Thursday, November 19, 2009

Handmade Gifts


When it comes to giving gifts to children (or really anyone) I get a bit nervous.  I want them to like the gift, especially when it is handmade.  When it comes to five-year-old boys, giving a cape with their initial is always a hit. Not to mention cheap inexpensive.  Girls also like wearing capes, especially if they're pink and you call it a Princess cape.

As for a pattern, I copied a cape that I'd seen at a preschool but this tutorial will help you if you can't hold a cape in your hands.  My fastening device at the neck was simply velcro.

Mr. Intensity gave the cape in this personalized recycled up-cycled bag.  We used painters tape to make the initial and he colored over it.  Warning: The tape doesn't always come off so easily.

The next handmade gift we gave to his homeschool co-op teachers.


The whipping got a bit messy so I had to cover the mixer to keep marshmallow fluff from going everywhere.



This tutorial is very helpful.  Marshmallows are super easy to make.

Last year I gave the marshmallows in a tin.  This year I opted for jars, because that's what I had.  Definitely tins are the better receptacles.

The humidity was high when I made the marshmallows and by morning it was raining.  The marshmallows were very sticky.  I'm not sure if the humidity has anything to do with the stickiness or if I did something differently from last year.  A year ago we were living in the desert and the marshmallows were perfect.

The above basket and below bowl I found at Goodwill.  Also included are chocolate chip as well as ginger cookies to add to the jar of marshmallows.

See what others are making inexpensively for the holidays at The Nourishing Gourmet.

5 comments:

Cara said...

I love the cape! And velcro is a much better idea than ties, which I what I'd seen before. Tieing around neck + busy preschoolers... not a good combo.

jojoebi-designs said...

capes are always a goodie, I always use velcro too, for the safety aspect, it is much easier to undo velcro that a tie if the cape is to get caught or something.
Ebi-kun is very much into dressing up at the moment so a super-hero cape is on his Christmas list.

Anne said...

I have always wanted to make marshmallows! That cape looks pretty fun to wear, too!

The Davidson Den said...

I've never once experimented with marshmallows...even to buy healthier ones. I think I'd just like someone who's tried them to tell me they toast over a fire perfectly! (because I. adore. toasted. marshmallows)

Jacquie Toft Hughes said...

Just so you know, it wasn't anything you did that caused the sticky marshmallows- it was definitely the weather! Humidity will ruin any kind of candy making, so making them in the desert was definitely ideal!

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