruit

I assembled this in about 20 minutes – so fast and easy!  I will probably make a few more smaller versions and add them to the top of wrapped gifts this year – will add a nice touch!