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Archive: Homemade
November 19, 2009
CRAFT Holiday Gift Guide 2009: For the Foodie
I'm a big fan of homemade food gifts, which in my mind include alcoholic items, condiments, spices, etc. In fact, my mom recently told me that one of her favorite gifts in years past was a jar of Bronzed Chicken Spices that I mixed together in a big batch and doled out to family members along with the recipe. Mom said it took the hard part out of making a yummy dinner, and it was a thoughtful and helpful gift. Bonus!
That conversation greatly influenced my selections when I sat down to choose the items in this year's Foodie Gift Guide. It can take just pennies to make a gift that's likely to end up as someone's favorites list this year, so why pick products that cost a fortune, no matter how cool they are? Sure, we'd all like to have a fancy mixer or espresso machine, but in today's economy, a nice whisk or a pound of good coffee are just as welcome.
So here's a baker's dozen of food and kitchen items that you can either make as gifts this holiday season, or pick up without emptying your larder, er, pocketbook. (Puns definitely intended!) I'd love to hear about other gifts you plan on making or buying for the foodie in your life. Please tell us about them in the Comments! Merry merry, happy happy!
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Homemade Coffee Liqueur
A few years ago we made two different versions of coffee liqueur, dutifully marking them brew #1 and brew #2. Some recipes call for instant coffee and some call for a pot of brewed java. The bad news was that we forgot which recipe went with which number. The good news was that both batches were tasty, and our friends and family really appreciated the gift, especially when certain name brands can be quite pricey. This also needs to sit for a month, so factor in the time this needs to sit on the shelf aging to perfection.
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Posted by Shawn Connally |
Nov 19, 2009 11:00 AM
Food, Gadgets, Holiday Gift Guide 2009, Holiday projects, Homemade |
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November 12, 2009
Get Cozy with Vaska Contest
Berkeley-based Vaska, makers of botanical-based laundry soap, is holding a Get Cozy With Vaska Contest, which sounds like it's right up our alley.
Twelve winners will get $300 in cash and a page in the 2010 Vaska Cozy Calendar, sure to be a collector's item (or so they claim). The contest ends at midnight Jan. 4, 2010, with winners announced on Jan. 10. So now's the time to get making cozies! The cash would be a nice help in paying off some of my holiday debt, is what I'm thinking.
And I appreciate the fact that their PR efforts are focusing on crafters and our mad crafting skills:
"The Get Cozy Contest is a way of introducing the crafts community to laundry care products that conserve the integrity of their designs and, at the same time, we can reward them for their creativity. We know crafters will appreciate Vaska's softer, brighter, greener results," says Julia Fry, Vaska creator. Fry is a former fashion designer, whose love of textiles led her to create the herb-based detergent.
All the details, contest rules, and info on where to buy Vaska detergent can be found on their website.
Posted by Shawn Connally |
Nov 12, 2009 11:00 AM
Announcements, Contests, Fiber Art, Green, Homemade, Refashion, Yarn |
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October 21, 2009
Custom Order Jam Jar Labels by Lelo
The farm collective I am a member of is rapidly canning their late tomatoes, before the rain splits them all on the vine. If you find yourself in the same situation or are considering canning as holiday gifts, consider these wonderful labels. They are inexpensive, functional, and lovely. Add your own unique text to the template and choose a color. Lelo in Nopo Handmade takes care of the rest.
Posted by Brookelynn |
Oct 21, 2009 11:30 AM
Food, Home Sweet Home, Homemade |
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August 14, 2009
How-To: Electric Cigar Box Guitar
This week's Weekend Project on MAKE is this funky-cool electric cigar box guitar. Most of the construction is very crafty, and there's only a little soldering involved! You could always make it just acoustic, too. Check out the video and PDF instructions.
Posted by Becky Stern |
Aug 14, 2009 09:00 AM
Homemade, Technology |
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August 5, 2009
Frog Wheat Bag Tutorial
My mom has had a long love affair with frogs (made birthdays really easy when I was growing up), and I recently caught the bug myself (so to speak) at the California Academy of Science.
So of course I fell in love with this adorable froggie hot sock (or hot frog wheat bag, as it's referred to in the original post), and now there's a wheat bag pattern and tutorial! I'm totally smitten with that fabulous fly lolling on the greenest of tongues. Gotta make myself one of these to stick in my pocket or the little one's stroller on a cold San Francisco summer (ha!) morning... (Via Whip Up.)
p.s. Check out the Wikipedia page on frogs for some jaw-dropping frog tidbits.
Posted by Arwen O'Reilly Griffith |
Aug 5, 2009 01:30 PM
Homemade, Kids, Patterns, Sewing |
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July 31, 2009
How-To: Homemade Sidewalk Chalk
There's something so summery about seeing hopscotch squares and colorful chalk drawings on the sidewalk as you walk through your neighborhood, and the kids that live near me have been pretty creative. So I was delighted to see this great sidewalk chalk how-to recently. It never occurred to me that I could make my own, but custom-mixed colors sound pretty fantastic! (Via Whip Up.)
Posted by Arwen O'Reilly Griffith |
Jul 31, 2009 04:30 PM
CRAFT Summer Camp, Homemade, Kids |
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July 18, 2009
How-To: Vegan Lip Balm
Sarah James at Instructables is at it again with another DIY beauty product: vegan lip balm. Learn all the basics for this bee-free kisser balm.
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Posted by Becky Stern |
Jul 18, 2009 12:00 PM
Beauty, Homemade |
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June 23, 2009
How-To: Make Your Own Deodorant
To follow up her tutorial on DIY shampoo, Sarah James comes back at us with this easy recipe for making your own deodorant.
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Posted by Becky Stern |
Jun 23, 2009 02:00 PM
Homemade |
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June 18, 2009
Etsy Video: Birdhouseaccents
Etsy video maven Tara Young went inside the studio of Birdhouseaccents, a couple based out of Canton, CT who build and sell birdhouses:
It took Fred Jakubiec from Birdhouseaccents 25 years before he made building birdhouses his full-time job. It was well worth the wait. After 13 years as Area Supervisor at various fast food establishments, a stint at a steel mill and years of driving for Fed Ex, Fred decided working for other people just wasn't fun anymore.
He and his partner Lynn Patrick regularly took trips to Amish country to go thrifting and flea market shopping. During one visit, Fred discovered primitive style woodworking, and it was then that knew he found his calling. Building birdhouses and decorating them with special recycled accents was the perfect niche for this one time woodworking tinkerer turned birdhouse entrepreneur.
Posted by Becky Stern |
Jun 18, 2009 02:00 PM
Homemade, Video |
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Father's Day Faves at Our House
Most years, for Father's Day we let my dad, and now my husband, sleep in, make him a nice breakfast, and then head out for a picnic at the beach or by a creek in the mountains. This tradition is a great way to let the family spend some quality time together, give us an excuse to blow off household chores and head out for a nature excursion, and it's easy on the pocketbook as well.
But we always offer a small gift as well. And the ones that have held up the longest, evoke the strongest memories, and are often displayed as favorites around the house are the ones that are handmade.
Around our house, we have framed finger paintings and sketches of flower vases and pots of gold. We have fish made out of driftwood hanging in the living room, torn-paper hearts on the bedroom walls, and a sea shell and sea glass collage sitting on the mantle. My husband's got a wooden box, painstakingly painted by a then-5-year-old, that holds assorted screws on his tool bench. A decorated tin can holds the pens and pencils on his desk, and my own pen is a flower blooming out of a pot of pinto beans, recently created by our 6-year-old son. One wall in the kitchen is festooned with hand-print castings, along with a beaded crystal hanging, and an Ojo de Dios. All made by our two sons over the years, and all cherished.
Sure, the T-shirts, ties, and necklaces are always appreciated. Neither of us will turn down breakfast in bed or homemade muffins, but getting to see presents made by our children around every corner of our house is truly the gift that keeps on giving!
Feel free to share your homemade gifts, memories, and whatever else is on your mind in the Comments!
Posted by Shawn Connally |
Jun 18, 2009 12:00 PM
Holiday projects, Homemade |
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June 16, 2009
Homemade Shampoo
Sarah James at Instructables made a guide to making your own shampoo, with an emphasis on what ails you.
Posted by Becky Stern |
Jun 16, 2009 02:00 PM
Homemade |
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June 12, 2009
How-To: Wedding Flowers for the Bridal Party
Nothing is more romantic or classic than a perfect red rose. Its beauty is undeniable and it is a timeless symbol of love and devotion. While many bridal floral designs are complicated, textural, and packed with flowers, sticking to one type of flower and one deep color is a simple way to ensure a good design, and to also ensure a successful do it yourself project. I purposefully omitted ribbons, bows, and sparkles to allow the perfection of each flower to shine, and to make the construction of each piece less daunting for the novice.
This project showcases a hand-tied rose bouquet for the bride overflowing with more than two dozen flowers, an elegant single blossom corsage, and a handsome boutonniere. If you choose, you can scale down the bride's project to make bouquets for each bridesmaid, or embellish each project with your own signature wedding style.
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Posted by Brookelynn |
Jun 12, 2009 01:00 PM
Homemade, Weddings |
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May 26, 2009
Etsy Video: Handmade Soap
Check out this video highlighting Gwen Neucall of BeyondThePicketFence who makes natural soaps. She goes through the process of soapmaking, from selecting and combining ingredients to testing out experimental natural colors.
Posted by Becky Stern |
May 26, 2009 09:00 AM
Home Decor, Homemade, Video |
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May 5, 2009
How-To: Mineral Makeup
Sarah James at Instructables shows us how easy it is to make your own mineral makeup. She writes:
Mineral makeup is more than just a new beauty trend - it offers health benefits for skin as well. And now you can make it at home! It's made of all natural, finely ground minerals from the earth, without many of the chemicals, dyes, and preservatives found in traditional makeup. I have VERY sensitive skin, and have had trouble in the past with commercial makeup (even store-bought mineral makeup!) being too heavily fragrances, or containing irritants like bismuth oxychloride. This formula eliminates classic irritants so that it's kinder to the skin. Since it contains titanium dioxide which has anti-inflammatory properties, it also has a calming effect on the skin, particularly important if you suffer from inflammatory problems such as rosacea or acne. AND I've added micronized zinc oxide to give it an SPF rating, helping to further protect skin from damage and wrinkles. By making your own at home, you can control not only the purity of the ingredients you use, you can also create a custom color, matched exactly to your own skin tone!
Posted by Becky Stern |
May 5, 2009 09:00 AM
Fashion Tech, Home Decor, Homemade |
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April 21, 2009
Eucalyptus Cleaning Recipes
ModHomeEcTeacher at Curbly rounds up some sweet smelling eucalyptus cleaning recipes.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Apr 21, 2009 10:00 AM
Home Decor, Homemade |
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April 20, 2009
How-To: Duct Tape No-Sew Tote
Check out this tote bag you can make without sewing! Sarah James at Instructables shows you how to use duct tape to make something that's actually atractive for once, not that I don't love duct tape crafts.
Posted by Becky Stern |
Apr 20, 2009 04:00 PM
Fashion, Homemade |
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April 2, 2009
Tauntaun Sleeping Bag
Thinkgeek's April fool's joke this year was to pretend to sell this Tauntaun sleeping bag. Well, it's not really commercially available, but someone had to have made the one for the photo! I just love that intestinal lining. Via Neatorama.
Posted by Becky Stern |
Apr 2, 2009 09:00 AM
Homemade, Kids |
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March 27, 2009
How-To: Firewood Boomerang
Here's an interesting woodworking project on Instructables: make a boomerang from firewood!
Posted by Becky Stern |
Mar 27, 2009 02:00 PM
Homemade, Recycle |
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March 25, 2009
Spring Cleaning Dust Mitt Tutorial
I don't know about you, but I have definitely got the spring cleaning bug now that nicer weather is starting to roll in, so my eyes lit up when I saw this great Spring Cleaning Dust Mitt Tutorial over at We Wilsons. (Does that make me old?) It's a great way to reuse old garments (this version uses sweater cuffs, a sweatshirt and a terry cloth shirt) and using a damp dust mitt is a much better way to dust than using a feather duster, which just swishes dust around. (I have learned this the hard way.)
Posted by Arwen O'Reilly Griffith |
Mar 25, 2009 01:00 PM
Home Decor, Homemade, Sewing |
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March 23, 2009
How-To: Condition and Dye Hemp Rope
Conditioned hemp rope is expensive, but Instructables user mcvarij shows you how. I never knew it was so involved, and yet simple!
Posted by Becky Stern |
Mar 23, 2009 04:00 PM
Home Decor, Homemade |
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