Because I Can Never Throw Anything Away

The front of one cutter quilt piece I wanted to work on had been stained, but the back looked great, so I cut it in half, embroidered both back sides and made it into a tiny tote. I was also able to add a length of beaded ribbon I've been saving because it was too short to use on anything but too pretty to toss. Anyway, it'll be a nice way to present a gift card to someone this year.

The back, with different embroidery. The variegated perle thread I used was also leftover scrap.

I also successfully hand-washed and dried the bigger piece of the crazy quilt piece -- again, never do this to anything you want to preserve -- so once I piece them back together and turn it into a rectangle by adding a bit to the smaller piece I'll have a nice-size and clean cutter piece to make into a journal cover.

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Make It Yourself

As we head into December, here are ten ideas for easy handmade gifts: Cookie Exchange: If you live close to your friends invite them over for a cookie exchange. Basically everyone bakes a set amount of their favorite cookies, and these are exchanged at the gathering by lottery, sharing a little from each batch with everyone, or however you want to do it. You can also exchange recipes, too. My neighbor did this once and it was wonderful. Favorite Recipe Cookbook : For my favorite person I found a copy of my favorite cookbook from a vintage bookseller (yes, I am that old) and went through it making notes on all the recipes I used, how I tweaked them, etc. Ornament: There are probably a million free tutorials on how to make your own holiday ornaments, so do some research online. I like to make hanging pomanders , which smell heavenly and are biodegradable after the holidays. Mug Rugs: If you sew, making up a set of mug rugs is simple and easy; I add these every year to my ...

Better than Fried

I cut some chives from the kitchen garden to make garlic-chive baked fries for dinner. This is a great side dish for veggie burgers. Click here for the recipe from Taste of Home.com.

In the Kitchen Garden

Our strawberries are taking over the kitchen garden, but I don't mind. This week I want to make some strawberry banana nice cream (a vegan version of ice cream) and maybe a chocolate cake with berries and cream for the topping. There's thyme in the garden now, too, which I'll dry and jar for cooking along with the chives and the oregano. Next we'll plant cucumbers, as I use a ton of those in our salads and for snacks.

Rayen

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