Monday, December 26, 2011

34 A Pinteresting Christmas

Pinterest is really changing things in the blog world.  Heck, in the real world as well.  We are finding endless amounts of inspiration and ideas and running with them like crazy.  It's beyond fantastic.

So it's not quite so strange that Pinterest made an impact on our Christmas a little bit this year as well.

In fact, thanks to Pinterest, I was able to make a great holiday gift and a fun little desert for the kiddos!  Things I probably never would have thought up on my own, so I was quite excited!

Awhile back I pinned this pincushion sewing jar:


And no, I don't sew {yet, it's on my list of things to do in 2012.  No I don't have a written list, just one of the many I keep in my brain....}, but my husband's family is full of sewing smarties, so I thought it would be fun to bring a whole box of these sweet gifts to a holiday party!

So I rounded up a bunch of extra fabric pieces that I had:


Purchased a box of canning jars:


Purchased 12 mini sewing kits:


Along with a little package of pins:



Not shown:  hot glue, batting, felt and scissors.

The project was super simple, but a little time consuming since I decided to make 12.  A couple of things I learned:
  • The less dense and softer the fabric, the easier it is to work with.  Do not use outdoor fabric, you will get frustrated.
  • Hot glue is your best friend.  I used it to really hold it all together well so it will hopefully last a lifetime.
  • I covered the underside of the jar lid with a piece of felt to make it look prettier, it was just important to cut the felt circle small enough so the lid would still screw closed easily enough.


It was pretty straight forward putting the jars together.  Here was the finished product:


By the time I was all finished up, it was dark outside.  So the picture isn't the best, but still, you can see it makes for a great party gift!




So now you know I don't know how to sew.  Another thing you may not know about me, I don't know how to cook or bake either.  Well, I know a little.  I can make waffles.  The kind you put in the toaster.  And bake a mean cupcake from box mix.  That's about it....

That said, I always feel a little bad showing up at gatherings and events without an awesome dish to pass.  I have to thank the grocery store often for helping me out with that.  This year though, was a different story.  I found these cute things on Pinterest and I knew I could easily replicate it for the kids!


Of course, I took the easy way out and just purchased a bag of oh so awful for you chocolate donuts {I told myself it was OK, it's the holidays}.

I just popped some M&M's in for the nose and pretzels for the ears, white frosting eyes and donzo!  No baking required!


Mine didn't turn out as glamorous, but that's the best part.  Kid's don't mind!

And let me tell you, I went through many many pretzels to try and get great antlers... it's not as easy as one would think....


So there you have it.  How Pinterest spiced up our Christmas a little bit this year.

It got me thinking, I can't be the only one that was inspired by something found on Pinterest.  How did Pinterest change your holiday season?

34 comments:

  1. omg, there are so many things I did from pinterest! such a huge source of inspiration.

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  2. Love your sewing kits! How did everyone like them? I used Pinterest as my inspiration for my holiday baking. I made plates of festive Christmas cookies for the neighbors!

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  3. Yup- I found home made message centres using dollar store picture frames and sticky note pads; they were a great hit this Christmas! (I loved the way they looked so much I had to make one for myself, too!)

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  4. I used to make homemade gifts a lot but stopped in recent years when I needed to start buying for my husband's family and was still getting to know them. So this year I found a recipe for a vanilla sugar scrub on She {hearts} It. (I pinned it, and immediately several people repinned it, so I was excited that other people also thought it was a great idea!) I mixed up a double batch, put it into cute jars from Hobby Lobby that I got on sale, made some really cute labels and included the recipe so they could refill it, and I was done! It was super simple, and the ladies of my husband's fam all seemed really impressed and touched that I made that for them. It was an encouraging re-entry to the world of homemade gifts. :)

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  5. We made these coasters using the kids' artwork instead of holiday napkins as gifts for their aunts and uncles: http://pinterest.com/pin/152278031119989401/

    And we made these for their grandparents: http://pinterest.com/pin/125608277076616711/

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  6. Pinterest added lots of flair to our Christmas too... I took these cookies (http://pinterest.com/pin/152066924887594897/) to an exchange and they were the hit of the party! :)

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  7. Try an electric knife for the antlers. It sounds ridiculous, but it worked like a charm! My brother-in-law cut them all quickly and didn't break even one!

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  8. I totally had a time with pretzels, too! I made these from Pinterest...here is my link: http://nicoleslifeafter20.blogspot.com/2011/12/ornament-cupcakes.html

    Yours are really cute!!!

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  9. I sew a lot and I totally love you sewing jars!!! Cute, cute, cute!! I've not really exerienced pin interest - but foodgawker has helped me out with a lot of interesting holiday food ideas...even for plain old potatoes!!

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  10. I just adore Pinterest. It helped me with some gifts as well. I made some amaazing homemade carmel popcorn. I also made some homemade pizza sauce...yum! Congrats on the magazine! How fun is that?!!!

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  11. I posted today one of the gifts I made for Christmas that was Pinterest inspired too {here http://skipperclan.com/2011/12/26/handmade-gift-photo-coasters/}. I love the reindeer donuts, I've pinned some snowmen ones that I want to have on New Year's Eve. http://pinterest.com/pin/167196204885626583/

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  12. Pinterest is such an amazing place! I just discovered it a few months ago, but have already made several things. (and also made many others addicted) I also made the reindeer doughnuts for my son's preschool party. I also made the snowmen from powdered doughnuts to go along with them. They were so adorable. Great not to have to bake a thing, but you are so right, getting those pretzal antlers just right is a chore!

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  13. Pinterest didn't change my Christmas, it changed my life. More than a little obsessed... http://leavemetomyprojects.blogspot.com/2011/11/why-im-obsessed-with-pinterest.html

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  14. Too funny that I would read this just now...I'm actually in the process (as in AS I TYPE!) of making (yes, MAKING) my own laundry detergent based on a pin from pinterest! I also made (well, tweaked) an AWESOME (pepper)mint cookie recipe that was the hit of the cookie season with my boys!

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  15. pinterest ruined my holiday crafting. it was so addicting to look at all those inspirations that i kept putting off the things on mt to-do list! lol All kidding aside, I love Pinterest.

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  16. I have seen that sewing kit in a mason jar idea and I love it!! What a perfect little gift!!

    I have always wanted to make all the gifts for Christmas but I never have enough time to do that - plus, I spend hours on pintrest finding great idea - I just wish I would actually do them!!

    I did get some pintrest gifts and I LOVE them!!

    Sarah from The House That Ag Built

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  17. Pinterest is definitely my #1 new favorite web site of 2011! Happy crafting to you :-)

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  18. I used Pinterest for SO MUCH these holidays. Presents, food ideas, even to keep my holiday shopping list for my friends and family all in one place!!

    I did tell you

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  19. mmm donuts.. that is the best idea ever!!

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  20. Pinterest is changing my world! Gave Pinterest gifts, made Pinterest food and decorated using Pinterest inspiration. Yep, I'm in love!!

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  21. Those pincushion sewing kits are SO SO cute!

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  22. I made ice cream sundae kits for a few coworkers and neighbors. Great inexpensive gift---especially for folks with kiddos. Here's the link to my inspiration: http://mixingbowlkids.typepad.com/.a/6a010536fe5b48970c014e897e6a6b970d-pi

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  23. My entier Christmas eve dinner spread was inspired by pinterest! (www.forkeepsies.blogspot.org for pictures!) I loooove Pinterest to the point of obsession! I love your sewing kits and the donuts are adorable!

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  24. I LOVE that gift idea! It was pinned onto Pinterest to use in the future. Thanks to Pinterest, we made some AWESOME painted and personalized trays. It is definitely a game changer :)

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  25. I made four of these boards that I found on Pinterest: http://www.makeandtakes.com/wipe-off-weekly-menu-board?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+allaboutthemakeandtakes+%28Make+and+Takes%29#

    Mine are 11 x 14 and are just memo boards. I put Peggy's Posts, Claire's Comments, etc. as a title under the glass.

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  26. I made the pincushion also! Just one of them for my sister in law. I also made two types of ornaments, soy candles, and goat milk/oatmeal soaps. It was a pinteresting Christmas! :)

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  27. I pinned those reindeer treats, too. I teach first grade, and I'm planning to use them next year in my classroom.

    As for how I Pinterested this Christmas? I made a Pinterest-inspired wreath: http://sharingclosetspace.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/wreath.jpg

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  28. Ha, this was certainly the case with our family Christmas. My sister kept saying, "Hey, you pinned that!" I think both my sisters-in-law (who aren't on Pinterest) both went home to check it out after all the wonderful Pinterest-inspired gifts and foods that made their way into our Christmas.

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  29. I'm obsessed w/Pinterest after hearing about it in your blog. I've gotten all my friends on it too. I must have put on about 5 pounds because of these AMAZING chocolate chip cookie dough truffles I found on there...they are too addictive! But my favorite idea was for my son's preschool teachers. I gave them all Starbucks gift cards. They were wrapped in a tall Starbucks plastic cup (the one with the round top like used for Frappacinos. They were stuffed with brown tissue paper on the bottom of the cup and white on the top to look just like the real thing and had a tag that said "Thanks a LATTE for all you do". They loved them!

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  30. For the leftover pretzels that didn't break right, put them in a ziploc and roll a rolling pin (or a glass, or a wine bottle, etc.) over them to break the into smaller bits. Then use them instead of bread crumbs in a recipe that calls for bread crumbs. Tasty!

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  31. never heard of it before, but will gladly look it up. Don't beat yourself up for not cooking/ sewing. Where is it written that you must excel at everything? In fact, have pity on your family who doubtless look up to your inspiring example of orderliness, and never learn to bake! Trust me, it's too hard not to eat what you make anyway. Let your family and friends excel at baking and sewing and ooh and aahhh over their mad skillz. :D That's my theory.. <3 Have a huggy holiday.~N

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  32. I found some really cute cookie reindeer on Pinterest. Made from pretzels, Nutter Butter, and plain M&Ms. They were very adorable and my niece LOVED them.

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  33. So cute! I've had that one pinned for a while now too.

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  34. Great blog. Reminds me on vanchic. I'm goin to be in Pinterest all night.

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