Thrifty Christmas

   As I mentioned in my last post, we made a great effort to keep spending to a minimum this Christmas season. I would say it was a big success. My biggest homemade gift project was Christmas tree yard signs made out of pallet boards. Ian brought home two pallets from work (free) and tore them apart for me. I made some measurements and he cut them for me as well. **good husband**

   I made a list of friends and family I wanted to make them for and decided I would need 8 trees. So we cut the wood in pieces starting with 18" and progressing down to 4" in 2" increments. We bought a few pieces of 1x2 and cut that into 4-foot pieces to serve as the trunk of the trees. I assembled them with 1 1/4 inch screws. (Hindsight, I would have bought longer screws. These didn't hold as well as they should have.) Then, I painted the whole thing green and stenciled "Merry Christmas" on the boards in the middle and finished it with a gold star on the top 4" board. I already had the craft paint so this gift for 8 people only cost us the price of a box of screws and 1x2 wood pieces.

   I have a few friends that are many miles away. Not only would the wooden tree yard sign be impractical to ship, I also wanted to send them something that showed how much I miss them. I found these white ceramic mugs at Wal-Mart for $3 each (typically you can get them at the dollar store but they were out and I didn't have time to wait until more came in.) I bought 4 to make 2 sets. I printed out a map of Florida, my state, and one of their states, Georgia and Alaska. I cut the maps out and traced them on the mugs with black permanent marker. I also wrote the words "Far Apart, Close at Heart" on the inside and outside of the rim. So I kept the Georgia and Alaska mugs and sent the Florida mugs to each of my friends that I'm missing dearly. 

   Lastly, I am a wino. I collect wine corks as I drink and therefore have hundreds (friends do contribute). No judgement. So I do like to make things out of them. My brother was visiting from California for Christmas and he and his wife are also winos. It runs in the family I suppose. What better gift for them than many things made of wine works? None better. I found an old picture frame in the office we weren't using and would likely never hang again. That was the base for my corkboard, especially since it already had a hanger on the back. I also made a coaster set and trivet set. And tiny painted Christmas tree.

   I beleive I spent less than $10 on gifts for 11 people/households. Our inexpensive gift giving could not have gone more according to plan!