Potpouri made from my very own brand of cheap!

There are so many ways in which I am unhip. Let's take a closer look at just one of 'em, shall we?

I have always had a thing for making Christmas gifts.

One year in high school a friend taught me to do Athabascan beading and I spent months in our basement making oddly lopsided hippy-looking earrings, necklaces and bookmark doo-dads (operative word there being 'Dad'- because not so much into earrings + can read = bookmark). Another ill-fated holiday I took some rose petals from our garden and made what I thought was completely legit potpouri until I saw it molding before my sister could even get it home. Last year I cooked up candies and chocolates, being careful to make them with ingredients I'm allergic to so I would't personally be tempted. Mean, no?

This year... I dunno, fruitcakes? As you may remember, I have a dilemna as I'm trying to stop leeeeaking money. *Most* of the people on our lists are not particularly interested in the grown-up version of "look what I made you, mommy!" and while I am learning to embrace the gift card revolution, it's hard to make it look like anything more than what it is.