Christmas Gifts {DIY}

The hustle & bustle of the holidays is winding down and the bone chilling temperatures of a Wisconsin winter are unfortunately very much upon us.  I have a hard time letting go of Christmas because I really have nothing that exciting to look forward to until May, or whenever warm weather hits.  I still have my Christmas tree up - partially due to my denial that Christmas is over, partially due to my laziness, and partially due to the fact that I truly do love the glow it brings to the room. 

Now that all the gifts have been given, I can share with you a couple of the homemade gifts I gave some people this year. 

With it being so cold out, I thought it was fitting to make some hand warmers filled with rice and a little bit of mint from my garden.  Using pinking shears to cut the edges made this a fairly quick and easy project. 

I saw an idea for a jar of Twizzlers made to look like Santa with a black ribbon for a belt and gold buckle - but Ryan gave me the idea to add an extra touch by giving the "Santa" a felt beard & mustache, and then I also made him a "Mrs. Clause" by placing a doily under the cap.  They almost looked too cute to eat. :) 

I admire those of you who take on big craft projects for Christmas gifts and would love to see some of your creations!  We are so grateful for all the generous gifts and love we received from friends & family this holiday season.  I hope you all had a happy holiday and may you have a  joy-filled new year! 

organization.

Here a little sneak peak at some crafting and organization I've done in my kitchen area as of late!  

Do you find that your counter tops are always getting cluttered with mail...keys...coupons...etc?   I know I am...so I finally took matters into my own hands to come up with some tools for keeping organized! 

The dry erase calendar was made from a glass frame which I put fabric behind instead of a photo.  You can draw your lines for the days using permanent marker, and then draw the actual dates and activities with a dry erase marker so you can easily update it every month.  

The key holder is a stretched canvas with yellow fabric.  You can then stick pins, tacks, or nails through the front and hang your keys or whatever else you like on it! 

The mail holder is an old frame that I picked up at a garage sale for 10 CENTS!  I then stretched fabric along the back and stapled it to the frame.  The bottom piece of fabric is doubled up and pinned to form a sort of "pocket" for mail, coupons, and anything else that would normally just end up on our counters.  I stapled ribbons to the frame to form loops for easy hanging.  

Cheers to a more organized life! 

What projects are you working on?  I hope these help inspire you :)   

sew knot your average weekend...recap

"Sew knot your average weekend" is over...but the memories and fruits of our labor will last for a long time!  My mom, sister, mother-in-law and sister-in-law all spent the weekend at my mother-in-law, Lisa's house.  We had a great time crafting, creating, eating, shopping, relaxing, and spending time together!  We all brought different projects to work on and it was so cool to see everyone use their creativity to make some amazing things!  I didn't get as many finished products as I hoped...but the weekend inspired me to set aside more time for crafting, especially with the holidays coming up.  Here is a sneak peek of our weekend and some of the finished products!  

Nicki's ruffle Christmas tree skirt - it turned out great!  Cute idea!

Leah working hard on editing photos for her 365 project

My mom working on her drawing - she is amazing!

 Lisa sewing away!

Nicki's homemade candy ornaments - sticky but cute!

And below...a few of the things I made!

hair bows

mini magnets for the fridge 

rose earrings - coral, green, yellow, & peachy pink.  

Check back for more later :)  I might try to post some of the jewelry items on etsy, but most of them will probably be gifts.  (I apologize for showing your gift to you before Christmas...those of you who are getting these!)  

Overall, I had a great weekend with family and it was a great excuse to get crafty!