Have you started making your holiday gifts yet? What?! It’s already that time of year again? I know, I know . . .

This is a project that i’ve been meaning to do for years – yes, literally years – but it takes a few weeks to complete, and I’d never had my act together far enough in advance. But this year . . . this year I remembered! And I took myself and my baby to the liquor store, and we got us some vodka, and we went to the herb shoppe, and we got us some vanilla beans, and we got this project started a whole whopping 6 weeks ahead of deadline. Woo-hoo!

And now you, dear friends, have 5 weeks, which is plenty of time to make your own lovely, handcrafted, better-than-anything-you-could-ever-buy, delicious vanilla extract. Such a sweet and simple gift; both practical and charming (the best kind!)

But don’t wait on this one! 4 weeks is really the minimum amount of time required. Here’s what you’ll need:



- Vodka (you can use this website to determine which brands are vegan!)
- Vanilla beans
- Lime (for the cocktail, obvi)

* Note: I used 4 vanilla beans in a standard 750 ml bottle. Adjust the amount of beans to suit the volume of vodka you use; err on the side of extra beans.


To make your extract, begin by pouring off about 2 shots worth of vodka. Maybe pour them over ice into a swanky lowball (or small mason jar if you’re a hippie like me). Maybe add some lime soda and a liberal splash of lime. Maybe . . . wait what? Oh yes, the extract.

Cut the vanilla beans into pieces. Drop them in the vodka.



Out of sight, out of mind. Put the bottle away for 4-6 weeks. When you pull it out again, it will be a dark amber color (I’ll show you mine when it’s done!)

Pour the solution through a mesh strainer or cheesecloth, then transfer to small bottles. Pretty bottles work well if you’re gifting. If you’re just making this for yourself (it’s significantly cheaper than buying real vanilla extract), you can simply use old maple syrup bottles, old salad dressing bottles, or even old mason jars. The end, so easy.

Now, about that cocktail . . .



Here’s some light reading material to keep you and your cocktail company – a little list of past “Homemade Holidays” projects:

Vegan Taxidermy
Vanilla Bean Sugar
Reusable “Java Jackets”
Crock Pot Candles
Custom Tea Bags

This month we’ve made it our mission to finally find alternatives for some of the less conspicuous, but nevertheless wasteful, objects in our lives. For example, this whole idea was inspired by my desire to replace my paper coffee filters with something I could reuse. And just last week, I picked up a seriously awesome hemp filter that I’m loving! Other people suggested I switch to a French press or cold brew system, both great options.

There are a million ways that you can tweak your life to lessen your imprint on this Earth. The great thing about “going green” is that it’s a journey, not a destination, and we’re all walking on this path together. Each of us makes our little changes, at our own pace and as our life allows. And working together, keeping each other motivated, all those little alterations add up to an enormous impact!

Here are some other ideas:


Plastic Sandwich Bags
Make your own!
or
Buy pre-made to support a crafter


Plastic Tupperware
Dudes, it’s all about the repurposed glass jars.
or
Fancy glass! (this company uses recycled glass and manufactures in America, w00t!)


Kitchen Sponges
Make your own!
or
Grow your own? (!)


Plastic Water Bottles
I say, just re-use a glass mason jar. Easy and CHEAP!
But,
Maybe you like something fancy? There’s a million billion options out there in glass, steel, and more. I couldn’t possibly list them all. However, I love glass and these are adorable!!!


“Java Jackets” For Hot Drinks
Make your own!


Menstrual Pads
Make your own!
or
Buy pre-made to support a crafter


Tampons
Switch to Diva (or other menstrual cup)


Paper Towels As Napkins
Make your own!
or
Buy pre-made to support a crafter


Paper Towels As Cleaning Rags
Dudes, just cut up an old bath towel!
or
Buy pre-made to support a crafter


Plastic Take-Out Utensils
Replace with reusable


Take-Out Chopsticks
Replace with reusable


Take-Out Food Containers
Bring your own from home. Like these! Just tell the restaurant ahead of time, when you place your order. If this sounds crazy, just think about how far we’ve come with cloth grocery bags. Be a pioneer!


Plastic Straws
Replace with reusable


Wrapping Paper
Use newspaper, brown paper bags (you can draw or write on it for decoration), pieces of fabric, or a cloth bag.


Toilet Paper
Make your own cloth reusables! Sound crazy? I know, I know. Read this on how to get set up.


Single-Portion Foods
Stop buying those big bags full of tiny bags of chips or trail mix or whatever. Buy in bulk and pack it up yourself in reusable containers. Stop buying the individual yogurts or the single-serving soy milks. Buy the biggest container (or make your own!) and portion it out at home. Make your own trail mix. Make your own granola. Make your own Larabars. Buy loose leaf tea. You get the picture!

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Clearly, this is by no means a comprehensive list, but it’s a great jumping off point. Got something to add? Leave it in the comments!

Also, check out ReUseIt.com. Oh my god I want, like, everything there. Hippy heaven!

I do most of my produce shopping at the Farmer’s Market, and secondarily at the local market or co-op. But the truth is, I live 5 blocks from a Trader Joe’s, and sometimes it’s just super convenient to pop over there for an emergency onion or whatever.

In this way, over time I’ve amassed a collection of those coarse plastic produce bags, the ones that usually house garlic and such. You know the type? These ones:



And I have been saving them, oh yes, because I saw in my little mind’s eye the perfect way to put that plastic back into action. So easy. So simple. So effective! The wiry plastic and diamond pattern lends itself so well to the project, it’s almost like it was meant to be. Meant to be: a Scrubbie.




1) Collect a number of plastic produce bags.

2) Stuff all of them into one of them. The Trader Joe’s organic garlic comes in a little yellow bag that’s just about the size of a sponge, and I had a whole bunch of those. So I stuffed one of them full, and then used the others to make a couple of “layers” of exterior. Not necessary, but I think it helps keep everything together.

3) Sew up the seem. I used dental floss! I didn’t even use a needle, though it would have been a lot faster if I had.

4) Fin.

See how easy??!



Enjoy!

Watering
This year I planted all my many sprouts inside of homemade newspaper seed pots. I adore this little DIY project because it upcycles old newspaper and it means I don’t have to buy any additional paraphernalia. However, there is one downside to my beloved paper planters: the leakage.

I discovered this during my first year using them. Every time I watered, I’d end up with a sloppy mess spilling out the bottoms. My answer back then was to line up my seedlings on baking trays, but I knew this wasn’t a permanent solution.

Why is there a spice jar amidst the sprouts?

Please meet my new watering can! I know it sounds strange, but bear with me here. It’s actually a perfect hack.

The problem with normal watering is that it’s too hard to control the stream. You end up with a gush of water in one location, that quickly soaks through and out the bottom. But with a spice jar fitted with its little hole-y lid, the water flow is slowed to a sprinkle – just like a miniature watering can!



It’s the perfect upcycled compliment to the perfect upcycled seed pot. Free solutions are the best solutions, don’t you think? I’ve been using this method with my potting table in my living room, and haven’t had a single drop overflow onto the floor yet!

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I may have been overzealous with my seed sowing . . .

Thinning
As my seedlings grow I’m filled with a mixture of pride and sadness. I’m so proud of their achievements (drink up that water little root nest! lean towards that light little leaflets! grow little guys grow!), but I’m dreading the inevitable. The thinning out, wherein I am forced to kill the vast majority of them. Shakespeare himself never conceived of such tragedy.

One is the loneliest number. Grow big so you can play with your pals in the planter!

But it’s all part of the process, and so I do my duty as the harbinger of death. I always look for the largest sprout that’s closest to the center of the pot. This gives the little guy the best chance of survival. Thinning is always a risk – if you select the wrong sprout and it dies, then you’re just out of luck. So choose wisely!

My hand, she is a bloody battlefield.

I’ve mostly been thinning tomatoes and squashes, which unfortunately go straight to the compost. But remember, many varieties can (and should!) be eaten. Sunflowers, spinach, beets, lettuces and other tender greens, and all the brassicas like broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbages, kale and other dark greens – these are all contenders for a little spin in the blender. They make a mean green smoothie!

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These little dudes have doubled in size since I took this picture. Time to head out!

Moving
Spring is buzzing along and some of my babies are already big enough to transition outside. This is just a friendly reminder not to shock your seedlings with a sudden move. You’ll need to harden off to slowly to accustom them to the great outdoors.

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Another friendly reminder: keep a close watch out for seedling thieves!

Vanilla bean sugar is a decadent gift for your favorite gourmand or aspiring epicurean. It adds elegance to everything it touches, from coffee to cupcakes. And of course homemade gifts really come from the heart! This one’s pretty simple, too, so it’s great for you last-minute folks. You just need:

3 cups organic sugar
2 whole vanilla beans

and then you:

1) Place your sugar in a large mixing bowl.

2) Use a small sharp knife to split each vanilla bean.

3) Make sure you let your assistant smell real, fresh vanilla for the first time.

4) Carefully scrape the seeds into the sugar. Cut each bean into pieces and add them to the mix.

5) Mix well and transfer to jars. Make sure that a few pieces of vanilla bean end up in each jar.

And that’s it! Decorate, wrap, or otherwise adorn as you see fit. Vanilla sugar will keep for ages, and you can even keep adding more sugar as the bean will continue to infuse over time. Enjoy!

Last week I posted a tutorial for baby knee pads, but what about us big kids?! A couple of readers requested my method for homemade leg and arm warmers, and I’m more than happy to oblige.

Here’s the thing: It’s so easy! To make leg warmers, you start with an old sweater (thrift store!), like this:



And then you cut off the sleeves, like this:



Aaaand, that’s it! As you can see in the top picture, the way you wear them will depend on the original sweater. You can even use a jacket, like I did with the camo, but you’ll need to use safety pins to keep them up (pin them tight over the top of your calf). The ones I made for this tutorial ended up very long – ooh la la!

~ ~ ~

Hand warmers are just as easy! Start with a pair of socks. For longies, cut off just the toes and then snip a *small* hole in the heal.



And it looks like this:



For shorties, snip below the heel instead, like this:



Then it’s just a matter of making a thumb hole in the right spot (use your hand as a guide). These are the type I tend to wear all winter:



If you want to get really fancy, you can take a pair of longies and turn them into actual gloves. Just slit down and sew up a tube for each finger. I did this with the pair I made for Damian!




Sometimes, it really just is that simple. Hope you enjoy!

In other words, my little man is mobile. And while it’s so amazing to watch his discovery process, I couldn’t help but worry over his tender wee knees! I tried to tell myself I was an overly-paranoid new mommy, but a distinct patter emerged that confirmed my concerns. He modified his crawling style whenever he was on hard surfaces. Unacceptable!

A little ingenuity and a couple of old socks later, and snazzy new knee pads were born. These are so easy guys, and they sure beat the $5-$25 (!!!) going rate on Amazon. You’ll need :

- 2 pairs old socks (that’s 2 pairs, not 2 socks)
- scissors

And it goes like this :


1. Don’t throw away those worn out old socks with the blown out heels. I’d been saving these guys in my sewing box for months . . . I knew they’d be perfect for something some day!


2. Cut off the ‘tube’.


3. Take your 2 tubes and slide one inside the other. You’ll do this twice, one for each pair of socks, to end up with two leg warmers that are each two tubes thick. Is that totally confusing?


For softer surfaces (like our upstairs carpet shown here) you can use them as is, just the tube-within-a-tube. They make great little leg warmers for around the house. Diaper changes are so much easier in leg warmers as opposed to pants! If your little one is young/skinny, turn the tubes elastic side up. For rolly-pollies like Mr Waits, keep them elastic side down.


For harder surfaces, fold the tube into itself once more, to get a shorter knee pad that’s now 4 layers thick. It’s surprisingly durable, won’t slip around, and allows your brave explorer to cruise the floor bruise-free. Wait’s tested, Waits approved!





No more worrying, moms. Let ‘em at it!

If you’d like to learn more about why one would want to do such a thing, you can get the background story at this month’s Mission post. Now, you can go about getting started in one of two ways: buy them or make them. Since one of the major themes of this exercise is reduction, I opted for the DIY approach. A couple of my husbands old softened tee shirts was all it took!





An old sheet, flannel PJs, dish towels or bath towels – pretty much anything can stand in here. No sewing required! I just cut the fabric into strips the width of regular TP. Then, cut them into lengths so that when they’re folded in half they’ll make a perfect square.





From there you just need a place to store ‘em and to stash ‘em, close to the scene of the crime. I picked up this lovely secondhand basket at the thrift store, and found the perfect plain plastic waste bin for catching wipes. An empty drawer would also work great for storing the clean ones. I considered getting the biggest, tackiest vintage cookie jar i could find for used wipes. Ha!





There are really a million variations here. Highly customizable. Now as far as actually *using* them, that’s a whole other story.

We’ll revisit that at the end of the month.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• An old men’s collared shirt (long sleeved)
• Needle and thread or sewing machine
• Elastic
• Embellishments (optional)

For the sake of these photos I made this example entirely by hand, to show how it can be done. But I’m totally machine-spoiled, so my hand sewing skills suck! Sorry ’bout that.

To make the body of the java jacket, you’ll be using the wrist band of the shirt. So first things first, cut it off!





This is what you’ll end up with:





Clean it up by removing those ugly buttons. A seam ripper works best for this, but scissors will do in a pinch.





Next you’ll need to finish up that frayed edge. I used red thread so you could see my work, but you can use white if you want to hide it, or whatever color suits your fancy.





Continue until you’ve secured the entire jagged edge, like so:





Now you’ll want to cut a length of elastic. The wide-band type works best here. Cut a piece about 2 inches thick, slightly tapered.





Pin the elastic into the cuff. It helps here if you have a standard 16-oz ‘to go’ cup to measure on, to make sure you get the circumference correct.





Sew the elastic into place. Since I was using red thread and going for a decorative look, I kept it going around the entire perimeter. But this wasn’t necessary, function-wise.





And guess what? That’s it! All that’s left is to decorate as you see fit. I kept this one simple . . .





And the other one extra fancy!





The possibilities are pretty much endless. And I’m dying to see what you guys come up with! These are so fun to make and super customizable, I really think they’re the perfect gift. And bonus – they make adorable, wearable wrist cuffs!





Happy Holidays!

The first holiday season that Damian and I spent together, I was a starving college student. So I thrifted the softest cashmere sweater I could find (this was pre-vegan), disassembled it, and sewed it into a pillowcase. I needlepointed ‘Damian’s Head Here —->’ into the corner. Damian, who is sort of obsessed with really soft things, loved it. It’s still on our bed.

Last year we made all our gifts together – our attempt at canning. All our friends and family got our truly terrible plum syrup, sugar-free strawberry jam, and tomato starter sauce. Hey, it was our first time! And it’s the thought that counts, right?

Anyway, there I go reminiscing. Pregnancy and the holidays have got me all nostalgic! But all of this story-telling serves a purpose: to introduce this years gift projects. First up – candle making!


How To Make Candles In A Crock Pot

All you need is some wax, some wicks + wick bases, and some candle-holders. I used soy wax because it’s vegan and I think it makes superior quality candles (just my preference, I love soy candles!). It’s available at any craft store along with a selection of other options. I used precut wicks that came in their bases, because they were really cheap. But you can also buy wick string and cut it yourself. Both are available at the craft store. For candle holders, I just used a bunch of shot glasses I’d purchased years ago for a party, and never even opened. You could also upcycle your old candle holders, or hit the thrift stores for anything from shot glasses to tea cups, whatever you can imagine can become a funky candle holder.

Optional additions include color (candle dye is available at the craft store) and smell. I used eucalyptus essential oil, but you can also buy scents specifically designed for candles (though you certainly don’t need to and can use any essential oil you’ve got). You’ll also probably want a wooden skewer for stirring hot wax (a chopstick or a length of wire, like from a hanger, would probably work just as well)

Once you’ve gathered all your supplies, set aside some time when you’ll be around the house for a couple of hours. I made these candles on Sunday afternoon, whilst cleaning the kitchen and then suggling with the husband for movie time. Just make sure you’ll be nearby and available for frequent checks. You don’t want to deal with a waxy mess (or worse!).

1) Spoon the pieces of wax into your candle holders and arrange them in the bottom of the crock pot. Don’t overcrowd and definitely don’t stack! Turn the crock to high, cover, and go do something else.





2) 20-30 minutes later you can check back. Your wax will probably be melted and you’ll probably notice your candles aren’t as full as you’d like. So carefully add more wax to each container. You may have to do this for a few rounds.





3) When the candles are as full as you like and you’ve let them get good and hot and melty, it’s time to add the essential oils. You’ll need to call for an assistant. “Assistant!”





3.5) He was very helpful. So, using a dropper add 5-15 drops of your odor-of-choice to each candle. I wanted a more mild, mellow vibe so I only used 5 drops. If you were to use color, this is where you would add the dye as well.





4) Stir it up! (note bulging belly creeping into the pic)





5) Add your wicks. Carefully insert them and make sure they’re centered. They should stay straight up on their own, so don’t worry about that.








6) Turn the crock pot off. Leave it uncovered. Go do something else.





Over the next few hours the wax will cool and harden. They’ll be hard enough to handle if you’d like to remove them after a few hours, but give them at least 6+ hours before you really toss ‘em around. They need plenty of time to get good and set.

And that’s it, just a few hours of monitoring and six easy steps gets you these adorable, customized gifts that anyone would be delighted to receive. They’re so cute, no?





Happy Holidays!