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It’s November and I know for a fact
that most of you did not finish your Christmas shopping by July as I
suggested. Don’t ask me how I know, I just know. This month, I am going
to try to help you save money and still give gifts.
If you need a little extra money for
gifts, collect some aluminum cans and take them to the recycling center.
Now you have a little money in your pocket, so let’s see what you can do
with it.
If you have empty baby food jars, or
have access to some, you can easily use them for gifts. Wash the jars
and remove the labels. Take some of your aluminum can money to one of
the dollar stores, where you will find model paint in the toy section. I
suggest you buy green, red, white and black.
Paint the jar lids red or green--two
coats. After the lids have dried, use Christmas stencils you have made
yourself to add to the lids. A white snowman on a green lid or a green
Christmas tree on a red lid works well. Dab little white dots on the
lids to resemble snowflakes. When finished, spray the lids with some
type of sealer so the design will last for future uses by the recipient.
You can also cover the lids with
pretty Christmas material or you can paint them silver and gold and tie
pretty red or green ribbons or yarn around the jar necks. When the jars
are decorated, fill them with Christmas candy or red and green
potpourri. For stocking stuffers for the children or grandchildren, fill
the jars with coins or marbles. Trust me, they’ll love them.
For an easy, pretty, clever
country-look gift, tie a red ban-danna around a canning jar. Fill the
jar with candy or nuts; or fill it with soup beans and tie a recipe to
the jar; or fill with cornmeal and attach a cornbread recipe. Sounds
good to me!
Coffee cans also make great
containers for homemade gifts. You can fill them with cookies, candy,
muffins or cornbread. Spray paint the outside of any size coffee can
with a pretty color or wrap it in Christmas fabric or wrapping paper.
Glue some lace around the middle or top of the can. The great thing
about this gift is that you can reuse the can after the holidays--or
uncover them and recycle them.
Another homemade gift that doesn’t
cost a lot of money is a spoon rest. Purchase a four inch decorative
tile. It’s just the right size. Apply a dime size dot of silicon on the
back or each corner to prevent it from scratching the stove or counter
top. Place the tile right side up on a piece of waxed paper and let it
dry. When dry, carefully remove the paper from each silicon dot. To make
this project even easier and faster, apply self-adhesive silicon or felt
patch in each corner.
I hope I have helped you a little
with your homemade gifts for Christmas. Next month, we’ll make
inexpensive Christmas decorations.
Thought of the Month: An act of
love, no matter how great or small, is always appreciated.
(Judy Wolfram is chairman of
Calhoun County Solid Waste Authority, which oversees Cabot Recycling.
Cabot is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week for recycling drop-offs.
Those who would like to be paid for non-ferrous metals and aluminum cans
need to visit Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., or Saturday, 8
a.m. to noon.)
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