20 Handmade Christmas Gift Ideas (Dare to DIY)

Thank you all for linking up to the Dare to DIY Give Handmade link up!  There were so many great projects that we decided to compile our favorites into one handy post.  Hopefully you can use this compilation to help you out with those last minute handmade gifts.

Click the images or the links below to check out these fantastically awesome gift ideas!

InLinkz.com

 House Drawing by Planting Sequoias * Card Table Playhouse by Anything Pretty

Dog Silhouette by A Peachtree City Life * Wine Gift Bags by Bowl of Cherrys

Wine Cork Trivet by B&B Build a Life * Christmas Joy Felt Pillow by Our Next Great Adventure

Owl Coasters by Boxy Colonial  * Vanilla Brown Sugar Body Scrub by Wills Casa

Sharpie Mugs by Shannaigans * Travel Jewelry Holder by Naptime DIY

Gold Leaf Agate Coasters by Desert Domicile * Lilly Doll by Home in the Country

Festively Red Spread by Little Rays of Sunshine * R2D2 Stocking by Creative Chaos Art

Geometric Necklace by Ceci Bean * Mason Jar Snow Globes by The Sweetest Digs

Woodbead Necklace by Decor and the Dog * Crochet Blanket by Maybe Matilda

Dish Towels by NewlyWoodwards * State Necklace by Two Twenty One

We will be pinning all of these handmade gifts to the Dare to DIY Projects board.  You can also find all of the co-hosts on Pinterest: Decor and the Dog, Maybe Matilda,  NewlyWoodwards, and Two Twenty One.

Are you ready for next week’s Dare to Deck the Halls Challenge?  What’s the most fantastically awesome handmade gift that you have received?

Holiday Console Table

The mantel was my first holiday decorating victim.  Our console table was next.

I went with a woodsy/red/black theme.  And snowflakes.  Snowflakes are like the winter version of owls for me.  Obsessed.  The crate in the center was a Salvation Army find and it will hold all of this year’s holiday cards.  I’m not big on holiday card displays.  I’d rather be able to flip through them.  And the crate is tidy.  I like tidy.

I made the prints. I’m teaching myself to use Photoshop Elements. (I also am teaching myself how to use our DSLR. I took all of these photos with Nate’s 50mm and none of them are blurry. I seriously think the Mayans were right. I’m getting freaked out.) There are links to download the prints at the bottom of the post.

I stuck this reindeer print on some burlap and placed it in a frame from Goodwill.  Cheap yet classy.  That’s how I roll.  (Classy people say stuff like that, right?)

The trees are from Hobby Lobby.  Santa, the mirror, the lantern, and the two frames are all from thrift stores.

I like the view as I come down our stairs each morning.  Man, I love Christmas.

And because it’s the season of giving.  Free reindeer prints!  Just click the link below the print to download.

One Red Reindeer

Santa's Reindeer

What’s your holiday decorating color scheme this year?  How do you display your holiday cards?

***FYI: I added a Holidays 2012 tab at the top of the blog for easy reference to all things holidays this month!***

Linking up to: Primitive and Proper, Southern Hospitality, A Thoughtful Place

Deck the Mantel- 2012 Edition

‘Tis the season to decorate all surfaces of your house.  Fa la la la la, la la la la.

First up.  The mantel. 

I went with a woodsy snowflake motif this year.  I also embraced the television.  Who wants a beautiful mirror with a ton of snowflakes on it over their mantel?  Not this girl.  Nope.  (That’s a lie.)  Even so, I’m still happy with how it turned out.

I tried out the ol’ Epsom salt in a Mason jar (a blogger holiday favorite).  The pharmacist in me enjoyed the fact that I was using medicine to decorate.  It’s hard being me.

I made the stockings that are hanging by the lack of chimney with care.  Turns out I’m allergic to burlap.  (Tutorial on Friday.  Get. Excited.  Because my sinuses aren’t.)

This is the point where Nate asked me how many photos one could have of a tiny area.  I had to give him that one.

Fa la la la la, la la la la

Sources: Trees (Michael’s), Snowflakes (Salvation Army and Hobby Lobby), Stocking holders (Hobby Lobby 2011), Mason jars (Hobby Lobby), Garland (Target), Stockings (Handmade.  Tutorial on Friday.)

You can see our 2011 mantel here.  I definitely think my mantel eye is improving.

Are you done decking the halls?  Just started?  What’s your mantel motif this year? 

Linking up to:  The Lettered Cottage, Ten June, Finding Silver Pennies

Have a handmade gift post?  Be sure to link up here!