[brother #1 (18)]

Here's my list:

brother #1 (18)- "in case of zombies" case, inspired by http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=202668.0

brother #2 (9)- camo scarf, which he asked me to make for him, and a blanket, which are always in high demand at my house.

Stepmom- Apron...am a little worried about that.

Dad- Still trying to figure that one out..I'll probably give him one of my paintings

Sister (6)- handmade necklace (and a Jonas Brothers cd...)

boyfriend- not sure! It's driving me crazy. He's talked about wanting a scarf, blanket, and apron, so I will probably do something like that, plus a video game.

BF's mom- Scrapbook, from both me and the BF. She lives in a different country than the BF, and always says "I've gotten one picture in the last year. Is this what a mother is supposed to live on??" So now she'll have a whole book.

Cat- I'm handmaking her treats. ^_^

For the extended family, I'm going to do lots of baking. I'm buying MST3K for my mom and 1966 batman for my stepdad.

I love that, and I wish I could get an eagle beak/wings on my cat without her killing me.
I may have to try this idea, though.

Thanks, guys! I think I have a working idea of what I'm going to do now...I just have to find a cardboard box that will fit the boy (I'm so glad he's not really tall!)

Now I just have to figure out what I'm going to do. Always the hardest part. XD

I went to target with my bf, and we walked through the target section. It was in that moment he fell in love with the idea of a domo-kun costume. We couldn't find a costume there, though. So now, I'm trying to make one...I would prefer it to be out of fabric, the cardboard box ones are pretty crappy. I figure if we make a good one, we can wear it to cons, also.

Any ideas on how to do this? I'm currently scouring google, but the ones that are good don't have tutorials.
Thanks!

[Fireworks on Christmas Eve]

My S.O. and I are celebrating our first christmas together. We want to mix the ones we already have (although they're few) as well as start new ones together. We're both really excited.  Hence the posting in September. 

Here is what we KNOW we're going to do:

Fireworks on Christmas Eve- S.O is from the Netherlands and they do fireworks at midnight there. Apparently the streets are filled with red paper from the fireworks. All we have this year are little pop-its that I remembered to save, but next year we'll save more little ground ones and sparklers.

Dutch Food- You haven't lived till you've eaten sugary almond paste gingerbread thingies that I can't pronounce. I will ask the boyfriend and get back to you.

Stockings- This is my tradition. My stepmom made me and my brother stockings when we were young, and they were filled with chocolate, nuts, oranges, as well as small presents such as card games, pens, tops, clues for what was coming up in the big presents (earphones the year they bought us our own stereos and our first Beatles cds), etc. So I want the two of us to make our own stockings

Things that we're going to do-

Make our own christmas ornaments- I like the thought of simple, non-glitzy things on our tree. Simple fabric ornaments.


Things about us-

We're non-religious, very big on tradition, family, etc. Simple things make us very happy. We're also more into 'natural' type stuff, like Waldorf-inspired things. Earthy, I guess. We also love cooking.


I would love to hear how other people celebrate the holidays, how they got started, and perhaps borrow a few traditions!

I have a sister and brother significantly younger than me. The boy just turned nine, the girl is turning six on Friday. I try to handmake things for them...it doesn't work. I put a lot of time into making a Harry Potter kit for my brother, which he didn't really like. I asked him also if he wanted my collection of the books (I have them all, and I figured I could just go home and borrow them if I wanted to read them.) He said he didn't want to re-read them, and that he'd pretty much lost interest in them when they started to get out of his reading level. His favorite part was the Jelly Beans. Everyone else got him video games, bionicles and webkinz, which he loved.

I'm experiencing a bit of a panic with my sister. I've been working on her a doll bed. I was going to make it from wood, but ended up using a shoebox for lack of materials. It's still nice, just not as durable. I cut it into shape and spent a long time painting it. I also made a small blanket, and will be making a little mattress and pillow. She loves dolls, so I figured she'd love it.

Except now, I'm seeing the things other people are getting her. She doesn't want dolls or clothes or books. The thing she requested from my brother was this: http://www.toystore.co.il/data/images/products/2007/11/28/littlest%20pet%20shop1.jpg

I don't approve of cheap plastic toys that will be forgotten as soon as they break or the fad is over. At the same time, I'm tired of feeling like the uncool sister who gives lame presents. Even when I buy presents, I'm still lame. My gift for when I came back from the Netherlands was a handbook on how to do all this cool outdoor boy stuff. My brother has never once opened it.

What do you suggest? Should I just give this present and then buy stuff from now on? Or keep trying? Or just give up on this present and go find something?

I'm seriously bummed out about this. What do you think?

Raman and pinto beans...My mom made these when she was super poor and taking care of two kids. Also, not with raman, but if you get the family sized mac 'n cheese, with a can of tuna, it's really great, and cheap.

You might want to look into meberships at bulk places, such as BJ's or Sam's Club.  It's can be a good deal. We buy lots of stuff in bulk, especially when it's things that aren't perishable.

Beautiful! If I saw those in a store, I'd be sorely tempted to buy them. I may have to steal your idea when I get the herb garden of MY dreams, if that's quite alright with you.

I need to make one of these, badly. I'm constantly losing needles! 

Yeah, I couldn't see your yard, but that's probably best. lol My dad just got a new flock, so I'm sorta feel like the crazy chicken lady right now. ^_^ Your neighbors probably wouldn't enjoy them being that close, either. I don't know about other breeds, but these bani hens we have are LOUD.

I love your tiny farm though...Where I currently live, the is far too much shade to successfully grow much, but I think next year I'll talk the boyfriend into letting me keep a couple tomatos on his apartment porch.