Prim Fixins as Gifts

I do a lot of stuff with Prim Fixins. You know, adding scent and different combinations of fixins for various things. I think it's so easy to forget though that not everything has to be scented. And sometimes, some simple, unscented Prim Fixins make really cute Primitive Gifts.

Here are some examples of some great Prim Fixins--totally unscented and natural, that would be perfect for gift-giving, and even as Primitive Bowl Fillers all by themselves.

CEDAR ROSES, BLEACHED

CEDAR ROSES, NATURAL

LOTUS PODS

All you need is some of nature's beauty, found in things like Cedar Roses or Lotus Pods, or any other nice looking dried botanical. Fill up a clear cello bag, add a homespun tie, and you've got an instant gift. And of course you can mix and match all the botanical goodies for something really fun. :)

Mini Crow Dough Ornies

I love Primitive Crows. And I also love things in mini sizes. So what better than to combine primitive crows and make them mini Dough Ornies?!

These are made with a silicone mold using my usual Primitive Dough Recipe, but with some powdered black tempera paint mixed in. That's a great way to make colored dough ornies, without having to paint them afterward. :)  Then I went ahead and sealed these in melted paraffin wax too.

Bucket of Buns Wax Melts

I thought I'd share a cute idea that is perfect for Primitive Gifts. It's this cute little Bucket of Buns, full of cinnamon bun Primitive Wax Melts.

You just need a little mini bucket (I used galvanized, but you could use rusty tin too), some homespun for the tie, cinnamon bun wax melts, a tin star, a clear cello bag and some jute to tie the bag (though you could use homespun for that too). 

This is a great gift for anyone who likes wax melts, or even cinnamon buns. It smells heavenly when you open up that bag too.

Summr Citrus Simmering Spices

I decided I wanted to make a simple, quick gift for a friend who loves my Simmering Spices. So I decided to make one just for summer, and one that is just super easy and quick to make. So these are my Summer Citrus Simmering Spices.

All I did was combine dried orange slices and cinnamon sticks to one of my Mason Jars. I mean, nothing says summer like oranges, and the cinnamon was just enough spice to make it a fun simmering scent. I topped it with a homespun tie and a rusty jar lid, and voila, ready for gift-giving!

You can make Simmering Spices with virtually any spice combination. Some lemon, obviously, would be perfect with this too. I didn't have any lemon, but I love the idea of orange and cinnamon, so I just went with it. :)

Mason Jar Candles

I was shopping at the local Menards store the other day and came across a great find. It was a box of 3 Mason Jars, a larger size, with a wire handle at the top. They were only $5 for the box of 3, which was just too good of a deal to pass up! So I bought a set.

I grabbed some cinnamon sticks and a votive candle to add to one of the jars. Isn't it cool? Now granted, I could have used any one of the many Mason Jars I already have in my studio to do this. But 3 jars, with handles, for $5? Come on. I had to! And these are bigger than regular Mason Jars, so it gave me more room at the top to get my hand in there.

I can use these outside on the patio, or hang them on the porch, or anywhere inside the house too, and I can even change out the cinnamon sticks for rosehips or putka pods, or you name it! Even some simple potpourri would look cute in there. That is what I call a great Primitive Find!

Grungy Mini Rolling Pins

I thought I would share some more Grungy Goods this week, since you know how much I like to make things grungy! This time I've made mini Grungy Rolling Pins.

My motto is, 'you can grunge up almost anything,' so I love testing that out from time to time. These mini rolling pins can be quite the challenge to do since they are so small. But I just use some metal tongs to dip them into the melted wax and it seems to work pretty well for me. These are wooden rolling pins, and I think you can grunge up almost anything made of wood, and I have a lot of fun trying!

As always, these are great Primitive Bowl Fillers, alone or mixed in with your other Prim Fixins.

Muslin Bags 5 Techniques

I wrote an article once on some different ways you can use Muslin Bags in your crafting. Since I use muslin bags a LOT in my primitive crafting, I thought I'd share the techniques here as well, in hopes it may spark some ideas for you.

1. Stenciling: After making this muslin bag into a Grungy Good I used a stencil to add the word, 'Fixins' to the bag.
2. Sewing Embellishments: I created a fabric flower out of some fabric scraps, and then sewed it onto a grungy muslin bag, then added some buttons as well.
3. Painting: Muslin is easy to paint on, so you can always add some acrylic paint to create characters, letters, images, or what-not to your bags.
4. Spray Painting: I used brown textured spray paint on this bag, along with a paper doily used as a stencil. It gave a neat, aged leather look to the bag. This is on of my Shabby Prim creations.
5. Rubber Stamping: I used three different rubber stamps on this bag, one was a text stamp, one was the butterfly, and one was the word, 'believe.' I also sewed on some ribbon trim and a fabric flower. Not quite prim, but you get the idea.

The way I see it, plain muslin bags are little blank canvases, begging to be embellished in some way. Use them plain, use the grungy, use them with paint or stamps, or notions--or whatever you can think of. You're only ever limited by your imagination. And they make perfect gift bags too!