DIY crafts - 804 Sycamore

June 1, 2022

DIY Pottery Barn Inspired Vase

There are several ways to upcycle empty food jars, but I hope you will love this new way that is inspired by Pottery Barn earthenware. Anytime I can get the Pottery Barn inspired look with furniture or decor, for less, I’m happy! This technique is so easy, it’s paintable, and requires no prep to the glass jars. Just wash your jars but no need to remove labels. There is something so unique and pretty about these DIY Pottery Barn inspired vases! I love that they make perfect gifts, or they can be used in your shelf styling or tabletop styling.

I created a YouTube video to show you the process and just how straight forward it is. Be sure to listen to the audio because that’s where I explain the texture and technique that you see me doing in the short video. I realize that not everyone will want to purchase the CelluClay product, and I have good news – I think the same texture can be accomplished by soaking and straining paper egg cartons, maybe newspaper as well, but then you have to add an adhesive (like glue or flour and water). I’ve seen people boil down toilette paper to create a paper mache base too, but with the history we’ve had with TP shortages, maybe stick with CelluClay. If you use a little less water, I think you can smooth the surface better after applying it to the jar. If you like an even thin layer, apply smaller amounts at a time. This will take longer, but you’ll be able to control the thickness better.

This product and craft would be fun for kids to do too. They could make a vase, let it dry, and then paint it. Or you can use a little less water and mold it into a shape – I haven’t tried this myself and you may need to have something to help prop up the final piece to hold its shape, but it could be fun to try. You could also take an old toy and cover it with CelluClay to give it a new strange life for kiddos to really use their imagination. I’m contemplating taking one of the old Barbie dolls and covering it to create a Barbie statue for Quinn – we’ll see. At any rate, your imagination is the limit and it’s a fun product to work with.

DIY Pottery Barn Inspired Vase

In case you don’t check out the video, here are the basic steps:

Follow the CelluClay instructions – 1 lb. of clay with 4 cups of warm water
Break apart large chunks of CelluClay before mixing with water
Use hand to blend and mix CelluClay and water
Once the water is even dispersed, apply handfulls to the outside of the glass jar
Gently press and push the mixture evenly around the glass. Be sure to cover all spots
Leave an uneven organic edge around the top OR create a faux lip around the top
Allow to completely dry, 24-48 hrs.
Leave natural or paint
The dried product isn’t waterproof, but you could try spraying it with polyurethane if you wanted it to last.

DIY Pottery Barn Inspired Vase – YouTube Tutorial

That’s it, so easy, right?! There are several ways to paper mache, but I really like this unique texture, it doesn’t slide off of the glass, and it’s not very messy. And I couldn’t be happier about repurposing these gallon sized pickle jars! Don’t you think a pretty vase and some flowers make a lovely gift? Be sure to subscribe for my email list and receive your free shelf styling eBook~

April 20, 2022

How to Create Vintage Terracotta Pots

Do you love the old world look of aged terracotta pots and planters? I love all things vintage, the older, the better in most cases and terracotta pots are included! If you want to know how to create vintage terracotta pots, you will just need one common ingredient found in the gardening shed. Well, maybe it’s not that common in your shed, but it’s inexpensive and can be found at Wal-Mart so I was easily persuaded to tackle this little DIY craft.

How to Create Vintage Terracotta Pots – Supplies

Here’s a list of the tools I used to create my vintage terracotta pots:

terracotta pots
Garden Lime
foam brush
bowl
water
sandpaper
polyurethane spray (optional)

This post may contain affiliate links. This means I may receive a small commission from each purchase, at no cost to you. Thank you for using my links to help keep this blog going!

How to Create Vintage Terracotta Pots – Instructions

Gather terracotta pots on a workspace
Mix garden lime powder with water – achieve a pancake batter consistency
Use a foam brush to apply the mixture onto the terracotta posts
Allow mixture to dry on pots
Take pots outside and sand off chunks of mixture (wear mask if necessary)
You can apply another coat of mixture if you desire a more weathered affect
Once the pots look aged enough, you can seal them with a polyurethane spray

@804_sycamore
DIY Vintage Pots #diycraft #vintagevibes #terracottapots #agedpottery #easyprojects #vintagepottery #decorhack
♬ Creative – SmiLE

How to Create Vintage Terracotta Pots

There are many tutorials out there to age terracotta and they’re all fabulous. When I actually began the process myself, I found that I wanted my mixture a little thinner and I wanted that ombre effect to make it look aged as naturally as possible. I also added the mixture to the inside a bit. When it’s time to sand, make sure to wear an appropriate mask. I was lucky that the wind that day helped to blow away my residue. And if you don’t apply the mixture too thick, it will sand off faster. This is one of the easiest processes to add age to something. I love the way the mixture tones down the bright orange and adds an aged look without the wait. These terracotta pots turned out so beautifully. The best part is that I can gift them with mini plants in the future! I hope you enjoyed this quick DIY and will have a chance to try it out. Be sure to subscribe for a once-a-week email about decorating and DIY inspiration.

DIY Faux Vintage Mercury Glass – Supplies

Glass vases (or whatever you’re transforming)
latex gloves
Looking Glass spray paint
white vinegar in a spray bottle
paper towels
plastic tarp

DIY Faux Vintage Mercury Glass – Tutorial

Lay out plastic tarp outside in a ventilated area.
Wear latext gloves.
Focus on a small area of your glass item, spray an even layer of the Looking Glass paint and immediately spray vinegar onto the wet spray paint.
Using a spray bottle with a mist setting is best when applying the vinegar.
Immediately blot the dripping vinegar from the glass. This will remove some of the paint, and most of the wetness from the vinegar.
The glass doesn’t have to be completely dry before applying a second or even a third coat if desired. Just make sure it’s fairly dry between coats.
That’s it! There’s no need to seal the paint, but it is NOT food or dishwasher safe. Allow to fully dry and then enjoy decorating with your new creation.

DIY Faux Vintage Mercury Glass – Video Tutorial

@804_sycamore
$2 Faux mercury glass Vase #diycraft #mercuryglass #fauxmercuryglass #diyvase #diydecor #weddingdiy #weddingdiys #diyweddingdecor #diywedding
♬ original sound – Amy

DIY Faux Vintage Mercury Glass – More projects!

Here are some more lovely creations using a faux mercury glass technique. Each photo is linked back to the blog they came from. I love how pretty each project turned out and how creative you can get with this technique. I hope you enjoy the inspiration from these bloggers as much as I have.

This faux vintage mercury glass technique is for decorative purposes only, it should not be used on items for food. I’ve seen this technique done inside a glass jar and this is fine, but I wouldn’t use this will real candles. With any DIY craft, be careful to use safety precautions. I think this faux mercury glass finish would be awesome to repurpose glass food jars, Dollar Store glass decor, or even to give a new look to an old mirror or lamp. This technique could be used to create wedding or party decor as well. There are so many possibilities, and one bottle of spray paint goes a long way. If you’ve used this technique or are planning to, I’d love to know what you created in the comments below. I hope this post inspires your creativity and gives you some ideas to try out!

Pride and Prejudice Tea Party and DIY – Invitation

The invitation for my Pride and Prejudice tea party and DIY was made using a vintage piano music roll. Using my favorite free desktop publishing program, Canva, I designed a simple invitation and then printed in onto vellum paper. Next, I sewed the vellum invitation onto the paper roll and then rolled it back up. I embellished the roll tab and decorated the music roll box. I love finding ways to repurpose items or to give new life to vintage things. These piano music rolls can also be used as a table runner, gather several in a bowl or basket, or to create whimsical wall art.

If you don’t have a wax seal kit, you’re missing out. They’re so affordable and you will use it more than you think. I love adding a seal on envelopes, cards, gift wrap, name cards, and anywhere I can get away with it. There are so many pretty metal stamps to choose from and my kit comes with over a dozen different wax colors to use. If you admire the ways of the past, using a stamp seal is a fun one to bring back for all to enjoy. Sewing paper is another way to add an unexpected embellishment to a card, invite, or gift tag.

Pride and Prejudice Tea Party and DIY - Decorations — Notice the bright red wax seal and ribbon at the pull – it really added such a nice detail.

Pride and Prejudice Tea Party and DIY – Food

When it came to deciding on the menu, I initially struggled a bit. I wanted a feast like feel to the menu, but it had to be easy enough to prepare. I tested out a Cornish game hen recipe and was pleasantly surprised with the outcome. However, while Jeremy’s hen was tender and juicy, my hen was tough, and they were annoying to eat because of their size. So, baked paprika chicken bumped up to first place and made it on my menu. Root vegetables were a popular choice during that era, so I baked baby potatoes with a tasty seasoning and used a crock pot to slow cook the glazed carrots. Homemade 1-hour rolls provided a nice starch with everything else. We enjoyed tea and individual Boston cream pie cakes. This recipe is definitely one to try, seriously delicious.

Baked paprika chicken

Air fryer baby potatoes

Slow cooker glazed carrots

Dinner rolls

Boston cream cakes (mini versions done in ramekins)

Pride and Prejudice Tea Party and DIY – Craft

Once we finished stuffing ourselves, the table was cleared, and we started the DIY craft project. All we did was create little flower arrangements in a small compote bowl/vase. However, I made the compote vases ahead of time using Dollar Store materials. Check out this post to learn how to make faux mercury glass – this technique can be done for other projects as well. One of the things that helped this DIY go well was that I presoaked the floral oasis foam, we had steel chopsticks to help make holes into the foam if we needed, and we each had our own scissors. I’m all about sharing, but you really need your own scissors to keep things moving on your arrangement. I got some grocery store flowers and that was it. There’s something so relaxing about arranging flowers and in my opinion, there’s not a wrong way to do it. I really enjoyed watching all the arrangements come together, each different even though we had the same flowers to choose from.

Pride and Prejudice Tea Party and DIY – Decorations

Creating the room decor was most enjoyable. I had recently finished making over a vintage pulpit and I thought it would be perfect for the party. The pulpit wasn’t only perfect as symbolism for Mr. Collins, but I was able to store the DIY craft supplies inside it. I wanted to recreate a sort of ball room ambiance for the tea party, my modern-day interpretation of a regency ball room, this tea party needed to have a more formal feel to it. I used my union jack flags, also used at my Jane Austen Faire in 2014, to hang from the ceiling. These British beauties added a ton of flair, and I was happy to get another use out of them. Besides the tablescape, the other central focus of the room is the media console filled with books. I added decor on top of the console, placed a mirror above it, and created a clean and simple look.

The tablescape was a bit more involved. It’s my interpretation of a regency dinner, on a budget. To elevate any luncheon or dinner party, fold cloth napkins in a special way. It’s a simple touch but looks lovely. I would have preferred to have had fresh floral arrangements grace the table, but I didn’t have time, so dried greenery and used some faux flowers to create arrangements that would last. One of the fun details of this party is the table runner. I asked my daughter, Sawyer, to write one of my favorite quotes from Pride and Prejudice at the end of the kraft paper roll. She did a fine job and I loved being able to incorporate a quote from the book and movie. I found some damask gift wrap and tacked it onto the wall like wallpaper – it added color and faux luxury, it was so fun.

This Pride and Prejudice tea party and DIY was my favorite tea party so far. The best part is that anyone can host a tea party, anyone can buy or make some treats to serve, and anyone can pull together some supplies to do an activity together. A tea and DIY can be as extravagant or as simple as you want – and either way, your guests will love getting together to share this time of breaking bread and being creative. Thank you so much for checking out this post. I hope you enjoyed some of the ideas and feel inspired in some way. A tea and DIY is a fun idea for a birthday, bridal or baby shower, Mother’s Day, or any reason to gather loved ones and spend some quality time. Be sure to follow me on Pinterest – I find a lot of beautiful ideas to share!

You may also enjoy:

How to Create a Jane Austen Tea and DIY Party

December 22, 2021

Tasty and Easy Christmas Cookies

Every year, my family looks forward to homemade Christmas cookies! It’s a tradition that I bake our favorites, and then place them in tins for our close friends and family. My gang gets whatever is left or I’ll make one more batch. Another tradition is making our previous neighbor’s amazing rocky road fudge (family-secret recipe). I actually look forward to this tradition because of how excited and happy my family gets. These tasty and easy Christmas cookies are our favorites, nothing too tricky, and each so delicious. Here is our favorite tasty and easy Christmas cookie line-up:

Frosted Sugar Cookie Cutouts
Raspberry Linzer Cookies
Peanut Butter Blossoms
Molasses Cookies

Over the years, I’ve learned a few things about making our favorite tasty and easy Christmas cookies. When our cookie list is made in a certain order, it helps to streamline the processes and I get all the cookies baked in one day, and then I frost the sugar cookies the next day. I make our cookies in the order they’re listed above and just rinse my tools with hot water in between use. Once the sugar cutouts are done, they can dry out a bit before I frost them the next day. I also like saving stronger flavored cookies until the end just to make sure nothing accidentally sneaks into the sugar or Linzer cookie dough.

Frosted Sugar Cookie Cutouts (Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, Year 2000, page 200)
Royal Icing
Raspberry Linzer Cookies (I used the recipe that came with the cookie cutter, but I’ve linked to the one I’m going to use next year which is close, but the cookies don’t look as puffy as mine did. And I forgot to dust mine with powdered sugar.)
Peanut Butter Blossoms
Molasses Cookies (My husband, Jeremy, handwrote this recipe many years ago and he can’t recall where he got it or if he combined two recipes.)

Molasses Cookie Recipe

3/4 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg

Cream these wet ingredients together.

In a separate bowl, gather the dry ingredients.

2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
2 cups flour

Wisk dry ingredients, and then add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until mixed into a dough. If too sticky, chill dough in the fridge for one hour. After chilled, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Roll dough into 1-inch balls, place balls on a cookie sheet two inches apart. Dip the flat bottom of a drinking glass into sugar and press down each dough ball until about 1/4 inch thick. Bake for 6-8 minutes. Makes about 4-5 dozen. Store in an airtight container or bag.

Tasty and Easy Christmas Cookies

I have made these types of cookies every year for many years now, but this year I decided to change up the peanut butter blossoms and make a shortbread cookie with the Hershey Kiss instead. Well, they didn’t turn out and it was a waste of time and ingredients, but now I know to just stick with the sure thing. Plus, Jeremy and Sawyer love the peanut butter blossoms so they were very happy about my failed attempt. However, as a kid I remember these store-bought cookies called Keebler Sweet Spots and my family loved them – there was no sharing and if you dropped one on the ground you probably ate it anyway. They were so good. I haven’t given up on the idea of a light and sweet shortbread cookie with a chocolate kiss in the middle, but I’ll save the experimentation for after Christmas.

Tasty and Easy Christmas Cookies – Tips:

Like I said before, there’s nothing fancy about our favorite tasty and easy Christmas cookies, but they really are great recipes that never fail. I like baking other types of cookies and treats year-round, but for Christmas, we look forward to our favorites. Here are a few tips for these cookies:

Use long metal skewers to roll out a thin and even layer of sugar cookie and Linzer cookie dough.
Allow sugar cutouts to sit out over night to dry out a little before adding moisture-trapping frosting which can soften the cookies.
Use raspberry preserves for Linzer cookies because the flavor is stronger than strawberry and will pop in contrast with the sweet cookie.
To get started with flattening the molasses cookie balls, press the glass bottom onto the dough in the bowl and then dip into sugar to guarantee the sugar sticks for the first one.
Once the peanut butter blossoms come out of the oven, have the Hershey Kiss chocolates lined up and ready to be pressed into each hot cookie. The hot cookie will melt the chocolate and help it to stick. We unwrap kisses, and then put them in the freezer until it’s time.
Cover the bowl of royal icing to prevent it from drying out.
Pipe an outline of royal frosting first, let dry, and then fill in the center with more icing. If icing is too thin, slowly add more powdered sugar. If too thick, slowly add warm water by the tablespoon until it’s the right consistency.
Line cookie tins with parchment paper.
Print my free vintage gift tags to attach to your cookie tins.

I like this royal icing recipe because it uses meringue powder instead of egg whites.

Besides eating these tasty and easy Christmas cookies, I love sharing them with others. I wish I had more stamina to frost all the sugar cookies, but this year I pooped out. It wasn’t too much of a hardship because I love the flavor of these plain sugar cookies. If someone else could do all the baking then I could really enjoy frosting them, but until one of my daughters gets the baking itch, it’s just me. My girls did make the cookie deliveries this year and had so much fun sharing our sweet treats. Sometimes I will add in peanut butter balls and caramels, but I ran out of time. I hope you have time to enjoy some of your holiday traditions and time spent with family and friends. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and yours!

Affordable and Easy Christmas Gift Wrapping – Free printable tags

For the gift tag, I love it when they coordinate with the wrapping paper’s style and look a little more special than something store-bought. Don’t get me wrong, many stores carry lovely tags, and I’m not shaming store-bought tags~ But if you have a printer and some cardstock, you can customize and hand-pick your tags. I love TheGraphicsFairy.com, it’s my go-to resource for so many things (including wall art), and while the style is vintage, there are also tons of free images out there and free tags on Pinterest. As you know, I love vintage, so I pulled together some of my favorite Christmas images from The Graphics Fairy and put them together for you to print too. And if you’re crazy like me, you can even upload these images into Canva.com and add your own text. This year I used a number for each of my girls so that they wouldn’t know which gifts were theirs. I thought I was being sneaky, but they didn’t even care. Although, I suspect if I had printed their names on the tags there would be a lot more messing with the gifts under the tree.

For many years now, we’ve stuck to the four-gift rule. Each child gets: something they want, something they need, something to wear, and something to read. I first heard about this idea from one of my favorite bloggers and have done it ever since. My kids have never complained or asked why they’re getting only four gifts. I love the concept for so many reasons, but mainly because it keeps the focus off of gifts a little bit and helps us to remember what the gifts represent and the reason for the season, Jesus Christ’s birth. I love thoughtful gifts, and when I’m only limited to getting four for a child, it causes me to put more thought and effort into my selections. I also give little advent gifts, but they’re nothing too special and our family enjoys the countdown and the anticipation in the waiting.

Click on this image to open the PDF and then print.

The best part about saving money on my dollar store kraft brown paper, is that I got to splurge on some ribbon and embellishments. I already had some of the ribbon, but I found some great deals on Amazon and the ribbon will work for things all year long. I have shared some of the items I could still find online in case you see something you like, but you can also just observe the wrapping technique and if you like it, copy it and use whatever you have on hand. I hope you’re feeling encouraged to wrap up those thoughtful gifts, and to save a little money while doing it too.

Affordable and Easy Christmas Gift Wrapping – Shop this post

This post may contain affiliate links. This means I may receive a small commission from each purchase, at no cost to you. Thank you for using my links!

Thank you so much for checking out my post! I’d love to know if you coordinate your wrapping paper with your tree or Christmas decor, do you get whatever you think is cute, or do you have a different way of choosing your wrapping paper? I love the simple brown paper we have this year and I like the understated way it looks under the tree. Well, that’s a wrap, Merry Christmas!

5 Fun DIY Christmas Ornaments – Mini snow globe

Well, it’s not exactly a globe, but you get the idea. This one is my favorite. I love miniature things, my doll house growing up was my prized possession and not just because my uncle built it for me, but because I loved making mini things for it and saving my lawn-mowing money to buy furniture for it from Oregon Craft and Floral (the only craft store in my home town when I was young, later on came the others and then OCF was out). I found the globe from the Dollar Tree and grabbed the last four. The good news is that they sell them online, but in bulk. Just get your glue gun and you’re ready to create! Here’s a list of the supplies used:

Snow globe
milk cap
Faux snow
2 tiny bottle brush trees
tiny deer (or any tiny character)
ribbon trim (optional)

@804_sycamore
#dollarstorediy #dollarstorecrafts #dollartreediy #diyornament #christmasornament #dollarstoreornaments #ornament #minisnowglobe
♬ original sound – Amy

5 Fun DIY Christmas Ornaments – Sequin ball

Out of all five DIY Christmas ornaments, this one is the most time consuming and monotonous, but it’s a great ornament to make while chatting because it takes zero concentration. When I was a kid, my mom made a ton of these one year. I helped her and at first it was fun, and then after a while my fingers hurt. Well, the difference now is that I’m using a dense foam ball which makes it super easy to push the pins into, and the pins are much shorter. My mom also used Elmer’s glue to help everything stick, but the dense foam does a better job of keeping everything in. If I were to make one of these again, I would add the step of applying a layer of glue stick to a small section first. Once you cover that glue stick section with sequins, then you can glue stick another section, etc. I only had one pin fall out without the glue, but I think it would be better long-term to use a glue stick on this one. I also didn’t fully cover every bit of foam with the sequins. I didn’t mind some white showing throw, but it’s all about preference. I also used a small foam ball, but there are many sizes and a few shapes you could consider for this DIY ornament. Here’s a list of supplies and the short video on this one so that you can see the process I used to tackle this monotonous ornament – it went by very quickly this way.

sequins
seed beads
pins
foam ball
eye hook
glue stick
velvet bow (optional)

@804_sycamore
#diyornaments #diyornament #christmascraft #sequins #christmasornament #diychristmasdecor #diychristmas
♬ A Holly Jolly Christmas – Instrumental – Molly Tapia

5 Fun DIY Christmas Ornaments – Clothespin people

I’m not artistic, can’t draw, paint, or sculpt, so I was most nervous about this DIY ornament. It was so cute though, so I had to try and I’m so glad I did because it was fun and turned out cute. Well, my teenager thought it was cute, but my seven-year-old said it was kinda creepy. Never ask a critique~ Anyway, I would like to make one for each member of our family, I think it would be fun to see them each year. My husband shaves his head, so his would be the easiest to paint, and all the girls can have top-buns (I’m not going for too realistic). Anyway, the short video shows you the order that I put this one together. The paint dries pretty quickly too. The sky is the limit on how creative you want to get on this one. The video doesn’t show it, but I just used a glue gun to add the little wooden bead for the hair bun, and then an eye hook was twisted into that bead hole (with dry glue gun glue) to hang it. The skirt is some vintage trim I’ve had forever, but you could use fabric, crepe paper, or lace (or paint on some pants/shorts!). Here’s the list of supplies and a short video:

@804_sycamore
Personalized clothespin people ornaments! #personalizedornaments #diyornament #clothespincraft #christmascraft #diycraft #handpainted #xmasornament
♬ Winter Wonderland – Michael Bublé

5 Fun DIY Christmas Ornaments – Vintage tart tin

I just love how this looks like it’s been the family for years, and it comes together quickly! With all the tea parties I’ve been hosting you would have thought I’d have done tarts by now, but not yet. However, tart tins are cheap and can be used for more than just baking. I love the shiny metal and fluted edge; it just screams Christmas. So, I drilled a hole to add the hook later and once again gathered my supplies and glue gun. I could do a whole tree of just these, in different sizes and designs inside the tin – it could be adorable. Anyway, here’s a list of the supplies and a short video to see it put together:

tart tins
hole punch (optional)
Christmas paper
Christmas sticker or adornment (Hobby Lobby)
glitter glue (optional)
bead trim
lace
ribbon for top bow (optional)

@804_sycamore
#diyornament #diyornaments #diyornamentsbyme #vintageinspired #vintagecraft #vintagecrafting #christmasornament #christmasornaments2021
♬ Christmas Bells – StudioKolomna

5 Fun DIY Christmas Ornaments – Gold leaf ball

Out of all 5 fun DIY Christmas ornaments, this one may look like the most difficult one, but I assure you – it’s not. This one is so cool because the ball is plastic, the paint was $.99 and the gold leaf was so fun and easier than you’d think. You could use glass balls for this one, but the plastic look like glass and they can’t break upon falling. I also spray painted the metal top gold to match the gold leaf, but it’s not necessary to do so. And while you can use any color of acrylic craft paint, you may want to consider what will look best with the gold leaf (like maybe not yellow paint). Otherwise, go for any color of your choosing, even yellow if that’s your thing, and while this one is drying, you can start on one of the other 5 fun DIY Christmas ornaments! Here’s the supply list and a short video to get you started:

plastic balls (cheapest at Hobby Lobby)
gold leaf paper
paint brush
Modge Podge (glossy to match the bulb)
string or ribbon to hang (optional)

@804_sycamore
#christmas #christmasornament #christmasornaments #diyornaments #goldleaftutorial #goldleafornament #plasticornament #dollartreediy #easycraft
♬ Mean Girls – Jingle Bell Rock – Geek Music

5 Fun DIY Christmas Ornaments

Well, that’s a wrap and I hope you’re inspired. These 5 fun DIY Christmas ornaments are fun to make with kids, friends, family, or just while you’re watching Christmas movies. With so much to do this holiday season, I sincerely hope you have time to do some of the things you enjoy most, and if crafting is one of them, I hope these DIY ornaments got your creative juices flowing. Be sure to pin any of the images for later and if you haven’t signed up already, please subscribe for my weekly email with decorating, design, and DIY inspiration! Happy Holidays!

Tea Love Gift Basket Idea – DIY project

This DIY project isn’t difficult, but it does take a minute to get the hang of. I would recommend trying it out on a scrap piece of fabric first. I printed out two 4-letter words on Stick and Stitch Stabilizer and then cut them out for the knit gloves I embroidered. I love the contradiction of knuckle tattoos saying something dainty, or something silly. My biggest tip for this DIY is to use a sharp needle to easily pierce the stabilizing fabric. I made a video to help show how I made these gloves, but I gotta admit that the second pair turned out better than the first. And the stabilizer paper washes off more easily under really warm water – be patient though, it will all wash off, gently squeeze out excess water, and then just lay the gloves out flat to dry.

@804_sycamore
#handembroidery #embroiderytutorial #personalizedgloves #embroideredclothing #knuckletattoos #christmas #christmasgift #christmasgiftideas #giftidea
♬ SILENT NIGHT – Jamie Lynn Noon

Tea Love Gift Basket Idea – Support small business

This tea love gift basket idea could include many various items from small businesses, consider a handmade mug, handmade tea, handmade gloves, etc. This tea love gift basket idea has homegrown honey from a small Etsy shop. They have all kinds of flavored honey sticks and honey gifts. For my gift basket, I selected the mint honey sticks and I’m sure they’ll be amazing with the Earl Grey tea they come with. The great thing about shopping small is that they do such a great job shipping out their items quickly. My honey sticks arrived so fast and were packaged safely too. I highly recommend this shop. Etsy is full of amazing shops and artists – there are so many amazing gifts to be found.

Another fun idea to include in your tea love gift basket idea is to support an author! I was gifted the book Southern Teatime Pleasures: Simple Ideas and Recipes, by Alda Ellis and it is amazing. This beautiful book gives theme ideas for your next tea as well as amazing southern influenced recipes. It would be such a treat to add to your tea love gift basket~

@804_sycamore
#tealove #tealover #teagifts #giftbasketideas #savoyteaco #diygift #christmasgift #christmasgiftideas #honeysticks
♬ The First Noel – Christmas

Tea Love Gift Basket Idea

After completing the DIY embroidered gloves and receiving the honey sticks, I completed the tea love gift basket idea with a few more fun finds. I found this Opal House pom pom throw blanket, the slipper socks, and decorative basket all from Target. The ceramic tea cup with a lid was an Amazon find – there are so many patterns and styles to choose from though. I also love vintage items so this little creamer is just a fun touch to complete the tea love gift basket idea.

804 Sycamore is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no cost to you.

Book Love Gift Basket Idea – Shop small business

For many years I followed Emily’s blog called, Jones Design Company. I loved the way she decorated, she had adorable DIY crafts, and free printable artwork. However, over time, God revealed some things to Emily and she decided to pursue writing and illustrating (two of her natural gifts). I was so disappointed that the blog would be discontinued, but very happy and excited for her and this new direction for her career. I continued to follow her on social media and knew I had to have her first book. This book is encouraging, relatable, and spiritual. Her watercolor illustrations are so charming, and just add to the journey she takes you on in this book. Her book, Freely and Lightly, is a gem and (Christmas 2021 spoiler alert) it will be given to several of the special ladies in my life. I love supporting small businesses and it’s easy because this book is just so good.

Book Love Gift Basket Idea – DIY gift

The DIY handmade project for the book love gift basket idea is a bookmark! The ribbon bookmark is vintage inspired, but you could definitely put a more modern and contemporary spin on this design by using silver crimp ends and new charms. The sky is the limit on how you can design this bookmark, and it will be so special for the person receiving it because you’ve put thought into the design specifically for them. I used double-sided velvet ribbon, but any ribbon can be used. To see just how easy this DIY is, check out my short video below.

@804_sycamore
DIY ribbon book mark #diygift #bookmark #diygiftideas #diybookmark #handmadegifts #easydiys #booklove #vintagebookmark
♬ One Call Away (Instrumental Version) – Soft Background Music

Book Love Gift Basket Idea – Shop the DIY

This post may contain affiliate links. This means I may receive a small commission from each purchase, at no cost to you. Thank you for using my links!

Book Love Gift Basket Idea

To complete the book love gift basket idea, I considered what I love about settling in to read a good book. It doesn’t take much, but if I’m committed to getting in some good reading, a lumbar pillow is a must. The Target Dollar Spot had this MERRY pillow for only $5, but there are some others for $10 that are super cute too. I also notice that my feet get cold, so some fuzzy slipper socks keep my toes just right. And finally, if aroma therapy is your jam or you love the soft glow of candlelight like me, Target’s Dollar Spot often has small candle tins. If you want to keep with the book love theme, check out my friend’ Shatrine’s small business, Candle Lit, where she creates wonderful literary themed candles and perfumes. These burn forever and the scents are so good.

I hope this book love gift basket idea inspired your gift giving this year. I love gift baskets with thoughtful and handmade items. Gift baskets are great if you know someone really well you can easily fill it with things they love, or they’re also great if you know some general things about someone and can use that as a theme to get related items for the basket. Baskets are also a great way to present a gift, you can reuse baskets you have, get them on clearance, or get one that you know will be decorative and functional. You’ve probably seen my home, I like baskets and containers, and it’s possible that I may think everyone else does too~

Thanks so much for checking out this post. Let me know in the comments below if you know someone who loves to read and would appreciate a book love gift basket this holiday season.

Amazing personalized cutting board gift basket idea – mom’s recipe

Katrina, owner and designer of PNW Farmhouse Design Co., offers amazing and unique products from her online shop. I met Katrina at a blogging conference this summer and she is so funny and nice. I loved finding out that she is from the pacific northwest and I thoroughly enjoyed a fun dinner with her and a few other amazing bloggers that welcomed me into their group. When I discovered her small shop I couldn’t wait to share it with you!

When I visited her online shop, I fell in love with the personalized cutting boards and knew which recipe I wanted to have engraved onto a cutting board. However, it doesn’t have to be a recipe, it could be a letter, a blessing, wedding vows, a poem, anything that’s personal to you. My mom’s broccoli casserole recipe has been in the family for years, passed down from her grandma and modified over the years. Everyone loves this casserole and asks her for the recipe, often. To have the recipe engraved onto the board, I just scanned in the handwritten recipe and uploaded the file during the checkout process. It’s so easy to place your order, you can select the style of cutting board, and then upload the file – that’s it!

There’s something special about my handwritten recipe – it’s in Sawyer’s handwriting. Sawyer is my mom’s first grandchild and they have a special bond. It would have been awesome to scan in my great grandma’s recipe card, but it was too edited for this purpose due to changes and tweaks over the years. I know my mom will love this personalized and meaningful gift. She can display the cutting board in her kitchen and be reminded of so many cherished holiday dinners where she shared her famous recipe with others, and then she can also use the backside of the cutting board for functional purposes. With a little mineral oil occasionally rubbed onto the wood, this cutting board won’t dry out and get cracks – it will be a keepsake for years to come.

Personalized cutting boards aren’t the only awesome product in Katrina’s shop, there are several other personalized items as well as unique designs for the home. When you support Katrina’s small business, to get 20% off your total purchase, be sure to use coupon code: sycamore20

Amazing personalized cutting board gift basket idea – DIY item

The next part of this amazing personalized cutting board gift basket idea is the fun and easy DIY. All you need is a small mason jar and a few ingredients to make stove top potpourri. You can find several recipes as well as a free printable for your stove top potpourri at DeliaCreates.com. The printable is adorable and has the easy instructions for how to make the potpourri. This is the recipe that I used:

cutie orange (just the peel will be used for the potpourri)
2 sprigs of rosemary (fresh pine sprigs can also be used)
2 cinnamon sticks
1 tbsp of whole cloves
1 tbsp of nutmeg (a whole nutmeg can also be used)
1/3 cup of fresh cranberries
1-2 stars of anise

I love this DIY gift idea for kids to put together. It would make a great teacher gift, neighbor gift, or to help fill a gift basket for the homebody in your life. Like I mentioned, I thought about gift baskets that I would like, and this DIY potpourri is so fun.

@804_sycamore
Christmas DIY Potpourri. #christmasdiy #christmasgift #handmadegiftideas #stovetoppotpourri #easydiys #holidaysmells #holidaydiys
♬ All I Want for Christmas Is You – Mariah Carey

Amazing personalized cutting board gift basket idea – homebody theme

Finally, to pull together this amazing personalized cutting board gift basket idea, I found this soft fleece blanket from the Dollar Spot at Target. The functional and decorative basket is also an affordable find to hold all the goodies. I added a box of Cheez-its crackers for fun, made a mini loaf of dessert bread, and then put together a fun gift tag. I enjoy going out, but I’m definitely a homebody. The items in this gift basket remind me of all the good things associated with staying home; childhood memories, homemade food, good smells, and a cozy blanky.

Thanks so much for checking out this post. I hope it stirred up some gift giving ideas for you. When you shop at the PNW Farmhouse Decorating Co, be sure to use my coupon code to save 20%: sycamore20

DIY Pottery Barn Inspired Vase

DIY Pottery Barn Inspired Vase – YouTube Tutorial

How to Create Vintage Terracotta Pots – Supplies

How to Create Vintage Terracotta Pots – Instructions

How to Create Vintage Terracotta Pots

You may also like:

DIY Faux Vintage Mercury Glass – Supplies

DIY Faux Vintage Mercury Glass – Tutorial

DIY Faux Vintage Mercury Glass – Video Tutorial

DIY Faux Vintage Mercury Glass – More projects!

You May Also Like:

Pride and Prejudice Tea Party and DIY – Invitation

Pride and Prejudice Tea Party and DIY – Food

Pride and Prejudice Tea Party and DIY – Craft

Pride and Prejudice Tea Party and DIY – Decorations

You may also enjoy:

Molasses Cookie Recipe

Tasty and Easy Christmas Cookies

Tasty and Easy Christmas Cookies – Tips:

You may also like:

Free Printable Christmas Gift Tags

Affordable and Easy Christmas Gift Wrapping – Free printable tags

Affordable and Easy Christmas Gift Wrapping – Shop this post

You may also like:

5 Fun DIY Christmas Ornaments – Mini snow globe

5 Fun DIY Christmas Ornaments – Sequin ball

5 Fun DIY Christmas Ornaments – Clothespin people

5 Fun DIY Christmas Ornaments – Vintage tart tin

5 Fun DIY Christmas Ornaments – Gold leaf ball

5 Fun DIY Christmas Ornaments

You may also like:

Tea Love Gift Basket Idea – DIY project

Tea Love Gift Basket Idea – Support small business

Tea Love Gift Basket Idea

You may also like:

Book Love Gift Basket Idea – Shop small business

Book Love Gift Basket Idea – DIY gift

Book Love Gift Basket Idea – Shop the DIY

Book Love Gift Basket Idea

You may also like:

Amazing personalized cutting board gift basket idea – mom’s recipe

Amazing personalized cutting board gift basket idea – DIY item

Amazing personalized cutting board gift basket idea – homebody theme

You may also like:

Newsletter

Let’s Connect!

Search this site!