Handmade Archives - Satori Design for Living

Cookie Exchange Link Party

Dec

2012

One of the best parts of the Christmas season (or worst, depending on how you look at it) is the abundance of goodies. Over the years, I’ve really pared back my baking to keep us from over-indulging. I find that if it isn’t in the house, we don’t eat it. However, to satisfy the sweet tooth in all of us, I do make a few family favorites. Last year it was chocolate almond biscotti and chocolate caramel pretzels. You may also remember it was my first year partaking in a baking exchange, and I was so excited to get some of my friend Sandi’s decadent shortbread and chewy molasses cookies.

This year, trying to be a little more health conscious, I asked my nutritionist friend Karen to share one of her holiday recipes. Karen recently launched her website Nourish With Karen, where you’ll find inspiration for healthier living through better nutrition. Although her website is just off the ground, she does have a few recipes posted, including quinoa chocolate cake (yum!) and sugar cookies made with almond flour.

On Monday, Karen stopped by for tea and brought the most delicious dark chocolate bark I have tasted. To add, it’s full of antioxidants, contains magnesium contributing to serotonin levels, and has less sugar than milk chocolate (as she informed me). A decadent treat providing nutrition- bring it on!

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Filed Under: Food Love, Holiday & Seasonal Tagged With: Baking, Christmas, Handmade, Holiday Cookie Exchange, Link Party, Recipes

Memory Candy Jar + Handmade Gifts Link Party

Dec

2012

7 Comments

I always try to create a few handmade gifts every Christmas, especially for grandparents. Not only are they a budget-friendly alternative to purchasing gifts, they also add a personal touch that really shows someone you care. A few weeks ago, I shared how I plan for handmade gifts, including where I find inspiration, as well as the steps I take to make sure they’re all ready for Christmas. This year I followed the same process, but it took me a while to come up with something unique for my mom. I wanted to get all the grandkids involved to make it extra special for her, but I didn’t want it to be overly complicated or time consuming.

After pondering for a week or two about what to make, I finally got an idea after having dinner with a few family members at an Asian restaurant. Although I’m not a huge fan of eating fortune cookies, I do love reading the messages that come within. I was thinking it would be fun to make fortune cookies to give out at Christmas, but I’d substitute the dry cookie with something a little tastier. In my mind I was thinking fortune cookie meets Hershey’s Kisses, and the idea of a Memory Candy Jar was born.

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Filed Under: Holiday & Seasonal Tagged With: Christmas, Gift Giving, Handmade, Link Party

Holiday Countdown Series Recap {Week Five}

Nov

2012

10 Comments

Happy Friday! I also want to wish my friends south of the border a belated Happy Thanksgiving. I think most of us Canadians are a bit envious of your 4-day weekend! Today is Black Friday, but I’m hoping some of you will stop shopping for a moment to get your Holiday Countdown list for week five.

This past week, I’ve been creating handmade gifts, as well as putting together some decorative gift wrap materials I’ll be sharing with you in the coming weeks. I also bought a few more Christmas gifts, sourced a few items for our basement, and pinned some new recipes I just have to try this year. I want to remind you to mark your calendars for the upcoming link parties in December. I’m really looking forward to seeing what you’ve all been up to!

If you’ve missed any weeks along the way, be sure to catchup on the full 2012 Holiday Countdown Series.

This Week…

Donate to a charity or give your time.

I am so grateful for the blessings I have in my life. A few years ago, we had a health scare with my son for a 6 week period over the Christmas season. It came to a happy ending when we were given great news from the doctor just into the new year. At that time I was so relieved, but I can’t even begin to tell you how it makes me feel for the parents who are not given such great news.

Every Christmas we donate to a number of charities, but the one I always give to is the Children’s Cancer Recovery Foundation of Canada. It’s a charity that supports families going through really hard times, sends children with cancer to camp and delivers toys to kids who are too sick to make it home for the holidays. As well, who can forget those affected by Hurricane Sandy. Can you imagine what it would be like to lose everything?

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Filed Under: Holiday & Seasonal Tagged With: Charity, Christmas, Crafts, Gift Wrap, Handmade, Holiday Countdown Series Recap

Handmade Gift Planning + Upcoming Link Parties

Nov

2012

1 Comment

On this week’s Holiday Countdown list, I encouraged you to make some gifts for Christmas instead of buying everything. Handmade gifts are not only budget-friendly, but they add a personal touch and really show someone you care. In my experience, what usually stands in the way of getting around to handcrafting gifts rather than purchasing them is careful planning. That’s why I always start no later than mid-November.

If you’re stumped about what to make grandparents, neighbors, friends or anyone else on your gift list, start by looking through magazines or websites for ideas. Some of my favorite sources are Style at Home, Chatelaine, Pinterest, Better Homes and Gardens, Martha Stewart, and other design blogs. Once you’ve found some possibilities, bookmark them or pin them to a board on Pinterest.

{Left to Right: Teacup Candle, Cowgirl Cookie Mix, Christmas in a Jar

After I’ve found some handmade gift possibilities (or at least some inspiration), I think about who the gift would be perfect for. For instance, my husband’s aunt loves sweets, so I always try to bake something to go along with her main gift. Some of my friends are avid readers, so I make something to complement a book. You get the picture…

Holiday Countdown Series Recap {Week Three}

Nov

2012

4 Comments

How was your week? I really don’t know where October went and I’m feeling the same way about November. Can you believe we’re already on week three of the Holiday Countdown? I’m so glad I’ve been able to stay on track, despite being distracted by so many other things going on in my life right now. I’m finding it hard to wrap my head around my son applying to universities and colleges for next year, and doing all the research and helping him make a decision about what he wants to do in this next stage of his life is a bit overwhelming. I don’t think I’m ready for this! Nevertheless, the fog always seems to clear, and I know he’ll find a good fit.

This past week, I’ve been busy considering some furniture pieces for our basement (need to order very soon!), as well as getting my craft on with a few small projects for the One Item Project Challenge. On Sunday, my husband put up the Christmas lights, since it was rather lovely outside. We won’t be turning them on until the end of the month or beginning of December, although some of my neighbors have started already.

This year I’ve decided to use the same decorating scheme I did last year- silver, white, smoke and turquoise, but I’m thinking of adding some gold. Of course, I’ll still be mixing in natural materials, such as pine cones, birch, greenery, etc. I love how the natural and glam look side by side, and mixed metals-ooh la la! I can’t wait…

{via}

DIY Mustard Bath

Mar

2012

Much to my dismay, the flu that started with my son is now making its way through the house. It’s not very often that any of us get sick, so when we do, it’s a real drag. On a normal day, I take many precautions to keep my immune system strong. I like to get fresh air, drink my morning power smoothie packed with protein and antioxidants, try to do some sort of exercise and stretching, drink plenty of water and take time for myself to de-stress. For the most part this works, but on the rare occasion there’s no stopping it.

I’ve discovered that often the best thing to do is to try not to fight it. I’m not one to be able to do nothing for very long, but sometimes you just need to rest. I drink plenty of water and tea and try to sleep it off. I also find that hot baths work wonders for the aches and pains that usually come with the flu. Fortunately, my husband’s aunt introduced me to mustard baths (a traditional remedy in England) not too long ago. They work wonders for all kinds of ailments, including the treatment of colds, fatigued and achy muscles, fever, congestion and stress. Mustard has been known to stimulate the sweat glands, opening the pores and helping the body rid itself of toxins. As a result, circulation is improved, congestion is relieved and pain is eased. In addition, essential oils including eucalyptus, wintergreen, and rosemary are used for their therapeutic benefits to help reduce pain, assist breathing, increase circulation and provide general antiseptic properties. If that isn’t enough, chamomile is used as a mild sedative, with anti-inflammatory and soothing properties.

Therapeutic Mustard Bath

2 cups magnesium sulfate (epsom salts)

¼ cup baking soda

¼ cup mustard powder

2 chamomile tea bags or 2 tbsp. of loose tea

6-8 drops eucalyptus essential oil

6-8 drops wintergreen essential oil

6-8 drops rosemary essential oil

Place all of the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well until all lumps are gone.

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Filed Under: DIY Tagged With: DIY, Handmade, Recipes

Holiday Countdown is On! {week 7}

Dec

2011

7 Comments

Can you believe it’s December? I can definitely feel the holiday pace picking up- you know the people who block Christmas out of their minds and then a sense of panic sets in once the calendar turns from November! We’ve all been there. If you’ve been following along, you’re likely feeling ahead of the game and that was my goal. If not, it’s okay because there’s still time to catch up on weeks one to six (or at least part of it).

{via Better Homes & Gardens}

How did I do?

Decorate your front door/porch. This week we had a snow storm and heavy winds that put a little wrench in my outdoor decorating plans. In fact, one of our neighbor’s wreaths ended up in our back yard! By Saturday most of the snow had melted and the wind died down a bit, so I geared up to decorate. Then came another wicked snow storm that ended Sunday afternoon. I’m hoping to finally get to it today! (I have to say it does look pretty outside.)

Buy or create an advent calendar. My son is now 16 and although he would love a chocolate every day leading up to Christmas, I decided to change things up this year. Instead I’m somewhat of an elf and I put a note in his room revealing what the advent item is for that day. So far I’ve done:

1- milkshake from Fat Burger (that was a big hit!)
2- one song from itunes
3- weekend “sleep ’til whenever” pass (because according to him, 10:00 isn’t late enough)
4- chocolate

He loves it, but I’m finding it a bit challenging to come up with something new everyday that doesn’t cost too much. Let me know if you have an ideas!

Prepare and send your holiday cards. As mentioned last week, I won the Brightside Prints giveaway on A Design Story and worked with Jill to personalize our holiday cards. The proof looks fantastic and I can’t wait to receive them. To prepare, I’ve purchased my stamps and printed everyone’s addresses on mailing labels so when they arrive, (should be this week) I can just stick the labels and stamps on and away they go!

This Week:

Decorate your tree.

I know some of you already have your tree up and decorated, but I personally wait until the first week or so of December. I think it started years ago when we used to get a fresh tree. Now that we spend a certain amount of time away for Christmas, we use a pre-lit artificial one. I do miss the look and smell of a real tree, but I don’t miss the mess.

Here are some ideas for decorating your tree:

White and silver

{via Better Homes & Gardens}