A Handmade Christmas: Gift Ideas for Neighbors & Friends

Alrighty folks. Here it is. The last installment of our Handmade Gift series. Today we're looking at gifts for friends, neighbors, coworkers, teachers, etc. Be sure to check out the rest of the series - Gifts for Infants, Gifts for Toddlers & Preschoolers, Gifts for Big Kids thru Teenagers, Gifts for the Husband or Significant Other, and Gifts for Grandparents.

First up is something that comes from our very own Heather here on this little blog - Homemade Facial Scrubs. Mix it up, put it in a small glass jar, and give it to all the women on your list. All of the ingredients are simple and natural - which is awesome!

I'm drooling over this Cookie Cutter Fudge, which comes straight from the Betty Crocker Website. Fudge is a fairly simple to make and so yummy. I love how they decorated it with other candies and goodies. It really ups the wow factor for this simple little gift.

This next idea is especially useful for teachers, but I'm honestly thinking about making this for myself. I use sticky notes all the time! Go check out Paper Wings to see how she made these adorable Post-It Stands.

Who doesn't love Hostess Ding-Dongs and Ho-Hos? I know I do! I would be thrilled to get this adorable little package of goodies from One of a Kind. Such a fun idea!

As a family (when I was little), we used to make up goodies and take to our neighbors for Christmas. And that's fun an all, but after you're on the receiving end of a couple of those plates, you find yourself swamped with treats. That's exactly why I'm thrilled with the idea of giving mixes or doughs so that the receiver can make and eat the treats whenever they're ready. Then the goodies stay fresh and can be eaten warm...instead of old and stale. :) Check out Blue Cricket Designs to see how she added a personal touch to store bought cookie dough! You could also mix and wrap your own cookie dough instead.

These Grinch Pills would be great to pass out to co-workers! Custom Creations by Tamara Bennet is offering the cut file for the box. However, even if you don't have a cutting machine, you could just cut the front of the box and either tape or tie it onto some tic tacs.

How about a gift that won't make your neighbor think about the calories? Today's Fabulous Finds has a plethora of gift ideas (under $2 - sahweet!), but I really got a kick out of this Dishtowel and Dishcloth gift!

This next gift is a little more labor intensive as it requires a little more work, but it is sure to be enjoyed by the whole family! Check out Family Bites to see how to put together this Ice Cream Sundae Kit!

Here are a couple of ideas that are more useful than yummy! Crafts re-Designed is offering a free printable to personalize hand soap and wrapping paper. Adorable!

I can't stay away from the yummy treats. How about Chocolate Covered Pretzels? Mmmmm :) Check out How Does She for a link to a tutorial and printable tag!

Thanks for joining us this week to take a look at some fun handmade Christmas ideas. As we get past Thanksgiving, I'll be putting up some tutorials for handmade gifts that I've made. But I'm a big believer in keeping Thanksgiving and Christmas separate. Be sure to come back next week for some Thanksgiving inspiration! 

A Homemade Christmas: Gift Idea for Grandparents

This is the 5th post in our Homemade Christmas series. Be sure to check out the previous posts in this series: Gift Ideas for Infants, Gift Ideas for Toddlers and Preschoolers, Gift Ideas for Big Kids, Tweens & Teenagers, and Gift Ideas for a Husband or Significant Other.

In my opinion, Grandparents are the funnest to give gifts to. It seems to me that grandparents and great-grandparents, at least in our family, are always so excited to get gifts that revolve around their grandchildren. Makes gift giving super easy!

So, first up are a few ideas of projects that I've done in the past.

I actually made these photo blocks as Mother's Day gifts for my Mother-in-Law and myself last year. This is a picture of my own blocks. Obviously the blocks for my Mother-in-Law revolved around her family, rather than just our family. But the idea is still the same. Choose your photos and either print then crop or crop then print. Make sure to print on photo paper so that the ink doesn't run or smear. Cut to the size of the block, then use mod podge to put the photos on the blocks. Really, quite easy. I also painted my blocks black. The blocks were just cut down from a piece of lumber from Home Depot for around $4 or $5.

Another easy and simple idea is Photo Glass Magnets. I made these 2 years ago for Christmas for all the grandparents and great grandparents. Unfortunately I didn't get any good pictures of the ones I made. So instead I found a tutorial from The Creative Place that has great pictures to show you what I'm talking about. I would recommend heavy duty magnets and heavy duty glue - something like E6000. I tried hot glue and the first time one fell off the fridge the magnet popped off. All the grandmas loved them - and in fact they're still on all of their fridges!

Here's another cute block idea from I {Heart} Nap Time  - Grandma Blocks! As she says at the bottom of her post, these can also be altered for a mom, dad, grandpa, etc.

Here's another super cute photo idea - Photo Key Chains! My Crazy Life as a Farmer's Wife has a fun little tutorial to make these. Pretty stinking easy and I know grandparents would just adore these!

I'm starting to send a trend here. For now, I'll stick with the trend and show you these Photo Coasters from Oopsey Daisy. Tiles, photos, and resin will make these cute and useful gifts!

I know this is a pretty short post, but most of the grandparent gifts that I'm coming up with or can find revolve around photos - and most are just variations of the above ideas. I would feel repetitive if I posted them all.

I'd love to hear any ideas that don't center around photos. Please feel free to share any other ideas. And come back tomorrow for the last installment of A Homemade Christmas. Tomorrow we'll be featuring ideas for neighbors and friends.

A Handmade Christmas: Gift Ideas for your Husband or Significant Other

Here's the fourth installation of our Homemade Gifts series! Today we'll be focusing on our spouse/significant other. And, since most of the people who read this blog are women, these gifts will be focused mainly on the menfolk. Looking for other ideas? Take a look at our gift ideas for Infants, Toddlers & Preschoolers, and Big Kids through Teenagers.

Does anyone else find it incredibly hard to make homemade gifts for the men? They definitely don't appreciate it as much as the ladies. Hopefully at least one of the ideas here will be something that would make him happy!

I don't know about you, but we don't go on dates nearly often enough. Despite the fact that Grandma lives about 5 blocks away and we have awesome friends who would babysit, we still don't go out on dates. Our "dates" are usually taking Andyroo with us to do something fun (for a 3-year-old). Bowling, kids movie, etc. To eliminate part of the reason for not going out, why not come up with 12 dates (or however many you want), get them all planned, and give that as a gift! My Mix of Six gave her hubby a Date Package complete with 12 dates planned and paid for. So easy! It reminds me of once a month cooking!

Are you always losing remotes like we are in our house? The most common place that we find them is tucked in the cushions of the couch. End the madness with this Remote Caddy from Sew 4 Home!

This picture for this next idea might say "Father's Day" but I think this would also work for Christmas! What a cute Father's Photo Collage from the kiddos that would let their daddy know that he's loved. Positively Splendid even has a printable to make it easier!

Is your significant other a coffee (or hot chocolate) lover? How about a cute little Reusable Coffee Cup Sleeve? The Cottage Home has a great tutorial on how to make your own.

Here's a twist on the remote caddy - a Remote Control Pocket Pillow! Check out how Blessings Overflowing created this handy dandy caddy. I think the hubs is definitely getting some kind of remote caddy this year (shhh, don't tell him that)!

Are you more of a gift card giver? How about sprucing up that gift card with a fun card? Holiday Crafts and Creations has a couple different versions for these Shirt Pocket Cards - a Shirt and Tie version (for an Office Max gift card) and a flannel work shirt (for a Home Depot gift card).

Looking for a way to show your hubby how much you appreciate him? How about an All About You Basket? The Dating Divas have some great ideas for making your own!

Does anyone else have any superb gift ideas for the men in their life? I'm always looking for ideas (besides video games) for the hubby! Please share!

Tomorrow we will be focusing on Grandparents, so make sure to check back for some fabulous ideas!

A Homemade Christmas: Gift Ideas for Big Kids & Teenagers

So I've decided to change things up a bit and combine days for Big Kids and Teenagers and open a spot for Grandparents. I hope everyone's okay with that! :) Don't forget to check out the posts about Handmade Gifts for Infants and Handmade Gifts for Toddlers and Preschoolers!

Here's one that appeals to each of these age groups - personalized shirts. How about using Bleach to Create a Personalized Shirt? The Next Bird will show you how. Not sure what the picky teen would want? Give them a bleach pen, some shirts, and the directions and let them create their own!

How about a Marshmallow Gun? Create Studio shows us how to use PVC Pipe and joints to create some marshmallow fun. She made one for her little boy, but these would appeal to any age! Heck, even my husband would love one of these!

A fun one, probably more for girls, is a magnet board! This one is pretty girls, but you could definitely make it for a boy. A Girl and a Glue Gun used some leftover metal pieces, but you can buy metal sheets to do this with.

Another fun one that any girl is sure to love? Personalized Notebooks! Take a notebook, add some paper and embellishments, and it will be instant love! So much better than those plain spiral or composition books. This particular notebook comes from Sew Woodsy. Want to make it a gift set? Add some fun colored pens and you'll be set!

Are you more comfortable with fabric than paper? Then you can still create a customized notebook! Essentially, you're creating a fabric cover for a notebook - which can be reused on a different notebook. Stay Calm and Sew Something has a great tutorial - and I love the zebra print and polka dots together!

This next idea would be great for girls of all ages, but Washer Necklaces are easy (and cheap) enough to make for all the girls on your gift-giving list. Seriously. I'm thinking that every girl on my list will be getting two or three of these this year!

Here's another idea that would work for more than just tweens and teens. A Laptop (also iPad/iPod/Kindle/Netbook) Sleeve! The Cottage Home has a great tutorial for making this fun little sleeve - just use the dimensions of whatever electronic device you need to cover!

 Know someone who likes to skateboard? Why not make it easier for them to pack it around with this Skateboard Sling? This great tutorial was posted by The Boy Trifecta over on Kojo Designs.

Any other brilliant ideas for those hard-to-make-for kids and teens? Please feel free to share with us! Also, be sure to check back tomorrow for more gift giving ideas for the spouse/significant other!

Train Name Plaque for the Boy

Because Andyroo loves trains, here's yet another fun train project, just for him.

It was super easy and took me all of an hour to complete. And it only took that long because I kept getting interrupted.

I found the wooden train plaques (I actually purchased 2 - not sure how I'm going to use the other one) on clearance at Hobby Lobby. I found a cute train paper, traced the train shape, and mod podged that baby on. I used my Silhouette to cut out Andyroo's name and there you have it.

Easy peasy. And cheap too!

Thanks to all the fabulous bloggers out there who take the time and effort to host these spectacular parties!! We're linking up here:


Mondays:
Just Something I Whipped Up, Craftastic Monday, Turquoise Lovin', Making the World Cuter Mondays, Making Mondays Marvelous, Creative Me Mondays, Made By You Mondays, Craft-O-Maniac Monday, Made with Love, More the Merrier


Tuesdays:
Get You Craft On, Tuesday Confessional, Who's Got Glam, Ta-Da Tuesdays, Tip Me Tuesdays, Take a Look Tuesdays, Show Me What You Got, Tuesday Tutorials, Too Cute Tuesdays, Craft & Tell, Tutorials & Tips Tuesday


Wednesdays:
Whatever Goes Wednesday, Idea Sharing Wednesday, What I Made Wednesday, DIY Under $5, Woot Woot Wednesday, Wow Me Wednesday, Your Whims Wednesday, Lil' Luna Link Party, Hoo's Got Talent, We Can Do it Cheaper, Look What I Made, What I Whipped up Wednesday, Wow Me Wednesday


Thursdays:
Strut Your Stuff, DIY Diva Thursdays, Hookin' Up With House of Hepworths, Get Your Brag On


Fridays:
Frugal Friday, Creative-ly U, Feature Yourself Friday, PityParty, Look At Me, Show & Share, Fantabulous Friday, Tickled Pink Fridays, I'm Lovin' It


Saturdays/Sundays:
Lovely Little Linkup, Weekend Wander, Sundae Scoop, Sunday Showcase Party, Think Pink Sundays, Anything Goes, Whatcha Got Weekend, Free For All

Framed Fall Letters

Part of the reason I wanted the entryway shelf that I posted about last week is because I want something to decorate. I don't have a mantle or a porch and our entertainment center is just too crowded with the stereo system and the overflowing DVDs.

So now that my shelf is up, I decided it needs to be a little more festive.

It's not a very big shelf, so there isn't a lot of room, but I still think it's cute! And those framed letters were super easy to make. Or at least they would have been if I weren't so indecisive!

The frames are just a 4x6 size - each of them are different and from the D.I. You can't beat $0.50 for a frame, especially since I just painted over them.

I picked 4 fall colors (I used a brown, green, cream, and wine), picked some paper (the hardest part) and them cut out the letters with my Silhouette (the most frustrating part). I think I changed my mind 10 times about the paper I was going to use. Even now, I'm not completely in love with it. I'm sure if I were to scour the racks at the craft store I could find something I LOVED. But I'm trying to be cheap and just use what I have on hand. It's growing on me though.

The inspiration for these letters came from this picture which I found through pinterest and then posted about here a couple weeks ago.

I think I'm going to do something a little more Halloweeny, or at least pumpkinish for the entertainment center. Be sure to check back and see what I come up with!




Thanks to all the fabulous bloggers out there who take the time and effort to host these spectacular parties!! We're linking up here:


Mondays:
Just Something I Whipped Up, Craftastic Monday, Turquoise Lovin', Making the World Cuter Mondays, Making Mondays Marvelous, Creative Me Mondays

Tuesdays:
Get Your Craft On, Tuesday Confessional, Who's Got Glam, Ta-Da Tuesdays, Tip Me Tuesdays, Take a Look Tuesdays, Show Me What You Got

Wednesdays:
Whatever Goes Wednesday, Idea Sharing Wednesday, What I Made Wednesday, DIY Under $5, Woot Woot Wednesday, Wow Me Wednesday, Your Whims Wednesday, Lil' Luna Link Party, Hoo's Got Talent

Thursdays:
Strut Your Stuff, DIY Diva Thursdays, Hookin' Up With House of Hepworths, Get Your Brag On

Fridays:
Frugal Friday, Creative-ly U, Feature Yourself Friday, Pity Party, Look At Me

Saturdays/Sundays:
Lovely Little Linkup, Weekend Wander

Categorically Crafting

Key & Coat Shelf

Hubs and I have been married for almost 5 years now and throughout that entire time, I've always meant to come up with some kind of coat rack. In our first apartment, we used the vacuum cleaner as our coat rack. The coats and jackets just got piled on top of the vacuume cleaner. Sad, huh!? In our apartment now, the high chair was used as a coat rack. Whenever we needed the high chair, I'd pile the coats ontop of the table for a while. The high chair is in storage now and the jackets are moved around to different chairs around the table depending on where we want to sit. Right now the jackets are hung up in our bedroom closet (so their not cluttered on the table and chairs) but it's going to be time to pull them out again. In fact, we already did on Saturday! It was rainy and yucky and about 55 degrees when we left the house. And since they're out, they need a home. One that isn't the table or chairs, preferably.
No longer will the coats ben shuffled around. No longer will the keys be lost in the mess on the table or buried at the bottom of my purse!

I found this little unfinished beauty at the D.I. We have another shelf much like this one (without the hooks though) above our couch that has our last name carved into it. When I saw this one with the heart on it, I knew it would be the perfect companion for our other lonely little shelf.

Two dollars. That's all she cost! Adding in the cost of the paint I used, this little project cost a total of $3.75! Yay for cheap!!

I used Dark Chocolate and Fawn from the Americana Paint line. As a side note, I was NOT at all happy with the coverage of the Dark Chocolate. It took about 4 coats and almost the whole bottle of paint to get good coverage. I've use Americana and have always been happy with the way it covers (so much better than the super, super cheap stuff). I don't know if they've reformulated or if it was just this colors. Anyway, back to the project.

So, I slathered on the Dark Chocolate until she was good and covered. Then did some dry brushing with the fawn to add a little more of a textured look. You can't really see it in the picture though.

It now hangs right by our door, all decorated and pretty. Once I get some of my fall decor stuff done, I'll be switching these things out and putting some of it here on this shelf.

Thanks to all the fabulous bloggers out there who take the time and effort to host these spectacular parties!! We're linking up here:


Mondays:
Just Something I Whipped Up, Craftastic Monday, Turquoise Lovin', Making the World Cuter Mondays, Making Mondays Marvelous, Creative Me Mondays

Tuesdays:
Get You Craft On, Tuesday Confessional, Who's Got Glam, Ta-Da Tuesdays, Tip Me Tuesdays, Take a Look Tuesdays, Show Me What You Got

Wednesdays:
Whatever Goes Wednesday, Idea Sharing Wednesday, What I Made Wednesday, DIY Under $5, Woot Woot Wednesday, Wow Me Wednesday, Your Whims Wednesday, Lil' Luna Link Party, Hoo's Got Talent

Thursdays:
Strut Your Stuff, DIY Diva Thursdays, Hookin' Up With House of Hepworths, Get Your Brag On

Fridays:
Frugal Friday, Creative-ly U, Feature Yourself Friday, PityParty, Look At Me

Saturdays/Sundays:
Lovely Little Linkup, Weekend Wander