10 Gifts on a Whim!

10 Affordable AND Adorable Gifts

We've been thinking lately about what makes us stressed during the holidays.

We came up with two recurring themes.

1) Not enough time to do the things we want to do.

2) Not enough money to buy all the presents we want to give.

We've been spending some time on Pinterest.
 (OK... a lot of time) 

(an amount of time we are not willing to admit to)

And let's face it...
Not every idea on Pinterest is a good idea.
Some are just epic fails.
So... we've done the work for you!

We've re-created and "tweaked"

 some great gifts ideas that are

1) Easy -Yes, you really can do these!

2) In your budget - Every gift idea here is under $5.

So, here is our Top Ten ideas for gifts this year that are affordable AND adorable!

We have to be honest here. Both Michaela and I banned playdough in our houses years ago. I'm a little type A, and can't deal with the crumbly aftermath. But, kids love the stuff. Color it red and green and you have yourself some holiday fun! 

HOMEMADE PLAYDOUGH

• 1 cup water
• 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup salt
• 1 Tablespoon cream of tartar
• Food coloring
• 1 cup flour

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine water, oil, salt, cream of tartar and food coloring in a pot and heat until warm. Remove from heat.
2. Add flour and stir. Continue stirring until formed.

3. Lay it on a piece of wax paper and continue to knead it, especially to get the deep color you want.

Store in an airtight container or ziploc freezer bags.

We colored ours red and green and

named it HO HO HO DOUGH.

We bought our containers and cookie cutters at the dollar store, 
and added some cute matching ribbon.

Like the tag? 

It's available for sale in our Etsy Shop.

Just click here for the listing!

Print on sticker paper or cardstock and you are ready to go!

Now as long as you don't gift any to my kids, we are still friends.

What a great gift for the teenagers on your list!

Toss in a bottle of nail polish and a manicure set and you've made a girl happy!

This "For Your Mistletoes" tag is available in our Etsy shop for you to print.

Click here!

We LOVE to read!

The bookworms in your life will thank you!

We got this idea from a fabulous blogger called Design Mom.

We created our own, and discovered how whimsical and easy they were!

All you need for this project is your yarn of choice, a ruler and some scissors.    

We loved using multicolor yarn to give it that "whimsical" look.   

You'll first measure out two pieces of yarn. One 8 inches, and one 15 inches. Set them aside.

Start wrapping yarn around your four fingers.

You will need to wrap around 90 times if your yarn is thin, and if your yarn is a bit thicker, try wrapping 70 times around your hand.

Carefully pull the yarn off your hand, keeping the shape, 

and lay it over the 8 inch piece of yarn.

Tie the yarn around the ball tightly in a knot.

Take the 15 inch piece of yarn and tie it to the 8 inch yarn at the knot. (loop it under)

Now take the scissors and start cutting through all of the loops. 

Be careful that you don't cut your long string.

You'll want to keep cutting it down, forming a ball as you go.

Your finished product!

Who knew making pom poms was so easy?

Turn on your DVR and finally watch those 5 episodes of Grey's Anatomy...

You'll make a bunch of these in no time at all!

Don't forget to make one for yourself!

This is a great gift you can make with your kids. 

Take your thin ribbon scraps and tie them onto paperclips.

Michaela is a ribbon hoarder so this was no problem for us!

We found our "mega" paperclips at Staples in a gold color,

and we spray painted them white.

Look for the largest kind you can.

This is a gift for the girl who has everything!

We bought these wine glasses at the dollar store.

Wine glasses for one dollar!

And they're big, you can get a lot of wine in there!

Trust me, we tested it!

Then we taped the stems with painters tape 

and painted the bottom with chalkboard paint.

It took about 3 coats to completely cover. 

You can also dip the bottom into the chalkboard paint can, that works too.

Add your girlfriend's favorite wine (this is ours)

 and you have the perfect gift!

Hot Cocoa has never been "snow" cute!

Here's what you need:

• A mason jar (we found this great one at Hobby Lobby with a flat surface)
• Hot Cocoa powder
• ziploc bag (sandwich size)
• Marshmallows
• Edible food pens (local craft store should have them) 

Fill a sandwich bag with hot cocoa and place it at the bottom of the jar.

Now hide the top of the bag and tuck it in the center of the jar 

so you can't see if from the outside of the jar.

Decorate the marshmallows and place inside the jar with faces out.

Seal it up, and now here is the fun part....Presentation!

This "Snow Delicious" tag is in our Etsy Shop!

You can purchase it here

These are so easy to make and make your house smell of Christmas.
You're welcome.

And really, anything with red twine makes us happy.

Here's what you need:

• Applesauce
• Cinnamon (bulk sized container)
• cookie cutters
• thin ribbon or twine

Recipe for ornaments is from McCormick, but we "tweaked" it a little 

to get it just how we like it.

1 Cup Applesauce

1 1/2 cups of Cinnamon

In a large bowl, mix the applesauce and cinnamon. Don't be afraid to use your hands, you can't eat this.Get the mixture to the point where all the cinnamon is absorbed, and there are no wet spots.

Roll out the dough on a Cinnamon dusted surface (just like sugar cookies)

Make sure the dough is nice and thick at least 1/4 in.

Cut out with your favorite Christmas shapes.

Use a straw to cut a hole at the top.

The original instructions say to leave them out for a few days to harden.
Seriously...does anybody have time for that?
Bake them for 2 hours instead at 200 degrees.

You can even let them sit out overnight, and then put the twine in the next day.

This will assure they are completely hard.

We couldn't believe how cute these came out.

The plates are from the dollar store.

Make a design on a plate with a sharpie pen, 

and bake in the oven at 350 for 30 mins.

Make your own cookie plates and gift them to neighbors with your favorite treat on it!

Or have the kids make their own "Cookies for Santa" plate.

These are so easy to make and any crafty Pinterest fan 

would love these on her fridge!

All you need is:

Clothespins

Magnet strips 

Thin ribbon (we used grosgrain)

Our printable file- Download for free here

Cut ribbon and hot glue onto the clothespins.

 Add a piece of magnet strip to the back of the clothespin. 

We hot glued it on.

Print out the file and cut the tags.

Hot glue them to the clothespins.

You're done!

 Grandma would love this!

Heck, we now want one in every color!

What you need to get started:

• Felt (it can be purchased in sheets like this, or cut your own)
• 1.5 inch pin backs
• Fabric scissors
• Glue gun
• Felt flower pattern

Cut the two circles out of the pattern on cardstock for easy tracing. Trace the pattern onto the fabric. You'll need to trace 6 large circles and one small.

Cut out all the circles.

Take the large circles and cut them into a flower, forming petals as you go. These do not need to be perfect. 








Do that with all 6 circles and leave the small circle aside.

 Pick up one and form a flower. Cut the bottom so you have a flat edge.

 Add some hot glue to the flat part and place it on the small felt circle.

Keep placing the petals on the circle until you have used all 6 flowers.

Cut a small rectangle of the felt and slide it through the pin back.

Glue the felt and pin to the back of the small circle.

There you have it!

You could make hair barrettes with these too, 

just by attaching a barrette to the back instead of a pin.

What little girl wouldn't love a pair of those?

It's been a busy week of crafting and getting these ideas ready for you!

We hope you try at least one!

Let us know how you did!

Gifts with a little love are the BEST kind of gifts!