Great Cookie Gift Idea ~

Here is what I was up to last night...

I decided this year to make a few gifts to hand out to neighbors, teachers and friends. When we were in Palm Springs this past October, our friends made "cake cookies" and they were amazing - I must say I have made them too many times since we have been home - so I decided these would make perfect gifts. I got the idea from the Bakerella when she made these Cowboy/Cowgirl Cookies.

The recipe - I don't even know if I can call it that because it is soooo easy:

1 box Cake Mix (I used white)
1 Cup Chopped Pecans (or any nut of any amount)
1/2 Chocolate Chips (or any flavor chips in any amount)

Preheat Oven to 350 Degrees.

Combine cake mix, nuts, chips. Add 1/2 cup oil, 2 eggs and 2 Tablespoons water. Drop by heaping Tablespoon onto cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Allow to cool for 1 minute on cookie sheet then move to cooling rack to complete cooling.
Enjoy!

I was hoping to make a batch for myself, but as luck would have it, our oven just stopped working! Do you have any gifts you make to pass out to close friends and family?

.99 Cent Jar into Holiday Gift ~

On my last trip to Michaels I picked up this .99 cent jar. I loved the shape and began thinking how I could transform it into a little something more and possibly a gift idea too.

I gathered some supplies...

And ta-da!

I printed out an image, grabbed a little double stick tape and started assembling.

Now this was just my first attempt. I love the price, had a fun time and was able to use items I had on hand. I don't know about you, but I have A LOT of misc. items on hand - a little bit of this and a little bit of that. I think these could make a great hostess gift - you could use a holiday image and even fill it with something sweet. I picked up a larger jar at Goodwill yesterday, so stay tuned for more!

What's in a Name...

I just finished making a family name sign for my sister-in-law. Here is the finalized project:

I purchased a piece of unfinished wood at Home Depot. Had them cut the piece to 40". I brought it home and sanded it with my handy-dandy hand sander, a coat of paint (Behr Black Suede (S-H-790), one more sand and then I was ready for the stencils. I used a stencil set I purchased at Michaels (the letters were 3-3.5" depending on the letter). I stenciled the letters on with a pencil and then painted them in with a very small brush and white acrylic paint. I waited a day for the paint to be completely dry and then I stained the entire board with a gel stain (miniwax in walnut). I painted it on with a foam brush, waited around 5-10 minutes and gently rubbed the stain off.

Last but not least, I purchased sawtooth hangers to attach to the back of the board for hanging. This is a great personalized gift and I can't wait to give it to her soon!