Christmas Gifts

Happy New Year!

Now that Christmas has come and gone I can share a couple of the gifts I made for my family. I tried a new technique/product that I hadn't used before, but I was also able to use some things that I've had lying around for more than a year.

First up are these chalkboard mason jars. I received a lot of emails over several months with ideas for crafting with them. I didn't have time to try even a fraction of them, of course, but since I liked the chalkboard idea the most, it's the one I did.

Before I got started I used some blue painter's tape and wrapped it around the threaded part of the jars so that the lids would still screw on like they're supposed to. I covered my work area (outside) with a large piece of plastic, and then I found a box that I could stand on end and stand the jars in. Following the directions on the can of spray paint, I applied my first layer of chalkboard paint making sure to rotate each jar to cover the whole thing. Once the paint had dried for the appropriate amount of time, I added a second coat.

When everything was really dry I used a chalkboard marker to decorate the outside. I thought about cutting some tags or letters or something to hang from the twine but decided I liked the simple, rustic look of just using the twine.

Here is what I used:

• mason jars, twine and Krylon Chalkboard Paint all purchased at Michael's
• Chalk Marker from Close to My Heart

Next up are these chalkboard signs. I'd started working on them ages ago but couldn't get my idea to come together enough to get them done in the timeframe I was working with. A few months later this stamp of the month came along and I created a card with these houses and the sentiment. I knew then that I'd come up with the design for these signs.

Because I was using a design I'd already worked with, I still had the Cricut Craft Room file that I'd use to cut out the houses. All I had to do was choose my colors and cut! The embossing folders work so well that you can easily run 3 pieces of cardstock through at once, so I stacked the houses and did one run through with each of the folders I needed. I swiped two of the white houses across the Honey ink pad to add another color.

Cranberry, Olive, and White Daisy cardstock with brown stripe ribbon.

Slate, Whisper, and White Daisy cardstock with black stripe ribbon.

Cranberry, Olive and White Daisy cardstock with burlap ribbon.

Here is what I used:

• metal chalkboard signs purchased from Pick Your Plum
• Cranberry, Olive, Slate, Whisper, and White Daisy cardstock from Close to My Heart
• Stripe, Dot, and Quatrefoil Embossing Folders from Close to My Heart
•  Honey Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad
• Chocolate Stripe, Black Stripe, and Burlap ribbon from Close to My Heart (retired)
• S1403 Happy Place stamp set from Close to My Heart (retired)

Thanks for visiting!