Christmas Gift Idea #11: Soda Pop and Candy

Thanksgiving is only days away! Although I am going through the Christmas Gift Idea series, I don't want to skip over Thanksgiving. So today I decided to post a video clip that features Thanksgiving.

This Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for my wonderful family, God who loves us all and sent His Son to die for us and then rise again so that we may have new life with Him, my church, my job, and my home. I'm also thankful for the time I get to spend with my family this week. My husband won't have to work on Thanksgiving or Black Friday this year, which is a huge blessing! And my family and part of his family are going to come spend Thanksgiving with us this year. What fun!

Now if I can just figure out how to make this turkey...

What are you thankful for?


Christmas Gift Idea #11: Soda Pop and Candy

For those of you less crafty readers out there, you're going to love these next posts leading up to Christmas. They are extremely easy to put together! No crafting required--unless cutting a ribbon is too much, but lets hope not!

The soda pop and candy gift is a great one! Here's one variation of what this could look like:

My mom told me about this idea when I was in high school and I thought it was a great gift idea for my friends. I was recently reminded about this idea and realized that this might be something I could do for my friends or coworkers now!

You will need to buy either a six-pack or four-pack of bottled soda. For this one, I went with cream soda because that's my husband's favorite so I knew he would help me drink them! :) You want to drink half of the sodas in the pack and then wash out the bottles and let them dry. When they are completely dry, you can fill them with the candy of your choice! I went with the Christmas-colored dark chocolate M&M's because I thought those looked the most festive, but feel free to choose whatever soda and candy you want! 

You can either give one pair (one soda and one bottle of candy) to your friend as a gift--just add ribbon!--or you can give them the whole four-pack or six-pack. You'll fill half of the bottles with candy and leave the other half as sodas. Then you'll want to decorate the little pack holder with a ribbon of some sort. If you decide to go this route, especially for Christmas, I would recommend getting Coca-Cola or Dr. Pepper bottles because the cardboard pack it comes in will be red! Then you would just need to add some red or green ribbon! 

That's all there is to it! This gift is super easy and very delicious! It's also a great way to create several gifts at once! For this one, I bought a six-pack of cream sodas for $4.49 I believe and then the bag of candy for a couple of dollars. You might need another bag of candy, but you have three gifts right there! Just add ribbon. 

I hope you found this blog post helpful! Have a Happy Thanksgiving! 

Until next time...

Don't forget to share in the comment section what you are thankful for this Thanksgiving! :)

Harry Potter World & Christmas Gifts Continued

Last week Aaron and I got to go to Harry Potter World in Orlando, Florida! It was so great. If you didn't know, I'm a huge Harry Potter fan!! :D And in light of my recent vacation, I thought this clip was only fitting for this week's post:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

If you haven't been to Harry Potter World, I highly recommend it! However, I would suggest going after next summer when they complete the expansion. From what I have read, in addition to Hogwarts and Hogsmeade that already exist in Harry Potter world, Universal Studios will be adding Diagon Alley, King's Cross with platform 9 and 3/4, and the Hogwarts Express that can be ridden from the current Harry Potter world to these new additions! It's going to be SWEET! :)

Another tip for you anxious travelers: the fall is the best time to go! DO NOT try to go in the summer or during prime holiday seasons. If possible, avoid these times at all cost or you may not enjoy the parks as much as you should!

Here are some of my favorite pictures from this last week:

Aaron and I standing in front of Hogwarts!

Aaron and I hanging out in Hogsmeade.

Can you tell I'm excited?!

Hogwarts! 

Cool shot of Hogsmeade

Fish and Chips & Butterbeer!

I got a wand! 

Excited for what's to come! 

Christmas Gift Idea #10: Wall Decorations

 

These wall decorations were a gift to me from my bridesmaids a little over a year and a half ago. They made these for my bridal shower. These decorations would make great Christmas gifts for your friends/family.

All you need is either a canvas or cork board. The flat canvas is pictured in the photo to the left and the cork board is pictured to the right. Personally, I would recommend the cork board. You can get a package of these square cork boards from Walmart or Hobby Lobby. You can use push pins to tack on the pictures. If you get the canvas, you have to use double-sided tape/nails to get the pictures and paper to stay.

Then you will need some nice looking fabric, buttons, letters for the name, and some dimensional stickers like you see in the pictures (the hearts and flowers).

Step One: Wrap the fabric around the cork board or canvas. Staple the fabric on the back of the cork board or canvas so it stays.

Step Two: Order the pictures you want to put on the cork board or canvas. Use push pins (for the cork board) or small nails (for the flat canvas) to make the pictures stay on the board.

Step Three: Add the lettering/sticker dimensions onto the boards.

Step Four: Hot glue the buttons onto the board wherever you think they look best.

And that's all there is to it! Until next time...

Christmas Gift Idea #9: Felt Wreath

Christmas is drawing ever closer! I've actually already seen Christmas lights up on houses in town. I'm not one of those people that gets up in arms about that kind of thing because I love Christmas so much, but I was still surprised to see the decorations up at the beginning of November. This Christmas gift idea I'm about to show you will make a great Christmas gift, but it will also make a great Christmas decoration for your own home that you can make for the holidays!

I'm very excited about Christmas! Last weekend I had a Christmas card-making class at my house that was a lot of fun. We listened to Christmas music, had Christmas cookies and apple cider, and made Christmas cards! What a day! These are the cards we made at my card-making class. I'm planning to post a couple of these sets on my Etsy shop either this week or next if you or any of your friends and family are in search for some cute Christmas cards! 

It's time for another Christmas movie clip. I have to say that it has been a lot of fun watching different clips from my favorite Christmas movies to find just the right clip to post here. 

Home Alone 2 is the one sequel that I prefer over the original movie. Don't get me wrong, I still really like the first Home Alone movie, but Home Alone 2 is my favorite of the two. 

Christmas Gift Idea #9: Felt Wreath

I'm sure by this time of year you have started thinking about Christmas gifts, but hopefully that's not a stressful thing for you. Christmas gifts don't have to be a stressful thing, especially if you are a crafter or want to craft. In that case, it can be a lot of fun! You get to take your craftiness and make some really great gifts for your friends and families. This week's gift idea I'm going to show you is a felt wreath. My friend Aaryn showed me how to make one of these. She made one for me that I really love! I did mine a little differently but the concept was the same. This gift is fun, cheap, easy, and a lot of fun to make! 

Your felt wreath will look like this at the end: 

I had someone in mind when I made this so I used the blue felt. You can choose whatever colors you want for yours! Here's what you will need:

Felt Sheets and Pins

Felt Sheets and Pins. You can find the felt sheets and pins at Michaels or Hobby Lobby. You can also find the push pins there, but I also found some at Target when I went to pick up a few groceries.

I needed two packages of pins. At target they cost $2.00 for a package. I didn't use all of the pins in both packages, but I did run out of the first package and needed another one.

For the felt sheets, I had just enough. I got ten felt sheets (5 of each color). They cost 29 cents per sheet.

Foam Ring

Foam Ring. A large foam ring. I found this one at Michaels. I believe it was priced at six or seven dollars, but I used a 40 percent off coupon, which you can find in the free Michaels app at the app store. 

Once you have your products then you are ready to begin! I dunno how you will feel when you are putting it together, but midway through I was ready to go get another wreath so I would have another wreath to make when I finished this one. It was a lot of fun and was really pretty in the end! You could also add a letter to your wreath at the end if you want to. When you are getting these items from the store, make sure you remember to think about getting a letter while you're there. 

Step 1: Cutting Your Felt Sheets

There are a few different methods I used to make this wreath. You'll want to cut big squares for your flowers like I did in the picture to the left and small circles like I did in the picture to the right for your petals. 

There's not a strict size you have to cut these, just use your best judgment. Cut one square and one circle out and then use those to make your flowers and petals like I'll show you in the following steps. Once you test that out, you can see if you need to make these smaller or bigger. 

Step 2: Making Flowers from Felt Squares

Once you have cut out a few of your squares, cut a spiral into the square like I did in the picture to the left. This is going to allow you to twist your square into a cute flower for your wreath. You'll just start in the middle of the square and then wrap the rest of the square around the middle to form a rose. You can get an idea of what I mean by seeing the picture to the right. 

After you have done a couple of these, see if you like the look of them. If not, cut your next squares smaller or bigger depending on what size of flower you are hoping to make. The end result of this square should look like the picture to the right. 

Step 3: Making Petals from Felt Circles

 Fold your circles in half twice so it looks like what I did in the picture to the left. It may not look like much by itself, but once you have decorated your wreath with these, they look great! I especially like the looks of these along with the flowers I made in the previous step.





Step 4: Pin Flowers and Petals Onto Wreath

This is where the push pins come in. After each flower or petal you make, pin it onto your wreath so it stays. For the flowers, you will be able to put the pins in the center to pin them to the wreath. For the petals, you will need to pin toward the bottom of your petal and play around with it until it sits how you want it to on the wreath.

You are going to decorate the face of the entire wreath with your flowers and petal so in the end you get the wreath I posted in the beginning. 

And that's all there is to it! You'll make some great wreaths for $10 and under. 

Until next time...

Christmas Gift Idea #8: Picture Box

One of my favorite Christmas movies growing up! I could only find the trailer for it. If anyone finds a clip from this movie, please post in the comment section below! If not, then I guess you will all have to just watch the whole movie! :)

Christmas Gift Idea #8: Picture Box

This is a great little gift I received from a friend of mine one Christmas. It's a neat, personal gift you can make for your friends and family.

You'll need:

A cute cardboard box (You can find these at Hobby Lobby. They have different shapes like this star.)
Paint
Paint brushes
Double-sided tape
Mod Podge
Jewels/gems
A few select pictures

First, paint the box whatever colors you or the recipient of the gift would like. Let it dry.

Second, tape the pictures you want to use on the box. (Use double-sided tape!)

Third, glue or stick the jewels or gems onto the box for added effect.

Fourth, mod podge the entire box and let it dry.

Then you're done!

It's pretty simple, but it makes really cute gifts! You can also use it as a gift box you can fill with other gifts you have for your friend.

Until next time...