A Perfect Cold Weather Beverage- Wassail

Every autumn, I start getting excited about making cocoa, hot apple cider, and especially wassail.  It smells heavenly, and I'm sure that if you could make an elixir containing all the joy, excitement, and coziness of the holidays it would taste exactly like wassail.

Sometimes my husband and I like to just make it a cup at a time and heat it in the microwave for a cozy evening in, but the honest-to-goodness best way to enjoy it is to simmer it slowly on your stove-top or in a crockpot and savor the smell and perfectly blended flavors.  I will share my recipe for both ways so you can enjoy it any way you want, though.

Wassail for One:
Pour your cup about 3/4 of the way full with apple juice, then fill the rest with orange juice.  Add a squirt of lemon juice (optional). Add 1/8 tsp. cinnamon, and a pinch each of ground cloves, nutmeg and ginger (optional).
Microwave on high for about a minute and a half, and let it sit for a few minutes before drinking.  Feel free to strain off the floating spices or drink it in all its delicious glory!

Wassail for a Crowd:
2 quarts apple juice or apple cider- "no sugar added" juice is best in my opinion, but use whatever you have!
2 1/2 c. orange juice
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
12-14 whole cloves
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
pinch of ground ginger

Heat everything in the crock-pot on low heat for 3-6 hours.  It is ready after it is piping hot and the spices (besides the cloves) are mostly incorporated into the wassail and no longer floating- you may need to stir it a couple of times.  Your home will smell heavenly!  If you are in more of a hurry you can also heat it on the stove-top over medium heat for maybe 5-10 minutes and then turn it down to low heat!  If you leave it on higher heat on the stove-top it will thicken and eventually caramelize- good for syrup but not so good for drinking.  (Don't worry if it does thicken a bit, just take it off the heat and let it cool down for a while- maybe even add a little bit of water- and it will thin mostly back down.)

Mmmm!

I hope you are all finding joy this holiday season!

PS: For anyone who is new to Home Sweet Homebodies since last year, check out my recipe for the best Thanksgiving Crescent Rolls ever, or get some ideas to dress up the holiday table with my post on napkin folding.  Happy Thanksgiving!

DIY Guy Gifts : A roundup of my favorites

Let's face it: It's easy to come up with fabulous handmade gifts for girls and women, and there are even quite a few great handmade gift options for little boys, but thinking of things to make for the men in our lives is... not easy.  I was talking with my friend Danielle about this last week, and after thinking of the things I have already done or have bookmarked to do, and doing a little research, I have come up with a list of my favorite DIY guy gifts.

There are actually a whole bunch of ideas for handmade gifts for men out there, but I've found many of them lacking... I realized that I have a few "requirements" that must be met any time I consider making something as a gift for someone.  If these requirements aren't met, there's a high probability the gift I lovingly toil over will end up at the thrift store, or in my craft stash, never to be finished.  So to be considered by me, any and all handmade gifts must meet these three requirements: 1. Must be useful or attractive; 2. Not a knick-knack; 3. Must be realistic.  Also, big points for not having to spend big bucks. 

So with that in mind, I am ready to share my favorite DIY guy gifts and the source you can go to for the free tutorial!

Sew

The Best Men's Tie Pattern @ Puking Pastilles
Neckwarmer Tutorial @ Skip to my Lou
Flannel Shirt Lunchbag -right here @ Home Sweet Homebodies... tutorial to come!
Emergency Car Kit @ Holidash

Sewing Honorable Mentions:
Baseball Applique Pillow @ Better Homes and Gardens
Monogrammed Neckties @ Martha Stewart
Fabric Luggage Tags @ Skip to my Lou
Great Outdoors Fishing Vest @ Sewing.org

Crochet/ Knit

Brain Waves Beanie @ Playin' Hooky Designs

Crochet Mens Slipper Pattern @ Simply Home Made
Extra Warm Men's Scarf @ Cotton and Cloud

Cook

Spicy Terriyaki Beef Jerky @ FOODjimoto (By the way, jerky can be dried in the oven too.)
BBQ Spice Rubs @ Kojo Designs
"Dessert of the Month" or "Breakfast in Bed" Coupons -see ideas @ Spray Paint Queen

Craft

Lego Belt Buckle and Tie Tack @ Kojo Designs
Car Shirt @ The Blue Basket
iPhone App Magnets @ Infarrantly Creative
Rolled Paper Chess Set @ Paper, Plate, and Plane

Crafting Honorable Mentions:
Upcycled Bicycle Handlebar Bag @ Giver'sLog
DIY Monogram Mugs @ Design Mom

Here are two more great ideas: The first is from Charmed Goals, and she writes about "Boy Balm and Leather Food"- a beeswax & olive oil blend scented with manly essential oils that can be used for lips, dry skin, and polishing leather.  The second is from Fortuosity, and it is too late to do this year, but you could plan to do this for Christmas 2012:  "A year in the making"- this awesome wife bought a hardcover planner and filled it with pictures, mementos, recognitions, and notes all year long for her husband, and presented it to him at Christmas time.  There's a lot of love behind a gift like that!

By the way, Kojo Designs is also doing a Gifts for Guys series this month, so head over and check out some of the other ideas they are featuring.

I hope this was helpful for those of you planning to handmake gifts for the men in your lives!  If you've got a great idea to add to the list, leave a link in the comments so we can all check it out!

Sock Monkeys for Texas

For Making the World a Little Sweeter this month, we are going to do a Craft Hope project.  If you haven't seen the Craft Hope website, check it out.  It is a site that encourages readers to do a craft project about once a month that will benefit folks with a need somewhere in the world.

Image from http://www.crafthope.com/2011/10/stitching-sock-monkeys/

The current project at Craft Hope is sweet sock monkeys.  The recipients?  Kids in Texas who have lost their homes this past summer in fires.  Read this post to learn more, but basically 1,600 homes burned down during the record- breaking summer heat Texas experienced this year.  Many of those were likely homes for young families, and that means that there are a lot of children who have lost the homes that were familiar to them.  That's where Project 15, Sock Monkeys for Texas comes in.  All of the sock monkeys that are collected will be given to children who have lost their homes during these fires.  I made my first-ever sock monkey this week in an afternoon's time.  Would you care to join me in participating in this project? Here's how:

1. You need a pair of socks, stuffing, and a few sewing notions.  I found these brand- new socks for a dollar at D.I., and I had planned another project for them, but after I read about Project 15, I knew what their ultimate destiny would be.  (Ooh-ooh-ooh-ahh-ahh!)

2.  If you've never made a sock monkey before, check out these super- useful tutorials:

• Craft Stylish (Download the pdf file. This tutorial has a nice diagram that helps when you are cutting.)
• Craftbits (This tutorial gives great step-by-step instructions with pictures and I found it really helpful for explaining how to put the parts together.)

3. Sew up your monkey. :D  You can make it as simple or as fancy as you like.  Some cute kid is going to love it either way.

My skewompus but lovable sock monkey friend.

4. Mail your monkey and feel warm fuzzies. Here's the link again for the original post which if you scroll to the bottom contains the address to send it to.

Did I mention there is a deadline?  No, I guess I didn't... but Jade Sims (Craft Hope founder) needs the monkeys by November 24th- that's Thanksgiving. 

I'm mailing my monkey tomorrow.  Will you join me in this monkey business?!