DIY

It's Christmas Eve and you still have gifts to wrap -- if you're like me, you have a good stash of paper and reusable gift bags to use but sometimes the finishing touch is the tough part. If you've got a printer, here's a few great printable gift tags you can use to personalize your gifts this year.

If you're up for the challenge, you can find a lot of greens in your back yard or on the boulevards that are edible and can add some welcome diversity to your plate and diet. Plus, there's the zero mile/locavore angle, too!

While it rarely gets really cold in Victoria, it still dips below zero regularly through the winter months. Here's a round-up of ways to keep warm without spending a lot of money:

Here's a few projects that caught my eye this week:

Packing Tape Transfers -- this is good for any get together where votive holders (easily picked up at dollar stores) are going to be used.

Pop-up Halloween Prop -- if you want to scare/impress guests and trick-or-treaters, this pop-up may fit the bill nicely.

Summer is a great time to knit small things like slippers (as opposed to big things like blankets that sit on your lap making you even hotter!) -- make plenty to last you and your family through the winter months! 

Designed to be knitted with PolarKnit™ Chunky, these slippers and socks will knit up pretty fast and if you can get the gauge right, you can make them with scraps and oddments of other yarn you might have stashed.

If you are thinking of attending a Luminara celebration, or if you just want a frugal way to decorate for a garden party, you might want to make your own lanterns. Why not dig into your recycle bin for inspiration?

Lifehacker has the simplest tutorial with its Hanging Candle Lanterns using clean, empty jars and some wire.

Sometimes, if you don't know what you're doing, DIY can go very wrong. A story in the New York Times suggests, "Even to Save Cash, Don't Try This Stuff at Home" The list includes replacing your own toilet and, having done that, I can attest to its challenges -- not something I enjoy doing either; replacing a tub is even more difficult.