Homemade Christmas Gifts

jillintx wrote:My DH and I are making Christmas gifts this year, and one project is seed bombs. These seed bombs are bascially small dried clay balls with a little bit of worm castings and some flower seeds in them. You can slightly bury the "bombs", or just toss them in areas that need a little "love." When it rains it will disolve the clay, the seeds can sprout, and the worm castings will give the seeds a little boost. I've selected flowers that are hardy in this area, and I have hopes that some of these flowers will reseed themselves. I think that a handful of these and some home canned items will be a bit hit for gifts.

Has anyone else been working on gifts?

daryl.weaver wrote:

jillintx wrote:
Has anyone else been working on gifts?

Cool idea. I'd love to see a picture of them. Do you mix seeds on the balls?

jillintx wrote:There are several different ways to make the "bombs" but I'm going to mix the seeds into the clay. That way the dried clay can protect the seeds from birds until it rains.

I'll try to get a picture of them when they're done.

llama momma wrote:Been straining and bottling homemade vanilla

daryl.weaver wrote:I helped my college-age daughter make soap today for "inexpensive" gifts of her time. It was sorta fun and came out grew for a first try...certainly gift worthy. I also canned pickles this summer and plan to give those to family and close friends.

camprn wrote:I have some nice mango chutney I am gifting, as well as honey and stained glass.

camprn wrote:

jillintx wrote:There are several different ways to make the "bombs" but I'm going to mix the seeds into the clay. That way the dried clay can protect the seeds from birds until it rains.

I'll try to get a picture of them when they're done.

Sounds like a good plan. Also it makes it easy to lob into empty lots and such.

Triciasgarden wrote:

That honey looks so heavenly! This is a dumb question, what do you do with the honey comb? Where does the bees wax come from?

I have been wanting to do stained glass for a long time. That looks like fun!

camprn wrote:

jillintx wrote:There are several different ways to make the "bombs" but I'm going to mix the seeds into the clay. That way the dried clay can protect the seeds from birds until it rains.

I'll try to get a picture of them when they're done.

Sounds like a good plan. Also it makes it easy to lob into empty lots and such.

daryl.weaver wrote:

camprn wrote:

jillintx wrote:There are several different ways to make the "bombs" but I'm going to mix the seeds into the clay. That way the dried clay can protect the seeds from birds until it rains.

I'll try to get a picture of them when they're done.

Sounds like a good plan. Also it makes it easy to lob into empty lots and such.

You can throw them on open ground, and they will grow???

camprn wrote:The bees make the wax and build it into comb to store their honey. In many part of the world honey comb is desired above the extracted liquid honey. You can eat the comb or chew it until all the honey comes out then spit out the wax.

I started doing stained glass a number of years ago. I started by taking a class at a locally owned mom and pop craft store. It's fun, but bring band-aids.

jillintx wrote:It's great to see so many people excited about making their gifts. - as I read this thread I could feel the enthusiasm!

LM - how long have you been making vanilla? I just did a quick search on it, and it mentions that beans from different areas have different tastes...have you experimented with that yet? (getting ideas for next year already.....)

daryl.weaver wrote:When I think about home made soap and candles, it brings to mind "hippies" from the 60's (which is ironic because they were widely derided for the LACK of soap use).

llama momma wrote:I started in February. Here is the thread that someone started.

https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t4537-make-your-own-vanilla-extract