Twelve Days of Christmas: Project #5 Canned Jelly

 One of the biggest staples in the Lower household is our peanut butter and jelly stock. The kids love pb&j.

Recently, a friend brought me a gift. She taught me to make jelly. It was like stirring up a pot of sugary goodness in my own kitchen. I can't tell you how wonder the sound of canning jar lids "popping" sounds for the first time.

The recipe came with the pectin (an ingredient needed to make the jelly) and it was a little confusing to follow if you didn't know where to look. As a writer, I am tempted to re-write the instructions and send it back to the company so that people like me don't get so confused having to jump from the front side to the back side of the paper.

As we got these all canned and I was placing them in my cupboard, I remembered the delious blackberry jam I had gotten years ago in a family exchange during Christmas. A jar of jelly with or without a small loaf of fresh baked bread can make a great gift around the holidays, too.

All you need is some canning jars, pectin, fruit, sugar, and time.

Oh, and jelly is also good on those Christmas morning pancakes!

Teacher Notepad Gift Sets

 I've had a lot of school themed papers lately and with Christmas just over the horizon I have already been thinking of Teacher gifts. I'm one of those people who carry a note pad with me to write things down all the time. When I travel I take notes in a note book.

I've made up a bunch of these not only for the kiddo's to give their teachers, but I'm heading off to a craft fair in a few weeks at a local high school and thought these would be a neat gift set package.

I've got the tablet, the book mark, and the matching pen in this set. 

 I've tied them all together at the binding and attached a gift card that is blank inside to write an note. All the teacher has to do is pull the string tie on the gift card and the book mark and pen will slide out with the card. So you don't really even have to wrap it if you don't want.

I've added these to my shop, too.

As always all my books include a free personalized name card on the front of the cover. These tablets are no exception, so you could easily have them personalized with your child's teacher's name.

A little Holiday Magic

While I'm busy in the studio, I thought I would remind you all that October's stamp of this month is still available until the 31st!

Did you know that you can either purchase the Stamp of the Month for $17.95 or get it for only $5 with a $50 order? What a great deal!

Don't forget to order it here!

How To Make The Holidays More Affordable and Enjoyable for All

 Black Friday... Cyber Monday...

The spending adds up quickly.

Did you make your list and check it twice? Or did you splurge on all those deals and now are sitting on a pile of stuff you didn't really need to buy.

It's hard to resist all those great bargains the weekend after Thanksgiving. However, they can put a big dent in your wallet and sky rocket your anxiety when the bills start coming due.

Christmas is a season all about giving. It is told that three wise men came and bestowed gifts upon Jesus. Three wise men. Three gifts.

Are you getting what I'm saying?

You don't have to spend your last dime and borrow a few dollars to make this holiday season seem more special or even enjoyable than the last.

Here are a few tips we've learned over the years.

1. Vintage is vogue. It doesn't have to come new in the package for someone to appreciate the reception of a gift. If it's like new, hard to find, or out dated, there are collectors, apprectators, and those whom it doesn't make a difference what store it came from. It's the thought that counts. Places you may find great items like these are thrift stores, eBay, and craigslist.

2. Custom by Hand. Handmade gifts are an affordable and personal way of creating a gift that will long be out cherished then a store bought gift. You too, may find an elevated appreciation of receiving gifts after taking the time to create one for someone else. You can find great patterns and ideas online at places like freepatterns.com, craftbits.com, and crafting blogs.

Don't like to make the gifts your self, no problem. You can find affordable gifts at etsy.com made by crafters and artist that will even personalize the gift for you.

3. Baked not Fried. Around the holiday season, we pull out our cookie presses, dump in the chocolate chips, add the sugar sprinkles on top and exchange cookies with varies groups of people. It's easy to get fried, tired out, from all that baking. However, if you love to bake, add a few dozen to your baking list and give them away to family members as gifts instead of the traditional store bought packages. Don't like to bake, join a cookie exchange of a few people to have a small variety available to your family over the holidays. This way you won't get fried.

4. Book It. One of our favorite gifts to get and receive are books! They honestly never go outdated. When they are no longer contemporary, they'll historical. Fantasy, Sci-fi and non-fiction all have their place. No one ever minds getting a used book. You can swap books at paperbackswap.com, buy used books at places like half.com, and ebay.com.

5. Swap It. There are many sites where you can swap and trade for cd's, dvd's, and books. Try these sites paperbackswap.com, swapadvd.com, swapacd.com.

It's fun to exchange gifts and spend time with family. Don't let the stress of your wallet to cause your holiday season to be un-merry this year.