Gifts

Easy DIY Gingerbread Decorating Gift Basket

December 5, 2016 by Eileen 60 Comments

I love buying fun boxes, and I especially can’t resist when they are a good price. I usually buy them on sale and then I figure out what to do with them later. That’s how my ice cream sundae gift box came to be:)

Michaels Crafts always has beautiful gift boxes.

They run a lot of 70% off sales, especially at the end of seasons, making them only a few dollars. I wasn’t planning on making any Christmas gift boxes this year. However, they ran their 70% off sale last weekend, so I picked up quite a few boxes and baskets.

I picked up a gingerbread house decorating kit too – also on sale. My niece and nephew love to do these, but we usually don’t have enough candy to decorate the house with – so we end up buying more to supplement.

Thinking of this sparked an idea…

Making a Gingerbread House Gift

I was thinking I could unpackage the pre-made gingerbread kit, compile more decorating items, and arrange everything into a pretty gift box. I also added hot cocoa items.

Now what store-bought gingerbread decorating kit also has hot cocoa?! :)The best part is that I only spent $18 on this gift box! So many times gift boxes are filled with things that really add up. This one is cheap and the items were easy to throw together.

Materials for Making a Gingerbread House Gift

As far as materials, you can really use anything you like – you could even use graham crackers, a container of frosting, and decorating icing, rather than buying a pre-packaged kit.

However, I thought $6.99 (plus my 25% off coupon) that I spent on the gingerbread house was worth it for all of the materials it provided

So, here are the materials that I used:

Gingerbread House Kit – Craft stores have the best prices on these (the one I used is pictured below and was pre-made!)
Additional Decorating Materials – Candy and sprinkles
Containers for Candy – I used a combination of cute little tupperwares I found at the Dollar Store (10 per pack!) and condiment containers that I bought a while back and keep using for various projects 🙂
Holiday Cups and Napkins – Dollar stores are great for this
Hot Cocoa – I used two individual packs
Tissue Paper – to line box or basket
Gift Box or Basket
Icing Spatula – I found a holiday-themed one at Michaels
Ribbon – to add a little flair

Instructions for Making a Gingerbread House Gift

First, I unpackaged everything in the gingerbread kit to see what I had to work with.

Then, I added in more candy that would be fun for decorating – twizzlers, smarties, peppermints, gum balls, starbursts, skittles, and tootsie rolls. I probably bought too much candy, but variety makes for fun decorating.

I also grabbed a few kinds of sprinkles that I already had, and then I simply filled the containers with all of the sweets.

Speaking of sweet, my little toddler helped me, and of course, everything is a lesson with me – so we counted, sequenced, and sorted the candy. 🙂

Then, I put together the non-food items – cups, cocoa, straws, the spatula, and napkins.

I tied a few of the things together with some holiday ribbon, as pictured below.

Next, I put together the icing. The kit came with three icing packets along with disposable icing bags and plastic tops.

All of them were in boring packaging, so I spruced them up using these little holiday cookie bags that I have had for years! It definitely made a difference 🙂

Then, I started arranging everything. I love arranging things, whether it be cookie trays, home decor, or gift boxes. It’s always my favorite part of projects. It takes me forever, but I love the results 🙂

The gingerbread house looked a little plain so I adorned it with ribbon (another 70% off Michaels find). If anyone has an easy bow-tying trick, let me know because I am the worst at it!

Also, I found a cute Merry Christmas tag (from a Dollar Store photo prop kit!! Check out our DIY photo booth post).

The tag was simply the perfect touch 🙂

And, last but not least, my plan was to glue a picture from the original box, along with the instructions (for the icing) to some scrapbook paper, so my recipients had this information. It’s always nice to look at an already-made gingerbread house for inspiration.

I love that this gift cost under $20. The kids will have to much fun making a gingerbread house. It turned out so cute, and I love that I used so many items I already had 🙂

That’s the great part about doing crafts – your craft bank grows and grows, and then you have so much to work with.

Making a Simple Ice Cream Sundae Gift Basket

August 19, 2016 by Eileen 31 Comments

I love making cute gift baskets – so much that I have a board on Pinterest entirely devoted to homemade gift baskets and boxes.

Whenever I’m stuck for a gift, whether Christmas gifts or shower gifts, I always think about what I can put in a gift basket as a themed gift.

My sister-in-law and her family were staying with us for their family vacation this year, and I wanted to do something special for them. I made this cute DIY ice cream sundae gift basket, and it was a hit!

Collecting Materials for the Gift Box

First, I collected the materials that I needed for DIY ice cream sundae gift box. I went to Michael’s and they were having an awesome summer blowout sale on gift boxes.

I got this gift box for just three dollars! Of course, I bought a few of them for later projects.

Next, on my weekly trip to the grocery store, I purchased a few of the ice cream box necessities – chocolate syrup, strawberry syrup, cherries, and cones.

I also bought a few boxes of candy that could be used as toppings. The boxes were on sale for .99 cents.

As for other toppings, I already had tons of sprinkles and a box of walnuts at home.

My final trip was to Walmart for a cheap but cute ice cream scoop. I found one for .88 cents! (Side note – if you are looking to get a better scoop, there’s an awesome scoop on Amazon that uses the heat from your body to heat up the ice cream!)

Also at Walmart, I found polka dot napkins and turquoise spoons for a dollar per pack. I also found ice cream cups there for $3 per pack.

If you are looking to buy a kit, there’s a great ice cream sundae kit on Amazon, which has the cups, spoons, straws, and little umbrellas in bright and cheery colors.

Last, I purchased the condiment cups on Amazon. Love Amazon! I also needed the condiment cups for my son’s Sesame Street themed birthday party, so I bought a big bag.

I already had scrapbook paper and ribbon in my craft collection, so I didn’t need to buy those things 🙂

Putting the Ice Cream Sundae Box Together

The next step was the fun part – putting everything together into a cute ice cream sundae gift basket.

I poured the boxes of candy into the condiment cups. The boxes were a perfect fit because I had little to none leftover.

I also filled condiment cups with rainbow sprinkles, chocolate sprinkles, and crushed walnuts.

I unwrapped two different kinds of cones (I bought a variety pack) and wrapped a stack of them in cellophane for freshness.

Then I took a piece of ribbon and tied a few spoons to the ice cream scoop with a sign that read, “Just add ice cream.”

I took scrapbook paper and cut pieces to cover the store labels – to make them prettier 🙂

Then I printed my own labels that read “chocolate syrup, cherries, etc” (see download below) on regular white printer paper.

I glued the labels to the scrapbook paper and then taped them to the jars, for a cute, uniform look.

I didn’t love the design on the ice cream cups, so I wrapped a polka-dotted napkins around the cup, to match the napkins and make for a brighter box.

Last, I added a sign to the top of the box, covering up the bicycle design.

I love the way the box turned out! My sister-in-law and her family loved it too. We had a great time creating ice cream sundaes at home 🙂

As far as cost, I saved a lot of money with the discounted box, grocery store sales, and good finds at Walmart.

Altogether, I spent just less than $35 dollars (with the condiment cups being $10.50 and tons of these leftover for other projects) on the this DIY ice cream sundae gift basket.

Considering we had ice cream sundaes for seven people and tons of leftovers, I still think that’s a great deal!

It’s a great summer gift basket, housewarming gift, a sunshine gift for someone who needs some positivity – the list is endless, and everyone always loves it!

Making Adorable Cards from Toddler Art

August 7, 2016 by Eileen 7 Comments

I’m always looking for cute greeting card ideas for my kids to make. There are so many fun cards out there that creatively use kids’ hand and footprints. Although cute, I always had trouble getting one decent hand or footprint for a greeting card. Not to mention the mess it makes.

As soon as my son was old enough to paint, I had him “paint” with cotton swabs, instead of paint brushes, so he could easily dab the paint onto the paper. This kept the paint really confined but still allowed him to create artwork. (Sponge brushes and foam stampers are great for making cards with toddlers too.)

As any toddler’s paintings would be, my little guy’s artwork was very abstract.

I was having him make birthday cards for all of the August birthdays in my family. Yet, rather than give messy toddler paint prints, I thought of a great way to showcase his art but to also turn it into a nice-looking greeting card.

So after my son did a little painting, I did a little cutting and gluing – and voila! Don’t the birthday cards look nice?!

Materials for Making Greeting Cards from Toddlers

Making these greeting cards is so simple. The materials are so easy too. Most likely, you will even already have all of these things.

Card stock – I like having toddlers make artwork on card stock because it is so thick. When they layer paint on paint on paint, the card stock works really well. I mostly used this bright color pack. The brighter the colors, the better the cards turned out. (Looking at the purple card (below), I wished I used a brighter color for the actual card.)
Kids paint – I love this washable Crayola paint. Lots of color choices keep my son very interested in painting!
Paintbrushes – sponge brushes, cotton swabs or stampers work too! My son loves making greeting cards with these foam painting stampers. He has this farm set, but they have transportation ones, animal ones, sea-life ones, and even holiday sets too! He only uses the paintbrush for so long, but the foam stampers keep him interested for longer
Scissors – just the regular ole pair you have laying around the house 🙂
Glue – or even tape 🙂
Sharpie/Marker (if needed) – I used a sharpie to add the balloon strings. You could use ribbon too!
Stickers or embellishments (if desired)

Making Cards with Toddlers

After my toddler painted on the card stock papers, I let them dry for a few hours or so. Then, I cut his paintings into shapes – cupcakes, presents, balloons, and layered cake for the birthday cards.

I then took a new piece of card stock (a contrasting color), folded it in half, and trimmed off the top (unless I was going for a tall card – like the balloons and train). After, I took the birthday items that I cut and glued them down to the card.

I even did a train cut-out for my train-loving dad. I used a nearby water bottle cap to trace those perfect circles 🙂

Using Patterned Scrapbook Paper for Toddler Cards

After making cards for all the August birthdays, I was running low on paintings, so I substituted printed scrapbook paper (here is a similar one) that looked like a cupcake wrapper.

The greeting card turned out so cute that I wished I thought of it sooner 🙂

Birthday Shapes

As far as the shapes, I free-handed them as I cut. You could certainly draw on the paper and then cut.

Adding Embellishments

While making cards with toddlers, you can dress up the cards by adding some embellishments to the front of the card. I added the word happy with letter stickers because the present birthday card looked a little plain.

A Personal Touch

Last, to give the greeting cards just a little more of a personal touch, I had my son decorate the inside. He colored with his crayons and picked out stickers. This gave him another opportunity to be creative making birthday cards.

I just love how the birthday cards turned out! My son got to be as creative as he wanted with no restrictions (like finger prints or footprints), and I got to help my toddler create something to give to others that was refrigerator-worthy.

Even though I used birthday shapes for this batch of greeting cards, you could easily alter the shapes for holidays too.

Making cards with toddlers is a win-win for everyone involved. Your child gets to do a fun activity, you get to save some money with homemade cards, and your family members/friends get a creative, cute card, showcasing your child’s work.

And, the best part is that there is no need for hand or footprints. Now that’s a win right there 😉

How to Easily Make a Wedding Wine Basket

June 19, 2016 by Eileen 61 Comments

Recently, I took a little break from the home project list to work on some crafty things for my dear friend Meg’s bridal shower.

My fellow bridesmaids and I wanted to make a first year of marriage milestone wine basket that would include 12 bottles of wine for our her first year of marriage.

After scouring the Internet, I couldn’t find what I needed – so I created my own. I’m including the printables for you too!

First, I choose 12 occasions that Meg and Steve would celebrate during their first year of marriage.

I wanted to pick milestones that they would definitely enjoy their initial 12 months of being married, such as first Christmas, first Valentine’s Day, first snowfall.

I didn’t want to use occasions such as first baby and first home – because those milestones might not be in the couple’s immediate plans.

Therefore, the occasions I went with were wedding night, first New Year’s, first Valentine’s Day, first snowfall, first spring bloom, first beach trip, first big purchase, first dinner party, first fight, first Christmas, first Thanksgiving, and first anniversary.

Next, I needed tags to go with each milestone.

I used cute poems that fit the occasion and I fitted them all to one sheet of paper with the titles running vertically.

This made it easy to print just one sheet of paper for all of the tags.

Download the Wedding Wine Basket Tags

The wedding wine basket tag is a PDF, and it is not personalized, meaning none of these poems include the bride or groom’s name. Therefore, it’s easy for you to simply print, cut, and attach. No formatting necessary 🙂

Making the Wine Basket Tags

First, I printed the wine tag sheet out on thick manila paper. Afterward, I used squiggly scissors to cut out each blurb. Squiggly scissors are my favorite because they hide my lack of ability to cut in a straight line.

Then, I took out my scrapbook paper collection and cut out tags. I coordinated the scrapbook paper colors and designs with the occasion. After that, I glued the poems to the tags, punched a hole in each, and voila!

The tags were done. Don’t they look cute?!

Choosing the Wines for the Wedding Basket

Ash and I then took a trip to Joe Canal’s, a discount liquor store, for the bottles of wine.

We had a ton of fun, as we ended up matching the occasions to the names of the wines. Although, this wasn’t the initial plan, Joe Canal’s had such a great selection that it was easy and fun to pair each milestone with wine.

We found a Christmas Chardonnay to go with the first Christmas tag, Jersey Blush to go with first beach trip, a wine called 30 degrees to go with first snowfall, and the list goes on.

Putting the Basket Together

To attach the tags to the wine, I simply cut a piece of ribbon and tied it in a bow around the neck of the bottle.

I then bought a basket from Michael’s and covered the bottom of the basket in tissue paper. Then, I added the title “Quenching Your Thirst Through a Year of Firsts” and a sign that said “Carry from the bottom.”

Twelve bottles of wine get heavy!

Wedding Wine Basket Bliss

Overall, the first year of marital bliss wine basket turned out great! My mom, who isn’t normally a fusser, fussed over it every time she came over (I had it sitting on a bench in the mudroom for a few weeks). At the shower, the bridesmaids and guests loved it, raving over it.

Additionally, a few sweet older women at the shower asked me if they could find the idea on the Internet. 🙂

Moreover, recently a friend of mine was looking for a special gift for her nephew’s engagement party. She asked me if I had any ideas for the couple that had everything.

She LOVED this idea and put together her own, also adding a beer of the month club gift too to keep with the theme. I thought that was another cute idea!

Overall, the milestone wedding wine basket is a creative, fun, and unique project, with plenty of opportunities to add a personal touch. And of course, Meg and Steve loved it too.