Take a Guess
Our nieces & nephew got into the whole homemade Christmas this year. The oldest one is really starting to understand the concept. She made a special gift for my dad this year and was so excited to give it to him. It’s the first thing she’s made all by herself and she was very proud of herself.
I thought I’d give you all a chance to guess what it is. (Lucy thought it was a rawhide chew and wanted to eat it).
So what kinds of animal do you think it is, take your best shot?
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Handmade Gifts: Doll Bedding
My sister found this great doll bed at a garage sale this summer. She was planning on giving it to the girls for Christmas and asked if I’d make bedding for it for it. I had a great time at the fabric store picking out the perfect fabric. I picked out some bright colorful fabric that I thought the girls would love.
I found a remnant of black-out fabric that I used for the mattresses (it feels like the plasticky kid mattress fabric). I used an old pillow for filling the mattresses and the pillows.
The sheets were made fitted so they could be taken off and washed easily, as were the pillowcases.
Mr Chiots made afghans to go on the beds, he learned to knit just for this project. I made little tags that said, “Handmade with love by Uncle Brian” with a few photos. The girls were thrilled that he had made them. I almost forgot to get these photos, if you notice he’s on the last row of this blanket finishing it off.
He even made them in a striped pattern to match. I think he did a great job on the pattern! Now they’re dolls can sleep all cozy warm in their new flannel bedding.
My sister told me that on they way home my oldest niece told her that her doll bed was one of her favorite gifts. When I was young my dad & mom made us this big doll house. My dad built the house and my mom made lots of the decor. She even made framed art from magazine photos. It was on wheels so my sister and I wheeled in all over our house and played with it all the time. We loved it!
Do have a specific homemade gift that you remember as a kid?
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Handmade Gifts: Superhero Cape for Kids
My little nephew Orin requested a superhero cape for Christmas. Since I’m the crafty aunt, my sister asked if I’d be willing to make one for him. These are the kinds of gifts I love to make, it’s so much fun picking out fabrics, trying to figure out the perfect design, and adding those little touches that set it apart from a store bought item. I decided that a proper superhero should have not one, but two identities. So I made his cape reversible, so he could be super blue or super red.
One of the reasons I like making gifts instead of buying them is because they can be personalized. His favorite colors are red and blue and I decided he couldn’t be a random superhero. So I included his name on the back -BAM-.
It’s cut out of felt and stitched on, I know this cape will be getting lots of wear and tear since he’s an active little boy. I figured gluing wouldn’t last long enough, and beside stitching allowed me to add a little extra -ZOW- by stitching it on it a different colored thread.
The stitching around the edge is also alternating colors, the thread is blue on the red side and red on the blue side.
And since a superhero isn’t complete without a mask -POW- I made a mask and laser wristlets (which are also reversible).
Since we celebrated our family Christmas yesterday, Orin got his gift. Mr Chiots got this great photo of him seeing himself in his costume. This cape and mask will go beautifully with the wooden sword and shield his sisters made him for Christmas.
I spent about $5-$6 total on this gift and it took me about an hour to make. Mr Chiots has fond memories of his superhero cape as a kid, I’m sure Orin will have the same great memories. My favorite toy as a kid was a weaving loom, I made all kinds of wonderful things with it.
What was your favorite toy as a child?
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Busy Busy Busy
It’s been a busy week around here. Since we’re celebrating Christmas tomorrow with my family I have to make sure all of my gifts for our “homemade Christmas” are finished. I finished a lot of them last week, except for my little nephew’s gift. He requested a superhero cape this year for Christmas. Since I’m the crafty aunt, my sister asked if I’d be willing to make one for him. I made one on Thursday (photos to come on Monday, I don’t want to give it away), I think it’s the best handmade gift I’ve ever made.
The kitchen is a flurry of activity with several batches of dinner rolls and some sourdough bread being made.
I also made some lemon marmalade with some of those Meyer Lemons I have. I’ll be giving some of this away as gifts, of course some will stay here for us to enjoy on toast (and maybe those dinner rolls on Sunday).
Mr Chiots learned to knit just for our gift to our nieces. He spent yesterday afternoon finishing up his contribution to the gift. They’re going to be thrilled that he actually made these for them! I had to take some photos so they’d believe it. (I’ll share those next week as well, can’t give away the gifts)
I wrapped up the last of the gifts last night and we’re all ready for our family holiday. It’s nice to be finished so early, I’ll be able to relax next week. All I have on my Christmas to-do list is to make caramel corn for the friendly library ladies and the post office workers. Oh yeah – and our awesome UPS man.
Are you all finished with holiday shopping, gift making, cooking, or are you going to be busy, busy, busy this coming week?
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How to Tell if Your Sauerkraut is Finished
I blogged over at Not Dabbling yesterday about how to tell if that sauerkraut you started a while ago is finished. There were a few questions from readers about how to know. I thought perhaps some of you would have the same question, so I figured I’d share the information here as well.
After 2-4 weeks, depending on the temp, you should notice that your kraut is no longer bubbling, or is bubbling much less than it was. I usually notice that the brine starts going down instead of spilling over after 3-4 weeks. The warmer it is, the quicker your sauerkraut will finish fermenting (at 70-80 it will take 2-3 weeks at 60 it will take 4-6 weeks). Mine was finished a week or two ago, and I started mine on October 28, it took about 4 weeks to finish fermenting. You will also notice that your sauerkraut become kind of clear, or loses it’s whiteness.
Another way to decide if your sauerkraut is finished is by smell. If you don’t have a good sense of what sauerkraut smells like, buy some and smell it. Warm it a bit on the stove and the smell will become more pronounced. It smells pleasantly sour almost vinegary. You don’t want it to smell “off” or moldy.
Don’t be alarmed if some mold or scum forms on top of your kraut while it’s fermenting. Just skim it off and add some more brine. If your brine level gets low and some of the top layer of cabbage gets moldy, simply skim off that cabbage and add more brine (1 or 1.5 T. of salt for 1 quart of water for extra brine).
When your sauerkraut is finished, simply take out the jar/bag that you’re using to weigh it down, top off with brine, throw a lid on it and put it in the fridge or in your cool root cellar. Use 1 or 1.5 T. of salt for 1 quart of water for extra brine (if using kosher use more, if fine salt use less).
You can can it if you’re worried about the coolness of your root cellar or don’t have room in the fridge (to can process in a waterbath canner for 15 minutes). If you can it you kill all the good bacteria though, so it won’t be a good source of probiotics. I like my sauerkraut cooked, so I occasionally can it. Sometimes, however I just lid the jar and put it in the basement.
Do you have any great tips to know when you’re fermented products are finished?
