Green Options

Do you woodwork? Chances are you have a box of leftover odds and ends of wood that can be turned into something cute for the holidays.

My husband has a huge box of wood pieces that he throws leftovers into after he’s done making a project. These pieces can range from tiny little scraps to half a two by four. But for some reason he had a bunch of pieces that were all about the same size left over from making something and we came up with these cute little snowmen.

Holiday stockings don’t need to be made from plush furry fabric or rich red velvet. They can be made from any fabric you like that reflects your style, eclectic tastes, or interior decor.

A long time ago I worked for a furniture store. One day they were clearing out all the sample fabric swatches and books that had been discontinued. And what were they going to do with it all?

Toss it in the dumpster. Stacks and stacks of rich, fancy, and fabulous pieces of fabric. All to the trash. I just couldn’t let it happen.

The weather is getting colder, and we have a handmade holiday on our minds! Handmade gifts have heart, are better for the environment, and, if you opt to buy, it supports independent artists!

If you want to have a totally handmade holiday, now is the time to get started. Over the next couple of months, we’ll be posting about recycled gifts and giftwrap you can make yourself and great handmade finds for sale!

When my pal Jes from Cupcake Punk posted about making her own apple butter, I just new this was the perfect holiday food gift! We’re all about mason jars full of tasty treats around the holidays, and you know we’re into canning around here, so this seemed just perfect! Not only is apple butter a crowd pleaser, but since apples are in season right now, you can probably find local ones pretty easily!

The weather is getting colder, and we have a handmade holiday on our minds! Handmade gifts have heart, are better for the environment, and, if you opt to buy, it supports independent artists!

If you want to have a totally handmade holiday, now is the time to get started. Over the next couple of months, we’ll be posting about recycled gifts and giftwrap you can make yourself and great handmade finds for sale!

There are lots of ecofriendly gift wrap options out there if you’re feeling the traditional, paper wrapping thing. If you want to branch out a bit, though, you might try wrapping some gifts this year using the traditional Japanese method furoshiki. Here’s how!

The weather is getting colder, and we have a handmade holiday on our minds! Handmade gifts have heart, are better for the environment, and, if you opt to buy, it supports independent artists!

If you want to have a totally handmade holiday, now is the time to get started. Over the next couple of months, we’ll be posting about recycled gifts and giftwrap you can make yourself and great handmade finds for sale!

To get things started, check out Sheryl of Twisted Limb Paperworks’ awesome video tutorial for making your own gift tags from last year’s Christmas cards:

Over the Summer on our sister site Feel Good Style, we shared the book Simply Green Parties by Danny Seo, and now for the winter holidays I’m pleased to present his classic book on green gift wrap.

Pictured here is the cover of Simply Green Giving: Create Beautiful Gift Wrapping, Tags and Handmade Treasures from Everyday Materials. The how-to manual on eco gift wrap includes:

“clever ways to recycle ribbon, cards and paper from presents people give you. Last, but not least, there are gorgeous last-minute gift ideas that don’t look like an afterthought and are gifts people will actually love.

A few highlights:

* Use an old cardboard globe as a gift basket
* Use colorful wood cigar boxes as handsome gift boxes for homebaked treats
* Recycle old books into a ring boxs

Christmas is literally days away now. It always seems like we have so long to plan and then WHAM, the big day sneaks up on us (at least that’s how it happens for me).

The kids in our house are all taken care of. They each get one gift from Dad & Mom, one from their siblings and one from the Jolly Old Man (Because, yes, the Polka Dot Family believes in Santa). I try to bust those out relatively early because my kids are my priority and if everyone else has to wait, so be it!

When we get to the rest of my family, things get a wee bit complicated. My Mother is one person I really enjoy giving gifts to. She has ALS and may not have many more holidays with us. She is in a wheelchair, with no motor function, no ability to speak (or eat) and now has a tracheostomy. As you can imagine, it isn’t easy getting a gift for her. My plan was simple (or so I thought). I was going to have the kids each do artwork with fabric paint on some thick white cotton fabric. I was then going to use pretty fabrics in between the artwork and make a quilt backed in some really soft, cozy fabric. Mom always has a blanket covering her and I thought this would be a nice (sentimental) gift.

Rolling pins always remind me of the holidays of my childhood. Recently I discovered a couple cool craft projects to try with rolling pins, that would make great holiday activities for kids of all ages:

1. A couple seasons ago Craft Chi shared a fantastic tutorial on rolling pin prints. The site features a step-by-step how-to in photographs, so you can explore the process before you jump in, explaining it’s“a nice, easy way to print wrapping paper or even fabric. I don’t know whether these would be considered relief or collagraph prints, maybe both. You could also carve a wooden rolling pin if you desired. But this way I can remove the cork and reuse the rolling pin.”

I like the idea of combining organic paints and dyes into the project for an all natural product.

“I pledge to buy handmade this holiday season, and request that others do the same for me.”

Dear Mom,

I know that this is coming a little late for you, since you’re the kind of woman who starts asking everybody what they want for Christmas back in June, and wrapping presents in August and just sticking them under the side table because the tree won’t be up for another three months, but still, you should know: I took the handmade pledge, and I wish that you would, too.

My family always creates handmade Christmas cards for each other and extended family members. Sometimes we also make special gifts for each other. This year the money crunch is on and I think handmade will be the norm and not the exception.