Easy, economical valentines

 

I am so grateful that our parish school held the Valentine's Day parties before Lent, but that meant we spent last week making these cards. Inspired by a recent magazine feature, my four year old son and I made these valentines for his classmates (and about half of our small town). 

We split the project over a couple afternoons. On the first day, I drew designs onto unlined 3x5 index cards with a white crayon and he used last year's school paintbox to watercolor over the design. After they had a chance to dry overnight, I helped him with the text, and we taped on an Andes mint (possibly the least expensive individually wrapped chocolate). The whole project was basically sunk cost, aside from the candy. And since index cards come in such large packs, we were able to make cards not only for his classmates, but our neighbors and other people who feature largely in his life... like the butcher.

St Nicholas Day preparations

This afternoon, we got things ready for St Nicholas Day.

The stockings were hung from the chimney with care, in hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

(Since I have never been home on Christmas Day since my marriage, we use our stockings instead of shoes.)

It's amazing what you can find with a $5 limit per person. Candy canes for all, a thrift store sweater for Mom, an intriguing bottle from the clearance table for Dad, and Christmas tree ornaments for the kids (that they will take with them for their own tree when they leave home).

A Thanksgiving guest brought a package of spekulatius, a traditional cookie for St Nicholas Day, saving me from baking my own. Some years I have made gingerbread instead. We'll have these with tea before Vespers at the Abbey tomorrow afternoon.

"St Nicholas" and I also put together some care packages for neighbors, which we will deliver before Mass tomorrow. 

Frugal Christmas: Frippery Pillow covers

Three weeks until Christmas. 

A few summers ago, I pieced a full size Frippery quilt (free pattern) entirely from thrift store fabric and outgrown clothes. The 16" block and large rectilinear made for quick piecing. As I looked at the incomplete quilt still in my sewing area, I thought to myself a few blocks would make great throw pillow covers. You can include the insert for local recipients or mail the cases alone. The project is a great stash buster, and I was able to whip up both cases within 90 minutes. I opted to use an envelope closure, as I fear my zipper foot and also to keep cost down.

Frugal Gift: Repurposed Apron plus Thrift Store cookbook

Four weeks til Christmas. 

Good cookbooks are hard to come by at my thrift store. At thirty cents a pop, they get snapped up very quickly, so I keep my eyes open year round. I do have better luck with magazines- hardly a week goes by without a few ten cent treasures making their way home with me.

From a skirt with a pretty embroidered hem ($1), a coordinating half yard print (25 cents), and a few yards of ribbon (25 cents)  I was able to make two aprons. I separated the skirt into two halves and top stitched the side seams. I added a panel for the top and used the ribbon for the neck and arm sashes. Paired with a cookbook or a few magazines, this pretty pair will make cooking dinner a pleasure.

Thinking ahead for your turkey leftovers

I don't know about you, but I love to spend Thanksgiving weekend curled up in front of the fire, playing board games or watching movies with my extended family. Here are a few favorite turkey based recipes for when you want a change from straight up leftovers. Most call for pantry staples, but I plan to pick up the more unusual ingredients for these meals along with my Thanksgiving groceries.

Turkey Soup (our archives)
Turn your leftover turkey bones into soup!

Slow Cooker White Turkey Chili (Williams-Sonoma)
What could be easier than a slow cooker full of chili simmering away while you enjoy time with your family and friends? I simplify this recipe by soaking dried beans overnight, and giving them a head start cooking in homemade turkey broth (3 hours on low) before adding the remaining ingredients.

Turkey Tetrazzini (The Satellite Sisters)
This comforting casserole with a homemade Marsala cream sauce has been a favorite at our house for over a decade. 

D'Amico and Sons Turkey with Dried Cherries Pasta
My kids' favorite lunch.

Turkey ala King (Food and Wine)
My husband's favorite dinner.

Pulled turkey
Cook leftover turkey (I think  dark meat holds up better) with a little water or broth in your slow cooker for a few hours until it shreds easily. You can use this meat as you would pulled pork- in tacos/enchiladas, mixed with bbq sauce for sandwiches, tossed in minestrone soup...

What is your favorite way to use up leftover turkey?

Frugal Gift: Chai mix (plus thrift store mug)

Five weeks till Christmas. What could be more warming on a cold winter's day than a cup of hot tea? And among tea, chai is the favorite at our house. A jar of chai mix plus a pretty thrift store mug or tea cup can add a moment of beauty to a busy day. NB: It is more economical to purchase the spices in bulk, either from bins or an Asian grocery store.

Put the following dry ingredients in a clean jar:
3 T loose tea or 3 Darjeeling tea bags, torn open and bags discarded
3 cardamom pods
3 whole cloves
1 whole nutmeg
1 cinnamon stick
1 T crystallized ginger (optional)
1 T sugar

Make the following label:
Bring 2 cups water and 1 cup milk to boil. Reduce heat and stir in jar contents.  Simmer for 15 minutes, then strain and serve.

Frugal Gift: Church Lady Grocery Store Games

 

Six weeks from today is the Nativity of Our Lord. In my family, we alternate Thanksgiving and Christmas between various sides of the family. To reduce mailing costs (and to give gifts that can't be mailed) we often exchange Christmas gifts at Thanksgiving, even if they aren't opened until the end of December.

Here's a frugal gift idea, mostly purchased from the grocery store. The total cost was under $15, and it's local, comestible, and won't clutter up your house. What's not to love? Inspired by a visit to a local BBQ eatery, I put together a sauce sampler for my brother who enjoys smoking meats. 

Does your town have a local shelf stable specialty? Salsa? Chocolates? Preserves? When I lived in Boston, Trappist Preserves were for sale in the regular grocery store at the same cost as national brands. Spend some time poking around the next time you are grocery shopping- you might find a great gift!

More Thrifty Gifts for Fathers' Day

I was a little more pressed for time this year than Therese, and opted for the store-bought route.  However, I was pretty impressed with what I managed to put together for less than $10, and it tiered together very nicely when wrapped.

1. 2 jars of Nutella (on sale for $2.68 each, and an additional $1 manufacturer's coupon)

2.  Vintage hardcover edition of Quo Vadis ($4 at local antique mall)

Our boys are quite young, so my husband has plenty of time to prep for father-son reading!  I tucked in a copy of Auntie Leila's reading guide as well.  This is a theme I plan to repeat in future years- my husband's family favored fantasy and mystery books so he never read many classic adventure novels like The Swiss Family Robinson, Treasure Island, etc - a nice gift for Dad and the family library.

3. A cozy tartan robe ($2 at thrift store)

This is a perfect year round robe made of the softest cotton and was in like new condition.  Score!

Thrifty Gifts: Father's Day

I don't know about you, but whenever I see Father's Day gift guides, they tend to bring on more eye rolls than lightbulbs. They seem to break down into the crazy expensive, one-use gadgets no one actually wants, the weirdly cutesy, and items that will be enjoyed way more by the giver than by any dad I know. So here, without further ado, are some homemade gifts that will actually see the light of day once in a while.

Monogrammed hankies

Fonts (L to R): Oil Can, Eccentric, Euphorigenic

We've blogged some details on this one over the years (here, here, and here). This one is a fantastic last-minute gift; I finished the three hankies above in an afternoon. Just find some fonts you like, print and trace (if you work carefully with a light hand, you can even do this with a regular pencil), and embroider. DMC cotton floss holds up well in the wash, and is usually 30-50 cents a skein. If you are new to embroidering, Needle'n'Thread has great tutorial videos. Backstitch and stem stitch are good for monograms, with satin stitch to fill in thicker areas (as on the hankie on the left).

Matching outfits

Okay, maybe not for everyone, but it can be fun, especially for a new dad. The picture above is Simplicity 3852, which conveniently contains outfits from a baby romper all the way up to adult size in one envelope. If the men and boys in your life would appreciate something a little more subtle, matching neckties (men's, boys', and little boys') would make a great riff on a Father's Day classic. Ties are cut on the bias, so keep that in mind when picking out a print. This also means you'll have extra fabric left over, so think about including a pocket square. If that's still too much, how about some pajamas?

Reuseable Brown Bag

(source)

Do you walk to work, or bring your lunch? (Sorry, but what's a post about dads without a Dad Joke?)There are a ton of tutorials for this easy sewing project online (Here's a big roundup.) Just pick a manly fabric and you're good to go. You could even use an old pair of chinos for the fabric, making this project essentially free.

A Manlier Diaper Bag

Vogue 8990

This will be the one I'm attempting this year. While I don't think he actually minds, every so often I get a comment about having to carry around the very girly bags our hospital gives out. I'm keeping the pockets versatile, so hopefully he'll have a use for it even when we don't have one in diapers. If putting together an entire bag isn't for you, an all-in-one changing kit that he can have on hand might be just the ticket.

Slab piecing + Easter cards

 

 

I recently came across the book Sunday Morning Quilts at my public library and can't recommend it enough.  It is chockful of ideas about how to make the most of fabric scraps - from organizing them to incorporating them into new projects.  Although I'm not a quilter, the parish thrift store has baskets of tempting fabric scraps available for a pittance (the fabric for the apron pictured above ran me 25 cents).  Many of the book's projects are built on the technique of slab piecing - putting together scraps or strips to form a "fabric."  Think Log Cabin, but with the strips all different widths to make the most of leftover fabric or crazy quilting on a larger scale. 

 

My forays into slab piecing left me with some small irregular pieces.  I'm the first to admit you will not find me making a postage stamp quilt.  A particularly bold paisley reminded me of Rechenka's Eggs, and I made these Easter cards from fabric scraps and basic office supplies:

 

Supplies
5x8 unlined index cards
(Optional - printer with black ink)
2-3 brown paper grocery bags
(Optional - Brown marker, crayon, or stamp plus ink)
Colored fabric scraps
Scotch tape
Glue stick

Directions
Print or hand write text on to the cards. 

Cut the wide front and back panels off the bags.  Remove handles or areas of double thickness. Fold each panel into a square twice - now you have a square 1/4 of the size of the original paper.  Fold it into a triangle from the center to the outside edge and cut basket (split in half vertically across the diagonal fold) like you would a snowflake - 4 baskets.  If desired, use markers or stamps to add some texture to the baskets).  I found it easiest to cut proportional eggs if I held the fabric in small half square triangles, but there is a lot of wiggle room, as a large portion of the eggs are covered by the basket.  Use tape to position eggs on the wrong side of the basket and then glue in place.

 

Practically free Christmas Decorating

Our front door tends to look a little drab at the best of times, so I decided that some Christmas decorating was in order. We have a juniper topiary in the front yard that looks scraggly if it doesn't get a good pruning every year, and some pine shrubs that were encroaching on my tomato patch, so I spent a half-hour or so with the pruning shears and got 2-3 five-gallon pails worth of foliage. I also clipped some seed pods from my Rose of Sharon bushes for decoration. The only other materials were:

• Cotton twine/yarn (green or brown is easiest to camouflage, of course)
• A spool of galvanized wire
• Optional: A red berry garland ($3.50 at JoAnn this time of year), or any other trims, ribbons, floral picks you like.
• A tape measure, and nails for hanging.
• gardening gloves (A lot of sap in there!)

The process was time-consuming, but really quite simple. Begin by tying the string and wire together (I recommend keeping both on their spools, if possible. lay a branch on the string, and wrap the wire around both once or twice to secure it. Lay the next branch so that the pretty end overlaps your wire wraps, and wrap the wire around the stem end to secure it. 

Since this garland was only going to be seen from one side, I kept everything on the same side of the string, but you should work things around all sides if it will be hung on a banister or other such location.

Add the other decorations as desired, wrapping them together with a piece of the greenery. When I wanted to add the berry garland (cut in halves), I just held it together with the string and made sure the branches didn't hide the berries as I went. I also sorted out some of the more interesting branches (with attractive berries or pine cones) to intersperse with the decorations as well. Give the string a good firm tug every few wraps to make sure you haven't introduced any loops or slack.

The project took a few hours, all told, and I'm very pleased with the result. The same idea works well on a wreath form. You can either purchase one, or make your own from a pool noodle or a couple layers of sturdy cardboard (I wouldn't recommend the latter for anything long term, but it should last as long as live greenery).

A couple of helpful notes:

• I tied/twisted loops in the string and the wire once I got to the corners, for hanging. I recommend stopping a few inches short of your door measurement, because the vertical sections of the garland will stretch once you hang it. 
• For my doorway, I saved the smallest branches for the top section, so that nothing would interfere with opening the door.
• I worked on the front step, since the weather's been so warm, but I'd recommend laying down newspaper if you're working inside, to catch sap and stray needles. 
• If your garland is living inside, mist it with a spray bottle every couple of days to keep it fresh.

While on the theme ...

One of my favorite Church Ladies found this craft while searching for a way to make an Advent Wreath. Aren't they pretty? (and simple too!)

Thrifty Gifts: In a Jar

I've been smitten with mason jars lately. I think it started with this, and then continued on through the summer when cherries were a good price and then my garden produce started ripening. Now it's gift making time, and I'm still finding all sorts of inspiration based on the simple and inexpensive canning jar.

They come in different shapes and sizes from a tiny 4 ounces up to a quart. (And if you ever see a 2 quart size, grab it - they're a rare find in this age of smaller families.) They're simple and classic and reusable. They're practical and have an air of elegance at the same time. A shelf of canning jars reminds me of the wife of noble character in Proverbs 31.

The jar in the photo is a sewing kit from Anthropologie, not thrifty by my definition, but inspirational, don't you agree? (Going in their stores is like spending time in an art gallery!) I think you'll find the links below may better earn the "thrifty" label. Also, be sure to do some design review with Lucy's post on making your jars more beautiful.

• Journal prompts in a jar for children and adults. (Free printable)
• Sugar scrub
• Bath salts
• Lots of food gifts in a jar
• Suggestions from Martha Stewart
• And a little visual inspiration here.

More Knitted Gifts- Part 2

Knitting Daily editor Kathleen Cubley shares some cute knitted gift ideas. I'm particularly intrigued by the bottle sleeve- maybe at last I can reconcile my preferential option for pinot noir with light colored tablecloths.

Uplifting the mundane

This take on a dry erase board has been making the rounds of various ladies' magazines and blogs and it really is a nice addition to my kitchen.

Supplies:
large picture frame with glass
light colored fabric 1" larger than the back w(edges serged or treated with Fray check)
stapler
masking tape (optional)

Remove carboard backing. Wrap fabric around it, smoothing away any wrinkles. Open stapler, and staple fabric in place on reverse side. Place inside frame, fabric side forward, and seal back (either with masking tape, or replacing the original staples etc).

The whole process took 5 minutes, start to finish, and cost next to nothing. It would make a lovely hostess gift or dorm-warming present.

N.B. If you have little ones or a tile floor, I would recommend making sure the frame is hung with wire rather than relying on the backing loop for support, in case the frame gets knocked.

More Last Minute Knitted gifts

It isn't often that one likes a sequel more than the original book. That is certainly the case with Joelle Hoverson's More Last Minute Knitted Gifts (see projects here- Ravelry login required). I checked out a copy from the library recently, and am smitten with it. There are so many beautifully simple, yet stunning projects. I currently have the Kid's Vest in progress for my son (it's perfect subway knitting), and have Leah's Lovely cardigan queued for myself. Alson on the horizon Baby Bonnet and Baby Cardigan on the horizon for a couple co-workers who are expecting. If one was an afghan knitter, Joelle has three amazing designs: Nesting Squares, Entrelac Baby Blanket, and Bright Stripes- cheerful for a new baby, but perfect for anyone in need of a little comfort. I'm also planning on knitting several Soft Baskets to in which to place small Christmas gifts. If you are looking for inspiration for knitting for your gift stash, look no further!

Pie in a jar

I just ran across the most darling idea for a housewarming/new baby gift, or just to have around for yourself: Single-serving pie in a jar (fancy-schmancy lattice optional, though this would be a great time to practice).

Details at the link, but bottom line: make your favorite pie crust and filling, assemble in short, fat half-pint jars, vent the crust, and then freeze until you're ready to use. Bake at 375 for 50-60 minutes.

I'm thinking this would be a great option for when you've gone berry-picking or scored big at the farmer's market and feel like doing something other than preserves.

Can't buy me love

I was astonished to see Fathers' Day promotions appear the day after Mothers' Day- and also the number of cards to Dad from the cat. It's easy enough to write off these secular days as "Hallmark (TM) holidays" but I am increasingly convinced that it is important to celebrate love in a world with so much disorder, to recognize the sacrifices of those who give so much with at least some small token. But does Dad really need another "World's Best Dad" coffee mug, tie, or tool kit?

When we were first married, my husband and I instituted The $5 Challenge for occasions such as Valentine's Day, our wedding anniversary, and the like. $5 can be a relatively easy amount to find in a budget- for our family it would mean an extra meatless meal. It's quite surprising how much quality of life can be improved with that small amount.

Here are some ideas:
*Gift certificate to a deli for a sandwich- a break from brownbagging it
*A dessert from a patisserie
*Their favorite flavor of X (jam, cheese, etc) when they normally yield to majority opinion
*A box of really nice frozen novelties or cookies
*A trip to an ice cream parlor for two
*A pound of exotic fruit or bulk snack
*A flat of annuals or herbs
*A magazine
*Some gadget/tool for a favorite hobby

With a little bit of advance planning, the $5 can go even further with a coupon at many national department stores, mass-market retailers, or craft stores.

Happy thinking!

Image source

Thrifty Gifts: Recycling Edition

(I plan to save my other Thrifty Gift ideas for a little later in the year, but this one requires a bit of planning, so I'm posting it early.)

When my kids were elementary school aged one of their favorite "toys" involved a box of stuff that easily could have qualified as garbage. And a roll of tape. We called it the junk box (creative group, aren't we?), and it was filled with things like plastic strawberry baskets, toilet paper tubes, small yogurt tubs, bits of yarn, Popsicle sticks, bubble wrap, foam trays (but not meat trays - I don't think you could get them clean enough), Pringle's cans, rubber bands, chenille sticks, oatmeal containers, plastic lids, paper plates, thread spools, old greeting cards, etc.

It was a very fluid inventory, but the one constant was tape. I'd recommend the cheapest cellophane tape you can find and lots of it! Duct tape and packing tape are helpful for projects that need a bit more support, but since the entire cost of this gift is in the tape, you can keep the price pretty reasonable. Put everything in the right sized box and share it with your favorite creative 7-year-old. I happened to find a copy of the book pictured above to jump start some ideas, and there are lots of similar publications if you actually want to spend money on the gift, but really, it's not necessary.

What is it with kids and tape? I'm pretty sure I could not find an intact roll of tape in the house for the first 10 years of my life as a parent. It helped to be able to remind them that their tape was in the junk box.

NOTES:

• My copy of the book was free from an online book exchange, but it's also available at Amazon.
• It's not uncommon during the Christmas shopping season for stores to offer great deals on tape (sometimes even free).

DISCLAIMER: Consider your recipient carefully. Not everyone will appreciate you giving their children a box of recycling, but if you know a kindred spirit who will see the potential, this is a fun, creative idea. I have a godson who's 5, so I'm just saving the choicest pieces of junk so far, but in a couple year I know he's going to LOVE it!

A special Lego project

Check out Faith and Family for a letter and photos from a reader about a special gift for her son's First Holy Communion day. What a sweet and thoughtful idea for a Lego lover!