❈Sac Thrift Chick❈

This idea comes from the creative brain of my mother. She made napkin rings at virtually no cost. In total she spent 65 cents for 1/8 yard of fabric for 12 napkin rings. Wow! For the ring itself, she used tubes from plastic wrap. They are sturdy and the perfect size to hold cloth napkins and silverware. She cut up the tubes, covered them in fabric (a combination of scraps she already had and the little bit she purchased), added a little flourish with artificial flowers, and voila! Easy peasy! She plans to add holly or bells at Christmas.

We had so much fun making Christmas gifts last year. For my family, we made everyone a totally awesome, super ugly Christmas sweater. A couple of the sweaters were hand-me-downs and the rest were thrift store purchases. We hit the cheap, ugly sweater goldmine at The Thrift Store on Greenback in Citrus Heights (at least half the price of the ones we found at Goodwill). For decorations, we bought a bag of Christmas trinkets for $5 at Goodwill and picked up a few stockings at other thrift stores. Fabric paint, bows and ribbons were collected from our hoard of craft supplies. We incorporated each recipient's name on his or her sweater. A couple of our creations close up: My mom knew were giving ugly Christmas sweaters as gifts, so she added to the theme with an Ugly Christmas Sweater Cookie Competition. Craft stores sell the kits with everything you need for around $10.

You may think I'm crazy, but I've already begun Christmas shopping. The same day we put away our Halloween decorations, I started looking at Christmas decorations online. In my old neighborhood, we had one of the best decorated houses for Halloween and Christmas. Actually, we were usually about the only house decorated for Halloween! My childhood neighborhood is far more festive, with some houses even decorating for 4th of July, Thanksgiving and Easter. Our house totally kicked Halloween butt this year, and the neighborhood kids really loved it, which always makes me happy. But last Christmas, I felt we were outshone by our next-door neighbors on both sides. So this year I'm getting an early start so I can make some nearly-free decorations. On the agenda: Giant lollipops, like the ones from this blog . I already have most of the materials I will need. Giant wooden star, inspired by the $5 one on this blog . I might be able to make one from our scrap wood ...