Handmade gifts for the holidays...

[Earth_First]

Next weekend I am putting up jars of spirits that I am infusing with various delectable culinary delights and we will re-jar it into some apothocary bottles we found online:

http://www.specialtybottle.com/corkbostonglassbottle85oz250mlwcork.aspx

This year we are also doing lamps. We locally sourced some sandstone from the shores of Lake Ontario from a local landscape wholesale supply and a few pieces from Lowes...

Just brought this in out of the workshop:



We have a few other ideas laying around for consideration as well...

Just curious what other's who have given up on the big box retailer option for gift giving for the holidays are doing...

[blogslut]

1. I learned how to print directly on fabric

...without spending millions of dollars on inkjet transfer paper or those fabric sheets:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Inkjet-Printing-on-Fabric/

So, it's gonna be little felt-lined pouches and rubbery shelfliner-backed coasters for the majority of my giftees.

[csziggy]

2. Most inkjet prints on fabric will not be colorfast when washed

You can use a product called Bubble Jet Set that will prepare the fabric to take the ink and be more colorfast. http://www.dharmatrading.com/transfers/bubble-jet-set-2000-and-bubble-jet-set-rinse.html?lnav=transfers.html

Or you can make your own version at home: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=129537.0

Dharma Trading sells fabric already prepared for printing: http://www.dharmatrading.com/transfers/rolls/no-steam-silk-cotton-and-organza-fabric-sheets-rolls-for-ink-jet-printers.html?lnav=transfers_rolls.html

I've experimented with printing on fabric to transfer embroidery designs before stitching - because of the need to clean some items, I tested for colorfastness. I didn't want to stitch a design, then have the ink run after I had put all that work in! Our old HP Inkjet ran less than the newer Epson Photo printer with tests of B&W line drawings.

For black & white or gray scale images, laser printers work great on untreated cotton fabric with little or no fading or bleeding.

No matter which printer or method you use, I would put a Shout color catcher sheet in the first time the item is washed - even if the color washes out, that will capture the excess ink and prevent it from bleeding into other parts of the picture.

[blogslut]

4. Yeah, I know

But the little pouches probably won't ever get washed and the coasters I'm coating with clear elmer's and then spraying with acrylic finish.

But thanks for the link to the DIY stuff. I already got the washing powder. Now, I need to see if there's alum in the spice section.

[LiberalEsto]

3. This is awesome!

Thank you for sharing this link, b.

[treestar]

5. So cool

I admire people who can do creative things like that.

[Chan790]

6. I had ideas I didn't use for this year...

Book Safe
http://www.artofmanliness.com/2010/12/07/how-to-make-a-secret-book-safe/

Indoor Herb Garden: (The logistics of this one I have not fully figured out.)
I was going to take an old wooden table and convert the top of it to a planter box and plant it full of various herbs and put in an automatic waterer. That way it's an indoor installation-piece herb garden that can be set next to a window to provide sunlight. The problem, as quickly pointed out by my carpenter is that it needs to be both lined and have a drain installed or else the bottom will slowly rot out until the day the bottom gives out entirely and the contents spill all over the floor. So there's that...and I need to find the right table (around waist height, larger than an end table, smaller than a coffee table, wood and fairly nice in design with a motif and finish I can easily replicate up onto the planter box.) All in all, it's about a 20 hour project and $100 in cost (before buying herbs which could be another $200) and I never got around to it. Also, I live in DC and my parents live in CT and I've gotten a conservative estimate that complete and filled, it could weight around 325# and be 48'³ (3'x4'x4'...or around the size of a dryer)...a veritable PITA to ship or move.

Sarongs:
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Sarong

Live Christmas Tree:
I did this to myself because I'm clearly a masochist. It's probably not as much of a gift as a subtle way to torture your frenemies. It's pretty simple actually. It's a live tree in a giant pot that you can wheel inside for the holidays on a refrigerator handtruck and put back in the backyard for the following year where it should get enough rain and sun to live mostly interference free, though you may need to fertilize it. You can shape it (like a bonzai or a shrub) to make it the perfect height and shape for your home. The problems are it weighs 500# when it gets to 8' tall and 6' diameter in a 45gal pot...and you have to re-pot it pretty much every year for the first decade because it's a large live coniferous tree with a giant root-ball.

[Earth_First]

7. Oh, I like the sarong idea!

:makes mental note:

[Tuesday Afternoon]

8. some great ideas in this thread! K&R

love a HomeMade Christmas

I am making cookies and fudge... *sigh* not very original, I know but, made with love so they are extra good

[Earth_First]

10. Food gifts are great, TA!

One of the best gifts I recived last year was a collection of hand mixed bbq dry rubs from my brother in law. The chipotle rub has me mouth-watering right now!

There is a spice importer in the city that I plan on visiting for the foodie on my list. I'm going to purchase a selection of salts from around the world and repackage into tins that I purchsed cheaply at the link I posted above on the apothocary bottles...

And you know, if you end up with too much fudge...

[murielm99]

13. My husband and I do this at Christmas.

When my kids lived at home, they were part of the fun. They have good memories of baking for Christmas.

We started it when we could not afford presents for everyone, and just continued it. We have done this for thirty-five years.

[libodem]

9. We are going on a rock hunt today

We painted them up as bugs, frogs, and simple dot designs, this summer. My friend uses them to hold down the outside table's tablecloth. I put them in planters and used one in a painted birdcage gift I made. Love the lamp.

No kidding, I've had several texts back and forth to plan a foraging walk by the river. One of my girlfriends has been actually out scouting these elusive rocks for us.

[MissB]

11. Consumables.

Toffee, vanilla, pickles, jams. It's so much easier. Except for the toffee, everything else was made this summer.

[frogmarch]

12. origami earrings

I bought a pair for about $8 on Ebay, and then I bought some origami paper, beads and earring hooks and, after finding origami folding instructions online, I made several pairs to give as Christmas gifts. I sprayed the herons with resin to make them water resistant and durable.

They're very small. Each origami heron is about the size of one of my pinky nails.

[OriginalGeek]

14. I just made this leather basket for my wife

and she just informed me I would be making several more for Christmas lol. I think that's until she finds out how much a whole side of leather will cost (that 6x6 basket started out life as an 18x18" square of leather so I'd need a side to make more than a couple) and that it would take time away from me making her a purse.

Your lamp is badass. Awesome job!

[MissMillie]

15. blankets

I'm crocheting some blankets.