Gift in a Jar - "For your Mistletoes"

I needed an idea for a co-worker Xmas gift, and thought this gift would be perfect.

The materials needed are quite flexible. I will tell you what I used. A mason jar (Target, $2.19), a 4-in-1 foot scrub tool (Marshalls, $3.99), Neutrogena foot cream 2 oz (Target, $4), Essie nail polish - color of your choice (Kohl's, $6 with 30% off), Toenail clipper (Target, $1), Cotton balls (I had some laying around the house), a few scraps of cardstock, some sort of ribbon/decorative string, & a printed out paper that reads "for your mistletoes".

I like to print out a few different fonts & sizes because I never know what will look right until I am almost done with the project. 

In total, I spent about $15 on these items, with the largest cost being the nail polish. I am a huge Essie advocate, but going with a cheaper brand would bring the price down significantly. 

If you don't have a corner rounding punch tool, I highly recommend one. Once I got mine I had no idea how I ever crafted/scrapbooked without it!

I used some scraps of paper that I had to create this little gift tag. Since I only had a triangle piece of the snowflake paper left, I made do with a funky layout of patterned cardstock and plain cardstock. I matched the color to the nail polish in an attempt to be more festive. I wrote a little note on the back of the tag wishing the recipient a Merry Christmas, etc. 

In the end, the 4-in-1 scrub tool ended up too big for the jar. I feel like it actually brought more depth to the gift by leaving it sticking out like this. I put the screw top on the jar, but I left off the center cover so the scrubber could pop out. I reused some paper ribbon that was on a gift I'd already received. Overall I was very pleased with how simple this gift was and how well it turned out. 

Happy Christmas gifting!


P.S. Happy birthday Molly!

Penguin Gift Tags

I always put a lot of thought into wrapping presents. I love how they all look under the tree. This year I decided to make my own gift tags rather than buying them. I found this idea on pinterest, but I put my own spin on it.

Materials needed: cardstock in black & white (you can use another color other than black to switch it up a little), orange cardstock or construction paper, scissors, glue or double stick tape, ribbon & a hole punch.

 If you can't tell, I am not the best cutter. This seems like a trivial skill, but in this project I suppose it plays a big role. I think that despite my mediocre cutting skills, my gift tags still turned out alright. I don't think anyone will be inspecting the tags as they are unwrapping their presents Christmas morning.

The first thing I did was make template cut outs so I could trace them again & again to make multiple tags. I arbitrarily drew an oval shape on my black cardstock and cut it out. I did the same with white, making sure it was slightly smaller. Next I cut out 2 small hearts and a triangle shape for the nose.

I laid the pieces in the way I planned to glue them to assure they were the right size. Once I determined they were a good fit, I used them as stencils for the next set of pieces. 

Switch it up a bit by using different colors besides black to make your penguins. 

 I did not use the hearts and triangle nose pieces as stencils since they were so small. I cut each of these free-hand (it's not that hard!). I used double stick tape to attach the white pieces to the black or pink (or any other color you choose) back pieces and I used a dot of Elmer's glue to attach the feet & nose pieces. Then I used a fine tip black Sharpie to dot on the eyes.

The last step is to punch a hole in the top of the penguin and add a ribbon. I chose a Christmas-y looking red & white striped ribbon. I think yarn would also look really cute and work well for this.

The final product!

You can either write on the penguin's stomach or on the back (use a metallic sharpie for the black penguins) to address who the gift is for. I think these will be a perfect addition to all my gifts this year.

Happy Christmas wrapping!

Going Away Present

One of my friends got an awesome opportunity to move to Toronto for a year for a temporary job assignment. Although I was super excited for her, I was bummed she would be leaving. I racked my brain for a cute going away present, and this is what I came up with.

Materials needed: A bag or bundle of suckers, a piece of foam, a mug, some sort of stick (see below, I used a pen!), and paper. 

I decided to use one of the Starbucks "you are here" mugs. I would've gotten a Toronto mug, except it's impossible (maybe not impossible, but expensive) to get one of the mugs if you don't actually go to that city. Since her home was Chicago, I thought it was a good choice. I took the piece of foam that I got and cut it to fit in the mug.

Next I needed to find something to hold the sign that I made. I was not as prepared for this craft as I should've been, so I had to improvise.

I used a pen wrapped in washi tape since it was all I could find.

I stuck all the suckers and the pen into the foam. I tried to mess around with the spacing so that you couldn't see the foam. I used blow pops, but you could also use something like dum dums that may help hide the foam better! If you don't use blow pops you could change the phrase to "The fact that you're leaving totally SUCKS"

I printed a note and taped it to a piece of cardstock. 

I used a hot glue gun to attach the sign to the pen.

The result turned out super cute!

So, there you have it! A cute going away present that acts as a little reminder of home when dismantled. I highly recommend these Starbucks "You are here" mugs, but they may be difficult to find at this point.

Here is a version I made for a male co-worker who was leaving the company for a new position. I used all the same materials, except I used a cylindrical piece of foam and I actually got some craft sticks instead of using a pen ;)

Happy well-wishing!

Yarn-Wrapped Pinecones

I found this idea for a holiday table decoration on pinterest and decided it seemed easy enough to try. I only needed a few materials: pinecones and yarn. 

I bought 2 bags of pinecones (I know it seems silly to BUY pinecones...but if you get them from outside they could have bugs, etc. These were cheap, so I figured it was a safer bet) These are from Joanne Fabrics and they were only a couple bucks. 

I bought 2 different colors of yarn to add some variety to my project. Since this is a Christmas decoration, I picked red & white. Both of these bundles (is this the correct terminology?) were under $5. 

Next comes the easy part - wrapping the pinecones in yarn.

I started wrapping and tried to tuck away the end by continuing to wrap around the same spot for the first few rotations.

I wrapped in a variety of different pathways so as to cover all of the pinecone. When I decided it was enough, I tucked the end of the yarn in the bottom part of the pinecone where the crevices are tight and can therefore hold the yarn so it doesn't unravel. 

When I was done, I put all my pinecones in a clear circular bowl. You can obviously put them in any sort of arrangement, but I think it looks nice in a clear vase so you can see all the colors, shapes and sizes.

Happy holiday crafting!