DIY Christmas gift #2 & #3: Play dough and Granola

I know most bloggers posted their DIY Christmas ideas well before the 25th and that I'm kinda doing things backwards. But how do you not ruin the surprise for recipients who read your blog? Oh well, maybe you can file these ideas away for next year.

DIY Gift #1: Candle Teacups

DIY Gift #2:

Homemade play dough using Kool-Aid for friends who are mommies to toddlers or almost-toddlers. Recipe can be found here. I made a ducky figure the first time around. For mass production, I purchased every flavor of sugar-free Kool-Aid and made 4 colors at once in 4 huge bowls. I printed labels on Avery stickers listing ingredients for the parents' sake. Each "serving size" was divided into 3 portions and each recipient received 4 different colors. Each lump o' dough was packaged in a small tupperware (Target brand Up & Up were so miniature and irresistibly cute). 

It was a play dough factory at home! Oh, what I do when the baby is asleep at night...

So happy that 4 containers stacked perfectly into these mini-craft bags. I made the Christmas tree tags out of FREE paint chips I got from Home Depot. Glue-gunned a button as the tree topper and wrote a a little message on the tree (oh, and decided to add gold stars later on). Not shown: included a Christmas cookie cutter with the the gift for kids to make fun shapes. Purchased metal ones from Trader Joe's (a pack of 3 for 99 cents). I must have made close to 10 bags of these play-dough sets!

DIY Gift #3: 

Homemade Granola, recipe from my friend Kim who gifted me with this a few years back. Our house smelled of cinnamon and nutmeg for several days when I was baking multiple batches.

Purchased these canning jars in bulk from Target several months back. They were on the very bottom shelf of the baking section (never saw them before and I LOVE mason jars). I didn't yet know what I would be doing with them but bought them anyway.

 Hand-punched every single one of these sticker labels, including the little dots around the scalloped edges. Didn't take too long though.

Did you know that the red and white striped fabric has a nifty story behind it? I was digging through my mom's laundry room when I found a bag of our old Halloween costumes from elementary school that she had hand-sewn. She had kept in pristine condition leftover fabric from my pirate costume. It looked candy cane-ish to me so I cut circles out of it and I had custom can covers :).

These photos are courtesy of my friend Miny after she took her gifts home to enjoy. 

Hint: DIY Christmas gift #4 is on the left (custom plastic ornaments :).

DIY Christmas gift #1: Teacup candles

Almost every year for the past 3 years, I make teacup candles for Christmas and birthday presents because they're pretty, useful, affordable, and always elicit the question, "Did you make this yourself?" I scour Home Goods, flea markets, and thrift shops for tea cups with or without a matching saucer for a few bucks apiece.

I was inspired by these images years ago:

Source: Martha Stewart

Source: Design Sponge

Now, check out some of my own teacup candles. Ta da! (I wish I had images of past projects bc I've used taller teacups as well). I love how each gift is one-of-a-kind.

If you know hot to use a glue gun and a microwave, you CAN make these. 

My supplies: washed teacups, glue gun, microwaveable soy wax, candle wicks and clamps, candle scent. I used to be more precise and use the candle thermometer to make sure the temperature was just so.  I don't anymore and the results are still the same (just included it in the photo here for styling :).

Step 1: Wash and dry teacups

Step 2: Glue gun candle wick+clamp to center of cup

Step 3: Microwave wax chips in the microwave until dissolved into liquid (be sure to use gloves when removing bowl from microwave bc it's HOT).

Step 3b: If you so desire, add a few drops of candle scents or colored dye. I have always just left mine plain white bc I think they look pretty as is. This was the first time I added a few drops of an apple blossom scent (all supplies purchased from Michael's with 40% off coupons). If you do add dye and scent, make sure they are congruent. You don't want a lavender scented candle being green or an apple scented candle being orange.

Step 4: Carefully pour liquid wax into cup while holding wick upright.

Martha Stewart ties the wick to a skewer to make sure it doesn't go astray. I just free form it and let the wick rest on side of cup.

Step 5: Let wax cool. You can see the stages of cooling below, from hottest to coolest going from left to right. The most time-consuming part of this project was actually just nuking up the wax (several minutes a bowl). If I had multiple microwaves going, it would have gone much faster. Oh the radiation waves, though!

Step 6: Cut off wick to desired length. 

Helpful hints: I sometimes get cracks on the surface of the hardened candle. I just pour a final thin layer of hot wax over the top to "seal" it up (not sure what causes the cracks). If you also see air bubbles forming, poke with a toothpick pronto. But no biggie if you don't. I don't always catch them instantly and think they give it a more "homemade" look.

Final step: Package it up and write a cute note. For birthdays, I include a tag that reads "Make a wish!" For Christmas, I include the verse Matthew 5:16.

This teacup (air bubbles and all) fit an Anthro box perfectly. I've seen these in Anthro stores sell for close to $20 a cup (vs. maybe $5 or less for my version, depending on cost of teacup)!

This was actually just one of 4 Christmas gifts I produced en masse this year. More on the other gifts coming soon :)!

Our Christmas cards this year: a Reflection of God's Grace

Front (Left) and Back (Right)

Our (Audrey and me) Christmas cards this year are truly a testament of God's love and goodness in my life this year, despite it being the most difficult year I've lived through. I wasn't planning on sending out cards this year because 1) they can be expensive and 2) there's no husband or father figure on the card while 3) everyone else I know is sending out cards displaying their beautiful (and complete) families. But I now know God really wanted me to share my joys and trials with friends and family this year. He wanted me to show people both in picture and words that there is life after divorce, including laughter.

God gifted me with 50 free Tiny Prints photo cards via my friend Nicole's blog, which focuses primarily on product reviews and giveaways. I was hesitant when she encouraged me to enter just for fun bc I never win anything and I didn't even know how to enter. But when the contest ended with 107 eager entries, her random number generator selected ME! And, I was actually the second runner up bc the orig/first winner didn't follow the contest rules so didn't qualify. When God wants to give you something, He will do it!

This was totally a beautiful example of God's love to me, a free gift that was unexpected and undeserved. I didn't pay a penny for even S/H and the total came out to be a whoppin' $108 (Tiny Prints has such thick card stock and the cutest designs from which to select)! I wanted people to see a tiny glimpse of all the adventures Audrey and I had this past year. I didn't want people to pity me; I wanted them to be proud of me. A couple of friends have told me that my card really touched them and that mine was their favorite out of all the photo cards they received in the mail. This really meant a lot to me because I know God wanted me to show His grace and restoration working in my life this past year. He wanted me to be authentic, including Audrey screaming on Santa's lap :).

Audrey and I are still a family even if there is no dad or husband now.  

"For the Lord your Maker is your husband--the Lord Almighty is his name--the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer." (Isaiah 54:5). 

"I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten" (Joel 2:25)

This Bethany Dillon song was playing in the background as I was cleaning my room tonight and how appropriate the lyrics:

And only you can see the good in broken things. You took my heart of stone and you made it home and set this prisoner free.

Yes, I know these were just Christmas cards that people take off their fridges and walls once December ends. But for me, they were much more. They were truly symbolic of God's undeserved love in my life, just like Jesus!

Thank you for reading this post. I haven't posted much about my faith but to not do so would deny the core of my being. I usually hand-write these type of entries in my journal, but have decided to open up a little more so I can be more authentic.

Merry Christmas

Does this photo really need a caption? My mom said not to purchase this, but I'm so glad I did bc it makes me LAUGH every time :)! Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Christmas Eve: the tree, backyard fun, and a last minute gift

Almost all the gifts under the tree are for Audrey (from Santa, myself, Mommy's friends, Auntie Steph). There's one gift for Steph and one for my Dad (gourmet choco bars from World Market and a tube of Sensodyne toothpaste for his sensitive teeth...like that combo? Eat sugar and then brush with special paste :). I wasn't planning on gifting my parents with anything originally, but didn't want my mom to feel left out from the gift opening tomorrow morning. So I spent some time creating some personalized coupons (I know, might seem like a cop-out so I made sure the packaging was cute). Mom, I don't think you read my blog...

Printed out the favors (home-cooked meals, closet makeover, grocery shopping, etc) onto thick card stock and laminated with clear packing tape. Tied up the 5 cards with baker's twine and snapped some photos of them atop my knockoff Cath Kidston phone case.

Created a sticker label using paper punches and used some pretty ribbon on the outside of the box. Spent about an hour making the coupons look crafty and special. Wouldn't you say they're much more useful than something store-bought?

We've had our Christmas tree for nearly 3 weeks now, but I haven't yet had a chance to post pics from our tree-buying trip to Lowe's.

My little girl being her usual naughty, happy self.

Our 6 or 7 ft (?) tree being transported home next to a confused baby.

Finally took a few shots of the decorated tree today. Buddy watched in semi-boredom, semi-confusion. I kept trying to get him to be in the photo but he declined. For as long as I can remember, our tree every year has been decorated in pink and gold. Mom made the decorations with her friends over a decade ago. But since I didn't want to be reminded of my wedding colors, I went for a more cozy, traditional feel. Too bad we forgot the lights this year though :(. And I'm going to buy a new tree topper when they go on sale post-Christmas.

Custom-made plastic ornaments displaying different photos from this past year. There are about 25 of these one-of-a-kind ornaments hung on the tree. Inspired by Pinterest (of course!), I'll have a separate post about these later.

We played in the backyard for a bit after Audrey woke up from her nap, during which I made Rice Krispy treats for the first time ever. I had a whole bag of leftover jumbo marshmallows from her Elmo cupcakes and didn't want them to go to waste. The soft bunny scarf is from one of Auntie Steph's shopping trips in Taiwan.

I never noticed those cute red berries in my parents' yard until today. How fitting!

After munching on a Rice Krispy snack, she happily read her Elmo book bundled up in her new Elmo blankie as we waited for family friends to come over for dinner.

Merry CHRISTmas, everyone :)!

First Annual Clothing Swap

Ever since  summer, Steph and I have been planning to host a clothing swap party. For about 4 months, she had two industrial-sized black garbage bags bursting at the seams with our unwanted clothing. A lot of the items had been worn only a couple times, or no longer fit. Some items we were just plain bored with. Before donating to good will, we thought we'd have some fun with girlfriends and what was hanging in their closets. I mean, wouldn't it be fun to shop in your gf's closet? Save money, shop and snack? Yes, please! Having never actually attended a swap, I did some research online before sending out an Evite with wording as follows:

Nothing to wear? Have no fear--Steph and Jenn's wintertime clothing swap party is here!

Bring items of clothing, accessories and shoes you no longer wear and are willing to part with.

Bring a minimum of 5 items that are clean and free of stains or tears. The more you bring, the more you go home with (if you bring 10 items, you go home with 10). If possible, put them on hangers or throw them in a reusable shopping bag.

All seasons of clothing are welcomed, but no used bathing suits, socks, or lingerie. Any unswapped items will be donated.

You are welcomed to bring friends if you RSVP in advance. Please try to arrive on time so everyone can have a wide variety to shop from. We'll have snacks to munch on, so come join the shopping fun!

To make things fair (and to make things a tad competitive) should more than one girl have her eyes on the same article of clothing, I decided to have the girls roll a pair of dice. Whoever scored the higher number was the lucky winner. So if someone was holding a cute sweater you also wanted, it was time to ROLL.  I think people were polite and didn't challenge too many roll-off's, but I did :). And I'm glad I did bc I "won" a cute flannel blouse. 

I also had name tags (since not everyone knew each other) and guests write the number of clothing they brought with them next to their name as a reminder for themselves. In reality, it was really an honor system. No one was checking to make sure you didn't take over your limit. We kept this swap super simple. I've read about some swaps assigning values to more $$$ items or even handing out tokens. I figured, if you're willing to part with the clothing, then it doesn't matter how much you had paid for it.

The snacks were thankfully a hit with the girls. I must have refilled the hot apple cider 3-4 times and guests eagerly took home any uneaten Candy Cane Cookies n' Cream Cheesecakes. I also  had a simple platter of cheese and crackers, as well as a cream sherry bundt cake (in the glass dome).

Once the majority of guests arrived, we spent a good half hour organizing the clothes into categories: tops (sleeveless, sleeved, sweaters, etc), bottoms (shorts, pants), accessories (scarves, jewelry, sunglasses) and had the nicer items like skirts/dresses and coats hung on a laundry rack.

Miss Audrey woke up from her nap and was a little confused by all the commotion.

Fun nose cups Steph got from Home Goods a while back.

The piles of clothing reminded me of the night markets in Asia where they lay out everything on large canvas tarps...that are folded up into a big bundle when the police come to shut them down...haha.

Steph said this was a cool photo of me bc I'm the only one looking. So I'm including it :).

A fun way to recycle your old clothing and donate to charity while chatting with friends. Our unswapped items were given to a homeless drive held by Steph's church. 

What I would do differently next time (we're planning to have a summertime edition already):

1) Pre-make clothing category signs that direct guests where to lay out/hang their stuff. There was a little bit of confusion over how to sort and where to keep the piles. Next time, I'll have signs with a picture of a dress, jacket, pants, etc.

2) Remind guests to bring hangers. But have a way for them to remember what hangers they brought (have them count them and maybe label with a colored dot circle) so they can bring them back home.

3) Have a better system of changing rooms; people had to wait around to try on their clothes. Maybe have them take a number or a ticket next time? 

4) Remind guests well in advance (like several months) that you'll be hosting a swap. Several of our friends couldn't attend bc they had *just* donated their stuff.

5) Assure guests that what they bring is totally anonymous. I know some people were concerned that no one would *want* their clothes. In all honesty, I have no idea whose clothes I took home. I don't think anyone really cared bc there was so much to dig through.

My two cents: Make it easy, have yummy snacks, and play some upbeat music. Your gfs will love it :)!

Audrey's 2nd Birthday: Pony Rides and Elmo Cupcakes

I've been absent from cyberspace bc our router has been broken for the past week. And I had so many things to post about, among which is Audrey's birthday. My little girl turned 2 last Wednesday (Dec. 14) and I am so blessed to have her in my life.

We celebrated by going to Irvine Park Railroad for pony and train rides, a few of her favorite obsessions.

She was her usual fearless self and soaked in every second of being perched high atop Dan and Freddy (the two gentle ponies doing laps for the kiddos). 

This was my first time "walking" a pony. The employee told me it was like walking a large dog. Except the ponies were much easier to walk than my crazy Buddy at home.

I thought the train ride would last no more than 2 minutes. But I'm glad I was wrong bc it actually circled around several large ponds with hundreds of ducks, passed by mighty oak trees surrounded by piles of golden leaves and scampering squirrels, and went under a mine-like tunnel decked out in Christmas lights. The 10+min ride was so worth the $4 ticket (I had a BOGO coupon from the park website).

We were so lucky that it was a clear day. It rained the day before and the day after. God knew my little girl wanted her pony rides!

I gave in and allowed the birthday girl fries and nibbles of my cheeseburger. I think she ate more fries than my mom and I combined.

Confession: I ran out of hamburger bun to feed the ducks, so gave them a few leftover French fries. I hope those ducks are still doing okay in the pond...

Absolutely exhausted on the car-ride home. She napped for only 20 minutes before...

...going home and opening presents. I made a customized Sesame Street book with Audrey's picture and name on nearly every page of the hard-cover book. It's now her most prized possession. And the best part? I got it free with Pampers GTG points!

My Elmo cupcake creations being brought to life. SUPER DUPER EASY! I made 5 Elmo plates the night before in about 5 minutes since I had two circle punches. I baked vanilla cupcakes from the box after we got home from the park. After dinner, I used a star tip to ice on red frosting (Wilton's I think), stuck on marshmallows for the eyes, an orange peanut M&M for the nose, and half a Candy Cane Joe Joe for the mouth (an Orea will do too). I didn't "glue" the chocolate chip eyeballs down so they kept falling off. I made a total of 5 in about 10 minutes. Don't you think I could sell these babies for $4 a pop?!

Spoiled little lady.

Grandpa is such a ham. Audrey wouldn't part with her book. Do you spy her photo on the pages of the book?

That colorful tangle of yarn is Audrey's new Abby Cadabby doll, her other fav character second to Elmo.

Audrey didn't actually eat any of the cupcake that night. She was sooooo excited to see Elmo everywhere but didn't know how to eat him.

She did take a whopping bite out of his nose though. And gobbled up some milk in her Elmo party cups. The rest of us had peppermint tea to wash things down. (Addendum: she did end up eating 3 unfrosted cupcakes the next day).

The many (silly) faces of Elmo.

All in all, a wonderful second birthday. It was affordable, full of furry animals, and intimate.