Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!

Wishing you, dear reader, a most Merry Christmas and a happy Holiday season! May we have even more wonderful and creative adventures (!) in the New Year.

Another easy gift to make: Spice envelopes

Here's another easy gift you can make yourself. I've brought these as house gifts, and also plan to give some for Christmas. They're really pretty and useful for other things too - when you give them filled with little packets of spice mixes, they're two gifts in one!

This is a lined cloth envelope, filled with small baggies of spices and spice mixes purchased at a spice shop, in my case at Oaktown Spice Shop in Oakland.

To make the envelope, you'll need:
- 1/3 yard of a fabric for the outside
- 1/3 yard of a different fabric that complements the first fabric for the lining.
- a sewing machine

Cut a piece of each fabric 6" wide and 16" long. If you wish, you can cut across the corners of the top of each piece. This will result in a rounded flap, like the one you see in the photo.

With right sides together, sew the two pieces together with a 1/2" seam, leaving 2 inches open at the bottom for turning. Turn the piece right side out, taking care to pull out the corners. Press on both sides. Stitch the opening closed by hand, hiding your stitches as much as possible.

Turn the bottom up 5-1/2" to make the bottom of the envelope. Stitch along both sides of the turned up portion. Press well.

Turn down the top portion to make the flap of the envelope, leaving a little extra room at the top to account for the bulk of your spice packets. Press well.

Fill with spice packets and give proudly! Here's another photo of the envelope above, giving a peek at the lining...

All the measurements given above can be altered, making your envelope longer, wider, bigger, or smaller depending on what you're putting in it.

Santa's coming! Easy gifts to make: Wine stoppers

Isn't it cool when you get a gift someone made with their own hands? I just love that kind of creativity, and I think it's so, well, personal when someone I love makes a special gift just for me. Turning it around, I've made at least some of the gifts I've given over the last few years. Most of them don't take much time, and on top of it the expense is so much less - all good. Here's a gorgeous and very easy stocking stuffer for the wine lovers on your list! (P.S. can also be used for olive oil and other kinds of bottles)

Wine Stoppers
You'll need:
1. A used wine cork (not plastic) that's not cracked or broken and that is narrow enough on one end to fit back into a wine bottle. Test it on a bottle!
2. A pretty drawer pull with screw. I got some good ones at Cost Plus for around $5. Look for a design that reminds you of the person you're making it for - exotic, dramatic, colorful, cheerful...
3. An electric drill with a drill bit slightly smaller than or the same size as the screw on the drawer pull.
4. A good polyurethane glue, like Gorilla Glue.

With your drill, make a hole in the end of your cork (the end that doesn't fit back into the bottle) that is almost as deep as the drawer pull screw is long.

Carefully put a little glue on the drawer pull screw plus a little into the hole in the cork. Be careful not to get it on your fingers, and don't put so much in the hole that it will ooze out when you insert the screw.

Insert the drawer pull screw into the cork, turning and turning it until the cork is right up against the knob of the pull.

Let dry for 24 hours. Here's a finished photo of a couple of the wine stoppers I made! Pretty cute, huh?

The Best Cosmo

My, my, my, what a busy time it is! Not only are Wayne and I whirling around buying, making, and wrapping presents for family and friends, but the holiday party scene is really heating up too. By now you know I'm a bartender for parties and events at the fabulous Claremont Resort and Spa in the Berkeley/Oakland hills, and they're really keeping me busy this year!

I always enjoy helping people have a good time! Of course, bartending for holiday parties in the hotel is a lot different from bartending poolside in the summer, which I've written about before. For one thing, the drinks people want are different. Not a single customer I've had during the holidays has asked for a Bloody Mary at 10:00 p.m., and who would think of a Pina Colada when it's cold outside and you're wearing velvet and lace?

So what's the most popular drink at my holiday party bars? I have to say it's the Cosmopolitan, otherwise known as the Cosmo. It's a pretty drink, and festive, and, yes, it's pink, but guys order it too. Here's how you can make one, or two or three, at home:

The Best Cosmo

Put a scoop of ice into a cocktail shaker*. Add 1 oz. vodka, 1 oz. sweet and sour, 1/2 oz. Cointreau, and 2 oz. cranberry juice.

Shake vigorously.

Strain into a martini glass, or if you wish into a champagne flute.

Garnish with a lime wedge on the rim.

*No cocktail shaker? No problem. Just serve this drink over ice in a pretty clear glass, short or tall. Stir well before sipping. It's just as delicious!

Sip and enjoy!