Crafty Manolo

With the holidays coming up quickly and belts everywhere tightening, it can be hard to come up with great gifts for friends and family… that is, unless you’re a fellow crafty person! Just a few basic ingredients and a little time and effort will produce delicious gifts nearly everyone on your list will love.

For instance, see that elegant cruet of rosemary infused olive oil? If you have a rosemary bush nearby, bottles with firm stoppers or caps, a stove and some olive oil, you’ve got a great gift for the foodie on your list. Just follow the simple instructions at Lulu’s Bites and delight your friends!

Oh, and don’t forget that you can use the same method with a lot of other herbs, too. Thyme? Or maybe even some chili peppers? And citrus zest is a winner, too.

But how about some things that are ready to eat rather than an ingredient for future cooking?

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This is a smudge stick.

Just last night, I was discussing smudge sticks with my good friend, Fabrisse (wave to the crowd, Fabrisse!). You see, Mr. Twistie and I have just recently inherited a Major Item from a Rather Dubious (to us mentally right now) Source. Said item feels kind of full of cooties, bad juju, negative associations… whatever you want to call it. We were deciding whether or not a good smudging is in order.

No, I’m not usually given to burning herbs to cleanse spaces and objects. In fact, the only open flame I’m comfortable with is the burners on my lovely new gas stove (I love you, Algy! And I always will!). Strong scented burning things aren’t my thing, either. That one David Bowie concert I went to?

Yeah… I didn’t last long. No more big concerts for Twistie. I now stick to small, intimate, smoke-free venues.

All the same, there are times when it just feels like a ritual is needed to deal with powerful negativity, whether it comes from within or without. And some of you may find that a good smudge stick is precisely what you need. If this is the case, you might head over to this rather cool article on how to roll your own. And speaking as someone who has had strong negative physical reactions to burning herbs… do take their advice to be careful – especially of potentially poisonous plants! – seriously.

Oh, and the Major Item? I don’t think I’ll actually burn sage over it. I’ve got a better, more personal, smoke-free way of cleansing the bad emotional baggage out. Because sometimes, traditionalist though I am at heart, you just have to roll your own to make it work.