Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Hello folks.

Well, I'm gettin' ready for Christmas! I know, I know, how sick is that? I don't even like Christmas! I mean, I like the whole 'baby Jesus in a manger, the Saviour of the World' bit but not the mass consumerism and the pressure to buy things. What I mean is that I've figured out what my 'mass produced' gift will be. I have about a dozen or so friends that I love dearly who buy me a gift each year and while I'd love to buy them each something original, I simply can't afford it. And even if I could, I'd be buying into that consumerism garbage I was just railing against. So I look for something that's relatively easy to make, that's affordable, that's worth making and that I think people will either love or will say "oh, there she goes again, trying to suck into her tree-huggin' cult". This last Christmas I made flannel cozies for bricks... you heat the bricks up in the oven, tuck them into their cozies and then put them at the foot of your bed to keep you warm all night. I got a lot of strange looks from people this year but everyone who tried it has reported back to me that they love it. I know that flannel itself is NOT a green earth-friendly fibre and bricks are made using all kinds of chemicals but that's not the point, people! But ya know, I saved a lot of electricity this year, I didn't have to have my bedroom heater on at all this winter!

So my I think my project this year is going to be these: http://www.snacktaxi.com/ They're really quite adorable and can be used in boxed lunches to carry anything from loose snacks like cereal or chips to cookies to sandwiches, etc. Fortunately for me, the Snack Taxi website gives really clear descriptions of each item (including measurements and fabric choices). I've made a couple of them out of just plain cotton but the real-deal is lined with PUL (a plastic-y type of durable cloth used in diaper covers). I have some of it at home that I'll bust out. I'm going to borrow mom's serger to spare the poor zig-zag function on my sewing machine and I'll continue to experiment. Just think, I could have all of these little gems finished for Christmas in a month or two from now. Ah yes, the sweet smell of pre-planning.

I'm off to mom and dad's shortly for supper. We were hoping to have aunt Bev join us but she's still driving from Jasper and won't be with us til much later tonight... then I think she's headed back to the island tomorrow. Bummer.

Moving forward with Joy.

3 comments:

  1. wow - those bags are an excellent idea for gifts!! And I've been wanting to make some of those for us, so a perfect excuse :)
    Thanks for checking out my blog ~ I used a make-shift pattern of a skirt I already have that I like, and just did strips of fabric (trying to be *very* careful not to cut up my original skirt :)
    Have a great week..
    much love,
    Julie

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  2. How crafty of you! I don't think it's weird to be thinking about christmas, because if you're trying to be green, you have to plan things well in advance. But you seem to have things well sorted out! I need to get myself in gear, I have no idea what I'm doing for christmas, but you've reminded me that I need to be thinking about it. So thanks!

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  3. Julie - I think I'll have to borrow a friend's skirt to use as a pattern. It can be done! Thanks!
    Givegreenatry - you're very welcome. I'm a big fan of pre-planning, too!

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