Three handcrafted gift ideas

As promised, here are a few ideas you can do quickly at home without a lot of effort or skill needed. And if, like me, you are feeling like you're cheating on your Handmade Pledge, these ideas oughta get you back on track...

1. Peppermint Bark
(Oh, lovely, delicious, tempting peppermint bark)

Bark1

All you need is:
  • 1 package of white or dark chocolate morsels
  • About 6 - 8 candy canes or a handful of those cute round peppermint candies (I know you are all in deep admiration of my technical lingo here, but try to contain the applause until the end)
  • Peppermint Extract

Here's how you make it:
  • Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper.
  • Put all your candy canes or peppermint rounds inside a heavy duty zip-lock bag (the freezer bags are great for this). Then take it to the garage and pound on it lightly with a hammer until all candy pieces are smashed down to dime size or smaller.
  • Melt your chocolate morsels according to the directions on the package. Since I don't own a double boiler, I opted for the microwave method and it worked just fine. Just remember that the white chocolate is a bit more stubborn than the dark. It starts to harden a lot quicker than the dark chocolate, so you have to work twice as fast!
    NOTE: It just occurred to me today that not all packages of morsels have melting instructions on the back (I usually buy Ghirardelli, which does, but the Hershey brand doesn't) so if you need to know how to melt them in the microwave, a good rule of thumb would be to start slowly... like 30 seconds on medium power, then take it out and stir it . If the chocolate is not melted completely then microwave again in 15 second increments until it's completely melted. :)
  • After your chocolate morsels are melted, add 1 teaspoon of peppermint extract and stir quickly. Immediately, pour mixture down on your cookie sheet making sure it is spread evenly.
  • Drop peppermint candy pieces down on your chocolate mixture until it is covered evenly. You can even push some down with a spatula or a fork.
  • Cool in fridge for at least 10 minutes (I always cool mine for about 1/2 hr.) Break into odd sized pieces and enjoy!
Bark2

P.S. You can do the double layer kind too, with dark and white chocolate. I opted against it because my family members are pretty divided on what kind of chocolate they like. Jon won't touch white chocolate with a 10-foot pole, and I prefer it to the dark!

This is an excellent gift idea! Just prepare colored tins with a layer of parchment paper and fill with your homemade bark. Tie the whole thing with a bow and add a handmade gift tag... just like the ones below.

2. Handmade Gift Tags

gift-tags2

If you're like me and have kept all your old Christmas cards from years past, this is an excellent craft to do quickly one afternoon and even get the kids involved.
  • Just buy a round paper punch at any craft supply store, 1.5" - 2" diameter works great!
  • Punch out your old cards. No need to center the design... the wackier the better. I used some of my ModGreetings overages for this project.
  • Then using a hole punch, punch out a hole near one end of your circle (about 1/8" from edge),tie a piece of ribbon or jute through it and VOILA!
By the way, I am loving the look of brown craft paper with natural jute for my presents this year. It has such an earthy, organic feel, dontcha think? Add to this my recycled gift tags and I'm feeling pretty good about my pledge. ;)

gift-tags1

3. Framed photos

frames

I must say that a framed photo is about the easiest, cheapest gift you could ever make that will be received well by all. Well, that is, if you follow these simple rules:
  1. Grandparents LOVE pictures of the grandkids, so knock yourself out.
  2. If the framed photo happens to be a gift for a more distant relative or a friend, you'd better make it a picture of themselves or their kids (chances are they won't be putting a picture of you on their wall... just saying!)
Photos don't have to be professionally shot to make a good impression. A candid photo or fun snapshot can make a great gift if presented creatively! You could even use a cool picture shot at a park or playground. Get yourself some premium quality photo paper and print them at home, or take your photos to your local photo lab for an enlargement. Most of them will do these in 1 hour!

The frames can be thrift store or garage sale finds. Nothing too fancy needed! Spray paint is your friend. And you can even embellish your painted frames using buttons, shells or found objects and a little hot glue. Let your creativity roll...

buttons

Hope everyone is having a fantastic Holiday season! I've been sewing up a storm, how 'bout you? I promise to share my handmade gifts with you all after Christmas (since my family and friends all read my blog it would kinda spoil the surprise!) ;)

19 comments:

  1. Can't wait to see the gifts -- love the packaging! Merry Christmas to you and yours!!!

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  2. I love making peppermint bark. My fav. is the white chocolate *YUM!!

    Linda

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  3. I will have to try that peppermint bark recipe it looks too good! I'm trying to have a handmade Christmas, next year I'll start earlier;)

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  4. Anonymous9:34 AM

    Looks mighty tasty! I love the photos.

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  5. Peppermint bark...Mom's favorite, thanks for the recipe. Love the packaging you do...my sister's in-laws always used to wrap gifts in the funny papers :)

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  6. All such great ideas--and I LOVE your packaging!
    You really take amazing photos; your blog is gorgeous!

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  7. That peppermint bark looks divine!
    I NEED to find a circle punch - no craft stores around here, but I will try the stationery shop.

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  8. I just made the peppermint bark. SUPER easy.

    I tried it two ways: first, like you have in the directions; and then with pouring the candycane bits in the pan first. Your way worked better. :-)

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  9. I'm def going to make it before the kids eat all the candy canes. Thanks!!

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  10. Peppermint bark is my favorite too - white of course! I have been bad this year and not made it yet, though the supplies are ready and waiting in my pantry! Can't wait to see all of your handmade gifts! Merry Christmas!

    Anna

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  11. Hi, my name is Sheri Howard, I met you at market in Houston...of course you won't remember me. I finally had time to find your blog. I love your color designs! I too love peppermint bark, but with the dark chocolate! I think it is addictive, must be something in the peppermint! Merry Christmas!

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  12. Anonymous12:36 PM

    WOW! I'll take one of each! Your pictures just jump off my screen. I'm gonna have to give that peppermint bark a try... looks fairly easy the way you describe it. HAPPY HOLIDAYS to you and yours!

    Annie

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  13. I am going to go buy a big circle punch so I can make some homemade gift tags today! Have a twitterific day!

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  14. Anonymous3:05 PM

    mmmm, peppermint bark is one of my fav's!

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  15. we're doing a handmade christmas this year, too, and while it's outrageously time consuming, it's also mighty fun...i haven't enjoyed myself this much in ages. :) there's something delightful about crafting for people you love, eh?

    fabulous photos and giftage, patty!

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  16. Thank you all for visiting and for your sweet comments! So glad you are enjoying the peppermint bark recipe... isn't it easy?

    Well it just occurred to me today that not all packages of morsels have melting instructions on the back (I usually buy Ghirardelli, which does, but the Hershey brand doesn't) so if you need to know how to melt in the microwave, a good rule of thumb would be to start slowly... like 30 seconds, then take it out and stir it . If the chocolate is not melted completely then microwave in 15 second increments until it's completely melted. :)

    ENJOY!

    patty

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  17. As a follow up to your recent tweets: As bizarre as it may sound, you can sometimes find the bottle opener key chains in the camping section at Walmart or Target...

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  18. I made the peppermint bark with milk chocolate morsels this morning...did the same with white chocolate morsels only I dipped pretzels in it and sprinkled with the crushed candy canes. Yumm-o! Thanks for sharing and Merry Christmas!

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  19. yummy! and love that wrap and tags!

    hope you had the merriest of christmases!

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