On the twelfth and final day of Handmade Christmas, I’m going to go with chocolate dipped pretzels. This is the most simple handmade gift I’ve discussed so far. Buy any rod-shaped pretzels at your supermarket. Melt semi-sweet chocolate chip in your microwave until melted. Dip the pretzels into the melted chocolate, and sprinkle with your favorite topping. I sprinkled chopped peppermints on mine. I’m going to make them with white chocolate next time and sprinkle with chopped Oreos. I’m throwing my husband a 40th birthday party this weekend, and I’m going to make a bunch of these and display in a vase to sit on the serving table. I can’t wait to bag some of these up for Christmas gifts too.

P.S. I know I’m a day late on this post, but I was preoccupied yesterday with a pre-screening of New Moon, which will not be released until this weekend. I loved the movie, and I can’t wait for Eclipse to be released in June.

I had several homemade gifts in the pipeline for this post, but I dropped them all when I saw this recipe in the latest issue of Southern Living. I don’t know anyone who dislikes Hot Fudge Sauce. I made the sauce last night, and it filled 4 small ball jars. Of course, I kept one for myself. It is wonderful especially if you are a chocolate lover. Wrap some fabric around the lid with some twine, and pair some other goodies in a basket for the perfect homemade gift. This stuff would be great with cookies, cake, ice cream, sweet bread – you choose. I even think it would be cute wrapped up with a handmade towel from the “Tenth Day of Handmade Christmas.” Whatever you decide to do, just be sure to save one for yourself.

I am a kitchen towel addict. Seriously, I wear my kitchen towels out. And I love to get new ones. I saw some similar to these in a home store the other day, so I decided to see if I could replicated the look at home.  There is so much room for creativity here. I purchased a pack of plain white kitchen towels. I picked out some cute fabrics, and in no time, I had pulled these together. I was thinking these would be a great Christmas gift alone, or you could even wrapped up a loaf of bread in them. It would be cool if you paired these up with a homemade oven mitt and hot pad as well. Check out Jandi’s blog for some great tutorials. Although I didn’t do it, you could always embroider or embellish these for a great personalized gift. Either way, who doesn’t love a stylish kitchen towel?

Supplies: Plain white kitchen towel, Fabric of your choice, Thread (White for the bottom of the towel, and a color to coordinate with your fabric)

Step 1: Prepare your towel by ironing out any creases. Measure the width of your towel. The towel I used was 21 inches across.

Step 2: Cut a strip of your fabric 4 inches wide by the width of your towel plus two inches. For example, I cut my fabric 4 inches wide by 23 inches long.

Step 3: On the long sides of your fabric, fold fabric under  by 1/2 inch and iron in place. On the ends, fold under 1/2 inch, press, fold under another half inch, press.

Step 4: Place fabric on front of towel, and fold ends under the towel. Pin in place. Top-stitch close to the edges completely around the fabric on your towel.  Your towel is finished!

Okay, so I’ll admit I’m not the best hand embroiderer ever, but I do really enjoy doing it. I completed this project in less than an hour the other night while sitting on my sofa listening to the Top Chef on television. I’ve been seeing stuff like this in home stores and thought it would be so easy to replicate. You can embroider any message you would like on a thick piece of canvas or any fabric really. Frame it, and you have an instant personalized gift with a great message. You can find inexpensive frames all over the place too. I found this one at my craft store. It just so happened the day I was there, all frames were 50% off, so I got it for $2.50.  Here are some messages you could possibly use.

peace.joy.love

Welcome friends who enter here, we wish you joy & Christmas cheer

live well, laugh often, love much

This was a new project for me. I wasn’t sure how it would turn out, but I am very pleased. I purchased a package of napkins at a home store. If you buy a package of 12, they are really inexpensive. If you have extra fabric around, you could always make your napkins too.  I picked up some fabric paint for about $1 for each color and a stencil for about $2 at the craft store. Taping the stencil down to the corner of the napkin, I took a foam brush and painted over the stencil. I love how they turned out, and I’m excited about making some more. Wrapping these up and giving them as a hostess gift would be so cute. This would also be a great gift for someone who recently got married, or even a housewarming gift. Plus taking the time to personalize them yourself, the napkins are extra special.

A few years ago, during the holidays, I took everyone in my office a mini Chinese take out food container of peppermint bark. It was a big hit. Peppermint bark is like potato chips, you can’t just eat one piece. Since then, I have a couple of variations I use with dried berries & pistachios. You can wrap this stuff up in anything and make it look beautiful. I used the Chinese take out containers, but you could just wrap it in parchment paper and it would look great too. A friend of mine made these with her daughter when she came home from college for Christmas break.  I think small kids would enjoy helping make these as well. So if you are looking for a quick last-minute gift, melt some chocolate and get busy!

Berry & Pistachio Holiday Bark

1/4 Cup chopped Pistachios

1/2 Cup chopped dried mixed berries

12 0z. package of vanilla chocolate chips

2 Tbsp dark chocolate chips

Place a sheet of wax paper on your countertop. Spread just a few of the chopped pistachios and dried fruit on the wax paper. Heat vanilla in the microwave according to the directions on the package. Pour melted chocolate over the pistachios and fruit on your wax paper. Top with the remaining pistachios and dried fruit. Melt the dark chocolate in the microwave and drizzle over the white chocolate. You can leave the bark on your counter to harden or place in the refrigerator. Once all the chocolate has hardened, break the bark into small pieces.

Peppermint Bark – The same recipe as above except replace the mixed dried berries and pistachios with 3/4 cup of chopped peppermints.

Carry your coffee in style! I came across this tutorial for a handmade coffee cozy using one of the sleeves from your favorite coffee shop as a pattern. Keep one of these in your car for the next time you get a hot beverage to go. Not only will your drink stay warm because of the Insul Bright lining, but you will have a unique and distinct cozy. Remember from my “Holiday Coasters” posting that the Insul Bright keeps the hot or cold in. Be creative with this project too. Embroider a name or design on the front of your cozy. I’m making one of these for all of my friends at work who meet every morning to chat over coffee.

I got this idea from Elizabeth last year. Vanilla extract is so expensive in the stores, so who wouldn’t want a bottle of the homemade kind? Last year, I made several & set them aside for last minutes gifts. And, of course, I kept one for myself. Like Elizabeth, I ordered the vanilla beans online from Beanilla, and I think they are great quality.  Plus Beanilla has a wide variety of vanilla beans. Who knew there are so many different kinds? The actual recipe for the vanilla extract can be found here. Again, this vanilla extract is so much better than the store-bought kind. I used an entire bottle in no time, and have made more since. Because you insert the actual split vanilla bean into the bottle, some of the beans fall out into the extract. I love having the fresh vanilla bean specks in my baked goods. This year, I am making more of these for family & friends. I prefer these flip-top bottles I got at World Market. I just ordered a few more bottles from Specialty Bottle. I haven’t gotten them yet, so I’m not sure if I like them better or worse than the ones I found at World Market.  

I used handmade gift tags & attached to the bottles with a ribbon or a piece of twine.  I made the gift tags by printing “vanilla extract” onto some card stock quality paper. I punched them out with this neat paper punch I have. If you don’t have one, you could always use those paper-edging scissors that create neat scalloped edges. I stamped the other side of the punch outs with my Christmas stamps.  Finally, my last piece of advice is to remember that  these need to sit for several weeks before they are ready, so get started early!

I just do not feel right about blogging about homemade gifts for my family & friends and not including a little something for our furry little friends. So here it is. My dogs like toys I make them so much better than store bought toys. I can’t figure out why this is. Maybe it has something to do with my smell being on the dog toys.  I like to think it’s because they like the fabrics I choose . I made a dog bone pattern last year, and it has served me well. I decided to stop & document the pattern & tutorial for my Twelve Days of Hand-made Christmas project, and also so I will never lose it. Hope your puppies enjoy these as much as mine do!

Right click on the link below & save the PDF to your computer. Then open the saved file on your computer & print on 8 1/2 by 11 size paper.

http://jownby.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/scan00013.jpg

If you or your friends are “bath” people, then this is the perfect homemade gift for you. I was shocked at how easy this project is. You just mix up your “batter” and leave it in a silicone ice-cube tray overnight to dry out.  I found this recipe at Martha Stewart. The one unusual ingredient is citric acid. This is what makes it fizz. I read that a lot of people had trouble finding it, so I just skipped looking for it locally. I found it for sale online at the Chemistry Store for $7.97 for a 2lb jar. I also ordered some essential oils while I was on their website. They have great holiday flavors like Pomegranate Sage and Spiced Cranberry. Any jar would work for this project.  I found Ball jars for a little over $1 a jar, and I think they look great. I wrapped a piece of twine around the jar with a tag I cut out and stamped with my Christmas themed stamps. I do want to note a couple of things about this project. When I make them again, I will work with only one essential oil. It’s hard to keep up with your different scents and to keep all of your spoons, bowls, and supplies separated. Secondly, be careful not to add too much water. I had to pour my first batch out because it was too moist, reacted to the water, and bubbled over the ice tray. The mixture really should be crumbly. Pack the ice trays very tight. You’ll notice that the ones that were packed really tight, pop out of the trays better. And finally, use only the silicone ice trays or molds. It’s going to be really hard to get them out otherwise. Now excuse me, I’m going to go take a bath!