SOCIAL CAPITAL
Share more than Gifts
by JESSICA NATALE WOOLLARD
This Christmas season, the growing ‘DIY’ movement means more of us would like to craft a unique gift for mom, dad, and Great Aunt Gladys. But just because the trend is named “DoIt-Yourself” doesn’t mean you should do it by yourself. This holiday season, grab fellow DIY devotees and make it a social engagement at various “make it, take it” sessions around the capital. Here are Boulevard’s recommendations for fun, festive DIY projects to give with pride:
Beading
Spa Products
Surprise the jewelry lover on your list with hand-made bling. Using Swarovski crystals, antique beads, pearls or prisms, you can customize the project. Market Square’s Beadworld offers free instruction, plus use of their tools, for any bead project, including ornaments and window art. Bring your own beads to revamp an old piece or buy new ones in store. Visit victoriabeadworld.ca or call 250-386-5534. Skanda, at 1033 Fort St., also offers classes and supplies. See skanda.ca or call 250-475-2632.
Know someone who could benefit from a serene sabbatical but can’t get away? Give the gift of homemade spa products. Purchase take-home spa-making kits from Silk Road on Government, and get your friends together for an evening of making bath and massage oils, bath salts, tea-bath sachets, home spa facials, and eau de parfum, all infused with Silk Road’s aromatic essential oils. Visit silkroadtea. com for more information.
Baking Concoct clusters, cookies, cakes, and candied nuts; macaroons and marzipan; lava cakes and yule logs. Holiday-themed classes offered by Creating Occasions and The London Chef can render enough galettes to gift wrap and give as host thank-yous and tokens of appreciation. Enroll a few partners in crime, then divide the baking amongst yourselves for variety. See creatingoccasions.com and thelondonchef.com for details.
Copper Etching
Soap-Making
In the triumvirate of gold, silver and copper, copper is regarded as the least precious as far as modern, luxury jewelry-making goes. But thousands of years ago, the warm-coloured metal decorated divine rulers and their palaces. In the copper-etching classes of Roslyn van der Wal, artist, teacher, and owner of Life in Harmony, you could create a stunning cuff bracelet to rival any Cleopatra might have worn. Visit roslynvanderwal.wordpress.com for class information. Custom workshops are available on request.
A bar of soap wrapped in fine paper emits a luxurious, organic quality. Did you know you can make soap with everyday kitchen ingredients? The Good Planet Company on Fort will give you the recipe in their Soap Making 101 workshop. You and up to seven friends will learn the art of natural soap making, dating back to around 2800 BC. You’ll leave the workshop with three pounds of hand-made soap, featuring your own choice of essential oils, colours, and other additives. Trade bars with your friends for a variety of scents and colours. A workshop to make natural household cleaning products is also available. Visit goodplanet.com for more information.
Scrapbooking A box of beautiful cards makes a lovely gift, and can be meaningful if you make the cards yourself. Michaels craft stores offer classes to help you brush up on your scrapbooking skills: learn to use punches, add glitter, layer papers, and stamp like a pro. These $10 classes will help you develop or refine scrapbooking skills while using Michaels’ extensive tools. For more information, visit your local Michaels store.
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