MaryJanesFarm | Simply MJ

December 10, 2003

Gifts from the Home

This holiday season, avoid the hustle and bustle of shopping for gifts, not to mention the expense, and make a gesture that your friends and family will appreciate and treasure more than anything you can buy from a store. These homemade gift ideas are fun and easy to make, use inexpensive materials, and the finished product is a perfectly practical gift for someone special.

Calendar Purses
One of our high school volunteers, Elizabeth Straight, came up with the idea to make a durable purse from old calendar pages. The project is so simple that Elizabeth, who had never sewn a project on a sewing machine before, completed the project in two hours. First, gather up the following materials:

  • 10 calendar pictures
  • roll of 9 ft. contact paper
  • large paper clips
  • transparent nylon sewing thread
  • sewing machine needle for jeans/denim
  • large eyelet kit
  • 1/4" diameter craft cord
  • ruler
  • scissors
  • hole punch

You will need pictures for the inside and outside of each of the four walls and the floor of your bag. You can make your bag any size you like. [see diagram 1]

To protect your pictures and to make the bag sturdy, laminate the front side of the pictures with the clear contact paper. Be sure to cut the contact paper one inch larger on all sides than the pictures you'll be covering [see diagram 2].

Fold the edges of the contact paper under the picture, first cutting the corners of the contact paper off at a 45° angle [see diagram 3].

Match up the inside and the outside of each panel and secure them together with large paperclips [diagram 4].

To begin sewing, thread your sewing machine with the transparent nylon thread and set the tension guide to 6 or 7. With the "outside face" of the wall facing up, stitch along the top only, 1/4" from edge. Do not stitch the floor panel.

Attach the floor of the bag to the front wall, starting 1/4" in from edge. Be sure that the "wall" side is on top of the floor side while sewing [diagram 5].

Using this method, continue attaching walls to the floor panel [diagram 6].

To close up the sides, you'll have to crease the floor panel in order to make the bag lie flat while sewing. For a tidy appearance, keep either the front or back wall facing up while sewing. Start 1/4" from the bottom and stitch all the way up to the top [diagram 7].

Measure the top of the front wall and divide into thirds. Make a small mark 1" inch down from the top to denote each third. This is where you will punch the holes for your handle [diagram 8]. Do the same on the back wall. Depending on the type of hole punch you're using, you may have to fold the top edge of the wall to reach your mark.

Attach eyelets in the holes you've punched. Thread cord through the holes, knotting the ends to keep them from slipping out. You may also want to wrap some tape around the ends of the cord to prevent fraying.

Illustrations by Marisa Perdue

 

Bookmarks


  

Items you will need:

  • tiny flat pretty things like pressed flowers and wireless ribbon or a collage of cut-out pictures
  • 8 ½" x 11" paper (not thick)
  • glue gun
  • tweezers and toothpicks for picking up and placing your items
  • scissors or a paper cutter
  • use of a laminator

On the 8 1/2" x 11" paper, set up about five bookmarks, depending on how wide you want them to be. They vary due to flower size or pattern.

Place the ribbon first, using small drops of glue at both ends.

Holding the flowers, etc. with the tweezers, apply a small drop of glue and place.

Glitter can be sprinkled over the other items; however, there will be slight air pockets around the glitter after it is laminated.

When the whole sheet is finished, run it through a laminator.

Use scissors (fancy-edged if you have a pair) or paper cutter to cut between the individual bookmarks. Then cut across the top and bottom so all four edges have a finished edge.

Punch a hole in the end and tie on a ribbon.



  

Canning Jar Potpourri
Buy a short three-foot length of tiny Christmas lights and layer them into a canning jar along with fresh potpourri (see recipe below). Top the jar with an old-fashioned doily or coaster that is porous. When you plug in the string of lights, you'll fill your home with the smell of Christmas potpourri -- cloves, orange peel and cinnamon.

    POTPOURRI RECIPE
  • 1 qt. dried flower petals
  • 1/4 cup dried orange peel
  • 1 oz. cinnamon, cloves, ginger root, nutmeg
  • 1/2 oz. anise seed
  • Cinnamon sticks
  • Whole cloves
  • Crushed herbs such as mint, balm, sage, rosemary, lavender
  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup dried sandalwood chips or pinecone chips
  • Essential oils -- try a blend of orange, cinnamon and frankincense.

Mix dry ingredients together, then sprinkle with 5 to 8 drops of the essential oils blend. When the aroma weakens, it can be refreshed by adding more drops of your essential oils blend.

Send your questions to MaryJane Butters, c/o MaryJanesFarm, 1000 Wild Iris Lane, Moscow, Idaho, 83843. Questions may also be e-mailed to maryjane@maryjanesfarm.org. Please include your name and daytime telephone number. For more information, visit www.maryjanesfarm.org


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