living simply and embracing imperfection
If you are looking for a gluten-free alternative to my awesome Cinnamon-Oat Pancake Mix, either for gift-giving to family and friends with gluten intolerances or for yourself, have I got an easy and tasty recipe for you! The thing that’s the coolest about this is that the ingredients are pretty straightforward: no hard-to-find ingredients are [...]
I’ve got another Tuesday Thrift Store Transformation for you today – this time using a few of the plentiful frames that can be found at any thrift store. These cute framed barrel clip photo boards make great, quick gifts (in fact my nieces are getting some…) and can easily be adapted for boys by changing [...]
This may seem odd, but my gift to you this year is this recipe for Cinnamon-Oat Pancake and Waffle Mix. Yeah, a pancake mix. What were you expecting – $100 gift card? {Oh, but you can try for that over here – there’s still time. Edit: time’s up, I hope you entered!} Seriously, this took [...]
Hello there! Today’s been rather crazy, as you can tell by the getting-the-post-up-before-dinner time frame. Better late than never, though. And I so wanted to get all my past handmade gift posts in one place so you can easily find them as you’re thinking of what to make for friends and family. I’m happy to [...]
Did you know that thrift stores are THE place to go for corkboards/bulletin boards? At least the normal office-supply store kind of cork boards. It’s a rare day that I go and I don’t see at least one. They’re probably there because they’ve been stained with marker, or the cork has come up in a [...]
What can you do with an assortment of thrift store napkin rings? Especially when: You don’t use napkin rings (well, very often) They don’t go with your decor You already have a couple of sets moldering in a closet somewhere I actually thought all these things about napkin rings not so long ago – and [...]
You might have realized by now that I’m always on the lookout for simple handmade gift ideas that I can recreate for a fraction of the cost. In fact, you can find a whole series on handmade gifts here. I think homemade gifts are fun to give (and get!) because there’s a little bit of [...]
When I shared the recipe for Rosemary Focaccia in a Jar, I knew I’d want a soup or other food that would go along with the bread in a gift basket, so I came up with Red Beans and Rice. I think it would make a unusual gift, with the bonus of a reusable container [...]
If you’ve read here awhile, you probably remember that one of my favorite things to give are gift baskets. I love how creative one can be with them – I’ve received some of my favorite cooking utensils in baskets – and that they work for a lot of different types of families. Of course one [...]
Since we moved to a house with a fireplace insert, finding an easy way to bring wood into the house became an issue we didn’t used to have. Well, bringing in wood without leaving a trail of bark and wood shavings, that is. When I saw a canvas log carrier advertised last fall that sold [...]
My whole family loves using these easy-to-make flax seed pillows for everything from sore necks to foot warmers (on cold nights it’s a treat to slide into bed with warm toes!). And they have been one of the most popular gifts I have given as well as one of the most popular things I sold [...]
This is a gift we received from my sister at our early Christmas celebration (make sure to see the other four cool gifts, too) which I couldn’t wait to share with you all. It’s a greeting card organizer that came with cards and even important family events for us to remember and I am really excited [...]
We had our annual early Christmas with some of my extended family over the weekend and I couldn’t wait to share with you some of the clever and unique handmade gifts they came up with! I think I’ve shared with you before that my siblings and I try to exchange simple handmade gifts in lieu [...]
Do you have old clip earrings, pins or costume jewelry stashed away somewhere? Me, too – I’ve picked up a lot of old buttons and jewelry over the years, thinking to use them in crafts. While most are very beautiful they really wouldn’t ever be used for their original purpose anymore. Inspired by cute push [...]
Need a gift for a techie? How about a cover for one of their electronics? This cover is a fairly easy sewing project, although you do need basic sewing skills. Since it’s a custom fit it would work with any size Pad, eReader, or other small electronic device. This project came about because Brian bought [...]
This little wooden table clock is a really cute and easy gift- even for the “less crafty” among us. It takes just a few easy steps and some inexpensive materials to create this- and not much time involved, either! I made one for myself when I gave these as gifts a few years ago, and I [...]
Today I’m going to show you how to make an easy (I swear!) rustic wall clock. This makes a great gift- I made these a number of years ago for my family for Christmas and they all loved them. In fact, they were way more enthusiastic for them than I thought they’d be! Isn’t this [...]
I’m going to be posting a series of handmade gift ideas and tutorials that will run occasionally through the holidays. Though now that I think about it, I’m sure I will want to do more posts for other holidays or birthdays- I don’t want to put myself in a box. “Never put Baby in a [...]
If you grow your own herbs and vegetables it’s an awesome bonus to be able to use them in gifts to give to family and friends, isn’t it? Making and giving food items isn’t particularly unusual, but are they sure are wonderful, simple, and inexpensive gifts to give. And, as a recipient of some myself – [...]
I believe a cottage can be anywhere or anything (condo, ranch, farmhouse) as long as you have a "cottage mentality" which puts people above things, celebrates imperfections, embraces simplicity, and finds joy in everyday life. Thanks for joining me!
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