another 'thank you' gift idea

i always thank the ladies that work in the office at my school.

they have 1200 kids (about 700 families) that go there, but they always remember my name!

and so far, we have had really really good teachers, so id like to think it was them taking care of me.

and if not, they just put up with me coming in asking for weird stuff.

(example:can i use the teachers lunchroom's soda machine? i don't want to drive to smiths for a fresca and i really need one.)

last year AND this year, i made them mulling spice gift bags.

of course, i started with fabric bags.

then i added an orange, an apple juice juice box and the following in a plastic baggie

1 T ground cinnamon

1 T ground nutmeg

1 T ground cloves

i attached it with this little card that says...

enjoy the warmth of the holidays while the scent of simmering spices fill your home! slice the orange and simmer them on low in apple juice along with the contents of the spice bag! add a small amount of water each hour to continue the aroma!

and yes, i stole this idea from blue cricket design.

shipping gifts

i send alot of gifts to family out of state.

there are problems with this.

1. i cant put nice pretty bows because they get squished.

2. the paper always ends up ripping.

3. i cant use extra boxes to wrap shirts because it cost more.

this year i solved my biggest christmas problem!(well, except for the 'no unlimited funds' issue)

i made fabric bags.

and anyone with a sewing machine can do this-even if you didn't have mrs lane as your home ec teacher for 3 years!

here i am wrapping an iron man watch for one of my nephews in valley forge. seriously,just make sure you have enough fabric to go all the way around and sew.

i did zig-zag all the raw edges to give it a more finished look.

this is for a shirt for my niece jackie. i cut about 6-8" of fabric (width) then i wrapped it around the shirt liked this...

to see how far the end pieces needed to come up to wrap around.

now isn't this a better looking package to get?

and since they are fabric, you can reuse them year after year!