Our First Fake Tree

I'm so ashamed! I never, ever thought this day would come.

Mr. Scrimp and I have a fake Christmas tree this year.

And I even like it a little bit.

What possessed us to do this? I've never had a fake tree in my life, and I've always been very clear that I didn't ever want to have a fake tree. But we're going out of town for Christmas this year, we didn't want to leave a live tree behind for a week where the cats could get at it and a housesitter would have to water it, and Mother-In-Law Scrimp offered us a very cute, 3-foot-tall artificial tree.

To compound the problem, I went and picked up some absolutely embarrassingly artificial pine garlands at the dollar store. I'm so ashamed.

Ok... let's be real. If you want to have an artificial tree--more power to you. I have heard and understand all the myriad arguments in favor of fakery. But the artificial tree is lacking something crucial. What's that, you ask? The smell! It can't really be Christmas without the scent of pine needles wafting through your home.

Well, that problem has been solved for me this very day. Merely by salvaging some cast-off branches from the closest tree farm, putting them in water with a little cinnamon and clove, and warming the water up, I can make my house smell like the freaking North Pole and not worry about coming home to a living room carpeted in pine needles the week after Christmas.

And so can you! Visit Organic Authority to get their quick and easy recipe for Christmas tree scented potpourri.

(Seriously, though--next year? We're back to a live tree. )

Christmas in January

My brother and sister-in-law gave us a gift card for Christmas, and tonight we went and used part of it to buy something that I have been wanting for a very, very long time. What is it, you ask?

Recognize this beauty?

Yes! I'm a little embarrassed to admit that we didn't already own it, because buying it after Julie and Julia came out makes us look like we're jumping on a bandwagon. Thing is, when we lived with our parents, there was never a need for either of us to own a copy. And when we got married, we each assumed that the other had one. So we ended up married and in possession of Julia Child books, but not that one.

Is it strange that I want to sit down and read it cover-to-cover, just like a novel? It's so pretty.

Bedroom Sign Project

So, although I rarely end up posting them here on Scrimpalicious for some reason, I do a fair amount of crafting and sewing projects--which is one of the reasons I started the blog in the first place.

Today, I decided to put together a Christmas present for my six-year-old nephew. "Homemade" has sort of been our gift theme this year, so I really wanted to come up with something that was designed especially for him, and ended up with this chalkboard sign for his bedroom door--sorry the picture's so terrible. I can't find my camera and had to use my cellphone.

It took about 30 minutes to make. I picked up a chalkboard in the wood crafts section at JoAnn fabrics, along with a small painted wooden bomb, comic book "pow" explosion graphic, and the stars you see in the upper right hand corner, and some red Mickey Mouse alphabet stickers.

I painted the chalkboard in a comic book yellow with acrylic paint, hot-glued the wood shapes on (I glued the "pow" on top of the bomb to add a little bit of comic-book action to the sign), and spelled his name out with the stickers. I didn't worry too too much about lining the letters up perfectly, to give them a slightly more comic-booky feel.

I varnished the whole thing (except the chalkboard part, of course) with three coats of satin varnish, and hot-glued a string to the back for hanging. I also picked up some chalk and a chalkboard eraser to go with it.

This was a lot of fun and turned out looking great. I think it would also be a super project to do with a kid for their own room.

Recipe: Dutch Babies

So, it's Christmas Eve. This will be mine and Mr. Scrimp's first married Christmas, and my first Christmas ever away from my parents and multitude of siblings.

We are trying to start a couple of our own Christmas traditions this year, as well as incorporating individual traditions that we grew up with and aren't ready to let go of. We'll visit Mr. Scrimp's parents tonight (mine live too far away), come back home, exchange gifts in the morning, and then make the 45-minute trek back out to their house again tomorrow to spend Christmas day.

One tradition that I will probably never give up, and that Mr. Scrimp is happy to continue with me, is eating Dutch Babies on Christmas morning.

I have no idea where they got the name. I don't know what about them could possibly be called either Dutch or baby-like. But Dutch Babies they are, and I can't remember a Christmas when I didn't stuff myself full of them.

In my family, we only eat these once a year. This is because it keeps them, and the day we eat them, just a little more special. Also, they are covered in so much butter that if you ate them more than once a year you would die a lot younger.

Still, it's Christmas. I've eaten a grand total of two Christmas cookies this year, had not a single sip of eggnog, and have kept my alcohol intake down to a single bottle of hard cider with my sister in law a few days ago. I won't feel guilty about eating these, although I'll probably use less butter.

Dutch Babies (serves 2)


Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour (don't substitute whole wheat--it's gross)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 stick butter

 Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a bowl, beat eggs with a whisk or fork. Add flour and milk and beat until combined.

Melt butter in a 9-inch pie tin, cast iron skillet, or similarly sized oven-safe pan or pot. Pour egg mixture into pan and bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Serve immediately, with apple sauce and powdered sugar.

Hectic Weekend

There was no post yesterday, because Mr. Scrimp and I leapt out of bed late, threw some clothes on, and drove 3 1/2 hours up to Buffalo to celebrate early Christmas with his extended family. We also drove 3 1/2 hours back and didn't get home until around 1 in the morning when all was said and done.

So, I didn't have a chance to be on the computer really at all.

I will have some links and things tonight for you all to peruse, but in the meantime, I have a question. Have you ever sewed pajama pants or shorts? I have, but only from a pattern, and I was thinking that it would be silly to go spend money on a pattern if it's fairly easy to, say, make a pattern from an existing pair.

What do you think, Internet-land? Help me out here.

I'm working today and tomorrow and then Christmas vacation commences! I will finally have time to thoroughly clean my house and finish wrapping presents, and blog to my heart's content.

Car and Website Link

So, I have a new favorite-ish website. That is, it would be my favorite if I were doing much shopping these days, but I'm not. Mr. Scrimp and I are doing a good job of making ends meet, but we still don't have a lot of extra money, especially because we just bought a car!

That's right, the Scrimps are now a two-car family. We were borrowing a car from my fabulous in-laws for a few months, and when the time came near to give it back we initially discussed just sharing Mr. Scrimp's car. The problem is, his work schedule is totally unpredictable, and generally involves late nights. My schedule is exactly the same all the time and involves early mornings.

We hopped on Craigslist and managed to find a 93 Plymouth Laser (google it--I had to) for $700. It didn't need any work, and although the interior is sportscar tiny and the visibility is a little weird on the driver's side sometimes, I really like it. It's easy to drive, it gets fab gas mileage, and it gets me where I need to go.

Anyway, the point is, with big expenses always looming on the horizon (and they always are), I don't do a lot of frivolous shopping, even at Christmas. We're making most of the Christmas presents we're giving to other people this year, and our shopping budget for each other was sharply limited.

And the whole point of this story is to tell you about The Bargainist, a website I found a day or two ago that I love to read just because it's a pleasure to know that someone out there can probably take advantage of it, even if I can't right now.

The Bargainist lists online coupons, sales, and other deals at retailers both online and off. For instance, did you know that right now, Aeropostale is having a 50-70% off sale on its entire online store? I sure didn't.

Check it out, my friends. How about a code that will get you 70% off your entire online order--including gift cards--at Restaurant.com? The Bargainist has it.

Cool!

Dear Mr. Scrimp,

I will concede, before you even start to argue the point, that this is the coolest Christmas tree ever, and that not so random was super rad to make it for her kids.

However, I still refuse to copy it in our living room, and no matter how much you argue or cajole, it won't happen.

This year.

Love and Kisses,
Scrimpalicious

P.S.
Please take Optimus Prime off the mantel, as he is not a Christmas decoration.

Tonight's Project

I have a new craft project I'm going to be starting/documenting tonight, but in the meantime, if you're looking for something to do today or a gift to give, why not make one of these microwaveable heat packs from blogger Homebody Holly?

If I need a heat pack in a hurry (at least, back when I still had a microwave), it was easiest just to dump a few cups of rice into a pillowcase, tie the open end, and nuke it for a few minutes. The moisture in the grain (barley and wheat berries work well too) heats up quickly and stays warm for a long time--it's great. Anyway, I would never have spent money to buy myself a microwaveable heat pack when I could just throw one together as needed from household objects, but I would have been thrilled to get one as a gift so I didn't have to have rice-scented pillowcases.

Stockings!

Well, we had an even busier day than I thought we would. Mr. Scrimp got the tree up and it is standing in the living room and settling its branches as I write this. I had a couple of hours of work to get done, and a couple of hours of wrestling with my computer and trying to get it to turn on.

So, I'm sorry to say, I still haven't got that bonus five dollar decor post done. That will teach me to promise to deliver blog entries I haven't finished writing yet. But it will come in the next day or two!

In the meantime, how about digging through your scrap fabric and making a couple of these Christmas stockings with this free pattern from Craft Leftovers? This would be a great use for fabric from a loved blanket or article of clothing that's too tattered to use but of too much sentimental value to throw away.

Lagging

I had a couple posts I was intending to write yesterday and it didn't happen. Those will go up this afternoon or evening, towards the tail end of Mr. Scrimp's and my busy day. There's church to go to, in-laws to visit, Christmas trees to get and put up, and actual work to do in addition to blogging.

Here's a question for you in the meantime, though--Mr. Scrimp won a $25 gift card to the Melting Pot through his work yesterday. Can anybody tell me anything about this place? I've never eaten there.

To come:

- The results of my attempt to make and fray that plaid scarf I posted a link to on Friday
- Photos of our newly bedecked Christmas wreath
- A bonus Five Dollar Decor post

Five Dollar Decor - Christmas Ornament Extravaganza!

Every Friday, I'll be posting Five Dollar Decor--five ideas for interior decorating that can be achieved by spending only five dollars. For five dollars, you can add one new element to your in-home design. For twenty-five, you can revamp an entire room around a new theme. Hmm... a trip to Starbucks, or a weekend redecorating project?

I'm going to be doing something a little different this week. Rather than featuring whole-room decor, I'd like to focus on Christmas ornaments. Also, I'll be doing multiple posts over the weekend, highlighting a different style of Christmas decoration in each.

Mr. Scrimp works near a very high-end, expensive mall, and I will occasionally wander around it to get ideas. I noticed that the emphasis at the big pricey home goods stores this year seems to be on things that look homemade--lots of felt, lots of yarn, lots of natural materials. Well, why pay $5 an ornament for faux-homemade when you can get the real thing for less?

For a very traditional, old-American Christmas look, stick with reds and whites and avoid glitter. Shades of red and cream with a lot of greenery and hints of silver will make a sophisticated statement without giving up any of the jump-out-at-you color that makes Christmas so distinctive.

These aren't the grade-school-craft felt ornaments of your childhood. These are beautiful, stylish, and charmingly old-fashioned. They have a type of Depression-era chic to them that I can't help but love.



1. Fabric Balls

These, of course, come from the perpetually perfect Martha. She made hers with taffeta, satin, and velvet, and all sorts of fancy-schmancy trims. I think they're very pretty that way (who am I to quibble when Martha says something must be so?) but I saw something similar over at Crate & Barrel that were covered with felt and yarn and looked much simpler, and I honestly liked them better.


2. Peppermint Garland

This project from Good Housekeeping is so simple they don't even have a tutorial. Just buy a couple of bags of individually wrapped peppermint lozenges and glue them together end-to-end with a hot glue gun. I love the look of striped peppermints but can never finish eating one, so this is a great way to keep them around withoutbeing tempted to actually pop one in my mouth.


3. Popsicle Stick Sled

The year I was born, a family friend gave my parents one handmade popsicle stick sled ornament for each of us, painted Radio Flyer red and embellished with our names and the year in silver paint. Well, that was 25 years ago, and now mine is the only one that is still intact.

In keeping with the retro Christmas theme of this post, I'm including this craft, and not just because of my sudden wave of 80's nostalgia, but because that bright, cheery wooden sled is a classic emblem of American Christmas Past. This tutorial from Family Fun suggests using pre-colored popsicle sticks from the craft store to save painting time. (I'm horrified that they made it yellow. Everyone knows the best sleds are red, especially at Christmas.)


4. Add Some Silver

Well listen, I didn't say this was going to be a post made up exclusively of handmade ornaments. A Christmas tree isn't really decorated till it's got a little sparkle going. For a modern-vintage look, stick with thinner tinsel garlands, tinsel icicles (used sparingly, or silver glass ball ornaments, and go for silver, because originally, tinsel was actually made out of metal. Check Goodwill and the Salvation Army, too--a lot of times around this season you can find boxes of antique tinsel. You can also almost always find boxes of antique ornaments.

I'm planning to swing by the dollar store this weekend and pick up a pack of silver ornaments and experiment with antiquing them with glaze as in this post at Dollar Store Crafts. I'm hoping it will make those lackluster, cheap ornaments look somewhat similar to mercury glass. If it works out, I'll let you know and post a tutorial!

5. Ice Skate Ornaments

Like most little girls, I had fond dreams at one point of becoming a figure skater. My mom duly enrolled me in figure skating lessons and dropped me off at the rink, trusting my older brothers to see me safely to figure skating before they went to their hockey practice.

She should have known better. As soon as she was gone, my brothers cornered me and impressed on me the solemn knowledge that hockey is way cooler than figure skating, and that if I wanted to be cool, I could only do it by playing hockey. I worked my six-year-old wiles on the hockey coach and got him to let me on the pee-wee team in lieu of figure skating lessons.

And so my dreams of being a figure skater were squashed under the weight of fifty million pounds of hockey gear. But they came back to me when I saw these.

Modeled after vintage handmade ornaments, these ice skates from Not Quite Vintage  might be the most adorable homemade ornament I've seen on the Internets to date. I am definitely going to be making at least one set of these, and possibly more. Look at the pom-poms! And the sequins! Look!

I'm going to run away from home and be a figure skater.

Dollar Store Crafts

Good morning, Scrimpalicious readers! It's a balmy 43 degrees this morning in Ohio, and it's hard to believe that we're already in December.

I have a guest post up today at Dollar Store Crafts, which I'm sure you're all going to check out. While you're there, be sure to read the rest of Heather's great blog. It's full of ideas for crafts of all kinds on about as limited as a crafting budget can get.

And while I'm at it, hi to all the Dollar Store Crafts readers who check out Scrimpalicious today. Leave a comment and say hello!

Advent

Advent is upon us, and that means it's past time to think about getting an Advent calendar.

Of course, you could just buy one at the store, but why do that when you could make one yourself? Craftster.org has a host of homemade Advent calendar ideas and tutorials that span the entire spectrum of cost, difficulty, and style possibilities. Go check it out!

What have you done so far to get ready for the holidays? Leave a comment and let me know!

(Image from this tutorial by Craftster user neverseenblue)

Christmas Music

I think we can all agree that the fastest way to set a mood is with music. So, what better way to get yourself motivated to prepare for the holidays than with Christmas (or Hanukkah! I celebrate both) music?

Most of us already have extensive collections of CDs. Some of use even still have collections of cassettes. Some of us even still listen to those cassettes.

But if you don't have those, or if you want to supplement them, here are some ways to get into that holiday groove without spending extra money at the store or on iTunes:

Pandora - If you don't already use Pandora, you should. When you tell it a single song that you like, Pandora uses magic--or possibly some crazy computer algorithm--to create an entire personalized radio station around that song. I'd say it usually hits the mark about 95% of the time and there's an option to skip songs you don't like. They do have pre-made "holiday music" streams as well, if you can't think of a single Christmas song you'd like to tailor your next couple of hours of humming to.

Last.fm - Similar to Pandora, although I find it to be less user-friendly. This actually lets you download a player and use it on your computer (as long as you're logged in to the Internet) without tying up a browser window.

YouTube - Mr. Scrimp is a big fan of simply searching YouTube for music videos of the specific song he's in the mood to hear. Unlike the first two, which make it difficult to choose exactly what song you listen to at what time, this is, of course, pretty much endlessly customizable. On the other hand, this isn't a radio station, of course, and is questionable when it comes to copyright law.

Everyone has a few songs that really do it for them--they hear that music, and Christmas happens in their head all at once. For me, it's "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings" by Barenaked Ladies. For Mr. Scrimp, I think it's anything involving Bing Crosby. We're both also big fans of Medieval carols, and I sing Hanukkah songs under my breath all day at work.

What is your favorite music to listen to this time of year? Post a comment and share!

5 Christmas Gifts For $15 or Less

It's that time of year again--when every woman's magazine in the country publishes lists of "Christmas Gifts under ____ Dollars." Usually that number is between $25-50, which I still feel is pretty high. Plus, most of those gifts are things that just wouldn't work for anyone I know.


So I decided to make my own list of gifts--for $15 or less.

Bananagrams, $14.95 - Kind of a cross between Scrabble and Boggle, this is a high-speed crossword game that's played on the tabletop instead of on a board. You can buy it online by following the link, but if you don't want to pay shipping they also sell it at Barnes & Noble and other stores.
 

Topsy Turvy Tomato Planter, $11.99 - I'm not usually a big advocate of the "As Seen on TV" line of products, but I'll give the thumbs up to anything that provides a way to grow fresh, organic produce at home year-round. From Collections Etc.

Butter Soft Acrylic Muffler, $14.95 - Scarves have come into their own in the last few years. Not only are they warm, they're a stylish and easy way to dress up an outfit, hide a slightly too-low-cut neckline, or add color to a bland clothing choice. These scarves from Wrapables come in some beautiful colors, but there are a ton of stores that carry these in every color and pattern imaginable, from five to a hundred dollars.

Scrabble Tile Pendant, $4.95 - Made from a recycled Scrabble tile decorated with an image and coated in resin. These are a beautiful piece of recycled art and can be found on Etsy in any design imaginable. I'm a fan of this one from Etsy seller wickedlymodpendants.

I Am Not a Paper Cup, $15.19 - The worst thing about travel mugs is that they're almost impossible to drink from without spilling, and they just don't have the je  ne sais quoi of the paper coffeeshop to-go mug. This mug is made of ceramic with a silicone lid. It looks like a disposable cup, but it's permanent, insulated, and dishwasher safe. Currently on sale at Target.

Gift Wrapping

I love gift-wrapping. To me, half the fun in getting ready for Christmas giving is making sure that gift have a great presentation.

This tutorial from Jessica Jones at How About Orange is for a homemade gift bow made from a magazine page or other piece of scrap paper. I am madly in love with the version pictured here, which she made from a map of Chicago.

 

Be sure to check out the rest of her blog, too. It's great. (via The Butterworth)

Nine Dollar Couch

When Mr. Scrimp and I got married, we got a living room furniture set that had belonged to Mr. Scrimp's grandparents. It's really great furniture--sturdy, well-made, and well taken care of. And, though it's definitely retro, it really fits with our style.

The thing is, the couch is covered with a fabric that can be really hard to match. It's white, orange, and green. In fact, I'm just going to go ahead and show you a photo of our living room so you can see what I'm talking about.

See what I mean? It's a great couch, but it's unique. I was looking at it the other day and realized that it's going to be really, really hard to decorate for Christmas when the central piece of furniture in our living room will clash so badly with pretty much every Christmas decoration out there.

Mr. Scrimp is really opposed to putting a permanent slipcover on the couch, mainly for reasons of nostalgia. Plus, slipcovers are expensive to buy and time-consuming to make. So I decided to see if I could do anything to cover it temporarily without spending too much or investing too much time.

After sleeping in on Black Friday, I had to run to Penzey's to pick up some spices for a cooking project of Mr. Scrimp's. While I was out, I decided to stop in at JoAnn Fabrics to see what kind of sales had lasted into the afternoon.

Annnnnnd.. bingo! JoAnn's was running a weekend sale on fleece for a paltry $2.99/yard. I dug through the massive pile of bolts of fleece and found one in a burgundy that I knew would look great with our living room rug, which has purple and red in its pattern. I originally guessed it would take 3 1/2 yards to cover our couch, but when I saw how long that would be, I had them cut it down to just 3, on the promise that if I didn't cut or wash the fabric I had 90 days to return it (score for JoAnn's on allowing the return of cut fabric!).

I took it home, unfolded it, and tucked it tightly around and underneath the couch cushions. 3 yards was just enough to tightly cover the couch with a few inches of fabric all around to tuck in. Because of the style of the fabric on the couch, the fleece doesn't slip at all.

I covered the whole thing with a white throw we got as a wedding present and that was it! For $9, we essentially got a new couch. I'm going to see if I can find a few white or green throw pillows to toss on it to make up for not having fabric to cover the bolsters with. And when Christmas is over, I can pull the fabric off, wash it, and either save it for next year or use it for sewing projects in the interim. Right now, I'm thinking it'll be time for a new pair of fleece pajama pants in January.

What are you doing to get your house ready for Christmas?

Christmas Post the First

It's that time of year--the time of year when the weather gets cold, the lights go up at shopping centers, we eat ridiculous amounts of food, and people start spending more money than they ought to spend because they love each other, or feel guilty, or feel obligated.

I buy lots of Christmas presents strictly for the first reason. Christmas is my favorite, and I love giving gifts.

The problem is, how do you do that on a strict budget? Because Mr. Scrimp and I are on a strict budget, which runs contrary to both of our sensibilities, but what can you do? If we only shop for our respective immediate families and each other, we've got at least twelve Christmas presents to buy, and if you aren't careful that kind of shopping leads to suddenly realizing that after you paid your December rent and went wild with your remaining money, you won't make rent in January, or pay for your heat, or be able to buy groceries.

The holidays are a dangerous time for people with generous tendencies and little money. If it were only up to me with no consideration for anything else, I could spend hundreds on gifts for Mr. Scrimp without a second thought, to say nothing of siblings, nieces, and nephews. And if we shop on a strict budget, how will we find things that are nice instead of low-quality, less meaningful gifts that we're buying simply because we had to buy something and can't afford more? If we give people junk that will break or be useless almost immediately, what was the point of spending the money at all?

Here are some of the things that we are trying to do in order to allow us to give meaningful, non-junky gifts to our loved ones this year.

1. Shop early. If you have more time to look for deals, you are more likely to find them. If you shop in a panicked rush four days before Christmas, you're going to spend more money, or you're going to end up buying far less than the perfect present for someone because you can't find anything really perfect in your price range.
2. Make a list. Sure, spend some time browsing at the mall, but don't take your wallet with you. Browse for ideas, make a plan, and try to find a way to fit it into your budget. Which leads me to...
   
3. Make a budget. We are doing this by deciding how much money overall we're able to afford on Christmas gifts. We could divide that money up perfectly evenly between each person, which is what seems like the fair thing to do. But perhaps I might spend twice as much on one as on the other if I can find gifts that will be equally meaningful and pleasing to each at different prices. 
4. Buy secondhand. This may be the hardest bit on this list. I'm not saying you should buy things that are broken or damaged or otherwise in less than "like new" condition. I'm just saying that you should expand your horizons to consider "like new" rather than dismissing it out of hand. If I find a beautiful piece of clothing at a thrift store that has clearly only been worn once (if that), is in Mr. Scrimp's size, is worth $75 new, and only costs $2.50, why I should I feel guilty about giving it to him? 
5. Shop online. You are much more likely to find good deals at sites like half.com, eBay, bidz.com, or (although this is less likely) Amazon.com. Amazon actually runs an online Black Friday sale for online shoppers. Doorbuster sales in your pajamas!
6. Shop sales. Yes... do it. But only do it once you've already made your list. If you run headlong into a sale, you will almost assuredly end up buying something because it's a great deal even though it's out of your budget, because surely someone on your list will like it. That's a terrible idea. 
7. Make things. Everyone says this. I will also say it. Homemade gifts have the benefit of carrying a message that you care about someone enough to spend time making something for them that you know they will enjoy. Don't, however, fall into the easy trap of giving junk just because it's homemade junk. Come up with an idea, or search on google for inspiration, but don't let making something for someone stand in for being thoughtful about what would make them happy. A mason jar full of powdered hot cocoa mix that you made yourself is a great gift for the right person, but other people will look at it and feel like you didn't really try.

 I am working on several posts about gifts, ornaments, and decor for Christmas that you can make yourself or buy for very little. What can I say? I've already warned Mr. Scrimp that the Christmas carols are being turned on the day after Thanksgiving, and they aren't turning off again until Boxing Day.