99. DIY Design Tea Towels

Here's a fun (and practical) gift for cooks, bakers, new home owners (or apartment dwellers). These cute tea towels are designed using Sharpie markers! You can use the templates provided here or create your own designs. 

75. Easy Batik Runner

What a fun summertime project. Create your own batiked design on store-bought or handmade table runners and napkins. All it takes is a gel bleach pen and a solid-colored table runner...

67. Scented Sugars

MATERIALS:

Granulated Sugar
aromatic edibles: Scented geranium leaves, rose petals, orange or lemon peel, vanilla beans
Glass jar with a tightly sealing lid.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Layer granulated sugar with aromatic edibles like scented geranium leaves, rose petals, orange and lemon peel (first set out for a day to dry), or vanilla beans. Mix small batches, and let them sit for a few days in tightly sealed jars while the scents infuse the sugar. One jar or a trio serves makes an unusual present for whomever you think could use a little sweetness.

Source: Martha Stewart

52. Mini Herb Kits

MATERIAL

Mini Terra cotta pots (or tin cans)
Chalkboard paint (optional)
Potting soil
mini plastic bags (to contain the potting soil)
Herb seeds
Kraft paper coin envelopes (you can find these at the office supply store)
Craft box or other container (tins, baskets, small wooden crates also work well)
Assorted rubber stamps, paints, etc.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Paint the pots if you like or you can take a permanent marker and write the name of the herb around the rim.
2. Fill mini plastic, or clear candy bags with enough potting soil to fill each of the pots in the kit.
3. Decorate coin envelopes, fill with seeds, seal, then label.
   
   tip: use mini return address labels, printed with name of herb in packet, to seal envelope.
4. place ingredients into a decorated box. Old tins, recycled boxes, even old lunch boxes, would also make nice containers for the mini garden

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS:

If you want to give a starter plant, instead of dirt and seeds, here are some other presentation options. You are not limited to clay pots. Just about any container will work, from tea cups to cleaned out tin cans.

Want to learn more about cooking with herbs?

Herbal Kitchen Cooking with Fragrance & Flavor
by Jerry Traunfeld (Hardcover)

39. Wheat Grass Planter

MATERIALS

Wheat Grass Seed OR Millet Seed
Clay Pot and Saucer (or other container of choice)
Potting Soil

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Fill the container with potting soil, leaving a good amount of space at the top (at least three inches). As the grass grows, it will push up dirt. If you don’t leave enough space, dirt will fall out of the container onto your table top!
2. Put a layer of wheat grass seed on top of the soil. Use a generous amount in a single layer over the potting soil. Cover the seeds with a bit of potting soil. You don’t need too much soil, just enough to cover the seeds.
3. Repeat step 2, making a second layer of grass seed and soil.
4. Water well and keep the soil moist. Wheat grass will grow best in a bright room.

Tips & Techniqes

• Wheat grass grows very fast. In less than a week you’ll have about an inch of grass. Millet grows slower.
• Keep the soil moist but not wet. If you plant wheat grass in a container with no drainage (such as glass), we recommend misting the grass rather than watering.
• Depending on how much sun your arrangement gets, they will last from 5 to 10 weeks. Since they grow so quickly, just replant your pots and you’ll have new arrangements in no time.
• Cats love wheat grass! It aids their digestive systems and is often prescribed by veterinarians.
• Wheat grass is sold in health food stores for juicing.

Source: Craft Warehouse

38. Flavored Vinegars

MATERIALS

Knife
Funnel
Decorative bottles with corks or sealable tops

INGREDIENTS

TARRAGON VINEGAR
4 cups apple cider vinegar
3 large sprigs fresh tarragon


RASPBERRY VINEGAR
4 cups white wine vinegar
1-1/2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries


ROSERMARY GARLIC VINEGAR
1 cup red or white wine vinegar
4-5 peeled whole garlic cloves
4 sprigs fresh rosemary

INSTRUCTIONS

The process is simple. Cut your ingredients to a size that will be completely submerged in the liquid. Put ingredients into clean bottles and pour red or white wine vinegar over them. Cap the bottles and store in a cool, dark place for at least three weeks. If you don't have that much time, you can speed the process up somewhat by heating the vinegar till it's lukewarm and pouring it over ingredients that have been chopped or crushed. Store this in a cool dry place for at least ten days, then strain and discard the chopped or crushed ingredients from the vinegar. Return the vinegar to a cleaned bottle and add new "whole" ingredients.

Make your own labels by cutting strips of white or colored paper and writing the vinegar flavor on it. Attach with glue or rubber cement. Make a paper strip that can fold over the top of the bottle as well (see image).

Resources: about.com 

If you like making infused vinegars, you might want to check out this fun book:

Flavored Vinegars 50 Recipes For Cooking
by Daniel Proctor and Michael and Penelope Wisner Trade Paperback

35. Gardener's Tote or Apron

MATERIALS

Iron-on transfer paper
Ink jet printer
Apron (or tote bag)
Iron & Ironing board
Iron-on pattern:

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Wash, dry, and iron Apron. (If you're ironing a transfer onto a tote bag, you don't need to wash it.)
2. Open up one of the image files and flip it horizontal so the image is mirrored.
1. On a Mac, if you open the image in Preview, go to the "Tools" menu, then click on "Flip Horizontal"
2. If opening in Picture Manager or Office: go to the Formatting toolbar and click on Edit Pictures. Then click on "Rotate and Flip." From there, click on "Flip Horizontal."
3. Print out the mirrored image onto the iron-transfer paper.
4. place your Apron (or bag) on the Ironing board, and lay the transfer, image side down, over the apron where you want it to appear.
5. follow the instructions for the Iron-on transfer paper.
   
   If the Apron has pockets, why not fill them with a dish towel & some wooden spoons for your cook, or gardening gloves, seed packets, and tools for your gardener.

Vintage Garden Images

Click on any of the images to view larger. Right click or control click on the images to download to your desktop (or just drag and drop to your desktop).

Source Just Something I Made

27. Tea Gift Basket

If you have a friend that enjoys tea, this is a fun and easy gift to assemble:

MATERIALS

a pair of tea cups with saucers

(these are prolific at thrift stores, and usually fairly inexpensive - the saucers are optional)

a small basket (big enough for the two tea cups)
2-3 tea bags per cup

(you don't have to include the entire box of tea)

Tea Bag envelopes [courtesy of Marilyn Scott Waters]

They can be printed out in Red & Blue or Pink & Green

Demerara (raw sugar) cubes or Honey sticks
Cellophane (not plastic wrap)
Tea Biscuits (recipe follows)
raffia or ribbon

INSTRUCTIONS

1. print the Tea Bag envelopes, cut them out and assemble
2. insert tea bags into envelopes & place in tea cups
3. assemble everything in the basket
4. place basket on unrolled cellophane
5. cut a piece of cellophane large enough to gather around the basket
6. tie raffia or ribbon around the top of the cellophane.
   
   note: if you like you can assemble ingredients into the tea cups and wrap them with cellophane (& do without the basket)

TEA BISCUIT RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

4 c. flour
3/4 c. sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 c. oil
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. orange juice
1/4 lb. butter, softened
Sugar



1. Preheat oven to 375º
2. Sift the first 4 ingredients together onto a piece of wax paper.
3. Make a well in the center with walls high enough to contain the liquid ingredients;
4. add eggs, oil, vanilla, and orange juice.
5. Knead dough very lightly for a few seconds on a lightly floured board.
6. Pat the dough gently and cut the dough with a floured cutter.
7. Place biscuits on a greased cookie sheet.
8. Bake at 375º F for 15-20 minutes. The tea biscuits should rise and be lightly brown in color.
9. When done, and still warm, sprinkle tops with sugar.


Recipe Source: Cooks.com

And for more fun gifts:

Gifts In A Jar Holiday Fun
by Sarah Givins (Spiral/Comb)

23. Embroidered linens

MATERIALS

Tea towels, Hand towels, Napkins, Pillow cases, Handkerchiefs (whatever you'd like to embroider)
Embroidery transfer (can be found at any fabric or craft store - makes your life SO much easier)
Iron
Embroidery thread, needle
Embroidery hoop
Scissors

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Set the iron temperature to high. Lay down your tea towel, Pillow case, etc. and place the transfer face down where you would like it to be. Make sure to leave enough room so you can attach the hoop.
2. Tape or hold the pattern firmly in place and glide the iron over the design. You need to do it only two or three times, pressing hard so a light trace of the design will appear. Don't make it too dark because you don't want it to show after you've embroidered it.
3. Peel off the transfer and save it for future use.
4. Attach the hoop around the design, so that the fabric is tight like a drum.
5. Thread the needle with a 12-inch strand of thread. Leave a 1-inch tail extending from the top of the needle and tie a knot at the other end.
6. Find your starting point and bring the needle up through the bottom of the design and out the top. Bring the needle back down. Continue the process until you've outlined the entire design, switching thread colors as desired.
7. When you finish, turn the piece over, snip the thread, tie it in a knot at the base of the fabric and snip excess. Iron the towel so it is crisp.

Source Kathy Cano-Murillo

For more embroidery patterns, check out Andrew Schapiro's Sublime Stitching:

Sublime Stitching Hundreds of Hip Embroidery Patterns & How To
by Andrew SchapiroSpiral/Comb

6. Lady Bug Hot Pad

The ladybug has button spots, while the other hot pad holds crushed cinnamon sticks and cloves for an aromatic bonus.