DIY Christmas

I'm having the best time coming up with DIY projects for Christmas gifts! Yes, I know, it seems REALLY early to be thinking about Christmas, but I got inspired this past weekend while hanging out with my second family :) I made some homemade magnets, per the idea I stole from them. I made some to spell FRIENDS to hang on the fridge next to pictures of friends. Then I made a really cute gift for one of my family members which is magnets that spell GEAUX TIGERS complete with a Mike the Tiger magnet! I also assembled two very cute picture frames, one for myself for pictures of us on our honeymoon, and then one for a certain little girl in my family with flowers and pink and green letters to spell her name along the side.

Here's some more ideas I cam across. I might give out these this year as gifts to family and friends:

1. themed gift baskets. Did you can your own pasta sauce over the summer? Use a colander for a basket, add some garlic bulbs, gourmet noodles, and a wooden spoon — a little taste of Italy. Or consider a breakfast basket. Or a breakfast basket (syrup and pancake mix), a movie basket (popcorn, candy, and a movie rental coupon), or a gardening basket (a trowel, a gardening hat, and some packets of seeds).

2. making personalized calendars: “You can buy calendar blanks or use a template from a program; add pictures of things or people meaningful to the recipient; add in important dates (birthdays and anniversaries of family & friends); and maybe a special note or quote every once in a while. For parents/students you can add in the school schedule; for homeowners you can add in a home maintenance schedule; etc. for sports fans, astrology followers, on & on. To make them extra special I sometimes add little treats - a couple dollars taped to a summer date for an ice-cream treat; a coupon for free babysitting on a weekend; video & popcorn night, etc.”

3. felt-backed tile trivets. You can find lots of beautiful tile designs at the home-improvement store. Sometimes the end of a lot can be had at a deep discount. Using a hot-glue gun, add a layer of felt to the back of a 6×6″ (or larger) tile, and you have a useful trivet for bringing a hot dish to the table.

4. Cork trivets. For your wine drinkers, save corks from your stash or ask friends to save theirs. Find a picture frame that's large enough for your project. Consider how large a hot dish or pan you will place on the trivet. It needs to be deep enough that the corks won't extend above the frame very much. Remove the glass and any wire or brackets for hanging it. Find a piece of cardboard for the back of the frame. Glue it to the back of the frame. Try out different arrangements of the corks. Look for interesting designs on the corks and arrange these harmoniously. Glue together with hot glue.

5. jar gifts. Basically, you can get some large mason-type jars at a crafts store, and decorate them using colored paper (wrapping paper), ribbon, etc. Inside you could try making a baking mix to make cookies with, or even something as simple as hot chocolate powder.