Dare to DIY- Homemade gifts

This week's Dare to DIY Challenge is homemade gifts!

My problem with homemade gifts is that I tend to kill a dead horse...

I make the same thing a billion times and it is no longer unique or fun, so I love this challenge to get new ideas!

My favorite homemade gift this year was inspired from Pinterest (of course!)
When I found this Christmas mantel this summer, I immediately knew I wanted to try to make one of the O Holy Night boards- so cute and such a perfect addition to any Christmas display.

I used a 1x6 piece of wood for the background and asked the hubs to cut, sand, and spray paint it. I used my Cricut and Sure Cuts Alot software to cut the letters, then modge podged them onto the board. I let everything dry, then placed a hanger on the back and voila!
We actually made our first board in August for my mother-in-laws birthday, but have made two more recently for a friend to give as Christmas gifts.
I also made one for Emily Ann's nursery- I love that any phrase can be appropriate. Simple and elegant.

Another favorite homemade gift I am enjoying right now is the yarn wreath. I made a cute gold one for the fall, but wasn't quite finished with my obsession, so I made a Christmas one as well!

There are tons of fabulous directions around the blog world, but they are super easy and such a clean door decoration. The red on the door pops from the street- so much fun!

Have a great night friends!

Dare to... Bake Cookies!

This week's Dare to DIY challenge is dare to... bake cookies!

I adore baking... whether it is cookies, cupcakes, cakes, pies, or bread, I find it calming and enjoyable and love to taste the product :) 

My cookie recipe this week is Mexican Wedding Cookies. 

When I was in elementary school I took Spanish and each year we celebrated Cinco de Mayo with a big fiesta. We had tacos for lunch, worked for weeks to make our own pinatas, and then had a blast. Since I went to a small private school, the parents baked cookies for the entire student body. My elementary self didn't realize what a commitment that was, so I volunteered my mom and thus got one of our favorite cookie recipes of all time.

Mexican Wedding Cookies

Ingredients

1 c. soft butter

1/2 c. powdered sugar

1 t. vanilla

2 1/4 c. flour

1/4 t. salt

3/4 c. chopped nuts (We usually use pecans.)

Mix the butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla together. Stir in the flour and salt. Add the chopped nuts. Chill dough for at least an hour to firm.

(I let my dough chill for a little too long, so it was too hard to form into balls- if this happens, just pop it in the microwave so the butter can re-soften.)

Rolls dough into 1 in. balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350* until set, not brown. (This took about 13-15 min.) While warm, roll cookies in powdered sugar. Once they cool, roll in powderered sugar again.

Enjoy!

Dare to... Entertain!

This week's Dare to DIY challenge is Dare to Entertain!

Brian and I began hosting a friend's Thanksgiving potluck dinner our second year of marriage. It is nice because it gives us a chance to pull out our fine china, try out new recipes, and spend time with friends. We have been with different people and done different things each year, but we always try to make it part of our Thanksgiving celebration. 

This year's dinner is tonight and I am so excited! There will be 10 people eating, so we had to be creative with our chairs- I was just excited we were able to fit 10 chairs around our table!

I started with my burlap runner and topped it with a more narrow brown runner. I used my new wooden candle holder (a freebie from a sweet friend!) and alternated each votive with either a flower or a candle. I had a few extra tea lights, so I used them around the candle holder. I also sprinkled coffee beans all over the table for a little fall feel.

We pulled out our fine china and silverware, but went with mason jars for drinking glasses. I really like the mix of the formal and casual and can't wait to find more uses for the mason jars! I wrapped our silverware in brown napkins, then tied a strip of burlap over them. I attached homemade place cards to each napkin with a piece of twine.

Once I was done with the table, I added a bit of festivity to our buffet as well. I hung my Thankful banner over the buffet.  Next, I placed a piece of wrinkled burlap on the corner. I topped it with our pumpkins and our letter J. I also added the two extra mason jars with flowers and a few more coffee beans to add congruency. We will put our desserts on the buffet!

Thanks for checking out our Thanksgiving table!

It's not too late to join the party! Head to Newly Woodwards and link up!
Next week's theme is Dare to... Eat Cookies! Can't wait to find some new recipes and bake some cookies!

Don't forget! 20% off everything in my Etsy shop until Tues., Nov. 29th! Coupon code Thankful!

Dare to... Be Thankful!

This year, I am joining Kim at Newly Woodwards to take part in the Dare to DIY Blog Party!

This party is so much fun!

Each week Kim provides a holiday themed topic to create a DIY project for- after a little creating, we blog about it, then link up! This is the 3rd year she had hosted this party and I am looking forward to seeing everyone's creations.

This week's topic is Dare to... Be Thankful!
I have so SO much to be thankful for- an incredible Savior, a wonderful husband, an adorable little girl... the list could go on and on... so I wanted to take this project as an opportunity to let a few people know that I love them and am thankful for them.

To start, I used my Cricut to create a fun card just to let them know I was thinking about them. The base was a fall-toned plaid, layered with a sparkle orange, then topped with a short note.

I attached the card to a pumpkin...

and plan to make a few special deliveries later in the week!

Next week's challenge is Dare to... Entertain! Think about your Thanksgiving table, set it up, and show it off! Link up and join the party!!

Have a fabulous week!