Cigar Boxes as Gift Boxes

That's right. I have a small collection of cigar boxes. No, not the super cool wooden ones that people make handbags from. These are very stiff cardboard and I picked them up for free from a cigar store. Its amazing the kind of cool boxes and things that come from retail establishments! I really need to start dumpster diving behind those stores :-)
Anyway, I have several small gifts for my mom, one of them being soft. And, I have pets who cannot seem to mind their own business. So I wanted something sturdy to wrap them in and of course, the cigar boxes are perfect!

Cheap gift wrapping ideas 

Cheap Bastard kind of describes my wrapping style! I hate putting lots of money out for fancy wrapping paper and I especially hate how the cheap paper behaves. I love using the rolls of brown paper that you can find in the paint section of the hardware store. This roll was just less than $3 and it usually lasts me more than 6 months. (Besides wrapping gifts, I also use it to line the bird cage and stuff in boxes I ship out.....). I also found this cute, cute Christmas duct tape!
Here are the items loosely wrapped and inside the cigar box.

Cheap gift wrapping ideas

The Christmas duct tape makes these so cute and charming, right? And, no bows or ribbons to lose or crush!

Cheap gift wrapping ideas

For more charm I found these printable gift tags on Mom's Crafty Space. I printed them onto white card stock and just cut them out by hand. You could attach them with glue stick or a glue gun. I did glue these to the tape and not the paper. I figured the hold would be stronger that way. And not possibly make a gluey mess on the box.....

Cheap gift wrapping ideas

Here is another gift wrapped with brown paper and duct tape. I'm liking them!

Cheap gift wrapping ideas 

Cheap gift wrapping ideas

Thanksgiving Weekend

I hope that all of my American friends are having a great Thanksgiving weekend! And that everyone else is having a wonderful weekend too :)
The broderie had a mild catastrophe on Thanksgiving day. I was preheating the oven for my turkey when POP!, the oven died. Ummm, WHAT? I had a twenty pound turkey, 13 guests (plus a couple of kids) coming over and a dead oven. So, what does any self respecting girl do after recovering from her panic attack? Roast the entire dinner on the grill! Yep, turkey and the fixings on the grill and mashed potatoes in the crockpot. I dare say, it was my tastiest holiday dinner to date. I do highly recommend grilling a turkey. We used our gas grill and I kept my turkey in its own pan, I didn't set it on the grill itself. It cooked very quickly though, in just under four hours. We had to keep it to rest for another two hours, the thing was done before my first guest arrived. It was a great time, I had done most of my prep work the day before so there was no slaving in the kitchen (or over the grill) and I got to enjoy my company.
The next morning there was turkey frittata and pancakes on the grill for my company who stayed over. And Saturday morning was turkey, broccoli and bok choy frittata and roast potatoes. It turns out so well that we might use the grill much more often. The potatoes are so much better on the grill than oven roasted.

Frittata and potatoes on the grill

Potatoes on the grill 

Frittata on the grill

Grilled frittata and potatoes

Grilled frittata and potatoes

So we still have no oven. And no heat. Turns out that it is our main circuit breaker is going bad. We are quickly losing the ability to use our appliances. The dryer shut down the house last night. Can't use the hot tub (major sad face here). And we are pretty much powerless until the specialty electricity parts store opens tomorrow. This is a weekend to remember for sure! I am so relieved that we will be able to fix this ourselves. Christoper and I were worried about a giant electrician bill.
So, besides becoming novice electricians in a hurry, we got some good shopping in too. And some awesome relaxation time at the bookstore. And we got our tree!

Italian stone pine potted tree

Isn't it the cutest?!? I'm going to decorate her up real special. I can't wait to decorate the house. But it might be sans giant Christmas tree this year.
How has your weekend been? Any good stories?

Thanksgiving Prep

I'm baaack! I have spent the entire past week getting ready for my first craft fair. I sold exactly two items, one of which I actually made while sitting at my booth. But it was a great way to get my feet wet. I shared space with Red Sky Enterprises and their daughter, Erin, who crochets some wicked cool hats and scarves.

Scarves by Erin ~ Longbottom Manor is her store. 

Tom of Red Sky and I have been trying to talk Erin into branching out with a web presence. I also got to trade some items with lovely artists who also don't have a web presence, lol!

So now that this craft fair is over I can concentrate on getting ready for Thanksgiving, which I am hosting at my house. Tom and Amber from Red Sky will be here as will my cousin, her two sons and her three grandchildren and my daughter as well. This little broderie will be full! And I cannot wait *smiles*. So of course I have been thinking about what to serve. I am so surprised that when I search Thanksgiving on Pinterest I get lots of crafts and very little food. Still, there are some lovely things there. 

I found a site for skinny appetizers. This has a lot of great ideas. No one will be blaming their 7 holiday pounds on me. 

Parmesan Spinach Dip from Skinny Taste

And check out Martha's kale crisps!

Kale Crisps from Martha Stewart

I have never tried brining a turkey before but I think I will try Martha's dry brine this year. Looks easier than a wet brine and won't take up so much room in the fridge!

Martha Stewart's dry brined turkey

I was reading an article and someone mentioned serving macaroni and cheese as a side. I laughed and snickered, thinking about Kraft mac and cheese. But then, I remembered tasting my sister's baked macaroni and cheese. This is on the menu now. I think the kids will appreciate it, lol!

Macaroni and Cheese from Ezra Pound Cake

For desserts I want to do mini versions. Then everyone really can "have a little of everything" without trying to slice teensy tiny pieces of pie. 

Mini pecan pies by Elegantly Gluten Free

Christopher keeps seeing commercials on TV for Thanksgiving dinner at The Golden Corral. He is jokingly trying to talk me into going out for dinner. At least, I think he is joking......