Supporting Those Who Matter

 With all that is happening in our world,

it has perhaps escaped your attention,

but there are only 45 days left until Christmas!

I am actually looking forward to the holidays this year.

I'm not entirely sure why,

but some years are just different than others.

(Source)

We don't go over the top with decorations,

and we don't spend a lot on gifts.

It's more about the feeling~

the merriness and closeness of family

and kindness of community.

That's where I'm really going with this.

(It really isn't to freak you out about shopping days left.) 😊

Regardless of your opinion on the larger situations,

we've been pushed to do more shopping online.

There are a couple of very important things that happen

when this sort of purchase occurs.

The first is easily seen, and you may or may not care,

but everything you purchase is tracked.

There is a part of me that really doesn't care 

if the big-wigs know that I bought a package of quilting needles,

but there is a morsel within me that is rather creeped-out by it.

Thing two is that the communal connection that typically happens

between a merchant and customer is severed.

It's not impossible,

but how many times have you avoided a shop 

because "they are rude in there" 

or you purposely try a store first because they are so nice and helpful?

This year more then ever,

small businesses and independent craftsmen & women

need your support.

As I stated above, we don't do a lot of shopping,

but I have made a special effort this year

even with my online purchases to support "little folks."

Most of the events that usually take place before Christmas

have been canceled this year.

I know from years past that many of those vendors

rely on that "extra" income.

If you already know area craftsmen that you like to support,

you might reach out and ask if they have any inventory on hand.

My guess is they do.

If you are on social media and can ask for area vendors

to post a couple pictures of their wares,

even if you don't purchase the items,

others will see and possibly lead to a sale.  

This exhibits a kindness and caring on your part

and gratitude on their part

which strengthens your community.

Community is so important!

It's something that has taken a huge hit this year.

Neighbors are being pitted against one another,

and barriers raised both internally and externally.

If we each do our part,

even from a distance, 

our neighbors and community will know we care.

And that we care

is what is most important.

Especially as we near Christmas~

the day we celebrate because He cared enough to send His son.

Merry blessings to you all.

PS~ If you are an independent craftsperson,

I'd like to invite you to leave a way to reach you

in the comments.

For security sake, please leave a search name

so people can find you rather than a link.

 

 

About Gifts and Giving Ideas

Each year about this time, I struggle just a little.

Consumerism and advertising seem to be wearing battle armor

and are charging full force towards all of us.

Of course, this is no new song I'm singing here,

but it almost makes me want to hide.

I'm not stingy ~ I love to give,

but who wants to give something because there is a feeling of obligation

or give with the thought that it will be unappreciated and/or end up

in the trash within a month.

(Mom's gift wrapped in a dish towel ~ she likes "fat birds")

That said, the piles of gifts we unwrap are a little different in a couple ways:

first, they aren't piles and 

second, the items themselves might not look like gifts to most folks.

We have a rule in our family~

no gift (with the exception of the kids) can cost more than $10.

Yep, that's right, not $20 or $50, but $10.

After the first year or two of books and slippers,

it began to get more fun.

It's a whole different mind set.

We shop throughout the year thus thinking of giving to loved-ones often.

I have only a gift card to purchase for my grandmother

and a specific stocking stuffer for hubby.

(Grammy is nearly 92 and doesn't need stuff.  She enjoys being able to

go to the store for the few things she needs and having the card.)

We don't have to take out a loan for Christmas:)

Children no longer wish for a simple toy or sweet treat.

Expensive techno-gadgets of various sorts have replaced those things.

Children have no idea how to play marbles ~

you know, draw a big circle in the dirt.

Dirt! Heaven forbid! Get the hand sanitizer quick! (sorry)

They don't know about clearies or cats eyes or how to hold a shooter.

That makes me a little sad 

as do the expectations they seem to associate with the season. 

If you can at all follow me here to where I find myself and can relate,

(am I really alone here?) then here are some gift ideas for various ages.

Marbles~ and show them how to play.

Pick up Sticks~ click here for instructions to make your own

A Jar of Color~ whatever the recipient's favorite color, fill the jar with items of that color: handkerchief, gum, treats, shoe laces, screw driver (or sm. tools,) you will be surprised what you find when looking for color rather than items.

Reusable veggie and grocery bags~ lots of options here

Food~ this one is obvious, but here are a couple gifts in a jar which are nice

because they don't have to be 'dealt with' right away: 

Sandcastle Brownies and Six Bean Soup Mix 

Wool~ various forms available: scarf, mittens, gloves, socks, dryer balls, hat

Not Paper~ We have several quilters in the family so those gifts are wrapped in fabric, but alternatives you might use are: handkerchiefs, dish towels, pillow case, cotton shop rags, etc. - use your imagination

And now my favorite~ an idea from the three wisemen

Gold: of course jewelry which isn't for everybody, but you can get creative and use candies in gold foil, hinges/hardware for a crafter, yellow stoneware, sports team items if gold is one of the team colors, 'dewalt' tools are yellow (gold:)

Frankincense: perfume or candles, spices - something fragrant

Myrrh: oils - either edible cooking oils or soaps/lotions etc (made with oils) 

I realize these are not the original uses and intents for the items, but they do serve as a reminder of what the season is really about.

There is a message on the reader board at the bank across the street from where I work offering Christmas loans.

To me, that seems a bit (read a lot) offensive.

I hope nobody I truly care about would want me to go into debt to buy them a gift.  The truth is Christmas is what we make it.  We have the opportunity to celebrate a very special birthday.  

The gift of love and friendship are all that we can really wish for.

Without those two things what are we?

I'll have more soon,

but for now, enjoy this Christmastime.

Until next time,
Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches

Spicy-Scented Christmas Ornaments

That sounds much better than

"This year I want a smelly tree."

In addition to Strung Popcorn, our tree is going to don a variety

of natural fragrant ornaments including dried orange slices,

and these yummy smelling ornaments.

(This recipe is from 'Taste of Home Magazine' about 20 years ago.)

First thing's first:

gather items needed~

3/4 c. applesauce

1 c. cinnamon

1 Tbl. ground nutmeg

1 Tbl. ground cloves

2 Tbl. white glue

(I used homemade pearsauce, because that's what I had.)
In a medium bowl, mix all ingredients.  It will be a little 'glumpy' at first.

Don't worry, just mix it together like you would cookie or pie dough.

It will smooth out.

Then roll it out to about 1/4" thick using cinnamon as you usually would flour.

Choose cookie cutter of your choice.

I'm not sure why, but I thought the little squirrel would go well

with the star and rocking horse.

Maybe I just thought it belonged in a tree.

Mine ended up a little thinner than 1/4".

I'm not too concerned.

Continue to rework your dough, roll out, and cut until there is not enough

for another ornament.

I set the remainder in a tin can with a little water on the wood stove.

Once they are all cut out,

use a straw to make a hole for a ribbon, or

I used a toothpick to poke a small hole 

since I will be using wire ornament hangers.

Be sure the hole goes all the way through.
These are pretty small ornaments.

If you are using a larger cookie-cutter, you might go ahead with the straw.

You can then set them in the oven on warm and

turn them over occasionally.

I'm not sure how long that would take, because

I cheated and set them on the dehydrator :)

It took about 1.5-2ish hours.
I can't begin to tell you just how good the house smelled.

You can use craft paint to embellish them, but

I will be keeping these natural.

After the holidays, 
you can do as mentioned above and crumble in a tin can
with some water on the stove as air freshener.
If you have munchkins in your home, please
remind them these are not for munching on.

Enjoy~

Until next time,
Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches

*~*~*Homemade Toothpaste*~*~*

In an attempt to eventually rid ourselves of toxic chemicals,

reduce dependency on the "grocery store,"

and save money as well,

I have found a recipe for homemade toothpaste

that works wonderfully.

Just so you are aware,

any recipe I share with you here is put to the test

and has to prove itself, or it will not make the cut.
If I shared all the failures, this might turn into a comedy blog.

This recipe takes maybe five minutes to make
and could easily be made by children.
I keep my "house-keeping" type recipes in a hideous little recipe box
that I happen to like.
It's a great size, and I don't misplace it.

I look to the 'T's and pull the recipe.

First in a small deep-sided bowl,
measure 2 Tbl. coconut oil (I don't soften mine)
and 6 tsp. baking soda.

Mix it together like you would grease and flour for pie crust.
It will get crumbly then begin to hold.

At this point, add 1/4 tsp. hydrogen peroxide and several drops of 
an oil of your choice (the edible sort of course.)
Mix those in well and place in an air tight jar.
I was using a 4 oz. canning jar, and that worked well.
I now put it in a pretty little glass container. 
It dries out a little towards the end, but that doesn't bother me.

This last me a couple weeks or so.
To be honest, I haven't really kept track.
The coconut oil is supposed to be good for 'pulling' bacteria.
I don't know how true that is, but it does cover 
the baking soda so it's not like eating plain baking soda.

*This is not an original recipe of mine.  I believe I found it in Hobby Farm Home a year or more ago.  When I went back to verify, the magazine was out of print so if there was a specific creator of the recipe, I'm sorry I am unable to give that person proper credit.

Until next time,
Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches

No More Gnats (or fruit flies)

Some folks are just a wealth of knowledge.

As Mom and I were complaining about fruit flies

and now all the gnats,

a family friend nonchalantly said,

"1/2 cup vinegar, 1/2 cup of water and a drizzle of blue Dawn dish soap

in a bowl will attract them, and they'll drown."

It really works!

Can you see the little corpses in the bottom of the jar?

She said a friend of hers mixed up a little batch and 

set it outside thinking it would be nice if they didn't even come in

the house.  Evidently moths are also drawn to the solution.

There were so many drowned moths that the gnats and fruit flies

were fluttering over the dead moths trying to get to it.

I wish I would have known this when I was doing pears

since there were so many fruit flies, and

they seem to enjoy hovering about two inches 

in front of my eyes.
This is so much more earth-friendly
than bug spray or tape.

(you can find instructions for the fall table runner here)

Until next time,
Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches

Homemade Spiced Apple Cider

September and Apples

Those two words just seem to go hand in hand.

The smell of apples in late summer and early autumn

just bring a stirring in the soul 

that conjure up visions of frosty mornings,

falling leaves, bright orange scool busses,

and apples.

Whole apples being kept in whole form

are not my forte.

Keeping in whole form + fuzz + funky odor - I'm a pro.

Needless to say, 

we preserve them in different ways.

This year in addition to our own apples,

we have had three boxes given to us.

One box will be cored and dehydrated.

The other two boxes as well as our own

were juiced for spiced apple cider.

Our neighbor has an apple press that we were able to borrow.

Washed up our apples and the press

then got to 'work.'

As we juice it,

small pieces of apple make it into the juice.

It went into my big ol' coldrun

and my big ol' canning pot.

(Lots of cider:)

Into the juice went

cinnamin sticks

allspice

bay leaves

cloves

dried oranges

nutmeg

mace

Isn't it just beautiful?

I wish the screen was scratch-n-sniff for you.
As it was simmering,
the house smelled just incredible.

As it went into the jars,

it was strained.

We ended up with 18 quarts and 1 pint.
It might be a little work now,
but come winter when the snow is flying
and we are bringing wood in to stoke the fire,
a nice hot cup of cider might just taste pretty good.

The recipe if you're interested:
2 qts fresh squeezed apple juice
2 tsp. whole cloves
2 bay leaves
2 cinnamin sticks
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. mace
1 tsp. allspice
2-3 dried orange slices
1/4 cup brown sugar if your apples are not a sweet variety.
(I also added 1 stick cannella which if you are unfamiliar,
you can find in the hispanic section of the grocery store.)
Heat to boiling then reduce heat and 
simmer about an hour ~ stirring occasionally.
I hot-water-bathed the quart jars 20 min. though I read
as little as 10 min. and as long as 25 min.

Until next time,
Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches

*~*Homemade Deodorant*~*

For some reason this seems to be a touchy subject

with some folks.

There are lots of different recipes, and I was skeptical,

but thought, "It doesn't hurt to try."

The cost to make a stick of deodorant?

Maybe 25 cents - ish.
(It's so little, I didn't take the time to do the actual figuring.)

One thing that was advised

was that you try it on a weekend when you plan to be home

so you aren't in public sniffing your underarm

every 5-10 minutes:)

I went ahead and took that advise.

I didn't have any sniffing problems; 

however, after a short time I noticed little white things

all over my floor.

One more word of advise:

it doesn't take as much as store bought deodorant.

1-2 swipes does the job.

What I really like (in addition to the lack of mystery chemicals)

is that there is no odd purfumey smell

if you do perspire.

You simply don't smell anything.

Also, it washes away better.

Most of the recipes I found call for tea-tree oil as it is an antiseptic.

Being sensitive to tea-tree, I used lavender.

Men could use pine or cedar, etc.

So here is what I used: 
1/4 cup baking soda
1/4 cup corn starch
2 Tablespoons coconut oil
15 drops essential oil
Mix it well and press into deodorant container.
Let set 2-3 days before using.

I can honestly say,
I don't see myself ever buying store-bought deodorant again.

Until next time,
Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches

Gift Idea for Next to Nothing

I guess sometimes I get a little

Hmmmm...

not sure what word to use,

but let's just say not very merry

when I hear children wanting lists of

very big expensive items for Christmas.

The sad part is that often times

they don't know about some

smaller items that can bring

possibly even more fun

if the grown-ups would spend time

teaching them how to enjoy simple things.

So,

all that said,

over the next month-ish

I will be posting some very

inexpensive gift ideas

for young and young at heart.

Today's Featured Toy~

Wooden Pick-up Sticks

There are only a few items needed

to make these:

25 Wooden Skewers

Food Coloring with a smidgen of Vinegar

(blue, green, yellow, & red,)

Black Permanent Marker

These are the longer ones, but I found them at

the thrift store for 89 cents.  Pick-up sticks

are only about 7 inches long so I just used

a pair of angle cutters to shorten these.

At the store, there are shorter ones available.

If you think the points are a little too sharp,

just use a pair of fingernail clippers to nip the ends.

Then, with just enough vinegar to make enough dye

to cover the sticks,

mix several drops of food coloring and vinegar

and roll sticks in it.

You should have 6 of each color.

I did this on a long serving plate,

then set them on news paper to dry.

I didn't use gloves so my fingers looked like Easter eggs,

but after doing up some dishes,

you can hardly tell:)

The last one is the pointer.

Using the permanent marker, color it black.

I used a rubber-band then

tied them with red jute and a little points tag.

Believe it or not,

until just a couple years ago,

Mr. LB had never played pick-up sticks.

The kids and I taught him how.

He was pretty good at it.

We talked, laughed, and tormented for over an hour.

Family time is a real gift. 

In case you too have never played:

Keep the black stick out (this is the pick up stick.)

Hold the others together &

let them fall in 'a pile' on a table or flat surface.

Usually, the youngest player starts & play

moves to the left.

The player uses the black stick to try to pick-up

another stick without moving any others in the pile

(so only the targeted stick should move.)

If any other sticks move, play goes to the next person.

If the stick is moved away from the others successfully,

then that player gets another turn.

When all the sticks are picked up,

add up the points as follows:

Yellow 10

Red 25

Green 40

Blue 50

The player with the most point wins.

Until next time,

Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches

HomEmaDe VaNillA ICecReAm - MMmmMmmMM

Just thought I'd share...

This was my neighbor's mom's recipe

only hers made a gallon 

so I adjusted it for a half gallon.

Also, I think she had a hand crank machine

and I just plug mine in and flip the switch.

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

pinch of salt

1 qt. milk

1 tbl. vanilla

Beat eggs thoroughly.

Slowly add sugar.

Continue beating until stiff.

Mix in remaining ingredients

& pour into can.

This is where it goes into the ice-cream maker.

A little ice and rock salt & yummo!

 Remove the beater and place in freezer for a couple hours

to finish setting up.

I am actually allergic to milk,

but I do get a spoon and sample a bit from the beater.

Mr. LB's favorite is with root-beer or blue berries.

It was beautiful in the bowl,

but I didn't get a picture

because it disappeared to quickly.

Enjoy!

Until next time,

Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches 

Fun Doing Laundry

So maybe I'm warped, but a friend gave me a recipe for homemade laundry detergent, and I just ran with it.

I mentioned in my last post I got a couple other things at the estate sale I would show in a later post.  Well, here goes...

I found these two beautiful carafes.  In the shorter one, I put my homemade laundry detergent, and in the taller one with a handle, my homemade fabric softener.

As if that wasn't enough, the measurements are in tablespoons so I found a couple old pretty spoons and stitched up a little fun.

Theeeeen... I ran across the idea of wool dryer balls.  I have of course heard of them and seen them.  Why I never thought of making them??? 

So I made some.  They are so easy.  Just wind up a ball of yarn just like you used to do for Grandma when you were a kid.  When they are a little larger than a tennis ball or about the size of a smaller orange, tuck the end in and tie them individually in an old nylon.  Run them through the washer and dryer, then remove them from the nylon.  If you do this, remember worsted wool will not felt so be sure to use regular wool yarn - I used the one for fisherman's sweaters.  
I have a pretty little spot on my dryer now, and all of my laundry is done because I have been so excited about using my new toys.  Yes, I know little things - little minds.  I must be okay with that, because I'm loving it.
Until next time,
Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches