Oops, Here it is!

I know, I know. I'm late with the easy peasy gift idea.Well, you know what they say. Better late than never! Now that the xmas storm, has died down, and I am finally starting to recover... here it is. The simplest gift anyone can make.
I present to you: Bath Salts.

First grab a non porous bowl, and throw in a cup of Epsom salts, and a cup of rock salt. Then add your choice of essential oil, just a few drops, and a few drops of food colouring. (Don't add too much- nobody wants purple bath water). Pull on a rubber glove and massage for about five minutes, mixing the salts colour and oil.

Note the pale colour... not quite pink. Might be best to use decent gel food colouring, not the supermarket stuff that's been in the cupboard since the dawn of time.

Next, line a baking tray with baking paper, and spread the salts out. Leave for about five hours, or over night.



It's not your eyes, I made two different colours.

All you need to do now is package up your creation and give it a pretty label! The easiest way is to grab a jar and fill it up. You can get cheap jars from most $2 shops, or you can even use a jam jar.

I sent some of my salts to my French family... so to make the parcel lighter, I made these:

Grab yourself some plastic bags from the $2 shop, throw in some salts, make a paper label like this:

Fold the top of the bag down a couple of times, and staple the label to the top, ensuring you've closed the bag in the process. Voila! A little more time consuming sure, but postage is expensive these days!

There you have it, easy peasy to make, and a treat to receive. You could make a whole bath pack, just by popping down to the supermarket and grabbing a loofah, shower cap and a make up bag.

Hope you all had a Joyeux Noel, see you in the New Year.

MC













Deck the Halls... or heater

Please forgive my absence... I've been a busy girl, what with all the decorating, making of stuff and watching t.v. I return with a fun little project that's so simple the kids can do it for you!
This xmas, we're (o.k, maybe it's just me) going all out simply because this year my family will be here, and we'll actually have time to enjoy ourselves!

I thought it mght be fun to hang some stockings on the heater (in lieu of an actual mantel) and fill them with some silly bits and bobs. I stole this idea from last years xmas edition of Better Homes and Gardens magazine. Theirs is much nicer, but mine is cheaper. :)


First, cut yourself some squares of red (or whatever) cardboard. I made mine 21cm square, half of the original pattern... the bigger they are, the more you need to put in! You'll also need to cut out some more squares in a contrasting colour. My theme this year is Red and Brown paper. I just so happened to have some paper bag scraps that I used instead (which is why they're smaller than my red squares). The original pattern uses fabric, on the outside. 



Brown paper glued to the "top" corner

Next, you'll need to decorate the outside. Intent on using my scraps, I cut stars out of brown paper and glued them on.

Now we're ready to rock'n'roll, especially roll. With one point of your square being the top, roll the cardboard into a cone. This is where I struggled because stupid me used thick cardboard. get the thin stuff!

Add double sided tape to keep the cone in place. If you used thin cardboard, that should be all you need.

Next, we need name tags so there aren't any fights. I used my excess cardboard and the trusty brown paper bag scraps.

Punch a hole in the tag, a hole in the pointy bit of your cone, and another where the cardboard wraps around itself, and attach the tag with ribbon.

Mine just would NOT stay, so I've used a paper clip and hung my tag on it.

All that's left to do is hang them, then wait for ages until you can fill them!

And voila, "stockings" hung and ready for Santa.

Coming soon, an easy peasy gift that requires no skill.

A bientot

MC