Merry Christmas

photo heavy post

I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!  I hope you have received what you wished for.  Me, having the luxury to craft and to share my passions, is my gift.

I have quite a few photos of some home-made gifts, that I will be giving out to family members today.  We go to quite a few family homes.  So, here we go!

I buy plain kraft bags by the case.  I just love altering the bag to match the gift.  So, I took some medium size kraft paper bags, (with handles) and altered them, with what I had on hand.

gift bags to hold the home-made goodies:

I used 3/4 of a 12" x 12" pattern paper for the toppers.  I cut snowflakes out of coffee cuffs and distressed them with paint and glitter.  I tied cream twine bows onto the buttons, and adhered them to the center of the distressed snowflakes.  The tag is a digital creation.  I stamped the 'made with love' banner and added a heart shaped pearl brad.  I added a green scallop trim to the pattern paper.  I stamped the sentiment on the lower right corner of the bag.  Viola!  I didn't personalize the bags, because I have found that my bags have been re-used for other gifts, so this makes it easier.

close-up of one bag:

 close-up of the sentiment stamped on the lower right corner:

One of my holiday traditions, is to bake Pumpkin-Cranberry bread.  Its moist and super delicious!  You can eat it for breakfast, snack or a dessert.  It also pairs lovely with coffee/latte, tea, or a glass of milk.

I wrapped each loaf in a cello bag, and then tied red ribbon around the bread.  For the tag, I added a digital circle tag.  I printed the type of bread with the computer and used a decorative punch.  The label is adhered to the circle tag with foam tape.

home-made Pumpkin-Cranberry Bread:

 close-up of the tag:

One of my favorite 'candies' during the holidays, is peppermint bark.  And it is super easy and super inexpensive to make.  I put the bark in a cello bag, added a paper doily to the top.  Added a digital circle tag, and my own label.  The label is adhered to the tag with foam tape.  I added a banner piece made from coordinating pattern paper that I had left over from some other holiday creations.

home-made Peppermint Bark:

 close-up of the tag:

I love candied nuts.  They just taste fabulous! and once agin easy and inexpensive to make.  I have a wonderfully easy 10 minute recipe, and so I made a few batches.  My husband also loves them, so I have to make extra!

Once again, I used left over coordinating pattern paper I had from another project.  I used my crop-a-dile to punch the holes.  Strung red ribbon through and tied in a bow.  I added a circle digital creation and my own label to the front.  The label is adhered to the tag with foam tape.  The bags were actually a clearance item from a big box craft store, probably 3-4 years ago.  I purchased them, because they were super cheap, and I knew that I would eventually use them {smile}.

home-made Cinnamon Nuts:

 close-up of the tag:

I hope this has given you something pretty to look at.  Tomorrow, I will be posting some photos of gift card tins we gave as Christmas gifts.   Have a safe and wonderful day!  

Merry Christmas! and Happy Crafting!  hugs, Sharon W.