The Christmas Challenge. Using resources as gifts.

Following on from Monday we are having a look at gift making using what we have.  This could be any resource we might have from the garden to a tree full of lemons that your neighbour might let you pick!

I am always on the look out! I have a basket, plastic bags, scissors, string etc in the car always just in case I see something I can gather.  Ever hopeful I have heavy duty secateurs in the glove box.

This is a case of what do you have access to that could be an asset to your gift giving?
Well, I have roses and in the last few years have been using them for more and more things.
In summer I collected baskets of petals like this almost every evening...

My first goal is to enjoy them inside as well as in the garden.  Then to use the petals in lots of ways. I
use them to decorate cakes,  make sugared rose buds and dried rose buds to decorate all kinds of things.  Last summer I made face and body scrub with rose petals and this was just lovely!

Before next summer I am trying to come up with more things I can make with roses. They are one of my most abundant resources.

Mum has two types of Lavender in her garden.

This is another possibility for me as I can pick as much as I like.  I've made gifts and am planning more as I found Jes has a whole list of things to do with Lavender here.

At the farm I can also gather Bay Leaves and Rosemary and pot up Rosemary plants.  Another resource!

I have given Bay Leaves as gifts and made wreaths for kitchen gifts (and my own kitchen)

Some things like these turn out to be great for my own pantry and for gift giving. Bonus!

I also gather flowers and make posies. Remember the little old fashioned posies? They are back! The local trendy florist sells them in little jars. Many are quite tiny with a little row of lambs ear around the outside. They are somehow very sweet as if from a small child.  Flowers are a beautiful gift!

You do not have to have flower arranging skills to give flowers.  I notice that casual bunches wrapped in brown paper looks fabulous and I can do that!

I remember Mimi talking about making bouquets of lush greenery. You don't even need flowers! This is true... florists sell spectacular leaves also, coincidentally, at spectacular prices. Actually they sell sticks at incredible prices as well! I saw a bunch of sticks for $60. I wondered if I had a temperature but it was true!

I also have pretty much unlimited access to things like gum nuts, seed pods and things like that. Also pinecones. 

Chloe has resources including figs and now eggs!  I saw this idea which I thought was beautiful...  make a lovely label to present your farm eggs as a stylish gift!   I am thinking Fiona will like this as well... Chloe's could have some of her chickens names like Thelma!

A label to use on your home grown produce is just so nice!  You could apply the same idea to your homemade bread, cakes, preserves, anything!  This has made me realise I could print a label for farm honey and this would be a good gift.

Another idea I saw that I just loved was this business that sells herbs for chickens!

Once again the labelling is gorgeous!  I have so many herbs in the garden I could do this! And I have friends who love their chickens!   Also I love the name of this business!  

I seem to grow Parsley in industrial quantities and I use a lot of it. It just occurred to me to look up "things to do with Parsley" and I found things I had never thought of!   So now I think I will make some of the chicken herbal mix and dry some to include in kitchen gift baskets.

I am just trying to get us all thinking of what we might have access to and how we could use these things in our gift giving.  Just like Rachel did with those olives!  You never know what you might come across today or tomorrow!  Opportunities are everywhere!
The other thing is maybe you have something but have never thought of it as potential gifts.  This is where Pinterest and the internet come in. Search "things to make with...."  or "how to use..." and be amazed by possibilities you never thought of!  Also check out the value of things.  This can build up your confidence... i.e.  knowing that a handmade loaf of sourdough bread is $8 here I feel I can include this in a gift if I present it nicely.  Knowing that a pot of several kinds of kitchen herbs is sold for $25 at the florist I think of that as a good gift too.  Pinching their idea to wrap it all in brown paper and string as it looks so lovely helps as well!  The local gourmet deli and their presentation and prices gives me a lot more confidence that I can give a pie or cake as a present.  

Living in all different parts of the world we are going to have great diversity in what our resources are!  It is interesting!  Being aware of our assets could potentially boost our budgets quite a bit!
We might see possibilities we didn't see before!

I hope your week is going well!  We have rain and I have been cooking.  There is bathroom progress. I already have a lot to report on Friday.  If I get my skates on I will have more to report!
I really wanted to have a good Vicky Challenge this week and gain some ground!  So far so good!  Remember lots of little bits add up to more than you think! xxx