2x4 Snow Blocks

Hubs and I made 20 sets of these cute SNOW blocks as Christmas gifts for friends, yes that means we had 80 blocks to cut, sand, paint, resand, stain and decorate.  It was quite the process, but I just love the finished product:

The only bummer is that we didn't even make one to keep for us :(  I intend to make another though!  Linking to: hodgepodge-friday
& skiptomylou/made-by-you-monday
& craft-o-maniac-monday
& making-monday-marvelous
& trash-to-treasure-tuesday
& todayscreativeblog.net/creative-craft/
& .tipjunkie
& wednesdays-wowzers
& fun-stuff-fridays

DIY King sized Zebra Headboard...

Hubs and I made this zebra striped headboard for our daughter's king sized bed. We had never made one before so it was quite the adventure!  We found some fantastic thick, furry zebra material 50% off at JoAnns.  We glued batting to a huge piece of plywood and then stretch and stapled the material nice and tight:

We painted decorative molding and corner coins black to trim it with:

We mounted it to the wall with brackets:

She loves it and we are totally thrilled with how it turned out.  There are so many zebra stripes going on in her room that it kinda makes you dizzy!

Every thing in her room now goes together so nicely.  I can't wait to post before and after of her desk and chair redo that we also did.  As for the headboard, we are already planning on making another one :)

linking to: hodgepodge-friday

& wednesdays-wowzers

Decorated Art Box (Gift for a child)...

 My niece is our budding artist and requested art supplies for Christmas this year.  My mom decided to put together an art kit for her.  She bought a plastic scrapbook tote and asked me to help her bling it up a bit:

I hope she loves it!

Handmade Christmas Cards...

I'm one of a dying breed. I still hand make my Christmas cards every year and every year I swear that I'm not going to do it again the next but I just can't seem to stop, it just doesn't feel right. This year, I got my cards done by Thanksgiving, it was a miracle! Then I didn't do a dang thing with them and finally I sent them out..... Yesterday. So much for being a head right?!
Inside:

Outside:

Even the envelopes get decorated:

A few cards from years past:

2008 Card 1:

 2008 Card 2:

 2009's Card:

2010's Card:

I'm sure I'll still be hand making my cards when it comes back in style in another 20 years!

Santa Candy Bar Wrapper...

Hunter and I made these cute and easy Santa candy bar wrappers for his friend Christmas gifts.

We figure that all kids like candy bars.

They turned out great and much cuter than just handing over a candy bar :)

Candy Cane Door Hanger....

Hubs cut these candy canes out for me 2 years ago... Yes, you read that correctly, they have been sitting in my craft "to-do" box for 2 stinking years! I finally pulled them out and painted these babies up:

It really should NOT have taken me two years to get this done, shame on me!!!

I love how it turned out though ;)

Linking to:
made-by-you-monday
& craft-o-maniac-monday-link-party
& making-monday-marvelous & trash-to-treasure-tuesday
& http://todayscreativeblog.net/craft-2/
& tipjunkie
& one-project-at-a-time
& trendy-tuesday
& its-craft-christmas-link-party

Altered Frames....

Altered frames make terrific gifts, they can be customized to match anyone's color theme. One I recently made:

                                                                            Base paint the frame first.  I mod podged zebra striped wrapping paper on the front and scuffed it up with some sand paper.

Add some bling/embellishments wherever you want.

                                        

A few others that I have done in the past.  The picture quality on these is awful because I took them with my cell phone, but you get the jist:

And remember, frames don't just have to be for pictures!:

Linking to:
free-for-all-friday
& frugal-friday
& look-at-me-party
& creationcorner-friday-link-part.y
& its-hodgepodge-friday
&  friday-frolic-
&real-friday-link-party

Easy Friend Gifts for Kids....

A few very simple, inexpensive friend or teacher gifts that your kiddo's can help put together:

I found the snowman candy bar wrappers  HERE.  We used the movie theater boxes of candy, wrapped them with the snowman wrapper and then topped some with a pair of knit gloves.

And topped others with a pair of fuzzy sleep socks.  For Hunter's teachers we also added a small bottle of lotion.

I found these Christmas flavor lip gloss packages for a really good deal on the ELF website and we just added a mini bottle of lotion for my daughter's friend gifts one year.

For these cute reindeer, we wrapped a 4.4 ounce Symphony candy bar in a paper bag and then simply attached the ribbon, pom pom and wire piping and just drew his eyes on.  My son had a blast making them and they really are darling.

Linking to:
take-look-tuesday
& moms-library-link-up-9-for-me

December Hutch Decorations

I try to decorate my hutch for each holiday. My December/Christmas hutch:

I think my hutch has become my second most cherished piece of furniture in my house, (the first being the handmade clock, I got from my grandma when she passed away).  I just love decorating it and getting to enjoy all the fun items on it for a month!

Teacher, Friend, Neighbor Christmas Gifts....

Here are a few past Christmas gifts that we have done for teacher's, friends, neighbors, etc.  Teachers always need supplies, so we got a cute Christmas box and filled it with all kinds of fun supplies such as, scissors, pencils, highlighters, sharpies, etc.  For neighbors or co-workers, we filled a mug full of hershey's kisses, a packet of Candy Cane Cocoa and some candy canes.  Then, for friends we've done these cute JOY Blocks with the "O" in the shape of an ornament.  All are fairly easy, inexpensive and look super cute wrapped in cellophane, tied with cute ribbon!