Check out my article on expats.cz, where I show three easy ideas for handmade gifts!

And if you like the map ornament designs, you can print the pattern from this pdf: 

Free printable pattern download

Thanks for sharing your fabric scraps. There’s only one thing more fun than getting fabric scraps in the mail: using fabric scraps to spell out sweet nothings on pillowcases.

Dear Husband,

I wouldn’t stitch a lie.

Potter + Butler is an adorable little company run by two rather adorable friends, Emily and Carrie, who make adorable handmade party goods. I discovered them when they re-posted my DNA garland at Christmas time.

I love their sweet party garland.

And I double-love their mini garland for cakes! Or donuts, which kind of makes me chuckle, and crave powdered donuts.

Emily and Carrie were inspired by NPR’s This, I Believe series, and started their own podcast series, This, I Celebrate. It’s a “project of good cheer, … designed to engage us all in the joy, energy, and merriment of celebration through sharing our celebration stories with others.”

And they asked me to contribute! So I wrote up a little sumpin’, went back in the closet with my microphone, and recorded a couple of my thoughts on celebration.

Listen to my This, I Celebrate guest “appearance” here. Hope you likes it!

I’ve also decided to give in to my love of stitched linens and collect a few, despite the fact that I never use table linens. I found these hip, hand-stitched yellow napkins, along with another armful of treasures, at a fantastic antique/junk store outside of Prague.

Well, my collecting paid off when I wrapped a tin can in one of my I-don’t-know-if-I-really-need-this finds.

It was super simple: I just wrapped a tin can with my cloth napkin, popped some flowers in, and set my eyes a’gazin’ on my adorable can-vase.

Solution: Wait, rewind a sec.

When a friend invites me (us) for dinner, I like to bring at least a bottle of wine. If it’s a particularly special occasion — maybe the first time at a new friend’s house, or a bonafide dinner party — I like to bring a little something extra.

A couple weeks ago I’d (of course) waited until the last minute to come up with a hostess gift. So on my way home I bought a spring bulb from the flower stand, but the bright blue plastic it came in wasn’t going to cut it. And I do love jars, so I had plenty in the cabinet.

A bit of my favorite wrapping paper and twine,

and a tiny painted heart (one of my husband’s spontaneous ideas that I hate because it wasn’t mine, and love because it was brilliant), and I had a sweet, simple hostess gift.

Good thing, because some serious Japanese deliciousness awaited us. Here I am wearing my concentrating face, learning to be a Takoyaki chef. Apparently my husband was wearing his, too, on my behalf. It worked. They were delicious.

I have to say, I was pretty happy with how easily the gift wrap creative juices started flowing once I committed to spending just that little bit of extra time. Check it.

The key to a hip collection of boxes is that no two are the same.

4 Simple Tricks for Impressive Gift Wrap

1. Mix it up. Choose two coordinating papers, and wrap boxes in each of them.

2. Break it up. Add interest by putting a band of the opposite paper across the middle of some packages.

3. Go simple. Again, the key is variety. And simple is a good variety! Especially if you can do it with just one little twist, like quadrupling ribbon (twine… my favorite) before tying a basic bow.

4. Go funky. Get creative with trying to use the opposite paper in lieu of a bow. Here, we have a bloomin’ flower of brown paper. You can even curl most paper (gently) with scissors, just like you would ribbon.

Of course, all that pride in my work, and the real show stopper was the bit of orange I threw in just for fun. Ah, well. Can’t beat peanut butter cups. And all-in-all, it was a pretty fab 30th birthday… you can see the whole thing here, in fact: Dennis Turns 90!

There’s nothing more magical than a craft out of toilet paper rolls. Right?

Well, slap some glitter on, and anything’s magical.

To make this star tree-topper, I cut 1″ wide strips from toilet paper rolls and flattened them to created a point at each end. Then
I used a string to fasten nine together for the inner star, and glued nine more around the outside.

I finished it off with a nine-year-old’s job of glue and glitter, so it would catch the eye a bit more. (The coiled twine in the very center is just for fun… made it with Elmer’s.)

I’m pleasantly surprised that my trashy, handmade tree topper (and other ornaments) feels rather vintage and rustic. I like.

I also have a fondness for crafted flowers, so …….

I made a Tram Ticket Wreath.

It was an easy project that you could do with any kind of paper cut into small rectangles (2×3.5″)… magazines, newspaper, sheet music.

Here’s how:

1. Fold ‘em: six tickets, accordion style. I recommend wearing your robe for this part. (Notice top right corner.)

2. Stack ‘em: three across and two deep.

3. Tie ‘em: in the middle.

4. Fluff ‘em: just tug each ticket toward the center.

5. Glue ‘em: kind of stagger the flowers for a fuller look. (I cut a ring out of a shoe box lid for the base.)

6. Impress your friends with how many tram tickets you’ve paid for (the tourist way) rather than figuring out how to get a pass (the local way).

Merry, Wreathy Christmas!

The other day I was reading the latest issue of Bird & Blooms and found a nifty little recipe for Bird Cupcakes and made up a batch to give as gifts to a couple of bird-loving people, and some for myself. It was super easy and I am looking forward to the birds finding this tasty treat.

(Attracting birds to the back yard is not only for my entertainment, but also for my two indoor cats!)

Bird Cupcakes

1 c. shortening

2 c. chunky peanut butter

5 c. cornmeal

nuts, birdseed or dried berries

Melt shortening and peanut butter in large saucepan over low heat. Mix in cornmeal. Fill lined cupcake tins and top with nuts, birdseed or berries. Cool in refrigerator. To give as a gift, arrange on a plate or stack them and then wrap with cellophane; attach a recipe card so the recipient can make more.

Yield: 24 cupcakes

{Note from Amy: I love that every critter in my Mom’s house gets treated so well… from kids, to cats, to birds!}

So this year I’ve challenged myself to decorate for Christmas with almost all handmade “trash” decorations. (You should see my toilet paper roll collection.)

I wanted something fun and simple for our great windows, so I made what my husband calls DNA garland for the kitchen.

I just cut strips of magazine, lined them all up in a row, drew a line of school glue, then pressed a string of twine onto the glue. After about 10 minutes, I twisted the twine to create a random direction of all the strips. Then I strung up some dollar store snow flakes to keep my DNA company (thanks for the goodies, Mom!).

In the living room, I spent about 10 minutes on some simple bunting of twine and wrapping paper.

Which looks just adorable with dollar store candy canes! (Again, Mom… fist bump.)

Simple, but festive, no?