A Corny and Unexpected Wrapping Treatment

Here's another super quick Christmas gift idea.  I don't have many pictures because I literally had less than 15 minutes to put two of these together before heading out the door to meet the people these gifts were going to.

We were meeting my kids' godmother, her teenage son and his girlfriend.  I already had rolled up some one dollar bills for him and had purchased nail polish and lip gloss for her.  I also had a bag of candy.  But I needed a really cute way to wrap these items up besides the normal treat bags and jars.  I really wanted to do something corny and unexpected for the teens.

And that's exactly what I did!

I had two cans of corn in the pantry with pull top lids.  I simply used my Pampered Chef Smooth Top Can Opener to remove the bottoms - leaving the pull tops intact.  Put the contents in a bowl for the fridge (since we'll be using them for Christmas dinner in a few days!) and washed the cans.  Once clean, I loaded the goodies inside each and secured the bottoms back in place with hot glue.  I wished I had more time to cover the cans with some pretty paper and add a cute pull tag but time was running out.  I decided it would be more fun to gift the items just the way the cans were.  I added some clear wrap, a cute tag, and  a little curling ribbon.  Done in less than 10 minutes.


I told the kids as I started pulling the gifts out of a bag that I wanted to get them something "corny" for Christmas.  The look on their faces was priceless!  I let them wonder about the gifts while a few other people opened gifts around them.  I couldn't let them continue on though so I told them to pull the tab to open the can.  They then thought something was going to jump out of the can!  But once they opened the gift they were delighted and thought it was the most original wrapping they'd seen. Ah, so easy to impress teens!

Anyone else found creative ways to wrap gifts this season? Any one out there still wrapping????

Here's wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Last Minute Christmas Gifts

Well, not for me.  I've had these done for some time now but they are super quick and easy to make for anyone looking for a last minute gift.  Oh, and did I mention, they're inexpensive!

Anyone who's been on Pinterest has seen the coasters made from tiles.  You may even have some pinned.  These pins show coasters made from scrapbook paper, napkins and even paint chips.  I posted about the ones I made from scrapbook paper here.  But these have to be my favs!

Co-workers are usually hard to buy for.  You don't want an item too expensive because it adds up fast if you're gifting lots of people but you want to have something they'll like.  Since the majority of my co-workers are huge football fans and the coasters were so inexpensive to make I knew what I was going to be gifting.  They were a big hit!  I've even had my recipients asking for additional sets for their family members. 

I simply found graphics online that I liked for each of the teams.  Because I was giving these as gifts and not selling for profit I was able to use these graphics.  Please do not make coasters with these graphics that will be sold for profit.  I placed the graphic in Word and sized to my tile.  Some graphics would not size without losing some of the picture so for those I layered another graphic behind it.  See the houndstooth behind the Bama subway art?  That was copied and reduced from the other tile with the houndstooth and "A."  Once sized correctly, I printed the file with a laserjet color printer on regular copy paper.  Then trimmed with scissors trying to cut a straight of a line as possible.

The paper is attached to the tile with Mod Podge.  I put a thin layer on the tile then added another layer to the back of the paper.  I found this made it easier to make any small adjustments when lining up the paper to the tile.  Then I covered the paper with another layer of Mod Podge.  Because I worked on several of these at once, the first ones were dry enough to add an additional layer of Mod Podge.  Once dry I brushed on a layer of polycrylic.  I used the brush on rather than spray on because it's what I had on-hand but the spray would work just as well.  Be sure to use light even coats and apply in a well ventilated area.  The coasters were finished with small cork feet.

Mod Podge still drying in this pic.

And since we all love a cost breakdown.....

Graphics - free from internet
Printing/Paper - had on hand but would vary depending on your printer
Tiles - purchased at ReStore for $.016 each
Mod Podge and Polycrylic - had on hand but could run $15 to $20 if purchased new
Cork for feet - had on hand but purchased a package of 36 for $1

My total cost per set of 4 tiles: $0.64

Wow! What a great price for this gift! Again, all my co-workers loved them and we even had a little friendly rivalry going on with the Alabama and Auburn fans!

So what does everyone else have on their last minute gift list?  Anyone getting crafty as the hours start to count down?  Do share.

All photos property of Honeysuckle on the Vine.

No Peeking!

SPOILER ALERT!!!  SPOILER ALERT!!!!  SPOILER ALERT!!!



This is a Christmas gift for a friend - so RB you can stop reading NOW!!!!




But for the rest of you feel free to keep going.......








My friend this gift is for is a super sweet girl who's been married a little over a year.  Ah, to be young again.....

I knew I wanted to make something for her for Christmas but wasn't quite sure since I had several ideas floating around in my head.  But I finally decided that this project would fit her perfectly.  I printed her initial, their names, and year married and framed it all.  I sure hope she likes it!

And since we all like the details ------ I had purchased these burlap canvas-type pictures from Goodwill for $1 each.  I thought I could remove the picture and reuse the burlap and the stretcher frame. No such luck.  The glue holding these pictures on was super strong.

On to plan two.  Perhaps I can use the back of the burlap.  So I preceded to remove the staples and the hanger from the backing.  I tried to iron the burlap flat but it had been wrapped around the stretcher frame for so long it was not going to lay flat so I taped it to the cardstock I was using as a guide through my printer. 

I was so nervous about running this through the printer.  I was sure it would ruin my printer even though I had read several tutorials that had used this method.  And I had right to be nervous - -  as the printer started to pick the paper/burlap combo up it began making horrible noises and jammed.  Luckily it didn't go far in the printer and I was able to get it out.  But it left a black inky mess.  Boo.

On to plan three.  I had some material left over from a table cloth I had cut down for another project.  After cutting it down to paper size I ironed it on freezer paper of the same size. Again I ran it through the printer all the while dreading to hear that horrible noise again.

Well, it went through much better but I had to do this five times before it finally printed right.  The first few times it got stuck and printed over itself in the same spot.  A few other times it went through and printed but the paper didn't pull through all the way so it printed really high up on the material which would have been okay if it was just going to be matted.  Since I was actually going to wrap it like a canvas I needed the wording to be farther down the material.

Finally, I folded the edge of the material over the cardstock I was using as a guide to "trick" my printer.  It got close enough.  I simply covered the stretcher frame with the material, stapling it in the back.  I added the original sawtooth hanger back in place just in case my friend wants to hang just the canvas.

Then I spraypainted a frame from Goodwill with Krylon's Carmel Latte and the matting from the frame with Krylon's Oil Rubbed Bronze.  The glass was discarded.  After centering the canvas on top of the mat I flipped it over and attached it with a few nails through the mat and the stretcher frame.

Now for a price breakdown....

Canvas frame $1.00
Picture Frame $1.50
Material had on hand but would be about $12 to purchase table cloth from WalMart
Spray paint had on hand but would be about $4 a can at WalMart or Lowes
Printer ink and cardstock used for guide had on hand but cost would vary depending on your printer
Nails were reused from the canvas frame

My total:  $2.50

I would have liked for the red used on the names to have shown up a little brighter but all in all it's not a bad little gift.  It even looked pretty good hanging on my gallery wall!