I guess I am somewhat fascinated by Christmas wreaths right now. They can add a sense of elegance to your room or they can look completely tacky, depending on how they are made. And, since a wreath is a repeating pattern wrapped in a circle, you can make them out of practically anything.

Anyway, here are five Christmas wreaths out of recycled material that caught my eye:

1. Christmas Wreath From Recycled Newspaper.

Linaloo made this cool Christmas wreath by folding newspaper into German stars, also called Froebel Stern. She folded the stars and then glued them together.

It looks great. (Via Crafty Crafty)

2. Christmas Wreath From An Old Bicycle Wheel.

The tutorial for this wreath uses an old bicycle wheel as the bones for a more traditional-looking wreath. They simply wrapped a garland and led lights over the wheel and secured it with wire.

3. Christmas Wreath From Old Sweaters.

This is actually an ornament you can purchase Dreaming Giggles Etsy site for $14, but of all the wreaths I saw using recycled sweaters, I like this look the best. From what I can tell, the sweaters were felted, cut into rectangles, and folded into squares. Then they were attached in a wreath, maybe by a wire going through the middle? Nice.

4. Christmas Wreath From Buttons.

Little Birds Handmade created this tiny wreath by hot gluing red buttons to a cardboard donut backed by decorative paper. It would be especially great in an unexpected place, like a bathroom or the end of a hallway.

5. Christmas Wreath From Coffee Sleeves.

If you drink a lot of take-out coffee, this is a great way to re-use the coffee sleeves–make a wreath out of them. Magpie and Cake cut a ring out of a cereal box and glued the cardboard “leaves” to it. You could do this idea with any kind of cardboard you have lying around. (Via Craft)

I might have to splurge on this one: nesting doll measuring cups. They are a set of 6 dry-measure cups shaped and nests like matryoshkas or Russian nesting dolls. Sizes: 1/4, 1/3, 1/2, 2/3, 3/4 and 1 full cup.

The trouble is, this store is sold out of the measuring cups until January. They were charging $11.95 for the set. Other stores were charging as much as $16 for the same thing, so I think I’ll wait until they are back in stock.

Three Men and a Lady has another inspired idea: make a cake plate out of recycled thrift store materials and give it as Christmas gifts. She simply glued some plates:

to some candlestick holders:

I love when people find good uses for the more ugly stuff in the thrift store. I’ve see tons of candlestick holders and plates at every thrift store I’ve been to, but I have never thought of putting them together before. Great idea.

As a kid, I played in cardboard boxes. Didn’t you? At some point I’m sure I pretended a box was a rocket ship, but now I am kind of envious I didn’t have something like the one Stacey Gordon’s husband made for their son:

Even better, these amazing cardboard castles by Ann Wood. This was her first attempt:

Her second:

Just looking at them inspires me to try to make one of my own, although I’m not quite sure why.

How do you feel about this bacon in dessert trend that has been going on for the last few years? My take is: it’s often unnecessary, sometimes it’s gross, and once in awhile it’s good.

One of the worst things I’ve ever tasted was bacon gum, which didn’t even have real bacon in it, but bacon flavoring. It burned my mouth with a false bacony smokiness that stayed there even after I brushed my teeth. Likewise, the bacon chocolate I had–which cost $6 a bar!–had a lot of sea salt on top of the bacon. I was overwhelmed with saltiness.

On the other hand, I really want to try bacon ice cream and bacon vodka.

Anyway, NPR has a list of bacon desserts. The one that looked the most appealing to me was the Peanut Butter-Maple Bacon Fudge, pictured above. Recipe:

Peanut Butter-Maple Bacon Fudge

Ingredients:

12 strips maple-smoked bacon, with 2 strips reserved for garnish
1 1/2 c chocolate chips
1/2 c peanut butter chips
1 can sweetened condensed milk
4 Tbs unsalted butter
1/2 tsp maple extract

Directions:

Coat an 8-inch-square pan with cooking spray.

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook bacon, turning several times, until browned and done, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Chop finely. Reserve 2 of the chopped slices for garnish.

Combine all ingredients except bacon in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir continuously until chips and butter are melted, and mixture is thick and smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in bacon.

Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle the reserved chopped bacon on top and lightly press with your fingertips. Cover with aluminum foil and chill in the refrigerator until firm, at least 4 hours, or preferably overnight.

Slice into 7 equal rows to create 49 squares. It’s a good idea to use a ruler to ensure equal-sized pieces. Serve at about room temperature.

Hmmm sounds good. On the other hand, it could be overkill in flavor. Peanut butter, maple, chocolate, and bacon? I just don’t know…

What do you think? Bacon in desserts–good or bad?

(Image courtesy of Fieldguided)

I am crazy about this lion ornament. It is by Jonathan Adler. The ornaments also come in other shapes, like a poodle dog or a whale, but I like the lion. They sell for $24 and can be purchased at places like Barney’s or Bloomingdales.

To tell the truth, I’m not sure the lion is still available. It seems a little hard to track down. Which is a shame because I apparently love Jonathan Adler’s work. I mean, check out this menorah. This is the coolest menorah ever:

A closer view:

You can buy it here for $295.

I don’t like Swiffers. To me, they seem more of a marketing tool than a cleaning tool. Instead of using a sponge on your mop–which take forever to wear out–they convince you to buy these disposable cloths instead. As a consequence, you have to keep buying more of the cloths to continue to clean your house.

Still, I understand why some people like Swiffers. Mops get gross. It is hard to change the sponge, and when you do, they are expensive to replace. You don’t have to store a bucket for mop water. It is more convenient to use a Swiffer.

That’s why I like the idea of making your own Swiffer cover, like this one from Berlin’s Whimsy:

It is a reversible, washable Swiffer cover made from old towels. I love it. When it is gets dirty, you simply throw it in the machine. No more buying disposable Swiffer cloths, which saves money. And since it’s from recycled towels, it probably costs almost nothing to make.

Incidentally, the mop I use is very similar to this. It’s possible to buy mops that have washable fabric pads. Since it’s so easy to clean, I shouldn’t have to replace this mop for a long time, not until the fabric wears out. And maybe then I’ll just make the replacement myself. (Via Craft)

(Champagne, the low-calorie holiday drink. Image courtesy Glamour Magazine.)

Normally, if you’re consuming with moderation, alcoholic drinks shouldn’t really affect whether or not you gain weight. But with all the parties this time of year, alcohol can sneak up on you simply because you’re drinking more often. Also, holiday cocktails are terribly fattening. Eggnog, which I will soon be trying, has 340 calories. Hot Buttered Rum has 292 calories. A Chocolate Martini can have around 440 calories. Drink two of those and you’ve ingested almost 900 calories… yikes!

Anyway, I’ve gotten pretty good at spotting the low-calorie cocktails. Generally speaking, anything with cream or Kahlua or other thick mixers is going to be the most fattening. That’s your Piña Coladas, your White Russians, your chocolate drinks, and so on. I treat these drinks like desserts and only have them once in awhile.

Secondly, anything with juices, sugar, sodas, or liqueurs have a lot of calories. These are any of the tropical drinks–Mojitos, Tequila Sunrises, Mai Tais, and so on–but also most club drinks, like Long Island Ice Tea. If it is refreshing and tastes like a tropical sunset, it is loaded with sugar and is fattening.

So that is what I consume with caution. Here are some low-calorie alcoholic drinks that I do drink. (The calculations are according to My Fitness Pal, which looks pretty reliable.):

Champagne--a 4 oz serving has 96 calories.

Wine–White or red, a typical 5 oz glass has between 116-125 calories.

Diet Cubre Libre–This is diet soda, 2 oz. rum, and a squeeze of lime. It has around 120 calories.

Gin and Tonic–Gin, tonic, and ice equals 105 calories.

Hot Toddy–According to Drink of the Week, it is 1 oz. brandy, honey, lemon, boiling water, and a tea bag, equaling about 130 calories.

Irish Coffee–1 oz. whiskey, coffee, a little bit of sugar, and whip cream to top is about 185. Skip the whip cream, you’re talking 85 calories.

Straight Liquor–I sometimes just have a shot of good bourbon, about 90 calories.

You’ll notice that most of these drinks are pretty strong. That’s because sugar is what disguises the taste of alcohol, and sugar is high in calories. However, if these are too strong for you, Glamour Magazine has a rundown of low-calorie cocktails as well as a list of lower-calorie substitutions.

In any case, abstaining is always the best way to lose weight.

What are your low-calorie cocktails?

Speaking of the Tightwad Gazette, I was flipping through it and came upon this:

Dear Amy,

When my sister was married last year, I took the half-dead roses from her bouquet after the ceremony. At home, I rooted them by cutting off the heads, making a clean cut on the bottoms, dipping the fresh-cut bottoms in rooting hormone, and putting them in a pot that was half Perlite and half soil. I kept these moist until rooted and then planted them in a shaded location in my garden. This year, on her first anniversary, my sister received a gift that could never be replace: 12 rose bushes from her wedding bouquet.

– Kimberly Hill
Warren, Michigan

As soon as I read that, I immediately imagined a rose garden made from anniversary, wedding, Valentine’s, and other meaningful bouquets that you receive in a lifetime. It sounded neat.

I was under the impression that rooting roses is hard, but the above passage makes it sound like rooting any other plant. In fact, this how-to on rooting roses in Hartwood Roses goes over almost the exact same process. Even better, they recycle a milk jug to plant the cutting in and a soda bottle to protect the rose from the elements and keep in moisture while it roots, like so:

(Image is also from the above linked-to Hartwood Roses post.)

I find that winter is a good time for little gardening projects like this. Now if someone would just bring me a bouquet of roses…

Check it out–a magic wand remote control. Instead of using buttons, you learn motion commands to direct the TV. It can change channels, adjust the volume, and turn on the TV with a flick of the wrist. Sounds as close to magic as we can get. $69.95 from Firebox. (Via Rare Bird Finds)