DIY Elastic Ribbon Hair Ties

Every year, on the day before school lets out for winter break, my daughters like to give out gifts to a handful of their best buddies.  Some years those gifts have been store bought, but last year they were home made.... well, they were home assembled...

A few weeks before Christmas I found a bunch of tiny jars from Pier One at the thrift store. They were sealed in their original packaging, came in sets of four, and cost 99 cents a box.  At less that 25 cents per jar, I bought them all.  After giving them a good cleaning, the girls and I filled them with assorted red and green candies, covered them with red and white striped fabric, and tied them shut with baker's twine.  They were a huge hit and left my girls wanting to do another DIY present this year.  

Inspiration for the 2012 gift hit during a trip to Michael's where I found a roll of elasticized ribbon.   One look and I realized it was the exact same ribbon used in these pricey hair ties.  Now is the moment where I cop to owning said pricey hair ties.  In fact, that's one of mine pictured below.

And I own them because they're great: they're soft, they hold your hair without damaging it, and they come in tons of cute colors.  I just never stopped to think about what a rip-off they are.

But that doesn't matter because now that I know you can get the elasticized fabric at Michael's, I never have to buy one again.  Even better than that, it gave me and the girls a perfect idea for this year's Christmas gift:  DIY elastic hair ties!  

In an effort to personalize ours, we added initial beads.  (We specifically looked for beads with a hole that could accommodate the elastic.)

Then it was just a matter of cutting the elastic into strips (ours were roughly 8" long), threading the bead(s) through, and tying them off.

Kind of hard to tell the difference between the handmade one below and the pricey one above, isn't it?

We made three bands per girl and put them in these cute tulle favor bags.  

After that we added personalized gift cards and the project was complete!  

And here are my daughters modeling the hair ties.  (I have since trimmed the ends on the pink one.)

Update:

I recently discovered that there is a named for this type of "ribbon."  

It's called "fold over elastic."  You can buy some by clicking here.

Paint Chip Gift Tags

Christmas wrapping continued today at 'a casarella, and this time I decided to get creative with an old blogger favorite: paint chips.   Really, what can't you do with paint chips?  C'mon, earrings, lamps, gift boxes, clocks?  Let's just say that if I were stranded on a desert island, I would totally want to have a box of paint chips with me.  (I'd build myself a paint chip boat and sail right on out of there..)

But I digress...

Today's project was not exactly a matter  of life and death.  And it's certainly not as mind-blowing as this paint chip dress.

(But it was fun.)

(And cute.)

(And full of holiday goodness.)


You see, today I made myself some super-cute gift tags using green paint chips...

Scissors...

And a little bit of bling.

Plus blue paint chips...

A snowflake craft punch...

And some fun ric-rac.

Pretty cute, eh?

If you liked these, stay tuned.  I'll be posting more fun wrapping ideas in the coming weeks!

Linking:

Brown Paper Packages Tied Up With String

And the present wrapping has officially commenced...

My go-to paper this holiday season is from The Dollar Store.  (Yes, you read that right.)

I was so excited to find rolls of Kraft paper at the Dollar store that I swooped in and picked up a dozen.

I love that, with the addition of a few office supplies (and maybe a sparkly embellishment or two)...

A roll of brown paper becomes something special.

And if you get really lucky (like I did when I found this velvet ribbon at Marshall's)...

You can really gussy things up.

So, I've got to ask:  what's your favorite paper this holiday season?

Linking:

http://threadingmyway.blogspot.com/2012/07/threading-your-way-gift-wrapping-link.html
http://www.foxhollowcottage.com/2012/11/dollar-tree-christmas-party-plus-50-gc.html

Napkin Ring Storage

As I put away Thanksgiving and get ready for Christmas, I thought I'd take a break and share a little organizing tip.

If you, like me, have a collection of napkin rings, tie them together with ribbon before storing so you don't lose any.

This collection looks a little like a wreath (but that was unintentional).

Cookie Cutter Pie Top

Such a simple idea.

Such beautiful results.

Use cookie cutters to make a festive pie crust.

This beauty was made (with love) by my husband and daughters.  

Nonni's Italian Stuffing

This week I've seen a lot of people in the blogosphere asking about "go-to" Thanksgiving recipes.  Today I want to share mine:  my Nonni's (grandmother's) Italian Stuffing.  

If you're looking for an alternative to your typical bread & celery or cornbread stuffing, this might be the one for you.  (But only if you like cheese--lots and lots of cheese.)

To make it you'll need:

• a loaf of white bread
• four eggs
• 1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley 
• 1/4 lb each of diced sharp cheddar, diced sharp provolone & diced fresh mozzarella
• 4 to 8 oz. grated parmesan
• 1 to 2 tablespoons of garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. 

Take your loaf of white bread (I use this one)...

Wet the bread under the faucet and squeeze out the excess water.

Then tear up the bread into bits and place in a bowl.

Take your eggs...

...add them to the bread mixture and mix with your hands.

Next take the Italian Parsley...

Chop up about 1/4 cup's worth...

...and add to the egg and bread mixture.  (I know that's just a tablespoon pictured below but I ultimately went with a 1/4 cup.)  At this point you should also add your salt, pepper and garlic powder.

Now it's time for the cheese.  I know.  This looks a little ridiculous.   (Okay, it's totally ridiculous.)

Dice up the mozzarella.

And the cheddar and provolone (make sure they're both sharp, not mild).

Add the diced cheese to the bread mixture along with four to eight ounces of shredded parmesan.

This should make enough for a 14 lb turkey.  I usually have additional stuffing that I bake in a pan.

I'm going to go ahead and publish this recipe tonight but I'll add pictures of the cooked stuffing tomorrow.

In the meanwhile, have a happy, happy Thanksgiving!

Update:  Did I remember to take a picture of the finished product?  No.  No I didn't.  Too busy eating.  Oh well, there's always next year!

Linking:

http://www.thistlewoodfarms.com/holiday-recipe-linky-party

Gumdrop Wreath

Here's a little project from my pre-blogging days.

Which explains the lack of a tutorial...

...and the so-so picture.

(Okay, it doesn't explain the so-so picture.  My so-so photography skills explain that...)

I loved this project because it kept my then five and eight-year-olds occupied for a couple of hours at the beginning of Christmas break.  (You moms out there know that that's a gift in and of itself!)

To make it you'll need:

• A foam wreath--you can even make your own from a pool noodle  (See Pinterest.)
• Miniature gumdrops
• Toothpicks, broken in half

Stick one end of the toothpick into the gumdrop, plunge the other end into your wreath and, voila!,  tasty holiday decoration.  

Those of you who live in cooler climates can even hang it on your door.  (Those of us who live in San Diego would be inviting a host of pests if we did that so I just displayed mine in the foyer.  ;)

Linking:

http://thefrugalgirls.com/2012/11/chic-and-crafty-party-1115.html