some homemade christmas gifts

I realize that I probably should've posted this sooner than 3 days before Christmas - just in case you saw something you may want to re-create! However, I know that several of the recipients of these gifts tune into this blog every once in a while and I didn't want them to have a sneak peek at their gifts!

These are just a few of the things we crafted and given away this year...

{homemade strawberry jelly}
You may recall from this post that I promised to show you what we did with all those strawberries we picked back in the spring. Well here you have it - jelly! Everyone Lee works with at the church received a little jar of homemade sweetness! By the time the last jar was filled and and the last bow tied, I think I had made 20 jars. I was thankful for our snow day last Monday that allowed me to get all that done!

{painted ornaments}

This year I tried something new. I've seen painted initial ornaments everywhere and I decided that it wouldn't be too hard to make a few of my own. And I must say that my assessment was correct! Using a paint pen, I painted an initial on a plain glass ornament and then embellished them with a few other things and added ribbon to the top. And there you have it - a personalized gift with a homemade touch that was super easy! I actually made about 8 of these and managed to only take pictures of 2! And not even my favorite 2 at that! Oh well, you get the idea! Most of the ornaments were given along with another gift. In the picture below, you'll see that I used the ornament to "spruce up" the outside of a bag filled with peppermint bark - a personal Christmas favorite!!



{Fleece Scarves}

These are perfect if you need a quick and easy-peasy gift idea for little ones! The scarves are made from a single strip of fleece. I simply cut out a piece of fabric in the shape of a long rectangle (different sizes based on the age of the child) and cut 2-3 inch fringes at the ends and tied a knot in those fringes. Because it's fleece, no hemming is needed. There are so many different options for fleece so you can make tons of these cute (and cozy!) goodies!


**MERRY CHRISTMAS**