Holidays

Basswood Trees with eat.sleep.make.

1 · Dec 12, 2013 · 1 Comment

Hi all! Shannon from eat.sleep.make. here! So excited to share this inexpensive and easy project with you! All you need is a sheet of basswood, a craft knife, a rule, pencil and some paint!

First – Decide how big you want your tree to be. My first one I made 6 inches tall and 4 inches wide. Mark the wood and draw your triangle

Second – Use your ruler and craft knife to cut along the lines you drew. It may take several scores with the knife to get through the wood. Don't press too hard or you may crack the wood.

Third – Draw a line half way up from the middle of the base on one triangle. Then draw a line half way down from the tip of the triangle on the other. Use your craft knife to cut a slice about 1/16 to 1/8 inch where the line was.

Fourth – Slide your pieces together to make sure they fit.

Fifth – Paint a fancy little design on it!

These take little time to make, but turn out so adorable! It would even be fun to cut them out and let the kids paint/color/glitterfy them.

Stop over at eat.sleep.make. and check out some of our other Christmas projects!

Celebrate the Light Canvas

DIY Rosette Tree

DIY Snow Globe Necklace

DIY Lace Flower Pots

7 · Dec 10, 2013 · 3 Comments

This post is brought to you by Elmer's Glue // I'm super excited to share this idea with you guys today! This time of year I am ALWAYS looking for fun handmade gift ideas. Gifts that are easy to make but huge on the WOW factor. These DIY Lace Flower Pots fit the bill just perfect!!

These are PERFECT neighbor gifts, teacher gifts… anyone really. Add a poinsettia or a festive evergreen and it's a stylish gift for anyone. Here's what you need to make them…

Lace Flower Pot Supplies

Terra cotta pots – any size.

Lace – for smaller pots, you can use scraps, larger pots will need possibly a yard or so. You will have to measure your pots for exact measurements.

Elmer's Craft Bond Fabric & Paper Glue

Scissors

Lace Flower Pots Instructions

First you need to measure the lace and make sure that it will fit your desired spot on the pot. Then generously add glue to the pot in small sections and lay the lace down.

Use your fingers to work glue around the lace. Don't worry about the white color. This type of Elmer's Fabric & Paper Glue dries clear. Make sure that all of the lace is covered in the glue and then move on to the next section.

NOTE: You may want to wear disposable gloves when working with the glue. I didn't and it took a bit to wash off my hands.

Trim the lace so that the seam doesn't show and then smooth everything down. Let dry over night. The next morning, you will have the most beautiful lace flower pots. It's just that easy! Now, all you have to do is figure out what you want to fill the pot with. You can fill it will any kind of indoor plant or you could fill it will a scrumptious batch of cookies. It's your call!!

You will be amazed at how strong the glue is! I actually tried to pull the lace off once it was dried and couldn't. I ran water over it and it still looked like new when it dried. Gotta say… Pretty happy with this gift idea!

What would you fill your DIY Lace Flower Pots with?

Disclaimer // This post is sponsored by Elmer's Glue. I am a member of Elmer's Craft it Crew and received payment and product for this post. Rest assured, I will never work with a brand or product that I don't whole heartedly endorse and use in my every day life.

Gingerbread Granola

3 · Dec 10, 2013 · 2 Comments

I’ve known for some time that I want to recreate this recipe. Gingerbread has been on my mind a lot recently with the holidays. My two flavor staples for this time of year are gingerbread and eggnog. So when I tried out a granola that incorporated one of those I became giddy with the thought of building a recipe around the product! This gingerbread granola is now a staple in our home. Mainly because it’s so quick to prepare and packages up beautifully for last minute neighbor treats!

4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 cups pecans, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup melted butter
1/3 cup real maple syrup
1/4 cup molasses
3/4 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment or a baking mat.

Mix all of your ingredients together in a large bowl. Spread into an even layer on your prepared pan.

Bake for 30 minutes, stirring halfway through the baking time. Allow to cool completely and enjoy!

While this bakes you get the wonderful smell of the Holiday’s floating through your home. It is so wonderful to wake up to and seems to last for days! We like to double the batch otherwise it never seems to make it to our friends and family!

Try it out on top of cereal, yogurt, fruit… or just on it’s own. It is unbelievably delicious and helps spread Christmas cheer whenever you decide to share! If you liked this recipe, check out these:

Coconut Macaroons // Easy Orange Blossom // Cranberry Bliss Bars

DIY Jingle Bell Ornaments

29 · Dec 9, 2013 · 8 Comments

DIY Jingle Bell Ornaments // One of my favorites at this time of year are jingle bells! I love the songs, the stories and the bells themselves. One time last year I walked into a beautiful shop in Colorado called Old Glory Antiques and they had a giant rustic German bread bowl FULL of jingle bells… I was in Heaven! Here is my Instagram collage of the place…

I knew I had to make something with jingle bells. It needed to be beautiful and easy to make, so I created my DIY Jingle Bell Ornament…

DIY Jingle Bell Ornament Supplies

48 inches of red 1/4″ wide grosgrain ribbon

24 inches of 2″ wide decorative ribbon

41 medium size jingle bells

2 inches of masking tape

hot glue or floral wire

DIY Jingle Bell Ornament Directions

Take your 48 inches of small red ribbon and cut in half (24 inches.) Then using the masking tape place little pieces of tape around all four ends. You are essentially making needles at each end of the ribbon. This will make it easier to feed the bells onto the ribbon.

Take one of the bells and feed it onto both of strands of ribbon.

This is going to be your center bell so, pull it to the middle of both of the ribbons.

Next, spread out the four different ends and add one bell to each end and pull to the center.

Now all you have to do is continue to add bells to each strand. Ten total on each strand.

Now, scrunch them down so that they are over lapping and close to the center.

Gather each of the ribbons together and arrange the bells to your liking and then gather the ribbon together and tie with a large loop at the top.

Make sure the knot is really tight and then trim the ends pretty close to the knot.

Tie a bow with the large ribbon and either hot glue the ribbon to the knot or use floral wire to wire it to the knot. I don’t actually tie the bow on the ornament because of the bulk of the wide ribbon. Voilá, you are finished!

It’s perfect for your Christmas tree, they are so easy, you can make a whole bunch for your tree. Or, you can use it to decorate a wreath. Either way, it’s super fun.