We Got Good Gifts and Bad Gifts

I have done two types of baskets that have gone over really well with family and friends.

Each start with a wicker laundry basket which I have found at Zellers. I'm not sure there are Zellers in the US so maybe Target (I'm very jealous of these stores) or Walmart would carry them.

For my brother and his girlfriend when they moved in together and for our friends Mark and Sue I did a kitchen basket and I bought everything from the dollar store.

Spatulas (like 3 heavy duty ones), wooden spoons, measuring cups, dish clothes and dish towels (actually Walmart sells nice ones for a fair price), measuring spoons, tongs. For Mark and Sue I bought a huge non-stick wok like pan because Sue's was on it's last legs. Baby Brother got the rest of the dollar store in his basket. Plates, bowls, salt and pepper shakers, juice glasses.

This gift worked for my brother and girlfriend because they were starting out and weren't married or anything like that so no showers or wedding gifts. For M & S, they very often go without as many parents do and since I cook with Sue all the time I knew she was in need of some serious kitchen implements. They were both very happy.

The first incantation of the gift basket happened two years before that. I did one for my mother which was filled with her favourite bath products, face creams, perfume, books etc. My aunt's was also filled with much the same but with a few bath products that are for display purposes. I think I may have added a craft to her gift because she appreciates that kind of stuff. The third I did for Helen. Again with bath products, soaps, chocolates, wine and a framed copy of her favourite soliloque from Shakespeare that she had spent a year perfecting. Each basket had a touch of something for the specific person.

How did this fill up a large basket? I also made bath pillows from small travel pillow forms I found and sewed covers for from face towels I bought at Zellers. Hey, I own a few so I'll run and take a picture! It is the only craft that I have ever seen Martha Stewart do that I knew I could do also. Okay a chimp could do this but gimme a break!

I'm not sure how this will turn out because it is kind of hard to see. You basically take a 12" wide towel and fold it almost into thirds. As you can see the folds end 2 inches before the edge. (Pic 1). You pin and then sew the two short edges closed. You now have a pocket. (Pic 2)

Now, you have the pillow form:

So you stuff the pillow form into the pocket on the back:

And Voila!

Yes, there are two pillows in the picture above because I thought it looked better with two. For a more masculine feel, I found a stripped towel with dark brown and a toffee colour. I may make one for my brother's family. Hey, your not family until I've made you something wacky for Christmas.

Now, I should mention, that before you think I'm all that, most of my crafts come off as a great joke. One year I decided to plaster a few clay pots. I was expecting a nice smooth finish that I could paint all nice and rustic. No. The stuff hit the pot and basically dried on contact. I figured what the hell, it was art. My mother, aunt and Gram couldn't stop laughing for 10 minutes after my mother opened the gift. The laugh was on my mom because I told her I expected to see the pots in her garden. They lasted five years before the plaster finally gave up and fell away from the pot. One night we were over and I was saying how artistic the pot looked and that if my mother wasn't careful I might be forced to make a few more. My Christmas gift that year was a framed picture of the pot. Classic. I know that picture is around here somewhere. I'll have to see if I can find it. Damn, I can't.

Now for some zany and yes crude fun (you've been warned):

For the jealous writer in you. A perfect gift for the writer who shines so bright she is stealing your light.

For those of us waiting for our knight's in shining armor. Let's give 'em some guiding light.

I know! Why didn't *I* think of this. So bloody clever. I kinda want one.

Be sure to keep some of these handy. I mean, he needed the light to find you and you are bigger than...

Oh, for those of us not willing to commit! Tatto tape! Where can I find this stuff? I could look super cool without any pain. I wonder if people would know it wasn't real?

But I just can't resist awarding the dumbass gift award. I just didn't see this one coming. For 8 bucks of your hard earned money you too can have a minute of fun before becoming abysmally bored of your new toy. Course, we're women. We'll give the men an hour.

That's right. It's the Pro Thumb Wrestling Ring. That's it, I'm done. I officially give up on humanity.

Crap I just saw this while hooking up the links and I think it would be friggin' hilarious if it doesn't kill someone. Namely me. By being beaten to death with my own limbs for scaring the beejeesus out of 'someone'.

Bob'll never see it comin'.

On a whole other note.

Hi, my name is Cindy and I am a Blog Aholic. (My time thingie tells me I have been working on this one post for 2 hours. Course there were a ton of pictures and I needed to take them and then I had to search through a gigantic box of photos and got distracted by pictures of my basement when it was beautiful. Then there were puppy pics and kitty pics and pics of my Godchildren when they were babies. Not only that, I wasn't nearly as fat as I thought I was back then.) Am I in denial? Gonna need a verdict here. Am I obsessed or is this normal. Weigh in.)