Handmade Christmas Gift from Hubby

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I promised you a few days ago, when I shared the 12 Dates of Christmas which was my gift to my husband last year, that I'd also share what he created for me.

If you've been following my blog for a while you probably already know that like me, my husband Paul is an Author, but he's also a great poet as well. I have been the lucky recipient of his beautiful poems for years and especially enjoyed the ones he would mail to me while we were dating.

When we were planning our wedding I thought it would be great to take one of my favorite poems that he wrote for me titled 'Dream Come True' and I had it printed on some gorgeous cardstock for each table in the reception area as another keepsake for our guests. Paul has actually written 18 book now including a 500-page poetry book filled with inspirational poems called Poems that Propel the Planet.

So, it should have come as no surprise that his gift to me was a book of poems, but I had no idea and this wasn't any old book. He took a cute pink flexi binder and filled it with poems affixed to scrapbook pages that he had purchased and then attached some embellishments and stickers to make it a fun, girly book that is now a cherished keepsake. How cute is that? He is such a manly man, but he happens to love pink and can rejoice with the girly things I love. This is just one of the reason's I'm hoping that our future first baby one day will be a girl. ;)

Here are some photos of the lovely book he created for me. These 10 poems were not super sweet, sappy poems, but rather well-thought-out, inspirational poems after a challenging year we both endured in 2008. Such is the life sometimes for us entrepreneurs! I wanted to show you the time he spent on creating this lovely book by sharing each page. I really enjoyed one cute poem in particular called 'Caring and Cleaning' where he shares his appreciation for my domesticity. He usually tells me so regularly, but it was fun to see it incorporated into a poem.

For those of you with less creative husbands, don't fret. Trust me, this doesn't happen everyday. We made a commitment last year to create homemade gifts and the gift itself could be anything that was made with our own two hands. I had no idea what to expect.

Yes, the blurry text for all of the poems below is intentional. *wink*.

Photo on book cover from our 2007 Caribbean cruise.

Although the others are blurred, here is a Christmas Poem he wrote last year that you all can read. Often times he writes for the masses (as is the case for this poem). I love the message and it's a good reminder to all of us that Christmas is much more than a stressful and chaotic shopping month involving huge expenses.

CHRISTMAS MINUS THE MESS

Christmas minus the mess


Is most glorious

Christ without merchandise


Is elegant and nice


Excessive shopping


Going here, there, and everywhere


Frantically looking and buying


Certainly this rat race


Has nothing to do


With seeking God's face


Neither adoring the Lord


Nor entering His loving embrace


On the contrary


It comes with a bit of distaste


As it drives you furiously


To go with the flow


Be like everyone else


Buy lest someone cry


Yet one thing you've not detected


The most important Person you've neglected


Christmas is about Christ


Have came from heaven to earth


Giving us his life


That we here below


May experience newness of life


Not that we'd consumed by black Friday


Holiday preparations and strife


Worried when finances are tight


Maxed out on credit cards


Borrowing beyond our means


Such things do demean


The very thing for which Christ died


Perhaps we need to reevaluate


And examine our hearts inside


Lest our foot soon slide


And we be overtaken by our sins


Christ came to empower us to win


Victory comes through Christ the King


By His Spirit He makes you to sing


Christ the Lord


Is fun and never bored


The Spirit of Christ


Moves you Godward


Cleanses your heart


From being froward


Baby Jesus was crucified


Nevertheless conquering disappointment


Christ rose from the grave


His life the greatest gift He gave


His sacrifice for souls to save


Christ rose again on the 3rd day


Now than what will you say?


With this Immanuel what will you do


The King of kings and Prince of peace


Who wholeheartedly died for you?

Did you hubby make or plan out something super creative for you as a gift? Tell us about it!Would you ever consider doing a homemade Christmas present exchange with your spouse?

12 Homemade Christmas Gifts and Decor for Under $10

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Shopping for Christmas gifts on a budget can sometimes feel like a downer. Likewise, decorating a home and not knowing how to do it with little cash can make the best of people feel frustrated. I've provided some of my favorite holiday decor and homemade gift ideas. Most of these double as the other so as you are getting your own home ready you can make some extras that will prove to be creative, special presents for your loved ones. Have a blast making each of these fun crafts at a fraction of what you might pay in a store. Enjoy!

1. Berry Votive Holder- Dress up any plain glass votive holder with berries on wire at any Michael's craft store and wind around the holder. Once the circle is formed use some fine craft wire or picture hanging wire from any dollar store and tie the ends together. My favorite colors are gold, silver, burgundy wine, or red. For a fun flair use cream or baby blue. Use these in your own home or wrap them up as a set of four or six in a pretty box with a gorgeous bow for a great gift. The exact same items double as napkin holders too!

2. Festive Napkin Holders- Use plain wooden napkin holders and paint them any color such as red, gold, silver, or white and embellish them with a small bell, snowflake, beads, or simply another paint color with pattern of snowflake, polka dots, stripes etc.

 3. Funky Centerpiece- Fill an inexpensive glass vase (tall cylindrical work best) with all sizes of the same color glass ornaments balls. I like red, green, gold, silver, or blue. Use one color but multiple designs such as stripes, swirls, frosted, shiny etc. With a large enough bowl this can make a great centerpiece. Try hot and spicy red for your dinner table. You can purchase inexpensive balls at dollar stores, discount stores like Ross, Walmart ,Target or try the Salvation Army.

4. Ornament Wreath- I've seen so many gorgeous ornament wreaths and they can easily be made with marked down ornaments after Christmas for the next year and make a wonderful gift. the one above was made by none other than Martha herself. Here are the directions to make your own!

 5. Create Cool Coasters- Use a (4) 4" ceramic tiles from a hardware store of any color (white works best) and use rub-on stencils with Christmas designs, festive verbiage or even monogram letters to use on each tile. Once finished you can spray with a glaze gloss to seal it. You'll want to put some self-adhesive felt or little rubber feet on the bottom so the coasters won't scratch the table. Walmart is a great place to find the felt material.  

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6. Christmas Art Frame- Use pre-made frames that are fun and fit at least a 4" x 6" picture for holiday words such as JOY, LOVE or PEACE. Use pretty wrapping paper or fonts from your computer then print them out to slide behind the glass instead of a photo. Silver and Gold frames are my favorite for the season. Feel free to use barn board, wood, plastic, whatever you have around the house. These are cute décor gifts for friends and family also.

7. Mini Snow-covered tree- Collect a bunch of twigs long enough to pop out of a decent size vase. Use decoupage glue and white tissue paper to create a neat effect for the vase or leave as clear filled with glass ornaments or whatever you like. Spray paint the twigs white and use fishing wire to dangle tiny ornaments and vintage jewelry for fun effect. Use on a table, at an entry way, or in a bedroom. Feel free to add some basic white indoor lights for a nice evening glow.

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8. Monogrammed Towels- To stay on budget, buy some great basic kitchen towels with a simple stripe at the bottom in red, blue, green or even black. Use a lettered script stencil and some fabric paint to paint their surname initial on the towel. Feel free to make up a set of two with different colors if you can find the kitchen towels at a super discounted price. Alternatively, if you have a sewing machine that will stitch the monogram on, you could use that instead.

9. Holiday Centerpiece- One of the simplest centerpieces is a glass vase filled with water and real cranberries (not frozen, not dried) and a white floating candle. Use an interesting vase with a large opening or a great glass dish. Either way the cranberries and candle will float and look wonderful. Ensure to use a non-scented candle if this will go on your dining table. We wouldn't want the scent to interfere with the wonderful aroma of your home-cooked meal.

10. Home-Made Snow Globe- Use old jam jars to create a winter snow globe. You'll need water, the jam jar, glitter of your choice, epoxy glue, ribbon and a small figurine or a few for the inside. Use the epoxy glue and secure the figurine(s) to the lid on the inside. Then pour some glitter or plastic mini snowflakes inside the jar. Now add distilled water without bacteria and close the jar tightly. Lastly add some ribbon around the bottom of the globe (the lid) to hide it and you are done. Again, gift or your own décor...you decide.

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11. Holiday Dishware- Places such as Ikea and discount stores can provide for a set of 4 bowls and plates that you can paint up with glass paint. Be sure if you are going to eat off of them that the paint is used for that. You can use white ceramic or glass bowls and dishes. For the glass set, use glass etching cream and a stencil for a great effect. Wrap up the set and away you go.

12. Primp those Pillows-Take your existing pillows and make them holiday ready with some simple organza. Take square or rectangular pillows and wrap the sheet of organza around the back until the ties meet the front. Now make a bow. The idea here is to use colors that work. So, if you have red pillows, use some gold organza. If you have plain white pillows, use red or gold etc. If you are handy with the sewing machine you can make some simple square slipcovers for your existing ones so you can change them back when the holiday is over. Using an old knit sweater is another fun cover for them. A neat idea for slip covers is velvet. Use an iron and a stamper. Take the backside of the fabric and place the iron there. On the good side of the velvet is where you'll press the stamper into. After you are done the pattern will be revealed either as one large centered detail or several small ones all over. Use this for chair covers too!

If you enjoyed the DIY projects in this post but don't feel very crafty and you're still looking for a unique gifts for your family, you can get started by checking out these ready made great Christmas gifts for mom.


What lovely decor and homemade gifts have you created this Christmas? I'd love to hear about it!

Want more Christmas-related posts? Click the links below:

12 Dates of Christmas

Party dress inspiration

Gift Cards are the New Fruitcake?

Quick tidy up tips

Humble & Merry Christmas

To Re-Gift or not to Re-gift?

I Won a Christmas Blog Giveaway

Re-gifting Etiquette

Thanks for reading!

XO

12 DATES OF CHRISTMAS!

With just two weeks left until Christmas, I thought it was only appropriate to share a fun homemade gift idea for those that wish to create vs. buy.

As promised in last week's 'Humble and Merry Christmas' post, I am sharing with you what I made for my hubby last year. The creating part was pretty easy but mine did involve a little bit of cash, however I stuck to my set budget.

All the details are below and this would make a great last minute gift to put together if you've run out of time or ideas because all you need is a computer and a printer!

THE 12 DATES OF CHRISTMAS

Last year my husband and I decided to exclusively give homemade gifts to one another so the time, creativity and thought put in was the most important part. We were both so excited to open up each other's handmade creations.

While searching last year for some insipiration before beginning, I stumbled upon and idea about the 12 dates of Christmas from an Oprah viewer who had done something similar with her husband, but theirs weren't presents, rather something fun to do during the holidays. I knew after hearing about it, that was what I wanted to create and I was thrilled that it would be a personal gift but one that I got to also enjoy and partake in. ;) While the gift was for him, it was also great for our relationship and we had a blast enjoying each date together.

Here is what we did and what my present looked like:

SUPPLIES

1. (13) identical envelopes and some cardstock or even regular printer paper will do. ( I preferred the durability of cardstock and the look of the overall finished product.)

2. Computer/Printer and microsoft word. You could also do this with a shabby chic effect and use some scrapbook paper and supplies instead of your computer.

3. Google: Images found via the web for each date and also to do some searches of what special and fun events are taking place in your area.

That's it!

I first wrote my hubby a special and personal letter and put it inside one envelope and attached it to a wrapped box filled with the other 12 envelopes or 'dates'. Each were hand stamped on the outside or decorated in some way too. Inside, the box contained 12 separate envelopes for him to open up, so it was like opening 12 different presents! Without further ado, I scanned the finished cards and uploaded them so here is what we did...

*Yes, I do realize there is a typo on this salsa card. That's what happens when you try to multitask! ;)

Stay tuned for my upcoming post to see what my husband's handmade gift for me was. It is something that I will cherish and keep forever. :)

Do you like to make handmade Christmas gifts? What have you made? What is the best homemade gift you've ever received?