Christmas gifts made with love :)

In order to be a bit more financially responsible this holiday season, I decided to construct some Christmas presents for the ladies in my life. I found some ideas through various blogs as well as with some ideas I have seen on www.pinterest.com. I wanted to share some of them as they were fun to do and turned out great!

I really enjoying creating gifts for people for Christmas, and I have a tendency to do something like this every year. I usually learn a lot (especially about my patience!) People tend to enjoy these gifts and it also helps my bank account.

ENJOY!

Chalkboard Wine Glasses


$9.99 for 12 glasses from Bed Bath and Beyond (don't forget about the 20% off coupon!)

A bit of a shorter stem than what I wanted, but they worked out great!



Chalkboard paint - $14.99 at Lowe's. A little more $$ than expected, but I am sure I can find somewhere around the house to use the rest of it! :)

I added scotch tape at the base to give a cut off point. I'm sure painting tape would work well too.
 *note: make sure to flag the tape so it's easy to peel off.

It was difficult to get the paint to lay smoothly on the glass. I had to make the paint relatively thick to do so.



Finished product... didn't have a picture of the brush I used, but it was a 1" standard brush $1.49 from Lowe's.

Drying on 2 pieces of skinny wood so they wouldn't stick to the newspaper.

 Total cost:
   $9.99 wine glasses
   $14.99 paint
+ $1.49 brush            
$26.47

Used for 6 different people: $26.47/6 = $4.41/person

I also used chalk to write 'Merry Christmas' on each of them and was going to include a piece of chalk with each glass... that is until my lovely dog decided to eat the chalk. (Non-toxic, I looked it up - thankfully she didn't have any reactions)

Funky Coasters

4x4 white bathroom tiles purchased at Lowe's. $.17 each - so naturally I bought a box of 80. $13.60 total

I used Mod Podge ($8.99 at Michael's) and this Polycrylic finish (free from Mike's neighbor). I purchased a can of clear enamel spray paint to cover them, but didn't like the finish it left. I'd recommend this finish.

I purchased (and already owned) a variety of scrapbook paper - it's super cheap! I cut the paper into 4x4 and 3x3 squares.
*I experiemented with the 1in. strips but didn't like how they looked!

I applied a light coat of Mod Podge to the back of the paper square and the top of the tile to allow them to adhere. (Using a thick brush purchased at Lowe's for $1.89) I gently placed the paper onto the tile and then added another light coat of Mod Podge to the top of the paper.

*This is where I came into some complications: This is the first time I have worked with Mod Podge before and it was a bit more challenging than I anticipated. This is what I learned:
- It will look thick and not clear, but it dries clear
- It is very important to smooth out all the bubbles that form
- If you're getting bubbles, it's probably because you applied too much
- Mod Podge dries VERY quickly... so make sure there is no dust (and especially dog hair) on the paper

  

This is a picture of what they looked like after the Mod Podge was applied.

And then came the lonnnggggggg drying process! While the Mod Podge dries pretty quickly, they needed to be firm before applying the Polycrylic sealer.

I repeated this picture because I then covered each of them with this finish. Like the Mod Podge, this appears a frosty color, but it will dry clear. I put a moderate coat over each of the tiles.
*The good thing about this finish is that there is almost no odor to it, so I was able to complete this in the house. I tried the enamel spray and had to do this outside in the garage - which was a daunting task in the 32 degree rainy/windy day.

Yet again.... the drying process!!!! These took a long time to dry. I let them dry for a full 24 hours (some on the ground, some on newspaper, and some on the wood racks you saw with the wine glasses)

Finished product! I bought 2 packages of bumpers from Walmart ($8.99/package) and added them to the bottom 4 corners.
I also added a little orange square in the bottom as my "signature" :)

I found this to be a really fun, challenging project! I liked that I could personalize the coasters for each person's taste. I made packages of 4 for most people, but made some individual ones for people to bring to work if desired. (bandaid coasters for my co-workers, grass coasters for my brother who designs turf fields...)



 Total cost:
    $13.60 tiles (and I have some left over)
    $8.99 Mod Podge (from Michael's)
    $1.89 wide paint brush (from Lowe's)
+ $17.98 bumpers (from Walmart)           
   $42.46

While $42.26 isn't "cheap"... I used these for gifts for 12 people making the average cost per gift $3.52... not too shabby!!!




side note: if you are reading this - and a recepient of these gifts - don't pay attention to the cost, it was the love that went into the process that really matters :)