Archive for November, 2011

I’m so excited about the giveaway today.  Whenever I drop by The Container Store, I swoon.

I can walk by the shoe department at Nordstoms with barely a glance, but show me well-made food containers or stylish craft room shelves, and I have to give my wallet to my husband for safe keeping.

I am a total sucker for organizers.

But before we get to the giveaway, I want to share a few tips on keeping your treasured Christmas decorations.  I am very sentimental and have collected our Christmas decorations slowly over time.  We have many items that are precious to me and my family.

It seems like most of our favorite things are fragile, with lots of nooks and cranny for dust to settle in.  This past week, as I have been pulling our decorations from their storage boxes, I’ve had to give most of them a good spruce up.

Q-tips are an essential cleaning tool for these kinds of projects.

In the years before we had children, my husband collected some wonderful German nutcrackers and smokers. What would I do without Q-tips to clean all the intricate places that LOVE to collect dust.  I simply wet the end of the Q-tip with water, squeeze it good to remove the excess water, and use it to dust all the spots I can’t reach or are too intricate for a cloth.

I must have put everything away last year without dusting last year, because everything needed a bit of cleaning.  A dusty Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus would never do.

This is one of our most treasured nutcrackers.  It was hand carved from one piece of wood by my father-in-law.  He made 9 of them, one for my mother-in-law and himself and one for each of their children.   It was a true labor of love.  This wonderful Santa Claus makes me happy whenever I take him out of the storage box and place it carefully on my mantle.

And now courtesy of my friends at Q-tips, Make it Do is giving away:

Three (3) $50 gift certificates to The Container Store.com.

Holy Storage Boxes Batman!  I wouldn’t know were to begin… ornament storage boxes would be so nice… but I would also love this, this and this too.  I only wish I could enter this contest myself!

To enter simply leave a comment on this post answering:

What area of your home needs cleaning and organizing the most?

The Rules:

• Contest closes on Thursday, December 1, 2011 10:00 MDT

• Only one comment per person please.

• Random winners will be announced on Friday, December 2, 2011

Be sure to drop by Q-tips Facebook page to enter to win a $100 weekly gift card or the Grand Prize of $1000 and a year’s supply of Q-tips.  To enter you simply need to share all the ways you use Q-tips!

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Disclosure: I’m a Tipster ambassador and this is a sponsored post by Q-tip.  All opinions and ideas are my own.

Today is not just Cyber Monday, it’s Green Gift Monday too.  I’m so happy to be joining the good folks at the Nature Conservancy to celebrate Green Gift Monday by making some green gifts for some of my favorite friends.

I’m making Chocolate Fudge Sauce to give in Mason Jars.

Oh, how I love Mason Jars- useful, reusable, and charming.  They were green before green was cool.

Here’s how I’m making my gifts:

You’ll need Mason Jars:  This recipe makes about 1 – 1/2 cups or 3 half pints.  Most of the gifts I’m giving today are going into half pint wide mouth jars.  I’m also making a few pints jars full, like the one I’m sharing here.

For the hot fudge sauce you’ll need:

Hot Fudge Sauce

1/2 cup of butter (1 cube)

1 cup of good quality semisweet chocolate chips

1 (12 ounce) can of evaporated milk

2 cups of powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

In a double boiler over medium melt the butter and chocolate chips, whisking constantly until combined.  Whisk in the evaporated milk and powdered sugar and bring to a boil, stirring often, for 8 minutes.

Remove from heat and add vanilla if desired.  Store in a glass container in the refrigerator.   Keeps for several weeks.

Here’s the step by step:

Add the chocolate chips and butter into your double boiler.

Yes I am a trouble maker and a rule breaker.  I am not patient enough for the double boiler, and I have a lot of hot fudge to make.  I make it right in my sauce pan, BUT  I do not leave the stove, and I have a good stainless steel pan and gas burners, so I can turn it down if things are too hot.

When the butter and chocolate chips are melted and combined, stir in the evaporated milk…

and then whisk in the powdered sugar.

Bring it all to a boil over medium to medium-high heat and cook for 8 minutes, stirring often.  The sauce will start to thicken.  Remove from the heat and add vanilla if desired.

My mason jar and twine is waiting.  Don’t you just love candy cane baker’s twine?

Pour into your mason jars and allow to cool before putting on the lids.

While the chocolate is cooling, I cut the fabric with my pinking scissors.  I cut a 7 inch square for a wide mouth canning jar.  It could be a little bigger, but I’m always trying to waste not.  7 inches is enough.

Here’s one of my favorite tips.  Have you ever tried to add fabric to the top of a mason jar.  One day while I was having the fabric slip around as I was tying the ribbon, I had a brainwave to use a rubber band to hold the fabric in place.

As soon as the ribbon or twine is in place, I slip the rubber band off.  (Just don’t cover it with the ribbon.)

Tie it on with a little tag and a bit of twine… and you have a very lovely gift: homemade, delicious and green.

Are you making any wonderful green gifts this season?