On the 10th day of Christmas, my true love got from me…two embroidered dish towels!
Calvin’s sisters and Mom are gonna get these embroidered dish towels from me in the mail this week! Enjoy guys.
I hope you guys have enjoyed my Handmade Holidays series. I learn so much from other people and enjoy passing along some great ideas to you guys. Have a very merry holiday, be safe, and maybe be a little naughty :)
Traci
Teacher gifts are must for my holidays! But they have to be inexpensive, quick, and cutie. I picked up these adorable mugs at Kohl’s for 1/2 off. Filled them with some yummy chocolates in cellophane bags, popped a handmade tag on them, and off they go to school.
Here’s the thing: Rachel’s teachers haven’t gotten these cuties yet. Why? The last two days of school were canceled due to snow. Oh well! They’ll get them after New Years.
Traci
Gift Boxes are one of my favorite things to make to put small gifts into. My daughter, Rachel, is getting small shiny things (if you know what I mean) for Christmas, so I needed several small gift boxes.
Using my Cricky (Cricut) and the Tags, Bags, & More cartridge, I cut out three gift boxes and decorated them just a bit. All the paper is K&Co.
You see how those trees are upside down on the box above? That’s the “Live and Learn” part of crafting I talk about all the time. Did I recut it? Nope. It’s all right! I let go of perfection a long time ago.
Remember: It doesn’t have to be perfect. It’s handmade!
These next gable boxes, I picked up at the new Container Store in our area! Can I get a big WOOHOO? Love that store. These babies were adorable and just $.99 each.
Yikes! It’s almost Christmas. Gotta run and go pack up more gifts…
Traci
I came across the most adorable cups at my local Dollar Tree (a store where everything’s a dollar) and immediately added several to my basket. I knew these adorable cups would make great containers for homemade holiday treats. Check this out:
I used felt ribbon (one of my favorite things on the planet) to close up the cellophane bags. Felt adds such warmth to winter projects. The circle stamp is from Papertrey Ink.
And, by the way, those treats in that bag are not homemade. It’s peppermint bark I got from the same Dollar Tree. Cheating is definitely OK in these busy times!
Traci
Sometimes, a gift bag is fine for some gifts. Other times, you really need a box. I got a plain kraft box at Michael’s and decided to dress it up a little (OK, a lot!) to put a special gift inside.
With a little help from my Cricky (Cricut), I cut out the deer, added some glitter to his horns and adhered it to the front of the box.
Next, I stamped each end of the box with some snowflakes (PTI). Then I added a very beautiful dior bow. There’s a great guide on making this bow at Better Homes & Garden.
If anyone needs better, more specific directions on how to make any of my homemade holiday ideas, just leave a comment and I’ll post directions.
Tomorrow: a Dollar Tree cup makes a great container for holiday treats!
Traci
Gift bags are expensive! So what do I do? I make my own. With my Cricky (Cricut), it’s so easy.
Just cut out your shape with the Cricut, add rhinestones and adhere to your kraft bag. (You can get a dozen kraft bags at Michael’s for about $5.) Can you say Happy Holidays!?
Tomorrow: I take a plain gift box from blah to OMG!
Traci
Good morning everyone! How are your holiday preparations coming? I’ll be sending out cards this week, so I thought it would be nice to share a couple of easy holiday card ideas. I’m all about easy.
Stick a photo of the fam inside and you are done! Homemade Christmas cards are manageable if you get the family together to make an assembly line. One person is responsible for one piece of the card. It’ll go pretty quickly if you do that.
Tomorrow: an elegant gift bag that’s so easy to make.
Traci
I went a little crazy this year making preserves and jams. There was strawberry, pear, apple, fig, and peach. I needed a way to dress them up a little (OK, maybe a lot) to give them as holiday gifts. Check this out!
I started by gluing a strip of ribbon to the jar ring. (Make sure you only glue it to the ring. Otherwise, you’ve just teased your recipient with a jar of homemade preserves they can’t open!) Next I glued on some button right on top of the ribbon. Easy so far, right?
You could end there. But, really, why would you? (hee hee)
Next, I used a Papertrey Ink 3x3 vanilla envelope, added a notecard inside, stamped a Hero Arts background image on the front, added a circle stamped image on top of that, punched 2 holes in the top of the envelope and secured it to the jar with some adorable ribbon.
Whew! Now THAT’s a decorated jar of homemade preserves!
Enjoy! Tomorrow, I will post a couple of easy, cute holiday cards.
Traci
I’ve always struggled with a way to display all the Christmas cards we get each year. For several years, I taped them over the entry way to our living room. They fell constantly. Annoying. Last year, I put them all in a basket in the living room and promptly forgot about them.
I was determined this year to make a card holder that I could hang on the wall in our kitchen. I saw the Kate Spain holiday fabric line and fell in love. She had a small quilt panel I snatched up and my card holder idea was hatched.
The squares are a one-piece quilt panel. I had to add on the coordinating red fabric to the bottom to make some pockets to hold all our Christmas cards. I added batting, the same red fabric for the back, and quilted around each square. I added a dowel at the top and ribbon to hang it from a nail in the wall. 1 hour project!
I really love it! Now I have something I can use year after year and hand down to my daughter for her own home. Definitely worth the work.
Tomorrow, I’ll show you how to dress up a jar of homemade preserves that will make you the envy of all your friends and family. Til then,
Traci
Are you in the holiday spirit yet? I sure am. I’m getting my home decorated and making tons of homemade gifts, which I’ll be sharing here over the next couple weeks. So join me!
A couple months ago, I was in my favorite fabric store – Wish Upon a Quilt – and saw these adorable fabric trees. I immediately set out to copy them!
One is made of YoYo’s and the other I made with fabric and elastic. Easy peasy.
If anyone wants more specific directions, just leave me a comment and I’ll post them. See you back here tomorrow with more homemade holiday ideas. Til then,
Traci
