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My 2020 Handmade Christmas

January 6, 2021 by Jessica 4 Comments

Last year has come and gone and as slow as it felt at times, I’m still surprised it’s over. Christmas flew by for me and I was looking back at all the handmade things I created for gifts/decor and wanted to compile them all in one place. I have lots to share and hopefully it can give you some inspiration for next year. It’s never too early to start creating when you plan to give handmade. I always find myself making things last minute even when I started far in advance. Above is a sweet little lovie I sewed up for my niece. It had been a while since I made something like this and I enjoyed spending the time to make her.

I started off with a really simple shape and then had my daughters help me decide on the finishing details. We ended up giving her a pink nose, naming her Ruby the Pink Nose Reindeer. I experimented with using this sheet of glitter I had found at Hobby Lobby forever ago (near the felt) for the antlers. It’s stiff and holds up pretty well, but I ended up gluing a pipe cleaner behind it and then a piece of felt over that so it was covered. I’m thinking this will be a cute pattern to share next Christmas so y’all can sew one up if you want to as well.

The next few handmade Christmas pics are of these ornaments I made. I found the acrylic ornaments at Michaels and went to town. I played around with this process a bit and still want to try a few other things next year. Little touches like gold around the edges takes them to another level and finishes them off nicely.

The horse ornaments were actually unicorns. I did some research and found that I could use a dremel rotary tool (like these) and cut the horn off. It worked really well and then I lightly sanded where I had cut it off to make sure it was smooth. My oldest loves horses so I wanted to make her one and then made some for her to hand out to others she knows at the barn where she takes lessons.

These little guys were a handmade gift I crocheted. They are so cute and small! They fit in your hand. I started by using this bubble seal amigurumi crochet pattern from i crochet things. Then I used this amigurumi whale crochet pattern from Yarnhild. I used the basic shape from that pattern to form the jellyfish and the octopus bodies so they would be the same size roughly. I was able to look at other crocheted creatures and determine how to add the little extra “ruffles” on the octopus and used the tentacle pattern from this crochet jellyfish pattern (also from Yarnhild) to get the right sizing I wanted for my jellyfish.

This handmade gift is great because I think it is fun to gift “life” when it’s winter. I grabbed these tall vases and the rocks from the dollar store and the paperwhite bulbs I found at a local nursery and Home Depot. You simply place the rocks in the bottom and add a bulb on top. Then fill with water so only the roots are wet. The tall vase helps support the plant as it gets pretty tall and it has an elegant look to it. It adds some greenery to a time of year when there isn’t as much.

I snuck in a project for the kids welcome center at our church last month as well. I made these floating shelves and decorated them with party supplies I had that had a Christmas party vibe to them.

I tried to make one more ornament to gift, but only got around to making one of them. I used an old deck board to cut out a Christmas star shape. Honestly, it just took too long to do with my jigsaw so I kind of put it away for another year. I think I might need to add a band saw to my tools for projects like this.

One of the biggest diy undertakings was making 40 foam snowflakes. I learned a lot from this! It took over my garage for a while, but they looked so pretty when they were up. I used my projector to trace snowflake silhouettes as big as I could (I would do half of the shape on one sheet and half on another so I could tape them together). Then I used a utility knife for all the straight edges and an exacto knife for the curved spots.

To add glitter, I sprayed a spray adhesives and then dumped glitter on it. It was a mess, but it was the best way I could think of. I tried a glitter spray, but it just wasn’t glittery enough. Also, to make this job easier for myself, I only used three different snowflake patterns. Once I had made one from each, I used it as a pattern to trace the rest.

The last item is a gift for a friend that loves Christmas. She had commented on the ones I had made before so I knew I needed to make her one too. I can’t wait to get it to her. Well, that’s everything for my 2020 handmade Christmas. I’m already scheming for what I might do for next year lol. Anyone else with me? Happy new year to you all! May it be full of creativity and love.

A Balloon Bouquet in a Jar

January 17, 2020 by Jessica 1 Comment

Any time I find a way to use party decorations it makes me happy! Last night I received an email stating there would be a birthday celebration for my daughter’s teacher today. My daughter made a cute little card but she asked me to make something special for her as well. I had limited time and this balloon bouquet in a jar idea came to me. I had all the supplies already and we went for it.

I blew up the balloons, which were various sizes that I have gotten from Party City, and miss E taped them onto paper straws for me. We made a few and then I began to place them all together and when I felt like they fit in a good way, I would tape the paper straws together. This made for a good base and then I could stick anything else, whether it be more balloons or other decorations, into the base. (I also taped that paper wheel on a paper straw as well.)

The small honeycomb balls and the paper star (I just created the star in Word and printed it out) were hot glued/taped to bamboo skewers because they needed something thinner than a straw. Those I stuck in at the end.

Tip: The honeycomb balls came off of a garland that I had bought on clearance at a local grocery store after Valentines Day last year. Other parts were also just party decor I randomly pick up when I see it on sale. So if you have the space and can get things when you randomly come upon it you will always be ready to create one of these.

The jar was a mason jar that I had from a previous party. I had spray painted the bottom and it matched the balloons nicely. To fill up space so you couldn’t see the straw/skewer bottoms, I used paper tissue tassels from a garland in the jar. I kind of just played around with placement until I liked it. Then to fill in some space among the balloons I used a piece of the gold tissue paper garland. Another tip is to use sticker glue dots to keep balloons close. It sticks them together and holds really well. Then they don’t move around and it makes it more secure.

Here you can see miss E holding it for a size comparison. She also wanted me to make sure I shared a picture of her holding it hahaha. She’s so sweet. And she was excited to take this to her teacher today. How fun right? It’s like a little mini party for a table or desk and would be nice for someone allergic to flowers. I definitely see more balloon bouquet in a jar projects in our future.

Chicks Free Teacher Appreciation Printable

May 6, 2016 by Jessica Leave a Comment

This past week was Teacher Appreciation Week and I managed to get a few special things done. This was one of the gifts I gave my daughter’s teachers, although I used different packaging because I ran out of time to get these adorable little egg cartons. I’m sharing today the parts of this gift along with the free teacher appreciation printable, “Thank you for taking such good care of my little chick”, in case you would like to do something like this for a teacher or someone who takes care of your children.

To make this gift you will need the free teacher appreciation printable printed on card stock, packaging of choice (I found these cute cartons at Hobby Lobby, but used strawberry baskets from Michaels for the other ones), embellishments for package (I used baker’s twine, fabric scraps, eucalyptus leaves, and a mini clothespin), and baby chick cookies (I found a cookie cutter from World Market for $.99).

I made my own baby chick cookies and decided to try doing the royal icing where you flood the cookie. I used this sugar cookie recipe, which was very delicious! Not super sweet, maybe more of a shortbread cookie taste but soft consistency of a sugar cookie. I don’t remember which royal icing recipe I used. It was one that I had all the ingredients for lol. I used piping bags and frosting tips, but I think next time I would like to try the little squirt bottles. I did okay, but I need to work on this skill. hahaha. I was doing these late the night before and just trying to at least have them look presentable. So I’m happy for my first try 🙂

You can fit up to six of these cookies in the little egg cartons but these won’t sit quite this neatly if you want to close the top. I also suggest wrapping them in plastic wrap if you like. These are uncovered for picture purposes. I put the ones we gave the teachers in little plastic baggies to protect them. I also thought it would be cute to maybe just put two to three cookies in and then add two Easter eggs filled with candy too. Wouldn’t that be cute? -jess

Bunny Bags DIY

March 16, 2016 by Jessica 2 Comments

Spring time brings to mind all the cute adorable animals that are being born. You know, bunnies, lambs, etc. We are getting ready to add some little bunnies to our family soon so my girls are all about the little furry guys right now. With their love for rabbits and it being spring time and Easter soon, I whipped up some cute bunny bags and want to share them with you. They are really easy to make and would make a cute little way to share small gifts. Enjoy this bunny bags diy!

You will need:

Small burlap or fabric bags (I found these in the dollar section at Target)
Felt or leather for the ears
Optional: Fabric to go on ears
Scissors
Hot glue gun and glue
Yarn
Optional: Sewing machine/supplies

Start by making ears from your felt or leather. Since each bag will be different, make the ears the size you like. I suggest making a pattern with paper and using that as a template.

If you like, cut out a smaller piece of fabric and put it on the middle of the ears. You can glue this part on if you like or sew it on like I did.

Then take your hot glue gun and glue the ears on the inside of one side of the bag.

Create little fuzz ball tails by making yarn pom poms. Simply start by wrapping the yarn around a few fingers.

Keep wrapping until you have a pretty good amount. The more yarn you use the tighter the tail will look.

Cut a piece of yarn about 12″ long. Gently take the yarn bundle off of your fingers being careful to keep it intact. Wrap the extra piece of yarn around the center and tie together.

Next, take your scissors and cut through each loop of yarn on the sides. Then trim around the yarn ends until it is all even and fluffy looking.

Glue the little tails on and you are done.

Can’t wait to share with you the real bunnies we will get soon! Happy crafting! -jess

Vintage Tin Recipe Box DIY

February 21, 2016 by Jessica 2 Comments

Any vintage tin collectors out there? I admit I love to snag them up when I see them at thrift or antique stores with the hope to make them into a candle, a planter for succulents, or something like that. But the other day I decided this one should turn into a recipe box! So here is a vintage tin recipe box diy in case you might be interested in making one as well.

{Having a hard time finding a cool old tin? Search around online at Etsy for some great choices of vintage tins.} I would suggest using a size tin that is similar to that of a regular recipe box. That way it’s easy to find ready made recipe cards and such to fit into it. If not, you can always make your own like I did. Start by gathering your tin, a strong glue (I used e600 which is a super strong kind), and a metal label holder with bards. I found these label holders in the scrapbook section but also saw some in the wood section at a local craft store.

Put glue on the label holder just on the bottom and side edges.

Place it on the tin where you would like it to be. I ended up using a clamp and clothespin for extra help holding it in place while it dried.

Cut the prongs off of the bards and glue them in the holes of the label maker.

To create the front label I simply cut a small piece of cardstock that would fit and used small letter rubber stamps to create the word “recipes”.

You can find these stamp sets at craft stores and even in the dollar section at Target. I love having them on hand as they add a little extra character to different projects.

Now my tin was a little too small for the pre-made recipe cards I found at a store. I could have tried to find a customizable type online and printed them, but I simply used 3×5 note cards as they fit perfectly. I found these stickers in the clearance section at Hobby Lobby. They fold over to create a tab on top of the cards.

I used my stamps again to create the words on the tabs. You can make as many different sections as you like.

This vintage tin recipe box diy is a simple project and takes very little time to create. I think it came out really cute and think it would be a cute little house warming gift too. Share if you make one 🙂 #happytogetherbyjess

-jess