Archive for the ‘Gifts’ Category

Because I Am Glad to Give & I Want You To Give Too!

Monday, April 19th, 2010

When someone once asked me one word to describe myself, the word that came to mind was, “giver.” I love to give to others and thrive in any environment where I can share a piece of myself with someone else. There is nothing I love more than the giving of food, the giving of my time to make someone’s day easier, even being the giver of advice that might make a mom’s day run a little smoother. I am a giver because it comes naturally to me and that is why I am thrilled to share about a campaign that you can give back frugally and thoughtfully to families who are faced with a disease called pediatric cancer.

Did you know that the number one death disease of children living in the United States is pediatric cancer? Why is it the number one killer? Truthfully, it kills children daily because the funds are just not there to develop the research to find a cure for this disease.

I was asked to help spread the word about a campaign called, “Glad to Give,” that is sponsored by the GLAD company.  They believe that they can raise the funds for this research one cookie at a time. Yes, you heard that right! This campaign’s roots are firmly planted in that beautiful thing we love… bake sales!

As parents with busy schedules, I know that volunteering and baking might not be the top two things on your priority list. What if you knew that those two things could make a difference in a child’s life though? Glad to Give is offering up some fantastic ideas for how you can participate and how you can be a part of their partnership with Cookies for Kids’ Cancer.

Here are some easy and frugal things you can do to participate:

Buy GLAD® Products and Contribute to Pediatric Cancer Research: This spring, every time you purchase a  GLAD product (to help host a bake sale or for other use), the Glad Products Company will make a $1 donation to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, up to $200,000! Just enter the UPC code here!

Enter the GLAD Recipe for Giving Contest: GLAD recognizes the time spent prepping, kneading and decorating bake sale treats is quality family time that instills a spirit of service in children. To help celebrate families in action, GLAD® is conducting the GLAD® Recipe for Giving Contest. Consumers can share their “recipe” – that is, tip or advice – on how their family gives back through food related activities. Four consumer winners will each win $1,000 toward a family activity of their choice and a chance to compete alongside a celebrity in the holiday GLAD® Recipe for Giving Celebrity Challenge. Come November, the two lucky consumers on the winning celebrity team raising the most money will each receive a “voluntourism” trip for four to St. Lucia.

Host a Bake Sale: I know that this might take a little work on your part, but imagine the lives that you could touch through the donations raised. GLAD will take you through the process in four easy steps that will have your raising funds in no time!

I am committed to this campaign and committed to spreading the word about how you can help. I want to kick off the GLAD to give campaign by donating $400 to jump start the cause and I need your participation!

I am going to be hosting a virtual bake sale on May 14th. I am asking you to participate here on the site and share your best bake sale recipes!  From those entries, I will randomly select a winner who will receive a box full of baking goodies (valued at $50, prepared by me!) just for sharing one of your bake sale recipes and sharing about your participation in Glad to Give! Doesn’t that sound lovely?

I hope that you will consider participating and sharing a favorite baking recipe in honor of this campaign. It would mean the world to me, but it would mean a world more to the families of these children! Start gathering those recipes and think of the ways that you could help with my virtual bake sale. I can’t do it without you!

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In honor of all things bake sale, here is a quick cookie recipe that can be made out of pantry ingredients and one ingredient that makes the whole thing go a little quicker… the ever amazing cake mix!

Cake Mix Peanut Butter Cookies

1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 tablespoons water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Pour the cake mix into a large bowl. Make a well in the center, and add peanut butter, oil, eggs, and water. Mix until well blended. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Flatten slightly using a fork dipped in water. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Let cookies set on cookie sheet for 2 to 3 minutes before carefully removing from the cookie sheet to cool on wire racks. Amy’s Notes: Be sure to keep the cooking time to the ten to twelve minutes and don’t let the lighter color fool you. I had some burnt cookies in my first batch because I left them in the oven too long. Let them cool as instructed and then place them on a pretty plate for serving. Then you need to complete the most difficult step of all…Try to graciously accept the compliments without giving away your cooking secrets (which I never can do myself!).

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Disclaimer: I was paid for this campaign and invested every dollar back into it to spread the word about pediatric cancer. It is far better to give than to receive. I hope you will consider doing the same!

What is one way you donate your time or talents to charity? How do you make this a family priority?

A Round-Up of Homemade Hostess Gifts

Thursday, December 17th, 2009

I love to give hostess gifts because they don’t cost very much at all, but can say a lot about who you are and the person you are giving it to. In my opinion, giving a homemade gift shows that you care enough about that person that you would devote time towards making something special just for them. The best part about the homemade gift is that you can make it very inexpensively, but leave a lasting message for your recipient.

I wanted to share a few of my favorite hostess gifts to give for the holiday season from our website…


A jar of pumpkin butter with some buttery bread machine rolls.

A snowflake knitted dishcloth with a personalized family tag.

A coffee cup or waffle-weave dishcloth with a bottle of hand soap tied with a little raffia.

A knitted or no-sew scarf with a repurposed container housing some homemade vanilla chai tea or other great drink mix.

A batch of ready-to-bake homemade cinnamon rolls to make your host’s morning brighter.

A set of bubbly magnets in a creatively wrapped Altoid tin.

A fresh batch of Oreo Biscotti in a pretty coffee mug.

A mix of your favorite holiday music wrapped creatively in your family holiday picture.

A can of sugar & spice nuts– the perfect holiday treat.

A batch of vanilla scented granola in a thrifted jar.

Easy and delicious quick breads pulled from your freezer.

A small box filled with Christmas goodies– don’t forget some holiday-esque sugar cookies!

A jar of homemade hot cocoa mix tied with some festive ribbon.

A jar of fancy candy cane bath salts tied with a candy-cane striped bow.

What will you be giving as a hostess gift this holiday season? Feel free to share your links to recipes and ideas!

All I Want for Christmas…The ’09 Edition

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

Isn’t it fun to peek into someone else’s holiday wish list? I wanted to share with you my Christmas wish list for this year and hear what is on your list!

40″ circular knitting needle set– I have been hearing a lot about magic loop knitting and I have some circular scarves that I would like to attempt knitting… not to mention my 2-at-a-time sock knitting that I want to try! This set of needles would put off my procrastination on learning this new technique and would be a perfectly cozy activity to do over the winter ($19.99)

lavender & vanilla pillow mist– If I have trouble sleeping, I spray a little lavender pillow mist on my pillow to help me conk out. I have had the same bottle for years, but I am down to my last sprays. I know my husband will never buy this for me as he finds the process of me spraying my pillows annoying. To which I simply say…whatever. There is nothing more soothing and I am hoping someone out there will replenish my supply ($10.00)
6-slice waffle iron– This is a very expensive gift therefore making it very unlikely I will receive it, but I am dying to get a waffle iron that produces more than a single waffle at a time. I make waffles every single Saturday for the entire week and this six slice waffle iron would give me the opportunity to sit and eat with my family instead of eating a waffle alone… Wait, no more eating alone? Maybe it is better that we keep our current arrangement! ($79.95)


Norah Jones & Imogen Heap music– I am a huge, huge, huge music lover and there were so many good albums that came out this year that I would love to have wrapped under my tree. Norah Jones & Imogen Heap are my top two requests this year and would definitely help round out my music collection ($11.99)

new calendar– I am writing activities in the margins of my current planner and can’t wait to get a fresh new one to fill with our activities. This is my favorite calendar of all and I have bought it the last two years and it is one of my most used items in my house. It is the perfect size to tuck in my purse and has pockets for business cards and random receipts. It is also durable and has survived all sorts of spill horrors and messes because of the waterproof cover. ($14.95)

perfume– Every girl should have a signature scent. I want my signature scent to be this Falling in Love perfume. I just need to convince my husband that a signature scent is important to me. Even the teeniest little spray bottle would make me happy and it sure would make those poor saleswomen at Sephora happy too. I don’t have to keep requesting little samples to stick in my purse and could finally get a bottle for myself. It is an extravagant luxury though so we shall see what Santa will bring ($15-60)

cookbooks– My cookbook collection could use a little updating and this year I have asked for the America’s Test Kitchen Family Baking Book< /a> and Cake Doctor cookbooks. These are two that I would like to stop paying fines on at the library because I check them out so often. The new Pioneer Woman Cookbook would also be a fantastic addition underneath the Christmas tree. ($10.37-$19.57)

What made your Christmas list this year?

Ideas for Budget-Friendly Gifts For Guys

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009
(Image Credit: Craig)

I don’t know what it is about men, but it seems that people are always looking for gift ideas for them. I have never really had a problem with buying for guys, in particular, but struggle more for those people in my life who seem to have everything. Buying gifts for the guys in your life doesn’t have to be difficult and I want to arm you with some of my favorite gifts for guys that are always a hit.

Give the Gift of Music– I am a big music-lover and the men in my life are music lovers too. Music is always a great gift to give because it is something that can be enjoyed for a very long time. I love to make a “mixed tape” of great music and then follow these instructions for making a very personalized CD cover with pictures that I know the recipient would like. Print the covers on heavy card stock and add a personal message to the recipient.

If the man in your life is more into the digital music, why not give him an iTunes gift card that can be redeemed for picking his own favorite music? These gift cards start at just $15, which would make a great gift for any music lover.

Give the Gift of Movies- One of the best gifts I have ever given has to be the gift of movies. Netflix offers a wide range of plans that you can choose from and you can purchase a month or two for your recipient for very little money. Their plans start at $8.99 and you can present the subscription in a fun way or even tuck the gift in with a popcorn tub and and some movie theater snacks.

Give the Gift of Reading- Guys love magazine subscriptions and I have found that magazine subscriptions can be bought very inexpensively off of eBay. Make your own card and tell your guy that the gift is redeemable for any magazine of his choice (except those filthy magazines which will never be purchased for your guy thankyouverymuch) and that you will get him a gift subscription. I have found subscriptions to magazines for $3 or $4 for an entire year versus the newsstand prices. If it is in your budget, you could subscribe to two or three without breaking the bank and let him think you spent a mint on him.

Give the Gift of Food & Drink- They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach and I have found this is absolutely true. Whip up a special batch of his favorite snack and pair it with some of his favorite coffee. You could make him a batch of these sugar and spice nuts and pair it with a little bucket of his favorite beer. By pairing your homemade specialty with a store-bought favorite drink, you have a great combination for a perfectly budget-friendly gift.

If you want to extend the gift further, wrap up his favorite snack and give him coupons to redeem the snacks for later. This is especially effective with college-aged guys and we have made more than a few college students happy with our boxes of goodies. You can download and print our free college coupon template and mount these to card stock for holiday gift-giving.

Give the Gift of Accessories- Just like women love a good handbag, a pretty scarf, or a hot pair of shoes, men have a desire for accessories too… just not the same kind as us. If your man is into gadgets and already has them, why not supply him with some accessories for the items he already has? For example, if he has a Nintendo Wii, you could give him some Wii points to put towards one of his favorite old Mario Brothers games. Likewise, if he uses any other game system, you could buy an extra controller or a different style of controller so he could play with more of his friends. If he has a Kindle you could give him a gift certificate to Amazon to buy some book downloads. Is he into computers? Why not try and find some computer software that he could put to good use by taking advantage of those rebate offers from the office supplies stores. We often forget to reload the tech gadgets we already have so this is a cost-effective way of building upon investments that have already been made.

There are the other accessories in life too so take a peek at his belt, his wallet, his hat, his scarf, his planner. While not maybe as much fun as some of the other gifts on the list, upgrading your man’s accessories can be very thoughtful and will be used for years to come. I love to go to stores like TJ Maxx and Marshall’s to find these accessories because they are so deeply discounted and you can get some really great brand-names for an affordable price.

Give the Gift of Believing In Your Man- I know how much I appreciate it when someone believes in me and what I do so why not try and make that into a gift for someone you love? Are they self-employed or trying to start their own side business? Why not place an order for business cards for them? VistaPrint offers very affordable prices on business cards and think how much that would mean to someone who is trying to start their own business. You could pair that with a business card case that has been engraved with his initials which would make the gift even more personal.

Does the man in your life have a hobby that he is passionate about? Why not get him a book, a tool, or some items off of his wish list to support that hobby. Make these gifts more personal with a note that tells them that you are proud of them and give him a free pass to watch the children so he can go and pursue his hobby for the day… with no flack from you. Men value their alone time just as much as women so give him permission to go hit a few of those golf balls that are wrapped under the tree and enjoy some of your own quality time alone with the kids.

Give the Gift of Memories- Do you know something about the man in your life that you could use as a creative gift? Think of their favorite book as a child or think of a gift that he said he always wanted, but never got when he was young. Try and find those items on eBay and write a personal message to them about how you always remembered that this was special to them. You don’t have to pay to get a first-edition of the item, remember that the thought is there and he will
appreciate that you remembered that about him.

Another way to capture those memories is by finding an old picture that would have significant memories for him and have it printed up through a photo place and frame it for his desk at work. Maybe it is a picture of you with your father? Maybe it is a picture of you and your spouse on your honeymoon? Maybe it is a picture of your grandfather with his grandkids? Frame it and give it to them as a way of remembering all of those wonderful memories.

Whatever you do, just remember to make the gift as personal as you can. Wrap your gift creatively and tuck in a letter of what that person means to you. Everyone wants to feel loved and appreciated and nothing says appreciation like a little time invested into a personal gift. Don’t just give him the supplies to wash the car, give him a coupon that says it is good for one car wash done by you. Don’t just give him a magazine subscription. Buy one magazine to wrap that says that it is good for the subscription and then tag the magazine with sticky notes with funny notes from yourself. Don’t give him a generic coffee mug, have the children create one with you and fill it with his favorite snack. Make it as personal as possible and your gift will say a lot more than any expensive gift that is wrapped under the tree.

I hope these ideas have helped since this was a topic our readers really wanted to see!


Please share-what do you like to give to the men in your life? Have you done any of these ideas from this list?

Gifts You Can Make: Elegant Quick Breads With Printable Gift Tags

Monday, November 30th, 2009


I hope you have been enjoying our Gifts You Can Make series. My hope is that we can offer some fabulously easy gifts that you can make to share with those you love. In case you have missed the past tutorials, we have shared hot drink mixes you can make, homemade bath salts & soaks for gift-giving, and hand painted mugs that you can create with your children.

Today we are continuing the series with elegant quick breads that can be given for the holiday season. There are three things that make this gift a total winner in my book. The first is that they can be frozen ahead of time and stored in your freezer for last minute gifts. The second element that I love about these gifts is that they are quick and you don’t need to be a fantastic baker to achieve success with these recipes. The third, of course, is that they can be multiplied to make several gifts for the holiday season in one afternoon.

Quick breads can be thrown together in a bowl, beaten with a wooden spoon, and made in a matter of ten minutes. Don’t believe me? I timed myself in the kitchen to see how long my hands-on time with these were. In ten minutes, I was sliding two loaves of pumpkin bread in the oven and could tackle other holiday chores around the house. You can’t beat that!


First, you need to choose what type of loaf pan you will be using for your gift-giving. I prefer the disposable loaf pans because it makes it easier to package and place in your freezer and because of the affordability factor. This was a three pack of loaf pans purchased at Walmart (over by the plastic containers in the housewares, not in the baking aisle) and it was $1.56 for the three. You could also check at your local dollar store to see if they have these. I happened to buy them there because I needed milk that day!

With these, the key to keeping things mess-free in your oven is to assemble your loaves on a cookie sheet. Because they are made from a flimsy material, it can lead to a major catastrophe in your oven. If you overfill a loaf pan, the cookie sheet can catch the excess batter and will save you from that horrible burning smell in your oven. Not that this has ever happened to me…nope, not ever!

Other options are those cute mini-loaf pans that you can find for $1 at Michael’s in festive holiday colors. You would need to reduce the length of baking time to adjust for these, but they can be a cute way to package those gifts.

I want to start with my favorite loaf of bread to whip up for the holidays and that is my Spiced Pumpkin Bread. I keep cans of pumpkin on hand all year round to make this bread because it is such a favorite in our house. It comes out perfectly every single time and is a favorite even with those weird pumpkin-haters in the family. To date, I have already made eight loaves of pumpkin bread this month and I think our family has ate six of them. It just goes to show that this recipe is a true winner for the holidays! It also goes to show why my New Year’s resolution will be to starting working out more.

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Spiced Pumpkin Bread

3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 16-ounce can solid pack pumpkin
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour two 9x5x3-inch loaf pans. Beat sugar and oil in large bowl to blend. Mix in eggs and pumpkin. Sift flour, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, salt and baking powder into another large bowl. Stir into pumpkin mixture in 2 additions. Mix in walnuts, if desired.

Divide batter equally between prepared pans. Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Transfer to racks and cool 10 minutes. Using sharp knife, cut around edge of loaves. Turn loaves out onto racks and cool completely.

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For a different spin on quick breads, I adore making a loaf of Cinnamon Delight Bread for the holidays. The unique thing about this bread is that sprinkled on the bottom of the bread is a cinnamon and sugar coating to line the bottom of the loaf. This is a sweet little surprise at the bottom that makes a deliciously yummy bottom cinnamon crust. While I will be the first to admit that this loaf isn’t the most amazing looking loaf, one slice of it and people will be begging for the recipe. Enjoy showing off your cooking skills with this delicious treat!

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Cinnamon Bread Delight

3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 large package instant vanilla pudding mix
1/2tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2tsp salt 2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup applesauce
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar

Preheat oven to 325. Grease 2 5×9 loaf pans.
In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, pudding mix, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, mix the milk, oil, applesauce, eggs and vanilla. Stir the milk mixture into the flour mixture until smooth. Sprinkle the bottoms of the pans with cinnamon sugar and divide the batter between the 2 pans. Bake 1hr or until a toothpick comes out clean.

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My new favorite bread this year is our Light Banana Oat Bread. What makes this bread special enough for the holidays is the beautiful oats that decorate the top of the loaf. It is the perfect way to use up those ripe bananas and make a gift in the process. Banana bread is always a favorite in our house because it is a thrifty treat that is loved by just about everyone!

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Deliciously Light Banana Oat Bread

1 1/2 cups flour
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup mashed banana (approximately 2 1/2 per loaf)
1/3 cup buttermilk (I substituted with half & half with 2 tsp of vinegar to sour)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs, beaten
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°F and spray a 8 x 4 inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Combine dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Combine banana, buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and eggs in a small bowl or measuring cup. Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir gently just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Spoon batter into the prepared pan and bake for 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack, in the pan, for about 15 minutes (I left mine in longer and it was fine). Remove the bread from the pan after 15 minutes and cool thoroughly on the rack.

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Packaging your bread for gift-giving is super easy. I love to find ribbon with some wiring in it to get a beautiful bow that will stand to attention. One note about selecting ribbon is to look for ribbon that isn’t glittery, if you plan to leave your loaves exposed instead of wrapping and freezing them. Glitter from the ribbon can come loose and scatter across the top of your loaf. Again, this has never happened to me…nope, not ever!

For packaging, cover the bread with a little plastic and wrap your ribbon around the outside. To make packaging even easier, we are including a free download today for beautiful (and did I mention free?) gift tags that you can add to label these loaves.

Free Gift Tags for Quick Breads

Isn’t it great when one day can easily yield ten beautiful gifts to give! Share these quick breads at your next holiday potluck, as a hostess gift, a sweet teacher gift, or for all of life’s little helpers (hairdressers, newspaper boy, postal worker, neighbor, bus driver, etc…) Trust me, they won’t stay in the freezer long and everyone will remember your delicious handmade gift!

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Quick Freezing Guidelines For Quick Breads

– Make sure your bread is completely cool before wrapping it or putting it in the freezer. To freeze, wrap securely in aluminum foil, freezer wrap or place in freezer bags. Label all packages with the name of the recipe and date. Use within the recommended storage time (up to 3 months) for the best flavor and texture.

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Do you have a favorite quick bread recipe to share or a secret to great packaging? Please share here!

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Gifts You Can Make: Handmade Bath Salts & Soaks

Monday, November 16th, 2009

We are continuing our Gifts You Can Make series with one of my favorite gifts to give…bath salts and soaks. Don’t forget to also visit last week’s tutorial where I shared two of my favorite hot drink mixes to make.

Making bath salts and soaks are easy and require little effort on your part. I love to make a giant batch of these and keep them on hand for unexpected holiday occasions like hostess gifts or as a return gift for someone that may have been forgotten on the holiday gift-giving list. These are a thoughtful gift just perfect for a friend that needs a little rest and relaxation during the busy holiday season.

Today I wanted to share with you my favorite homemade oatmeal bath. I call it Oatmeal Cookies & Milk because it blends together the ingredients of an oatmeal cookie with powdered milk to make a soft & soothing bath for anyone who has sensitive skin.

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Oatmeal Cookies & Milk Bath

1 cup cornstarch
2 cups powdered milk
1/2 cup oatmeal (not instant)
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix all ingredients in blender or food processor until it is a fine powder. Just add 2 tablespoons of the mixture to your bathwater for a soothing bath.

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Once the oatmeal mixture is ground up, it will look just like this. I dumped the entire amount into one jar and it filled it to the top, with just a little leftover.

This homemade oatmeal bath can be packaged with a spoon, purchased from your local thrift store, and a little holiday ribbon. How easy and simple is that?

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The next gift I want to showcase is a very festive jar of Peppermint Bath Salts. I took a picture of all of the ingredients needed so you can see exactly what they look like when you go to the store. Don’t you hate it when you can’t picture what you should be looking for?

The kosher salt is over in the baking aisle with the regular salt, the Epsom Salts should be over in the first aid supplies of your superstore or drugstore, and the glycerin will be behind the drugstore counter where you pick up your prescriptions (and can also be used for your giant bubbles in the summer).

Now head to your craft store and go into the aisle where the soap making and candle making supplies are. There you will find colorants to dye your bath salts (you need the package with red in it) and the essential oils needed (for this craft it will be the eucalyptus mint). The last thing you can buy is some peppermint striped ribbon or whatever is on sale and festive will totally do the job!

As for jars, I found those at Big Lots and you can get a dozen of them for $6.50 or check the canning supplies section of Walmart (our store was out). I hope that helps with your shopping list and helps with the visuals for what to look for!

You will need two big bowls for this and a giant spoon to mix with. Don’t you love crafts that don’t require a lot of equipment? Now, empty one bag of Epsom Salts into one bowl. Next add 3 cups of your kosher salt, and stir well. Then stir in 1/4 teaspoon glycerin and eight drops of your eucalyptus essential oil. Mix well.

In your second large mixing bowl, empty one bag of Epsom Salts and add 3 cups of your kosher salt. Stir well. Next stir in 1/4 teaspoon glycerin and eight drops of your eucalyptus essential oil. To this bowl, you will add fifteen drops of your red colorant. This will give you a pale and pretty pink bowl of salts. Mix this side really well to incorporate the coloring throughout this batch.

Now grab a 1/2 cup measuring cup and start doing layers to create the peppermint candy look in the jar- a layer of white, a layer of pink, a layer of white, and then a layer of pink. I would recommend filling them on a cookie sheet to catch any runaway salts and to make clean-up a little bit easier. Once everything is filled, you should have 12 jars full and even a little leftover for yourself.

Now tie your gift up with a little festive ribbon and a beautiful gift tag instructing the recipient to put three tablespoons of salts in the bathtub to enjoy a relaxing holiday bath.

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Candy Cane Bath Salts

12 tall jelly (12-ounce) canning jars with lid and rings
2 bags of Epsom Salts, 4 pounds each (approximately 16 cups)
4 lb kosher salt (approximately 6 cups is needed, buy two boxes and cook with the rest)
1⁄2 teaspoon glycerin, divided
16 drops eucalyptus peppermint essential oil
15 drops red colorant

Empty one bag of Epsom Salts into large mixing bowl. Add 3 cups kosher salt, stir well. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon glycerin and eight drops of eucalyptus
essential oil. Mix well. In second large mixing bowl, empty one bag of Epsom Salts, and add 3 cups kosher salt. Stir well. Add 1/4 teaspoon glycerin, eight drops of eucalyptus essential oil, and red colorant. Stir until completely blended. Color should be even. Using a 1/2 cup measuring cup and fill canning jars at an angle, layer salts in jars, alternating white and colored mixtures.

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Just to make your gifts a tad more festive and to ease the burden of making those gifts, we have included free gift tags to download and print for the holiday season!

Printable Gift Tags

Luckily for you, there will be just a tad too much of both of these bath mixtures to fit into the jars and you will be forced to partake of your efforts. Throw whatever is left in that food processor or bowl and put it into your bath. Now fix yourself a cup of vanilla chai tea, light a candle, and smuggle in a good book or magazine. Promptly, lock the door and pretend like you have no idea how that happened when everyone starts knocking. Enjoy a moment to yourself and relax, you deserve it!

Gifts You Can Make: Delicious Hot Drink Mixes

Monday, November 9th, 2009

I am trying to give as many precious homemade gifts that I can this year. Anything that I am unable to whip up myself, I plan to supplement with shopping on Etsy to fulfill my crafting skill downfalls.

First, I just want to say that I don’t think you necessarily have to be crafty to offer up beautiful handmade gifts for your friends and family…you just need to be a little resourceful. Resourcefulness might be looking to craftier bloggers for inspiration, checking out magazines or books at the library, or just stealing awesome ideas off of a good friend.

I am going to showcase my homemade gifts over these next few weeks, in hopes to breathe some life into your gift-giving. My crafting skills are limited, but my resourcefulness…I would say that is one of my strongest attributes.

Today we are going to discuss making hot drink mixes for yourself and to share with your friends. This is one of my favorite gifts to give in jars or tins for the holidays. I love to tuck jars of these in with a few holiday treats for the gift-giving season. The best part is that making a drink mix only requires the necessary ingredients and a blender or food processor. It also requires zero crafty skills. Hurray!

Let’s begin with my favorite cocoa recipe in the whole world. For this recipe, you only need a mixing bowl, a wooden spoon, and the necessary ingredients. If you don’t want the cocoa powder to look coarse, pop it in your blender or food processor and blend until it is the powdered consistency of the store-bought packets. I usually skip this step though because, frankly, this lasts about half a second in our house and I am on to making the next batch. For gift-giving though, processing is a nice touch!

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Hot Cocoa Mix

4 cups nonfat dry milk powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup non-dairy coffee creamer
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 (4 ounce) package instant chocolate fudge pudding

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl. If a finer consistency is desired, you can pour the mix into a blender or food processor and run it through that. Store in an airtight container. Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup (depending on your cocoa preference) of the mix to an 8 ounce mug of boiling water.

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The next drink mix has been made every year for the past five years in my house. It is my favorite drink in the colder weather and is always an impressive gift to give or to receive.

After you are done making your cocoa mix, use that same exact bowl to mix up the Vanilla Chai Tea. I have experimented with what needs a whirl in the food processor and what doesn’t this year. I discovered that if you give just the tea and spices together a whirl, that you don’t need to add the rest of the ingredients in the food processor. Since I have a small food processor, this cuts down on the time to make this and the clean-up after I dump it all over the countertops.


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Homemade Vanilla Chai Tea Mix

1 cup nonfat dry milk powder
1 cup powdered non-dairy creamer
1 cup French vanilla powdered non-dairy creamer
2 ½ cups white sugar
1 ½ cups unsweetened instant tea
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp allspice
¼ tsp white pepper

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until it is a fine powder (If you have a small food processor, you can combine just the instant tea and spices in the food processor & then combine everything together in a bowl). Add two-three tablespoons of mix to 8 ounces of hot water or milk.

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Packaging of your drink mixes can be done in jars tied with raffia or holiday ribbon or you can package them up in a green and lovely way… in those old Crystal Light containers. Use some holiday gift wrap to cover them and tie a gift tag with some raffia around the drink mix containers. These are ideal, particularly for teacher gifts, because I don’t have to worry that my son will break the jar in route to school. Waterproof and airtight, it keeps the drink mix nice and safe. With a handmade or store-bought scarf, it makes a perfectly cozy gift to give.

Don’t forget to make a batch of this for yourself. I shifted some items in our hutch and found the perfect corner to display our drink mixes. The marshmallows in our pumpkin jar add to my festive corner and make grabbing a hot drink for myself (or our guests) easy!

Do you have a favorite hot drink mix to share for the holidays? Feel free to share and leave your recipes in the comment thread!

3 Budget-Friendly Boy Gifts That Rock

Tuesday, September 29th, 2009


My son celebrated his seventh birthday in July and has been playing with his favorite birthday gifts ever since. I wanted to wait on sharing his favorite gifts until we discovered which ones continued to be played with long after the party was over. After all, the sign of a truly loved toy is one that lasts way past that party!

Ultra Stomp Rocket– My son’s favorite gift of the summer was definitely the stomp rockets that he received. The kids would play for hours with these and would work as a team to gather the rockets and then take turns stomping. The stomp rockets come with a launch pad and four foam rockets. Your child jumps on a little air pad and the air travels through the hose of the air pad all the way through the launch pad, which sends your rockets shooting up. The rockets can travel up to 200 feet in the air depending on how hard you jump.

These rockets get five stars for great entertainment, in fact, adults can’t resist taking a turn jumping with the kids. For durability, I would give the rockets three stars because most of our rockets are already beaten up and torn from abuse from younger children.

The good news is that once you buy the launch pad though, you can buy replacement rockets for another summer of fun! Overall, this is one of our favorite toys of the year and provided hours of entertainment for my kids and their friends! (Pricing– $12.30)

Scribbles: A Really Giant Drawing & Coloring Book– One of our absolute favorite gifts that we got our son was the Scribbles Coloring Book. I had asked around on Twitter for recommendations and this came highly recommended from another parent.

If you want to encourage imagination in your child, this is the best coloring book ever. Instead of having you simply color, each page tells you something that it would like you to draw. One page will tell him that the alligator is angry and have him fill in his face. Other pictures are exactly alike, but may request colors and patterns to make each of the pictures different. My favorite series is a simple line that is drawn and then it asks you to draw different animals all sitting on the pole. It is truly the best drawing book I have ever come across for allowing children to use their own creativity and imagination to fill in and create pictures.

The book is very durable and it is truly giant. My son still has many more pages to do and with the durability factor, I plan to tuck this away with his age on it as a keepsake of his creative talent at this age. Because the child is doing all of the drawing, you could buy the same book again another year and see what different things they come up with. (Suggested Price- $13.59)

Razor A Scooter– When I was little it took me awhile to master riding a bike, but I loved riding on my scooter. It seems my son is a lot like me and this little scooter has been a fantastic investment for our son. It has a little switch to fold the scooter flat and even the handles on it fold down for easy storage. We keep this in the trunk of our car and take it with us when we go to the park for another fun activity to do.

Even though it is compact, it still has a built-in brake and is extremely sturdy and stable. The fold down feature is great for traveling and this can be a fun way to get your children from point A to point B. (Suggested Price- $28.99)

Search & Win

The best part about these three gifts is that I ended up buying all of my son’s birthday gifts for free this year! I have been using Swagbucks ever since April when I did a podcast with Heather, from Freebies 4 Mom, on what a great program Swagbucks is.

I average between 50-100 points each week just by using Swagbucks as my search engine and sharing it with others. To begin earning rewards, all you need to do is use Swagbucks.com as your search engine tool instead of your usual route with Google. It pulls the same results, but when you are surfing, you can earn points just by making it your search engine tool. These points are then deposited into your account and can be redeemed for your rewards.

I put my points towards Amazon gift cards which has been a fantastic way to enjoy a little shopping without dipping into my bank account. Not only has it covered my son’s birthday gifts, but I also have ordered countless books for my Kindle and purchased new exercise DVD’s to keep me motivated and moving.

I rarely use affiliate programs, but can’t recommend Swagbucks enough. If you start now, it is quite possible that you could have a free Christmas in your future! Every little bit helps in this tough economy and the best part is that it is free tool to assist with your shopping needs.

What are your favorite budget-friendly boy gifts? Do you use Swagbucks? What is the best thing you have scored with this free search engine program?

Notebook Experiments: Can I Give the Gift of Homemade Cleaners?

Wednesday, May 20th, 2009


Experiment: Can I Give the Gift of Homemade Cleaners?

Experiment Taken From: Notebook Entry 01.15.09

Materials Needed: Please see Jolly Mom for cleaning recipe ideas and supplies needed.

For each of these little kits I bought two empty spray bottles, a little feather duster, a microfiber mitt for additional dusting, a mini-brush set, and a bill organizer. For making the cleaners, you need only vinegar and a mild dishwashing soap.

Results: We had two gift occasions coming up this week that I need to make gifts for. My brother just moved into a new apartment and I am attending a baby shower for a new mom who is moving into her first home. What is more practical than a kit for them to tidy up their new digs?

I hit the Dollar General to get the supplies for each of these. The buckets are drink buckets from the picnic supplies, and all of the rest of the goodies were found in the cleaning supplies. I also hit the stationary section and found bill paying organizers that would be perfect for someone moving into their new place with new utilities.


I made two of my favorite cleaning recipes for two spray bottles for the gifts:

All-Purpose Cleaner

Mix together two tablespoons of mild dishwashing soap and two cups of water in a spray bottle and give it a shake. Use these anywhere that you would use a commercial all-purpose spray. This cleaner is particularly great for countertops, bathroom surfaces, and high chairs.

Glass Cleaner

Mix together one part white vinegar to one part water in a spray bottle. Spray this solution on your mirrors and windows and dry your windows with newspaper. The newspaper is great for lint-free drying and is a great way to repurpose some of those old papers you have laying around.

I attached recipe cards tied with raffia to the buckets so that they can make more of these inexpensive and earth-friendly cleaners for their home. My hope is that they will see how easy it is to make your cleaners at home and see that it can save them some money in the process.

Conclusion: This would make a fantastic graduation gift, a sweet gift for a new bride, and a fun gift for a college student getting their first place. I will definitely be making more of these in the future!

Related Links:

Happy Homemaking the Homemade Way

Thrifty Graduation Gift Ideas

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I am so excited to open our Notebook Experiments up to everyone and I hope that you will be able to participate this week or in weeks to come! I will be posting this each Thursday so please mark your calendars if you plan to participate. You can post your entries at any time throughout the week and then leave your entry in the links below.

We have this handy banner that you are more than welcome to use, but it is not a requirement! It is just something you can add to add a little sparkle to your entry.

Rules for Participation:

1. Choose anything from any of our notebook entries (past or present) to do with your family. We have hundreds of bookmarked links of crafts, ways to save money, and organizing ideas.
2. Complete an experiment from the notebook and share about it on your blog or website. We would love to see pictures of what you accomplished or a detailed description of how your projects turned out. Please include a link to this entry, a link to the original posting of the entry (at the original crafster’s blog), and (to help us relocate the project) the date or link of the notebook entry where you found it. You can use the same formatting as our entries or you can just include that information in your post in your own unique way!
3. Post a link below. Please include your name or blog name & a fast description of your project. Example- MomAdvice (WHO bread)

I can’t wait to see what you create and what you find inspiring!

Mother’s Day Bliss!

Wednesday, May 6th, 2009



Can you guess what I got for Mother’s Day? I am feeling a little giddy and geeking out quite a bit, but my husband upgraded my camera equipment as a gift to me. It still doesn’t seem real that I am now the proud owner of a Canon Rebel T1i with an EF-S 17-55 mm lens. Yes, it was completely extravagant and not normal for us at all, but to his credit the lens was used by another photographer who happened to be upgrading his equipment.

When I asked him why he would spend that much, he simply said, “I believe in you and your business.” He has been pricing, bidding, and researching for months what would be best to buy me, without disclosing any of it to me. He believes that this investment will pay off.

So if things start to shape up in the photography department around here, you will know why! These are my first shots and I haven’t read the manual or figured a thing out yet, but I am already pleased as can be with what I am able to do with this upgraded equipment.

Thank you to my husband for believing in me and what I can do!