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Embroidery Hoop Ideas - Quickie Gift
submitted by Nite109

These are great for hook earrings OR use for potpourri holders  -  You can buy any size embroidery hoops.... depends on if you want one big one or smaller ones - up to you.  The basics are the same.  You put a small
piece of lace inside the hoops then secure as taut as you can and glue the extra lace left over around the wood base of the edge.  Cut off excess lace.  Around the outer edge or inner edge, you can gluegun ruffle ribbon or ribbon on top of lace ruffle. If you choose to put the ruffle on the back edge, where the wood
would show from the front, then you should gluegun on a run of ribbon to cover the exposed wood.  It also adds a finishing touch, if you put the ruffle on the outer edge, leaving the back exposed, the ribbon gives it
a  finished look.  Then you add a ribbon bow at the top where the screw top is to cover that.  I color coorindate the ribbons and lace and bows, etc to whatever the room decor is.  Mix and match as you please.  Then you just put the earrings into the lace. Also, you can put two pieces of lace and put the potpourri inside the lace pieces and do the same basic thing.  These both make lovely gifts - for yourself or friends.

How about this for additional use for those embroidery hoops.  Instead of filling the inside space with lace, leave open.   Just decorate the outside of the hoop with ruffles and ribbon and after smoothing out the bottom l/4 of the hoop, use the bottom l/4 of the hoop to serve as a finger tip towel holder.  The ribbons and etc can be themed with the decor of your bathroom.

Treasure Rocks
submitted by Simps

1 c. flour
1 c. used coffee grounds
1/2 c. salt
1/4 c. sand
1 c. water

Combine all ingredients.  Mix well.  I bought small 3" race cars and first wrapped them in aluminum foil so they wouldn't rust.  Then I molded this mixture around the cars making them look like regular rocks.  I put them out in the sun to dry and turned them over every day for one week until they were good and hard.  When you mold them, try to make them look like rocks and not cow patties.

Used for kids party.   Hide them in the yard before a get-together.  Make one rock up without anything in it.  Tell d the kids, "This is the type of rock we're looking for", and sent them out on their treasure hunt.
When each one had found their "rock", I carefully cracked it open with a hammer (adult supervision on
this one), and out popped their cars. The adults are just as thrilled as the kids.  However, it would also make a great gag gift for the office party!

Kitchen Towel Angels  --  NO sewing and No gluing

 Supplies:
 1 teatowel
 1 dishrag
 1 square hotpad
 (All should match or coordinate)
 Ribbon (very narrow, in a color to go with the above)
 Small gold safety pins
 + Something to make the halo out of. (Example:  use some little embellishment  like those found in the bridal supply area, three small strands with beads on  them, paper wrapped together.)

 1. Take the teatowel and lay on a table. Fan fold it and make sure the  outside seam of towel ends in the same direction.. After fan folding, take  the teatowel and fold in half.  Very carefully measure down a couple of
 inches, cut a length of the ribbon to tie around there and make a bow. (This  forms the head). With the top above the ribbon, you need to kind of push the  middle area back a bit to make it look like a hood over the face.

 2.  Take the dishrag and roll it up. After you get it rolled,  then take  another length of ribbon. Take the dish rag and put it around the teatowel  forming the arms. Tie back from the end of the dishrag a little, forming the
 hands.

 3. Take a length of the ribbon and run it thru the loop of hotpad.  Tie this  as tight or loose around the pad to form the wings. The loop is what you use  to hang it with. Now turn the angel face down (the pins come into
play here).    Lay the wings on the back of the angel. Then take one pin and catch a small  part of the potholder right by the loop. Then catch part of the teatowel and  another part of the other side of the potholder, and at the bottom of the  wings you do the same.

4. With whatever you are using for your halo, form the circle for halo. Then  fold over the end to put thru the folds of the towel and then bend the beads  (or whatever) over for the halo.   This makes a memorable and cute bridal shower gift (or housewarming, thinking  of you gift, etc.)  If you want, put some small flowers in her hand in  between the two sides of the dishrag. Or if you have a small basket, tie a  small lop and put that there. Just be CREATIVE.

OVERSEAS SURVIVAL KIT

American Flag to remind you of the Good Ol' USA
Tissue for when you get homesick
Soap in case you ever hear the phrase "Dirty American"
Clock [set on home time] so you'll only call when we're awake
Legal-size Pad for the LONG letters home
Refillable pen & refills so there's no excuses not to write
Cassette Tape of Bruce Springsteen - Born in the USA - sing along!
Name Tag for when you feel lost
Art Tablet for when you have to draw a picture to communicate
Foot Sole Inserts for all-day sightseeing walks
Band-aids for the sightseeing night blisters
Postcards to save on postage when writing home for MORE money
Blank Cassette Tape for when your hand gets tired from letter-writing
M&Ms to remind you not to melt over there
Computer disk to save all those daily emails to/from home
Dramamine for airsickness or jetlag (yuck)
Ruler for when you need inches, not crazy metric measurements
Candle to put in the window to guide angels to watch over you!!

Mom's Survival Kit

This Survival Kit is especially for you, Mom, and it contains the following items that you probably need daily:
(Pick and choose, or change it up for anyone)
An eraser, so you can make all your troubles disappear.
A penny, cause you're not rich, but you'll never be completely broke.
A flower, to remind you that the weed your child offers you is equal to any bouquet.
A marble, in case people say you've lost all of yours.
Chapstick, so you can always keep your lips moist for kisses.
Crayons, to allow your creative spirit to shine through.
Gold thread, to remind you that family is a golden thread that unites the heart.
A rubber band, to stretch yourself to handle multiple priorities
Glitter, for a glimpse of how the world looks thru the eyes of a child
Confetti, to add lots of fun and sparkle to your life
A string, to tie things together when everything falls apart
PayDay candy bar, for when the kids start complimenting you for a hand-out
A towel, so you can wipe off the sweat from all that hard work you do
Button, for you to button the kids' lips with when they're being way too loud
Sweetarts candy, so you can always find the sweet in the bitter times
Lifesaver, to remind you that you need your kids and they need you
Handkerchief, so you can wipe the sleep out of your eyes after all the sleepless nights
Dumdum candy, to make sure that if you never feel that way you can swallow it away
Aspirin, for the headaches being a mother can cause
A Milky Way candy bar, so you'll always remember the way home
Toothpick, to help you to pick out the good in your children
Tootsie Roll, so you're prepared to roll with the punches
Safety pin, for all the little emergencies life brings along
Rope, for when you are at the end of yours, so you can tie a knot and hang on!
A lollipop, so you'll be able to lick your problems
Two cotton balls, for the times you can't hear yourself think
Band-Aid, for all those days when you need some TLC
Paperclips, so you can hold it together when your life feels like it's falling apart
A puzzle piece, to remind you that we all fit together as a family unit
A mint, cause you are truly worth one
A rock, to symbolize that tough things in life 'polish' off our rough edges
A candle, so you'll be able to light up the darkest hour
And hugs and kisses to remind you that your [son(s) and/or daughter(s)]

Silk Flower Wreath
submitted by:  Catherine

You'll Need:
14" grapevine wreath
38 silk flowers--2 cabbage roses, 2 hybrid tea roses, 6 daises, 3
daffodils,
2 lilies, 13 jasmine sprigs (they look like little yellow 'filler'
flowers)
and 10 lilacs.
50" of artificial ivy
4" sturdy wire to make loop for hanging
Scissors
Glue gun

How tos:
1. Form a wire loop at the top back of the wreath for hanging
2. Cut the flower stems to about 8" and trim them further as needed
3. Arrange large flowers in sections as focal point (each section should have a pair of the large flowers--lilies together, cabbage roses together and tea roses together).  Then fill in with lilacs, daises, daffodils and
jasmine, making each section a little different.
4. Cut the ivy into 8 pieces and place one every 5" or so to vary the edges.
5. Finally, insert the stems firmly using a little glue if necessary.

Styrofoam Hats
submitted by Gloria

Materials:
Tacky Glue
Acrylic paint ( your choice)
Electric Oven
8 1/2 oz. insulated foam cups
cookie sheet
cooling rack
dimensional sparkle paint
assorted brushes
foam plate to use as palette
small remnants of fabric scraps, ribbons, lace, etc. .  .
scissors

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees or as high as 375 degrees.  The higher the heat, the faster the cups shape and the temperature also determines the different shapes.

Place 4 to 5 foam cups on cookie sheet with open end down.

Place cookie sheet on middle rack of oven.

Watch cups closely.  Once cups melt to a foam you like, immediately use your pot holders and remove from oven.  The hats will not be a perfect shape.

Place cookie sheet on cooling rack for a few seconds to cool.  The hats will then become hard and can be removed from cookie sheet.

Paint hats in desired colors.  Let dry.

Embellish hats using small remnants.

Tips:  Those hats will cost about 2 cents to make and put on the snowman's head.  That is cheap. Tell you another secret. Take a knife or spoon and smash it further and make it look like a hobo hat. Put it on the snowman too.

2-Liter for Gift Wrap

Use an empty 2-liter pepsi bottle (or 3-liter bottle which would hold more) as gift wrap. Make a vertical slit in the bottle where one of the seams wereand stuff everything through it.  Type a gift label (on computer) that
wraps around bottle.

Ex:  Baby gift -- Put easter grass or shredded paper in the bottom, then put in a bath thermometer, pacifier, sponge duck teddy bear, a lifesaver teething ring, little hand mittens, a rattle, shampoo, comb/brush, etc.  Add
some curly ribbon, candy, etc.  You might want to include a couple of extra things in tissue paper, as a surprise.  For a child's birthday, cut the side flap, put beanie babies and other gifts inside, put the BD card (no envelope) so it shows and add confetti and glitter.

You really need to decide what to want on the bottom and work your way up, the slit doesn't allow for big items. Plus make sure the stuff inside is visible above the label.  Add some stickers to outside.

Instead of cutting side of bottle, you could cut around the bottle close to the bottom (maybe about 3 1/2 inches up from the bottom put all of your stuff in and then use clear packing tape to seal shut and then apply the label.

Mailing:  Seal the flap and the screw-on top with clear mailing tape, put the mailing label on and mail it.

Belly Button Brush
Print out this poem on cardstock paper, place the card & a small make-up (eyeliner or lip) brush in a fancy handmade gift box. Or print, trim cardstock with fiskars scissors, punch a hole in corner of cardstock, and run raffia or thin ribbon through hole and tightly around handle of small make-up brush.

Or you can make belly button brush with pipe cleaner and a bead, or use the little electric razor trimmer brushes... whatever you can find at the Dollar Store.

~Belly Button Brush~
This Teeny Tiny Gift
Does a Teeny, Tiny Chore
But When You've Finished Using It,
You'll Be Troubled Nevermore,
By The Balls of Lint That Gather
In That Pesky Little Place;
A Birthmark That is Shared
By All the Human Race.
So Use This Navel Lint Remover
With Care and in Good Health
And When You're Done, You'll Surely Know
You've Completely Cleaned Yourself!

(1) First of all, you need two (2) heavy duty hangers (like the one that has a cardboard on the bottom for hanging pants and the cardboard can be removed).

(2)  You take apart the hangers and form the shape of the hook and then criss cross the hangers so that the bottoms form a holder.  With pliers, hook the bottom of the hangers around an embroidery hoop - so now you should have what looks like the top of the mobile.  (the hook for hanging and the four "blades" of the hangers hooked over the hoop (from the bottom upwards and clamped shut.

(3)  You can use fish line or a a heavy duty thread to hang your ornaments and when the wind blows, this will sound and look so pretty - depending on what you use for the ornaments and how you decorate it.  Either  mobile or a windchime!
 
 

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