Comments on: Christmas in June: Save Money with Homemade Gifts

By: Coleen

Coleen — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 07:43:54 +0000

I made a batch of this strawberry syrup today and it is absolutely delicious and super easy!!!!!!!!!! What a great addition to my Christmas baskets!!

By: Pick Your Own: A Brief Guide to the Berry Patch ? Get Rich Slowly

Pick Your Own: A Brief Guide to the Berry Patch ? Get Rich Slowly — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 12:00:36 +0000

[...] Serena wrote recently to rave about her trip to the berry patch. Thanks for the post on strawberries — it inspired a family outing today to a local farm and it was a blast. Picking berries is [...]

By: wendy herdman

wendy herdman — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 01:44:57 +0000

Quilting and other fabric crafts can actually be very inexpensive, at least once you get past the funds to get a sewing machine. I use old denim for everything from quilts to curtains to pillows to pic-nic clothes and totes. Save your worn-out jeans and ask friends and family to donate ‘em to you. I’ll also get fabric for projects from thrift store clothes bulk sales when they have $1 a piece sales or $5 a bag sales. I made my mom a 100% silk pieced skirt for only $30 thanks to thrift store shirts cut apart for material. AND I used the buttons from those shirts to make a button necklace for my neice.

By: Weekly wrap-up: Eco-cheap(er) and only 190 crafting days ’til Christmas « Cheap Like Me

Fri, 15 Jun 2007 14:25:00 +0000

[...] And if you plan to save money by giving homemade gifts for the holidays, time’s a-wasting! Get Rich Slowly offered some tips this week: http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2007/06/09/christmas-in-june-save-money-with-homemade-gifts/ [...]

By: Rob Garrett

Rob Garrett — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 00:25:36 +0000

For those of you who aren’t cooks there are other types of homemade gifts. I’ve done quilts, knitting (hats/gloves/scarves)& scrapbooks. Quilting is obviously the most expensive of the group & I’ve only done this a few times for people I’m especially close to. Scrapbooks can be the easiest/cheapest if you’re frugal/creative in your page embellishments. I went on a trip with friends to Washington DC recently and used a DC Metro Subway map as an embellishment on the page I created. Saving things like ticket stubs, pamphlets, maps, scraps of wrapping paper are great ways to jazz up a scrap book for very little money. Sorry I’m rambling but I love doing this stuff

By: annab

annab — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 13:37:11 +0000

I love strawberry freezer jam! Wish I were on your Christmas list!

By: Serena

Serena — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 21:10:36 +0000

thanks for the great post- while large scale canning is not in the cards for me right now, you reminded me to make plans to go strawberry picking next week - it will be a lot of fun for all of us and I’ll probably make some freezer jam with the ones we don’t eat right away!

By: Zachary

Zachary — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 19:09:01 +0000

mmmm. I love homemade jam. I used to make it with my grandmother.

By: Kris

Kris — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 21:32:47 +0000

Thanks for the comments! I’m not sure about the copyright rules regarding the recipes, but I’ll have Jd post one from Blue Ribbon Preserves by Linda Amendt. She has great instuctions for a wide variety of home-canned goods. Your library may carry a copy of her book. And when I make freezer jam, I use the recipes included with the pouches of liquid pectin.

@#8 You’re right that a nice home canner can be an expense. I asked for one for my birthday several years ago; it was about $100. I’ve also seen them at garage sales for $15. Fortunately, high acid foods such as most jams, salsas and pickled foods (all that vinegar) do not need a pressure canner. All you need is a large soup pot of boiling water. The bigger your pot, the more jars you can fit in at once. Look for recipes that have you use a “boiling water canner”.

By: Christy

Christy — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 20:50:11 +0000

Just to throw a wrench in the works: You left out the cost of the canner, which would have to be a pressure canner to be completely safe (especially with the pickles). Sure, it’ll amortize over the years, but for people just starting out, it can be the biggest expense.

By: RAquita

RAquita — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 20:09:16 +0000

apparently I am not the first to think - where are teh recipies?!?!? hook a girl up please!

By: Joshua Jackson

Joshua Jackson — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 19:45:07 +0000

I’d like to actually get a hold of the recipe’s for the syrup…as they sound delicious.

By: Don

Don — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 19:34:21 +0000

So…when do you get your own blog Mrs. JD so we can get some of these recipes? I’m hoping to start a square foot garden (thanks to this blog, of course) in by back yard in the next year or two and strawberries are definitely on the menu.

It’d be nice to have a good place to learn more about gardening and canning.

By: A Tentative Personal Finance Blog

A Tentative Personal Finance Blog — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 19:25:22 +0000

JD and wife… that looks delicious. I can practically taste the berries in my mouth.

By: Melissa A.

Melissa A. — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 18:48:48 +0000

I would love to do stuff like this, but I live in a small apartment, in the middle of the city, so you know…:P I only have my immediate family to gift to anyway. Some day when I have a real garden I will do this.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 18:26:15 +0000

These are great suggestions, but it would be even better if you would share some recipes:-) (strawberry syrup in particular).

By: English Major

English Major — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 18:16:44 +0000

This is totally brilliant. I’ve been looking for an excuse to gather friends to go to a pick-your-own strawberry farm, and this is it! (I do miss going to Sauvie Island for this, though.)