AllFreeCrafts Christmas Eve 2007 Newsletter |
| Last Minute Christmas Crafts and Homemade Gifts from AFC |
December 24, 2007 |
AllFreeCrafts News:
Free Crafts, Craft Projects and Patterns
All of us may forget someone or something in the frenzy leading up to Christmas...if this has happened to you, and you need a quick answer ... take heart - even on Christmas Eve, there is still time.
You'll also find two holiday recipes for hot mulled cider and glowing wine; lovely to sip on and to share with guests, especially after a day out in the snow. Either recipe is well worth trying for the fragrance alone!
Gardeners can exercise their green thumbs by forcing spring bulbs to bloom indoors and anyone who received a poinsettia this Christmas should check out our tips on how to keep it healthy and colorful.
Last Minute Christmas Crafts
 Bottle Cap Card Frame
Have the kids recycle plastic bottle caps to frame small Christmas card pictures as ornaments or fridgies. Embellish with fake snow or glitter. |  Candy Cane Vase
Easy craft for kids to make as Christmas gifts for family and friends; you'll need lots of candy canes, a tin can, rubber band, some greenery and a bow. |
 Scented Pine Cones
Use spray adhesive as a shortcut to make scented pine cones; drench in a fragrant combination of pickling spice, cinnamon and cloves. |
 Run out of cards - or need a pretty way to give money? Try free printable cards with printable envelopes:
Money Enclosure Christmas Cards
Vintage Christmas Cards
Horse Christmas Cards |  Handmade Beaded
Ornament Hooks
Fancy beaded ornament hooks will hold collector Christmas ornaments in style - best of all, they are easy to make with 18 gauge copper wire (or similar wire), a few pretty beads and needle nose pliers. |  Microwave Salt
Dough Ornaments
Cut the drying down to minutes when you bake salt dough ornaments in the microwave. All you will need for the dough is flour, salt and water; decorate the dried ornaments with paint, beads, glitter or other embellishments. |
See our Christmas Crafts index for more quick and easy Christmas craft ideas.
Glowing Wine and Mulled Apple Cider
For Christmas, holiday entertaining, or after frolicking in the snow, these mulled wine and apple cider recipes will warm you from the inside out. |
Gluehwein (or Glowing Wine)
In olden days, the wine and spices were heated (and made luminous) with a red-hot poker, thus the name which means "glowing wine."
750ml bottle of dry red wine (or three cups)
1/2 cup sugar
1 Gluehwein sachet (recipe follows)
Combine wine and sugar, and add the sachet to a medium saucepan. Heat until barely boiling and serve immediately in pre-warmed glasses wrapped in a napkin.
Gluehwein Sachet
For each sachet:
1 cinnamon stick, broken in small pieces
2 teaspoons of whole cloves
2 teaspoons allspice
1 piece of lemon rind
four-inch square of muslin
string
Place spices and lemon rind in the centre of a muslin or cheesecloth square. Gather ends together and tie into a sachet. Store in an airtight jar until ready to use.
For Holiday Gift Giving:
Tie the sachet to the neck of a bottle of dry red wine, along with instructions for mulling "glow wine."
| Hot Mulled Apple Cider
1 gallon apple cider or apple juice
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 can frozen lemonade concentrate
1 can frozen orange juice concentrate
1 tablespoon whole cloves
1 tablespoon whole allspice
2 cinnamon sticks
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Optional: orange or lemon slices for garnish
Tie cloves and allspice in muslin or cheesecloth. Add sugar, lemonade and orange juice concentrates, spices and 1/2 cup of water to a 1 gallon crockpot or large saucepan. Simmer for about an hour to infuse spices. Add cider or apple juice and reheat to near boiling point. Remove spices and garnish with lemon or orange slices, if desired.
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Indoor Gardening
Bring a touch of spring into your home - and keep that poinsettia blooming!
Merry Christmas
 
Finally, I wanted to wish a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you; every single visitor to AllFreeCrafts brings warmth to my heart. It is such a joy to share the love of crafting with so many creative people - AllFreeCrafts has welcomed one million visitors from around the globe in the last four weeks alone.
Wherever you call home, and whatever your particular crafting interests are, I want to say a special thank you for coming to see what AllFreeCrafts has to offer; I hope that, in some small way, our free craft ideas continue to help make your life both a little bit easier and a wee bit brighter.
May Blessings and Peace Be with You this Holiday Season.
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Forcing Spring Bulbs
Caring for Poinsettias