Monica Kochelee

After I got up and showered this morning I was getting dressed and ripped a sock.  I hope that is not an indication of how today is going to be going! 

At first I was going to just toss the sock in the trash, but then I decided that I will try to darn it to repair it.  In this economy, I’m trying to pinch every penny and stretch every dollar.  It’s been a few years since I’ve darned socks, but it isn’t hard to do.  So I’ve put the sock aside for now, will try to get to darning it this evening after supper.

I found that when it ripped and I was looking at the rip, thinking about darning it, memories of my step-mother teaching me how to darn socks came to mind.  I remember how she had a wooden bulb to use as a form to put inside the sock while working on it.  I don’t have one of those; I’ll just use a light bulb.  I find it interesting how often small and seemingly insignificant things will trigger a memory of a person!

I found a really interesting book about using empty soda bottles to make jewelry.  It is called Magical Butterflies by Donna Manchester.  She gives directions (and lots of pictures) on how to use empty plastic soda bottles, paint, wire and beads to make really gorgeous pins.  I am in the process of gathering the supplies to make some of them myself.  I’m looking forward to giving it a try!

My brother recently bought a new house and moved into it with his new wife and their cat.  I’ve been trying to get an invitation to come over to their new house, so I can check out their decorating style.  I want to check out their decorating style because I want to make them gifts that would fit in well with their furnishings.  I don’t want to spend a lot of time making gifts for them (Christmas, birthday, etc) that will end up stored in a closet because it clashes with their decorating style!

It turns out that everyone else in my family has been trying to get invites over to their house, too, with no luck.  I finally cornered my brother into asking if there was a reason why they didn’t want anyone to come over to their house.  Well, it turns out that they are embarrassed over the fact that their cat has not adapted well to the move and is spraying urine all over the house.  So, their house smells very bad from the cat urine right now, and it is driving them crazy!

He knows that I have had pets for a very long time, and asked me for suggestions on removing cat urine smells.  I told him that he needs to buy a black light to find where the urine is and to buy (and use) one of the many cat urine removers.

I like to make home made gifts for people on my gift list.  I enjoy working with my hands, crafting or cooking things, so making the gifts is therapeutic for me.  And the entire time that I’m making the gift I am thinking about the person I’m making it for, so I like to think that the gift is being infused with loving thoughts.  I like to think that the recipient will appreciate the time, effort, and loving thoughts put into the gifts that I make.  I take into consideration what the person’s interests are, and try to make a gift that they will love and use.

The vast majority of my home made gifts have been well received, and I often get special requests from the people who are on my gift list.  I have been surprised, and sometimes dismayed, when I discover that my gift ends up being turned into a cat toy (by a child too young to appreciate the money, time, and effort put into making the gift) or tucked away in a closet because it is appreciated so much that the recipient thinks it is “too good to use” and is afraid to use it!  Or even more dismayed when the recipient turns up their nose at the gift because they think that the homemade gift represents the thought that I was “too cheap” to “buy” them something from the store.  Those people don’t realize that the raw materials used to make the gift often will cost more than buying a gift from the store.

So, giving home made gifts can be tricky sometimes.  I need to research the individual and make sure that they will actually appreciate the home made gift before I go through the time and effort to make it.   Sometimes the best gift to give someone can simply be a gift card, to let them buy what they REALLY want.

I thought I’d share with you one of my T2T projects in greater detail.  This is a picture of the supplies that I used to turn an empty chicken can into a pretty trinket box.  Not pictured are the Plaid Folk Art Outdoor Paints, and the glue that I used.

This is a picture of the chicken can, after I was finished with it.

This is a picture of the inside of the jewelry box.  It is lined with a velveteen fabric.  It came out very pretty!  I gave it as a gift to my sister-in-law, and she was thrilled with it!  I’ve had several requests from friends/relatives to make some for them!