Holiday Gifts We Made

We actually just finished giving our gifts, due to snow days, illness, and my forgetfulness. I thought I would share what holiday gifts we made this season.

Emma and I made several batches of body scrub for family and teachers. These were a big hit and they seem to work really well! Our super easy version was made with a combination of Epsom salts, olive oil, a couple of drops of food coloring. We used grapefruit, eucalptyus, and orange essential oils and they all smell so good. These glass canning jars with rubber seals are good to prevent spilling. Emma did the whole project on her own after the first jar, it was such a successful project for her. She drew the labels and included a wooden spoon and simple instructions with each jar.

We also made two batches of lip balm- cherry and coconut- for friends and family. We used beeswax pellets, shea butter, cocoa butter, edible essential oils, and lipstick shavings for a little color. I must say I love the coconut, it works great and smells heavenly. (The cherry still smells a little like cough medicine to me, but I’m not 10, so apparently I don’t count.)
Zenith Supply Co. in Seattle has lots of good basic recipes for the things we made on their website.
Ian’s handmade project for teachers and family involved choosing colors, then wet-felting wool roving to make little acorns. It takes a little planning on my part, to both get and keep his interest on any project that doesn’t involve Legos. I took a chance that making wool balls at the kitchen sink should be pretty fun for him. And I was right! I love how, um, rustic they are.

I cut oak leaves out of scrap woolens and together we turned them into ornaments.

Ian chose the combinations, and I attached the acorns with a strategic dot of hot glue. We added a piece of yarn to hang them with. This kid, he was proud, as was I. (I don’t want to sound selfish here, but I kept 2 ornaments, plus lots of the acorns, for myself.)

I printed out, cut, and assembled Patricia’s 2009 calendar in a morning’s time for my sister in law Jenny. This was one of my favorite projects this season, I didn’t need to buy anything, it came together so easily, and I love how simple and modern it looks.

During one of those housebound days, I went a little crazy making smaller versions of the larger wreath I’d already made. This was *such* an easy project, and I highly recommend this for kids, there’s really no way to screw them up. The kids made a few, and I, myself got so crazy making them that by the end of the day they were looped around most of our doorknobs, color coordinated by room (like I said, we spent many days snowed in). We gave lots of them away, but kept a lot too. Can’t wait to get them out next year.

I also made felted rock paperweights for my father-in-law’s office and art studio in Colorado. I remembered last summer that occasionally there would be a flurry of papers flying around the room with all the doors and windows open. These can hold them down, plus they are just really fun to hold in your hand. I will definitely make some more of these, because they are easy and simple. The kids can work on these too. Yes, it is funny to give rocks to anyone but someone like me, who loves them, but what do you give someone who has everything? Why, a felted rock of course!
Ok, this was lengthy. Thanks for staying with me. Remember, we’re still having fun over at habit, I’ll be peeking out from over there all month.
I am finally admitting to myself that I am just not back 100% from whatever illness I had over the weekend, so I’m curling up with tea and this movie in a short while. Type to you soon.