A little "dirty" {Non-Alchoholic} Diet Coke Gift

Have you heard of a "dirty" Diet Coke? I had been hearing all about them in blog land and then found a recipe online. I posted about it on my recipe blog a while back HERE and I LOVE LOVE LOVE them!

Seriously, SO good! {yes, I'm totally addicted and for now it's ok}.

Anyways, I was invited to a "favorite things" Christmas party and what could be more perfect than a "dirty" Diet Coke basket so I could share my addiction with someone else? Fortunately for me I found someone who I could copy. I got this idea from Thirty Handmade Days and she includes the printable and all the instructions! {I just printed it from her blog}.

I didn't paint the CD crate {although that would be cute too}, I just found a cute basket for 70% off at Michael's.

It was SO easy and turned out super cute.

Printable links

ALL Printables should have a link that works correctly now. If you are still having trouble getting the downloads, please email us and we will be happy to send you the file via email. Thanks and have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Thanks,

Have yourself a Merry little Christmas

Wow!  3 posts this month.  We are on a roll.  I made this cute sign based off of something I found on Pinterest.  It was pretty easy and now it is on the back of my Halloween sign.   I am loving my silhouette.  It is fun to play with and so easy to change things around.  This is actually wider then the 12 inches and so I had to cut each line separate and then paste them together.  I did a reverse painting technique, where you paint first white.  Then put the vinyl on, then paint again over the top with the red color.  Then take the vinyl off.  I only had a little trouble with the top part bleeding through.  So I just sanded it and now my white looks a little pink.  Although you can't tell and it looks like it was supposed to be that way.  Right?  Maybe with a little weather and sun it will look like it has been around for awhile.
Oh, and the green.  Before I added the vinyl I painted a section green.  It was fun to play with.

Here is the back.  I guess I have been to crazy busy with life to post it.

Sorry you can't see everything.  It says "Home of the Wicked Witch and all her Little Monsters."

Another EASY Neighbor Gift!

I found another great idea this year for a friend/neighbor/teacher gift. I always try to give something that is not just food {even though I do give some food} and not something that you have to store or keep. I like gifts that are consumable and you don't have to hang onto them forever {or feel guilty for giving them to someone else}.

This year I made this amazing Holiday Spice Simmering Potpourri. I found several ideas on Pinterest and combined what I liked best. I added all the ingredients to a cellophane bag and tied it with a ribbon. I attached the tag and delivered them to my friends. It was super easy and it smells AMAZING!!

I added:

1 orange
1/2 C cranberries
3-4 cinnamon sticks
1 nutmeg {for them to grate into the pot}
5-6 cloves

You could also add:

vanilla bean or lemon

The top of the tag says Merry Christmas and the bottom has the instructions. Don't worry, the download doesn't have my name on it, but you can add yours easily with Photoshop or Picasa {or any photo editing software}.

Basically, put everything in a pot and add water. Bring to a boil and simmer to make your house smell amazing. Be sure to watch the water and don't let it boil dry.

HERE is the Printable so you can print the tags. Merry Christmas!!

If that Link does not work, try this one HERE.

Burlap {or mesh} Wreaths

Our friend Meagan took over one of our craft classes and taught us how to make these AWESOME burlap wreaths....we made all sizes, shapes and colors...we might have gone a LITTLE crazy, but they all turned out SO cute! Because Meagan already wrote up all the instructions, I'm just going to refer you to her post. Find instructions HERE. {NOTE: we did NOT end up using the safety pins to pin the ribbon together, just hold it together, it works fine...also, we found that the wreath looks more consistent if you use a zig-zag pattern on the wreath form, going from the inside to the outside and back again...so put one inside, one in the middle, one on the outside, back to the middle, then the inside, repeat....you get the idea.}. If you want some pictures, HERE is another tutorial with the same idea she just didn't make hers as full as we did. {Let me know if you have any questions}

My only addition is to make sure you count your loops {6-8 works best} and make them approx the same size so your wreath looks uniform. Here is a close up of the zip ties. As you can see, if you leave them a little "loose" you are able to adjust the loops before you tighten them up and make it "final". 

Because it turned out SO cute in the burlap, I decided to try it in this awesome mesh. {purchased at Hobby Lobby}. You will need 2 of these {60 feet} total to make it full like mine.

You use the same idea to make this one, EXCEPT you need about 12 loops in each section of the wreath form. It will seem like it's not full enough, but when you are finished it will be. I added a big piece of candy, a big green bow and a bunch of Christmas picks. {just secure everything with zip ties too}. I LOVE how it turned out!

Thanks Meagan for all the fun wreaths! Now go make you one....or ten! ;)