Creative gift tags/labels for homemade holiday gifts (and a recipe!)

<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><img style="width:322px;height:296px;" alt="photo credit: charlene prince birkeland/crazedparent.org" title="photo credit: charlene prince birkeland/crazedparent.org" src="http://a323.yahoofs.com/phugc/YeBlNaO91zzm/photos/725d2392f23d382eeb3087f460196f20/mr_6356eac625e340.jpg?ug_____DmNaLaKvZ" align="left" width="322" height="296"></span>The holidays bring out my crafty/cooking geekness like nobody&#39;s business. I usually try to add some homemade element to our Christmas gifts, but this year I&#39;m going gonzo (my husband&#39;s word choice). Cooking, sewing, crafty bits and pieces. It feels really good to be making things after being completely immersed in work.</p><p>On to the homemade gift idea.</p><p>I can&#39;t even remember where I got the original recipe for this homemade barbecue sauce. After a few modifications, I think it&#39;s safe to call it my own.</p><p>We spent Saturday morning making the sauce and storing it in these <strong><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.worldmarket.com/kitchen-tabletop/Home-KeepingStorage/kitchen-storage-containers/Preserve-Jars/lev/4/productId/7393/No/16/Ne/1100001/Nao/16/pCategoryId/1100176/sectionId/2866/Ns/NEW_ARRIVAL_FLAG%7C1%7C%7CCATEGORY_SEQ_3020%7C0/N/1100177/Nty/1/categoryId/1100177/gpCategoryId/1100131/index.pro">cute preserve jars I found at Cost Plus</a></strong>. They&#39;re made in Italy and super cheap (the smallest jars are $3).</p><p>I had two final decisions to make: what to name the sauce and how to label the jars. Last night I was over at <strong><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.bighugelabs.com">BigHugeLabs.com</a></strong> making the mosaic for the <strong><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.crazedparent.org/2008/12/dispatch-from-the-test-kitchen.html">Cranberry Obsession Snow Cake post</a> </strong>when I <strong><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.bighugelabs.com/flickr/badge.php">found this Badge Maker idea</a></strong> (wave hello to <a rel="nofollow" href="http://flagrantdisregard.com/"><strong>J</strong><strong>ohn Watson at Flagrant Disregard</strong></a>). </p><p>I decided the badge must include the photo of our resident canine troublemaker, Luna Lovegood. The name was quickly born: Luna Lovegood&#39;s Super Spicy BBQ Sauce (you can see the <strong><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/73384144@N00/3112746060/in/photostream/">plain label here</a></strong>). I printed them out on my<a rel="nofollow" href="http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=us&amp;docname=c01052314&amp;dlc=en&amp;lc=en&amp;jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN"> <strong>HP A620 photo printer</strong></a> on photo paper, punched a hole in the corner and attached the label to the sauce jar with a little wire hoop. I&#39;m hooked on this badge maker -- it&#39;s a neat way to customize gift tags and it couldn&#39;t be any easier to create.</p><p>As for Luna Lovegood&#39;s Super Spicy BBQ Sauce, here&#39;s the recipe:</p><p>1/2 cup vegetable oil<br>1 onion, minced<br>6 stalks of celery, finely minced<br>4 Tbs minced garlic<br>1/2 cup cider vinegar<br>1/2 cup distilled white vinegar<br>2 cups ketchup<br>1 1/2 cups tomato puree<br>2 Tbs dark molasses<br>4 Tbs brown sugar<br>1 cup water<br>4 Tbs Worcestershire sauce<br>2 Tbs chili powder<br>3 tsp ground cumin<br>2 tsp paprika<br>2 Tbs sea salt</p><p>Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, celery and garlic and cook it until it&#39;s soft. Add all the other ingredients and cook it for an hour over low heat, stirring occasionally. Then blend the sauce until it&#39;s nice and smooth.</p><p>At first, the taste and smell are so acidic that they make your eyes water because of the vinegar, but it burns off. After an hour, you can adjust the seasonings but be warned: like any other sauce, this one tastes even better after 24 hours. Also, it&#39;s a lighter sauce, not your typical thick, syrupy sauce you buy in stores. We&#39;ve used it as a marinade as well.</p><p>Make a taste batch and go from there. You could add honey, mustard, spicier peppers, you name it. </p><p>Once the sauce cools, package it up and label it. Because of the solid amount of vinegar, this sauce will last a good six months in the refrigerator.</p><p>One batch makes about 8-9 cups of sauce.</p><p><em><strong>(this post originally appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.crazedparent.org">crazedparent.org</a>)</strong></em></p><p></p>