December Crafts, Part 2

Last post was all about the crafts that me and the K girls did together. Here are a few that I did on my own...

Snowman Mason Jars:

These were Christmas gifts for my neighbors and the delivery men. (My dad worked for UPS for many years so I know how hard they work in the month of December and the increase of online shopping made it much worse- don't forget to thank your delivery men!!) My neighbors got the candies seen here along with a dozen red and green sugar cookies. The delivery men got them with the candy, 2 packets of hot cocoa, and a 2 pack of hand warmers (because they need it in the cold Midwest where we live). Simply draw the face on with permanent markers. For the hat, cut a circle of fabric (at least 12 inches in diameter but a little bigger would play it safe). Hot glue it to the lid (not ring) of the mason jar, screw the ring on and then hot glue the fabric to the ring. Stuff with some fiber fill and then tie it off. It is harder to remove the lid with the fabric between but not impossible- just takes a little oomph. How cute are these though? Everyone oohed and ahhed over them!

Christmas Gift Aprons (and a rack too):

So I've recently bought a sewing machine (I haven't used one before this in about a decade) and I'm having lots of fun re-learning how to use one. My simple starter project was aprons- made with recycled denim from old jeans. I made ones for my big K girls and they were adorable and my girls use them every time they are in the kitchen with me! My nieces like to make pancakes with my mom when they are over at their house so I though for Christmas I would make some for them. I love the way they turned out! And since my mom now had a few extra aprons I thought I'd make her a rack to keep them on. I couldn't find anything in the store that I liked but I knew, basically, what I wanted. So I went to every thrift store around looking for a wooden welcome sign, or the like, that I could simply paint over- there was nothing!! So I gave up on the cheap idea and went to the hardware store to look for coat hooks with enough room to personalize- none! BUT, there was a nice, little, white, 16 inch (so not too long) floating shelf- so I got it. I also bought some single hooks and mounting gear and threw it all together into what you see above. It currently hangs in my mom's kitchen with 4 little (2 for nieces and 2 for K girls) and 1 big (for my mom) aprons. I'll show you my K girls' aprons a different time.

That's all for now,
- Jo