Moving along...
Here's a wrap-up of the rest of our homemade goodness. Oh, and let me just publicly thank Pinterest right now. Because, really, most of my ideas came via Pinterest and I just ran with them!
* Temple Blocks
Like most of the stuff I did, these were time-consuming but fairly easy. 2"x6" board from Lowes's cut in 7" sections - sanded, painted and then personalized {with "For Time & All Eternity" and anniversary date} antiqued temple print mod-podged to the front. Then I just added a strip of silver ribbon (hot glued tight to the back) and a bow. Done.
Like most of the stuff I did, these were time-consuming but fairly easy. 2"x6" board from Lowes's cut in 7" sections - sanded, painted and then personalized {with "For Time & All Eternity" and anniversary date} antiqued temple print mod-podged to the front. Then I just added a strip of silver ribbon (hot glued tight to the back) and a bow. Done.
[Free, antiqued temple prints found here. Temple block tutorial found here.]I loved how these turned out. Simple, but pretty. I want to do a 16x20" poster-size for Sean and I... eventually.
Also, I thought it was kinda cool that on the L.A. temple prints (for all of Sean's family) the angel Moroni and the bow pretty much line up down the center.
Also, I thought it was kinda cool that on the L.A. temple prints (for all of Sean's family) the angel Moroni and the bow pretty much line up down the center.
* Christmas Ornament
So, the jam was my first grand homemade idea and then the temple blocks, but then, I decided to do an ornament because we've given ornaments to Sean's married siblings every year. It's tradition! Every other year I have found a Hallmark ornament that I like specific for each family - it gets a little spendy, though. So, I decided to make the ornaments this year! Styrofoam balls mod-podged with green tissue paper w/ gold embellishment. And yes, those are individual 1 1/2" squares that I mod-podged onto each and every ornament. I made 12.
Music and lyrics came from a song in the Christmas cantata that Sean and his Dad wrote together - this part was a little tricky. First Sean had to create the music and lyrics part in his music software, then I had to screen-print it and save it in Picasa. Then do a manual crop and save that as a new picture to then insert into a word document to re-size and print! Let me just tell you, we did not get it right on the first try!! It was worth it, though, to have the ornaments be so personalized to our family. Once those were all cut out, I had to mod-podge the music onto the ornament and very carefully and very slowly smooth it out so that it contoured to the shape of the ball. This had to be done by hand. It was messy. Once that was all dry, I added two coats of a sparkle glaze, a gold tag with the year attached to the ribbon for hanging it and a bow on top.
So, the jam was my first grand homemade idea and then the temple blocks, but then, I decided to do an ornament because we've given ornaments to Sean's married siblings every year. It's tradition! Every other year I have found a Hallmark ornament that I like specific for each family - it gets a little spendy, though. So, I decided to make the ornaments this year! Styrofoam balls mod-podged with green tissue paper w/ gold embellishment. And yes, those are individual 1 1/2" squares that I mod-podged onto each and every ornament. I made 12.
Music and lyrics came from a song in the Christmas cantata that Sean and his Dad wrote together - this part was a little tricky. First Sean had to create the music and lyrics part in his music software, then I had to screen-print it and save it in Picasa. Then do a manual crop and save that as a new picture to then insert into a word document to re-size and print! Let me just tell you, we did not get it right on the first try!! It was worth it, though, to have the ornaments be so personalized to our family. Once those were all cut out, I had to mod-podge the music onto the ornament and very carefully and very slowly smooth it out so that it contoured to the shape of the ball. This had to be done by hand. It was messy. Once that was all dry, I added two coats of a sparkle glaze, a gold tag with the year attached to the ribbon for hanging it and a bow on top.
[Ornament tutorial found here. Though, you'll find mine look a lot different from hers - she used sheet music napkins as her background and just lyrics around the middle. This was my original plan, but I couldn't find any sheet music napkins or tissue locally, so I changed it. I actually think I like mine a little better.... I'm just sayin'!]
This was the project that I kept thinking, "I'm pretty much done! I just have to do this and add this and do this and.... yeah, I'm not even close to being done!"Oh, and full lyrics read: "Holy One, Father's Son, he will come a baby, the Lamb of God, the Savior of all the world."
* "I Am a Child of God" birth info frames
I don't really know what to call this one... But I made it for each of our nieces and nephews - we have 7. Basic rundown: cute scrapbook paper, black & white baby photo and lyrics to the first verse of I Am a Child of God w/ the child's name, birthday, city of birth and parents' names printed on white textured cardstock. I know, it's really hard to explain. This isn't the font I used, but it will give you an idea:
I Am a Child of God
Ethan G. Southworth
And he has sent me here
April, 20xx
Has given me an earthly home
City, OR
With parents kind and dear
Sean and Jennifer Southworth
Lead me, guide me, walk beside me, help me find the way.
Teach me all that I must do to live with him some day.
Ethan G. Southworth
And he has sent me here
April, 20xx
Has given me an earthly home
City, OR
With parents kind and dear
Sean and Jennifer Southworth
Lead me, guide me, walk beside me, help me find the way.
Teach me all that I must do to live with him some day.
I actually did two different fonts - one for the lyrics, one for the child's info and the lyrics were printed in a dark gray so they were just a shade lighter than the rest. Once everything was all glued together, I just had to put it in a frame.
Not the most exciting gift for our nieces and nephews (the older ones got another little present as well), but I knew the parents would probably appreciate it!
* Sugar Scrubs
After all the hard, out-of-my-comfort-zone work I had done on all the other projects - sanding, painting gluing, etc., etc. I was so pumped to do the sugar scrubs!! Finally! In my element - the kitchen - and working with familiar ingredients and tools - sugar, oil, spices, mixing bowl, spoon. Wahoo!! I did three different scents: 1. A spicy brown sugar with brown sugar, white sugar, olive oil, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and vanilla. 2. A lemon sugar scrub with just white sugar, olive oil and the zest and juice of a whole lemon. 3. A candy cane sugar scrub with white sugar, olive oil, peppermint extract and candy canes that I had pulverized to dust in our mini food processor.
These all went to my friends in WA, as stocking stuffers for my sisters, a hostess gift for my aunt and the only package I was able to squeeze one into was for Lynnie in the SoCal box. I had a couple left over so I could try them out - so far I have only used the lemon, but love it!! My skin is silky smooth and I think I will continue to make this throughout the year to refill my jars. Seriously, so easy! I just used the Walmart brand olive oil because it was the cheapest. Mix everything up (I've got several recipe links on my "Gift Ideas" Pinterest page) and throw it in a cute jar - I used small canning jars. Don't be discouraged if the scent is not very strong at first - let them sit overnight or for a couple days. I was really bummed after I made my first batch, the spicy brown sugar one, because I didn't think you could smell the spices at all. Couple days later I opened one up and it was lovely. Same with the lemon and peppermint. Just be wary of letting them sit too long because the oil can go rancid and especially with the lemon one it could go bad. Just do small batches and leave the jars in your fridge until your ready to use them. I soap up, rinse off, then use the scrub, rinse off and then lotion up once I'm out of the shower. Silky smooth, I tell ya!
* Glass tile necklaces
These I made for my two oldest nieces (the third/youngest is just a baby). Nothing fancy. Just a glass tile with some cute scrapbook paper and a ring-thing to hang it off a necklace. Made them at Super Saturday for our ward. I think we had to use diamond glaze or something like that to "glue" the paper to the tile.
* Personalized hand towels
I know I already touched on these, but I wanted to include them since they were "semi-homemade." Again, the towel/oven mitt was a combo set I picked up on mega-clearance last year at Target. Kept them safe in our hall closet ALL year and then pulled them out to use as gifts this year! See, last year my mom gave me and Christine matching dish towels to take to our new, out-of-state homes because she also had the same dish towels. Just a little something to remember home. Seriously, we all teared up. Over dish towels! So, I thought I'd do a repeat on that gift with the red snowflake towel/oven mitt - also helps that my mom and Christine love the color red! So, I took my already-inexpensive gift and spruced it up for another $1 or so each - thanks to the use of Jenn's sewing machine w/ embroidery feature. :)
I think I will be doing more gifts like these in the future. It just adds so much more, that little touch of personalization. My mom and Christine loved them!
And I think that about wraps it up! Get it?... wraps it up. Just had Christmas.... Lots of present wrapping... Wraps it up!
Oh, never mind.
It's late.
I'm going to bed.
Clearly, my most-excellent puns are not appreciated!
Anyway, though it was a bit *insane* (see previous jam post) I did enjoy doing a semi-homemade Christmas and, assuming people really did like their gifts, will probably do it again... also, assuming I can find more good ideas on Pinterest!
PS: These past two posts are not, by any means, meant to sound like me tooting my own horn. If it comes across that way, I'm sorry! I'm just trying to document what took up so much of my time in December and also provide links to tutorials because I had people asking about it. That's all. Peace out!
Not the most exciting gift for our nieces and nephews (the older ones got another little present as well), but I knew the parents would probably appreciate it!
* Sugar Scrubs
After all the hard, out-of-my-comfort-zone work I had done on all the other projects - sanding, painting gluing, etc., etc. I was so pumped to do the sugar scrubs!! Finally! In my element - the kitchen - and working with familiar ingredients and tools - sugar, oil, spices, mixing bowl, spoon. Wahoo!! I did three different scents: 1. A spicy brown sugar with brown sugar, white sugar, olive oil, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and vanilla. 2. A lemon sugar scrub with just white sugar, olive oil and the zest and juice of a whole lemon. 3. A candy cane sugar scrub with white sugar, olive oil, peppermint extract and candy canes that I had pulverized to dust in our mini food processor.
These all went to my friends in WA, as stocking stuffers for my sisters, a hostess gift for my aunt and the only package I was able to squeeze one into was for Lynnie in the SoCal box. I had a couple left over so I could try them out - so far I have only used the lemon, but love it!! My skin is silky smooth and I think I will continue to make this throughout the year to refill my jars. Seriously, so easy! I just used the Walmart brand olive oil because it was the cheapest. Mix everything up (I've got several recipe links on my "Gift Ideas" Pinterest page) and throw it in a cute jar - I used small canning jars. Don't be discouraged if the scent is not very strong at first - let them sit overnight or for a couple days. I was really bummed after I made my first batch, the spicy brown sugar one, because I didn't think you could smell the spices at all. Couple days later I opened one up and it was lovely. Same with the lemon and peppermint. Just be wary of letting them sit too long because the oil can go rancid and especially with the lemon one it could go bad. Just do small batches and leave the jars in your fridge until your ready to use them. I soap up, rinse off, then use the scrub, rinse off and then lotion up once I'm out of the shower. Silky smooth, I tell ya!
* Glass tile necklaces
These I made for my two oldest nieces (the third/youngest is just a baby). Nothing fancy. Just a glass tile with some cute scrapbook paper and a ring-thing to hang it off a necklace. Made them at Super Saturday for our ward. I think we had to use diamond glaze or something like that to "glue" the paper to the tile.
* Personalized hand towels
I know I already touched on these, but I wanted to include them since they were "semi-homemade." Again, the towel/oven mitt was a combo set I picked up on mega-clearance last year at Target. Kept them safe in our hall closet ALL year and then pulled them out to use as gifts this year! See, last year my mom gave me and Christine matching dish towels to take to our new, out-of-state homes because she also had the same dish towels. Just a little something to remember home. Seriously, we all teared up. Over dish towels! So, I thought I'd do a repeat on that gift with the red snowflake towel/oven mitt - also helps that my mom and Christine love the color red! So, I took my already-inexpensive gift and spruced it up for another $1 or so each - thanks to the use of Jenn's sewing machine w/ embroidery feature. :)
I think I will be doing more gifts like these in the future. It just adds so much more, that little touch of personalization. My mom and Christine loved them!And I think that about wraps it up! Get it?... wraps it up. Just had Christmas.... Lots of present wrapping... Wraps it up!
Oh, never mind.
It's late.
I'm going to bed.
Clearly, my most-excellent puns are not appreciated!
Anyway, though it was a bit *insane* (see previous jam post) I did enjoy doing a semi-homemade Christmas and, assuming people really did like their gifts, will probably do it again... also, assuming I can find more good ideas on Pinterest!
PS: These past two posts are not, by any means, meant to sound like me tooting my own horn. If it comes across that way, I'm sorry! I'm just trying to document what took up so much of my time in December and also provide links to tutorials because I had people asking about it. That's all. Peace out!
